January 1, 2011

Snowy Sunday morning.	We woke up Sunday morning to snow flurries.  It was fun to watch it coming down but there was very little accumulation.  We went to church at Barnwell.  It was still snowing pretty hard when church let out but it slacked off during the afternoon.  We came home for a quick lunch then all took our naps.  Ina Sue got up and fixed some food for the evening.  We were invited to Aden Diems for a carry-in supper of finger foods with Floyd Kauffmans and Ivan Skrivseths.  A really nice evening visiting.  Claudia was pretty fussy.  She is just starting to have a tooth or two peeking through.
Ready to go out.	Monday was very cold and somewhat "nasty". (My wife says I should not use that word about weather that God sends...)  Ina Sue woke up around 3:00 and couldn't go back to sleep.  So, she gets up at 3:30 and got the laundry started then came back to bed around 5:30.  Carolina Sue is off from school for Christmas break so she could help some.  She even sewed up and serged a skirt for her new dress.  The shop is open Mon-Wed of this week so I spent the day in the shop.  Ina Sue made us fried ham, fresh bread, baked macaroni and broccoli for supper.  I entertained and got the children in bed while Ina Sue worked on the ironing.
Floyd and Katie Kauffman	Since I am going to be pulling double duty while Hendrick is gone, I decided to take Tuesday off and let him carry the load.  I spent part of the day getting these webpages caught up.  I took Carolina Sue & Savannah along with me on a quick trip to Bamberg & Denmark.  We went to RiteAid and picked up some bargains then went to CVS and got two free photo books printed up for us.  It took us an hour or two there to get everything set up.  We also picked up some sewing supplied for Ina Sue from Ms. Thelma.
Our little seamstress.	In the later afternoon Ina Sue had a back appointment.  While she was gone the children and I fixed a heat light in the pump house and worked on rendering down a bunch of pig fat from our butching into lard.  We used some of the lard to fry up french fries and chicken nuggets for supper.  After supper Ina Sue worked on Carolina's dress.  Almost finished.
Ina Sue enjoying our new "wood stove" :)	I went in to work early on Wednesday to try and get things done so we can leave tomorrow.  Ina Sue did laundry and worked on cleaning, packing etc.  Ina Sue's cousin Judith Showalter stopped in for a visit with Denise Dickerson for a while.  Judith brought gifts which just thrilled the children.   In the afternoon Ina Sue went in for another back appointment while Carolyn Heatwole stayed with our sleeping children.  We had ham and pickle rollups for supper along with apples and left over triffle.  The evening was spent fixing food, packing, bathing children, cutting hair, etc.
Playing in the cotton seed.	We got up in good time on Thursday and rushed around getting everything packed and ready to go.  We left for Virginia around 10:00 and had a good trip up.  Stopped at BK for a quick bite.  We got to Ina Sue's home around 4:15 and took a quick break then went to Dale & Eleanor Shanks for a "cousin" party.  Lots of the Showalter cousins there and hoards of delicious food.  Carolina Sue went home with Roberts to spend the night with Emily.  We took the rest of the children back to Papa's and bedded down.
Warren Showalter reunion.	We had a relaxed morning on Friday.  After breakfast we put Claudia back to bed then took Landon, and Savannah along with us on a shopping trip to Sharp Shopper, Ollie's and Rocky Cedars.  We made it home in time for lunch.  In the afternoon Ina Sue and the little girls took naps while I took Landon down with me to Robert & Marsha's farm in New Hope.  Robert had called and invited me to bring Landon down to play in the cotton seed with the other children.  He joined right in and they had a blast.  Digging tunnels etc.  I left him there playing and came back home.  Keiths got there around 5:00.  Roberts and the rest of the family came for a supper of subs and soup.  A really nice relaxing evening.
A top notch game of Rook in the evening.	Mother made us a delicious breakfast casserole Saturday morning.  We go the children all ready and went to the Warren Showalter re-union at Hickory Hollow school.  We had a nice time visiting with the uncles, aunts & cousins and of course more good food!  Came home for naps in the afternoon .  Mother fixed us our "Christmas" supper in the evening.  Louisiana Gumbo and salad.  After supper Keith, Sherman, Andrew and I stayed up late and played a wonderfully fun and close game of Rook.