Merry Christmas!!

The kids, they are growing, the hormones are flowing.  The grey hair is showing... oh my!

Ginger is 15 this year and Chris is 12.  We continue to homeschool and they are in 9th and 7th grade respectively.  This year has been full of activities with them.  They are both involved in scouting programs.  Chris just received his Star rank in boy scouts.  Ginger is working on her Patriot rank in American Heritage Girls.  

Of course the boy scouts keep Vaughn and Chris busy with camping.  Kim and Ginger also camped several times and made 2 trips down the Neuse.  Once with AHG and once with friends.  We did a family campout with the Booths in May at Carolina Beach state park.  Vaughn and Chris spent a week at summer camp while Ginger took driver's ed.  Yes, she has her permit now.  

Volleyball was in full swing by August
and we had 2 games a week until October.  It was a VERY busy season.  The fall has been uneventful with the exception of homeschooling.  High school has proven to be a challenge for both teacher and student as we navigate a new curriculum.  
Vaughn and I continue to volunteer with the scouting programs and enjoy it very much.  We are also in awe of how much our children have grown.  We step back and reflect and are amazed at how quickly time passes.   We are very blessed to be parents and even in the midst of hormones and mood swings count it all joy (and pray it will end soon).  
May this season be a time of reflection and counting your blessings as well.  
Merry Christmas
The Vaughn Hopson Clan

A day of remembering.....

Memorial Day 2012....as you set out to enjoy the beach or long weekend vacation, take a moment and remember.....

Did you recently vote in your primaries?   Remember how you attained that privilege...

Did you attend church Sunday?  Where you harassed or imprisoned?  Remember who died to keep that freedom.

Have you watched the news today?  Remember the soldier the story was about.....

Did you go hunting last fall?   Remember the young man who took the bullet on the battlefield....

Did the authorities storm your house and plunder your possessions?  On your next visit to Wally world, be thankful and remember....

Served on a jury lately?  Don't loathe, but be take it seriously, it is our one duty.  Remember the private on guard duty while the missiles  fly overhead.....

       A story...
    It was hot and sticky as the station wagon roared to life.  Effie honked her horn for her brother Tommy to hurry up.  The sooner they started the quicker the breeze would give some relief to the humid day.

 Tommy had been home on leave.  His unit was to be sent to the Pacific theater to fight. Tommy had been drafted in the Army after Pearl Harbor.  He went willingly, along with his brothers Worth and Lauren.  They were drafted into the Navy.  Tommy was glad it was the Army.  Fort Bragg was close to home and he used his leave to come home for a good meal mom cooked.

     Tommy gave one last kiss to Ma, and Dad's pat on the back. He jumped into the station wagon with Effie and they headed to Hamlet to catch his train.  It would carry him across this big country to California then go by ship to the War in the Pacific.  He had trained as a flame thrower and would be in the midst of the fight as he disembarked off the ship or so he thought.

     The roads were dusty and gave little relief to the heat.  Soon they would be on the main highway.  It was paved and they would be able to travel a little faster.  Not long after turning onto Highway 74, it happened.  It could have been the heat or just an old tire, but there was a blow out.  Effie with her experience on the farm machinery quickly had the car under control as they rolled off the side of the road.  Tommy knew exactly what to do to fix it.  The problem was the time.  Would he make it to the train?  Could he change that tire in time?  He would certainly try.....

     The tire was fixed, and they continued to the train station.  As they drove up, the train was moving down the track....he had missed it.

     Tommy found the officer in charge and explained the delay.....he was assigned to another unit that was departing on the next train.  Another soldier had arrived early and took Tommy's assignment when he was delayed.  Tommy continued on his journey and served his country well.

   He was always curious about that young fella that took his spot and finally came across some members of his old unit.  The soldier who replaced him was killed instantly as he disembarked from his transport during battle.

Was it divine fate that kept my Dad alive?  I think so, I am here....along with my 5 siblings, dad's 8 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren.

