Monday, January 29, 2007

Weekend Madness

By Justin

There is a saying that Albert Einstein says something like “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. Sometimes I think this can be translated into “Work is what remains after you have survived your weekend.” While by no means did we ‘survive’ the weekend we did do a heck of a lot.

Friday night we meet some family friends in Fort Worth for supper. We ate at a really nice restaurant that has relocated from the top of the tower that was hit by the tornado. I was telling a coworker this and she commented that she might have to eat there just so she could tell her mother this story. It seems that tornados are a ‘cool’ thing up north.

Saturday morning we didn’t get to sleep in. Saturday morning sleep in is half of why I go to work. We had a close family friend pass away and her memorial service was early in the morning in Bridgeport. I hate funerals. I can have absolutely no feelings towards a person and break down crying. We left after the memorial and headed home. I was afraid ‘housewife Holly’ was going to come out, but instead I coxed her into the bed to take a nap. Man it was a nice long midday nap. We woke up a little late and rushed around to meet our friends for a concert. We drove out to Terrell, Texas to attend a southern gospel concert. We love southern gospel. We definitely eschew the age curve, but we don’t care. The concert got over around 10 and we headed to IHOP for supper. We got home real late.

Sunday we attended church, and really enjoyed the sermon. It was good to be there. After church we went to Mansfield to see my brother’s new house. It is big and nice, he wouldn’t have it any other way. It was great to spend a few quality minutes with him and his fiancé. We got home in the middle of the early evening to finish up a few easy chores and head to bed.

In summary, we traveled to Fort Worth, two hours west, one hour east and one hour south. All we needed was a border run to Oklahoma and we would have covered the compass!

Lastly, I would like to formally welcome the Maney's to Blogger! Paul and I attended Tech together and were roommates for a brief (and illegal) time. He took my place in Moosehead Mtn. when I got married. Paul's wife Sarah and Holly were at Tech at the same time and knew each other as well. Hi Paul and Sarah!!!!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Knox William Tokarz

by Holly

Well, baby season continues…

My friend Amy had her third baby yesterday, January 24th, 2007. She already has two girls and didn’t find out the sex of this baby, so she and Andrew were thrilled to have a baby boy this time!!!

His name is Knox William Tokarz, little brother to Shelby and Jerzy. He weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was 18 inches (I think!) long. Amy is doing fine and should be home Saturday.

Amy and I met my first week in the dorms at Texas Tech in 1996. She was living across the hall from me and Aimee (check out Aimee’s blog under H’s Buddies!). Amy and I have been friends since then and now live about 10 minutes apart, in Allen. She’s my scrapbooking buddy and a wonderful friend.

Congrats Amy and I can’t wait to meet Knox!!!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Lacking of a Rant

Lacking anything but cars and traffic to write about stinks. I want a new rant. Well I have plenty of rants, but most revolve around work and just wouldn’t make sense without the context. So what have we been up to?

Monday was THE ice day. We rebounded from that for a pretty mundane Tuesday. We spent the night watching The West Wing. Wednesday a mini ice day ensued. We got to come home from work, but it turned out to not be so bad. I think the meteorologists were being gun shy since they missed the last one so bad. Thursday Holly took a meal over to our friends that just had the baby and I met her and our friends at the rec center. Brian and I played racquetball. I stink to high heaven at it, but it is a very good workout. I will play racquetball for an hour, but get bored at trying to lift or run on the treadmill for an hour. Friday was a busy work day. We met some friends for dinner and I played computer games all night.

Now I am here.

Tomorrow we are going for a prolonged walk, weather permitting. Cleaning up the house a little and running some errands. Tomorrow night we are having a couple friend of ours over for dinner and games, so that should be fun. Sunday is church and relax. Next week we start it all over again.

That’s the update!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Ice Day

It is a cold and icy day in Dallas. We don’t deal well with this type of weather. I blame it on our ancestors; they rode horses and never traveled more than a few miles from the farm. As a consequence, we never were appropriately trained on how to drive a pickup in the ice.

By far the most annoying thing in the whole world on ice days are the people who just can’t make it to work. This morning, after my hour and a half 20mph drive to work, a coworker (who lives closer to work than me) called to tell me she couldn’t make it and would I tell her manager. I told her that her manager was here and I would transfer her. She was is utter shock that he was here and asked who else was missing besides her. I informed her that she was one of three not here, the other two living less than ten miles from work, by the way.

Well she just showed up, at 12:50. From the minute she walked in the door she has been going cube to cube to tell her stories of how bad the bridges were. She is making the rounds faster than a politician at a fundraising rally. We all seemed to make it across those bridges.

P.S. She has a 4 wheel drive car too!

