Splash - October 2020

The year of 2020 will go down in history as one of the strangest in recent memory.  What I want to remember about this often dangerous and confused world we call home is that I was blessed to call these five my children.  We are having a crazy year, but, we are still the BallTeam.

This photo was James' idea and I want to do it again, but better next time.  This hot was inspired by the Beatles album of similar design, and, of course, my pretty kiddos.

This spot on the side of the road is literally a marshy neck of the Nanticoke River about a click up from my brother's house in Mardela.  Rachel and Samantha took this route to sunbathe on the river's edge, and remembered this spot as pretty and outdoorsy.

We took quite a few pictures on this trip and hit this beauty from all her good angles.

The coastline was crowded with algae.  Thick and green and full of all sorts of thriving bacteria colonies, to be sure.  We didn't get too close.

The sunshine was beautiful; it was clear and humidity-free.  A nice breeze in the air.....don't you love what the sunlight does to JMichael's hair?  He's an angel.

We are guilty of posing on State property.  Testing the guardrails.  Safety first.

This is the strength of the guardrails on this side, closer to the water.  Yup.  It holds, too.

Rachel (22) and Josephine (16).

How time flies....

I love this shot for two reasons - first, Rachel looks glamorous and sweet at the same time; second, Samantha seems to be holding up the universe for her dear sister.

Standing on the deck over the waterfall area.  More quality engineering.  It's amazing how the water is so thick with life and so dense.  You can see growth on the water all the way to the mouth where it meets the Nanticoke.  While we were out and around a guy pulled in and put out on his kayak.  He had fishing gear with him.  On our way out, we saw a guy with what had to have been at least a five pound croppie, by James' estimation.  Rural Maryland is full of life.  It has stuff that bites and stings, true, but it is full of wonder.

the Ball Team

Rachel (22), JMichael (12), Charlotte (17), Josephine (16), and Samantha (21)

Ezamay is ONE

Ezamay loves phones - she will nab yours in an instant if you let her at it.  She is quite the gifted photographer, however, so we are happy let her have it.

A cake for the birthday girl.

Our crowd for the big day.  Ezamay is still not sure what all the fuss is about.

Tanita is Markel's Mom and she threw Ezamay a big one year bash.  There must have been thirty people there, all with presents and tons of decorations and good wishes for our little human, who charmed them all with her sweet personality and infectious smile.

At one, Ezamay is well on her way to conquering the world.  She runs, jumps, climbs and growls more than any other child I know at her age.  She "talks" but we can only understand her when she says, No, or Mam, or Oh my.  So darn cute.

Ezamay answers to Ezamay, of course, and we all have names for our little human.  She is Eze, Louie, Bit, Ezzie Lou, Brownie Bite and baby girl.  Anyway you say it, you can't help but love her bright smile and tight hugs.  Beware, however, she will mean mug you and scowl - all that attitude in a sweet beautiful girl.

BallTeam Homestead

This house sits back from the road about a half mile in a neglected field.  Isn't it sad?

James and I thought it would be great to save this old place by building it out from the inside but leaving the outside as a sad old mess.  Maybe there's a company somewhere, like a house moving company, that will make this house a structurally sound shell, and we can use a huge crane to lift it over the new modern house we build to go under it.

Halloween will always be a blast at our house.

 

Splash - September 2020

Sepotember's splash is the Ball Team on a location hunt.  Rachel found that the oldest Quaker Meetinghouse on the Easten Shore of Maryland is located in Talbot County, so, without delay, we set out to find it.  This is the front gate to the property, which includes three little cottages, a brick meetinghouse and a large white painted commonhouse.  The grounds are in a terrible state and there are construction trucks working on the site.  We just caught a few pictures and left them to their work.  If I remember, we should go back and do an update.

We tried posing across the gated entrance, but, it was too wide for a group shot.  James, however, thought, he would help the trip by posing as Sasquatch.....

And Ezamay is getting so big.  She can do "so big" and clap.  Her laugh is like peace.

She's ten months old!

Josephine is 16

Josephine is turning sixteen, so her requests included a trip to IKEA and a hike with her sisters.  Being the reasonable creature that she was born to be, she chose a hike on the western shore, near an IKEA she hadn't previously visited.

Later in the week we had cheesecake on the side of the road with her grandmother to celebrate.  Of course we did.

the masked hikers - 2020 manifested itself constantly, but, the fun doesn't have to stop.

The birthday girl and her prize.

It's hard to light a cheesecake on the side of the road, but, we did it.

Our October babies - this year Josephine is sweet sixteen and sweet Ezamay is ONE!

Taming the beast

 James' hair is curly.  It's so curly that most people don't know how long it really is because all they see is curls.  It's beautiful, but it requires some work.  Here's James' before and after photos.

Very handsome!

On The Road to Recovery ....

James has been "down" since January of this year with a back injury and the resulting treatments, physical therapies and surgery. It's been a hard year. Last week, though, he had his follow up with the surgeon and got great news - his vertebrae are fused! James can now get off of the couch he has occupied for the last seven months and join us in living life.

On the down side, I had to iron a shirt for church for him for the first time in seven months; I haven't missed ironing....

Now he'll have seven weeks of physical therapy and exercise then, after another doctor's visit - back to work! Wow. He will back to his old basketball playing, rough-housing with the kiddos self before long.