Now to play 'catch up' since my last post...Memorial Day weekend we were blessed to spend time with our dear friends the C's. After an 8am baseball game on Saturday, we headed out to their home in Frederick Maryland . We slept over, went to church with them Sunday morning , and then left for Williamsburg, Virginia where we stayed in a beautiful timeshare courtesy of Mr.C. Between both families we have 13 children...1 of their sons is recently married (remember the wedding we were sadly too sick to attend?) and their 17 year old son was at the New Attitude conference. There were still 13 children in all because they invited 2 of their friend's children to join the fun. We had a wonderful time... the timeshare was a beautifully furnished , spacious 3 bedroom 'walk out'. We stayed 1 floor below the C family...next time we need to request the bottom 2 floors as our noisy crew actually elicited a phone call from the people staying below us. Evidently Odesco was jumping around and it must have sounded like the ceiling was about to cave in ...oops! Needless to say, we had to work really hard at keeping the noise level down~ This is a challenge in our own home with 'only' our 6!! On site' was an indoor and outdoor pool, miniature golf and unlimited use of an arcade. The kids had a blast and our few days together ended too quickly!
As soon as we returned home from Williamsburg on Wednesday we headed out to C's baseball game. Then we had to pack up the 4 youngest to get them ready on Thursday night when they would be picked up by Mimi and Pop-Pop for a 2 day stay at their house. The big boys, M and I went to our state homeschool convention where we served in various jobs all weekend. It was a whirlwind, we were exhausted, but the Lord sustained us and my parents who had a few challenges to deal with!!
This past weekend we attended a pool party for C's baseball team and believe it or not, I forgot my camera!! 2 of the coaches were swinging kids by the arms and legs and throwing them into the deep end. The kids were all lined up awaiting their turn. Mercy and Odesco, our little 'belongers', were right there in the middle of it all. Their exuberance and love of life were definitely enjoyed by many that day. To see their beautiful bright smiles as they sailed through the air before hitting the water did my mommy heart good. At times their energy level can be well, a little exhausting...and sometimes even exasperating as their their boundless energy can often be quite provoking. The Lord gave me a new appreciation for their zest and zeal that day ...these traits which can often challenge are also strengths in the proper context :) The coach's wife took pictures so I hope to receive those soon and I'll get my cyber boy to help me post them :)
Thanks for actually checking in considering what a bad blogger I've been lately!!
Mama B
PS: Some humorous household happenings:
** Odesco can still be quite challenging to understand at times requiring him to repeat things often. Some of it this is due to his thick Liberian accent but he also struggles at time to correctly pronounce certain sounds which we are working on with his phonics instruction. Anyway, as you can imagine, this can frustrate the little guy!! A few weeks ago L was asking me about something and although I could comprehend him perfectly, I had no idea what he was referring to. Odesco found this quite comical and commented,"Mom, you so silly...you from America and L from America and you still no understand him!!!" I think he was relieved to know he is not the only one in the house needing to repeat himself!!
** On the way to Williamsburg we stopped at a Burger King to feed all the hungry bellies. As I was taking orders for various hamburgers, Odesco emphatically declared, "I want a Williamsburger!!!" He was totally serious~
** For weeks before our trip, Mercy told anyone who would listen that soon we were heading to "William-S-burg". ...in spite of all our correction regarding correct pronunciation, she still insisted that this is where we were going. Before long, the rest of us were saying we were going to William -S - burg as well!
** The other morning Odesco exclaimed that he had seen a 'see-mall' bat in his room. (translation: 'small bat') he then went on to explain that it had pooped on him. Yikes, what in the world was he talking about?! He was quite concerned about this...I finally figured out that Mercy had killed a moth (they sort of look like small bats, don't you think??) She smooshed the critter and the guts got on Odesco's hand-hence the 'poop' comment!!
** I asked Odesco if he had greased up the other morning ...he told me, "Mommy, I always forget! You need to "remember" me..."
** The other day I took just Mercy and Odesco out on errands with me. It was fun just enjoying them without all the other sibling issues which crop up on a regular basis. I realized I need to take them out more often for a primer in 'social skills' . Mercy who is very observant, just says whatever comes to her mind in her typical LOUD voice.We had a few embarrassing moments--I guess the Lord needed to work on my 'fear of man' issues as well!! She now knows she can ask me whatever she wants once we reach the privacy of our car :) She also has no problems sharing with those in line with us that she is adopted from Liberia and that there are 8 people in our family!
