My Mamaw's Move

Well, it's been forever (10 months or so) since I've written a blog post. Why? I don't really know to be honest.

Maybe because I like to have good well written thoughts to share. Maybe because I have struggled to know how I want to use this space with the meteoric rise of Facebook usage in my life and the availability of Twitter (but I haven't tweeted yet). Maybe because I've been crazy busy lately with many projects — our CRM implementation at work and our church Web site to name only the largest two projects.

But I'm back . . . not because I'm afraid Google will forget this blog ever existed (if you've read me at all, you know that's not my motivation) . . . not because it's just time after a long hiatus . . . not because I've figured out a strategy to use my blog, Facebook, and Twitter (I haven't yet) . . . but because today was a very emotional day and tomorrow will be even more so and I need to organize my thoughts and get something down for the record (my record and for my kids later use).

I will miss my Mamaw terribly!! No, she hasn't died or anything — she's just moving to Houston to be under my mother's love and care instead of under mine. This was a very mutual decision and we are all happy and pleased with it, including me. So, this is just to get my feelings out there on the table.

Until we started contemplating this move, I hadn't really realized just how close I was to my Mamaw and how she's literally always been close by. We haven't lived in a different city since I was in college and I came home all the time anyway. I lived with my Mamaw before I got married. She continues to be a key influence on my Christian walk and has been a wonderful model and discipler for me since I was a young boy. She modeled and was a visible reminder for me of Ephesians 3:18 " to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." She is a bastion of unconditional love, selfless service, and sweet encouragement.

I remember my other grandmother, Gran Gran, very fondly and she passed away when I was close to 11 (or somewhere around there). Gran Gran was another wonderful woman — what a blessing those women were and are to me, I truly would not be half the man I am today without their influence. One of my heart's desires is for my children to have fond memories of their Mamaw! I want them to remember
* that she was at all of their events,
* that she called them all the time,
* that she fawned over their creations at church or school like she was in the Louvre,
* that she always wanted to feed them and take care of their every need (whether real or perceived),
* that she loved them for who they were and not who everyone else wanted them to be,
* that she saw through all of their faults and focused her praise on their strengths,
* that she was a genuinely joyful and loving person, and
* that she was a reflection of the God that she loves so much.

Okay, okay, she's not dead . . . but I am grieving. Grief is an emotion felt when something is lost. I feel like I am losing the ability for my kids to continue to get to know her and build memories with her (they are ages 5-10). I feel like I am losing the opportunity to see my Mamaw whenever I want and whenever I need to see her. I feel like I am losing a very close friend who I can talk to about anything. I feel like I am losing a mentor and discipler — although I know that I'm not, she's just going to Houston.

I know that she is only going 5 hours to the South, but it feels like a great distance for me. I have had the privledge to serve and care for her for many years as her primary caregiver. It has been my honor to give back to her a small part of what she has so graciously given to me — time, transportation, energy, an extra brain, love, care, errands, food, and so much more.

She spent the day in our home as movers were packing up her apartment in the assisted living facility. My middle child wanted to sleep in the same room with Mamaw — he's the sensitive one and has a strong connection to her. He just couldn't fall asleep and he came in crying to me because he was afraid that he would miss her in the morning (we're flying out early). Very few people in the world love us like Mamaw does and she has made an impact on my kids lives. He held me for awhile and told me that he wrote her a note and would I make sure that she saw it in the morning.

"Dear Mamaw,

I hope your move goes well. I eventually had to go to sleep upstairs. I'm praying for you Mamaw and love you. XOXO OXOXO OXOXO OXOXO OXOXO OXOXO [exact number of Xs and Os in his note]

Love, Cooper"

My Honey's Birthday

Today is my girl's birthday -- happy birthday Heather!! You'll never really know just how awesome you are, but here's an attempt.

You hold our family together and keep us organized,
You show our children what it means every day to walk with God,
You make me feel loved and cherished and valued,
You are creative in everything that you do,
You make even half birthdays special for others,
You bring consistency to the kids lives that they miss terribly when you are gone,
You are a sounding board, a voice of wisdom and reason, and a source of strength and help for your friends,
You are an awesome prayer partner,
You take a house and craft it with loving care into a home,
You are a valuable resource and servant in the body of Christ,
You are absolutely my other half and something is definitely not right when you are away from our home,

and never forget that you are loved by your children and adored by your husband!

