at fives and sixes

 

Our Rhett turned five a few weeks ago.

On his birthday, he came over to my house with his mom (our Erica), baby brother Elliot (a/k/a Skippy), and cousin Dagny for a swim party.

His birthday party was scheduled for a few days later, at his house.

We assembled there in the early afternoon and commenced to celebrate with hamburgers and hot dogs done by Chad on the grill, with all the trimmings.

Erica had decorated in patriotic fashion

Aunt Stephanie came from North Carolina to be there, along with Melanie, who is doing so well and we are enormously grateful.

The theme of our party was the Red, White, and Blue.

Rhett is so enamored of the individual states, that he is proficient in naming them in order, and stating their capitals.

He can also name any state by seeing the outline of it.

Recently there was a discussion around the pool about the identity of a state that someone (an adult) was viewing without benefit of words or context.

The smallest details were seen to

It was shown to Rhett, who at once identified the shape as Iowa.

(Capital: Des Moines.)

But someone in the group expressed doubt about Rhett’s answer.

I’m not wrong, he said quietly but firmly.

It's not a party without Martin's Potato Rolls

But you would have had to hear him say it. Rhett talks with a slight stutter, which is all kinds of adorable. At least for now.

So it came out I’m nooooot wrong. And he wasn’t.

I wish you could have been there.

His mother had decorated the house in the patriotic theme, and had bought his small birthday cake at a local grocery store.

Rhett was so excited about that cake that he was taking anyone who would follow him to the fridge, opening it and pointing to the dessert and saying It came from Lowes Foods.

This creation was sourced at Lowes Foods

Lowes Foods is an exciting place to shop for the boys, since they each get to push their own mini grocery cart.

Erica says it’s a game changer.

By the way, the method by which Rhett learned every US state and its capital, was Erica playing educational YouTubes while the children play in their TV room.

Rhett took to it like wildfire, of course, and tht’s a big part of it. But still. He heard the states and their capitals so many times that he memorized them without much real effort.

The coleslaw added freshness and tang

And he has been able to do this since he was four.

I told him he needs to now learn each state’s nickname, so that for Iowa for example, he could have said That’s Iowa, the Hawkeye State. 

We don’t ask for much.

But it seems that our Rhett is transitioning into being able to identify the planets, with an intense interest in the entire solar system. I’m sure there’s a YouTube behind that.

For his birthday, in addition to the aforementioned hamburgers and hot dogs, there were barbecue baked beans and Erica’s excellent coleslaw.

Appropriate burger fixin's

After the meal, the little cake was cut and everyone had a piece.

Of course, there was a five candle and we sang to Rhett.

Then he opened his gifts. He’s also deeply into Numberblocks, so a few of his gifts were related to that current obsession. 

He got the singing Five Numberblock, for example. After five minutes I begged Erica to temporarily disable the singing part.

Skippy at the party

The pirate can already count with amazing accuracy, thank you.

I had found for him, on sale at Old Navy, a picnic and play blanket displaying the United States and honoring the two-hundred-fiftieth birthday of America.

It was a big hit and a quality gift, so I was pleased that he liked it. It will last the boys a long time.

I got him several pairs of pants too, since Erica reported that he’s grown so tall, he needed new ones.

It was a wonderful and memorable celebration.

Rhett and me ... plus Sybil Ann

In that particular family, Skippy is up next, with his third birthday taking place at the end of September.

Since I’m on the inside track, I know that the theme of his birthday party is likely to be Waffle House.

The kid loves Waffle House.

We’re not sure yet whether we will convene at a local WaHo for the actual shindig, or stage a waffle bar at home.

I’ll keep you informed as events unfold.

The moment that he had been waiting for

But first we have our Guy’s third birthday, which takes place in about ten days.

We’re not sure when or where we will celebrate with him, but I’ve already got one present for him and I’m contemplating the purchase of perhaps one more.

Speaking of Guy, recently Andrew discovered him sitting on his (Andrew’s) bedside table, “reading” Andrew’s Bible.

(Guy can’t read.)

Andrew said What’re you doing, Bud? And Guy responded, I’m reading about Jesus.

Reading the Word

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2 KJV)

Praise be.

Then we have our Stephanie’s birthday, which we traditionally observe on Labor Day, since it takes place right around there.

