It Feels Like Summer

March may have started off like a lion but it has been a lamb the rest of the way so far. We have enjoyed the best weather. This weekend has actually been hot (yes, Dianna, hot) with us at least matching a record high of 85°F today. It has been great for all the farmers to get their corn and tobacco ground ready.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. As I look back on the week I know it has been busy but I’m left wondering exactly what we’ve done. Going back to school Monday after a week off was no fun but that’s all part of it.

Vicki has been busy shopping for clothes for the kids (it’s consignment sale season) and organizing volunteers to work the book fair at school. Add a volleyball schedule and choir practice on top of all that and she doesn’t stay in one place too long. On top of all this Nate came down with strep. Fortunately he is good natured when he is sick, although he didn’t tolerate his brother too well.

FUN WITH A FRIEND. Jenna was invited to spend Friday night with her friend Mackenzie. Their evening included a trip to the bowling alley (even with bumpers in the gutters Jenna said she only picked up one spare). I think they had a great time together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Aunt Mar celebrated her birthday Wednesday. I think she had a really nice day. We had a family dinner in her honor Thursday night at Pauline’s. I really felt sorry for Nate. He was really excited about Aunt Mar opening her presents and it was hard for him to wait until we were ready for that.

Aunt Mar admitted one of her hobbies is reading the obituaries. When she said this she grinned and added, “I guess I’m checking to see if I’m in there.”

I know Aunt Mar finds it frustrating to be unable to do the things she used to do but she really does enjoy being around the kids. And we count each moment with her as a blessing.

Joe

All About Spring

I will begin with an update on the Roycroft family. The short answer so far is that they are in wait and be patient mode. Tyler is still with Brent and Cindy.

Vicki talked to Brent this afternoon and he said he has more of a peace about things today than yesterday. He went on to say the adoption agency is working to schedule a meeting between the agency and the birth father. Another meeting with all parties involved will follow after that. The good out of this right now is that the birth father has time to get past making an initial reaction decision and really consider whether he truly can be the father Tyler will need. My prayer is that he won’t be too hot headed to study all the options objectively.

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With one week of winter officially remaining we have sprung forward into daylight saving time, we’ve got spring weather, and we’re on spring break. The tree frogs are awake and serenade us each night. I’ve also noticed the bees and wasps have come alive with the warm weather. The trees are just beginning to put out their buds for this year’s leaves and many of the Bradford pears are starting to bloom.

PTO PROGRAM. The kindergarten class put on their program for the ERES Parent Teacher Organization Thursday night. We, of course, went to see Ben. The ironic thing is that they put on the same show that Jenna’s class did when she was in kindergarten (the kindergarten class does not do this program every year, we just happened to catch a rerun of it). The program is built around the Dr. Seuss poem Many Colored Days. Ben’s performance made us proud.

VOLLEYBALL SEASON. While the kids are between sports (soccer starts in a few weeks), Vicki is playing church league volleyball. She had to miss the first game because of the PTO program but she did play Monday night and she complained about being sore the next morning. She really enjoys the camaraderie, competition and the fun way to exercise.

SOME TIME OFF. I worked three mornings this week as there are several things I needed to get done at the office while the phone is quiet. But I am glad to say that I did get the chance Monday to burn off my brush pile. It was a bit dry but the wind was almost calm and I could easily control the fire with a rake. Yesterday Jimmie Pitt came over and ran a disk over the garden. This was a lot better than having to break up the ground with a tiller. And once I get the mower’s oil changed and blades sharpened I’ll be set for the growing season.

The kids have really enjoyed having the week off and being together. They have gotten along surprisingly well all week.

UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE. Today we decided to make a road trip to Mammoth Cave National Park. With over 350 miles of explored passageways Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world (but with all the twists and turns the cave system stays within a 20 mile radius of the Visitor Center). We took the Historic Tour and only explored about 2 miles of caverns. This tour goes through the least active parts of the cave (so we didn’t see any stalactites, stalagmites, flow stone, etc.) but we did see where DuPont mined saltpeter during the War of 1812 and several impressively large chambers. I think the kids had a great time, although I’m not so sure it was what they were expecting. They sure were good through the whole tour. Ben enjoyed watching me and Vicki get through Fat Man’s Misery (18 inches wide) and Tall Man’s Misery (42 inches tall).

A CAVE STORY ON MYSELF. When I was in high school and college I loved to go spelunking and I was fortunate to know people with caves on their farms who would let me and several friends go exploring on a Saturday. We would come home so muddy that we had to throw away our clothes. But even though I had these opportunities I never turned down a trip to tour other caves. One year we took a group of 4-6 grade boys from church to Mammoth Cave. A couple of weeks later our youth group went for their own outing. Of course, I was up for both trips.