Friday, January 12, 2007

Tour the State of Texas

Celebrating our western heritage:
Cut n Shoot, Texas
Gunshot, Texas
Gun Barrel, Texas


Need to be cheered up?
Happy, Texas 79042

Smiley, Texas 78159
Paradise, Texas 76073
Rainbow, Texas 76077
Sweet Home, Texas 77987

Why travel to other states? Texas has them all!
Detroit, Texas 75436
Colorado City, Texas 79512
Denver City, Texas 79323

Nevada, Texas 75173
Memphis, Texas 79245
Miami, Texas 79059

New Boston, Texas 75570
Santa Fe, Texas 77517
Tennessee Colony, Texas 75861

Feel like traveling outside the country? Don't bother buying a plane ticket! (Unless you are going to fly Southwest Airlines)
Canadian, Texas 79014

China, Texas 77613
Egypt, Texas 77436
Turkey, Texas 79261
London, Texas 76854
New London, Texas 75682
Paris, Texas 75460

We even have a city named after our planet!
Earth, Texas 79031

And a city named after our State!
Texas City, Texas 77590

Exhausted?
Energy, Texas 76452

Need Office Supplies?
Staples, Texas 78670

Men are from Mars, women are from
Venus, Texas 76084

You guessed it, it's on the state line..
Texline, Texas 79087

For the kids
Kermit, Texas 79745
Elmo, Texas 75118
Nemo, Texas 76070
Tarzan, Texas 79783
Winnie, Texas 77665

Other funny city names in Texas :
Beeville, Texas 78102
Bigfoot, Texas 78005
Buda, Texas 78610
Cactus, Texas 79013
Mercedes, Texas 78570
Nixon, Texas 78140
Telephone, Texas 75488
Whiteface, Texas 79379

White Deer, Texas 79097
Muleshoe, Texas
Loco, Texas

And last but not least, the Anti-Al Gore City
Kilgore, Texas 75662

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Baby Season

by Holly

Well… It seems to be baby season in Texas. Our friends from Tech, Charissa and John, are the proud parents of a baby girl born on the 8th, Gianna Joy Ludlow. She was a little early but is doing great. Charissa is reported to be doing fine. For pictures and more info, check out their blog under H’s buddies. (That is pronounced GEE-ah-na).

Abbey and Nathan, friends from church, had their baby boy yesterday the 10th. His name is Jachin Rei Mulder and is doing good as well. Jachin has cleft lip and palate, but is healthy and there were no complications. Abbey is recovering fine from her c-section and is expected to be home by Saturday. (That is pronounced JAY-kin Ray).

Thank you all for your prayers for Abbey and Jachin yesterday. They were felt and appreciated. We hope that each of you are enjoying babies and new life in general as well. I’m sure Trey and Viki can’t wait to see their nephew!

God bless!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Here's Where I Am

By Holly

Although Justin has set the bar pretty high for this new year, I will try to be just as sensitive and gracious in my own soul-searching.

I ended 2006 in a tailspin, not knowing where December had gone. I spent 2 ½ weeks on a federal jury 40 miles from my home, which was both intriguing and exhausting. I am thankful for the experience, and for the kind judge and security officers, but I wish that it had come at a different time of year. You see, it lasted from December 4th to the 20th, causing me to miss out on the usual languishing in Christmas joy that I usually partake in. I don’t want to start out the year complaining; I did enough of that last year. I just hope that I can recover from the anxiety and caffeine-induced high that I was on, before it truly takes its toll on me.

So as I look forward to this season of both physical and emotional renewal, I have spent a good deal of time, as Justin has, contemplating what is truly important in my life. We have made a few observations/decisions/commitments together, but I want to share today my personal ones. Bear with me, as I do best with lists (you understand, Aimee!).

1. I need to simplify my life. This means limiting my church, social, financial, emotional commitments. I feel that the things of my life are all important and good, but too much of a good thing can still wear you down and distract you from your focus, mine being my relationship with God, and my marriage.

2. I want to be a more positive person. While our society as a whole, and me in particular, appreciate both sarcasm and good-natured ribbing, I do not feel that they are the most appropriate or Godly of ways of personal interaction. This said, I aim to use my posts on our blog to be either informative or reflective. Disclaimer: if you find me gossiping or tearing down someone’s character, please call me on it. I want to know.

3. I want to recognize and appreciate the blessings in my life. There are issues in all of our lives that seem to consume us and overtake any other semblance of thankfulness for the lesser items around us. While these issues are important and will not be neglected, they do not need to take precedence every hour of every day. This may be my hardest battle, and yes, I’m leaving it vague intentionally.

So that seems to be my short list for now. I won’t apologize for the somber mood, but will say that’s where I’m at today. And I will leave you with one last piece of food for thought…

My friend is having her baby today, her baby that has cleft lip and palate. This should be a time of celebration and extreme joy, however it is filled with anxiety, nervousness, fear, sadness, anger, frustration, helplessness. I could go on and on, and I won’t pretend to know what she and her husband are experiencing. I just tell you this to help you reflect on your own lives, to think about your own blessings and to thank God for what you do or do not have.

