some people's children...

...are SO goofy! :-)

I wanted to post last night, and today I don't know if I can again capture the family life going on in our van (Suburban)-ride home last night...
Kids play a "paper" game sometimes. Whoever's "it" closes his/her eyes until the others have passed around some scrunched up paper. The "it" person has to guess who has it -- sort of like "Button, button, who's got the button?" Well, they of course do a countdown to determine when the person should open his eyes and guess. Last night the countdown turned into a song...
"10 and 9 and 8 and 7" and so on.... "2 and 1 and YOU've Got an EXTENSION!" and then they would start counting down AGAIN... was the little twist to last night's game. One silly girl was "it" until we'd reached our exit....

Oh, and before reaching home I heard that someone had found a toad outside church... Me: Is it in the van now?? No, he let it go. To which Tim adds that the toad had kept saying, 'Give me liberty! Give me liberty!' (skipping the 'or death' part obviously. One smart toad, says I.) Tim tells us that he's a Toad Interpreter. I say, you could get a job doing that, I'm sure! He'd been chatting with a friend at church about the insane topics people get research money to investigate (or worse than insane, but we'll not go there.)

AND the "Give me liberty, or give me death!" was in our heads b/c The Artist (could be a Drama Queen in disguise?) had earlier in the day been standing on a kitchen chair to recite (er, read) Patrick Henry's wonderful speech. BTW, it's much longer than those seven famous words. And she must have brought it along, b/c I think she was reading it to her dad on the way TO church as well. Extenuate is now one of her new favorite words. "It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter..." (and, for those who care: as far as I can tell, that is the correct spelling -- but I don't have a 1775 dictionary)

Well, it all seemed funny at the time!

Okay, I'll get really serious for a moment. Liberty is not a laughing matter these days! Here is Mr. Henry's speech - or at least the portion she is most fond of:

It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

And yes, one of these days I'll upload some more photos! For now, it's time to make supper!