Happy Birthday, Ralston!

March 31st, my nephew Ralston turned 2 years old! We got to see him on his birthday at a birthday party for a mutual friend, Daniel De Jong. The pictures of Ralston and his dad (my brother Stuart) and mom were taken at Paul and Sandy De Jong's house. Stuart and Ginny and Ralston live in Charleston, SC and we don't get to see them often, so I was really glad we were able to get together that day.

Our Ninth Wedding Anniversary

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For our anniversary this year (April 4th) Jeff and I drove to upstate North Carolina for a few days. Mom and Berk kept Katie and Joe in order for us to have some much-appreciated Jeff-and-Jeni time! We stayed at the Buffalo Tavern Bed and Breakfast and visited the Blowing Rock. The force of the wind was incredible! We also wandered around downtown Boone and Blowing Rock. (Jan Karon's Mitford series is based somewhat on Blowing Rock, so I was interested to see what it was like. Apparently every September the town celebrates "Mitford Days" and Jan Karon makes an appearance.) We wanted to go to Grandfather Mountain, but the winds were too strong and it was closed. We did a lot of driving around looking, and ended up going to the Mast General Store, too. Overall, we had a fabulous time and ate constantly. Joe's Italian Kitchen and the Almond Joy coffee at Stickboy Bread Co. alone made the trip worthwhile! We also ate at a Japanese Hibachi place that was excellent.

Johnny Hart

Okay, you know by now that Jeff and I are big comic strip fans. I grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and especially B.C. at the breakfast table. My dad collected comic books and he had B.C. books that were copyrighted in the late fifties on through the sixties and seventies. In the later years of B.C., (after Dad died) its creator Johnny Hart rededicated his life to Jesus Christ and the tone of the strip changed. We really looked forward to seeing the Christmas and Easter strips especially because we knew they would contain the wonderful message of Jesus' birth or resurrection. Johnny Hart passed away on Saturday, April 7, 2007 -- and spent his very first day in heaven celebrating Easter with his Creator!

For an interesting look at the life of Johnny Hart, click on this link.

Here's an example of one of Johnny Hart's Christmas strips.

Punch Bug!!

Several months ago, Jeff traded his truck for a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle. He's always wanted another one -- and now he's got it! (When he was in highschool, Jeff had a 1966 Beetle, in which he proposed to me!) It needed a lot of work done on it, and Jeff has been slowly but surely making improvements and fixing what didn't work. These pictures are already a bit outdated because he has since added a roof rack. It really gives the car a great look and I'll post a picture of it on the next go-round. Jeff has done just about all the work on it by himself -- he has a definite plan of what he wants done and what he wants it to look like when the project is complete. We'll keep you updated!

Running Away to Join the Circus

On February 23rd, our homeschool group went to the Big Apple Circus at Stone Mountain. Big Apple is a small travelling circus that brings back the good ole days. It's mainly a "people" show, with not very many animal acts. There were acrobats, tumblers, a bicyclist, comedy routines, a clown, a dog act and horses. The performers were amazingly talented! I asked Katie what her favorite part was, and she thought for a moment before saying, "Everything!"

Spring Has Sprung!

I haven't not posted because there's nothing going on -- I haven't posted because there's too much going on! We have been super busy lately. It seemed like once spring hit (which in Georgia is generally late February!) we hit the ground running. The kids have been outside playing nearly every day and it's all we can do to keep up with Katie's school.

Katie's appetite for reading and learning has increased exponentially over the last several months. She reads anything she can get her hands on. She really likes comic books (Baby Blues/Foxtrot) and her school books. Recently Katie has been reading an encyclopedia of animals and a book about the Titanic. She told me that her school books are more like "regular" books because they're so much fun to read. She has four loose teeth, in varying stages, though she hasn't quite lost one yet.

Little Joe is beside me now in the kitchen, pretending to be Daisy. If I "accidentally" call him 'Joe' he says, "No, I'll be Daisy!" His imagination is really developing. He is talking a lot more, though his social skills aren't quite there yet. :) When he sees someone he wants to greet, he does different funny things as though he's not sure what to do. For example, he'll hit himself in the head, or stick his tongue out, or just hide behind my legs. Yesterday he greeted Mrs. Chrissy by head-butting a nearby bush. We're looking into obedience schools to try to teach him how to shake.

