Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The negative side of living away from family....

Although we love living in Texas and do not plan to change that anytime soon, there is one downer about living several hours away from family. When something happens, it is more difficult to be a part of things there. I have a great aunt named Veda, who is my grandmother's baby sister. 20 years younger than she was, same age as my parents. She has always been more like an "aunt" than great-aunt. Her daughter is around our age as well. She has been battling inoperable stomach cancer for the last year, unfortunately most of the time this is a losing battle. In her case, she lost her battle on Monday night. She was a very sweet, funny and kind woman who laughed almost as loud as I do. For those who know me well, that is pretty darn loud...She was tough until the end.

She lost her husband younger than you are supposed to, age 47, from a sudden heart attack. She has been raising a daughter alone for the last 18 years. Her daughter is an incredibly smart, successful young woman who gave her one grandchild, Jimmy Gage, name after his grandfather, before she passed away. What a blessing he was to her!

God Bless Aunt Veda's family, her daughter is now without both parents and no siblings. This is probably the hardest on her, so many decisions to make. I hate that we won't be there so sad goodbye, but we love you Aunt Veda, you will be missed by many....

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Welcome to "RazorbackslivinginTexas"! This is a new thing for me, I have not been a blogger, I even resisted being on Facebook. However, I think that other people's blogs are fun to read, so I decided to start one for our family.

After growing up and living in Arkansas for 32 years, we left our families and friends for a new adventure in the great state of Texas. That was almost 6 years ago, it doesn't seem that long. We came here as 2, but finally became 3, Praise God! We still consider ourselves as "Hogs", and I do not think we will ever become Longhorns or Aggies. (sorry guys) We live a quiet life, boring really, yet we like it that way! Most of our daily activity involves work and dealing with a very stubborn 3 year old, who is truly a blessing from God.

Ed "Shark" works as the Director of a Boys and Girls Club in a nearby small town. This organization has been a part of his life for over 30 years. He loves his job, and cannot imagine doing anything else. He guides and mentors several young people everyday, mostly from poor and broken homes.

Holly works as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at a large local pediatric clinic. This is what I was put on earth to do. Going to work everyday is a priviledge that I never take for granted. I know that I am blessed to have awesome partners that appreciate my work.

Avery is the only "native" of the family, she was born after our move. She is a stubborn, loving, dramatic little girly-girl who loves Princesses, Tinkerbell and Dora. She also has red hair, where that came from is such a mystery! However, she hates to have this red hair done, and refuses bows. She attends Stepping Stone School everyday. Her teacher says that she is "my extra pair of eyes and ears", which really means that she is a bit of a tattle-tale. She is a loving child that is the joy of our lives.