Moving Baby, Dry Pants, and a Wedding Dance

The weather typical for November has arrived. It's three weeks late but it's here, complete with a light snow flurry yesterday. While we went to the parade in short sleeves last Saturday we haven't been able to dress that way since. It has been cold and wet. All the farmers have been scurrying to get their tobacco down.

BEING THANKFUL. Like everyone else we celebrated the holiday on Thursday. We ate over at Pauline's around 3:00. Vicki, Pauline, Mom and Aunt Mar all combined efforts for a wonderful meal. That way we had a lot of food without overwhelming one cook. After that we all watched some home video we had shot with our camera since June. Nate sure has grown!

A SMALL BLESSING. I usually have some chore that takes me outside after dark. I really like to do this on a clear night as the stars are so pretty (Orion and the Pleiades are rising an hour or so after sunset this time of year). About once a week I walk out to hear the coyotes howling in the woods behind the house. Sometimes I'll carry on a short conversation with a screech owl.

Monday evening I went out to dump some table scraps in the field. When I pitched the scraps out of my bowl they almost landed on a small animal. Having seen me coming it was hiding under some leaves but after the near miss with the leftover food it decided to make a dash behind the red house. I got a pretty decent look at it as it ran off and was very thankful that while having black and white fur it appeared to run like a cat.

MOBILITY. Nate is on the move. He is not crawling yet but has perfected his scoot well enough to traverse the house. The other day we set him in his room to play while we were working in the kitchen. He was very content there until he heard Vicki and I start to talk. In just a few moments we were startled to hear him squeal at the kitchen door. He had left his room and scooted through our bedroom and the hall to find us.

Sometimes Nate wants to be picked up, usually when you are trying to get a few chores done. When this happens it feels like you are living inside one of those video games where there is this little robot or something after you. You can always outrun it but you have to stay on the move at all times. It doesn't matter where you go, the robot is always facing you and slowly making its way toward you. And if you are wearing sweat pants the "robot" may attempt to pull them down to your ankles trying to get your attention (at which point you have lost one life and have to start over).

BIG BOY PANTS. We put Ben in underwear this week. I don't think we will tempt fate with him like this at night but he seems to be ready to wear them during the day. He was really proud to have his Bob the Builder underwear on and I explained that it was very important to go to the bathroom when he felt the need to go. He said, "OK Daddy, I not get Bob wet."

A MOVIE REVIEW. We rented Winged Migration this week. If you are looking for a story with a plot, this ain't it. If you are looking for a documentary on birds this really isn't it either. It is a film that shows birds as they migrate over a year's time. There is very little narration but some really neat footage of different birds in flight. Some of the "stars" of the film were raised by the filmmaker's crew since hatching and had "imprinted" with their human parents so they were very tame. These birds were used in the close-up shots of birds in flight. Once they got the birds used to flying with an ultralight aircraft they could shoot some amazing footage for the film. It was entertaining.

A WEDDING. Our pastor's oldest son got married this evening. Pauline and Aunt Mar kept the boys so Vicki, Jenna, Mom and I could go. The wedding was held at First Baptist Nashville and was a beautiful ceremony. The reception was at the Hermitage Hotel. It is really hard to think of Brandon getting married. He was a toddler when Bro. Bill and Cindy moved here.

Jenna was looking forward to going. We thought for a little while she might get sick and not be able to go but she was determined to be well. We called home to check on the adults left behind while on the way to the reception. Jenna got on the phone and told Pauline that Brandon kissed Lesley Ann and, "It was funny." I danced with her at the reception. I don't know how to dance at all but having a scared, shy five year old wrapped around my right leg hid that fact pretty well. I couldn't help but wonder when Jenna would be the bride...it will be here way before I am ready.

OH TO BE IN THIS GOOD OF HEALTH WHEN I GET OLD. The other day we were talking to Mrs. Mary Yates. She mentioned that they had cleaned out the gutters on their house last week. When asked who they hired to do the job she said, "Why, Robert (her husband) did! He climbed up that ladder like a squirrel"

For those of you who do not know Robert and Mary Yates, they go to our church. They have been members at Mt. Carmel for decades. Everyone loves them a whole lot and they are some of the first people who come to mind when I think of our church. Mr. Robert is 91 years old.

Joe

Tricks, Tricks, and More Tricks

The Holiday Season has begun as far as I am concerned. As you will read we have already been involved with several Thanksgiving/Christmas activities. It promises to be a fun season. Just hope we are ready because the pace has picked up and it won't slow down until January. We hope each of you has a most wonderful Thanksgiving.

The only downside to the week is that we have not been completely healthy. It's nothing major but a combination of autumn sinus problems, an ear infection, and a migraine headache triggered by some virus has made life interesting around our house. Especially when you are putting three kids to bed and trying to keep all of the medications straight.

PATRIOTISM AT ITS FINEST HOUR. East Robertson Elementary begins its day like every other school in America, with the Pledge to the Flag (which is a matter of prayer itself), a moment of silence (which is a good time for that prayer), and announcements. At the end of this they have an OLD record player connected to the intercom system. They use that to play some patriotic song. Monday's song was You're a Grand Old Flag.

