6 Years and A Day

Yesterday was Sarah and my 6 year anniversary. We had someone come over to watch Benjamin so we could go out for a while. We went to the Shaker Village just north of Harrodsburg, KY (http://www.shakervillageky.org/) to eat at the restaurant and walk around the grounds. The food, service, and ambiance were all just right. We had been there once before when we were first dating at Asbury so it was nice to reminisce a little. After dinner we ... or rather I ... decided that since Sarah likes Christmas lights that we would go to the Kentucky Horse Park to see their Christmas light display (http://www.kyhorsepark.com/khp/holiday/). It sounded like a great idea but when we arrived there was a large line of people who had the same idea. We decided to go ahead a wait because the line of traffic was moving at a decent pace and we could see ... at a reasonable... distance the entrance to the park. As we proceeded we discovered that the organizers had looped the traffic about a mile down the road ... by this time were stuck in a very long line of cars. So exactly an hour after we entered the line of cars ... we actually entered the park. Then it was another 40 minutes before we were able to exit and return to Berea to relieve our baby-sitter now that we were well over an hour delayed.

This morning Sarah woke up feeling bad. She hadn't slept well and felt rather nauseated. This has not been a normal part of this pregnancy so I knew something wasn't right. To top things off she was scheduled to sing in the church Christmas program for 2 church services and also to sing a solo during each service. She suffered through the first service... came home and rested for 30-40 minutes and then returned to church. She did a great job during the second service but was ready to return home right afterwards and has been in the bed ever since. I was proud that she was singing in the choir and taking on the solo ... but am very proud that she mustered up the little energy she had remaining to sing this morning.

Christmas Train

If you haven't kept up with Isaac Clardy's Christmas Train Project you should really check out these two links. It was a great success.

http://www.sammyclary.blogspot.com/ & http://www3.caringbridge.org/sc/isaacsjournal/index.htm

Random Reflections

Sarah's staring to hmm... NEST... a little. She was really into baking over Thansgiving and then made a choclate bunt cake with choclate icing... she's pretty talented. She also talking about sewing and sewing machines and mini-vans .... whoa now. No mini-vans for a while and I'm not sure where this sewing stuff came from. I'm finding it quite funny.

Benjamin must be fighting a cold or going through yet another growth spurt. Normally he takes one to two naps a day for a total of 2 1/2 hours of naps. Today he's slept for 4 hours and it wasn't because he wore himself out the day before. Maybe he's experiencing CHRISTMAS TREE anxiety... you know when you see something really shiny and sparkelly and you reach up to touch it and someone bellows no... then after the go to the other room you reach up to touch it and the little good angle on the left side says no ... but the little red one says go ahead and take it off the tree - so he sits there and shakes his head and says no... no... but keeps reaching... until someone says "just look... no touching..." He just sits on the window sile and stares at the lights and ornaments....

Clemson/KY bowl games... looks like it'll be a sellout. UK sold 20,000 tickets in no time and Clemson is reporting it will most likely sell-out. Maybe the SEC folks can teach the ACC team a little something...

My Son

Several events over the last week or so have really challenged me about what my hopes and dreams are for my son primarly but also my personal life, my marriage, and our family. I've sat around most of today thinking about what type of Man I hope that Benjamin will grow into one day. Then as I think on that I do a little self-reflection about what type of Man (including Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Uncle, etc...) I am currently and what type of Man I think I should be. If I have certain ideal goals for the types of traits that I would like to see my son have as he matures ... yet I am not currently modeling those attitudes, behaviors, beliefs... that what will be the fruit of my hopes? Then at the same time I wonder if I do model these attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs and work toward developing them in my son... how will I feel if at some point in the future chooses to behave or act in a way that is quite the opposite of my hopes? Will I feel like I have done a poor job during raising him? Will I feel like I have failed him as a Father? Will I feel like there was something I should have done differently at some point? Will I merely say that he as an individual has the ability to make his own choices at some point and I may not agree with his decision(s) but choose to Love him? Will I withdraw from him at the point where he needs my Love the most? Will differences of opinion cause a rift or a chasm to develop in how we communicate or relate with each other?

Family & Friends

Benjamin and I spent most of last weekend in Mississippi. Our purpose was to attend one of those family reunion's where your meet extended family who you really don't know and catch up with a few people you haven't seen in years. This is the King Family reunion or my mother's mother side of the family. I hadn't been in several years and though it'd be good to see everyone and also introduce Benjamin to them. Benjamin and I were able to see almost all of my mother's family in the short time we were there. Mom and I also had a nice time driving around and talking about the small town and communities she where grew up. It was nice for me to take a few photos of locations around them that have special significance to me.

Benjamin also got to visit with his Great-Grandmother - ie. my father's mother. She's still doing great at 89 and made some wonderful cake and sauce. My father also enjoyed driving him around on the tractor for a while. His uncle - my brother - enjoyed teaching him how to wipe his hands on his jeans after he plays in the mud.

Tonite we had the Phelps family over for dinner. Just after college '99 I went on a mission trip with Go International and Marissa Phelps was on the team. Marissa and I have kept in touch off and on ever since. Now that we live in Berea we were able to have her, her husband and daughter over for dinner, dessert and coffee. We really enjoyed talking with them and hearing about some of the work she is involved in through Go International. Benjamin had a nice time sharing his toys and entertaining their 3 year old daughter. Hopefully we'll get a chance to talk with them more in the near future.

I also wanted to share about a tragic lost that our friends family here in Berea has experienced. Their nephews age 19 and 17 were killed in a car accident on Wednesday night. Most of their family will be traveling to the Berea area tonight and tomorrow in time for the funeral on Monday. Please remember to pray for this family as the cope with this sudden loss.

Movie & Football

Sarah and I watched End of the Spear on last Friday night. It's a fairly new release chronicling the story of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot and 3 other missionary familys with their work with the Waodani. Several years ago I read Shadow of the Almighty by Elizabeth Elliot. The book really changed the way I viewed things and was a large influence on several major decisions in my life. So naturally I was very skeptical of any movie based on the same events. I was very pleased with the movie and would recommend checking it out if you have the chance.

On a much more superficial note - I was very happy to see UK beat GA last saturday. Sarah and I are also pulling for Louisville to make it to the BCS championship game. Of course I'm also pulling for USM to become bowl eligable as well.

WV, Escobars, Deafness, Walks & House in SC

It's now been about two weeks but all of us - aka. Sarah, me, and Benjamin took a long weekend and went to see her Sister and family just outside of Bartow, WV. It was a great trip - nice and cold - frigid rain - but nice family time. I got to do some good manly stuff like cutting firewood, assisting changing the oil on a diesel engine, and checking out all the cool timber and firefighting tools at the regional forestry office - some of them from the 1930s. Sarah got to do some good lady stuff like watching children and canning pears. It was a nice break from our normal routine. We took part of a couple of days to explore a few little towns about 45 minutes or so from their house. I found a really great book at the local Goodwill titled Handyman's Book (by Better Homes & Garden 1970) ... mainly for the novice repair man - the tools are a little outdated looking in the pictures but the principals still hold true. We found a great little "purchase in bulk store" in the small town of Monterey, VA. It was 1/30 the size of Walmart but the prices were similar. They had all kinds of spices and unique items at a very reasonable price. I stocked up pretty good. We did a little hiking and you can check out the photos under the "Skip's photo" link.

We had the Escobars over for dinner the other night. We had a great time getting to know them better. Benjamin was super worn out after sharing his toys with their little girls for several hours. I made some dry-rub BBQ chicken that I was proud of but that didn't overcome my severe disappointment in the spinach casserole that bombed. I basically ended up thowing the whole thing in the garbage. It's one of those recipe's that says something along the lines of 1 can of this and 1 bag of that ... but they don't tell you what size can or what size bag - so if you overestimate then somethings bound go wrong.

Along with the bad casserole I was starting to feel pretty bad as well. I'd been having problems with my ear for a day or two. By Saturday night I couldn't hear much of anything and was feeling a little non-social. After having chills on Saturday night and Sunday I decided it was time to get serious about getting better. I basically sat around the house all day on Sunday under a blanket. On Monday afternoon I went to an ENT (ear nose & throat) Dr - who got me fixed up. Turns out I have a ear infection. Those things can get nasty - mainly with regard to all the symptoms they can cause you to have. In a few days everything should be better but I feel like I woke up this morning and haven't really paid attention to much since last Thursday.

