One of my grand-daughters is a cheerleader.  She's in the 6th grade, her last year in elementary school  Next year she'll go to middle school.  I only went to see one of the games so far this year.  Their basketball teams made it to the tournament, so I may go to more.

In the next picture she's in the back helping to hold up the girl that's in the air. I always hold my breath when they do this.   At least they lift one of the lightest girls.

Here's a picture of her all bundled up for our winter weather.

Our little pine trees (and the 2 big ones out front) are still wearing their Christmas ribbons. It's been so cold and snowy this year that I haven't been out to get the ribbons.

http://icdinternational.org/2014/01/life-in-the-countrys-largest-refugee-camp/

I hope that you will click on the link above and read about the refugees staying at the airport in Bangui, Central African Republic.  Water for Good (formerly known as ICDI),  is helping the people by digging latrines.  2 of their workers were recently kidnapped, but praise God. both were released unharmed.  However the truck and equipment were kept by the Seleka.  It will be a huge expense to replace them, but it will be necessary so the work of repairing and maintaining wells can continue.

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

 

 

We used to live on this "Island". Most of the houses there started as summer cottages, and were added to during the years. The Island is not a natural island. It used to be an isthmus, until a canal was dug between it and the mainland. It's not very far down to water, so most of the older homes are sinking. If someone spills their milk at the dinner table, and you're sitting on the low side, watch out! And if the kids forget to put their marbles and balls away, you always know what corner of the house to look for them. Our house was not as close to the water as this one is. I guess the owner thought it was worth paying lots of money to put down pilings. I don't know how much it costs, but it must be quite a bit. This house has been up in the air for a couple of months at least. It makes me think of the old Gospel song. "This world is not my home, I'm just a-passin' through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue."

It's nice to see someone enjoying the snow and cold, especially a boy and his dad.

It was a gray/white day.  The first 2 pictures are the actual color the camera saw.  I brightened up the last 2 so the people could be seen better.  I thought maybe they were making a snowman in this last picture, but found out later that they were clearing some of the snow off the icy pond and making snow angels.  I took all these pictures from inside my nice warm house.  Guess I'm getting to be a sissy.  It's supposed to be way below zero the next 2 days.  I'm supposed to go to the dentist Tues. but I'm going to phone tomorrow and postpone my app't.  I'm so sad to have to miss that.  Ha!

Our early church service and Sunday School were canceled this morning.  We didn't try to go to late service.  Some of the family that live real close came for Sunday dinner at noon.  Later 2 of my daughters went to the grocery store, and bought a few groceries for my mom and me, as well as for themselves.  It has been quite the winter, and it's not even February yet.  Hope all of you are staying warm.

Life is full of disappointments.  All of us have them.  A lot of 3rd graders in our county are disappointed today.  Ever since they started kindergarten they've looked forward to when they'll be Big Kids (3rd grade) because that's the year they get to go to the circus.  I've only known of 2 years that they had to cancel the trip.  I've forgotten when the other one was, but today was the 2nd time.  The roads were not that bad, and it wasn't snowing.  However it was -7 when I got up about 8 am, and the wind chill was -21.  Many of the secondary school kids get on the bus before 7 am, and the younger ones at 8:30 or before.  When school is delayed or canceled the day of the circus trip, then the trip is canceled too.  And it can't be re-scheduled, so those kids are out of luck.  I feel sorry for them, even though none of my grandkids are in 3rd grade this year. Maybe it's good for them to learn how to deal with disappointment at a young age.  Or maybe some of them will never learn, like some of us.  I would ask how you deal with disappointment, but I suppose it depends on what the disappointment is.  Hoping that you have few disappointments, and many dreams fulfilled.

I expect you are tired of snow pictures. I know most people around here are tired of snow, period.
Really, we haven't had a whole lot of snow here. Nothing like 1978. However we have had a whole lot of cold weather.

This is inside our garage...the lock inside the side door. I have never seen it frosted over before.

Taken from inside our house. That's our daughter's house and garage. Her husband uses the garage for his den. There's a heater, frig, and TV. All he needs. He also uses it for music. At least once a week, guys come over to practice, mostly music from the 80's. All we can hear from our house is "Boom, boom, boom." And I thought we left the drums in the night behind when we left Africa. At least they usually stop early, especially on school nights. My daughter sees to that.

