Happy Birthday Becca

Becca turned 11 today. It was a busy day with a morning study with Bob Warren, a meal at the church and a short afternoon session that we squeezed in right before Adam's game.


Jackie always makes birthdays exciting with multiple parties, lots of decorations, lots of gifts and generally making a big deal.


This year was no different.


While Jackie and I were watching Adam's baseball game, Becca went with Robin to the dog park to spend one afternoon as close to heaven as she can describe. Just hanging out with Robin and the dogs.



When everyone returned from their separate ways in the late afternoon, Adam grilled steaks and Jackie fixed a cake for the party later.



We finished the day by playing a game of Phase 10.

Fun Day

Jackie has been doing "Fun Days" at Veteran's Park Elementary for seven years. As Becca finishes her fifth grade year there, Jackie and Becca will be doing a lot things there for the last time.

It was a hot day, so the teachers approved some water games. In the picture, Eli passes a leaky water bucket to Becca in a relay race.

Jackie was there to snap this picture.

Becca sets up a garage sale

This was another weekend that Jackie and Carmen went to some city ( this time it was Louisville ) for a volleyball tournament while Adam and I stayed in Lexington for baseball.

The thing that was different this weekend was Becca. She had a garage sale on Saturday morning before Mom and Carmen left for Louisville. On Friday night, I took a picture of the system that she planned on using for the cash she generated.

First you must know that we have a cash box so creativity was not necessary.

She tells me that she made six dollars. There may have been a lot of stuff (this is just one of the boxes), but I would have never guessed that she would do so well.

After the garage sale, Becca left for Girl Scout camp so Adam and I were home all Saturday afternoon and evening to mow, pull weeds, plant trees and flowers, transplant bushes, and other outdoor work that we offered to Jackie as an early Mother's Day present.

Sometimes it is good to be late

Martha couldn't understand why Jesus was late to heal Lazarus.

The early bird is a lot more famous than the second mouse as well.

Just before our group met tonight, I snapped a shot of this lone Azalea bud after a hard rain in the sunshine.

We had a hard freeze in April this spring after all the Bradford Pears, Azaleas, Lilacs and Wild Cherry Blossoms had bloomed. The few buds that were late were the only ones that survived.

This one flower was surrounded by buds that were once colorful and alive, but now are shriveled, dead and brown.

Separated by activities

Jackie left early this morning with Carmen for a volleyball tournament in Cincinnati. They had to be at the gym by 7:45 AM to ref an 8:00 AM game. There are twenty 16 year old teams there and I'm anxious to see how the four teams from Lexington do.

2007 KAEPA Aces Challenge

Adam, Becca and I are staying in Lexington for several baseball games at the Babe Ruth field in Veteran's Park. Adam had a JV game last night and plays the first varsity game this morning. ( If it isn't rained out )

Southeast Lexington Babe Ruth Baseball

Adam is playing for the JV Mets and the Varsity Twins.

Life groups at Tatesbrook

We started Life Groups at Tatesbrook this week. Our group met at Josh and Kresta's home. We had Root Beer Floats and shared stories with each other and prayed for the other groups. God led Jackie and I to minister to the ungrouped and the unchurched and the overchurched for several years, so it was really good to get back into a small group that had a common purpose of being the church.

I'm looking forward to several things about this group. One thing is the generational diversity. It is much broader than any group I have been in before.

The second thing is my coach's fixation on symbols. He has chosen our symbol to represent our group's general proximity of South Lexington. I can't wait to answer questions about why I wear this symbol on a T shirt. I figure that it will be a great conversation starter. ( One Way or No Way, which way is it? )

Volleyball in the Dome

Carmen played three matches on Friday and three matches on Saturday to qualify for the tournament on Sunday. The pool play on Friday and Saturday were in the Convention Center ( 60 courts in one room ). The tournament for Carmen's flight was in the dome.

The team has some highlights in team play and some low points with fatigue and individual play. There were 166 16 year old teams and the team that beat us on Saturday morning was from Club West in Laverne, CA. We played several teams from the Chicago area. The best team we played was from Topeka, Kansas on Friday night. They weren't even close to our talent level.

It was good to have Grandpa Etsinger at the games all weekend. Bill and Cheryl came down to the dome this morning to see the tournament game. We also celebrated Cheryl's birthday after the game.