Benjamin is doing a great job lately of listening and walking. He's up to walking from our front door down the sidewalk and part of the driveway to the car ... he'll also walk with me in a public place for a while - 10-15 minutes. If there's too many people he suffers from over stimulation and still has to sit in the grocery cart or be carried... but he's doing well for 16 months.

If all goes well we should close on our house in SC next Friday. It'll be nice to have this small elephant off of our shoulders before the end of the year. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us.

Firsts

1. Benjamin’s first haircut was on Friday. His curls are gone and I couldn’t get Sarah to agree to a rat-tail or a mullet. He looks pretty sharp.
2. My parent’s first trip to Berea. Great time – they brought up a piano and another mattress set so we actually have a true bed for company. We had a great time with them and Benjamin really enjoyed hanging out with his grandparents.
3. Our first trip to Henderson Settlement. This is an outreach that the church I grew up at in Mississippi helps support. It was a good experience and you can check out the website at www.hendersonsettlement.org
4. Our first hiking trip since we’ve been in Kentucky. We didn’t hike all that far but really got a chance to check out all the fall colors. The colors are at their peak for the next week or two. We hiked at Pine Mountain State Park down "Chained Rock" trial. Benjamin did great during our road trip and hike.
5. A mostly retired couple from Anderson, SC came up and visited us on Monday. They stayed the night on Sunday and then spent most of Monday sight-seeing and shopping. It was great to visit with them.
   
   You can check out a few pictures by clicking on the links to the right.

Gifts for Kids

Below is an excerpt from the the Issac Clardy blog posted by Issac's father Sammy. I think this is really awesome and plan on supporting. To read more visit the link Issac Clardy in the right column.

"Issac is wanting to do something for the kids in the hospital during Christmas because he remembers what it is like since he has been in the hospital during Christmas for three of the last 5 years. He is asking everyone he knows to help. We have talked with some folks here at the hospital and they have given him the ok. He is going to be giving out presents to kids that are in the hospital during the Christmas season. If you would like to help simply visit your local toy store and purchase a small gift between $5-$10 and then send the wrapped gift c/o Isaac's Christmas Train 6735 Hopeful Road Florence,KY 41042. There are boys and girls ranging in age from 3 months - 15 years old. Please pick one age group. Indicate on the outside of the gift wrap the age range of the gift and whether or not it is for a boy or girl. We wiil be delivering the gifts in the middle of December and will hopefully have some pics to post."

Baby & The Pumpkin Patch at Hillcrest Farm

Well just in case you haven't picked up from the “What’s the diagnosis” post… we’re expecting another addition to the Little family. Based on the Dr appointment yesterday the due date is somewhere around May 10th. We keep asking Benjamin if he wants a baby brother or baby sister but I don’t think he really cares. Sarah and several others in our family are definitely voting for a little girl but we’ll just have to see. The Dr let us see some really amazing 4-D ultrasound photos. That’s probably the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time. If we can find a scanner I’ll load one of the up sometime soon. Oh… and is case you are wondering I okayed the strange-eating list with Sarah prior to posting it.

Weekend before last Sarah’s sister Rachel and our niece Cora visited us. On Saturday all of us loaded up and drove up to Hillcrest Farm. It was great weather and wasn’t crowed before lunch. They have a great variety of pumpkins and squash. Cora was most excited about all the different animals she got to pet and feed (cows, goats, etc). We all went through a hay maze – large round bales of hay positioned in a small maze – then we all ventured to the corn maze where we didn’t think we had a bit of time trying to find out way out. The finale of the day was the hay ride. The Farm provides shrubs and trees for a nursery up the road. We all piled on the back of a wagon and got to check out all the varieties of plants and trees. At the top of the hill there was a huge pumpkin patch. Benjamin picked out two little pumpkins about the size of a coffee cup. One was white and the other was orange. He was super excited about his “pum-pums.” Cora picked out a pumpkin that was more than she could carry. We had a great time.

Out Near Big Hill

Thursday evening we had dinner with the Escobar family. They live near the Big Hill community. No this isn’t exactly a name of a street – more the name of a place. The Big Hill food mart is on the corner and the BIG HILL is just down the road. That’s my kind of directions – go towards BIG HILL and turn this way or that. That’s much easier than looking for road signs or highways numbers. They are one of the first younger families we have interacted with and gotten to know a little better since we’ve been in Berea. We’ve really enjoyed the time we have spent with them and have already shared many laughs. Their young girls have already wanted to adopt little Benjamin. Both Jennifer and Alfredo are very talented artist – I added a link to their websites so you can check them out when you have time.

Sarah, Benjamin and I also spent Friday night in Hazard, KY. Benjamin really enjoyed spending time with his cousins Katie and Crystal. Benjamin had the best spot as he rode on my back in the shoulder backpack as we ran around and played soccer and frisbee. I’m glad to see that he already has an interest in Soccer and the outdoors. The park near their house is really interesting and I hope to take a few pictures the next time we are there.

I think Benjamin is in a little shock. We've had our first fairly cold weather (ie. around freezing) - and he's having to wear socks and shoes a little more often. He was so used to the warmer weather but he'll do just fine. He really enjoys wearing his little hat and blue-jean jacket that a friend gave us. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of him with them on.

What's the diagnosis?

For about the last month or so I've been concerned about my wife. She has really been eating some bizarre mixes of foods and not eating others all together. I thought I'd share with you a list of things and see if maybe you might could help me figure out what might be up?

1. In about three days she polished off 3 regular size bags of potato chips. They weren't even the kind she normall likes - these were Taco flavored, and Cool Ranch
2. She made a glass of chocolate milk with Hershey's Syrup and had it with her dinner one night
3. She made macaroni & cheese from a box (I can't remember the last time she did that)
4. She ate Prunes while Drinking Hot chocolate
5. She really, really was insistent about getting guacamole at the Mexican restaurant we went to one evening
6. We were watching a TV show one night... she went to the kitchen to get a little snack and came back with a small box of raisins, a small bowl of Ice Cream, some Ritz Crackers, and some grapes...
7. She's averaging at least one meal per day of nothing but cream of wheat
8. Yesterday when she came home for lunch it was left-over day... with two large pork-chops grilled & BBQ style, broccoli casserole, sliced tomatoes ... but she opted for crackers & cheese instead
9. Another night she made some hot chocolate and then had crackers, pepperoni and cheese with it
10. She comes home for lunch and then can't seem to keep her mind off of a hamburger from a fast food place (ie. McDonalds or Sonic)

Benjamin

Benjamin is starting to look more and more like a little boy. Sometimes he really cracks me up. After his bath today I put on his cover-alls. He hadn't worn them in several weeks. He was really confused about what he was supposed to do with his hands. Instead of putting them in his pockets - he kept putting them inside his cover-alls between them and his shirt. He seemed really puzzled by this. Maybe he was wanting to play with his shirt and couldn't figure out how to get to it...

Mega-Blocks - I pulled out his bag of Mega Blocks. He was so super excited that he practically jumped off of the rocking chair he was sitting on. He couldn't wait to play with them. He would pull one or two out of the bag at a time and give them to me to build something. About the time that our building project was a reasonable size ... he stopped pulling out new blocks ... and turned his attention to destroying our project. If he couldn't get them to pull apart ... he would pick up the big stack of blocks and toss them to the ground (looked like a wrestling move) ... if he still couldn't get them loose he would bite them .... I guess to get a better grip. Finally if they were really stuck ... he would hold them out and say "Gunh.." - which is his universal word for needing help or not understanding.

Socks - we've been working with Benjamin to be comfortable wearing socks ... but he really hasn't taken to them. So the other day I put the socks on one of his stuffed animals. He thought that was so funny. We'll today we were playing and he found one of the socks and asked me to put it on the animal... then he asked me to put it on his foot ... which he then pulled right off and asked me to do it all over again. So at some point I put one of his socks on his hand - he thought that was funny - so he asked me to put the other one on the other hand ... so he ran around his room claping his socked-hands together like they were boxing gloves.

One of his favorite things to do now is to explore outside. He'll go around and pick up sticks, rocks, leaves ... he'll point out bugs ... and try to play with spider-webs. He's already brought home a collection of acorns and fall leaves for his mom...

Sunday Afternoon

It's Sunday afternoon, little Benjamin and Sarah are both taking an afternoon nap. I've been playing around with some of my photos. We've had a nice weekend. We talked with several family members, had our friend David and his son Issac over for dinner yesterday, talked with another set of close friends about their interest in adoption, and had good fellowship after church today with friends here in Berea. One of our neighbors and their 2 1/2 year old son dropped by yesterday for a quick visit - which turned out a little longer because Benjamin needed to show him some of his toys.

