Paper Planes, Scoring Goals, and a Budding Artist

It seems like someone took the throttle and jammed it wide open. I cannot believe it was five weeks ago that we were wishing the new year in and putting away the Christmas decorations and here tomorrow is February 1!

HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Ben has developed a cough this week so we are giving him medicine. The first morning Vicki fed it to him Ben said, "I not coughing no more!" as soon as he swallowed it. No sooner that he walked out of the bathroom he had a small coughing fit. He walked right back in and announced, "It not working."

MOM, I'M SORRY, I MUST TELL THIS. Thursday night, Mom and I went to the Heritage Commission meeting in Cross Plains. On our way home she began to tell me about her trip from Cross Plains to church during Tuesday's brief snow shower. She was excitedly talking ninety words a minute and had to speed up to end her story as I was parking in the driveway at her house. When she finished (and caught her breath) I looked at her and said, "You realize that it took you longer to tell me about your trip from Cross Plains than it took me to drive the same route." She looked like she couldn't decide whether to say, "You should be more interested than that," or, "You know, you're right."

ONE CURIOUS BOY. I'm predicting that Nate will be the one who takes everything we have apart to see how it works. We can leave that boy in his room and he will stay there for an hour studying every little thing he can find. There is no cabinet that is off limits. We never bothered to put locks on the cabinets that have pots and pans in them (since there were no cleaning supplies there). Jenna and Ben never bothered those cabinets much. With Nate, if it's not locked or nailed down he is going to get to it. If it is locked or nailed down he will try to get to it anyway.

YUCK!!!! The other day Vicki went into the bathroom to do some chores. She replaced the empty tissue box and then found some kind of strange substance all over the full length mirror. It was swirled and smeared to look like a Picasso painting. She heard Ben out in the hall and on a hunch called him in and asked him about it. As he looked up with an "I hope I don't get in trouble for this" look on his face he noticed the tissue sticking out of the newly opened box atop the toilet tank and said, "But there wasn't no kleenx!?!" Ben now understands that it is okay to use toilet paper if there is no tissue.

SHE TAKES AIM...SHE SHOOTS...SHE SCORES! And the mom goes wild. That's right, in today's game Jenna scored. Not two, but four points! We were really happy because she had made about four attempts before finally getting her first basket. Her team played the same little team they played three weeks ago, beating them 34-18.

I'M GLAD SHE DOESN'T BUILD AIRPLANES. Between getting home from Jenna's game and fixing lunch Jenna asked Vicki to make her a paper airplane. I had no idea that Vicki lacks talent in this area until I heard Jenna and Ben talking while trying to fly it in the hall. During the flight it sort of unfolded (it was really thin art paper). When Ben picked it up to fly it back and I heard him say, "I don't know about this Jenna."

After proofreading this newsletter (which was printed on regular paper) Vicki folder the letter into an airplane. To her credit, this model was a bit more airworthy than the last.

LANA'S LETTERS. Lana Osborne included Jenna in her biweekly column for the Robertson County Times this week. It was the purple panty story. We haven't told Jenna because she got mad when I told it before. Several people have innocently tried to comment to her about her panties only to be cut off by one of us doing wild calisthenics in the background.

Joe

Hootin', Hollerin', and Toilet Water

In my memory from childhood, this is the time of year we usually got significant snowfall (for Tennessee). And over the last few years we had closed school for several snow days by the third week of January. It was a year ago last week that a snow came through more quickly than expected and stranded a lot of people in Nashville.

This year the school system is stockpiling time to build in snow days. We do this by adding thirty minutes to the school day which gives us 13 snow days. If we don't use these snow days we cannot shorten the calendar and get out of school early so we lose them (kind of like an insurance policy). At this point it appears Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on us. We haven't missed one day due to snow yet.

WORDS THAT WILL MAKE A PARENT CRINGE. That happened to me when Jenna yelled, "Daddy, Nate is playing in the toilet!" Jenna and Ben never bothered things like the toilet much. Nate, on the other hand, really keeps us on our toes.

WAS I TOO HARD? Sunday afternoon I had a slight headache, probably from being a little hungry. After lunch the kids were having a great time running up and down the hall. What was getting to me was their shrill screeches every time they went by the kitchen where Vicki and I were. I finally stopped them and said, "Guys, I don't mind if you run and play, just stop the screeching." Thirty seconds later they were screeching again so I made them sit down for a moment and explained again that they could run and play but not to make the loud noise. After I let them go they ran around for a bit and then came back to the kitchen. Jenna asked, "Daddy, can't we even laugh?"

