Jake & the snake

 What would you do if you found this in your chicken coop?  If you were Sophie, you would rescue your little sister as she was about to stick her hand in the hen box, run in the house, and call big brother to the rescue.  Fortunately this one was just a rat snake but we still had to take care of it as it was a danger to our chickens and was eating the eggs.  This 6 footer had just devoured 5 of them...eggs that is

Descriptive Writing

What pleasure and satisfaction I have to see my children succeed in all they do. To watch them grow spiritually and see godly character develop in them brings me joy beyond measure. My children have special gifts and talents as all children do. Jacob has always been creative at everything he puts his hand to, including writing. Here is a paragraph he wrote for his descriptive writing class last week.


Water was trickling into my mouth and nose. It felt as if I had a bonfire inside my lungs. Up! I jumped off of the pebbly death bed beneath me and gasped for a breath of fresh air. Oh, the pure joy in that breath. I felt as if I had gone from being tortured to the pleasure of finishing my math lesson. Just like smelling a fragrant flower and that scent flees too quickly, I was sinking. “Help!” I cried, but no answer. As I sunk down to my watery death, I thought maybe I would be able to jump off the bottom again. Up! This time there was a couple next to me. “Help!” I screamed, but to my horror they didn’t hear me. Up, down, up, down. Finally, after what seemed to me like an hour, I saw my dad approaching. “Thank you, Lord,” I thought to myself. I clutched on to my dad’s shirt as I was being carried back. I whispered to him, “Thank you.”

Coming To Theatres Soon!!

This is Jake's new movie project. Dedicated to Grandpa Jack who provided the soundtrack.

Jake's four leaf clover

What do you do on a beautiful fall afternoon at Grammy’s house……yep clover hunt. Trust me when I say this is not a symptom of boredom, but rather a game of hide and seek with nature. Jake loves to climb the 60 foot tall pines near the front porch and then scour about for the mystical four leaf clover. This particular afternoon mission was accomplished with trusty side kicks Grammy, Sophie, and Viv. The hunt lasted less than an hour and the reclusive clover didn’t stand a chance with such a seasoned team. The latent joy of such a find might be missed any other place, but not at Grammy’s house.

History of the four-leaf clover:

The four leaf clover is a universally accepted symbol of good luck with its origin ages old. According to legend, Eve carried a four leaf clover from the Garden of Eden.

"The clovers also occupied a position in the cultural life of early peoples. White clover in particular was held in high esteem by the early Celts of Wales as a charm against evil spirits." Clover Science and Technology". N.L. Taylor, 1985.

Druids held the 4 leaf clover in high esteem and considered them a sign of luck. In 1620, Sir John Melton wrote: "If a man walking in the fields find any four-leaved grass, he shall in a small while after find some good thing.

The mystique of the four leaf clover continues today, since finding a real four leaf clover is still a rare occurrence and omen of good luck.

A boy, a guitar

So there is a story behind the story here, it’s the story of the guitar that needed a home. Gretchen’s father, Jack, is a fantastic musician who has been searching for a protégée for over 16 years now. In fact, the first time I met Jack he had a guitar around his neck as he welcomed me in their home. As I became a regular at the house, Jack often greeted me with, “Hey come here and check this out” as he played some new riff he was working on. Jack bought this guitar hoping John (Uncle John) would take interest. When John wasn’t interested, he fixed his sights on me and try as I might, it just didn’t take. I even took it to Texas and kept it prominently displayed on a stand in our living room for a year. After conceding that it just wasn’t to be, the guitar made it’s was back to Illinois where Joy (Aunt Joy) gave it a shot. In fact, when she moved to Texas, so did the guitar, where it sat in the corner of her room. Yes, back to Illinois the guitar went where it was placed… under a bed until Gretchen decided to sign me up for guitar lessons Christmas last year. Yep, you guessed it; back to Texas the guitar traveled. So after another failed musical endeavor by me, crushed visions of a protégée by Jack, wanting expectations of a music filled home by Gretchen, and many thousands of miles traveled, the guitar has found its home in the hands of our son. AHHH, finally a match made in heaven.

After the lengthy introduction to the guitar, now about Jake. Jake has been interested in music for the past couple of years and we finally decided it was time. So we enrolled him with Ryan, who I met during my latest failed attempt (see above.) Ryan is a great teacher who is passionate about music and really connects with his students. After a few short months, Jake is reading music, playing notes, and strumming a few chords. During his recent recital, which we refer to as his official debut, he played his selection solo. Jake enjoys his new skill and has even treated us to an in home concert or two. What a pleasure it is to watch Jacob accompanying Sophie on the piano.

Watch out music world, Jacob is on the seen.