Texan by the Grace of God

A Unique Day

2010-09-19T17:03:00.004-05:00

Wow, it has been a crazy day! It just rained, and rained, and rained, in Corpus Christi,(apparently a new record 7.09 inches in one day). On the way into church it was raining so hard and the clouds were so thick that all the street lights were on and we could not go much over 40, and even less in several places. Then after the morning service we looked outside to see if it had stopped; it hadn't. In fact it was flooding, especially where our van was parked, the rain was almost halfway up the front tire. Well, at this time it was just lightly raining so we decided to eat lunch and then see if the water would go down any. After lunch however it was the same depth if not a little bit deeper. So it was determined that the van needed to be moved.

Problems:
1. We were pulled up in the parking lot behind every one else, since all the actual parking places were taken; which would have been fine but so was one other vehicle which made it difficult to move our van out of the puddle/pond.

2. The just mentioned puddle/pond. For any of the guys to get to the van, they would have to wade through deep water and get their shoes and pants VERY wet. So those problems being stated what ended up happening is that I volunteered to take off my shoes and to go out to the car holding my skirt, so as not to get it soaked. My application was accepted and I started out into the puddle/pond. The water was so deep it came up to my knees! Anyway, I safely got to the van, it did still start, and I began to pull forward. However, do you remember that other car? yeah, well it was up high enough to be fine, but if I just pulled in front of it, the back of our van would still be in deep water. So I needed to pull between it and the parked vehicles, there was not much space however. I managed squeeze through the gap fairly well, until I came to a car that was sticking out farther then the rest, that made my gap very small. I had to pause for a bit to try to figure out the best way to maneuver the wheel so as to not hit either car, it was then that I realized I had become a circus act for all the men at church standing under the sheltered area in front of the church. Thankfully just then my brother Robert skirted the edge of the puddle/pond and came to help direct me safely through the gap. After that all was good and dandy for a while, until the owner of the car I pulled around needed to leave before second service, but that was easily handled by Rob moving the van to let him out. We then later had the same problem when everyone wanted to leave, and since at the time I was out close the van dad had me move it for people. Now this time I had to back it up instead of pulling forward but I managed and there was no real problem. After all that I thought we were through with all the adventures for the day...... I was wrong.

On our way back, (before we could get to the freeway) the road was so flooded that the people who lived on either side of the street were out in the rain holding orange cones on top of trash cans to keep people from going to the edge of the road where it was to deep for cars, which was very nice of them to do! Unfortunately the water was still deep enough to splash up into our cars engine area, cause a belt on the van to slip off, which caused the car to over heat a little further down the road. The end result was we ended up stranded in a parking lot. Now Robert was on call today so he'd brought in his work van, and most Sundays my mom takes our Saturn and picks up a lady, (who has been coming to church for a while now, but does not always have means of transportation), so we did have several vehicles in town and we just needed to call mom and Jo so they would know to come and get us. A few problems; dad had left his cell phone at home, and Calvin leaves his at home on Sundays, and I don't have one. Solution; dad had to take off his shoes, go across the street under the freeway to a gas station and find a pay phone. Once again, a problem; dad left his wallet in the car. So he had to come back get change then go use the pay phone. By this time Calvin and I had gone far from being anything anywhere close to serious and were just enjoying sitting back and watching all the idiots try to go through a spot that was even deeper then where we had trouble, in this spot there were already two vehicles stuck dead in the water, we saw a truck push a little car through and then another little car got stranded there. Eventually mom and Jojo come to our rescue! But there was another small problem; they could not get to the side of the road we were on, because it was too deep for their little car. So, Calvin and I, (now with no pride or self dignity), had to take off all shoes, lock up the car, roll up our pants/hold up our skirts, and go walking in front of everyone across the very flooded street. I don't remember just how deep it was but neither of us made it across without getting our cloths wet.

Thus ends my tell of our rather crazy Sunday.

2010-03-08T15:52:00.009-06:00

Okay, I know I have a lot of things to post about but I don't feel like putting enough time into them right now to do them justice so instead I'm posting some pictures in celebration of Springs long awaited arrival.

Here are some pictures I took today of our Bluebonnets and other flowers.

I'm actually glad it was overcast today, I like the way it looks in these photos.

It was quite a pain trying to get these, I was trying not to fall in the ditch but get low enough to get the tree......and the wind did not help either, my camera was not wanting to focus on a swaying bluebonnet. :)

Hmm....I think I need to get this one again with a blue sky.

They might be weeds that we hate and try to kill in the summer....

....but they are really pretty in the Spring.

That's all for now I will try to get around to other post one of these days soon but don't count of it too much. :)

The Texan~

2009-11-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

Okay so it has taken me a while to get this up but late is better then never. (most the time)

On Friday the 6th a Fed Ex truck caught on fire in our next door neighbors driveway fortunantly nobody was hurt but quite a few people lost there packeges.

These are the pictures that Jo and I took of the excitement.

Trip to Illinois!

2009-10-16T14:45:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all,

I am back and have been for a long time now. I had a great trip in Illinois with the Candlers it was so much fun spending time with them, meeting their friends, and just hanging out! :)

This was my first time to fly by myself and the first time I would be anywhere for an extended time without my family. So I was a little nerves at the outset of the 2 week and 5 day vacation I was embarking on, but by the end of it I was trying to figure out where "ALL" that time had gone.

The main event of the first week was the Pumpkin Festival, it was so much FUN! We went Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday! Each night there was a different group of the Candler's friends that we go to spend time with and of course go on the rides with. :) We had a very fun and crazy time. In the end the top three favorite rides were the Zipper, Rock-O-Plane, and the Hurricane, I don't know how many times went on them but it was a lot! :)

The main part of the second week was spent in baby sitting, the church rummage sale, and ping pong! :D Tuesday night one of the Candlers friends Emilee got to spend the night, so we watched Wives and Daughters together, and of course talked a lot! It was lots of fun! :)

Then Friday evening we went over to the Neisen's house. The first activity of the afternoon was saddling up the horses and heading out to ride. Their horses are very pretty and they have some of the cutest little ponies! I did not do to good when riding, in fact I did horrible and was limping afterwards, but the others did really good and it was fun watching them. :) The next big event was when we got on the X-Box and hooked up with my brothers for some Halo 3, YEEHA!!!! The first game was Calvin and Robert against Garrett, Sierra, Lenna, and I. Now I bet y'all are sitting there going "Oh that is so not fair!" Well to tell the truth I agree 100% and so did the others, so after that Calvin and Robert were FORBIDDEN to be on the same team so that we would not get CREAMED again. :P Later on, Robert, Garrett, and I become another banned team combination. :) Playing was so much fun! Then after about half a hour or more Cal and Rob had to go, so we set up Call of Duty World at War (is that the right version?) and that was tons of fun too! X-Box is always fun but when you're right there with your friends laughing and talking it is always so much better! Call of Duty was ended when Mr. Candler came in and said it was time to go....but to our surprise it was not the end of the fun. :D We got all our stuff together walked to the door and saw a very dense fog (which all of us kids just knew we could not even think about driving in) so once Mr. and Mrs. Neisen said that we could stay, we focused in on Mr. Candler and pleaded until he gave in so that we could stay the night! :D Once that was settled lights were set up in the front yard and a game of Ultimate Frisbee was started! It was hilarious, all the jokes and slipping in the wet grass, it was just too much fun! :) I don't know what time we were called inside to go to bed but I know it was late, the next morning we were all very tiered and after we got home Sierra, Lenna, and I had to crash for an hour to catch up on sleep! (but I would still do it all again!. :)

Monday was Sierra's birthday and us Girls spent the morning by going down to their creek and taking lots (and I mean lots) of pictures together. :) Then it was time to go shopping. Now most the time I find shopping very boring, but when your with Sierra and Lenna it is very hard to find anything boring! :P They had me laughing almost the whole time. The rest of the day was spent at home talking and watching a movie.

Thursday we went to the Kings place to make homemade apple cider. I don't know how many apples we cut but the end result was 14 gallons of amazing cider and a lot of good memories.

Then Friday we went over to the McDonald's house for dinner, which of course meant lots of talking, fun, and games! Oh, and some music was thrown in there too! :)

Then there was Saturday the day of my return home, but before I could go home there was a three hour drive in the car. :D Unfortunately Lenna was sick so she had to stay home but Sierra was able to come along so we talked in the car and then Mr. and Mrs Candler took us to Cracker Barrel for a very good lunch. We ended up getting to the air port two hours early to make sure I would not be late, encase it was busy. But since there was almost nobody else there we got to spend most that time together. Of course since it was our last moments together, we could not just sit and act normal the whole time, so Sierra and I decided we would go up and down the escalators! :) It was hilarious to see some of the looks people gave us as we just happily talked while going in circles! :P After a while Sierra started to get dizzy so we moved our conversation over to Star Bucks, which was a yummy improvement! :D After that it was time for us to say good bye, so we got our last picture together and then I headed off through security.

I shall now conclude my post. :)

The Texan~

P.S Sorry that I did not put up any pictures. I did not take many and the ones I did take did not come out too well, but Sierra has some up on her blog. :)

Bye for now

2009-09-13T21:52:00.004-05:00

I am just real quickly saying good bye to y'all. I will be leaving tomorrow morning to see some of our good friends up in IL for two weeks and five days so do not expect to hear form me for a while. When I get back I shall make a post not only on my trip to IL but also of our our other good friends stay down here. Anyway, adios till some time in October.

The Texan~

Quiz

2009-09-01T13:09:00.006-05:00

Well I was bored so I decided to make up a quiz thing to see how well y'all know me. Now if you end up wondering how I came up with some of the questions I shall tell you right now, my brothers and sister helped me come up with almost all of them. Hope y'all enjoy taking the test, even if it is kinda odd. :) I will post the answers to the quiz some other time.

Click here to take test

P.S Please leave your score in a comment.

My latest doings.

2009-08-29T14:07:00.009-05:00

Howdy Y'all,

It has come to my attention that I have neglected this blog for some time now so I am going to give you a update on what has been going on. I will start at August 14, the first part of this day was spent in rushing around the house packing and making pizza, the next six hours were then spent in the car eating the pizza, then we arrived in Arlington where we were staying with some of our dear friends for the next few days. It was a lot of fun, we talked, played games, danced, and simply enjoyed every moment we had together.

Lauren and Savannah while teaching me and Jo to play Hand and Foot

Julia helped Johannah out and yes Lauren and Jo needed every bit of that help. :)

Savannah happy during the half time brake in our game, so far she and I were winning.

(and we did win)

Lauren and Johanna

Savannah and I

The whole East Tribe, well all but Mr. East he was already at work.

All the girls

and all of us kids together

We had a wonderful time, thank y'all so much for having us.

~~~~~~~~~

We are now going to skip forward to last night.

Last night was a time of fun and sadness, fun because all our friends were over but sad because it was the going away party for our pastor who has been called to another work in Burlington N.C, which means that our mission work is being left without a pastor and might possibly be shut down and there is no other church that we could go to that is closer then two hours away. We are hoping that we will be able to set up a web connection between us and another church in our denomination so that we can have teaching and be able to stay together, please pray that this can be done, it will be very hard on us still but it is better then being cut off and left with no where to go, I don't know what my family and the other four families that go to our church will do if we lose our mission work. So please pray for our mission work, and our pastor as he and his family are moving, Pastor Otis has been down here four years and before that he had been coming down a few times each year since I was two years old, so we are very close to him which makes it even harder that we are losing him.

~~~~~~~

Then today when Calvin, Jo and I were going over to help the Otis' pack up and clean their house and the car started over heating so we pulled off in to gas station and filled the radiator with water, went to start the car but since Calvin had left the A/C running the battery was dead and we had to wait till someone came along to help us get it jump started. Not much fun, I am starting to not like gas stations, out of about the last 10 times I have been to a gas station 3 of those times was because something was wrong with the car.

