Too disturbing to look at

(MP) - Of course I am speaking of the 2008 Chick-fil-a Bowl score. I'll perform a full review of the "game" (if you want to call it that) in Mediocreviews. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty and it easily dampened some of the New Year's festivities at this home.

I still think CPJ is great and I still think Tech is on the right track. only 3 of 22 starters are not returning next year and the recruiting class is promising to be one of the strongest in years. We need more muscle on our O-line and more speed in our secondary to take on the BCS teams, but tonight we were lacking in every department and I think it was honestly more post-holiday football syndrome than anything else. LSU would have been taken to the cleaners a week after the UGA game, I have no doubt about it.

Happy New Year

2009, here we go. 2009 is a year that is sure to be a challenging one for this family with at least an anticipated 11 months of separation and children entering school age. We started it surrounded by family and hopefully we'll get to end it in the same fashion, though this patriarch will be half a world away when we ring in 2010.

In reality, I can't stand New Year's. It seems to be a somewhat pointless holiday, but then again so are Halloween, Valentine's, and the widely heralded Transatlantic Communications Day. I always get blown away by how crazy revelers act in Times Square, watching a ball drop and embracing total strangers. I think how silly it seems. I guess I'm entitled to my opinion.

Funny thing is, even though I have no desire to celebrate the New Year in that fashion, I have a real longing to at least be a part of that social phenomenon - to someday say, "yes, I've been there. . ." Right now I've got bigger fish to fry, so I'll sigh off and sleep in to start 2009 right.

Rockin' Hannah!

This is how the Lord works

(MP) - I arrived at Kansas City Intl' at 0645 - 15 minutes before the first opportunity to fly to Memphis to reach a connecting flight to Montgomery (my confirmed flight wasn't until 1715). Of course the attendant at the counter said everything was booked - so I took my boarding pass (for eleven hours later) and went to the 0700 flight gate. A quick inquiry at the desk revealed a late departure (0720) and seats available - Praise the Lord! I arrived in Memphis at 0845 and quickly jetted to the gate for the next flight to Montgomery. They took my C.C. and put me on standby. All passengers boarded and lo and behold, there was my second new boarding pass for the day. A quick call to Rachel and a little over an hour later, I was in her arms along with the kids - Praise the Lord! I'd arrived about 10 hours early and now I could witness "Narnia", a play put on by our church to support the building program as well as share a dinner with my family and some great work friends who had invited them over - Praise the Lord! I had a full day with family and friends behind me - an hour before I was originally intended to actually land at home, during Christmas travel! That's how the Lord works.

T-56 hours 30 minutes

(MP) - Homecoming (for a while anyway) is approaching! In a little over 2 days, I will get to see my family again for two weeks; I can't wait! Video-chatting has been great, however it is so much better to be with them. We have zero training until I leave Saturday morning - so please pray I don't implode with boredom. . . .

Long and Short of it

Attention spans are shorter than ever. Entertainment now comes in bite-size chunks thanks to YouTube, social networking sites, and text-messenging. Therefore, in an effort to increase traffic and interest, I will begin limiting my main page posts to shorter, more manageable entries. If you prefer my verbose nature, I recommend checking out any of the other pages - especially the Mediocre Politics or Mediocreviews.

My goal is to pose more relevant information and attract comments in return.

I think the short attention span of America is a sad thing. What are your thoughts?

This wasn't on the list!

We are, like everyone else this time of year, slowly but surely checking off the Christmas To Do list. You know, gift buying, wrapping, Christmas cards, all your favorite Christmas cookies--you want it all to get done! Well a day or so ago, after checking the kids right before bed, I was in a hurry to get to sleep. Somehow, though I've walked to my bedroom from theirs' a thousand times, I missed the hall and smashed my pinky toe into the couch. It is a lovely purple and fairly painful. As I mentioned this to my neighbor, she said, "That wasn't on the list!" I agreed completely.

Prayerfully, everything that truly needs to get done, will get done, even if I have a broken toe!

She's Nearing Independence

She loves to walk across the kitchen floor pushing this chair.

This particular day, she would cry every time she ran into a wall and couldn't keep going.

Trees!

Well, I guess you could call me a liar or even confused. In the end though, I thought this was the best place to post about the newest editions to our backyard - three trees. So even though I said the garden was done, I decided to talk about these editions in this blog as it seemed most appropriate.

Yes, we got trees. Three. Two live oaks and another one that I think is like a cross between a cherry tree and a weeping willow - Rachel can confirm and post pictures also. I'm pretty excited about the trees seeing as how we really had nothing to block the neighbors behind us from peering into our backyard or our home. It will take a few years, but eventually the backyard will be a sanctuary from the rest of the world for our kids and whoever else may live there over the course of our wonderful little home.

We followed the directions pretty clearly, unfortunately we won't know for a while if the roots "took" or not. Please pray, if you have a moment that we don't lose them. It wouldn't be a financial setback so much as it would be an emotional one. I'm especially excited about coming home from my long deployment to see trees much larger than the ones I left and a backyard gradually becoming more and more private.

Chow hall is still a chow hall

(MP) - The chow hall is great - don't get me wrong. Unfortunately, a person can easily have too much of a good thing and the chow hall is no exception. Daily we have our choice of many entrees from either a short order (hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc) or main line (chicken, chicken, ribs, catfish, chicken, etc) as well as just about any beverage you can imagine, a full salad and soup bar, and ice cream. Even still, after a month and a half, the advent of a meal becomes more ritualistic than anticipated. I can't wait to get home for the Christmas break to interrupt the monotony!

Bang-Bang

The last week of training was tiring at times and exciting at times. Most of it was spent at the range firing off round after round on a mixture of military weaponry capable of taking over small towns.

I've been qualified on small arms for several years, in accordance with AF requirements, so I was already familiar with the M-4 carbine (similar to the M-16 rifle only with a shorter barrel, built-in rail mount system, and an adjustable stock) and the M-9 handgun (Beretta 9mm). Those training/qualification days for the Army were last week, so there wasn't much to talk about as it was not too new to me. This week, however was different - very different.

