Jumping the Gun

Okay, okay, I couldn't wait until Mother's Day, but after speaking to folks from Kentucky I was told that planting can be done around Derby Day, and that is this Saturday, plus the weather forecast looks pretty good all through the next ten days. (When I come crying about ruined plants then you can say I told you so!)

So, for the last few days I've been loosening up dirt, and I just couldn't stand it anymore and I planted some variegated Vinca and Petunias, which are pretty hardy plants. I also put in just a few Lantana and Columbine and a white kind of frothy plant called Diamond Frost that was listed as hardy as well. I couldn't find any rolling wave Petunia to put in the ground boxes, so that will have to wait. And you know what? It feels good.

And I might add that while walking the beasts this afternoon I saw my first butterfly of the season. A sign!

Around the World Again

Yesterday we went around the world again while greeting the newest group of foreign officers. The officers were from Bahrain, Saudi, Lebanon, Romania, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana, Columbia and Chile.

This was a little different than the evening before. These students have been here a few weeks before their MC3 course begins. As foreign students they have some pre-course classes so we have a little meet and greet gathering and invite their small group leaders (U.S. officers) so they at least have some face time before the classes get going.

This group seems to have clicked already as they were ribbing each other, and they gave Romania some good natured kidding about Count Dracula. Each student stepped forward to tell a little about his country. Teasing also included a student from the same continent's saying his country was better, did Ghana really have the largest man-made lake or does that claim go to Zambia? The Bahraini student pointed to his country on the map, oh, he jokes, it's here under my finger!

The student from Bahrain also showed us up in vocabulary usage. We were all looking at a map of Chile, and of course he pointed out the archipelago at the southern tip. We all gave him a hard time about that. Turns out he studied in the states at a small boarding school back east, and also attended Sandhurst. His English is impeccable. We speak the low brow version. :)

Cabbages and Kings

From Lewis Carroll's The Walrus and The Carpenter:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--"


The small unit of MC3 (maneuver career captain's course) met yesterday afternoon at what we call the pit, which is a very nice BBQ pit area in back of our home, nicely provided for the neighborhood with picnic tables, benches and chairs. There were about 20 guys and 5 spouses, including myself. Ward is the senior officer sponsor for this group and they get together periodically over the course of their 6 month class here. The weather was gorgeous, the sun shining, but it didn't get too warm, as the pit is enclosed by large trees. The grill was going, we had the necessary sides of baked beans, chips, beer and homemade chocolate chip cookies. And because it was an outdoor gathering and we had a great area for it, croquet and bocci ball.

As commander, Ward highly recommends these gatherings for the small groups. They are a way to unwind and get to know fellow students better. The MC3 course is a rigorous one, with a lot of study and homework. Most of these guys have just returned from deployments so they really need the R&R. (For you non-Army types, that's rest and relaxation. Just kidding!)

What usually happens is that as the guys unwind, they begin to share their experiences. And that is really most interesting. This happened yesterday. We ladies always have lots to talk about, but we're usually ready to go home after a few hours. As timing would have it this is exactly when the guys have just loosened up, and are really telling tales. So as the last spouse and I are tidying up the nursery, we think that they will get the hint. And then it happens! The deep stuff. Solving world affairs, talking about world peace, how the middle east situation could be solved, Syria and Jerusalem! The other spouse and I just look at each other and sigh. We can't possibly ask them to leave now! And this is especially true because one of students in this small group is from the middle east.

So the other spouse and I just work around them and leave detente to the men. And what began at two in the afternoon went on until 11:00 that night. (Luckily the pit has lights.) I really think that this kind of activity does lead to getting along better with other countries--just discussing cabbages and kings. As long as we're not the invited oysters!