Aunt Shirley served as our guide all weekend to make sure we ate well. Before I got up there on Saturday, she also helped Jackie find her car and point it in the right direction toward each event.

Adam accepts 2nd Place in State TSA Transportation Contest

Adam made a car out of wood, wheels from a Tonka Toy, lots of hot glue, and miscellaneous parts to take 2nd Place at the transportation contest for Southern Middle School at the State TSA Conference. His car made it farther up the 16 foot hill than all the others, but the judge couldn't give him first place because Adam had used a gear assembly from a hobby kit and that isn't exactly the spirit of the competition.

The winner's car flipped over, but it met the spirit of the competition.

The judge told Adam that he would have to fabricate his own gear assembly at the National Competition in Nashville in June.

Adam accepted the award on Saturday morning at an honors breakfast in Louisville. Tyler Farquat, who was a state officer in the TSA, stands to the right to congratulate him.

A big step forward for mother and daughter

Last spring and summer were a blur to us as we struggled through the last stages of cancer with Jackie's mother, Ruby.

One of the therapeutic activities that Jackie did before spending the last weeks in Indiana was to strip the wall paper in the bathrooms.

Carmen chose the new color for the room. We were all concerned that it might be too green. After nearly a year, we finally painted the walls with the settled paint (lots of stirring) while Jackie and Becca were in Chicago. The skill of the painter was also working against any chance of this room turning out right.

A week later, after two coats and several touch up jobs, the room glows green into the hallway. The green glow inspired me to take a picture that couldn't capture a fraction of the color.

Hinds' Cooler in High Places

Over a decade ago, a good friend in my small group encouraged me to read a book entitled Hinds' Feet in High Places. This friend intended to stretch me with this book because it is not the kind of book that I normally read.

I really enjoyed it.

This weekend, another friend decided to bring a cooler of ice water to our regular ultimate frisbee game on Sunday afternoons in Kirklevington Park. Upon hearing that, Adam decided to bring a bunch of water bottles that he and Kyle had bartered for at a Tates Creek High School home football game this fall. I was ecstatic about that idea because they would no longer be in our garage.

Now, since my good friend with the cooler has the last name of Hind and is a very good steward of her things, the cooler was labeled "Hind" with a Sharpie.

Since there were no tables out in the field, we had to improvise. Someone suggested hanging the cooler from a tree. I had some rope in the Jeep, so we proceeded with that plan.

Throughout the warm afternoon, water was provided for everyone playing frisbee and soon there were thirsty basketball players whose curiosity was piqued by the hanging cooler.

It wasn't until tonight at prayer that I realized that God had given us a great place to recreate and share with the community at Kirklevington Park. An answer to the prayers of both Mr. and Mrs. Hind. I guess we won't need to pour any concrete at the church right away.

I think those water bottles might be popular all summer long.

It would really be a strange small world if the husband of the first friend was responsible for introducing me to the friend with the cooler and that she would share the gospel with the man that has been praying for all of this recreation to end up being a way to share the gospel, wouldn't it.

Next week, someone needs to take a picture of "Hind's Cooler in High Places" and then have me committed to some kind of facility that will stop me from connecting the dots of God's steps.

Busy March....

I haven't posted anything for a while due to our continuous chasing after our children's events in the precious few hours that I am not working. Carmen has had a break from volleyball tournaments, but Adam has had two or three basketball games a week. Yes.. Adam was playing basketball. He made the team without any recent experience (YMCA, seven years ago) and actually learned the game by the end of the season. He is really growing fast as well.

Adam has also been involved in the Technology Student Association (TSA) so he misses school and practice for contests with other TSA clubs from other schools, counties and organizations. This picture is from a trip to the state capitol building in Frankfort.

Volleyball tournaments will resume next weekend.

Becca and Jackie go to Chicago

Becca had a great time in Chicago. She visited the American Girl store, Ed Debevic's, the museum of science and industry, Michigan Avenue shopping, a mid-evil show, and lots of bus trips.

Here is her video of a frozen "Michigan Lake".

Motivation from Despair

As I have studied the Bible and life over the years under several mentors, one thing that I have learned is that the best way to learn about ANYTHING, is to use, wear out and study THAT thing, not something ELSE.

