Father Daughter 2011

Father Daughter Gala photo by Shane Greene. January 2011 St. Lukes Methodist Church

Cabin & Deer Hunting

Chris and I met Randy, Granddaddy Harold, and Tony at the Cabin on Friday November 12. Chris' first deer hunting trip.

We don't get to the woods until 8 AM. We some squirrels and that is all. Chris shoots the 410 gage shotgun. It is the first time he has shot a real gun.

Sunday, we all shot skeet. Lisa, Ariawantia, and Sarah came down the Cabin.

Murray's Mill 2010

Chris and I finally found Murray's Mill in Catawba on Saturday September 25. It was very hot. We met Civil War (War of Nothern Aggression) soldiers. Chris is holding a muzzle loading gun here. The soldiers had a recreated war camp across from the mill pond. We also walked through the mill.

There was Bluegrass and Gospel music. Area scouts had a wooden foot stool kit available. Chris made one. We saw old tractors and old cars.

beach trip 2010

On our way to a weekend with sisters and their families to Cherry Grove, SC. Stayed the night at Holiday Inn Express in Laurinburg. Half way. Up early as usual.

Chris' Birthday Party

We have 20 kids in the church fellowship hall. Jump ropes and bead crafts keep them busy for two hours. I cook frozen pizzas and Lisa decorates a cake like Olympic medals.

I must disassemble and reassemble the chairs for the contemporary service. I get help from Amy and her kids. We go to the Bethlehem Star lighting after eating at PJ's. It is very cold, 30's.

Home & School

Refinanced house at 4 7/8% at regional brokerage company. Cut monthly house payment 40% with some cash left over.

Had conference with home room teachers, PE teacher, Latin teacher, and grammer school principal. A lot of support in the raising and educating of my oldest.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving lunch. Track down and cut Christmas tree on Friday. Decorate tree on Saturday. Free on Sunday. Thankful for my blessings.

Easter

Sunday, Lisa made a big breakfast. Cinnamon buns, fresh fruit, eggs and sausage. I took the kids to Sunday School. Sarah wore a pretty peach colored dress. Christopher had on a pin stripped suit with a orange shirt and his sports tie. Both pretty and handsome, respectively.

I ushered during the Traditional service. A full house with lots of families from out of town attending. The count was 532. Lisa got photos of the kids after church.

We made to my sister's house about 1:30 pm. They were waiting on us. Most everyone was there. David, Martha, Lynne, Dalton, Little David, Sharon, Phil, Zachary, Thad, Meredith, Grace, Gary, Rachel, Little Dalton, me, Lisa, Sarah, Christopher, Lori, Tony, Alan, and Marlyn. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and played outside on a beautiful day. I brought China trip photos.

The guys played Scrabble including me,Thad, Zachary, and Phil. Zachary crushed everyone in the first game and I eked out a victory in the second game. For the record dib is a word(def. to fish by letting the bait bob lightly on the water). And epi is a word (noun, a self-report personality inventory based on Hans Eysenck's factor analysis of personality which assumes three basic factors). Fun.

We had ham and turkey, several casseroles, and potato salad. There was beets, and slaw. And strawberry cake a'la Martha, pound cake and strawberries, and a spice cake/ Birthday cake. Sharon's birthday with Gary's on Wednesday.

Busy Friday

30 January 2009 Friday

Stay home today and take the kids to school. It is something to get them
moving and ready for school. I take them in the Jeep and drop them off in
front of HCA before 8 AM. Lisa and I go to Cafe Gouda in Viewmont. I have a
hot chocolate and she has a coffee. We see Sheri Cerrito at the cafe. Lisa
also sees her old neighbor Police Chief Adkins. She tells him about my trip
and wants a squad car around the house while I am gone to Asia. He says to
give him a call.

I take Lisa home and head to Smurfit-Stone in Shelby. I and a colleague are
visiting to discuss SS bankruptcy. They assure us of their ability to
service our account and stay in business. During a tour of the plant, the
guys tell me the big machines are working 4 days a week. These machines are
the ones making the furniture cartons. We inspect our stocks at their
warehouse next door.

Head home from Shelby. I stop and get tire prices for the Jeep. Tire
Kingdom $604 and Sam's Club $577. I don't like Sam's their service is bad.

I get Christopher at school. We go to his Suzuki piano lesson. We work on
his math superstar sheet in the car. The lesson is good. Chris really
enjoys and understands his piano work.

We go home. Sarah is getting ready for the Thirteenth Annual Father
Daughter Gala at St. Luke's. Lisa has put Sarah's Hair up in a "rose
garden" hairdo. Lisa prepared a fruit platter with pineapples and
strawberries.

We go to the dance. We meet Tim and Caroline Turner in the photography
line. Sarah and I have our photo taken by Shane and Bonnie Greene. Some
other folks at the Dance include Tom and Sarah Helfert, Chris and Virginia
Tanner at our table. Also, David, Darah, and Dana Watson; David, Savannah,
and Rachel Washco; Chris, Allie, and Carmen Cerrito; David, Courtney, and
Nicole Ko.; Sarah and I stay until the end. 10 PM. We had a great time.
(02.03.09)

Busy weekend before Christmas

Busy weekend before Christmas. Phew!

Friday night out with famiy and Debbie. Dinner at Bethlehem Fish & Steak. There for 3 hours. A good time had by all. Kids in bed about 10 pm.

Saturday morning. Leaving an hour behind schedule for trip to Weddington. It only takes us 1-1/2 hours instead of the 2 I remembered. Got there about 12:30 pm. Everyone played nice. They did pick on Lisa about her numbering of the gifts. We left after 5 pm instead of my planned 4 pm departure time.

Saturday afternoon. We take Gigi home before going to Lori's house. G is whining on the trip home. It about drives me crazy. Eat snacks at Lori's and chat. Great chicken salad. Onto David's house, for presents and more food.

Lori and Sharon buy dollar gifts and we play a game. Lori reads "Frosty the Snowman". We each receive a gift after pulling a number from a bowl. We are given the gift by Grace and Alan. Then Lori reads her story. We pass our gift right on "Frosty" and left on "snow." It was fun and silly game. Kids in bed about 10:30 pm.

Sunday morning. Must get kids to church by nine for the children's Christmas Pageant. Sarah is Balthazar the Magi. Wears a gold crown and long beard. Chris is the head shepherd. Sarah has a speaking part and sings parts of "We Three Kings" solo. Chris has three lines in the pageant. They both did really great. Lisa and I sat on the front row with Roger and Megan Y. and family.

Sunday afternoon. Crafts for Lisa and kids. I rested. Yeah! We went to Candlelight Service at 4:30 pm. Beautiful service. Kids are wiggly and a little grumpy. They both want to snuggle up to Lisa. Kids in bed by 8:00 pm.

Sunday night. Stayed up to watch the New York Giants beat the Carolina Panthers 31-28. Giants clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Me in bed at 11:30 pm, too late.

Monday morning. I am up and go to work by 6:15 am.

Christmas Tree

Decorated the Christmas tree last night. All the kid's ornaments from years past. Needed to keep them out of the reach of the dog.

Monday Must be Scouts

Tiger Scout Den meeting. Last one of the year. Chad Burel lead the scouts. We accomplished item 4D on our Tiger Trail.

Marking outlines of scouts on rolls of paper. And playing with styrofoam cups and ribbons to make phones.

Lisa took Chris to buy a Hot Wheel track with his birthday money at Toys-R-Us. He was really excited about playing with it. His mom made him finish his homework first.