The Meaning of Hooah

According to Rod Powers in Your Guide to US Military the dictionary definition of hooah is as follows:

hooah (hoo ah) adj., adv., n., v., conj., interj., excla. (Orig. unknown) Slang
1. Referring to or meaning anything and everything except "no"
2. What to say when at a loss for words
3. a. Good copy. b. Roger. c. Solid copy. d. Good. e. Great. f. Message received. g. Understood.
h. Acknowledged
4. a. Glad to meet you. b. Welcome.
5. "All right!"
6. a. I don't know the answer, but I'll check on it. b. I haven't the foggiest idea.
7. I am not listening.
8. "That is enough of your drivel; sit down!"
9. Yes.
10. "You've got to be kidding me!"
11. Thank you.
12. Go to the next slide.
13. You've taken the correct action.
14. I don't know what that means, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for clarification.
15. Squared away (He's pretty hooah.)
16. Amen!

I'm only bring this up because although soldiers use this all of the time, and we spouses even chime in a lot when we have functions, but it is always saved for military conversation, and we just don't use this in our personal conversations. That's why I was blown away last evening when, on our way to a military function, Ward and I are discussing an incident involving a soldier and I gave him my opinion and he answered me with a resounding, "Hooah!" We both looked at each other and began laughing, "Did you just give me a hooah!?" "I did!"

Okay, it's time to retire!

Passed Balls, Bad Calls, and Buckner

The Beave had his second game of the season last night. It was away, against a pretty sizable team. They played two five inning games. The Beave's team was down one of their best players. He plays shortstop and is number two in the batting line up. So the goat was in the visitor's dugout last night.

The Beave is the lead off hitter and gets them going with a triple. (Woo hoo!) Next guy up strikes out. Third to the plate is usually a good hitter, pops it out to right field (sacrifice?) and I'm watching the Beave on third, he waits for the catch, good, coach sends him. Yay, we have our first run! Wait, ump calls him out . . . says he ran too soon. Huh?! I saw the play, and since he's my kid I really watch those things, but oh well, you get your bad calls, suck it up, right?

Next inning we get through our full line up and manage to get up by two, the Beave brings two guys home with a single. Third inning over quickly. Fourth inning Beave hits a single, brought home later with another guy on a single. Now the score is 6-2. Fifth inning over quickly. So that's the first game, not too bad.

The second game our team switches all positions. The Beave leaves shortstop to pitch, regular pitcher takes second, center fielder takes third, third takes short stop. The Beave is a good enough pitcher, he can throw strikes, but he's young and doesn't have the power or speed yet. Defense will have to kick in. I said, defense will have to kick in. I'm looking at the score book and there are a lot of E's there. When you write an E followed by a dash and a number, that let's the person reading this log know that there was an error made allowing the runner to advance, the number shows the player that made the error. My book is loaded with E's! For example, the other team hit a number of fly balls, not one of which was caught. The infield didn't do much better, there were several easy ground outs that were missed by the short stop and second baseman. Our whole fielding looked like a bunch of Buckner's!! Oy! But if our bats had started swinging we could have done something . . . well they weren't swinging (the Beave hit OK) but even with that there were things we missed. The catcher had several passed balls on the third strike and our guys were like, what? I need to run, huh? Oh, well, they will learn. So they lost the second game 1-7. Ouch!

Boys Will Be Boys: An Observation

Here are some things I've observed about the male youth of today (this gleaned from watching boys from the ages of 14-18 at baseball practice):

They burp outrageously to impress themselves. They are well aware that this compulsion is revolting to any adult within hearing range, but what they are not aware of is that the other guys pretty much look upon any loud oral emanations not originating from their own bodies with disdain as well. The ensuing rolling of teenage eyes and "geesh!" is wasted on them. They bear the proud look of, "can you believe the size of that one?!" for a full minute or two.

Teenage boys in spring are easily distracted. If a baseball happens to bust open after being hit it will take at least 20-30 minutes for several young men to disentangle themselves from the string that they have unwound during that time.

With the least bit of sunshine and warmth they boys will take off their shirts and pretend to be "Ahnold." They do look like guys from Iron Man Magazine (JUNIOR!) and those that aren't scrawny are a bit chubby, but who am I to rain on their parade. They think they look like God's gift to women and they'll find out the truth soon enough.

