Joplin Journal Volume 10-8, Issue 1

From the Editor's Desk:

I'm sitting here at my desk trying to figure out how it can be the 20th of August already. I don't know about you, but the days here are flying! I didn't write last Saturday because Sarah and I were watching kids for a ladies fellowship at church. The Saturday before that I was just busy and didn't have time to write. We'll see how quickly I can get this written today as I have other things I need to work on. With that, let's get started.

Weather Report:

We still have heat, but only a few days have been 100º and some nights are in the 60s now. The grass is turning green again. Sarah and I have gotten out a few mornings to walk which has been nice. Right now it's mostly overcast and there's a chance of rain. We've already had a good rain once this week, but more would be nice. And yes, I'm dreaming of fall. Not that I want the days to go by any faster, but . . .

"Genius Burns":

This week writing hasn't happened. I did get Lawrence & Lenexa finished except for making corrections. And trying to figure out a cover. I'm totally stuck on this one.

The Christmas play is written and approved. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from some people to see if I need to change some things because of who is in it.

I keep thinking I'll write again, but I don't know which story to work on and I've been very distracted with other things.

Project Prognosis:

Let's see how my projects are coming this week.

• Work on Blog Posts – I've done a little more on those. I have some started for next month but only one finished.
• Finish Don Wood – Finished!
• Work on my Name List – I'm almost done with all my short stories. I still have Home Fires (that's going to take a while to read!), The Unexpected Request, and the Woodbreak series to read. And then all my Christmas stories. Want to guess which letter starts the most names in my short stories?
• Tidy Room – Well, it's still not tidy. There are things that need taken care of, and other things put away, and other things need a place to go.

Lucas Update:

Lucas has been officially cleared by the doctor to do anything! He's very excited. This means he can play volleyball and can even dive for the ball. :)

Babysitting:

On Monday, Aug. 1st, we had kids over most of the day. First it was just the youngest three, then Drew and Lucas joined us for lunch and the afternoon.

Thursday, August 4th, all the kids were over all day. It was rainy so we stayed inside. I don't really remember what we did.

The kids (except Lucas who was getting checked by the doctor in Springfield) were over on Thursday. It was a busy time. I had gotten some new legos and the boys and Kailyn were busy building them. Krista was trying out a macaron kit. And Kinsley was loving wearing her new pink princess dress and necklace. Kins also loved getting to swing outside. That girl loves to swing! And she started to chatter as soon as I told her we could go outside. She informed me that an old car which is parked by the empty house next door and hasn't been driven in years was "ooey gooey". She said, "BehBeh not drive that car. It ooey!" (Ooey is Kinsley's term for dirty or yucky. If it's really bad she adds gooey to it.) Grant joined us outside and he said, "How are your sunflowers doing, BehBeh?" It was so cute.

Unfortunately, most of my sunflowers are dead. I have one that is blooming, and another that is close to blooming. There are two that the ants got to, and one that is really small and the ants are trying to eat it and I'm trying to not let them.

Elections:

Elections are over and it's so nice to not have political calls 5-10 times a day or get stacks of fliers in the mail every day. My polling place stayed busy which was nice.

Little League:

The Little League World Series is on and has been fun to watch. Of course there are some teams that are just better than others. To our surprise and delight, Canada beat Japan! Watching Little League games has been one of the things that has kept me from writing as they are on in the afternoons and evenings.

The Music Stand:

Our first practice for the violin quartet will be tomorrow. Hopefully it will go well and we'll be able to play for church soon. I can't wait to hear how this sounds together since it's not just out of the hymnbook.

KDWC:

Camp is over. We had a lot of firsts! It was the first camp where we reached our active camp goal and the first camp where more tents reached their active tent goals than didn't. My tent was challenged to write 50k words above our tent goal. We not only did that, but went on to write 100k words over! And this was the first year that my tent had everyone in the tent make progress toward their goal. Not everyone reached it, but most did and those who did kept writing. Now camp is closed until late October when we open gates for the November camp.

Sewing Room:

I don't know how many orders Sarah has, but she keeps sewing and sending things out, so they must still be coming in.

Read Another Page:

Don Wood is officially out! (Click on the title to get your copy.)

Could all these troubles be part of a bigger plan?

Don Wood and his family are enjoying a peaceful spring on the Woodbreak ranch. That is until a mysterious horse suddenly appears in one of their pastures. And a string of accidents injures several ranch hands. And a column of smoke begins to rise from an unused portion of the property.

As the strange happenings pile up, Don can’t help wondering if they’re all connected. But if so, how? And what do they have to do with the sullen young brother-in-law who seems to be heading for trouble of his own? Can Don and his family trust God to guide them, even when His ways are most mysterious?

Teacher's Lounge:

Closed until further notice.

Book Nook:

You'd think that I'd have a lot of books to share with you this time. But . . . I haven't done much reading except of my own short stories. I'll give you the books that aren't mine first. Polly of the Hospital Staff (cute and rather fun), One Little Catch (flat short story), Dunstan: The Making of a Man (I liked this one!). And now for my own books. Stories Through the Seasons, The Lower Lights and Other Stories, What Tommy Didn't Know, Dancing with Fireflies, Choices for Max, Missing: One Junior Ranger, Thank You, Toothpaste Trouble, What's Wrong with Caleb?, Hurray for Newsy Jones. Whew! There you are. It looks like a lot more than it really is since I read the last 4 books just last evening.

Farewell:

And that's it. I need to get outside and trim the catmint. Sarah and I walked after breakfast which was really nice. This makes three times this week that we've walked, and then I walked with Angela Wednesday evening, so I've walked 4 miles.

I don't know what everyone else is doing. I hope you are having a great week and enjoy a wonderful weekend! Until another time!