The Olbricht House -- It's All About the Kids

Catching up....

2010-09-18T18:43:00.002-04:00

Yeah, so I'm still not back in the groove of blogging yet, but I'm working on it.

Six weeks of school knocked out already. Benjamin is off on yet another ridiculously far away soccer trip today. Kaitlyn has auditioned for and thinks she will be on the LMS media team (they do a morning news report over the closed circuit tv system at the school). Shelby had a field trip to the Agrirama on Friday. Emma is trying her best to convince us she needs to stay at K-4 all day long. I asked her what they did in the afternoons and all she said was that they took great naps.

Let's see...GIGS is history for this year. Glad that Jared and Nicole got to come down for that weekend. Benjamin and I met Jared and Nicole for a ball game last Saturday. It may have been at Turner Field, but we went to a Cardinals game. That was the first time I had seen the Cards play since when? 86? 85? Somewhere in there? Thanks, Jared and Nicole, for that wonderful birthday present.

I am finally over my cold. I didn't realize how sick I was until I started getting well. Maybe that will be it for this year (lol). At least no one else has come down with it yet, anyway.

Supper is ready. Got to go for now.

2010-07-21T14:54:00.002-04:00

Yeah, yeah. So it's been a year since I last blogged. Well, I'm back.

We just returned from our annual summer pilgrimage to Missouri. It would not be fair to call it a vacation, for that might imply we rested and were relieved of stress, etc. Going back home is always a whirlwind trip, but this one especially so because of its shortness. We left last Wednesday after making the decision to go on Monday evening. Let me just give some miscellaneous notes regarding the trip. That might be simpler.

My cousin Jason was in the hospital in West Plains. He is doing a little better, but he is still up there as of right now.
Brianne and Brendan were there. Kaitlyn spent the whole time with Brianne, Emma spent the whole time with Brendan. They had a blast.
Grandma LoLo whacked herself in the head with a 1x6.
Ear drops in eyes? FYI to all, Poison Control Hotline # is 1-800-222-1222.
Seed ticks. And bigger mosquitoes.
Cardinals baseball.
The second hardest rainstorm I have ever been in on the way up, 2 hours of pre-dawn lightning on the way back.
Benjamin driving 142. Need I say more? (Well, probably for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about.)
Emma finally went potty, ending a string of non-travel bathroom breaks which lasted nearly a year. Last October when the girls and I went up for the Dellhalf meeting, we stopped in the McDonald's in Opelika, which had an auto-flushing toilet. Emma is terrified of auto-flushing toilets, and therefore refused to go the rest of the way up there (another 10 hours or so). On the way home, she didn't go at all. Up there and back in November, she held it. Up there last Wednesday, same story. We were getting ready to stop for lunch (in Opelika, coincidentally) on the way home on Monday, and Emma "offered" to go potty. "I'll go potty if we stop at a restaurant." OK. Who can blame her for not wanting to go in a gas station? I pulled into Chic-fil-a and she said, "No, a restaurant that doesn't have fries." She associates the auto-flushing toilets with fast food restaurants. So, we went TO Longhorn and she went AT Longhorn.
Speaking of which, the McDonald's in Alexander City, AL. Don't go there.
I left the power cord for my computer at home. Not fun.

Well, you get the general idea. A typical trip. Thanks to Ron for teaching for me last Wednesday, Jim Gore, Jr. for teaching for me Sunday morning, and to Jim Lee for taking care of the preaching on Sunday. And thanks to Brandsville for letting me preach up there on Sunday morning.

On tap for the rest of this week: VBS at Lake Park and painting the bathroom(s). Next week: cleaning up paint.

An Ode to Silence

2009-08-05T13:51:00.002-04:00

For the briefest of moments this afternoon I panicked. There was no sound of running or playing, laughter or fighting, television or radio. As a matter of fact, there was no sound at all, save the soft humming of the refrigerator, the rhythmic tick-tock of Grandmother's clock on the wall, and a faint rumble of thunder in the distance. I quickly regained my senses, however, and had the sudden, strong urge to cry out, "GOD BLESS THIS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!"

Benjamin Update

2009-05-19T15:39:00.001-04:00

Benjamin in the news again....

http://lowndescounty.ga.schoolwebpages.com/education/components/whatsnew/default.php?sectiondetailid=1499&id=1602&viewType=detail&PHPSESSID=c9bfbd620996c1752722e4527e7fd83a

Monthly Update (or so it feels)

2009-05-17T15:19:00.007-04:00

A friend asked this week why I hadn't blogged in a while, and I replied that I had nothing to say. (Aren't you proud of me, Lindsay? See http://lindsayandwillis.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-need-less-of-that.html)

Let's just start the rundown with Stacy. She finished finals about a week ago, and has another couple of weeks until her summer class starts. However, any free time she might have had is been rapidly eaten up with the end-of-school rigamorale, and plus, she's been working ridiculously long hours trying to get through the end of the school year at GCS.

Next, Benjamin. He went to the Georgia FFA Convention a couple of weeks ago, where he won 5th in the junior woodworking project in state (1st in area). That, of course, has him all pumped up about FFA. We attended the chapter banquet with him last week, where he received his Discovery Degree, then went to the LMS awards night this past Thursday, where he received the "Outstanding Agriscience Student of the Year" for the eighth grade. He also finally managed to destroy the phone he got for Christmas, but is too busy playing on his iPod Touch to really notice.

Then, there is Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn won the DARE speech/essay competition for her class, and so she got to read it for the DARE graduation. She did a wonderful job, not that I expected anything less. You can tell that school is almost over for the year because all of them (but especially Kaitlyn) have turned into very grumpy wild animals in the mornings. Thankfully, only 5 days left for me to have to rouse them from their slumber. Some mornings, I fear for my life. She did very well on her CRCT scores, missing the elusive "E" in math by a mere 5 points.

Shelby. Shelby also got her CRCT scores back. She got an "E" in everything but one subject (can't remember which), which she only missed by 4 points. Her math score, wow, it was impressive. She got to go on a field trip to the Okefenokee week before last, where she said she has never seen so many gators in her life. She was sick last Monday and missed getting to see Mrs. Norris, who dropped in for a visit. Understandably, she was very upset. Incidentally, she and Kaitlyn are both running fevers today, which I'm just pretty tired of.

Emma. Emma's third birthday is less than a month away now, and like all 3 of her older siblings, she shows no interest at all in learning to use the potty. (LOL. That makes it sound like they still don't use the potty. They do, but none of them started until after they turned 3.) She's just too busy for such trivialities. I've been trying to bribe her with M&M's, but no luck. Stacy said she would give her a puppy, then I think she realized what she had said and has since been silent. Emma has been pretty rough on the puppy she has here lately. Poor Bindy. Yesterday, when Shelby's fever was approaching freakishly high levels once again, she was seen to put her hand on Bindy's forehead and say, "Oh, no. She has a fever. We need to go to Doc's." Yeah, that's just what Doc needs.

Speaking of Dr. McNeal. Before we went to Orlando last month, I was heard to say that I dreaded boarding Bindy because I would have to listen to Doc complain about how fat she is. Well, thank you, Shelby, for running to her and telling her that at church the very next Sunday. And yes, I had to listen to that and much, much more. (She was only 7 pounds overweight this time...what's the big deal? That's only 1/5 her body weight.) Anyway, Emma and I had to stop back in a couple of weeks later, and the girls at the office just had to take her back to show her all of the various animals that were there for a visit. Doc offers Emma a sucker, then tells her to get some for her brother and sisters. Emma reaches into the drawer and grabs a big handful, and I tell her to put them all back but four. Doc insists she needs much more than that. "Oh, take more than that, it won't hurt them." Poor Doc. I lit into her. She's got my dog on a diet of one little teeny tiny cup of food per day trying to take some weight off of her, and then she's trying to fatten my kids up! Go figure.

Well, I guess I'm last. It's spring project time at our house. I finished up my quarter teaching at GSOP, so finally had a little slack time. The bed situation at our house was untenable, so we decided to move the girls' trundle bed into Emma's room and put a bunk bed in their room. This story really has three facets, so let me handle them in order.

First, the removal of Emma's crib. It was all I could do not to cry. That crib has been in almost constant use since 1995. First Benjamin, then he moved into a "big kid" bed so we could put Kaitlyn in it. Shelby remained in the bassonet for a while, then she moved into it. It was in constant use from 95-03, and I'm pretty sure someone borrowed it between 03 and 06, but I can't remember whom. It was sad to take it down for the final time, but Lord willing, it will have some grandkids in it one of these days.

Second, dad isn't here. Seems like nearly every spring we have a project going on, and nearly every spring dad shows up in time to help with it. But their schedule has prevented them this year. That's OK, dad, I'm sure we can find something for you to do when you do make it down.

Third, the actual bunk bed. We looked at a bunch of different ones and decided exactly what we wanted. We also decided that we did not really want to pay what they wanted for them. So, you guessed it, I'm building a set. The lumber has been purchased and we've begun working it (thanks, Mr. Ron, for the use of the planer, joiner, and table saw), but not very quickly. Lots of sanding to be done, and too many evening activities going on right now. I will post a picture of the finished product, but not one of what it is supposed to look like, because odds are, they're not going to match (please don't tell Stacy I said that). Meanwhile, the girls are relegated to sleeping on an air mattress in their floor. We did get their room painted, etc., etc. (If you knew just how much I hate painting, it would begin to give you an idea of just how much I love my wife.) So their room is ready, I just need a couple of days where I can get out there and finish prepping the lumber.

Well, for someone who didn't have anything to say, I think I've probably said too much already.

Another Wild Weekend

2009-04-21T07:39:00.002-04:00

Grandma Lolo, would you believe we carried the camera all the way to South Florida and back and never took it out of the bag? (She's wanting pictures.)

This was an Emma weekend. The rest of them stayed with James and Lori. I understand there were some toothbrush issues, but other than that, everything went well with them.

We went with the GCS chorus to Stuart, FL so they could sing. We were "invited" to go along several months ago because they knew that Terry and I were good friends. Deland asked us if we wanted to ride the bus with the kids. Umm, let me think about that...no. We ended up driving Jim Lee's truck down there with the risers in the back. That was great for Emma. Her carseat went in the back seat in the middle. She could see everything and was so excited. All the way down there she kept exclaiming: "There's the bus! Follow the bus!" She also thought it was great when Stacy would recline her seat. She kept pinching Stacy on the shoulder with her toes, then emitting the most evil little laugh. And, come to think about it, she spent a lot of time in conversation with her toes on the way. Hmmm. Perhaps the evil little laugh came from the toes?

We got to Stuart and even though she (probably; with kids, who knows?) did not remember Britt Hunter, they took off together, and the two of them had a wonderful time. We spent the night with Terry and Teri. Emma loved their dog Chloe. After church she kept asking if we could go back to Teri's house. Teri knows how to spoil two-year olds.

On the way home, after the bus broke down, Jim decided he wanted to drive his own truck home from Lake City (can you believe the nerve of that guy?). Emma thought that was great, too. I'm pretty sure Jim knows how to spoil two-year olds, as well. Anyway, we did have some issues with that, because for some reason, she insisted on calling him "Jim" as opposed to "Mr. Jim." I don't know what was up with that.

It was a great trip, but we were all a little bit tuckered yesterday. Hopefully, today we can begin to bounce back.

Spring Break Recap

2009-04-17T08:11:00.002-04:00

Kids always think Spring Break is such fun, especially when an extra day is tacked on. Yes, the elusive "100 Year Flood" struck Lowndes County, providing a bonus day to their break. Never mind what that extra day does to a parent's nerves.... Actually, it wasn't too bad. Everyone was well (yay) and well behaved. We never reached the point of running them all out of the house just for a moment of silence.

On Thursday, we loaded up for Orlando and Lads to Leaders. It was a good convention, much better than last year, at least for us. Last year was just utter chaos. We literally pulled up in time for Friday night's big gathering last year. Going down on Thursday made a huge difference. The kids all did their speeches and song leading, and they all did very well. Congrats to Benjamin on his second place speech. As far as good times go, though, the high points of the trip was also the simplest. On Thursday night we loaded up and went to Olive Garden with Ryan, Nikki, and Carla (and all the kids). Olive Garden was horrible, but the 2 1/2 hour ordeal was worth getting to spend some quality time with our good friends. Then, in the mornings, several of us guys met and drank coffee. I can't remember who all participated in that, but I know that at one point or another, Clark, Mark, Jubie, Ryan, Charlie Copeland, and Mike Johnson showed up. Throw in a couple of quick trips to Sea World on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, and all in all, not a bad little trip.

