Family Project Report

 We're at the half way point for our current ministry trip!!!!  Five weeks down, five to go.  Paul has been very busy in preaching six days a week, but the kids and I get a lot of time to ourselves so we tend to bring projects on trips to try to get them accomplished.  Some of things we have at home like piano lessons, youth group, Joy Club, and close friend visit, are missing, so this is a good time to find satisfaction in projects and never have we had so many interesting ones going on as on this trip.  

Evangel finished her braided rug today.

 Exercise is one of our daily priorities.  At the moment we are staying on top of hill, and it is about 4 kilometers down the hill to the nearest shop.  The kilometers are even marked!  So each day since Monday we have trotted down the hill to do our shopping, and then we catch a ride back up with Paul. 

 Today we went down, and then hiked back up, carrying the groceries.  Tim carried most of them, bless him, so we had a good workout.  That uphill part will make you breathe deep!

 I found this kit, this rumpled, well-traveled-looking kit in a second hand shop years ago in America, but I finally got started when we went to Zimbabwe earlier this year.  I mostly only work on this during our family Bible reading time.  It's going to say "The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you." from Numbers 6 24, 25.  If I can finish it by March, it'll be done in a year, but I have my doubts. 

 Josh has made two Lego movies recently.  Those can be huge projects.  One of his has 900 pictures and is 4 minutes long.  A mom admires a kid with that kind of patience. 

 More in the exercise department.  Sorry I look goony, but we have really enjoyed tennis when we stay places where it is available. 

 Our kids miss a lot of team sports with all our traveling, so I was delighted that they have been delighted with tennis. 

 Josh and Evangel have also tackled unicycling together.  In the beginning they had to hold each other up, and/or use the tennis court fence, but now they can do it alone. 

It was rough in the beginning, but they are better now.

Some of our biggest projects are not so

 picturesque, but they deserve a mention.  Evangel is working for hours each day on her movie, editing it.  It's exciting to see it coming together.  

While waiting for a ride from someone who was late, we were just hanging around so she was editing again, using Tim's jacket to block out the light.

Tim is writing another book, and loves reading about his time period and all things involved With Sword and Saber.  Josh is also writing a book, but his is a school assignment.  He loves the research part of writing a book. I'm also writing a book.  We're getting to be a booky family.

In the sewing department, Evangel pieced together an old skirt with a top of some jeans to make a new skirt.  My goal is to get the cutting done for a quilt, but I don't want to start sticking it together til we are at a machine.

Evangel's got a whole stack of books she wants to finish reading, including the daunting History of the Irish Race.  She's half done with her stack, as far as books, but not half done the pages.
She also has a blog called Proverbial Womanhood  www.proverbialwomanhood.blogspot.com which she is growing with worthwhile pictures and verses.  That's not a project to be finished.

I am just pleased to list these for myself.  It's better to focus on what we can do than on what we are missing, and this has been a busy, profitable trip.  The paper part of school happens 5 days a week, and these other learning experiences will be helpful for us and others. 

"Whatsoever your hand findeth to do, do it with all of your might!"  Your hands find more to do if you go looking for profitable projects. 

Old New/Artsy News

Back in December I meant to post pictures on here for my Mom to see how we redecorated our "maid's quarters" into a guest room.  Since I waited so long, it is now quite a saga, stretching back into November when we visited Lizelle, our wonderful scheduler person.

Lizelle is very artistic, and painting is her chief relaxer.  She was working on this epic painting, under her skylight which accounts for the stripes. 

Her husband Pieter is a tease deluxe, so he sneaked in and painted a little caterpillar on the picture.  He's not particularly artsy, but he is particularly funny. 

 

Art is inspiring!  Lizelle is one of the people who has encouraged Evangel's art.  She was working on this rendition of my parents' camp around that time, and it became a beautiful Christmas present for me.

 

I was particularly inspired by Lizelle's curtains.  Our guest room is white on all 4 walls and the ceiling, so I wanted to put burnt orange curtains to get a glow in the tiny room.

 

 

When we got some time at home while Paul couldn't be preaching in any schools, we attacked that guest room.  We peeled off old paint, and painted everything white again.  We hung the glowing curtains.  James and Gloria loaned us a bed that had been given to them.  I think the bed is what really gives the room character. 

 Evangel and I hit upon the pink pillow at a thrift store in Fish Hoek.  We hung a mosquito net, and put in a carpet sample. 

And Evangel decoupaged the knobs and light covers so it all came together!  Tiny still, but cheery, and ready for our first occupant, Paul's sister Joy who came for almost a month.  Now we're looking forward to cousin Calvin's visit in September, hoping he likes orange.  I think I'll switch the white and pink flowery duvet for a quilt for him.  I think he's stuck with the pink sheets though. 

American Girl in Italy

I was sitting in a restaurant in Fish Hoek, and saw this picture called American Girl in Italy, and was struck by how much the girl looks like Evangel. 

What do you think?  And she looks as uncomfortable as Evangel would be with that much attention.  I read up on the picture, and this girl was there with her girl friend, but they went out at a time when most girls/women were home cooking, so they got a little more attention than they wanted.  Awkward!  So it's just a candid shot taken a bunch of years ago. 

Now I've found a shot of Evangel that sort of has that face.  See the resemblance? 

Frew Fantasies

One of the highlights of our trip so far was the family conference we attended in Indianapolis.  A family had a stand of beautiful calligraphy of scriptures, mostly, and a few good poems. 

So Tessa, Berdine, and Michelle, this is to inspire you all in your calligraphy endeavors.  I have a goal to have lots of verses on our walls, so these elegant pieces made me want to go on shopping spree, but I had to restrain myself to a few frameless ones so they would be packable. 

Our Lord's decorating instructions:  "And thou shall write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates..."   Deuteronomy 6:9. 

Emerging beauty

Look what Evangel did!

You have to scroll down to the bottom to get to the best ones.

 And there's a little story here.

 Evangel wanted art lessons, and her wise Dad said, "No."  I was rather surprised, but he said she doesn't do art on her own, so she doesn't need lessons.  I had to think about that, but it makes sense.  Why get someone to teach you, when you don't even know what you don't know, you know? 

 So we, as parents and daughter were all pondering this thing, and I ran across this book Cute Country Animals by Jane Maday at the Reader's Warehouse. 

 Evangel followed her directions, read her tips, and adapted a few things. 

 I liked watching progress, but it's been slow since she only worked on it when we were home, and we had  that Zambian trip and everything. 

 I liked it then, but I loved it when she added the pink tree.  The Black Eyed Susans are her finishing touch. 

                                                                        Ta-da!