Hello to everyone who is still out there...

Hello everyone, I am finally posting something new to my blog! I have been very busy over the past few weeks. Hopefully, I will be more faithful posting new things in the future. I am not sure about that, though...

I was soooo happy yesterday! It finally decided to cool off a little. The daily high temperature in Fort Worth has not been below the triple digits or upper 90's for quite a while. (Maybe since June? Okay, it hasn't been quite that long.) After a week of EXTREMELY hot weather, the temperature finally dipped down into the 60's. The high temperature was 84 yesterday! Maybe you do not consider a high of 84 as being cool, but you must realize that the day before (Wednesday) it was 104! Anyway, it was great to be able to pull out our sweaters and jackets. I love living in the sunny south, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

I do not really have anything to blog about. I think that is why I have not posted anything recently. I know that my brain is not working as well as it could be and I do not want to simply clog up the internet with meaningless statements (like I am currently doing.) One day, ideas will begin flowing through my head again and I shall have something worth saying.

My dad and a few of his subcontractors left this afternoon to go to New Orleans. They are going to do something on my grandmother's house. Not sure what, but they're gonna do somethin'.

I have to take two CLEP tests next week. When I started college, I had one goal in mind: Finish ASAP. I was rather focused. I never took any classes that were not required for my degree. So now I have ended up not having enough hours to graduate even though I have taken all of the required courses. Anyway, I am going to take two CLEP tests to get the four hours of free electives that I need.

Speaking of college, my final semester is going well. I have not spent very much time studying this semester. Maybe I ought to change that. I am very tempted to get lazy and forget that there is such a thing as a GPA. What does it really matter anyway? I'm not going to get a job and I'm not going to graduate school. I guess I will continue to study, though, because I know it will make my daddy (and all my relatives) proud and not to do so would just be lazy. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to December!

I am sure there is more I want to say, I just haven't figured out what it is. Until I do figure it out, I better quit typing.

Have a blessed weekend!

Katrina Update

I thought I would just put a up a quick post on the status of my grandmother's house in Metairie, LA (near New Orleans). We found out that it was flooded with 3 feet of water. We aren't sure what we are going to do next as far as getting her belongings from her house, but I guess we will decide soon.

Josh's House

I visited my brother’s house this evening before driving home from work. Since I was hungry, I decided to invade his refrigerator. It was so funny! Josh asked me if I had seen his cereal. I answered in the negative. So he pulled a box out from the back of the refrigerator. It was Ezekiel ereal! I didn’t even know they made Ezekiel cereal. (Ezekiel food is a whole grain, health nut food. We eat Ezekiel bread at our house.) He then informed me that he does not have one unhealthy item of food in his house. “What do you eat when you need a late night snack while you’re studying?” I asked. My answer to that question would undoubtedly be a food item that included chocolate. His answer? “An apple or carrot or something. My diet is not the typical bachelor’s diet.” Maybe no one else finds that hilariously funny, but I surely do! I should mention that last Saturday he went to the store and bought 8 apple and cherry pies – the kind that you buy at the gas station individually wrapped. Those were all gone by today. I guess he’s not a total health nut.

It has been a lot of fun visiting and setting up Josh’s house. Last Saturday, we spent a few hours scrubbing the kitchen. That was not so pleasant, but it looked much better by the time we were done. Then we visited a few thrift shops and the Salvation Army looking for a couple basic items of furniture. Josh bought a drafting table and my dad got a bookcase. Now the furniture of the house consists of a dresser, two bookcases, a few desk chairs, a drafting table and a desk. My dad has set up his office in the second bedroom of the house and is gradually transferring all of his papers and files to it. He hopes to turn that into his permanent office. He offered me a space in the house, but at the time I saw no need for another place to work/study. Now, I’m beginning to regret turning the offer down. Oh, well. The living room is still empty if I decide to reverse my decision.

Birthday Pictures

I decided to post a few pictures from Allyson's and Josh's family birthday celebration last week.

Here's the birthday boy. I'm not sure what he's doing exactly, so don't ask.

Here's the birthday girl. She's wearing a dress (held up by safety pins!) that Amanda found for her at a garage sale and a princess hat that Abigail made her.

