We can’t decide if we have skipped spring or not. Last Saturday it was cold. I took Jenna and Ben to their soccer games. When we left the house the temperature was in the mid-50s. It had dropped to the mid-40s when we got home at lunchtime. The last few days have seen highs in the mid-80s. Regardless of the temperature the spring season is truly here. When I drove to Memphis I was treated to a real show from the red bud trees. Now the dogwoods are putting out their blooms and the tree frogs have awakened from their winter sleep. And of course, our yards are full of dandelions (Nate calls them “candylions”.)
TORNADOES IN TENNESSEE. All this warm weather belies what can happen when the atmosphere becomes unstable. Last Friday a storm system pummeled several communities around us with tornadoes. One tornado hit the hospital in Ashland City (close to where the Bradleys and the Dees live), skipped a few miles to the Goodlettsville area where it came back down and demolished a boat factory where a friend of mine works and a church across the street. The twister picked up again and traveled to Gallatin where in came back down at the Vol State campus where William Osborne attends school. William works in the school’s radio station. When the tornado warning was announced he left the control room to warn people in the building to take cover. One professor got mad at him for interrupting the class. After the tornado destroyed the building and they all came out of their places of refuge William told that professor, “If you want to continue your lecture now I have no problem with that.”
EASTER ACTIVITIES. Last Saturday and Sunday the choir at church presented the musical Eyes of Faith. I didn’t have anything to do with the technical end of this one but Vicki sang in the choir and in an ensemble feature during one of the songs. They all practiced really hard for many weeks and did a great job in both performances.
This week the kids have been to several Easter egg hunts. Ben and Nate attended one at their Mom’s Day Out and Jenna had one at her school. Our church had one for the younger kids this afternoon (the older kids hunted their eggs by flashlight tonight). And we plan to have our own small egg hunt for the kids at Aunt Mar’s tomorrow evening.
Vicki is trying to get ahead of the game tonight by getting everyone’s clothes ready for tomorrow. Nate thinks he and Ben look like teachers with their ties on.
A FAMILY VISIT. We had a small family reunion last weekend. Aunt Margarette’s older brother, Everette, had three children, Ben, Jack and Martha. They and some of their children and grandchildren came and attended church with us and then we had lunch together. After lunch all of the younger relatives left but Ben, Jack and Martha stayed to visit with Aunt Mar. They even got to go back to the old home place and see the house and yard as it looks now. They came back for another visit on Monday and also stopped by several cemeteries. Aunt Mar sees Ben a once or twice a year but this was the first time in 60 years that she has seen Jack (it had been at least 10 years since she has seen Martha). I think she was really glad to get to visit with them.
BOYS AND THEIR BEARS. I have mentioned before that Ben and Nate both have bears they are very fond of. Occasionally those bears get a little ripe and they get a bath. A few days ago Vicki was putting the boys down for a nap and remembered the bears were in the dryer. She told the boys to go find them and the sounds she heard made her follow them to the bathroom where she witnessed a truly joyful reunion as the boys opened the dryer, found the stuffed animals among the towels, and pulled them out of the mesh bag they wear for their bath time. Ben was enthusiastically commenting throughout (“Oh, here they are,” and “Nate, they’re still warm!”and Nate was beside himself with squeals of delight.)
Ben’s bear had been a good friend for four years now and we’re not sure how much love is left in that bear and Nate’s bear is quickly catching up in this regard. We know that one day all to soon the boys will move on to other things and their bears will be long forgotten. But for now there’s nothing like a good warm bear to go to sleep with.
HIDE AND SEEK. Yesterday morning Ben ran in to where Vicki was and said, “Mom, it’s hard playing hide and seek with God.”
Vicki replied, “Oh really! Well, did you find Him?”
“No! I can’t see him. Jenna says He’s invisible.”
“Well, you feel God in your heart.”
“I don’t feel Him either.”
“Well, did He find you?”
Looking incredulous Ben replied,“ Yeah, He always knows where I am.”
Vicki adds, “Yes, He even sees you when you are running to find your hiding place.”
Sort of put out with the unfairness Ben says, “Yeah, He need to close His eyes.”
A bit later Ben came back saying, “I found Him, Mom. I found Him!”
CONGRATULATIONS to the Arnold family (our friends in Sevierville) on the birth of their new daughter, Emory Elizabeth (we aren’t sure of the spelling). She was born last Sunday.
Have a blessed Easter,
Joe