Reminded of Derek and Jim Redmond

I can't believe that it's time for the summer Olympics again. It's been crazy watching all of the controversy surrounding the torch relay. I would like to dwell on something more positive. I was recently reminded of one of the most personally inspiring moments in all of sports -- the story of Derek and Jim Redmond at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

I remember watching track and field on TV and getting ready to watch a typical runnng event, the 400-meters. However, the race was anything but typical! Derek Redmond from Great Britain seemed to be running well! However, coming around the turn, Redmond's hamstring suddenly pulled and he hit the track. I remember thinking how sad it was that a world-class athlete worked so hard to make it that far only to be injured during the race of his life. I saw him get back up and wave off the trainers coming to try to help him and it was obvious that he wanted to cross the finish line . . . to finish what he started. Then, his Dad came up to him (who had made his way onto the track from the stands) and put his arm around his struggling son and helped him hobble to the finish line. I've got tears in my eyes just typing this (once again proving beyond doubt what a softy I am).

It was an amazing show of determination by Derek Redmond and an outstanding show of love and support by his father, Jim. Lord, please let my kids know that their Dad loves and supports them! Hopefully, some day I'll get a chance to show them I support them even if it's not as dramatic and with the world watching.

My personality profile

I took a DiSC personality profile recently and scored highest on "Steady" no surprise to me! My patterns are Agent and Specialist. Here's the description of a Steady: "Steadiness (Submission in Marston's time): People with High S styles scores want a steady pace, security, and don't like sudden change. High S persons are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Stable, Cooperative, Predictable, Deliberate, Work in background, Diplomatic, Consistent, Good listener, Sympathetic."

My personality profile on Gary Smalley and John Trent's scale is "Golden Retriever."

Strengths	Strengths Pushed Out of Balance
Sensitive feelings	Easily hurt
Loyal	Missed opportunities
Calm, even-keel	Lacking enthusiasm
Non-demanding, patient	Push-over, taken advantage of
Peace maker, hates confrontation	Misses honest intimacy
Enjoys routine, dislikes change	Stays in rut, not spontaneous
Warm & relational	Fewer deep friends
Accomodating	Too indecisive
Sympathetic, good listener	Holds on to other's hurt or pain

What does a balanced Golden Retriever look like? Since Golden Retrievers have an eagerness to please others, they have a hard time saying "No." Therefore, their greatest relational need is to set limits and boundaries essential for their own well-being. Further, Retrievers need to practice confronting others. Turn your ability to feel deeply about negative things into a positive step, one where you think and act decisively.

On the SOCIAL STYLE Model™, my primary style is "Amiable" with high Versatility (I play well with others). My back-up or subquadrant is the "Driver" which means that I take charge when needed. Here's the description for an Amiable:
"Amiables are people-oriented, and care more about close relationships than results or influence. They usually appear warm, friendly and cooperative. Amiables tend to move slowly with a low time discipline, minimizing risk and often using personal opinions to arrive at decisions. Belonging to a group is a primary need, and Amiables may make every effort to gain acceptance. They typically seek to uncover common ground, preferring to achieve objectives through understanding and mutual respect rather than force and authority. When managed by force without relationship, Amiables appear to cooperate initially but will likely lack commitment to the objectives and may later resist implementation."

So, what's your style?

March 2008 Scattershooting

I've wanted to write for awhile now, but I'm so busy! I decided that I would write here until I got a certain amount of things accomplished. Tonight, goal completed! Various things to write about, so here's some scattershooting . . .

The main thing keeping me busy at the moment is getting our house to sell! Lots of minor repairs, some yard work, painting, etc. Boy, I'm ready for this to be over. We're hoping to stay within our school district with a little more room for the kids to roam.

Gearing up for March Madness? This Oregon Urology clinic has a genius idea that some guys should gear down. They're pitching that guys need to get a vasectomy before the tourney starts so that you have 4 days of non-stop NCAA basketball watching without hassle! Genius! Here's the news article, here's the link to the actual clinic's news item. I was hoping to get the audio of the commercial that ran on the Eugene, Oregon sports station but I can't find it anywhere.

Collin got promoted to the rank of Bear in Cub Scouts -- way to go Collin!