You can check-out a few link's I added on the right. One is another photo link and the other is for a link is for a Hurricane Katrina partnership between the town of Wilmore, KY and Pass Christian, MS. You can click through this one and get fairly current coverage on what is going on along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Highpoints

• Weekend before last we (Sarah, Benjamin, & I) drove up to Indianapolis, IN to stay with our friend Anna and her husband. Then on Saturday we all carpooled to Dayton, OH to a surprise birthday party for Caren, Sarah's old roommate from college. It was good to see everyone - and now that we are closer we hope to do it a little more often.
• Benjamin started going to Day-care one day a week. He also came down with horrible allergies/cold around the first day. He's doing much better now but had raccoon eyes for several days and a low grade fever. We're happy with daycare - and Benjamin seems to be adjusting well. He hadn't been around any other kids close to his age in almost 3 months - and it gives me a chance to meet others in Berea - and to develop my business some.
• I spent all day in Madisonville, KY catching up with several friends and meeting a couple of potential clients. It was a very long day but great to talk with everyone.
• It rained and rained and rained here for a couple of days straight. All the radio stations were starting to make jokes about building Arks. It actually caused significant flooding in the Lexington area.
• We are still looking for a church. We re-visited a church we had attended in early August. We've been to several in the local area now .... hopefully we'll settle on one soon.
• We're still working on selling our house in SC. We had a open house this past Sunday that seemed to be well attended. ... so maybe we'll have an offer soon.
• Grill - we finally are using a little charcoal grill. It's been nice and I've had a chance to use the Weber Grill Cookbook someone gave me.
• Benjamin's latest word is "Pumk'n or Pum Pum" - he loves the little pumpkin we picked up for him the other day and calls the little decorative squash his "pum pums"

$11.7 Million One Year Old Horse

Just in case you haven't read the news lately:

At Keeneland's September yearling sale yesterday, a bay son of Kingmambo out of the Seattle Slew mare Crown of Crimson was bought for $11.7 million. The buyer for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum made the purchase. (By Bill Straus, Special to The Courier-Journal)

What sports car are you?

I was a Ford Mustang.... what are you?

http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar/

Labor Day Weekend

Benjamin and I spent almost a week in Mississippi around Labor Day weekend. It was one of the longest visits that we have had with my family and friends in several years. We really enjoyed ourselves. I went Dove Hunting on Saturday and Trot-Line fishing several times while home. On Saturday most of my extended family came down to the Farm where we go hunting for a big family lunch. We also celebrated my 30th and my brothers 25th birthdays. I had a great time taking pictures. My little 11 year old cousin Blayne shot his first bird on Saturday morning – ie. also bird hunted with his first shotgun – he went trot-line fishing for the first time – and he cleaned his first catfish. Benjamin had a great time with his Grandma & Grandpa Little, Uncle Cr, Cousin Blayne, and all the others on my mom’s side of the family. I also had dinner with a couple of friends from highschool that I hadn’t seen in more than 5 years. Although our time was short it was great to visit with them and hopefully we’ll get more time during the week of Christmas. The last night we were in town my brother cooked some great BBQ chicken.

Some of my favorite times were: watching Benjamin dance with Grandpa & Grandma Little, watching Uncle CR and Benjamin play together, going hunting with Cousin Blayne, seeing all the family together at the farm on Saturday, having a big fish fry on Labor Day, catching up with friends

You can also read more by clicking on the link for Sandy the under People in the column to the right.

Top 10 Things I learned from my recent trip to MS

1. If you load 20 gauge shells in a 12 gauge gun you better hope that all that happens is that your gun doesn't fire
2. Fishing with dead previously frozen minnows is not as efficient as live ones
3. You have a better chance of catching a variety of things by alternating bait on trot-line hooks
4. When totaling your catch from fishing - do you count snakes and gars?
5. Big fish are more fun to catch and clean than smaller ones
6. Fishing Worms will begin to dry-out if left in the inside a car all day
7. Both Old and Young tire easily after to going to bed late and getting up early several days in a row
8. Some people really can sleep anywhere
9. It's always nice to have a couple of paddles handy just in case the boat decides to "run out of gas"
10. You know the color of you neck - when your whole family sits around having a good time while cleaning a Budweiserer cooler full of fish

Check out the latest pictures under the link Skip's Photos at the right and http://www.flickr.com/photos/hrlittlephotos

Battle of Richmond

On Saturday afternoon I took my 2 nieces Katie & Crystal to the Battle of Richmond Civil War Reenactment. It really turned out to be a really great experience - it was fun to watch them look at the merchandise and period clothing that various vendors had. They must have tried on a dozen bonnets and hats. The loved seeing the various outfits that the ladies wore and some of the different soldier’s outfits. Watching their expression when the cannons first fired was priceless. I took a few photos and somehow the girls ended up getting their picture on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Richmond, KY newspaper. I also managed to snap a few pictures. You can check them out by clicking here

Birthday

We’ll it looks like my wife has been scheming the last several weeks… working to provide me a nice big birthday weekend. It started on Friday night when she arranged for a baby-sitter to watch little Benjamin so the two of us could go to a local moderately upscale

resturant . Its about 15 miles from Berea and sits on top of a hill with a nice overlook. A portion of the drive to the restaurant goes through a narrow two lane road with some great scenery: ie. A small waterfall, a canopy of trees overhanging the road, Kentucky farmland… We started with Grilled Quail – great flavor but not a very large portion… I had the 14 oz T-bone with potato-bacon-cheddar soup – green beans, baked potato, and mixed vegetables. Sarah had the KY Trout. We finished up with a dessert titled “Acres of Chocolate Cake.” We were very please and would definitely recommend the food.

On Saturday she managed to have a surprise party for me with some of our family and some friends from our time at college. We had a huge feast with enough food for a small army. Sarah had taken several black & white photos I had taken several years ago, arranged them, and framed them. She had also presented a booklet of emails from several friends and family who could not make it to the party. The framed photos look really good and I’m looking forward to finding a place to hang them. Later that night I got a call about a birthday video clip that our friends from SC had sent – it was absolutely hilarous. It was really great to be able to visit with everyone and just sit around swapping old stories.

Friends

Over the last couple of weeks I've been working at catching up with friends from college who I haven't talked with in several years. For some it has been 5+ years and for others only a couple. It's been great to be able to take a little time each day and swap a few emails and photos. One of the nice things about being closer to where we went to college is that it's more central to where alot of Asbury alumni live. Hopefully over the next couple of months my family and their families will have a chance to see each other in person.

Peaches, Potatoes, & Tomatoes

Part of our weekly excitement in Berea is going to the Walmart Supercenter down the road and checking out their various produce. Each week I try to pick out a fruit or vegetable that we don't routinely purchase and that is not available locally at the farmers market. Tonite we picked up some Saturn Peaches. I really was tired of the nice looking peaches that I'd been purchasing that really tasted like chaulk. I tried one when after we got home and was very pleased. I went online and read some great write-ups here and here.

We're also trying to support some of the local farmers by shopping at the farmer's market. This week we picked up a huge cantalupe for a 1.50 and 2 lbs of various types of small potatoes. One variety was a darker color on the outside and almost a blue-purple inside. How cool would those mashed potatos look? I also picked up a pint of various cherry tomatoes. Sarah's favorite was the yellow variety. I'll have to go back this week and ask the actually variety or name so we'll know if we get around to planing a garden next year.

I've also added a Blog link to my friend Bryan's blog. He hasn't updated in a while but what can you expect when you're whole family has been in China for the last several weeks. I'm also working on at least one link to my photos. To be continued...

A Midsummer Night's Run

6 down 6 to go – I ran a 5K in Lexington, KY last night. The race started at 8:30 pm and it was great to run through part of historic Downtown Lexington at night. I haven’t run or trained for running in at least 8 weeks – but I’m trying to stay on track to my goal of 12 runs this year. It was a great turnout with approximatly 3000 runners – and the race did a great job of including people of all ages. You can see results here and read more about the race here. Overall I was pleased with my time but realized how much not running & training these last several weeks has set me back. I fnished in 25:42 - 69th in my division which had 186 runners. If I am still running this time next year I'm planning on running this one again - maybe even getting little Benjamin to run a little 1 miler that they have.

Irreproachable, Reason, Order & Law vs Grace, Forgiveness, Kindness & Humility

I finally completed reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I read and read the last two days because I wanted to get finished as I’ve been working on this novel from before Benjamin was born – about 7 months before. It is by far one of my favorite novels, movies, and productions. I’ve seen the movie multiple times and a Broadway production of it… but the novel – despite its intricate details into French and Paris history – far outweighs the other two.

