January 27, 2007

He's ready for church.  She isn't! It was great to be home again for a Sunday.  We love our church and our family here at Barnwell!  Wendell Heatwole preached on "The Hope of the Gospel".  We came home and made up a quick lunch of fried tenderloin, canned potatoes with browned butter and parsley, and cole slaw.  After dinner we all took a nap, at least until the little ones woke everybody up... :(

In the evening we went to church for a program given entirely by the youth.  They gave a very nice program.  Then home for a supper of popcorn and grape juice.

 

Michael demonstrates proper shifting techniques to a skeptical Jason... Monday was a full day but very ordinary with clothes washing for Ina Sue and a busy day at work for me.  It was a drippy rainy day so Ina Sue was not able to hang the wash out on the line.  Once I got home around 7:30 we had a nice restful evening together at home.
Adam is parachuting off of the sofa... I got up and tried to help Ina Sue with some of her work before I left for work on Tuesday.  She spent most of the day preparing for our company farewell supper for Jodi Kearse & Julie Heatwole.  He has moved to Columbia and is planning to start working for an Alltel dealer up there next week.  Julie has been teaching school here at Barnwell and seems to have some other extracurricular activities going on as well.  So, she has asked me to find a replacement for her in our accounting section.  I was able to come home from work around 5:00 and fried up the corn tortillas for our grenachees.  We had a really good time together.  We ate, talked, played Actionary, and laughed until the last guests left around 11:30.  We are very sorry to be losing both Jodi & Julie but we wish them the best as they move on.
Ina Sue obviously thinks Jodi needs help... I went in to work early again on Wednesday.  (Ina Sue is about ready for me to get a new job with all the extra time I've been putting in lately)  I rushed from job to job trying to get everybody fit into a very tight schedule.  Ina Sue did the wash, ironed, and cut out a new dress pattern.  In the evening we went with our small group to give a program at the Bamberg Nursing Home.  With all the other things we've had going on we decided to forego any further festivities after the program so we were able to get in a little grocery shopping and still get home in good time for strawberry milkshakes.

 

Richard gets agitated... I made us a ham & egg quiche for breakfast on Thursday.  Ina Sue spent most of the day cooking food for a hot lunch at the school tomorrow.  I had another full day at work but got home in time to eat a quick bite of supper before we went to church for a two hour presentation by Christian Aid Ministries on their work around the world.  The program was plenty long for little children but very interesting and inspiring to see how God is working through CAM around the world.  We were challenged by how much we have here in the states compared to the destitution that many people around the world live in.  How willing are we to share of our plenty? 
Alissa demonstrates proper drinking form. Right before we left the house for the service, Carolina Sue went running into her bedroom and stumbled.  She cracked her face very hard against the corner of the door and nearly knocked one of her front teeth out.  It was bleeding profusedly and was pushed back a bit.  As we tried to comfort Carolina and calm her down she suddenly paused for just a minute and got a thoughtful expression on her face.  "I'm just like Sal" she said.  It took us a little bit to realize that she was talking about the little girl in her storybook "A Morning in Maine" about a little girl that woke up with a loose tooth that later fell out.  The tooth is a little loose but we are hoping that it will take root and not fall out on her....
All while the children played nicely... I had to leave at 6:00 again on Friday to do another service call over to Edgefield.  I didn't seem to get much else done for the day.  Ina Sue and the children took hot lunch in to school along with Cheryl Bange & Rachel R.  They took chicken enchiladas, green beans, finger jello and oreo dessert.   I didn't get home until about 8:45.  I am really ready to have Hendrick back in the shop again!  Ina Sue got all of Carolina Sue's clothes packed up for her trip to Virginia.
A goodbye before a long trip... We got up around 5:00 Saturday morning and got our little girl ready  for her trip to Virginia.  She is going to be staying with Grandmother Showalter for the next week and a half while we are in Puerto Rico.  We're not sure we are ready for her to be away from us that long but it didn't seem to work out to take her to Puerto Rico with us.  She seems to be fine with the idea of going to see Grandmother but we're not sure how she will last...   Betty & Carolyn Heatwole took her along with them on their way up.  
Boiling cabbage leaves to make sarmales. After we got her off at 6:00 we went back to bed for another hour or so then I got busy repairing the wooden strips on our greenhouse.  They have deteriorated over the last number of years and the plastic was beginning to tear lose.  Ina Sue vacumned out the minivan and cleaned the house while I did misc house jobs like fixing the kitchen light and fixing the toilet handle.  In the late afternoon we got started on our sarmale project.  Sarmales are a mixture of pork, beef, rice & seasonings wrapped up in cabbage leaves.  They are a Romanian delicacy that my sister Laura brought back from her numerous trips over there.   
The finished product.  (164 sarmales) It was quite a job and we didn't finish up until about 8:00 but were very happy with the amount we finished up with.  We made up two baking dishes with them then quick froze three cookies sheets full for a total of 164 sarmales.  When you are ready to cook them you get them out of the freezer and layer them around the outside of a baking dish.  Then you fill the center of the dish with saurkraut and cover it all with water or tomato juice before baking for three or four hours.  Then you eat them with sour cream for a delicious balanced meal in one dish.