Saying goodbye to a career...

My dad's retiring at the end of March after 30 years as the town manager of a small town in southwest Virginia. I'm so proud of him, and I'm so happy he is anticipating his well-deserved retirement. The Kingsport Times newspaper ran a wonderful article on him on their front page the other day. (Read it here.) Here's to you, Dad. The top 10 memories I have of Coeburn during your 3-decade stint as their town manager.
1. Playing in the council chambers in the old office across the creek. Michelle and I used to love crawling under the giant series of desks at the front.
2. Riding with Uncle Mitchell to see the Christmas lights, HIS Christmas lights.
3. Resting on the brown fake leather chair and propping my feet up on the brown fake leather foot stool (remember, the one with the silver metal frame!) when visiting your old office.
4. Driving on the old road - the one through Ramsey - before then-Gov. Baliles helped dedicate the new road that seems old-hat now.
5. The Lonesome Pine INTERNATIONAL Raceway
6. That awesome playground where Candi once got loose when we were playing. My favorite playground climbers of all time are the giant flowers that once stood there blooming along Main Street.
7. The caboose in the park
8. I was so proud of what the town had become when you took Camden and me on a tour a couple of years ago, showing us the old stores that had been refurbished and indeed revitalized. So proud of your vision, Dad. And your ability to get it done.
9. Fourth of July parades and fireworks down at the stage area.
10. Playing "office" in Dad's office, pretending to talk on the phone, take notes in legal pads, thumb through loose papers on his big desk. I felt so big, so important, knowing my dad was running an entire city.
I'm so happy for you, Dad.
Love,
me

Sooooo long since my last entry

I cannot believe I've forgotten about my BLOG! No good excuses. :(

The family is strong, however. In spite of a recent bout of stomach flu, ear infections, and general winter boredom. It's just too cold to play outside, and there's no snow to make it interesting.

I'm so excited about the possibility of getting my Doctorate of Education. Indiana University of Pennsylvania has a DEd program that meets off-campus starting again in the fall of 2007. The program is specifically tailored toward teaching future teachers on the college level, and that's exactly what I want to do. I can be thinking and praying and putting my application together for the next year, and then we'll see. I believe this is what I want. We'll see what God thinks of this idea. :)

Benjy has had an explosion of speech! He's putting some ending sounds on some of his words: bus, house, please. I could cry thinking about how far he has come in just the past month. I couldn't be more proud of him. I can tell he's proud of himself. When I tell respond to his speech, he seems to stand six inches taller. He's proud, too. I can tell.

Camden is READING!!! This child, who a year ago couldn't care less about written language, is reading!!! There's nothing like watching your child learn to read, reading with him, and watching in amazement as he decodes tricky words. Amazing. Truly, the gift of reading is one of the greatest there is.

Tomorrow we're off to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur exhibit. The kids are so excited. I'm going to take my new camera and HOPEFULLY get some great shots. The museum has this great dinosaur dig where kids put on safety goggles and chisel away at dino bones. The last time we went Benjy would have nothing to do with it (6 months ago). But now he says he's ready to wear the glasses and dig away. We'll see. Meanwhile, Camden would dig for hours if we'd let him. I just can't wait to see them so spellbound by the giant skeletons. Dinosaurs never lose their mystical hold on us. So huge, so alien, so REAL.

That Camden. This was shot at his birthday party. He wouldn't reveal his wish. I'm sure it had to do with Star Wars or something equally boyish.

Camden, my first-born. He looks so big. Sometimes I cannot believe he is mine. It seems like just yesterday I was watching my first ultrasound of him, a wiggling, squiggling little blob. He's still wiggling and squiggling, but he's no blob. He's a fully developed 6-year-old who is finding his place in the world. He can read, write, and solve the problem of world peace. ("No more bad guys!") He's my Camden. He has his father's chin/jaw and my temper. He kissed a girl goodbye tonight after karate. So young and yet so convinced he's going to marry her. He is so confident and proud of his accomplishments. A real schmoozer if ever there was one. My "baby Camden", as we used to call him. My "punkin head".

My Camden has grown before my eyes. He's interested in new things now, not the things of his younger brother. He's even managed to teach Benjy that Little People and Hot Wheels are for babies. No, he's into all things Darth Vader, space, and planets. Volcanoes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Heaven, hell (yes, hell), and angels. Camden is curious beyond imagination. I answer more questions every day than Google.com, I feel. He demands answers. He expects feedback. And I'm happy to oblige, even when I'm tired, without the strength for thoughts or speech. I'll find a way to answer him. It is my goal to never deprive his thirst for more information. He deserves the time to ponder the things that interest him. To dwell on the big ideas of his life. To offer up solutions to our dilemmas. "A child shall lead them...." No, he's not Jesus. But he's important just because he belongs to Him. He's Camden. He's mine. And he's his own. He's Camden.

One for the Thumb!

