When I got married I had the typical fairy tale view that life would get nothing but better for me as time went on.  I’m sure that is what most women feel on their wedding day.  I had lived the typical upper-middle class life in America and expected that it would continue, only getting better with each passing day.  The Lord had other plans for me though, and many other lessons for me to learn.

The first year of our marriage went well, like the first year in most marriages.  I became pregnant a few months after we were married and I had Lindsay 16 days after our first anniversary and 9 days before my 21st birthday.  Things went well most of the second year as well… then August came along.  After August 1985, Gene and I pretty much decided we would skip that month in the future.  At this time I was working full-time during the day, and Gene worked nights.  That was hard on us, but I felt that I just needed to be a “real person” and I wanted more “things”, so I got a job. (I won’t even go into all the sin issues behind this, trust me, there wasn’t a reason I was working that wasn’t based in sin)

Because I had a job, I then wanted a new car ( ever read “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”?).  Through some unbelievable circumstances we were able to buy my car at a very good price.  We went to pick it up on my lunch hour from the bank.  I got off work about 30 minutes after Gene went to work. Before I picked up Lindsay from daycare I was going to go show my brand- spanking new car to my little brother.  As I was driving down a street I had driven down hundreds of times, I was blindsided. A teenager had run a stop sign while speeding and hit my car, turning it and, pushing it over a stop sign.  I had some cuts and scrapes and hurt my shoulder pretty good, but I could walk.  One of the people offered to let me come in and use their phone to call Gene. Gene was at work, talking to some of his friends about the great deal he had just gotten on my new car, when I called him crying, saying, “The car is totaled.”  At first he thought I was laughing, then he realized I was crying.  Due to the injuries I suffered I wasn’t able to pick up anything for two weeks, which meant I couldn’t work.

The insurance of the driver who hit me provided me with a rental car, which on my first day back at work promptly broke down at the daycare center when I was picking up Lindsay.  That night Gene went back to work after coming home for dinner.  My little brother and I were on the phone for a while talking, and afterward I called Gene to ask him to bring home some milk. Gene didn’t come to the phone, his boss did.  He told me Gene was at the hospital going into surgery and that they had been trying to reach me.  He had cut his Achilles tendon in half and they were trying to repair it.  My brother picked me up, and my parents met me at the hospital and took Lindsay home with them.  It was a very long and painful night for Gene.  They had to give him a spinal because he had just eaten, which caused him to have terrible headaches.  I called into work the next day and explained the situation to my supervisor, then on Wednesday, while I was at the hospital with Gene, my boss called me and said that if I wasn’t at work the next day I would lose my job.  Gene was getting out of the hospital the next day, and everyone else in our families had to work, so I told them to fire me, which they did.

Gene’s injury and recovery were painful and very difficult on a number of levels for us.  First I was now out of a job, and Gene’s pay was cut to about 75% of what it had been.  If I remember correctly, at that time he was making about $7.50 an hour. His recovery took several months and for a long time we didn’t know how much disability he would have in that leg.  The Lord was protecting us though.  The general surgeon they tried to get in was unavailable, so they called in an orthopedic surgeon.  He would have had a much greater disability if the general surgeon had tried to repair the tendon.  He also came quite close to cutting through the main artery in his leg, but the wire stopped just short of it.  Gene was off of work until January.  During this time we had been working closely with our mortgage company about our payments.  The deal we had worked out was that we would pay the principle only.  About this time there was a huge shake up in the Savings & Loan industry, as well as a impending oil crash on the horizon.  One day around Christmas, I received a phone call from the Savings & Loan that held our mortgage (which was now being restructured) and told that I had to pay all of the back interest, within a few days.  I had found another job, but Gene was still on disability pay and there was no way we had the money pay all of that interest.  We worked out a deal where we could sign our house back over to the bank.

Signing our house back over to the bank just after our second anniversary seemed like one of the most humiliating things I could go through.  I really didn’t think things would get worse, but they could.