Instead of firing small arms, I fired an automatic grendade launcher (MK19) and several machine guns (M-2 .50 cal, M-240B, and M-249) in various settings. And yes, it was pretty incredible. I feel fairly competent with targeting, cleaning, disassembling, reassembling and maintaining each of these weapons systems and I have the Army to thank for that. Years and years ago, when my LEGO village was ravaged by an unprovoked attack from G.I. Joe and his buddies, orchestrated by my brother, I was completely confident I would never be this intimate with such powerful instruments of war. Today is different. My goal is to learn as much as possible about the job ahead of me so that I can come home safe to my family and friends and more importantly, so I can conduct my nation's business with honer. The long days at the range were a not-so-gentle reminder of this and the percussion of the rounds blasting forward only added an exclamation point to what this business model often requires in order to ensure success.

Arrested Development

In an age when television producers have to do so little to earn a captive television audience, this Ron Howard series that ran for three years and has become a DVD/hulu cult classic was a breath of fresh air.

"Arrested Development", cancelled after three years and declining viewership never failed to impress reviewers or the awards society. The premise was simple, as stated at the beginning of every episode: "...And now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together... It's Arrested Development." The development, however, is exquisite and diverse. Viewers picked up later in the series often felt left out, like going to a girlfriend's house for Thanksgiving dinner the first time. On the other hand, the faithful were constantly treated with twists, turns, and allusions built on previous episodes as well as teases hinting at bombshells about to drop in future installments.

What I appreciate most about this series is the depth that the writers went with each and every character, even those who appeared in just a few episodes. This was done mostly by Howard's regular narration of the events in each episode. Often he would talk about something that happened to a bit character in their past and then the screen would change to a newspaper clipping or a television news report or a webpage screenshot reinforcing the history that the narrator is explaining.

The subject matter is beefy and at times a little too left-leaning for my tastes, but everything is presented tastefully. Too often today, laughs are cheap and the "shots" are below-the-belt. A.D. counters this by making strong social statements while paying the high price for careful and genius dialogue and stage direction/camera work that is rare in what is a dying breed - the sitcom.

Although classified as a sitcom, I would say that almost every episode involves more tragedy than triumph. Don't get me wrong - it's funny, really funny. At the same time, though, the almost all characters are so removed from reality that it's hard to root for this team/family. What holds my hopes for the Bluth's together is Michael's (lead, played by Jason Bateman) constant devotion to helping his family out of the rut they've lived in for an indetermined amount of time. The final episode ties up most of the loose ends and triumph eventually comes in the perfect way at the end, but I still can't help but feel sorry for the characters and the desperate situation they always seem to come back to.

I watched all three seasons over the course of about two weeks online. I highly recommend not doing this. My brother made a good point that you need a week to laugh about all the gags and intricacies of each episode. This is only possible now if you have a friend to go through the episodes on a regular basis, which is probably the best way to go. Even though it can be watched straight through, like a movie, each episode should really be savored for all they are worth.

Check out hulu.com or tv.yahoo.com for all episodes for free or buy the complete seasons on DVD. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

For the first time, I, Rachel, am posting a review to the review board! I just have to say a few words about this dear little book by Betty MacDonald! For those of you unfamiliar with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, she is the lady in a small town in northern America who loves children and always has children playing at her house. Whenever a parent is having a particular difficulty with a child, and they don't know what to do, the parent calls up Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who has a chest full of all sorts of remedies for a child's unpleasant or unacceptable habits.

Mrs. Semicolon, the most recently troubled parent, ended the last chapter we've read saying about her, "There goes the most wonderful little person in the whole world." And to Mrs. Semicolon there was no doubt that she was, becuase, you see, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle cured her dear Nicholas of being the school bully!

The first story in the book is about Philip Carmody. He is a constant show-off. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's "Show-off Powder" does the trick in curing him, since the powder makes him invisible when he shows off. The next story was about Melody Foxglove who is an incessant cry-baby. All that was needed to cure her was some of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's CRYBABY TONIC. Then of course, Nicholas Semicolon needed Leadership Pills to help his heart and mind even out with his big, strong body.

Of course, it's ridiculous, but it's so endearing somehow. And the children sit on my lap completely engrossed in the stories. If only it was as easy as calling Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle to help you guide the precious life entrusted to you. Thankfully, we do have God's Word and prayer and a multitude of friends and family that also love our children, even when they misbehave or have a nasty attitude or break things or hit other children, or whatever infraction they may commit. I guess the point is that children will be children and we must seek wisdom daily, and never be too busy, to deal with their childishness, because soon they will be grown up.

Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, GA

Attendants swarm the front entrance of this swank accomodation in Atlanta's swankiest of communities. Besides offering bottles of water, clothed in Ritz-Carlton labels, they greet you as though you were royalty and ensure that the doors are already propped open, well before you have to consider reaching out your arm. Of course, all of that is no surprise, regardless which Ritz you may be calling home for the night. What makes the Buckhead Ritz stand out is its premier location for some of Atlanta's finest shopping. Claiming a coveted Peachtree address, the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead, Georgia is directly across the street from Lenox Square Mall to the south and Phipps Plaza to the East - both extremely formidable shopping centers inside the perimeter (I-285). Many believe (incorrectly) that you need to adhere to a certain dress code just to shop at Phipps, yet I've proven that wrong - a few times (It's nice, but it's not Harrod's).

Everything is within reach of this Ritz, including MARTA, and the accomodations were amazing. We only had one kink during our stay. The LodgeNet on-screen entertainment/information system was not working and all told, we had to wait about an hour before we were able to watch Prince Caspian. But, in true R-C style, the front desk and the engineer's office maintained constant communication with us as they worked the problem. I really felt like our room was the only one with the problem based on how they treated me in person and over the phone - so I was blown away to find out that it was a hotel-wide problem! That's the kind of personal care you can expect at any Ritz. The same type of care I've received at the other two Ritz's I've stayed at.

Family Finances From aFar

Man, this is tough. Since 2005, Rachel and I have been budgeting almost every expense from every month. Some months are better than others and sometimes that bottom line is not where we would prefer it - but it should go without saying that we have definitely become more disciplined in our spending and more open in our communication regarding money. I count that as a success, considering so many (who are deceived) fault finances/money as the biggest area of marital strife. The fact that money management is more a symptom of a bigger problem than the problem itself is another blog entry altogether, which I'll save for a later date.

What is interesting, though is how much difficulty the current separation has added to managing our money. Today we spent a few minutes on the phone trying to work through the December budget and it was anything but painless! I'm thankful for an understanding and intelligent wife who can manage the task of stopping her day to work with me over the phone while keeping the kids from destroying the house in the background. Still, it wasn't easy! More than ever, we need a common operating picture and more than ever, we need a strict zero-based budget that anticipates all of the expenses for the next 31 days. Lord willing, we'll get both of those, but it will take regular communication and a large amount of foresight.

