Blogger Day!!!

Today is blogger day and everyone is suppose to post 5 other blogs for people to check out. I am only doing 3...

Greta's Blog

Ordinary Community

Lucy's Blog

A Big Step for Anna

Anna was being babysat by one of Amber's friends the other day while Amber and I finally were able to go out on a date. Well when she woke up from her nap the daughter of the Ambrose friend noticed that she was not too wet and thought she might need to use the bathroom and took and put her on the patty. I don't think her daughter knew that she was not really potty trained. Not from lack of trying. She knows how to get undressed, sit, use the tp, flush and wash her hands. But just will not actually "go" while on the potty.

Well lo and behold with no fuss, no singing of songs Anna did "go" when put on there by somebody else. And wonderfully she did again the next day when Amber put her on. She has not got down to ask to go yet, so there is a ways to go. However, the end of buying two sized diapers may soon be at an end.

Lonely Lunch

Amber is a teacher. So she has had the summer "off". So for the summer almost every lunch hour I would come home to my beautiful wife and two wonderful girls. The best part was always when Anna realized I was home and would scream "DADDY S HOME!!" and come tearing across the whole house to give me a hug. Now I open the door and the pile of laundry I kick by the washing machine is about the only thing that notices me coming in. It is so dreadfully quiet at lunch now. Kevin and Mandy were nice enough to endure me over at their house the first day. I tempted to go to the babysitter's house on my lunch. But I am afraid that will get Anna too upset when I leave? So for now, maybe I will make my wife happy and greet the laundry by picking it up and getting it started in the wash at lunch.

Architecture

Three more pics I took of downtown during the Festival:

Dan Emmet Festival

Every year our little city of Mount Vernon has a music and arts festival. It is named after Dan Emmet who was a M.V. resident and writer of the song "Dixie". (You know, the song that plays when the General Lee plays its horn as it jumps every bridge that is out in Hazzard.) Well we went to it again this year and I did something I have wanted to do for a long time. (Besided eat the 2" porkchop, which I could have done twice but oh well. Thanks anyway Ron.) I have always wanted to just have my camera hanging from my neck and take random pictures of people without looking at the view finder. But it has always been a bit expensive to do with film cameras for one or two good shots. But using a digital camera I was able to take over a 100 pictures and came up with at least these 8 that I kind of like. What do you think of them?

A Great Softball Game

Okay I am not normally one to do this. But I was inspired by a friend who bragged about a situation that made her so happy that it made me happy to read it. So in hopes of making others happy, I am going to brag a little bit.

This week has been our church softball playoffs. On our first game of the week on Monday I struck out swinging at my first at bat in slow pitch softball. (This is obviously not the bragging part.) How do you strike out swinging in slow pitch?!!? Anyway, I did pretty well the rest at bats and my good friend Scooter (aka Ron) hit and out of the park homer with 2 men on. It was pretty awesome.

So Tuesday night is our second game. I went 3 for 3 with a walk. I hit a double that should have been a single but I just ran straight through and threw of the fielders who obviously were not expecting me to go to second. Then then when I was on second the next ball was hit to the 3rd baseman. I went half way expecting a throw to first but it never came. The 3rd baseman bobbled the ball and was a good 5 ft off the bag. So I raced him to the bag and took a long hard slide under his tag. Then managed to tag up for a run on the next hit.

Last inning of the night, we are hometeam, and the score is tied. The bottom of their line up hits back to the pitcher for out 1. The next batter is the top of their line up. He has all night done like I do at the top of the line up and hits hard shallow hits and runs out throws to first. So I am playing left center and I come up to play him shallow hoping to rob him of a blooper shot. He hits a line shot my direction, but deeper than he has hit all night. I start to back peddle realizing I will never back peddle fast enough I stop and jump for all I am worth. (Which is like 2 inches probably) I manage to snag the ball out of the air for the 2nd out.

The third out was made by our shortstop who normally plays outfield. He made a great grab as the ball almost went by for the 3rd out. Our at bat. We are the bottom 2 of our line up. The first girl up hits the ball just over the 3rd baseman's head. The next hitter pop ups to the second baseman for out number 1. I am up next. I manage to hit a shallow shot to right center and the girl on second holds up too long thinking it is going to be caught and gets thrown out at second for out number 2. 2 outs bottom of the last inning tied score. The guy behind me after watching 2 pitches one a strike and one a ball, he gets a hit to shallow left field. I am rounding second as the shortstop and the left fielder are deciding if either one of them can get to it and who it should be. So I take off for third. Apparently they both either ran into each other or ended up standing there looking at each other too long to figure out who should get it that my whole team is yelling for me to come home. So I round third and am up easy for the game winning run. It was a pretty cool night.

We shall see how tonight's game goes!?!

An Evening at the Park

Our local Rotary Club has built a 1/4 of million dollar playground at our local park.





Anna Loved It!!!









But of course she loved the 20 year old part as well





Little Sis, Not So Much!!

Ella's Blog

Ella's friends have blogs and this one has a lot about Anna so I started one for just Ella and about her story of her birthdate and her friends.

5 Wonderful Years

I guess I would be a bad husband to let the day go by and not mention today is my 5 year anniversary of being married to the best wife in the world. I love you Amber!!

Back from Delaware

We were suppose to be back by Tuesday. But just as we went to leave we realized the van's brakes were bad enough that we had better get them checked out. Which they were bad enough they needed work thus we were not able to go until Wednesday. But a big thanks to Mr. Bailey for taking care of my repair bill.

Mr. Bailey is an 80+ year old retired minister who went into the real estate business as well a long time ago. He is the kindest most generous man you would ever meet. He took my parents in when they first moved to Delaware over 30 years ago and helped take care of them as a young married couple. Today over 30 years later he is taking care of me and Amber.

He is starting to have health problems that are a little more serious than in the past. His wonderful, dear, English wife Dorothy and I were talking about his longevity. She is convinced it is because he doesn't have a hateful bone in his body. She says that when we hold grudges and anger in it eats at us just like stress. He doesn't hold grudges and doesn't stress over things. He has gained and lost two businesses and continues to go as if nothing had ever happened in the past. He has been burned by people in business and in the church. The only slightly disparaging remark Dorothy said she has ever heard him say is he understands that for the business people, it is business, they have an excuse.

I owe a lot to Mr. Bailey. Not just because of bags of free food and money every time I go home. But for life lessons, for getting my parents so involved in the church in their first month in church and never looking back, and more that I probably don't even know about.

Well this started out as a brief entry about being back. But I am happy with the turn it took. I hope you all have a Mr. Bailey somewhere in your life.

Going to Delaware

Going the next 4 days to Delaware!! It's not California or NYC, NYC!! But it is going to be fun to see friends and family again. Have a great weekend everybody.

A Night of Catching Fireflies

You can have a lot of fun with dollar store bug catcher.