family
Family vacation recap: DC and NYC
I’m always a little hesitant to write about traveling while we’re still out on the trip, since it does put out there in public that our house is empty (even if we have people coming over multiple times a day to care for pets). But now that we’re back home, it’s worth a review of the past 9 days.
National History Day National Competition
Our youngest daughter, Katie, just finished her first year of high school. For the second year she competed in National History Day, where she researched a historical topic (this year: the codebreakers of Bletchley Park) and wrote and performed a 10-minute monologue on the topic. She took second at state this year, which qualified her for nationals. So, we took Katie and Anwyn to the DC area for the contest. (Laura is in Nebraska for the summer, working… we missed her!)
NHD nationals are hosted at the University of Maryland. We stayed in the dorms there for 4 nights, from which I draw two observations: 1) cafeteria food has improved a lot since I went to college; 2) I’m too old for dorm living. The days that Katie wasn’t competing we took the Metro down into DC and played tourist. I think the Museum of Natural History got the highest praise from our crew, though Katie was very excited to go to the International Spy Museum and see actual Enigma and Lorenz encoders after having researched them all year!
Katie’s performance went very well, but she didn’t make it into the top 10 to perform again in the finals. We opted out of the 4-hour award ceremony (so many categories! so many medals to hand out!) and headed down to Georgetown where she had a college visit scheduled. Three years ahead isn’t too early to start planning, I guess. The G’town campus is beautiful. Katie knows she’s gonna have to work hard if she wants to be able to make it into a school like that. I am confident that she will.
New York City
Friday morning we got in our rental car and drove up to Manhattan. I’m the only one of the family that had been to NYC before, so we decided a long weekend would be a good time. And it was. We visited museums and memorials, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, did some shopping, ate too much good food, and one night Becky and I made a late night (for us old folks!) outing to the Blue Note to see Wynton Marsalis and his Future of Jazz Septet play. They were fantastic. We spent Sunday hanging out with some friends who came up from New Jersey, and had a great time wandering around Midtown and Central Park.
Monday morning I woke up to a notification that our 5pm flight out of LaGuardia was already delayed an hour. Thankfully I was able to get us rebooked on a flight that left a little earlier, took a more direct route home, and got us home an hour earlier than scheduled (and 2 hours earlier than we would have on the delayed flights!). It is very good to be home. Becky did the math and reported we walked more than 50 miles over the past nine days… there’s a reason my feet are sore. But it was a delightful family trip, and I’m very glad we were able to make it work this year.
Donald Bruce "Don" Hubbs, 1949-2024
Donald Bruce “Don” Hubbs, 74, died Saturday at his home in rural Richland County after a nearly two year battle with brain cancer. Don was born November 15, 1949 in Ellsworth, Kansas, to Lloyd and Marge (Stepp) Hubbs. He grew up in small towns in Kansas and Nebraska before attending Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska, where he received a MA in Music Education. In college he met his future wife, Marjorie Jones, and as school teachers making the most of Christmas break, they were married the day after Christmas, 1971. Don taught high school music for several years before eventually taking up piano tuning and repair, the career he would maintain until his retirement. Later in life he accepted a role in public service as the town clerk for the tiny township he called home, taking up the thankless responsibilities of budget and elections because they needed doing, and needed doing well.
Don’s love and concern for people came through in every situation. He loved meeting and chatting with new acquaintances and old friends; at more than one church he was given a key to the door so he could lock up once he was done chatting after the service. He enjoyed working with his hands, frequently making or building solutions when time was more available than money. He taught his children the value of hard work, faithfulness, and consistency through his example. If music was playing, you would frequently catch him conducting along with it. He passed his love of music on to his children, too; everyone learned at least one instrument and sang. When he had time to relax, Don loved fishing, reading, and listening to classical and jazz music.
During the last few years of his life Don had a fresh enthusiasm in his Christian faith as he explored what he described as the actual “good news” of the Gospel, which he distilled down to seven words: “Fear not. In Christ, God is Love.”
