Shadows in the Night Chapter 3: The Characters

Chapter 3: The Characters

Now, this is the writer speaking, before we go any further I think you should get to know the characters. We'll start with Father and Mother.

Father's eyes are grey, his birthday is August 2, 1967. He is 45. He started farming at the age of six. He was raised Amish, sirname: Richardson. His hair is black wavy and has silver streaks.

Mother. Her eyes are blue, her hair is blonde with brown streaks. Her birthday is March 18, 1969. She is 43. She started first grade at the age of four, she was extremely smart. She got a Master's degree in college. She was raised modern.

Jeff. His eyes are green, his hair is a sorta dark chocolate brown. His birthday is February 13, 1997. He was average in school, he is working on Algebra. It's a small burden on his young but strong shoulders. He is fourteen.

Tim. His eyes are grey. His birthday is October 11, 1999. He is pretty much average in school but he has an extraordinary talent for putting things together without instructions. His hair is blonde with brown streaks. He is 11.

Tara. Her eyes are clear blue, her hair is midnight black and very curly. Her birthday is June 19, 2003. She is in third grade. She is a very lady-like little girl, she is eight years old.

Sarah. Her eyes are clear blue, her hair is midnight black and very curly. Her birthday is June 19, 2003. She is in third grade. She's more of a kinda sorta tomboy. She is eight years old and loves horses. She and Tara and pretty much identical except Sarah has a freckle at the very tip of her nose.

Sally. Sally's eyes are brown with yellow flecks in them. She has blonde, mid-back, wavy hair. She is in preschool and advancing fast. Sally's birthday is April 23, 2007. She loves to tell everyone her ABCs.

New baby. Well, I can't tell you much about it, let me think. It looks like the baby is going to have some kind of disability. It is premature. It's due date is June 13, 2011. I just can't stand calling the baby "it" all the time.

Belief: They homeschool. And they are Mennonite.

"Shadows in the Night" Chapter 2: On the Road

Chapter 2: On the Road

"Anybody want a snack?" Jeff asked. "I do," said Sarah. "What do you want?" Jeff asked. "Two oreos," said Sarah. "Do you want your water too?" Jeff asked.
"Yes, Jeff," Sarah replied. "Is Sally okay?" Mother asked. "She's sound asleep," Tim replied.

"Here's your oreos, Sarah" Jeff said. "You forgot my water Jeff." "Oh, sorry," Jeff said. "It's okay," Sarah replied. "Wow, look at that huge American flag!" Tim said. "That flag is as big as a bus," Tara said. "Yes it is," Mother agreed. "Betsy Ross designed the first American flag," Mother told them. "That was back in the 1700s." They were silent for a few moments.

Sarah sighed as she opened her notebook to draw. "What are you drawing?" Tim asked. "I am drawing a picture of a horse with me on it." "That's pretty good so far," Mother commented. "Thanks Mother," Sarah replied as she continued to draw. Sarah's dream was to have a horse. They had a place for a horse and everything but they hadn't found the right one yet. Sarah sighed again as she longed for a horse.

"Sarah," Mother said as she shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up, it's time to go the therpists building." "Yes ma'am," Sarah answered groggily. Sarah got out of the van and then stared in awe at the huge building before them. "Which one are we going in, Mother?" Sally asked with her eyes fixed on the buildings. "The one on the far left," answered Mother. "Which one?" Sally asked. "The one over there," Mother pointed. "Let's get going," Father said as they headed toward the building.

"Shadows in the Night", Chapter 1: Surprise

(This is the edited version.)

CHAPTER 1: Surprise

"Sarah," mother called.
"Yes Mother," Sarah replied.
"Would you please go get Tim and Tara for me and tell them to get Jeff and Sally while they are up there?"
"Okay Mother," Sarah answered.

There were five siblings: Jeff 14, Tim 11, Sarah and Tara 8, and Sally 3. Mother was pregnant. They all went downstairs. "Now," Mother said, "Now that everyone is here I want everyone to know that we are going to have an ultrasound tomorrow."

"Woohoo!" yelled Tim. "Hooray!" said Sally, as she clapped her hands. "That's terrific!" Jeff said. "Yippee!" yelled the twins.

"Now, now, quiet down," Mother said. "Now be sure to pack your water bottles and a few little snacks because it's a long drive to Little Rock. Okay, now," Mother said, "I just washed your red polo shirts so you can wear that. We will leave right after breakfast."

"Me too?" Sally asked. "Yes, Sally, you too," Mother answered. "Can we bring our notebooks?" Sarah asked. "Yes, you may" Mother answered. "Oh and we need to go to bed early so we can get up early tomorrow, "Mother declared.