A NEW ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. Over the years we have given Mom and Aunt Mar a new TV and ourselves a new VCR/DVD player for Christmas. When we did this we kept the old units these presents replaced. I had Monday off and one of my projects was to set up the TV and VCR upstairs for the kids to use. Since I'm not connecting an antenna I'm not worried about them tuning into something they shouldn't see but now they can watch their videos during their TV time without monopolizing the TV downstairs. Jenna and Ben are really proud of their setup.

THE WINNING CONTINUES! We are on a roll with our third victory. Jenna's team won today 19-8. She was really excited after Thursday's practice as she hit several goals. Unfortunately she didn't make any points again today but I saw her snag a few rebounds!

CHRISTMAS IS FINALLY OVER. You will remember two weeks ago my welcoming my new cousin, Harper Dee, into the world. We have been trying to get over to Ashland City to see them but each time we would schedule the visit someone would get a little sick. Today everyone was healthy and we paid them a visit to see Harper and do Christmas together. We had a lot of fun. Harper sure is cute! She is Riley's twin sister born 3.5 years later. It was very late when we got home.

Joe

Whistling, Basketball, and Pancakes

I feel, for the first time since before Thanksgiving, that our schedule is getting back to normal. We just haven't had all kinds of activities on our calendar and could actually spend several evenings at home. And to have a three day weekend right now is an added bonus!

THE TRUCK DRIVER. Ben got a small trailer truck for Christmas. He loves that thing! He pushes it everywhere which doesn't look comfortable as he has to walk/run all bent over (the truck is about 8 inches tall). He even delivers his dirty clothes to the bathroom with it.

MEN'S BREAKFAST. Our men's ministry at church has been almost non-existent for many years but we have started to get the ball rolling again. Among our activities is a bimonthly breakfast. We had one this morning. I went armed with two griddles and cooked 150-200 pancakes. We had a great crowd and a speaker who gave an awesome testimony.

WINNING STREAK. Jenna's team is on a winning streak, if you can call a 2-0 record a streak. The score today was 6-4. (The star shooter was absent.) Again, Jenna's contribution was strictly guarding. She guards everyone no matter what color jersey they are wearing. I didn't get to go to the game due to the breakfast but when I called Vicki she said it was a very comical match. On the trip back home Pauline said, "That was better than any dose of medicine!"

CRUISING. Nate is starting to cruise around furniture now. The other day he was walking around the coffee table, put his hand out to the couch, and transferred himself to that piece for an extended trip. The smile on his face was priceless and then, of course, he fell down.

Nate has adopted the VCR. I guess it's all the buttons and lights but we can't keep him away from it. At least he hasn't stuck anything in it...yet!

GOOD PLAYMATES. It is just a pleasure to witness the fun and laughter that often takes place when all three kids are playing. It can be a simple game of hiding under a blanket together or romping around the house as well as digging into the toys. Nate always enjoys/endures the attention he receives from his big sister and big brother. There is never a dull moment!

WHISTLING? Jenna has figured out how to whistle. It is high pitched and very annoying, but an accomplishment none the less. She is training Ben but he is only making a whoooing sound. Vicki can't stand to be within two miles of the racket.

KEEPING UP WITH CHURCH NEWS. For those of you who have been keeping up with the goings on at Mt. Carmel you will be disappointed to know that the church newsletter is being scaled back to a monthly mailing. However, we will be announcing an e-mail version of the newsletter at church in the morning. We plan to publish this weekly if not more frequently. Go to the church web site and click the link for The Flame if you wish to subscribe. We plan to be implementing some other features over the next few weeks to utilize the internet to enhance our church community.

PRAYER REQUESTS. You will recall that I asked if you would pray for Mrs. Mildred Swann a few weeks ago. She is back home now and doing much better. Please continue to pray for her but add our thanks to God for the healing and recovery she has experienced so far.

