BenAnna Blog

On Saturday, Mommy and Daddy took Ben and Anna  to the Martin Luther King, Jr. historical site in downtown Atlanta. It was the first visit for Ben and for Mommy and the first visit in over ten years for Daddy. Anna went last year with her class in a large group.

The new visitor's center is very well done, with pictures, sculpture, and historical video from the times. The video pulled no punches and showed graphic depictions of the ugliness of segregation. Ben and Anna had a lot of questions that were very hard to explain.

"What does discrimination mean?"
"Why were those people so angry?"
"Why didn't they just tell the police?"

At times, Daddy was too choked up from the video scenes and questions to answer without taking a breath first.

However, the hardest question of call (at least for Mommy and Daddy) was explaining to Ben and Anna - for the first time - what the "N" word was. The historical videos showed what looked like respectable people using that vile word casually. It was on the signs that people were carrying in the pictures. It is not a word that Ben and Anna have ever heard or seen before.

Mommy and Daddy explained that this was a disgusting word that they will not ever use. It is a word full of hate and ugliness. It is a word that they wished was gone forever, but it is a word that Ben and Anna may hear sometimes from very ignorant people. It is a word that Mommy and Daddy will not accept ever hearing from either of them.

That night, as Mommy and Daddy talked about the visit, they decided that if Ben and Anna had to be exposed to such ugliness, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center was probably the place to introduce it. At least there the word could be put into context.

It is hard to believe that it has been over forty years since April 4. It seems like ancient history to Ben and Anna, who cannot imagine ever treating someone differently because of the color of their skin. Ben and Anna made Mommy and Daddy proud this weekend, and gave them great hope for the future.

It is hard to believe that the Coffin Cruiser episode has not been captured in this blog.

A few years ago, cousins Ethan and Claire were coming to Atlanta to visit along with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. Mommy and Daddy planned to take the whole crew downtown to an exhibit of treasures from King Tut's tomb. They thought that this would be entertaining and educational for everyone.

On the way to the exhibit, Ethan and Ben rode with Grandmommy and Grandaddy. Ethan expressed his concern that the event would be boring. Ben proceeded to tell him all about the exciting things that could be experienced at the King Tut exhibit, including, "a huge roller coaster ride called the Coffin Cruiser." That particular ride, which only existed in Ben's imagination, was described in great detail during the trip down.

To this day, whenever Ben's imagination comes up with something amazing and unique, Mommy and Daddy will look at each other and say, "Coffin Cruiser".

A few months back, Anna announced to the family that she had an idea of how we could all be rich.

"Daddy should be a movie star. He's really good with voices."

Daddy had to explain that he went to Engineering school, not Movie Star school, but promised to look into it should the opportunity arise.

Ben received his new (used) saxophone yesterday and is completely enthralled. He only knows 2 notes (B, A, G), but playes them over and over - usually during a particularly stressful part of a movie.

This morning for breakfast, Daddy played a David Sanborne CD. Ben was thrilled. He wants to play "hot jazz". Daddy is enraptured. Mommy less so, but still very proud.

Yes indeed that cat is enormous and has folded wings. Too bad this image does not allow the viewer to appreciate the finer details, like the patterning on the bricks made by rubbing a pencil across concrete.

The actual cat is about 11 inches across. Daddy brought it to work to make copies on the big copier (at Ben's request) and couldn't help scanning in a copy for himself.

According to Anna, there are two things.

1) You understand all of the comics so you can laugh at them all.
2) You get to swim during adult swim at the pool.

Yes, dear. Those are the big ones.

Mommy: Ben, can you believe that you're going to be two digits old in a few weeks?

Ben: My goal is to make it to 3.

On our beach vacation this year, Ben and Anna shared one room in the condo and Mommy and Daddy shared the other one. Ben and Anna tended to wake up earlier than Mommy and Daddy and had to entertain themselves. At home, that usually means getting onto the computers and playing games, but computers were not an option at the beach.

So instead, Ben and Anna would get their books and go out onto the balcony and sit on the lounges and read. Anna is reading "White Fang" by Jack London and Ben is reading one of the Harry Potter books. All by themselves. Daddy is so very proud of them.

Anna sent her first email last week, and it was to her Daddy.

HI!!! I love this e-mail! In the book I’m reading, the dad writes jokes to his daughter each week. Could you do that?

Yours till the pumpkin pies,
Anna

P.S. When I e-mail, may I speak in that Morse code thing? Like when I say you, I write u and stuff like that.

Daddy plans to keep this email forever.

Last night, Daddy and Anna attended the Dunwoody Girl Scouts Father-Daughter Sock Hop. Anna was resplendent in a pink poodle skirt and pony tail. Daddy wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and a leather jacket.

Anna had dozens of chocolate chip cookies and Daddy even agreed that on this special night she could "cheat" on her Lenten pledge to give up Sprite. Anna had a Sprite float with chocolate chip cookie ice cream and loved it.

Anna and Daddy danced the twist, the swing, the YMCA, and the Electric Slide. (Daddy thinks that they should have won the swing contest.)

The dance floor was hot and crowded, and Daddy can barely walk today, but he wouldn't have changed anything. It was a magical night, especially for Daddy who got to be the first guy to slow dance with Anna ... standing on his feet.

Your Daddy loves you very much, little girl, and will remember this night forever.

Anna has had Sparkle, the black gerbil with the white throat, for about two years. Originally, Sparkle and Katie the gerbil lived together, but Katie died a long while back due to hairbrush poisoning and Sparkle has been alone ever since.

Sparkle was never too social. She enjoyed digging and building huge structures out of her litter and the toilet paper rolls that Anna gave her. In the last couple of months, she would come out and look around a lot more, and Anna would occasionally let her run around on the floor some. Most days Anna mostly ignored Sparkle, but she did try to talk to her regularly, give her water and food, and keep her cage relatively clean.

For the past week, Sparkle hasn't been burrowing much. She mostly sat on the surface and went to and from her food bowl and water bottle with the occasional side trip to a cardboard box for chewing. On Sunday, Mommy decided we should clean out her cage in case Sparkle was reacting to the old litter. She brought Sparkle's cage downstairs, where Mommy and Daddy discovered that Sparkle was not doing well at all.

Sparkle obviously hadn't been eating. She was mostly skin and bones. She didn't respond when petted and didn't move much for any reason. She was still breathing, and you could see her little heartbeat, though. Mommy and Daddy told Anna that Sparkle was very close to dieing.