"What should I do about my rabbit while we are gone?" Tim asked. "He will be alright," Mother said.

"Jeff," Mother said, "Would you please pack the water bottles in the little cooler?" "Yes ma'am," Jeff said. "Tim, go look in the storage building and find the small cooler for Jeff," said Mother. "Yes ma'am," said Tim as he went out the door.

"Sarah, please pack Sally some toys." "Yes ma'am," Sarah said. She went upstairs. "Tara," Mother said. "Go to the pantry and see if we need to buy more snacks." "Yes ma'am," Tara said. She went to the pantry.

"What can I do Mother?" Sally asked. "You may find my flip flops for me." "Okay Mother," Sally said as she went upstairs. Mother went to the sewing room to make a denim skirt for Sally.

They had baked potatoes and broccoli for supper that night. After supper they had family devotions and songs. At nine o'clock the family went to bed.

Father woke up first and woke everyone else up and they got dressed and headed to Little Rock.

My new blog...

We set me up with my own user account with blogger, so I have a new blog... kinda... we exported (I think that's the word...) this blog to a different user account.  So I could have it set up the way I wanted... like right now certain settings are the same for all of our blogs.

So, I have the same blog, just a different address.... which is http://molly-livingforjesus.blogspot.com/

We probably won't delete this blog, but keep it for my siblings to post on. I just won't be posting on it anymore... ;-)

Miscellaneous photos of us...

Caleb

Molly

Sam

Luke

MaryVance

Elijah

Isaac

Joseph

Nehemiah

Spring Portraits, 2010

Caleb (17)

Molly (15)

Samuel (14)

Luke (11)

MaryVance (10)

Elijah (8)

Isaac (6)

Joseph (3)

Nehemiah (19mo)

**Photographed in Neosho MO**

MaryVance

There ya go, Ruth Ann!! ;-)

New family photo...

Spring 2010 in Neosho MO.

P.S I haven't forgotten about posting vacation pictures... its just that we updated our blogger, and I really don't like the 'new' way to upload pictures... its harder for me... so I've just been putting it off... -rolling eyes-. :-D

Here's the update... ;-)

We left Sunday before last and drove to MO to visit our friends there (we made a overnight stop in Lonoke AR). We had a wonderful visit with them! The time just passes too quickly. Jaynie is the kind of friend that you can not see for a year and then when you do get to visit it's like it was only yesterday. Their family is very dear to us.

They live in very south west MO so Tony decided since we had never been to KS or OK that we would take a detour on our way home. ;) We saw buffalo in OK, that was fun! We stopped in Alma AR for lunch and met an previously unmet but much admired friend Jennifer and her children. It so nice to finally meet friends that you've known for so many years!

We just had a leisurely day of travel and planned to stop at Lonoke again for the night. About seven miles out (it was raining) the driver's side wiper stopped working. We made it to Lonoke and spent the night. I have a friend who lives in that general area so I emailed her and she said for us to drive over to her husband's shop the next morning and he would help Tony figure out what was wrong and fix it :)

Stacy and I have been friends for several years but had not met until Saturday. She has the most precious family! I am so glad to have finally met her! Kent was able to fix the wiper, it was a very simple fix but not something Tony has ever done before. Kent knew immediately what the problem was because they had to make the same repair on their van once! :)

We hit the road and drove on to my hometown (Brownsville) and went to Daddy's. We stayed in his living room because our original plan to camp was thwarted by the high winds and scattered rain. :( We do enjoy camping there a lot so hopefully next time the weather will cooperate :)

We went to Mama's to visit for a while, Rebecca (my sister) was there. We met the birds. My mother is now the Bird Lady! She's such an animal lover!

Sunday evening we visited with the Sheltons and Turners. Miss Peggy and Mr. Floyd have been in my life since I was about four. We were neighbors. I have so many happy memories of their home and family! I've often said Miss Peggy is my "sewing mother" but she is really much more than that. She and Mr. Floyd have always loved me and always been there for me :) Their daughter Lora and her husband and son were there too. Lora and I are a year apart and had many fun adventures as young children (involving potty training, eating a whole bottle of baby aspirin, one of us shoving the other of us off a porch on to concrete... you get the idea! LOL) Their whole family is dear to me!

We spent Monday at the Botanic Gardens in Memphis and then went to the Memphis Zoo after lunch. It was a perfect day for the zoo, the weather was light jacket weather and we were practically the only ones there!

When we got back to Brownsville we dropped by Rebecca's to meet Ronald :) and then back to Daddy's for the night.

We are on our way home right now. :) Yes, I have lots and LOTS of pictures to share!