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay I am going on to a brighter topic, it turns out that our friends dad has some work to do down here so he is coming down the week after next and here is the really great part he will be bringing Lauren, Jay, and Savannah with him! We are really looking forward to it, I have been making plans for things that we can do together and practicing my guitar so that Savannah and I can play together. :)

I shall now end this post with that last little bit of happy news.

The Texan~

A Fun Day

2009-07-26T19:49:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday was a very fun day! In the morning we got together with our friends from church for a beach party. We got there at about 11:00 I think (late as always) and after wadding out in the water and talking for a while we came back to shore and started volley ball, we played three games before we broke for lunch. After lunch we went out in the water to throw the Frisbee back and forth to each other, once we came back to shore some sand castles were built while we were waiting for my brother Robert to come so that we could play some Ultimate Frisbee. (Robert had been working earlier so he had missed out on the before activities) It did not take him long to come and we headed out to an open space of the sand and started the game, we ended up only playing for three points though because by the time that it is 1:45 PM the sand is very very very hot and it was a bit painful to run on it, and kinda hard to throw against the wind. After the Ultimate Frisbee it was time for us to pack up and head home but the fun was not over yet....

....After running about gathering up food and sound systems then driving about an hour we arrived in Rockport at some of our other friends house for a dance party! After saying hello to every one (including our friends we went to the beach with :D) there was dinner and a time of singing, then I and my siblings ran outside to quickly set up the music and once every one was gathered we started in on a long fun night of dancing. It was great because it was a huge group and just about everyone loved dancing and learned all the dances very quickly. My siblings and I taught the Virginia Reel, Gay Gorden, and Posties Jig, and we learned two Jewish dances which were a lot of fun. The dancing lasted form 8:00 to 11:45 and in the end Posties Jig was voted the favorite, we even got to do Posties Jig extreme a couple times. So Saturday was a wonderfully fun and active day, and there are already plans to do another dance in August. :)

Sorry that I did not get pictures I was a bit busy instructing and dancing to really even think about it.

I hope y'all have a great week!

The Texan~

Conference Pictures.

2009-07-06T09:21:00.011-05:00

Here are the pictures I promised of the conference, sorry it took me so long to get them up.

My friends that I spent most my time with.

The Chapel

Sitting on the grass talking and enjoying the lovely weather.

The mountains are really pretty up there, this picture does not do them justice.

Here are a few videos of the dancing, they have odd endings though because I had to trim them down to get them to fit on here.

The first one is the Virginia Reel, then the Gothic Reel, and the last is a Square Dance. I wanted to get the Posties Jig on here too, but it would not let me. :(

Johanna with our friends we stayed with after the conference.

These are our friends who were at Trinity Presbyterian Church.

These last two are Jo and I waiting for the guys to get the tire changed on the car, it was really hot and as you can see there is no shade. So since it took a while we ended up crossing the street, slipping through a barbed wire fence and sitting under some trees in a cow pasture. :)

So those are the pictures from our trip. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to going next year. :)

Reformed Family Bible Conference

2009-07-01T12:16:00.010-05:00

June 16th I with half of my family packed up the car and headed out towards Georgia, then to Virgina, for an elven day vacation to go up to the Reformed Family Bible Conference in Bluefield Virgina, which my family has been going to since 2004. We made it to Georgia with only one adventure which was that one of the gas lines sprung a leak and poured out one whole tank of gas. After going to church at Calcedon on Sunday and up to the Georgia mountains on Monday, we packed up Tuesday morning and headed out to Virginia.

We arrived in Bluefield around 2:45 and before long we where laughing and talking with old friends and having a great time! The thyme of the conference this year was on John Calvin. The talks where very good and I am hoping that we will be able to get the DVDs of them so that I can hear them again because there was so much in them I know there is much more for me to learn from them.

In between the morning lectures and the one in the evening there was time of great fellowship, I spent my time with three other girls my age during the conference and I really enjoyed getting to know them as we talked together, we also joined into the games of Ultimate Frisbee, and a little of the Nerf. After the last lecture we would head down to the gym where the dance practise was held every night, then Friday night the Barn Dance was held there too, the dancing was really a lot of fun we learned a new dance called the Posties jig which was so much fun! The Virginia Reel and the Square Dance where the other two that we did the most of and the each of the following we danced once, Salty Dog Rag, Gay Gorden, and a Gothic Reel which we had not done before.

After the conference us girls got to stay with the Carey family and it was so much fun! We arranged flowers together, went on a walk, and of course while doing those things and others we laughed and talked with each other of one subject and then the next. I hope we can do it again some time! :)

Sunday we went to Trinity where we got to talk with more then a few of our friends from the conference, which was a lot of fun. After the fellowship meal we had to say goodbye to everyone and point ourselves towards home, which at first was a hard thing to do but once we were on the road I was ready to be there.

After driving a little over a day with a tire that was no longer fully there and then having another blow out so that we had to have them both replaced, we arrived home at about 9:45 Monday night, where my mom, oldest brother, oldest sister, brother in-law, and nephew where waiting to greet us! :)

This shall conclude my post for now I will try to put up the pictures later.

The Texan~

Texas

2009-06-02T17:46:00.002-05:00

This is something that my oldest sister passed on to me and I just had to post it on the blog!!!

Hurray for the Lone Star State!!!

Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas with me just for a second. That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast , and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas . Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone.

Texas is the Alamo . Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom.

We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Davy Crockett, and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes.

John Wayne paid to do the movie himself . That is the Spirit of Texas .

Texas is Sam Houston capturing Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana at San Jacinto .

Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests .

Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend .

Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.

Texas is floating the rivers of the Hill Country on a hot summer day.

Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.

Texas is beaches you can drive on and have many memorable bon-fires with close friends.

Texas is that warm feeling you get when someone asks where you're from.

Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.

Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork .

Texas is Mexican foods like nowhere else, not even Mexico .

Texas is chicken fried steak and world famous Bar-B-Q.

Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington and the Astrodome. (guess now the Reliant Stadium too)..

Texas is larger-than-life legends like Michael DeBakey, Ann Richards, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Farrah Fawcet, Janis Joplin, Sandra Bullock, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Eva Longoria, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George H. Bush, George W. Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and let's not forget GEORGE STRAIT- PANTERA, the Big Bopper, Tex Ritter, George Jones, Clay Walker, Mark Chestnut,Frank Hotz, Sandi Taylor to name ONLY a few.

Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments, EDS and Compaq, Whataburger, Southwest Airlines, Bell Helicopter and LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter, Valero.

Texas is NASA.

Texas is huge herds of cattle, beautiful horses and miles of crops.

Texas is home to the world famous King Ranch

Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field.

Texas is hundreds of deer running around neighborhoods and fields.

Texas is skies blackened with doves and fields full of deer.

Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights and for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and for the night In Old San Antonio River Parade in San Antonio.

To drive across Texas is to drive 1/3 the way across the United States .

Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.

If it isn't already in Texas , you probably don't need it.

No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas .

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U...S. That can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. Flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland , California , or Maine , and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Klein Oak High or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because it is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state.

Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington , D.C. And we can divide our state into five states at any time if we wanted to!We can become a republic again at any time the voters of Texas choose, and we included these things as part of the deal when we came on.
That's the best part, right there.

Texas even has its own power grid!! And don't even lie to yourself... Did I mention Live music capitol of the world?

If you are a REAL TEXAN, you won't even need to be told to pass this on.

GOD BLESS TEXAS !

IT'S DONE!!!!!!

2009-05-09T15:43:00.006-05:00

Alright after a month of work I have now found a way to take a video from DVD to AVI and then on to the blog! Well as close to on the blog as I could get, the video was to big to put straight on and after a long time of trying to brake it up into two segments so that it would fit and failing every time I realized I could just put it on my web album and then put the link to that on my blog. :)

Any way for those who may not know this is a video of the dance we did in honor of my sisters birthday in early April, unfortunately when I put it on the web album it lost a lot of it's quality but it is better then nothing, also we were only able to get three dances two of which were the Virginia Reel, the last is the Square Dance, so we have nothing of the Gay Gorden, Salty Dog, or Rifle Man. :(

But I shall now quite may rambling and let y'all watch the video if you would like too.

The Texan~

To view video click here - Dance Video

My Hospital Trip

2009-04-27T08:02:00.007-05:00

These are a few pictures from my hospital stay last weekend.

Grandpa and Grandma with me after the surgery.

The next day after the bandage was taken off.

My faithful friends Buster and Mittens. :)

Waiting to be sent home with all the many blessings to
brighten my room given me by friends and family.

Saying goodbye to one of my wonderful nurses before going home.

Over all the surgery went very well and I have not had too much pain, although there are a few times that it is pretty hard. I got the stint out of my neck today (the tube that was in my neck) and the stitches too. So I am already a good bit down the road of recovery, although there are a lot more doctor trips for me before the end of that road. :(
I'd like to thank everyone who came to see me in the hospital it really made it a lot easier and happier, I'd also like to thank everyone who prayed for me it really means a lot.

The Recovering Texan~

Wake Up Call!

2009-04-14T12:37:00.002-05:00

This was on Drudge Report today.

WAKE UP CALL: TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY Tue Apr 14 2009 08:44:54 ET AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.” Perry continued: "Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas." A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government. It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed. Developing...

Rainbow

2009-04-06T14:22:00.003-05:00

Earlier today I was watering in some seed we just put on the yard and noticed that there was a rainbow in the water so I grabbed my camera, took some pictures and am now posting them. :)

To go with Robert's post.

2009-04-06T11:10:00.006-05:00

This post is to go with the last one that Robert made, so if you want to know what these are all about just go to his blog. :) I am sorry that they are so blurry we had to zoom in a long way.

Hunter Pence!

Back when I first started going to Hooks games a few years ago there were two players that I really enjoyed watching as they played they were great!

These two players were Josh Anderson and Hunter Pence!

Anderson and Pence came up through the Houston farm system together but Anderson was sadly traded to Atlanta and now to Detroit, but happily we still have Pence who is playing with the Astros and came back with them last Thursday for the exhibition game.

It was great to see him play again.

Mitch Einertson

This year the Hooks have a lot of new players so lots of my favorites of last year are no longer with us, but one of them is still with us! Number 10 Mitch Einertson.

It was funny because my two favorite players there were both in the right field. :)

Hunter Pence up to bat.

(well I am not sure that it is Pence, but going from the way he is standing, his socks, and how he is holding his bat it that is who I think it is.)

Lance Berkman up to bat....I think

and he got a hit

I hope y'all enjoyed the pics. :)

~Random~

2009-03-28T15:55:00.004-05:00

Now to most of y'all these pictures will just look like some pathetic sticks with very little green, some bushy plants, and a little white flower, but to me they are some of the most beautiful things, these are my pride and joy that I water up to three times a day and look eagerly forward to see grow and flourish, these are my very first berry plants! I have 6 Blackberry plants, 3 Raspberry plants, and 26 Strawberry plants. I can't wait till they are baring fruit. :)

The Texan~

Doctor report.

2009-03-25T12:02:00.003-05:00

This week I was sent in to the doctor again to have a thyroid scan. The point of this scan was to find out what kind of nodule I have, cold or active. Cold means that it is just there but not doing anything, and active means that it has turned itself into a second thyroid and can create more than a few problems. So Monday morning after going through all the usual questions doctors always ask (is there history of cancer in the family, history of thyroid problems etc. etc.) they gave me a pill of radioactive iodine and then told me to come back at 2:00 for them to measure how much of the radiation my thyroid had absorbed then to scan it and do the photos of it, I was then sent home again and told to come back at 10:00 the next morning for them to check the levels again. Last night we got the results which are that the nodule is cold and that my two choices are to have them observe it, which means regular doctor appointments, or to have it surgically removed and not have to do anything else for it for the rest of my life, I am rooting for the surgery and mom and dad pretty much think that would be the best way to go too. So that is where it all stands right now.

Thanks again for all y'alls prayer.

