Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

I'll probably ramble a bit before I announce the winner of my blog giveaway for the Karen Kingsbury books. Hold on to your hats. It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Please say a quick prayer for my husband. He is traveling home from Bike Week in Myrtle Beach today. The weather is supposed to be a bit yucky in our corner of Tennessee. I'm not sure about the weather in the other states he'll pass through.

One mixed blessing from his trip... he took our point-and-shoot digital camera. And then didn't shut his storage bag properly. So somewhere on a road in South Carolina lies my camera. Actually, it probably got pilfered before it laid there long. Bruce said he went back to the road where he likely lost it and he and his crew searched for it to no avail. He said it was a rough area and they figured someone snatched it right up.

Well, a big HA-HA to them. That thing was on its last leg. For the last couple of weeks, every time I'd plug a new batch of batteries in, I'd get maybe four shots before it just croaked.

It's just proof that crime doesn't pay. I picture the prospective thief being every bit as frustrated with that camera as I was.

When Bruce gets home, he'll start surfing the net for a new camera... for me. The big, beefy camera is more Bruce's speed. I really thought I'd get into it, but I'm a more impulsive person. I need an impulsive camera. Anybody have one they love that they'd like to recommend?

Next topic. My favorite. Baseball. (I'm rolling my eyes. It's not my favorite topic. Not by a long shot!)

My boys have improved so much these last few weeks. Spencer's team does not keep score, but after every game he runs up to me and says, "Mom, my team won!" That's just typical Spencer.

I noticed a huge difference between him and Clay at yesterday's games. Clay was already on his field, and Spencer was eager to get to his, but I didn't see his coach yet. After a few other players on his team made their way over to the field, I told Spencer I'd walk him over there. We got about half way there and I said, "Go on, buddy. You can run the rest of the way to the dugout."

And he did. Without looking back. I saw him pause once he got in the middle of the field, wondering which dugout was his team's, but without ever looking my way, he shifted in the correct direction and skipped the rest of the way.

Clay would never have done that at that age. Maybe not even now.

No, he'd have made sure I walked with him all the way to the dugout. And forget being in the middle of a field and having to choose where to go from there. He'd have paused and then looked backwards, toward me, and waited for me to get there to point him in the right direction.

And it's not because he's not bright. He's a near genius (and I'm not just bragging. He scares me sometimes he's so smart!). Clay is just far more timid than Spencer. Spencer is all spit and vinegar. It always strikes me as funny that our younger son is more pluck than our older one. But Spencer wears off on Clay, too, and I notice that Clay gets more gumption when he sees that Spencer goes off half-cocked.

Enough about that.

My in-laws came to yesterday's games. Before the boys and I went to the ball fields, Roy and Sharon picked up Allison at our house and took her to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Nice break for my girlie, who has certainly put in her fair share of time at the ball fields this year.

They arrived at the fields right as my boys' teams started their games. Good thing that their fields were side-by-side so I could watch both games at the same time. Well, that was the idea anyway. But I missed both boys in action because Allison needed two potty breaks.

And Clay actually hit the ball and ran all the way to third base. I realize that sounds like pitiful little to some of you with kids who've been playing forever, but remember... this is not Clay's sport of choice. And up until about two weeks ago, he fussed like crazy every time we went to a game. Since then, he's been practicing in our yard of his own volition with his daddy.

Batting has become something he fears thanks to a minor injury a couple of weeks ago. Still, I think he might actually be enjoying himself. And he might even want to do baseball again next year.

Doggone it!

Okay, now. The winner of the two Karen Kingsbury books ("Maggie's Miracle" and "Gideon's Gift") is...

Cheryl. My Miss Allison drew Cheryl's name from the bunch.

I wish I could climb right into the box I mail the books in so that I could visit with Cheryl in person. She has been a fun and insightful blessing to me in this wonderland of Bloggyville.

I hope you enjoy the books, Cheryl! Love ya!

Thanks to everyone who played and shared their woes of unfinished projects in their homes. I feel much better knowing I'm in good company.