That is not to say, however, that it was not without its difficulties. Emma ran a fever all night Thursday, then had quite the upset little tummy. And it stayed upset until this past Wednesday morning. I had a touch of the bug on Friday, Stacy on Saturday and Sunday, Shelby on Sunday night, and now Benjamin. Of all of us though, Benjamin has been by far the most affected. It is no fun to be sick, but especially on your birthday! He did, however, get what he wanted for his birthday.

This week has been filled with the usual craziness. We just started getting Emma better, then Benjamin gets it. I've been doing (or at least trying to do) a lot of catch-up work. Last night was week 5 of this quarter at Georgia School of Preaching, and on that subject, let me a quick shout out to Paul Copeland for teaching for me last week. And getting ready to head back to Florida. This ought to be an interesting trip.

One more note to add. We now have a refrigerator raider. Four kids, and we finally got a refrigerator raider. I haven't managed to get a picture of her yet, but she just opens that door up and gets whatever she wants. I will keep working to capture that.

Quick Update

2009-03-30T09:57:00.003-04:00

WOW. Nearly a month since I last blogged. In that time, we did our annual battle with the flu. Shelby ran what can only be described as a "freakishly high fever," then Kaitlyn got it, then I had an extremely mild touch of it, then Benjamin had an even milder touch of it, but somehow, the remainder of came through unscathed. I have no idea how Emma did not get it.

Stacy had her spring break from college. No beaches for her this year. She still had to work, of course, because the colleges and the other schools cannot get together on a schedule. The kids' spring break is next week. Anyway, back to Stacy. She came home from work last Monday (at a decent time, actually), walked in, put on her PJ's, sat on the couch, and read a book. That was her excitement. I can't wait until she gets old and settles down some.

Emma can and will say anything now. You can even understand 60-70% of it. She now loves to talk on the phone. I think her favorite people to talk to must be her Uncle Steve and Aunt Renee. She has been going to GCS and hanging out with the 3 y/o's some lately. She loves going to school, mostly because Lori will let her do anything she wants (haha).

On a sad note, our next door neighbor, Mr. Dick Carter, passed away Saturday. The kids never really got to know him, as he has been pretty sick since we moved here, but oh, how they know and love Mrs. Becky. There is no telling how many flowers Kaitlyn and Shelby have carried her over the years.

Shelby tried to skip school today, but is obviously feeling fine. Emma and I are now off to take her there, whether she likes it or not!

Be back soon (maybe).

"Dare's Bugs in It"

2009-03-06T13:48:00.003-05:00

Last night while eating at a restaurant (which shall remain unnamed to protect the innocent), Emma refused to drink from her cup of Sprite. Her Sprite was in a clear cup, and everyone knows that Sprite is somewhat fizzy. Well, she looked at the bubbles on the side of cup and declared: "Dare's bugs in it!" Yes, a few heads turned. Fortunately, a riot did not ensue.

Flags and Rumples

2009-03-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

Poor Emma. So deprived. I think this past Saturday night was only the third stormy night of her life. We had a very windy day. The dogwood tree laying atop Mrs. Becky's garage was about the most impressive part of it. We were in the yard when it fell. Well, actually, it just sort of laid down, but it scared the girls. Then after dark, the storms finally began to arrive. The kids sat in the dark (by choice) in the living room watching the lightning flash (Emma: "flag") and listening to the thunder rumble (Emma: "rumple"). It was a pleasant evening.

I believe that we are all finally well. After the girls' flu episode, I experienced the condensed version. I had the same signs and symptoms as the girls (minus any fever), but I did it all in four days as opposed to the girls' eight days.

I just want to stop for a moment and say that I try and try to appreciate how blessed I am. I have the world's most wonderful wife and the world's most wonderful kids. I love them all so much and am so proud of them. And I also want to add how much we all love this congregation and the wonderful years we have had here. God truly is good.

Ice Storm Pics

2009-02-02T19:47:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Renee for these pics.

This is the top of the driveway at Mom and Dad's
Relaxing at Aunt Barb's. Yeah, they're suffering
There's a house back there somewhere
What is left of the black walnut, mulberry, and box elders trees in the back yard
A picture of trees
Looking at the southern edge of the farm from the highway

Emma Goes to School

2009-01-31T09:41:00.003-05:00

Emma spent the morning at K3 with "Aunt Lori" yesterday. She was one tired girl after that new bit of excitement. When I got there to pick her up she stood up and screamed, "My daddy's here, my daddy's here! I go home now." She ran to me and gave me the biggest hug ever. We went home where she ate Goldfish, chips, and a "butter jelly" sandwich. Then she announced she was ready to take a nap. I don't know what Aunt Lori did to her, but I like it!

Update on the Folks

2009-01-31T09:01:00.003-05:00

I talked to Mom yesterday evening and things were much improved. Renee, Steve, Sanford, and Sanford's brother arrived yesterday afternoon and began clearing the road. They were able to get all of the trees out of the road while Dad worked on grading the road. For some reason, the road is rutted very badly. And, thanks to the generator Sanford took them, they are able to run the blower on the wood furnace, so they have heat! Which is a really good thing, because they are forecasting lows in the teens again soon.

Mom said that the damage is very widespread, but it looks like right there at the farm took an especially hard hit. This person says that, and that person says this, but in all honesty, they have no idea when they will get power restored.

Stacy's mom and dad are fairing a little bit better. They were able to go to West Plains yesterday and get water. They have purchased small propane heaters for their house and Stacy's grandparents' (at an exorbitant price, I might add), so they have been able to keep the temp in the houses in the upper 50's to lower 60's. They live right on the edge of Thayer, so without doubt they're on a much higher priority list than my folks are.

Hopefully, Sis remembered to clear her memory card on her camera before she went over and I'll have some pics to post when she gets back to Nashville on Monday.

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns. We have had numerous offers of help (and they may still need some before this is over), and you cannot imagine how deeply touched we have been by everyone's concern and generosities.

Oh, and let me add a little good news out of the midst of the mayhem. Cousin Nichole's baby was born yesterday, so McKenzie has a new playmate! Moriah Kate was born yesterday morning, January 30 (Pappy's birthday). She weighed in at 6 lbs, 9 oz and is 19 inches long. Proud Grandmother Jan reports that she looks a lot like McKenzie did when she was born. Congrats Chad and Nichole! I think I will nickname her the "Ice Princess."

Not the Promised Post

2009-01-30T13:00:00.003-05:00

I'm actually still working on our Christmas post. I know, it's almost February, but what can I say....

Mom and Dad were OK at last report following the worst ice storm to hit Southern Missouri in 80 years. Renee, Steve, Sanford, and Sanford's brother pulled into Thayer a little bit ago loaded with food, water, and a generator. I just got word that the highway out to the farm is now open again, at least to local traffic. I'm pretty sure they will at least be able to get to Ted and Barb's, but their road was still utterly, completely impassible at last report.

Stacy's mom and dad and grandparents are in a little better shape. They managed to get water in West Plains this morning and were trying to get their tractor going (broken hydraulic cylinder). If they can get the tractor running and keep supplied with water, they should be OK.

The reports are saying that it will be at least two weeks before power is begun to be restored, possibly a month before mom and dad have service returned. And the phone company can't do much out there until they get the power poles reset.

The universal description is "war zone." Tornado-like damage to everything except structures, and now roofs are starting to collapse from the weight of 3-4" of ice on them.

Please keep them all in your prayers.

Belated Christmas post

2009-01-24T20:09:00.005-05:00

OK. I have been rebuked by many for not having posted anything since before Christmas, but it's not my fault. Stacy insisted she wanted to do the Christmas/post-Christmas blogging, and, well, here we are.

So let me begin with that. Christmas morning, Stacy woke up sick. She ran a fever for nearly a week after that. Seems like someone is always going to get sick, and this year I guess it was her turn.

Christmas, to me, was somewhat of a disappointment. It was almost like we just never had to time to fully get into the spirit. The tree went up when it was supposed to, the decorations were all out, the music was on at our house, etc., but all of the sudden, there it was, and there it went.

We loaded up on a bitterly cold day and went to Missouri. Had a wonderful time while we were there. Got to go to Aunt Barb's on Christmas Eve--I think the whole family was there except for Uncle Paul (who was sick) and Renee and Steve (who were on their way). Shelby and McKenzie were hilarious. McKenzie kept hiding from her, as in, hide and go seek, and McKenzie is a very good hider. The only problem was, Shelby didn't know that McKenzie was hiding from her. I asked McKenzie what she was doing and she told me she was hiding from "that girl." Well, that was easily fixed. A small word in the ear of Shelby, and it was "Game on!"

And I will admit that I was jealous of Jared and Nicole and Josh and Gayla. After the party was over, they got to sit around and talk for hours while we had to rush kids off to bed. The sad thing is, by the time our kids get grown enough to put themselves to bed and let us talk, they will probably be having to deal with kids of their own. Get with the program, guys!

We had opened gifts with the kids before we went up, but Santa knows the way to Grandma's house, so that all worked out OK. (Some other time I'll have to tell you about Grandma Lolo hogging the Nintendo DS for herself.) Then we had to do the annual lunch shuffle, which everyone despises.

All in all, not a bad Christmas, just not really sure where it went.

"Christmas Always Comes This Time of the Year"

2008-12-23T08:30:00.004-05:00

It seems like this month has just been out of control. I looked back to seem when I had last posted, it was over 2 weeks ago, and I didn't even comment on that! Shame on me!

Were you ever traveling down the road as a child watching billboards? "See Rock City" and such like? Well, maybe not Rock City. Let's say an historical marker of some kind. You're watching and waiting and waiting and watching, and then you get there (in my case as a kid, drive on by it, cause we never stopped for anything) and you were like, "That was IT? All that hype for THAT?" So much anticipation, so little realization. Welcome to Christmas '08.

It's not supposed to be here already. There were so many things we wanted to do, so many places we wanted to go. We always go out looking for Christmas lights (or try to). Didn't happen. There were Christmas games to play with the kids. Didn't happen. We wanted to take the kids caroling. Didn't happen. Etc., etc., etc. So we are now in the position of making the most of what we have left.

We made our final trip of '08 to Sea World on Saturday. Crazy traffic going down, but nice at the park. Then Sunday was filled with church, nursing home, Stacy having to run to town for more presents, wrapping and assembling presents, more church, then letting the kids open presents after church, and finally, packing! The trip up yesterday was nice--good weather, light traffic--but man, was it cold. It was 39 when we left Valdosta and 22 when we got to Columbus. We never got above freezing the rest of the day. Somewhere in the day we called Grandma Lolo, and she informed Benjamin that his cousin Brendan just couldn't wait for him to get here. Wow, what a wild man. And wild is the only word to describe being in this house with Grandpa and Grandma, me and Stacy, Benjamin, Kaitlyn, Shelby, Emma, Brianne, and Brendan. Mom, dad, Jared and Nicole came over for a few minutes last night. No surprise, but Benjamin went back with them.

The only pics I have to add right now (not on my computer) won't mean anything to anyone who has never made the trip we made, but they are sights that we are definitely looking for on the way. I'll get more pics up when I manage to get my computer connected. Have a good day, everyone, and watch out for all that ice! Brrrrrrr!

No Explanation Needed

2008-12-08T11:24:00.004-05:00

What a Wonderful Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T10:54:00.001-05:00

No, our holiday didn't include anything major this year. No trips, no (major) illnesses, nothing special. And it was wonderful. I cannot remember a holiday that we have enjoyed more. We did get a lot accomplished, even though we didn't do much. We managed to get all of our trees up without any of them falling over (yes, Patience, I'm rubbing that in). And while we did end up in the doctor's office with Kaitlyn on Tuesday and on the phone with them about Emma on Wednesday, no one was really incapacitated. Regarding our recent holidays, I'd call it a success.

