Bragg Family South

Kenny and Beth got a couple of surpise visitors this weekend--their grandparents Nahma (Ann Pruden) and Bumpa (Rick Pruden)!! Rick got a long weekend off from work, and apparently driven southward by the first real taste of wintry weather, they ended up at our house on Friday. The kids, of course, went bonkers with excitement, and have been having big fun--I just hope they're not waking them up early this morning... It has been brisk but largely seasonal down here over the last week or so. A couple weekends ago, much of the state of Arkansas got 4 to 8 inches of rain, so a lot of the bottomland areas are still in overflow condition. I just drove past the Saline River yesterday, which those of you who have gone canoeing with us down here will remember as the river we paddled. The water is even higher now than it was then. The last time Bob and I canoed this stream (Thanskgiving 2005), the river was so low that we finally gave up due to the gravel bars that impeded our progress. ...

Don's older sister Lisa has recently set up a blog for her and her family: http://thelisalink.blogspot.com/ Now all we have to do is get Dad to keep his blog up to date, and get Bob and Laurie online, and we're good to go! Hmmm...I wonder when Nahma and Bumpa will start their own blog...

Those of you who currently are enjoying recipes from the cookbook "International Flavors of St. Marks" may appreciate the efforts and dedication of those that helped put this together. What you may not realize is that this was part of a fundraising effort to build a new church building at St. Marks on the same site here in Monticello. Today (January 18) we officially broke ground on the structure, which will be built in the parking area on the north side of the church. When completed, our seating area will about double, and other amenities will be made available. The old church will be converted to a social hall and the education wing will remain as built. This picture shows Kenny helping Father Philip Reeves (our new priest) and Mons. Hebert (current Little Rock Dioceses administator--Pope Benedict has yet to name our new bishop) shovel some dirt--the other lil' guy in the picture is Kenny's friend "Beau" Kuttenkuler. It has taken a number of years to r...

This picture shows Beth and Kenny cleaning up their toys--their smiles belie their reluctance to pick up the mess they made...they're just hamming for the camera. We have had an indoor weekend here in Monticello. The rain started Friday and has barely quit since. I think we have gotten at least 3 inches, and perhaps more than 4 at our house. Some parts of Arkansas have gotten 6 to 8 inches of rain this weekend. Fortunately, most of the state has avoided the icing that other parts of the country have suffered. As much of a damper on our activities as this has become, it is needed rain following two years of drought. Many reservoirs in the state were dangerously low, and farmers in many places have gotten rather desparate. Even the timber companies have been affected--extended drought has killed many of the pine seedlings they have planted, meaning they have to spend a lot of money to replant them. Hopefully, this year's precipitation will be normal, and we won't have...

Just a quick note to let y'all know we arrived just fine in Arkansas earlier this week. After a nice visit with the Pruden family, we took two days (as usual) to drive back to Arkansas. We stopped at a state natural area in southern Illinois on the way down to look at some large trees, and then got into Monticello the next day. Although we greatly enjoy these trips, all travelers (especially Mooch the cat) were happy to be back in their own beds. Now all we have to do is get back into the swing of things!