This and That Wrap Up for the last few days of March!

There is nothing really exciting going on at the English household at the moment, so I will just wrap up the past few weeks.

Jamie and I are now, Dynamic Marriages certified and hope to start teaching those marriage classes soon at our church.

The Texas Rangers and the rest of Major League Baseball is about to start the 2009 season and I cannot wait! I think the Rangers will field a pretty good team this year, if their pitching holds out.

Apparently there is some sort of government stimulus check coming to us soon. Not sure where this money is coming from except from our own taxes. If that is the case, then we are paying ourselves a bonus from our own pocket. How nice. I can't quit figure out how the government has any of our tax dollars left to give back to us after giving it all to failing banks and companies.

Twogether in Texas, my current employer, is fighting to keep its funding from being eliminated in the Texas Legislature. Apparently the Texas House of Representatives wants to increase our budget, but the Texas Senate wants to cut it or eliminate it. It seems at the present time, we will still have some sort of funding but how much is the question. It is possible I might have to look for another job teaching school again. I am about to sign up to become certified to teach Math.

My bride, Jamie, had a surgical procedure performed on her last week to prepare her for taking a new drug that will help to prevent her from getting breast cancer. She is still a little sore, but recovering.

My kiddos are tired of school and my son especially is worried about Band Camp. He has heard stories of certain kinds of "hazing" or other mischievous play, and he is worried it might happen to him. There are some older band kids that attend our church who have assured him they will do their best to look out for him. That made him feel a little better.

LTC, Leadership Training for Christ, is coming up Easter Weekend. The kids will be competing in various "competitions" that help them develop their Christian characters. Caleb is competing in Art/Photography, Bible Reading and Puppets. Rachel is competing in Art/Drawing, Daily Devotional & Prayer Challenge and Puppets.

I will try to come up with a good devotional or deep thought soon! Until then, I have been very busy and haven't had much time to do anything, including spend time with my family. I need a solid weekend off.

The Dowell House (Our B&B Experience)

My wife Jamie and I just got back from our stay at The Dowell House, which is a B&B in McKinney, TX. We stayed in The Chardonnay Room, which had a hot tub on a private balcony. Out stay was very nice. After spending some time in the hot tub, Jamie and I were so relaxed we could barely stay awake to watch a little TV before going into a nice relaxed sleep. The bed was very comfortable and the room and bath accommodations were fantastic.

The breakfast this morning was delicious. We had Baked French Toast with a cream cheese filling, some sausage and some fruit. Our host were very friendly and we had a nice breakfast conversation with them and two sisters who were also staying in at the B&B.

While milling around in McKinney my bride Jamie introduced me to two restaurants that I had never eaten at before. We had a nice lunch at Pei Wei, an Asian style place, where we ate their famous Lettuce Wraps. Yummy! Later for Diner we ate at Cafe Brazil, a coffee house with a breakfast style menu. We split an order of Chicken Crepes with a spicy sauce, some Rosemary potatoes and toast. We also had two cups of coffee each, of course.

Now it's off to LTC this evening in Dallas. The events are held at the Dallas Regency Hyatt Hotel where we stay for one night. I'm sure the kids will do fine in the events they are participating in.