The Texan~

2009-03-18T11:23:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago Mom, Jo, and I flew out to California for a few days and then drove back in a car we were buying, bringing my Grammie back with us. Now insted of making you put up with my long ramblings about how the trip was I will just make you put up with all the pictures. :)

The Texan~

Just click the picture and it will take you to my web album.

C.A

Prayer Request

2009-02-11T15:08:00.001-06:00

Please pray for my sister Jennifer, she went to the doctor today to be treated for a skin infection that has been causing her sever discomfort over the last couple of days, and after an examination the doctor ordered her to immediately go to the hospital. She has been checked in via the emergency room and put in an isolated room. From what we understand it looks like she has a very serious Staph infection. Please pray that the doctors will have wisdom in treating her, that Jennifer will have peace and comfort while in the hospital, that she will very soon be over this, and that it wont spread to any of the rest of us that have been around her the last couple of days, (especially baby Cromwell whom she will not be able to be around at all for some time). We sincerely appreciate your prayers!

Doctors.

2009-02-04T21:59:00.003-06:00

I am doing this post because my blog is kinda like the dairy of my life and there would be a gape in it if I did not make some mention of the past month and all my trips to the doctor. I have been going to the doctor so much because I have a nodule on my thyroid, it does not look like anything major but just to be safe they have been doing some test on it. Now I am first going to start off with just a list of things I have learned about doctors and being around them.

1. If you go into the doctor for a cough you might have treatments given to you for something completely different.

2. It is a bad sign when the doctor stops talking in mid sentence and stares at your throat dumbly for a few seconds.

3. Having your blood drawn is not that bad.

4. Ultrasounds are pretty cool.

5. Doctors love to make you wait on them.

6. Sometimes doctors do things that seem completely unneeded.

7. Doctors really like to push Botox cosmetic and Juvaderm. (Highly annoying, I have had to see more advertisements for those two things then I want to remember)

8. It feels really weird to swallow with a needle stuck in your throat.

9. Be thankful that they cover your face when doing a needle biopsy.

10. No mater how much the nurse and doctor talk about the needle they are about to use and how small it is they can somehow fail to mention that they are going to stick you five times after sticking you with the one to numb you.

11. Never take prayer for granted, looking back I don't know how I managed to stay calm through my needle biopsy, the best answer I can give is that God answered the prayer of friends and family who were asking that I have peace through the whole thing.

Looking back after my last doctor trip which was yesterday, I can see how easy it is to underestimate things, I went to the needle biopsy thinking it would be nothing at all, one needle to numb me then one more to get whatever it was they needed, I was blowing it off. I was wrong. Although it really was not that bad, towards about the third time I felt the pressure of the doctor putting in the needle I was starting to hope it would be over soon, it was starting to hurt a bit and the sound of the tearing tissue was really bothering me. After the fourth the nurse said that was it but the doctor looked over his samples and said he thought he needed a little bit more and would have to do it a fifth time, I really did not want them to do it a fifth time and that is when I fully appreciated everyone who was praying for me.

I would really like to thank my mom who stayed in the room with me during the whole thing, Pastor Otis, Mr. Bernhard, my Dad, and sister for coming to hospital to encourage me, and everyone who prayed for me. It really does mean a lot to me.

God's Glory Shown in Texas Sunsets

2009-01-29T10:24:00.015-06:00

This month I have been trying to take a picture of the sunset every night for this post however I did not fully succeed do to the weather which kept going back and forth between so cloudy that no color could get through or there would be no clouds at all which made for beautiful days but rather plain sunsets as you will see from the few days I bothered to take pictures when in this condition but anyways some of them I think are very pretty and show God's glory in making such beautiful scense for us in the evening so I hope y'all enjoy this post of Texas Sunsets!

January 1st.
This is taken while I am sitting on our horse pasture fence.

January 2nd.

Taken the same place.

January 3rd.
Taken at Hazelbazemore park.
I think it is simply beautiful.

January 6th.
This is one of the days that I bothered to take a picture with out any clouds.

January 9th.
I am now standing on the back of Robert's truck for the rest of these.
I love the clouds in this one the way they fan up.

January 11th.
I really like this one the color is great.

January 12th.
This is the only one that I edited in picasa and all I did was crop it
because having it smaller brought out the natural color a bit better.

January 18th.

January 20th.

January 22nd.
The clouds are so cool.

January 23rd.
I loved this sunset! (I wish the picture would show all it's beauty.)
I took so many pictures of it I had a hard time deciding which to use.

January 27th.
I like the wispy clouds.

January 28th.
I love the color in this one.

I hope y'all enjoyed these pictures of Texas sunsets. :) I know I enjoyed taking them and posting them. Hope you all have a great day.

The Texan~

Today in CSA History

2009-01-19T20:54:00.006-06:00

Today....

1807 Gen. Robert E. Lee was born.

1861 Georgia seceded

and...
1862 The battle at Mill Springs

Is that a hat?

2009-01-04T19:00:00.003-06:00

Ok call me stupid. While the Candlers were here the three oldest (Josiah, Sierra, and Lenna) had showed first me and then many other people a song and dance, which they later let me record so I could put it on my blog and I somehow forgot about it when I did my post, so here it is now. Enjoy.

Spending time with Friends

2009-01-03T11:28:00.007-06:00

As y'all know from my last post some of our really good friends came down from IL late last month to visit their family and us. :P It was so much fun! We played more games of Texas Tornado then I thought possible in the amount of time we had together and still managed to play about four games of Ultimate Frisbee and about eight games of Volley Ball, there were also other things too of cores such as, I never, Mafia, Imaginiff, and X-Box. So as you can see we almost always had something going together and if we were not doing some big group activity you could find us girls talking. :) (most the time however we did our talking at about 2:00 AM.)
Here are a few pictures that I took at random times with my new camera I got for Christmas.

Sierra and Lenna

Sierra with her camera

Right after playing Ultimate Frisbee at the park

Playing Texas Tornado

Same as above

Sierra and Cromwell

Lenna and Cromwell

Sierra and Elita right before we did our fireworks

The fireworks
(taken by Lenna, I could not get my timing right)

Saying farewell to our friends at 7:00 in the morning.

I would write more but things are kinda all run together in my mind to much because we were just having fun going from one thing to the next! So I can't wait till the next time y'all come down!

The Texan~

Really quick.

2008-12-23T21:51:00.002-06:00

Just so y'all know our good friends the Candlers come down unexpectedly the other day and they will be coming and going between here and Brownsville each week. Therefore I will not be on for the next few weeks. I shall try to get a post together about it all at the time of my return.
So tickady donk till then and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

The Texan~

New palylist

2008-12-17T15:40:00.004-06:00

As y'all can most likely tell I have switched from project playlist to myflashfettish I do not have many songs right now but I will try to get a few more up there and if I don't get around to it by Christmas I already have a round the year one set up to change to.

So far the songs I have are-

George Strait's It's Christmas time in Texas, this song is one that we have known for years now so it has lots of fun memories.

Brad Paisley's James Penguin, which we all found funny.

and

Irish Rovers' Good King Wenceslas, I know nothing about the group that did this but since Jo and I sing this together on the piano I wanted to put up a rendition of it and seeing that they had the word "Irish" in their group tittle I clicked on it to see what it was and thought it funny the way it comes out with their accents.

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

The Texan~

2008-12-12T18:12:00.003-06:00

Last night Calvin completed his finials and our first thing to do in celebration was to get out the bows!

Calvin and his first kill.

Close up of his shot.

Jo with her kill.

Robert, Johanna, and Calvin right after letting their arrows fly.This is also one of Calvin's shots and it also shows were Robert did some damage.
(which I was not able to get pictures of)

In all Calvin hit two times and grassed once, Robert hit three times, Johanna hit once and I got very close but I am no longer able to hit that small of a target so I need to be getting out my bow more often because I used to be able to do that. :(

It was a lot of fun though and I hope we can do it again soon. :)

The Texan~

Pictures of Katharina and a update.

2008-12-10T22:59:00.009-06:00

Okay to start out here is Prof that I was telling the truth about her giving trouble for pictures

in case you can not tell she is hiding behind our couch here.

Checking out the fire

She found it very interesting

Now here are going to be a few I snapped as she was playing with her toy.

Here is a video of Katharina playing. (I am afraid it is not to good because I was holding the toy and recording at the same time, and there is also some background noise.)

Other things that are going on is that we are getting close to having all our decorations up and on Friday we will decorate the tree that we got last Thursday, it would have been done sooner but first Jo was babysitting on Friday and Saturday then after that Calvin had finales but he will be free from them by Friday! Speaking of Calvin he is now as of Friday the first person in our family to go Hang Gliding! He really enjoyed it and says he would like to do it again some day.

Another thing that has happened is that it is now COLD down here! Well it was colder last night then it is now but we did get our first big cold front, but by Sunday the high will be in the 80's again, and also there is SNOW IN HUSTON!!!!! Which like really blows our minds because it never snows there not even when we got our South Texas Miracle Snow in 2004. :) So that is some really big news. (to us at least)

There has not been that much else going on so I will now stop making y'all put up with my weird ramblings and end my post. :)

The Texan~

New Fmaily member.

2008-12-04T19:31:00.002-06:00

Today Daddy took Jo and I to the animal shelter so that I could pick out a kitty since I lost my last one. I am now the proud owner of a very sweet little black kitty. She is a little skittish right now but that is because she has gone form being in a cage with six other cats to being by herself in a strange house but she has fallen asleep in my lap already and loves to be petted. Here is one picture of her I hope to get more soon. :)

Thankful for Friends.

2008-12-01T09:54:00.023-06:00

Wednesday was a very big day for us because not only is it are first day of cooking but our really really good friends were arriving that evening. They got here at about 10:40 and Savannah and I went straight into talking :) and we talked till somewhat late into the night. :P

The next morning we cooked five pies together and then latter we cooked all the rest of the food it was so much fun! Then some other friends of ours and our grandparents came over and we had dinner.

These are my friends Savannah and Meredith

Thanksgiving dinner

After dinner we cleared the tables took them down and set up the ping pong table! It was a lot of fun, we played Texas Tornado(aka around the world only we changed it a bit) for about a hour plus. :) After wearing ourselves out on the "table of pain" (as we call it) we headed outside to play washers, toss the Frisbee, and talk, it was so much fun. At about 11:00 the Bernhards had to leave and we started in on cleaning the kitchen and even that was pretty fun because we got to talk and visit while doing so. By the way during the night I started to have a little bit of trouble speaking since I was still recovering from a cold.

Friday when we got up Jo could not speak at all just about and I was going down hill fast. So we mostly spent the day watching movies and listening to Lauren and Savannah tell very interesting stories. Later that night when Jo and I could talk better Lauren, Jo, Savannah, Calvin, Robert, Jay, and I all stayed up in Jen's old room talking till 2:00 AM most of it was fun.(those who were there will know what I mean by "most", was it 85?. :P)

Also during the day we got out my mother's guitar for Jay to see since he knows how to play and he did a few songs for us, he does a really good job. Here is a video of part of all of us singing Be thou my vision. (Note: at the end the noise in the background is Nathan telling us that Jen and Christopher were at the door) Sorry it is so dark.

Saturday we went to the beach together and once there we split up into little groups. The younger kids played in the water, Savannah and I walked up and down looking at shells, the guys tossed the Frisbee, and Lauren and Johanna took pictures in their white dresses.

After a while a game of Ultimate Frisbee was proposed and excepted. At first the teams were Robert, Savannah, Daniel, and I against Calvin, Jay, and Julia. In the begining we were winning 3 to 0 but then Julia was too tiered to keep playing and left so Daniel went over to the other team and we ended up losing 7 to 6 (or was it 5?) but we still had a lot of fun.

The Frisbee players

Jo and Lauren showing us "something" they had found :D

lol long story :P

Just before we left some of us went to work on sand castles or mounds as was the case with Savannah and I since we started five minuets before we left and knew we did not have time for anything else.