My favorite character is Jean Valjean but my favorite transformation is in Javert. Javert has some thoughts in the 4th book – “Javert off the Track” that I thought I’d share:

“Javert’s ideal was not to be humane, not to be great, not to be sublime; it was to be irreproachable…. He was startled; his balances were disturbed; one of the scales fell into the abyss, the other flew into the sky…order was his dogma and was enough for him; since he had been the age of man, and an official, he had put almost all his religion in the police… He had a superior, M. Gisquest; he had scarcely thought, until today, of that other superior, God… He had lost his bearings in this unexpected presence; he did not know what to do with this superior…He could not understand himself. He was not sure of being himself. The very reasons of his action escaped him; he caught only the whirl of them. He had lived up to this moment by that blind faith which a dark probity engenders. This faith was leaving him, this probity was failing him. All that he had believed was dissipated. Truths which he had not wished for inexorably besieged him. He henceforth be another man. He suffered the strange pangs of conscience …He saw what he revolted at seeing. He felt that he was emptied, useless, broken off from his past life, destitute, dissolved. Authority was dead in him. He had no further reason for existence. … What was passing in Javert was … the throwing of a soul out of its path… hurled in a straight line and breaking itself against God.”

First

On Sunday we visited a church here and met a young lady just out of college who was getting ready to go to Russia to spend a year there with Campus Crusade for Christ. We wanted to hear more about what she would be doing, what brought her to that decision, and how she was doing on support. So we invited her over for coffee and dessert last night. We sat around the table on our back porch for about 2 hours talking with her and sharing about some of our experiences. We are very excited for her. She leaves next week and really only has a small amount of support left to raise. I would ask that you keep Laura and her team of 4 others in your prayers as she completes her fund-raising and prepares to go to Russia. She has been on a 6 week trip before but this will be her first year long trip.

Benjamin has had a several first the last couple of days. The two I think I am most proud of are that he caught his first bug (a small moth) - I let him play with it for a while then we turned it loose (before he ate it) ... and that he ate and enjoyed his first Grits this morning. He's really coming along well :-) We are also working with him on learning a little sign language. He had "More" down for a while - and now he has picked up "Thank You" and "Please". I checked out a book for the library to give us a few more ideas on words he could learn. He also is really into things with wheels - not just touching and spinning the wheels but actually pusing the car or tractor down the hall or across the floor. Finally he's rode his first Trike - or tricycle - stationary for now but he likes it. It was one of his birthday presents that we finally finished putting together.

Saturday

Sarah and little Benjamin went to visit with her parents for the day. That left me with all kinds of time on my hands today. Everyone I talked with on the phone said I could relax and enjoy my day. I did enjoy my day - although until now there was not much relaxing. I worked steady all day - about half outside and the other half inside. I managed to use our little Accord to help pull a huge 16-20 long - 8-10 in diameter limb that fell - from the middle of our yard to the road. I did it early in the morning so none of our neighbors would think too bad of me. A couple of yellow tie straps and a little pressure on the gas pedal and you would have thought I had a 4 wheel drive truck instead of an Accord. I caught up on mowing and spent a little while working on two electric weed-eaters that the previous owners left. I managed to get both of them working but neither is really adequate for the yard we have. I'd really like to purchase one - something pretty durable and something that should hold up - but haven't decided yet. One of our neighbors insisted that I use his riding-lawn mower for the large flat section of our yard. I realized that it has been at least 6 years if not more since. It really made for quick work but I reverted back to the push-mower for the more detailed work. The other larger project I tackled was installing a baby gate at the top of the stairs. Benjamin finally figured out how to push our "temporary"boxes out of the way when he wanted to go by. This new gate is attached to the wall and should do fine until he jumps up & down on it a few times.

A while back we recieved some really neat cards from designed by Susan Loy at Literary Calligraphy. She and her husband now have blogs and a link to their website. You can click
here to read more.

A couple of notes on little Benjamin. Lately he has discovered magnets. He'll take one off of the refridgerator and then try to put it on a cabniet door, then he'll discover it sticks to the oven and later his one of his toy buckets (that's the good story) - the other item we're struggling with some right now is that just about every time he gets into the car for more than about 10 minutes he starts to have a little melt-down. He likes to be so active that I think he feels a little restrained. Changing toys and changning music and talking to him really doesn't seem to help. I'm really hoping this is a stage that he will soon pass through - could make for some very long road trips.

Family, China, & Friends

Today was Sarah’s first day at her new job. It was nice to have her come home relatively relaxed – at least compared to the last several months. I was starting to work on cooking dinner and she said “I’ll help” – and then she proceeded to cook up a really great taco meal: ground beef, black beans, sautéed mushrooms & onions, diced fresh tomatoes, grated cheese – throw in a little lettuce and a batch of soft-corn tortillas and it was a good meal. Afterwards we turned on the stereo – watch our son play all over the living and dining room – and then we finished off with a little ice-cream and chocolate syrup. At one point little Benjamin was lying on a pillow on the middle of the floor, polishing off the rest of his milk out of his bigger sippy cup, staring at the ceiling, wearing his little John Deer (24m) t-shirt, and listening to John Mellencamp. It was a priceless picture. It was an unusually calm, non-stressful evening – great time with the family.

On Sunday night we drove over to Louisville, KY to here our friends Roger & Camille share one last time before they headed back to China. They have been there about 5 years and have been back in the states about 6 months. They have had some really amazing experiences and it has been an absolute blessing to be able to participate with them in their ministry. The “sending off” service was absolutely amazing. I know the experience was very meaningful to both me and Sarah.

We also met another friend from college at the church service. Both of us drove about 2 hours – and basically met in the middle. Our friend Anna and her husband joined us at the church service and then we went out to eat at Bucca-di-beppos in Louisville. Other than their wedding the last time we saw Anna was at that same restaurant when Sarah graduated from med school 3 years ago. It was great to catch up with them and we look forward to seeing them a little more often.

If you get a chance you may want to click here to catch up on what is going on with little Issac Clardy. He is really struggling right now.

Little Issac

I spent most of this afternoon hanging out with my friend David. Right now he's the stay-at-home dad with Issac who is now about 9 weeks old. He previously sent me a link to his blog and I somehow misfiled it over the last couple of months. So I've updated my blog to add a link to his. I really appreciate his friendship and it was great to see him adapting to the role of Father. His wife Kim went back to work last week - weekend shift 12-14 hour days - 4 days straight. Lots of adjustments but they are doing a great job. Hopefully Benjamin can teach Issac how to play with his toys, eat solid foods, crawl, and walk in a few months :-)

Insights from the Kentucky Fishing Guide 2006

Turtles – “turtle traps may be one of two kinds: either a barrel or drum with a tilting trigger board or a floating log raft with an enclosed twine or wire mesh bag. Turtle traps must be inspected daily. All turtles must be removed daily except on decoy turtle may remain. All other species (except softshelled and snapping turtles) caught in a turtle trap must be released unharmed”

Tickling & Noodling – Tickling and noodling means taking fish directly by hand, or with the aid of a handled hook.

Frequently Asked Questions: How many fishing poles am I allowed to have while fishing?” The answer is – as many as you want.

Organic baits include: insects, minnows, fish eggs, worms, corn, cheese, and cut bait

Single hook is a hook with only one point.

Fish may not be taken with use of a firearm.

Ginger, Daniel Boulud, Community

Ginger is our newest addition to our family. She's a 61 lb 2 year old female Golden Retiever. Sarah's sister & family were relocating to Macon, GA - moving from a 3 bedroom 2 bath house down to a 2 bedroom apartment - the apartment complex wanted $750 deposit per pet. And just like the CRV - we'd been looking to get a pet - things just happened a little faster than anticipated. She's really great with Benjamin - but he's not sure just what to do with her just yet. He likes to stick his hand in her bowl of water and have her lick his face, hands, and feet.

I allowed myself a splurge while we were in the midst of our move. I was in Bowling Green for about 24 hrs between leaving our house in Anderson and meeting the movers in Berea. Sarah and I stopped by TJ Max and I found a DBK or Daniel Boulud knife lying out of the package with no price. I asked one of the employees and he marked it down to the lowest "similiar" knife but it was still $10. I felt bad about buying in for about 3 days. Then once we got settled in at the house in Berea - I finally got a chance to check it out. I must say I've been very pleased - and so has Sarah. It's weighted nicely and cuts great.

