Category: Uncategorized

I’ve joined my company’s team for the American Heart Association Heart Walk. If you’d like to support this important cause, check out my donation Web page. Thanks for your support! Your donation will help fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke.

Look out, world! Katherine has learned to roll over. She tried for several days before actually getting her little body to turn over on July 7. Next, she’ll be crawling, then pulling herself up and then walking – life as we know it will be over! I love this photo of her … it’s like she’s thinking, “Well, I made it over – now what?”

Work and life in general have been somewhat crushing lately, leaving me little time for blogging. And, when I do have a free minute on the computer, I somehow get sucked into my Facebook world. (See earlier post on Facebook addiction.)

I really appreciated all the great e-mails and comments I received with advice on making tough decisions. The decision has narrowed somewhat to take an opportunity I am interested in vs. do nothing.

At the beginning of August, I’m going to Fort Worth to check out a job as editor of a brand new business publication in Denton, which is north of Fort Worth for those of you who have never been in Texas (and how sad for you!). Denton was just listed as one of Money magazine’s “Best Places to Live.”

I really want to make sure this is the right job for me and would be a perfect fit. I have a good job and live in a nice city so if I’m going to make a move, it needs to be a tremendous opportunity for me professionally, personally and spiritually.

I’ll let you know how the trip goes.

A few weeks ago, I created a Facebook page. It’s cool because I found some old college friends I hadn’t talked to in years. I now have 43 “friends” in my network.

The problem is Facebook can be kind of addictive. You can add all sorts of plugins and applications to your page. Plus, you can spend all kinds of time reading your friends’ pages, writing on their walls, sending them messages and pieces of flair. Geez, I have a hard enough time keeping up with this blog, now I have another space on the World Wide Web to update.

If you can keep your Facebook time under control, though, it’s a very cool social networking tool.

Next on my list of tech trends to explore: Twitter.

I hate major, life-changing, career-impacting decisions. Without going into too many details at this stage, Clint and I are facing a big decision. He has an opportunity, I have an opportunity, and, of course, we always have the “do nothing” option.

It’s tough.

I’m continually asking for God’s guidance and hope to hear a response soon — yes, no, call back later — anything would do.

What’s your advice for dealing with big decisions?

What exactly am I supposed to do with this stuff?

Yesterday, Katherine had her first foray into solid foods. By the way, why do they call it “solid” food when it’s really runny, liquid-like food? Anyway, she sat in her new high chair and sampled some rice cereal.

Although a good amount ended up on the bib and her face, she did great. I personally adore cereal and could eat it for any meal and as a snack, so I have a suspicion Katherine feels the same way.

Last year for Clint’s birthday I ordered this dress for our yet unborn baby girl. It seemed appropriate for Katherine to wear it on Clint’s first Father’s Day.

Happy Father’s Day, sweetie! You’re an awesome Daddy!

I could go the rest of my life without another week like the one that just ended. My entire family has a stomach virus that settled on our house like the plague.

A week ago Saturday Katherine was vomiting and had some diarrhea. She’d just had her 4-month vaccinations so we thought it was a side effect of those. But Sunday afternoon, I was hit with some serious nausea. I went to bed early but woke up about 10:30 and ran for the bathroom. I spent the night and the better part of Monday hugging the toilet.

Clint started feeling yucky Monday afternoon and by Tuesday he was sick too. Even one of our dogs, Mocha, was throwing up. Had it not been so awful, it might have been comical.

We kept Katherine home from daycare on Tuesday because she still wasn’t feeling well either. We managed to drag ourselves to work on Wednesday. Probably a mistake because I felt worse on Thursday and missed work that day and Friday. That goodness we could send Katherine to daycare. I could barely get out of bed.

Katherine perked up on Friday, and Clint and I are just starting to feel better this weekend. We hope never to repeat such a hideous week.

I did learn a few things:
1. It’s awful when Mom and Dad both are sick because someone still has to feed the baby.
2. It would be great if a grandma lived nearby.
3. Nighttime daycare would be a blessing in situations like this.
4. It would be terrific if the dogs had opposable thumbs and could hold a baby bottle.
5. While you might think your body should work in your favor, your stomach can turn on you at any minute. Sort of like when a tame tiger eats its master.

One of my favorite authors is Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, former New York Times reporter and now a professor at the University of Alabama. Last spring, I had the chance to meet him when he came to the Society of Professional Journalists spring conference at the University of Florida. He spoke about storytelling and his experiences as a journalist and writer.

