We're Baaack

We've just returned from our Christmas travels. I'll be posting pictures once I take a minute to upload them and more details. Below is a quick summary of the trip.


Mile 0--Left home; 6:08 am
Mile 185--Spotted a purple bra hanging in a tree (well, Dave did)
Mile 208--Funny billboard--It featured a buxom blond in a low cut blouse with lots of Mardi Gras beads. The caption: "Want more beads? Contact Dr. XXXX, Plastic Surgeon"
Mile 324--Large trash can in the middle of east bound I-20
Mile 325--Another trash can in the middle of the highway
Mile 387--Mississippi River; 1st stop of the trip
Mile 715--World's Longest Exit Ramp (according to Dave)
Mile 830--Arrived in Oakman to visit Miranda's family
Mile 836--Departed for Charlotte in the rain on Christmas Day
Mile 936--Mike and Letha are behind us on I-85 headed to Charlotte (we didn't plan this; we couldn't have planned this well.)
Mile 1070--Pitt stopped and changed cars and drivers (girls in one car; boys in the other)
Mile 1143--Arrived in Charlotte
Mile 1350--Arrived in Charleston
Miles 1387-1390--Beauregard pulls us around the streets of Charleston in a carriage
Mile 1390--Leave Charleston in a heavy fog; hit rain about an hour outside of Charleston; it rains until we reach Alabama
Mile 1707--Late lunch at the Vortex in Atlanta with Mike and Letha
Mile 1877--Gas stop in Alabama; we are also able to purchase boiled peanuts for a snack. (For the record they were not being boiled in a large cast iron pot out front of the store, but in a deli-style pot inside the store. Dave also buys burnt peanuts (the candied ones); I asked if he'd like to round out his purchase with some circus peanuts and peanut butter bars.
Mile 2001--Curse because we missed the roll-over to 2000 miles; even though we'd been watching
Mile 2002--Still cussin'
Mile 2194--Stop for night in Monroe. LA
Mile 2194--Attempt to leave, but the rear window won't go up after Dave tried to clear the dew from it
Mile 2197--Nothin' a little duct tape won't fix
Mile 2314--Welcome to Texas Visitor's stop; reinforce duct tape
Mile 2514.5--Home, Sweet Home (And Imelda and her crew is here cleaning!)

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This . . .

Today has been tough. At the beginning of the year, I spent a lot of time on a few students. But, as the school year has progressed, everyone has settled into the routine of school. However, it seems the upcoming holiday has thrown kids off kilter.

One student came in clearly under the influence of something. After observing him and talking with the nurse, she and I came to the same conclusion: we know he's done something, he knows he's done something, but testing him using our methods of testing (observation of eyes, motor-skills, heart rate, temperature, etc.) will yield nothing. The student's mom doesn't want to admit he's doing anything. So what do I do? I did talk with him and explained to him that I don't care to get him into trouble, (which diffused some of his anger), but that my big concern is his health. He's come such a long way from last year, I don't want to see him slip back into bad habits. Even his overly moody reaction to my conversation was further indication that something is not right.

Student number two, also a recovering addict, has had a tough week. He tells us that his medication has been changed. I can't decide if his rough time is that or the drama that is surrounding his life. "Friends" mad at him and saying hurtful things--him returning hurtful comments. Parents who allegedly aren't attentive enough and even abusive. How does one get to be 17 and a recovering heroin addict? He tells me he isn't lucky and that he'll never amount to anything as he cries in my office. The same "tough" boy who just a few minutes ago was going to beat up a kid. The student needing a cigarette to help calm nerves raw from the emotion and the addiction. Some days I truly am thankful that it's only a Camel that they're smoking.

And then there's the boy who was in treatment for drugs last year. He has earned 10 semesters worth of credit in less than a semester of school. He volunteers with special needs students in the building. He has it together. He reminds me that these boys can get it together, too. These other boys can overcome their addictions if they want. A glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark day.

Holiday "Baking"

I'm always looking for a unique gift to give to co-workers around Christmas time. In October, I was browsing through the Sky Mall catalog on a flight and discovered beautiful chocolate covered strawberries for about $20 a half-dozen. Too rich for my blood, but surely I could make these delights for my work gifts.

As December has progressed, work has gotten more hectic. I've barely had time to think about Christmas gifts for co-workers; my main concern has been, "when do I get to leave?" But, in the back of my mind, I was going to prepare these strawberries. I picked up the berries and chocolate Sunday afternoon. Tuesday evening arrived, and it was time to start. Thankfully, I "googled" chocolate dipped strawberries and found a useful tip: spearing the berries with toothpicks and inverting on styrofoam to keep them uniformly covered, versus having a flat side if the berries were placed on wax paper to dry.