Community - our neighborhood seems very commuity oriented. Two neighbors have already stopped by to introduce themselves. One definately got on my good side by bringing a large plate of choclate chip cookies and the other a bowl of various organic cherry tomotoes grown in the garden in the lot behind us. It's a community garden - three different families sharing the green space.

Latimer & The Move

Well we're beginning to feel a little more settled in our new home in Berea, Ky. Our stuff showed up on Tuesday. I met the moving truck and Sarah drove over with Benjamin from her parents house that night. The next day her sister and 2 nieces came over to help us organize and unpack. It's been great to visit with them more - one is 11 and the other 13. They've been great with Benjamin. We're all tired and still a bit overwhelmed but enjoying family. Berea has two large festivals each year. Tomorrow starts the big crafts festival - real crafts - pottery, woodworking, etc - not the kinda' crafts you do at VBS. We're looking foward to an excursion tomorrow afternoon.

Latimer was the name of our truck driver / mover. I would have thought he would have been from Russia, the Chec-Republic, Bosina, somewhere over that direction. Come to find out he was from Cuba. He was driving with is brother Diego. I guess momma named one and daddy named the other. It was great to get to know them over both the day of loading and unloading.

The Ritz, Amelia Island, and Life

Sarah, Benjamin, and I spent most of last week at Amelia Island, FL. It’s just outside of Jacksonville about 30 minutes or so. She spent half days in lectures and then we spend the other half at the beach – or recovering from the beach. Benjamin had a great time although he really wore himself out after about 30-45 minutes of digging in the sand. The first day it took him a little while to figure out what to do with the waves. By the end of the week he was walking through them fine. We spent the late afternoons in downtown Fernandina – which is on Amelia Island – the older downtown portion of the island. We experienced a good sampling of restaurants and have several recommendations if anyone ever heads that way. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton during the week. It was really nice but I was a little out of my element. I’d rather have rented a house on the beach for the week. Their service was really outstanding – but everything was quite pricey. Just to have a plain-jane cup of coffee ended up costing me $5 in the little restaurant there – if I had really eaten a meal for breakfast it would have been between $18 & $23 just for me. The weather really held up well. A couple of evenings Sarah and I swapped who was helping Benjamin settle down for bedtime. Each of us went to the beach for a walk or run as the sun was setting.

Benjamin also got to meet Sarah’s grandparents. They had a blast with him and he really showed off his new cool walking routine. We hadn’t seen them in about 3 years so it was good to catch up with them. One of them gave Benjamin a new toy – but he was more interested in the box it came in for the first day or so.

I’ll post a link sometime with a few pictures.

In other news – we should be officially closing on our house in KY today. We’re doing it by mail so there is always the potential for something to come up but hopefully by tomorrow we’ll have the all clear signal. Once that’s done we can start doing all of our lovely change of address notification and figuring out the moving date.

Benjamin is really walking well. Depending on his motivation he may even run a little (ie if there is food involved). He’s definitely gotten longer and I think he cut 3 more teeth while we were at the beach.

Wine, Coffee, and Cracker Barrell

Our family spent an extended weekend in Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend. We spent the first day on job and housing related matters and then ventured over to Bowling Green to visit with Sarah's family. On Friday and Saturday we had a great time with her Sister and our little 5 yr old Nephew. Sunday we went to church with Sarah's mom and dad at the gigantic church of Wrightsburg Free Methodist - big attendance of a little over 10 - including the pastor. Great people - just not much growth in a long time. We had lunch at the Lighthouse resturant that overlooks the Green River. Great all you can eat southern cooking that really puts Mamma Penns to shame. After lunch we spent the afternoon with our friends Bob & Gina and their family. They adopted us as their own children while we were in Madisonville, KY a few years back. Sunday night was lounging time - then Memorial Day I spent visiting my friend Charlie and then having a steak-cookout with Sarah's family. We weren't rushed during most of the weekend and finally able to relax for a few days.

Wine - my friend Charlie got into the wine making process a couple of years back. So while I was visiting with him he gave me a couple bottles - grape and peach. Then he gave me a couple of more. It's a work in progress but it was pretty good.

Coffee - seems to have become a hallmark of time with our friends. Sarah's mom and Dad drink about 10 gallons a day - so someone almost always has a cup in had - Bob and Gina drink about 5 gallons a day - so sharing a cup of coffee with them has always been part of our routine at their house - then we had friends over last night and there was coffee and dessert.

Cracker Barrell - first time in my life that I haven't really enjoyed the food I got at Cracker Barrell was on Friday before Memorial Day. I was horribly sick most of Thurs/Friday night but we needed to eat somewhere. So we decided Cracker Barrell - seeing all the food in the waiting area almost made me sick - looking at the menu's almost made me sick - looking at the little dessert advertisements almost made me sick - so all I ordered was a kids grilled cheese sandwich - ate 3 bites and the but my head on the table the rest of the meal. I know that Sarah got some weird looks but it was either that or go out to the car and wait for an hour or pass out on the floor. It took me about 3 days to really get my appetite back - and about 24 hours before I felt semi-normal.

On other notes - My parents celebrated 37 years of marriage yesterday. Sarah also signed her employment contract on Friday. We've scheduled a closing for our house in about a week and a half. Tomorrow we leave to spend a week at Amelia Island, FL and visit with family in Jacksonville. Benjamin is really walking away. And we're planning on moving in about 5 weesk...

5 Down 7 To Go

I ran in a 8K this morning in Greenville, SC. It was a fun, very well organized race that benefited the Safe Harbor ministry organization in Greenville. The race was very well thought out and planned. It had good community support and actually started at the new baseball stadium in Downtown Greenville. I was definately impressed with the facilites and would strongly consider going to a game if we were staying in SC. I was happy to actually complete the 8K and I was happy with my time - however the last mile and a half wiped me out - I just wasn't ready for the run - I cramped up and my calf muscle in my right let started giving me fits - I ran a great first 3 miles but a horrible 1 1/2 final distance. I finished in under 40 minutes - and placed in the top third - barely. I'm making progress on my goal and definately getting into more of a regurlar pace and routine.

In other news we placed an offer that was accepted on a house in Berea, KY. I'll post a link in a day or two with pictures. I've also now have my business cards and working on a brocure and letter head with a big huge thanks to my friend who has been helping design and think things through. Sarah will also most likely sign her new employment contract by Monday so that will be a nice item to have settled.

I'm definately excited to see Sarah's response to her real "first" mother's day tomorrow. She knows we are going to a Kiln opening at Rob Gentry's place- so that will definately be fun but little Benjamin and I have a couple of others surprises for her as well.'

Finally - I finally got Blogger to accept my links for my friends in Nepal and Issac Clardy. If you get a chance check them out.

Kathmandu & Issac

I've added a couple of new links on my blog. Two of them are friends from college who have been serviving with Word Made Flesh overseas for several years now. I have deep respect for them and look foward to "keeping in touch with them" through their blogs. The third is a site devoted to Isaac Clardy who is the son of one of the prior youth ministers at New Spring. I read an article about what Issac and his family are dealing with several weeks back in a local paper and was really touched by it. You may want to check out each of these links as you have time.

In other news we're heading up to Kentucky tomorrow to look at houses and work on my wife's employment contract for a couple of days. Then we'll spend time with family the remainder of the week. We've finished the last major repair on our house here in Anderson and are hoping that someone will purchase it prior to our moving in a couple of months. Sarah also finished her last night on call until she starts work at her new job in August. It'll be great to spend a little more time with her over the next several weeks.

4 Down 8 to Go

I particiapted in an 8K "Earth Day" race in Greer, SC this past Saturday. Normally I would say I ran an 8K but either the lead runner or the person leading the runners made an incorrect turn and shorted the course by about 1 mile. I knew I'd finished fast but couldn't figure out why based on my pace. I placed 2nd in my division but it's a bit meaningless because I'm not sure how long the course was nor am I sure if I could have maintained my pace throughout the real distance. It was great to have my parents and little Benjamin there to encourage me. The weather threatened to cancel but it was fine for our portion. After the awards were presented we stopped over at a little diner in downtown Greer and had a mid-morning Southern brunch.

My parents visited with us all weekend. It was great to see them interact with Benjamin. Dad and I worked on a few electrical issues and mom helped watch Benjamin while I worked on pressure-washing the house & doing a little yard work.

I've "officially" started my business. The more I work on things related to it the more I get excited about it. I've been working at reading doing industry related research or reading for a minimum 1 to 2 hours per day on top of any actual business activity. I have a good friend working on a business card for me and am beginning to send out letters to potential clients.

We're headed up to Kentucky most of next week to look at houses and visit with Sarah's family. It will be a good break for us and good to spend a little quality time together & with her family.