This is just one element of deploying that makes life harder on families. What's amazing though, is how resilient God made us. Even though it feels like we are pushing a steamroller uphill, I know that we are being made much stronger individually and as a couple through this process. The last deployment was easy - we just spent what we needed to and used the card for anything else that wasn't covered with cash in the bank. And guess what - afterwards, we were still in debt and we had not grown at all to speak of financially. This deployment is different. We have been debt-free (except for the mortgage) for over 2 years now and we have a chance to accumulate a decent sum for savings. I pray that I don't let my selfish desires get in the way.

CPJ for President!

(MP) - The score doesn't fully tell the tale, so if you missed yesterday's 45-42 Tech victory over UGA, you can't really comprehend the significance of that game. Tech played probably they're second best game of the year against the pre-season No. 1 and there is no doubt in my mind that the most significant number from the game is 1. That's the number of people we can thank for getting the Tech program on the right track - Coach Paul Johnson. That also represents that this is just his first year at Tech. Tech has the talent, but most of all is has the leadership to take us to the next level.

Biggest mental hurdle has passed!

Today our team successfully completed the Combat Lifesaver (CLS) course. This is historically the most fretted-over training for most people attending Combat Skills Training (CST). It is due to the IV requirement. Everyone has to actually place an IV lock and initiate the flow of IV fluid into a battle buddy. Phew! We did that yesterday and thankfully, everything went fairly well. One member of our team almost passed out and a couple bled all over themselves, however I was pretty happy with my work as well as my buddy's work. I ended up getting stuck twice because the first one was accidentally pulled out as he was placing the needle in the vein. The second one, however, went without a hitch. I cleanly got my buddy's IV in and had no blood anywhere - clean and quick! It was fun, and today's mass-casualty exercise was even more fun. We entered a smoke-filled, dark room and pulled out an indeterminate number of casualties. Cool stuff. Anyway, here are some shots (no pun intended) of me and my buddy and the team with our CLS instructor. Take luck!

Dinner III

Here are our Salmon Starfish. They took forever on a night I could have been doing so many other things! Elizabeth had a blast cutting them out. She was very good at it, really. The verdict by all eaters was, "Not bad." I'm looking forward to eating Thanksgiving Dinner with my parents and siblings and David and the kids, and I just get to help with everything...I mean, we actually will eat even if I don't help. Of course I will, but the pressure's off!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!! There is so much to be thankful for!

Acceptance or reprisal?

Friends, I strongly considered responding to Rachel's posting of the completely unflattering picture of me under the covers with a like act. I have a few (very few) of her to choose from, however it would only escalate the issue. With that in mind, I've decided to instead take the more diplomatic route. So, here, for your enjoyment is the un-equaled visage of my stunning bride.

Chatting with Daddy

The internet and communication capabilities today are truly amazing! We are truly blessed with so many amenities during family separation that families in years past have not been privy to. The kids get to video chat with their Dad at least a couple times a week. Andrew took this picture of David during one of those times. So, you get to see what we see when video chatting with him!

She just keeps on growing! Notice her standing on her own! She's actually just about figured out how to consistently just stand herself up from the floor instead of needing help pulling up on something. She cries a little more since she's falling a lot more, but she's getting used to it and I usually just look away when I know she's not really hurt and then look back briefly to give her a reassuring smile. One thing's for sure: there is NEVER a dull moment around here!

Overwhelmed!

(MP) - I was planning on spending Thanksgiving (and the accompanying 4-day weekend) away from family due to budgeting constraints. Thanks to the unbelievable, completely unsolicited gift from a good friend, I will now be going home for three days to see Rachel, the kids and her family for this important holiday. Please pass on an act of kindness in honor of my friend's actions!

G'bye Charter, G'day Gmail / Update

Today I joined the masses in establishing a Gmail account. The reasons were simple - I couldn't send e-mail directly from my computer while travelling without logging in to my webmail. This gets very annoying seeing as how I download all e-mail using Outlook and I can't easily reply. So now I have a fully functioning POP3/SMTP server with Gmail, capable of taking my send items and delivering them as required without flinching.

"How will I be able to e-mail you, now?" you may ask. Well, thanks to my brother's purchase of our family's domain over ten years ago, you can continue using the same simple e-mail address I've had since college. It requires no additional effort on your part at all!

That being said, if you know my whole name, you know my e-mail. Please feel free to send me a line anytime. Or, if you don't remember my name, feel free to send comments on any of the blogs here - they are always welcome.

I thought it was also fair to provide an update of my status in training and how we are doing. Well, the Army is an interesting establishment. Air Force officers are not allowed to sleep in the same lodging room. I'm currently roomed with 30 other Air Force and Army personnel in a 40-man barracks. Air Force personnel are empowered to think freely about the "best" way to do things. The Army has its ways - and they are all the "best". Air Force training has been streamlined and minimized to impact the mission. In the Army, training is the mission while in garrison (not deployed) and training is expanded as much as possible to fill available time (In the last 2.5 weeks, we have not had a single day of training longer than 7 hours). These are just a few of the differences - but I'm not complaining, it's just different.

Last week I learned a ton about the mission I'll be supporting and this week I learned a ton (and became pretty proficient) about programming/using various military radios. Just yesterday I placed a satellite call to someone standing fifteen feet from me. Pretty cool stuff. Tomorrow we have Army 101 (a little late in the schedule, but better late than never!) and marksmanship.

I sleep on the bottom bunk of a bed shared with no one else and the free time is spent working on equipment, watching movies, talking with Rachel and the kids or eating. I'm getting over a cold (that everyone got) and I should be a lot stronger for it! I'm excited about the mission I'll be embarking on and I hope that I can be a successful piece of our strategy for that war-torn country. I'll send another update in a few weeks, but I'll probably blog about other random stuff before then.
In Him,
David

Birthday Party

"Whose birthday is it," you may ask. "No one in their family has a fall birthday." Well, we have a birthday party almost every week at our house. If a birthday is not being celebrated, the next one is being planned. Elizabeth is our gracious little hostess. She loves getting out gift bags I have saved and filling them with presents for us. This was Andrew's party. She used some tissue paper inside the bags, but also used blankets and pillows in place of tissue. Andrew played along with her, very much enjoying another birthday. We sang 'Happy Birthday' and there he is blowing out his candles (colored pencils stuck into the crisco can of crayons) on his cake.

It's Over.