Don is survived by his wife of 52 years, Marj; five children: sons Chris (Becky) of Hiawatha, IA, Ryan of Seattle, WA, Aaron (Emily) of Wonewoc, WI, Andrew (Heather) of Cashmere, WA, and daughter Rebecca (Joel) Grette, of East Wenatchee, Wa, his mother Marge, of Springdale AR, sisters Lou(Bob) Maxson of Kearney, NE, and Joy Hubbs of Springfield, MO, brother David (Shelli) of Springdale AR, and eight grandchildren (Laura, Anwyn, Katie, Abigail, Isaiah, Avery, Henry, and Millie). He was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd, and grandson Burke Grette.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Grace Community Church (County Hwy AA) in Richland Center on Wednesday, Feb. 28th . Visitation will be from 10:30-12:00, with a service and time of sharing at noon. A light lunch will be served, and all are encouraged to stay and fellowship. The Clary Memorial Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Messages for the family may be left there.
Preparing to launch
Eighteen years and seventeen days ago we brought our first child home for the first time. She was just a tiny newborn joining two new, naïve parents in the adventure of life.
Tomorrow, we load her packed boxes of belongings into the van and head out to launch her into the next phase of her adventure: college at SDSMT. I’m sure none of us really appreciate yet how much we will miss her, but we’re so excited for the opportunity she has and the path that lies ahead of her.
Some days have seemed long, but the time now seems to have been very short.
Happy Birthday, Laura! (2015 edition)
How am I old enough to have an 11-year-old? It doesn’t seem I’ve gotten that much older… and yet this young lady grows in stature, beauty, and general awesomeness every year. Whether she’s playing with the cat, hanging with her sisters, helping her Mom, or having some other sort of fun, she’s a delight.
Happy birthday, Laura! You’re a blessing to our family, and it’s a wonderful treat to be your Dad.
And the youngest turns 6...
We’re finishing up Birthday Week at the Hubbs house by celebrating today as the youngest turns 6. KP is a pistol - always moving fast to keep up with her sisters, often singing quietly to herself while she plays, she loves to laugh and dance and wear shirts that have flouncy tutu waists.
Given the photos available to me on my phone for sharing here, she also appears to like eating ice cream and taking selfies with dad.
Happy birthday, little lady!
Happy Birthday to the AG! (2015 edition)
Our middle daughter, Addison, enters her last single-digit year today. Hard to believe that nine years have flown by so quickly!
This young lady is a free spirit, a voracious reader, and a math whiz. Life is never dull with her around. She has a sense of style and funky attitude that set her apart from the crowd.
I love this young lady dearly and couldn’t be prouder to be her dad.
I'm an uncle again!
The congratulations are due to my brother Andrew and his wife Heather on the birth of their second child, and first son, Isaiah David Hubbs. Isaiah was born this afternoon and everyone is doing well.
It’s a bit odd, coming from a family with mostly boys, but Isaiah is my first nephew on either side of the family. Three nieces on my wife’s side, three daughters, and Isaiah’s big sister have equaled out to lots of estrogen. Glad to have this young man to start to restore balance!
Many Happy Returns
Just a quick note here today to say Happy Birthday to my dear mother. (I’ll call you later on today, Mom!)
Remembering her long annoyance on this day many years ago when us kids ran into church on a Wednesday night and breathlessly announced that it was Mom’s birthday and she was turning 40!, I’ll not mention her age here. (Maybe I can safely say is that while that event was on her 40th birthday, she and Dad have now surpassed their 40th anniversary.)
Mom invested the bulk of her life to raise and educate her five children, and remains an example of faithfulness, graciousness, and consistency to us all.
Happy birthday, Mom, and God’s blessings on you for this next year and many more to come.
Something to lighten the mood...
It’s been fun as my daughter Laura gets older (almost 9 and a half!) seeing her start to use things like instant messaging to great effect. A year ago she started trying to impersonate her mother while IMing me. (I caught on quickly. Becky doesn’t usually have typos.) A year later, she’s a lot better at the impersonation. (And has a lot fewer typos.)
I totally cracked up tonight when I saw the result of a Skype chat she had with my brother Ryan (who lives in London, England) earlier today. Ryan is well known for his silliness, and Laura comes by it honestly herself. Here’s the result:
I now know I must employ a sizable number of ninja warriors next time I make a cup of coffee and Laura’s around.
