Helping Missions

There is a couple from our Church who will be heading to Ecuador to do mission work. There is a fund raiser at the Chick-fil-a in Waxahachie on August 1st. They get a dollar for every meal you buy. Pick up a voucher from them at the store before you order. They also have a web site so you can follow their work. Click on this sentence to visit the site.

Our trip to the Cats game

We went to the Cats game a few Fridays ago. We had seats on the third base side, front row. I drew a circle around Lynne and the boys in the picture above. The game was supposed to start about 7:30, but we had a one hour rain delay.
The grounds crew put the tarp on the field and staked it down so it wouldn't blow away.
We stayed in our seats for awhile, but when the lightning got more frequent we went up under the roof for protection.
Most people where up there too. The lightning show was as good as the fireworks after the game.
Once the storm passed they took the tarp off the field and we got ready to play ball!
Jae Jung was the pitcher on the night we were there. He pitched the entire game for the Cats.
We had a great view of the game, and of the sun shining on the downtown buildings. We only had to duck once for a foul ball.
They pulled kids out of the stands and dressed them up as dots for the dot race. Here is one of the kids crossing the finish line.
Dodger, the cats mascot, gave Lynne a high five after he came in last in the dot race. I didn't get a picture of that but here he is on top of the dugout leading the cheering. Miss Texas was there to sing "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch. Next time you see Andy ask him about their "relationship".
The Cats ended up winning the game 1-6. It was a lot of fun and the cool breeze off the thunderstorm felt great.
We stayed for the fireworks after the game and then headed home. Hope we go back soon!

Orange Sunset

My Castor Plant

I planted some Castor beans this year just to see what they would do.  The plants are almost 3 feet tall now.  You can see from the picture below with my hand in it how big the leaves are getting.

The Amon Carter Museum

We took a trip to FtWorth today to soak up some culture.  Kinda like Ma and Pa Kettle go to town.  We visited the Amon Carter Museum.







The Colonial Golf Tournament was going on in town so we could see the blimp over the golf course.

I just set up Mobile blogging from my cell phone and wanted to check to see if it worked.

Links to the Band Performances

Lean On Me- Maypearl 7th Grade Band

Brandy Station March- Maypearl 7th Grade Band

A Compilation of Disney Tunes- Maypearl High School Band

Brandon playing the marimba

Theater Arts Banquet

We went to the High School the other night for Will's Theater Arts Banquet.  He played Tommy Knackers in the performance.
Here he is with his "girlfriend" Darby, the possible heir to a fortune.
Everyone was shocked when the killer was revealed!  The play was very funny and we had a good steak dinner.
Here is Will getting the award for "Best Toilet King" for his performance in "Beowolf on a Budget".
His friend David got the "Best Head Injury" award.

Spring Band Concert

The pictures are blurry but at least I got some this time.  The concert was in the Gym this time and went alot quicker than on the stage.  All the bands were already set up so there was no changing out on stage.
I'll get some video up on YouTube later.

Fire Hall Update

They got all the metal on the new fire hall in Maypearl.  They started putting up rock and brick now.  I'll get a picture of that later.

National Train Day

In case you missed it, yesterday was National Train Day.  There is some celebration today, but I can't remember what that is.

Proof That Lynne Loves Us

She made her boys some cookies.

Phoebe Pheeding Time and Phlying

The Phoebe nest outside of our living room window has been full of activity for the past couple of weeks.

We realized the other day that there were FIVE baby birds in the nest. No wonder the parents were constantly flying back and forth with fresh insects.

The day after I took that last video there were only 2 babies left in the nest when I got home from work. By sundown the nest was empty. Life goes on.

Lynne's New Blog

Lynne now has her own place where she can express her thoughts.  To go to her new blog click right here.

What I Like

I love spring! The flowers and trees are in bloom and everything is pretty and green and there are baby birds hatching, baby animals being born, and it seems like everything comes to life. What i hate about this time of year is the fact that I am stuck inside. We are currently in preparation for the dreaded TAKS test.
I am notorious for taking my kids outside for lessons because we are all a little stir crazy this time of year. I love teaching them outside. They seem to pay attention just a little more and they do retain what they learn out there. I think that kids should have a class outside periodically because they get the fresh air and the beauty of God's creations.
As things start stressing me out this time of year, I tend to take lots of walks and most importantly, I bake. My oldest son came in the last two weeks with friends and I have fixed more cookies and sopapilla cheesecakes in that time than in the last year. But it is my therapy. I know that out of my baking, people will be happy and satisfied. That makes me happy. Happy mom means happy home.

