It was a year ago this weekend that the flood waters caused so much destruction in Nashville. We had a large storm system move through the first part of the week which left standing water everywhere and reminded us of last year’s flood, and it makes us a little nervous about next week's forecast.
As you know from watching the news, this is the largest storm to hit the South in about 80 years. The tornadoes that ripped through Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee have left around 300 dead. This was brought home to me as I listened to one of my colleagues at work who is from Mississippi try to find out if people she knows from her hometown are all right.
A TEAM PLAYER. I won't get into baseball details this time -- we've been rained out a lot and then Ben was sick for another game -- but I will share that all the coaches have said Ben is the player who has shown the most improvement on their team. They've been very complimentary about his ability and his attitude. I know it makes me proud to watch him play because he is a team player, not focusing on himself, but working hard to do his part for his team. Hearing his coaches appreciate this as well has been nice to hear.
CRIME WAVE. Our big excitement centered on a string of burglaries that happened in the area yesterday. Mom and Aunt Mar were victims.
Mrs. Connie called me at work to let me know Aunt Mar's burglar alarm was going off and that she had been over to check on Aunt Mar. When she got to the house she found the window in the back door broken and the door left open. Since Mom and Aunt Mar weren't home (they were in town for a hair appointment) she left. By the time I got there a deputy was on the scene. The best we can tell the thief did enter the house and looked at things on Aunt Mar's dresser, but it appears he didn't stay too long since the alarm was sounding. We aren't sure if he took anything.
It appears that he left there and hit a house a couple of miles away where the homeowner and her father arrived and caught the man there. They were able to get a description of the vandal's truck, and the father even hit him with his cane. We heard today that the Sumner County police arrested a man matching this description today.
STRAWBERRIES. Our strawberries are in. The kids have been out picking them the last few days. Ben was so excited about the crop he came in this evening and went straight to the computer to look up strawberry recipes. At the same time Nate was complaining to Jenna about how tired he was after picking strawberries and said he thought he was going to turn into a strawberry. He went on to say, "I think I can feel the seeds inside of me starting to grow strawberries."
As for me, I've eaten one strawberry which has reminded me that I don't like them any more this year than I've ever liked them in the past. Yuck!
Joe
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
April Showers
The TCAP (pronounced tee-cap) tests are behind us. Easter has come and gone. April is almost over. There's only five weeks of school until summer break!
BASEBALL. I think about half of Ben's games have been rained out since I last wrote about them. Their win-loss record isn't looking that good, but at least they do have one win under their belt now. We've played at a couple of fields where they don't use the mercy rule and we wind up being batting practice for the other team. In spite of this, we've seen these kids really improve out on the field.
The coach has moved Ben over to first base in the last two or three games. It's not the same as playing shortstop, but he's adjusting. He was part of a very exciting double play the other night. We've also told Ben he needs to swing at anything he thinks is in the strike zone. One night Ben hit a triple! Unfortunately, he was thrown out when he tried to steal home, but it was a close one.
COLD EGGS. We had our Easter egg hunts a week ago Saturday (the 16th). It was cold! In fact, this year equalled a hunt we had about three years ago for being cold. Kilgore Park is a great place to have this event, but when it's cold, damp, and windy it can be downright miserable on that hillside. I wore my insulated coveralls to the older kids' flashlight hunt that evening and did not regret it one bit. I think the kids who came had a great time in spite of the weather.
MR. JIMMIE'S SURPRISE. I have mentioned before how blessed we are to have Jimmie and Susanne Pitt as neighbors. Both of them are some of the most caring and giving people you'll ever meet. Mr. Jimmie has helped me with some emergencies before as I have recorded here, but what those of you who don't live around here don't know is just how much Mr. Jimmie does to help out the people in this community. There isn't a week that goes by that he isn't involved in something for someone else.
Last Sunday was Mr. Jimmie's 75th birthday and Mrs. Susanne organized a surprise party for him up at church. Vicki volunteered me to get him up to church without arousing his suspicions. When the time came that afternoon I made up some story about a project I needed to get done at church, and being always ready to help he jumped in the truck and we headed off. Before we left Mrs. Susanne told me she thought he suspected something was up. That said we stopped by Aunt Mar's house to get a ladder and tools for my "project." This completely threw him off and I was pleased to see that he was completely surprised when his party got under way. It made my day to do something for the man who does so much for others.
GOT TO CHECK THOSE PATENTS, NATE. The dishwasher was full so Jenna was hand washing the dishes that didn't fit to get them out of the sink. Vicki called Nate in to dry for his sister.