Four generations at play
We had a bunch of family visit our home the past couple days, including my grandmother, my parents, and two siblings. Such fun to have so many of us together. (And those that weren’t here were sorely missed.)
As one bit of evidence to document the weekend, here are four generations of family (my grandma, my dad, my sister, and my oldest two daughters) playing Apples to Apples. Grandma had never played before, but she pretty well cleaned up.
Happy Birthday to Becky!
Today is my dear wife’s birthday. We’re probably getting to the point where she doesn’t appreciate me listing her age any more, but suffice it to say I’ll always be a couple months older than she is.
We’re old enough now that we’ve known each other for half of our lives, and I can’t quite imagine my life without her. Best friend, awesome mom for our three daughters, faithful friend to those around her, tireless servant. I am well and truly blessed.
It’s only typical that we will spend her birthday primarily celebrating others. (Let’s face it: it’s graduation season.) But with her mom visiting and three excited little girls, we won’t let the day go by without making sure we celebrate her, too.
Happy birthday to KP!
It’s March, which means the birthdays come fast and furious at the Hubbs house. Today the youngest member of our household isn’t quite so young. Katie P turns 4 today! This little sweetie never slows down for long… guess that’s what happens when you have two big sisters to keep up with.
Today we will celebrate with lunch at her favorite place… nuggets (and maybe ice cream!) at Chick-Fil-A.
Happy Birthday to the AG
Seven years ago today, in the dark of the early morning, Addison was born. This young lady is so special… a free spirit in a house full of engineers who has a built-in wiggle that won’t let her sit still when there’s music going.
She’s wildly creative (that’s a ‘boom box’ she created) and has the most delicious random thoughts. (The other day: “Mom, if you return library books early, does the library pay you money?")
Hard to believe this awesome girl is now seven years old. We love you Addie Grace!
My Favorite Elected Official
The primary focus this election day is on the race for President, as well it should be. After I leave work I’ll head over to my precinct to cast my ballot. (I just can’t get into the early voting thing - I like voting in my neighborhood on the day of.) Unfortunately, I won’t be able to vote for my favorite elected public official, since he’s only on the ballot in one small township in Wisconsin. However, let me take a couple of paragraphs to remind us that elected officials serve in roles both great and small, and we should be thankful for all of them.
This is my dad. He serves as the town clerk for the tiny township of Marshall in Richland County, Wisconsin. He was first appointed to this post to fill out the term of the previous clerk. He has since been elected to the post at least once - maybe a couple of times, I can’t keep track of their election cycles.
As township clerk, Dad is responsible for keeping the township’s paperwork, paying the (few) employees, keeping the books, setting the agenda for and recording the town board meetings, running elections, and in general making sure the town’s business is conducted efficiently and legally. For this he gets paid a minimal salary - not anywhere close to full-time, but maybe a little better than minimum wage. (Mom has been appointed the volunteer assistant town clerk so that she can cover township meetings if he’s out of town.)
Town business is seemingly never done; any time we visit the phone seems to ring on a daily basis with some issue or another. Maybe the town patrolman (who drives the plow in the winter and fixes the roads in the summer) needs help with a persnickety citizen; maybe some citizen needs reassurance on why their property is being reassessed for tax purposes; maybe the town chairman wants to confirm the next meeting’s business. Each phone call gets a patient and thorough discussion as Dad walks them through the issues.
The responsibility of running the elections is, by itself, a significant role - especially when you consider the number of elections that have been held in Wisconsin the past couple of years. During the recall effort for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, first there were primaries. Then there was the recall. Then there were some county elections sandwiched around those. Dad was running a different election every second or third week for a few months. Craziness.
There can’t be many elected positions more minor than that of town clerk for a township of less than 600 people, but I’m proud of my Dad for taking the responsibility seriously and serving the people in his township to the best of his ability. Today as we vote for our leaders at the highest levels, let’s not forget the servants at the lowest levels, too. They are worthy of our respect, our prayers, and our thanks today and every day as they serve.
Happy Birthday, Number Three!
Our third daughter, KP, turns three today. So big, so fast. So blessed to have her.
Thankful
On this day set aside to be thankful, I want to review the events of the last six weeks, because they give me so much to be thankful for. Some of you have watched these things unfold in real-time on Facebook and Twitter, but it’s worth summarizing here.
