A Walk in the Woods

Brian and I took a leisurely, child-free hike at Radnor Lake last week, and he brought his camera to try to capture some springtime images. As I was strolling along ahead of him while he took some pictures, I spied a snake just off the trail, in some underbrush. I thought it was strange that he didn't move as I approached him, but when I took a closer look, I saw why; he was in the process of eating a frog, head-first! I hope this doesn't gross anyone out, but here are a few pics Brian snapped as we watched him gobble down the rest of the frog, ending with the legs and feet. I thought it was pretty cool...

Visiting Maya in Dallas

We had a fantastic time visiting Maya. She has a great apartment in a very cute part of town. We shopped and ate, ate and shopped ... and we did a lot of reading, too! See Maya reading "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", MP reading "Then Love Walked In", and Mark reading "No Country for Old Men" after finishing "The Road".

Another National StoryCorps Broadcast!

This morning (Friday), NPR aired a clip from an interview I facilitated back in October, between a 63-year old man, Joe Buford, and his literacy tutor, Michelle Miller. Joe lived his whole life not knowing how to read, and 3 years ago, he sought help at the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. In the clip, Joe tells Michelle about the lifelong shame he felt over his illiteracy, and the joy he felt when he discovered he was finally "getting it." To hear the story and see a picture (that I took) of Joe and Michelle, visit the StoryCorps website and look for Joe's name. Happy listening!

A trip to the Redwoods

Rich and I spent the weekend camping up in Northern California in the Redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was SOOOO beautiful, and a wonderful long weekend getaway for us. Minus one pesky raccoon, it was a perfect... we had 4 friends with us for two nights and then one night by ourselves. Our first camping trip together! Here is a picture.

Mary Grace's Braces

After having an expander in the roof of her mouth for about a year now, Mary Grace finally got her braces. (Perhaps you can't tell so well from this picture. The camera was malfunctioning. But they're really there.) She says they don't hurt too much yet, but is getting used to eating with them. In this photo she is sitting at the computer in her room just after Nate hooked it up to the internet. She'll be making her own blog posts before too long. We are all looking forward to the reunion next month. It will also be Mary Grace's first trip to DC.

SIFE - Students in Free Enterprise

Elise is a member of the Washington College SIFE team. They just won the regional competition and will go to nationals in May.

SIFE is a global organization that encourages university and college students to use what they are learning in the classroom to better the lives of people in their schools and their communities through educating them on the principles of free enterprise.

Cora's lost her first tooth!

Well, the big day finally came -- Cora lost her first baby tooth this evening! It's been wiggling for weeks, and all her messing with it finally paid off. This picture says it all -- she was ecstatic. She was a bit concerned at bedtime because she really wants to keep her tooth, but she also wants the big payoff. I told her I was sure the tooth fairy could work with her on this one. Also, Cora tells me the going rate for a "first tooth" is a whopping FIVE dollars, according to a friend at school who is in the know. That seems pretty steep to me. We'll just have to wait and see what the tooth fairy decides...

Feeling Remarkably Lifelike

I've been sick for about a month. Traveling -- can't say I love Birmingham.

It felt so great to come to the blog tonight and catch up. Thanks to all for posting!!