I already have her gift. It’s a girly present and I think she will be pleased.

Rhett's USA-centric picnic and play blanket

I also have the menu planned and it will include pulled pork barbecue along with the sides everyone associates with that.

It’s usually the last swimming holiday of the year, which makes me sad because we have enjoyed our pool so much during this sweltering summer.

In fact, tonight we are having a back-to-school swim party with hot dogs, chips, and Mamaw’s semi-homemade mac and cheese, washed down with soda pop and followed by ice cream novelties that Papaw keeps stocked in the garage freezer.

The Chericas will be here, and Audrey and Dagny. Our Mike is in Florida on business, so we will miss him.

Mike had a birthday a week ago, and we celebrated on this past Saturday with a party at his and Audrey's house. My contribution was a pineapple upside-down cake from this recipe. It's Mike's favorite. The cake was scrumptious.

My angelic grandsons in a staged photo

Meanwhile, in the vein of back to school, our Ember returned to class at the end of July.

I think that going to school in July is ridiculous but what are you going to do.

At any rate, she had a stellar first day and first few weeks, and has announced that her favorite subject by far, is Science.

(Which made TG, her Papaw, who holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry, proud and happy.)

This life is full of firsts

Rhett, who will be home schooled, will begin Kindergarten in a few days.

And our Allissa is starting college in East Tennessee, next week.

As for Ember, she was chuffed this past week when, in classic six-year-old style, she lost her two front teeth.

The first one came out at breakfast, and the second one followed later that evening.

She was thrilled with only one missing

Dagny, also home schooled, started back to classes today.

Her mother, our Audrey, has ordered a few Land’s End uniforms for her to wear during her morning studies.

But they found a cute uniform at a thrift store in Asheville, North Carolina, where she and Dagny spent a few days recently.

Dagny a seventh grader? Unbelievable.

Aren’t they the cleverest girls?

Dagny is entering the seventh grade.

All this book learning has exhausted me. It’s strenuous enough just keeping up me pirate standards in other areas.

So we will continue celebrating, and working, and rejoicing, until the day break, and the shadows flee away!

And that is all for now.

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Happy Thursday

reason to rejoice

 

Our Andrew has been home for a week. He does not live here, but he’s at his own home in East Tennessee.

It was a busy week for us. Rhett turned five this past Thursday, and on Saturday we had a party for him. I’ll share pictures of that event later.

As to the homecoming, we are all ecstatic but no one more than Andrew himself.

The trip home was a long haul, but not as long as the stressful months that led up to it.

Before departing from Chania/Souda Air Base on the Greek island of Crete, where Andrew had been stationed since early February, he let us know how to track his flight on one of the several websites that allow you to do that.

It’s seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time there, and the plane was set to depart shortly after midnight. So it was late afternoon for us.

He was over France

TG and I on our separate devices, and Audrey and Erica on theirs, called up his information and were able to find the plane and track it as it made its way west across Europe.

All was well until the aircraft got out over the Atlantic Ocean, at which point the website stopped tracking the plane.

This was at about bedtime here on the East Coast, so I went to sleep knowing that I’d likely be awakened by an early morning text from Andrew saying he was about to embark on the final leg of the journey.

(They had to stop in Bangor, Maine to refuel and reconfigure the passenger list and so forth, before flying to Knoxville.)

I woke up at six o’clock and went to my laptop to see if the website had resumed tracking Andrew’s flight.

Guy wanted to see the cockpit

It had; they were at that point a little to the northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Then I noticed that Andrew had texted me an hour previous to that, or five o’clock in the morning. I’d missed it. 

He said, leaving Bangor. Home in two hours.

Andrew arrived at McGhee Tyson Airport early in the morning of Monday, July 20, 2026, after about fifteen hours of travel.

Brittany was there with the children, having dressed them so sweetly in patriotic outfits.

The homecoming was mostly a surprise for them. They were kept in the dark until the eleventh hour, because military travel plans often change at the last minute.

Talk about a dream come true

But they were more than ready to see their daddy step off the tanker onto the tarmac.

That reminds me of a funny story. 

In the military, nicknames abound. Sometimes they are referred to as personal call signs.

At any rate, Andrew’s call sign is TARMAC. It is of recent vintage — as in, it was attached to him during this deployment.