Also, getting ready for fantasy baseball season with my buds in the northeast. I love reviewing the teams and players. I also like ranking the players in their positions. However, I sure miss live drafts! Everything in online now which makes the season so easy, but the automatic drafts where you have to rank every player in one big list is a whippin'! I don't want to decide now between Jake Peavy and Carlos Beltran -- I'd rather wait and see which top players are available at all of the positions and then pick the one I like best. After the automatic draft last year, I was left scratching my head over some of the picks wondering why it drafted the way it did. Oh well, it's still a lot of fun.

Let it snow . . .

It's snowing in Texas and I love it! Colorado is one of my favorite states and I love winter sports, I just wish I had the day off tomorrow so I could play in it. We had just put the boys to bed when we realized it was snowing so we went and got them to look out the window -- how cool!

Decisions, decisions . . .

My wife and I have a lot to think about right now as we are considering some changes in our family, including moving out of our starter home (that we've had for 10 years).

The scripture that we have clung to thus far is Acts 17:26, I determine the times set for you and the exact places where you should live. Regardless of what we think, we want to be right in the center of God's Will for our family so we are desparately seeking Him and His wisdom.

As I did my Proverbs reading today, the following verse jumped out at me. For the Lord gives wisdom . . . for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones . . . . then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path (Proverbs 2:6-9).

Robert Goulet and Our Engagement

Well, Robert Goulet died today (well, it's after midnight so officially yesterday). Normally, those Hollywood events don't even register with me but this one did for one specific reason . . . Heather and I saw him in Camelot the night we were engaged.

We had been dating for four years and surrounding our engagement we hadn't really been out to do anything really fun for awhile. We were just poor college students working hard on our Master's degrees. I had been planning our "fun date" for weeks as our engagement and knew that we were invited to a wedding in Waco on Saturday. We had planned to go on our date on Friday night so I had everything planned out and set. A week before the date though, Heather told me that we had been invited to be at the rehearsal dinner and she said that we would be there. She thought that it would be a great date for us. After dating so long, I was concerned that she would know when I would "pop the question" and I really wanted it to be a surprise. I played it off like it was no big deal but now I've got to rush around trying to get all of my plans moved from Friday to Saturday!

On Friday morning, I met with Heather's Poppy and Granny and asked for her hand in marriage. Heather's dad had passed away our freshman year in college and he had asked Poppy to "take care of his girls for him." I wanted to honor her Dad by specifically asking Poppy for his approval. I was nervous, but he didn't give me any grief. After meeting with Heather's grandparents, I went over to her Mom's place and asked her permission as well which went very well. Feeling very good about the acceptance of her family members I drove the routes that we would take on Saturday and made sure that the timing of everything would work out.

I picked Heather up on Friday afternoon to drive down to the wedding rehearsal and she had no idea what all I had done that day! On Saturday afternoon after the wedding in Waco, Heather was feeling sad to leave all of our friends to go on our date. I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to get all "this date may be IT" thoughts out of her mind. I told her that our plans were flexible and did she just want to hang out with our friends in Waco that night. She thought about it a little and decided that we had fun with our friends last night and today and we needed a date night just us -- thank you Lord! Of course, I knew her pretty well and had bet on that response the whole time.

So, we drove back to Dallas and got ready for our date. We started off with dinner at Dakota's. It a great restaurant that is actually under downtown Dallas and has an open air courtyard that is in the triangular intersection of three streets (check out the intro on their Web site). After dinner, we went to Fair Park and watched Robert Goulet star in Camelot. I love good musicals (Les Miserables, Phantom, etc.) but Heather had never seen one live. I had checked the running time of the musical but didn't factor in the time of the intermission! Heather could tell that I was kind of nervous but I tried to not make a big deal out of it. She really thought that the musical was the end of the date and she was shocked anyway that we went to such a nice dinner and a musical. As soon as the curtain dropped, I let Heather clap twice and we got out of there! We drove north on the Dallas North Tollway and exited in Addison. I pulled over and put a blindfold on Heather. We drove to the Addison Airport where I had rented a plane to fly us around the city and I got down on my knee in the back of the little four-seater airplane and asked her to marry me.

So, that's our story and how Robert Goulet makes me think of our engagement. Wow, am I a blessed guy to have married so far over my head!

Great day at the Fair!

