the old homestead

the back of the house

some of the concrete board has been installed on the outside

this room used to be the kitchen


View of the porch outside



Dad standing in the main living room, some the boards are yet to be replaced in the wall






We were excited to see my grandma's home (or as Dad calls it, "the old homestead")being restored by the new property owners. They have gutted the four rooms on the inside and hope to have it ready to live in by April. Then they will remodel the outside, including the cellar and the well housing on the outside porch by the kitchen. It was too expensive to use cedar on the outside, so they will be using something he called "concrete boards" for siding. The man working on the restoration makes his living doing just that, restoring historical homes in Orlando, Florida. We hope to go back to SC in April and take a tour of the complete home.

in the news

If you were not able to watch the Olympics on TV, or if you just can't get enough - you can still go to the official NBCOlympics.com web site. Go to the link to VIDEOS on the home page and you can watch the individual event that you missed or would like to see again. Check out the PHOTOS link or go to the bottom of the home page where there is a day by day recap of this years Torino games.

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My favorite TV character passed away this weekend. Good ol' "Barney Fife," actor Don Knotts, was 81 years old. Read about his death at www.foxnews.com

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If you read my blog, you know I am big Duke fan and that I also think J.J. Redick is one of the best players in Duke history. You can read a recent article posted at espn.com called "The Other Side of J.J. Redick" by Pat Forde.

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Don't forget this year is the 300th anniversary of the birthday of Benjamin Franklin. Events are posted at www.benfranklin300.org

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Natalie's photo album

Natalie helps "Mam-ma" Franklin in the kitchen making orange balls.

the great guitar gathering

Philip Logan played with about 42 other guitar students for this concert.


I wrote earlier this month about our nephew Philip in the "guitar orchestra" at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Here is a link to the newspaper article today at www.jacksonville.com
(you may have to register with the site to view)

This photo is from the Florida Times-Union newspaper today. Philip is third from the left on the front row.

family photo album

We kept Stephen busy when he visited for the holidays in December. He was able to finish the back wall of our garage so we now have an extra room. We still have work to do on the inside of course, but we now have a room we can use without worrying about the weather.

check out these bloggers

Just want to share with you some bloggers I have read recently.

First blog is written by Ryan Martin, a post-graduate student at a fundamentalist Baptist seminary. His blog can be read at immoderate.blogspot.com

Another blog of interest is written by two 17 year old twins, brothers Alex and Brett Harris. I like the blog title, an invented word I guess, www.therebelution.com This invented word is defined on their site as a widespread teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture.

Jacob Morse, a graphic designer, has a blog called Putting the Action in Distraction.

This blog is called karagraphy * joy writing in the rock river valley - and always has good thoughts and quotes posted, as well as lots of links to other bloggers if you have time to surf...

If you feel the need to read some "conservative" political views, check out powerlineblog.com

am radio is alive and well

I find it interesting that AM radio is still alive and well in 2006. Most stations broadcast only during the day and many have switched to talk radio formats. I was reminded of this again as we traveled home from SC on Monday night. It seems the only AM stations I could tune in on I-95 were talk formats. I was hoping to listen to a basketball game, but both stations I heard were from way, way north of here. I listened to AM 700 for awhile from Cincinnati, Ohio. The talk show there was focused on the story of a dad who was arrested for spanking his child with a belt (in public I guess.) The judge scolded him for teaching his child violence by spanking his child. The radio host pointed out several times, that the violence in this fair city was more likely caused by a lack of parental discipline, or a lack of a father in the life of the children, and he disagreed with the judge. Many callers also disagreed with the judge and gave "testimony" to the fact that they had been spanked and they did not go around robbing and killing people now that they are grownups!

Another thing about AM radio at night - Does anyone know why you can tune in to a station from up north, but the local stations are lost after about 30 miles distance? I was able to listen to another station in Tennessee and one in Atlanta, GA, but that was it. I finally picked up a J-ville station about 20 minutes from home. Listening to AM radio on the way home reminded me of the summer nights in my teen years (back in SC) when I would try to listen to radio late at night and could only hear a station from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Oh well, it made the trip go by a little faster.

along the journey...

Sometimes you just have to get away...

