Brian's Doing Well

Brian has been away at school at Gordon College in Barnesville, GA for about six weeks now. In the six weeks he’s been away, I think he’s been home four weekends. Apparently he’s having as hard a time adjusting as we are. A wise older gentleman told me, “You know what homesickness means, don’t you? It means there was a whole lot of love at home that’s being missed.” I like that! Anyway, Brian is adjusting and doing well. His grades are good and he’s getting along with his roommate. Midterms were this week, and so far he’s maintaining an A-B average! For the first time in his life, he has to study. I was talking with him the other night and he told me he had to go because he had to study! Imagine my shock to hear those words.

His baseball is going well. The coach is working him at third, outfield and pitching. I can’t believe it when I see him on the weekends, but he’s still growing. He’s definitely filling out. The coach took his 34” bat away from him and told him he couldn’t hit with it until he’s 210 lbs! He’s using a 33” bat and doing fine, but he’s also trying to reach that weight to get his 34” back. I think he has about 25 lbs to go. So far he has played 3 games. They’ve won all three. He’s playing third, outfield and pitching. He pitched in his first college game Wednesday and did really well. In his words, “My forker was freaking awesome tonight.” Let me translate for those who don’t speak baseballese:) He throws a split finger fast ball that tails off as it crosses the plate. As a batter when you see it coming, it looks like it’s right there, but by the time you swing, it has dropped off and more often than not, you look quite silly swinging at it:). In the first game of the double header, he went 2 for 4 with two doubles, two walks, 3 RBI’s and 4 runs scored. I guess the 33” bat is working for him. He also turned a double play at third. He pitched in the first part of the second game and then finished the game in the outfield making a sliding catch to save a run from scoring.

The team traveled to East Cobb Thursday, and I was excited about getting to go see him play, but because of scheduling, it was not his travel day. For the fall, they have about 40 guys on the roster. 24 are signed players and the others are trying to walk on. Those who pitched and played Wed. were scheduled off Thursday and didn’t get to travel. You can only imagine my disappointment that Brian wasn’t on the travel roster so I could see him play. But they beat East Cobb Cubs 17-6. Their record is 4-0. They play Chain Baseball Sat. 4:00 and Sun 10:00 am. Both are home games, so I will be traveling to Barnesville this weekend. I can’t wait. It will be my first opportunity to see them play. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures to post after the games.

I showed this site to Brian and he thought it was lame. I knew he would, but we’re doing it anyway. Someday the boys will look back on this chronicle and appreciate it. I know I will.

Michael

Michael is still in Newport News Virginia at the Apprentice School. His trade is welding and he's doing very well. He has been working on the George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier and is now working on the newest type of aircraft carrier being built. Every task they give him, he seems to master effortlessly, so they move him on quickly to a new challenge. The last, most exciting challege was to dangle 85 feet in the air and weld the radar tower at the top of the island house on the ship. While he was up there, he was texting me on his cell phone letting me know what he was doing. I couldn't believe it! He loved every minute of it. He is working on the keel of the new ship now, not so exciting, but very important.

He is also doing well at his school work. In addition to that, he's playing football for the school. He is an offensive tackle and at 6'6" 300 lbs, he blocks the holes quite efficiently:) As you can see from the pictures, he towers above all those around him, especially mom! Even though Brian is catching up in height, he has a long way to go in girth. His team is 2-1 in the ACFC Div. III. If you want to check out his team's progress the website is www. gobuilders.com. Brian and I were at the first game the beginning of this month, David and his dad are going next weekend to visit him and watch a game. We will be going with my parents next month to see him and watch a game, also. I'll keep you updated on his progress as well as the ship building progress.

Joseph & Sai

As you all know, Joseph got married January 1, 2006. He and his wife, Sai, are living with us for now while he goes to school. So our nest isn't totally empty:) Joseph is working for a funeral home and is really doing well at it. I guess somebody has to do it, but I couldn't. He has the personality to be able to minister to people during their grief and the gory stuff doesn't seem to bother him either. The immigration process is progressing for Sai. The next step is for her to receive her work permit. All the paperwork has been submitted, so now we wait on the government to process it. Hopefully it won't take too long.

Joseph continues his volunteer work at the Lighthouse Community Center when he can and he and Sai have been doing some speaking engagements at churches sharing about their ministry. If your church needs a missions speaker, I'm sure they would love to come share. Just let them know.

I guess you can tell from the photo that Joseph is still just a big kid at heart. It's good to see your kids happy.

Not Separated Since Birth

As parents, we normally are not separated from our children from birth until they go off to college, move out on their own, or get married. In the past year, we have experienced all three events with our boys. I know many of you have the same experiences. Let's share what's going on with our kids. When they move on, we tend to lose touch with the families we have spent so much time with when they were around. Friendships were forged and I don't want to lose touch with you and your kids. My husband suggested this blog to occupy my time, give me a forum to share what's going on with the boys and invite you to do the same. So, if you have "not been separated since birth" from your kids or you're about to be, or you just want to brag on what's going on with you and your family, feel free to share. Send photos, funny stories, accomplishments, prayer needs and praises!