Roller-Coaster

It's been a bit of a wild week. Benjamin had a Dr appointment on Monday morning - he's doing great and is right on track. I found out Wednesday that I'm official registered with the State of SC for my financial planning business - so I'm looking forward to actually talking with people about it. Last week one of my wife's coworkers hear us talking about buying a new(er) car - so barring any problems or issues we'll have purchased one he had available in the next day or to. Good timing as my AC in my little Corolla went out again for the 3rd time since I've owned it .... hmm... 12 years. We also met with a realtor about listing our house - that should start the Monday after Easter. We're having a yard sale on this Saturday with a couple of other families. It's amazing how much junk you keep - I think its a good idea to move every so many years just to purge a few things. We're preparing to go back to Kentucky the first week of May to hopefully find a house and make an offer. That's the big items...

Bono @ the National Prayer Breakfast

Check out this excerpt from Bono's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast a little over 2 months ago...

3 Down 9 to Go

Ran the Cooper River Bridge Run this morning. It’s a 10K race running from Mt Pleasant to the historic area of Charleston – with a portion of run going over the new bridge in Charleston. There were over 45,000+ runners. It was amazing to see everyone lined up for the run across 4+ lanes as far as I could see forward and backward. The weather was great – a little overcast and cool. It was a good run. I finished in around 56 minutes – that’s not exactly where I wanted to be but I was satisfied – hard to train when you’ve been out of town most of the month. The participants were treated to unlimited bottled water, fruit, muffins, bagels, and hot dogs after the completion of the race. About 5 minutes into the run – the race announcer stated that the Kenyans had already finished the race. She was kidding because it was April Fools – but they did finish well of 40 minutes.

While running with that many people really gets the adrenaline going – it is really difficult to initially run fast or to pick up your speed because the crowd is so thick. To some extent you can only go as fast as the crowd is moving at least for the first couple of miles.

A big thanks to the friends of ours from New Spring who assisted me with housing for Friday night.

I’ll post the results in a day or two… ( Results : Finished in 55:25/9:47 pace/6210 place overall/601 out of 1694 in my age bracket) - additional links: The Post and Courier & Charleston, SC

Ageless Heros

This past Tuesday my 89 yr old Grandmother received an Agless Hero award. She was one of 5 award winners for the Central Region of Mississippi and one of approx. 20 for the state. There were over 300 nominees for the awards this year. She was able to meet and have her picture taken with Ed McMahon and Pat Fordice (spouse of a prior govenor of Mississippi). The category she received the award in was Creativity for her quilting projects, teaching, and membership in the Craftsman's guild. It was a great event held at the Hattisburg, MS Convention Center - only about 1 1/2 hours from some of the worst damaged areas from Hurricane Katrina. It was the first time in a long time that most of our extended family had seen each other. We have one great shot of Benjamin, me, my father, and my Grandmother all together.

We were all so excited that she had received the award and she has now had a clip show on TV a couple of days and been in the newspaper. It really meant the world to her.

Local News ... thoughts

The Anderson Journal had a great article last week (March 24, 2006) about Isaac Clary and everything he and his family is going through. I don't think the article is online anywhere but if you haven't read it and can still get a copy you really should check it out. Issac Clardy is the son of Sammy Clary was the youth minister at New Spring.

It other news - the Pendleton Spring Jubilee is the happening place to be this Saturday and Sunday at the Square in Pendleton. It was a good event last year and we're looking foward to this year.

Date Night

Sarah and I went on a big date night last night. First time in several months due to her work schedule and job interviews. It worked out well because I’ll basically be gone the next week and a half. A couple from church watched Benjamin for us – our repayment to them is will be a big dinner in a couple of weeks.

We started out with dinner at Sullivan's. Normally it’s out of our price range but a wonderful gift certificate from mom and a “buy 1 get 1 half off” coupon made it very reasonable. Sarah had the snapper and I had the grouper. If I had it to do over again I’d pick the snapper although I really like the grouper. The grouper was served on yellow rice while the snapper was served on grits – the grits really held their temperature during the meal. They were still scalding hot as we finished off the last couple of bites. We chose to pass on dessert and coffee this time but have always enjoyed their home-made desserts previously.

After dinner we headed to the Peace Center in Greenville to watch the Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa perform. It was pretty amazing and I would strongly recommend that you watch them in concert if you ever have a chance. The performance was great and audience participation was wonderful. It really put to shame the last performance we saw at the Peace Center. I think we'll look into getting their CDs before too long.

While we missed being with Benjamin it was really good to have some time together alone. Nice to dress up a little and share a nice evening together.

2 Down 10 to Go

Ran the Milliken Earth Run 5K this morning. Most other places were having St. Patrick’s day runs – but this was the closest one to our house. It was cross country – in and around the Roger Milliken Center off of business I-85 in Spartanburg – on the grassy areas that looked similar to a golf course. Apparently Milliken & Company is one of the largest land owners in South Carolina. They have enough property and are really putting a Green foot forward – that they have a full-time horticulturist at this site. The main prizes for the winners were small Bald Cypress trees. Pretty interesting. They had over 300 runners and it was a brisk chilly morning. I almost didn’t run because I’ve not been running as much the last several weeks as we’ve been traveling and I felt pretty bad the last couple of days due to cold/allergy symptoms. I was happy with my finish – somewhere around 23:13 – close to my last run. I’ll update this with the official results in a day or two. I’m still working getting ready for the Cooper River Bridge Run on April 1st. That’s my next big running endeavor.

Weavers and Potters

We spent all of last weekend in the Berea, KY area. Friday was mostly work related, Saturday morning was spent looking at homes in the area. We took a little time on Saturday afternoon to do the more of the tourist thing. We spent a little time a the shop at Churchill Weavers and then drove out to the middle of no-where to a pottery studio called Tater Knob Pottery & Farm. After that we headed over to Wilmore, KY to have dinner with some friends. I checked mapquest to see what the best routes to go to their home was... no direct route - mapquest naturally gave me the main highways/interstate ... so I clicked on "avoid highways" ... it had us cross a branch of the Kentucky River by river ferry. No charge just a little small boat - enough room for 3 cars. Mostly backroads - 2 lane - took us past some of the major horse farms outside of Lexington... Benjamin can now add this to his list of things he's already done.

On a side note I wonder what it pays to be a Ferry captain? Is the job really that stressful? Is it high demand?

Travels

The last couple of weekends our family has been doing a bit of traveling. Over all it has all gone smoothly… but there are always strange instances along the way. So I thought I’d share a couple of the more bizarre things we’ve encountered.

1. On a return flight – everyone had already boarded the plane – but it took forever before the captain finally announced that “Maintenance has discovered a dent in the side of the plane. This is not significant but they want to take pictures of it prior to take off.” That’s reassuring.
2. My wife and I were accused of both drinking Half-n-Half (or creamer) and/or putting it in our cereal (of which we did not have any). The canister had been out both mornings when we went down to get a cup of coffee and have a little breakfast…
3. Seeing the above ground portion of multiple coal mines after dark.
4. Seeing both forests fires and controlled burns at night along the side of the mountains in Tennessee and Kentucky. It looked like a long thin red-smokey snake slithering around the mountain.
5. Going through one of the longest man-made tunnels in the US between Tennessee and Kentucky at Cumberland Gap.

Rising From Ruin

Interesting story about rebuilding efforts in Bay St Louis and Waveland MS.

There once was an Irishman

There once was an ole' Irishman who needed a drink. He arrived at the Pub in the early afternoon and there he sat enjoying his drink. From our table we saw him and really thought nothing more… until we finished our late lunch. As we began to leave we passed his table and noticed a small red electric-scooter (not a Moped). Apparently the ole' Irishman had driven it from somewhere – his home…his work. On leaving the Pub we didn’t see any cars or trucks which looked like they normally carried a scooter ...

… our thoughts and maybe even fears were that our little Irishman might find a telephone pole, be pulled over or something worse once he was done.

1 Down 11 to Go

I finished my first 5K of the year on Sunday. It was the Frostbite Run in Fletcher, NC. It was very close to actually being pretty frosty ... temperatures between freezing & 42 degrees not counting wind chill. Just an hour north the temperatures had been 10 degrees that morning and it was snowing at the time of the race. It was a fun little race with about 250 participants. I finished in 23:31 or so. The actually times haven't been posted yet but I know it was close to that. That put me 3rd in my age bracket 25-29 yr olds.