After some tears on Daddy's shoulder, Anna went into the other room and came back a few minutes later with a sign that said, "I love you Sparkle". Daddy and Anna attached it to the side of the cage next to Sparkle so that Sparkle could see it. Anna asked Daddy if Sparkle was hurting and Daddy explained that she was asleep and didn't feel anything at all. Anna covered Sparkle with a piece of cloth and we turned off the lights so that Sparkle could rest comfortably.

Late last night, just before bed, Anna had to see Sparkle one last time. She petted Sparkle gently on the back. Sparkle lifted her head and tried to look around a bit, then tried weakly to jump. She was obviously very sick and quickly settled back down to sleep. Anna cried some more and Daddy carried her upstairs to her room where she cried a little bit and then they read some books together for a while. Mommy helped to snuggle Anna until Anna fell asleep.

This morning, Sparkle was curled up in a ball and wasn't breathing anymore. Anna cried a little bit, but it was better because everyone was prepared. Sparkle looked very peaceful. Daddy will help Anna bury her in the backyard tonight.

Goodbye Sparkle Gerbil. You made one little girl very happy while you were alive and taught her some very important lessons when you died.

One night, just about a week ago, as Daddy was putting Anna to bed, she asked, "Is Mrs. Santa Claus real?".

Daddy replied that he didn't know for sure, but that Santa would probably be pretty lonely without a Mrs. Santa Claus. Anna accepted that answer, but had another question.

"What about Rudolph?"

Daddy said that he wasn't sure that Rudolph was real, since he mainly came from a song that wasn't too old, but that he knows some people who claim to have seen a red light on Christmas eve. To that, Anna had a more interesting response.

"A few years ago, when we were staying at Gigi and Daddy Wayne's for Christmas I stayed up late to hear the reindeer on the roof, and I did! I heard them on the roof!"

This year's newest wonder is an elf that Santa left for Anna and Ben. Anna didn't think about asking for an elf until Christmas Eve and left a note for Santa ... and he left her an elf! The elf has been moving around the house, eating crackers, and causing minor mischief. Mommy and Daddy hope that in the new year he goes back home for a few months.

OK, Daddy's been very bad about posting and got called on it. So, for the sake of posterity, here are a few things that I wish I had written when they happened. This isn't comprehensive, but waiting for comprehensive means nothing gets written.

Pets

Sparky the mouse passed away while traveling in Tennessee. At Ben's insistence, she was placed in a plastic container and frozen for the trip home. She is now buried next to Fire. Days later two rays - Clementine and Flaire - entered the Wilkinson household.

Just over six weeks ago, Clementine developed started looking poorly. She lost weight, stopped running around and was panting a lot. By the time we got her to the one vet in the area that works with anything other than cats and dogs, the vet diagnosed pneumonia. That diagnosis took an x-ray. Yes, Mommy paid for an x-ray of a rat. It didn't look good. Mommy let Ben make the decision about Flaire and the vet told him all of the options. Ben made the grown-up decision to let the vet put Clementine to sleep. He told Daddy about it that night and asked some very tough questions about seeing Clementine after he (Ben) died. Ben loved both of his rats, but Clementine was the one that liked to snuggle and ride around on his shoulders. Clementine is buried in a corner of the yard with a nice, flat rock to mark her grave.

Today, after a six week wait to ensure that the pneumonia hadn't been passed along, young Cream Puff the rat entered the Wilkinson household. She and Flaire are right now snuggled up next to each other asleep in the cage. Ben is a very happy boy.

Politics

Barack Obama was elected president last year. Ben and Anna were very interested in the election and talked about it a lot in their classes. Anna voted for John McCain because he was a hero in the war. Ben voted for Barack Obama because he likes to help people. What made Mommy and Daddy especially proud of Ben and Anna is that neither one of them thought that there was anything at all unusual about an African-American running for - or winning - the presidency.

Ben is convinced that he can visit Washington, DC and meet President Obama. He was quite disappointed when our vacation moved from DC to New York because of a conflict with the Cherry Blossom Festival. He reminds Mommy and Daddy often that we're going to Washington, DC next time. He has an appointment with the President.

A few weeks after the election, when there had been a lot of discussion about race that even Ben and Anna couldn't ignore, Ben asked Daddy, "Daddy, are we white?" He seemed genuinely disappointed in the answer.

The treehouse

Daddy finally built the treehouse with lots of help from Ben and Anna. Anna particularly liked to help hammer in the nails. She may have taken a little longer to hammer them in, but Daddy didn't mind. He let her hammer in as many as she wanted. Anna also helped paint a lot of the treehouse after it was built.

The treehouse still needs a permanent roof (it has a tarp roof now), but it's mostly done. Ben and Anna have put in orders for doors, windows, beds, electricity, and an elevator to an underground basement. Daddy will get right on those.

Ben's pet mouse Fire passed away this week. Daddy found her in a tunnel in her cage. Ben only teared up a little bit, but he was very, very sad to lose his favorite mouse. Anna cried, too.

Daddy dug a hole in the front yard near the big stump to bury our little friend. Ben put her body in a plastic container with tissues for a blanket and some of her favorite yogurt drops. She looked like she was sleeping. Ben stroked her head a few times, then closed the container and put her in the hole.

Ben wants to carve a stone to put on Fire's grave. Carving may not be possible, but Daddy did dig up a flat stone that Ben can write on.

Fire was a very friendly and lovable mouse that let Ben carry her all over without ever complaining. When you talked to her, she would talk back in a little grunting language all her own. She would come to the edge of the cage to be social, and always was ready to take a yogurt drop from your fingers.

Her sister, Sparky, is very depressed and hasn't moved from her next since Fire passed. Sparky had developed a tumor that makes her body very large at the back. She has had trouble running on the wheel and she waddles more than walks these days. With her sister gone, Ben is very worried about her.

Whatever happens, Sparky and Fire have had very happy lives and have certainly enhanced the lives of their owner, Ben.

Katie the gerbil passed away last week. Ben discovered her on Friday morning, but she probably died the day before.

Ben told Mommy, "I think Katie's dead. I tried to sit her up and she kept falling over." That visual is macabre but somehow hysterical.

Ben did a good job of not telling Anna all day long. Daddy told Anna when she got home from school. She only cried a little bit, then again at bedtime when she looked at the cage.

Anna plans to keep Sparkle the remaining gerbil happy with extra toys and lots of attention.

Today is the first day of school for our new first and second graders. Mommy and Daddy are a little sad to see Ben and Anna grow up so fast, but we're so proud to see them going off to school with their backpacks and lunch boxes, ready for a great new year.

Anna has had a loose tooth for the last week that just wouldn't come out. She really wanted it to come out, but could never get that one good tug. With today being the first day of school, she really wanted to get it out last night.

Daddy tied a piece of dental floss around the tooth, and Anna pulled on it while he read from "Little House in the Big Woods", but it still wouldn't come out. Since it was time to get some sleep, Anna tried to take the floss off of the tooth. It was stuck.

As a last resort, Anna closed her eyes and handed the end of the string to Daddy. Daddy tugged one time really hard and the tooth popped out.

"It didn't hurt at all!" declared Anna. Her only tears were because she was "so happy." Daddy was very, very proud of his little girl.

Today was a great Daddy and Ben day.

After church, Ben and Daddy took Ben's bicycle over to the Episcopal Church parking lot so that Ben could practice learning to ride. Ben is getting much better, and he rode down the gentle slope chanting "con-cen-trate, con-cen-trate". Daddy let go right at the top and could barely keep up! Ben even stopped all by himself and stepped off of the bike. Ben and Daddy are both looking forward to trying again. It won't be long until Ben is riding all by himself.

Once Ben had ridden down the slope twice, Daddy and Ben packed up the bike and went to Home Depot. At Home Depot, Ben pushed the cart the whole time, even when it was loaded up with 2x4s and crown moulding. Ben bought a metal threaded rod for himself.

When Ben and Daddy got home, they both carried their purchases out to the treehouse platform and worked some more on putting together the left wall. Ben likes to hammer.

At the end of the day, after dinner and baths, as Daddy was snuggling Ben before going to sleep, Ben told Daddy that he had a really great day. His favorite part was the tree house.

There's a lot more tree house to go, and Daddy is really looking forward to more Ben and Daddy days.

Last week, Anna learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. Now she's outside riding around every chance she gets. Congratulations, Anna!

Anna finally lost her first tooth last Saturday night.

It had been handing on by a thread for days, but just couldn't make the final transition. She could stick it out straight with her teeth clenched, generating awe among her classmates (many of which were certain that it would "get infected" if she didn't get it out quick!)

Late Saturday night, she was sitting in her bed getting ready to go to sleep and letting Mommy pull on it a little, but nothing was progressing. So she let Daddy tie a string of dental floss around the tooth so she could yank on it some.

The first try was a failure, as the floss came right off of the tooth. After some struggling with big fingers in a very tiny mouth, Daddy managed to get the floss back around the tooth. Anna tugged gently a few times, then gave a big pull. Everyone thought that the floss had come off again until we noticed that the tooth was missing!

Really missing. We couldn't find it anywhere.

Anna starting bawling. Mommy and Daddy were sure she was in pain until she managed to sob out "It doesn't hurt. I'm just so happy!" What a sensitive, wonderful little girl we have. Anna cried tears of joy for several minutes while Mommy and Daddy hugged her.

Then the search was on for the tooth. We took all of the covers off of the bed and looked all over the floor. Eventually Daddy spied it in the carpet. It had one long end where it had been attached, explaining what had taken so long.

Anna carefully wrapped her tooth in tissue and placed it under her pillow. By the next morning, the Tooth Fairy had left her a five dollar reward for a first tooth lost.

Anna has already spent her money on Littlest Pet Shop animals. And she's starting to wiggle another tooth.

Anna's birthday was Friday, and she's been looking forward to it for weeks. She expressed her displeasure with this being a leap year, as it added one more day to wait.

On Saturday, we held Anna's party at an ice skating rink. Many of her friends had never ice skated before, and Daddy spent a lot of time helping pink-clad girls around the rink. Although this was only Anna's 3rd time on ice skates, she spent most of the time skating by herself!

Unfortunately, Anna got sick Saturday night and is missing her first day back at school since the party, but she's feeling much better today.

Mommy and Daddy are amazed and how fast she's grown and are very, very proud of our little girl.

Liz was resting on a rock. Wen he woke up he relized that he was not on the rock. He saw that Flyer was carrying him away from his rock to the eavle king.


The king put Liz in jale. Then Flyer came and said "I'm on your team now". So Flyer let Liz out. They called the police. The police put the king in jale. The police gave Flyer and Liz a medle.


Liz and Flyer went to Flyer's house for a chat about the king. Then they went to Lize's rock and swam in the cool water sarownding the rock. They camped in Flyer's house.


The queen planed to capcher Flyer and Liz. The queen cout Liz and Flyer. The queen put Liz and Flyer on a rock that was sarownded with lova. Flier flue Liz out.


Liz and Flyer hid in a clozit. Liz got stuck in a robe. Flyer went inside of a crown. The queen walcked by the clozet.


They ran out of the clozet. Then they went to Flyer's house and studied the lova that Flyer brot in a bag. Liz said "it's dedly". Flyer said "it has bubles".


Liz and Flyer went back to the casl. They went up fivemillyin steps. Flyer flue up. Liz walcked up. They explored the casl. They took some of the kings golry. They played on the kings golf corse.


A spy was waching Liz and Flyer the whole time. Flyer saw the spy and said "I thot I saw a spy." Liz saw the spy too and said "I saw the spy too".


They ran and hid in the same clozet as they did with the queen. THe spy ran pas the clozit. They wer safe.


They fowned a bom and lit it. They ran out of the casl. Liz went to his rock. Flyer went to his house. The casl blue up and they lived happily ever after.

I can't believe that we haven't mentioned the mice yet!

Ben is the proud parent of two mice that he received for his birthday this year. Sparky (brown and white) and Fire (black and white) are very integrated into our family now. Despite very aggressive loving, they seem to be getting along well and to like being held by Ben. Plus they are magnets for the neighborhood kids, who like to come over and see them. Often.

Ben's life very much revolves around Sparky and Fire. He starts every morning with "morning love" for the mice and ends every evening with new water and food for them. They are the first thing that he has to see when he comes in from school, and they are his favorite topic with strangers.

Anna scored her first solo goal in soccer Saturday. And she nearly scored a second one!

Anna is still very excited. Mommy and Daddy are very proud.

For the last few weeks, Anna has been signing in a language all her own. At first Mommy and Daddy thought that she was mispronouncing something from Spanish class, but now we are convinced that this is entirely original. It's remarkably consistent and Anna never seems to tire of it.

We certainly have some very unique kids.

Today was Anna's first day of Kindergarten and Ben's first day of First Grade. Anna was so excited she couldn't sleep (but still had trouble waking up early). Ben's less vocal, but still excited.

Daddy took the carpool this morning with two other new Kindergarteners. The car was loud and there was some contention over screaming and pulling of seatbelts, but everyone looked happy by the time they were dropped off.

Mommy didn't cry (although she thought about it) and neither did Daddy. But neither of us can wait for the kiddos to get home so we can hear all about it.

Ben's favorite gift for Christmas was a remote-controlled N.S.E.C.T. that he calls a "robot spider".

In the car to Grandmommie's house, Ben said "I really wanted two, but I guess I wasn't good enough this year."

Too bad he won't remember saying that. Mommy and Daddy would love to use that concept all year long.

Before Thanksgiving this year, Ben's teacher gave them an assignment. At the top of the page were the words, "If I were a turkey at Thanksgiving, I would ...".

Ben wrote, "hide in an Army tank" - complete with a picture of a turkey in a tank.

Watch out for those militarized turkeys!

Last week at dinner, Anna was talking about her friend Brandon. She explained how nice Brandon is to her and how he plays with her when no one else want to play with her.

Then she said, "and sometimes we go to the secret place and do the kissing thing."

Mommy and Daddy got veerry quiet.

Anna explained, "I kiss him on the cheek!"

Mommy and Daddy are only slightly less freaked out. Are there any all-girl preschools?

Daddy: "What was your day like?"
Ben: "Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, go on a journey, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, go on another journey, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, go wait for the bus. There was a lot of sitting."

To Anna: "Anna, wait until you get to go to Kindergarten and see how cool it is!"

On activities: "There wasn't enough coloring. We need to have more coloring."

To Daddy: "There's a potty in the room and a red and green light and you have to put on the red light if you're in there and you can't go in if there's a red light. One time I forgot to put on the red light."

On lunch: "I had a big bowl of watermelon! And some chicken nuggets."
Mommy: "What about vegetables or potatoes?"
Ben: "They had some of those, but they weren't the kind I liked so I didn't eat them."

On PE: "There was this really cool wall with plastic things on it that you could climb up. You were supposed to climb to your animal. I climbed to a rooster."

On the classroom: "There are tables, and each table is a color. Mine was green and had green stuff on it. Green pencils, green pencil boxes, green chairs .... There was a yellow table with yellow chairs and a red table with orange chairs. We don't have any red chairs."

Ben was up early today, ready and eager to go to the bus stop and back to Kindergarten.

Today was Ben's first day of school. His first day riding the bus to Sope Creek Elementary where he is a brand new kindergartener.

He had some trouble sleeping and was very excited, if a bit sleepy this morning. Mommy cried and Daddy took pictures. Now, we're all waiting for him to come off of the bus at 3 o'clock.

We're very proud and a little bit sad that our little boy is growing up.

Ben has a very loose tooth in the front on the bottom. He's been wiggling it, but it won't quite come out yet.

This hasn't stopped the new tooth, which has come in behind the existing tooth. Ben looks like a shark, with rows of bright shiny teeth.

Ben is 6 today. Every day is more fun than the last.

He celebrated with friends last weekend and with Tennessee family on the 4th. Daddy had to call him today, as he stayed in Parsons with Anna and Mommy while Daddy went back to Atlanta to work. Just before Daddy left, Ben was swimming without floaties - using a snorkel to breathe. It's a big step forward.

Ben's first 6 year old birthday party was Monster Truck themed at ChuckECheese's. His second was "Cars" (the movie) themed. Ben is very into "Cars" now. He has also discovered that one can get toys from cereal boxes.

He has a "Lightning McQueen" courtesy of Frosted Flakes.

Ben wants more of the free toys, but Daddy explained that we have to finish the first box before we can get another one. Ben thought about this for a while and asked,

"If we wear disguises when we go to the grocery store, maybe they won't know who we are and we can buy another box."

Daddy loves the way Ben's mind works.

In the Animator’s Palate restaurant, where the walls change from black and white to color during the meal, Anna noticed that the picture of Ariel on the wall was changing colors. “Look, Ben!” she shouted. “Ariel has on her purple breasts!”

Ben desperately wanted a model of the ship. Daddy finally bought it for him before dinner one night on the condition that he keep it in the box so that it didn’t get broken. Ben sat with the box next to him dinner and couldn’t wait to get back to the room so he could open it. Running down the hallway to the cabin, a room attendant asked what he had. Ben told him that it was a model of the ship. The attendant asked if he could see it and Ben ran past shouting, “No! It’s too fragile!” For the rest of the trip, the attendants referred to Ben as “Captain.”

During the lifeboat drill, the kiddos enjoyed wearing their life vests. While standing on deck, they bumped into each other like little sumo wrestlers. “It’s like having breasts!” they declared.

The following Sunday in church, Anna explained to someone on the shuttle bus, "It was nothing like the Titanic."

Anna enjoyed the cruise so much that she made up a song to sing about the cruise. The only words were, "Come back, cruise!" repeated over and over.

Today was a Dad's breakfast at Ben's school. One of the things presented was some answers to questions about "My Dad". These are the answers provided by Ben.

My Dad's Name is : Daddy.
[OK. That makes sense. It's a great name to have, too.]
For Fun My Dad Like to : Play a war game on the computer.
[Then Ben looked up at Daddy and said, "What's the name of that game?" Daddy said, "I'll tell you later" which elicited laughs from the other dads.]
His Favorite Thing to Eat is : spaghetti.
[Not sure where this one came from. Probably from Daddy telling Ben that he likes spaghetti so that Ben would eat it. It's not a regular meal.]
His Favorite T.V. Show is : Star Wars.
[Anything with space in it is "Star Wars" to Ben.]
My Dad Works Hard at : work to earn money.
[What a great lesson to have already learned.]
The Thing I Like Best About My Dad is : he is my best friend.
[By far the best answer of all.]

The kiddos behaved very well at great-grandmother Teeny's funeral last weekend, but they did have some questions.

Mommy explained what they were going to see to them the morning of the funeral. Ben came into Daddy's room and didn't speak - he just made motions like he was digging and putting something in the hole. He was very concerned about the whole burial idea, so he and Daddy had a talk about it. The concerns didn't completely go away, but at least Ben was ok with going to the funeral.

Before the service, Ben decided that he was unable to speak and could only communicate thorugh hand motions. Mommy and Daddy did nothing to discourage him. Anna spent much of her time in Aunt Noel's lap.

Both kiddos were very tired. Anna fell asleep during the service and Ben nearly did, but they both were awake at the burial. Mommy and Daddy realized that Anna hadn't quite figured it all out when she asked what was inside the "shiny white box!". They also both asked many questions about the other graves and if there were really people underneath.

At the end of hte graveside service, all of the grandchildren (including Daddy) were given roses to place on the coffin. Daddy decided to let Ben and Anna assist. Ben didn't want to give up the rose and started complaining, so Daddy immediately took him out of the loop. Anna and Daddy walked up to the coffin and Anna helped Daddy place the rose. That was the only time that Daddy cried through the whole service.

Later, Ben and Anna enjoyed running around the cemetary, looking at all of the flowers placed for Easter, and even seeing some rabbits come out of the woods. Overall, they were quite wonderful.

Anna's favorite stuffed animal (among a cast of thousands) is a blue elephant named Dumbo. (All of Anna's elephants are named Dumbo at some point.) This Dumbo disappeared not long after the holidays and Anna has been upset about it ever since. The first few weeks were especially tough, but even a month later, Dumbo still showed up in whines. Anna was convinced that Gigi and Daddy Wayne had Dumbo at their house, hidden.

Last Sunday, we all went back to our favorite Chinese restaurant after church. After we sat down, the waiter came over with ... Dumbo! No worse for wear - they'd been holding it for us for at least 2 months. Anna was "too excited to eat".

We'll have to go back to that restaurant more often. It's a rare treat to be recognized and treated so magnificently.

Ben is getting his first 6-year molars - a few months early. His gums were sore for a few days, but now he has a tooth breaking through.

He's very excited about this development and made Daddy look at it with a flashlight.

Anna turned 4 years old today. We all celebrated with gifts in the morning from Mommy, Daddy, and Ben then candles in a muffin at breakfast.

The big celebration will be this weekend with a party and lots of family coming to visit.

When Daddy first told Anna that she was a big 4-year-old, she said she didn't want to be 4 until after she got all of her presents. She was afraid that if she turned 4 too soon, the presents wouldn't come.

By bedtime, Anna was getting used to being a big 4 year old girl.

Last Sunday, Daddy took Anna and Ben to Boston Market after church while Mommy was in a meeting.

Ben walked up to the counter and ordered all by himself with no prompting from Daddy. "Macaroni and cheese with green beans and cornbread and milk to drink!"

Ben's growing up so very fast.

Mommy told Anna that she had "done a number" on her hair.

This was reported to Daddy as "my hair is full of sixes and nines". They're the numbers with loops, after all.

Ben told us he didn't feel well, but we thought he was just tired because he hadn't napped. At the restaurant (Ted's Montana Grill), Ben eventually just lay his head in Daddy's lap and fell asleep.

When it was time to go, Daddy carried Ben to the car. Ben started to cry on the way, but all he would say was "that was a big buffalo" (there's a bison on the wall of the restaurant). We didn't realize how bad he felt.

The car ride made Ben worse, but he managed to hold it together until we got home. As we pulled into the driveway, he started crying again that he needed to throw up. But he waited until Mommy got him to the sink.

That's a big step up, to be able to hold it that long. Mommy and Daddy are sorry we took you out when you felt so bad, and we hope that you feel better soon.

Everyone has moments that they would like to capture in a bottle and revisit on demand: that first kiss, the standing ovation for an individual performance, the game-winning score. But until you become a father, there are a whole panorama of other such experiences that you cannot imagine.

Like spending an evening with your daughter making little beds for her stuffed animals, reading them books, and saying goodnight.

Like having your daughter hug you at the end of the day and say "I love playing with you, Daddy!"

Like your son begging for just one more game of hide-and-seek, and the joy on his face when Daddy agrees.

Sure, there are tough moments as well. But those memories won't be kept and won't be revisited.

Some quality Benisms from the recent past.

Mommy had some daisies that were falling over, so she brought out a little chain to hold them up. Ben christened this a "daisy chain".

Over Halloween, Ben took some black bat finger rings and tied them together with pipe cleaners. Daddy hung it from a hook in Ben's room. Ben refers to it as his "bat mobile".

Daddy came into Ben's room and discovered Ben and Anna making stacks of stuffed animals on the bed. "Daddy, we're making a pile of dogs and a pile of cats." Then, with sincere disappointment, "We only have one cat." I guess you had to be there.

Anna found a ladybug at school last week. She decided that she loved it and made it her pet.

Anna was remarkably careful with her pet. She brought it home and put it in Ben's old Ladybug Land, which she carried with her everywhere. She made sure the ladybug had water and food (soaked raisins), and she enjoyed taking him out to let him crawl along her hands.

The ladybug passed away yesterday, but he will be remembered fondly.

Anna came up to Daddy today with a 4-legged Grandaddy Longlegs spider in her hands. She wanted to keep it as a pet.

I'm not sure what happened to the other legs, but it's great to have a little girl that's not afraid of spiders. She continues to amaze.

Ben made a necklace in Sunday School a few weeks ago. Along with the beads were three silver fobs with the words "knock", "ask", and "seek" on them.

Ben made Grandmommie a drawing for Thanksgiving that incorporated those fobs (glued to paper on top of a magic marker creation). When he gave it to her, he explained the words.

Knock is for when you knock on someone's door to see it they're home.

Ask is for when you ask them if you can come inside.

Seek is for when you look around to see what you can steal.

Daddy thinks Ben may have misunderstood that particular Sunday School lesson.

• Anna helping Daddy poke holes to transfer her pumpkin pattern for her Jack-o-Lantern, then helping pull out the pieces of pumpkin as Daddy cut them out.
• Ben carefully poking holes to transfer the incredibly intricate pattern he chose for his Jack-o-Lantern.
• Anna as the cutest witch ever.
• Ben's dalmation costume and makeup (and acting skills).
  
• Making stand-up cutouts of a witch and Frankenstein's monster with Gigi and Daddy Wayne.
• Trading and comparing candy among the kids and our guests well into the evening.
  

Both of the kiddos were very impressive this weekend, a beautiful fall weekend with Daddy Wayne and Gigi in town.

Ben walked by himself all the way to the top of Amicalola Falls. That's 175 steps to the bottom of the falls (not including the trail to the steps) and 425 steps from the bottom to the top of the falls. And no one had to carry him at any point. Everyone was very impressed!

Anna impressed everyone with her drawing ability. She sat at the kitchen table with Daddy Wayne and, based on a book with directions, drew pictures of a horse and a flamingo and other animals all by herself. The drawings were terrific!

And both had a great time picking out pumpkins and painting them. We're all looking forward to Halloween.

Anna: What shows do you not like?

Ben: None! I like everything on TV.

Anna: What about Mommy's favorite show?

Ben: What show?

Anna: You know. Talking people.

Ben: Oh yeah! I hate talking people!

(For the uninitiated, "talking people" is the news.)

Ben told Daddy yesterdy that's he's having fun in school, especially in Gym Class with "Miss Piggy".

Daddy checked with Mommy. The gym teacher's name is "Peggy". Daddy supposes he should correct Ben, but maybe we'll all just wait a few weeks and see how this plays out.

The whole story is on the other site. Click here.

We are all watching a trio of guppies for the neighbors as they are traveling. Ben and Anna have expecially enjoyed feeding the fish. Mommy and Daddy have explained that we only feed them twice a day, but the temptation can be overwhelming.

Daddy called home on Friday to check in, and Mommy told Daddy that while she was in the shower, the kiddos had decided to feed crescent rolls to the fish.

The fish seem no worse for wear. When Daddy asked each kiddo at nighttime what had happened during the day, Anna said, "Something I don't want to tell you." Then, after a pause, with hands over her face, "We gave the fish crescent rolls."

All Ben said was, "I guess fish don't eat lunch."

Mommy recently bought Daddy a grill so that he can help cook outside. We have now had shishkabobs twice, and they are a big hit with the kiddos. Unfortunately, Anna has been a bit sick the last few days and hasn't had much appetite.

Tonight at dinner, while the rest of us were eating, Anna just sat and looked forlorn. Finally she perked up and asked...

"Can I have a food stick, Mommy?"

Why yes you can, little girl. Anything for you.

Anna's latest (for the last few months) pastime is taking off her socks and tying them around things. Mommy and Daddy find them tied around bannisters, Genevieve (the stuffed dog), and often Anna's own legs and feet. She usually call them "bandages", and the ones on her legs can be tight enough to leave a mark.

Last night, Anna showed Daddy her rabbit/blanket toy. It had socks tied around the head. Anna explained that this was a mask for diving and swimming underwater. She then proceeded to take them off of the bunny and tie them around a sippy cup, which required quite a bit of stretching.

Mommy's been buying a lot of replacement socks for Anna lately.

While swimming in the pool with friends from next door, Ben became an eel again. When Daddy asked him which eel he was - Flotsam or Jetsam (from the Little Mermaid), he said, "No Daddy, I'm the meanest eel - Nixon!"

We have no idea where that one came from, but the neighbors thought it was pretty hilarious.

Happy birthday (a few days late). Mommy and Daddy are so proud of our big five-year-old boy.

Daddy: So, what have the kids been doing while I'm in Japan?

Mommy: Well, this morning they were using glasses to get water out of the refrigerator, pouring it into little plastic bowls, then lapping up the water like cats.

Ben explained today that he's been three animals this week. An eel (from the aquarium), an elephant beetle (from A Bug's Life), and a rabbit named Skip (no idea).

This Father's Day, Ben gave Daddy a laminated placemat that he made at school. On one side was a portrait of Daddy with the words "By Ben", all written by Ben.

On the other side were Ben's answers to some questions asked by Ben's teachers.

My Dad's name is Daddy.
My Dad has black and brown hair.
My Dad has brown hair.
My Dad's favorite food is pizza.
My Dad likes to play pinball games.
My Dad's job is to help me do art projects.
My Dad works on the computer at his office while I am at school.
My Dad looks handsome when he's going to school.
Our favorite thing to do together is play hide and seek.
I love my Dad because he is my best friend.

Daddy will cherish it forever.

We went to the Ripley's Aquarium at Myrle Beach yesterday. Ever since, Ben has been an eel.

Arcsh! Arcsh!

At the beach last week on vacation, Daddy got to spend an hour or so holding onto an inflatable boat while Anna floated inside and enjoyed the Gulf. Anna talked to Daddy constantly and uninterrupted the entire time, and Daddy enjoyed every minute of it. With an older brother who is also a proficient talker, Daddy doesn’t get many opportunities to let Anna’s talking ability shine. It was a marvelous and memorable experience, and one that Daddy will cherish forever.

Last year, Ben would not walk on the beach. This year, he and Anna literally rolled in the sand. It was a terrific improvement, and one that will hopefully lead to ever more enjoyable vacations.

Also, both Ben and Anna learned that they could float in the water (wearing floaties) without holding on to Mommy or Daddy. A bit nerve-wracking for the parents, but a giant step forward for our kiddos.

Ben's assignment for school today was to bring in a "live bug", so the whole family went into the back yard on a bug hunt.

We found lots of ants. In fact, Daddy turned over one rock and the ants poured out like something from a bad Harryhausen movie. But the ants kept getting out of our "bug house" - at least until Ben pointed out a "huge abdomen" from a "mommy ant" that was too big to fit through the holes.

But the mommy ant was abandoned when Daddy found a huge millipede under a rock. Mommy scooped it up with a stick and put it into the bug house. Daddy added a piece of apple to try to keep it alive overnight.

Alas, all was for naught, as the millipede was "1000 toes up" (a Mommy phrase) this morning. It's ok. The kids still seemed to like seeing the dead millipede, and Ben didn't seem to mind.

Our first bug hunt. One of many, for sure.

Anna has decided to start calling Mommy "Mother". Daddy remembers being traumatized the first time that Ben called him "Dad" instead of "Daddy", but Daddy can't help but laugh at Anna's very proper "Mother".

Every night, Daddy has to be there when it's time for Anna's bath. Daddy is responsible for getting her out of hte bath, wrapping her up tightly in a towel, and holding her like a baby for several minutes while she snuggles close and makes baby sounds.

Then, after drying off and brushing teeth, a robe-clad Anna runs into her bedroom where Daddy is not allowed to watch while she picks out a diaper and pajamas and then climbs on top of the blanket chest at the foot of her bed.

When Daddy enters, he is expected to sit on the floor next to the PJs and say "You'd better come see Daddy!". At that point, Anna climbs down and tries (not too much) to get past Daddy into the hallway. Daddy always catches her as she runs past and tickles her in his lap for several minutes. Then, Daddy helps Anna get dressed.

Anna picks out three books, and on many nights Daddy gets to read to her for a while in the bed. (Sometimes Mommy is the preferred storyteller.)

Both Anna and Daddy look forward to this nightly ritual, and both are in bad moods when they miss it.

Tonight's bedtime story from Ben went something like this. Upon discovering cotton balls stuffed into his dresser, he explained:

These are from a sheep. The sheep is dead. It died in a hotel where it was sick and there was a fire and the ambulances were all in the repair place and they couldn't come.