Julia and Caroline with their castle

Savannah and I with our volcano

The Guys with their castle

Lauren and Jo with their dresses

About an hour after we got home from the beach some really good friends of both of our families came over. As you can most likely guess the first thing us girls did was talk. :) The Guys on the other hand went out a did archery. (which I hear was sometimes pretty funny) Latter after dinner a bonfire was started and we all went out side to talk, sing along with Jay on the guitar, and talk some more till the fire died down and we were forced to retreat from the cold. Soon after we went back inside our friends had to leave and it was time to clean up and go to bed.

Sunday was good and we enjoyed going to church together but it got pretty sad once we got home because it was time for our friends to leave and that is always nothing to look forward to. We tried to stall as much as we could but in the end they still had to leave all the same and it left us all filling rather alone and the house very quite.

Our wonderful friends just before we said good bye

That ends this post about all our friends we have been with over the last few days there was a lot to be thankful for this week.

The Texan~

P.S I still have not recovered my voice and I hear that Savannah has now lost hers too.

Tagged again!

2008-11-18T12:42:00.004-06:00

This post will be my 56th post and my 6th post that is a tag! It seems as though I get tagged a lot.

Alright here we go with the tag I think everyone knows the rules behind theses things now so no need to post them.

15 things I am not afraid to admit.

1. I used to think that leaves changing colors was a myth ( have I said that in a tag before I can't remember? Oh well it gives me number two.)

2. I have a very bad memory!

3. I really like skiing though I have only done it once and spent most of that time picking myself up off the snow.

4. I am considered by my siblings to have the most "wild" taste in music out of us all. If you don't like my playlist then you would most likely agree with them because that is what they (mostly Calvin) call wild.

5. I used to be a bit of a tom boy. (I am SO GLAD I grew out of that.)

6. I despise any crochet instructions that call for double triples, I can not stand that stitch and I don't even want to think about doing triple triples.

7. I enjoy playing Battlefield 1942 and Wesnoth on the computer and Ghost Recon 1&2, and Star Wars Battlefront II on the X-Box.

8. I don't want to have to go to college.

9. When I was little I thought it a great accomplishment that I could eat dirt when others would not. (Hopefully I have learned that when nobody else wants to do something there might be a very good reason.)

10. I am very bad at playing the piano but do enjoy trying to teach myself songs.

11. I think this tag is to long!

12. I don't want to ever have to live any where other then my beloved Texas.

13. Even though I was born and spent my first six years 15 minutes from the ocean, three years within walking distance of Corpus Christi bay and now 1 1/2 hours from the ocean and 40 minuets from CC bay I DO NOT like sea food!!!

14. I love Riding horses (although I have not been able to for over two years.)

15. I love doing archery and shooting guns.

Whew, that is done now! :) It was fun though if challenging to think of something that might be slightly interesting without being something I would not want y'all to remember. Thanks for tagging me Savannah. :) ( and for the award you gave me.)

Now I am supposed to tag some more people but everyone I know has been tagged except Rothor (or what ever you go by now) so if you want you can do this too... if not, I don't blame you. :)

The Texan~

Random picture.

2008-11-17T17:12:00.001-06:00

Three Spanish Doves in our tree.

Remembering MacGyver

2008-11-15T15:19:00.003-06:00

MacGyver my wonderful little kitty died today and in his memory I have made this video.

Spending time with Jen and Cromwell!

2008-11-14T16:43:00.015-06:00

Yesterday morning before Jo and I went into town with mom and dad I found a very odd egg from my chickens. This egg had NO eggshell, all it had was a very thick membrane.

The egg right after collecting it

The egg today after evaporating some because it has no protective shell

Weired ain't it?

Well after that we packed up and headed into town. We dropped mom off at work and then headed for dad's work, and then walked down to Agua Java and got some Cinnamon Mexicana Coffees (or something like that).

Daddy and I

Jo studying her book

After getting back to dad's office, Jo and I did not have to wait long till Jen came to pick us up.

Cromwell was a bit surprised to see us.

Once we got together, we went to Jen's in-law's house where we dropped off Cromwell for a bit so that Jen could run her errands while we girls were at Jo's piano lesson. Since Mrs. Marks was not there yet and we had plenty of time, Jo played on their piano and we all sang Christmas carols. After piano we went back and talked with Mrs. Marks till it was time to pick up Christopher from work.

Cromwell happy to be out of his car seat and with his Aunts

Well at least one :) JK

Singing together

Cromwell loves to bounce!

And also to jig as Jo found out

Just look at those blue eyes!

He is going to be really good looking when he grows up.

Once we got to Jen's house, we ate dinner and then Christopher had to go to his second job, while we girls talked about vegetable gardens and canning. Jen told us about a new way to get better plants with less work that her friend had taught her. Then we read to Cromwell for a bit. Once Christopher got home again at 11:20 we watched Kung Fu Panda together and then got to bed at about 1:30 AM

Next morning Jen had to take Christopher into work since their secondary car was in the shop and since we had stayed up so late the night before Jo and I slept in a bit (she slept in longer though). When Jen came back an hour later we all watched a Gene Autry movie and Jen started to cut apples for us to make apple sauce. Once the movie was done we got packed up and went to our house to make sure that Jo did not miss a doctors appointment and we talked and we well....watched another Gene Autry movie. :D Once Jo came back we finished making our apple sauce (which I think came out very well) and then had to say good bye to Jen and I then started on this here post and what a long one it turned out to be!

The Texan~

P.S Yesterday Cromwell for the first time did the raspberry's and now does them very often.

A short post on archery

2008-11-12T18:23:00.004-06:00

Tonight all of us kids got out our bows and did some shooting! :) It was a lot of fun! The bows that Jo and I are using were made for us by Calvin, so is my arm guard. They really work great my bow is so good it even makes it look like I have a bit of talent. :)

"Archers fire at will"

Me with my bow

Johannah with hers

Conservatives Lost More Than An Election

2008-11-12T08:42:00.001-06:00

Conservatives Lost More Than An Election

By Chuck Baldwin November 7, 2008

That Barack Obama trounced John McCain last Tuesday should have surprised no one. In fact, in this column, weeks ago, I stated emphatically that John McCain could no more beat Barack Obama than Bob Dole could beat Bill Clinton. He didn't. (Hence a vote for John McCain was a "wasted" vote, was it not?) I also predicted that Obama would win with an electoral landslide. He did. The real story, however, is not how Barack Obama defeated John McCain. The real story is how John McCain defeated America's conservatives.

For all intents and purposes, conservatism--as a national movement--is completely and thoroughly dead. Barack Obama did not destroy it, however. It was George W. Bush and John McCain who destroyed conservatism in America.

Soon after G.W. Bush was elected, it quickly became obvious he was no conservative. On the contrary, George Bush has forever established himself as a Big-Government, warmongering, internationalist neocon. Making matters worse was the way Bush presented himself as a conservative Christian. In fact, Bush's portrayal of himself as a conservative Christian paved the way for the betrayal and ultimate destruction of conservatism (something I also predicted years ago). And the greatest tragedy of this deception is the way that Christian conservatives so thoroughly (and stupidly) swallowed the whole Bush/McCain neocon agenda.

For example, Bush and his fellow neocons like to categorize and promote themselves as being "pro-life," but they have no hesitation or reservation about killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people in reckless and unconstitutional foreign wars. By the same token, how many unborn babies were saved by six years of all three branches of the federal government being under the control of these "pro-life" neocons? Not one! Ask the more than eight million unborn babies who were killed in their mothers' wombs during the last eight years how "pro-life" George W. Bush and John McCain are.

As a result of this insanely inconsistent and pixilated punditry, millions of Americans now laugh at the very notion of "pro-life" conservatism. Bush and McCain have made a mockery of the very term.

Consider, too, the way Bush and McCain have allowed the international bankers on Wall Street to bilk America's taxpayers out of trillions of dollars. Yes, I know Obama also supported the Wall Street bailout, but it was the Republican Party that controlled the White House for the last eight years and the entire federal government for six out of the last eight years. In fact, the GOP has won seven out of the previous ten Presidential elections. They have controlled Supreme Court appointments for the past thirty-plus years. They have appointed the majority of Treasury secretaries and Federal Reserve chairmen. They have presided over the greatest trade imbalances, the biggest deficits, the biggest spending increases, and now the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression.

Again, the American people look at these so-called "conservatives" and laugh. No wonder such a sizeable majority of voters yawned when John McCain tried to scare them by accusing Barack Obama of being a "big taxer." How can one possibly scare people with a charge like that after the GOP has made a total mockery of fiscal conservatism? That's like trying to scare someone coming out from a swim in the Gulf of Mexico with a squirt gun.

Then there was the pathetic attempt by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to scare gun owners regarding an Obama White House. Remember that John McCain is the same guy that the NRA rightly condemned for proposing his blatantly unconstitutional McCain/Feingold bill. McCain is also the same guy that tried to close down gun shows. He even made a personal campaign appearance for a pro-gun control liberal in the State of Oregon a few short years ago. In fact, the Gun Owners of America (GOA) gave McCain a grade of "F" for his dismal record on Second Amendment issues. Once again, Chicken Little-style paranoia over Barack Obama rang hollow when the alternative was someone as liberal as John McCain.

But the worst calamity of this election was the way conservatives--especially Christian conservatives--surrendered their principles for the sake of political partisanship. The James Dobsons of this country should hang their heads in shame! Not only did they lose an election, they lost their integrity!

In South Carolina, for example, pro-life Christians and conservatives had an opportunity to vote for a principled conservative-constitutionalist for the U.S. Senate. He is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-traditional marriage. He believes in securing our borders against illegal immigration. He is against the bailout for the Wall Street banksters. His conservative credentials are unassailable. But the vast majority of Christian conservatives (including those at Bob Jones University) voted for his liberal opponent instead.

The man that the vast majority of Christian conservatives voted for in South Carolina is a Big-Government neocon. He supported the bailout of the Wall Street banksters. He is a rabid supporter of granting amnesty and a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens. In fact, this man has a conservative rating of only 29% in the current Freedom Index of the New American Magazine.

Why did Christian conservatives support the liberal neocon and not the solid pro-life conservative? Because the conservative ran as a Democrat and the neocon is a Republican. I'm talking about the race between Bob Conley and Lindsey Graham, of course. Had South Carolina's pastors, Christians, evangelicals, and pro-life conservatives voted for Bob Conley, he would be the new senator-elect from that state. In fact, Bob was so conservative that the Democratic leadership in South Carolina endorsed the Republican, Lindsey Graham! No matter. A majority of evangelical Christians in South Carolina stupidly rejected Bob Conley and voted for Graham. Across the country, rather than stand on principle, hundreds of thousands of pastors, Christians, and pro-life conservatives capitulated and groveled before John McCain's neocon agenda. In doing so, they forfeited any claim to truth, and they abandoned any and all fidelity to constitutional government. They should rip the stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of their Bibles. They should never again tell their children, parishioners, and radio audiences the importance of standing for truth and principle. They have made a mockery of Christian virtue. No wonder a majority of the voting electorate laughs at us Christians. No wonder the GOP crashed and burned last Tuesday.

Again, it wasn't Barack Obama who destroyed conservatism; it was George W. Bush, John McCain, and the millions of evangelical Christians who supported them. And until conservatives find their backbone and their convictions, they deserve to remain a burnt-out, has-been political force. They have no one to blame but themselves.

And since it is unlikely that the Republican Party has enough sense to understand any of this and will, therefore, do little to reestablish genuine conservative principles, it is probably best to just go ahead and bury the scoundrels now and move on to something else. Without a sincere commitment to constitutional government, the GOP has no justifiable reason to ever govern again. Therefore, put a fork in them. They are done. Let a new entity arise from the ashes: one that will stand for something more than just "the lesser of two evils." As we say in the South, That dog just won't hunt anymore.

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

In honor of a veteran.

2008-11-11T11:33:00.002-06:00

This is a post with pictures of my grandfather during World War II.

This picture is of the 325th air squadron.

