First Day of School - Eighth Grade Edition

Our traditional first day of school photograph:

Big difference from just a few years ago.

Top Ten Books

A member of my congregation is on staff at the local library.  And he asked me if I would be willing to supply a "top ten list" of books - my personal favorites.  They plan to post it somehow in the Friendswood Library.

I thought about it awhile and came up with the following:

1. Bible
2. The Lord of the Rings
3. Surprised by Hope - N.T. Wright
4. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Creation and Fall, Temptation - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
6. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
8. Red Dwarf - Grant/Naylor
9. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
10. The Sun Also Rises - Earnest Hemmingway

Summer Vacation

About every other year, we try to get up to Jackson, TN, and St. Louis to see our respective parents.  We left right after VBS concluded at church for Jackson - or really, to Medina.  Sheri's parents sold their 5 bedroom house in Jackson for a smaller, 3 bedroom in Medina.  Medina is just north and a bit west of Jackson - serving as a kind of "bedroom community" just outside of the city.  That Sunday, June 28th, I had the opportunity to preach and preside at Concordia Lutheran Church in Jackson - the congregation which sent me to Seminary.  Their pastor was still at the Mid-South District Convention that Sunday, so the timing was perfect.
After a few days spent their, we took the 4 1/2 hour drive up to St. Louis to see my parents.  While there, we went to the zoo, at Ted Drewes twice, and watched fireworks on a very lovely night in Kirkwood Park.
On our return trip, we stopped in Martin, TN to visit an old professor friend of Sheri's, Dr. Michael Hernon.  We spend that night in Medina, and then made the long 11 1/2 hour drive back to Texas.
It was a good trip, and great chance to visit old homes and new homes, and a chance to see faces from the past.

Bartok

Our remaining dog, Bartok died today.  He was at least 15 years old.

Bartok was a stray that was found and then offered to us.  At the time, we already had Mercedes.  So we took her over to him to see how they would handle one another.  After a brief showdown, they came to some sort of agreement and were friends for life.

We named him Bartok after the composer and after a character from the animated movie "Anastasia."  His name was Sheri's idea.  The vet estimated his age as about the same as Mercedes, so that's what we went with.  He was definitely a mutt - some sort of mix between Chow and Pit Bull and maybe some other breeds.  He looked intimidating, but in reality, he was all about love.  He wasn't all that bright.  He usually just followed Mercedes' lead.  I would say he lived in the bliss of ignorance.

He liked to roll in the grass, bark at other dogs, and had a "happy howl" when he wanted some attention.  He lived in three states (Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas) and was a fixture in our household.

He was pretty healthy his whole life.  But during the last year he started developing arthritis issues, became nearly deaf, couldn't see very well, and started losing weight.  The last couple of weeks he took a steep downturn, so we made the difficult decision to put him down.

After almost 16 years of having a dog or dogs in the house, it is very weird not having him around. 

Some may ask, "How many animals have you had?"  We've had a number of them, but there is now only one left from the "1st generation" of animals we acquired before the girls were born.  That would be our female cat, Aria.  We have three other cats we rescued from the local shelter here within the past 2 1/2 years.  We expect this "second" generation (I call them the "Three Stooges") to be around for awhile.

Bartok will be terribly missed.

Samson

Samson, or as we often called him, "Fluffy" died yesterday evening, December 13, 2014.  He was 13 years old.  We were gone most of that day.  When we came home later that evening we found him dead.  Our vet said it was likely a massive heart attack.
We brought Samson into our household about a year before the girls were born.  Samson was the only cat we ever purchased.  He was a flame-point Himalayan / Persian.  When we got him, he was a tiny puff of white fur.  He ended up being a large, heavy cat with a large personality.  He liked to lounge about most of the day.  He talked a lot as well - letting you know when he was ready for attention, when the water bowl was empty, and that it was time to bring out the food.  If he had a flaw, it was his grooming habits.  His long, luxurious fur was more of a liability to him.  It frequently matted - getting so bad that we would have to have him shaved to start all over again.  Afterward, he looked like a lamb that just had its wool shorn.
He lived in four homes: Jackson, TN, St. Louis, MO, Cape Giradeau, MO (vicarage year) and Friendswood, TX.  Like Truman, the Samson has always been a fixture in our girls' lives.  His sudden death was a shock to all of us.  He was a fun, lovable friend that will be greatly missed,

First Band Concert

Tonight, the girls performed for the first time in concert.  The Friendswood Junior High 6th Grade Band performed a Christmas concert - their first all together as a band.  The full band played, "Up on the Housetop" and "Jingle Bells."  Each section also performed a piece.  Abby, along with the rest of the flutes played, "The Dreidel Song."  Emma and the low brass (trombones, euphoniums, and tubas) played "Jolly Old St. Nicholas."
As best we could tell, the girls did a great job.  And the bonus was that the Grandparents, Rick and Cathy Ribble, were also present.  The girls also shared with us, "I'm glad it's over."

Truman

I have done a poor job of posting to our family blog. Over the past two years or so I have just stuck to writing about major life events rather than the every day things that happen.  Today, unfortunately, is another one of those major events.  Our eldest cat, Truman died early this morning.  He died at home, by natural causes; namely, very old age.  He was 17 years old - ancient for a cat.

Sheri and I got Truman during our first year of marriage.  He was rescued from a stable near Jackson, Tennessee.  He was born a barn cat.  But he was being abused by one of the owner kids.  We just took him.  They didn't care.  We named him "Truman" after the mascot of the University of Missouri (my alma mater) Tigers.  He held onto his barn cat ways for a while - stealing food from us.  (There was a infamous incident with a Popeye's chicken leg that is now recalled with fondness.)  He settled into the role of alpha cat in our house as more friends were added over time - holding that distinction nearly until the end.  He was a friendly, social cat who knew everything going on in the house and loved to sit on your lap to make your day better.  He has been around for our daughters' entire lives. He has seen all animals we have been blessed to care for come, and some go.  He lived in four different houses in three different states.  Throughout, he has been a steady fixture within our household.

His health began to visibly decline over the past 18 months or so, and then a steep decline over the last three.  His death was expected soon.  And today, our Lord graciously made that difficult call for us.  He was a wise, old cat, full of years and experiences.  No cat could ask for more.