The biggest THING in anyone's life should be their relationship with our creator. That is common to all mankind, part of us as created beings.


But there are other important things, too.

• Our relationship with the people in the church He established for His Son and inhabited by the Holy Spirit.
• Our relationship with our spouse, children, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins
• Our relationship with those we work with
• Our relationship with our neighbors ( Love your neighbor as yourself )

So, we should all spend more time "knowing the shepherd's voice" than knowing the ways of the enemy, but that satirical nature and the logical nature in me just loves to point out the obvious in the negative sense. One great literary writing that is an example of this is C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters".

In the area of leadership and personal discipline, I have often used www.Despair.com as a source for negative information that points to the ways of the enemy as he afflicts our fleshly desires.

This site makes fun of leaders and the things they do. It's convicting and sometimes painful to see the truth of our selfish flesh when it is amplified.

One encouraging piece of information for me is that the battle isn't over until it is over and I know who gets the credit for the victory. Until then, I'll just keep trying even if the world calls me "Stupid".

Which Superhero are you?

My brother posted his results for the following survey on his blog and my obsessive curiosity couldn't resist filling it out.

Your results:
You are Green Lantern
Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Green Lantern		95%
Superman		70%
Spider-Man		65%
The Flash		55%
Hulk		55%

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Early Bird Extravaganza ( Day 3 )

Monday was a bummer as we had hoped to face a few teams that we saw playing on other courts that were very beatable. I don't know what tournament bracket those teams made it into, but they weren't in the Ruby Tournament where we hoped to meet them.

We lost the first match of the single elimination tournament, but the girls should be proud of their effort all weekend as mostly 15 year olds in a 16 year old tournament. The results are posted on the BAVA website: Match Results

The girls are improving and they have several tournaments to go. Carmen got a lot of good experience returning 16 year serves and that will help her much more than last year's experience on the 14-2 team.

Carmen views her volleyball experience as "character building" since the losing humbles her, but she has asked why God wants to develop her character instead of someone else.

The coach has goals of getting the girls to play together more as a team and I think she has focused on the right thing. They all need to be more vocal and assertive. By the end of the year, I am sure they will be clicking like clockwork.

Early Bird Extravaganza ( Day 2 )

Our second day in Columbus started out with a late lunch with Keith at Buca Di Beppo Italian Restaurant.

I rode 20 miles on an exercise bike to try to overcome the sluggishness hanging over from Day 1, but I easily recreated that sluggish feeling with single order of fresh salmon with pesto from the lunch menu.

We ate at this restaurant with the team last year but the staff at Keith's hotel encouraged him to go there for lunch today so we went again. The food was fair, like last year. The restaurant's best features are its Front Street location and the variety of entertaining Italian artwork, statues and photographs.

A light lunch of pasta is also good for athletes planning on a long day. It's really too bad that only one of us would be participating in the tournament.

Carmen's first match was at 4:00 and her team played very well again. Her second match at 5:00 was the most difficult of the weekend. After watching them play at 3:00, we really thought that might have been our first win of the weekend. We were wrong. This team won our pool and we lost our pool, so it was very disappointing.

The net of two days of pool play puts us in the Ruby tournament. While we were driving home, Carmen wondered if Ruby was the third level: Gold, Silver, then Ruby. Jackie explained that there were a few more between Silver and Ruby: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Diamond,Emerald, Sapphire, and then Ruby.

We've also been enjoying my brother Keith's observations and commentary on the weekend. Keith is a retired consultant with an open mind, a frank speaker and a great writer. His research on our family was definitely widened this weekend.

Early Bird Extravaganza ( Day 1 )

The BAVA 16-2 girls played well today at the Early Bird Extravaganza in Columbus, but they came up short on all the matches. The second game of the first match was probably the best game that they have ever played.

There were 28 courts of volleyball and most were busy all day long.

I could really see the improvement in Carmen's play since she has been working at the HIT center. She is playing with more confidence.

Keith was excited about the variety of people at the conference center: Volleyball, Cheerleaders, United Nations and 4H.

He spent most of his time dealing with Becca's energy. She doesn't pay much attention to the volleyball game.

We enjoyed a surprisingly good meal at really reasonable prices from the Thai restaurant at the food court for dinner.

