Fast Forward

Wow, can't believe it has really been almost 2 months since I last posted something on the blog.  Lots has happened since them.  I will try and catch up fast.

Great time in Vegas for the Tringo Smootle wedding.



Then came a super Fun Halloween



Then came a great Thanksgiving.  We were home and hosted family and some friends all weekend.  It was great.


Now here we are in December.  I attended my first holiday party with the ladies at the church (aka Church Chix).  We had a lively ornament exchange.  Seeing grown women steal cute ornaments, like frogs, snowmen, and hot pink fake christmas trees is something else.   Today was a dramatic portrayal of a "Not so silent night at the Church".  It was a different take on the birth of Jesus and very interesting.  Our cousin Shane had a prime role as a protector angel.  He was dressed like a super hero and that was a BIG hit with the boys.
Archer was slow to warm up to him, but once he saw it was Shane he took to calling him "Super Shane"
Here is Super Shane and the boys.

  Archer keeping his distance.

Our friends Foxy and his momma Krystal came to see the performance too.

 Christian and Fox are good buddies.

  Don't tell him about this season...he is still a BIG fan of "Hook 'Em"



Sorry for the delay in posting. I will try to be better with the holidays, but my computer is old and slow.  I have asked Santa for a new one, so we will see what happens.

HE'S BAAAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!!

Shane is back from AFRICA...yea!!!!!
Tonight was his welcome home Texican dinner.

All of this posts pictures are brought to you courtesy of Christian, my budding photog son.
He asked several times to take pictures of Shane, then of everyone, then of Daddy, then of me (yes, I took Editorial control and deleted that one)


Dad must have been saying Cheese for like 5 mins here.

But back to Shane. He is back from 2.5 months of being in Swaziland. He was doing field work so that future Southern Nazarene University Students could one day participate in internships in Swaziland. I was able to hear a few of his cool stories tonight, but I know he has so many more to tell and I look forward to hearing them. I won't do his stories justice so I am just going to point you over to his Blog. His words are so much better.

Also, he greeted us for dinner with a Swazi language greeting.....Shane I need you to say it again from me so I can learn it

Kids these days

I often have to catch myself from saying that phrase...."Kids these days!" They just don't get it...they don't have the same work ethic, they just think they are entitled to everything...blah, blah, blah. Lucky for me there are shining examples of how great "this generation" truly is. I'm related to several. However, this post is just going to focus on one in particular.

This one.....

This one contradics most of those phrases I mentioned earlier about "kids these days". He is a bosses dream worker. Show him something and let him go. Entitled...this kid doesn't act entitled at all. He is humble and knows the sacrifice that has been made for him by his savior. He is smart. smart as a whip. and he gets it...he gets that it is about more than himself. He is a college graduate, with honors.

His name is Shane and he is my family. He is now taking off on the adventure...maybe the adventure of a lifetime, but I'm betting he has lots of adventures ahead of him. Shane is heading off to Africa....yes, Africa. He talks about his trip here in his recent blog post.

Oh, did I mention he is funny to...very witty in fact. notice in the picture above he has a nice camera smile on his face...just before that picture was taken, he said "FAKE CANDID!!!"

Shane and I go WAY back...well every since he was born :) I used to babysit him and his brother Cameron (one of those other good kids I'm lucky to be related to). When he was in 8th grade I started to attend his church and would take him and Cameron to church on Sundays. Then when I started singing in choir I would take him to choir practice. Then when he was a college kid at home during the summers looking for work I suggested him working part time in my office. He is also god father to my youngest son.

So Shane good luck and God's speed on your next step in life. There are big things out there just waiting for you.