Gene went back to work in January, and later in the month, Lindsay got a very bad case of strep throat.  I had no one to take care of her, so I had to stay home with her for a week and was let go because of it.  It was at that time that we decided I needed to be at home. These experiences helped me see that I would never choose a job over my family. The Lord also showed me how important my role of being at home was.  Through that second dose of humiliation, and it was humiliating to get fired again, He was showing me that my materialistic desires were sinful. He wasn’t done with me by a long shot, I still had many more lessons in the area of materialism, but I was beginning to see the light as far as my role as a wife and mother.

In April of 1986 Gene’s company began massive layoffs.  He made it through the first round, but not through the second.  Right after this my grandfather passed away. I felt like the walls were caving in around me at times, but I knew the Lord would see us through this valley… somehow.

In early May we decided to move to Little Rock where Gene’s sister lived in the hopes that the job market would be better.  We were there for 3 months, and he was unable to find a job. In September we moved to Dallas and stayed with my brother for a few weeks until we could get an apartment.  Gene looked and looked for a job, but couldn’t find one.

In early December we went to cash our unemployment check, and found that what we thought would be a $200 check, was only $75.  We were heartsick, and panicked.  We didn’t know what we would do. Gene’s unemployment had run out, and we had no money.  His mom and step dad brought a truck and helped us move back to Bossier City.  We moved in with my parents, and Gene soon found a job.

Those 16 months were incredibly tough on us in many ways. The Lord taught us many great lessons during those months, refining who we were.  He helped us to see what was truly important and what wasn’t, and He brought us closer together as a family.  We had to depend on the Lord, and each other for encouragement and strength. We found out that happiness, contentment and joy are not brought to us through houses, cars, and jobs.  They only come from depending on the Lord for everything.

To this day, 23 years later, I still remember what I had to spend to run the house each week.  It was $35 for the three of us.  It wasn’t a lot, but we never went hungry, and for that I am thankful.  So many people today take the verses in Matthew 6 about God providing for us out of context.  They look at God as a big Santa Claus assuming that because they are Christians they will have food, clothing and shelter.  These verses are telling not to be worried about them; not to let them consume our lives. The thought that God is up in heaven just wanting to bless our socks off in material ways is a thought process borne out of sinful desires.  Does the Lord love those of us here in America more than our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia, the Sudan or China?  Do any of them go without what we consider to be “necessities”?

Times are economically tough right now, not just in America, but all over the world.  This is a great opportunity for introspection and self-examination.  What is the Lord trying to show us individually as we go through these tough times?  For our family, financially, things are going well.  But, I remember how quickly things can change.  Because of what I went through all those years ago, I am acutely aware that I’m not promised anything for tomorrow. Not Gene’s job, our house, our health,  or our lives.  We need to thankful for the many blessings that we have, and empathetic for those going through a tough time.  I remember how completely out of control things felt, and were.  I realized that even though they were out of my control, God was always in control.  This lesson has helped me to lean on Him when things seem chaotic.  I have to be reminded not to worry, and I still battle with trying to take control, but then I remember all that He has done.

I was reading in Joshua the other day about how the Lord had the Israelites  pile stones as a remembrance of what He had brought them through.  I think it’s important for us to take time to reflect and remember all the many things He has done for us, the most incredibly the gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ.

If I can be thankful, even during the darkest hour, it helps me greatly. I love the story of Betsie & Corrie ten Boom’s thankfulness for the fleas. Betsie kept encouraging Corrie to be thankful to God, even in the midst of the horrors of the concentration camp.  We can be thankful that while times may be tough, and uncertain, we are spared from many horrors that our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing today.

I’d love to hear what the Lord has taught you through a tough time.

Spring is in full swing down here in the Lone Star State, and we are loving it! We just had another cool snap, but today is beautiful.  It’s a breezy 68 with beautiful blue skies and puffy white clouds lazily rolling by.  This is my perfect weather day.  I am thoroughly convinced that this will be what everyday in heaven is like.  Many changes have taken place on the home-front, and a sense of normalcy seems to be taking hold.