The Gospel in Six Minutes

We made it to Columbus late last night and I got to play Euchre with some of the other volleyball parents.

This morning I slept in until 7:45 and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast. We are eagerly awaiting Uncle Keith's arrival and the start of Carmen's tournaments this afternoon.

I had a chance to talk to a couple this morning in the lobby that had driven to Columbus from Maryland to participate in an annual musical event. I also met two families that drove from Pittsburgh to attend a Harley convention.

Columbus is the place to be!

After returning to the room, I found this simple testimony from John Piper that hits the mark.

Simply Good News

I finished reading a book that my nephew gave to me. His family knows the author because they have worked together on mission trips.

Ben gave it to me at Thanksgiving and I didn't finish it until mid January. The whole book was an interesting testimony but I particularly enjoyed chapter 8.

Chapter 8 talks about Awe, Honor, Respect and Trust that are necessary parts of any loving relationship. He states that taking away trust from any relationship will cause respect, honor and awe to fall away. Soon, we will not place time and energy toward honoring the other party. Certainly not the time and energy that we first invested when Awe was at its peak.

Our relationship with the Lord is similar because it is a loving relationship, but very different because the Lord never fails and is always deserving of our awe, honor, respect and trust. Bob suggests that these four characteristics are summed up in the phrase "the fear of the Lord".

Today, society is trained to seek a doctor when we are sick, a lawyer when we are in trouble, a pastor when we need spiritual counsel, or your favorite search engine when we need information. Jesus told us to "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God".

Judgment Day

A week after Dare2Share, several of us got a chance to show Tatesbrook a shortened version of the Judgment Day drama. Later, the youth shared their testimonies and Kim led the body in a cell phone exercise. It was very good to have Kent's praise band from BCM there to follow the sharing.

I sure am glad that God's got everything in control. Sometimes it doesn't seem like anyone is in control from our earthly perspective.

Video credits: Josh Wilson.
Directors and producers: Matt and Kim Hind

Beyond the Ultimate

I just got an email from my college roommate pointing me to the following website: Beyond the Ultimate

At this website, I found a new book to put on my wish list.

It is amazing that the Super Bowl became a platform for two Christian men to Go, Fight, Win in sharing the superior leadership styles of Jesus Christ and how those styles can unify and motivate athletes at the top of their game.

Super Bowl XVI was the third most watched event in all of history. And these two coaches demonstrated great sportsmanship on the field and pointed to the most significant event in all of history. Be sure to listen to Tony Dungy's view of our heavenly Father's ultimate sacrifice by choice.

Quote from Tony Dungy: “Football is a profession that is judged by performance and results,” says Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. “However, those things come and go so quickly that, as a coach, I have to base my career on something more."

Nice job, Tony and Lovie!
Nice job, Athletes in Action.
Nice job, Campus Crusade for Christ.

Dare2Share a Success!

We had a great time at Dare2Share. 4,300 kids collected 9 tons of food for the Salvation Army while they canvassed Columbus. Four of the twenty one kids that traveled from Lexington accepted Christ. All were eternally impacted.

GO! FIGHT! WIN!

Here's a picture that we took at Beechwold Christian Church. We all slept in the youth room on Friday and Saturday nights. We worshiped with them on Sunday morning and got back just in time to head to the Super Bowl Party.

Heading to Dare2Share 2007

Game Day

As we prepared to leave for Columbus today to reinforce this message:

• God created us to be with him.
• Our sins separate us from God.
• Sins cannot be erased by good deeds.
• Paying the price for sin, Jesus died.
• Everyone who trusts in Him has eternal life.
• Life that's eternal means we will be with Jesus forever in heaven.

I was amazed at the timing of this YouTube news report that a friend sent to me. I don't know the Newscaster or the Atheist, but I dare to say that neither are great world renown thinkers, pioneers and leaders like Albert Einstein, George Washington, C.S. Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Galileo and Columbus ( just to name a few )

I told Carmen about this report on the way to school and she saw the folly of at all quickly. How smart can they be if they compare the greatest leader and thinker to ever walk this earth to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. As Christians, we try to tell "the entire world" about Jesus Christ, but this guy is fighting an uphill battle recruiting from kids that don't appear to be very deep thinkers from the way they speak.