As I melted my chocolates and dipped my berries, creating this delicious forest, I realized I had nothing to package the berries in. Why hadn't I shopped for cute, decorative Christmas plates? I quick trip to Wal-Mart at 9:30, yielded small foil loaf pans, which I wrapped in plastic wrap and adorned with a bow. But, I should add that my "quick" trip to Wal-Mart was not so quick. I had to explore EVERY option for packaging the berries--white bowls with a green ring, green acrylic bowls, clear plates, red plates; I even pondered buying fabric napkins to us to tie up the foil pans. Nothing can be quick and easy with me. And, I needed some moisturizer and magnets to decorate to hold all the photo Christmas cards I've received; and someone told me about a cold medicine. (As you can see by the rambling nature of my post, my trip was not quick.)

I did return home to put ornaments in gift bags (oh yes, I had to buy some more gift bags, but I had to search for the best deal . . . ). By then the chocolate was all set, and so was I. It was 12:30 when I collapsed into bed. I'm a girl who goes to bed on "school nights" at 10 or 10:30, not 12:30.

After reading Devin's chocolate chip cookie post, I knew that I made the right decision to dip strawberries. My mother-in-law makes the best cookies for her husband's work gifts: pecan tassies, Mexican wedding cookies, and various candies. I just wish I had the energy and the time. (In Judy's defense, I've seen her up all hours of the night baking, so I could do the same.)

If you ever decide to dip some berries I have tips:
1. do the upside down styrofoam thing; it's great.
2. use skewers for really big berries, toothpicks aren't sturdy enough
3. plan your packaging in advance
4. mini cupcake liners make great holders for the berries
5. start before 8pm

The Joy of Finely Ground Household Garbage

Anyone who has ever been over at our house for a period of time knows that our garbage disposal is perhaps the loudest disposal ever created. We try to only turn it on for short bursts at a time because it also vibrates the counter and moves everything around. Many times we have had to grab items before they fall in the sink from the vibrations.

So, as a bit of Christmas mischief, I decided to install a new disposal while Miranda was out Christmas shopping yesterday, but not tell her about it. I installed the new Badger 5 disposal before she got home, and only told her that one of her Christmas gifts was in plain view somewhere in the house. We had a Christmas party to go to last night, so she didn't discover her "gift" till late last night (with some hints).

I am eagerly looking forward to cooking dinner tonight and taking the Badger 5 out on a real test drive. By the way - isn't the Badger a perfect name for a disposal?

Say What?

These two stories were relayed to me today by social studies teachers in my school.

During a discussion of Joan of Arc, a tenth grade preAP level student asked the teacher, "After Joan was burned at the stake, what happened to her husband, Noah?"

In a ninth grade gifted and talented class, a female student said, "Well, a female could never be president anyway because of the PMS."

Two words: job security.

For All You Doubters

So, I went fishing AGAIN this weekend....I'm on a roll - what can I say? Same place, same fish - stripers below the dam on the Red River. Fishing was just about like last weekend. They started generating from 10:00 till 12:00 so that threw a bit of a wrench in my plans. But I was able to catch 14 stripers, 2 white bass, 1 catfish, and I even foul hooked a gizzard shad. Not too bad of a day for only about five hours of fishing.

Here's the proof for all you doubters out there. These fish will be the main attraction on the dinner table in the near future.

So So Awesomeness

As I headed out the door yesterday to go fishing, Miranda insightfully said "You know it won't be as good as it was last time". Oh ye of little fishing faith...But unfortunately, she was somewhat right. I took my kayak with me this time up to the Red River below the dam at Lake Texoma. In 6 hours of fishing, I ended up with 14 stripers. Ordinarily that would be a great day fishing for me, but I have had a taste of the good life and didn't really want this day to be any different from the last trip.

The wind was howling all day long. Gusts in the 30+mph range made casting the flyrod a bit of a chore at times. I stuck with it and was rewarded toward the end of the day when the fishing started to improve. But the horn at the dam sounded at around 4:00 and we had to abandon our fishing spots. The horn means that I have five minutes to get myself to shore or be washed away when they start generating.

As usual with my fishing trips, I got to meet new fly fishers and made a few new friends while I was standing in a river waiving a stick. Scott Bridgess was kind enough to organize our little outing and shared some fishing tips and stories along the way. If you are ever looking for a guide on Lake Texoma he is the person to call.

All good things must come to an end. But that won't stop me from trying to find the next good trip.