The man on the bottom row 8th one from the left is my wonderful Grandfather.

This is a picture of my grandpa with some of his buddies in Germany 1944.

Left to right there is:

Sgt. Robert Longstreet Sgt. Old Doc Sgt. Cantansere

Cpl. Roman Martinez (my grandpa) Lt. Robert Hill

Here are two old poems that we have. One is to my grandpa from his best buddy the other is from him to my grandma.

This one says.

To my pal Marty,

Fraternity-Arises

Now that the was is over

And the fighting is all done,

A soldiers heart reflects

The glorious battle won.

His mind will tell of comrades

Who fought on by his side,

Who may have dropped and died

To stop the coming tide.

Some will keep their thoughts inside

And speak no boastful tone,

Their hearts have beared intensive pain

And this they can't condone.

Other voices speak their pride,

Their eyes saw no unkind,

They'll picture paint the glory

Of battles left behind.

These boys have fought together

And shard the battles toil,

they've watched the cities of the world

ground up in the soil.

But still there's something finer

Accomplished in this war,

'Brotherhood and love of man',

Now, thats worth fighting for.

S/Sgt Longstreet

"The Green Hornet"

You and I - Darling

Within our souls emotion rise,

To stir the love between us,

And make us feel the courage there

So full, superlative and luxurious.

There is no discourse to mar our path,

While travelling through lifes way,

Our joyous hearts submerge the bad,

To leave a future in each day.

A world at reast cannot inspire the peace

That's found by you and I,

We have no raging fire to hide,

No troubled - hardened sigh.

Our hearts are toned as if in song,

A meaning all their own,

Loyalty - Love - Devotion true

Is all we shall condone.

Why all these wondrous moments be,

no words could rightly phrase,

Because our minds cannot invent

A meaning to this joyous daze.

My grandfather was a tail gunner in a B-17 bomber during the war. His two planes were the "Virgin Vampire" and the "Frisco Trudy". Most of the war he was stationed in Ireland but he also spent some time in Germany, England, France and a few other places.

These next two pictures were taken right after the war ended.

German U-Boat coming into Irish harbor to surrender

So is this one-

This last picture is of Grandpa with his good buddy Sgt. Robert Longstreet

2008-11-10T08:45:00.002-06:00

Well over the last few days I have added several songs to my playlist I have added:

Yellow rose of Texas: One of my favorites of course being that I have lived all my life in Texas

Ballad of the Alamo: In honor of the men who died for my state (country :P)

Everybody's Dixie: For my beloved south for I am a confederate

Back in the saddle again: Just a song that I like and it is done by Jean Autry so why not?

Texas in 1880: It is about Texas and the rodeo so I figured it would not hurt

How 'bout them cowgirls: Has a lot of memories attached to it, of times with my sisters when we have sang it together and since it is now my oldest sister's cell phone ring I often hear it when she is over.

Day's go by: well this also is a song that I and my sisters would sing together.

So those are the newest and the reasons they are there I hope y'all don't mind them being there.

The Texan~

Rose pictures

2008-11-02T16:59:00.011-06:00

These are some pictures I took today with a rose from our garden. I had a lot of fun taking them :) The last one is my favorite! I love the way it looks. I hope y'all enjoy them.

The Texan~

Reformation day!

2008-11-01T14:37:00.002-05:00

Last night our church had a Reformation day party in honor of when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Whiten Burg on October 31 1517.

We all arrived at the church building at about 5:40 and Pastor Otis opened us up with prayer and then we did a Psalm sing in four part Harmony which was really nice I love the Psalms and would love to learn to sing more. (and how to sing the alto parts) After the singing Pastor Otis did a short talk on the Reformation then after that the rest of the night was spent in playing games and fellowship, it was so much fun! First we had two games of Pit going at one time and that was a blast then the guys took turns playing washers and those who were not playing or watching joined in playing some Catch Phrase and at the end of the night most everyone joined in to Catch Phrase and we had a great game. We had tons and tons of fun it was so hard to end the party and we kept it going till it was 10:30. (now who says that us Presbyterians are frozen chosen? :))

I hope y'all had as great a Reformation day as we and our church did.

The Texan~

P.S Sorry that I don't have any pictures Calvin's camera had a dead battery and Johanna's is with my mom in California.

2008-10-29T12:16:00.002-05:00

This video is not as impressive as the others since it is done on a home recorder and it is not in as high up of levels as the others but I love frissons and it is enjoyable to watch this horse preform.

The Texan~

And make sure you turn off my playlist.

Anky Van Grunsven

2008-10-29T11:59:00.002-05:00

This horse preformed the same night as Andreas but we are not sure weather it was before or after. This horse has a lot of grace and talent but I still like Andreas' dressage better, she had more spunk and playfulness. I hope y'all enjoy.

The Texan~

NOTE: Turn off my playlist music

Andreas Helgstrand

2008-10-29T11:43:00.001-05:00

This horse is amazing! We found this video a long time ago but had forgotten about it till today when my sister thought of it again and we both agreed that it just had to go on the blog!

I dare anyone to try and dance as good as this horse. I hope y'all enjoy it.

The Texan~

I am finished!

2008-10-27T12:00:00.005-05:00

I am now done with the puppy I was making!!!

He is not quite as good as the first one I made for

Cromwell but I am fairly happy with the way he came out.

The legs were the hardest part I could not get them to go on the way I wanted :)

The Texan~

Guess if you can

2008-10-24T17:39:00.002-05:00

Ok, how many of y'all can guess what it is that I am in the proses of making? I am missing two small parts of it but it should not make much of a difference as they just might make it harder having more things in there.

When I am done I will post another picture so y'all can find out the answer.

The Texan~

Tagged

2008-10-18T23:01:00.007-05:00

Wow! Not only have I been tagged again but I am combining two tags! Thanks to Sierra and Madison for tagging me.

Ok so for the first I am to try and think up six things that I have learned in the last month. (Has anyone noticed that even if the tags are different they generally have something to do with six?)

Here we go...

I learned...Playing ping pong to swing music can be a lot of fun!

I learned...I can come close to doing as good as my brothers playing Ghost Recon MP.

I learned...Trying to keep your hair dry while watching four little boys in the pool does not work.

I learned...That my cat really does have some use after all.

I learned...How to rap the horses leg with the new medication.

I learned...That Calvin being gone for three days wasn't such a bad deal. JK :)

Ok now for the really REALLY long part...

I am: Shy with people I don't know and way to talkative with those I do.

I know: More then some but a whole lot less then most.

I have: Lots and lots to thank God for.

I wish: That the East can come down here for Thanksgiving, the Candlers come down sometime (or me be able to go up to see them) and that my family can make it up to Virgina next year.

I hate: Hmmm...depends on my mood and what I am doing; for instance right now I might say that math is fine and I kind of like it, ask me when I have been staring at my books for three hours (or after my brother has been telling us at the dinner table all the joys of math and physics) and you might get another answer. :) I also hate it when the font of your post get really really huge for no reason. (second part written after fixing the said hated thing twice. (make that three times.))

I miss: All my friends that have moved away and left me and those that I met in Virgina.

I fear: That this post is going to take me a long time to do.

I feel: Like asking my brother and sister who are home right now if they want to play some ping pong (it is in the living room right now so it is easy to get to)

I hear: Music my sister put on in the background a timer going off and my sister doing something with dishes in the kitchen.

I smell: Crasins there is a bag of them next to me

I crave: I don't know

I search: for a answer to this odd question :)

I wonder: What we are going to do for lunch since our last plan was foiled

I regret: More things then I like to remember

I love: Lots of things but most of all my Lord and Savior

I am not: the type of girl that has to have makeup and nail polish on all the time in fact I rather dislike both.

I believe: Christ Jesus is Lord and in control over all now and forever.

I dance: Whenever I get the chance

I sing: At Church, with my family, and whenever I think no one can hear or I forget that someone else is in the room.

I cry: Not very often but I do every now and then.

I don't always: Remember to get the eggs every night (in fact I very often forget)

I fight: When I think I am right. (most the time it is more of dessication weather a quote was this or that and also I am most of the time wrong)

I write: Less then I should as any one of my friends could tell you.

I win: Very rarely

I lose: Most of the time it seems to be the only thing I am really good at.

I never: Want to have to live in a big city.

I always: Forget what I am supposed to be doing and start doing or thinking something else.

I confuse: Myself and everyone around me.

I listen: Very well when I am not supposed to know what my siblings are talking about and sometimes not so well when I am supposed to.

I can usually be found: In my bedroom sleeping, reading, or doing my school. (and just about in that order too)

I need: My Lord God and Savior

I am happy about: Getting a new CD last week

I imagine: Too many things for my own good.

Wow! that was a long one I think if this part has anything to do with six it would be that it has sixty questions.

Okay, I now tag:

Note: If you have already been tagged by one or both parts of this tag you by no means need feel obligated to redo it.

The Texan~

P.S Sorry it took me so long to get this done.

What do y'all think?

2008-10-13T14:44:00.003-05:00

Well I got a wild hair and started playing with the templates and I found this, what do y'all think?
I do not know however if I will keep it because as you can see by going to some of my post like my latest one with my cat that it has messed up were the writing should be in reference to the picture. So this could be very temporary.

The Adventures Texan~

I Have been tagged again!

2008-10-12T18:33:00.003-05:00

Actually twice I at one time but since it is the same thing I will just do one post.

I have been tagged by Savannah and Lauren.

These are the new rules.

The idea of the tag is to look in your pictures folders. Find folder #6 picture #6 and post. We do not categorize our folders by number, but this is one picture I found that might pass as a "folder six", "sixth" picture.

Now some of you will now when this was taken and were. :) For those who don't I will give you a hint two of the people in the picture are the same who tagged me.

Now I shall tag

Sierra

And I think everyone else I know have been tagged so I shall not re-tag.

The Texan~

A few new things.

2008-10-09T17:23:00.002-05:00

I have added a few things to my blog that I would like to draw to y'all's attention. One is that I now have some songs on my playlist with words and I want to know from y'all if I should keep the or not. The other is that as I am sure y'all have noticed by now I have added a friends test also.
This shall end my short and perhaps pointless post.

The Crazy Texan~

My Cat.

2008-10-08T09:31:00.018-05:00

About this time last year was when I first found my cat MacGyver as a little screaming kitten in the front bushes who was terrified of everything!

Last night when we brought in our ladder to do fall decorations and he started to climb on it we realized that the last time he had climbed on it was when he was a cute little kitten so here are

just some pictures of my cat enjoying our ladder.

When he was a few months old.

I dare you to come and get me!

I am the ruler of the world.

What is that down there?

I am so cute.

Wow how many more pictures

are you going to take?

Ok, don't y'all think that was plenty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One year latter.....

maybe not quite as cute but he is still dearly loved.

But he can still give some pretty odd looks.

Alright how do I get down from here?

Click on this one and look at his

face he looks like a mountain lion.

(really I think he was crying)

The Texan~

Update on Star.

2008-10-08T08:55:00.005-05:00

I think most of you remember that last June my sister's horse Star got her leg hung in some barbed weir and had exposed three inches of bone and had severed a tendon.

Well since then Star ha

s been at our house and we have been doctoring her although it has been a very long and disappointing time because instead of getting better over theses months of doctoring her she has gotten even worse and the wound has grown, *UGH* the problem we are having is with the proud flesh that keeps wanting to grow we it is awful she has over the months she has had two surgeries which is very disheartening because every time she has a surgery it means that the last two months of work was completely worthless, but now I have some good news we have finally found a cream that seems to be working the proud flesh is just melting off which means not only is it getting much better but since this cream

melts it instead of eating at it the wound no longer drips blood and has a rotten smell to like it has for so long. So we are greatly rejoicing that this new stuff is working so well.

Here is a picture so you can get a idea of what the wound looks like.

You might notice that the wounded leg is swollen about twice the size of the other leg this swelling has been like that all these months and sometimes even more swollen then it is there. It so sad to see how much Star has had to suffer but at least she is healing and we praise God for that.