Nate is a cheerful worker, but that doesn't mean he isn't thinking about how work can be made easier. This must have been on his mind because at one point he piped up and said, "When I grow up I'm going to invent a machine that washes and dries dishes."
Then Vicki said, "You mean something like a dishwasher?"
At this Nate looked at the dishwasher which was humming away with a load of dishes and growled his disappointment in having dreamed a little too late. Keep it up buddy, one of these days you will think of something no one else has thought of.
Joe
BASEBALL. I think about half of Ben's games have been rained out since I last wrote about them. Their win-loss record isn't looking that good, but at least they do have one win under their belt now. We've played at a couple of fields where they don't use the mercy rule and we wind up being batting practice for the other team. In spite of this, we've seen these kids really improve out on the field.
The coach has moved Ben over to first base in the last two or three games. It's not the same as playing shortstop, but he's adjusting. He was part of a very exciting double play the other night. We've also told Ben he needs to swing at anything he thinks is in the strike zone. One night Ben hit a triple! Unfortunately, he was thrown out when he tried to steal home, but it was a close one.
COLD EGGS. We had our Easter egg hunts a week ago Saturday (the 16th). It was cold! In fact, this year equalled a hunt we had about three years ago for being cold. Kilgore Park is a great place to have this event, but when it's cold, damp, and windy it can be downright miserable on that hillside. I wore my insulated coveralls to the older kids' flashlight hunt that evening and did not regret it one bit. I think the kids who came had a great time in spite of the weather.
MR. JIMMIE'S SURPRISE. I have mentioned before how blessed we are to have Jimmie and Susanne Pitt as neighbors. Both of them are some of the most caring and giving people you'll ever meet. Mr. Jimmie has helped me with some emergencies before as I have recorded here, but what those of you who don't live around here don't know is just how much Mr. Jimmie does to help out the people in this community. There isn't a week that goes by that he isn't involved in something for someone else.
Last Sunday was Mr. Jimmie's 75th birthday and Mrs. Susanne organized a surprise party for him up at church. Vicki volunteered me to get him up to church without arousing his suspicions. When the time came that afternoon I made up some story about a project I needed to get done at church, and being always ready to help he jumped in the truck and we headed off. Before we left Mrs. Susanne told me she thought he suspected something was up. That said we stopped by Aunt Mar's house to get a ladder and tools for my "project." This completely threw him off and I was pleased to see that he was completely surprised when his party got under way. It made my day to do something for the man who does so much for others.
GOT TO CHECK THOSE PATENTS, NATE. The dishwasher was full so Jenna was hand washing the dishes that didn't fit to get them out of the sink. Vicki called Nate in to dry for his sister.
Nate is a cheerful worker, but that doesn't mean he isn't thinking about how work can be made easier. This must have been on his mind because at one point he piped up and said, "When I grow up I'm going to invent a machine that washes and dries dishes."
Then Vicki said, "You mean something like a dishwasher?"
At this Nate looked at the dishwasher which was humming away with a load of dishes and growled his disappointment in having dreamed a little too late. Keep it up buddy, one of these days you will think of something no one else has thought of.
Joe
Friday, April 22, 2011
Teenager in the house. Oh my!
It must be an effect of age. A few years ago it felt like every time I turned around good another week had gone by. Now the months are clicking by like the weeks used to. And now that we have a teenager in the house it's really hitting home just how quickly time goes by.
That's right, Jenna is now 13 years old! Adolescence is staring us in the face and I'm not ready.
I have written before how proud I am of her. She truly has a serving, giving, compassionate heart. She is also growing into a beautiful young woman. Girlhood is falling away to reveal something truly spectacular.
Jenna is a lot like me in her fashion sense. She's a jeans and tee shirt kind of girl. She abhors the thought of wearing a dress. She loathes the thought of shopping. So, she shocked us last week when she said she thought it was time to go shopping for a dress. I guess she had Easter on her mind.
Jenna and Vicki brought home three dresses. I was blown away when she modeled them for me. Of course, every parent is biased toward their own children, but I think it's that scary place when you look and realize your daughter becoming the woman she was made to be that gives me pause to think about my role as dad. I think I'm more scared for me than for her. I have confidence she's going to turn out fine in spite of my best efforts.
Jenna's birthday was Monday and our family celebrated with a cookout over at Aunt Mar's for supper. Vicki made a delicious chocolate cake, but we didn't have much time to enjoy it because we had to rush out for Ben's ball game and Nate's scout meeting.
Last night Jenna invited her friends Mackenzie, Maegan, and Savannah over for a slumber party. We all went to the Maundy Thursday service at church and then out for a late supper at the Mexican restaurant in White House. I'm not sure how much sleeping they did, but I hear they went to bed around 2:00. Once I got the air mattresses inflated I went to bed.