Until the actual results are posted I really never know how I did in comparison to the group. Maybe there were only 3 runners in my bracket... did I finish in the top third, middle third, or bottom third... when the results are posted I'll add a link. (Results)

The next BIG race I'm looking at is the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC on April 1st. I may run a smaller one in late March. It's a big race - the cutoff for participats is 50,000... hmmm.. If anyone is interested I'm looking for an individual or group to train or run with over the next 6 weeks.

On other news thought I'd share this link about some of the rebuilding process going on on the coast of MS.

Taxes

For the last couple of years I've had a CPA do my income taxes. Not that I couldn't have done them myself but that I find them absolutely frustrating. I love lots of things related to financial matters but Income Tax is by far not one of my favorite. This year the CPA sent me a thick packet of forms to fill out - so I figured if I was going to go to all the trouble to fill out the paperwork that I might as well do my own income taxes. Several of my friends and business owners have used TurboTax . So I tried it this year and have been pretty content with it so far. I found that the version you use Online is a little cheaper than what you can purchase at Office Depot. If you don't count the value of my time - using Turbo Tax saved me approximatley $50 over last year's CPA cost. I'm not sure what the his cost would have been this year but I believe it would have been higher.

Has anyone else tried it ... if so what do you think?

Creativity

I find myself often drawn toward individuals who have creative gifts and/or talents. It maybe that they are a woodcarver, a quilter, a woodworker, a painter, a musician, a potter, a photographer, etc ... (or a combination of several of them). The works created encourage me to develop my own interest. Many times I find the process or processes involved in getting to the final product to be just as amazing as the actual works that are created. The works I see end up being a bit of a lamp providing a insight into amount of creativity that I could harness with time and work.

Sonic Stop

There is something to be said for stopping at Sonic on a warm and sunny afternoon (in February) with your wife and infant son to get ice-cream or a Route 44 drink. Sitting in the car with the windows rolled down - watching the sunset in the late afternoon.

Trip to MS Gulf Coast

Recently my parents went to look at the MS Gulf Coast. Their trip was 5 months after Katrina hit. I think my mom did a great job on her reflections of their trip and took some great pictures. So you can click here to view the pictures and read below about her reflections...

Yesterday was a very interesting day. Harvey and I left at 830AM for the MS Gulf Coast and arrived back home around 9:30PM. I had heard so many stories from friends about their homes and about the conditions on the coast. Harvey’s grandparents had (before they died) a home in Gulfport so we journeyed to see if it was still standing. We felt that we really couldn’t mentally support our friends without seeing it first hand. Let me assure you that this was the most devastating conditions I have ever seen even comparing it to Hurricane Camille. With that comparison, Camille was nothing. We saw the Camille devastation within two days of the event. Today was five months after Katrina.

As we entered Gulfport, we saw the casino, it was not functional, the port of Gulfport was no longer and we began to see the devastation along Hwy 90. We found the grandparents home one block from the beach still standing but gutted. That was the condition of all the homes on that street. Within walking distance there had been a huge trailer park with bumper to bumper trailers but now trailers had been blown away, washed away or destroyed and piled up. The pharmacy, apartments, and little restaurants in the area are gone. I thought to myself, “How bad can it get”? That was answered very shortly.

We drove from Gulfport to Pass Christian (west)—there was nothing but slabs where nice homes, apartments, hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores had been just a few months back. This extended north for several blocks. We saw a few homes that had also been gutted and they would need to be torn down. We also saw a few cars that were turned upside down or bang up so badly no one could use them. We could not go pass the City of Pass Christian because the bridge is out between Pass Christian and Bay St Louis and it won’t be built back any time soon. We could tell that trucks had picked up the major debris from the area. We saw one area near Pass Christian with several large tents and some activity. It appeared to be a distribution area for what residents and workers that came by there. There were no residents to be found in the area west except for workers cleaning the beach and power company employees or contract workers trying to restore service to the area. Maybe the residents had moved north of town or had just left. On Hwy 49 there were some businesses open. This was our journey west.

Our journey to the east of Gulfport was even harder to visualize. The first thing that caught our eye was The First Baptist Church of Gulfport. It was standing but the lower portion had been gutted. It will not be used for a long time. That was not the first or last church building that we saw that had been destroyed in some form by Katrina. Steeples were torn off, buildings gutted, or they were totally demolished. The Veteran’s Hospital was gutted. The Beauvoir had been gutted and there was only about a third of the building left. I could keep naming areas that I know well but the stories would be the same. Many of the areas on the east trip had not been cleaned up because, and we were told, the casinos would be taking over some of the areas and the casinos would clean up. There were many areas 5 to 10 minutes north that appeared to be fine (hotels, restaurants, etc were operating.)

We moved on to Ocean Springs to check on the Walter Anderson Museum and the downtown area. Downtown and the museum were all in great shape. Several blocks away, the storm had done some damage. I am sure as you move closer to Pascagoula (and we didn’t) there was much more severe damage to the area. We decided to travel back to Bay St Louis after hearing so much about it. This is where many of our friends and their families had homes. We found out that water had risen to 28’ in some areas to the north of I-10. It was around 330PM when we left Ocean Springs and get back on I-10 west to get to the Bay.

We wanted to get to Engman Ave in Bay St Louis to see the area where are friends had homes. The area on Hwy 90 had some commercial establishments open but they had rec’d some damage or had remodeled quickly. That I promise was the good area. We found the area we were looking for by using our GPS system because there were no street signs and we knew if we found where the Casino Magic was, we could find our street from there. There was a guard at the Casino Magic and he allowed us to cut through their parking area to get on Engman Ave. Everything for blocks and blocks had been demolished by Katrina. At one of our friend’s previous homes, were only a few bricks from the carport area. This was the case from the Casino Magic on the west, to the Bay on the East, and north and south of us. There was one house after another lying on the ground and trees broken beside them. Roof tops and debris was all you could see. We saw maybe 5 campers or fema trailers in the area. Previously, there had been homes especially along Beach Blvd on 10 to 12’ stilts for parking underneath—these were no longer there. We spent time looking for one of the small churches that we remembered there in the neighborhood—but there was no way to locate it. Everything was gone—now what is left can be scooped up and hauled off with all the family memories of what was once a wonderful neighborhood.

We traveled back home with a better insight of what had happened to thousands of our fellow Mississippians including our close friends. It will take years for recovery.

Please continue your prayers for our coastal area and the many people who were affected and those who have worked diligently to help in the recovery. God Bless--

Sweet & Spicy Drummettes

2 to 2 ½ pounds of chicken drummettes (about 24)
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup dry sherry or white wine
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat over to 500 degrees

Rinse chicken & pat dry

In a large bowl, stir together soy sauce, honey, sherry, sesame oil, garlic, pepper sauce, Dijon mustard & Worcestershire. Place chicken in a zip-lock bag, and pour marinade over chicken. Marinate at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Lift chicken pieces from glaze, and reserve remaining glaze. Arrange in single layer on a baking sheet, and bake uncovered in oven until chicken is dark brown and meat near bone is no longer pink, about 20-25 minutes. Halfway through baking time, brush chicken with reserved glaze.

Pastry-Wrapped Havarti Cheese

I've recently found several recipes in the Anderson Journal that have turned out pretty well. They usually have a picture of the item and cooking directions. It's in the Cooking with Joree section.

Pastry-Wrapped Havarti Cheese

1 (8 oz) package of cresent rolls
8 oz Havarti cheese
1 to 2 tablespoons of honey
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
Crackers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Remove dough from package and lay out flat on board. Pinch seams together. Place Havarti cheese on top, bring up all 4 corners, and pinch together. Make sure all seams are closed.

Place on a sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on serving dish. Drizzle honey over the top of the cheese and serve with apple slices and crackers.

Opinion Polls

Opinion Polls grate on my everlasting nerve sometimes. I got to thinking about them the other day while I was at the YMCA. One of the news channels had over 30 minutes of straight discussion about various opinion polls on what Pres. Bush would talk about during the State of the Union address. The address was still 4 days away. The next several days there was more and more commentary and polls taken. There are now opinion polls on several web-sites - some that make sense and some that leave me shaking my head about why someone would waste their time writing the question much less answering it. Bunch of Talking Heads - needing to occupy air time without really saying anything. Do the people who reply to opinion polls - web-based or by telephone - really represent the opinions of the public at large - or are they selectively screened - or are the questions slanted to draw in a paticular audience ... I rather see a news station focus on actual news.

