Lots of News

Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote so I’ll dive right in.

NATE’S FIFTH BIRTHDAY. We have earned our second Chuck E. Cheese merit badge. Nate’s birthday was a week ago Thursday. You know, that place was a lot busier than I thought it would be on a Valentine’s Day.

Nate invited two of his friends from church for the party. They came over that afternoon to play at our house and then we headed out when I got home. One of his little friends has Guitar Hero on his Wii at his home. I think the poor boy was suffering game withdrawal the whole time he was with us in spite of where we were. At any rate, I think all the kids had a good time.

GETTING AWAY.With President’s Day last Monday we took advantage of our extra day off and went to the Smoky Mountains. (The kids actually got a six day weekend as the schools were closed for ice and illness.) We left Friday afternoon when I got home from work and got to Pigeon Forge pretty late.

The kids have always been really good travelers but this time they had pooled their money and bought a portable DVD player with two screens. Once we got on the road and they finished their supper from Sonic we never heard another word out of them.

Saturday morning found us at Log Cabin Pancakes for breakfast, a family tradition for us. Then we went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, home of all things strange and bazaar. Afterwards the kids were begging to go swimming so we went back to the condo. I took the kids to the pool and Vicki hooked up with Angi (a high school/college friend who lives in the area). Vicki and Angi found a restaurant where they could spend the entire afternoon visiting.

Sunday morning we slept in, ate in and got a late start. When we did stir from the condo we decided to drive into the mountains a bit and find a short trail to hike. We had not filled up with gas since leaving home and had a quarter tank left. While Vicki and I knew this was enough for what we wanted to do Nate found it very distressing and pointed out every gas station we passed. Ben, on the other hand, knew we planned to walk through the woods and was very worried about bears. If Jenna had any concerns about this outing she kept it to herself. I don’t think she could have found a break in the conversation to express herself anyway.

We wound up hiking to Laurel Falls. The falls are about 1.3 miles from the parking area on a paved trail. There is a 300 foot change of elevation so it was a good little hike and took about an hour. The boys climbed ever large bolder along side the trail going and coming. We had never taken this trail before and the falls at the end were worth the trip.

We went swimming again after supper that evening. The next day we headed home.

BAPTISTS MAKE A UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE WORLD CAN END NOW. While on our way through Gatlinburg to hike to Laurel Falls Bro. Bill called us on the cell phone. He had the results of the church’s vote on hiring Vicki as the Children’s Minister. She is the first person in my memory to receive a 100% vote in being called to work at church (results are usually higher than 95%, but never unanimous). I told her that unlike all the other staff members she now has the pressure of knowing she needs to please everyone at church.

SAYING GOODBYE. Jake, our dog, has passed away. It probably happened Tuesday. Pauline found him Wednesday morning. He appeared to be feeling fine Friday when we were packing to leave. He was so playful I had to get on to him for trying to grab the handles and straps of all our bags as I was loading the van. Sunday Pauline mentioned something about him not eating. By the time we got home Monday evening he looked like he did not feel well. He must have gone off to be alone, as animals will do when sick, after that. I laid him to rest in a quiet spot in the woods.

BASKETBALL. Basketball season will end for us next weekend but I must report on Ben’s game yesterday. First of all, it was one of the roughest games I have ever seen his team play. All the boys played well but very aggressively. They were scrambling for the ball, running into each other and falling all over each other throughout the whole game. Ben made six points, but his last goal was the best. He was directly under the goal and rebounded the ball. He knew he didn’t have a good shot so he looked around for someone to pass the ball to but no one was open. So, he tossed it up and in it went! Then he looked over at us with the little smirk that boys have when they are pleased with themselves but don’t want to show it too much. Of course, having all this friends from his cub scout pack there to watch wasn’t too bad either.

Joe

Homecoming

I am happy to report that Aunt Mar came home today. She was one happy woman! I think the nursing home suffered a loss when Aunt Mar left. I hear that Nate was quite the ladies man with some of the residents there.

TORNADO UPDATE. Last week I reported that Morgan was one of three of our church members who attend Union University and survived the tornado. She and Kyle Roberts told of their experiences at church Sunday. If you are interested in hearing their stories you will find the audio posted on Mt. Carmel’s web site. I hear that classes will resume next week which is hard to believe after seeing the pictures (also on the church site).

UP FOR A VOTE. While you are visiting the church site you can listen to Vicki’s testimony she gave Sunday. The church will vote this coming Sunday to officially call her as the Minister to Children. She wanted me to pass along the following comments here.

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. I certainly did not see this opportunity coming at all. I was quite taken aback when I talked to Bro. Bill, but after much prayer (and tears) I truly feel that the Lord wants me to do this. He is well aware of my strengths and weaknesses and I think this huge responsibility to serve Him through this ministry is an honor I will humbly accept. I look forward to growing in Him on this journey.

