Brother and Sister

Birthdays and Futbol

I can't believe that one year ago today, we were in the hospital with a beautiful little newborn girl. A girl - what were we supposed to do with a girl considering the vast amounts of "boy-knowledge" we had accumulated in just 3 years with Bo? But what a year it's been! Carlyle has been a true blessing for me as a father especially. And I know she's been Amy's pride and joy - with a lifetime of wedding planning to come...
I know the Bible says that sons are a heritage from the Lord, but the rest of that verse (Psalm 127:3) says children are a reward from Him. Can't say I really knew the depth of the second part of that verse until Carlyle was born. What an undeserved reward she is to Amy and I!
Happy Birthday to my little girl.

Thanks also to all of you who sent Amy birthday emails recently. We had a great weekend together at the Alluvian in Greenwood.

And lastly, I guess when I was playing sports growing up that my parents were just saying what parents say when they told me that the scoreboard didn't matter at the end of the night. What they wanted was for me to play my best, not to get hurt, and to remember who I was representing when I stepped on the field or court.



Two nights ago, Bo began what I anticipate will be a decade or more of sporting events for Amy and I to watch. Now, I realize a 4 year old soccer match hardly qualifies as "competitive" sports - in the words of one of the other parents "How many of them do you think actually realize there are TWO teams out there?" But it will be fun to watch him learn the meaning of the words "team", "coach", and in Bo's case the most frequent word he'll hear - "stop" (as in, "stop kicking the ball before you get to the parking lot" and "stop tackling your teammates").

Labor Day Weekend

We had some great family time over the Labor Day weekend in Tupelo.
Amy and I got to go over to Oxford Saturday afternoon with friends and see Ole Miss play while Jim and Nancy graciously kept the two hoodlums.

Sunday found us in the pool part of the day. This is my first video attempt - sort of like Bo's dive, might not turn out quite perfect and kind of makes me scream like a little girl, but in the end it worked out. I must say, the boy has some Michael Phelps-like swimming style there at the end of the video...

Labor Day Monday was the opening day of dove season so I decided I'd introduce Bo to hunting during a particular season that doesn't require much stealth. I must admit, he exceeded my expectations in that he actually sat (relatively) still for a little over 4 hours while the occasional dove buzzed us. The highlights for Bo were watching Daddy continually miss well-within-range birds, watching Uncle Josh "clean up" Daddy's missed birds, and shrieking "BIRDS" every time a chimney sweep, blackbird or airplane flew by.

All in all, a great weekend to be north of Hurricane Gustav as he rolled in. Thankfully returned late Monday night to find nothing but rain and a few downed limbs in the yard.

Lastly, due to popular demand - actually more like subtle hints and pleas from loved ones that the last posted picture of Carlyle was probably not her "best side"- I am hoping to provide a few redemptive pictures of my daughter.

Enjoy all.