** A few days ago, we went to deliver something to our neighbor. Mercy and Odesco were with me and they had never met our neighbor's mom before. Mercy spoke very comfortably this gracious lady explaining that her middle name 'Evangeline' means 'bringer of good news'...she then went on to share Odesco's full name and why we chose it. As this woman nodded sweetly, Gracie whispered to me, "Mom she's sharing too much personal information!!" Undaunted, Mercy said," I wanted her to get to know the B family!". Well, she certainly did- whether she wanted to or not :)
Hope you enjoy the pictures!!
These are old pictures from several weeks ago...Odesco asked for a Mohawk...so he got one for about 5 minutes :)!! All he needs is a gold chain and he could be Mr. T's son!!
Scary looking!!
Ahh...Mommy likes this much better :)!
Williamsburg, Virginia...After checking out the place, L struck this pose and declared,"Now, this is the life!!" 
A 'quiet' meal in our timeshare unit.
The rest of the crew...
All 13 kiddos :) 
On Memorial day we went to historic Jamestown. It was fun to relive a period in history that we have already studied. Mercy was thrilled to see this in the Indian village...it reminded her of 'beating food' in Liberia.
'Paddling' along in a dug out canoe. L says he's the Indian chief!
L and F...I think the armor weighs almost as much as these 2!! 
Daddy and the gang taking a break
On board a replica of one of the ships the colonists traveled over in. A boy sure can do a lot of 'imaginating' with props like this!!
While viewing the Indian village, P saw a tree snake..Miss K bravely pulled it off the tree...eeek!!! We also saw several 'skinks'...cool looking lizard type creatures with bright blue tails. We were told that they can somehow detach their wiggling tails if a predator goes after them ...so they are able to scramble away while the hungry predator is left with a wiggling tail...pretty cool, huh?? 
At this area there were a few reenactors dressed and ready to welcome 'recruits' to the company. Tickets were required for this event so we just sat and watched from a distance.
Notice L and Mercy with fingers in their ears...they were like this for most of our time here. They were convinced the men were going to shoot their guns...as we were leaving and almost to our cars, the shots rang...good thing we were a distance away! As much as L loves artillery, the anticipation of the bang sends those fingers to his ears! 
L Really wanted his head in a picture with the horse and carriage...couldn't get them both ..at least we got the back end of the horse...speaking of which.....
The kids didn't really appreciate the 'present' dumped by that beautiful horse left unattended in the middle of the road...
A walk in historic Williamsburg....look what happens to disobedient kiddos!!
We ended the evening in the historic area with a Dairy Queen visit...the folks behind us had their patience challenged as we attempted to have everyone make quick decisions regarding flavor choices...between wavering decisions and cash register blunders, it was a bit of a fiasco but well worth it :)!!
Uncle Fred taught the younger kids a little bible lesson on kindness with the help of his puppet friend "Hush Puppy"
Ready to head for the pool...what a crew!!
Fun in the sun !!
Ahh, the joys of homeschooling. I came outside to look for L and this is what I found. He was intently studying this picture from a book given to us about the War of 1812 :)
You can't tell but L had me take this picture because he decided to get 'shiny, shiny' with the coconut oil ... while his skin didn't appear shiny, he sure smelled good!
P is being creatively lifted up to take down the sign at the close of our annual state homeschool convention...who needs a ladder when you have an able bodied teen around??? 
These 2 crack me up...L is sitting in his 'wagon' (think Oregon Trail) and Odesco is pretending to be the horse...notice L's attire and gun (of course) to scare off any Indians who might attack!!
Happy 18th birthday, Miss Brittany!! That sign is Mercy's masterpiece...it actually says "Happy Birthday" in the midst of all the dots :) Brittany has been such an instrument of grace into our lives. She has offered to babysit various times so I can attend a church meeting with M or just to give us a date out. She has also recently begun doing Mercy's hair and she is quite good at it and much quicker than I am. I marvel at the Lord's attention to detail ...due to my recent responsibilities on a project for the homeschool convention, my time was definitely limited. Britt's offer to take over Mercy's hair literally freed up HOURS so that I could get this project done. Thanks, Brittany!!! You are well loved in the B house!
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