They develop terrible nicknames for each other. Sometimes it goes according to initials, T.D. is called STD, or it can be a take off of a kid's last name, Moue is called moo-moo, and because he is Matt's friend, Ben is called boo-boo. Or Benhamin (I guess that's a Spanish version of Benjamin). And though the names can seem terrible, they are always used with great affection. It seems that if you don't have a nickname you must be kind of boring.

If they find out what bugs a guy, watch out. They will use this unmercifully against that person. The Beave hates to have anyone wear his stuff, especially his hat. He trys to act like it doesn't bother him, but I think they are on to him. And take it whenever they can.

Sometimes these guys need yelling at to get them motivated. That must be a guy thing (hey, girls would cry!) but it does seem to work. When they were just not making plays and looking sloppy, and coach was covering his face with his hands and just couldn't take it any more, he just finally gave them , what for! No cursing or anything (it's a Christian school) but just saying what needed to be said, LOUDLY! And for the rest of the practice they shaped up. Go figure!

Veni, vidi, vici: Vino!

We came, we saw, we conquered: WINE! Ward and I were the lucky invitees to a special wine tasting event for a new Italian restaurant that will be opening in a few months here at Fort Knox. So rank does have some fun benefits at times. This was one social event that I was happy to attend.

We were invited with a group to help choose the wines for the restaurant and were given a cards to judge each of the selections according to smell, taste, body and finish.

We started with an array of white wines but to tell you the truth all of the sniffing, swirling, and tasting got to be a bit much after the third or fourth wine . . . fruity vs earthy, hints of melon? After the ninth wine I just wrote on the card whether I liked it . . . or not. Between the ten or so white wines and the twelve or so red, we got to sample some dishes from the chef's menu. Now that's what I'm talkin' bout . . . this was not your Olive Garden variety, but the real stuff. Bruschetta, marinated kalamata olive and mushrooms, lasagna rolls, and beef tenderloin on crostini! Giada would have been proud! And it made all of the wine tasting worthwhile.

For the surprise finish we had the dessert wines. Just two samples of fine port. Wow. I had no idea that is was so delicious. I wrote Yum! on my card. Smooth, full-bodied, plum with a surprise hint of chocolate. Chocolate? No small wonder I liked it.

Hope in a Can

Before we were so rudely interrupted by the earthquake, I was going to wax poetic on the virtues of spring foods. That's right I'm talking TUNA! It was warm enough the other day, and so sunny and breezy that the day was just begging for a tuna salad for dinner. Why should this be a seasonal dish? Well, because tuna salad in a blizzard just doesn't work, that's why! The food should match the weather outside? Yes it should. End of story.

Anyway, that's what we had. I went for the macaroni salad version, plated with red leaf lettuce and grape tomatoes. The simplicity of it astounds. (Hold the onions, or the Beave won't touch it.) When you have the first tuna salad of the season you are welcoming in a whole host of good things to follow. When you have tuna salad, can corn on the cob or watermelon be far behind? Even though it is cooler and gray outside today, I have the promise of warm sunny days ahead all because I had tuna salad for dinner this week.

Earthquake!

"What was that?!"

At approximately O-dark-thirty (hey, that's Army lingo for about 5:30 a.m.) the windows rattled and Ward and I wondered why the alarm had gone off early and we hadn't noticed but were awake anyway.

"Just the wind . . . I think."

Nope! Thirty minutes later I can't sleep and go to check on the Beave, who wants to get up at 6:30 . . . he's not in the guest bedroom where he started ( and why should he be in the guest bed and not his own? it's a long story, involving perceived bedbugs) so I check his room, and there he is. He stirs, and I ask him why he moved. He says the bed was rattling, and he thought he was having a nightmare involving Betty's American dolls which are on a book shelf in the guest room . . . sheesh!

In the meantime, Ward has already gotten information on his Blackberry that we had just experienced an earthquake. It had only lasted a few seconds, maybe ten. So instead of turning on Fox News, which is my normal routine, I turn to the local news, out of Louisville. We had indeed been part of an earthquake. The epicenter was West Salem, Illinois, southeastern Illinois. It had registered 5.4 and had taken about 36 seconds to make its presence known in our part of the world, which the local news call Kentuckiana, meaning a combination of southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. (The Beave thinks Indiucky would be a better mix, but then he's not so fond of this area.)