He showed me a picture of the patch he wears on his uniform, to that effect: TARMAC.

I said, why are you called TARMAC?

TARMAC and son ... on the tarmac

He sheepishly replied: It stands for Took A Rented Moped And Crashed.

? ? ? ? ? ?

(I don’t believe that “took” in this context means took without permission. It was a rented machine but the “took” fit in to make TARMAC.)

One or more of his buddies came up with that and I think it’s hysterical. Going forward, I shall employ that nickname as much as possible.

Even though I have yet to be told the particulars of the event that led to the invention of that moniker.

Meanwhile Andrew has been enjoying to the hilt what I call the blessing of ordinary days.

Home is where the heart is

He is taking a few weeks to rest and hang out with Ember and Guy before Ember goes back to school. She will be entering the first grade in mid to late August.

I’m sure that there will be some excellent late-summer adventures leading up to the start of the new school year.

So there has been a great deal of rejoicing. I thank the ones of you who I know are rejoicing with us. It means a lot.

We will continue in that vein until the day break, and the shadows flee away!

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday

A dozen years of Dagny

 

Our dolly-belle Dagny is twelve years old. Can you believe?

Her birthday fell in mid-June, and naturally we celebrated with two parties.

The first event took place on the Friday evening before her Sunday birthday.

TG and I, Audrey, Dagny, Erica, Rhett, and Elliot gathered at the Mexican restaurant of the birthday girl's choosing, for a festive dinner.

Mike and Chad weren't able to come but they got in on phase two of the partying, the next day at our house.

It's not a birthday party without a balloon

Dagny chose a restaurant named El Jimador. It's a chain outfit but the food is good.

Last January we gathered at El Jimador for TG's birthday, right before the snowstorm. Since there are several of these places around town, I thought we were going to the same one as before.

It’s the one closest to my house.

But Audrey specified that Dagny wanted to go to another location, so we all showed up there. It was a stifling hot evening.

(A harbinger of the especially sweltering summer we have had and are having.)

The servers sang to her

Only, it was a busy night and it was going to be a while before we could get a table where we could be seated together.

But the night was young, so it was decided that we'd all get back into our cars and drive several miles to another El Jimador.

There was some dithering about which one, but eventually we got it sorted out.

Or so we thought.

Except, when TG and I and Audrey and Dagny had arrived at said El Jimador and were seated, there was no sign of Erica and the boys.

The next week, the Chericas were in Philadelphia

We have that thing on our phones where we can check on where one another are in the world, so whoever has the ability to track Erica (not me), looked her up.

She was at the El Jimador where we'd eaten for TG's birthday in January.

Which was not the one that the rest of us were at.

But she had realized her error as soon as she got there and saw that the rest of us weren't there.

She was even then en route to the third El Jimador she would grace that day, and pretty soon she'd arrived and we were ordering.

Mount Vernon is in the distance

We enjoyed a delicious meal.

This is the kind of place where, if they know you're observing a birthday, they show up with a complimentary dessert, and the requisite communal sombrero, and they sing to the birthday person.

This may have been why Dagny insisted on celebrating her birthday at El Jimador.

At any rate, no sooner had the child finished her Enchiladas Verdes than she was sporting the sombrero and being serenaded by servers, before tucking into a sumptuous dessert.

She shared with the boys.

The folks at El Jimador did her right

The next day, everyone came over to our house for a swim party.

I don’t remember what we ate for a meal — pizza, maybe — but there was a cheesecake which Erica had made.

And there was a balloon, and there were presents.

In recent months Dagny has become enamored of the old TV show Little House on the Prairie. 

She has already read the books. As I did when I was a child, and my children did when they were kids.

I'd call her Half Pint but she's more like a whole pint

And she’d mentioned more than once to her mother that she loved the aesthetic of the pioneer family — their house, their outfits, and so forth.

Audrey revealed this information to me, and I decided to find a pioneer girl costume for Dagny.

And I did, and it was not difficult to do, and I must tell you that I could not recommend this company any more highly than I am to you now.

It’s called Dress Up America and judging by the depth and breadth of their site, if you want, you can dress as everything from a donut to a doctor.

I found a pioneer girl costume in no time — dress, apron, bonnet — and made the purchase.

Laura Ingalls Wilder would be amazed

When it arrived, I was astounded at the quality of the outfit. And also the way it was packaged.