Our garden is dead. It was very fruitful, but it's over now. Please stop asking.

-the management
:)

New Poster

Congratulations to our new poster, John. He is very impressive.

Laundry Done

(MP) - In a remarkable streak, David has done his own laundry now twice in a row. Even more remarkable is that every item was carefully and neatly put away in his army wall lockers before going to bed, ensuring every article of clothing will be spared the previously ubiquitous wrinkling resultant of David's past laundering endeavors.

My turn to brag

If you haven't yet, read the recent dinner blogs on "Her side,". My wife is amazing! Those snails are awesome and I was seriously wishing I could've made some mini-pizzas of my own to enjoy. Every day I am reminded of how blessed I am to be in a union with Rachel. We have our ups and downs, but everytime, God brings us out stronger and more prepared for the next storm. More often than I am willing to admit, it is her demand for clear communication and sold-out heart for God's will that sustains us time and time again. She is my compass and consistently holds me accountable to the course I must maintain as a man, a husband, and a father.

For these reasons and many others, I hereby announce every day for the rest of my life as "Rachel Appreciation Day". Festivities will be carried out daily, though I won't be making the schedule of events publicly accessible - just trust that she'll be well taken care of!

Kansas

It's probably not very fair to review the state of Kansas until my time here is done, but I need something to combat the severe boredom I am currently suffering, so I'll say a few words about the "Sunflower State". It's windy and cold.

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It's windy and cold and snowy.

Dinner, Again

Well, we had to eat dinner again tonight. With a little more labor than last night, this is what we had! I still make mediocre mashed potatoes...but the rest of our Chicken Sausage Snails were quite yummy.

Dinner

Well, when you have three young kids, everybody has to eat dinner. It's just what exactly is for dinner that can sometimes get complicated, and sometimes, I admit, downright irritating! Elizabeth deciding she doesn't like chicken anymore, Andrew having difficulty with any food that doesn't stand alone (casseroles)...oh, it seems endless. And I do not cater to them. We eat healthy food on a tight budget, and what you see is what you get at our house! We hate to waste food, so if you don't eat it, you go hungry till breakfast, when oftentimes, you'll see that meal again.
Well, I'm tired! It gets exhausting trying to get them to eat it and not wiggle around and go look out the window and not play with it, so, I started thinking a couple weeks ago that when David is not home to help enforce, something was going change. So here is a picture of the lovely dinner we had tonight. Elizabeth saw a picture of it in a cookbook I have and requested we make them for dinner. Her pizzas are the cats on the top, Andrew's dogs are in the middle and my flower, mouse and monster are at the bottom. See if you can spot all our favorite pizza toppings! Dinner was so much more enjoyable!
And then we had dirt with worms for dessert! I told them I had put a surprise in their pudding, but Andrew's face when he felt a gummy worm in his mouth was priceless. After we had a good laugh about it, he told me I was silly, but that it was a good surprise.

Ocean's Eleven - the original

A timeless classic! The original "Ocean's Eleven" will remain a classic over the recent installments for several reasons, some of which I'll only generally mention to avoid spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it. Now, please don't get me wrong - Clooney and friends have put together some fine work in the update saga, yet it will still pale in comparison to what Sinatra and the rat pack accomplished decades ago.

Why?
1. There was only 1. This is key. I recently tried to remember the plots of each of the last three "Ocean's" and found it a muddy mess to sort out. The original stood alone. The plot stood alone. The cast stood alone. And it still stands alone.

2. The ending. I really don't want to elaborate, but I guarantee you will agree that the original movie had an ending that will always be regarded as one of the best in film history.

3. The cast. Sinatra - Martin - Davis and a slew of talent in marquee-worthy and bit roles all had a very close and personal relationship with the unbilled, yet main character - Las Vegas, NV. The movie was made during the heydays of this town - before it exploded into the unbelievable modern spectacle that it is today - and these actors/actresses all had an intimate familiarity with the town. Clooney and his crew are all terrific entertainers, but they didn't necessarily take their real life to the screen like the original cast did.

That's my take on why the original "Ocean's Eleven" will forever be an American Classic, while the newer "Ocean's 11, 12, 13, etc" will be just another bunch of gee-wiz movies.

"Unbelievable" or "It's about time" - you choose the title

(MP) - Georgia Tech beat Florida State for the first time ever since being brought together in the ACC and the first time since before I was born.

HUA

Heard
Understood
Acknowledged

I'll admit, readers, you deserve much better than this. I've thrown you off with sporadic unannounced changes to the website with little to no explanation. There hasn't been a new post in nearly a month anywhere to be found. Add to that, I'm nearly out of touch with reality by being TDY at Ft Riley for the next 3 months. Please accept my apology and just keep reading.

I said 'goodbye' to my family for a TDY in uniform for the first time. It brought images of sailors and soldiers heading off to the front to my mind. It also gave me an inkling of an idea of what it will be like when I return. The next 16 months will be a flurry of TDYs, short jaunts home, and a duty that humbles me. When all is said and done, though, that moment of embracing Rachel after returning with honor will be a truly fine moment. But until then, there is a lot of training and a lot of work to do. Please pray for me and for Rachel and the kids as we forge this path.

I'll try to post more updates/stories as I see fit, but until next time - God bless!

Shucks

(MP) - We have no more bananas today. I'm sorry.

MORE Watermelons!

We had no clue that watermelons would continue growing like this! (enter our garden-variety naivety) But today, I went out to check on the two watermelons and found two more, nearly the same size as the two we've been tracking. It's amazing that so much great fruit can come from just three little seeds! We've harvested four so far and only one was really not that great - the rest have been fabulous. I just hope that one of the four growing now will be ready to harvest before I leave.

Watermelons rock.

God Bless

Selected to deploy

(MP) - Two weeks ago Tuesday I was selected to deploy to a location I will not disclose in this forum for one year. I will also be attending training with the Army for a three-month period prior to the deployment and that time is coming up quick! Please pray for our family as we prepare for this in many, many ways.

Lake Martin, Alabama

Sundae has hit the "high seas" once again, after two years of waiting in the purgatory that is the Maxwell AFB RV lot. (And by "high seas" I mean "placid lake waters") Last week, my father, my son, and I spent two hours on the water of Lake Martin, Alabama to much delight. Sundae groaned as the wind gently reminded the standing rigging what tension was, yet she made it through the day with flying colors. For the first time in known history, we sailed off the dock and returned to the dock under sail without starting the noisemaker a single time! Today, Rachel and I and all three kids spent four hours sailing around Goat Island accompanied by Therapy and her crew. The sailing so far has been marvelous! It has also been extremely helpful for me as I won't get much chance to do any sailing for quite some time.