At that time the rangers would stop on the tour and demonstrate total darkness for the group. When I went with the youth group I knew where this was going to happen since I had been on the tour just a couple of weeks before. When I knew the ranger was about to turn out the lights I positioned myself behind a girl in the youth group I was flirting with and memorized my surroundings. When the lights went out I reached out, ran my fingers through her hair and then stepped back about 10 feet. When the lights came back on this really pretty girl I did not know was combing her hair with her fingers and looking behind her. Her 6’ 4“ boyfriend didn’t look too happy either. I certainly didn’t own up to my deed, but I’ve often wondered if she still talks about the anonymous wacko that was in the cave with her.

Joe

Wrestling Season is Over

We are to that time of year where the weather can’t decide if it should warm up or not. It was really pretty last Wednesday and by Saturday afternoon it was spitting snow. March roared in like a lion this year. We spent all of Thursday afternoon under a tornado watch and our school system was among several that dismissed early to be on the safe side. Fortunately conditions never got ripe for a twister around here. This week it has been pretty enough for the kids to play outside. It’s a good thing Nate got a new battery for the Gator for his birthday.

EYE DROPS. I am proud to report that the morning after sending out the last newsletter Nate started taking his eye drops like it was no problem at all. Vicki was taking a shower Wednesday morning when I went to Nate and suggested we surprise Vicki and have the drops in before she got finished. Thinking about it a moment he said, “Well, alright,” laid down on the bed and let me put them in without a fight. By the time the week of treatment was over he was wanting to keep on going with the drops.

JINX. Did you ever play that game as a kid where if two people said the same thing at the same time one could “jinx” the other and the person jinxed couldn’t speak until their name was spoken? Well, that’s the craze with Jenna and Ben now. The other day Vicki jinxed Jenna and then added a humorous twist to the game. Before proceeding this story needs a bit of setup...

Jenna has been reading a lot of chapter books lately. She is currently reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the fifth book in the series). For her the novelty is knowing what chapter she is on, and I remember this bringing a sense of accomplishment for me when I started reading chapter books. The proof of this lies in how frequently she will ask any of us here at the house to guess what chapter she’s on.

Getting back to the story now, Vicki had jinxed Jenna and made a snatching motion toward her saying, “And I’ve got your voice now too.” At this Ben spoke up saying, “You can’t do that!”

“Oh yeah,” came Vicki’s reply. Then she took Jenna’s “voice” and put it in her mouth and mimicking her daughter said, “Guess what chapter I’m on?”

Ben and Jenna cracked up with that.

I AM PROUD OF MY DAUGHTER! Our children’s choir at church has been working hard for the last few months on a musical titled The Good News Cruise. Jenna wanted to be part of this from the beginning and Ben warmed up to the idea about half way through the practice schedule. They performed the musical Saturday night and Sunday morning and they all did a great job.

Jenna had a small speaking part and she delivered her lines very well. But what made me so proud of her was the solo she sang. She sang the first verse of Soakin’ Up the Sun and all the kids joined in for the rest of the song. What made me especially delighted is knowing that she is a pretty low key person, not desiring to stay in the center of everyone’s attention. So to see her step up and do this was wonderful.

Ben was really funny on this song. As they sang they were wearing sunglasses and holding Bibles at chest level like they were suntan reflectors. Ben was the only kid to be “reading” his Bible as he sang.

Joe

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A Special Prayer Request

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

I sat down today to write this week’s newsletter but my heart isn’t in it. Some news we heard today has really deflated my spirit and I’d like to ask everyone getting this note to pray.

Brent and Cindy Roycroft are good friends of ours. Brent is the Minister of Music at our church. I have mentioned them a few times over the years, most recently back in January. They have been traveling a long hard road to have a baby. Their journey first began as they tried to conceive on their own. After many years and much expense they decided the time had come to consider adoption. In two years of waiting for this to happen they had several heartbreaking close calls that just didn’t work out. In January I reported that they had brought Tyler Justus home. Since that time they have been walking on air as they have become new parents of a precious little boy.

The sad twist in this saga happened this week as the birth father has turned up and indicated that he wants his son. To be fair to this fellow, he didn’t know he had a son until this week. We are all just devastated, which doesn’t even touch what Brent and Cindy are going through right now. Tyler is still with the Roycrofts and the adoption agency is working to schedule a meeting with all parties involved. I’d like to ask that you pray for the best outcome to this situation. I will keep you informed when I know something new.

Joe