The Rail Car

We had the most amazing weekend. For our 12th anniversary we took the boys to Glen Rose for the weekend. We stayed at the Country Woods Inn. It was a great getaway that we will never forget.

The last two pictures are outside shots of the Rail Car. It was tucked back in the woods. The boys were so excited to go hang out at the railroad car. Riley prayed while we were there asking God to let us live there forever.

There are also pictures of the inside of the Rail Car. It was decorated so neat.

While we were there we played in the Paluxy River. We shopped in the Glen Rose downtown square, we feed all the animals, we played on the playground, ate at the breakfast barn, played frisbee, saw the Chapel in the Woods, went to the Dinosaur Valley State Park, cooked out, took naps, read books, watched birds, looked at flowers and spent some special time together.

There are also some great shots of the boys playing. What can you say about boys out in the country...

I am so blessed to have the family I have. I am thankful to have had the weekend with them that I had. Thankful for their mother and for her being married to me for 12 years.

Open House

We had Open House at school this week. What a great night! The buildings filled with visitors for a couple of hours. The parking lots ran out of spaces. The halls were crowded. Everybody was happy and the night was a blast. The Science Fair had excellent projects and many people purchased books at the Book Fair. It was a night I was proud to be principal. Proud of my faculty that are so dedicated to Christian education. Proud of my students that work so diligently. Proud of the families that made it a priority to be at Open House.

Beth Ann and the boys showed up a few minutes after the evening got started. As soon as Riley saw me he was excited and ready to go visit his class. It was an important night for him. We walked hand in hand to his room with Riley talking all the way. When we got there he proudly toured me through his room. What is funny is that I am in his room every day and sometimes in there multiple times daily, but Tuesday night for him was different. He wanted to show me everything. It was very important to him and that made it extremely important for me. He had seen his dad in that room hundreds of times but not on a special night. I loved his enthusiasm. His excitement was contagious. His seriousness was real.

I see and feel my heavenly Father every day. I want to be like my son and have my Father feel my excitement, seriousness and enthusiasm towards the things in my life. I want to get so excited that I have to talk with Him and show Him the great things in my life. He wants me to do that. I want Riley to do that too.

Thursday to Sunday and Monday to Wednesday

My last few days have been action packed with sporting events.

* Thursday night Riley and I had 2 tickets to Fandango at the Texas Motor Speedway. We were blessed to go to the track and hang out for a while. Riley loved it. We walked the trailers, ate some junk and watched the drivers during Fandango.
* Friday I was given 4 tickets to the Rangers game for that night. Riley and I took Scott and Olivia. The kids had a blast. The game was fun. A dust storm blew in and reminded me of living in Abilene. The temperature during the game dropped 20 degrees. The Rangers lost but we had fun.
* Saturday I went with dad, James and Matthew to the Texas Motor Speedway for the Busch race. It was a beautiful day. We had suite tickets. The race was a blast. We all ate good food and watched cars go fast and turn left.
* Sunday Beth Ann and I were able to go to the Nextel Cup race. This has become a tradition for us and we make the day of it. We cruised the trailers and games for a few hours in the morning. We then get our scanner ready and watch 43 cars go at it on a 1 1/2 mile track. It is a rush. The noise, the crowd, the fans, good times. The guy we were pulling for won. I absolutely love going to the races. I love the day I get to spend with Beth Ann there.

* Now I leave on Monday morning and take the 6th grade students, 5 faculty and 28 parents to Mo Ranch until Wednesday. The kids go through the Environmental Leadership Program. It is a great trip for these kids as they prepare for middle school. I love to watch them learn and have fun while at Mo.

Have a great week.

Family Camp #2

Family Camp in Estes park, CO is quickly approaching. We can not wait to be with everyone. Some updates:

Our theme will be Jesus Inside.

Danny is working hard on his material to teach and I feel that we will all be blessed. This will be a week where we can learn more about scripture, God's word and how to live with Jesus Inside.

We will be sending out teaching assignments soon for classes.

We look forward to the Camp traditions that have been set and adding new ones.

Be in prayer for Family Camp 2006.

More to come...