Cactus Flower

Remembering a friend to all of my boys on this day.   Click on the highlighted blue link to read the original post made four years ago today. Cactus Flower: Greyson and an Old Friend :  An old friend of Greyson's went home to heaven....  At camp Uncle Harold would often spend time talking with Greyson.

Snakes.  Should you be afraid of them?  Oh, yeah!  Since many are poisonous, every should be a little careful.  Poor Eve in the Garden of Eden didn't know to be afraid of that old serpent.  She DID know to be a little fearful of the tree!  Did you know that being afraid of snakes may be a part of the curse.  Just think about that enemy word in Genesis 3: 14- 15 and most women? 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15  And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Just think about it!  Who are more afraid of snakes - girls or boys?  Over the years of my life in Brazil, I seen quite a few snakes.  Most weren't poisonous, by the way.  I always felt t...

Wherever Grandaddy goes, he fixes things:  bikes, boats, boys. His t-shirt says "Just Fix It." When your Daddy, Wesley, and I were little we lived in Baltimore, Maryland.  We had three uncles who were Grandma's brothers - Uncle Duane, Uncle Regene, and Uncle Leon.  Each one had a wife who would have been our aunt.  Here they are in order:  Aunt Needie, Aunt Fran, and Aunt Shirley.    I think you boys have met Uncle Regene.  I don't know about the others.  We had quite a few cousins, too. All the uncles would get Grandad to help with the engines on their boats.  Baltimore is right on the Chesapeake Bay.  All the uncles had boats and would go out fishing and cruising around on the bay.  Grandad knew a lot about boat engines from his time in the Coast Guard as a mechanic.   Once a bunch of us were out on one of the boats and ended up stranded with a engine problem. I don't remember what the problem was, but I rememb...

at Iguatu Camp, 2002 When the boys were all little, we would often go to a camp near a city called Iguatu for missionary conferences.  The boys enjoyed the conferences because they could play all day long with other MK's.  There was a lake for swimming. There was a soccer court for kicking balls all around.  And there were lots of really big toads. During one conference one of the missionaries held a frog jumping contest.  Whoever wanted to participate had to find themselves a frog {toad} and make it jump to the finish line.  They boys had a blast, but found out that most of the toads were not very interested in jumping.   The toads would all gather near the dining area at night.  I suppose they were attracted by the lights and all the free food - bugs.  It was a toad paradise.  The boys would often chase them around and watch them catching bugs. It was great fun. the toad kisser was one of these boys I remember telling the boys that they sho...

Byron's most recent prayer letter... Dear Folks, Greetings from Brazil.   I've been trying to write for awhile without success. I've got a little break so I'm going to go for it. There are several new things happening in the Atha household. Just don't know where to start. I feel like the donkey that starved between two bales of hay because he couldn't decide which one to eat.   Our oldest, William has officially flown the coop.   He wasn't satisfied with the options here for the courses he wanted to study so he decided to go to the US.   He is taking some of the basics at a community college and then he'll transfer to the college of his choice.   Someone commented that our hearts must be heavy, but the reply came back, "yes, but our wallets are heavier, too".   It's a necessary part of growing up and it's what we spent 20 years preparing him for.   Still, even though I got my office back and my desk back (etc), most days...

... and sleeping boys? When we moved to Bahia from Fortaleza in 2004, Uncle Byron had a big surprised waiting for the boys - a three boy bunk bed!   I was scared to death.  I was sure that William would fall off of the top and break his neck and that all the other beds could collaspe and squish Greyson on the bottom into a pancake man. But the bunk beds proved their sturdiness time and again over the year.  Today Greyson sleeps on the middle bed and throws his junk on the other two.  Ah, sorry!  He organizes his things on the other two in neat order. As our boys were growing up, they enjoyed many things together.  Brothers should be happy together and love each other always.  William, Dalton and Greyson were like three peas in a pod as the saying goes. Dalton was supposed to be pretending to be sad and caught by the other two! Ah, but often it's good to do something with out the rest as well, right? One night not too long ago, I couldn't find the...

My twenty years of service in Brazil have been full of many joys and quite a few heartaches when it comes to helping individuals.  Seems I'm always investing my time and energy to help others, but often don't see the results I expect.  As a mother/wife/homeschool teacher I'm always limited in how much time I can use in assisting others.   I learned the hard way that running all over town to help others usually meant that my boys and home were not receiving the needed daily attention they deserved.  It's a definitely a balancing act. These days I'm left with my last homeschooler, no more diapers and babies to supervise, no more toys to pick up from all over the house.  My last homeschooler is finishing up his ninth grade work for the school year.  I'm glad we found the right niche with the right books and a great system.  He does his work mostly independently with several self checking subjects.  Home life is a breeze this year. But then, ...