Quick Update

-We went to my parents’ house in Opelika this last weekend. One of the reason we went down was to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Len & Monette Cochran. I have known this family for several years. Shannon, while a student at Auburn, lived in their basement and helped them when they were caring for the grandchildren for a while. It was great to see them and their family again.

-My mother introduced us to a new game while we were down there – Ladder Golf. It is scored similar to Horse Shoes but you throw golf ball bolas at a PVC pipe ladder. It was a great deal of fun and every one in the family could play which was nice.


-Keep my mom and dad in your prayers as they prepare to leave in a little over a week for a two-week mission trip to Romania to use English lessons as a way to introduce people to Jesus.

-Last week it became official, Shannon will be teaching 9th grade English at Greeneville High School next year. She is excited to be returning to the classroom.

James and I took in our first Greeneville Astros game Monday night. He has already asked when we could invite some of the players over. So I hopefully will have a dinner table guys update later this summer.

As for now, here is where all of our dinner table guys are:
Salem (Class High A)Troy Patton & Beau Torbert
Lexington (Class Low A)Chris Campos & Brad James
Tri Cities NY (Class A short season)Jake Hurry & Jordan Parraz
Greeneville (Rookie) Ralph Henriquez

Father's Day Thoughts

My family was great to me on Father's Day. I got breakfast in bed (which we then carried back down stairs so we could eat as a family), home made cards and a blindfolded suprise trip to lunch (it is a tradition the kids love).

The cards made the following observations about me:

James: Dad plays ball. Gets balls out of the trees

Grace: What a Dad does:
Tells jokes (some funny, some not)
Reads Harry Potter & C. S. Lewis
Plays games
Makes big splashes in the pool
Loves Mommy

It is always interesting to see how your children see you.

16 - Sweet!

Today is our 16th wedding anniversary. I have been told over and over again that I married above myself and I have to agree. I am a very, very, very lucky man!

Instead of posting a long tribute to my wife here (she deserves more glowing words that I could ever come up with), I will share a honeymoon story.

When we got married, I planned our honeymoon on a budget. I booked a one-bedroom cottage at Fontana Village in Western North Carolina. We got married in Jasper but drove down to Auburn to spend our wedding night in our home (the best duplex you could get for $250 a month). We finally got up sometime around lunch on Sunday and headed for North Carolina. I had looked at the map, and decided that if you went north from Atlanta, there was a straight shot to Fontana Village. Important geography lesson - there are no straight shots over mountains. Important mechanical lesson - 90hp VW diesel engines don't like mountains much. That was a great car but mountains weren't it's strong suit. We finally arrived at our one bedroom cottage about midnight. We got the key and as I was unpacking the car, I heard "Uh, Steve?"

I walk in the bedroom to find TWIN BEDS! What kind of jokester puts twin beds in a one-bedroom cottage? I promptly chunked the bedside table and lamp to the side, pushed the beds together and volunteered to sleep in the crack. We enjoyed our visit to Fontana Village and now that we live a little over 2 hours away, I plan for us to go back someday. But this time, I will ask how many beds are in a one-bedroom cottage.

Telling of a Transition

Saturday, I attended a memorial service for one of our medically fragile foster youth who had passed away. He had come to us 13 years ago as a 8 month old not expected to live more than a few months. After all, the only organ that worked well was his heart. Well, thanks to his amazing foster family and a great team of doctors, this little fellow exceeded expectations.

As the foster mother was sharing her thoughts about this child, she stated that the day he came home from the hospital, she found him being rocked by a doctor who was telling the young child about the things he was about to experience for the first time. Things like the sun, the wind, the trees, etc...

Then the foster mom related the conversations she had had with this child recently. It too was about the things he was about to experience. She told him he would be seeing relatives who have gone before, talking to some of the Bible heros about their exploits and most importantly, spending time with Jesus. Just like the doctor 13 years before, this loving foster mother was preparing her son for a transition, not just any transition but the ultimate transition.