Oh-Blah-Di

I'm back in the saddle briefly to offer updates on what's going on in our world. I just haven't been able to devote much time to blogging lately. Sorry about that. This won't be a very complete telling, but I'll try to hit the high points.

Addie turned SIX yesterday! Where does the time go? (sniffle) Is this the little girl I carried...? (sniffle, sniff) It's a heck of a ride with her, though. This week she has had flags flown in her honor, we have been chalked, forked and had special dinners. The actual party, though, is next week. Check for other Addie tributes on the family blog.

The contrast between the happy life Addie has had so far and what other children around the world and even around or town must endure was driven home to me Wednesday. I got a call from "B," one of the ladies that helps manage a few rent houses, that evening to tell me that a renter (Ms. T) was pretty past due and wondered what we should do. I asked her to tell me the whole story and as she did my heart sank. She has a brand-new baby for a total of three kids and her husband just went to jail for molesting a child outside their family. She has taken a new job with "Mr. C " (an attorney I know) but does not think she can afford to pay her rent nor make up what she owes. The immediate prayer of "Oh God, please help this woman" immediately began to tumble around in my roomy mind. I told "B" simply that I thought this was someone who really needed our help and to her credit, she agreed whole-heartedly and said she had already asked "Ms. T" what she could afford. We lowered the rent to that amount and I told Ms. "B" to keep me posted if other needs arose. Pray for this tragic situation and for all those involved- especially the abused and his or her family and the abuser and his family.

In another story of people overcoming the odds, my buddy Dale needed a ride yesterday to pick up his car from the shop. This is not all that unusual until you realize that his mechanic is blind. By blind, I mean all he can see is a little bit of light out of one eye but no shapes and nothing out of the other eye. He will turn if he hears you coming, but will not be able to see you. Nevertheless, he is apparently a genius when it comes to A/C and brakes. I only met him yesterday, but he is an inspiration. I need to get over myself if I ever think that my gifts are not useful.

Summer continues much like it began. The kids are indulging in play-time with friends, swimming, sleep-overs and, of course, baseball. I think we may take a day or two at some point and get out of town, but we may wait until Thanksgiving to actually take an out-of-state vacation trip. This summer has just been too jam-packed.

Okay, now back to our picture contest. I have been wondering what to call this little feature. I believe I may call it HIC-PIC. HIC stands for Humor In Captions. It's not billiant, but it's the first thing I thought of and then I got tired of thinking about it. So anyway, here is you HIC-PIC photo of the day. Share your captions.