Cold Weather!

We were out shopping on Saturday and came upon this phenomenon in Carmi! A frozen water fountain! What a sight! Cold weather is here!

Lincoln Day Dinner

Our family attended the Hamilton County Lincoln Day Dinner and sang the National Anthem and another patriotic a capella song for the attendees. Trey is a precinct committee-man and helped in the planning and execution of the dinner, which was quite a success! We had the privilege of hearing several of the candidates speak and learned more about their views.
Mark is running for re-election to the Hamilton County Board. He has done a good job of representing the citizens of Hamilton County in his previous four years of service and will be running in the spring primary to see if he will be chosen to represent his party in the fall election. Certainly, the job of county board commissioner is a public service and he is willing to serve the populace another term if they want him in this position. February 5th will make the first determination.

His new signs are in and will soon be spotted throughout the county! If you want one of his signs in your yard, let us know!
Good luck Mark! We are all pulling for you!

Mr. BoJangles

Mr. BoJangles is our pet starling. He came to live with us last summer when were were taking down a grain bin. Rachel has done a fine job of mothering him. You can read his full story here. Almost every morning, he flies around the cabin getting his exercise. In this photo, he is sunning himself on Rachel's arm in the winter sun streaming through the back door. He is still wearing his winter feathering. Often, due to central heat and air, indoor starlings will have off-season feathering as it is warm inside in the winter and cool inside in the summer.

Did you know that starlings can talk? Mr. BoJangles can whistle a cat-call, forward and backward, and say, "Pretty Bird." We are still working to teach him to say his name as well as "God bless the USA!" He thoroughly enjoys music lesson days as he has the opportunity to whistle and warble along with violins, pianos, and guitars!

Christmas with the Resors

Thursday morning, we left Doris's house and traveled to Bainbridge to visit with the Resor side of the family. David and Judy greeted us at the door of their cabin with hugs and Christmas greetings.

Later, we made Mark's version of mice to share with the rest of the family that were due to arrive soon.

Christmastime always brings with it a plethora of fun and games while visiting and catching up on what has been transpiring in each family member's lives.

The day arrived for giving gifts! It has become a tradition in the family to have a homemade gift exchange. It is always so interesting to see what each person has crafted for the one name they drew the previous year. There are always creative ideas!

Sunday, we were able to attend worship together. The family filled a bunch of pews!

We celebrated the New Year by playing games and having fun until midnight. We threw home-made confetti into the air and what a scene it made! After clean-up, we visited a while longer before retiring to our pallets all throughout the cabin.

After saying our goodbyes the next morning, we left for the long trek back home. Although we had a wonderful visit, there's no place like home!

Christmas with the McDaniels

We were able to spend considerable time in Ohio visiting with family over the Christmas season. The six hour trip took us to our old stomping grounds~ and what a wonderful time we had visiting with extended family!

First stop. . . the McDaniel side of the family. Dennis and his family were there when we arrived at Doris' home and we all fellowshipped and visited with each other until bedtime. The next day the rest of the family gathered to celebrate Christmas together. Good food is always a part of the festivities!Each place setting was adorned with precious little chocolate mice created by Jennifer and Joel. They were a great surprise to Mark as he had also planned to make identical delicious little creatures with all who wanted to participate!

Following our meal we enjoyed the fun of White Elephant gifts. What festivity!We each were given papers with words from the book, The Night Before Christmas. While Doris read aloud, we arose when our word was read to choose from the pile of White Elephant gifts. It was very entertaining! Throughout the evening, we enjoyed more good food and played a variety of games!

And more games. . .

And more games!

One of the days visiting with the McDaniel side of the family, we were able to minister to the good people in Mamaw Skagg's apartment building with Christmas music and songs. Afterward, we retired upstairs to continue our visit and enjoy some very entertaining stories!

Another day, we took a reminiscing trip and were able to re-visit many of the places that both Mark and Rhonda remembered as children and young adults. We were even able to tour the house where Trey, Amanda, and Rachel spent the early years of their childhood, thanks to the graciousness of the Hamilton Family. While there, we stopped by Bob and Jane's, our good neighbors still living across the creek!It had been several years since we had visited with them. We played some music, sang, and talked. It was great catching up!