This was taken last month, but it still looks the same, except the tracks? footprints? have been covered by more snow.

How many birds do you see in the bush? I counted 10 or 12 at first glance. After enlarging the picture, I saw there are between 25 and 30. And that's a bush I wanted out of my raspberry, strawberry, blueberry area. Can I do that to the birds? I planted a couple more things for them in different areas, but they're not big enough to give them much cover yet.

Even the crows are getting desperate.
But be of good cheer. Spring Will come.

Flowers and plants my TX daughter sent for my birthday. The flowers have since been thrown away, and the parsley and thyme repotted. I'm hoping to keep them alive long enough to let them live outside, either in the ground or in pots.

I just finished reading a book by George MacDonald. You may not have heard of him. The introduction to the book says that he lived from 1824 until 1905. He was a Scottish writer. He wrote children's books, novels, poems, and fantasies. He was also a preacher. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both admired him and learned from his works.
My husband's cousin has a PhD. in English literature, and specialized in George MacDonald, so when I saw a couple of his books (edited for today's reader) at a garage sale, I grabbed them. I had already read some of his books that are in our public library. I would like to copy some of the words of the clergyman to his children that are found in this novel. It is called "The Seaboard Parish.

"The wind is very high, Papa, said Constance. I'm afraid I do like it when it roars.
Tell me Connie, why are you afraid you enjoy hearing the wind roar about the house?
Because it must be so dreadful for those who are out in it.

Perhaps not quite so bad as we think. You must not suppose that God has forgotten them, or cares less for them than for you because they are out in the wind.

But if we thought like that, Papa, said Wynnie, shouldn't we come to feel that their sufferings were none of our business?

If our benevolence rests on the belief that God is less loving than we, it will come to a bad end before long. Then your kindness would be such that you should cease to help those whom you could help. Either God intended there should be poverty and suffering, or He did not. If He did not intend it, then we should sell everything that we have and give it away to the poor.

Then why don't we? said Wynnie.

Because that is not God's way, and we should do no end of harm by so doing. We should make so many more of those who will not help themselves. We are not to gratify our own benevolence at the expense of its object, not to save our own souls by putting other souls into more danger than God meant for them.

It sounds a hard doctrine from your lips, Papa.

Many things will sound hard in so many words. If people should have everything they want, then everyone ought to be rich. There was once a baby born in a stable, because His poor mother could get no room in a decent house. Had God forsaken them?"

The story goes on from there with the younger children asking questions about why Jesus had to be born as a baby. But I'm tired of trying to see the words and copy them. Maybe I'll copy more another time.

I hear from reliable sources that this woman is very capable and people do what she tells them to.  Hoping that this means peace is closer for the poor people of this country.  Thanks for your prayers.  She will need great wisdom.

P.S. I don't mean poor as in materially poor, although most of them are. I mean poor because of all they have sufferd.

I edited my last post and put the  answers in.  If you can't find it because of the new Xanga format, let me know, and I will try to do it again (if anyone cares.)  I remember singing this at camp in the dining hall while we waited for the food to arrive.  One table would sing the first part and another table would sing the answer.  Then it was the other  table's turn to ask the question.  The song itself including a lot of repetition.  "How did Flora die, boys?  How did Flora die?

Repeat.

Repeat again.

I ask you now as a personal friend.  How did Flora die?

The response was the same except for changing the state, and saying I tell you now as a personal friend.

Really a stupid song, but we thought it was fun.  It was better than 100 bottles of beer on the wall.  The preachers and counselors tended to frown on that one.  And even if we sang coke instead of beer, it was still annoying.

I also remember the one our kids learned in school in the 70's.  50 nifty United States from 13 original colonies.  That was a good song.  I think my kids can probably still sing it, but I can't.  I can get as far as Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut.  Then I'm lost.

I just noticed that in the older song all the states are referred to as she.  I have no idea why.  Also the word boys is used in the verses, but not girls, though probably more than half of us were girls.  Camp was fun.  Silly songs were just part of the fun.