We've been in small earthquakes before. Just ask Betty about the one in DuPont, Washington. But for the most part, it's just a little shaking that happens. And the dogs didn't move a muscle, not so much as an eyelid lifted. But we can say that we've lived through an earthquake!

It turns out that I wasn't the only one that thought Lady Chatterley's Lover wasn't so classic. Our book club met yesterday at noon and it was assuring to me that the consensus was D. H. Lawrence had a problem!

After dissecting and discussing what we all deemed to be a tawdry selection, we had to move on to the selection of our next read. Because Eckhardt Tolle's A New Earth had been brought up by email as a choice before the meeting we all had a chance to voice our opinions on that. It was reassuring to me that this group all had the same reservations about it and for the same reasons. It is lauded as the path to enlightment and in being one with the universe and god (little g) because god (little g) is in each of us and Mr. Tolle can guide us to that path of ultimate spirituality. (huh?) Anyway, we also all agreed that it wouldn't be bad to read it so that we can equip ourselves with information and be ready with a Biblical response. And that means that we have to be about reading scripture and knowing how to respond thoughtfully.

As we were discussing this and what to choose as our next selection, we talked about why we read, and how we make the choices of what to read. Some of us just go to the bookstore and browse, some use guides (I often use the help of World Magazine), and of course we all use the helpful suggestions from friends and family. Sometimes a controversy will arise over a selection that hits mainstream that we hear about in the news, like the whole Harry Potter phenomenon and Christians objecting to it for spiritual reasons. Something like that will definitely make you think twice about reading a book. In the end though, you should, like one of our ladies said, "never make a selection that would harm my soul."

Unclassy Classic

Our book club chose D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover as our read this month. We chose it based upon the fact that is was a classic that none of us had read yet. Well, all I can say is if this book is a classic then we need to redefine that word. This book and it's protagonists Lady Chatterley (Connie) and Mellors are not worthy of expressing a universal truth, or human condition. At least not one that couldn't just as well be expressed by a letter to Playboy magazine, and with the same vernacular language that would probably be used. I expected better in a classic.

I guess some would argue that Lawrence was breaking literary ground by his use of the F-word, but I can't imagine people really speaking the way his character did in that era, even if the character was a so-called commoner. And the whole other part of the novel in which Clifford Chatterley is supposedly the intellectual moving into the modern world of technology while still clinging to the old class barriers; the snob versus the working man, was neither convincing nor compelling. Lawrence's characters weren't complex enough to be 'everyman.' They were caricatures and a cliche of the two classes. Even with Clifford's disability, I found it hard to have any empathy for his condition; that of being paralyzed from the waist down and encouraging his young wife to take a lover, only to show disdain for the lower class lover she chooses.

Though Lawrence probably caused quite a stir with his descriptions of the sex between Connie and Mellors, they are pretty tame by today's standards. I'm guessing the educators of the day wanted more scintillation in the classroom and thus it became required reading, and then deemed classic, much like our Women's Studies at universities today. I think feminists of today would probably like this tale, as it places sexual fulfillment above relationship and commitment.

I can see why this novel created a big hooha back in the day, (it was published in the early 1930s) but for it to be named a classic? Nope, not for me. I guess I want a classic to touch me by either its truth or beauty or by stating something profound that I can comprehend but not express myself. A classic should move us and also stand the test of time in its universal appeal. As E. M. Forster said, "The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready and which have gone a little further down our particular path than we have yet ourselves."

That's the Pitts!

My little brother stopped by for a visit yesterday! Really, he's my younger brother, but everything being relative, he's no young whipper snapper anymore . . . this year he will hit the big 5-0! So that makes me, um, none of your business!

Hey, he was just in the neighborhood, by that I mean he had flown in to Cincinnati and that is just a hop, skip, and jump of two hours away so I guilted him into getting into his rental car and making the trip. It's always fun to have your little bro visit.