The Texan~

Tagged again!

2008-10-04T18:21:00.004-05:00

I am have been tagged again! :)
This time I was tagged by Savannah who has spiced it up a bit. :)
So here is the new version...

What was the last movie you watched? I do not remember the name and I do not wish to it was pretty dumb.

If you could live any were in the world were would it be? Texas!!! and if it had to somewhere other then my beloved state I live now most likely Virgina. But I also love Scotland and Ireland and would like to live in one of them only it is a long way from the rest of my family so will just settle for going there on a long visit someday. :)

Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility? Pride and Prejudice!

Skirts or pants? I love both and will generally switch between them according to the circumstances.

Would you rather sing or play a instrument? Play a instrument. (I can not sing!)

Love or hate roller coasters? A few months ago I would not have been able to tell you since I had not been on any, but since then our friends the East took my brothers and I to Six Flags and I can now say "I LOVE THEM!"

Well I gave six random things about me last time I was tagged so I will try and think of a few more but do not count on it coming out to six.

1. When I was little my mom once actually had to tell me that I had to eat my stake before I could have more broccoli! I just loved broccoli back then. (I still do but not more then stake)

2. I used to think that leaves changing colors in the fall was a complete fairy tale. (It just never happens down here.)

3. I used to be afraid to do anything on the computer without help because I was just sure I was going to crash it.

4. I used to think I was going to be a great gymnast. (big dilution.)

5. I do not want to go to college!

6. My brain is fried so I can not think of another thing to write but if I do I will post it in a comment on this post.

Alright now for a picture...

My cat used to love to sleep in the sink or my mom and dad's bath tub for some wired reason.

This has been a lot of fun I hope y'all do not mind to much that my last two post have been so much alike.

Here are the new rules for this.

Post the rules on your blog
Answer the six questions asked
Write six random things about yourself
Post a favorite picture
Tag around six people
Link to the person who tagged you
Leave comments on their blogs to let them know they've been tagged.

Now I am going to tag....

And think everyone ells I know has already been tagged with this so I will not go through the ritual again but y'all know I would if y'all had not already been taken. :)
Thank you Savannah for coming up with a new version.

The Texan~

2008-10-03T19:12:00.003-05:00

It seems people have got the tagging bug! :D I have been tagged by Hannah!

So here it goes.

I am the youngest of five children.
I used to look on the chickens I raised almost as my children. *embarrassed*
I now have a cat named MacGyver but is more commonly known as evil cat.
I love to crochet and am working on a scarf and a blanket right now.
I really enjoy reading. (I have just started Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.)
I am also an Aunt at age fourteen.

Alright now these are the rules I am going to tag several people preferably six I believe and they are supposed to link to my blog give six facts about themselves and tag six more people leaving comments on there blogs telling them that they have been tagged.

I think I got the rules right you can look at Madison's or Hannah's blog to double check.

Now I am going to tag:

And I think that is all I can think of who might do it I could do my brother and I would but I don't think he would like it much. :)

I hope y'all enjoy!

The Texan~

P.S Anyone I tagged does not have to do this if they don't want to and if you have been tagged already by someone ells no problem you only need to do one. :)

Day on the town!

2008-10-02T19:24:00.006-05:00

Thursday my sister Jo has piano lessons and since she and I are generally the only ones home, when she goes it is my day to be alone at home. But today things were a bit different and I went in with her and my other sister Jen picked us up before the lesson for some shopping! Now most the time I HATE shopping! But this type of shopping is a bit different. :) After getting Jo and I, all three of us headed off to join forces with Grandma and go hit one of our favorite resale shops! :) We had a lot of fun there since today they had the dollar table and a 70% off rack so we got to go through every thing and get some nice skirts and blouses. Jo also got a beautiful dress for her Irish piano recital that is coming up. While us three girls went through all the racks looking for bargains Grandma greatly enjoyed herself sitting with Cromwell and letting all the ladies in the store gather round and say what a adorable grandson she had, Cromwell was just praised to the sky. (and I might add that all of it was with a firm foundation he is the cutest!) Once we left the shop it was time to take Johanna to her lesson and once there Cromwell once again was told how cute and adorable he was by Jo's teacher. :) After dropping Jo off grandma, Jen, Cromwell, and I went to have lunch with grandpa and daddy.? Then Jen and I took grandpa and grandma home and stayed with them till it was time to get Jo again two hours latter. (She gets really long lessons because she is her teachers favorite and because she is so advanced in her music.) Once Jo was collected we dropped Cromwell off at his Nana's house then Jo and I were dropped off at dad's work and Jennifer had to go to the dentist and that ended our day out on the town. We had a lot of fun thx Jen for taking Jo and I around with you we really enjoyed it!

The Texan~

2008-09-28T19:36:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all,
We made it home today. The wedding was very nice and was fun.
Mark (our cousin) and Macy are a very great couple together and were so happy!
I will try to give a fuller account tomorrow for I need to go right now but first I want to put up a few pictures of the sunset that lit up the sky tonight.

Three views one sunset.
Aint it pretty?

On the road agian.

2008-09-26T11:20:00.004-05:00

Once again, I am to be leaving for a few days but I will be back on Monday if all goes as planed.
This time the family is traveling up to College Station (Which is 30 minutes from Huston.) for my cousin's wedding. When we get back I hope to make a post on it but till then I shall say adios.

The Traveling Texan~

Remembering 9-11

2008-09-19T14:55:00.004-05:00

I know that this is late but I really wanted to do a something for 9-11 but did not have time during that week because of Ike and then kept putting it off; but now I have something, it is not much but if you go to my play list at the bottom there is a song called "Have you forgotten"
We really must not forget why we went to Iraq and we must remember all those who died on that day and in the years since then because of that attack.

Ike 2

2008-09-13T09:16:00.005-05:00

Hey y'all,
Well last night Ike hit land with devastating effects and they are not sure how many have been killed yet but there is a fear that the number will be high because there were a lot of people who ignored the mandatory evacuation. So please be in prayer for those who have been hit by Ike. Many people in the Huston/Galveston area are without power and will continue to be for several weeks most likely. Galveston was under mandatory evacuation as it is a barrier island and as flat as possible. Huston however was not because the last time a hurricane got close to Huston they said mandatory evacuation and 110 people died in car wreaks trying to get away and only 9 people were killed by the hurricane so they suggested evacuation but did not make it mandatory to try and avoid the last outcome.

We are doing fine we are in no danger whatsoever we were suppose to get some higher winds and lots of rain last night but none of it came which is really bad for us because not only did we work like crazy last night as we tried to get as much done as we could in the 90+ heat and we really really needed the rain because we have not had rain in three weeks and that rain then was not very much so we have no grass for our horses and everything is dieing. But I need to go now I just did not want y'all to think that we were among those who have been suffering so much from this hurricane.

The Texan~

Ike

2008-09-10T10:57:00.004-05:00

Hey y'all,
I will not be posting for a bit. Ike is com'n so were a run'n to get every thing put away so that it don't get blown to who knows were. But we will be staying at home for this one since we are not in Corpus but thirty five minuets inland so therefore not on the water. Christopher, Jennifer and Cromwell will most likely be coming over to stay at our place with their animals and if it is up to Christopher probably a lot of books too. :) So I will talk to y'all later. God bless y'all.

The Texan~

Hummingbird videos!

2008-09-08T13:57:00.006-05:00

Here are some videos I took of the humming birds. This might give you a better idea of how many there are. I hope you enjoy them!

Hummingbirds!

2008-09-08T11:04:00.022-05:00

Sunday afternoon I found that if I sat on our kitchen counter next to the sink I could get some pictures of the hummingbirds that were flying around our feeders. Here are some of the pictures I took!

In this picture there are five hummingbirds.

Can you find them all?

It was so cool to see them flying around the feeders

This one was one of the few that would come to this feeder and after many a try I got her.

Look at that red throughout!

This little guy loves that branch!

Here is the same picture as the first but I have taken it to paint so that you can see were all the hummingbirds are.

And now you people up north know were your hummingbirds went! :)

I hope y'all enjoyed the post!

The Texan~

Attack of the Giant Butterfly

2008-09-04T11:38:00.016-05:00

Well in the post below I said that I had not posted in a long time because I was waiting for something interesting well I have now found out that all I had to do was wait one more hour and I would have gotten it!

After writing the below post I went to the living room and started crocheting. well after a while I saw through the blinds that there was a huge butterfly flattering on the big windows in that room. Well wanting to see the Goliath a bit better I decided that I would go outside and since the chimney separates were the door is and where the butterfly was I had no fear of scaring it off and what happened never crossed my mind.......I opened the door and as so as I did the afor said butterfly flew over my head and into the living room.

Now I had no idea how I was going to get this monster out of the house by myself since no one was home other then me.

After a while I tried to get him to fly to see if I could shew him out the door. The end result being......

.....that the twerp of a butterfly flew to the entertainment center. As far as you can get from the door while still in the living room.

I then tried to catch it in a bowl. Next stop for the smart alack butterfly.....

Well as I am sure you can guess I did not catch the thing. Instead it flew out of the living room down the hall into the entryway into the music room and perched under the piano.

After that I tried to get him out of the front door after a few minutes of trying he went into the dinning room and perched under the dinning room table.

This was close to the end for the butterfly's fun! He next flew into the dinning room window and beat his head there for a long time. I would have opened it and let him out only the dinning room windows are two of the only ones in our house that do not open. So I went back to plan B which was to catch it with a bowl this in the end was a success and I then took the twerpy pest of a smart alack butterfly outside and sent him on his way.

Whats up

2008-09-04T08:50:00.006-05:00

Hey y'all!
I know it has been a while since I posted but I kept waiting for something interesting but maybe if I scrap together enough stuff I can succeed in that endeavor.
Well last night Jo and I went to Jen's house to spend the day with her and help her since her back which was injured last October had a relapse the night before and was giving her a lot of pain. When Jo and I got there we first gave Cromwell his bottle then we put him down for a nap and since Jen was also asleep (since she had not been able to sleep till 5:00 AM) Jo and I started crocheting for a bit till we also joined the ranks of our sleeping comrades. After we had all gotten up we spent the rest of the day mostly in talking but we also read Jen one chapter out of a book to give her a taste of what the rest of the family had reading together. The book is one that some friends had been reading when we went to visit them (see post right below) and we heard one of the chapters and enjoyed it so much that we got the whole series that it was in and have now read the first two and will most likely start the last one tonight. But back to our stay with Jen. After reading we watched a home video of ours that our friends put together for us and we were quite embarrassed to see the silly things we did. When we were done with the video we cleaned a bit and the we went back to talking and we also helped Jen with her crochet which is coming along nicely. By that time it the day was almost at a close and soon after Mom and Dad came to pick us up and take us home.

Other then our day with Jen we have not been doing much just sitting back and watching the first signs of Autumn as the Humming Birds come back and the first flocks of geese fly over head and the temperature slowly starts to drop, the end of this week the high is going to drop down to about 88. I can hardly wait for the first cold snap. I always look forward to the very first one, but it will not come till about October most likely.

I have a prayer request for our Pastor as he will be going to England soon to debate some Masons about weather or not you can be a true christian and be a member of the Masonic Lodge. So please pray that God will grant him success and safety during the his time in England. I am not sure when he leaves but it is this month and he will be gone for two weeks so please do pray for him.

Well that is all that I can think to give y'all that will not kill y'all with bordom. So a shall say hasta la vista.

The Texan~

Our trip to Dallas!

2008-08-23T18:35:00.024-05:00

Well Friday morning before us kids could start out for Dallas there were a few things remaining on our to-do list. So at seven in the morning we headed down to Wall-Mart for several things.