Oct 3 - My parents and grandma came to visit. Grandma hadn’t been here to visit Iowa since Laura (now 7) was a baby. It was great to see her.
Oct 3 - The insurance adjuster called and told me that we had hail damage and that insurance would pay for a new roof for the house and garage.
Oct 4 - My sister Rebecca, who had recently rescheduled her wedding from next summer to Nov 5, called to ask if I would play music for the wedding, if Becky would be the matron of honor, and if our girls would be flower girls. Wedding would be held in Seattle.
Oct 6 - While doing some shopping for dresses for the wedding, Becky gets a call from her sister that her Dad has been admitted to the hospital with intestinal issues.
Oct 7 and following - Frenetic planning ensues. My brother Aaron is the master carpenter and construction guy of the family, so I contacted him to see if he had a weekend free to help me re-shingle the roof. He had one weekend free: Oct 14-15. I’m thankful that Aaron and Emily were willing and able to come and help. We couldn’t have done it without them.
I’m also thankful for the patient customer service rep at Nationwide Mortgage who walked me through the claim process and got a check out promptly so that we had time to purchase roofing materials in time for the appointed weekend.
Oct 14 - 15 - Aaron and Emily come down from Wisconsin to help do the roof. We got the house and garage done between Thursday afternoon and Saturday night. Thankful, too, for my buddy Mike who provided a burst of enthusiasm to our roofing project on Saturday morning the 15th. We wouldn’t have gotten it done on Saturday without him. As it was, we finished the ridgeline of the garage roof by flashlight on Saturday night.
Oct 17 - Somewhere around all of this activity, we managed to find a dress for Becky for the wedding at the first store we looked, and we found dresses for the girls within about 2 stores (and a lot of online browsing).
Oct 20 - The prompt mortgage folks sent the check for the remainder of the roof work. The money we saved by doing it ourselves paid for our tickets to fly to Seattle for the wedding.
Oct 22 - Becky’s dad, still in the hospital and trying to recover from two surgeries, had a really good day, and Becky was able to video chat with him in the hospital.
Oct 24 - Becky’s dad passed away. Thankful for our friends Mike and Kirsten who first offered to bring over dinner. When we told them thanks, but that we already had dinner planned, they stopped over unannounced with a half gallon of Coldstone ice cream.
Oct 28 - Becky was able to fly out to North Carolina to be with her family, and all of her siblings were able to be there. I was able to be away from work and stay at home with the girls.
Oct 31 - Becky’s dad’s memorial service, and I took the girls around trick-or-treating… such fun!
Nov 1 - Becky got home… for which we were all very thankful.
Nov 2 - Packing like crazy.
Nov 3 - 9 AM flight out of the Moline airport. Thankful for the friendly guy we met in the terminal who was flying with two dozen Casey’s donuts and shared a few with us. Thankful, too, for the friendly airline agent who got our seats rearranged so that we were all together on the plane.
Nov 5 - Rebecca’s wedding. Beautiful. Sounds funny to say it, but thankful for the Unitarian Universalists whose standards were low enough that they would let my sister have her wedding there on short notice. (She imported a Baptist pastor to do the ceremony.) Beautiful little chapel. Also thankful that KP the grumpy flower girl stayed quiet on my lap while I played music in the middle of the ceremony.
Nov 7 - Thankful that we got to hang out with Andrew and Heather for a day before we all had to go home. We don’t get to see them too often.
Nov 8 - Flew home. Again, the flights were super-smooth. Thankful for a kids' play area at the DFW airport right next to our gate on our layover. Also thankful that we could hit Cracker Barrel for dinner after getting in to Moline.
Nov 9 - Back to work.
Nov 19 - Thankful for a pastor who read my blog post about being brain-full and soul-hungry, and rather than preaching at me, bought me a book by one his favorite contemplatives. I’m going to read it this weekend.
Nov 20 - Back on Worship Team, with a good new song that we got to do again as the post-closer. That last time felt like it was just for us, the team. It was amazing.
Nov 24 - at home with the family for Thanksgiving. Thankful for a couple of weeks where we’ve been able to catch up and recover a bit.