That night we decided to go out to eat at Cracker Barrel. On the way Jenna was singing the song with confidence and gusto. We were enjoying her rendition as she was getting all the words right. However, we couldn't contain our laughter when Jenna sang the line, "Every heart beats true/To the Red Riding Hood...."

NEW TRICKS. I've dropped Nate's bed mattress down to its lowest set of hooks. I knew it was time when I walked into his room and he was sitting up in bed. He is very adept at flipping over from back to front and then using his arms to walk himself into a sitting position.

Nate is also more mobile. Once sitting (with his feet in a clapping position in front of him) he can scoot. It sort of looks like an Elvis impersonation. He isn't truly crawling yet but he is giving that a try as well. He will get on one knee and then pull forward one step with the other foot, much like Jenna crawled for those of you who saw that.

MORE NEW TRICKS. Ben has introduced some new tricks as well. Most important to us is that he is starting to go to the bathroom on his own! I can't say that he has a perfect track record this week but we are very proud that he realizes when its time to go by himself.

Ben is also starting to put his own clothes on. Now, he may come out of his room with his shirt on inside out and the tag in the front, but he put it on! He is also able to buckle himself into his car seat!

HOW'S THAT AGAIN? I enjoy listening to NPR's Morning Edition when I drive to work. Thursday morning I decided to treat myself at the Doughnut Palace in Springfield. As I pulled into the drive-through line a story came on the radio about some of the most sought after art in the world. They went on to mention a Van Gogh that was recently sold for $80 million just as it was my turn to order. With this freshly on my mind I looked out the window and calmly ordered 2 million chocolate covered doughnuts. My only clue that I had said something wrong was the look of shock on the guy's face.

AN OFFICIAL START. The November meeting of the Cross Plains Heritage Commission is generally my mental kick off for the Holiday Season. That is because it is a covered dish supper! I was not disappointed. The topic of the program was the source of our Christmas traditions.

Vicki and I came home too stuffed to move. Partly from the supper and partly from lunch. We had gotten to eat with Jenna at school as well. The school cafeteria served Thanksgiving dinner. They sold tickets in advance (open to family members of students). Those ladies can cook! We all enjoyed walking hand in hand down the hall to and from lunch.

'TIS THE SEASON. Today we went to the Christmas Parade in Springfield. Of course, one of the humorous things about a small town is that the parade was longer than the parade route. The kids enjoyed everything but the sirens on the police and fire vehicles. The strange thing is that it was warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts (we even raised the windows in the house today).

SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP. Vicki is very good about getting a head start on her Christmas shopping. She is finding things, big and little, all through the year for Christmas presents so when the time gets here she has quite a bit done. However; she started shopping in earnest this week. Wednesday night after church she and her mom, Pauline, went shopping and they didn't come home until after midnight. She and Nate went shopping through part of the day yesterday and then she and my mom went shopping last night.

This isn't to say that she won't be out on Christmas Eve, but it is her goal to be lounging with the rest of us on the 24th.

Joe

Winners, Losers, and Web Sites

This week's issue is short. Either Vicki or I have had something going on each night this week which has left the other one as a lone ranger on kid duty each evening. I usually procrastinate until Friday nights to get this thing started and finish it up on Saturday nights. Since Vicki has been out both of these evenings I have been left with a lack of time and a lack of a proofreader. Well, something is better than nothing.

NOT TO BE DEFEATED. He may look like he is down for the count but then he comes back from behind. I am talking about Kenny and the leaves in Aunt Mar's yard. I'd love to know how many cubic feet of leaves he has removed this week. The next rain may mess it up but right now Aunt Mar has a clean yard. He has made Aunt Mar one happy woman. Just don't look at our yard when you drive by.

NOW HOW DID THAT GO? It was Tuesday of this week that the photographer returned to East Robertson Elementary School for pictures. They have already had their regular mug shots and their make up mug shots, now they are back for the Christmas mug shots. (They only came around for pictures once a year when I was in school.)

I take Jenna to school on Tuesdays and Fridays. On our way out the door Vicki told Jenna to be sure and put on a pretty smile for her picture. Jenna then put on this real cheesy grin and said, "Like this?" Then Vicki coached Jenna to get a nice, relaxed, pretty smile. With that accomplished Jenna said, "I'm going to have to hold that all day so I don't forget how to do it."

NEVER, EVER, EVER TRUST A NAKED BOY. For those of you who have changed very many diapers on baby boys you know why I am saying this. I really hadn't planned on doing that load of laundry at that particular time. I was in the line of fire, at point blank range, with absolutely no where to go.

A MECHANICAL MIND. Mom and Aunt Mar received an item (in the shape of a computer mouse) in the mail promoting some tractor parts business (with an online store). They had no idea what the item would be used for unless it was a paper weight.

Ben spent the night over at their house last night. In his play he ran across this item. They said that within one minute he had found the magnet on the "mouse" and stuck it on the fridge, discovered that the mouse buttons slide forward and snap back to hold a pen, and found a slot opening on the rear of the mouse for holding paper. When Nate and I went over there for breakfast this morning he proudly showed me how he had them set up with scratch paper and pen on the fridge.

WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE. We have been working on a web site for church on and off for the last month or so. While it is far from being done it is at a point where we are ready to go public about it (which will be tomorrow morning in the worship service). We will be adding features over the next few months as time allows.

Joe

Clapping Hands, Eating Yogurt, and Raking Leaves

Ahhh, we finally have cool weather! Now I'll be comfortable when I go outside to work. The nice thing is that the usual fall rains held off long enough for the farmers to get most of the soybeans in. Last fall it got wet early and there were some beans that didn't get harvested until this past spring. Now, with the wet weather they can turn their attention to taking down and stripping tobacco. Can you tell I kind of miss farming?

CLAP YOUR HANDS. Nate now claps his hands! When you put a Cheerio in his mouth he grins and claps away. Now if we could just dress him up in a seal costume and teach him to balance a ball on his nose....

FRUSTRATED WITH PARENTS. After Ben's shower Sunday morning I dried him off and I sent him to his room to get a pull-up (yes, he is a stubborn boy). He went running through the house. After a moment I heard him in Nate's room where Vicki was nursing Nate. I then heard Vicki say, "Ben, go get a pull-up and take it to Daddy."

He then runs through the house again before coming to me--without a pull-up. I said, "Benton, go to your room and get a pull-up." He retorted, "Hmph. That's just what Mommy said."

A few days later Vicki got him a cup of yogurt for an afternoon snack. While he was eating she noticed him about to stick his fingers down in the cup. When she told him not to he said, "But Mommy, that's what kids do."

KNOW IT ALL. Thursday morning I took Jenna to school. It was a cool morning. Jenna put her hand on the window and exclaimed, "That's cold!" Then she added, "That's because it's cold outside."

"You think so?" I replied.

"Yes. I just know all about this world," she answered.

LEAVES. We raked and burned leaves early this week (before the rain came). It seems like we loaded my truck at least a dozen times and it doesn't look like we made a dent in the yard. The kids really loved it. One time when I came out the back door I looked around and saw everyone except Ben. When I asked where he was he popped up out of a nearby pile of leaves saying, "Here I am!"

We are more fortunate than Aunt Mar. We have about 25 trees in the yard, all of which drop all their leaves in a few weeks time. As most of you know, Aunt Mar has about 125 oak trees in her yard. Oaks are notorious for dropping leaves all winter long (most of the leaves come down in the fall but not all of them). I read somewhere than a mature oak tree produces about 700,000 leaves each year. Kenny has visited her yard with leaf removal equipment twice already. I couldn't tell he had been there at all.

A BROKEN FURNACE. The heat exchanger on our furnace is cracked. We can still use it but the part needs replacing. Fortunately it is still under warranty! Unfortunately the part was ordered on October 31 and still hasn't arrived (we are hoping it will be here by November 12 but have no guarantee of it). I was told that if I wanted the part sooner I would have to pay the shipping costs--company policy. Very frustrating.

Joe

Spooks, Spirits, and New Skills

This has been the peak week as far as the trees go. Most of the trees have been at the height of their color; however, they have not all peaked out at the same week as they have done in previous years. This has not been one of our most colorful autumns.

THE FLIP SIDE. We have always put our kids to bed on their backs when they were babies. Naturally, we have discovered when each of them has learned to roll over when we walk in to the nursery one morning to find the baby of his or her stomach. Nate has arrived this week!

Since we always have put the kids on their backs they learned to roll over from back to stomach first with the stomach to back roll coming a couple of weeks later. Nate demonstrated today that he did not plan on wasting time with this skill. There will be no more setting him in the middle of the bed when I change clothes after work.

OLD KATE. The Bell Witch is a world famous Robertson County legend. Last year David Alford moved back home to Robertson County after a career in theatre in New York and other places. Being fascinated with the Bell Witch story he wrote a play called "Spirit" which the Robertson County Players performed last October. "Spirit" returned to the stage again this year. We went to see it Thursday night (on a double date with Brent and Cindy Roycroft). It was very well done. A most entertaining evening. (The Robertson County Times published an article about the play. This page will probably be online for only a few weeks.)

If you are not familiar with the story of the Bell Witch you can visit www.bellwitch.org to learn more. This site is not connected with the play nor is it focused on the occult. The author of the site does not claim to believe in the Bell Witch, he just posted to site to present historical documentation of the legend (and to sell his book on the subject). It is a good read if you are interested in the legend from a historical perspective.

WHENEVER I HAVE KIDS.... Jenna obviously has a few issues with our parenting. At least she is expressing her displeasure in a positive way. Her hinted advice to us includes "...I will always say 'yes' to them," "...I will take them to the park every day," and "...I will never make them take a bath."

TRICK OR TREAT! Last night we took our ladybug (Jenna), our gorilla (Ben), and our puppy dog (Nate) trick or treating. We walked the length of Cross Plains collecting candy and stopped at over a dozen houses of family and friends after that. At Aunt Mar's house Ben walked in and said, "Give me tandy!" We got home three hours later. We were a tired assortment of spooks by then. We got more chocolate this year than we remember getting last year.

Joe