So I remember that soldier who took his place on the train that long ago day......



 

What I learned....I pass on to you.

A big surprise awaited our family last week. It was not a good one. I had visited my Mom on Wednesday afternoon and came home after dark. Thursday, we spent the morning inside working on lessons and general things. I walked outside to the mailbox and noticed the garage door ajar. When I went to investigate, it had been forcibly entered and we had been robbed!!! The first assumption was it had occurred while I was visiting mom.


I called Vaughn, then the sheriff. The Deputy arrived, Vaughn came home and we filed the report. The first thing I learned, make sure you have serial numbers for all your stuff. Irregardless if you have them engraved with your name, the likely hood of recovering stolen items will only happen with a serial number.

One of our neighbors has surveillance cameras around his house, when he arrived home, Vaughn approached him about checking if his camera's caught anything. The neighbor checked his stuff. He had been burglarized too along with about 5 more neighbors.

Here is the clincher. We were all at home. They came in the middle of the night right before the thunderstorm, cut locks, pried open doors and helped themselves to a lot of items from the 7 year old's Christmas dirt bike, to generators, to drills. They put the stuff in the driveway and went to the next shed/outbuilding. They passed cars and checked for something of value. When they were done, the lookout/get away car drove around and picked up their loot.


I do not write this for sympathy. In these tough economic times I am surprised this is the first time it has happened to us. If there is a next time, the perpetrator will have a surprise he will not soon forget. However, I am disappointed to learn that two other neighborhoods nearby has had similar situations occur in the last several months. I was not informed via the news or public announcements. The loss of property on a minor level is not newsworthy unless you are the victim. The violation of personal space in my opinion is worthy of prevention, hence this blog entry.

So, what have I learned? Deadbolts will hinder and delay but not necessarily stop. They can only finger print hard surfaces that are clean. The nail gun they left by the door, was to rough to get anything. CSI is a Hollywood deception. Take pictures of your items and write down serial numbers and keep in a safe place. Be watchful, but not paranoid. We may be robbed again, but I don't think anytime soon. We are all on heightened awareness right now, it is when the guard is down that something could happen. You may live in a neighborhood nearby, be on your guard. They targeted sheds and out buildings thought to house tools and other valuables. They wore hoodies to avoid any detection by camera. They came during a storm to disrupt the camera surveillance and mask noise.

Hopefully this blog will prevent your loss of property and peace of mind. If it causes the perpetrators to be hindered, I have done what I set out to accomplish.

Stay safe....

High School here we come....

School started up for Ginger and Chris this week. This summer has been a revelation to me, I have 5 years left to homeschool Ginger and 7 years with Chris. The time has flown by and I know in a blink of an eye they will be heading out the door to a job or college. Of course, I have the usual doubts about how I am going to handle teaching them in High School with a well rounded education. It is a whole different perspective on parenting and I have to say I am proud of my children so far. I see them helping younger friends and leading/directing them. I see them taking care of babies/toddlers and nurturing. I breath a sigh of relief that all those days of discipline and dealing with disobedience have paid off. They are growing up so fast and I hope to spend as much time with them over the next several years as I possible can.

June Already?

The time sure flies by after age 40. We have had different things going on this spring. April 6th was 1 year since I lost my Dad. PBS had Chet Atkins on in April singing "I still can't say goodbye" . If you get a chance to You-tube it, do so. Ginger finished up her American Heritage Girls and had a camp out. The Jaguars are in full swing of fund raising. Chris is still working on his pins for Webelos and will move up to Webelos 2 next week. He only has 5 more pins to finish to complete all 20.

We were at Mom's house the 22 of May and was rear ended on the way home. It totaled my Nissan. We are in the midst of waiting on the insurance company to finish with the paperwork. It has not been a fun experience. Note to teenagers stay off the cell phone when driving!!! Vaughn tore a muscle in his back when we were hit, he has not been fun to be around. The chiropractor is working on him and it hurts after each appointment. The kids are doing well from it. No adverse affects.