Just excellent. If you need to dress up as something other than yourself — or dress someone else as someone other than themselves — be smart and visit Dress Up America online.

The next day, which was Dagny’s actual birthday, we had church. 

Afterwards I gave her one last gift which I’d wrapped weeks earlier and forgot about. 

It was this Kobalt mini toolbox, in pink. I also got one of these for Allissa when she graduated from high school in May.

Erica made this confection from scratch

It’s a cute girl gift. Just in case you needed any ideas.

Dagny posed for her OBP — Official Birthday Portrait — and then she and I posed for a picture together.

Then she hopped into the car with TG and me and came to our house, and shortly after that, she and TG were headed to North Carolina.

Dagny would be going to church camp in Knoxville with her Uncle Joel and Aunt Stephanie and her cousins, for the week.

TG had agreed to deliver her to Stephanie’s house on that Sunday. 

She is becoming a young lady

Audrey would travel to Knoxville later in the week to help Brittany with Ember and Guy for a few days.

Then on the following Friday she would pick up Dagny at camp, and the next day come home, bringing Ember and Guy to spend a week with us.

So we had the Tennessee grands for a week, and we packed in lots of fun in the form of swimming and shopping and eating and all the things.

Brittany came to get them at week’s end and spent the night with us. I made a spaghetti supper and we ate it poolside where there had already been much splishin’ and a-splashin’ that day.

Meanwhile the Chericas — that would be Chad, Erica, Rhett and Elliot (Rhelliot) — had packed up early that week and headed for Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Dagny's Official Birthday Photo

They visited Mount Vernon and the Liberty Bell and Gettysburg National Military Park, among many other things, and had a wonderful time.

I was so glad to see everyone when they finally came home.

Speaking of coming home, we had been told a few weeks ago that our Andrew’s tour in the Middle East had been extended to September thirtieth at the very least.

Meaning, it could be extended again if the powers that be deemed it necessary and appropriate.

We were devastated by the news but we decided that we would meet this continued trial with grace and dignity and lots of prayer, plus deep breaths and a one-day-at-a-time attitude.

Dagny and me on her birthday

I actually quoted the Serenity Prayer to my children, in a text: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

We knew that, as wartime trials and tribulations go, many Americans have faced much worse and for far longer.

But a few days ago, our military leadership in that part of the world made the decision to send a group of pilots home.

Andrew will be home next week.

This is one of my favorite pictures of him

We are overjoyed and so grateful. It is an answer to prayer.

Many of you have prayed and I want to thank you yet again for taking the time, and for caring enough, to do that.

We’ll continue in that vein until the day break, and the shadows flee away!

And that is all for now.

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Happy Friday :: Happy Weekend

Marsha got married

 

My dear friend Marsha was married at the end of May.

The ceremony took place on a Saturday afternoon at Miss Caroline's Wedding Chapel in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

Marsha and I have been friends for several years.

We met when she was the excellent receptionist at my dentist's office.

A beautiful welcome

My dentist has since retired and sold the practice, but I still go there, and so do Audrey and Dagny.

Marsha moved on to a better job and we miss her when we have to go to the dentist.

But as we are good friends, Marsha and I stay in touch and get together as often as we can.

Always on our birthdays! We make a big deal out of one another's birthdays -- mine in March, hers in August.

Such a pretty cake

And so naturally, her wedding to her beloved, Todd, was a big deal to me too.

Her venue for the wedding was so small that she could invite only forty people. TG and I, plus Audrey and Dagny, were honored to be among them.

You will see in some of the photos a pretty chapel, but that’s not where the wedding was held.

That little chapel seats only sixteen! So it is for smaller weddings than Marsha’s.

The wedding started on time

There is a larger building in which Miss Caroline has a showroom for wedding supplies which I assume she rents locally.

And there is also a larger chapel-like room for weddings with up to forty guests.

Maggie Valley is less than a three-hour drive from our house, and the wedding was in the late afternoon.

TG and I left home early and drove without haste, and when we arrived in Maggie Valley, we went for a late lunch/early dinner at a local diner.

In case we got thirsty

When we arrived at the venue, it was less than an hour before the wedding was to begin.

But when I walked in, what did I see but my friend Marsha bustling around (not yet dressed for the wedding), doing some last-minute decorating.