Also, keep my aunt, Helen Keith, in your prayers. I meant to include this the other week but did not. She fell and broke her left pelvis and right arm near the shoulder. She is doing well in her recovery and her sense of humor is intact but I know this is getting old for her. Years ago Aunt Helen had her left knee replaced. By 2001 she had worn it out and went into the hospital to have a new replacement and got a staph infection. She had a two year battle with that and came out with a stiff left leg. Now this....

Joe

Work, Play, and a Slip of the Tongue

The Arctic express arrived this week. Where we had above average, t-shirt and shorts weather last week we had below average temps this week. It has been pretty but it has also been cold.

BACK TO REALITY. We were a sad bunch of people on Sunday. After having two wonderful weeks of vacation time no one wanted to get back into the normal routine. Alas, life goes on.

A FUN VISIT. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob came in with the cold weather. They had been up to New Jersey and stopped in Tennessee for a quick visit on their way back home to Florida. We spent a couple of fun evenings with them (Vicki spent more time as she goes over to Aunt Mar's to play Spades with them after the kids go to bed). We made our traditional visit to the Catfish House on Tuesday.

On Monday Jenna got a very special gift. We went over to Aunt Mar's house for supper and exchanged our Christmas presents with the Cotters. Jenna was presented with a dollhouse that Uncle Bob had built for her. He spent about a month working on it in his spare time and Aunt Linda lent her skills as interior designer. It is a beautiful three story house with seven rooms. They brought it up with them when they visited back in the fall and it had been hidden away until now. Jenna also received furniture from various relatives to furnish most of the rooms. G'Anne and Aunt Mar gave her a doll family. Thank you Uncle Bob for all the work you put into this heirloom. And thank you Aunt Linda for putting up with the construction in you dining room and kitchen. Jenna is one happy home owner!

WELCOME INTO THE WORLD. My cousin Amanda has given birth to a daughter, Harper Reagan Dee. Harper was born on Monday shortly after 12:00 noon. She weighed 8 lbs., 2 ozs. Mom, Dad and big sister are all doing fine. Congratulations to the Dee family!

BASKETBALL. Jenna is playing basketball in a YMCA league this winter. Her first practice was Thursday evening. We have had a ball bouncing in our indoor court (the goal now stands in the place the Christmas tree occupied) ever since. Jenna's first game was today. Her team won 22-16. She made three or four attempts for a goal but never scored. What she lacks in accuracy she makes up for in guarding. She is aggressive in a good way and is enjoying getting to play. There are four boys and one other girl on her team.

SO CLOSE.... A weather system moved in late Thursday night. We had been watching the forecast all week. Even Jenna was keeping up with it. I took Jenna to school Thursday morning because I had some work to do there. As I walked in we were greeted by one of the teachers who was asking each kid what the word for the day was (SNOW).

I got up early Friday morning to find that Robertson County Schools were running two hours late. All the school systems north and east of us canceled school due to the snow that had fallen during the night. When Jenna got up she looked out side and saw the skiff of snow on the ground. She was disappointed that she would not get to stay home and play in the snow.

TAKING A GOOD OPPORTUNITY. Since I work for the school system's technology department I am constantly stopped and asked computer related questions. Recently a Springfield police sergeant caught up with me and asked me some questions concerning setting up a network for two computers at his home. He stopped by again on Friday morning. Since school was running two hours late I was arriving at work early at 9:00. Not knowing very much about the Windows operating system I recommended that he talk to one of our other techs, Casey, who is more knowledgeable in that area. Since Casey did not have to report to work until 10:00 the officer said he would come back.

When Casey got to work we told him there was a police officer who had been by looking for him and would be returning around 10:00. We neglected to tell him why. We had Casey going so well that when the officer did arrive Casey greeted him at the door ready to turn himself in. Poor Casey couldn't even comprehend the computer related questions he was hearing because he was too busy trying to figure out what he had done wrong. We will all be watching our backs come April 1.

THINK BEFORE YOU TALK. This morning we were getting ready to leave for Jenna's ball game. I told Ben to go use the bathroom. He began to argue that he had just been which I knew had been more than an hour before. I insisted that he go anyway. He began to really argue with me then. Thinking I would nip this in the bud quickly I said, "Benton, if you don't go use the bathroom right now I am going to spank you for resisting a pee-pee!" That did the trick. Barney Fife would be so proud of me.