We got to visit and catch up on family talk. And even though he has prematurely picked out a moniker for himself on this website, I've got to do the right thing and pick a TV Land version. I would really like to pick Andy Griffith, but then there are times when he's much more like Barney Fife, so that really won't do!

No, I think he really is closer to Dick Louden, of the Newhart show from the 80s. Yes, Dick had a lovely blond wife and a dry wit. He had friends like Larry, his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl . . . it's too close to home!

I don't know if Dick Louden would have shot his sister in the back with a BB gun, but it works for me.

Wally and Betty, what do you think?

Beware the Ides of March

I know that it's April, but I promise you'll understand my title. On March 3, Oprah initiated a movement with her announcement of a special book and on line class for the next few weeks. It is the study of the book A New Earth, by Eckhardt Tolle. He is evidently the greatest spiritual thing since sliced manna. I'm only bringing the whole thing up because there is discussion in our book club as taking this book on as our next assignment and that's when I started digging around, looking at reviews and even found lots of You Tube videos about the whole thing. It's definitely taken on a life of its own, with followers and of course the grand poobah, Oprah, is leading the way.

When it comes to spiritual reading, I don't like to stray from the Bible, which is the only self-help book that is worth anything! But there are lots of good authors who expound on that great book or help you study it. This is not what we're talking about in Eckhardt Tolle's book.

Tolle, who is a "master of spiritual wisdom" (according to his book cover label) will take us through a shift in consciousness that will enable us to let go of pre-conceived notions thus offering a way out of suffering and into peace. Oh boy! I've always wanted to explore my inner realm of consciousness and then move into the divinity of humanity, of self. So there you have it . . . the divinity of self, which means of course then, that you don't really have a need for a God (you are one). But one thing I know is true, and that is that God IS God and I AM NOT!

That's what I call being spiritually aware as 1 John 4:1 states: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

But of course as one reviewer of the books states, "You will only appreciate it if you are ready to be awakened. The people who react so negatively to this book are not awakened and living too much in their ego." So of course I'm one of those just not awakened and living too much in their ego . . . sigh . . . no Nirvana for me! Seriously, though, this kind of New Age Crap is just a bunch of bulgogi, but so many folks are drinking the Kool-Aid!

The Bag Lady

The Beaver played his first game of the season last night and with it out came my baseball bag. It is the quintessential baseball mom's bag. This Eddie Bauer canvas bag has six large side pockets, which contain in no particular order, sunglasses, sunscreen, hairbrush (which you really don't need cuz you wear a ball cap), hand lotion and hand sanitizer, gum, lots and lots of double-bubble gum, seeds, (as in sunflower), water bottles. Then there is the large roomy interior part of the bag which holds a small first aid kit, more gum and seeds (for the guys), an umbrella (we don't like to think about that), the score pad with pencils and sharpener and then finally we have the inside zipped security pocket which holds the important stuff, like money, keys and lip gloss! I've been hauling this bag to more games in the past four years than I care to remember, and it holds up like it's made of steel!

One time, I had to leave a game early due to illness and Ward stayed on. After the game, when folks were heading to their cars a couple of baseball moms came running and shouting after him, yelling at him, arms flailing, "you've left the bag, you've left the bag, June will kill you!" I shudder to think what would have happened to Ward if he'd returned home without that bag!

Oh, btw, they won last night 4-2. The Beave had a pretty good night with three hits, one of them a triple (which he groused should have been a homerun, stupid big field!).

For the Birds

This next month is a great time for bird watching. If you're lucky you live on or near a fly way or you are north enough that they are just returning home. We are near the Ohio River, so we should get some of both! Just the other day I spotted a Great Blue Heron, to me almost as majestic as the eagle. When we were in Utah, I did get a glimpse of an eagle, and I've seen both the Great Blue and the eagle often when we lived in Leavenworth, Kansas.