We took a quick weekend trip to SC to visit my parents. Their pastor "showed mom and dad off" for us at church, asking them to sing Sunday morning. What a special blessing to hear them sing again, one of their favorite songs "I've just heard from Heaven, and it's alright now." Sunday night, my mom played her "famous" arrangement of "Keep on the Firing Line."

On Monday, I went to Target and bought a 20" color television for $88.00. Can't beat that price! They had two broken, old TV's in the kitchen, one setting on top of the other, and we were able to get rid of one at the dump. (Dad insisted on keeping the one that wasn't completely dead yet!) He wanted to drive by the "old homestead" since my cousin Judy had sold it recently. The house is being restored we found out. The man working on it was from Orlando and he restores old homes for a living. He was just as excited to meet my dad as my dad was excited to be able walk in the home and see what was transpiring. I will post some pics as soon as I can, as they have gutted the 4 rooms inside and are doing a complete restoration. This should be finished in April, so we hope to go back and check it out. I did not realize my dad was born in this house in 1926, and all the memories that must be there for him.

We also were able to stop by the Cowpens Veteran's Memorial Park, near the old train depot. The city has inscibed the names of all the town's war veterans in granite. They just recently added Dad's name to one of the monuments.

Now if I can just get rid of some of those old telephones!(that's a story for another day)

JJ Redick breaks another record

JJ Redick broke the record for the most points by any Duke player yesterday with 2,557 points, passing his assistant coach, Johnny Dawkins.

Redick is the leading candidate for player of the year.


For the second consecutive game, Duke needed a postgame ceremony to recognize the efforts of J.J. Redick. The senior guard from Roanoke, Va., tossed in 30 points to become the school’s all-time leading scorer as the Blue Devils defeated Miami, 92-71, on Sunday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Now with 2,557 career points, Redick passed current associate head coach Johnny Dawkins for the top spot on Duke’s scoring chart. Dawkins registered 2,556 career points from 1983-86. Redick now sits in second place on the ACC all-time chart, trailing only Wake Forest’s Dickie Hemric who had 2,587 points.

You can check out the photo galleries of the Duke-Miami game at these two links - duke gallery and AP photo gallery .

March Madness is almost upon us!!

family photo gallery

Another birthday - the clan in Texas recently celebrated the birthday of Colin Baggett, the son of Jeremiah and Katie. He turned 3 years old! These kids sure grow up fast!




Family in Wisconsin have been praying for a good snow day, so Natalie could enjoy the sledding. Looks like they had plenty of snow to enjoy this week! More photos are posted at the link to Watching Natalie Grow.

cool beans..and other stuff

Two men were talking one day. One of them said, "My wife talks to herself a lot." His friend answered, "Mine does too, but she doesn't know it. She thinks I'm listening."

There's a legend about a scorpion, being a very poor swimmer, who asked a turtle to carry him on its back across the river. "Are you crazy?" exclaimed the turtle. "You'll sting me and I'll drown." "My dear turtle," laughed the scorpion, "if you were to drown, I'd go down with you. Now where's the logic in that?" "You're right," replied the turtle. "Hop on." The scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river gave the turtle a mighty sting. As they both sank to the bottom, the turtle inquired, "Do you mind if I ask you something? You said there is no logic in your stinging me. Why did you do it?" "It has nothing to do with logic," the drowning scorpion replied. "It's just my nature."

“Tact is the art of making a guest feel at home when that’s where you wish they were”

For more than 20 years a fire has been burning deep within the earth of Centralia, a small community of 1,200 residents in the heart of Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields. Fifteen federal, state and local agencies have spent more than $3.5 million to extinguish the flames without success. You can touch the earth and feel the heat. Driving through the town, you can see smoke rising from the ground. Government officials have stopped trying to put out the fire; it's a futile task.

heart month

February is "Heart Month" and we can all learn more about the heart with this link to "The Heart: An Online Exploration". This site has been developed by the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, PA.

Explore the heart. Discover the complexities of its development and structure. Follow the blood through the blood vessels. Wander through the weblike body systems. Learn how to have a healthy heart and how to monitor your heart's health. Look back at the history of heart science.

duke photo galleries

Photos from the Duke - Wake Forest game on Tuesday. Next game for Duke is Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19th.