Pure Awesomeness

Instead of shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, I chose to do some fishing at Lake Texoma. Texoma is located on the Texas Oklahoma border and has an abundant freshwater striper population. I have fished the lake many times in the past, but this was the first time fishing below the dam (technically I fished the Red River). I had heard reports of big catches of schooling stripers. It isn't the prettiest area in the world, but I didn't come for the scenery...


I caught one freshwater drum from shore, but kept noticing people hauling in stripers when they waded farther out into the river. After wading out to where they were, I stood in one spot and proceeded to reel in about 35-40 nice sized stripers in the next 2 1/2 hours. Small fish were in the 2lb range with the average fish being 3 -3 1/2 lbs. But there were many fish in the 4, 5 and even 6 lb range. It was disappointing if you went three casts without a hookup - that's my kind of fishing.

I left them biting at about 5:00 and headed back home. My thumbs are shredded from lipping fish to remove hooks. They were both bleeding pretty badly at one point. But it was the good kind of hurt because I don't know if I have ever caught so many big fish in such a little amount of time. Below is a picture of the fly (bottom one) I was using for the first 25 or so fish. I decided to retire it before I lost it. It was still catching fish believe it or not...Sorry no fish pictures, I was too busy catching them today!!!

Thanksgiving Guests

Dave and I don't travel East for Thanksgiving. With Christmas just around the corner, it's just too much. Plus, Dave only has Thursday and Friday off, so we would have to travel at the peek times. So, we decided a long time ago that we would stay put for Thanksgiving.

It seems that 2005 is the only year that we've eaten by ourselves. In 2001, Eric, Kathy, and Barbara ate with us in Austin. In 2002, Eric and Kathy ate with us. Jose dined with us in 2003. In 2004, Bob & Judy and Mike & Letha came out to celebrate with us. In 2005, Josh & Sara were going to celebrate with us, but Josh's grandmother died, prompting a trip to New Jersey for them. In 2006, the clan came out to eat with us. So, we always cook. Just wouldn't be the same if we didn't.

This year we were able to host Matt and Rene for our feast. We also invited their dogs, Axis and Teela to join us. They are so tiny, especially compared to Mason. Mason spent the afternoon out on the porch and was moved into the laundry room when we noticed snowflakes falling outside. Yes, snow! If you were watching the Cowboys' game, you saw what was falling out here.

Axis and Teela

We feasted on traditional Thanksgiving fare: turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, green bean casserole, potatoes au gratin, cranberry sauce.

A few hours later, we were ready for dessert--both traditional (pumpkin pie) and non-traditional, but tasty. (I never did hear the official name of Matt's yummy dessert.)

Axis looking festive in her sweater.
Dave loves Axis, but she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. He's got to learn to play it cool with her.

Matt browns sugar on top of banana slices.

Matt's delicious dessert. A home-made caramel sauce topped with the sugar-coated bananas, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and crystallized-sugar doodles. How fancy!

So, as I reflect on things for which we are thankful: friends to share the holidays with, families who miss us but are understanding that we don't travel back, a warm home, too much food, and a life filled with endless ease.

The Kindness of Strangers

I know that humans truly are kind-hearted. However, daily we are confronted more with those lacking kindness than displaying it.

Tuesday morning I needed to bag up Dave's last pile of leaves. He had run out of bags after filling at least 8 bags Saturday when he raked the yard. I bought some bags and wanted to get these bagged up and by the curb for the garbage men to take away. I had one bag filled and began working on the second when I heard the brakes of the garbage truck on the adjacent cul-de-sac. "Man, if only I had gotten out here 15 minutes earlier, I would be finished and get these bags gone," I thought as I raked up leaves and stuffed them into the bags. I continued working as the truck pulled onto our street, dodged the construction vehicles, and went down the cul-de-sac. I looked up to see one of the garbage men approaching me wanting to know if he could take the bag that was filled up. I declined his offer since I didn't have it tied, but I was touched by his kindness and thought, my leaves might have missed the garbage truck today, but this man's kindness was right on time.

Friday Night Football Farewell

I've officially made it through my first season of high school football as an assistant principal. Friday night might be misleading since two of the games were on Thursday night. From August 31 to November 15, I've attended ten football games, missing only one. Dave has been on the sidelines with me for most of the games.

Some highlights from the season.

