Home Field Advantage Run

I like it when a plan comes together. For years, I have had a dream of partnering with a minor league baseball team to do a 5K run that would highlight the need for foster care. I asked permission from our development department to approach our local team. The Greeneville Astros liked the idea and have taken it and run with it (pardon the pun there). They put the info on their web site this week. I am excited. The name comes from an essay I had written a few years ago that I modified to fit the local team. I will try to post the essay this weekend.

Easter Best

Here is a photo of Grace & James in their Easter best. Grace's dress is a "Mommy Made" special.



I snapped this shot of Shannon chatting with Ken Bowlin. I thought the clouds provided a nice backdrop for her beauty.

Church Update

It has been about two months since we started attending First Christian Church. There are several things we like about it and several things we would do differently. Let me try to break down our experience:

The worship style is more formal than we are accustomed. Some of the formality I enjoy, some I could do without. I particularly like the way the Lord’s Supper is served. The bread and juice are served at the same time and you partake when you are ready. I enjoy the music being played during that time as well. I find that very helpful in contemplation.

I could do without the organ. But have enjoyed the occasions when the instrumentation includes the piano or guitars and drums. I enjoyed the pleasant surprise last Sunday where they included some accapella music in the worship experience.

My mom once told me, “Steve, when you find the perfect church, you won’t fit in. Because, you are not perfect.” That bit of wisdom continues to hold true. There are things I would do differently, things I would change, but I feel there is a place for us there and a need for us there. I expect we will be placing membership soon.

Quick Update

I have not found the time to post in over a week. It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's that I think I have too much to say and don't know where to begin (church search update, Easter, beginning of James' baseball season, the foster family I spent time with last week.....). I will try to sift some thoughts out on these topics soon.

We had a delightful time as a family watching The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe this Sunday. The Easter Bunny was nice enough to give the family a copy. I have always identified with Edmond & Reepicheep as characters. But according to this quiz, I am Caspian. Who are you?

Spring Break at the Mall

Yes our family spent part of Spring Break at the Mall. Not the shopping mall but the national mall in Washington DC. Shannon's brother and his family live up their. Tony is currently an Army Fellow at the Institute of Defense Analysis (IDA). He is preparing to be in Iraq this summer for a year, so we wanted to spend some time with them before he left.

Here are some of the highlights of our trip.

After spending Wednesday at Mount Vernon, we went into DC on Thursday. Tony gave us an insiders tour of the pentagon and the then we went to Arlington for the changing of the guard. The shot below of Grace & James looking out over DC was from the JFK tomb site.



There are two tall objects in the picture above. One you recognize as the Washington Monument. The other is the clock tower of the old post office. We went there on Friday and I was able to take the picture below. It is free to get in with very short lines. The view is outstanding! We were able to see the capitol, the corner of the White House and up and down the mall.



Our Friday involved going to the Air & Space museum, the Old Post Ofice, the WWII memorial, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.





It was a good trip. James enjoyed playing wiffle ball with his cousins and Grace enjoyed spending time with older cousin Sara who broke out the Polly Pockets tub for some major girl fun. Tony & Stacy were gracious host and took great care of us.

Grace finished several big books on the trip and since James is now a reader, he took some to read as well. The funny thing was he would tell you how many words he read on each page. Even reading is a numbers thing for him.