THANK YOU LORD IT WASN'T BAD. Nate has only shown a little interest in pulling up on furniture and no interest in climbing until this week. Because of this we have had the stair gate on standby but not in place. The other night Vicki and I were still sitting at the table talking after supper. The Jenna and Ben were playing in the hall. Nate hadn't been released from his seat for more than a minute when we see him sitting on the second step. Vicki scrambled to get to him but was too late. At least it was a rolling fall. It scared the poor boy more than anything else. The gate is now in place.

PUBLISHED BY POPULAR DEMAND. Vicki said I must share this story after several people at church heard about it and got a good laugh. Last week Jenna had decided that she was a princess and began wearing a tiara that was part of some dress up clothes she has. Then she started calling Ben and Nate princes and Vicki and me the queen and king. She even found plastic buckets for us to wear as crowns.

One night at bedtime Ben took one of the buckets to bed with him. After we had said our prayers he threw the bucket over to Jenna's bed. Jenna didn't see it coming and it hit her just below the left eye (and she still sports a small bruise there). While Vicki was trying to correct Ben for hitting Jenna and comfort Jenna, Jenna handed the bucket to Vicki. Through her crocodile tears and quivering voice she said, "You take it Momma. You'r-r-re the que-e-e-en."

Joe

New Talents, New Friends, and a New Year

Welcome to 2004! We hope you all have had a wonderful New Year's celebration. 2003 ended and 2004 began with wonderful weather here. It has been unseasonably warm. I wore shorts and a t-shirt while outside today.

CLOTHING ACCESSORIES. Sunday morning Ben was dressing for church. After he got his pants on he came running in to Vicki saying, "Mommy, I need a belt. My pants have fruit loops."

A NEW MILESTONE IN GROWTH. Nate is now a forward facing passenger in the van. We made a family trip to Rivergate Mall yesterday and it was his first time to ride in this position. He was sleepy and needed a nap but fought it for several miles due to the novelty of looking out the front windshield.

Jenna is very happy Nate's seat is turned around. Our van only has one sliding door. Jenna sits behind the driver's seat. She had two really tight squeezes to get past Nate's seat when it was rear facing.

A REAL CHEESER. Nate has learned this really cheesy grin. His nose even wrinkles up a little bit and he squints until his eyes are little slits. He is ready to entertain anyone with this grin.

STANDING. We are starting to see Nate pull up on furniture or the rails of his bed. He doesn't stay up but a moment but he is standing on the soles of his feet now. I am sure we will be reporting his standing and even stepping around furniture in a few weeks.

TIME WITH FRIENDS. We got to spend time visiting some college friends Wednesday morning. Jonathan and Sheila Leach and their daughters, Kelsey and Taylor came to our house for a visit. We had not seen them in a couple of years (and had not met Taylor at all). It was a lot of fun spending time with them. All five of the kids really enjoyed playing together. We wish they lived closer to us than Connecticut.

THE MOST DELIGHTFUL PEOPLE. That was how I described Mr. and Mrs. Krantz when I got back home from my visit with them on Wednesday afternoon. You will recall from last week's edition of my newsletter that I had planned to meet the fellow who was a gunner in a B-29 just like my dad. He did not know my father but he could tell me a lot about what his experiences were like. What really meant a lot to me was watching Mr. Krantz talk. While the stories he told me were very interesting it was his facial expressions, body language, and the way he used his voice to tell the stories that captivated my attention. Never having talked to a B-29 veteran before I had not experienced this. He communicated more to me with these subconscious, nonverbal ways than with any words he used.

BRINGING IN THE NEW YEAR. We ended New Year's Eve with a Sunday School Class party. Everyone brought food. We had a lot of fun talking and playing games. Since most of us have kids and lost our youthful stamina the party broke up around 10:00. We came home and I welcomed the new year curled up in bed with my pillow. Vicki stayed up to represent our family as midnight came and went.

A GOOD BOOK. I was loaned a copy of Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley this week. Vicki and I are both reading it. Bradley's father was one of the men in the famous photo of the Marines raising the American Flag on Iwo Jima in World War II. This book tells the story of those six Marines and that battle. It is a very good book. Bradley tries to be delicate in dealing with the atrocities that happened while being honest about the facts. If you read this book be prepared to read things that are equal to the Normandy Invasion scene in Saving Private Ryan. I guarantee you will have a new appreciation for those who serve in our armed forces after reading this book.

Joe