Happy New Year to you all and many wishes for happiness for you.

Friday, January 05, 2007

The New Year in Paradise,TX

Perched atop a hill, overlooking the tree lined valley to the west, sits my boyhood home. My parents bought this house close to 19 years ago. It is a home full of memories of laughter, crying, discipline and pride. A home like I want my kids to grow up in.

The nature of the beast of getting married is the inevitable figuring out of holidays. Absent of children, Holly and I alternate which parent we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas day with. This year we celebrated Christmas in Paradise over New Years weekend. I wrote extensively about my reflections over Christmas of the farm. While I have learned a lot on the farm, and have a deep respect for the rural way of life, I cannot deny that I am who I am because of the value and virtues of growing up in Paradise.

My dad would say that he is a humble man. I would say he is a proud man. He has a lot to be proud of. He taught me early on, mostly through action, that there is no reason to dodge hard work. He worked long hours, in every imaginable condition, to bring home a wage that we could live on. Rarely did he say no to reasonable requests, and even if it was a little out there he would explain why we work hard not to waste our money.

He taught, mostly by action, that you stand up for yourself but you don’t trample the people around you to do it. He work toward the future, but not at the expense of today. You think about every action and the reciprocal reactions. You love your family.

If dad was the provider, Mom was the executor. She was the one who worked to let the family enjoy itself. She freely gave or horded her salary to pay for the superfluous. She was the nurturer.

I have always been a moma’s boy. That is not to say that I wasn’t dad’s kid, but Mom and I always connected. She would put up with the random requests in whatever game I was playing by myself in my head. She would encourage and push, mostly in nonverbal ways, each and every whim I talked about. She was the voice of the wide open future.

This New Years, I reflected on family. The successes in life caused by two parents who chose to escape the city and raise their family in a small rural community. Parents who, for whatever reason, choose to nature and guide their kids towards far greater success through every means possible. Whether it was through feeding and raising the animals, figuring out the calculus problem or achieving the next merit badge, their non-verbal lives of discipline have made me who I am and will be.

New Years is a time of looking forward. I think you need to look back down the road traveled, to make sure the vision ahead is clear.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Christmas in Texas

On the flat open plains of Texas, where farming and ranching still are king, Holly’s parents have established a homestead. It is a place that seems removed from time. It is a place of peace, quite and stillness. It is a home filled with things that are hard to find in the suburbs of Dallas. grew up in rural Texas.

I count many of my virtues and who I am as a person based on this upbringing. It is one of many things that drew Holly and me together. It is a common bond that is understood; a common set of morals that are taught on and by the land. This Christmas, on the high plains of the Llano Estacado, I reflected and appreciated this more than ever.

Holly’s dad is a farmer and rancher. He is a man of tremendous virtue and hardworking ethics. His whole life has been in cultivating, nurturing and growing things. He might be planting wheat, nursing a new born calf or raising grandchildren, but he is always at work. His whole mind revolves around how to help other people and things achieve their best.

I have learned a lot on the farm. I ask Galen thousands of questions. Sometimes I trip him up a little bit and ask a question that is so blatant to him that he has to stop and think how to explain it, like “How does a windmill really work?”. Other times the years of experience let the answer roll off like poetry, “Is a feedlot inhumane to cows?”. He never dodges a question or gives you too much to digest. He never dulls it down or makes it too simple. He shoots from the hip, and challenges you to grow in your understanding.

My many days on the farm have given me a lot of firsts. I saw my first new born calf. I saw my first dead calf. I herded cows by pickup truck and sorted cows onto trailers. I learned how to blow dirt out of radiators. And most importantly, why we don’t wear sandals on the farm. This Christmas I learned how to ride my first tractor. In the truest of styles, Galen gave me an option, drive the pickup back to the barn, or drive the tractor. I picked the pickup, so did Galen. He made me sit in the seat, explained the controls to me and drove in a big circle. Three minutes later and he left me alone on a tractor for the next hour. “No time like the present to learn” is Galen’s heart for growing his children. Even though they might not be his own.

Holly’s mom is the epitome of a southern mom. Never a day goes by that a home cooked meal, with dessert, isn’t served in her home. Over years of childrearing and herself holding down a job, her kids always came home to a hot meal, with dessert. She is a woman of God. The church door swing, and she is there with a casserole and a smile to welcome you in. You walk into her house and her bible is on her bedside for her daily devotional. You stay through Sunday and you will attend her Sunday school class. She reared her kids this way, and it shows. Hers is a family marked by God’s blessings, and it shows.

This Christmas, she showed me how much love she really has for her family. Selecting everyone a perfect gift, favorite dessert and taking the time to sit and talk to each and everyone of us. She was busy, tired and sick but she didn’t let that spoil her Christmas with the family.

Christmas is special. This year I understand more about Christmas. How the farm makes it special, and how family makes the farm.

It was Christmas,
On the farm,
In Texas!