It has been interesting to see the boys react to all the girls in the house. Jenna has a friend to sleep over on occasion, but it is rare for her to have more than that. Ben got up this morning and wanted to cook pancakes for the group. He did a really good job and the girls were very impressed. He blushed and ducked his head when they complimented him, though he was interested when they talked about hiring him on the weekends. I think Nate is enamored with Savannah. He keeps bringing her grapes that she hasn't asked for.
So here we are with a teenager. There are a lot of other things that have happened in the last three weeks, but I'll save that for the next edition which I hope to write before the weekend is out. Until then have a wonderful Easter!
That's right, Jenna is now 13 years old! Adolescence is staring us in the face and I'm not ready.
I have written before how proud I am of her. She truly has a serving, giving, compassionate heart. She is also growing into a beautiful young woman. Girlhood is falling away to reveal something truly spectacular.
Jenna is a lot like me in her fashion sense. She's a jeans and tee shirt kind of girl. She abhors the thought of wearing a dress. She loathes the thought of shopping. So, she shocked us last week when she said she thought it was time to go shopping for a dress. I guess she had Easter on her mind.
Jenna and Vicki brought home three dresses. I was blown away when she modeled them for me. Of course, every parent is biased toward their own children, but I think it's that scary place when you look and realize your daughter becoming the woman she was made to be that gives me pause to think about my role as dad. I think I'm more scared for me than for her. I have confidence she's going to turn out fine in spite of my best efforts.
Jenna's birthday was Monday and our family celebrated with a cookout over at Aunt Mar's for supper. Vicki made a delicious chocolate cake, but we didn't have much time to enjoy it because we had to rush out for Ben's ball game and Nate's scout meeting.
Last night Jenna invited her friends Mackenzie, Maegan, and Savannah over for a slumber party. We all went to the Maundy Thursday service at church and then out for a late supper at the Mexican restaurant in White House. I'm not sure how much sleeping they did, but I hear they went to bed around 2:00. Once I got the air mattresses inflated I went to bed.
It has been interesting to see the boys react to all the girls in the house. Jenna has a friend to sleep over on occasion, but it is rare for her to have more than that. Ben got up this morning and wanted to cook pancakes for the group. He did a really good job and the girls were very impressed. He blushed and ducked his head when they complimented him, though he was interested when they talked about hiring him on the weekends. I think Nate is enamored with Savannah. He keeps bringing her grapes that she hasn't asked for.
So here we are with a teenager. There are a lot of other things that have happened in the last three weeks, but I'll save that for the next edition which I hope to write before the weekend is out. Until then have a wonderful Easter!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Opening Day: Mowing and Baseball
We are two weeks into spring and it has been cold. As much as I like cold weather I am ready for it to be over when the trees begin to put out their leaves, and several varieties have begun to do just that now. At any rate, both baseball and mowing season started for us today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT MAR! Aunt Mar celebrated her birthday a week ago last Monday (the 21st). We took her out to eat the night before, but the real party came the next day at lunch.
Aunt Mar worked for First National Bank in Springfield for about 25 years, retiring when I was in high school. Several of the ladies she used to work with decided it would be fun to get together and visit Aunt Mar, bringing lunch for everyone, on her birthday. So, when her big day came some 10-12 people converged on her house for lunch, including the former president of the bank. Everyone had a good time visiting together and they made Aunt Mar's birthday extra special. It was a great way to celebrate 96 years.
THE CLAY LADY. Our kids know the Clay Lady (http://www.theclaylady.com/). She's been to our church once or twice and she's been an annual guest at their school.
The Clay Lady is Danielle McDaniel, and every time she visits a group of kids she instructs them on how to make a project with clay. Once the project takes shape the kids get to paint it. Then she takes their projects back to her kiln, fires them, and returns them to the kids. We have several rabbits, pictures frames, and even a fish, as a result of her visits.
As of this year the Clay Lady no longer comes to you, you go to her. This resulted in a field trip for Nate. Vicki got to chaperone on this trip and they both came back talking about how neat it was to visit the Clay Lady's studio. The kids spent one hour making their project, and on the second hour they got a tour of her place. Nate was really impressed with the big oven where his project will be fired. The fact that the kiln reaches over 1000° and that the pieces inside take a full day to cool is impressive. Vicki said that the Clay Lady also rents space to other artists so all the kids got to tour their studios as well, which was very interesting.
APRIL FOOLS DAY. If you live in our community you learn to be very suspicious any time Kenny Swann calls you on April 1. It is his favorite day of the year, and we have all sorts of stories of the pranks he's pulled in the past. Indeed, this year he fooled several people once again. He called Mom and convinced her to go out to the garage and honk the horn on the car.