The girls are much improved, though today allergies are flaring due to pollen.  Sunday we were excited that it was the third Sunday in a row we were all able to go to church.  This may seem like a small thing, but considering we haven’t been able to accomplish that feat in two years, it was quite momentous to us.  We haven’t had to have a breathing treatment in about a month, which considering I have 4 with asthma, is a small miracle.  The girls were even able to go to folk dancing last Saturday night.

We have recently begun attending a new church, and so far are quite pleased with it.  In Nov. we began attending a church near our home in the hopes that the girls & I would be able to attend more often.  We were making a compromise, because the church was close, and we were partially putting aside our convictions about family integrated church.  We were able to stay together as a family in worship and Sunday School, but that isn’t the same, and that became all too apparent to us.  So, for the last three weeks we have been visiting Grace family Baptist Church. The people have been kind and welcoming and the preaching has been great. There have also been many young ladies for my young ladies to become friends with. I want to do a post on why we feel family integration is so important, and I hope to do so in the near future. I actually have about 10 posts swirling around in my head, it’s just finding the time to write them.

In my last post I wrote about my new computer and a few weeks after that, Lindsay’s began to show signs of imminent death. We bought her a Mac. She does a lot of computer work for us all, as well as some for Gene’s company, so a working computer is very important for her. Previously when we have seen major computer issues arising and have purchased new computers, the old one promptly dies. Well, the two laptops we replaced, decided they didn’t like being replaced and for no apparent reason, the previous problems disappeared. This has actually been helpful, as the younger girls now use Lindsay’s old computer, and Gene & I have two computers to use as well. Gene spends a great deal of time writing, so this has helped out tremendously. Not that you could tell it by looking at my blog, my Facebook page or e-mail inbox.

Since my last post, Rachel has had to return to the eye doctor. Her new glasses worked for a while, but then she began noticing they needed to be stronger. Two weeks ago I took her in and the doctor put her into bifocals. Two days later I took Caroline in and she was put in them as well. Sarah had been asking to go to the eye doctor telling us she wanted black glasses. We all thought it was one of Sarah’s obsessions, that she was just wanting to be like her sisters. Boy, were we wrong! Her distance vision is quite bad. They were only able to give her about half of what she needed, which was about 2.5, but in six months I will take her back and she may jump up to 4.25. She got her black glasses, and she is quite the happy girl.

In March we celebrated the girls’ birthday by taking a day trip to San Antonio. We had a wonderful day seeing the Alamo and riding on a boat down the river. Unbeknown to us, March 6 (the day we went to San Antonio) was the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo. There were tons of people there, but we still had a good time. San Antonio is a wonderful city to visit, with many family friendly activities.  The history is amazing, and the girls really enjoyed their time there.  I posted more pictures in January from the December trip that Gene and I took.  If you’d like to see those photos you can see the albums in this post.

Hannah taking a picture of Lindsay taking her picture.

Rachel, in the gardens.

Gene and Sarah waiting on all of us to finish taking pictures.

Caroline at the well that was used during the time of the siege.

Some of the re-enactors.

Lindsay setting up to take pictures.

The Alamo at night.

This family picture didn’t turn out as well as we wanted.  We were rushed because there were lots of people who kept walking through while we were trying to take it.  The girls’ transitions lens didn’t help a lot either.

From left to right:

Front row: Hannah, 16, Rachel, 14, & Caroline, 13

Middle row:  Lindsay, 24 & Sarah, 21

Back row: Gene & I … ages unimportant

I hope that wherever you are at that spring is beginning to peek through, and that the beauty it brings will remind you of our Father in heaven, and His provision for us through His Son Jesus Christ!

It seems as if the weeks are flying by me.  I’m not sure if it’s because I have so much that I am not getting accomplished, or because I’m just getting older.  Personally I opt for the former… the latter is depressing.  It seems my list of things I want to do is never-ending.  I think I could get more accomplished if I wrote the list out, but I don’t want to write the list because the thought of all that needs to go on it can be paralyzing.  It also takes time to write out said list, which is also a commodity that is scarce around here.  In the last few weeks things have been somewhat busy and different.

