Hurricane Gustav not just a threat to Louisiana!

It seems Hurricane Gustav has forced many people from the coast lines of Texas and Louisiana to evacuate to areas of relative safety; however, it may not be just the coastlines that are in danger. My home is located in Northeast Texas, and according to local/national weather reports Gustav could park over Northeast Texas causing major flooding and possible tornadoes. As for me I love stormy weather, but I have kiddos, and a dog, who get a little nervous around severe thunderstorms.

Update: Sept. 2, 2008 -- Gustav turned out to be nothing but a bunch of rain; at least for my area of Texas. It is causing some heavy rain elsewhere, but here it is nothing more than more than a couple of days of light rain. Ho-Hum!!

The Vice-President Candidates Have Been Chosen

The race for the White House finally has two teams!

Democrat, Barack Obama has chosen Delaware Senator, Joseph "Joe" Biden to be his Vice-Presidential candidate. Obama is hoping his lack of foreign policy experience will be balanced out by Sen. Biden who is currently the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees.


Republican, John McCain has chosen Alaska Govenor, Sarah Palin to be his Vice-Presidential candidate. McCain is hoping that Palin will swing women voters and conservative evangelical voters towards his candidacy. Palin is strong Pro-Life and a member of the National Rifle Association. She is also a mother of five.

We the People will find out just how wise their choices were as the Presidential Election of 2008 hits full stride after the Republican Convention. It is now up to the people to decide our government's direction for the next four years. As the old knight from Indiana Jones says, "Choose Wisely!" For more information about both candidates and their platforms click on the campaign buttons below.

Back to School and Scnitzel Problems

Monday was the first day of school for the 2008-2009 school year for our two kiddos. My son Caleb started 8th Grade today along with his 30+ pound backpack. I am still having a hard time knowing I am the father of a teenager. I am so proud of Caleb. He is maturing quickly (although he is still waiting on a good growth spurt) and he has a great head on his shoulders. Among the classes he is taking are; Algebra, Spanish, and Advanced Reading. He is also in the Band and will perform at his first football game soon. Where is that little guy who's first words were, "Moo!"

Rachel started 6th Grade. She is switching classes for the first time and she was a little frustrated about it; but after the first day she said it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She has an African-American woman Social Studies teacher, who Rachel says she is worried about, because she is strict. I told he to look for the wonderful opportunity to hear the History of the world from a different perspective. She is also growing up quickly and she will be 20+ before I know it. At least she still "beeps" my nose at night before she goes to sleep.

On a different note: Our wiener dog, Schnitzel is having some problems. Apparently the little fella is hurting his back by jumping onto the furniture and other things. He is walking around making noises like he is pain, he is not eating well, and he has some very loose stools. We have already spent almost $200 on him and we are taking him back to the vet this morning. We were told that if he "blows a disk" in his back it may require some expensive surgery. I love this dog, and I want him to be healed, but I was also raised "old school" where if your animal is costing you more than the family budget allows, and the animal is in pain, then you "put the animal to sleep" and find another pet. I am torn on what exactly to do with Schnitzel, but for now we will let the vet attempt to work his magic. If that fails, then I may have to pull an "Old Yeller!" At that point I will cry for a few days and try to bond more with the cat. Do I sound blunt and mean? I hope not, I do love the dog.

It's been a busy week!

This past week has been a little hectic and I'm sure it's not over yet.


The week started with a good worship service at church. The lesson and the song worship fit together nicely making for a wonderful worship experience with God.

Monday I had to meet with a couple of County Clerks to explain the in's and out's of our Healthy Marriage Program. It made for a 10 Hour work day with lots driving.


Tuesday, after a 4 Hour staff meeting at work, it was off to pick up school schedules and "Meet the Teacher" for my son Caleb. Jamie had already met Rachel's teachers and picked up her schedule earlier that day. The "Meet the Teacher" event at Caleb's school, Pine Tree Jr. High, started as a total nightmare. The school tried to funnel over 400 people down two different narrow hallways to pick up the 7th Grade and 8th Grade schedules. I'm not sure how 7th Grade did, but the 8th Grade hallway was shoulder to shoulder for almost an hour, as parents, the students and other family members attempted to get into the cafeteria to pick up their child's schedule for the year. Poor Rachel was hot and irritated, Caleb was having trouble breathing the sweaty, hot air, and I was a little "put off" at the poor planning of the situation. After much shuffling, we got Caleb's schedule and we headed off down various hallways to find his classes and meet the teachers. His teaches seemed very nice, but of course they all had their own list of school supplies they wanted our son to bring to school. Finally, we escaped the crowds and headed home.