Now, let me explain to you how small was the space that Marsha had available to her, for decorating.

As you walked in the door, to your left was Miss Caroline’s wedding showroom.

There were many precious moments

To your right was Miss Caroline’s larger wedding chapel.

And between the two doors was a space of perhaps fifty square feet, containing a few tables to put things on.

Tiny. And Marsha had decorated that little space within an inch of its life.

Although there would be no formal reception, there was a wedding cake. There were baskets containing wedding programs and water bottles. 

These gauzy bags contained our bubbles

There was a small easel with a custom-made sign welcoming guests to the wedding of Todd and Marsha.

There was a small lighted “T” and a small lighted “M” beside a Precious Moments bride and groom figurine.

There was a vase of pink roses and a pink alarm clock displaying five o’clock, the time that the wedding was to begin.

There was a large clear acrylic heart, and beside it a bowl of small wooden hearts, with a pen.

Handheld fans with a thanks

Guests were encouraged to write a greeting onto a small heart and place it through an opening at the top of the large clear heart.

There was a bowl of pink and white pearls, and beautiful customized cardboard fans.

There were gift bags for each guest, to take as they left that day.

Miss Caroline, a charming lady, told me later that sometimes they host up to seventeen couples getting married there in one day.

T is for Todd

I was struggling to envision there being enough time in a day, for seventeen weddings to take place, given the amount of time that was made available to Marsha.

She had been permitted to come in at least an hour ahead of her ceremony, to decorate. 

Miss Caroline saw on my face that I did not understand.

The altar was romantic

She explained that ninety-nine percent of her brides do no decorating whatsoever. They show up, go into the dressing area to get ready (unless they are already ready), and, Bob’s your uncle, they’re walking down the aisle for a ten-minute ceremony.

Look away and you may miss it.

But Marsha had requested, and had been granted, extra time to make her wedding special.

The girl loves pink

And it was so sweet to see the way she had planned and had been determined to transform that small space, and to make her guests feel welcome and appreciated.

The chapel was also a tiny but elegant room, with a lovely altar area and space for forty guests to sit.

TG and I went in and found our seats and in a few minutes, Audrey and Dagny had arrived.

Bride, Groom, and Harley

I saw greeted Dr. F, who was my dentist and Marsha’s employer for years. He is a dear friend of TG’s and mine, and it was so good to see him.

In due time Marsha’s and Todd’s mothers were seated, and Marsha’s father walked her down the aisle.

The officiant — Miss Caroline’s husband — did an excellent job of the charge to the couple, and the vows, and pronouncing them man and wife.

Ready for their short jaunt

Marsha had commissioned (using AI, I think) a song to be played that contained lyrics specific to Todd and Marsha’s story.

They met in Maggie Valley some nine years ago, at some sort of event involving motorcycles.

They both ride, and are Harley Davidson enthusiasts.

The song mentioned their names, and that rainy day in November in Maggie Valley. I could tell that Marsha had kept it a secret, and that Todd was surprised.

They were overjoyed

And then it was over, and they were hitched, and everyone went outside. 

After a brief time of pictures at the altar, during which Marsha wanted poses of herself with each one of her guests (isn’t that precious?), the couple emerged from the building into the parking lot. Everyone was congratulating them.

And there was a specially rented white Harley Davidson, a big one with plenty of room for two riders.

Todd helped Marsha aboard, and they drove off to the rear of the property, and then slowly back, so that we could all take pictures.

I would have liked a piece of this

They didn’t take the machine out onto the road and it was a short ride, but so much fun while it lasted.

We all had bubbles to blow while that was taking place. And we took lots more pictures as it was a beautiful weather day, and there was so much happiness to document.

And then it was time for us to go home, and for the newlyweds to go on their honeymoon in the mountains of East Tennessee.

Can you believe, I have not seen Marsha since that day? Her parents are ailing, and she and Todd go to North Carolina to see them almost every weekend.

It was a happy day

But she owes me a visit, and at the very least I know we will get together to celebrate her birthday in August.

And what wonderful memories we have of Marsha and Todd’s sweet small wedding, and of how the bride’s personality shone through in every detail, revealing her great joy at becoming the wife of the man she loves.

Which she will be until the day break, and the shadows flee away!

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday