MS State vs. S. Carolina

We had some friends over to watch State take on South Carolina. For the most part, the men ended up in front of the TV while the women hovered around the food. We are so glad that it is finally college football season. We are the eternal optimists for both MS State and Vandy. We mean it this time, THIS is our year!

Flight 5191 Crash claims lives of friends

Sunday morning we awoke to the news of the Comair plane crash in Lexington. Immediately we became concerned because the airport is a very small regional airport. We never went there without seeing somone we knew. After church on Sunday we began to call friends in Danville, KY, where we used to live. Leaving message after message our concerned increased. Finally, we were able to speak with Cindy Frye, wife of Centre football coach Andy Frye, and member of our home church there, Grace PCA. The news was not good. Bart Frederick, also a member of Grace, was on the plane. His is survived by his loving wife, Kyra and their three children, Seth, Victoria, and Edie. Bart was on his way to Atlanta to finalize plans to bring his family to Atlanta where he had recently accepted a new job with his company.

The sadness did not end there. We learned through Randy Hays, VP for Student Affairs at Centre, that Centre '04 alum Scarlett Parsley was also on the plane. She was bound for her honeymoon with her husband, Jon Hooker, having just married the night before. Scarlett was in the entering class at Centre in my very first year working there. I can remember her beautiful smile and warm personality as she went through sorority recruitment pledging Kappa Alpha Theta. She was also a cheerleader. In my final year working at Centre, Scarlett graduated, right on time.

Please pray for these families as they grieve this very sudden loss.

"Be joyful always; pray continually;give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Here Comes Miss Sarah's Baby!

Little Philip's last week with Miss Sarah was this week. It is a bittersweet end but not goodbye. We are so very sad to lose Miss Sarah but are so excited to welcome her baby into the world in just a few weeks! Little Philip just woke up from a nap in this picture and clearly, the hair monster came to visit.

Bop and Mamie Moss Come to Visit

Mamie and Bop Moss came to Birmingham so that Bop could complete his annual veterinary continuing education seminars. We had such a good time with them! We only wish the visit was longer.

Potential Halloween Costumes

We are starting to think about Halloween costumes for Little Philip. He started walking yesterday, a bit wobbly but enough weight bearing steps to have whisked out the baby book to record this momentous date. We are thinking little cowboy, monkey, or some kind of cute cuddly adorable animal that can run around at the festivals. Googling online reveals some costumes that are just wrong in so many ways. Take a look.

What Twins Would Be Like

Recently, we kept the Hensleys' daughter, Sophia, while her mommy went into preterm labor with her sister, Gabrielle. We are happy to report that Gabrielle is doing well and gaining weight steadily. We LOVED keeping Sophia and despite what everyone may think, it was easy! Sophia and Philip entertained each other the entire time. We put them in the wagon and pulled them around the neighborhood. When people drove by they would honk. I like to think that they were saying "Now there's a mother of twins that has it all together." I have to admit I was a bit proud. BUT, as with any good thing, it came to an end and Sophia went back home to her loving parents. We captured a few good pictures of our weekend together and look forward to more playtime together soon.

A New Low

Our friends the Mathews share great dinner party recipes, complete with pictures. I am so jealous of how delicious everything looks! I really can cook, if I have the time. But tonight I sunk to a new low. In an effort to make a meal that both Big Philip and Little Philip will eat, I made that effortless gourmet Hamburger Helper. I thought myself pretty creative to have tossed in some green peas. When it was finished, it just didn't look very appetizing. The Philips went to town on it. I on the other hand, am searching for the Pepto Bismol. The dog is howling for leftovers. It looks just like his food anyway.

Single Parenting

Big Philip has gone to New Orleans for the weekend, taking a group of UAB students to do hurricane relief work with Habitat for Humanity New Orleans. He is so proud of his commercial van driving license. Little Philip is looking forward to the attention from his mommy.

Speaking of Blogs

I (Renie) got a call from the AP wire service about two weeks ago, asking for a comment on whether or not Birmingham-Southern College had any plans to educate new students on responsible use of "social networking websites." I had not heard the formal term for these sites. I only know them as facebook.com, myspace.com, and friendster.com. Actually, both Philip and I have facebook "accounts" which provide a nifty way for us to keep up with our current and former students. Younger cousins and such that still have college email accounts are also on the site. These sites are great but as with anything "you can poke your eye out" so to speak. Students are posting really horrific pictures of themselves in compromising positions and posting comments, quotes, and other text that doesn't make them look like the best of students or the most worthy job candidates. So to answer the AP's questions, yes, we are planning a brief time to discuss responsible use of the internet. Today one of my former students and alums from Centre College emailed me to say he saw my quote in an online article on CNN.