Happy Birthday, Dad!

Here's a little something that was e-mailed to me shortly after my dad passed away that I thought would be great to share on his birthday. I add this to the blog as my daughter watches "Pocahontas" for the 3rd time in the past two days; while all the other girls her age are glued to "Cinderella" and "Snow White"! And this is how I know in my heart of hearts, that his spirit truly lives on.

Years ago, on one of the many opening mornings of hunting season that your Dad and I shared, he revealed something to me that I've never forgotten.

I had dropped him off before dawn so that he could wander back into a particular hammock. He had chosen the spot for his morning hunt on opening day. A mist shrouded, grove of stately live oaks draped with spanish moss on long drooping branches. A beautiful place, where the air was heavy and moist and still. Where the only sound was that of the owl, the whip-poor-will and the drip, drip, drip of heavy dew falling from the trees to the forest floor.

It was a wonderous place, a place that any outdoorsman would love. But a place where, for one reason or another, we seldom saw deer. For that reason, I was puzzled by the his choice. After all, opening morning was the best chance you would have all year to take a buck. Why would he pick a spot where his chances were so poor? And so when I picked him up later in our old jeep, I asked him why he had chosen his spot.

Your dad explained that he chose it because there was a tree in that hammock that he liked. A perfect tree, he said, to sit under and wait for dawn. And, as dawn broke, a perfect tree to lean back against while he began the season by reading aloud his prayer. Until then I wasn't aware of this ritual. I asked him about the prayer. He told me that it wasn't really a prayer to most, it was a letter written by an Indian chief to the President of the United States. But to your Dad the words were significant and embodied much of what he believed. So, he used it as his own special kind of prayer.

As you read this please understand that your father very much enjoyed studying the ancients. He was also captivated by the spirituality of those people we might refer to as primitive. He strongly believed that in many ways they were far more spiritually connected than modern man. I do believe that he felt a connection to them.

Keep in mind also that while this "letter/prayer" holds the sense of loss of a people on the fringe, I think it held special meaning for your father for that reason. I think he sometimes felt a kinship and a similar remorse at seeing a world going in a direction he could not favor.

CHIEF SEATTLE’S LETTER

The president in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The ideas is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.

If we sell our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
One thing we know: our God is your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother’s heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us.

As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you.

One thing we know-there is only one God. No man, be he Red or White man, can be apart. We ARE all brothers after all.

Charley's New "Car"

This is a testament to the fact that boys will play with anything that has wheels. I pulled out the silverware sorter from the dishwasher the other day to unload everything back into the drawer. I turned around to see Charley pulling out the bottom rack saying "Car! Car!" Either he has a great imagination, or mom really needs to get him out a little more!

Morgan's First Day of School (about 6 weeks ago!!)

Here are a couple of pictures from Morgan's first day of school. Unfortunately, I did not inherit my grandfather's talent for taking great pictures, but at least it's finally documented!

Morgan's going to school 4 mornings a week from 9am - 12:30 and she is loving it! They get to bake every Monday--yesterday was French toast since they are studying the letter "F". Tuesdays is music and science, Wednesday is chapel day, and Fridays are for show and tell when she has to bring in an item that starts with the letter of the week. In addition to all of that, we also have a reading list: 10 books to read each week, and a word to look for in each book. Her teachers are great, but boy are they keeping us all busy!

Between Morgan's school, Charley's music class on Mondays, and their joint playgroup on Thursdays, we are lucky to make it to Target and the grocery store! Whew, it's been a busy fall, but lots of fun!

Morgan Meets her Teachers

One more week, and it is Back to School time!! Woo hoo! I think I am going to pull out my cheerleading outfit from high school for this auspicious occasion.

Last night, we had the parent orientation, where the parents got to meet the teachers and go through the annual "don't bring any snacks with peanut butter" spiel. Morgan is in Mrs. Weezy and Mrs. Traci's class. This will be Mrs. Weezy's fifth year teaching the four year olds, and her 15th year teaching. Needless to say, I think she is going to be in very good hands. She will have a composition book to write stories in; and they'll be reviewing US geography, charts & graphs, and sight words. They'll bake every Monday, have music once a week, chapel once a week, and of course show and tell. It sounds like fun!

Charley, on the other hand, has another year at home with mom before he can start pre-school. Hopefully with Morgan at school, we'll have more a chance to do some activities centered around him rather than his sister!

T minus 6 days and counting!

Edventure

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Children's Museum in Columbia, Edventure (http://www.edventure.org/). By far, the kids' favorite display was the fire truck, complete with lights, sirens, and dress up clothes. Morgan also enjoyed broadcasting the news; and walking through Ed, a 2 story size boy that showed the brain and digestive system. Charley, on the other hand, could not get far enough away from the scary giant. He was also not a big fan of the life size cow that moo-ed as we walked by; nor the boy whose teeth you could clean as you pretended to be a dentist. We did find a play area upstairs that he enjoyed that included a tent to camp out in, and a boat to sail on the seas. And of course, bubbles are always a hit with him!

We finished off the day by having a home cooked dinner with friends (which I must admit was the highlight of my day)!

Hilarious E-Bay Auction

In case I somehow missed e-mailing this to anyone, you must read this hilarious description of an E-Bay auction. It's for a pack of Pokemon cards that mysteriously ended up in the shopping cart of a stay at home mom of six...yes, she took all six to the grocery store. I laughed so hard at this one I cried!



Following the link to the e-bay description is a link to her blog which is equally side splitting. This is why I am stopping at 2 children!!



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayIAAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675&ru=http%25



http://www.mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/

Our Sanity Vacation

Keith and I dropped the kids off at Aunt Cristal's house this past weekend, and made the hour and a half trip to The Grove Park Inn (www.groveparkinn.com) in Asheville, NC. A friend of mine asked if we were going for our anniversary or a birthday, and I replied "No, for our sanity". After a long summer filled with staph infections, and trips to the emergency room, we thought we could use a couple of days away...and boy was it ever worth it! If you have never been, I would highly recommend it. The restaurants on property are absolutely amazing, and the spa is world class!

We also took some time to go whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River (www.noc.com), something I've always wanted to do. It was really a lot of fun, and not nearly as scary as I thought it would be, although two people did fall out of our raft during the last five minutes of the ride--thankfully it wasn't me or Keith!