• At the first game, I held a fellow AP's precious daughter, Addison, for a quarter or so.
• At the Richland game, I almost got hit in the head with a ball when the kicker was warming up and I was standing way too close to the practice net.
• At that same game, I had the opportunity to discuss why a girl's skirt was too short with her and explain to her that there may not be a dress code for football games, but that there is a dress code for life and that wearing a skirt that short is not such a good idea with photographers, football players, and various other people are standing on the sidelines beneath you
• At a game in Keller, I spent a half in the elevated stands with students. I was educated as to why a boy was carrying a bottle of pancake syrup, and I even sniffed the bottle of syrup to ensure it's contents were indeed syrup and not another liquid of a similar color. (When a lineman tackles an opponent, he mashes him flat like a pancake. The students were bringing the syrup to top off the many pancakes they hoped to see that night.)
• At a second game in Keller, I spent the halftime show counting the number of band students wearing "high-water" uniforms. I noticed that one of our band students wears a long skirt instead of the traditional pants.
• At the Grapevine game, I stood sentinel during the third quarter keeping our kids on one side of the stadium and GHS kids on the other side. There were many creative reasons why kids just had to get to the other side.
• I had the opportunity to spend two nights at the Fifth Quarter following the football game supervising students while they danced, ate, and hung out. I got home at 1:43 following one of these.
• I learned that threatening a student with "I'll escort you out of the stadium and you won't return tonight," is a pretty good way to get a kid to do what you need him to do.
• I had a conversation with our boys' spirit group about what a t-shirt with "I (recycle symbol) Girls" could possibly mean.

And at the final game, our first round of the playoffs, I got the chance to stand on the sidelines of Texas Stadium. I intended to take my camera, but I forgot it. Thankfully, a coworker snapped this picture with his camera phone.
I don't think I had the opportunity to learn more about the game of football. I have to leave my football lessons (like when is the call going to be a block in the back) for college football on Saturdays. Who has time to watch the game when you're watching kids in the stands?

Bring on basketball season! (I hear it's even more fun to police. Goody!)

Night Fishing for Big Hybrids

I'm still trying to keep up my end of the "Book, Line and Sinker" blog. I haven't been able to go fishing too much this summer. With work, odd jobs around the house, traveling and everything else going on lately, fishing has gotten forgotten. Luckily my friend Christian invited me to go night fishing again on Cedar Creek Lake. This lake is known for it's large population of hybrid bass. These fish make a fight with a similar sized largemouth bass laughable. This of course, is the reason I love to fish for them. The harder they pull the more I enjoy the fight!

Fishing started out slow for most of the night. We each caught a few largemouth bass at several docks. Christian outfished me with numbers of fish by a large margin, but I ended up with the three largest fish of the trip. I'll gladly take that arrangement any day of the week.

One of two 2 1/2 - 3lb largemouth that I caught.

The biggest fish of the night was this 7lb hybrid that was caught off the last dock we fished.
All these fish were caught on an 8wt flyrod using small clouser flies.

Big D

Granny's trip wouldn't be complete without seeing the sites in Dallas. Monday was another beautiful, unseasonably warm day. I played hooky from work and spent the day with my family. Proving she was truly on vacation, Granny didn't get up Monday morning until 9am! I'm sure she can't remember the last time she slept that late.

After an early lunch, we loaded up and headed to Dealy Plaza, the site of JFK's assassination. While it is a somber location to visit, it holds a large part of American history. Daddy says he'd rather see the homes of Presidents rather than the assassination sites. But since no Presidential homes are nearby, he settled for Dealy Plaza.

After walking around a bit, we headed back to the car just in time to see a meter -Nazi plastering a parking ticket on my windshield. (I would swear I had 5 more minutes on the meter. To add insult to injury, three other cars in front of me had expired flashing, but no tickets and a Budget rental truck was blocking the street and had been for the entire time we were walking around--but none of them had tickets.)

A few blocks down from Dealy Plaza in Pioneer Plaza is this outdoor sculpture called "Cattle Drive." It's a breath-taking, larger-than-life depiction of a longhorn cattle drive. (You can read more about it here.)

A drive through the heart of tall buildings completed our quick tour of Dallas.

Granny Comes to Texas

My grandmother traveled with Mama and Daddy out to Texas this week. Daddy was surprised when she agreed to come out with them so soon after my grandfather's death. It turns out Granny didn't travel a lot earlier in life because Bert didn't care to travel. (My brother is very much like Bert, in this respect and many others, but that would be another blog entry.) Since it was Granny's first trip to DFW, we had to hit the highlights.