Lake Martin is situated approximately 1 hour from Montgomery and 2 hours from Birmingham and is easily the most popular boating destination in the state, save maybe the Gulf Coast. It is definitely no "Lanier"! It definitely has it's times of business, but the few marinas barely make a dent in the hundreds of miles of coastline and what's left are either beautiful lake homes or forests as far as the eye can see. A front moved in with ample time to prepare (unlike a few very harrowing days on Lake Angustura in South Dakota) and the wind front it was not at all overpowering - rather, it was icing on the cake that was a terrific day of sailing!

My Husband is Amazing!

At long last, I read David's review on his LogiTech Harmony Remote. If you have not yet read it, it is truly an artful article. Just click on Reviews at the top of this screen to read it. Written with his continually advancing writing skills, his quick wit, humor and his heart, it made me laugh and nearly made me cry.

He continues to work night and day, pressing through difficult days and weeks at work, coming home to write papers on the leadership qualities of Biblical heroes like Moses and David. Somehow he finds time to bless others who are in need, play with our children, teach them new songs ("Swing on a Star" by Bing Crosby--Andrew can sing every word!), play in the band at church and love me in countless wonderful ways! That barely touches the many activities that demand his time other than his job, which puts food on the table and gas in the cars, and thankfully, pays the bills, too.

I'd better stop now and save some more praise for a later date. Though I do not always gush so, I should much more often. It is certainly not for lack of things worth praising!

I love you, honey!

Rachel

To crawl or not to crawl - there is no question.

Hannah has made up her mind, and boy has she! Check out this new video - JUST IN!

Wow, now our life is going to get really exciting!

In Him,

The Hannah Dance

Introducing The Hannah Dance! Enjoy.

God Bless!

Hey, Hey, Fay!

What a wonderful day! Fay is rolling across the Florida Panhandle and we are getting a much-needed steady rain. I expect it to last several days and keep most folks in for the weekend. That's OK, though, especially considered the recent simplification my life has undergone (check out my review of the Logitech Harmony remote). Now I have plenty of time inside to work on my Masters and start this new semester off right. Please pray for us as we continue to balance school, church, work, family, and extra-curricular activities. God Bless!

Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote Control

This review is way overdue, mainly because I waited so long before acquiring the coveted Harmony remote, the industry standard for unversal remotes. I didn't want to buy it myself due to the somewhat lofty pricetag, but I really wanted one nonetheless, so it wasn't until several years of pleading and my 31st birthday that "Harmony" finally made its way into our home.

To say it is great would be a grand understatement. A more precise description would be, "the single catalyst that caused me to reorganize a lot of our life at home and work." That may seem like too lofty a claim for any single device, yet I can point to empirical data as proof.

Yes, I replaced the five remotes it usually took to operate our entertainment center with this single, completely programmable, easy-to-setup and use device making the juggling act just to watch TV a thing of the past. With one press of a programmed button, my projector turns on and switches to the right setting, the A/V receiver does the same, and the DVD player turns on and begins playing the disc in the position last used. What followed was a surprise to me and Rachel. Now that we didn't have remotes scattered around and Harmony had secured a prominent home laying directly in front of my center surround speaker on the mantle, it seemed only appropriate to tidy up the rest of the family room. Bookshelves were straightened up and CD cases will soon be gone, considering each and every one now has a permanent home in another recent gift, a 400-disc Sony CD Jukebox. I ordered a third DVD album that will hold another 100 two-disc DVDs which will easily clear the rest of the stand-alone DVD cases into the attic where they belong.

The whirlwind of tidiness didn't stop with the family room. Rachel went on a normal trip to the commisary and returned to find that I had completely re-arranged our bedroom, cleaning it in the process. The re-arranged bedroom finally gave me the space to buy and put in place a cheap bookshelf for my grad work materials. Now that my books aren't lying all over the place, I have room on my ad hoc desk (a Lifetime plastic folding table) for the printer, laptop, speakers, electronic components, and a mouse! Even my office was effected. In the last week, I have successfully cleaned off, thrown away, and filed most of the mess that was on my desk - a feat that my co-workers would verify is way beyond my typical M.O.

What's next you may ask? Well, I can't be for sure, but I've had my eyes on several boxes in our garage for quite some time. It seems they may be happier in the attic and I'm sure the kids bedroom could use a quick glance by an efficiency expert.

Truly, this device has changed my life. Here's to Logitech, and their Harmony line of remotes. What is really bugging me though, is this: If this is the outcome from getting the entry-level model, what would happen were I to someday gain the top-of-the-line, all-color touchscreen, RF Harmony remote. I might discover a cheaper and safer way to travel to space and back. Perhaps I'll be given the secret to maintaining sock pair integrity (it's a technical term) through the laundry cycle. Or maybe I'll just be able to control all of my devices from anywhere in the house. Regardless, I recommend the Logitech Harmony 550 to anyone who is interested (at the very least) in finding the motivation to clean their bedroom.

God Bless!

Where were you tonight?

Yesterday, Michael Phelps' seventh gold medal arrived after arguably the most amazing finish of any race in history. Behind nearly an entire meter, he takes an extra stroke in the last second of the men's 100-meter butterfly to beat out Milorad Cavic from Serbia by .01 seconds - that's a hundreth of a second. To put it in perspective, the time in between Phelps' touch at the end of the pool and Cavic's is less than one-third the amount of time that a single frame is displayed in a typical movie. Wow. Phelps joined Mark Spitz as the only other Olympian to reach seven gold medals in a single olympic games.

Tonight's finish, although more "in the bank" - considering the Americans have never lost the 4x100m men's medley in 20+ years - was no less riveting. There was a short period during the second teammate's run performing the breastroke that it would be a photo finish - again, however Phelps built a terrific lead in the third leg, with his signature butterfly, to give Jason Lezak the steam and space he needed - clean water et al - to bring home an elite-eighth Beijing gold medal with 100 historic meters performing the freestyle. Yes, Phelps stands alone as the only Olympian ever to get 8 gold medals at a single Olympic games. He had already stood alone when he broke the 9-medal record for lifetime gold medals (he won 2 golds that day, by the way) and now he will only continue to push the bar higher and higher.