I just had to write about a few happenings surrounding the State Fair this year. We typically go every year as a family tradition. In the past, we have normally taken off a Wednesday or Thursday that are less crowded. However, this year school is more difficult for the kids so we took their normal fair day to go and fight the crowds (yes, even on a Monday).

Here are some brief notes:
* When I asked Caris (3 year old) what animals she wanted to see at the Fair, she said "horsies and hippos." I'm not sure where she got "hippos" from, but I assured her that we would accomplish half of her goals.
* Caris was deathly afraid of Big Tex . . . until we got home, then she talked a good game. We kept reminding her that he's just a big puppet and can't move.
* People-watching is too much fun at an event like the Fair, but it sure challenges me to not be judgmental -- you can't judge a book by it's cover.
* We missed the Marine Corp band this year for the first time in awhile. So, I didn't cry at this Fair.
* We got the traditional turkey leg and corny dogs, but missed the homemade root beer and funnel cake.
* We spent just over $50 for tickets, parking, and food. We skipped the midway (rides and games) as usual but we normally spend $50 or more just on food so we did really well this year.
* As a family, we love the Creative Arts section, my grandmother got me into quilts and there are always some great one's at the fair, my wife likes it all, and Cooper likes the drawings, pictures, and everything creative. Heather has got to enter some of her scrapbook pages next year!
* I am always amazed at how rude people can be in crowds and busy places. Just watch where you're walking and if you do step on someone or bump into them, then say "sorry" or "excuse me!"
* The Jonas Brothers were in concert during the afternoon. Disney is brilliant at marketing. Dude, can young girls scream!
* We watched some pigs being shown just for the flavor of the Fair. They use this riding whip looking thing to direct the pigs where to walk -- smack 'em on the right side of the face and they turn left and vice versa. One pig wasn't buying into this plan and the 12-year old girl basically punched the huge animal in the snout. The pig finally realized that he was bigger but that girl could cause more pain. We told the kids that looked like a good idea and we should try that method at our house but they buy into that plan either.

When I was a kid, I remember going to the Fair and eating corny dogs and playing surprisingly competitive games of tic-tac-toe against a chicken. The fair grounds haven't changed significantly so it's fun to take my own kids on less traveled paths behind the barns. If you are from out of state or have never been to the State Fair of Texas, you can check out www.bigtex.com but only being there will give you the full effect.

My Collin

We got homework from Collin's 3rd grade teacher — can you believe that!! We had to write up a description of our son in a million words or less. Since my wife is a better writer, she tackled the job and here's the outcome . . .

In a million words or less
A million words isn’t enough to describe the wonders and complexities that are Collin.

I am so happy to have the opportunity to tell you about Collin. He is a treasure to our family. From the time Collin was a baby, he has been so even tempered. He would sit and play by himself for hours. His temperament remains the same now. He is not easily angered or flustered. He is generally quite “go with the flow.”

Collin is a hard worker, and has always expected a lot from himself. He caught his mom’s perfectionism, unfortunately. What he may lack in natural talent or skills he more than makes up for with his effort and determination. He is the child who jumps out of bed and makes the bed immediately. In pre-K and kindergarten, he did not test well because he would not answer a question rather than be wrong. He has gained more self-confidence since then. However, we continually work with him that trying his best is all that is needed, and mistakes are learning opportunities. Verbal affirmation seems to help build his confidence and fill his “love tank,” as well as one-on-one time.

We discovered long ago that Collin is a deep thinker. He will mull something over in his mind for quite a while. Once he finally verbalizes his thoughts, we realize how long and how deep he has considered it. He definitely tends to internalize things, and at times, we’ve joked about how we are raising an old soul. He looks beyond the surface of things and people.

I think the other main character trait about Collin that is noteworthy is that he is very caring and sensitive to others. His very nature is to seek out ways to help other people — seeing a need and wishing to meet it. He gets this from his dad. He will help out his sister with anything, even before I notice her needs. He loves to just serve other people — whether it is emptying out his piggy bank to help our friends we met from Hurricane Katrina or opening a door for his mom.

Collin is more reserved in nature, but very outgoing when he is comfortable with someone. He loves math and science, anything Star Wars, anything military, reading, building with legos, and learning new things. He has surprised us with how he has tackled things like snow skiing and other new experiences. He is a daddy’s boy and adores his father. From my limited understanding of learning styles, he seems much more manipulative than visual.