Saturday, we went down to the Stockyards. We arrived in time to see the afternoon longhorn cattle drive. Daddy and Granny posed for a picture in front of the Stockyards sign, and we browsed in a few shops. And, along the walk, we looked at the Trail of Fame stars. Though I've been to the Stockyards several times, I had never really noticed the stars. (I suppose I was looking up, not down.) I had to snap a picture of Mark Twain's star. While I've taught stories and novels by Twain, I'm perplexed about his appearance in the Texas Trail of Fame. I know he was a pioneer who traveled west from his home in Hannibal, Missouri, but I don't recall stories about Twain in Texas, just in Nevada and California. I'll have to do some research.

Birthday Blessings

Each year I am amazed at the blessings I receive each year for my birthday. While Dave and I spent a low-key birthday, I was remembered by friends and family.

This year I had four birthday cakes. My sweet friend Stacy brought a dulce de leche cheesecake to work. My thoughtful husband Dave brought home a small raspberry cake home. And our adopted family, the J's, provided both a delicious creme brulee cheesecake and a tasty sheetcake with "Biranda" written on it. (You can read about our celebration here.)

My sideboard is stacked with all the cards I received from friends and family. My wallet is full of money from my parents and in-laws for one heck of a shopping spree. I have a beautiful new box to hide my money in until I'm ready for that shopping spree. My car has a new CD player, complete with I-Pod capabilities. And, I have a fire pit just waiting to be used when the weather cools off. I even have a new picture for my office at work.

And, my heart is full of the love everyone sent my way.

Mason's Halloween Costume

Around our house, everyone gets in on the Halloween action - even the dog. Mason has a "costume" that he has been wearing the last couple years. It is a jester type collar complete with jingle bells. This dog absolutely loves this thing. We try to take it off of him at night. We have left it on in the past only to be awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of bells. As soon as it comes off though he gets very irritated and tries to stick his head back through the hole to put it back on. What can we say; we have a jingle dog. Incidentally, he also has a Christmas collar that has jingle bells.

Happiness Is . . .

Coming home on a Monday afternoon to find a clean home, one that you didn't have to lift a finger to clean. (Well, there was all that tidy-ing up. . . )

Finding that the toilet paper has been folded to a point--like in hotels.

Seeing the glow of clean floors (no dog-hair bunnies anywhere).

Knowing all the knick-knacks have been dusted.

Being greeted by the dog, who is ready to play catch with his squeaky football.

'Onies

Matthew and Hayden in Hayden's wagon.

Part of the fun of going home was getting to play with Hayden. He is acquiring quite the vocabulary.
'Onies--ponies
moon
tractor
Grandpaw
baby
dog
Dollie Girl (their dog)

He knows lots of animal sounds.
Oink--he shouts this when he looks toward the barn where the pig lives
Grr--Dave and I taught him that the tiger says, "grrr."
Baa--sound the goat makes
Bok-bok--chicken sound. He yells this when he sees chicken figurines.

But his favorite sound of all is the "brrrdg" sound of a car.

He points out lots of pictures in his Sesame Street books.
Kitty
Grover
Elmo
Bert
Ernie

He can parrot most words and does a great job with Dave and a pretty good job with Miranda.

Mine. One of Hayden's favorite games. He picks out an object that is not his--like Grandpaw's glasses or remote control. Hayden smiles and declares, "Mine." Then you engage with him, "No. Mine." A huge smile spreads across his face when he knows that you've taken the bait. "Mine." And the game is on.

Hayden had his one year check up this week. He weighs 30 pounds (in the 99th percentile) and measures 33.5 inches (the 99.5th percentile).

Traveling

We flew back to Georgia over the weekend. What had been planned a month and a half ago as a fun weekend visiting friends and family had a different twist with the death of Bert, my grandfather.

We had interesting flights to and from Atlanta. On the flight out Friday we sat in front of three Chatty Cathy's. These ladies talked incessantly and so loudly that I couldn't read my novel. Evidently they were in some way associated with 4H. They discussed the "lower" humidity in Georgia. They pondered whether or not Song airlines was a group of planes that musicians hired for travel. They dubbed planes with an "A" on the tail "Air Alaska" instead of Airtran.

Our return flight found a grandma and grandpa sitting behind us. While they were quiet and not disruptive, I did chuckle at the conversation that revealed that the little lady hadn't flown before. When the flight attendant made the announcement to turn off all electronic devices, the lady stopped a flight attendant to ask what the fasten seat belt light was and asked if it should be turned off with all other electronic devices.

Tenacity

Ever get something on your mind and can't rest until you've solved the problem? Welcome to my life. I hate it when I can't find something that I know has to be within the walls of this house.

Last night's search was for my Georgia Tech handbag to take to Saturday's Homecoming Game. My mom gave me this cute gold fabric bag emblazoned with a GT logo and adorned with cute dangling beads. I have very few occasions to carry said bag, so I should really take it with me, right?