We’ve been so blessed by God’s faithfulness to us. For each thing listed here there were a dozen little things that I’m forgetting. He is good, and I am thankful.
Robert Esher Hubbs III, 1939 - 2011
My wife’s father [Yes, that’s right - Becky’s maiden name was Hubbs, my last name is Hubbs. It’s unusual, and we’ve heard all of the jokes.] (“Bob” to his friends, “Pops” to his grandkids and his kids-in-law who couldn’t quite come to call him “Dad”) passed away this morning after a short illness. I’m sure I’ll learn much more about him through the stories of family and friends over the next few weeks, but I wanted to get a few thoughts and memories down now while things are fresh.
Pops was a man of quiet faithfulness. After serving in the US Marine Corps he followed God’s call to go to the mission field, taking his family through language camp in south Texas (resulting, among other things, in his youngest daughter having her father’s name listed as “Roberto” on her birth certificate) and then to the jungles of Indonesia. When health issues forced them to come back to the States, he and his wife served with JAARS for another 20+ years at the US headquarters location in Waxhaw, NC. He worked in the Construction and Maintenance department as a buyer, and he well knew his projects and materials. He was a fixture as an usher in his section of the Calvary Church balcony, and was a regular participant in a multitude of bowling groups, Bible Studies and prayer meetings.
Pops was a meticulous, detail-oriented man. When there was a job to be done, there was a correct tool to be used for it. Better to take more time and do it right than go for half-measures. He perpetually carried a notebook to record daily expenses. He always wanted to make sure he took care of any costs he incurred, sometimes to a hilarious extent. (Just last week we deposited a check that he sent to replace a lawn chair after one of ours tore slightly when he sat in it during his last visit here.) He was an extraordinarily generous and giving man; a trait which was passed down to all of his children in delightful ways.
I first met Pops in 1995 as an incoming freshman at LeTourneau University. At the time it was mostly a novelty, since I’d never met another Hubbs that wasn’t a relative of mine. (I took care of that 3 years later when I married his youngest daughter. Now I still haven’t ever met a Hubbs that I wasn’t somehow related to.) During the past 13 years as his son-in-law I got to know him better, and was regularly challenged by his patience, his faithfulness in service, and his disciplined consistency in the Word. (You could find him every morning up early reading his Bible and praying. Every. Single. Morning.)
Pops' greatest gift to me, though, was the 20 years that he invested in his youngest daughter before she became my wife. Becky’s detail-oriented brain, her love for God, her consistent, faithful service, her enjoyment of travel and adventure, and her love of softball were all inculcated by her loving father in a way that all daughters deserve and very few actually receive. Our three daughters and I are all the richer thanks to his faithfulness.
Pops will be greatly missed, but we do not despair as those who have no hope. We look forward to the day when we will again laugh, run, bowl, and play softball with him in the resurrection. Well done, good and faithful servant.
Playing Games
So I have this sudden inclination to find some new games to play as a family. I don’t have a long history as a gamer or anything; I played a little bit of Risk and Axis and Allies as a high-schooler, but that’s about it. Becky and I play chess every once in a long while, but she’s established a history of being able to beat me in chess at will, so it’s less entertaining (for me, at least) than it could be. There are a few games at which we’re more or less even; Boggle and cribbage come to mind.
So there it is. We’re boring when it comes to games. Our kids aren’t quite old enough to be included in the games yet, so that makes things a bit more of a challenge. But it still seems like we should expand our horizons a little.
I’ve perused the shelves at Walmart and Target, and frankly there’s not much there that interests me. Most of them are either re-releases of Milton Bradley staples (yet another version of Monopoly!) or games that require or encourage vast amounts of pop culture knowledge. Even a game like Apples To Apples (which I’ve played before and enjoyed) requires a level of pop culture knowledge that escapes most kids and some adults.
I’ve heard some of my nerdy friends about other games that might qualify as good strategy games that pique my interest. Settlers of Catan seems to be the archetype; I’ve also heard good things about Carcassonne and Dominion. I’ve got two basic parameters for selecting a new game: it needs to be something that can be played two-player, and it needs to be something that a bright child of 7 or 8 could conceivably learn and enjoy.
So, friends and gamers, what say you? Can you make any game recommendations for a family that needs to move out of the Milton Bradley era?