There were more details, but that's the general gist. Daddy loves Ben's sense of imagination, and he's never sure what will come out of his mouth next.

[Update] Apparently the sheep is ok now. The "wool" now came from a sheep that he saw at a farm in New Jersey.

Now that Anna is 3, she has started giving fashion and appearance advice to Daddy.

She likes to stand beside Daddy on the rim of the tub while Daddy is shaving. When Daddy leaned down to show her how smooth his face was, she pointed out a spot that he had missed. Emboldened by this discovery, she went on to point out that Daddy's arms and tummy need shaving, too.

Later, when dressing for church, Daddy put on a nice green shirt. Anna looked at Daddy critically and announced that he needed to wear a blue shirt instead.

Only 3, and she already has better fashion sense than Daddy.

Anna turned 3 today, and Daddy spent it in Anaheim, California. We'll celebrate on Saturday, so Daddy didn't miss any of the festivities. But Daddy hopes not to miss any more birthdays and will do his best to be home for Anna's and Ben's from now on.

(From Japan)

Anna was having one of her bedtime tantrums on the Saturday before Daddy had to leave for Japan. Daddy tried to read to her, but she was insisting (loudly) that only Mommy would do. So, Daddy handed her over, then said "See you in a week".

At that, Anna stopped crying, stood up and held out her arms to her Daddy. She clutched him tightly for a good 5 minutes before calmly getting back into bed.

It's very hard to leave after that. Daddy will be home very soon.

Future mechanics of America, take note.

Lego Poop!

Well, they took turns filling up cups, boxes, and toys with water from the sink, pouring the water into the toilet, and flushing.

There is an upside to Ben learning to go to the potty in the middle of the night all by himself. Mommy and Daddy are very proud of the way that he's starting to grow up and do this all by himself. Pretty soon, we won't be buying any more pull-ups for Ben!

There are downsides, however. One is that Ben believes that using the potty at night is worthy of a snuggle in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Such as last night a 4am. Not that we don't appreciate a snuggle with our favorite boy. But 4am is a bit late ... or early.

The other downside is that Ben has been promised a hamster when he stops wearing diapers. Mommy is thrilled at the thought of cleaning the cage.

Daddy wonders sometimes what the kids are saying when we aren't around. This was a conversation today.

Ben: Mommy! Anna's torturing me!

Daddy: [stifles a laugh]

Mommy: Anna, stop torturing Ben.

Anna: [loudly and emphatically] I am not torturing Ben!

Daddy: [valiant and vain attempt to keep water from spewing from nose]

Mommy: OK. Just move away.

Anna: But I have to torture somebody. And it has to be a real person!


You see, when trying to get Ben and Anna to move apart, Mommy sometimes says, "Stop torturing your brother." It just never occurred to us what that might lead to.

Some definitions from the wonderful world of Ben and Anna.

Daddy-Os: Apple-Cinnamon Cheerios (the ones that Daddy eats)

Mommy-Os: Multigrain Cheerios (the ones that Mommy eats)

Toddle Tag: A game where Ben and Anna grab opposite ends of a jumprope or other rope-like object and Ben pulls Anna around the house.

Grandmommie Yogurt: Vanilla premium yogurt (like Grandmommie bought at the beach)

Hair Clip Kittie: Anna's hair clips (Ben's idea, not sure where that one came from)

Animal names: Max (little blue dog), Dang-er (plastic horse), Genevieve (step-stool dog), Army (stuffed armadillo), Beck & Bo (identical small cars), Dropsy (tiny red car - named by Daddy), Mr. Car, Mr. Truck, Reginald (any camel), Trucky (large yellow truck)

One other comment

Daddy stayed home for MLK day last week. Ben was very excited. He wanted to know what holiday it was. When Daddy told him it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, he asked "What cookies do we make for this holiday?"

[Update 3/22/05] Forgot to add:
Scooby-doo: A lego that has is square on one end and round on the other. Often used as "lights" on elaborate lego creations.

Timberrrrrrr!

Mommy and Daddy set up a huge tree that just barely fit into the den. We struggled to get it into the too-large tree holder that was purchased many years ago when we had a 14-foot ceiling.

Daddy and the kids started decorating the tree. After a couple of near mishaps and one lost glass ball, Daddy moved all of the breakable ornaments to the top of the tree. That proved to be a not-so-terrific decision when the tree fell over during dinner. Many ornaments took one for the tree.

Mommy and Daddy cleaned up the mess and vacuumed the floor a few dozen times to ensure no glass was left. The tree was re-decorated and looked beautiful for the rest of the holiday.

Meeting Santa

Mommy was determined to go see Santa at Phipps Plaza, which is in a high-traffic area. Daddy took off work a bit early and we all took a nearly one hour trip in heavy traffic until we finally reached the mall. The entire way down, Anna talked about going to the North Pole to see Santa. Mommy and Daddy tried to explain that Santa was coming to visit a mall, and we weren't going to the North Pole, but that message probably never really got through.

Ben had a great time talking to Santa. In fact, Santa had to eventually push Ben away so that some other kids could have a chance. Anna, on the other hand, started screaming as soon as she approached Santa. Daddy had to hold her near Santa for the photo. Anna kept crying that she didn't want any toys for Christmas. Fortunately, Mommy and Daddy had filled out a list of Anna's requests that Santa could read to understand what Anna wanted for Christmas.

Christmas Eve

For the first time, Santa visited Ben and Anna at their home. Unfortunately, Ben had a bit of trouble keeping on the "nice" list, and some of his gifts remained in their boxes on Christmas. There were still enough gifts to go around. The marble run that Santa set up for Ben was particularly popular, as were the easel and paints for Anna.

Making Cookies

Ben and Anna got to decorate sugar cookies that Daddy made. Some were a little folded up since Daddy didn't use enough flour on the first batch, but no one seemed to care. There were sprinkles and little balls all over the place. Ben decorated one by pouring the entire contents of one container of sprinkles all over it. That was one very sweet cookie.

Popular Gifts

Ben: Rokenbok, marble run, lots and lots of cars, books, chocolate, light sticks, car carriers

Anna: Paints, chalk, an easel, "Wind in the Willows", "Toy Story 2", chocolate, baby doll, Little People playsets

Sayings

Anna: "I ... am ... not ... a ... drama ... queen!"
Anna: "My one minute is not up. It's down!"
Ben: "Does Santa use Fireball [the reindeer on the Rudolph special] sometimes?"
Anna: "It's a box!!!!"