Bragg’s ability to paint a picture, tell a story and craft a phrase is remarkable. If you haven’t read his first book, “All Over But the Shoutin’,” I highly recommend it. It’s an autobiography of his life growing up in rural Alabama.

His latest work is “The Prince of Frogtown,” another book about his family. This one focuses on his father and Bragg’s relationship with his stepson. I’m just a few chapters into it, but so far, it’s great. I also used a collection of his newspaper stories when teaching at the College of Charleston last fall. The students really enjoyed it.

Bragg did a book signing last week at a bookstore here in Charleston, so I took my family and went. Plus, I wanted to catch up with him about possibly speaking at the SPJ national convention in September in Atlanta. He is always so gracious and kind. He spent plenty of time answering questions, signing books and was genuinely interested in what people had to say.

If you’re looking for some good summer reads, check out Bragg’s books. And, here’s a link to his book tour schedule.

I knew this day was coming. I was dreading it. I feel a sense of sadness mingled with pride and admiration.

My baby birds are gone.

Yesterday morning two of them were toddling on the edge of the nest. I could see them contemplating if this was the day to spread their wings. Apparently their third sibling had an independent streak because he or she was already gone. Clint said they would be leaving that day. I secretly hoped they would stay – just a few more days. I’d so enjoyed our time together, peering through the windows to catch a glimpse of their tiny heads and hungry beaks.

By the afternoon, they had ventured from the nest and were perched amid the Confederate Jasmine on the front porch. You had to look hard to even see them. They were probably thinking, “OK, we made it this far. I think we can do it. I think we can fly.” (I thought it was neat how they stuck together, giving each other moral support.)

In the time it took me to go upstairs and put in a load of laundry, they were gone.

I couldn’t help but note the irony: the birds had left the day before Mother’s Day. I wondered if the mother bird was sitting in a tree top watching her babies take flight and feeling proud of the job she had done. She had perfectly fulfilled the role nature had for her as a mother. Would I do the same with my daughter?

Just as my little birds flew away while I was loading laundry, I have no doubt one minute I’ll be loading the washer with tiny socks and bibs and in the next instant washing armloads of clothing dropped on the laundry room floor during a visit home from college.

What matters is what I do in those moments between. The responsibility of parenthood has not been lost on me these last three months. It is an awesome task, one to be cherished, celebrated and feared.

Clint and I often study Katherine, as I’m sure most parents do, and wonder where life will take her. Will she be a doctor, an artist, a politician, a writer, a lawyer, an engineer, a chemist? We’ll do our very best to mold her into the best person we can. In fact,our job isn’t so different from that mother bird’s: to nurture our children, teach them how to fly and then step aside.

Yesterday my friend Shelia called posing a tricky Mother’s Day question. When it comes to Mother’s Day gifts, which is better: a gift that lets you escape motherhood (spa, manicure, passport and plane ticket to another country) or a gift that makes life as a mom easier (cleaning service, closet organizers, wife)?

My first instinct was to say “escape!” I mean, what new mommy doesn’t need a break?

Shelia said she was on the fence about this one. After some more discussion and thought, I see this is a tough one. Certainly, items that make the job of Mom a little easier are great. In fact, I already have a lawn service and get my meals from Dream Dinners. I’m kicking around the idea of having someone clean my house a couple times a month. I’m actually trying to eliminate all domestic duties from my life, so any gift that furthers that goal is perfect.

But, on the other hand, a break from motherhood certainly benefits a Mom’s sanity.

Seems to me the only solution is two gifts! Share your thoughts …

My baby birds are growing fast. I finally discoverd there are indeed three birds in the nest. I have no idea how they all fit. I managed to snap this new photo. One downside to having a bird nest on your porch – lots of bird poo.

Hard to believe Katherine turned 3 months old last Friday. She is really growing and doing a great job of holding up her head. See more pictures here.

Our front porch is covered with Confederate Jasmine – the perfect place for a bird’s nest.

A few weeks ago we noticed a mother bird had built a small nest in the Jasmine growing on the column next to our front door. I have been monitoring the progress each day.

Last weekend, while working in the yard, I grabbed the step ladder and climbed up to peer into the nest. Baby birds!

This weekend they are big enough to pop their fuzzy little heads (I think there are two) out of the nest. I managed to capture this picture. It’s not too clear but you can tell we have a bird family living at our house.

I really hope I’m home when they attempt to leave the nest.