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We are alive and well, in Galway now. The trip has been wonderful, if a little tiring. A vacation much needed. We've seen so much and have so many pictures, but there is still so much to do, and internet cafe's aren't cheap. We'll have plenty of stories and pictures after we get back, but for now here's a picture of how we spent our Anniversary. :) Us on the Ring of Kerry Love, Adam & Megan PS ? sorry for the large size of the photo — forgot to resize it before leaving our B&B.

This weeks guest-posts are all brought to you courtesy of my Dad.

Adam was about 8 or 9 when Kitty and I got our first cell phone. They weren?t nearly as common as now but we decided it was something we needed. I think the phone weighed 2 pounds and our plan was for something like 40 minutes a month (for emergencies). We did what most people would probably do, calling a few friends and to our home number. ?Guess where we?re calling you from now?? was probably getting old for a few people but it was fun and very cool to be able to call the kids at home and let them know we were out shopping a little longer than we planned and that we?d be home before dinner. Sometime within the first couple of weeks of getting the phone Kitty and I were shopping for something (who remembers?), but I do remember it being a craft store with lots of baskets and stuff. We were standing in line waiting to check out when we heard a phone ringing. There was several people standing around waiting for someone to answer, when Kitty and I suddenly realized it was our phone ringing. It was our first incoming call! The call was from Adam (at the time he went by Jason). The kids had been running through the house and Justin fell and cracked his head open! Adam said that he had called 911 and someone was on their way to the house. Justin was lying on the floor with his head bleeding and we needed to come home right away! We made it home in about 10 minutes and by the time we got there the paramedics were already there. Justin had a gash on his head that would take stitches but it wasn?t crippling or life threatening. Mostly the boys were just scared. The medic said that Adam had been very calm and had done almost everything the right way. He could tell that Adam was a in the Scouts because Adam made Justin lie still and had propped his feet up. BTW, propping up the feet isn?t the best thing for someone with a head wound, but the training had kicked in and no harm came from this. There was some blood on our new carpet but the medic explained that some peroxide would get it out (it did). He said that Adam had done a really good job! Justin ended up getting 3 staples in his head. They were big ones too. When they mentioned staples I though of something like a paper staple that would bend around the wound and fold up. No so, the staples were just pushed in holding the sides together and sticking out about a half inch above the cut. Creepy! We later found out the kids had been playing football in the house and Adam had tackled Justin knocking him into a door jam. Even though rules had been broken and some kind of punishment was deserved, we were all happy with Adam?s clear thinking in a moment of crisis. He called 911 first and then called us. I?m sure Kitty had talked to Adam about calling 911 because I don?t remember ever having that conversation. That he called 911 before calling us was pretty smart. I probably would have called my dad and asked him if I should call 911. That day Adam showed us he was able to be trusted when it counts ? even while we knew he was also up to breaking house rules. That?s a tradeoff I would always be willing to take.

This weeks guest-posts are all brought to you courtesy of my Dad.

When Adam was starting school we lived in California. We lived in a housing subdivision where our back yard faced a court with a dozen or so other units. Across the courtyard lived Adam?s best friend Jonathan and a few houses away lived another of Adam?s friends. I can?t remember the other boy?s name now so I?ll just call him Punk. Adam and Jonathan always got along great together. When Punk joined in, he would sometimes turn the situation into himself and Jonathan picking on Adam. Adam isn?t the biggest person you?ll meet now, and it?s safe to say he was smaller than Jonathan and Punk back then. That?s how kids are, pick on the small and weak. One day Adam came in crying because Punk and Jonathan had been picking on him. I think one of them pushed him down and the other punched him in the stomach. I don?t remember all the details. Kitty wanted to talk to Jonathan?s mom and let her know what was going on, and while she was away I gave Adam some fatherly advice. When other kids are picking on you and they won?t stop, go for the nose. Don?t threaten or warn them ? just do it fast before they expect anything. Adam was worried because the other kids were bigger than him. If he hit one of them they would gang up on him. I explained that they were already ganging up on him now, and defending himself was the only way to get their respect. I don?t think Kitty was very happy when she heard what Adam and I had been talking about, but there was no taking it back. I think I did talk to Adam again and tell him that if he hit someone it needed to be in self-defense and only as a last resort. Less than a week later Jonathan?s mom was at our house letting us know that Jonathan had come home crying and with a bloody nose. Jonathan and Punk never picked on Adam again. Adam and Jonathan quit playing with Punk and were still best friends when we moved a couple of years later. Adam did have a couple of other issues with kids and even got suspended for a week. Mom put him to work in the garden for his trouble too. But Adam learned to stick up for himself. Even when he was afraid he never came home complaining about bullies.