Local Contruction

The first picture is across the street from the Post Office in Cleburne.  They are building a new performing arts center and these cranes have been lifting the walls and the steel into place for a couple of weeks.  The next contruction project is not on that large a scale.
The second picture is of the new fire station in Maypearl.  The old station downtown was really cramped and the trucks were parked two deep inside.  This new building has plenty of room for the trucks and storage space.

My Midlife Stage

This is Lynne. I leave the picture posting to Jeff so if the post is pictureless then it is me writing. I think I am at the midlife stage. I wouldn't call it a crisis. I wouldn't call it bad. I am just restless. I want to travel more than anything. I am craving it, I read about it, dream about it, and constantly think about it. Unfortunately, I married a "I am perfectly happy to stay at home and not deal with people" kind of person. I respect that because there are times when I am content to be at home and not around people. I am around people all day. I do understand. But... There are places, things, and adventures that scream at me to come find and experience.
I really did contemplate just going on my own and traveling some but there are a couple of reasons I haven't. One, money. It is probably the biggest reason. Two, I would feel guilty. It is something that God puts into Moms so that they don't venture far from home when there are still kids in the house. Sigh.
I am jealous of Andy and Jeff because they have gotten to go to Washington DC and see things that I can only dream about. I keep hearing that someday we will go there. Unfortunately, Will and Jesse are growing up and I really don't want to wait until they are out of the house. I want them to experience this with me. I have threatened to just take the boys and go on my own. Lauren has been to Turkey and Peru, Andy has been to Thailand, Melanie has been to Africa, Jeff's parents have been all over the US, and even my own parents have been to Hawaii. I did get to go to California in November and I clung to every second of it because I knew this was my shot at getting to go there.
You know in my last blog, I talked about "should haves". This is the point in my life that I don't want to look back and say "I should have done this or I should have done that." I want to just do it. No "should haves".
For now, I will just have to dream, think, crave, and wish about the places I want to go. Oh, the places I want to go.....