So quick, before the foliage fills in, and they are harder to spot, take some hikes and fill in some of your life list. I kinda, sorta have a list started, but I'm not really going after a big year. I just enjoy watching birds, in a non-Jane Hathaway kind of way. (For those that know me, that's a TV Land reference to a the Beverly Hillbilly's character who played the bird-watching secretary of Mr. Drysdale who also had a crush on Jethro, but I digress.) I just am lucky that when I walk the two beasts I also pay attention along the way and am rewarded by seeing chickadees, dark eyed juncos, western bluebirds, yellow bellied sapsuckers (no kidding!), red headed woodpeckers, tanagers, not to mention cardinals, blue jays, and the hawk that lives nearby.

Among my favorite sightings in the past was the tree full of cedar waxwings that sojourned outside our Leavenworth home for about 30 minutes on their way north. Imagine looking up from your second story window to see 30-40 waxwings alight and then quietly and in unison take flight again! And then there was the allusive American Kestral who slouched grudgingly in a dead tree near our home on the Missouri River. And a bird on one walk in Kansas that stopped me in my tracks so I could make sure that this bright orange breasted bird was indeed a Baltimore Oriole. It was!

A real treat in our neighborhood is the first sighting of hummingbirds to the area. Last year it was while we were having an outdoor evening dinner with friends, and the neighbors had thoughtfully put out several feeders (I'm far too lazy to keep hummingbird feeders) . . . while we were dining el fresco, we were swarmed by 20-30 beautiful little iridescent hummers.

I used to think swallows a lovely bird. But one year in Texas they built a nest in our wreath at the front door. We thought that was sweet and let them have their nest with eggs and all and didn't disturb them for a month or two. Then the eggs hatched and geesh, what a mess. They were noisy, and had no manners at all! They didn't take their toileting business out in the woods, nope, it was all over my front door. As soon as they had taken their final flight I tore the wreath off, burned it (well, I should have burned it!) and scrubbed cement like bird doo-doo for days. I still cannot look at a swallow without thinking "dirty bird."

And of course, people might find your behavior odd at times. I was watching from our front porch and thought I saw a red-winged blackbird flying in and out of a spot on the neighbors roof. But I just couldn't tell for sure, so I'm walking and looking up, walking and looking up and almost bump into my neighbor! I told him I just wanted to see the red and yellow markings on that bird to make sure it was a red-winged blackbird. He gave me an odd look, you know the kind of uh, huh! and I'm thinking, NO, Really . . . see there it goes, it is a red-winged blackbird!

Sense and Sensibility

I watched the second installment of PBS's version of Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility. I thought it was done very well, even if I don't like it quite as well as the Emma Thompson version. Elinor and Marianne were cast well, as were the brothers Ferras. I'm guessing this version must have kept more closely to the original story (I haven't read the book) as Lucy Steele had a sister, and the mother, Mrs. Ferras, actually made an appearance. The Emma Thompson version of that part was much funnier though, with Mrs. John Dashwood being the one to having a hissy fit and throwing Lucy Steele out on her heel.

But the one thing I like about this one better was the much more attractive, more studly version of Colonel Brandon! And he seemed to do the right thing, more for the sake of being altruistic than for catching the eye of Marianne, though he did win the fair lady's heart in the end, and rightly so. It made it much easier to accept the age difference with him being a handsome man!

Another thing I liked a bit better about this version, Hugh Grant in all his boyish hunckyness not withstanding, is that you got a better feel for Edward and his character, just a bit more insight into the uncomfortable situation he had gotten himself into.

But then again, you can't go wrong with anything Jane Austin.

Savor the Moment

Ever have that moment when all doubts disappear and you know that God has certainly helped you make all of the right choices? So far! Last evening was such a moment. Ward and I have had these moments before. They are usually ones which involve our children and the directions their lives take, fueled by milestone decisions. The decision to home school was one. The decision to have Wally stay in the states at a private boarding school for his senior year while we were a half a world away was another. Betty's staying at home for her senior year and not attending the private boarding school; her choice of college; Wally's internship all of those summers away from home.

All of those tough choices that we agonized and prayed over and ultimately left in God's hands and trusted Him when the way seemed clear; we were always rewarded well after the fact and in hindsight that those choices were the absolute best we could have made, though they often seemed painful (or selfish) at the time. And for a moment you hear the voice of God saying, "I told you . . .you can trust me!"