A Little “Us” Update

2008-11-22T16:51:00.001-05:00

Nothing unusual happening around here, which is why there hasn't been an update lately. Kaitlyn now has the cold/cough, but she is fortunate to now have a week to recuperate. She made it through her field trip yesterday, although I ended up picking her up from school at about 2:00 because she couldn't stop coughing. Shelby went with Stacy shopping this morning, and I think she about shopped her mommy into the ground. Go, Shelby! Shelby has also come out with more "Shelbyisms," but we may still be a couple of years away from being able to publish some of them. Benjamin is hoping to get to go hunting this week. He has been enjoying his FFA stuff at LMS. He did very well in the competition a couple a weeks ago. He had the sixth best individual score out of 50 represented middle and high schools.

Then, there is Emma. We may have to coin the term "Emmaisms" before it is over. She just keeps coming out with stuff, and we're all like, "Where did she come up with this?" But this morning was priceless. She was in her high chair eating breakfast and we hear her say, "MOM, TELL BENJAMIN LEAVE ME 'LONE!" I think we know where she got that.

We are right here for this holiday. We're doing a Christmas tree blitz this week, probably going to string some lights on the clubhouse, and just planning to enjoy a slower pace. Be thankful, everybody!

Head for the basement, Honey!

2008-11-14T07:11:00.007-05:00

"Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." I just had to attempt these pics early this morning. The sky was the most peculiar color of orange. When Stacy woke up and asked what the temperature was, I simply told her warm. She asked how warm, and I said it was make-sure-there's-nothing-on-the-basement-steps warm. Anyway, that's what we would have done if we still lived in Tornado Land.

This is the orange glow coming through the girls' bedroom window. No, those aren't orange ribbons.

There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like....

After-chuch Shinanigans

2008-11-10T07:25:00.002-05:00

So Stacy keeps asking me why every pic on the blog is of Emma. Yeah, kind of noticed that myself, and I'll try to do better. But here's one more + Lindsey of them hiding under a pew. Reagan had been under there, too, but he ran away before I could get the phone out and up.

Also, Happy Birthday to Kayden today!!!!!

Another Blog

2008-11-07T10:00:00.001-05:00

Great. All we need is another blog. But there are some things I just didn't really want to post on the family blogsite and clutter it up. Maybe this will help keep all the junk separated from the junk. Anyway, you can go to Keith's Soapbox at www.keithssoapbox.blogspot.com if you want to listen to me rant and rave about stuff.

Super Sunday Night

2008-11-02T21:07:00.003-05:00

I didn't take any pics tonight, but we had an absolutely wonderful outdoor service this evening. The weather was perfect, the crowd was large, and the food was hot. Thanks to Keith S. for all the planning, to Ryan and Mark for all the cooking, to Burt and John for running to the store for more burgers (we had more folks than we had anticipated), to all the ladies for the extras, and to all the kiddies for being excited and exuberant! What a wonderful evening!

On the Road to Valdosta—Chapter 6—The Journey II

2008-11-02T20:57:00.001-05:00

I had forgotten to mention earlier, but sort of at the last minute, my dad decided to go with us. First, he thought we might could use an extra driver, and second, he has never been known to miss a road trip unnecessarily. He was going to drive his truck and leave it at Memphis, then fly back from Jacksonville to Memphis. Now the stage is truly set for this chapter.

So early on Wednesday, October 24, 2001, Stacy, Kaitlyn and Shelby take off in the van for Jonesboro. (I said Thursday in the last chapter, but I missed a day somewhere.) Dad and I are going to follow a little bit later. Remember the mums? Well, we had mums everywhere. There were mums in the cab of my truck which was on the trailer being pulled behind the U-Haul, and there were mums in the cab of the U-Haul. We had loaded them up the night before so they would be ready to go bright and early. It had gotten a little cool on Wednesday night, but Thursday dawned bright and clear. About 10:00 that morning, we took off. I was in the lead with the U-Haul, and Dad and Benjamin were following in his truck. A fortunate sequence of events then unfolded.

That truck was loaded, and there were several significant hills between Thayer and the Black River. I made the decision to take the back roads. Yes, they are hillier and curvier, but the traffic is a lot lighter, and I really didn't want to compete with the 18-wheelers on US 63 loaded as we were. Besides, it's a bright, beautiful morning and we're not in any hurry. Well, we made it through Myrtle, MO and turned south into Arkansas. (I challenge you to find Myrtle on your maps.) Just past Elm Store, AR (OK, so you found Myrtle, but I'll bet you can't find Elm Store), coming down the big hill towards Woody's* I began feeling a funny vibration. And it wasn't in the truck, it was in my left pant leg.

That's right. My pant leg.

Remember those mums?

Yup, a bee had found its way up my pant leg. I slammed on the brakes and stopped that big ole U-Haul right where it was with Dad screeching to a halt right behind me. I set the brakes (still on the big hill right before Woody's, you know; it's a really long hill), opened the door, jumped out, and proceeded to de-pants myself right there in the middle of the road. Dad, thinking I'm on fire or something, is now running up to me screaming, "What's wrong!? What's wrong!?" Me? I'm ignoring him and looking for that bee. The little bugger finally made it out the top of the pants (which are now down around my ankles) and just flew away. I calmly pulled my pants up, looked around at dad and said, "Bee." Then I climbed back in the truck, drove off, and left him standing there in the middle of the road laughing. Fortunately, there were no cars or houses anywhere around, but just in case anyone had witnessed it, I wasn't planning to stick around to discuss it. If we had taken US 63 instead of the back roads, there's no telling what would have happened.

After we left the mums at Israel and Christa's in Jonesboro, we sort of split up. Stacy and Dad took off for Memphis to drop off his truck. I didn't want to get off the main road, so I went on without them. Of course, by the time I got to Oxford, they had almost caught me and it was almost dark. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Judy live a couple of miles to the east of Oxford, and we were all wiped out by the time we got there. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Judy have lived in Oxford for as long as I can remember, and likewise, we have been visiting them and going to church with them there as long as I can remember, the point of which is that there were a lot more people at church that night who knew who I was than I knew who were. But, now there were 400 miles down, 400 to go.

On Thursday morning, Uncle Charlie felt the need to entertain. He kept his horses busy giving rides to the kids for quite a while. I'm not even sure what time it was that we finally pulled out, but it was fairly late. And then, of course, we hit Birmingham at rush hour. We had drawn a line on the map from Southern MO to South GA and were accordingly headed down the straightest/shortest route possible. I think we ended up topping the hill there by Chelsea, AL doing all of 25 M.P.H. Not fun. Then, I remember getting to Alexander City, AL at about dark and eating at Captain D's, then hitting the road again. Opelika was as far as we could go. We got a couple of rooms at a motel there, a Ramada Inn if I recall correctly, and slept like logs. 750 miles down, 150 to go.

As I had mentioned earlier, this was before cell phones were so common. It was also after CB radios were popular (thankfully). That left us using a pair of walkie-talkies to communicate while traveling. And they worked most of the time. Benjamin sure did love those walkie-talkies. We still have them around somewhere. They're probably in his room.

Meanwhile, there were other communications going on. Every moment that Stacy and I managed alone (both of them, I think), we would find ourselves asking each other, "WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE DOING?" Were we out of our minds? What were we thinking, going that far off into a town we had only visited once officially (remember, we snuck into town that week later), and moving into the midst of people we did not know at all? It was different when we moved to Berryville. Not only were we only about 3 hours from familiar friends and family, we were completely familiar and comfortable with Ozarkians. I'll tell you, I now have a lot greater appreciation for Abraham.

But we pressed on. On Friday morning, I was ready to leave at sunrise, but I was alone. Everyone else wanted to dilly-dally around. We ended up going to Waffle House and eating a big breakfast, then we had to find gas, etc., etc., etc. I think it was lunchtime before we got to Albany. It was just one of those days where we weren't going anywhere in a hurry. I mean, seriously, Opelika to Valdosta? A hop, skip, and a jump, but we took all day. Of course, there were diversionary stops along the way. The truck stop in Richland, GA: do NOT go there. Nastiest place I think I've ever been in. Then, something dad had eaten for lunch didn't really agree with him, and we ended up looking for a bathroom in Doerun. Have you ever looked for a bathroom in Doerun? No, didn't think so. You already knew there was no point.

What, you might ask, were we doing in Doerun? Well, we had made it that far without getting on an interstate, and I was not ready to begin at that point. However, when we finally rolled into Lowndes County late that afternoon, we did get onto I-75 and go south to exit 11, then up Madison Hwy. to the church building. Why, you will surely ask, did we go that way? Elementary, my dear Watson. I knew I could find the church building that way, and it was no time to be experimenting.

When we pulled up, I was ready to begin unloading. I think, you know, there was always that thought in the back of my mind that as long as the stuff was still on the truck, we could turn around and go west** again. But, no, that's not the way things work. We were taken home with Pansy and Wendell Spearman. And we were quite tired. I never even heard the train.

On Saturday morning, my wish was granted: we got to unload. I'm really sorry, but I don't remember who all was here helping. I know there were a lot of ladies cleaning, and I do remember Tom and Randy doing a lot of heavy lifting. Then, about mid-morning, Dad took off with Bill Newcomb for Jacksonville to catch his flight. I remember not even really getting to say goodbye to him, everything was so hectic. Then it was like, "He's gone and we're stuck here now."

There is much more I could write. I could tell of the kitten fiasco, the U-Haul re-turn u-turn, or any of many other unexpected problems which crept up along the way, but it is time to wrap this up. On Saturday, October 27, 2001, we slept in our own beds in the house here and haven't looked back. That was the beginning.

Thanks for seven wonderful years.

*Woody's Canoe Rental is a local landmark establishment in Dalton, AR and probably worthy of its own chapter. Little piece of advice: DON'T RIDE WITH WOODY!!!! Having said that, Woody's looked closed when we last drove past it back in June. Sad. The world is probably safer, but sad.

**It became my opinion while in school at Memphis that there are a whole lot more differences between the folks from the east and west of the Mississippi River than there are differences between the folks from the North and South. All of this talk about the Yankees and everything…go spend a few days in Colorado or Oklahoma and try to compare those folks to somebody from Indiana or Ohio or even New York (outside of NYC). You will find you have more in common with these "Yankees" than you do the Westerners. But please don't misunderstand me. I firmly believe that there may someday soon again be a need for all those discarded "The South Will Rise Again" bumper stickers. That, however, will have to be saved for another blog entry.

Only on Halloween....Thankfully!!!!

2008-11-02T15:02:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics from Friday night. If you have to ask about some of these...well, please don't.

Emma--Aspiring Shopper

2008-11-01T13:17:00.003-04:00

Took Emma shopping this morning. It is no surprise she doesn't want to ride IN the cart any longer. I am SO not ready for her to be that big!

On the Road to Valdosta—Chapter Five—The Journey I

2008-10-31T10:26:00.001-04:00

So now we come to the beginning of the final installation of this little narrative. This chapter talks about the heartaches, problems, joys, and yes, humor of moving.

First must come a shout out. Thanks to Ken and Debbie for all your help in getting us out of town. We will always be appreciative of the hours you spent helping us with the packing, loading, and cleaning. And thanks for ridding us of the pink bed. Wish we had it back now, but hey, that was an entire kid ago. If possible, I think your children have grown more than ours. We love both of you, plus Callie and Kendra, of course.

Where to start? I guess with the moving truck. We quickly found out that moving trucks are not all that big. We got the largest one U-Haul had, and we filled it to capacity. And since we were going so far, we decided to get a trailer to pull my truck. Whole lots easier than dropping the drive shaft, etc.

Then, of course, there was my truck. About a week before we moved, the brakes went out on it, as in, completely. But please don't be too harsh in judging it. It is a '68 model, had sat for a year or two before I got it and rebuilt the motor, and it had obviously been quite a while since the brakes had received any attention. It was a tad bit frightening pulling it up onto that trailer with no brakes, but we got it done. Sort of felt like the Beverly Hillbillies, pulling that old truck behind the U-Haul with it filled with a swing set, a lawn mower, and sundry yard tools. Wish I had a pic of that now.

We left out of Berryville on Monday afternoon (October 22, 2001), if memory serves me correctly, and drove to Thayer. I was a nervous wreck starting out. I love my wife dearly, but she has no sense of direction at all. And for some reason, she could never navigate Harrison, AR. Bear in mind, this was before the days when everyone had their own cell phone. We had one, but didn't use it much. Well, we got separated in Harrison (a beautiful little town, but a little too impressed with its own importance to judge by all the stoplights they have), but eventually got back together and continued on. Driving that truck on those roads didn't bother me—been there, done that before, many times over—but it will wear you out. For those of you unfamiliar with Ozark roads, most of them originated as mule trails. They are hilly, curvy, and far from smooth. Ryan Tuten went up there with us once. Once. He got carsick while driving. No kidding. Like, really, really bad carsick. Glad I don't have a pic of that.