Obviously, we adore our son. He is just beyond description, but hopefully, I’ve somehow done him justice in this letter. Thanks for the opportunity to share him with you.

Papaw's Medals

Medals we found while working on the boys room that were awarded to Army PFC Henry Bois “Papaw” Anthony.

Army Good Conduct Medal
Red with three white bars on each end.
Criteria: Awarded to any enlisted member of the United States Army who completes three consecutive years of "honorable and faithful service.”

American Defense Medal WWII
Yellow with red, white, and blue stripes.
Criteria: Army: Authorized to any military member who performed duty between September 8, 1939 and December 6, 1941. Members of the United States Army were required to perform at least one year of duty and were awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active Federal military service.

European – African – Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
Green with brown stripes on the outside. Also with white, red, and blue stripes.
Criteria: Awarded for any service performed between December 7, 1941 and March 2, 1946 provided such service was performed in the geographical theater areas of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. For those service members who participated in multiple battle campaigns, service stars are authorized to the decoration.

I did the research so I wanted to document it. Plus, I think this stuff is just so cool!

Family Member's Military Bios

I previously mentioned our Wall of Honor for family with military service. Here are the bios that are now completed with some names and details left out for security reasons -- e-mail me if you want more information on anyone.

Lt. Col. David John Murray
Army, 1964-1984
“Grandpa Dave” (Mom’s dad)
Grandpa Dave enlisted in the Army right out of college, intending to make a career of it. His first appointment was as an Infantry Officer. He went to jump school with the 82nd Airborne Division in 1965. His first tour in Vietnam was May 1966-May 1967, and he served with the United States Military Assistance Command, working with the Vietnamese. He came back to work at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. His second tour of duty in Vietnam was October 1968 (when Aunt Minda was 7 months old) through October 1969. This tour involved combat, and he was wounded on February 5, 1969. He returned to action after his recovery.

His military career after the war included posts in Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Ord, California; attending the Naval War College in Rhode Island; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; and Boone, Iowa. At Fort Ord, he was the S-4 for the 1st Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, working to reactivate an infantry brigade. He served as the Operations Officer in Hawaii, supervising the Command Operations Center, and he also worked as the Chief, Command and Control Division. In Iowa, he was the advisor to the 34th Infantry Brigade for the Iowa Army National Guard. He served his final post at Fort Hood, Texas, working as the chief of overseas exercises for III Corps. These exercises included his development of Operation Reforger, where 17,000 soldiers were deployed and trained in Germany. During his remarkable career in the Army, he received numerous medals and commendations, including multiple Bronze star medals, the Army Commendation medal, the Purple Heart, and two Meritorious Service Medals.

Sergeant Clark “Papa” (Dad’s dad)
Marines, 1972-1975
Papa joined the Marines after your Daddy was born. He attended boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, and went to Military Police (MP) school in Augusta Georgia. From there, he was stationed at El Toro Marine Base in Irvine, California, where he went from being an MP to Criminal Investigation Division (CID). He then transferred to Washington D.C. where he did many things including presidential security and Naval Intelligence. During this time, he went many times with President Richard Nixon's detail who would land at El Toro in route to San Clemente (his haven toward the end of his presidency).

He was honored as Marine of the Month while stationed at El Toro and was one of the fastest promoted Marines outside of war times. They wanted him to stay in the Marine Corps, but he was ready to go back to Dallas and begin his career outside of the military.

PFC Henry “Bois” Anthony
Army, during World War II, 1941-1945
“Papaw” (Your great-grandpa)
Papaw served during World War II. He left for Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on his way to North Africa in April 1943. They landed in Algeria, and trained there until they left in early September for Sicily for a very short layover. They then went on to Salerno, Italy for an almost fatal invasion in which the biggest part of the whole 36th infantry division was destroyed by the Germans who knew ahead of time all about their plans. They did get reinforcements (finally) and went on to free Rome after several months. Incidentally, they were the first American Unit to invade Continental Europe and the first Unit to enter Rome.

After Rome, they went by sea to Anzio, Italy, for another invasion, which was also very costly. After returning to Rome and seeing Italy become more secure, they made another invasion in Southern France at Marseilles. They went across France (Adennes-Alsace campaign) and Germany where the war ended in April 1945. He stayed in Germany to help clean up until he was finally sent home by plane through Brazil. He arrived in Dallas on VJ Day in August 1945. Papaw began the war in Company H, and ended it in Service Company, 142nd Regiment, of the 36th Infantry Division.

