on the road again

Kate, I didn't know you had two blogs. I think if you have something witty to say, you should copy and past it both places or put a link to your witticism. Does the husteds blog need some links? I've got a lot of webpages bookmarked that will make you really feel like an underachiever... Love the photo of John as a lawn jockey, although Liz you'd better get your eyes checked: he does not at all look naked, only a bit pale to match that old tshirt. Does grass actually grow in Texas? All you need are some nice leather sandals and dark socks to really look the part.

I had a moderately amusing story composed in my head to type up tonight about my unhappy attempt to make it to a change of command ceremony this morning, but now the day is about over and we are rising to shine very early tomorrow in order to spend a weekend sleeping poorly under the stars with our ottc friends and family (maybe y'all can come next year). Suffice it to say, we left in plenty of time to be early, even with the 3 errands I had to run prior. But about halfway there, I noticed what one of my children was wearing. Imagine the most nerdy home school outfit you can and then try again. Picture: striped polo shirt a size too small, dark blue rayony suit slacks with no belt, white athletic socks, and grey suede slip on shoes. This is what happens when you let your mom shop at Goodwill for your kids and the clothes don't come with matching Garanimals tags. The excuse from my son: "Dad said wear church clothes, but I figured since it was outside it didn't mean full church clothes." I was imagining all kinds of whispered comments from the oh-so-put-together Navy wives, but figured I had 15 mins extra to run into the Exchange and buy a new pair of khaki pants. My mistake was passing a Marshalls and thinking they had kids' clothes. Only shorts, so I wasted 7 mins there, and then was punished with a slow check out lady at the exchange. If only I had swallowed my pride, we would have been on time with most of my family presentable. As it was, we were on time, but in the Navy, on time means get there early or you stand in the back, so we were really late. 15 mins into the ceremony, John and Claire were eating dirt, James was playing with sticks and Annie was sitting splaylegged with a short dress on. I decided to bail, only to be hounded with guilt at home from my children, who wanted cake, and my husband, who wanted to show off his sword to the boys. woe.

I probably would've been thinking more clearly if I hadn't stayed up late reading a waste of time book, The Abstinence Teacher. A Navy wife recommended it. Supposedly it's this fraught with conflict novel about a liberated sex ed teacher who ends up falling for a born again Christian who is part of the group pushing abstinence education. I thought maybe it would show a sense of understanding for each position, but in reality, it's a thinly veiled rant against abstinence. The main character was brassy and shallow, and the Christians were flat and predictable. Miss it.

On the other hand, I did enjoy another Navy wife promo: Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, about a girl who objects to being her sister's constant source of blood and body parts, after she was conceived 13 yrs before to save that sister from leukemia. These characters are much more rounded and interesting. Still had some quibbles with it, but apparently Picoult, who writes a lot issue books, also has written one about the stigmata, so I'm interested to check it out.

Signing off to sleep. E

Doubling up?

Okay, so I'm a little torn... when I have something devastatingly clever to post, is it cheating to put it on both family blogs? Do I have to pick one or the other? Wouldn't it be unethical - maybe even sinful - to hide the little light of mine under an "only one blog" bushel? I'd appreciate some thoughts on this. I'm sure I'll get some.

We're doing well over here, although I do not like having no phone and no internet. I think I'm tan on the right side of my face from spending long hours on my hot cell phone on hold with various utilities and such. But we're settling into the house, and slowly unpacking. Luke loves his "new backyard," as do I. I'm planting an herb garden this weekend! Hopefully it's not too late for things to thrive.

We loved all the company we had over the birth and baptism weekends, and it has seemed kind of quiet since. But quiet does mean I get things done, so I guess it's necessary.

Ah, the glories of home ownership... although apparently some people do actually find riding mowers glorious.

Here's Charlesbad... one month old today!

Home at last

Hi all,
I really do not have anything of note to say other than I have thoroughly enjoyed our travel and visits this past month. The birth, the babysitting, the baptism, and the first Communion, I would not have missed any of them. I must say however, that I am glad to be home for awhile.
It is incredibly beautiful here today and Dad and I are both home. He just left the house to mow hay, which has been very much on his mind lately. I just finnished reading PAINTED HOUSE by John Grisham, a fictional reflection of a 7 year old boy recalling the harvest season of 1952 on the Arkansas farm where he grew up. He worked hard everyday, from sunrise to sunset, picking cotton. I also read an essay recently that included excerpts from the book that Clarence Thomas wrote about growing up with his grandfather and how he would have to work all summer on his grandfather's farm (his grandfather's way of keeping Clarence and his brother out of trouble). I share these comments because soon there will be boys (and girls too) of age to come and assist Pop on the farm. It is a nice thought.....We would be glad to help you form the physical stamina and character of your children by putting them to work!
I took Mimi to see baby Liam Arthur yesterday...he is still in NICU but is doing well. Laura got to feed him while we were there. He is another beautiful baby with dark hair and eyebrows.
Lest I elicit anymore comments from Dad, like, "are you going to monopolize the Husted family blog?", I will sign out.

Memorial Day Weekend

Here are the girls having a fine time at Chez Cook. Eliz, sorry you had to miss the party. Has the dog or Nick had any more accidents? Janie is not quite that stinky. We have had a lot of fun in the sun, going to baseball games, the beach, and the pool, eating lots of good food, celebrating James' First Communion, and hanging out.


