Saturday, September 26, 2009

Pets and More Scouting

Today our Boy Scout earned his Tenderfoot rank. It was great to see him and all the other Scouts recognized for all of the hard work they've put in. He also received his First Aid, Metalworking, Swimming, and near and dear to his father's heart - Small Boat Sailing.

Earlier in the day we took Seabreeze to the Low Country Paws and Claws Pet Expo at the Charleston Convention Center We had a great time and Seabreeze was very well behaved among all of the other dogs at the Expo. For only living in Charleston for a little over a year I was suprised by how many people I knew there (and that they were all pet lovers as well).

Monday, September 14, 2009

Voddie Baucham Conference

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Voddie Baucham conference put on by the James Island Christian Church with my wife and daughter. The subject of the discussion "what he must be to marry my daughter" provided some excellent biblical insight into what the Bible says about the important role that a father plays in helping his daughter find a suitable husband and in the character traits that she needs (from a biblical perspective) to consider as she considers this important decision.

Being able to do this with my daughter was great because it helped us come together on an issue that we were not fully aligned on before. If you haven't had an opportunity to hear any of Voddie's sermons I highly recommend him, his talk on Children of Caesar on YouTube is a great starting place.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Drayton Hall

This past Labor Day weekend we had an opportunity to visit Drayton Hall and had a great time during our visit. Elizabeth's timing was excellent as the visit coincided with several promotions that were going on. The end result was that we only had to pay for one admission for our family of four and recieved a treat bag for the dog as well. Drayton Hall is a preserved, rather than restored plantation so there is paint on the walls that dates from the 1800's and it shows. It's the only plantation along the Ashley River that survived the Civil War among other disasters.

The docent that guided our visit did a great job sharing about the architecture and history of the plantation from its beginnings through phosphate mining and up to the present day.

Monday, March 2, 2009

New Boy Scout


Last week our youngest bridged from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and earned his arrow of light award. This was a fantastic experience and we're really excited about his new troop.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

First Fish

On Friday afternoon as I was driving home from work I received an urgent call from my wife; "Stop at the pond!" Our youngest had gone down to the pond near our house to do some fishing and unlike the dozens of times before was met with success rather than disappointment. I arrived at the pond just as they were about to release the 10" Tilapia back to the relative safety of the pond. I'm not an avid fisherman by any stretch of the imagination, but I can say I've never had a bad time fishing. As a result of his success, my wife and I went out for licenses and hope to add some quality fishing time in South Carolina to our list of family recreational activities.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Be a tourist in your own town!

January is be a tourist in your own town month in Charleston. We picked up a family pass and made it our mission to check off as many of the attractions as we could in the month.

The weather was not always cooperative and we weren't able to go to every event together but it was well worth the money and we had a great time. Some of the highlights of our month were our visits to the Hunley, Patriot's Point and the Middleton Plantation.

At Patriot's Point we had a great time touring the ships and learning about their history as well as that of the Port of Charleston. Of particular interest was the Medal of Honor museum, I could have spent hours learning more about the incredible people that have given so much to and for our country.

We also enjoyed visiting the Aiken Rhett House and the Old Charleston Slave Mart. One of the things that struck me during the Slave Mart visit was that not only was slavery a blemish on our nation's past it's prevention is part of our ongoing battle.

We had so much fun this year we'll probably do it agian next year.
See you in Charleston!