Anyway, we made it to Thayer and parked the U-Haul down by the greenhouse at Stacy's folks. 150 miles down, 750 to go. It was supposed to be sort of a little vacation, but there was too much going on. During the previous month, we had bought a new van. We kept the good old Lumina because: 1) they wouldn't give us much trade-in on an eight-year old car with 190,000 miles on it; and 2) it was paid for. But it was going to have to stay in Thayer. The theory was that Stacy's dad would sell it for us up there and we wouldn't have to worry about bringing it down here. We should have just brought it. Anyway, we had driven it over a week or two before. The day before we were to head on south, we had gone out to my folks. They live about 8 miles east of Thayer and then their driveway is about ¾ mile long. Now again, for those of you unfamiliar with the Ozarks, you've got to understand that we have these things called rocks (should you be unfamiliar with them, these are really, really hard things which lie randomly upon and in the ground). And accordingly, there are no dirt roads, only gravel roads. Well, guess what. Rocks will occasionally puncture a tire. And yes, we ended up with a new van with three new tires and one very abused tire. I drove that tire all the way to West Plains to find a dealer and they refused to replace it. (I haven't bought a Firestone since.) That was Wednesday, October 24.

The plan was to head for my Uncle Charlie's in Oxford, MS on Thursday. This was to include a stop at Israel and Christa's house in Jonesboro, AR. Israel was still preaching at Washington Avenue then and Stacy wanted to stop in and say hey. Israel and Christa sort of picked up in Memphis where Ryan and Michelle left off. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure they moved into the same apartment. Anyway, they are from L.A. (not Los Angeles; the other L.A.). They have since moved back to Fair Hope and we still keep in touch with them, and love them and Laura Jane and Campbell very much. Well, it is fall in the Ozarks, and Stacy's mom and dad have a greenhouse full of mums, so Stacy decides to take some to Christa. And that should (almost) set the stage for the tale of Thursday, October 25 (when I get around to it).

I HATE BLOGGERS

2008-10-21T11:33:00.001-04:00

OK. Every time that I go to a blog site, I am constantly amazed at the stupidity, bias, and hatred that is displayed by those who are blogging. A month or two ago, I read through several of the local blogs dealing with the sheriff's primary election...and was just disgusted. I was ashamed to be a resident with those people. I just got through reading a blog relating to the upcoming Presidential election, and the same disgust prevailed. I wanted so badly to respond in both cases, but I just couldn't bring myself to stoop to their levels. And I knew I wouldn't be listened to, anyway.

Here are some tips for prospective public-forum bloggers:

If you are going to blog, use your real name...if you dare. Too many folks are hiding behind the anonymous nature of the forums.
If you are going to blog, try speaking what you know, not what you wish you knew. If you are reading a blog, be advised that >80% of what you are reading is opinion, nothing more, nothing less.
Use proper grammar. I know that blogging is casual, but if you can't spell 'reel good,' personally, I'm not going to waste my time trying to decipher your e-chicken scratchings.
Name-calling (especially when YOU don't even give YOUR real name) is quite unseemly. Profanity, ditto.

I could go on, of course, but all I really wanted to do was vent a little. Hey, I managed to vent, and I let you know who I was, I've spoken nothing but the truth, I've spelled correctly and used punctuation, and I did not call any names or use profanity! Yay, me! And while I'm at it, kudos to Lindsay! I know she gets it!

On the Road to Valdosta--Chapter Four--The Decision

2008-10-17T17:49:00.002-04:00

In the midst of us running here and yon, there was another factor: whether or not to leave Berryville. As I begin this I desire to make one thing absolutely clear: we love the people at Berryville. First of all, I can think of no elders anywhere for whom I have greater respect. They are godly men who earnestly desire to see the gospel spread and unity maintained within the church. As an example, several years ago they took on the sole responsibility for a work in Costa Rica. They have made numerous trips down there to work with the church, and have brought various members of the church there up to the States for medical treatments, visits, etc. Second, there was no one there with whom we had the least bit of animosity: we love them all. Of course, in any group, there are going to be some to whom you are closer than others. Clay and Wanda Bozarth probably topped that list. Rusty and Tiffany, Ken and Debbie, Mike and Patsy, Kevin and Shelley, and Glenn and Dena were high up there, too. (Clay and Glenn were very instrumental in helping me get my truck up and running, but that's a different story.)

For those who don't really, really know us, I probably need to back up a bit for you to fully understand. From 1977 until I graduated high school, I never really left the hills. We were dairy farmers, and that sort of tied us down. I'll never forget the Christmas morning that I asked my dad why he had to go milk. His reply: "Son, those cows don't know that it's Christmas." For a vacation, we might run over to Norfork for a day trip once a year. Or not. The few times we all loaded up and went somewhere, it was to visit family. I never recall having gone somewhere just to have gone. In high school and college, I traveled quite a bit. I was a state officer in the Missouri FFA in '86-87, then worked with the admissions department at Crowley's Ridge College the year after that, but even that was all business. In '93 when I began working for Air Evac, I flew all over Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, even went to San Diego once, but again, that was all business. Really, Thayer (population 2,000) and Oregon County (population 10,000) were all that I knew. So the decision to move to Memphis and go to preaching school was not an easy one. And when that time was up, I wanted back in the hills.

Enter Berryville. Berryville is in the northwest corner of the state of Arkansas. It is about an hour east of Fayetteville, an hour south of Branson, and about 3 hours west of Thayer. Close enough to stuff without being too close. Berryville's population is about 3,500, with a strong influence on agriculture. There's a McDonald's (to which much of the congregation would go after church every Sunday evening), a Wal-Mart (it's only an hour from Bentonville, so it was a nice one), a KFC, a Pizza Hut, a Subway, a Sonic, a Burger King...and not much else. A nice, quiet little town nestled in the hills.

I could go on about the town, but that wouldn't accomplish what I'm trying to do here. I'm trying to get us to Valdosta. So, where was I? Oh, yes. We had gone to Valdosta, gone to Lake Butler, and gone to Lithia Springs. But the decision to leave wasn't exactly an easy one. The reasons we decided to leave aren't exactly easy to explain. Initially, there was a financial issue, but then I talked with the elders there, and they offered us a generous raise to stay. But we decided to leave anyway. I bring this up to illustrate that the decision to move wasn't about money.

There were, however, two main reasons. First, it just never really felt like "home." I am of the opinion that the reason for that was that it was much like where we had grown up, but just different enough for us not to be able to adjust to it. And even though Berryville was nearly twice the size of Thayer, it just felt smaller. Second, our phone never rang. I believe that is pretty self-explanatory, but let me explain it anyway. These really are wonderful people, but we were outsiders. (Seriously, you would be hard pressed to find anywhere a more clannish community than Carroll County, Arkansas.) We loved the congregation, they loved us, but they all had their circles of friends and families and we just didn't really blend in to any of them. Part of this goes back to the preacher who was there before us, I think. He just didn't get out much, evidently, and they were just sort of used to that. And since we're just not the sort of folks to force ourselves on others, they were content to leave us on the outside. It was not uncommon to go an entire week without a phone call from anyone in the congregation. It is kind of hard to feel really needed in a situation like that. We got a lot of good memories there, a lot of wonderful friendships there, and a Shelby there, but it was time to go.

I want to add this. There is one particular thing that I really, really miss about the building there: the office. It was small and drafty, but had the most incredible view of the ridge across the river. Many was the time I caught myself just staring across that valley toward Eureka Springs. There was nothing more beautiful than watching a snow shower march eastward across that valley.

One thing before I quit chapter four. Bill Fort (one of the elders at Berryville), should you happen to read this, I want you to know that I listened carefully to the advice you gave me before we headed down here. (If you don't remember, it was, "Stay away from ___.") Your assessment of the local conditions was right on the money, and a decade does not seemed to have changed it at all. I have always kept that little piece of advice in the back of my mind and have first-hand experience to testify to its veracity. Thanks.

Brecken has Arrived!

2008-10-14T21:04:00.001-04:00

I know I'm not the first to post this, but I also know there are interested parties who don't check the blogs "in the know," at least on this particular topic. John and Melissa Hicks' baby was born about 12:45 this afternoon. She weighed 6 lbs 10 oz, and was 19 ¾" long. She has a head of dark hair and is absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, all I have are really crummy phone pics. They are so crummy (how crummy are they?) that they are far, far inferior to Terri's crummy phone pics. And, I am fully confident that Terri's constant pleas for real pics will not long go unheeded, so if you want a good look at the beautiful new babe, you can keep checking her blog. Anyway, please keep them in your prayers. The long wait for Brecken's arrival is over, and it is our earnest appeal to God that any remaining anxious moments will soon pass in peace.

On the Road to Valdosta--Chapter Three--Stops Along the Way

2008-10-12T17:48:00.003-04:00

This chapter actually begins on the Sunday we tried out at Airport. Since it was a Fifth Sunday at Airport, there was no Sunday evening service, so we headed south to Lake City that afternoon to go see Ryan and Michelle Tuten. Not surprising me at all, we got there about 4:00 and Ryan says, "You're here: you're preaching tonight." That's just Ryan. Didn't surprise me at all. Fortunately, I was prepared for such an eventuality. And there was a fellow in the congregation there at Lake City that night who knew of a congregation down the road who was looking for a preacher, and he called them and said, "Hey, there's a guy you need to check out...." I know, I know. It sounds like deja vu all over again.

So we headed back to Arkansas. Seems like we got home on Tuesday evening or so. And there was a message on our answering machine from one of the elders at Lake Butler, FL. And they wanted us in Lake Butler the following Sunday. There were a couple of problems with that. First, we had just traveled from Northwest Arkansas to Foley, AL to Valdosta, GA to Lake City, FL and then back to Berryville, AR. We were tired and didn't want to do that again. Second, the elders at Berryville didn't know we had tried out at Airport the previous Sunday. To the first, they said, "No problem. We'll fly you into Jacksonville." To the second, well, we had to talk to the elders about that one. But I'm trying to save that for chapter four.

So that Friday, me, Stacy, and Shelby flew from Fayetteville to Atlanta to Jacksonville. Benjamin and Kaitlyn went to Grandma's house. We rented a car in Jacksonville and drove to Lake Butler. Talk about hospitality. Wow. We went to a cookout at somebody's house that Saturday night and had a singing afterward. And they can sing. We stayed in the church's house in Lake Butler, which was right next to the church building. Really nice house, really nice building, nice, quiet little town, really nice people. Just a really nice place. And they loved us and we loved them. That Sunday, they offered us the job. However, there was a situation there within the church that we were just not comfortable with. We ended up getting home on Monday and calling them to decline their offer. It wasn't easy.

There were little things that I remember about that trip that were quite enjoyable. As I mentioned, they could sing. On Sunday evenings, they had the peculiar custom of all sitting tightly packed into the back 6 or 7 rows, and the speaker would use a portable podium. I told them I felt like I was sitting on a squeeze fence in a loading pen of cattle. I mean, they were packed into those back rows. Also, sometime during that weekend, we snuck off. We drove back to Valdosta and looked around some more. And we got caught in one of those toad-strangling torrential rains on I-75. On Sunday afternoon, we ate at a fish place right on the shores of the lake. What lake? Why, Lake Butler, of course. The house was only a couple of blocks from the lake. That was a real temptation. And on the way home we flew from Jacksonville to Dallas on a 767 with worn-out brakes. The whole plane shook horribly every time they hit the brakes. On the flight from Dallas to Fayetteville, there was no one on the plane but us and some Arkansas Razorback football players. Can't remember who they were now, but they were nice guys.

Anyway, we got back to Berryville and had to decide what to do next. Meanwhile, I had spoken with Brother Cates at MSOP and he had told me of a congregation in the Atlanta area. Lithia Springs called me shortly thereafter, and we arranged to fly to Atlanta to try out there. This time, however, we were taking the whole family. We flew from Fayetteville again to Atlanta. They had rented us a van at the airport, and we ended up standing in line forever to get it, because this was on Labor Day weekend. Then, we had to drive to Douglasville in the pouring rain. Lithia Springs was wonderful as well. We have actually maintained a relationship with them over the years. Anyway, as great as they were and are, there were a couple of issues we were unable to get past (first, they didn't have elders, although they do now; second, they didn't have a house and we were not in a position to buy one).