Let's begin the search. When we lived in Austin, I knew exactly where this bag resided, the top left dresser drawer in the guest room. That's where I started last night. To no avail. Then I looked in the other dresser drawers: no dice. Perhaps it is in the closet where my other handbags hang out. Not there either. Could it be in one of the buffet drawers? (This buffet was in our bedroom in the other house functioning as a dresser--so it's not that big of a stretch.) Not there either.

Did I really look everywhere in that closet upstairs? I'll go back. . . . still not there. Hmmm, what about the bottom two drawers of the wardrobe in our bedroom? No; not there either. Maybe I should look in the guest room dresser again. This time, I'll take out the clear plastic boxes that store candles and gifts. Nope. Well, maybe I'll look in those drawers again. Yeah, still not there. What about the green guest room closet? Nope. What about the coat closet? Maybe it's stored with all of our hats. Nope. (But I did weed out about six hats for Goodwill.)

Really, where could it be? I'll go back to the guest room dresser. I'll take everything out of the left drawer this time. Still not there. Am I 100% sure that it's not in the closet with my other purses? I'll look again. Nope. Dang it! Where can it be I ponder as I stand in the closet. Marching out one more time, a decorated box that Letha gave me for our first anniversary catches my eye. Hey . . . that used to be in that drawer where the purse stayed. I wonder . . . EUREKA!!!! I found the gold (bag that is).

Now I can sleep.

Tenacity, insanity, obsessive-compulsive? You judge.

Texas State Fair

Saturday we went to the fair with Matt and Renee. Dave works with Matt.

Here's a funny story of "It's a Small World After All." Matt's parents and Dave's parents grew up and went to high school together in the same small Illinois town. Bob and Judy left Illinois in the late 1960s. Matt's parents still live there. What are the odds that these two boys would work as designers for the same company in Dallas? (Not knowing each other of course until some mention of Illinois was made. Then phone calls were made to parents.)

Fast forward to Saturday. We met at Matt and Renee's to head to the Fair Park. A drive which should have taken 20-30 minutes took an hour and a half. Finally, we hopped a curb to park in a man's yard. (We did pay to park in his yard.) Our spirits soared after the adventure of speeding over the curb at break-neck speeds in Matt's Element.


Big Tex welcomes everyone to the Fair.




Dave and Matt were impressed by the Ford display--something about trusses. Can't those guys leave work for the weekend?
I show my best Hollywood starlet look. (Oh wait, I wouldn't be smiling for the Dave-arazzi if I were a star.)
Part of the fun at the fair is the food. Matt tears into a smoked turkey leg. We also feasted on corny dogs, fries, bratwurst, and funnel cakes.
Another side note, the Texas State Fair is the home of the Corny Dog. Yes, it's weird to say "corny" dog instead of "corn" dog, but that's what they're called around here. And, when in Rome . . .
The Star of Texas Ferris Wheel is another big crowd pleaser.
And, you can't have a fair without blue ribbons. We all had a good time exploring the winners of various craft categories. Dave and I could totally be ribbon winners. We've got to look into how to enter crafts--yes in all of our free time. Dave had to photograph this blue ribbon "Holiday Kit" winner because his parents have an identical tree that they made years ago. Just think, Judy could have a blue ribbon.
What fair is complete without pig races? Contestants like Kevin Bacon, Lindsay Loham, and Brittney Squeals competed.
Another big fair attraction--the butter sculpture.
Another shot from the Dave-arazzi.

After a long day, the sun began to set. With our bellies full of fair food, we posed for a picture and called it a day.

Mason's New Bad Habit

Mason loves a belly rub from Dave.

In the past few weeks Mason has developed a new bad habit--raiding the trash cans in the bathroom while we're gone. We come back to find tissues and dryer sheets throughout our bedroom and bathroom. He doesn't eat them; he doesn't really shred them. It seems he just likes to spread them around.

Getting to my trash can is no easy task. He moves my vanity stool and drags it from underneath the vanity. Dave's is an easier target, but still Dave's trash can gets moved from beside Dave's sink to the rug next to our bed.

I guess a dog gets bored during the day. I'll be glad when it cools off enough for him to go back outside. It is cooling off some. I suppose then he'll get to resume his other bad habit.