Ernest “Ernie” Newell Prichard
Navy, during World War II
“Poppy” (Your great-grandpa)
Poppy spent most of his wartime tour in the Pacific aboard the USS Cross (DE-448), a Butler-class Destroyer Escort with a crew of about 200. He really struggled with motion sickness, which isn’t good for a sailor. Mimi remembers that her dad was with the Captain in the area of the ship, as he was a stenographer and took dictation and could type, which was rare for men back then. In one battle, when his ship was attacked, he was thrown against the bulkhead and retained an injury. He wrote long letters to his unborn child (Mimi), who he was always sure was a girl. He gave Mimi her name (Sandra), almost from the day he and Granny knew they were expecting their first born. Granny was 6 weeks pregnant when he left for the war, and Mimi was 9 months old when he returned.

He was in the service a while, before he went overseas, perhaps serving for 3-4 years total. Another family legend is that Poppy’s ship was hit by a kamikaze pilot while serving in the Pacific. This has not yet been verified, but the Navy recorded that the ship needed repairs in Okinawa.

2nd Lt. "Uncle" John (Dad’s godbrother)
Staff Sergeant, Army 1999-2004
SSgt – 2nd Lt., Air Force 2004-present
After college, Uncle John decided to enlist in the Army. After basic training, he was selected to serve in the prestigious Old Guard in Washington, D.C. The Old Guard is the Third U.S. Infantry assigned to escort the President of the United States, and one of Uncle John’s first assignments was the Inauguration of President George W. Bush. While in the Old Guard, John also worked in the recovery effort at the Pentagon after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Uncle John went to Army Leadership School, and was stationed in the Military District of Washington D.C. He was the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCOIC), Special Projects, acting as liaison between the military and many different government agencies and diplomatic missions.

During his second enlistment, Uncle John wanted to move to Dallas, and thus joined the Air Force Reserve in 2004 and is now a 2nd Lieutenant.

90 Years Old!!

Happy 90^th birthday Mamaw!

We had a great time at her party! We hosted it in one of the community living areas close to her room in her retirement home. Mamaw looked beautiful and was in feeling good and strong. There were over 100 people who came to honor her! We scanned in a bunch of her pictures from all stages of her life, printed them off on cardstock, and folded them up to display everywhere. It was great because it was fun to see all of the pictures and the guests could take the pictures with them when they left if they were interested.

My mom had a large banner made that was a huge topic of conversation which showed how many days she has lived – around 62,000. There were people there from her retirement home obviously, family from all over including Missouri, and friends from our church home in southeast Dallas.

2006 Year in Review

Events that I enjoyed:
* Texas football team won national championship. I went to Baylor, but glad for a Texas school to win.
* I love the Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was great. Shaun White was my favorite person who did well.
* I really got into the World Cup this year and enjoyed it very much.

Finance Committee -- great service and learning opportunity for me and my church.

Conference speaking -- was asked to lead a conference break-out session. It was fun to research, develop, and adjust a presentation then get to spend an hour with various folks putting all of my time and effort in front of them to help in their ministries.

Camping solidified as a family activity -- we went several times this year and really cemented camping as a "family thing."

Two specific deaths had an impact on our family. First, we had to put down Dodger, our long-time dog, this year. It was very difficult for the boys (Caris didn't get it) and they still talk about missing him. Second, our kids love Animal Planet and the death of Steve Irwin really made an impression on the kids.

Goals for 2007:
* Spend more one-on-one time with each of my kids.
* Hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6).
* Lose weight -- I want to get to at least 210 and then hopefully lower to a final goal weight of about 202-205 (according to my doctor).
* Be a more thoughtful husband and take the initiative to plan special things for my sweet wife.

November Scattershooting

Well, I really need to make time to blog more I really miss it. Here are some random thoughts in my head right now or things that have gone on lately with my family.