In the meantime, there were other things going on. We flew back to Fayetteville on Labor Day, Monday, September 3, 2001. And we all know what happened eight days later. Some things are more important than wondering where you are going to move to, if you are going to move.

There were other funny things going on, as well. Stacy was working late evenings during this time. It was also one of those years when it seemed like we had tornadoes going through the area every couple of weeks. We had such an evening during this time frame. Kaitlyn had gone to Grandma's for a couple of days, so she wasn't there, and Stacy was at work this one particular evening, so I was home with Benjamin (age 6) and Shelby (about 15 months). There had been a tornado spotted 4 or 5 miles southwest of town and they had issued a warning for us. I had the kids in the hallway and had carried a pillow into the hall to lay Shelby on. I left Benjamin in the hall with Shelby and went out on the front porch to listen for a minute. When I went back to the hall, there was Shelby on the pillow in the floor fast asleep. Benjamin was on top of her, trying to protect her from the tornado with his little six-year old body. Well, let me tell you, those days have long since passed, but it was absolutely precious back then.

I'm going to conclude chapter three here at this point. There is obviously much more that could have been said about those two trips, but I think I got the high points. Chapter four is going to deal more with Berryville.

Traffic Director

2008-10-11T09:09:00.005-04:00

Emma and I were back at Lowndes Middle on Friday morning. She wondered where the Blues Clues Bouncy House went, but settled for playing with the traffic cones. It takes so little to amuse some people.

LMS' Book Fair Family Night

2008-10-09T09:34:00.006-04:00

Tuesday evening, I ran up to Lowndes Middle to pick Benjamin up from his FFA State Fair trip. Low and behold, what should I see? but that it was time for the annual Family Night. We had gone last year and loved it.

It was one of those frustrating evenings. Stacy was at school, everyone was hungry and it was suppertime, etc., etc., etc., but I decided to load them all up and take them up there.

I asked Benjamin why he hadn't told us that the Festival was Tuesday night. He said he didn't know. I asked him if there had been a note sent home. He said that Mrs. Malone doesn't send notes home. I asked him if she had announced it in homeroom. He didn't know. I should have asked him if he goes to homeroom.

Anyway, they had a ball. Lowndes Middle's festival is the most fun. There are different booths set up with Book Fair-type themes. You get a card with a map of the booths, and when you go to a booth, they punch your card for that booth. Doesn't cost a dime. As I spent all of my time with Emma, most of this is, of course, about her. We started with the dart throw. She, of course, goes up to the board and sticks the dart in. Mrs. Jeffords, Ms. Murphy, and Maria Jose give her candy. She thinks that's pretty cool. Next we go to the fishing booth. She really didn't know what to think about that, but she got candy. Again, pretty cool. We went to the duck pond, where she won a set of purple pom-poms (if you lose one, what do you call them then?). They had to throw Emma out of the pond. She thought that was VERY cool. And there we got to talk to the anti-communicating Mrs. Malone. I mentioned that we didn't realize that the festival was that night. Her reply: "Well, we sent notes home, there are posters all over the halls, and they've announced it over the PA every day." Hmmm. Mrs. Malone=3, Benjamin=0.

The ball toss. The kind ladies, of course, let Emma go around the barrier to get closer to the table. One of the ladies squatted down to hand her the ball so she could throw it at the cans of the table, and she promptly threw the ball...back to the lady. The lady handed her the ball again. Emma threw the ball back at her. The kind lady, finally beginning to realize that they had not been playing the same game, tries to direct her to the table...and got the ball thrown to her again. Well, Emma eventually knocked over the can, got her candy, and left. But she was certainly grateful to the kind (albeit, slow) lady who played catch with her.

But the best of all were the bouncy houses. They had a Blues Clues house and a Dragon Tails house. Emma spotted them as soon as we pulled into the school. Here's a pic of Emma and Zazzy bouncing away.

They all had an absolutely wonderful time. Thanks, Lowndes Middle!

On the Road to Valdosta--Chapter Two--The Tryout

2008-10-09T09:28:00.004-04:00

So we took a road trip. We loaded up Benjamin, Kaitlyn, and Shelby into the backseat of the old Lumina and headed south. (On the first side note of this chapter, we had a 13" TV/VCR combo that rested between the center console and Shelby's carseat. Didn't fit very well, but it did the job. A lot of Blues Clues on that trip. Also, if I remember correctly, the old Lumina had developed a vacuum leak and the air conditioning would only blow out the defrost vents. It was a long, long way across I-10.) We came into Valdosta on Madison Highway. The date, if I have it right, was Friday, July 27, 2001. We drove to the Winn Dixie on Madison Highway and called our contact. A few minutes later, here came Jim Lee in his brown Chevy pickup. He led us to Dasher, where he helped get us settled into their guest house. Later that evening, he (somehow) got into the old Lumina with us and gave us a tour of town. He makes a pretty good tour guide, not to mention the fact that Shelby and Kaitlyn just fell in love with him. They talked about "Mr. Jim" for the next three months. We love you, Mr. Jim!

Some initial impressions of the area. Please, no one take any offense to any of this. Impression #1: The drive up from Madison was just beautiful. The rolling hills, while not exactly home, were quite pleasant. At the time, we didn't even really notice that the hills ended about halfway from Clyattville. Impression #2: Clyattville. The entire family was of the opinion that if Valdosta smelled like Clyattville, I was to just keep driving. Impression #3: The church building just looked sort of run down. A dirt parking lot (since paved), mildew on all of the exterior walls facing north (since removed), and overgrown shrubs (since pruned...and pruned, and pruned, and pruned...). While there are still things that could use improvement, things are much better now. Impression #4: I think it was on Saturday evening, we decided to head toward town, just to look around some more. The problem was, we didn't know where we were going. Jim had shown us Ashley and Patterson Streets and told us there was more shopping, a mall, restaurants, etc., but we didn't know where. So we drove up Madison Hwy. to the vicinity of the McDonalds. We knew that wasn't it. There was a police officer sitting at the Enmark station, and I whipped in there to ask directions of him. He gave us the directions we needed, and also told us that we would be well advised to remove ourselves to that neighborhood quickly. That was sort of unnerving, knowing that things were so seedy only about 3 miles from the church building (and the house). But we weren't too worried--we had spent two years in Memphis! And Impression #5: Southern Hospitality does not extend to vehicular operations. People down here drive exactly the way they want to drive with little regard for safety and no regard for courtesy. I'm still working on the philosophical reason for that.

On Sunday, July 29, we got to meet more people. It was a fifth Sunday, so there was, of course, a fellowship meal. I remember that Sunday morning that I preached on Joseph's Coats. After lunch, I don't remember much except that I had eaten way too much and was completely miserable. I also remember that the auditorium was quite dark (still is, but you get used to it) and that it rained very, very hard while I was preaching that afternoon. But from that first Sunday we felt at home with the Airport church.

This is pretty much the end of chapter two. Chapters three and four will deal primarily with what transpired in other places with us in August and September. Chapter five will pick up the actual journey here.

[NOTE: Stacy pointed out to me that the impressions I mentioned were pretty negative. So now I will give a defense of those impressions:

First, we like hills. That is all we had ever known, and the flat lands of what I have come to learn are the Coastal Plains took a little getting used to. I was kind of scared when we first moved down here. I was completely lost. For me, it is much easier to navigate with hills and curves. And you have to admit, one pine tree looks pretty much like every other pine tree.

Second, the paper mill stinks. End of apology.

Third, I have come to understand that down here, every north-facing surface will soon have mildew on it. And like I said, things are greatly improved, and I really had nothing to do with that.

Fourth, that's a seedy neighborhood up there. Soon after we moved here, we conducted a door-knocking campaign in that area, and my impression did not change.

Fifth, I'm still amazed at the lack of courtesy displayed by South Georgia drivers. Where I come from (hey, sounds like that ought to be a song), drivers will wave to one another, move over for stopped cars, change lanes to enable another motorist to pull onto the highway, and drive in the correct lane. Except, of course, in Arkansas, when the only time a driver will drive in the right hand lane is when they are passing someone or preparing to turn left.

But I will also add that we were amazed at the people. Everyone was so kind to us, and still is. I intend to speak more of that later, which is, of course, why I didn't speak more of it now.]

THE END OF CHAPTER TWO

Fall Is Here!

2008-10-07T15:11:00.004-04:00

Poor Emma. In her two years, the number of times she has gotten to ride in "Daddy's truck" probably hasn't equaled ten. The rest of the kids practically grew up in my truck. But now, fall is here and she thinks it is the "cool" thing to do. What a girl!

Little Side Note to Chapter One

2008-10-01T09:59:00.001-04:00

I just remembered which of the kids and why we had gone to Dr. Wilbur's! On the Fourth of July, Shelby had tried to ingest a penny! Said penny became lodged at the juncture of her esophagus and her trachea. Poor baby couldn't swallow, drool just pouring out of her mouth. We knew what the problem was, we just didn't know essential details. Anyway, initially, we had loaded her up and headed out to Mtn. Home. We didn't even get out of Berryville until we decided that we had better just go to the ER there. And of course, we get there, and they decide the best thing to do is to fly her to Springfield, because the surgeon on call didn't really want to handle that one. As it turned out, however, the surgeon's brother was in town for the holidays. His brother, who himself is apparently a world-renowned pediatric surgeon from Philadelphia. Anyway, he calls his brother and his brother tells him what to do (no kidding). They took Shelby, our 14-month old little angel, into surgery. When they went to intubate her, the penny slid on down the esophagus. (Technically, we didn't know it was a penny for several more days, if you get my meaning.) Thirty minutes later, we were taking her home with nothing more than a sore throat. That was on Wednesday, July 4, 2001. The next day we called Dr. Wilbur, and of course he wanted to see her and examine her himself. And so we went to Mtn. Home, and needed gas in Harrison on the way home. And met the guy at the gas station, and talked to Ryan that night, etc., etc., etc.

On the Road to Valdosta--Chapter One--The Gas Station

2008-10-01T09:40:00.001-04:00

[The end of this month will mark seven years that we have been in Valdosta. I guess I'm writing this more for my benefit than anyone else's, but it was a long process, at least from our end. I don't know if anyone is interested in this little bit of history or not, but I want to record it, so please bear with me.]

Let me lay some background info before we really begin. Stacy and I were married in Thayer, MO on June 5, 1993. At the time, I was working for Oregon County Ambulance and Air Evac, then later went to Baxter County. In 1996, our dear, dear friends, Joel and Sue Wheeler, decided to leave Thayer and move to Foley, AL. They loaded up the largest moving truck they could find and still couldn't fit it all in. Stacy was going to go down with Mandy, anyway, so I ended up driving Stan and Regina's truck down with the rest of their stuff. While we were down there, Stacy and I went down to Gulf Shores, walked out on the pier and had a heart-to-heart about where things were headed. After many tears and much prayer, we left the pier with the decision that I would go to preaching school. After an initial plan of attending Northwest Florida School of Biblical Studies in P-cola, we ended up in Memphis in January, 1997. In October, 1998, with only a few months to go in school, Mike Brothers, who at the time was one of the elders at Berryville, was passing through Memphis and stopped at the school. They were looking for a preacher and he wanted to ask Garland Elkins of a recommendation. Brother Elkins came and got me out of class to meet him.

So this story actually begins in 1999. We had moved to Berryville, AR, deep in Hawg country, in January of that year. In May, a group of Sojourners came to Berryville to conduct a doorknocking campaign. Without going into specifics, the lead Sojourner (who was from Mountain Home, a town I dearly love) and I had several differences of opinion. Those issues were not pushed because he knew that at the end of the two weeks I was staying there, and I knew that he was leaving. And while we parted cordially, there was to be no exchanging of Christmas cards.

(On a little side note, of which there will probably be many in this narrative, it was during this particular week that little baby Kaitlyn, right at one-year old, got sick with a virus. Her big brother decided he would fix her and gave her a whole bottle of infant Tylenol. Can everyone spell ICU?)