Rachel and I watched the finals on our older, 19" TV in the guest bedroom. In case you are wondering why I wasn't watching it on our 120" image from our projector, I have a good answer. Prior to picking up on the Olympics, I had been watching the very remarkable Saddleback Presidential Forum, hosted by Rick Warren, with Senators McCain and Obama. For some reason, the cable connection in my living room was not broadcasting CNN, so I was forced to watch this event on the smaller TV. Well, it didn't matter - my heart raced and somehow I felt the gravity of the event, just as much as if I had watched it on a Jumbotron. That seems to be the closest I've ever witnessed to "super-human". Certainly Phelps will somehow get his named turned into an adjective, adverb, verb, noun, etc referring to a feat beyond comprehension. Now wasn't that a phelpsian post?

In Him,
David

WATERMELON!!!

Well, it's DELICIOUS!!! Praise the Lord! We got something truly yummy from the garden! At least the first two picked were delicious. The larger two are still growing after the day of rain we had Tuesday and the vines seem healthy. They're going to be HUGE! The vines of the two we picked were failing to thrive, but the melon were the sweetest and yummiest I've had in a long time.

I've picked all of the red tomatoes, and as you can see, something else was interested in them, too! They also, have been very good! I am pleased!

Thank You, Lord!

My Baby Has Teeth!!!

I truly am in shock over it! She's just 6 months old. I know that's the average age babies get teeth and all, but I was 0 for 2 on the last two kids who didn't get their teeth till 9 1/2 and 11 1/2 months! I knew it was possible, just not probable. She's been pretty fussy and enjoys being held. She's not eating much baby food and her naps have left much to be desired. She's as cute as ever though!

As promised. . .

The Dark Knight review is posted. There is a spoiler alert appropriately placed - you've been warned!

God bless!

The Dark Knight

I waited too long to see this film - and not just a few weeks. This is the presentation the public deserved in 1989. Yes, Tim Burton's Batman was an instant hit with terrific one-liners ("You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?" or "I'm Batman") and amazing visualization, however it did not deliver in the same way The Dark Knight delivered.

First off, I recommend anyone willing to review or critique this film start by disregarding the political undertones (thank you, Morgan Freeman) and realize the sheer gravity of the overall plot. There was a weightyness that pervaded every moment, constantly burdening me with a wierd sense of guilt - like there was something I did that brought about this devilry in Gotham! As citizens and principle characters got "off-ed" throughout the film I felt somewhat responsible. This is the true irony of the film in my mind and the thing that makes it unique to the very end.



(spoiler alert - do not continue if you have not seen the film and wish to do so)




In the end, the villain is no villain and the hero is no hero. Batman suffers from the guilt that his existence brought about the madness and I felt like I had to flee with him. As the plot unveiled its evil face, I knew, as did Batman, that it needed to get messy before it got better. I knew that some honest citizens would have to be killed. I knew that some who should have never seen the light of day would really need to survive. It's a twisted ploy by the writers and I almost feel sick that I had a part in it.

Perhaps, though, that is an indication of a truly amazing work of cinemetography. Suppose you left a movie and felt absolutely nothing from it - no joy, no sadness, no humor, no guilt - why did you go, then, in the first place? Certainly it wasn't to spend $20 on a baby-sitter, $15 on tickets, and $11 on some refreshments! No, you went because deep down inside you wanted to be moved - either because you wanted to be first, or because you wanted to be moved how everyone else was moved. If you spend all that money and have no desire for the inevitable emotional response, then I would recommend you spend your money a little more wisely! This movie will move you, whether you like it or not. The color will leave your face at times and breathless, you'll sit there wondering, "why do I really want to see this life ended?" If you don't want to be moved - don't see The Dark Knight or any other movie for that matter.

I guess that's it - that's all I'm feeling right now. I could go on about the special effects or the cast selection or Batman's new deep voice, but in the end, those things are superficial issues that we use to avoid discussing the real matters at hand. I strongly recommend this movie for anyone wishing to dissolve the previous Batman establishment from your memory (that is, those movies prior to Batman Begins yet following the Adam West Batman) and anyone else that wants to know where Christian Bale's line of the Caped Crusader leads.

With baited breathe

By this time tomorrow we will have seen The Dark Knight. It's been a few years since Christian Bale returned as Batman and I'm really looking forward to catching up with the caped crusader. Of course, there have been nothing but glowing reviews from just about everyone I know who's already seen it and just about every news source. I wonder how much of that is respect for the late Heath Ledger and how much is unbiased, critical analysis of yet another Hollywood attempt at re-molding the powerhouse cinema. I guess I will have to make up my own mind later tonight. I find it hard to believe Jack Nicholson's performance as Joker in Batman will be upstaged by any performance, yet everything I know so far seems to support that thought. We'll see and I'll be sure to share my thoughts in the "Reviews" portion of the website.

In other news, we've been thoroughly enjoying the produce from the garden. Last night I had some diced tomato and tonight I had the red bell peppers. Everything is wonderfully fresh and really a nice reward for the labor. Conversely, I'm a little saddened by the ease that my "lawn care specialist" had in eliminating 90% of my troubling dalisgrass (what I thought was crabgrass). After literally over a year of toiling on my own and buying every possible weed killer (including a too-effective stint with "Round-up") I get nowhere. After one treatment, my lawn is almost void of weeds and the grass is thicker than ever. Oh well. Some men were born great. Some do great things. And some give up and call Alabama Lawns to take care of it. I'm thinking about asking them to fix the CVs on my Jeep also.

God bless ya'll!

Burger King

Well, I would have certainly been the last person to believe that anything good could come from Burger King, but this time, I was wrong.

A few weeks ago, while David was waiting for his food (if you can call it that!), he decided to enter his name into the drawing they were having. Well, much to his surprise he won something! And a pretty cool something at that! He won an Ipod Nano. Well, since he already has a Sansa player for himself, and since the Nano was PINK, he graciously conceded his prize to his dear wife. (He might tell the story slightly differently, but nevermind that!) So, in his words I "looked funny" listening to my new pink ipod nano while I washed the dishes on Saturday after working in the garden in the hot Alabama sun! I'll let you be the judge.

Rachel

Hannah Day

She brings us so much Joy!!! I just wanted to share a little bit of her sweet spirit with you!

Love,

Rachel

There's a Baby in the Garden

Isn't she so sweet?!

Everything continues to grow. The tomatoes are beginning to turn from green to an orangy red, but something started eating the reddest one. So I have 5 just beginning to turn tomatoes in my windowsill, hoping they'll turn without getting eaten.