My beloved computer, Wilberforce, is gradually dying and coming apart at the seams… literally.  The battery has stopped holding a charge and one of the monitor hinges has seized up, causing the  case around the screen to crack.  The D/C port is also having a problem being loose, so if the wire moves, it turns off the computer.  Gene did find a solution for this problem… if you’re a geek, you may not want to know, so just look away for a minute.  He put super glue on the outside of the male end of the jack and inserted it into the D/C jack, and it hasn’t moved since.  To that end, when we go our tax refund, Gene bought me a new computer.  It’s a Sony and I really love it.  It has a built in webcam and surround sound speakers.  Right now I’m trying to get familiar with new programs and get everything transferred over to this hard-drive.  Once again, this all takes time… and that is something I am short of.

A week ago I took Hannah and Rachel to get their eyes checked.  Hannah got a new prescription, but Rachel needed to come back to get dilated with a stronger medicine that would last about 24 hours. We went back Wed. and had the test performed.  I had just had her eyes checked in June, but in January she began complaining of eye strain, inablity to read without getting headaches, and trouble watching TV.  It was a really good thing that we went in; her eyes had gotten much worse.  In June her right eye was +1.0 and her left eye was +0.25, Wed. her right eye was +2.75 and her left eye was +2.50.  My hope it is just that her eyes are changing due to her growing, but if her headaches don’t stop after a month with the new glasses, we will be going back to the doctor.

A few weeks ago we were approached by a reporter who was wanting to do a story on street preachers in Houston.  We met with him for an interview and then he came on the streets with us a couple of times.  It was an interesting experience being observed and having a photographer following us around.  We don’t know when he will be finished with the story or when it will be published.

Next week we have two birthdays coming up Hannah will be 16, and Caroline will be 13.  We are planning a day trip to San Antonio to celebrate and the girls are very excited. It is so strange to think that all of my girls are teens or older.  It seems just like yesterday I was pregnant with Caroline, but then on the other hand it feels as if she’s always been here.

That catches things up for now.  As I often say, I hope to be posting more in the future, we’ll how to see how my time to write works out.

In church last week we began an evangelism training course called Way of the Master. Gene and I have been familiar with this ministry for 6 years, but it was the first time many in this church had seen this teaching. After the second video on Sunday night, the pastor gave us some homework which required us to survey some people and find out their answers to a couple of questions. I decided to meet this requirement in a broader way, by posing the questions to those of you who read my blog and are my Facebook friends. I would really like to hear your opinions, whether or not you agree with me and what I will say on the matter. Don’t worry about offending me if you see things differently. I have a thick skin when it comes to this. I do ask one additional thing from you. Please read what I have to say after the questions with an open mind. Examine my arguments in light of scripture, and see if they line up with a plain teaching of God’s word. I really do desire your input and look forward to seeing what you have to say.

!. Do you share your faith regularly?

2. Do you go out of the way to verbally share the Gospel with strangers? If not, is there any reason why you don’t?

If your answer to the first question is, “No.”, I want you to know that I understand. I would like to share my journey with you on how I got to where I am on this topic. I was soundly saved 25 years ago, and 25 years ago this month I took my very first evangelism course, titled “CWT” (Continuous Witnessing Training). Like many other programs it required you to go in a group of three, knock on a stranger’s door, somehow get in that door, and while sitting with them in their living room you share a form of the gospel with them. Doesn’t this sound like a fun and exciting experience??? If you didn’t die from utter terror, you were successful. The course had you memorize tons of scripture that you were tested on, and if you didn’t score a 90 or better on the test, you didn’t pass and had to go through another 13 weeks of torture. I applaud the church’s effort to evangelize, there’s just a better way to do it. Needless to say I didn’t do a lot of evangelizing over the years. I tried and had a heart for it, it just never seemed to work out well.

