LET THERE BE LIGHT, Part 2

Two blogs back I wrote about cutting a tree down in our front
yard. It was called "Let there Be Light". Well that was the first of
the story. Now we have the rest of the story:
Once that big tree was cut down, we knew

what we wanted to do with the tree stump.

Here Johnny is cutting it into a chair shape.

It's finally the shape we wanted, so Johnny sanded it and
put a finish on it to protect it from the weather.

It turns out to be a handy place to sit,
(that's our granddaughter, Kayla, with her dog),

or rest after a family game of Four-Square,

(that's our daughter, April, on a visit from Kansas),

and a natural stop on the way to get a drink after shooting hoops.

(That's Elliott, our grandson).

And it's a great place to gather for photos

(that's us with our granddaughters). 

Now we have more sunshine in our front yard and may be able

to grow some grass instead of moss,
and we also have an "interesting" chair
inviting anyone to stop and sit a spell.

GRANDKIDS ARE GREAT

While Noel and Molly were in San Diego

we got to keep Elliott with us.

Noel was attending seminars concerning his work at the hospital here.

Molly went along and enjoyed some time to herself, a change from

her hectic busy life at home.

Johnathan and Carl were kept busy with school and work and tennis, so were

able to batch it at home.

But 5th grade Elliott came to stay with us.

We really enjoyed having him with us. We spent lots of time

playing Catan (when he wasn't in school), the board game we learned while visiting

Jana and Kris and their 3 boys in Indonesia.

Cookie was especially glad to have Elliott at her house every day!

Elliott started Upwards flag football the week he was with us.

This is on the new field our church has put in.

That's Elliott in the grey shirt, getting ready to catch the football.

Elliott is now taking violin at school.

Cookie was fascinated with the sound when Elliott practiced!

We had a fun week together.

FEET

I had heard about this from the TV. While it seems gross on the one hand,

it really is helpful on the other!
These little fishies eat away the dead skin on your feer or legs,
leaving your appendages nice and smooth.

Do we have these in the States?

This one is called "Fish Spa and Therapy"

and is at the local mall here in Palembang, Indonesia.

While this is a blurry picture, it will show you the set up.

It is set up in one the hallways of the mall.

After washing our feet, the "operators" led us to sit

on the bench and put our feet into the water. They suggested we not

swish our feet around in the tub, because that stresses out the fish.

However, it is really hard not to once the fish start to work,

nibbling on your legs and feet, 

as seen in the faces of our granddaughters!

Here, they're holding hands to help each other keep their

 legs still, while their squeeling.

You see the fish working on mine and Johnny's legs.

SPEAKING OF FEET.......

I was noticing our grandson, Aaron's feet. He is 14 and starting

highschool this week in Penang, Malaysia. (He's so excited).

Look at the size of his foot now - compared to his Dad.

Kris' foot on the left. Aaron's foot on the right.

Now let's compare with my own foot:

Aaron's foot on the right, my foot on the left.

How tall will he end up being?

As I write this blog, Aaron is being enrolled in the

highschool in Penang, Malaysia where

many of the Asian missionary kids go for high school.

It is a beautiful campus located on the beach.

It has a rich and long history. We're

all excited for this new adventure in his life.



BUSY DAYS

It seems we have been running from one thing to another lately.

Do you feel that way, too?

All good stuff, though!

Here's a few pictures to give you an idea:

Here is Elliott in his championship uniform for his team going to State playoffs

in Texarkana.

Carl is under Papa's truck, changing the oil!

(First customers in his oil-changing business.)

And while all these things are going on, Johnathan, having finally recovered from

being in the hospital one week, spends his time at our house

writing up his final papers for his Fusion course work to be mailed in.

Busy days, and all of them GOOD days.

WE'RE PROUD GRANDPARENTS

This past weekend we got to see Carl Norwood

inducted into the National Honor Society

at Longview High School.

The Proud Parents

Little League Baseball

For many people a big part of spring and summer is baseball. It certainly is for all the Norwoods. Noel coaches Elliott's team, the hospital's team, and our churches' team. The latter team includes 3 generations of ball players: Papa, Noel, and Johnathan.