1. Change oil in van
2. Buy cloths to take with us on the trip!

I know, that second thing on the list sounds like a odd one to leave on there till the day that you are leaving but there was a reason, this reason is that it just so happened to be that the day we were leaving was also the beginning of the Sales Tax Free holiday weekend which is of course the biggest weekend for our clothes shopping. So yes the day of our trip we were at the store getting the cloths we would be wearing while on the trip. :) After all of our shopping was done we went back home and packed the new shirts in the suitcases then said goodbye to our sister Jennifer who was at our house for the day and then boldly set out on our journey.

About 1 1/2 hours into our journey my oldest brother who was driving had the bright idea that maybe before we got off 624 where the gas is cheapest he should have looked to see if the car needed to be filled but as it was 624 was long behind us, so about thirty minuets later we stopped to fill up and since it was kinda close to lunch time and none of us had eaten much breakfast Jo and I started to make up the chicken salad sandwiches, when we found out that Johanna had packed every thing but then had reorganized a bit and forgot to put the spoon back in so we had no way of spreading the mayonnaise or putting the salad on the bread. After a bit of musing we decided to try to just use the heels of the bread loaf to scoop and spread and that did work although by the end of it Jo and I were covered in bread crumbs, mayonnaise, and chicken salad. After that the only thing that went wrong for a while was a few fights with the GPS to get it to take us the way we wanted and not through Austen. We got into a scrap again near Waco because of the GPS but pulled through after watching the time of arrival go up by 30 minuets and having a close encounter with aliens from some other planet! OK OK OK so it was only a weird looking guy in pajamas going out to his car but the other version sounds a little more interesting. Anyway we got through Waco after much grumbling at the Miss Garman. Latter once again we got into a tiff with Miss Garman (GPS) and this time she landed us in the middle of fields as far as the eye could see but once again we pulled through and we finely arrived at the East! YIPPY!!! There was a joyful reunion of friends and the real fun began.

When we got there they were unloading groceries so we helped out with that and then we split up into groups. The guys went straight to the X-Box and us girls started talking and enjoying the time we had together. It was soon time to help with dinner and the older girls put supper in the oven then latter Savannah and I went in to start the salad, by this time some of the cheese had bubbled over in the oven and was making a lot of smoke. Savannah and I after finding that nothing was very wrong and that the house was not going to burn down set to work and started guessing how long it would take the guys to notice that the room was full of smoke....well about twenty minuets latter we heard a call from the X-box asking if we had noticed that there was tons of smoke in the air? I think you can guess the effect this had on Savannah and I. :) The rest of the night was spent by us girls in laughing, giggling, sharing news, and talking about old times to the late night hours. I will not bother saying what the guys did because it is the same as earlier.

Saturday we went to a park which was a lot of fun.
You can see what us girls did by the pictures. :)

Jo and Lauren

Caroline, Julia, Savannah and I

Savannah and I

After taking pictures by the pond we sat under the shade of a tree and laughed as we watched the guys play some sports....OK well we mostly laughed at what we were talking about but the guys did a few things every now and then that warranted some laughing. :)

Once we got home all of the girls started watching North and South since Jo and I had not yet seen it and we enjoyed it greatly.

Sunday after church was spent mostly in discussion and in the evening we had a devotions.

Monday morning was spent in all of us getting to gather and playing some games till about 10:30 when those of us who were going started to get ready for are outing to six flags!
Now I had never been on a roller coaster before so I was not so sure how well I was going to take to it but with my good friend by my side and encouraging me I stepped on the first roller coaster with confidence. That confidence was quickly shaken however at the first turn because the ride was inside and very dark so I could not see what was coming up and brace myself, but I did succeed in not screaming or yelling because I had to make sure that I could go a ride without doing so and I am glad I had success on that first one because it is funner when you let out a whoop and a holler or yell on those things so after that first one I did just that. :)
The next ride we went on was the Batman and I did not have as much confidence getting on this time as last time but like the time before that quickly changed only this time it was that I found that I loved it and was all gun ho for going on it again when it was suggested. After our second ride on the Batman we went over to Mr. Freeze and I enjoyed that one too but I wish it was a bit longer. :) The next ride we headed off to was the Titan which is the biggest one there and I think you will know my opinion of it when I say that we went on it three times and I would have been more then ready for a fourth! The last ride we went on was the Texas Giant and that one was a bit ruff but the rattling it gave us did not bother me much....(well not till the next day at least) by the time we were done with that ride we were all soaked from the rain and some of us were hurting so we went home after that. Once we had all gotten into dry clothes we got together and played mafia, catchphrase, and "I never" till dinner time, then after dinner us girls started talking while the guys went the their corner and played X-Box.

Tuesday was the day of our leaving and therefor a very sad day. However we did not have to leave till 2:00 PM so we had some time left together and spent it playing Catchphrase together but all to soon that dreaded hour came and it was time to say goodbye.

We had tons of fun and I hope that we will see y'all again in November!
But till that time I will be missing y'all and remembering the great times we had together!

Saturdays events

2008-08-23T17:41:00.004-05:00

Do not worry, I am still planning on doing the post about our trip to Dallas as soon as I get some more things. So please stay with me a little longer.

Today started off well but began going down hill first with the tree: Now the tree goes back a long time. Several years ago we dug up a small cratmerdal seedling from our pool area and not knowing what to do with it at the time so we put it in a pot and set it in one of our rock garden. Well as you can guess in three+ years it grew a lot and started to get in the way so today mom decided that we would plant it in the front yard. Well that was all good and fine till we went to pick up the tree and quickly found out that in the years it had grown in more ways then up. So after one hour of digging one broken shovel and several broken roots the plant came out of the ground and I took it over to the hole that was waiting for it and after we cut the pot off of it thought that we were done with problems from that section of our lives when.....mom went to the potting soil and started to dump some of it in the hole and out along with the soil came lots and lots of roaches! Well as you can guess we all started focusing on not letting any of the pest get away to were they could do any damage and after 20 minuets got them pretty well under control. After that before we even got the plant in the ground problem number two came bonding up in the form of my sister Johanna telling us that Star our oldest sister's hurt horse we've been taking care of was laying down in her stall. So we quickly went over to the stall and even though Star got up she was not putting any weight on her hurt leg. She also was totally not interested in grass. (Note for those who might not know. If a horse does not want to eat that is a very bad sign because horses are one of the most greedy animals living.) After a bit of being out in the Pasteur she walked back to her stall and stood still and then tried to lie down a few more times we were very much worried at this time because she was acting very lethargic and uninterested in anything. Thankfully our neighbour is a Vet. and was willing to come over and take a look at her and told us that she is slightly colicy which is one of the reasons she was laying down and also because since it is so muddy her leg was hurting more from the extra work and was needing to rest her other three legs since she was not putting weight on the hurt one. So it was good to know that nothing to major had gone wrong and he also gave her a shot to help with the pain in her stomach and leg. So Star seems to be doing ok we just need to keep an eye on her to make sure she does not get any more colicy. So a boring day became a rather stressful day in a matter of two hours. "Sigh" I am glad it is over with and all seems to be well. Oh and BTW we did finely get that tree in the ground.

The Crazy Texan~

Back home

2008-08-20T20:06:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all,
I am back, sooner then I would like to be but I am back. We had a whole lot of fun with our friends up in Dallas/Arlington and made lots of memories. I will be trying to make a post about it soon so as to try and give you an idea of how much fun we had. :)

The Texan~

Not at home

2008-08-14T12:52:00.006-05:00

I shall not be on for a while because tomorrow Calvin, Robert, Johanna, and I are going to Dallas to visit some really really good friends of ours! So when you do not hear from me do not think I that have forgotten you. :)

The Journeying Texan~

Play ball!

2008-08-11T23:27:00.005-05:00

Tonight Calvin, Robert, Johanna, and I went to the Hooks game with some people from church and we had a lot of fun. Although it would have been funner if we had won but it was a close call and our boys tried hard. The game started off with us trailing the Spring Field Cardinals by three points in the top of the second inning. In the bottom of the second however Wladinir Sutil singled to left scoring Billy Hart and Ole Sheldon. Then in the bottom of the third Drew Sutton hit a home run to put the game even at three and three! The pitchers on both sides kept it that way for a long time. In the top of the seventh Christopher Blazek stepped on the mound replacing our starter Polin Trinidad and Blazek was latter replaced by Christopher Salamida in the top of the ninth. The score was still three and three but not with out there being several threats on both sides of changing that. However the game came to a sad closer when in extra innings (top of the eleventh) Spring Field scored one point and we were not able to make a reply in the bottom of the inning. But we still had lots of fun and I as normal made sure I came home with a sore throat from cheering on my team.

The Texan~

Jen's Visit

2008-08-07T10:01:00.014-05:00

Last Tuesday Jennifer came over with Cromwell to check on Star (who is doing a lot better) and she stayed the night, so we had two days to play and have fun! Tuesday night we played games and got out some old pictures ranging in time from when I was 12 to when my sister Jennifer (who is ten years older) was a few days old. Then on Wednesday my brother Robert had the day off from work and Calvin did not have to go into school till 11:30 so we watched a movie that was a childhood favorite of ours. After the movie Calvin had to go so the rest of us talked to with each other and played with Cromwell who is quickly gaining weight! :)

Is he not the cutest baby ever?!?!?

Latter once Calvin was home again all of us kids went swimming. (all but Robert that is) We had a lot of fun and Calvin brought out his camera which can take pictures under water so we tried playing with that.

Johanna and Me

Johanna

Calvin

Rebecca (me)

Jo swimming through the water

Calvin trying to make laps in the pool under water

Me swimming

When Jen got back in after taking care of the baby we wanted to get all three of us girls the end result was that our hair got tangled together. :)

After dinner the day closed with a beautiful sunset!

We had a lot of fun! Thanks Jen for coming over!

The Texan~

Courtesy post for Hannah Tucker

2008-08-05T18:47:00.000-05:00

Please Pray for My Horse Red.....

Hello girls,
Sorry about not posting the winners from the Picture Taking Contest....we've been rather busy:
yesterday, my dad and I went up to the barn that we are building to work, well, my horse, Red, seemed fine, perfectly normal. My dad and I had to go and get some gates to put up in the barn, so all in all, we were gone for about an hour and a half.
When we got back, I walked around the side of the barn to get something, and Red was standing there, so I went over to pet him.
I noticed that he was holding his front leg kind of funny, so I started to rub it and lift it; he didn't mind, but he didn't walk either.
So I got some grass and held it up to him. He was hungry, so he walked forward to get it...not good.
He could hardly walk; he kept his right foreleg bent forward when he walked, wouldn't straighten it up. Sooooo, we called the Vet. The Vet came out and said that he had hurt his knee somehow (which was very swollen; and he had had Arthritis every since we got him, and every now and again it would bother him but not this bad!)
She thought that he might have stepped in a hole or tripped or something.
She gave him a shot to calm him down and kill some of the pain.
Red isn't much better today: he lays down allot and makes this really weird sound that's kind of like snoring. He drinks allot of water though, which is good.
Also, my horse Silkie has eaten too much clover and is suffering from massive slobber attacks. She just stands around and drools.
So please pray for my horses Red and Silkie: if 26 year old Red doesn't get better, he'll have to be put down, and I don't think that I could handle that.

Thanks!
-Rose

P.S. Please copy and paste this post onto your blogs if you have one.

Just having fun!

2008-07-28T22:56:00.014-05:00

Last night, I got a wild whim and took my brothers camera and started snapping pictures of myself. Note: this was very abnormal for me. It was a lot of fun however.....till my brothers and sister found out what I had done and started teasing me about it. But oh well who cares what they think anyway? :D ok well I digress I took pictures had fun got teased and am now posting
them on the blog, is the long and short of it.
The Texan~

Hurricane

2008-07-23T10:58:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all,
Just if you are wondering... no we have not been washed away by water, or sucked up by one of the tornadoes. Although a tornado did go past my dad's work, it was about one hundred yards away out in the water. The same tornado did hit land has gone past the air port and is somewhere close to Robstown. But don't worry about us. Even though are address is Robstown we are not truly in Robstown. We are about ten or so minutes out from it on 60 mph roads, so we are fine and are just getting a lot of rain which we needed. However though we are fine, there are till lots of people being effected by this Hurricane. I think the radio said that about a thousand people have lost power from between here and Brownsville, so please be in prayer for those who are taking the brunt of this hurricane. For those who do not know Brownsville is (according to yahoo maps) 164.14 miles south of us.