Wednesday, I had another meeting with a county clerk. This one was cranky and had a know-it-all attitude. After putting another 96 miles on my car, I made it home to find out Jamie had purchased all of Caleb's school supplies. The small fortune of supplies reminded me of the size and weight of Caleb's backpack last year and I felt for him as he prepares to lug around a 45 pound backpack again this year on his barely 80 pound body frame. Why do teachers need students to have a 1 1/2 or 2 inch notebook for every class? When I was in school we survived with just one notebook for all subjects. After watching Caleb sort through all his supplies I had to pack a suitcase to head out to Austin, TX for another training.

Thursday started with some good news. There was a pay check sitting at my work station. I thought I wasn't going to get paid until Sept. 5, but I had miscalculated the times. Cool, I have money to deposit into the bank. After stuffing the check into my suitcase, my supervisor and I headed for Rusk, TX to meet with another County Clerk before heading to Austin. The trip to Austin seemed to take a long time because it rained heavily the entire time. We still managed to make Austin before nightfall, and we decided to go watch "The Largest Urban Bat Colony in the United States" head out for their nightly feeding. (Here are a couple of links to read about the Bats. http://austin.about.com/cs/bats/p/bats.htm and http://www.austincityguide.com/content/congress-bridge-bats-austin.asp) Because of the overcast skies the bats were a little "disoriented" about exactly when sunset was, so they came out later than normal. It was impressive to see millions of bats flying out from under a bridge. I tried to take pictures and short videos from my cell-phone but the view was obscured by the growing darkness and the skyline of Austin in the background.

Friday was spent mostly in training to prepare us for the upcoming changes in Texas laws regarding marriage licences and how our program can help couples take advanages of healthy marriage education to receive waivers on marriage licences fees and to help County Clerks with any questions they may have about the changes. At least the meeting ended a little early and my supervisor and I managed to make it home to Longview with just a little bit a daylight left.

This morning I woke up the news of an Obama-Biden Democratic ticket for President and Vice-President. Interesting choice Obama, interesting. For more information check out Obama's official campaign website. I wonder who McCain will pick? Now am blogging, waiting to get a shower and go deposit my paycheck, before heading out to Howe, TX to pick up my kids; who have been staying at Jamie's sister's home while I was in Austin and Jamie was attending the Women of Faith conference in Dallas. This will be another 5 hour road trip (there and back) but it will be worth it to have the kids home.

Next week, plans on being just as busy as we have meetings at work and as we prepare for the new marriage license laws to take effect in Texas. The kids also start school on Monday. Caleb will be in 8th grade and Rachel will be in 6th.

My "Ghostly" Encounter

Yesterday (Wednesday), my supervisor and I went to Palestine, TX, which is the county seat of Anderson County. We were making a presentation of our Twogether in Texas program to the County Clerk and her staff. The meeting took place in one of the records rooms in the rear of her office. In one corner of the room was a "closet" of sorts that had a large door, that used to be the door of an old safe. Inside the closet was a small refrigerator a mirror and a sink. There were no other doors in or out of this little room.

While my colleague was making the presentation to the County Clerk staff, I was standing in the doorway to this little closet. About half-way through the presentation, I felt a tap on my left shoulder, and I heard a masculine voice say, "Excuse me." Of course, in an attempt to be polite I said, "Sure" and I turned slightly to my left and started to move out the way to let the "person" out of the closet. I thought I saw an image of a man wearing a white shirt and a dark hair in the mirror. As I moved I realized there was no one in the closet or anywhere behind me.

Two of the ladies who were listening to the presentation saw me move away from the door and heard me say, "Sure." Of course I turned a little pale and I moved across the room to get away from the door.

After our presentation, I asked if the Court House was haunted. I was told by the County Clerk, that some county prisoners had died building the spiral staircase in the court house and some people have seen these prisoners from time to time, as well as hearing children in the building after the hours the court house has closed for the day.

Creepy! The photo is the exterior of the Anderson County, Texas Court House located in Palestine, TX.

Gators and Me

My family and I made it back from our last summer outing of the year. Going back to work was tough. We enjoyed spending time together as a family. The best part of our vacation, in my opinion was Gators and Friends. This little "hole in the wall" place was like visiting a small exotic zoo. Of course they had alligators, but they also had llamas, kangaroos, camels, ostriches, mountain goats, and a few other animals you could hand feed. We had a great time! I even got to hold an alligator. Rachel was just content to watch!