Elliott enjoyed and did well on the 9-10 year old player-pitch team this year. The rest of us enjoyed cheering the team on. Molly, Carl, and Johnathan ran the concession stand every night and were super busy throughout the season. Noel made sure all the food and supplies were purchased, but he was mostly busy on game nights when his team was playing or practicing.

The season culminated in Elliott being chosen for the 9 year olds' All-Star team and Noel was assistant coach. Because the boys making up this all-star team had played on various teams throughout the season, they might not know each other, so Noel and the head coach decided to do some fun things together outside of practice and playing. One such event was a cookout at our house, where we had 38 people.

(Dad cleaned and scrubbed the deck and put a sealer on the wood. A considerable job! But is looks wonderful now.)

In the midst of a terrible Texas drought, God blessed us with rain on that very night....but thankfully after the hamburgers had been cooked!  We were glad the kids could play in our game room!

Meanwhile the parents and older siblings sat around the dining table and living room to visit.

The All-Stars played well, but did not manage to win the tournament. Elliott's Little League team was 2nd place in the city for 9-10 year olds! Here, Elliott is batting in the All-Star game. See Noel, 3rd base coach.

The All-Star team gathers after the game.

It's been a great season!

Johnathan graduates!

The first of our 8 grandkids has graduated from high school. Yea, for Johnathan. We've spent recent weeks celebrating. Our church had a special luncheon and recognition for each of the 70 high school graduates that are members of the church.

The church printed cards with pictures of the graduates. This shows both sides of Johnathan's card.

The following week, both sets of grandparents joined the proud parents and siblings to see Johnathan receive his diploma in the Longview High School stadium. 

There were nearly 600 in Johnathan's graduating class.

We were pleased he graduated with 20 college hours.

The following night, our family had a small celebration together at our home. Each of us gave Johnathan our special Bible verse just for him, and then we prayed over him for his future. It was a good family time, signifying his next stage in life.

Johnathan with Papaw and Memaw....

...with Papa and Lola....

...with parents, Molly and Noel....

...and with his brothers, Carl and Elliott. Note that Carl is nearly as tall as Johnathan now. Don't be fooled by Elliott's height, though. He's standing on a stool! All three boys are hiding apples they are eating, hence their silly grins.

Telling the Grandkids about Jackfruit

                                                 

How the Jackfruit Got Its Name

One day Jack and Jackie Jackson were traveling from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Jacksonville, Texas. Their two children, Jackaby and Jacqueline were in the back seat playing Jacks. Soon they got bored and started playing Slap Jack. All of a sudden a jack rabbit crossed the road. He was being chased by a Jackalope which was being chased by a Jackel. Jack swerved to miss them and hit a hole in the road made by a man using a jack hammer. Their Jack-O-Lantern fell off the dashboard and one of the front tires went flat, so they stopped to fix it. Jack got out the jack and jacked up the front end of the car. Being a Jack-of-all trades he quickly had the tire changed. By this time Jack, Jackie, Jackaby and Jacqueline were hungry but all they had was Apple Jacks and Cracker Jacks. Then they saw a strange looking fruit growing on a tree and picked one. It was large. Jack took his jack knife from his jacket and opened it. They tasted it, and it was delicious. Then they asked one another what they should call the fruit. Jack said, “Well, we are Jack and Jackie Jackson from Jackson Hole. We were on our way to Jacksonville, with our children, Jackaby and Jacqueline, who were in the back seat playing Jacks and Slap Jack. All of a sudden we saw a jackrabbit being chased by a jackalope being chased by a jackel. We swerved and hit a hole in the road made by a jack hammer. Our jack-o-lantern fell off the dash and we had a flat. I, being a jack-of-all-trades quickly jacked up the car with  the jack and changed the tire. We were hungry, but only had Apple Jacks and Cracker Jacks, and then we found this fruit and I opened it up with my jack knife from my jacket. It was delicious…..let’s call it nangka.”