The peppers are just about done! They are turning a deep, brilliant red. I will post pictures when they are done. I think we'll have the corn for dinner this week. The silks are just beginning to turn brown.

After some vigorous weeding around the watermelon plants, they seem to still be doing well! I am inspecting the stems daily for signs of brownness, which means they're done, and am also thumping regularly. A couple "sound" done already, but I'm watching the stem to make sure.

Till next time!

Rachel

Who Knew?

Two posts in one day! Who knew it was possible?

Well, add child #2 to the list of head wounds! At Mother's Day Out today, Elizabeth got hit in the head with a rogue metal water faucet key (you know, the ones for turning on an outside spigot). Exactly in the center of the back of her head, she has a tiny hole where it split her little head open. The nurse counseled me to go ahead and take her in to the PriMed facility just to make sure it didn't need stitches or wasn't at a high risk for infection. After getting the wound thoroughly washed, the very nice doctor concluded that it would heal just fine on its own with a little neosporin and sent us home with a grape lollipop. Then we had to go back to MDO to pick up Andrew. All the teacher's felt so badly! I just felt badly for the 11 weeks pregnant mommy who had to clean her up with blood pouring everywhere. She put forth a huge effort not to let the sight and smell get the best of her pregnancy hormones!

Well, that's it for now. Another fun day to add into the book for mommy and kiddos. I know I have many more to come! I'm so glad God is so gracious and spares me and our family from disaster many, many times a day. Thank you, Lord! We would be lost without You!

Time to do some Maintenance

Well, we've got three more big ears of corn that will probably be done soon. David and I pulled up the remaining carrots last night. They were pretty much duds. I need to figure out what went wrong, but I do think I let the green tops thrive and take all the nutrients instead of figuring out how to grow the root, the carrot, better.
I think it will be another week or two on the watermelons. Two of them are quite large and quite heavy, but the stem still is green and they're not thumping quite right.
My green peppers are finally beginning to turn a lovely red! (I learned in a book that red peppers are actually green ones ripened completely! Who knew! I don't know the story on yellow and orange ones.) Does anyone know how to get tomatoes to turn red? They've been almost exactly as they are for about 2 weeks now and I'm getting worried that something may be wrong.
Our one lone sunflower is going to open up it's beautiful blossom this week. It had a lot to overcome (apparently) since it is a dwarf! I'm not sure it's even 4 feet tall!
And this is funny. I'm going to have 1 green bean. One. Yes, just the one! It is very lovely though. After I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the plants, though I knew they were sick, I finally pulled them out. Upon looking very closely at the creases where the shoots grew off the main stem, I found the likely culprits. They were these insectst that had a very arched back with quite a few very stiff hairs on them. They were exactly the same color as the plant and looked like part of it. The babies were almost impossible to see, but there were a lot if you could see that well. They were smaller, yes, smaller, than the commas in this sentence. The bean leaves were so big that the insect repellent I put on the plants never reached those crevices on the stem.
We've learned so much so far!
Enjoying life,
Rachel

VBS

It brought me more joy than I can describe last week, when our dear son Andrew had a fabulous week at VBS. Yes, it was a little bit busy getting there every morning, but it was by far the most unchaotic VBS I have ever been a part of. I assisted with the online registration the first two days. Andrew sat still (still for him anyway) and listened to his story, stayed with his class, listenend and laughed and loved the big "show" at the end of each day, and had no outbursts at all! He respected and obeyed his authorities. This, I believe, was a direct answer to prayer. Last year was not so great, so we talked and prayed and prepared a lot for this year. It was a big boost of confidence for him, too. I am so grateful!

Another year, another Alaska

Every visit to the great state of Alaska yields great rewards and plenty of surprises. This year's pilgrimmage was no different. The journey was timed to coincide with the historically best time to catch the run of Copper River Red (Sockeye) Salmon as well as the best tides for our chances at the big halibut out of Valdez. I certainly believe the timing worked out well!

99.1 lb halibut! The biggest I've ever caught!

Standing on top of and right next to Worthington Glacier - a quickly receding piedmont glacier just north of Valdez.
In Alaska, there are more private pilots per capita than any other state. Some find the need to park their experimental helicopters right on their driveways.

The journey to and from the north is usually made possible by the work from our friends at Alaska Airlines. This picture was taken from my AirTran jet as I taxied out of SeaTac.
No, he's not upside down. He's dipnetting. This is the view from above as my friend works at catching the amazing Sockeyes one their way back up to the spawning grounds.
I sat pensive, tied off to the cliffs of the Copper River Valley. The sunlight of the night blinded me from reality - it was midnight and here I was, clinging to a rock in the hopes that some salmon would run into my net.
It's hard to tell, but I'm reeling in my 99.1 lb halibut in this shot. It's not that hard, it just takes a while.

So, in the end I came home with about 120 lbs of usuable salmon, halibut, ling cod, and red snapper and a lifetime of memories. I love this place and I look forward to returning, whenever that may be.

Recapping

It's been a while. I do apologize!

To quickly sum up, we enjoyed fireworks in a small community just east of Montgomery for the Fourth. Hannah is here in her patriotic dress from her Aunt Sarah.

July 11 was "National Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-A, anyway. We celebrated (as did many others) by dressing up like cows and getting FREE meals! It was fun to do and the kids really enjoyed it. Notice Andrew's "bull" horns in the picture. He wanted to make sure he was clearly a boy cow!

David spent a week fishing in Alaska, coming home with a total of 120lbs. of salmon and halibut. Yummy! We spent that time split between the Davidson and the Sulhoff families' homes. We had a delightful time swimming, eating Chick-fil-A, going to the Yellow River Game Ranch, spending time with cousins, and just relaxing.

I will write again, sooner than later!

Harvest Time!

Well, we've harvested and eaten our first corn on the cob! I think there may be a few more ears on the way. The tomatoes finally developed when the weather cooled off to the 80's the second half of June. I have 3 huge green peppers on which I am anxiously waiting to turn red (also the case with the tomatoes). I think the carrots are about done.

And check out those watermelon! We should have 6 good, big ones, two per vine. Pretty exciting!

With all the fish David just brought home from Alaska, combined with all these yummy fruits and veggies, we'll be feasting! Thank you, Lord!

Ho hum . . .

Well, I have to confess - I've given in. Last Monday I entertained a guest I was hoping to avoid. We had a nice chat and shook hands and even brought up some Alaska talk. Still, I had hoped to never meet the man. But I did, and I'm a little ashamed.

