Leaving on a Jet Plane

Cheryl was a "Navy brat" (I was just a brat) which meant she changed addresses quite a bit growing up (it's a good thing she married a minister to put a stop to that). Just as she got settled in and comfortable in one location, Uncle Sam decided it was time to move on.

One of the more exotic spots (not that NAS Millington wasn't) where her dad was stationed was the Philippines. Cheryl has a childhood memory of that duty (the word still makes me laugh) station which included a jukebox with a song by John Denver, (performed, most likely, by Peter, Paul and Mary) "Leaving On a Jet Plane." The people there LOVED the song and it played CONSTANTLY all day long.

Because she heard it SOOO many times, Cheryl has a problem with the song. So do I.

Today Megan is leavin' on a jet plane and going back to North Carolina. She told me, "Don't know when I'll be back again" (it's 800 miles).

Hubby, Will is glad but .. Oh, babe, I hate to see you go.

I Still Miss You, But My Aim's Gettin' Better

Yesterday afternoon, I attended a reception honoring a couple who had been married for seventy .. that's right .. seventy years! Can you even fathom this? Many don't live to see the age of 70, but this couple had been in the bonds of holy macaroni for that amount of time.

I asked Cheryl if she thought our marriage could last for seventy years. She said, "I certainly hope not."

Come to think of it, she's probably right. I have watched her on more than one occasion in the kitchen holding a knife and staring out the window with a sinister smile on her face. It could be nothing, but I'm sleeping with one eye open.

Outrigger (Fantasy) Island

The morning church service at FBC Humboldt featured elements from this week's Vacation Bible School. The children sat close to the front wearing their "Outrigger Island" shirts and they sang three of the songs (motions and all) that we had learned at Bible school. It was not a typical Sunday morning worship time, but then again, what is?

Two of the children made public the decisions they made for Christ on Wednesday and there are still five more that we have for followup. Hopefully, they will get "plugged in" to a church (ours or another) in the weeks ahead.

As we "pretended" to be in Hawaii with our palm tree decorations and grass skirts, our youth minister, Russ, actually IS. He and Susan were married yesterday in Allen, Texas and they are spending their honeymoon IN Hawaii.

Cheryl and I have been married for almost 28 years. We went to Gatlinburg on our honeymoon and we still have NOT been to Hawaii.

Gotta go. I'm headed over to Russ' house now with several cans of spray paint and a lot of bitterness.

Stop Staring

Our families are coming over this afternoon to see Megan and eat supper (that's dinner for you city slickers). It's hard for her to "make the rounds" when she does get to come home, so they are coming to our house to feast their eyes on this wonder called ... Meg.

Cheryl spent a good bit of time preparing the food yesterday, so all she has to do today is put it in the oven and/or on the grill.

I love having Meg home for more than just the obvious reasons. Since the kids have been gone, our schedule and eating habits have changed quite a bit. Cheryl and I seem to be running even more than when they were small. So ... the oven has been turned into a filing cabinet. When Megan comes home, however, all the paperwork is cleared out and Cheryl suddenly becomes "Betty Crocker" again. Whatever Megan wants, Megan gets.

This is bitter-sweet since Cheryl plays by the "international laws of home cooking" rule: If she cooks, someone else cleans up afterwards. That someone else is me.

Cheryl is a great cook so, it's worth it.

Love Will Keep Us Together

I arrived at the AT&T store at 7:05 this morning and I was number 10 in line for the new iPhone. I believe the first few people were there before 5 AM. The doors opened at 8 o'clock and only six customers at a time (they had six reps on hand at this location) were allowed to enter the store.

The process was supposed to take about 15 minutes, but that was not the case. Either Apple's servers or AT&T's (both were blamed) were not up to the task (like at the intro of the first iPhone last year). They ended up checking everyone out and sending them home to activate their own phone with iTunes 7.7.

I was able to port over my number from Verizon and put the new phone in my name (my old phone was under the church's account) in a matter of minutes, but I had to leave the store with an iBrick.

VBS had begun, so I ran by the house and changed into my "Billy Bob Tourist" (don't even ask) outfit before returning to the church (around 9:30). While I was home, I tried to connect to iTunes to activate service. No dice (church leaders, that's only an expression). After lunch, I came back home and tried (if at first you don't succeed ..) for a good thirty minutes or so. Finally, the activation screen came up and a few clicks later, I was in business.

It will take a little time to learn all the nuances of this little gem, but that's okay. You don't mind spending time with the one you love.

Are You Sleeping? Are You Sleeping?

Tomorrow I am getting up early and going over to the AT&T store in Jackson to land a new Apple iPhone 3G. I will get there at 7:30 AM (they open at 8) and hope to get checked out and back in time for the start of VBS (our last day .. yeah!!!).

I'm a "gadget guy". I admit it. However, I've never had to be the very first to purchase a new product. It's different this time. Verizon ("Can you hear me now? I said, "Can you hear me now? Anyone? Anyone?") is terrible at the church office and I'm tired of missing calls when I'm there. So ... I'm jumping ship. Going with a different carrier and hoping for the best. The timing is right. The moon and stars are perfectly aligned (church family, I don't believe in that stuff so don't fire me. I need the money to buy my iPhone).

The rest of my family will stay with Verizon .. for now. So, since I am getting the plan with the least number of minutes and going with a different company, that knocks out "mobile to mobile". This simply means we won't be able to talk anymore (at least until I build up rollover minutes). I'm also NOT paying extra for texting. Letters and faxes ARE acceptable, but please keep them brief.

In case of an emergency, call 911.

A Chicken(?) in Every Pot

There are only two days left of Vacation Bible School and I can honestly say (as opposed to lying through my teeth) that we have had NO problems whatsoever. The children have been well behaved and it has gone smoothly.

Well, not THAT smoothly. I have not dealt with kids in a very long time and it is obvious from this photo that there was a slight misunderstanding when this child asked to go to the potty.