Nearly two years later I was passing through Harrison, AR. If I remember right, I had taken one of the kids to Dr. Wilbur's in Mountain Home. (On another side note, Mountain Home was about an hour and a half from Berryville, and yes, there were doctors in Berryville, but Dr. Wilbur had been Benjamin's pediatrician before we moved to Memphis and we felt he was well worth the drive. Likewise, Dr. Teal had been Stacy's obstetrician with Benjamin, and so we had driven back and forth to her with Shelby.) Low and behold, who should be pumping gas across from me? Who else but the sojourner whose name I cannot remember. Anyway, we get to talking. He asked if I was still in Berryville and I told him I was. All of the sudden, he got this look on his face like the light had just come on. He said, "Hey, we're looking for a youth minister at College and North (in Mountain Home) and I think you are just he guy we need. I'm going home and calling the elders and telling them to call you." I smiled, expressed my thanks, all the while thinking, "Please don't do me any favors." Number one, I knew too much about him. Number two, I knew too much about College and North. But I thought it was funny that two years after he thought I was his mortal enemy that all of the sudden I was "just the guy they needed."

As it turned out, that very evening, I got a call from my dear friend Ryan Tuten. (Side note time. Ryan and I were in the same class at Memphis. I was a wrap-around and he was not, but that's OK, Ryan, you can't have everything. Everybody knows wrap-around students are the best. Anyway, this is a side note in itself, but Stacy and I moved out near the new school several months before it was ready, which is a side note all in itself. Just a few weeks later, Ryan and Michelle moved in a few doors down, which, incidentally, could justify its own side note. He and I did a lot of carpooling together, a lot of studying together, and a lot of fishing together. We ate a lot of food at their house and they ate a lot at our house--depending, of course, on who had the food at the time. In other words, Ryan and Michelle are just really dear to us. One has few enough drop-everything-do-anything-for-you friends in life: Ryan and Michelle are on that list for us.) Anyway, Ryan happened to call and I told him I had this really funny story to tell him about the sojourner guy. At the conclusion of my story, Ryan tells me that he knows of a congregation that is looking and he is going to call someone there and tell them that I was just the guy they needed. As before, I thought, "Don't do me any favors."

We were not looking to go anywhere, and I just thought it all was really funny.

Bill Newcomb called me the next day (still waiting to hear from College and North).

THE END OF CHAPTER ONE

Grandma Update

2008-09-27T09:35:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure that Emma possesses some sort of "spidey-sense." We have seen this before. On the day before someone is to leave to go home, say for instance, a grandmother, Emma won't have anything to do with them. Emma loved all over Grandma Lolo all week long, but would not give her the time of day on Thursday. She knew she was going to be leaving.

I kicked Grandma out at the airport at 6:15 yesterday morning. It's ridiculous that the only flight available was at 7:00 a.m. I'm sure she was ready for bed by the time she got home. I know I was. And she was probably glad to get home, where the only person she had to cook for, wash dishes for, wash clothes for, pick up after, and listen to was Grandpa Larry. She worked non-stop the whole time she was here. It gave me a nice break. Thanks for coming, Grandma!

Last night the girls slept over at Lindsi's (a.k.a., "The Flower Lady"). I'm not sure what the real purpose was of the sleepover was, but they had a good time. Emma went with me to drop them off. I let Emma get deep into Lindsi's house, then, to put her off guard I asked Lindsi, "What time do I need to pick them up?" Her reply was 8:30. I said, "OK. See you then." And I walked to the car, leaving Emma in there. Quickly, Lindsi comes running out the door after me. I almost got away. Anyway, needless to say, Emma was feeling a little left out. We started back home and she started thinking of places she could go. "I wanna go Aunt Lori's house." I told her Lori was out of town. "Wanna go see James." I told her James was busy. She thought for a minute. "Wanna go Brenda's house." It's probably been two months since she was last at the Barrett's, but she was ready to go last night. When we pulled up at the house, she said, "Awww. I don't LIKE it" (one of her favorite sayings). Then at bedtime she asked where Zazzy (Shelby) was. We told her she was sleeping at Lindsi's house (how do you explain the concept of a sleepover to a two-year old?). She then very affirmatively declared, "I GOTTA sleep there." Poor little thing. Nobody ever pays her any attention.

On a side note, while last night she did not ask to go to Joel and Linda's (a.k.a., "Nana" and "Papa"), she has missed them very much. Maybe they will pay attention to her.

A Pretty Nice Saturday

2008-09-20T22:51:00.001-04:00

I know that everyone probably tires of hearing of our SeaWorld excursions, but hey, with four kids, when you find something that works, you stick with it. It was a beautiful day, everyone was happy and cheerful, and everyone had a good time. Emma is just hilarious. She knew exactly where we were going, and even half way knows her way around the park by now. She loves going to the underwater viewing areas for the big fish: the bottlenose dolphins, the orcas, and the manatees. And today, at the Believe Show when the trainers started swimming across the pool to begin the chant, she beat them to it, shouting "Shamu! Shamu!" as soon as they hit the water.

Shelby really loves two things in particular. The first thing she always wants to do is to pet the manta rays. It was a little cool this morning and they were playful, so she got splashed a lot and loved every minute of it. The second thing she always wants to do is go to the Wild Arctic exhibit and ride the helicopter ride. She really gets into that. (I love the Wild Arctic because the Beluga Whales are just pretty cool.)

Benjamin also loves two things about going. He loves to criticize his sisters, and he likes, of course, the sharks. He grumbled and complained about having to go, actually tried to get out of going with us last night, but he had a good time. He always does, he just doesn't want to admit it. Come on, Benjamin! No one you know saw you there with your sisters!

No matter how much fun the rest of us have, Kaitlyn dominates. Despite the fact that once again her efforts to pet a bottlenose dolphin were in vain, she got to see several up close. Then when we went to the underwater viewing area for the killer whales, she glanced in the tank and identified the one that was in there by name. No, not Shamu, which is the stage name for all SeaWorld killer whales, but Tilikum. Benjamin (and me) quickly told her there was no way she could know which killer whale it was, but she went and asked, and guess what! She was right! After the Believe show, she and I ran down to catch a trainer. She went up to the lady and started asking her questions about what she needed to study and stuff to become a trainer herself. (Would you believe psychology? Not kidding. Identifying and responding to behavioral patterns. I know, I know. This house is more in need of psychiatry.) Anyway, I took Kaitlyn's picture with the trainer. The trainer told her to hang on to that picture and bring it back to her when Kaitlyn got ready. (As we were leaving I asked the trainer what her name was, just because I knew Kaitlyn would want to know. When we got home, Kaitlyn pulled the pic up on the computer. Emma happened to walk in about that time, pointed to the picture and said, "Chrissy." I was pretty impressed. I thought Emma was asleep on my shoulder at that point.)

On the way home, we made a quick detour to Winn-Dixie in Lake Park and ran into Wendy! Emma got to see Brady for a minute. They're still buds. We love you guys, miss you lots, and wish you the best of luck in Montgomery!

So Grandma Lolo got to go to SeaWorld today. (She claims to have been to the one in San Diego, but that would have been before there was a Stacy, much less a Stacy-Keith-Benjamin-Kaitlyn-Shelby-Emma.) She enjoyed it and we enjoyed being with her. And I want to say thanks to her for taking care of me while I was sick (no tropical storm yet), washing lots and lots of clothes, and cooking Benjamin's squash for him. She came all the way down here to cook and clean! What a gal!

Nothing Really New

2008-09-19T11:10:00.001-04:00

I suppose that my only excuse for not adding a post in the past month is that there really hasn't been anything to post. Stacy is working and going to school. We see her occasionally. Benjamin is going to school, doing his FFA officer duties and growing squash for us. Kaitlyn is going to school and still wanting to be a trainer at Sea World. Shelby is going to school and still just being Shelby. Emma really thinks she is Diego, running around saying, "Animal in trouble! Hurry!" And me, of course, I'm teaching at GSOP, which consumes a whole lot more than is imaginable. I have a whole lot more respect for those who teach full-time, that's for sure.

And, of course, we're dealing with illnesses. Two weeks ago Emma actually began the stomach virus episode, with Benjamin quickly following. Shelby threw up once that week, but was fine after that. We thought we had gotten off pretty good. Then this week, Shelby started on Monday night, exactly two weeks after Emma began. Kaitlyn made it to school Tuesday, but ran in the door after school and threw up. And so I started about 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning. Yesterday is still a little fuzzy. I spent the entire day in bed, then went to bed about 10:00 last night and slept all night. Feeling better today, maybe back to 70% or so.

Which brings us to the reason for the recurrence of the illness. Grandma Lolo came this week. I picked her up from the airport in Tallahassee Wednesday morning. We decided to try to fly her into there so she could avoid Atlanta's airport (known by many other names, none publishable). It worked great for her. Nice short flight from a mid-sized Airport (Memphis) to a small airport (Tallahassee). We could have flown her into Valdosta for only a little more than it cost me to drive to Tallahassee to get her, but after her last experience in Atlanta, it was worth it. But, I digress. This actually began in 2006 when she flew down for Emma's arrival. We flew her into Valdosta, which was great for us, not so great for her. And shortly after her arrival, a horrible, horrible stomach virus swept through our household. It looked like a war zone. Bodies lying everywhere, with no one having the strength to even notice if anyone else was even still alive. Horrible. I will never forget that episode. I believe that she has twice since come down with my mom. Guess what? Both times we have gotten stomach viruses. And so she comes this time, and what happens? Either we are out to get her, or she is out to get us. (I haven't forgotten the lemon juice incident, Lois.)

Which brings us to yet another interesting question. When Grandma Lolo came down in 2006, the day she was to fly out of Valdosta to Atlanta to Memphis, TS Alberto came ashore in the Big Bend of Florida and came right over us. ASA cancelled her flight. I still remember the lady at the check-in here at Valdosta Regional saying very apologetically, "Well, it is hurricane season, and you have to expect cancellations." Granted, this was less than a year after Katrina and two years after Charlie, Francis, Ivan, and Jean had all passed close by. But I laughed. I mean, really laughed. Yeah, sure, we've had Fay this year, but so what! It's not like we get wiped off the map every couple of years, you know. Anyway, they stuffed Grandma Lolo into a van and drove her to Albany where she caught a flight to Atlanta, then on to Memphis. Now, back to the question. She flies out of Tallahassee next Friday, September 26. WILL THERE BE A HURRICANE IN THE GULF ON THAT DATE? One week from today. We'll soon know. If there is, does that coupled with the stomach viruses constitute a sign? Just something to think about.

OK. That's probably enough of my rambling, maybe even enough for another month! In October, I have planned a post commemorating our arrival in Valdosta, seven years ago. Some things just need to be written down. Also, maybe I'll include the latest Shelbyism, a term coined by Ryan, I do believe. Then again, maybe not, because some things do NOT need to be written down.

Rednecks: A Dying Breed

2008-09-19T09:09:00.001-04:00

(Let me begin by stating explicitly that this is not about rednecks, nor is it about our government. It is, however, a mesh of politico-religious editorial on the state of our existence today. Also by way of disclaimer, let me comment that while there are many redneck ways which I do not and cannot condone, I love them. Some of my best friends are rednecks. Come to think of it, some of my favorite family members are rednecks. Anyway, I ask that you do not read more into this than is intended.)

I remember in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew struck our beloved nation a double blow. We could not gain access to Florida in its aftermath, but we (the church at Thayer, MO) overloaded a U-Haul truck with food, water, clothing, etc., and drove it down to New Iberia, LA. We were not the only Midwest congregation to have done so, but the brethren there were so glad to see us come. I have since lost the pictures that I took on that trip, but the destruction we saw was almost beyond description. During the recovery from that storm, there were also scores of people, good old boys from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, who loaded up their pickup trucks with chain saws and tools and drove to the affected areas. There they worked to help people that had never met clean up their streets, yards, and repair their damaged homes. They were not expecting compensation, yet many of them gave up a week or so of their lives to do what good old boys do, help out a neighbor, even if that neighbor was in Louisiana.

I consider Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to be the beginning of the end. While the good old boys were flocking to Louisiana, National Guard prevented anyone from entering southern Florida.

2005, enter Hurricane Katrina. For weeks after Katrina, the headlines centered on how the government had not done enough to help the victims. Where were the good old boys? For the most part, denied access due to safety and health concerns.

2008, enter Hurricane Ike. A week after Ike has almost erased Galveston from the map, her own residents have not been allowed back in. As a matter of fact, the mayor has essentially told her residents to go away and not come back for a while. Meanwhile, the good old boys watched it all on TV and didn't even sharpen their chains. And why should they? The government is going to take care of this one.

(This is not designed to condemn either the government or the good old boys, only to observe the trends currently affecting our society.)

Enter the church. While I could (and will, eventually, but not today) get into the whole para-church-organization-issue and its relationship to these trends and problems, let's just go ahead and bring it down to the individual level. Here is the million-dollar question: Should the church be supporting the members in their individual works, or should the members be supporting the church in its collective work? Probably most of you would answer that there is no right-or-wrong answer; that some works are the responsibility of the church collectively and others are the responsibility of the members individually. OK. Sounds great. But which are which? In our recent study on the restoration movement on our first Sunday nights, we laid some groundwork for this discussion with the observation that when a work reaches the point where the individual members cannot handle it, the local church should help take up the slack. But in so many instances, when the church "steps in," the members "step out." When that happens, interest is going to be lost in the work, and when interest is lost in the work, the individual members are left asking why the church let them down.

Five-year environmental impact studies are expected from our government, but when did Christians begin expecting them from the church? Where are our picks and axes? Where are our shovels and hammers? Is there no work to be done? This cycle has repeated itself to the point that when a need is perceived, too many Christians wait too long for either the church to recognize the need and find a solution, or simply for someone else to do something about it. Are individual Christians a dying breed? Are we in need of evangelism? Then let us evangelize. Are we in need of edification? Then let us edify. Are we in need of forgiveness? Then let us forgive. Are we in need of love? Then let us love.

President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961 made this immortal comment: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." Let us stop asking where the church is and go sharpen our chains.

52 Degree Water Is Cold

2008-08-16T21:44:00.003-04:00

The Night Shows. OK, so we're at Sea World on Friday night. Left just as soon as everyone got home, drove straight to Sea World, and went straight to the ski show. Not being water people, I think that may have been the first time my girls had ever see anyone water ski. Pretty cool stuff. But the whole purpose of the Friday night adventure was to see Shamu Rocks. We get to Shamu Stadium early, and the kids want to set in the Soak Zone. I told them to get us some seats, and I helped get Emma and Stacy settled well above the water table. I get down to the kids and they are on the fourth row. Oh, boy. At first, the girls were just giddy, but then it changed to, "Why isn't Mommy down here?...Are we mean making her sit up there by herself?...Should we go up there and sit with her?. . . . . . . . . . . . Just how wet are we going to get?" So the show finally starts, and I must say, it was mighty impressive sitting down that low and being able to see as much of what was under the water as was on top. Impressive. And you can only see that well at night when the water is lit. Anyway, the whales do their tale-splash thing two or three times--on the other side of the stadium. They kept coming toward us and coming toward us and stopping just before they would get to us. Shelby is whining about it, but I'm thinking, This is going to be OK. And so we're watching the show progress and all of the sudden we see one of the whales (underwater) right in front of hurling toward the surface...up into the air...back down again onto its back.... Holy Cow! There must have been twenty gallons of 52 degree saltwater that landed on me alone. Then the whale comes back doing the stand-on-its-nose-tale-flogging right onto us as opposed to the little side-flip thing they sometimes do. Did I mention right on us? I really believe that if you went five people over in either direction that everyone was bone dry on our side of the stadium. It was like I had a big target on me. I knew I shouldn't have worn a red shirt. Made the thing mad, that's what I did. No, wait, that's bulls, isn't it?

The Hotel. Before we left, Kaitlyn asked me where we were staying. I told her I didn't know, but she had better be glad her Mommy did the picking instead of me, because I would have had all of us sleeping in two double beds in the MicroTel. (You know better, don't you Renee?) No, with four kids, I've adopted the policy that more is better. Anyway, we're in a two bedroom suite, ground floor, first room on the left from the lobby. (If any of you would like Stacy's assistance in booking rooms, her number is 548-8952.) As we are packing up on Saturday morning, I looked at the desk in the room where the girls slept. On the desk on the notepad, one of my little angels had written, "Kitchen needs a little help." I don't know which one it was (I suspect Shelby), and I don't know what needed help (I suspect that there was no food in it), but I thought it was hilarious. Other than that, great stay. We all had a peaceful night of uneventful slumber.

Souvenir Time. This trip we decided to finally purchase some mementos of our journey. Emma had gotten a small stuffed "doll-pin" on the last trip. Didn't want anything to do with Shamu. This time, she latched onto one, hugged it, kissed it on the nose, and kept saying over and over, "My baby doll-pin. My baby doll-pin." Shelby wanted (and got) a shark-tooth necklace. Kaitlyn wanted (and got) a stuffed manatee. Benjamin wanted (and got) ice cream. Go figure. Anyway, on the way home, I commented to Stacy that they all got souvenirs except for me, but I still had the best of all: lots of smiles and hugs.

Back to School

2008-08-05T21:10:00.002-04:00

Only at our house. Second day of school, someone comes home with a fever. I'm not joking. I wish I were.

School is off to a roaring start, other than that. Shelby and Kaitlyn both love their new teachers. Benjamin is excited, too, although he doesn't want to admit it. Emma Jean just slipped right into the routine, new babysitter and all. We dropped the girls off this morning and she said, "Wanngo Elwen's house" ("I want to go to Helen's house"). The girls are riding the bus home this year. Shelby is loving it, but Kaitlyn says it is too hot.

Along that line, the other day Shelby was helping me move some stuff over at the church building and she said, "Dad, I just don't look good when I sweat." Duh.

Sea World

2008-07-23T08:04:00.005-04:00

Well, we finally made good on our promises to take the kids to Sea World. On the way down, we asked Emma if she wanted to see some "bish." Emma loves bish. When we were in Stuart and Terry took us fishing, we saw some dolphins playing in the river. I suppose that was what set the stage for an interesting day.

Ya gotta love Sea World. We arrived last Saturday just in time for the first "Believe" show of the day. While we were waiting for the show to begin, you could see the shadow of Shamu swimming around the tank. Emma began pointing and saying "doll-pin." I know you would have thought we would have learned by now, but it always amazes me at just how much Emma knows. We didn't have to point things out to her: she was pointing them out to us. It has been my experience, though, that what impresses adults does not necessarily impress 2-year olds. Emma was as impressed as we were.

Oh, we sat up high this time because I was not excited about having 52 degree salt water splashed on me and having to wear that home.

Kaitlyn was just giddy during the show. She has always been an animal lover. Her new favorite animal is the manatee. Benjamin spent the day arguing with her: "Why are you so interested in an animal that just floats around and eats all day?" Hmmm. That kind of describes him, too.

Shelby, though, was the big surprise. When the show was over, she was just bawling. I mean bawling. I kept asking her what was wrong and she kept saying, "Nothing!" She was just that overwhelmed by it.

We went through the Arctic exhibit and saw some polar bears and some mighty impresses walruses; went to the circus show, which was a circ-du-so-lay type thing (I know it's not spelled right, but everyone of you knows what I mean); the shark encounter with the underwater tunnel; waited in line for an hour to get some food; rode a little roller coaster with Shelby and Benjamin, because Shelby wanted to do something; then got in the van just as the first drops of rain began to fall. We did not make it to the manatee exhibit, which crushed poor Kaitlyn, but we promised her that would be our very first stop on the next trip.

I don't think we bought a single souvenir Saturday, but what we brought home was priceless. You can't put a price tag on seeing Emma rolling across the floor, then standing up and saying, "Jump! Doll-pin!" (By the way, as you may have figured, all fish larger than a bass are now dolphins to her. And, bless her heart, she can't actually jump.)

Home At Last!

2008-07-11T13:25:00.007-04:00

We had an absolutely wonderful trip to Stuart, FL earlier this week. We left out of here before church Sunday morning and worshiped at Lake City. Got to see Ryan, Michelle, Noah, and Chloe there. It is utterly ridiculous that we are that close to them and only see them about once every two years. We made it down to Stuart in plenty of time and started VBS Sunday night. Terry took us fishing on the St. Lucie River Monday morning. Caught a few snapper and a few blowfish. Kids had a ball. Then we went to the beach that afternoon. On Tuesday morning, I went to the church to teach a class while Stacy wrestled with the kids at the continental hotel breakfast. To judge by the look on her face when she got to the church building, I definitely had it easier. Back to the beach on Tuesday afternoon. Kaitlyn got a little too much sun on Monday, Stacy and I on Wednesday, but nobody got it too bad. On Wednesday, we had to be out of the motel by noon, so we went to the Florida Oceanographic Center so the kids could pet the stingrays. Then we went to a putt-putt place. The kids had been throwing a fit to play putt-putt, then ended up having a much better (and cooler) time in the arcade. Emma was about give out by the time we got home. She has slept A LOT since we got home. I guess she is making up for not getting a nap all week long.

The church at Stuart was absolutely wonderful. If I ever decide to host a hospitality clinic, I know where to have it. They fed us each night after VBS. On Sunday night, we went with the Frizzells (the girls just loved Casey, as I knew they would), Greg and Sharon Moody, and Charles and Sandra Hicks. Greg and Charles are elders there at Stuart, so we had to behave ourselves (lol). On Monday night, Patrick and Cindy LaConte took us out for seafood. On Tuesday, we went with Jim and Debbie Winkle and their brood. Then on Wednesday, we went to Randall and Renee Hunters' house. Playing the who-do-you-know game, we discovered earlier in the week that Randall is the brother of one of the members we knew at Berryville, Shawna Stevens. Everyone at the church was so warm and friendly. Emma actually climbed over the pew on Wednesday night and hugged Carolyn Deem, who had sat behind us all week.

The VBS was very good. They had a lot of interaction with the kids. It is always great to see how much fun the kids are having, and how much some of the adults either think or wish they were kids.

Now we are just trying to recover. Glad we don't have anywhere else to go for a while.

I'm not into the whole slide show things, but here are some pics.

Emma was proud to borrow the Jordans' Diego life jacket

The 8-year old looks scared, the 2-year old looks thrilled

Surfs up!

Emma loved the waves

We seem to have been heavy on Emma pics

Studied determination

Quick Comment Before We Go Get The Kids

2008-06-26T08:00:00.002-04:00

Hey, I guess I'm "blogging up for lost time," but wanted to mention this while it was fresh on my mind. Having the kids at Grandma's is much, much cheaper! A load of dishes every three days (vs. one per day); a load of laundry every other day (vs. two per day); food costs have been slashed; toilet paper usage has seen a dramatic reduction; the same trash bag actually stayed in the trash can for three whole days; the average temperature in the house has been reduced by three degrees (thanks to the doors not constantly opening and closing). It's not just a break from the kids: it's an environmental and economic revolution! I think they ought to just move in with the Grandmas permanently. I could retire AND heal South Georgia's environmental problems within a year, easy.

Many Thanks

2008-06-25T23:35:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all who helped to plan the surprise birthday party for me tonight. You got me. It would not have been nearly as special without Burt trying to keep me occupied while you got it all set up after Bible class. He told me he needed to talk to me about something and led me outside, so I'm thinking preacher stuff, ya know. Then he started talking about his kids ("Is it OK if I kill them?"), then Michelle (same basic question), and I'm thinking, "OK. Nothing new here. Get to the point, Burt." (By the way, yes, there were other things discussed, but only Burt and I will ever know the rest of the story--LOL.)

Anyway, thanks. I guess if I have to turn 40, this is the place I want to do it and you are the folks I want to do it with. Love ya lots!

kmo

Finally, An Update

2008-06-25T00:27:00.003-04:00

I guess all I can say is that we are lousy bloggers. It has been almost 2 months since we last posted anything. But, if there can be an excuse for such, I did it out of kindness to you, the reader. I know how tired you must be of hearing of our sicknesses and such.

Stacy had her surgery back in May. Slowly, she is getting better. She has started her new job at Georgia Christian and so far, she loves it. The bad news is she gets so little time off this summer. It's hard to believe we're already gearing up for school to start back.

I've been busy as well. I preached a meeting at Sylvester, GA right before Stacy had her surgery. What a wonderful group of folks! They were absolutely wonderful! Then, VBS. That was one of those weeks when every day, like clockwork, the phone rang at 6:45 because someone had an emergency of some sort. Love those weeks. Went to Tifton and spoke at Ridge Avenue a couple of weeks ago. Love those folks, too.