Children & Colds

Well it's now day 4 of Benjamin with his first significant cold. He's had a couple of runny noses before but nothing lasting more than 48 hours. I think (& hope) that he's about to come through it. Beyond the normal daily routine with him - the last 4 days I've wiped a whole lot of runny noses and not really left the house all that much. I figure if the roles were reversed and I were taking my realatively healthy child somewhere public, I wouldn't neccessarily want him to catch a cold from some stranger. The odds are that he would catch a cold anyway but if I have a choice and the time why not wait until he's over it before exposing him to others (espically children)

That brings me to a whole discussion - I'll try to keep it brief ... the premise is that some parents don't want to take their infant/child to daycare, mothers-morning out, the short duration child-watch at the YMCA, maybe even church ... because the child will be exposed to other children with colds... Not that I like to see anyone have a cold or any child really suffer but at some point they are going to have colds.... either when they are little or when the finally start daycare, during pre-school, or during actual school. I'm not saying expose them to a signifant amount of sick people - but some of the day to day things in the long run probably aren't that bad. Most of the places have policies that ask parent's not to bring their child if they are sick - whether this is inforced or not becomes the question. ... all that to say I'm not scared of my child getting a cold... it does change my routine ... it does make him uncomfortable for a couple of days ... but it also helps build his immunity up. And along with that if I have an option I'll opt to keep him home from church, the YMCA, mothers morning out - when he's sick - out of consideration for others.

Top 10 things my son has bitten or chewed on so far

Chair Leg
Door Stop
Wife's Big Toe
My Arm
A Leaf
A piece of Tree Bark
Hair (swallowed some)
Carpet
A Night Light
Dust Balls (swallowed some)

4 Things

Four things Meme thanks to Will

Four Jobs I've Had:
Easter Bunny at a Mall
Thoroughbred Groomer
Doughnut Maker
Basketball League Score Keeper

Four Movies I can watch over and over:
Les Miserables
Lord of the Rings
The Passion
Castaway

Four places I've lived:
McAllen, TX
Hansen, KY
Jackson, MS
Wilmore, KY

Four TV shows I love:
LOST
CSI
King of the Hill
Sanford & Sun Reruns

Four places I've vacationed:
St Louis, Missouri
Irapuato, Mexico
Orange County, California
Hunting Island, SC

Four of my favorite dishes:
Eggplant Parmesan
Pot Roast
Sweat potato casserole
Anything that My Grandmother cooks

Four sites I visit daily:
Be Still.....
DeafeningSighlence
Jump the fence
SaraEC1122's Xanga Site

Four places I would rather be right now:
Sitting at my Grandmother's Table talking with her
Hiking in the Mountains with my wife
Hunting with my Brother
Walking on the Beach at Sunrise/Sunset

Thoughts at 3 am

For the second night in a row my body has decided it was time to wake up at 3 am. It's not the kinda of wake up that you just roll-over and go to sleep - its the kinda wakeup that produces all kinds of random thoughts - and it insist that you don't go back to sleep for another hour or two later. So what do you do when everyone in your house is dead asleep - do you stay in bed tossing and turning possibly waking your spouse up - do you wake your spouse up and share all the thoughts running through you head - do you lay in bed staring at the ceiling hoping that you will fall asleep soon? The other night it worked out well because our little boy wasn't sleeping well either - so both of us got up and spent a little time sleeping on the couch. But tonite that wasn't happening. It's not from something I ate. It's not because I've slept too much during the day. I think it(my body) just needed an intermission before the next round of sound sleep.

So here are a few of future blog titles I came up with tonite that I plan on discussing sometime in the next several days:
1. Top 10 things my son has bitten or chewed on so far
2. My response to "Fourteen Cliched Southern Subjects That Photographers Should Avoid" (portion of an article out of Oxford American)
3. Children and Colds
4. Bundling infants/toddlers
5. Formula
6. Newborns
7. Opinion Polls

Stuff

I was talking to my mom this afternoon. She had spent part of her morning cleaning out some of the closets at their house. She was telling about how many bags of clothes she had given away and how she had rearranged things. It got me to thinking about the things I have chosen to hold onto and things I think are interesting that my parents have held onto over the years. I think moving about every 4-5 years helps you in the long run and I think everyone ought to move at least once just to gain a little perspective.

Things My Parents Have Held onto:
1. The original set of luggage the purchased not long after they were married. Hmm... that puts it about 36 years old now.
2. My father's Future Farmers of America deniem jacket that he had in high school.
3. Piles of blankets, quilts, etc... preparing for the next ice storm???
4. Sports uniforms I had from elementry and junior high. Mostly soccer uniforms.
5. Various and assundry sports memorbillia from my parents loyally following USM over the last 4 decades.
6. Dresses and other clothes from the 70's & 80's. They might hang onto this a little longer to see if it comes back in and then sell on Ebay.

Things I have held onto:
1. Letters, cards, notes of encouragement from friends from highschool to college to now. Most of who I don't even know where they live now and who I haven't talked to in years.
2. Bank Statements, bills (paid), paychecks - I did pretty good on this area recently - I shredded almost 5 years worth of things.
3. A few old foreign coins - from the store my dad's father ran for a while. I think I got them in 3rd grade.
4. Books - why is it that I have such a hard time getting rid of books. I think our attic probably had 200 books in various boxes. It's a back breaker to get them up there and back down. At least they are helping provide insulation for now.
5. Trinkets - a feather, an acorn, an unusual rock - things that relate to nature, that relate to the property my dad grew up on, that relate to a trip somewhere (the beach, a hike, etc)
6. Bottles - mostly old soda bottles from a few road trips but mostly from old homesites related to various family members. Interesting how often a simple brand like Coke changes a size or a design on their product.

Life

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Not that nothing has been going on nor that I didn't have anything to say but I like to been in the right mood and have my head clear for a few minutes...

My wife - been working long hours the last several weeks and has several more to go. She's stayed very busy during her workday and is also in the process of looking for a new job. She misses seeing our little boy more that she does. I really appreciate all the hard work that she has put in the last several years. It's been a long journey but the up hill portion is about to level out. She's going to do a great job where-ever she ends up, she's going to have a great positive impact on her patients, and she's going to enjoy not doing what she's doing right now.

Running - I've taking up running again this year. Not a New Year's resolution but I've decided to try to average running in one race per month and at least one of those has to be a 10K. I've been averaging 2-3 races a year but then stop for several months. Hopefully this challenge will encourage me to eat better and stay active.

Homegroup - started a new book Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas last weekend. I've only read 2 chapters but I like the direction it's going. A link for it is on the right side under Currently Reading.

Benjamin - getting bigger each day. Has four teeth (2 top, 2 bottom) and 1 more on the way on top. He pulled himself up by himself 2 days ago .... hmm walking is just around the corner.

On a recent trip to Mississippi I was re-introduced to a great magazine on Southern Literature, Music, and Art. The Oxford American was originally published in Oxford, MS and owned for a while by John Grisham. I'm not sure who owns it now but it's changed owners and is now published out of Arkansas. I have the Fall 2005 issue if anyone is interested.

Here is a great link that I recently found: www.baconofthemonthclub.com

Blog - I've taken out any Currently or Recently Read from 2005 with the exception of Les Misrables. I started reading this in January 2005 and thought I'd have finished by now... nope still 350 pages to go. So until that's done it's staying on there.

A Long Beautiful Life

Last night we received a call from my mother to say that my great-aunt's health was decling rapidly. At most she has a couple of days. This is my mother's aunt - she's 92+ years old. The last time I was able to visit with her was over Thanksgiving weekend. She was very alert but you could see that various medical conditions were beginning to take there weaken her. She was still reading some 3 to 4 books a week at 92 years old - and had kept fairly up-to-date on current events. Over Thanksgiving weekend we were able to take a picture of her holding our son Benjamin. She is his great-great aunt. We also snapped a photo of her, my mother, and him just smiling away together. She was so happy to get a chance to meet him. She just loved his little fat cheeks. He will never get a chance to know her in person but the photographs will provide plenty of opprotunity for him to get know her through my stories.

She is a very special person in both my and my mother's life. She acted as a second mom to my mother during part of her childhood. She acted as a great encourager, a wonderful friend, and a mentor in so many ways in my life. She's the last of my grandfathers generation living. Kinda' a last tie to my grandfather who passed away a little over 5 years ago. I have missed visiting with her since we have been living in Kentucky and South Carolina these last few years. I did make a point of visiting with her and bringing her little bouquet of flowers and maybe a small gift here and there when we were in Mississippi. What can you really give someone who is 92 years old and is slowly reducing the amount of things she has? I think the most important thing is Love. Letting her know that we thought of her - letting her know that we cared - and making time to interact with her no matter what her situation.