I can't help but wonder if this guy has read the book from which he quotes. Clearly, he doesn't know anything about the author or else he wouldn't have a smirk on his face about the attention that he is getting at the expense of teen age lives.

Ahhh! I look like Dad!

Not that long ago, Adam discovered that he could look like Carmen if he pulled his hair back and sucked in the sides of his face a little.
Ahhh! I look like Carmen!

A lot of people have been teasing Adam about his long hair, and others have asked me why I let him look like a hippie. "Can't you control your children". I usually tell them it is just a fad and it will pass. Given that he had a butch from the time he was six to the time he was 12, I think it is alright for him to have long hair.

At least it was not as bushy as mine was when I was in 7th grade. One the back of this photo, my mother had written "Playing Basket Ball now. doing real good."

Recently, Adam started playing basketball for Southern Middle School. He's learning the game very quickly.

Adam will not be shocked by this comparison, because people have compared our appearances before. Below you will find some pictures of both of us as 2 year olds in my father's work shoes.

He will be embarrassed, though. Adam is the one with his mouth open. He's always talking.

Carmen considering the IB Diploma Programme

Several teachers, community leaders and parents of Tates Creek High School have been pursuing a difficult goal of establishing TCHS as only the fifth high school in Kentucky to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

The program stresses how the student learns by thinking instead of repetition. It also has stringent requirements on course selection to ensure that the student is well rounded instead of advanced in his or her strengths.

Several of the teachers have already been inspired by the week long training at various locations throughout the world.

At one of the introduction meetings last week, there were several parents from private schools and magnet schools that were considering Tates Creek because of this IB programme.

There were several spokesman, but I was sold by the testimony of a product. This young lady was only 21 years old and had already graduated with two degrees from the University of Michigan because of the head start she received from her scores. She was very comfortable sharing a very small portion of her experiences. She sold me long before someone else disclosed that she had finished two degrees in three years at a major university.

It is hard to tell where Carmen will head to college, but knocking off a year of tuition will really help her stay out of debt:

• University of Louisville


• Purdue University


• University of Kentucky

I'd be interested in hearing any comments about the IB programme from educators, parents or students out there in blogdom.

BAVA Tournament Season begins

Carmen started out her club volleyball season with BAVA this last weekend in Indianapolis at the Central Zone tournament. The team did very well. They played four different teams and played well together against all four. After losing two matches to teams that were very beatable, they ran into a very tough team from Fort Wayne. They hung with that team very well, but were clearly under experienced as mostly 15 year olds in that game.

The crossover match against the #3 team from another pool was very exciting and a great way to end the long day with a win.

I think it is going to be a great season. I caught Carmen smiling a few times, so I know that she enjoyed playing with seven other players and a coach that want to play well, improve and win.

We started out the day with a huge scare as Julie, our setter, went down with an injured knee during warmups before the first game. One of the dad's is a physical therapist and had her all t taped up and ready to play for the game and kept her going all day.

Happy Birthday Kim!

For Dr. Kim's birthday, a group of us went riding in the mud. I had to get the bikes down from the ceiling of the garage, put air in the tires and oil the chains and derailures since we didn't ride very much in 2006.

In fact, I think that our ride today was longer than the total for 2006, so we're off to a good start for 2007.

It was good to have Kelly with us. Matt and Kim are great mountain bikers in terms of strength, stamina and technical riding skills, but Kelly throws in some additional entertainment by jumping his bike over things. It was really amazing to me that he could do that with a muddy bike. I have never been able to do it with a clean bike.

Carmen and Matt headed home after our first two loops and Kim, Kelly and I took a third loop. I told Matt that I wanted to take pictures of the muddy bikes and people so he was stuck with the assignment of keeping Carmen from washing her bike when she got home.

As you can see from the photos, Matt completed his mission.

Best Movies of 2006

After seeing a few lists of the Best and Worst of 2006, I've determined that our family is from another planet.