Guatemala 5000

Jonas Emmanuel
The baby Mike and Letha hope to bring home soon

Dave's brother and sister-in-law are in the midst of an international adoption from Guatemala. On August 30th, they received a referral and pictures of a baby boy, whom they thought they would be able to bring home in late January through early March. Sadly, politics may hamper this. Guatemala is halting all adoptions to the US effective January 1, 2008; our hope is that the 5000 adoptions that are in progress but won't be completed until after that time might be grandfathered in. Truly our prayer is that Guatemala will not halt adoptions to the United States. I spoke with Mike and Letha last night. They are quite calm, and maybe even a bit hopeful that their adoption might be speeded up and completed before January.

Please take the time to read the information that follows and make a few phone calls next week.
And, if you would share this with anyone who would join the effort, we would appreciate that as well.

Certainly prayers of comfort for all the couples enduring this would be most welcome.

Guatemala 5000 - A Call to Action Details Following is a detailed Call to Action which we encourage all Member Organizations to distribute to their adoptive families. Joint Council successfully utilized this strategy with the Casa Quivira families and Haiti families in effecting action and a change in policy. We remain confident that we can, at a minimum, secure a 'grandfather' clause in Guatemalan adoption policy. GUATEMALA 5000

Dear Friends, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to suspend all intercountry adoption with American families on January 1 2008. The Joint Council on International Children's Services strongly opposes such a suspension and asks for your support in their efforts to ensure that all children retain the right to permanency through Intercountry Adoption. President Berger's plans also call for the suspension of adoptions currently in-process. Such a suspension would be extremely detrimental to the children referred to adoptive parents. If President Berger's plan is actually implemented, up to 5,000 will unnecessarily remain in foster care or orphanages indefinitely. This situation represents a pending crisis for the adoptive families who have lovingly chosen to provide permanency, safety and love to a child in need and most importantly a crisis for 5,000 children of Guatemala. What can you do? Make six simple phone calls and one email. 1. Call your U.S. Senator. · You can find your Senators' phone numbers at www.senate.gov · Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff 2. Call your second U.S. Senator. 3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative. · You can find your representative at www.house.gov · Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff 4. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarter · Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director · Their number is 212-326-7000 · Their fax number is 212-326-7758 5. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala · Ask to speak with Manuel Manrique · Their number is 011-502-2327-6373 · Their fax number is 011-502-2327.6366 Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls 6. Send and email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org · Write briefly or at length · Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption When should you call? Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (October 9th, 10th 11th) · For maximum affect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72 hour window! What should you say or write to member of the U.S. Congress? Speak from your heart and give them the following information. · Inform them that you are calling regarding Guatemala 5000 · Ask them to sign the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) sponsored letter to President Oscar Berger · Ask them to sign the Joint Council on International Children's Services sponsored letter to UNICEF · Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008. · Inform them that President Berger's announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process. · Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. · Ask that their office get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws. Sample Statement Hello, We are calling/writing on behalf of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. We, as your constituents, are asking that the Senator/Congressperson add his/her signature to two letters. First, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute sponsored letter to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. Second, the Joint Council on International Children's Services sponsored letter to UNICEF. As you may be aware, the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008. Their announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process. If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. Your office must get involved and sign the sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws. Sincerely, What should you say or write to UNICEF? Speak from your heart and give them the following information. · Inform them that you are calling regarding the Guatemala 5000 · Ask them to support the right's of children and lend their considerable influence to ensuring that intercountry adoptions currently in-process be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws. · Inform them that the Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008. · Inform them that President Berger's announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process. · Inform them that if children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. · Ask them again for their support of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. Sample Statement Hello, We are calling/writing on behalf of the Guatemala 5000 Initiative. As financial supporters of UNICEF (through our tax dollars), we are asking that UNICEF lends its support and considerable influence to the Guatemala 5000 initiative. As you may be know, the Guatemalan government has announced that all intercountry adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008. Their announcement also indicated that there will be no 'grandfathering' of adoptions already in process. If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care. UNICEF must get involved and help ensure that all intercountry adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to process to completion under the existing notorial laws. Sincerely, Can you explain the problem behind the pending crisis? Here is some additional information… · Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to effectively stop all adoptions into the United States including those children who have already been referred to adoptive parents · Over 5,000 children have been referred · The birthparents for these children have already relinquished their parental rights. As a result, they currently have no family and the Berger suspension will result in these children having no prospect for a permanent, safe and loving family · The government of Guatemala currently does not have the finances or facilities to even provide housing for these 5,000 children · The Berger plan is a crisis waiting to happen

