Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! School resumes tomorrow. Our Christmas decorations have been put away, and we are about to get back into our normal routine. Nate is very blue about going back to school tomorrow.

DINNER IN ASHLAND CITY. Right after I published the last edition we loaded up in the van and headed to Ashland City to visit our cousins there. The occasion turned out to be a short progressive dinner. We started out at the Dee's house where we enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner. After opening presents we then headed down the street to Jim and Judy's house for dessert. We had a great time together and the time to leave came all too quickly.

GEORGIA FUN. The next day we headed out after church to visit the
Jones family. We were later than planned getting off which had one certain niece of ours leaving hilarious "Where are you?"messages on Vicki's voice-mail.

I happened to catch one of these calls while Vicki was driving to hear Emily ask, "Uncle Joe, where are you?"

"In the van heading to your house," I replied. "Where are you?"

When Emily told me she was behind the Christmas tree I really wanted to ask if her mother knew she was using her cell phone.

As always, trips to the Jones house are fun and restful. There's plenty for all to do from games to ping pong to movies. They had a jigsaw puzzle going when we got there and we wound up giving them another puzzle for Christmas. What was funny about that puzzle was that it got started on the table after we had all opened presents. After a while it was put aside for other activities, but Jenna and Zachary got it back out the next day and completed all but the last two pieces before heading to bed themselves. There's just something wrong about that I think.

We rang in the new year with a bonfire, s’mores, and fireworks which was lots of fun. The kids and I got cold and went in before midnight. Vicki, Will, and Darice stayed out and talked, but I think they were in a little before midnight also. As usual, I didn’t make it to see the new year in.

We stayed in Athens until Thursday and then headed home, stopping in Marietta to eat lunch with Daryle and Ann Beth on our way through.

ARE YOU READY FOR UPWARD BASKETBALL? Believe it or not, basketball season is here again. The boys had games yesterday. Both teams started their season with losses, though both games were entertaining and close.

It was fun to watch Nate play on a team without Ben once again. I think this year will give him a chance to learn some things about the game without his bigger brother there. He needs that time to grow on his own. He's a better player than he gives himself credit for, he just needs the chance to discover that for himself.

Ben's game was fast paced. Those boys were up and down the court quite a bit and it was beginning to show during the second half.

I like Ben's coach. He knows how to keep those boys focused. What's funny to me is that the man, who is shorter than Ben and about ten years older than me, is fast. He challenged the boys to a race at practice and surprised all of them when he won. Ben came in as close second.

MESSY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. The other night Jenna had an errand to run upstairs. Both boys were up there at the time. Ben greeted her when she got to the top of the stairs, and noticing his sister taking in the scene answered her thoughts, “I know, it’s a wreck,” and then added with gusto, “But I love it that way!”

Then Nate gave his own assessment: “A wreck? It looks pretty decent to me!”

Joe