School is in down mode. Besides some reading comprehension and the last few grammar lessons, we are done for the summer. I hope to accomplish several tasks in June before I start planning next years school in July. I have already purchase about half of the curriculum for next year. It is hard to comprehend that I am halfway through my homeschooling journey with Ginger and one third finished with Chris. Time is sure passing by.

That will catch you up for the spring....

Christmastime

Wow, it's Christmas time again!!! It seems like just last week summer was starting.

This has been a full fall. School started into full swing. Volleyball season also took a large amount of time. The kids joined a 4-H group that a friend started. After volleyball season, Ginger attended an American Heritage Girl meeting and decided she wanted to participate. Of course, Chris continues with the scouts and has worked hard this fall earning pins.

In November, my brother in law's brother passed away. I went to Rockfish and took mom to church and the services for Billy. He had a massive heart attack all of a sudden and was gone. He was in his early 70's, but I have learned that no matter the age or expectation you are never prepared for the great amount of loss you feel. I knew Billy, had hunted with him as a teenager and saw him at Dad's funeral. He was a kind and generous man. Always had a smile on his face. For me personally, it has been very difficult to get into any holiday mood. I miss my dad tremendously.

I haven't been attending church much. I did go on Sunday, but honestly, it was all I could do to keep from bawling my eyes out. I guess I am suppressing the emotions. Then, for Ginger's AHG ceremony Sunday afternoon, Diane (my sister) comes in bringing Mom as a surprise. It made me cry.

This will be my first Christmas without him. I know he is in a far better place, but he is gone. Never again will I go home and see his face, hear his voice, or feel his touch. Selfish you say, don't judge until you walk in the shoes. I had no idea until it happened to me.

August Already?

I looked at the previous blog and it was June 23rd. Wow, how long ago was that... A lot has happened over the summer. Here's the run down.

July 4th, we spent the day with Vaughn's Aunt and Uncle and their kids. Kathi and Vaughn are not far apart in age and they grew up together. We had a good time and the kids loved the firework show they put on. Ginger was finally put on antibiotics for her bug and started recuperating while I caught her bug and started antibiotics. Christopher fell off the swing the week we were scheduled to go to Charleston, SC. Needless to say, yes, he did break his wrist. We shortened our trip to just the weekend on the USS Yorktown with the scouts. It was fun but TIRING.

The end of July was reflective, my dad's birthday was July 22nd. It was a hard week. I miss him. We ended July with volleyball team camp and VBS the same week.

VBS was great!!! We had bad weather predicted every night and God split the clouds and the rain bypassed the church. What an awesome God we serve!!! We were able to hold the games outside when we needed to.

The very next week, we celebrated my Mom's 80th birthday, started regular volleyball practice and began our homeschool year. In the midst of all this, my car had problems but my wonderful husband fix it. It would have been mucho money if a shop was involved. Mom's party was a success but getting together was bitter sweet for me. I miss my Dad. Volleyball practice continues and our first game is next week. Can't wait to see how this season turns out.

August is always a busy month for our family. Mom's birthday, Vaughn's birthday, our anniversary and my birthday. Every weekend someone turns a year older. I see it as an opportunity to enjoy each other's company.

This year it is our 16th anniversary. I have learned over the years that it's not all about the feelings because those change or waver. It is about the commitment. That commitment must be first and foremost to glorify God in our relationship with our spouse. Then there is the commitment to put the other one first. Something I have neglected at times with Vaughn. This year I have thought about how things have changed in our family. Next year our kids will be in double digit ages. When we celebrate our 20th, they will be teenagers with the beginnings of their own life. We have spent the last 12 years, wiping noses, faces and other body parts, kissing boo boos, settling arguments and carting kids everywhere. This next year instead of "dragging them to the path" I hope to "point them to it" and pray they follow it. With that in mind, I look forward to our marriage continuing to grow and mature as we embark on a new year of friendship, companionship and child rearing.