What else can you do? In addition to your primary calls to U.S. Congress and UNICEF, you can call the following. SOSEP (Guatemala) · Director Teresa Echeverría de Bastarrechea Office Phone- 011-502-2383-8400 · Assistant Director- Edin Palma- Same office phone Office Phone- 011-502-2383-8400 · Jaime Tecu Office Phone - 011-502-2239-0000 ext 2766 Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls Guatemala Ministry of Foreign Affairs · Minister Gerth Rosenthal Office Phone 011-502-2410-0000, 2410-0010 · Vice Minister- Marta Altoaguirre Office Phone 011-502-2410-0020 Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls PGN (Guatemala) · Carlos Victor Hugo Barrios Barahona Office Phone 011-502-2248-3200 Ext. 207/208 Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls Procuraduria of Human Rights · Dr. Sergio Morales Office Phone 011-502-2424-1717 Please note that calls and faxes to Guatemala are international calls Embassy of Guatemala in the U.S. 2220 R Street N.W. Washington, DC 20008 Office Phone 1-202-745-4952 Office Fax 1-202-745-1908 Website: www.guatemala-embassy.org/

Bert

Daddy, Granny, and Bert
Matthew & Cindy's Wedding
December 2003

My grandfather, Bert, has been in ICU for a week now. He has emphysema and his health has deteriorated rapidly this summer. Monday on the way to the doctor, he collapsed in the car, leading to his stay in ICU. Eight ounces of fluid were drained from the sac in casing one of his lungs. He has had several CAT scans this week which have helped the doctors determine that he has a collapsed lung, that the collapsed lung contains a mass, and that a lesion is on his spine. A biopsy will be performed on the mass found in his lung. Daddy, his mother, and his siblings have been keeping vigil at the hospital. Please keep the family in your prayers.

Thankfully, I visited Bert and Granny last Christmas. Though I must say, I'm carrying guilt now at not having visited in July when I was in Georgia. Dave and I are going to Georgia in two weeks, and I will visit him then.

I have fond memories of the sweet smell of pipe tobacco--the cause of his illness. Bert didn't want to be called "Grand Daddy", "Grand Paw", or anything remotely close. He just wanted to be called Bert by all the grandkids, and so he is. There's a picture of two hounds hanging in the dining room at Bert and Granny's house. Evidently, when I was younger, I had conversations with Bert regarding which dog was his (the brown one) and which was mine (the white one).

Bert loves to fish. If Dave and I lived closer, I think a great fishing relationship might have developed between Dave and Bert.

My heart is full and my prayers are being sent up. I hope you'll join in sending yours.

I Create My Own Reality

Across the highway from our neighborhood is a farm that sports buffalo roaming in its pastures. A few weeks ago, imagine my surprise as I drove by I noticed a camel in the midst of the buffalo. For a moment I contemplated just how a camel came to live with the buffalo. My best guess--the camel was won in a poker game.

Now, I have absolutely no reason to think the camel was won in a hand of poker. I don't know the owner of the farm. I imagine camels aren't often put up in high stakes games of poker.

But in my own little warped world, I can see the scene--men gathered in a dimly lit, cigar-smoke filled room. Dawn is beginning to break following this all night gambling match. Down to two middle-aged men--one with flashy jewelry and slicked back hair, the other donning a Stetson hat and a plaid Western style shirt, complete with pearl snap buttons. A pile of cash in front of my cowboy, nothing left in front of the slick-man. In an act of desperation, slick bets his camel and loses him to the rancher.

In an unrelated matter, the camel pictured is being ridden by our friend Mr. Glen, a Delta pilot. This is how he spent a layover recently. I bet this camel's owner would never put him up for grabs in a game of poker. This camel is a valuable source of tourist income.

Dallas Cowboys

Today we celebrated Scott's 30th birthday by going to see the Dallas Cowboys play. Scott was Dave's roommate his last two years of college. Scott's friend from high school, Brian, and his wife, April, went along.

We had a great time, despite the heat. My comments will be brief because I'm sticky and tired.







Brian and April















The boys: Brian, Scott, and Dave











Which camera do I look at?















Oh, this one.













The Cowboys in action.














Can't leave out the world famous Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.















The girls: April, Tonya, Miranda














Scott, Tonya, and a really big finger.


















Brian and Scott

Students Working Hard

One of the components of the program for at-risk students that I'm running is a computer-based credit recovery program called NovaNET. Instead of having a student sit in a class that he/she has already failed, a student can work his/her way through the course online. Tests are given to allow students to skip lessons for which they can demonstrate mastery.
Friday I had two students finish a semester of English. It took them only 4 weeks!!! I'm so excited for these two kids. And their success tells the other students that they, too, can hurry up to get credits.

The last two weeks have been rocky. I won't go into all of the school drama here (maybe later), but I have to say, I am so thrilled for the opportunity that lies ahead for all of my students.