Hi there from Sister Dear!

Hello, Blogger World!

Mother Dear and I just thought an update would be nice. :-) So, Susan is very nice to let me take over her blog and post a short update, pictures, and a poem from yours truly. We had a lovely visit with Adrian. For part of his visit, we had to take him to Stone Mountain. We spent a lot of time there growing up, so it's a memory-filled place for us, plus anyone visiting down here has got to see Stone Mountain if you ask me. It's just cool! We hiked up and showed him around a bit and had a picnic. And, can you believe it, he hadn't ever eaten at Chick-fil-A! Down here, that's a real oddity, like not having e-mail or something. So, we stopped by there on our way back from Stone Mountain. It worked out quite nicely.

I was so struck with the wonderfulness and beauty of friction while we were walking up Stone Mountain (with some rather steep parts) that I just had to write an Ode to Friction. Here you have it! And then pictures below that. :-)

An Ode to Friction

Away we look up the great big rock
Our destination is the very top!
We march away with firm determination
To get to our great destination

Though the first part up is rather un-steep
Still Friction must assist and guide our feet
As we travel further and the going gets rougher
Keeping a sure foot-hold gets even tougher

Friction, my friend, my ever-present helper!
What a blessing you get the further upper
That we trod upon this great big rock
For you keep me from many falls and unpleasant shock

I place my foot with confidence and trust
I know you won’t let me fall to the dust
My feet are set on an incline so great
And your God-given powers keep me standing straight

Friction, friction, what wonders you bear!
What this world would be without you there
We’d have slipping and sliding and all things colliding
Thank God for you, our companion, ever-abiding

1. Playing Apples to Apples. Ashley, Paul, and Amy (Ashley's sister) came over for a fun evening of food, chess, comic books, and sewing!

2. Resting while hiking up. (Friction is even hard at work here, while we're sitting!!)

3. At the top, holding hands (everyone say, "aw!"), looking at the amazing view, and pointing out certain landmarks to Adrian.

4. I think they're kind of happy.

5. In front of the carving! Sadly the carving isn't all that clear in this picture.

6. In front of my dream house. ;-)

7. I think Adrian likes Susan's hair a little too much. He took this picture.

That's all for now, folks!

--Hannah, aka Sister Dear

To keep him or not to keep him?

Sooooo . . . I haven't visited the Garrisons' home in years. It's not that I don't love them, I've just been busy, I suppose. However, this strange guy decided to come into Susan's life and since he's here on a visit, well, someone had to make sure he's okay. With guys these days, you just never know.

He's a friendly sort of fellow. His beard is passable, I suppose. At least Susan likes it. Or at least that's what she claims. Not much she could do about it unless she decided to shave it off when he falls asleep sometime - now that would be a grand idea!

He talks about math as if he was in love with it - that kind of scares me. You'd think it was his life or something. I've always said that anyone who loves math is crazy, so...he's officially CRAZY! Once I get home, I'll see if there's a medical description for this symptom, and if so, I guess he'll be admitted to a hospital for crazies. Then poor Susan will be without a man. Or she could go along with him because she just might be crazy herself for liking him.

Which brings me to something else. Who needs a man anyway?! Come on, all they do is require attention, time, food...and all sorts of work. If a girl wants flowers, she only need move into a cottage covered with roses and then she can have roses anytime she wants...without the hassle of a man.

But to each her own. If she likes him, I suppose he'll do. I've always thought they were perfect for each other, so there's really no way for me to stand in the way of PREDESTINED love. Since there's no way she can resist it, how can I fault her? Or him for that matter. Of course, he's obviously the blessed one here. Any guy who gets a girl is beyond lucky - well, actually he's just out of his element because he does not in any way deserve such a wonderful, amazing, intelligent, beautiful, better-than-him lady! (Adrian just received a bonus point for saying AMEN to the last comment!) I mean, I don't mean to sound cocky, but after God created Adam, he, I assume, realized he could do better. It's well known that before every masterpiece you always produce a rough draft!

As we close, it looks like Adrian just might get to stay because he agreed that women were better! What a somewhat good guy! ;-)

So rest assured, everyone, Adrian is allowed to *drumroll please* stay. He's not being kicked out of the Garrisons' home...and he's not being told that he doesn't make the cut. I've always wanted to tell some guy that he wasn't good enough for my friend, but...what can we say except he gets to stay. And yes, he's paying me good money for this endorsement - or maybe that's just me wishing. To require money, I'd need good blackmail on him. If anyone has some (Lane??), please submit ASAP.

With all the love of a happily single, concerned friend,

Esther, Inc.
Helping Boys Mature Into Men since 1984