Tribute to Pop Roen

Hi, this is Lynne again. I have been told I write too much but that is just the way I am so...sorry.
The day I was suppose to move into UMHB, my parents and I attended FBC, Belton. We had gotten to Belton the night before because it was a 5 hour drive and we were all excited about me going to college. Anyway, the first person we met upon walking in the door of FBC was this wonderful, grandfatherly man named Arnold Roen. He greeted us with enthusiasm and warmth. He also reminded me of my granddaddy back home. FBC had a program at the time where families in the church adopted college students so that the students would have a place they could call home away from home. Arnold Roen took one look at me and said that I was going to be his new daughter. I wasn't even sure if this was going to be my church home but that didn't matter to him. He went right then and signed me up as his adopted daughter. I thought "okay" and went on. That night after my parents left, the church had a social for all the college kids where they talked about the adoption program. It was then that I met Arnold's wonderful wife, Georgia. They immediately told me that they would pick me up on Saturday and I was to bring my laundry with me. (At that time we had to pay to wash and dry our laundry). I knew in just that short time, I had connected with two great people.
That first Saturday, they came to pick me up and upon arriving at their home, I was greeted by most of their family. We had lunch together and Georgia snuck off and washed and dried my clothes for me before I knew it. It was during this day that I came to refer to them as Mom and Pop Roen. Every Saturday I was at the college, they came and got me and my laundry and I would spend the day with them. Sometimes with their family, sometimes with their friends, but always with them.
Pop loved to garden and many times I would go outside and help him weed the vegetables or flowers while he shared stories of his past with me. I played with his granddaughters on occasion, and visited with his daughters. Mom taught me how to cook some very tasty dishes and they even helped me with homework. Their daughter graciously made my formal dress for the Miss UMHB pageant.
Mom and Pop made my years at UMHB bearable. They were my grandparents that I missed. My grandmother died during my freshman year and they were right there while I talked about it. They listened and gave advice that stayed with me even now.
Over the years since I graduated, I have sent a few cards and letters. I think about them all the time but there never seems to be time to stop and visit. Actually, the last time I think we visited them, my oldest son was maybe a year old. As we have driven through Belton over the years, I would think that it would be nice to stop and see how Mom and Pop were doing. But, we were either in a hurry or had an agenda that had to be done. This is what I call a "should have". It was a feeling that I should have acted on but didn't.
Today I took my oldest back to school because of car problems and as I was getting ready to leave Belton, I turned left instead of right. I drove out towards Temple trying to remember the name of a street. All the sudden the street name was right there and I had thought about Mom and Pop. I had this overwhelming urge to go see them right at that moment. So without hesitating I turned on to their street and amazingly drove right to their house. I was hoping they still lived there.
I knocked on the door and Mom opened it. She smiled and as tears ran down her cheeks she said, "I was just thinking about you." I asked how she was and she said, "I am doing better than I thought I would but I miss him so much." My heart broke. She then realized that I had not been told but Pop had died on April 5th. He had developed a heart condition 2 years prior and instead of having a life threatening surgery, he decided to live life to the fullest until Jesus called him home. She shared some things with me and we caught up on the family and then I left. I cried a good part of the way home because I had so many "should haves" going through my mind. Pop never knew that I had 3 boys, what they looked like, who they were becoming, and things that had happened in our lives. I had let "things" get in the way of keeping them updated. Mom Roen stated that there was no room for "should haves" because they were needless weights. She is right.
Pop Roen was 90 years old when he died and had lived a full and happy life, not only that he had been married to Mom Roen for 63 years. He had a lovely obituary written in the Temple paper. He was delightful, funny, interesting, knowledgable, wise, and a great man. He will be missed here on earth.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Those of you not from North Central Texas may not have heard about the grass fires in our area yesterday.  The fires closest to us were two counties away but we could see and smell the smoke.

The things that happen in my life

Hi! This is Lynne again. This week has been interesting. On Tuesday we were fortunate to have another niece join our family. Sue Ellen had another baby girl--Rebekah and she is just precious. It was a high point for my day since we had been doing state testing at school all day and I was drained. Before that, the following happened and it might explain why my week was interesting.
I love teaching Language. I taught it for 2 years before some changes were made in the district and I ended up going back into Special Ed. All this year I have grumbled to Jeff and whoever else would listen about how I wanted to teach Language and go back to this thing I love to teach. In March, positions were posted of upcoming openings at the school. There as plain as day were 2 no 3 Language openings. I had people telling me about them constantly. I knew about them but somehow, something kept me from applying for them. It was like I couldn't bring myself to do it. One day, some things happened at school and I realized that I couldn't leave my kids in the Special Ed department because I had to be their super hero (Note that there should be a "dum dum dum" kind of sound about now) "The Defender". I had complete peace about this. A couple of weeks later a Language position came open at my campus and I got really excited. I decided to apply.
Now, my computer is set up so that my word icon is 3rd from the top so that I can just click and go. Well, I knew I had to write a letter of intent for the position but for the life of me, I couldn't find my word program. It was not anywhere on that computer. I looked and looked and then I heard a very clear "NO!" Not once but twice. I stopped and as I was processing the fact that someone said "NO!" I had a brief thought about defending people. I realized that (cue music) "The Defender" could not take another position yet. Instant peace. I emailed my principal and told her that I was NOT going to apply for the position and when I clicked send, I suddenly found my word program. It was like it just re-appeared.
It was God. That is all it was plain and simple. People think I am nuts but we all knew that anyway. But here is the deal. The voice I heard was clear. It was just like someone in the room with me. There was no physical human in that room with me, the door was shut, and so therefore I know that God was tired of me being wishy-washy and gripey and just came right out and told me the answer. No beating around the bush.
The peace that I have had since that time is nice. I know that it will not be an easy road because satan hates when we do what God tells us. I know that there will be times when I have difficulties and bad days but I will remember that God is in control always and forever. He just had to hit me upside the head with a 2 x 4 to let me know this time. If you don't have a relationship with God then let me know. I will gladly talk with you about it. You see, He is the reason I get up in the mornings and make it through any and every thing. Happy Easter.