Fast-forward to six years ago. We were in a church that constantly talked about handing out tracts everywhere you went. I had never been in a church that taught this and was quite unsure of how to go about handing out tracts. For a few months I just smiled when it was spoken of and thought highly of those who were brave enough to do such a bold thing, but inside I was in turmoil. My turmoil grew as Rachel, then 8 years old, started smuggling home tracts. Not just a few, but by the dozens. She then proudly proclaimed that she wanted to go about handing them out to total strangers! Panic ensued. What was I to say to someone when I gave them said tract? How was I to approach them? Could I just throw it at them and run? What about those people at Wal-Mart that I see 10 times a week? They would think I’m some type of religious nut job. Would they try to arrest me for handing out tracts? How embarrassing to be carted off in handcuffs in front of the world at Wal-Mart for handing out tracts. Then I took a deep breath and prayed. I was as humble and honest as I knew how to be. I told God that I was clueless as to how to go about doing this, but I also knew that it was important for Rachel and for me to figure it out. I asked for help and He brought it about in a miraculous way.

The way he brought about this help was through a little man from New Zealand whose name is Ray Comfort. Through articles, research, phone calls, and many conversations over a two week period, I found the answer I was looking for. A friend of ours let us borrow two videos that literally changed our lives. They are titled Hell’s  Best Kept Secret and True/False Conversions. You can listen to them both for free at the Living Waters’ site. These videos didn’t just change the way we evangelize (as in we actually do it now), but Gene was soundly saved through these videos. He had been lost as a goose and didn’t even know it. He was what is termed a false convert. A false convert is someone who believes they are in the faith but aren’t. If you had asked anyone if Gene was a Christian, including me, they would have unequivocally said yes. He was a good person, kind, generous, and I was thankful to have him as my husband. What we learned was there is no such thing as a good person, at least not in the eyes of God (Mark 10:18). When Gene saw himself through the Holy eyes of God, he saw that he was an unredeemed sinner heading straight for hell.

Some of you may say that you don’t believe a loving and Holy God would send people to hell. Did you know that the Bible talks more about hell than heaven? Scripture paints a very clear picture of what hell is, and it’s not a place of temporary punishment like a time out. It is an everlasting place of torment which will have no escape. God is Holy . . . and His Holiness is something that is very difficult for us to grasp, because we live in a world full of sin. Because He is Holy, He cannot look upon our sin, or be in fellowship with us while we are sinners. Most people say,”Well everyone sins, but at least I haven’t murdered anyone. I think He will compare the good I have done against the bad and see that in the end, I’m a pretty good person.” That sounds good and logical. Let’s compare that to something we have in our everyday life. Imagine you are in court for murder, and you say to the judge, “Judge, I know you are a honest man. I may have murdered this person, but other than that I have been a good guy. I give money to charities, help with the homeless, and work at my kids’ school. If you compare all of the good things I’ve done with the wrong, the scales lean in my favor . . . I’m a good guy. Won’t you let this slide this time?” No honest judge would say, “Sure, go ahead, you’re free to go.” If he did, he wouldn’t be a judge for long.

The problem many people have is seeing their sin through the eyes of God.  God gave us a way to measure our sin in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament He gave us the 10 Commandments, and in the New Testament Jesus summed them up for us when He said, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord our God with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)  When Jesus was speaking in this passage, He was talking to those very familiar with the Ten Commandments.  Since many of us today aren’t that familiar with them, let me share just a few with you.

The 3rd Commandment says that you should not take the Lord’s name in vain. That is not just using a curse word with His name. It’s when you use God or Jesus’ name as an exclamation. When you use O_G (Oh my G_ _) when writing an e-mail, or any other time you use His name in a flip or irreverent way, you are taking His name in vain.

The 6th Commandment says that you should not murder.  You are probably thinking, “I have never murdered anyone.” But God’s standard isn’t our standard.  In 1 John 3:15 this is what we read, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in Him.”

