Back In The Routine

Naturally we are back in the normal routine of things this week. It seems like whenever we go anywhere it takes a lot of effort to get back to normal. I was scheduled to teach two in-services on Tuesday and Thursday evening and I had a meeting at church Thursday evening as well. After being with everyone on the trip I feel as if I am unplugged from my family now.

THE AUNT MAR GENE. Our tree leaves are reaching their peak but the weather has been so overcast and rainy it has been hard to enjoy the colors. All the wind and rain is causing the leaves to fall very fast. The other day Jenna, Nate and I got home from running some errands. When she got out of the van she looked around at the yard and said, "This place is a mess! We've got to clean it up."

A PERFECT FIT. Our kids have always climbed up onto the bathroom counter so they could use the faucet to wash their hands and brush their teeth. (We used a kitchen cabinet in there to make the counter 36" high since we are both tall.) Jenna is big enough not to do that now but still does on occasion out of habit. The other night she decided to stand up on the counter and discovered that she is a perfect fit between the counter and the low ceiling in there. She won't be able to pull that trick much longer.

MAGNETISM OF A STAIRWAY. Nate loves to climb stairs. He is real good at going up but hasn't figured out the going down part. At church this morning someone spoke to me as we were about to walk outside. In a split second he was off and I didn't see which direction he went. It would have been a longer search but in the joy of getting to climb the stairs he just couldn't contain himself and let our a shriek. I'll say one thing, that little booger can flat move.

FEAR FACTOR. While our kids don't have to do anything nearly as gross as what is on TV they sure think so at supper. I guess we ask for it but we have always felt that supper time is no time for Vicki to be a short order cook. So when asparagus and Aunt Linda's corn and rice dish (yes, we managed to weasel a recipe out of Aunt Linda) were on the menu we should have had the video camera close at hand. I had no idea Jenna and Ben could put that many wrinkles in their faces. Hopefully they'll develop a toleration to various foods sometime in the next 20 years.

SORRY. You remember that board game where you try to get your four pieces around the board? We played Sorry this evening and poor Ben had rotten luck. He went for a long time without being able to get a man out of start (and the poor boy was on the verge of tears). Then his luck would change a for a few minutes before reverting back. This happened several times which changed his mood from sad to happy and back. He rode his emotional roller-coaster pretty well for a four-year-old who missed his nap today (Mom and Aunt Mar took him out to eat lunch and he had a long afternoon).

We enjoy playing board games and Trouble was a big hit, but when the dice popper broke we switched to Sorry. Jenna is also a pretty decent Checker player considering the experience she has. When I make her slow down and analyze her own moves she can be pretty tough to beat.

Joe

News From Our Trip

The last you heard from us we were packing for our trip. We're back home now and we had a great time! Everyone traveled really well. The only thing I think I would change about the trip was to make it a bit longer. We were gone for six days and drove three of them. At least the trip was bookended by two weekends at home.

SUNDAY. We left Sunday morning to drive through Alabama to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. It was a nine hour drive. Ben and I were to stay with our cousin, Sara Letsinger (I call her Aunt Sara as an affectionate title). When we got there Aunt Sara's son, Joe, and his wife, Karen, had driven in from Niceville and fixed us a wonderful supper. Their two kids, Kayla and Mike, are about the ages of Jenna and Ben so the kids had some playmates for the evening. After supper was over Vicki, Pauline, Jenna, and Nate drove to their hotel in Destin. Unfortunately, Karen and their kids did not get the Columbus Day holiday the next day due to Hurricane Ivan so that was the last we saw of them.

MONDAY. We did the beach this day. Usually the Gulf of Mexico is really calm but we had met Tropical Depression Matthew on the way down and the strong wind had the water really churned up. We got into the shallow water but had to be very careful as there was a serious rip tide. Nate especially loved the beach and showed no fear of the water. The kids really enjoyed sitting in the shallow water and letting the waves wash over them. That night we took Aunt Sara out to eat at a local restaurant.

TUESDAY. We said our goodbyes to Aunt Sara and headed out for Kissimmee (south of Orlando). This was another nine hours on the road.

At one point Ben said he had to go to the bathroom. We were still about 20 miles away from a town we were planning on stopping at so we said he'd have to wait. In sympathy we all let him know that we were ready to stop as well. It was then that Pauline, Vicki and I saw Nate with this smug little grin on his face. It was as if he completely understood the conversation and was gloating while relieving himself in his diaper. We got a good laugh whether or not this was true.

WEDNESDAY. We were tired from the road but got up early to be at the gates of Disney World's Magic Kingdom when they opened. We had a wonderful day but were ready to go home after the awesome fireworks show was over. I wore a pedometer which recorded over 22,000 steps. Normally this would be about 10.6 miles but I figure my distance was a couple of miles so less due to shuffling in lines and riding a few bumpy rides.

Jenna and Ben both said their favorite part was the Buzz Lightyear ride. Pauline enjoyed the Carousel of Progress and Vicki liked Mickey's PhilharMagic show. While Pirates of the Caribbean remains my favorite the part that was the most fun for me was seeing the kids enjoy themselves.

THURSDAY. We slept late this morning. When we did get moving we went shopping at Downtown Disney and then went over to Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob's. While visiting them we went swimming. They fed us a delicious steak dinner.

FRIDAY. As with anything our vacation was over. Thankfully we had an uneventful trip home. We pulled in about midnight. With all the stops we made we spent about 15 hours on the road.

DID WE GET CLOSE? The one bad thing about the timing of our trip was that Jim and Dianna had already planned to be on vacation for the last two weeks. They were traveling in Pennsylvania and Ohio visiting some of Dianna's family so we didn't get to see them while we were in their neighborhood. They were due to get home Friday as well. I kept wondering if they took I-75 home and where we unknowingly met them at if they did.