This last Wednesday, November 29th I was off of work to take my Mamaw to a test with her cardiologist. I wore shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals in the 80 degree high weather for most of the day. When I was taking her home around 6:00 p.m., the weather dropped 20 degrees in one hour as the cold front moved in! We had a high of 80 and a low of 36 degrees (Canadians, that's from 27 to 2 in one day)! Then on Thursday, the high was 36 and the low was 27 with rain, sleet, then SNOW! Our office closed early and I played outside with the kids making snow angels and throwing snowballs on our trampoline. My baby girl loved it and was giggling the whole time (except when she had snow on her face).

I heard today that the former Oakland pitcher Barry Zito is meeting with the Texas Rangers today. Man, I sure hope we get Zito but I think he's just posturing for some other team to give him more money. I'm excited about our new manager and the direction that we're heading but we need more pitching badly!

We had some of our family in town from Canada on Thanksgiving and we really had a blast with them. My wife's Uncle Craig married a great Canadian gal and they live up there now. Their oldest son and daughter are both married now (one in the Dominican this last Spring) and both of the couples came down to see us. We ate turkey, they went to the Cowboys football game, we ate Mexican food, danced at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, and generally had a great time! The guys had planned on going to the football game, but Heather's uncle Terry made it even more special. He got a suite at the game and got a ticket for everyone including Granny who hadn't been out of her retirement home room in who knows how long. Channel 4 news did a piece on the whole thing and they were on TV! We couldn't find a babysitter for the kids on a holiday so I stayed home with the kids and Mamaw. It was very special for all of us.

It's a mouse . . . and not for the computer!!!

Well, here I am up late and wide awake. Why? Because we found a mouse in our garage tonight!!! That's the first time that has ever happened.

The weather here is starting to get colder and we found out that others are experiencing the same thing. About 10:15 p.m. Heather came to tell me that "something is in the garage!" When I checked it out, I found what I think was a "house mouse" trapped in an empty trash can. Notice that I used the word "was" since I took care of him cleanly and humanely. Thank the Lord that he was in the empty trash can! I took a picture of him, secured the lid on the trash can (which I will always do from now on), and researched it on the Web since I had no idea what to do.

After my research, I found out that drowning the critters was the best way to kill them if you catch them alive. So, I took the trash can out into the yard and filled it with water while I made a 24 hour Walmart run to get a trap and poison. I found some droppings but not a lot. However, where there is one there is probably more. I thought that it was gross, but Heather was thoroughly FREAKED OUT.

We have an exterminator coming tomorrow so we'll see how this shakes out. I'm hoping for quick and easy solutions to this problem!

Update: We had to clean out the garage really well and disinfect it. We put out some rat poison but the exterminator said that he thought it would be fine. After several weeks, we still have not seen or found evidence of any more -- thank goodness!

Which way did he go?

Sorry! It's been so long since I've posted I feel like a blog loser.

I've just been busy with work, family, and parenting so my priorities have been right! At work, we are kicking off a Web redesign so there's a lot of work to be done there but it fun and exciting. Speaking of parenting, my wife is working a lot this month and that means that I've got more time with the kids so we've been playing more games (like Battleship and Uno) and even camping (that'll be a separate posting).

I've also really tried to focus on my Mamaw lately and she is doing much better. We got her going with Assisted Living and we are adjusting pretty well now. My Mom and I are now using a new blog that I created to record her health information (private!) so that we can share it with each other and we also have something to print out for the doctor's records. It's been some work to get it going but it's well worth it.

I also helped my Pastor start a blog for our Men's Ministry called Band of Brothers. It's been fun and very useful to help the church get started and be able to post, send out via e-mail (using FeedBlitz), and catalog for future use his devotional thoughts each week. We are also using categories that will come in handy for the future. The blog allows us to be able to search the entries also and keep everything in one place instead of stored in bunches of different e-mails.

Okay, I'll post again when I finish polishing up a few postings that I have saved over the weeks.

Places to Live

I got an e-mail from a friend with this interesting Web site called Find Your Spot. It basically asks you a bunch of questions and tries to gauge the best places for you to live. Here are the top 6 recommendations for me:
Knoxville, Tennessee
Norfolk, Virginia
Nashville, Tennessee
Jacksonville, Florida
Greenville, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina

Others in the list (in order but I removed some from the list):
Asheville, North Carolina
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Charlotte, North Carolina
Tallahassee, Florida
Hampton, Virginia
Memphis, Tennessee
Lexington, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Orlando, Florida
Durham, North Carolina