Out with the new; In with the old

This old high chair has been a good one. Aunt Susan, Aunt Kristin and Mommy all used it when they where babies. It was one of the first items Grandma and Granddad Roe gave us after they learned we were on the way. Mommy and Daddy’s Bible study group later gave them a pair of brand new, matching high chairs as baby gifts, so this old friend has been collecting dust in the basement. Davey has been sick all week and I think I caught his bug yesterday. Shortly after dinner last night I puked massively all over myself, the floor and especially the chair. It was a three-meal hurl. Mommy wrapped me in a towel and then carried me to the sink for a bath. Daddy took the new chair outside and washed it with a water hose. He then recovered this one from the basement until the other dries. I think I like it better.

Kentucky Born a Century Apart

One hundred years before we were born, our great-grandfather, Carl Henry Roe, was born in this house in Dayton, Kentucky in 1907. His father, Robert Harrison Roe, had migrated here from Mason County, Kentucky where he met Grace Mae Dewitt of Cincinnati, Ohio. The couple married in 1902 and settled into this Fifth Street home to start a family. They later moved to the county and owned a dairy farm. After a devastating barn fire in the 1920’s, the Roe family worked their way west in search of greater opportunity eventually settling in Southern California. Granddaddy, Jim Roe, and later our Mommy, Sandy, were both born in California. Granddaddy moved his family east to Kansas City and mommy later migrated further east back to Kentucky, where we were born in 2007.

A Tail of Two Species

Pictured here is an American Cool Cat in the wild. One can clearly identify the American variety by its red and white striped breast and blue-jeaned bottom. Two schools of thought exist pertaining to this cub’s true bloodline. Paternal experts identify this example as a Wildcat native to the Kentucky region. Though domesticated, this animal can demonstrate extreme aggression and cunning in athletic pursuits. They naturally prey on Cardinals found in the Louisville area. Maternal scholars challenge this proposition, arguing the striped tail clearly identifies this cub’s pedigree to be a Tiger species indigenous to the Missouri State. Similar to the Wildcat in domestication and athletic prowess, but this cat prefers the taste of Kansas plains Jay Hawks. This debate is likely to continue until the cub is fully grown and shows a clear preference.

Blog #500 plus one

Since blog #500 fell on St. Patrick’s Day, we decided to mark this noteworthy milestone one day afterwards. This seems fitting for a project that is by design approached simply one day at a time. It has been said that you can’t eat an elephant all at once, that it must be eaten one bite at a time. Big projects are like that, and this blog is no exception. If fact, had we conceived the scope of this exercise, one can only speculate if we would have been too intimidated to begin. But now updating the blog has become just one of the household chores like the laundry or dishes. For us, our family and friends, its value appreciates daily. We trust one day our twins will appreciate the efforts we make, and the occasional indignities we suffer in order to get them both looking and smiling at the camera.

When Irish Eyes Are Tearing

Like we sometimes do, we’ve been thinking about this photo for some time. Props are always good, and Sandy purchased these hats several weeks ago. When I saw these t-shirts last week, I couldn’t resist buying them too. So we had our props and just needed the photo. Normally we would have taken it this weekend, but we were on the road to Indianapolis and Maysville. On our way home, Trey Davey developed what we thought was a cold. He developed a fever, watery eyes and a runny nose. We skipped the photo shoot yesterday, so today was the day. It turned out pretty well in spite of how bad Davey felt. After lunch we went to the doctor’s office and found that Trey had pink eye and some infection in both ears. Dr. Neel prescribed some medicine which helped our baby feel better this evening.

Happy Birthday Aunt Kristin

Mommy’s younger sister is named Kristin, and she’s a lot of fun. In the wintertime she and Uncle Wes live in a cabin on a snowy mountaintop. They use wood to heat their house and the elk will sometime walk right across their front lawn. She told us that when we come to visit her we can play with Oakley, her doggy, and Panda, her kitty. In the summertime they live in the desert and will go white water rafting through the Grand Canyon. At night they sleep outside on the ground under the stars. Maybe one day when we’re older Mommy and Daddy will take us on a rafting trip with Aunt Kristin and Uncle Wes. That would be so cool.

Going back Nine Generations

Here lies John (1754-1822) and Nancy (1762-1821) Dye. They were the Benji and Davey’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents. Born in Middlesex County, New Jersey, John served in the American Revolution as a private in Captain Jonathan Combs Company, 3d regiment. He married Nancy Ely on October 14, 1777 in Plainfield, New Jersey and they had nine children. The family immigrated to the territory of Kentucky County, Virginia in 1789 with six other families. In 1792, Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the fifteenth state. Four years later families near Orangeburg founded the Stonelick Baptist Church and dedicated a cemetery on the hill behind. The church’s first pastor, Reverend William Wood, may have married John and Nancy’s daughter, Margaret, to Jacob Roe on December 29, 1797. Our twins were born almost 210 years later. Their direct Roe family ancestors lived in Kentucky for over 130 years before moving west.