In the midst of all this fun came some serious heartache, as well. First, prayers are needed for John and Melissa and their baby. For those of you who don't know them, which is pretty much all of our family, they are just super people who are desperately concerned for their new baby. On top of that, Jaden and Rachel Schultz lost their baby week before last. They, too, are a fantastic young couple, for whom saying they are having a rough time is a dramatic understatement. Please pray for both of these couples!

Ran the kids up to the Grandma's last Thursday. Stacy started crying as we left about 4:00 a.m. That got Kaitlyn started. She WAILED all the way to Moultrie, at which point we called Mommy, and she settled her down. We stopped for breakfast at Columbus and Emma started in: "I want Mommy." It was Shelby's turn as we were getting ready for bed Friday night. She talked me into giving her an email account "to keep in touch." Send her a note at zebrazazzy@gmail.com. Benjamin? I don't recall having seen him after the van stopped at Grandma's. He just kind of disappeared into the woods, last seen with .22 in hand headed West. We're heading out Thursday evening to go pick them up. Maybe Stacy will quit bawling then.

We're headed for Stuart, FL the week after the 4th. I'm going to teach the adult class for their VBS. We might look for the beach while we're down there. After that, I think we will just be waiting on our supposed "economic stimulus" check. Getting mighty tired of watching the Braves' games on the little 19" TV since our old one went kaput.

I will actually try to update this thing again before Thanksgiving....

Birthdays--Halfway There!

2008-05-01T08:50:00.002-04:00

Since Benjamin's birthday on the 16th, we endured the daily countdown to Kaitlyn's, which was, of course, yesterday. She was quite pleased with her Miley, Lilly, and Oliver dolls, which always makes a parent feel good. For some reason, though, Emma seems to really like Oliver.

Stacy's final day of finals is today, then we start the end-of-school rush month. I just looked at the calendar. In the month of May, the 8th and the 27th are the only open days.

Benjamin went to the chorus festival in Atlanta last weekend. Although he was not what you would call a fountain of information, we do gather that they took first place. Now he is looking forward to going to Bible camp the day school gets out.

Kaitlyn, having successfully made it to age 10, commented yesterday that it would only be 6 more years before she could start driving.

Shelby had a little overnight stomach bug earlier this week, but is doing fine. Now it's time to start figuring out what she wants for her birthday.

Emma, who would be happy with Goldfish (a.k.a., "bish") for her birthday, is just funny. Last night someone crashed into something (who has time to keep track of it all) and she held her hands out and said, "Happen." (Translated, "What happened?") Pretty sure she picked that up from Miss Wendy. I'm sure she hears that multiple times every day.

The vehicle-trading-drama is hopefully now concluded. Already, I am just not sure how we endured this past year without two. I've been keeping track of mileage over the past couple of weeks (trying to figure out how much we are saving in gas) and have just been astounded at how much driving we do just to do what has to be done. And I'm already looking forward to next year when the girls can ride the bus. (They realigned the school districts--we will actually be in Moulton-Branch district next year.)

Along that line, thanks to Burt for making it possible for us to be there this year. Not to take ANYTHING away from Clyattville last year--they were absolutely wonderful--but: 1) having the girls there with Burt this year made us somebody (who would have ever thought my claim to fame would be being "Burt's preacher," which is what everyone at MBE knows me as--that's OK, because I know they are ALL looking out for my babies); and 2) I don't know how we would have gotten through this year with the 10 mile drive to CES vs. the 3 mile drive to MBE. Thanks, Burt!

Quick Update

2008-04-22T15:07:00.003-04:00

Good news! After a couple of calls to the doctor yesterday, he finally decided it was safe to let us know that Kaitlyn's fingers were NOT broken. Kaitlyn openly wept when she learned she could liberate her digits before Field Day on Friday. Miraculously, once she learned her fingers were not broken, they quit hurting! Just imagine! Anyway, she went to school today without her splints and did just fine. And, boy, are we glad!

How did April get to be so long?

2008-04-20T15:25:00.010-04:00

It feels like this month is just one big event after another. We can't get a break!

Actually, a lot has gone on since I updated this ten days ago. I'll try to get it all in and in the right order.

To fill you in, we have been vehicle shopping for about a year now. The Tahoe was great, but the seating just was not working. We needed something with captain's chairs in the middle to make it easier to get four kids in and out, and something a little bit more economic. Not to mention the fact that we really needed a second "road-worthy" vehicle so Stacy would not have to drive my truck every day. Well, last weekend, we drove by Blanton's and they had just the vehicle we have been looking for, for a year now, I might add: an '08 Chevy Uplander van with only 16k miles. So, Monday I went shopping, and Tuesday we got a "new" van.

As I was getting ready to leave the car lot with the van on Tuesday afternoon, I gave the dealer (Tim and Karen Blanton were just great) my wish list for a second vehicle: must seat five; small truck or small SUV; economic; etc. Tim looked at it and said, "I've got that vehicle on the lot right now." So I bought it. I think Stacy had more trouble with the fact it is a Ford than I did, but it is an '05 Ford Escape. 4x4, I might add. I have not owned a Ford since the Mustang II I had in high school. Needless to say, it has taken some adjustment. That came home with me on Wednesday.

Wednesday was also Benjamin's birthday. Stacy had school after school (VSU after GCS), I had a deacons' meeting at 6, church at 7, so it was 8:30 or so before we finally got to eat his cake. We got him the Ripstick he has been wanting. He fell on it first thing Thursday morning and skinned up his knee and elbow. He has gotten a lot better on it since then.
Thursday evening was also Stacy's late night at VSU. She left for school and I got a massive headache. The Braves game had just started when Kaitlyn fell while pulling Benjamin along on his Ripstick. (He actually fell and pulled her down with him.) The doctor at Youth Care thought her left thumb was just jammed, but that her left middle finger is broken. They were swamped, and he said there was no point in waiting around three or four hours for x-rays. I took her Friday morning after she finished her CRCT testing, but we have yet to hear back from the doc. She is miserable with her fingers all taped together.
Speaking of miserable, Stacy isn't any better. Our trip to the urologist was, in my opinion, a waste of time. She is, well, just miserable.
Eric Lyons came in yesterday and spoke for us at Airport this morning. He did a wonderful job. I was quite thankful for that, after all of the talking up I had done about him. But, he delivered, as I knew he would. We had a good crowd with several visitors, which was good, considering how many folks chose to be out of town today.
Coming up! Benjamin returns to the dentist tomorrow; hopefully hear from the doc on Kaitlyn's fingers tomorrow; and the infamous auction next weekend!

Catching up

2008-04-10T15:27:00.006-04:00

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

Georgia School of Preaching

2008-03-18T10:37:00.002-04:00

Wanted to take just a moment to lament over the fact that tonight will wrap up my quarter of teaching at Georgia School of Preaching in Dasher. When this quarter began, I really wondered what I had done to make Skye mad. He had given me what I considered two of the toughest classes to teach. The class on the Godhead was tough because I basically had to start from scratch, not even taking into consideration that it is a tough subject to begin with. If anything, though, the class on the Synoptic Gospels was even tougher, because it is impossible to teach Matthew, Mark, and Luke in 13 weeks. But what a wonderful 13 weeks. What a challenge and a privilege to be able to help teach others to preach the gospel of Christ. While I am ready for the break, I am so grateful I had the opportunity to be involved on the ground floor of this institution and look forward to being able to teach again.

What a Day!

2008-03-17T10:28:00.012-04:00

Yesterday we had the Easter Egg Hunt for the young 'uns. Count, if you can, the kids in the playhouse. I gave up.

I think they all had a great time, even if Burt looked bored.

What we didn't get pictures of was the older ones doing their scavenger hunt. They were pretty funny. We had absolutely gorgeous weather, no one got hurt, no one got lost, and no one got hit with any of the raw eggs I slipped into the basket.

One more thing I had to throw in. There are road trips, then there are road trips. Judging from Steve's cheesy grin, this must have been a good one!

BRISTOL OR BUST, BABY!!!!!

100% of precincts reporting....

2008-03-03T12:00:00.003-05:00

Well, Benjamin's wish came true. He is huddled under a blanket on the couch shivering. By now, though, we're all like, can't you do something original? The copycat!

Emma and Kaitlyn are fever free this morning. Stacy started out that way, but it didn't last. Shelby is now in the high fever zone. I just feel as though my head could potentially fall off onto the floor. And if it did, I wouldn't have the energy to pick it up.

Stacy got up feeling good and told me she was thinking about going to school. I very sweetly and lovingly talked her out of it. ("Oh, no, you are not!") She made a valiant attempt at homework this morning, but finally just climbed in bed. Took me over two hours to clean the kitchen, but I finally got it done. I am now in my recliner and have no intent of moving from it.

Oops! Updated too quickly

2008-03-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

Kaitlyn hovering around 101; Shelby hovering around 99.5; Emma hovering around 104.... Benjamin is wanting to be sick with everyone else, but just can't quite get there. He's checking his temp about every 30 minutes, but 97.6 is the best he can do. Poor Benjamin. I think he just wants to be sick because he's tired of Stacy calling him to do something every 5 minutes.

Returning to Normal

2008-03-01T11:20:00.000-05:00

The grandmothers paid us a welcome visit this past week. Grandma Lolo and Grandma Paula got here a week ago last Thursday (I dare you to ask them for a 'Days Inn Endorsement') and left this Thursday morning. I'm afraid they got a very realistic picture of just how crazy it is in our household. I hardly noticed they were here, for all the running around we had to do. But it was still a very enjoyable visit. Emma was a little bit gunshy of Grandma Lolo's neckbrace, but finally started coming around. Shelby went to school and cried all morning Thursday because of their departure. (Reminds you of the 'good ole days,' doesn't it, Renee?) Shelby was having an especially good time learning how to knit from Grandma Paula. They made it safely home on Friday (I dare you to ask them for their endorsement of 'Nicole, the Directions Goddess').

During last Tuesday's storm, which tore up Joel and Linda's yard and car with 70-80 mph winds, the Grandmas were at home with Emma, wondering why I kept calling to ask if they were OK. We clocked a gust of 37 mph and got a whopping .48" of rain.

Now, the return to normal part. I was sick with a fever and stomach cramps all day yesterday (Friday). Had to go pick Kaitlyn up from school at 1:30 with 102.5 temp and a very bad cough. I'm feeling better this morning, but Kaitlyn and Stacy now have fevers and coughs. Benjamin had to sing at the 'Parent University' thingy this morning at VMS. Mrs. Parker said she was very impressed with him. I never had any doubts. So, we will just spend the remainder of our weekend licking our wounds and trying to recuperate for another week. Only one month to go till Spring Break!

Is this really February???

2008-02-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

Well, we endured a typical February Saturday-after-Valentine's Day. Had to cut the grass. Spent an hour weed eating. Kids played outside all day in shorts. Here are some pics of our azaleas blooming and one of a bud on one of our orange trees. The weather forecast for MO is snow and ice.

Step #112 -- Done!!!

2008-02-14T10:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it took almost the complete 24 hours of labor, but it is finished. Stacy commented that if we had gotten something like that when we were kids, we would have thought we just had the coolest parents ever. After all of that, I don't like where it is, but I don't know how to move it. The kids are already having a ball with it, but we're all wondering when Emma is going to fall off of it. She really likes the slide.

The pics were taken with my phone camera, so they aren't the best quality. Just thought I would throw the one of Benjamin and the fish in....

The 'Clubhouse'

2008-02-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

Well, assembly began on the 'clubhouse' yesterday. Hope to get some pics soon. I knew we were in trouble when we opened up the directions and it said, "Requires two moderately skilled workers 20-24 hours to assemble." Hmmm. We're getting there, but we're not there yet.

Getting Better

2008-02-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

Well, managed to send all of the kids to school on Friday. They were a mite tuckered, but OK. Now Stacy apparently has this bug. Just trying to get everyone well at the same time.

Emma has a new trick. She is now helping to unload the dishwasher. She knows where everything belongs, she just can't always reach it. If you ever leave the dishwasher open, all the silverware will be piled in the front of the drawer. Fortunately, she hasn't unloaded dirty ones. Yet.

Took the girls to the Hannah Montana 3D movie last night. They were pretty excited.

Sick Kids

2008-01-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

As an intro blog, we are dealing with a ton of sick young uns. Kaitlyn is still recovering from her tonsillectomy, Emma has been throwing up since Saturday, Shelby has had a sore throat since Sunday, and now she is hurling. What joy! What fun!