Visit from my sister and Mom

One of my sisters, Teresa, had planned a visit to come and see me. Her dear boys had given her a trip to come visit as her Christmas present (thanks, boys!!!). I was delighted as it was also a gift to me! What I didn’t know, or even have the slightest idea, was that they were plotting to surprise me by having my Mom come along! Well, they pulled it off – I was very surprised and so excited! I’m pretty sure everyone in the B’ham airport heard my excitement :)

We toured some sights in downtown B’ham – 16th street Baptist church, Sloss Furnace, Botanical Gardens as well as just driving around some.

On the “Freedom Walk”. At the 16th St Baptist Church.

Thought it was kind of neat that the kids’ shirts blended into the carpet. At the Botanical Gardens.

Rainy, drizzly day at the Sloss Furnaces.

Noccalula Falls stop. These big pipes have been at the campground since we were staying there. Not sure what the plan is for them. We also toured tornado damaged areas and John put his name in for volunteering for the rebuilding phase.

We spent an afternoon at the Christian Service Mission sorting and boxing cleaning supplies for disaster relief. It was absolutely amazing to see the amount of items being donated and going out in the day that we were there – even two weeks after the storm had hit.

Trying to get a wider shot of the warehouse.

We also went on a hike to our other ridge to see the fallen trees and damage.

John balancing on a log. We also managed to fit in some ping-pong playing and a mini-tournament. Teresa won, but I'm ready for a rematch :) Hadden won second and they both received prizes that Savannah had made.

Congrats to Teresa and Hadden! Thanks for the visit, Aunt Teresa and Grandma! Come again soon! The rest of our family and friends are also VERY welcome to visit us, too :)

A little bit of baseball business ...

We are so thrilled that Hadden is privileged to be playing on an 8-year old all-star baseball team. We met two of the coaches last fall when he played fall ball and they have done an exceptional job of encouraging Hadden and bringing out the best in him. He still has a lot to learn, but we are certain he will grow leaps and bounds this all-star season.

This is an excerpt from an article that John wrote recently:

My son has a new set of coaches on an “all-star” team. These men have the knowledge and wisdom to take the boys to a new level. While working with each child and correcting their bad habits, they speak life into the boys by encouraging them when they follow instructions. They are watching for “coachableness”, which in essence is the main characteristic of a good son. They are providing clear expectations and consequences for missing the mark. The coaches give good words to each boy. They brag about the boys and talk them up. They show love to the boys.

So, the coaches are definitely doing their part - now we have to do ours. We need to raise money to sponsor the team for uniforms, helmets, tournament fees, etc. and we need your help. If you are willing to sponsor his team, please send me a comment or email me at shirleykurtz at gmail dot com. We would greatly appreciate it!

I’ve got some catching up to do …

Had a wonderful visit with my Mom and sister last week – lots to show and tell about that, but for now I got a little catching up to do.

For Mother’s Day, the kids went and dug up a little wildflower for me, put it in a pot, prettied it up and added a card. It was so sweet!

Another birdie “visited” us. We heard another loud thunk – this time from the front of the house. Very concerned that the hovering dog was going to have it for lunch, I snatched it up and took it to the deck to recover. I set it on a flower pot to rest, after I snapped a couple of pictures. We were not sure if it was the same bird (duh!) or two different birds, but we think that it is a Tennessee Warbler. 

 

The kids named it “Crash” :)

What is going on?

First of all – any guesses to what John is doing? He appears to be driving our house – what is going on? This was his birthday project. Happy Birthday, honey!

Next – a little bird flew into some of our glass and was stunned for a few minutes - long enough to let Hadden get close to him and for me to snap a few pictures. He recovered enough to fly off and in the process, collided with a bumblebee :) Should have snapped a picture of that little fella in his stunned state, too. Rough day for the poor bird.

So … here is what he was up to … still confused? Well, he modified the tv mount to be able to turn the tv vertically – isn’t that cool? Then, he can hook up his laptop and voila! He used the mechanics for a lazy susan, two pieces of wood, 8 bolts, washers and nuts to turn the articulating arm into a rotating articulating arm. I think he’s pretty smart - he was also kind enough to wear one of his work shirts while he was working :)

Gaining perspective

So this past week has been a roller coaster kind of week - I think for all of us.

Our power was restored last Sunday evening and we are thankful for that. It has been amazing to watch the amount of help and support shown to the tornado relief efforts - I truly hope that all of those affected are able to feel that support and that no one feels isolated.

Please continue to pray for those who lost so much.