In my opinion Kenny was upstaged this year by my wife. As we were getting ready for school that morning Vicki pulled me aside and told me to call our home phone from my cell phone. When I did she pretended it was our school system's automated messaging system, and hanging up the phone she told Jenna that her school would be closed due to a water leak. This made Jenna's day, and within 30 seconds our happy girl had her unexpected day of freedom all planned out. Her euphoria turned to heartbreak when Vicki said, "April Fool!"
PLAY BALL! As I mentioned above, baseball season started for us today. Ben's coach had been trying to schedule some scrimmage games for the past couple of weeks but they kept getting rained out. Ben also missed a couple of practices due to being sick and the Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet where he earned his Webelos badge. (Just one more year as a Webelo and then he crosses over to Boy Scouts, should he choose to continue in scouting.)
So, with no scrimmage games and lots of rain, the boys took to the field this afternoon. They wound up losing, by a lot, but they actually performed better than their score.
For Ben, it was almost like he'd never had a ten month break in playing ball. He got to play shortstop and made several good plays. He tagged one player out (which was almost a double play) and was instrumental in getting another runner out as he was sliding into home plate. Ben only got one chance at bat and walked, but wound up stealing second, third, and home for a run. Vicki and I were very proud of our son. Now there's only 23 more games to go...
Joe
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT MAR! Aunt Mar celebrated her birthday a week ago last Monday (the 21st). We took her out to eat the night before, but the real party came the next day at lunch.
Aunt Mar worked for First National Bank in Springfield for about 25 years, retiring when I was in high school. Several of the ladies she used to work with decided it would be fun to get together and visit Aunt Mar, bringing lunch for everyone, on her birthday. So, when her big day came some 10-12 people converged on her house for lunch, including the former president of the bank. Everyone had a good time visiting together and they made Aunt Mar's birthday extra special. It was a great way to celebrate 96 years.
THE CLAY LADY. Our kids know the Clay Lady (http://www.theclaylady.com/). She's been to our church once or twice and she's been an annual guest at their school.
The Clay Lady is Danielle McDaniel, and every time she visits a group of kids she instructs them on how to make a project with clay. Once the project takes shape the kids get to paint it. Then she takes their projects back to her kiln, fires them, and returns them to the kids. We have several rabbits, pictures frames, and even a fish, as a result of her visits.
As of this year the Clay Lady no longer comes to you, you go to her. This resulted in a field trip for Nate. Vicki got to chaperone on this trip and they both came back talking about how neat it was to visit the Clay Lady's studio. The kids spent one hour making their project, and on the second hour they got a tour of her place. Nate was really impressed with the big oven where his project will be fired. The fact that the kiln reaches over 1000° and that the pieces inside take a full day to cool is impressive. Vicki said that the Clay Lady also rents space to other artists so all the kids got to tour their studios as well, which was very interesting.
APRIL FOOLS DAY. If you live in our community you learn to be very suspicious any time Kenny Swann calls you on April 1. It is his favorite day of the year, and we have all sorts of stories of the pranks he's pulled in the past. Indeed, this year he fooled several people once again. He called Mom and convinced her to go out to the garage and honk the horn on the car.
In my opinion Kenny was upstaged this year by my wife. As we were getting ready for school that morning Vicki pulled me aside and told me to call our home phone from my cell phone. When I did she pretended it was our school system's automated messaging system, and hanging up the phone she told Jenna that her school would be closed due to a water leak. This made Jenna's day, and within 30 seconds our happy girl had her unexpected day of freedom all planned out. Her euphoria turned to heartbreak when Vicki said, "April Fool!"
PLAY BALL! As I mentioned above, baseball season started for us today. Ben's coach had been trying to schedule some scrimmage games for the past couple of weeks but they kept getting rained out. Ben also missed a couple of practices due to being sick and the Cub Scout Blue and Gold banquet where he earned his Webelos badge. (Just one more year as a Webelo and then he crosses over to Boy Scouts, should he choose to continue in scouting.)
So, with no scrimmage games and lots of rain, the boys took to the field this afternoon. They wound up losing, by a lot, but they actually performed better than their score.
For Ben, it was almost like he'd never had a ten month break in playing ball. He got to play shortstop and made several good plays. He tagged one player out (which was almost a double play) and was instrumental in getting another runner out as he was sliding into home plate. Ben only got one chance at bat and walked, but wound up stealing second, third, and home for a run. Vicki and I were very proud of our son. Now there's only 23 more games to go...
Joe
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