Life on Snow Hill

Over the past several weeks, my dad has gotten into honeybees. He’s bought a few books, built a few hives and learned as much as he can about them. They’re actually very amazing creatures! From how they pick a queen and take care of her, to how they do a dance to show the worker bees where the flowers are, and how far away they are, they’re truly something.

Dad found a swarm in a tree where they’ve been making honey. He cut the tree above where most of their comb is, and put a hive on top of that. He also bought another hive with a swarm already in it.

I’ve tasted some of the honey myself, and it is really sweet and tasty. I know, honey is honey. But this was as fresh as it comes.

I spent a few minutes yesterday taking some pictures of the hive, and Dad started playing with the bees while I was down there, so you’ll see a picture with one of them getting honey off his finger. Enjoy!

My mom has started a blog – her first.  I’m sure she’ll be writing about all kinds of things going on with her and my dad, their church life, and of course their grandkids.  Go on over and take a read!

I’ve never heard of Free Range Kids until just a few minutes ago.  Growing up as a kid, I pretty much fit the criteria of what a free range kid is, because I was allowed to ride my bike pretty much wherever I wanted, or play in the woods any time I wanted.  Of course, I grew up in an area where the traffic on my road consisted of a tractor, and maybe a handful of cars every day – including the mailman.

This post talks about how to deal with people who basically raise their kids in fear – not letting them out of their sight.  Ever.  While I also think that is a bit extreme, I’m not sure I’d be as extreme as some parents are either as far as letting a kid ride the subway alone or something like that.  The poster said she quotes stats such as kids being 40 times more likely to die in a car crash than to be abducted.  That may be the case, but my argument would be that a lot of criminals commit crimes of opportunity.  If a kid isn’t out on the street alone to be abducted, he won’t be abducted.  If he is, there is always the chance.  I’m not saying never let that kid out of your sight necessarily, but use some common sense.  If there are more kids out on the streets alone, there are more opportunities for kidnappers to abduct them.

Aside from that type of argument by ‘free rangers’, I totally agree with the idea of letting a kid be a kid, experiencing things (within reason – don’t let them start getting into trouble like getting into gangs or some such garbage) and learning as they go.  I did a lot of that myself growing up, and I survived just fine.

As for common sense, here’s some for you.  If a criminal/thug believes he is alone (i.e., won’t get caught) and sees an opportunity to satisfy whatever impulse he might have, be it stealing something, or kidnapping a little girl, he’ll do it.  I own a motorcycle, and had it sitting at the end of my house in plain sight, just as I had done for a couple of years.  My wife and I were gone for the evening, and upon our return found the motorcycle missing.  If the opportunity presents itself as easy prey, a criminal will take advantage of it in a heartbeat.  So again, while I’m all for not hovering over your kid 24/7, use some common sense, people!

3 years ago today, April 16, 2008, is when Becky and I were married.

It was a good, but sort of a hectic day.  Well, it was for Becky anyway.  She got up early and was off doing all the things a woman does to make herself pretty.  (I’m so glad I’m not a woman)  She did a really good job, too, by the way.

I honestly don’t remember what I did when I first woke up.  I do, however, remember that when I got myself ready to go, I had plenty of time to spare before I needed to be at the church, so I dozed on the couch for a few minutes to relax and calm my nerves.

Once everybody was at the church, things started getting a little more hectic for me.  Everybody was running around doing last minute arrangements, getting pictures done and getting things ready for the reception.  I personally tried to hide as much as I could.

There weren’t really any big mishaps for the day.  Well, Becky’s mom forgot to bring her wedding dress.  But no big deal.  It wasn’t really that important.  Of course, I’m being completely sarcastic.  Her mom was freaking out and thought she’d ruined the whole day – but there was plenty of time for her to go back and get it, so it really was no big deal.  That was about the time that I realized that I forgot to bring the tux for one of my groomsmen.  Becky’s mom picked that up while she was out as well.  Other than that, and something about somebody not being able to find some flowers, things went smoothly.  It was a great day.

So now for 3 years, Becky and I have been growing closer to each other.  We’re still learning about all the little quirks that the other has (does that ever end?) and figuring out how to deal with them.  But that’s ok – she wanted a Wii for our anniversary this year so she could kick my tail in that boxing game.  She got me a very nice watch, which has been much needed for a few months now.

All joking aside, I couldn’t have picked a better lady to spend the rest of my life with.

Kristan and family were able to make it up to Mom & Dad’s for our regular Sunday dinner, even with Zechariah (ZZ) being only 3 days old. That kid has a LOT of hair on his head. We were all a little surprised at how much he has. So here is a picture of that as well…

Without further delay…

My older sister, Kristan, has had her 4th child. Her 4th boy, at that. That makes 5 nephews for Becky and me. Ryder, Braden, Daniel, Jackson, and now meet Zechariah Zion Crass. He was born at 12:55pm on April 3, 2008. He weighs 6 pounds, 12 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long.

We’re all at the hospital now visiting with our new addition to the family. Both mom and baby are doing well.

I’ll be taking some pictures before I leave here, and will post them later on in the day.

Joy & Jamin made a trip down to Tennessee to visit for a week, so we took advantage of our little studio setup to get some photos of baby Jackson yesterday evening.  He’s about a month and a week old right now.

Overall the session went well – Jackson wasn’t in the mood to pose, but we still got some good shots.  I was afraid the flashes would make him angry, but they actually calmed him down.  He loved looking at them!

We were all surprised at how well he could hold his head up for some of the photos.  As much as he was crying, he was a real sport for the whole shoot.  Click on each of the photos for a larger version if you like.