The Texan~

Pride and Prejudice the New vs. A&E

2008-07-22T10:06:00.013-05:00

Well, last night I watched the new version of "Pride and Prejudice" and thought I might do a post on what I thought about it. Now so as not to hurt anyone's feelings who likes this movie, let me put this in context. I think it is an enjoyable movie. What I am doing here is comparing it to the A&E version which I grew up with and is longer, so I of course I liked it better (Who would not like more Pride and Prejudice anyway?) So here it goes!

In the new Pride & Prejudice, because it is so short, it does a very bad job at explaining everything and hardly introduces someone before kicking them under the rug. (if it introduces them at all) And so the movie as a whole is a bit of a blur of people showing up and disappearing. It also jumps from place to place, so that if you had not seen the A&E or had not read the book you would most likely have no idea where anyone was. Example: Elisabeth comes back from visiting the Collins and she is told that her aunt and uncle are there, yet they are never introduced. The next thing you know is that some people suggest to Elizabeth that perhaps she might enjoy going with them to some place, and before she even says yes they are off and she is suddenly standing on the edge of a cliff. Now of course most people can later sort out what happened but while your watching a movie you should not have to be sitting there trying to figure out who on earth is that person and how do they fit in. Some of the other things I objected to was the way they changed the characters of certain people. Take Mr. Bingley for example. In the A&E version he may not be the brightest, but he was fairly well spoken and gentlemanly. In the new version he is a complete bumbling idiot that looks like he just stepped out from a Dr. Seuss movie. And his proposal was terrible! Could they not think of anything better for him to say if they were going to make you listen to it? And then having him go in to visit Jane when she is sick! GOOD GRIEF! She was in her nightgown! Gentlemen did not go into ladies rooms when they were in there nightgowns! Not to mention he did not even knock! Speaking of men not knocking, what was that when they had Mr. Darcy blow in upon Lizzy when he went to propose for the first time and couldn't? Or worse when they had him slip into her room to deliver his letter while she was in her nightgown!? I mean that is also a big no, no! Going in to a room of a house that you just arrived at, is not yours, and you are not currently staying at, and then bursting in upon a lady without being announced or even knocking! I loved the way the A&E Darcy perfected looking cold and aloof in the beginning and later ''all ease and friendliness'' as Mrs. Gardiner put it, mixed with warmth and love for Elizabeth. Whereas the other Darcy perfected looking asleep, drowsy, and bored. Another thing I must say I did not like as well was the dancing. It like much of the rest of the movie lacked the grace, charm, and elegance of the A&E. I think by now y'all have got my gist that I think they could have done a better job on the movie. An extra thirty minutes would not have hurt, so that they could either explain more or at least let the actors slow down there lines a little so that you can understand what they were saying. Oh! And they could have cut out all those disgusting statues at Pimberly that they threw in! But I am getting side tracked again. It could be a very enjoyable movie if you did not do like me a keep up a running commentary up the whole time with your sister while watching it. Comparing it in every little way and detail to the A&E version. There are a lot more things I could say about my likes and dislikes of the movie but I shall not make you put up with that now. Oh! I must say that I loved the music though!

The Texan~

Today

2008-07-19T09:47:00.008-05:00

Last night went to Sonic with with our friends the Bernhards and played volleyball at the court there and it was tons of fun, although it was a little different playing on sand instead of grass but I did not mind that much since it meant I got to take my shoes off and I think most of y'all know how much I hate shoes. Last Thursday Calvin, Robert, and I (Johanna was babysitting) did archery and I used the bow that Calvin made me for the first time and found that it was fantastic I even manged to hit a bullseye, amongst other places but I will not speak of those. Today I have not done very much I have added music to my blog as I am sure you have noticed and I have helped make lunch and I believe that is about it. Right now Calvin and Dad are trying to install our new dishwasher we had to get since the other one died and latter today Jen will be coming out so we shall be able to see her and little Cromwell, and I think that is all that we have on the agenda for today.

El Texan~

Update

2008-07-13T20:01:00.019-05:00

Hey Y'all,
Well things were kinda crazy around here for a while but it is starting to settle out, first off Cromwell is doing amazingly well and has recovered from is surgery nicely and is even getting some of that chubby baby look again:) here are some pictures to show how well he has improved.

Cromwell before
his surgery

Right after surgery

Getting a little
fatter

Aint he just adorable

As for Star well the Vet. says she looks great and so does our neighbor who is also a Vet. so I guess she is doing better, even if to me it looks otherwise. Last Saturday we had a party to celibrate the victory of William of Orange over James II of England, and that was alot of fun and we have just about got every thing settled down and put back in order so right now we are doing very well down here.

The Texan~

What's up around here.

2008-07-07T18:03:00.006-05:00

Today was a rather uneventful day but Calvin, Johanna, and I did go to Hobby Lobby and I got some more yarn to crochet with and we all got some fabric to sew one of the flags of the Orange Blades to hang up at are party will be having on the 12th to celebrate the victory of William III at the battle of the Boyne when he defeated the armies James II and forever broke the power of the papist in England.
Star our hurt horse is healing, not quite as well as we would like but she is healing; every day she has to have her bandages changed and we have to wash her wound with water for thirty min. and since it has been raining a lot down here because it is raining season it can turn into a very very wet and muddy job "Fun" and it can also make feeding and bringing in chicken eggs even less pleasant then it normally is. So that is what is going on in my life right now cleaning, horse doctoring, chicken duty, Crocheting, and a few other things throne in here and there.

The Texan~

4th of July

2008-07-04T23:31:00.020-05:00

Howdy y'all,
Hope you all had a great 4th of July! We had fun once it was about 5:00 when mom decided that we had gotten all the work done for the day that was needed, I crashed for a while on the coach and then helped make hamburgers and milkshakes, after dinner I went out side to sit on the horse pasture fence and watch the fireworks that our neighbors were putting off and I tried to get some pictures with Calvin's camera. Not very many came out but the few that did are below.
The Texan~

Thank you

2008-07-03T09:46:00.002-05:00

Thank you so much all of y'all who prayed for my nephew as he had surgery last night, he has now gone home and is doing wonderful thanks be unto God and should not have any more troubles with losing weight.
Star is also healing well and will be going back to the vet soon for a checkup. Yesterday we watched three boys from our church and had fun with them and then today I have manly been crocheting, so that is the update for today.
Thank you so much again for praying for Cromwell.

The Texan~

Please Pray for Cromwell

2008-07-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

My sister Jennifer took Cromwell to be looked at today and he has now been taken to a children's hospital for a minor surgery so please pray that all will go well and that Cromwell will be healed.
Thank you so much for praying for Cromwell.

Rebecca Marie~

Cromwell

2008-06-30T16:57:00.002-05:00

Well I said that I was going to do a post about my nephew and I am doing so only I had hoped to do a post about his baby shower we had last Sat. but instead I am going to have to ask y'all to pray for him because he was born May 16 at 8 pounds and 8 ounces, like all babies he lost some weight and then gained it back and was over 9 pounds when he left the hospital nine days latter (As most of y'all know he had to spend this much time in the hospital because after being born he developed a type of pneumonia) after leaving the hospital he was doing very well but in the last three or so weeks he has started losing weight again and had dropped down to a little above 7 1/2 pounds way below his weight at the time of his birth, the doctor said to put him on formula and he had gone back up to 8 pounds and 12 ounces but now he has once more lost weight and is now 8 pounds and 1 ounce, we have no idea why he can not retain weight so please please please pray for my young nephew Cromwell Rutherford Marks he is a little over six weeks old and is having alot of trouble. Thank you so much to all who have before and are now praying for Cromwell.

Rebecca Martinez~

I shall try

2008-06-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

Ok I am going to try and get up a post about my nephew tomorrow if I can find the camera.

The Texan~

Things that are going on

2008-06-26T11:22:00.000-05:00

Well now that we are back from the Conference (I will try to get up a post about it soon I hope) we are trying to get back on schedule slowly but surly. Last night and today Jennifer and Cromwell come over and they will be continuing to do so for a while because when we were gone Star one of Jen's horses got tangled up in some barb-wire and really badly hurt her leg and we will most likely never be able to ride her again which is a really big heart brake because she was one of the best horses to ride and very gentile with little children, but she is healing very well and is at our house right now to be looked after until she is better; so Jen will be coming out to check on her most every day.
Today Johanna and I made some things for the Meet the Baby shower that we are having on Saturday, and we spent alot of time helping Jen with Star and with our little Nephew. So we did that and tried to clean a little and I looked at my math to see if I remembered any thing from over a week ago I basically got a negative in that section and that is about all that we have done today.
I have included some pictures of Star after being doctored.

The Reformed Family Bible Confrence

2008-06-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

Every Year in June our family (or just some of our family it depends) go to the Reformed Family Bible Conference in Virgina. This year just us four younger kids went (Calvin, Robert, Johanna, and I) and we got to sit under the teaching of some of the greatest pastors, it was a real blessing and convicting. We also got to spend time with friends that we only see up there and had a wonderful time talking and playing with them. In the afternoon in between talks we would get together a Ultimate Frisbee game, and in the evening after the last talk for the day we would have some dancing which was lots and lots of fun. So for those of you who were there I loved seeing you and hope to see you again next year if not before for the rest of y'all I hope you can come next year and hear and learn from this great fountain of knowledge.

Here are some Pictures of the dancing.

Robert and
Hannah dancing

Jefferey and I dancing

Johanna and Philip dancing

Hannah and I walking with little Ian

Hannah and I on the last day

The view from on top of a mountain.

The Mann girls,
Johanna, and I.

The Cat

2008-06-26T09:33:00.002-05:00

This is the Cat.
You can often find him sleeping.
If he is not sleeping he is most likely eating.
If he is not eating or sleeping...be very afraid!

MacGyver came to us in October a cute little kitten crying on our porch, we brought him into the family and he is now our favorite little fur-ball; but don't be fooled under his soft fur and cute looks there is something else that has given him the nick name of "Evil Cat." Yes, he can be very evil! But he can also be very silly and sleep in the oddest positions
and on windy Autumn days you can even catch him chasing leaves, but right now he has been having trouble with a local Mockingbird that has taken a great dislike to him and will often dive-bomb, peck him, and then fly off before he can catch him; it is really very funny to watch my cat get beat by a bird. MacGyver also has a joy in chasing toys on strings and can quickly destroy them and when the toy is gone he will every now and then revert to your hand instead.

He can also every now and then be very forbearing.

So that shall for now end my tale of the cat.

Introduction

2008-06-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

Hey,
I have now got a blog going, so maybe I will be a good faithful girl and keep posting on it! do not worry I am not starting this to try to get out of e-mailing y'all :) I just started it for fun so I shall still try to keep up with the e-mails :) As I think you all know I have four older siblings Jennifer Claire, John Calvin, Robert Lewis, and Johanna Rachelle; I also have one brother-in-law Christopher. My Dad and Mom's names are David and Connie Martinez; and my nephew's name is Cromwell Rutherford. I have one cat named MacGyver, fourteen chickens, the family has one dog named Maverick, and my oldest sister has two horses, Star and Kate, only she took them with her when she got married, :( but they do still come over for visits every now and then. I and my family live on a little over a acre of land out past Robstown and we also have 5.8 acres out in Calallen we do not have cows but my sisters and I sometimes will go to a friends ranch and help herd his cows which is alot of fun! :D My two favorite pastimes are reading and crocheting and I find that I spend lots of time doing those things, I also like keeping up with baseball although I don't play it very often, I do however love playing Frisbee with my friends and I greatly enjoy archery. I think this will work for the introduction I will try to get some more post up soon!

The Crazy Texan~