The 7th Commandment tells us not to commit adultery, which includes even looking at someone to lust after them. (Matt. 5:27-28)

The 8th Commandment tells us that we shouldn’t steal.  Have you ever taken anything, no matter if only a stick of gum? It doesn’t matter how long ago it was, either .

I have only listed 4 of the 10 Commandments and we have all broken at least one of them. In James 2:10 we are told that if we have even broken one we are guilty of breaking them all.  I remember the first time I ever heard someone say that. I thought they were nuts. Even though I was a Christian, I didn’t understand the importance of that verse.  The truth is we are all guilty before God, and every one of us will have to face Him one day.

Now, if you believe what I have just stated, and you are a soundly saved Christian, what are you doing about it? A few years ago I wrote an article and used the following illustration.

Imagine you worked at the lobby desk of the North tower on September 10, 2001, and you knew of the attacks coming the following day.  As you watched the people enter the building would you smile at them and say, “Have a nice day.” Maybe you would say, “You might not want to come in tomorrow, it’s going to be kinda crazy around here.” No, you wouldn’t, that would be absurd.  You would tell them that there was certain destruction coming and to stay as far away as possible from Manhatten.  Over 140,000 people die every day, and we let them walk to their destruction, often without even so much as a warning.

A couple of years ago Gene heard an atheist on the radio talking about Christians not really believing what they say they do.  He said, if we believed that people were really dying and going to hell, we would be on every street corner warning others.  Here is a video from Penn of Penn and Teller, who is an atheist talking about this very thing.  Please take a couple of minutes and watch it.  For an atheist, he is right on the money about what Christians should be doing.

To quote Penn, “How much do you have to hate someone to not prosthelytize?” In other words, don’t we care at all about those around us? I’m not pointing a finger at anyone but myself here.  I get complacent, lazy, and socially self-conscious, not wanting to approach people or to hand out tracts.

I know this is long, but it’s so important! If you have read to this point, thank you.  Please do let me know your thoughts on the questions, and if I’ve given you food for thought share that as well.  I’d really like to start a conversation about this.

One parting request.  Please do what 2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us, and examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.  Gene thought he was a Christian for 30 years, only to find out he wasn’t. Don’t let that be you.

This is Gene with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron two years ago in Las Vegas.

Well, it’s 2 am and I am watching Fellowship of the Ring with Hannah, Rachel & Caroline, and listening to Lindsay cough uncontrollably in her bedroom.  In the last 24 hours the girls have had about 6 breathing treatments for their asthma, we have done several steam treatments tonight, countless doses of medicine, and hot tea by the gallon.  Sarah, the child that though she has special needs is rarely sick, even has an upper respiratory infection.  Gene seems to be getting over his URI, and I hope it stays away for a while.  Me, well, I’m not sick, I’ve just been running like crazy trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done (and quite honestly, I’m not succeeding).  I have started about 5 blog posts, which are currently waiting to be finished.

The opening to this post isn’t very cheery, but in all honesty, it’s not as depressing as it all may sound.  The Lord is teaching us all a great deal through this trial, and for that, I am very thankful.  Our holidays, while not full of activities, parties, and excitement, were full of meaningful times and expressions of love for one another.   For Christmas it is our common practice to have the girls draw another sister’s name, and they are given a certain amount of money to buy that sister a gift, or gifts.  They look forward to this with great anticipation, not looking forward to what they will get, but toward what they will give.  They spend countless hours in thought and preparation of their gift.  This year something spontaneous happened that surprised me.  The girls individually began spending their own allowances to buy small things to make for the sisters whose names they didn’t draw.  I know of many people who eschew gift giving at Christmas because of the belief that it causes greediness and the desire to get more and more.  In our family I have found the opposite to be true. The girls are appreciative of the gifts they receive, but generally have trouble even telling you what they want as gifts.  We have tried to nuture in them a desire to be cheerful givers whenever the opportunity arises, and we have seen good fruit from this thus far.