Anyway, as nice as it is to get away, it's good to be home.

DISAPPOINTMENT. Yesterday Jenna and Ben asked if they could go out to play. While they were putting on their shoes Nate slipped on a pair on Ben's shoes as well. Since neither Vicki or I were going out we told the kids not to let Nate go out so they stopped him at the door. When they shut the door in his face he came back in the room where we were with a pained expression on his face and said, "Outside, no!" It just crushed the poor boy.

Joe

FALL BREAK!

Our trees are starting to show their colors now. They haven't changed completely but there will be a big difference by next week. I always enjoy watching the trees turn colors. A small part of me is sad that I won't be around to see it this week. Our schools are closed for fall break and we are packing for a vacation to Florida!

I'VE GOT TO BRAG. I meant to put this in the last edition. It was that thing that kept eluding my memory until I clicked send. Last Saturday Vicki had a couple of meetings and was gone all morning. While I was cleaning up after breakfast Jenna made up all the beds and folded the laundry without me even asking her to do it. Sunday Jenna and I rode to church together. Since we were running late Ben offered to make up her bed for her and then made up mine and Vicki's bed. I guess I should enjoy this now.

AN EMBARRASSING CONFESSION. Okay, it has been two or three months since we ran a dust mop under our bed. Ben and Nate chased a toy that had rolled under the bed the other day and discovered other toys that had sought refuge from rough playing boys under there. When Ben came to the kitchen to show us some of the toys they had found we burst out laughing. Unknown to him he had several dust bunnies stuck to his hair and shirt.

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS. Jenna had a fun day at school on Friday. Her class started the day with a field trip to the Purity Dairy processing plant. Vicki got to go as a chaperone. Jenna really enjoyed it but Vicki was disappointed. Since 9-11 they no longer allow tours of the facility. They show visitors a film of how milk and ice cream are made that was produced in the 1970s. At least they all got an ice cream sandwich. The trip to McDonald's made up for it.

That afternoon they returned to school to participate in the PTO sponsored walk-a-thon to raise money for the school. We don't know how much was raised but they exceeded their goal of $18,000 so the principal will have to do the hula dance in front of all the students now.

HE'S NOT LIKE THE OTHER TWO. Jenna and Ben were not climbers. Nate is. Like I said last week, he is not to be trusted. The other day Pauline walked into the room to find him sitting on the table. Thursday Nate was tired of playing with Ben and went into his room and closed the doors to play alone. Several minutes later Vicki went in the room to put away some clean clothes and found him sitting on his dresser. Today he spied Jenna's bubble gum on the kitchen table. Fortunately I found him before he had put it all in his mouth.

PACKING. The kids are all excited about the trip, especially the plan to go to Disney World. Ben has been praying that God would take care of Mickey Mouse for a couple of weeks. Tonight Mom and Aunt Mar treated us with takeout from KFC. When we got home we put Nate to bed and told Jenna and Ben they could pack whatever they wanted for entertainment in their backpacks. Ben was so excited about packing for the trip that he kept getting louder and louder. After the umteenth time of asking him to lower his voice (and he really was trying to stay quiet) he finally said, "My voice just can't help it Dad."

Later, after he was in bed, I checked his backpack to make sure he hadn't packed anything that didn't need to go. I found several books, a [spinning] top, a helicopter, and two pair of underwear.

Joe

Babies and Birthdays

We have that crisp feeling in the air now. It's the kind of weather that makes me wish I had a motorcycle and a day off. I don't know how to drive a motorcycle but I think it would be fun anyway. The Pinsons came and cut Mom's corn this week. We will probably see several deer foraging in front of the house now.

WHAT A BIRTHDAY PRESENT! In the last edition we wished Vicki's brother, Will, a happy 40th birthday. His birthday was Tuesday. Well, he got a birthday present no one was expecting. At 3:41 that morning Emily Katherine made her debut into the world to the tune of 6 lbs., 1 oz and 16.25 inches long. You may be wondering how a baby can be unexpected–she came 4 weeks early! Emily, Darice, Will and the boys are all doing fine. Congratulations!!!

Speaking of birthdays, Pauline's birthday was Thursday. We celebrated by grilling out Friday night. Aunt Mar was happy to get to eat this time.

THANKFUL FOR ANY SITUATION. School mornings usually run on a calm and predictable schedule, but every once in a while it just doesn't happen. Tuesday was one of those days. Ben was grumpy and even had to be carried screaming to the van. This wasn't too easy as she was packing Nate on the other hip. Yes, Nate can walk to the van but he is not to be trusted. Kids his age have no sense of time and leaving him on his own feet means that he will stop and inspect every bug, worm, leaf, twig, pecan, rock, etc. that is on his path.

Ben finally chilled out and Jenna began her morning prayer with, "Lord Jesus, Thank you for this good morning we almost had."

In Ben's defense, he went to the doctor later that morning and was found to have a major ear infection. I'd have been grumpy too!

ADOPTIONS. Brian and Debbie Freeland have been able to keep their web site updated with news while they are in China and it has been fun to read of their experiences. They are due to come back home in a few days. Brian and Debbie, we are looking forward to seeing Jessica when you come up to Cross Plains.

While the Freelands are finishing up their adoption process some college friends of mine, Brian and Melissa Whaley, are beginning theirs. They are in the process of adopting a girl from India. They emailed the other day to say they have accepted a referral for a girl who will be their future daughter and have decided to name her Morgan Suvali Whaley. Suvali means "full of grace" in Hindi. When you encounter something that makes you think of adoptions please pause and say a quick prayer for the Whaleys. They have a long road of government red tape ahead.

Joe