~Muskrat detected by William~

Tea Party

I belong to a home ec club called the "Pin Pals" which is part of a larger group from New Castle called the Purdue Extension Homemakers. You could look at our group as 4-H for mommies. The Extension Homemakers host a Tea every spring for all the Henry County clubs as a membership drive; we bring our own tea cup and saucer, have tea & crumpets, and invite a guest speaker. This year I was on the committee to plan the tea but I was in England during their meeting. So, I just made some desserts for the event and arrived early to help set up the tables and decorations. We held the party at the New Castle Public Library's auditorium/meeting room. Over 60 ladies attended to hear Celia Burns speak about her trip to Tunisia. Celia and her ex-Courier Times photographer husband, David Burns, put together a nice slide show presentation about their guided tour of northern Africa. She does a fine job of telling about the history of the area and not going into too much detail about each individual photo. After she was finished I wanted to take a trip right away to Tunisia to see for myself the caves, oases, camels and colorful tapestries.

Valerie turns 12!!

On March 2, Valerie turned twelve on a very cold day. She had a family party with grilled steaks (Drew stood out in the chilly, windy weather), fruit salad and chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream. For gifts, she received summer clothes, cards and money. She is saving her gift money to buy a new iPod Touch.

Valerie has improved greatly at her public school studies. Her reading and writing have improved the most. Last semester she almost got on the honor roll for sixth grade. By the end of the school year she will be on the honor roll. We are very proud of all her hard work and her positive attitude.

Hannah's Miraculous
3-Point Shot at the Buzzer!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6JRdEf4Law

At the junior varsity game in Yorktown, the Raiders were tied 19-19 near the end of the game with the home team Tigers. The Raiders had 10 seconds on the clock and possession at the far end of the field. The ball was inbounded, Hannah got up the field to about four feet behind the three-point line and she just heaved the ball toward the goal in a last ditch effort to try for a goal. The ball banked on the backboard and went into the basket for three points just as the buzzer went off. You can't hear the buzzer on the video. The Raiders won the game 22-19; it was very exciting.

Hannah actually did the same thing when she was put in for the last seconds of the Sectional game in Knightstown from the bench. Unfortunately we were behind more than three points and we lost the game. I guess she needs high pressure and she can make any three pointer.

~Addison getting ready to wash dishes~

Secret Keeper Girl Tour

Valerie and her friend Leah after the presentation.
(Sorry not so good cell phone photo)

The Secret Keeper Girl Tour came to the Middletown Church of the Nazarene in February. It was a fun evening of singing, praising God, and learning about dressing modestly. The tour presenters showed up around noon to set up the stage and organize the evening show. Hannah and I volunteered to blow up the 200+ balloons. We tied two purple and two red balloons together and then tied 30 long balloons together. Later the organizers put together the display seen behind the girls. It was pretty neat. You can see other pictures from the local tour at http://blog.secretkeepergirl.com/?m=200902.

Secret Keeper Girl Valerie posing in front of the balloons Hannah and I helped to blow up.

Pretty blooms