Here is a picture of John enjoying the beach. Ben's wave surfing in the back. Fortunately, Ben didn't drown after this picture was taken. CPR was not necessary.




James woke Dan up at 6:11 to have his tie tied. He was very excited about receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.

I thought you might like some ideas about where to go on your next vacation. To the left is a photo of the place where we stayed on St. John's, "Acqua Blu." From this angle you can't see the swimming pool, or our wing, with its private porch and outdoor shower, which is pictured below. (We also had an indoor concrete Japanese tub, and an agreement that no one was to acknowledge any shower sitings - no apologies, no excuse me's, no nothing, just run the other way.) In front of me is a small bay, too rocky for snorkeling, but nice to look at.

Here we are in front of Trunk Bay, where Joe's new wife and her parent's stayed in a cottage right on the beach and where we went to snorkel and watch a wedding. The sea turtles feed in this bay at about 5. While kayaking the night before the wedding, I saw 3. Curious and excited, I paddled toward them, before getting nervous that one might decide to surface right below the kayak and tip me, so I observed from about6 feet away.



Should you decide to get married on the beach, you can have lots of romantic pictures taken by all your guests and a professional photographer who tells you to dance in the sunset. (I got the feeling she had choreographed this scene more than once.)

Not one of the 6 dresses I bought (and took back) pleased me, so I again took advantage of neighbor Claudine's endless closet to borrow the dress pictured here. At the last minute, I bought my husband the beach wedding uniform for men: linen trousers in stone, white shirt, preferably with tropical detailing.

Note for your future vacation to the Virgin Islands: Sunsets make you look tan. Places like St. John's make you want to take a lot of pictures of yourself in front of scenic views.When we got home, we discovered some pirates had followed us from the Caribbean. Despite all of Nana's hard work during the week, keeping her charges under control, chaos resumed when these characters showed up:

my turn to test

With this post I am effectively entering the blogosphere . . . and then going to bed, thanks.

Good afternoon to all...just checking in from Fort Cook.
My sojourn here is coming to an end and thanks be to God...all are safe and I believe that we have fulfilled all requirements. I did have a "moment" this morning however. The 3 oldest boys have been taking their IOWA tests and this morning was the final test. We were all ready to leave and I could not find the keys. I had been absolutely scrupulous in placing them in the same spot in order to avoid this type of situation. We all joined in the search...unsuccessfully... and I was just getting ready to ask the neighbor if we could borrow her car, when as a last resort, I took a look on Dan's dresser and there I found an extra set of keys! We quickly (?) buckled up and left and I was audibly touting my joy/satisfaction that even with the delay in leaving, we would still arrive early. Then, when we were almost to the CHURCH (we had already been to the church for 3 different events this week)....Joe, my navigator, piped up and said "why are we going there?" (so reminiscent of Emily as a child...not too observant of where she was at any given moment, her head being buried in a book). We were supposed to be going to the testing sight which was in the opposite direction!! So, around we turned and headed in the right direction and you won't believe this....we were STILL early! Shortly after we got home, James came down squeeling with glee that he had found the keys on the floor in their room. Now, if you have ever seen the floor of their room (4 brothers sharing the same room WITH all their toys, a rat, 2 guinea pigs, a parakeet and a rabbit), you will understand why we did not locate them earlier. I do not know who confiscated the keys from their "safe site", but I am grateful that the mystery is solved. I am going to recommit myself to planning to leave early at all times in the future in hopes of arriving on time.
We are going to the Greek Orthodox fesitival when Claire wakes up and then celebrate at Orapax, the local Greek restaurant for dinner. Dan and Em are due to arrive sometime after 10pm tonight. She called last night and although she did not give details, she said they were having a wonderful time!
I picked up a literary journal (yes, at Goodwill) published by the Cistercians and have been reading an article about the Rule of St. Benedict with a particular focus on serving each other in charity. It develops the "ethic of reciprocity" which is "based on faith and not on common natural dispositions". It goes on about serving the other... "the other, whoever it is or however disfigured, is in some way the sacrament of the Wholly Other". I do not know why I am writing about this...I guess just as a bit of respite from spilled yogurt, dog hair, dirty dishes and "what can we do now" requests. This re-emersion into the life of young children has reaffirmed both the joy received and the persevance required when parenting little ones. You have all received a gift of inestimable value in being the guardians of the souls placed in your care. And I get to join in again as the Nana who's heart continues to be stretched by love for each of you and your children.

My Two Sons

Awesome! This is going to be fun, as long as the "poetry sharing" between John and Eliz doesn't get too ugly.

As for me, I'll just share various feats of my children... such as my monster second son's ability to weigh ten and a half pounds at two weeks of age. (Elizabeth, does that beat you and Daniel?)

The boys a few days ago:

I'm in...

...and looking forward to reading all about Elizabeth's most intimate thoughts, fears and wounds. Until then, I'll leave you with these...

testing testing

OK, I think I am in. Now I am testing the waters. I hope I do not have to redo all of this when I get home on our own computer.
I enjoyed the artwork, Betty. If I knew how to scan and copy...I would send you some of the many works of art being produced here at the Cooks.

Love, Mom

Relief

I figured it out and I am very excited! A safe haven to explore and share.
Michelle

Test

Blog. blog blog. I am blogging.

Testing 1 2 3

Hi, guys. Just thought this could be a fun way to share pictures and news, or maybe it's just a fun way to waste some time. We had talked about it before, right? I decided to claim the blog address before someone else did.