December 31st, was our 25th wedding anniversary and Gene planned a big surprise for me.  On Wednesday evening, December 17th, Gene told me that first thing Thursday morning we would be heading out for a trip to San Antonio.  I have wanted to go for years, and love history, so this was the perfect surprise for me.  I was so excited to get to go to the Alamo after hearing about it for so many years. This may sound strange, but it was all I could do to not start crying as I entered the building for the first time. The realization of what had taken place there was heavy upon my heart.  The grounds of the Alamo are beautiful; it is hard to believe that they are right in the center of the city.

After the Alamo we went and checked into our Bed & Breakfast before going to the Riverwalk. It was a beautiful little B&B right on the river.  It was so peaceful and beautiful. It was quite overcast the two days we were there, which gave the city an unusual feel.  The river was beautiful, as was the boat ride down it.  As I was riding on the river, in the fog, under all of the bridges, it felt as if I was in London.  Once the sun went down and all of the Christmas lights came on, it was even more beautiful on the river.  I felt as if I was a child in a wonderland of lights.  After walking along the river for a while, we then at dinner at Boudro’s.  The food was amazing, and the bread pudding was a great end to the meal.  It was nice to eat on the riverwalk, watching the people as they walked by.  After we walked a while longer we went back to the van.  Gene knows how I love to take pictures, so he took me by the Alamo, so that I could get pictures at night.  It was an amazing site to see it with the lights illuminating it’s historic walls.  The next morning we ate breakfast at the B & B and then drove through a historic district nearby.  After a quick stop at the Buckhorn Museum downtown, we headed home.  The trip was wonderful for me, as it gave me a much needed break from the holiday rush.  It was nice to spend a day not thinking about all that I had to do to finish preparing for the holidays.  I don’t know that I have ever been so completely able to lay my thinking and planning aside.

San Antonio Album 1

San Antonio Album 2

San Antonio Album 3

Lindsay went to Little Rock the afternoon we returned from San Antonio for the wedding of some friends.  While there she was able to stay with Gene’s sister and to see her cousin’s new baby.  She had a wonderful trip, but picked up a bug on the return plane ride.

We had a very subdued but nice Christmas enjoying a lot of time together, with us all playing the new Wii together when the girls were up to it. Gene surprised me, and the girls, with a very nice present for Christmas. He had taken the girls shopping, and they picked out several nice things for me, not knowing about the secret gift.  He surprised us all with a top of the line Kitchen Aid Professional mixer.  The girls were as excited as I was to receive it.  We didn’t wait long to try it out either!

Since we had already celebrated our anniversary on our trip, on the 31st we just went to our favorite pizza place, New York Pizzeria and the mall.  Gene didn’t make it until midnight (I think he was beginning to get sick at that point) but the girls and I did.  We went outside at midnight to watch the fireworks, which lasted quite a while.  The next day Gene’s brother, Guy, came for a visit. We had a really nice visit while he was here, though the girls weren’t feeling quite up to snuff.

I haven’t been taking a lot of pictures as of late, but I did get a chance to Friday at Gene’s office.  Lindsay was taking pictures inside for a brochure and the website, so I went outside to take pictures.  Gene’s new office is located on an acre of land in old Katy, in the middle of a neighborhood, which provided a few flowers and such to take pictures of around the office.  These are a few of my favorites.

It was fun to watch this little fellow flit from flower to flower. He almost looks as if he could fall in on his head and get stuck!

One of the things I have come to appreciate about nature photography, is the details that pop out at you that you didn’t even notice while taking the pictures.

I have also come to see many things I would have overlooked before, such as this flower.

These little fellows were none too happy that I kicked their mound to see if they were home. Yes, they are fire ants, but none of them got me…. mwahahaha.

This tiny fellow was almost invisible, until I got down really close to take this picture. Isn’t his little red self cute?

Well, it’s after 4 am now.  Fellowship has finished, they have taken another round of breathing treatments, and they have started Two Towers.  I hope they are feeling better before it ends, but we’ll have to wait and see how that goes.  You are pretty much caught up with everything going on here.  I hope to begin posting more often, but only time will tell.