Bird Haven

We have had more than our share of baby birds in our yard this year. We had a couple of dove who bailed early from the nest and momma had to hang around with them on the ground until they were old enough to fly. Then today, I went outside to check the grill and found this little guy underneath the grill. He tried to fly out into the yard and then eventually over to the large tree near the clubhouse. He tried a couple of times to fly up into the tree, but didn't have the strength to do it. I finally felt so sorry for him, I went and got the shovel and convinced him to step onto the blade, so I could give him a lift up into the tree. This photo was right after that. He then hopped higher up into the tree and when we got ready to come in tonight, we could hear him and momma saying their goodnight prayers. OK, I really have no clue what they were saying, but I could hear them!


I think he may have been after this...


Grilled Lemon Pepper Catfish and Corn. Mmmm ... mmmmm ... mmmmmm!

Forgot this one...

Coach-Pitch Baseball

Just a quick update of a couple of pictures from Luke's game.

Out of the mouths of babes . . .

Favorite kid quotes from this week:

Luke: "Mom, your hair looks like fresh mowed grass." (In his opinion, this was a great compliment. I'm not so sure about it--fresh mowed grass was not the look I was going for.)

Grace: "Mama, you's big. You's feet are stinky." (Definitely NOT the look/smell I was going for.).

And finally:
Luke was reading about the movie Indiana Jones on his nacho box. He read this to me: "Indiana Jones was shot on several locations, including Brazil, Argentina, Hawaii, and New Mexico." Then his comment: "Don't worry, Mom. I've heard they don't use real guns; I think he's ok."

Cracking me up, these two.
Jana

Summer

I love the summer.

It might be because I was raised in a family of school teachers. Summer was the bonus prize for a long year of work, and summer was something to be looked forward to, enjoyed, and eventually mourned.

During college, summer meant going home. A lot of students stayed in their college town for the summer, but I never even thought of that as an option. I couldn't wait to get home.

As a mom, summer means a chance to be with my children. We're not perfect, and every day isn't an off-the-chart kind of day, but we're together, and that counts for a whole lot.

Summer means that we get to slow down and pay attention to what's going on around us. We're not trying to get anywhere. We get to pay attention to what's on the side of the road instead of trying to speed down its winding and crowded lanes.

We take in the sunshine and the shade.

To live in the present moment is a gift bestowed by God, and this gift is presented to us in the dappled and delicious days of the summer.

Jana

FGR: Underwater

My flickr roulette group's theme for the day was underwater. I have read comments about you know you are hooked when you plan shots for days in advance. I am so there. I had the shot all lined out, but needed some help, so I enlisted Luke. Since it involved pouring water on my head, I figured -- rightly so -- he wouldn't mind. It's not the shot that ended up on flickr, but here's a good representation.

The Blitz!!

South Plains has had a week-end long service project called "The Blitz." It involved a lot of people doing a lot of service project type stuff (painting houses, fixing up houses in code violation, etc.) throughout the city. Tonight, it culminated with a large picnic and party on the lawn of the church building. Everyone set up awnings and lawn chairs and there were jumping things and a trailer with live bands.

The jumpy things had water, as evidenced here:


After the last band -- an LCU group that mostly does recruiting type gigs -- everyone was milling around, visiting, and striking the set. I was facing the other way talking when I heard someone playing the drums. I told the person I was talking to "I bet you $50 bucks that is my son." Sure enough, I was right. He had talked his way up on the trailer and convinced them to let him play their drums. In a minute, he started the "We will Rock You" beat (boom-boom-clap) and all of the band and those standing by were all singing while he played. It was pretty funny. I thought I was going to have to buy him a dog, but I guess now it is a drum set.

The Best Tribute I Can Make

Flickr Group Roulette's topic today was "Celebrating Fathers." Here's my picture and the comment I made:

I think the greatest tribute I can pay to my father is raising my son (and daughter, who was NOT cooperative for the photo shoot!) in the same way he raised my sister and me, which was the same way his father raised his three. I don't know I am being as successful as he was, but I am giving it my best shot.

The snapshot is a four generation picture of us a month after my son was born and a couple of months before my grandfather died.

Thanks, dad! I love you!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

I grew up with a Dad who was a Christian. And if that's all I had to say about it him, that would be enough. But he is also a very hard worker, ultra creative, honest, open to new ideas, and never satisfied with "good enough." He makes a great pot of chicken 'n dumplings (only my mom can make one better), beats everyone at cards, and gets a kick out of his grandchildren. I have been blessed. Happy Father's Day, Dad!

