Emma's First Day!

Emma's first night with us went well...she whined for a few minutes but then went to sleep and we didn't hear a peep out of her. It was so hard to go to work today knowing I would be missing her first day with us, but at least Shelley was home most of the day. As soon as I got home from school, I received a VERY enthusiastic greeting! I took her outside, where she enjoyed exploring each and every inch of the yard.

I had been talking about getting a new puppy at school for the last week, so today I brought pictures and showed them to the kids. I had only been home about an hour when a couple of my students rang my doorbell and asked to see my new puppy. Emma enjoyed playing with the girls and got some of her "puppy energy" out of her system. Tonight I took her for her first lesson on the leash. She obviously hasn't done much of that, but she's a fast learner and is picking it up really quickly.

Miss "Emma" Arrives...

After waiting a week and a half, we finally have our puppy at home with us! She arrived tonight after dinner and has made herself quite at home. She loves our yard and in spite of her recent surgery (she was spade on Monday), loves to run around and bark at the sounds she hears. Right now she's resting in her new dog bed while Larry and Shelley watch "American Idol". She also seems to enjoy the blue ball we got for her and brings it back to us every time we throw it. She seems really smart!

Rodeo Time...

This weekend was the finals for the San Antonio Rodeo and we had tickets for Friday night. After school, I met Larry and Shelley and we took off in our best "Rodeo duds" to go play cowboy...it was fun! We had a couple hours to kill before the show and we walked through the exhibits as well as visited the horse barns. My love for horses is still intact and Shelley got me checking to see if the horses felt the same way!

There's something about the opening ceremonies that really brings out the "Texas pride" in me...prayer, the national anthem, and the committment of each cowboy to God before they ride...it's obvious that in Texas, faith and patriotism are alive and well!



My favorite event again this year was the "Mutton Bustin", where little kids compete to see who can stay on a sheep as it runs through the arena...the winner was a six year old girl! I actually had one of my kindergarteners who competed in this event earlier in the week. Apparently, there is such a huge response to event that they now have drawings to determine who gets to compete.



I took this last picture for Larry. His company, HEB, is one of the largest sponsers of the rodeo. This year San Antonio again won the award for "Largest Indoor Rodeo of the year".

New Addition???

We had an unexpectedly exciting day today! As I arrived home from church after teaching Sunday School, Larry was just leaving on the motorcycle to go look at dogs at Petsmart. He had heard that the Humane Society was going to be there today with dogs needing homes. I jumped on the back and went along for the ride, telling him all the way there how we didn't need a dog right now. As soon as I saw the puppies I knew I was gonna have a hard time, but I kept reminding myself that I didn't have time to come home from work to let a puppy out during the day. There were some darling dachsund puppies that were tiny and some others that were bigger, but then I saw the cutest puppy all alone in a cage. It was older, but obviously still "puppy age". It was the most mellow puppy...very observant, but quiet. Larry asked if we could hold it and that was the beginning of the end. I fell so in love with this dog! They don't know her exact age because she was abandoned on the side of the road in the country, but they're estimating 6 or 7 months old. The foster mother said she's really good natured and gets along with her other dogs and cats. I filled out the paper work today and if all goes well, she sees a vet and gets spayed and receives a microchip for identification and we will have her by next weekend!

Waiting on God...

It's been a busy week with lots of time spent with friends, old and new. Last Thursday evening we had a visit with Don and Jean Christman, friends from up north who were traveling through San Antonio enjoying the good weather down here. Since it was a work night, we didn't have a lot of time, but we enjoyed sharing a meal and catching up on news from home.

Then, the next night we had invited some new neighbors over for dinner and games. They just moved here from Arkansas and I have their youngest daughter in school. It was fun getting to know new friends and we invited them to join us at Oak Hills since they're looking for a church.

Larry and I are on a committee to plant a new church in our area and we're anxoius to find out what building Oak Hills is going to purchase for the new church plant. Our first meeting is scheduled for February 22nd and it appears to be moving very fast. We hate to leave the main campus of Oak Hills, but feel as though God may have moved us here for this very reason.

Saturday was a beautiful day and since Larry had to work, Shelley and I went downtown to explore a bit. In addition to the rodeo which kicks off next week, there was a huge Asian festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures. I had never been there and found a lot of Texas history I wasn't aware of. Shelley was, of course, very interested in all the Scottish influence.

Shelley is spending all her time filling out job applications, but we're finding that no one is hiring full time help right now due to the economy. It looks like she may have to take a couple of part time jobs while she waits and just pay for temporary insurance...kind of disappointing for all of us. In the meantime, she seems to be getting involved at CBC. She's gone tonight at a Superbowl party for the College/ Career group. We're all praying God quickly shows us what His plan is not only for her, but for all of us.

