Instructor Training

When Granddaddy was in the Navy he learned to fly jet airplanes. After the service, he took that skill to Trans World Airlines and became a commercial pilot. During certain periods of his career he worked at TWA’s Training Center in Kansas City teaching other pilots the techniques for flying large commercial airliners. Given this extensive background, teaching the twins the techniques for operating their new Thomas the Train toys on Saturday was child's play for all ages.

Remembering Great, Great Aunt Jane

Jane Schott, of Indianapolis, passed away Saturday morning in her Central Avenue home after enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday with her family. She was 83. Knowing that she was in diminishing health, we took the opportunity four weeks ago to visit her. Jane was very found of the twins and asked to see them. Previously, we visited her in 2007 when Sandy was very pregnant and again in 2009 when the boys were 15 months old. During our 2007 visit, Jane showed us the scrapbook Sandy’s great grandmother Schott had prepared for her son Charles, Jane’s husband. Charles’ mother had written stories beside each photo laid out chronologically through his life. While Jane was not the author or the subject of this work, she was our link to this family history and in doing so provided us with the inspiration for this very blog. God Bless you Aunt Jane.

The Icing

Sandy’s birthday party masterpiece may have been a piece of cake, but it was by no means easy. She found the idea on a website and ambitiously decided to give it a try. Baking the cake, slicing it into sections and assembling it into a train form weren’t the hardest steps for our engineer. Applying the icing was much more challenging. The red icing ran and the detailing and lettering were tedious. Sandy used licorice sticks for the train’s funnel and side bumpers and whole Oreo cookies for the wheels. Crushed Oreos made realistic looking coal for our steamer. When she had real difficulty icing the face, I removed a plastic Thomas face from a toy and it fit perfectly. It was the perfect cake for our “T” party, and it tasted great too!

Our "T" Party

In 2009, populists, conservatives and libertarians began protesting massive U.S. government spending, and these actions were labeled the Tea Party movement. On this day in 2010, grandparents, parents and boys gathered to celebrate the twins’ third birthday one week early, and the “T” in our party stood for “Thomas the Tank Engine”. Thomas was everywhere. He was on our cups, on our plates, on our napkins and on our cake. He was on our balloons, on our hats, on our signs and tablecloth. The twins received some very nice gifts from their grandparents before being presented with a large Thomas toy box filled with Thomas toys, each with a unique ability. One played records, one was a flashlight, one would go when you pushed down the driver’s head and another would go when you blew a whistle. It was a noisy, festive event with no protests.

Groom and Doom

Nail clipping is right up there with haircuts on Trey Davey’s least favorite list. He hates it. Perhaps he believes these activities invade his personal space or cramp his grooming preferences. Who knows, but he has consistently resisted these actions from the beginning. Every grooming experience is a wresting match, and this little boy is strong. Clipping nails is a delicate procedure under the best conditions.  Trying to trim his tiny little toenails on one pumping foot while his other is being pushed into my kidney is nearly an impossible task. The process of trimming Benji’s toe and finger nails takes about five minutes, while Davey’s grooming may take three times longer due to his squirming and screaming protests. I hope he grows out of it, but if you ever see Davey with shoulder length hair and nails, you’ll know he got too big for me to handle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

These photos encapsulate the very most important things in our lives. First, we have each other, Sandy and I, and it is a match.com made in heaven. Then after so many years and prayers the Lord blessed us with twin boys who are happy, healthy and our lives’ delight. We are blessed to have our four parents who are healthy and fabulously happy grandparents. Al and Lisa Bell represent the best of our many wonderful friends. Their support and encouragement has been steadfast through our lives. Our family room’s ancestral photo collection represents the good names and traditions that we want to pass on to our boys. We are thankful for our attractive, comfortable home where our cupboards have never been bare. With so much to be thankful for, it has become our family’s tradition to join hands and thank God for our blessings at every meal not just on Thanksgiving.

Clean One Liners

It is interesting to listen to Grandma Roe’s observations about the boys’ developments. With consistent visits about every 6 to 8 weeks over the last three years, she has noticed their advances better than we have, seeing them every day. One of the activities she enjoys most on every visit is giving the boys a bath. It is one of the few places where she can contain their energies and talk to them. What amazed her on this visit was the length of their sentences and their growing vocabulary. She was pleased to hear Trey Davey asked her “hey Grandma, what are you doing?” and Benji suggest “how about Benji James Edds Senior do it, not Grandma?” referring to sticking letters to the wall. No stand up comic could have tickled her more.