Here are some links to the Duke Photo Galleries from the past week's game.

First gallery is from the Duke-UNC game on Feb 7th. Duke won the game 87-83 but it was a close one - see my post last week.

Next gallery is from Saturday, Feb 11th, when Duke beat Maryland 96-88. The "Blue Devils" do not have to "fear the turtle"

One more gallery - this one from Tuesday, Feb. 14th, when Duke has an easy win over Wake Forest, 93-70. History was made at this game as JJ Redick set the record for the most three point shots of any college player in the history of the game (at 414).

new websites to view

Check out this site called Forces of Nature. You can learn about volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes at this site found at www.nationalgeographic.com.

Another site to help you keep track of the Olympics is at www.usatoday.com. The home page shows a count of the total medals won by the USA and other countries. Also the link to the photo gallery is great with more photos added daily. Of course, the official site of the 2006 Torino Olympics can be found at www.torino2006.org


This next site has some neat pictures of New York at www.overshadowed.com. This picture is called "Tribute in Light" and was taken on Sept. 11, 2004. Just click on the word "previous" or "next" at the top right of the picture to view more photos in the series.

If you have been keeping up with the latest rage in the Muslim world about the political cartoonist and their depictions of Muhammad, check out this cartoon by Gary Varvel at www.indystar.com


Lot's of good reading this week!

along the journey...

FAMILY NEWS UPDATES:There will be at least two new family members this year. My sister's son, Kenny and wife Casey, are expecting their first child in July in South Carolina. My oldest son, Josh and wife Janelle, are expecting their first one due in September in Pennsylvania. As you probably know by now, Josh and Janelle moved to PA in December. He is the assistant Pastor at Hope Baptist Church in Hanover. They are really happy to be working full-time in the ministry.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS:My wife, Cindy, celebrated number 52 on January 31st. One of our nephews, Philip Logan, turned 17 on the same day. We went to Chan's Chinese for a combined birthday dinner. My youngest son, Brandon, hit the quarter-century mark turning 25 on February 9th. He came home from community orchestra practice with several cards, presents, and his favorite-chocolate chip cookies.

OTHER NEWS:
We just learned that Cindy's mom, Winnie, will be having surgery next week. Please pray for her that this will go well.
Not sure about Wisconsin, but I know PA was hit hard by the snowstorm this past weekend. When I spoke to Josh yesterday, he had just finished about 4 hours of shoveling snow. With 12 inches of snow, I hope he has time to make a snowman!
My nephew, Philip, performed with 42 other students last Friday with the Douglas Anderson Guitar Orhestra here in Jax. We enjoyed the concert which featured two famous guitarists-Michael Chapdelaine, Acoustic Guitar Virtuoso and Roland Dyens, French Guitarist/Composer.

notes from revival

We were blessed to have the evangelist, Jerry Sivnksty ("Si-ven-ski") for a week of revival at church. Below are some of the notes I took from his sermons:

Marks of an authentic church

1) The mark of submission
The first step after becoming a Christian is the step of baptism. The Bible teaches us that we are to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in baptism.
Romans 6:3-4 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

2) The mark of separation
When we are saved, we should no longer be serving sin. We need to separate from the sin around us in this world.
Romans 6:6 "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

3) The mark of service
We are "alive" to serve Christ on this earth.
Romans 6:8 "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:"

4) The mark of our Savior
This last mark is the gift of eternal life through Jesus
Romans 6:9-10 "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God."

Other quotes from the revival:

"The devils also believe in God"

"We must as individuals go by faith, in every area of our life."

"Count it all joy when trials come."

"We need to look in the mirror of the Word of God (the Bible) to keep our life clean."

Favorite verse he quoted that week -

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."

web comics

Who needs the newspaper's funny pages when you can read comics online? I discovered web comics recently and this link will take you to the process of making one. There are three sections you can view - part one: pencilling, part two: inking and part three: digital scanning, and then you can view the final product called Copper also.

family photo gallery

new pictures of our grand-daughter - she is growing up so fast!


