Catching up

OK. It's been 23 days since the last update, but I refuse to accept complete responsibility. Stacy told me she wanted to take it over, but.... In her defense (what kind of husband would I be if I didn't defend her), she has not been feeling the best lately.

Let's see, I guess first of all was Lads to Leaders. It was an almost completely enjoyable trip. The only thing that could have made it any better is if Stacy had felt better. What a difference two motel rooms made! Benjamin participated in speech and song leading and did very well. Shelby participated in speech, and I understand she not only did very well, but was cute as a button. Kaitlyn did so well that she was a finalist with her speech. In addition to convention, I got to go to Bass Pro and spend the gift card Jared and Nicole gave me for Christmas (thanks, guys). I did get line on it finally, but have yet to get it near a fish.

Next, Spring Break. Of course, Stacy's VSU break does not coincide with the lower schools (Lowndes nor Georgia Christian), so we stayed right here. We did absolutely nothing. It was great. We did have a visit from Renee this past weekend. She and Emma became instant best buddies, but that is not the least bit surprising, for the same thing happened instantly with Kaitlyn and Shelby. They all love their Aunt 'Nee (pronounced, of course, "nay"--don't ask me why: it's a French thing). Jared, Nicole, and Audrey were around, too. We tried, but never did make it fishing, thanks to the church building flooding (again). Haven't talked to anyone who got as much rain as we did Friday night, but that is nothing compared to what Mom and Dad have right now. I'm still waiting for pictorial proof, but sounds like the whole valley was underwater.

Third, fence expansion. We finally got around to doing it, and I think I am loving it even more than the kids are. We also moved the clubhouse to a more suitable location. Emma and I spent the afternoon in it yesterday. You can catch a delightful breeze up that high.

The fourth item of business to report is that Emma is sick again. Surely we've got to be about done with that for the spring.

One final thing to report. This won't mean much to those who don't know my family well, and I suppose me writing this will reveal whether Mom and Dad ever read this thing. I sent Benjamin off on his first FFA trip this morning. Yeah, I know, he's only in seventh grade, but they have it for junior high (middle school, if you insist) here, and it is sort of a family tradition. He was pretty excited. It's a sort of basic training and will qualify him to try for an office next year, which is also sort of a family tradition. So in keeping with all of these family traditions, as he exited the truck this morning, I could not keep myself from saying, "Be good, kid." I think that Dad told us that (or "Be careful, kid") every time any of us went out the door to go on a trip. Dad probably never gave it a thought, but we sure did. It was almost like we couldn't leave until he had said it.

OK. Maybe that has us all caught up for now. As I said earlier, Stacy is planning to take this over, but she wants to make it all frilly and stuff. She asked for help. I told her she is on her own.

Here's some pics.





Shelby and Charlie Roberts at convention









Notice the ear bling














It was a bigger fish than it looks like with John holding it














New fence














My girls love to shop