So, starting sometime in the next two weeks, my lawn will be treated by "Alabama Lawns".

I guess you could say I threw in the towel, but in the end all I really care about is a lawn without weeds. We'll see how it goes, but I feel like I've hired the help of an organization to fight something that I created to start with (due to my negligence/ignorance/whatever). It's kind of like Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. (Maybe some of you will understand that).

That is neither here nor there right now as I am waiting in the Fairbanks Military Lounge for my friend to pick me up. I've made it back to Interior Alaska searching for the infamous red salmon. Then it's on to Valdez for a date with some halibut. yeah yeah, I know - I'm doing it just for the 'halibut'. If I've heard it once I've heard a trillion times. Oh well, It's still kind of funny, I guess. Regardless, the fish is terrific and I'll be happy to post some pics after the trip.

Take care everyone!
In Him,
David

What I love about the United States of America

I posted this on an AJC blog, but I doubt many of you read it. But it embodies the many things I love about my country.

Lee Greenwood
Boys in the Hood
City Halls
Strip malls
Martin guitars
Rovers on Mars
Outsourcing
No forcing
FAA
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Colonial Antiquity
"As seen on T.V."
Drummer and fife
Sanctity of life
Needles highway
New York gray
Prom dates
Fifty states
Many sides
25-cent rides
Snopes, the facts
No internet tax
Pine, oak, birch, spruce
Cardinal, eagle, blue bird, goose
Times Square tower
Hawaii flower
Diversified people
Star, crescent, cross, steeple
Stone Mountain
Centennial Park fountain
Miami beach
Dr. King Speech
"No papers, state to state"
Drive-thru food, no wait
Gettysburg fog
This timely blog

God Bless America Again!

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Godblessya'll!InHim,David

The Bucket List

"Witness something majestic"
"Skydiving"
"Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world"

It should have been a no-brainer that pairing up Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson would result in a tremendous film. Though, I could see where there would be some reluctancy to do so considering their personalities. They both are masters of the art, and have been for a long time. They are both very strong-willed in their roles, filling spots that usually connote characters willing to accept the status quo or even an improvement. Each man is an oscar winner and they both have distinctive voices that could never be mistaken. Naturally, the question of who would receive top-billing may have mattered at one point in their career, yet I'm guessing these gentlemen probably put that aside when figuring out how to convey the message.

I would argue that the greatest films are definitely akin to the parables of Christ. Entertaining, certainly, yet inspiring - even moreso. In this regard, I examine The Bucket List as a modern day parable, where the message outweighs the entertainment and the star-factor. Simply put, the film teaches us how to love ourselves. Huh? Why doesn't that make sense? Why should I "love myself?" Well, Christ tells us to love others as we love ourselves, so logically we must love ourselves first to follow His direction. There is however, a good and nourishing way to love ourselves as well as a destructive and sad way. Jack Nicholson's character (Edward) had spent his life loving himself in the way so many of us think is the best - fine girls, exotic adventures, billions of dollars, etc. Carter, played by Morgan Freeman, had loved himself through finding joy in sustaining his family, hard work, and mental and spiritual enlightenment.

The notion of a "Bucket List" with no limit on funding, presented both men the opportunity to really love themselves (do the things they wanted to do). So, naturally, the human response is to satisfy the dreams that were more a part of Edward's life than Carter's. In this regard, Carter spends weeks with Edward crossing off things on their shared bucket list - everything from skydiving to seeing the Wall of China. The message becomes clear in the end when Edward learns how to truly love himself after realizing there was no added joy in how he had been loving himself over the years.

Anyway, you get the picture. I won't spoil the rest of the film as I think it is really great and was very well done. I hope you'll watch the movie sometime soon, as it is sure to open your heart and your mind to a little more of life that you could be experiencing - without spending a penny - and with that, a few of the items on your "Bucket List" that you can cross off, even today.

In Him,
David

"The watermelon's really taking off!"

Andrew heard us say that one day last week and he says it every time he comes out to look at it with us! He's right though! Just look at the picture to see for yourself.

We've adopted quite a few bugs in our garden. There are two remarkable green spiders. One on the pepper plant and one on one of the corn plants. The one on the corn plant had another bug in it's pinchers today, so we're definitely keeping these green guys around. We also have seen the most adorable, yet probably harmful, green inchworm, a bright green grasshopper that has doubled in size, these beetles that look a lot like lady bugs but aren't, and a colony of ants living under one of the bean plants.

It looks as though the corn may actually bear some fruit, so that's exciting! My tomato plant is growing nicely, and flowering abundantly for several weeks, but there are no beginnings of tomatoes. My grandmother said I should fertilize and also buy and apply something called Bloomset, since several of the flowers have just dried up and fallen to the ground.

Thanks for sharing our lives with us!

Rachel

Five Months Old Today

Hannah Joy is 5 months old today! How the time has flown! She is still living up to her name, she is such a joy. The picture of her in her carseat with all the animals is particularaly precious because her big sister Elizabeth gave them all to her! The red and white polka dot outfit is from Aunt Katy. Thanks, Aunt Katy! Hannah also has figured out how to roll from back to tummy. I'm brainstorming the baby-proofing, because it's only a matter of time now before she's crawling!

I love this picture of the four of them playing a card game about space on the floor one night after dinner.

We've been busy! We travelled to N. GA this weekend to visit David's brother Mike and his family. The kids and I had such a great time playing the Wii, hiking, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, catching frogs and lightning bugs and visiting with their cousins.

Speaking of Lightning bugs, who would have guessed that lightning bugs don't live in Montgomery, AL! If I'm wrong about this, please post a comment correcting me! However, I have yet to see one, in either of the houses we've lived in over the last 20 months.

More on bugs...does anybody have a clue whether we should spend $290 on a yearly termite insurance policy? The money goes into a pot with everybody else's and then, IF we get termites, despite the treatment they gave the house, they will pay for any damages done by the sneaky little critters. The guy who worked for the company who came and inspected to make sure we didn't have any, seemed to think it wasn't really necessary. The lady who answers the phone thought differently, of course.

And, regarding bugs and Elizabeth, that little beauty will pick up just about any worm or beetle on God's earth! We found a big earthworm under a rock on our hike this weekend and she wanted to put it in her pocket and then feed it to Skippy, the pet turtle! So, we did just that!

I never cease to be amazed at these young lives I have been charged with. They are learning their place in the world and their place in God's kingdom. I sure love 'em a lot!

Rachel