Jeff has been asked by his boss if he'd be interested in going to a management seminar! Of course Jeff said yes, so he'll go sometime next year. After that, he'll take some management classes, and that puts him in a position for promotion. We're very excited, especially since I've been encouraging him in this for several years. I think he would be great in management level, since he's already showing many of the qualities of a good leader. Also, the district manager, Foster Taliferro, was in Jefferson recently to scout out a good location for a new plant on the quarry site. Jeff (who has been one of the primary operators) told Foster what he thought was the only logical, efficient place to put the plant. Foster said, "You know, I think you may be right." Sure enough, when the plans were made, Jeff's suggestion was what the company had decided to go with. There was another question of what to do concerning an aspect of the plant, and Foster asked Jeff what he thought. Jeff told him that he'd been trying to get it done that way since the plant was built four years ago. It is an answer to our prayers to have Jeff's contribution at work acknowleged! He's been tempted to leave the company for a long time, but every time we prayed about it he continued to feel that this is where God wants him. We know we're in God's will for Jeff to stay where he is, but it's nice to get physical confirmation!

You Asked For It! More Stories

Being a big sister must be tough! This morning I found a note Katie had just written to Joseph, after she had reached her limit of patience (15 seconds!).

Dear Joe,
I am not Helping you with your silly Puzzle any more

O.K.

to Joe
from Katie

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, so I sent the kids outside to play while I cleaned house. (It's so much easier when they're not destroying everything right behind me!) I had the doors and windows open and could hear them playing. At one point I just had to go outside -- I heard Katie yelling, "Help! Somebody rescue me!" from the top of the slide. She was trying to get Joe to help her, but he was busy attempting to ride Katie's bike. I called, "Sir! You with the bike! My little girl is trapped -- can you save her?" Joseph's little face lit up, and mouth open, he ran to rescue Katie. Katie climbed down with Joe's "help" and ran to me, hugging me. To Joe, I said, "Thank you so much, sir, for saving my little girl!" He grinned and ran for the slide so he could take his turn. Obliging, I yelled to Katie, "Oh, ma'am! My little boy is trapped!" etcetera, and we went through the routine again. My children are hilarious!

What an amazing privilege it is to be able to enjoy these moments with our kids! I am so blessed to be able to stay home with Kaitlyn and Joseph. I wouldn't trade a moment.

Funny Girl

I was checking my e-mail this morning, drinking my coffee, while Katie and Joe were in the living room playing. It was a stormy day and I overheard Kaitlyn say, "Okay, when you hear the thunder, that's when it's time to fight!" I caught her eye and said, "No, ma'am!" Disappointed, she replied, "But that's what happens in the movies!" Now that's an astute little girl! The Lion King, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty . . .

A Walk in the Park

(When it rains it pours! I finally finished a roll of film and had it developed, hence all the pictures I've been posting. Expect another flood when I get the pictures developed from our trip to the circus today!) Just yesterday we went to the park with some friends. Chrissy sent out an e-mail with the subject line, "Prison Break!" and told everyone to meet at the park if they were free. We should have been doing school, but Katie's a little ahead of schedule and it was an absolutely beautiful day so we went! Jackson County schools are out this week, which means that Maysville Elementary School's new playground was available. The kids had a blast playing outside for a couple of hours, and we had lunch at Chick-Fil-A afterwards.

(Note: In order to view the bottom picture correctly, simply focus on the photo and touch your left ear to your left shoulder.)

Just Like Daddy!

For Christmas this year, our friends the Ariails gave Joe a shaving kit! Not a real one, of course, but it has a toy razor, soap "shaving cream", a comb, and a lather brush. Joseph knew immediately what it was -- when I handed him the razor he began "shaving" with it and exclaimed, "Like Daddy!" Could he BE any cuter?! (That's a rhetorical question, Professor!)