Shelley Arrives...

It's been awhile since I've updated my blog, but my life has taken a huge leap in the last week! Shelley arrived last Tuesday night and things haven't been the same since. She didn't have that much stuff with her so we cleaned out Larry's office and gave her that room. Other than pictures and her bed, it still looks pretty bare.

The first couple of nights we celebrated her arrival with some special dinners, but then life had to return to "somewhat" normal due to work schedules. She did come have lunch with me at school on Wednesday with a couple of students that I tutor and that was fun. During the day while we're at work she's spending her time working on job applications as well as exploring the area and trying to find her way around, which isn't easy in San Antonio (especially compared to Roscoe).

On Saturday night we took her to Oak Hills and then to our Bible class and out to dinner with friends. Then on Sunday, she went to Community Bible Church and the College/Career class which she seemed to enjoy and at least got to meet a few people.

Sunday evening was our "Goodbye" dinner for our friends, Dan and Joan. It was a nice evening with friends and having Shelley there was a plus in that we had our own personal photographer.

Another Update...

Now that things have become clear (as mud) to us, we realize that it is God's will for Shelley to postpone her missions trip until God reopens the door, so we've been making plans for her to move to San Antonio to live with us for awhile. Since we "know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose", we're excited about this change in plans. Shelley sold almost everything she owned in preparation for her trip, so it's really easy right now for her to pick up and leave what has been her home for the past fourteen years. She's due to arrive next Tuesday, and Larry and I are getting really excited about having one of our girls near us, even if the circumstances aren't what we were expecting. We do know that whatever is ahead, with God in control, it's going to be an adventure worth waiting for!

Asking For Prayer...

Along with the new year came a major road block in plans for 2009...

Our daughter Shelley, who was scheduled to fly to England on the 28th, got notice that her visa had been denied. Before coming to San Antonio for Christmas, she had sold EVERYTHING she owned in preparation for leaving the country for three years, so now she is staying with Stacey without a job or a car, waiting to find out the steps she needs to take at this point. Please pray with us that God's desire for her life will be known quickly as this "waiting" is difficult for all of us!

Welcome 2009!

2009 came in with a bang, as we spent New Years Eve with our good friends, Doug and Patty Gilbert. We went out to eat some great BBQ ribs at "Texas Roadhouse " and then went to their house to play games and watch movies on their new 60" Flatscreen TV.

On New Years Day, Larry and I went to see the new movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", which was like nothing I had imagined, but was wonderful! Later that afternoon, we met everyone from our Life Group for a New Years party at Dan and Joan's house. I still can't get over the fact that it's comfortable to sit out by the pool on New Years Day!

Hard To Say Goodbye...

This year the holidays, both Thanksgiving and Christmas were the best I can remember. I'm sure it's because all of our kids were able to come to San Antonio and also because we suspect that once Shelley goes to London, it may be a while before we're all together again. At any rate, it was a Christmas I'll remember...

We each recieved some really special gifts...for me it was the portraits Stacey gave us. She got all three of our girls together and went out one snowy night to have portraits taken...they turned out wonderfully and Larry and I were both so surprised! Stacey won the "Pickle" award again this year...I think there's only one year she missed it. Late in the afternoon, we all went to see the new movie, "Marley and Me", which was wonderful (but kinda sad). My mom is so amazing...she kept up with all the activity going on and even stayed up until midnight on Christmas playing "Train Dominoes" with us.

The day after Christmas the weather was beautiful so we took the opportunity to go to Sea World. It was a fun and relaxing day, and a perfect ending to a wonderful visit.

A Christmas Eve Performance...

Shelley took this video this evening while I was preparing our Christmas Eve dinner. I wasn't going to post it because we were all being really silly, but it's hysterical so I thought you'd enjoy a good laugh! Merry Christmas!

*For those of you who don't know, my mother, dancing in the background, is 87 years old and VERY sane!

Merry Christmas...Eve!

We woke up to a beautiful day this morning and decided to go downtown to the Riverwalk for lunch and to see all the decorations. It was a perfect day to go because it really wasn't very crowded and yet it was very festive.

After lunch, we headed up to a beautiful outdoor mall to do some last minute shopping before we went to the Christmas Eve service at 3:30. The music at the service was wonderful and Max preached a sermon called ""Joe to the World", about how Jesus became an ordinary person and came to save "any ordinary Joe" like us!

We spent the evening here at the house where we had our traditional potato soup dinner and then opened our out of town gifts from family. The unusual thing was that we were able to sit out on the porch...that's definately a new San Antonio tradition!