The Good Earth

I'm posting this from Arkansas where I'm visiting my mother. As a Christmas present, my niece and I gave her the privilege of housing, feeding and entertaining four young teenagers plus a 10 year old and almost 2 year old. We've had lots of fun, from rubbing gravestones at the Bates Cemetery, to playing charades and board games loudly, to swimming in the largest indoor pool in Izard County, to antique shopping in Hardy, to building dams in and campfires by the Strawberry River, to reading, to raking Grandma's leaves, to letting Grandma show off her ten progeny (including in-laws) at church. We left Christmas morning, after giving the boys only two of their presents. Rick was concerned that his parents "went poor" on him. The first half of the twelve hour drive was tense due to unplowed roads after a six inch snowfall. The highways were clear in southern Illinois onward. We surprised the boys with the rest of their gifts Christmas night, so that their Grandmom could share in their pleasure.