My own children also are being blessed with a great Dad. They would rather spend time with him (and have his undivided attention) more than with just about anyone else. When they hear his key in the lock at 5:30, they race for the door--Luke did this on his own for years, and now he and Grace make the dash together, squealing, "DADDY'S HOME!!!" They want to talk his ear off, and nothing is quite as exhilarating as the game of "throw-daddy-on-the-ground-and-jump-on-his-back-or-belly-and-tickle-and-zerbert-him" mercilessly. If his aching back could hold up, they could do this for hours.
They love their Dad.

So, to my Dad and to Rob, I send this song to you (that I stole from Sarah's blog).


Enjoy your special day. I am so glad you're here!
Love,
Jana

Three from the outing

I was going to wait until Thursday for another triple shot, but couldn't wait.

I am so proud of my daughter!

This evening we went to Tech and set up my office, then went and walked around campus. There is a section of statues and one of them is of an older gentleman with a cane, sitting and resting with his dog. And Grace walks up to the man and does this...

Triple Shot Thursday

I didn't do it this time!

Monday night at Luke's practice, the largest boy on the team hit a rocket which bounced on a clump of grass (I hate playing on fields with splotchy grass!) and one-hopped right into Luke's eye. When I heard him start crying, I got nervous, but then he had that cry that also has a "I'm hurt and mad about it" component and I knew he would be OK.

The highlight, however, was us talking about it on the way home and me saying: "You know what this means, don't you?" and him replying: "Your going to take a picture and blog about it, aren't you?" I love this boy!

Here's the result...

Lake Trip 2008 - a set on Flickr

Lake Trip 2008 - a set on Flickr

I have posted a collection of pictures from our recent lake trip. It is a set of pictures taken on or near the hour for the entire trip, giving sort of a chronological diary of the trip.

If you are so inclined, you may view those at the link above.

We limit our family flickr shots to family and friends, so get a flickr acount, let me know you want to see the pics, and I will be glad to add you to our list.

Link

Triple Shot

The beginning of an era...

OK, so I stole and adapted the title from here. I also thought about naming this post "The Ways We Don't Move." Some of you will understand that.

About 3 years ago now, I told the VP of Development at ACU that if he was looking to add to his staff, let me know, I would be interested in talking to him. About 9 months ago, he let me know and we began conversations, albeit few and far between, about possibilities at ACU. In the last couple of months, these conversations grew more frequent and detailed, but still somewhat vague about specifics.

About a month ago, a friend was visiting with her mother, who happened to be looking for someone to work for her at Texas Tech in the area of scholarship stewardship. This friend, who works at LCU, just happened to be a person with whom I had done some major work on setting up some programs to do, well, scholarship stewardship. Next thing you know, Tech is calling asking me to interview for a job replicating what I had already done at LCU.

If this is starting to feel like you are standing at the crossroads watching two cars come together, it is going to get worse before it gets better, because sure enough, I interview at Tech and lo-and-behold, they offer me the job. Because I had been talking to ACU, I send a friendly email to the VP saying: "Here's what's going on. Can you give me a little more detail about where you guys are?" Within 30 minutes, he calls and wants to know if I might be free the next day to come down to Abilene and visit. Hence the pictures here. I got the call from Tech on a Tuesday on the way back from a funeral in Austin and went down to get an offer from ACU on Friday of the same week.

I have already tipped my hand on which way we went, but here is a little more proof, in case you need it.


I cannot lie - it was one of the most agonizing decisions I have had to make. I am sure the move from Abilene to Tyler was tough and Tyler to Lubbock, but I do not remember it being like this. It seemed like Jana and I were at complete opposite ends of the spectrum and changed at the exact same time as the other. In the end, it was a financial decision that was heavily impacted by my desire to finish the Ph.D. I am doing at Tech. Although ACU was generous, the offer was not for the position we had originally talked about, but rather a similar position that might work into something else down the road. Jana did not have anything lined up and there was no promise of anything that would give her the ability to continue to be with the kids or perhaps even spend more time with them than now. I would have to be in Lubbock two days a week for the next 12-15 months to establish residency, not to mention an increased travel load. The kids are getting too small of a portion of me now to ask them to give up more. Tech will help pay for the degree and working for a state university versus a small private Christian university is a benefit that makes it worth the move across town, and will continue to be a benefit in the years to come.

I am convinced this is the right decision, even as I keep wondering if I have lost my mind! We are prayerful that this is for a season and and at the right time, God will place us in the place we need to be. While we hope in many ways it is Abilene, right now, we need to be faithful in this place and I believe, because I have seen it happen, that God will make this place the right place for now and if there is another place in the future, this too will work out.

And, at the risk of totally sending my mother over the edge, I leave you with this...


Hey, when they are paying the bills, I will "Gun's Up" with the best of them!