I also want to thank God for the blessing to have stayed home for ten wonderful years as we began our family. The kids are excited about the future and the flexibility of my new job will ensure continued involvement with all their activities.

Please pray for me and our church as we go through the challenges ahead.

Vicki

CHOOSING AN INSTRUMENT. Vicki and Ben were listening to music the other day and Ben was really enjoying whatever was playing. This made Vicki ask if he wanted to take music lessons. He was pretty noncommittal about it so she asked if he wanted guitar lessons. No, he didn’t want to learn the guitar. Then she posed drumming lessons. No, he’s not interested in the drums. But then he put his finger up to signal something had come to mind and said, “I know. I want to play the kazoo!”

ROOM FOR DESSERT. Ben has inherited the G’Anne gene. I think supper the other night wasn’t much to his liking because he had just picked at his plate for a while and then told us with a long face and sad eyes that he was full. When someone mentioned something about dessert he really perked up. With a big smile and a hopeful gleam in his eye he asked if he could have some, adding that it would be a “nice finishing touch.” Vicki and I both looked at him with raised eyebrows. He looked at us and got really tickled with himself.

NOT YOUR NORMAL KID. Jenna was invited to spend the afternoon Sunday with a couple of her friends from school. They started their time together by going to see the Hannah Montana 3-D concert movie. If you haven’t kept up, Hannah Montana is BIG with girls her age. Not so with Jenna. When I picked her up that night I could tell she had a great time playing with her friends, but when I asked about the movie she seemed to be more excited about the box of Milk Duds she bought than the concert. Jenna marches to the beat of her own band and Hannah Montana is not it.

Joe

House of the Sick

The first half of last week was pretty warm but we had a front to roll in Wednesday night and things sure changed. Doppler radar estimated winds reaching 70 mph in our area and from what I saw looking out the door I don’t doubt it. We had a couple of cars take refuge in our driveway until the squall passed by. Then, in the space of an hour, the temperature dropped over 20°. By this weekend things had warmed up enough to feel like spring was on its way.

ROLLER COASTER WEATHER. What’s bad about having these big temperature swings is the potential for severe storms. While many of you were watching the Super Tuesday election results last night we were glued to the TV as three different storm cells spawned tornados across the state.

Robertson County was fortunate that it was never threatened by any tornados last night but many other communities suffered lots of damage. Union University’s campus in Jackson, Tennessee, took a direct hit. All but one building was damaged and many are probably beyond repair. From the sound of it the dorms were some of the hardest hit. This is where Morgan Swann goes to school (as well as two other kids from our church). She was taking refuge in a first floor bathroom when the twister hit. I understand they were able to look up and see the sky when it was over. Union is fortunate that only 9 of over 1000 students on campus had injuries requiring hospitalization, and those were not life threatening.

Kenny went to get Morgan today. None of the students were allowed back in their dorms to retrieve anything due to building stability issues so she came home with just the clothes on her back. They figure her car is totaled too. Personally, I think it will be a miracle if Union reopens this spring.

UPDATE ON AUNT MAR. I am glad to say that Aunt Mar is doing well now. One thing that was going against her was the medication she was taking to fight infection (sulfur) which had her stomach all out of sorts. That prescription has run its course which has gone a long way in making her feel better. She goes to therapy every morning where they are helping her get back on her feet. We figure it is a positive sign that she is feeling good when she is back to worrying about everyone else and how they are doing. I think she has set her sights on coming home by next Wednesday.

PLENTY FOR AUNT MAR TO WORRY ABOUT. This has been one of those weeks for us where some nasty little virus has run through almost all of our family. Nate caught it first last Monday but rebounded pretty quickly. Jenna came down with it last Tuesday, I caught it last Wednesday, and Ben succumbed on Thursday. Only Vicki has escaped unscathed. I don’t know what this thing was but it felt a lot like the flu. I started feeling bad about an hour before quitting time Wednesday and just came on home and went straight to bed. I hardly stirred from there until late Saturday. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob drove up Wednesday to see Aunt Mar and I almost didn’t get well enough to see them before they returned home on Monday.

EARLY VALENTINES DATE. Since Nate’s birthday is the 14th Vicki and I had planned our Valentine’s date for Monday night. All last week I was scared I’d be too sick to go. We went to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert. Mambazo is a men’s choir from South Africa. They were featured on Paul Simon’s Graceland album where they sang Homeless. They struck a chord with me and I have enjoyed their work ever since. I was glad to see them as their founder and lead singer, Joseph Shabalala, has announced he will retire later this year after 47 years with the group.

Joe