There were 15 movies that the Eby family decided to go see at the theater, rent or purchase a DVD in 2006 and I have ranked the top ten:

1. End of the Spear ( Dad's Favorite )
   
2. We are Marshall ( Adam's Favorite, Becca's Favorite )
   
3. Guardian
4. Invincible
5. Cars
6. Stealth
7. Mission Impossible III
8. Pursuit of Happyness
9. Over the Hedge
10. Walk the Line

Christmas in Wakarusa ( with Uncle Keith )

I write about the Etsinger traditions more often than the Eby traditions but after reading some of my brother's blogs about the Eby Family, I think that it is important to document some of my perspectives as well.

I wonder what Keith, Mom and Dad all think when every gift opening is followed by intense game playing.

Every year, at every age, the kids have amazed me at how intensely they compete with each other and with Uncle Keith. They normally are competitive, but somehow or the other, their view of Keith being the ultimate game player and their ability to win with him on their team is like adrenaline to their competitive spirit.

This year, Jackie got Cranium for Uncle Keith and we all dove into the game that afternoon. ( OK, Keith has an effect on me, too. And Jackie never needs a reason to play a game to its finish no matter who wins )

Keith only has a short time each year to influence the kids but he is very effective in that short period of time. I was really impressed this year at how he responded to Adam's comment to Carmen about getting a new and better iPod because he destroyed last year's model. Keith quickly pointed out that Carmen now had the chance to have an iPod AND a new gift.

Opening that new gift brought a smile to Carmen's face and provided yet another life lesson to Adam. Adam likes to collect life lessons from many sources....

Adam then proceeded to teach Uncle Keith how to shoot paintball guns at objects that would have grounded Keith for several weeks if he were Adam's age.

The target on the right side is a fungus that is growing on one of Dad's trees. This is a target that is marginally appropriate because it will be a constant reminder to Grandma and Grandpa that "Adam was here" ( Good ) but will also be a concern that it will damage the tree.

The target on the left side is one I never would have attempted as a child. Keith wisely claimed that he was not good enough to hit the post and that Adam was the only one who could.

All and all, it was a great Christmas for the Eby family.

I'm not sure why Carmen and I get a reputation of "not smiling", but I'll accept that it is true. Many people think that I look disappointed when I am just thinking and many people think that Carmen is deep in thought when she is just listening or observing. Carmen perfected the "furrowed brow" look at a very young age.

Christmas Card 2006

This is our 19th Christmas letter in 21 seasons of Christmas as husband and wife. Remembering our Savior and sharing our lives with each other is a great way to end every year.

This has been a difficult year for Jackie’s side of the family.

Early in the year, we learned that Jackie’s mother’s battle with cancer was not over. This year, her healing came in the form of a new body for Ruby. Much of Jackie and Becca’s summer was in Indiana spending precious time with Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the family.

For a family that is steeped in traditions of laughter, activity, fellowship and helping others, this was a very different summer. One full of tears, comfort, pain, prayer and song. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of stress, but it was always balanced with promise and hope.

Over Thanksgiving, we continued on with the Etsinger traditions without Grandma with joy and sorrow. Each of the daughters helped Grandpa with the meal and Aunt Shirley brought balloons to send off with a message of thanks associated with the privilege of knowing Ruby as a wife, mother or grandmother.

The community response in Wakarusa and Nappanee brought back fond memories. We miss it dearly and have questioned our placement in Lexington more this year than ever before.

But now we look to the new. The new year, a new marriage Stephanie ( Jackie’s niece ) married Peter in the spring and new life as we take Ruby’s role of dropping subtle hints about finding suitable partners, getting married and starting families like hers and her children’s.

In this season of Christmas, we pray that you have the grace, peace and hope that Christ offers before, during and after death. ENJOY LIFE NOW!

Christmas Card 2006 - Kevin & Jackie

Old School: TRADITIONAL, RESOLVED, COMMITTED, DEDICATED, INSATIABLE, GROWING UP AN ACTIVE FAMILY

A few years ago, Jackie and I determined that we were going to take our first cruise together on our 20th anniversary.

Instead, God intended for us to spend our 20th in Wakarusa with family and we enjoyed a dinner at Cook’s Pizza. Several meals alone with Grandpa during this time taught me a lot about love and marriage. The cruise will have to wait. Maybe on our 25th anniversary.

I’ve been spending more time in fellowship at church playing Ultimate Frisbee and demonstrating my age by the number of recurring injuries that I can amass.

Jackie is looking forward to next year when she can cross elementary school off of her places to be active.