Again last evening at the school sports banquet was such a moment. The Beaver didn't even want to go! I had purchased the tickets weeks ago so Ward and I held fast and said hey, you're going, we're all going. (Mind you, we know what these events are like, it was scheduled from 6-9 so that tells you it would be several hours of kids names being called and going up for awards, trophies, etc. . . . ) Anyway, I credit the school for keeping this as painless as possible, and actually even fun! Coaches were given a set time limit to hand out awards and they stuck to it. The awards given out were not given frivolously . . . they had meaning and they were earned. What a concept. (And a contradiction to the every kid gets a trophy, every kid is a winner, every kid is the best notion!)

The Beaver picked up several awards in baseball. He had the most RBIs, and the most stolen bases . . . not bad as an eighth grader on the Varsity team, but hey, it is a small school. :-) For soccer he picked up most improved, but the remarks his coach made were an award in themselves. He said Ben gave 110%, had no fear, and then made fun of his voice, because Ben spent a lot of time yelling and calling to his teammates.

But the savor the moment came when Ben received the Falcon Award. This award is given to the player who exemplifies what this little Christian school is all about, in short, Godly character in action. Wow! Ward and I looked at each other to see if we had heard this announcement correctly! Sure enough, there was our son, who has complained on a pretty regular basis about the school, stepping up to receive this award.

We had never really doubted that putting the Beaver in this school was the absolute best thing to do . . . but there are always those little niggling thoughts (or perhaps it is the big kid's niggling voice!) that might let a little wavering thought creep in . . . but after last night those thoughts are gone. It is the moment when God reaches down and says, "why do you doubt, only trust in me." Savor that moment!

Confabulation

Hillary's recent "mispeaking" has introduced me to a new word: confabulation. Confabulation is also known as false memory or a fantasy that has unconsciously emerged of a factual account. Wow, aren't those just great fancy ways of lying?!

(Ward has been known to embellish his stories a bit, but he's never out and out fabricated things out of thin air . . . he's at least had the basic underpinnings of the truth in there.)

In recent news, and certainly with more and more of our politicians, it seems that stretching the truth is not enough any more. Why they confabulate when the facts these days can so easily be checked by the news media (ha ha) or even things like snopes, is beyond comprehension. The backpedaling seems to be constant and the norm. "What I meant to say is . . . blah, blah, blah" that is until tomorrow when " What I really, really , meant was . . . yada, yada, yada!"

It's downright . . . Clintonian!

Deep Philosophical Thought (or Not)

Now that I'm not pregnant things can get back to normal. But what is normal? There is no normal here or ever in the military family lifestyle. Every couple of years things change. New post, new job, new situations with kids; older ones growing up and living their own lives and even with the Beaver a whole new schooling situation. One thing that is static in this life is that their will always be change. Sometimes that is a very comforting thought!

I'm Pregnant!

How did this happen? We thought we were too old. I can't believe it!! Ward can't believe it!! Our kids will have a cow. The Beaver will die of embarrassment. Betty and Wally won't be too affected by this . . . but gee, gosh, golly . . . how could this have happened??

Do you realize that I will be seventy years old when this child is eighteen?!! Yeah, let's see if he/she was conceived April 1 that puts the due date at around the first week of November . . . wait did you say April 1???!!! Oh, whew, what a relief. This is just a April Fool's joke then, oh my goodness! Not funny! No, not funny at all :-0

Have you been punked like this in the past as a part of the whole April 1 mania? I really haven't had the opportunity to pull many good ones. But I do remember one that had my kids going. We were at Fort McPherson at the time and homeschooling. The kids were not even up yet so it was fairly early in the morning. I just ran in and shook them and said that there was a gas leak and we had to evacuate as quickly as possible. Half asleep as they were they just all raced out of the house! Oh, that was a good one. They got me back later that day with the old tape the handle down on the spray nozzle attachment at the sink so that when I turned the faucet on I got a full blast. Alls fair!