Thirty Days of Thanks...

Luci signing her name (she's got "L" showing now) at Helen Keller's house, Ivy Green. This is the famous pump where Helen "awoke" and learned to sign "water." Photo from June 2008. (Luci's still able to wear that jumper and those crocs! Little girl, indeed)


I am so thankful to be here in Alabama, in a state where so many things have happened, and quite a bit close to where we live now. Definitely something to learn around every corner. Yesterday we went to LaGrange, the site where the first chartered college in Alabama stood until it was burned down in the Civil War (and I learned yesterday that some of my homeschool friends are still upset about that and would not let their kids stand on the "blue" side of the photo below).
I'm also thankful that we have indoor plumbing.
Good looking kids, don't you think? I sent John a postcard from this post office.
The infamous blue and gray picture...notice my boys glaring at each other...at least this time they were just acting. During the rest of the field trip they were quite nice.

Tori and Caleb

Tori and Caleb came to town Monday. Tori is my brother Charlie's daughter, and Caleb is her husband. They are down here from Idaho, on a grand cross-country trip. We were their first stop. John and I tried our best to convince them that after seeing north-west Alabama that the rest of the country is anti-climactic and they might as well go home, but they didn't believe us. They are still going to visit Boston and Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone and everything in-between.

We took them to Helen Keller's birthplace and then to Trowbridge's Ice Cream Parlor. It was so nice to see Tori all grown up and to get to know Caleb, too.

In this picture, Caleb was looking back at the sign but it looks like he is adoring Tori...I thought it looked so sweet. Luci showed us how to finger-spell her name...at the very same water pump that Helen Keller first learned to finger-spell "water." I think this is the best part of Helen's museum...wow, this is the real place where it happened, and the original pump! And they let you get near it. Caleb videoed Luci spelling her name, which automatically made me like him more--you treat my kids well or like they're special, and that earns you a place in my heart. (Luci's shoes are on the wrong feet!)
If the docent had seen Luci pumping away on this old pump, I'm sure she would have had a fit! I pulled Luci off of it right away.
On Helen's staircase with Bryan.
Tori and Luci. We made sure that Tori and Caleb had a good introduction to hot, steamy weather before they left for their next destination!
At Trowbridge's. This is a Florence institution. (Trowbridge's is mentioned about halfway down the page in that article.) The kids all sat at their own table, and John and I had a little time by ourselves (but it was not quiet time! that joint is always jumpin'!). This is one of the places John took me when we dated, and Mom and Dad took Bryan and me there when Bryan was just 2 weeks old.

Two Vastly Different Anniversaries

from the Times Daily: Today in History: In 1887, In Tuscumbia AL, teacher Anne Sullivan achieved a breakthrough as her blind and deaf pupil Helen Keller learned the meaning of the word "water" as spelled out in the Manual Alphabet. Helen learned 30 words that day, unlocking her genius. Ivy Green is only 24 miles from our home. Helen's story is a great one! It is possible to visit her home and go up to the original pump, even now. I love going there. It was a lot of fun showing Ivy Green off to my parents and nieces a couple of years ago, and attending The Miracle Worker. Helen and I share the same birthday, but not the same year! She was born in 1880. I was born a little later.
The other anniversary: The Battle of Shiloh took place on April 6 and 7, 1862. Shiloh National Military Park is only 47 miles from our home. Dad first took us there 'way back when and now John and I take our kids. John has a stepbrother named Frank who acts in Civil War Reenactments and has appeared at Shiloh.

Photo of Helen Keller taken from here.

Photo of the pump at Ivy Green taken from here.

Shiloh print taken from here.