Yeah, so I copied it from Mama's blog, much quicker than writing it myself! :-D

And I am down-loading pictures right now, so it shouldn't too much longer till I have them ready to post! :-)

An update...

will be coming soon!!

I would update now, but we are driving through an old town in Oklahoma, and I don't want to miss anything!! I will say we are having a very fun time so far!!

Funny stories about food, parts 4 & 5

"According to a recent article on nutrition, eating right doesn't have to be complicated. Nutritionists say to use colors as a guide. Simply fill your plates bright colors... greens, reds, and yellows. Well, that's exactly what I did this morning. For breakfast, I had an entire bowl of M&M's. I never knew eating right could be so easy!"



"A young man saw an elderly couple sitting down to lunch at Burger King. He noticed that they ordered one meal and an extra cup. As he watched, the gentleman carefully divided the hamburger in half and then counted out the fries -- one for him, one for her, until they each had half on them. Then he poured half of the soft drink into the extra cup and set it in front of his wife. As the old man began to eat, his wife just sat watching with her hands folded in her lap. The young man asked if they would allow him to purchase another meal for them so they didn't have to split theirs. The old gentleman said, "Oh, no. We've been married 50 years, and everything has always been - and always will be - shared, fifty-fifty" The young man then asked the wife if she was going to eat, and she replied "Not yet, It's his turn to use the teeth.""

Funny stories about food, part 2 & 3

"Did you know that chocolate, in its purest form, contains cocoa and sugar? Cocoa comes from cocoa beans. Beans are vegetables. Sugar is derived from either sugar cane or sugar beets, both of which are plants. This also places them in the vegetable category. Therefore, CHOCOLATE MUST BE A VEGETABLE!"

(This was submitted by a vegetarian!)

"Ham & Eggs -- It's a day's work for a chicken, but a lifetime commitment for a pig."

Funny stories about food part 1

I was reading a 'Gaither Homecoming Magazine' the other night, and it had a page of "Now that's funny" food stories some of their readers had shared, and I thought it would be fun to share with you one of those stories a day... or whenever I get to it... :-)
So, here's the first one...

"Every week at our house, we have what we call "Family-Night-Pizza-Night-Movie-Night." My daughters, Carolina (11) and Olivia (8), and I make homemade pizza, create a huge mess for Momma to clean up in the kitchen, and then we all watch a movie together while feasting on our pizza. One night, our daughters were arguing over who would get the first piece. I saw this as an opportunity for a lesson, so I said "If Jesus were here, He would say 'I can wait. Let my sister have the first piece'" Carolina quickly turned to Olivia and said "Ok, you be Jesus!"

Psalms 127:3-5

Snow pictures from Florida and Alabama!!

Yes, you read the title correctly, it snowed here yesterday!! :-)

Well, I don't know if it snowed at our house, cause we were in Dothan AL (Mama had a Eye Doctor Appointment), where the snow was 2-4 inches deep!! We all had so much fun!!  As I was getting Joseph dressed that morning, I told him we were going to Dothan and we would probably see some snow he said "Snow? Like in the movies?" :-)  Our five youngest ones have never seen, or have seen but don't remember seeing snow before... ;-)

Here are the pictures we captured of the beautiful snow!

On our way to the Eye Doctor,

The flowers in front of the Mall (the eye doc is in the mall)

A close-up... it's so weird to see colorful flowers, and snow together!

While Mama was in the Mall, we dressed up in our warmer clothes and played in the little bit of snow on the grassy area by the parking lot.

Nehemiah dressed and ready to go!

MaryVance enjoying the snow!

Joseph,

Nehemiah discovering what this cold stuff feels like!

"Smile!"

I love the way he's looking at the snow in this one!

They built a baby snowman!

Isn't he cute?!

After this we got back in the van, took off all the coats, hats, and mittens and watch Roy Rogers till Mama got back. Then we drove to Burger King for lunch, we ate in the van on the way to Ozark AL where it was snowing a lot more!

This was taken in Dothan at Burger King,

At the Rest Area in Ozark...

I stood under a pavilian taking pictures, cause I didn't want the camera to get all 'snowy'!

A Snowman... no we didn't build it, and I don't know if you can tell, but he has a pinecone Mohawk!

Looked like that truck had been sitting there for quite a while!

Snowball fights!

I didn't join in till it was almost time to go... Caleb didn't know I was playing, so I snuck up behind him and 'gently' threw a very hard snowball at him.... and he got me back... I actually came home with a bruise from it! Not very surprising though, I bruise v.e.r.y easily!

Trees...

And this last picture really cracks me up!!! "Florida, the Sunshine State" covered with SNOW!! :-D

Well, that's all, I hope you enjoyed viewing our day through pictures! And Joseph is still thanking God for "diving us the snow"!