Jacob, Ben, and Daniel are considered the Three Amigos. Whenever our families get together, you will always see these kids off adventuring into many new worlds and places. Usually they are in the world of Minecraft, or in the world of Zelda, or off adventuring with Super Mario etc..
They always have fun when we get together and, just like any sibling knows, there are times when we just don't get along. These boys are brothers forever (and I wouldn't want it any other way).
Meagan has been studying clogging now for 2 years and I have to say, in that time, she has gotten INCREDIBLY good at it. She seems to have a real knack for dance and a rhythm that runs through her blood. She is truly happy when she is dancing, and the smile on her face shows it clearly.
Each group (the beginners and intermediate) did two performances and the adults (less the instructor who was expecting at the time) did another. Here is a picture of the kids' groups with the instructor and her assistant for the semester.
As is customary for an arts performance, there were flowers all around. (P.S., my wife thinks of EVERYTHING. 2 years and I still can't remember that little detail...)
I am so grateful that we have had the opportunity thus far in Lubbock to have her study dance with such a capable teacher who really enjoys working with kids. The opportunity to watch Meagan grow in this way has truly been a joy for Sarah and I and we look forward to many more years of such growth and happiness.
Today, our marriage is 16 years old. It's kind of weird for me saying that, because honestly, I didn't expect that someone would ever allow themselves to get married to me in the first place. I didn't have a great self-esteem growing up, especially about the opposite sex. At times, I still wonder what the heck causes my wife to stay. Apparently, she noticed, because this year, she came up with a unique way to remind me of what she sees in me.
Some of these reasons are more personal than others, so I'll just post the picture without explanation, but I have to say that I may very well have the greatest wife living. I am grateful every day for her. Though, like most marriages, we don't always agree, I know that I am a better man for having her around to counsel me on being a better husband and father. I am forever grateful that God led us together and that, for whatever reason, she agreed to begin this eternal journey with me.
May we have many more anniversaries together, my beautiful Sarah. I look forward to walking forever side by side with you.
Meagan has been turning into quite the artist. She must get it from her mom's side of the family, because it SURE isn't from mine. I mess up stick figures.
Anyway, taking a page from some of my friends and a few of hers, she has been getting into a few Anime show series'. In doing so, she has developed something of an obsession with the art styles of Japanese animation (both print and screen). Below is a sampling of some of the things she has been working on.
It's gotten to where she actually wants to move to Japan for a couple of years to study that art style. To prepare, she is going to be using Rosetta Stone to start learning Japanese this year for her Freshman language requirement. She's even managed to convince her Aunt Elizabeth to go with her in a couple of years (she's going to be applying to get a job soon to save money for a passport and a trip there).
I love the passion that she is developing in going after what she wants. I can only hope that as parents, we can continue to help teach her how to find and go after (and want) the things that are best for her long-term. But I guess that is just one of the many typical "parent worries" when one's child is growing up faster than you think they should...
Every year, one of the homeschool groups we go to has a mom's retreat for a weekend getaway. In the years' past, it has been out of town. This year, they decided to keep us in town and have an amazing speaker come to talk with us. She is a homeschool mom herself, and the author of a fantastic book...
I had such a wonderful, spiritual, emotional experience that weekend. I recommend this book to all homeschooling moms.
One of the things that really stood out to me was where she likened the story of Christ feeding the 5000 to homeschooling.....huh?? How can that be? She stated that Christ asked that they bring all the fishes and loaves of bread they had. Peter then said that there was not enough to feed the thousands that were there. Christ said to have faith and bring them here and we will bless it and feed the people.
So how does that work for homeschooling you might ask? Well, we as parents bring forth all that we have to give, and the Lord will multiply it and it will feed us all. I have never thought of that story in that way before. All we can do as parents is to bring our best to the table, give "our will" to Him, and He will make enough to "feed" us all.
I struggle all the time trying to be the best mom, the best wife, the best friend, and I get exhausted trying to do it all. I can't, but I can bring all that I can to the Lord, and together, we can accomplish so much more. Whenever you have a rough time/day, you can come back to this book and feel empowered and once again ready for the fight.
I learned so much, and am so grateful I was able to be a part of that experience.
Seasons in Texas are a little different than from where I grew up. See, when I was growing up we had snow to build our snowmen, but here in Texas we use something a little different than snow....
......We use what we have in abundance, TUMBLEWEEDS!!!
As Sarah had mentioned in a previous post, Lubbock, Texas is a location of the "not so much snow" variety. A fact that brings me no end of joy. I HATE snow. With a raging passion that dwarfs the fire of 10,000 suns. Now, even in Lubbock, we get SOME snow. Usually, what this means is that the ground is covered in a quarter- to a half-inch of "white stuff", then the temperature goes up to something like 60 degrees Farenheit, and it is all melted by 12:00 PM that same day. I can't tell you how gratifying that is to me.
Now you might ask what happened during my childhood that scarred me for life and made me hate winter so much? The answer: absolutely nothing. As a kid, I loved snow. The problem came when I grew older and, well, bigger. My circulation got worse, and it became ridiculously easy for my fingers and toes to get cold regardless of how many layers or the kind of protection I put over them. Once cold, it takes an inordinate amount of time for them to warm up again, so I tend to avoid them getting cold in the first place. That means, when winter comes, I figuratively get out the wooden stakes, crosses, and garlic and hide behind a rushing river.
This past winter we had planned to take a vacation to a slightly different climate over the break between Christmas and New Year. For the first time since we have been in Lubbock, I did not need to be physically present during year-end inventory at work, so some friends of ours invited us to head north to visit a resort property they had a time-share at in Oklahoma. We had planned to leave yesterday. As usual, the best-laid plans of mice and men...
We were greeted with this:
This morning, the sight that welcomed me as I opened my front door was an extremely ominous one:
The views down either direction of our street. And yes, that IS our van parked next to that snow bank.
Yes, that snow bank gets up to half the height of our front window...
...and the one in the back is every bit as big.
If you're looking for sizes for reference, we parked our kids in the highest part of the drift and told them to find the ground.
Then there's poor Shadow's house...
But like most kids, Meagan and Jacob were excited at the prospect of playing in the snow, and got their gear on to head outside.
Jacob can be seen making the obligatory snow angel.
The kids had a great time playing outside and I was glad for them from inside my warm house. As for me and my body, however, we will dread the clearing of the snow from the driveway because we still need to get on the road to the afore-mentioned vacation - two days late.
