Wednesday, October 26th

Looks like some good TV coming... Xena, (Vampire) Warrior Princess. Lucy Lawless is starring in a made for TV movie about vampire bats. Here's a synopsis from IMDB: "A voracious-insect specialist (Lucy Lawless), now a college professor in search of a simpler life, who gets caught up in the investigation of a student who is found dead with his body completely depleted of blood and realizes that the killers are actually vampire bats that have mutated due to a tainted water supply."

If you ever want to feel truly small and insignificant in the generalscheme of things, try the Astronomy Picture of the Day. The awesomely beautiful pictures of galaxies located millions of light years away will boggle the mind that tries to grasp the size and scope of our universe. At least, it boggles mine. For those interested, the link is http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html.

Temperatures are in the mid-30s in the morning. B-r-r-r-r. I've been living in the South way too long for this. Fortunately we bought some insulated jackets just before the dip in the temps. I hope it's only temporary. It seems a bit early in the year for such cold weather. Thank heavens we didn't evacuate to upstate New York. I heard on the news that they had snow from this cold front.

Speaking of New York, we can never go home without feeling intense pangs of homesickness. Some people don't realize just how beautiful the state really is. Still, whenever we think about the winters, it becomes a nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. Maybe we should have a summer home in NY, and winter home in NOLA.

Memphis. Almost feels like we're still at home in New Orleans. The city is facing a huge budget deficit, the police are being arrested for criminal activity, it ranks at the top of the list in crime. No wonder we're almost comfortable here.

Stress is insidious. We don't necessarily see it, but its effects are starting to show. Short tempers, recurring illnesses, lack of focus are all symptoms that are beginning to show in our family. We need to somehow band together and support one another, even from a distance, and even when (or especially when) we think the others have lost it, or don't deserve our support. We have to remember that the bottom line is, we're family, and families stick together.

Prayer request for today is for our family. May God bless us with faith, hope, and especially love for one another through thick and thin.

You are all in our prayers here in Memphis. We wish the best God can give for you and your families.

Dean