What a great year to be living near Pittsburgh! The Steelers won the Super Bowl last night, and I admit it's the first time in my LIFE I've watched it for the football and not merely the commercials. (Although I thought the Hummer ad was just freakin' funny, and the Budweiser magic fridge was a hoot. Apparently the best was the streaking sheep, but I miss that. Drat.) When the game ended, you could here car horns, fireworks, and just general shrieking all around. Yes, we picked a good year to move here. :)
What have I learned from my brief but intense flirtation with Steeler football?
1- Jerome Bettis is "The Bus." That makes Benjamin my minibus.
2- People think Ben Roethlisberger is one hot man. I think he's fine, but I don't care for the beard. Wonder if he'll shave it off now that they've won??????
3- Pittsburgh loves their Steelers so much that they opened the Pittsburgh Public Schools 2 hours late today in honor of the win. Now this is a city that knows how to have a bit of fun.
4- If you want a Steelers Champions shirt, you'd best go buy it RIGHT AFTER THE SUPER BOWL. Stores opened after the game last night and the shirts were sold out by morning here.
5- Troy Polamalu has a cool name, cool hair, and a catchy tune about how to pronounce his name.
6- Terrible Towels are all the rage. Now I want one of these gold numbers to wave around.
7- It is possible to reclaim our living room TV on game day. Camden even runs around in anticipation. Then, when the game starts, he disappears upstairs to play Star Wars. If only Darth Vader were a player. He'd watch it for sure then.
8- Apparently the Steelers are more than a winning team. They're full of character. Really. (Joey Parker's trash talk aside) I heard so many comments from news heads referring to the players' strength of character. From what I've seen in interviews with Bettis and Polamalu, among others here and there, it's true. Many of these men love God, play for each other, and recognize that their strength is in their numbers, not just in themselves. I just love that.
9- For some reason, you are not allowed to push off of another player as you pursue a pass. I don't get this. It seems to me that if you're allowed to knock the hell out of each other, you should be allowed to use that force to help you out a bit. But I don't write the rules of football. I barely know them.
10- Inspired by the game, Benjy now runs around the living room and hurls himself onto the ground, Steeler style. That's my minibus! He also shouts, "kick ball!" Amazing how this game has gripped us, turned us into Steeler fans, and helped my little boy pick up a few new words. :)

Here we go, Steelers! Here we go!

There's no way in the world you can live here, an hour east of Pittsburgh, and not be PSYCHED about the Steelers playing in the Super Bowl tomorrow. For a solid week I've worn the black and gold to work with jeans. Only during Super Bowl week would we be granted the privilege of wearing jeans to work all week long. Only during the Super Bowl would I see hundreds and hundreds of people around town proudly wearing their black and gold necklaces, hats, shirts, jackets, HAIR. Only during the Super Bowl would I hear the beat of Steelers tunes on the regional radio stations. One of my favorite songs is this little number from Mr. Devious: Polamalu Song. Be sure you click on the Polamalu (spelled Pohlamahlu on this site) tune to hear it. It's so freakin' funny!

OK, so it's obvious what we'll be up to tomorrow night. The boys, Curt, and I will all be decked out in favorite Steelers Tees, sipping our favorite beverages (Carnation Instant Breakfast chocolate milk for the boys...gotta sneak those nutrients in where you can!), and tuned into the Big Game. This will be the very first time I've watched the super bowl for something other than the commercials. I cannot tell you how excited I am! Win or lose, it's been a wild ride here in the Pittsburgh region. What a place to be!

Blessings

A few things God has blessed my life with:
* Benjy's first drawing of a fact (that I've seen before he destroyed, anyway!)
* Camden's sweet bedtime prayer: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. MY angels watch me through the night and wake me with the morning light. Dear God thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Benjy, me, Ellie and Emma. And please help the bad guys be good."

* A loving Dad for my boys. Curt is the most patient man I've ever known. He sits with Camden as he counts out 100 lollipops to take to kindergarten for 100s Day. He can play chase with both Benjy and Camden for a good bit of a Saturday afternoon. He can listen to the two of them carry on and never raise his voice. And he can even put up with my sometimes extreme mood swings. This man is a saint!
* Ellie, my lovely and loyal black lab/mutt. She's mostly deaf, not too bright, suffers from arthritis, incontinence, and just plain old age, and could use a bath. But she's been mine for longer than Curt! She's my Ellie Belly, beautiful and sweet.
* Creative time: God has blessed me with a creative gift. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I know it's there! I'm studying just how I can grow it and use it best in my new creativity journal. I'm forcing myself to carve out time to play with this in hopes of learning more about myself.
* A family I can count on: Even though I don't get to see my folks or sister often, I know they're out there, thinking of me and each other. I know we share a love and respect for each other, and I'm blessed to come from such a bonded and strong family.

fefe bi du

"Fefe bi du!"

So Benjy tells me every day. I have no trouble understanding this one. He started saying it one night as he, Camden and I were watching Madagascar. There's this one part where the alligator gobbles up the duck. Well, that was a shocking sight for Benjy. He immediately started talking about it. "Fefe" he would say. That means "alligator". "Bi" that means "bit". "Du". Well, that's obvious. "Fefe bi du!" He said this over and over and over and with an excitement that I've rarely seen in him when talking. I think that excitement was all about the amazing feeling of communicating. He was talking to me, and I understood him. And he KNEW it! Man, that's just so freakin' cool. You could tell it was a huge aha moment in his little life.

And so, he says it daily now. "Fefe bi du." He says it with the same excitment and expression that he had on that night as we watched the movie. "Fefe bi du." Amazing.