She will continue to help out at the Middle and High School wherever help is needed, but that is not as demanding as Elementary School.

Christmas Card 2006 - Carmen

High School: VOLLEYBALL, FCA, YOUTH, VOLLEYBALL, HOMEWORK, STUDYING, CLOSE FRIENDS, AIM

After graduation from Southern Middle School with all A’s, Carmen’s first semester at Tates Creek High School has gone very well. She is working very hard in several challenging classes (Geometry and Earth Space). She is also looking into an international diploma program that will keep the challenges coming.

The Freshmen Volleyball team at TCHS had only 6 players this year, so there were no substitutions, no absences, no excuses. Carmen received the defensive MVP award at the end of their 13-4 season. A growing experience.

Carmen is starting her third season in club volleyball and has accepted a position on the second team of a higher age level. We are excited about the competition and opportunity for development at that level.

Carmen remains active in her youth group at church. She had a great time at Dare2Share and at B.A.S.I.C. Training Camp.

Christmas Card 2006 - Adam

Middle School: BASEBALL, DRUMMING, YOUTH, ONE-WAY, FOOTBALL, CHEERING, DANCING, SOCIALIZING, PAINTBALL, TALKING, MYSPACE, TSA, AIM.

This was Adam’s final year of Cal Ripken baseball and he decided to accept a position on the all-star team. Had we known that Grandma would be heading to the hospital and hospice so quickly, we may have turned that down.

Adam graduated from Tide football to Southern Middle School football. He made the A team as a seventh grader and is looking forward to next year.

Adam has grown at least 6 inches in the last few months and is now taller than both his mother and his older sister, but not as tall as his feet.

Adam has grown socially in leaps and bounds. He relates to people of all ages and was really challenged by the Dare2Share conference at the beginning of 2006. He’s looking forward to another year of impacting lives for Christ.

Adam has played 10 different percussion instruments for 6 different crowds in 7 days this week. He is not afraid of anything.

Christmas Card 2006 - Becca

Elementary School: AMERICAN GIRL, ANIMAL LOVER, TV, PURPLE, PARTIES, SHOPPING, FRIENDS, DOG PARK

Becca still loves to play, but is starting to move away from the dolls a little bit and starting to be more concerned about her own clothes.

After dragging Carmen to the malls for years, Jackie has been having fun taking Becca to some of the stores that they can enjoy together.

Becca loves being with her friends from church, school and Girl Scouts. She loves to talk and has been told that she has her mother’s laugh!

During the summer, Becca spent more time at the hospital and nursing home than anyone else in our family. Those memories will be with her for a lifetime.

She has found a new favorite pastime of going with Robin and her four dogs to the dog park. To further develop her animal lover heart, she has an interview program on the school video news show. She interviews pets and their owners.

Christmas Letter

I've been on vacation this week and catching up with shopping and end of the year activities at home, church and work.

On Tuesday, Jackie and I decided that we had time to squeeze the Christmas letter in before Christmas (unlike last year), so we made a mad blitz and completed it in less than 48 hours. Writing the first word on Tuesday night to mailing the last letter on Thursday afternoon. We are still personally handing out a few of them to neighbors and friends with cookies, but I'm considering the job done.

Jackie actively participated in the editing process, and contributed significantly in the writing.

Special recognition goes to Adam this year. He edited, folded, glued, stamped and mailed approximately 180 letters. I really enjoy working with someone that pushes me as hard as I push him.

So... If you are on the list, the letter is in the mail

School Spirit

When Adam starting taking drum lessons over two years ago, Michael Harrington warned us that he would begin to get in trouble at school for tapping his desk with pencils, stomping his feet and general disruption associated with the rhythm in his head.

This week, in addition to several band concerts, he is also been stomping out a beat with the Southern Middle School student section. Tonight, he and Kyle convinced their principal to demonstrate her school spirit by stomping with them.

Southern Band Concert

Last year at the Southern Band concert, Adam played some really fun songs on the bells and some jazz on a drum set. This year, he added the kettle drum and the chimes. I really liked the chimes in the song they chose.

The first set was the combined percussion from the 6th, 7th and 8th grade. Adam played the snare for this song. On Monday, Adam and the rest of the Southern Middle percussion section will be performing with the Tates Creek High School percussion section at the Singletary Performing Arts Center at UK. We're looking forward to that.