I won't remember all of them, but here are a few of the better sayings from Ben and Anna recently.

At the pumpkin patch, Ben brought his pumpkin up to the checkout. The attendant said, "Maybe we should wait for the big boss." Ben replied, "But my Daddy's at work!" Apparently, there's been a coup against Mommy.

In the midst of a lively conversation with the Mellow Mushroom waitress, Ben came up with "My Memommie died because her heart stopped working." Somehow, from a child it doesn't sound so bad.

When talking to Daddy about hair and hair color, Anna excitedly stated, "Daddy Wayne has hair! I didn't think he did, but he does!" Daddy Wayne was glad that she noticed.

After watching Buzz Lightyear on Toy Story (the movie) talking on his radio to "Star Command", Ben told Mommy and Daddy that he wanted to see the character "Starky Man". Takes after Daddy, who was convinced in the 70s that the song "Swearing to God" was about someone named "Swammer Guy".

There have been so many more, and most will be forgotten, but at least a few are captured here for posterity and future embarrasment in front of prom dates.

On Wednesday night (it's Friday afternoon now), Mommy stayed at church for a class and Daddy got to take home Ben & Anna all by myself. Mommy warned me that Anna had skipped her nap, but there she was in a really good mood, so there seemed to be no lastng side effects. But it was getting late.

We all had a great time on the way home, singing with the tape in the car and being very silly. When we got home, we all went upstairs for a quick bath before bedtime. Ben & Anna had a great time in the bathtub, playing with the toys and splashing around. Evertually, Ben let the water out of the tub, and Daddy got both kiddos out to dry off. Everyone was still very happy. Then Anna slipped and fell on her booty.

It didn't hurt much if any, I'm sure, but Anna was tired and her first reaction was an instictive "I want Mommy." Well, Mommy wasn't available. I tried coaxing and cajoling, to no avail. Eventually, I had to pick her up and carry her, naked and screaming and kicking, to her bedroom to try to put on her PJs.

The situation deteriorated, with much screaming and kicking of Daddy's avalable areas. Daddy resorted to a swat on the booty, to no avail. It wasn't hard, but I'm sure that it was startling. First, I must say that all of the stories about "This will hurt you more than it hurts me" are, in general, correct - just not in a way that anyone without children of their own could ever understand. I still feel horrible, and will probably remember it much longer than Anna. Not that I could ever explain that to her - at least not for another 30 years or so.

The spanking didn't work, and I got so frustrated that I put Anna in her bed - still naked - and turned off the lights and left the room. This usually works with Ben, but not with an overtired Anna. A few minutes later, she was out of bed and opening the door to her room.

Eventually, I asked Ben to stay in his room a bit while I went into Anna's and shut the door. I had to physically hold her in my lap as she screamed, kicked, and hit me in the face whenever I tried to sooth her by singing. (Everyone's a critic.) After about 10 minutes that seemed like over 60, Anna started giving into her exhaustion. I put her in bed and patted her head while she continued to cry out softer and softer. When I thought she was asleep - still naked and without having brushed her teeth - I turned off the lights and left the room. I think the door closing woke her up. Fortunately, at just that time Mommy showed up to save the day and get Anna dressed and in bed for the evening.


(I have to say that throughout all of this, Ben overcompensated by being absolutely perfect. He played by himself in his room and even put on his own PJs. I later told him how proud I was of him, and we stayed up an extra 30 minutes playing with Cat in the Hat matching cards in the basement.)

The next morning, Daddy had to leave before Anna woke up. And by the time I got home, she was back in bed asleep. Then again this morning (Friday), she was asleep before I left for work. So, Daddy hasn't seen his little girl for almost 2 days now, and we ended on a pretty low note.

Then came the call from Mommy. She said that Anna had asked where Daddy was. Then she said that she wants Daddy to come home. "I want to be nice with Daddy." She, too, realizes that we left off badly and wants to make up. I nearly cried.

Daddys worrry about silly things, like their little girls never forgiving them. It's more painful that the little girls can imagine. So, when that gets lifed off of Daddy's shoulders, the joy is greater than the little girl could understand, either.

Daddy will be leaving work early today. I have a date with my favorite girl in the world.

Daddy was gone again this weekend, and Ben and Anna weren't happy about it.

Cousins Zack, Dylan, and Mary Jordan were being dedicated in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Daddy drove up to see them. It was about a 900 mile trip in 36 hours, and it meant that Daddy was gone from noon on Saturday until bedtime on Sunday. Ben and Anna both told Daddy not to go.

When Daddy got back on Sunday night, Ben was waiting at the door, respendent in long PJs and his puppy slippers. He was so excited to see Daddy. Daddy had to carry him around until long after his bedtime. Daddy looked in on Anna, but she was going to bed. She just smiled at him and rolled over.

Ben and Daddy talked all about the things that Ben had doen that day. Daddy told Ben about visiting with Gigi and Daddy Wayne. Ben was worried that Daddy Wayne had had to put up the flag without Ben's help. Daddy then made Ben his special "tea" made with 3 parts iced tea, 1 part orange/pineapple juice, two drops of lemon juice, and one package of Splenda sweenter. Ben only drank a little of it before time for bed, and we put the rest into the refrigerator to save.

Ben couldn't stop hugging Daddy and Daddy couldn't stop hugging Ben. It's really hard to travel so much, but it sure makes coming home wonderful.

This morning, Ben and Anna both told Daddy not to go to work - to stay home and play with them. Daddy has to go to work, but maybe not on time today.

Last night, Ben and I had a deep metaphysical religious discussion in the place where such discussions usually take place - a stall in the second floor men's room of the Dunwoody United Methodist Church. I'll spare everyone the details of what we were doing in there and skip to the more interesting conversation, at least such as I can recall.

Ben: Daddy, where does God live?
Daddy: In heaven.
Ben: Oh. Does he live in here? [pointing to chest]
Daddy: Well, yes, I suppose he lives in there, too.
Ben: But, he can't live in here, 'cause then we can't see him. And you can see people!
Daddy: Well, God's not really a person. He's special. You can't see him.
Ben: That's not right. [Thinks for a moment.] Maybe God lives in that vent. [points to a vent]
Daddy: Well, God is sort of everywhere, so I guess he's in that vent, too.
Ben: [laughing] That's funny, Daddy.

I found out later from talking to Mommy that this was not the first time Ben's asked these questions, but it was the first for me. I thought I handled it well - not too much theology for a four year old, and he seemed satisfied with the answers. But it does make me worry about what's coming next.