Natalie goes to work


Natalie and Andrew enjoy the game


Natalie, the babysitter


Natalie likes to camp out in her tent(one of her Christmas presents)









Leah says:
"Natalie has just been being such a big girl lately... it is funny. Stephen walked in the door late the other night from work and was talking on the phone (I think to you, Dad). Natalie went in the fridge, got out a bag of carrots, put them in a bowl and gave them to Stephen. I didn't tell her to do that or anything! She just thought of it on her own. And today, it was getting to be around lunchtime and I guess Natalie was hungry because she got out paper plates and had them set at her table setting and mine and was just sitting there... It was so cute.

Thought you'd enjoy hearing those stories... I am just amazed at how much she has grown just in the last week."

peanuts

my favorite comic strip of all time is Peanuts, especially this time of the year!!

happy birthday

Brandon with his favorite snack, Little Debbie Fudge Rounds

Brandon is 25 years young today. Happy Birthday...and many more!

duke 87, north carolina 83

Josh McRoberts and JJ Redick celebrate with a chest-bump after the win


As Dick Vitale says, "Awesome, baby!" and another "Maalox Masher" game from the Dukies last night! With Duke leading by 17 in the second half, North Carolina clawed and scratched their way back into the lead with three minutes to go. You have to admire the way the Tarheels came back from that huge deficit. But once again, JJ Redick made the shots when they were needed and Duke was able to win again. It was interesting to watch the North Carolina coach take his starting five players and bench them after they fell behind by 17 points. UNC Coach Roy Williams said after the game, he was so mad that if he had not taken them out of the game right then, he might have been charged with assault and battery! Looking forward to the next game this Saturday at 1:00 pm, Duke travels to play the Maryland "Fear the Turtle" Terrapins. It's gonna be another close one!!

sports news

The New York Times has an Olympic homepage with interactive media, videos, articles and more at www.nytimes.com - 2006 Winter Olympics


It is "Rivalry Week" in college basketball this week. Duke plays at North Carolina tonight at 9:00pm on espn - link to article

duke photo gallery

You can check out photo galleries from this week's games at these sites. Last Wednesday, Duke beat Boston College in close game, 83-81. As one of the players said this week, "we are 21-1 and could easily be 16-6 at this time of the year." Each team Duke plays is becoming their "game of the year" and this makes for some really good basketball games! Duke-Boston College photo gallery

Hope you got to see the Duke-Florida State game on Saturday. Florida State almost won this game, sending it in to overtime at 84-84. The Dukies were able to pull out the win 97-96. It was so close that if Shelden Williams had not made the last two free throws with 3.3 seconds to go, then Florida State would have won with their last shot being a 3 pointer just before the final buzzer. Duke-FLorida State Photo Gallery

'Til the storm passes over

God can use the storms of life to fulfill His will. Is the wind blowing? He is flying on the wings of the wind. Are the clouds thick? He will bring showers of blessing out of them. Don't be afraid of the storm. Storms can come from the hand of God and be the means of blessing. (words of wisdom from Dr. Wiersbe)

family photo gallery

Stephen closed in the back of our garage for our Christmas present. I will post the finished project later, after a final coat of paint.

Natalie's first haircut in December 2005!

What is Uncle Brandon doing, Natalie? You can print this and color it:)


Ashley sent this cute picture of Joel, Jeremiah and Colin when they went to pick out their Christmas tree

listen while you surf

I found a new Christian site to listen to while surfing the internet, working online, doing schoolwork, etc. This site is free and is at www.vcyamerica.org and you can listen by dial up or broadband by clicking the link on the home page. Along with music, they have bible teaching and programs such as Unshackled and Crosstalk. I discovered this online radio station through reading about it at sharperiron.org. They interviewed Jason Janz one day last week on their Crosstalk program. At the crosstalk link, you can listen to previous programs at the "archived program" link.

it's tough getting old

KNOCK ON WOOD: Three elderly sisters lived together, and one night the 95-year-old sister went to take a bath. She put a foot in the tub and paused. "Was I getting in or out of the bath?" she yelled to her sisters. The 93-year-old sister yelled back, "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She started up the stairs and paused. "Was I going up the stairs or down?" she yelled to her sister below. "I hope I never get that forgetful," thought the third sister, knocking on wood. She then yelled to her sisters, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."