We sat with the Cornett's and were asked to help count how many times Olivia rolled her eyes. I captured one in this picture.

The City - Our last entrepreneur

Tomorrow afternoon, Jackie will move the last refrigerator box to a VPE City. Becca's group entrepreneurial project is a Hair and Nail Salon. The pink polka dot patterns should grab lots of attention.

Jackie and I helped the kids paint their booth in our garage last weekend while it was 15 degrees outside. Since it is 60 degrees today and this weekend, I'm sure they wish they would have procrastinated. My garage floor is pink now and so are the old T shirts that Jackie loaned them.

Becca worked with a group of six girls on the project and they have a tight schedule for selling manicures, face paintings, hand made jewelry and other strictly girl stuff.

We'll see how they do given that they have eliminated half of their potential market.

Neighborhood Vandals - Aarghh!

Last Friday afternoon, while walking home from school, Adam noticed that someone had knocked over some Christmas decorations in an older couple's yard. He stopped to set them up and continued on his way home wondering why anyone would do such a thing. ( He helps set up the Christmas decorations at our house and knows it takes time to get it all working just right )

When we moved into our house 6 years ago, it came with an adjustable basketball goal. That goal saw some good usage in the first 6 years, but this summer, someone decided to dunk the ball and hang on the rim. After that demonstration, the goal hung at 30 degrees for the remainder of the summer.

Adam decided to fix the goal on Saturday with my bar clamp.

That very evening, between 11:30 and 12:00, Buster started barking at something. Normally, Jackie gets up to pound on the window to make Buster stop, but she didn't this time. We woke up on Sunday morning and suspected that Buster was barking at some boys that were out "Deer Tipping", since our two Christmas deer were laying on their sides.

On Sunday night, when it got dark there were at least 6 houses that discovered that their Christmas lights had been snipped. Apparently, these "Deer Tipping" boys were also carrying wire cutters or hedge clippers. They cut a lot of wires in a very short time.

Within an hour, Jackie called the omsbudsman that normally calls us about Adam's fort and Buster's barking and told him that we are going to sharpen Buster's teeth and teach him to bark louder. I also suggested to Jackie and one of the neighbors that our whole neighborhood pack up our lights, take down our Christmas trees, and give away all the boys toys to boys in other neighborhoods.

12 hours later, I think we'll just get new Christmas lights and pray for the boys, whoever they are.

Starting a Christmas Letter (not)

It is going to be tough to start the Christmas letter this year. I am certain that the things that we have learned about Bud and Ruby, ourselves, and our family will be the majority of the letter, but I just can't get started today.

Instead, I continued to add recipes to the blog that I started for the family to continue traditions of love, service family and food that Ruby modeled so well.

Ruby's recipes

Freakonomics

I just finished reading a book that was given to me by a friend who thought I might enjoy it. The title of the book is Freakonomics and the authors, Steven D. Levitt (economist) and Stephen J. Dubner (writer), present their data on many topics from an economists point of view.

He basically places himself selfishly into any set of rules and determines what the factors are that are most likely to be measurable and then looks for data that supports his theory. Sort of an anti-scientist.

I'm looking forward to future books where Steven can prove some of my life long theories correct. [ Sun screen is a hoax, Cholesterol is a hoax, Dental fillings are a hoax, .... ]

The book is rivoting...

Here is something to think about in terms of Natural Selection. Some of the most famous proponents of Natural Selection to date are Adolf Hitler ( to eliminate Jews ), Pharaoh ( to eliminate Moses ), Charles Darwin ( to eliminate defects [ anyone not like Darwin ] ), King Herod ( to eliminate Jesus the Christ ).

Freakonomics presents a very strong case that the United States has actually exceeded all of those proponents in terms of results starting with Roe Vs. Wade. By killing a statistically significant number of unwanted babies before they are born, we have very inefficiently eliminated a fraction of the violent criminals that would have existed. I don't recall the exact inefficiency that Steven stated but it was something like "for every 100 babies killed, we eliminate one violent criminal before he is born". The only reason that this had any impact on violent crime was because of the huge number of babies that were killed over many, many years.

Darwin would have been proud of the United States.