Allyson and Abigail sitting at the new outdoor picnic table.

Happy Birthday Josh!

Yesterday was the final birthday of the summer at our household. My brother turned 19. Now my four younger siblings are 5 years apart. They are 4, 9, 14, and 19. When Abby turns 10 in January, she is going to mess everything up again.

Here are a few random facts about Josh:

- He’s a sophomore in college at the University of Texas at Arlington majoring in architecture.
- In the future, he wants to work with my dad as part of his general contracting firm. (At least I think he does.)
- He used to be an actor. Kind of. He was in Psalty’s Songs for Little Praisers when he was seven. He was also in a movie that never came out and a few commercials.
- He won a modeling competition when he was seven.
- He goes to a navigator’s Bible study every week and, now that my Thursday evenings are free, I want to go with him.
- His arms are as big as my dad’s. I know because they measured them.
- He likes to work out and lift weights.
- He plays guitar.
- He drives a Honda Accord. He used to drive a Honda Civic like me, but he got a different car because his air conditioning didn’t work.
- He works for my dad, like me.
- He does leatherwork.
- He likes to organize games of Ultimate Frisbee in the front yard.

That’s enough facts. I’m sure I could think of a lot more, but I am not trying to create an exhaustive list. Joshua Andrew is a wonderful brother. Since we are somewhat close in age, we have grown up as playmates and have had the opportunity to do a lot of things together. For most of our lives, we have been in the same stage at the same time. Now my brother has entered a new phase of life. Tuesday, he transferred some of his furniture and personal belongings to Fort Worth. He is going to be staying at a house in town during the week. That change is going to take everyone some getting used to, but at least it is not as drastic as it could be!

~ Happy Birthday Josh! Hope you had a great day! ~

Labor Day

Note: I wrote this post Monday, but I am just now getting it published.

My Labor Day has been laborious. I was thrilled to have a day free of school and work responsibilities, but it quickly filled up with home duties. I just came inside after weeding our flowerbeds. Actually, it has not been that bad.

My grandmother has become something of a celebrity. When people hear she is from New Orleans, they instantly want to help her out. The manager of our local grocery store personally escorted her and her groceries to the car earlier this afternoon. One of our neighbors offered her home to anyone we may know from New Orleans who needs a place to stay. Texans are so generous! I hope our generosity does not hurt our own state, though.

My dad grew up in New Orleans; he says certain parts of the culture in that area are not too pretty. I do believe the nation is currently being introduced to that part of the city. Dad says that what is happening in New Orleans right now (the looting, shooting, etc.) is nothing new. Some people are blaming that behavior on the hurricane, but Dad says New Orleans has always been like that. In a lot of ways, New Orleans was a very wicked city.

Yesterday I finally finished reading 1776. I enjoyed reading that book. It helped me to see the Revolution and the men who took part in it in a new light. I am amazed when I think of the level of faith and perseverance it must have taken to keep fighting amidst innumerable difficulties. I am grateful that they did not give up!

Word Verification

I, like many fellow bloggers, have now added the word verification feature to the comments section of my blog. To post a comment, you must enter a string of letters that appear above the "Publish" button. Hopefully, no one will have any problems with this! This should stop the spam comments I have been receiving.

Audio Posts

I just realized that three audio blog posts I recorded last evening went to my blog instead of two. The earliest one that shows up I did not mean to post. I guess I pushed the wrong button! I was going to check on the internet right after I did that and make sure everything posted correctly, but we had to leave as soon as Allyson and I were done talking. Then when we got home, Mom was waiting on a phone call and we couldn't use the internet. (At home, we only have one phone line and we use dial-up.) I thought about deleting the surplus post, but decide to just leave it.

Introduction

This post is just me talking about nothing. I really should just delete it, but, once something's been on my blog, that's hard to do!

Allyson

This is me "interviewing" my little sister Allyson. Her fourth birthday is September 2 and I wanted to get her on my blog for her birthday.

This is the recording that I did not mean to post. Allyson started getting very silly. I did a different post that was suppose to replace this one; that's the post immediately above this one.