The Fort Worth Flyers

Fort Worth has a new team in town. The Forth Worth Flyers are here. They are part of an NBA Developmental league that works similar to minor league baseball. They play their home games at the Ft. Worth Convention Center. The arena has an intimate feel. We were able to go to a game during the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time. They have a Kidszone area for kids to play. The basketball is fun to watch. Keith Langford, Vonteego Cummings and Luke Schenser are just a few of their players. They played a team from Tulsa which had John Lucas and Beynard King as players. Fort Worth hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to win the game. They won their next game in overtime. If you love basketball go support the Flyers!

A Little Time Together

This past weekend Beth Ann and I were able to sneak a way for some time together. The faculty at SCS gave us an overnight stay at the Westin Stonebriar. They gave this to us last Christmas and we were finally able to use the gift certificate.

My parents agreed to keep the boys for us. Pishey and Darlin' are such blessings to us as they keep they boys for us at times. Riley and Owen get so excited going to their grandparent's house. It is an adventure and vacation for boys each time we go there.

We dropped the boys off on Friday night at my parents. We got them ready for bed and then we headed to Frisco. Our night at the Stonebriar was not until Saturday night and we were going to stay with the Doggetts on Friday night. They are some of our best friends in the entire world. They are such awesome people. We don't get to see them very much so this added to the specialness of the weekend. We got to spend some time with them and their children. We got to see their beautiful new home. They were gracious hosts. We laughed like we did in college.

After breakfast on Saturday morning we headed out for some Christmas shopping. We went to Sam Moon (I stayed 5 minutes, Beth Ann stayed over an hour) and then we went to the Stonebriar Mall. We had fun being together, planning for Christmas and relaxing.

We then checked in at the Westin. It is an awesome place. We relaxed that afternoon before we went to dinner at III Forks. It was incredible. Atmosphere, food, service, it had it all.

We spent Sunday eating a great breakfast buffet, reading the paper and resting. Beth Ann went to the spa for some fun and then we headed home.

Thank you to my faculty and to my parents for helping make this time possible. It was a weekend to remember.

Have a great Thanksgiving. May the Lord bless your family time.

Whitewater

Last week I was lucky enough to be able to play the best golf putting course in all of Texas. I attended a conference in Marble Falls last week. It was the Apple Technology Leadership conference. We went to Marble Falls for a couple of days and spent most of our time learning and evaluating Apple software.

We were able to play the Whitewater putting course one night. It was incredible. There are par 3's, par 4's and par 5's. The course is surrounded by waterfalls, beautiful flowers, palm trees, little ponds and large pieces of drift wood. It is a must see. It is worth the trip to Marble Falls.

Happy birthday today to Brandon Scott Thomas. Yesterday it was Chris Doggett and today Brandon. These two guys are old, the mature ones of the 4 roommates. Stephen and I are the younger, more hip duo. Happy birthday boys!

I know what she does, but do you?

She puts up with me.
She spends countless hours raising our boys.
She makes our home a beautiful, warm place.
She is an excellent cook.
She watches our budget closely.
She is a good friend.
She volunteers at school just about every day.
She helps our children learn.
She teaches Sunday school at church.
She handles it well when I go out of town.
She buys the dog some treats.
She makes life fun for the boys and me.
She keeps up with family.
She is concerned about me and my career.
She is patient when I have to put in long hours.
She loves to decorate for holidays.
She loves to be outside with the boys.
She walks every morning for exercise and time with God.
She leads a Bible study at our home every Monday.
She reads.
She cooks food for other people.
She is working a bit from home to try to bring in some money to help us out.
She loves God.

She is Beth Ann. She is my wife. I am the luckiest man alive.

Why is it so hard? and a prayer

Why is parenting so hard? Maybe it is not for you, if so please comment and tell me why. First there is worrying about your own children and then there is worrying about what other people say about your child. That is hard. I know most of us want to do the best we can. It is not a perfect science.

Father, I pray for my boys right now. I pray you protect them. I pray that you guide Beth Ann and I to raise them the way You want. Please give us wisdom and patience. Please protect us from worrying about what other's might think and to focus on Your will. I pray that you give Riley the abilities to continue to do well at school. Help him continue to learn and to have a love for learning. Thank you for his spirit and continue to bless his strengths. Please help Owen as he continues to quickly broaden his communication. Help the boys to continue to love each other. They are both different and gifts from You, thank you. Help them learn right from wrong and to make good choices. Please put people in their paths that will offer them grace when they mess up. Thank you for their teachers, grandparents and friends. Help them enhance and foster those relationships. Help them to keep their focus on understanding and developing a relationship with You. Let them know that their parents love them. Thank you for the blessing of my two red-headed boys.

Some days are easy and some hard. Please say a prayer for my kids and BA and I. Leave a comment and I will say a prayer for you and your family.

That Place for Me

What a fun weekend. More on that in the next few days.

On Friday I rode out to Abilene with two college roommates. They had actual business to attend to in Abilene and I went along to be able to hang out with them some. There were a couple of times that I was on the ACU campus walking around by myself. We did go to chapel on Friday and walk around campus some together as well, but during those times by myself it felt different. I love being on that campus. It feels so good. There are so many positive and fun memories that come rushing back as I am there. It was a blessing to have some time just for a simple stroll from building to building. I turned on a little music on my Dell DJ Ditty and just wandered.

I am thankful for the time I had this weekend. Thankful for the people that I was with in Abilene. I love being back there and how it makes me feel. It is one of those places that I can feel close to God and celebrate what He has done in my life.

Where is that place for you? Do you have a place that feels good when you are there?

More on the weekend of being with Brandon and Stephen later.