Lost but not forgotten

Well it has been over 2 months since my last blog and while that doesn't sound like a very long time in the grand scheme of things, it felt like an eternity. To be completely honest I lost my login and password. I guess it was inevitable with the million different passwords and logins that I manage every day at work, but nevertheless it never seems to fail that as soon as I need to log into an account I will have forgotten the user id, password, pin number, secret question/answer, or unbreakable encryption that the website has in place. Sure, any hacker on the internet can probably break into all of my accounts because my passwords are so obvious, but I cannot remember them for the life of me. Anyways, I finally set my mind on remembering (rather testing by trial and error) my login and eventually my password... and here I am! Needless to say I have quite a bit of catching up to do. December was THE month of 2009 for us and boy oh boy do I have some stories to share!

Where do I start?

Well I guess the most important thing is how grateful I am to have made it through a very stressful Christmas. To make a VERY long story short, my brother and his fiance were driving to Lubbock on Christmas morning after opening presents with us in Dallas. The roads were all iced over and covered in snow, but determined and stubborn to make it to see the soon-to-be in-laws on Christmas, my brother set out on the road around 10:30 that morning. About 2 hours later we received a phone call that they had been in a bad wreck and their truck was wedged in a ditch with a pipe fence through their window. So now, instead of just 2 potentially hurt people, the rest of us pile into our cars and drive to where the wreck happened (not sure where my brother gets his stubborness). We spent the day in the emergency room with my brother and his broken hand, making snow men outside, listening to a woman hack up her lungs, and running to the only place open in town to eat... Texaco. Yep, I have to say that will be the most memorable Christmas meal I will probably ever have. On our ride home that night my dad was driving, and thank goodness it was not me. Our truck lost control twice as we drove across iced bridges and to my surprise my dad regained control very quickly. I cannot imagine what would have happened on those bridges had I been driving! God was watching over our family that day. All 8 of us made it home in time for dinner that night and with nothing more than a broken hand. I laughingly told my brother this past week as he was going in for reconstructive surgery on his hand, "One day you will look back at this and you will understand God's purpose." He chuckled and said, "Well, the surgeon has worked with pro-athletes, so there is a possibility that I could become a pro... well maybe just an athlete." HA! What an amazing attitude to have as you head into surgery. I know God has reasons for every aspect of our lives, and I have complete faith that he is working through my brother right now in ways that no one else can see.

Meanwhile, my brother is getting married on March 6th. I am not sure if I have written about that in this blog before, but they are having their first shower this weekend and I cannot wait. My brother and his fiance are the epitome of the phrase "perfect for each other". I have never met two people with more in common than these two. What makes them interesting though is where they were both raised and how they were brought up. My brother, being from the fast growing city of Katy with a very impatient and strict man as a father, learned very quickly that he could avoid getting in trouble by being the first one in the car when it was time to go somewhere. Heather on the other hand grew up in the country with a cotton farmer as a father, who knew he had all day and all night to get his job done, well maybe not, but that is what my brother would lead you to believe. She does not get anywhere fast and does not understand the word "hurry". It is funny the way that God works. They are exactly what each other needs. He hurries her along while she slows him down and teaches him patience. I cannot wait to see them grow together.

Finally, my last story is a sad one, unfortunately, and it will probably sound a little creepy. My parents' 15 year old dog went in for surgery last Tuesday. The surgery was a pretty basic procedure, but because of his age they knew there was a chance he would not wake-up. Before the surgery the vet did an x-ray which revealed there was more there than they knew about, and it was inoperable. This dog was a better child to my parents than any of us were and I cannot begin to describe his life as part of our family. My mom did not have a hard time deciding to put him out of his pain, but she could not imagine letting him go. She knew he was not the same dog anymore, he could not fish, float the river, or run miles with my dad anymore, but the decision was still heart breaking to say the least. I was at home that afternoon, had just gotten home from work, and was thinking about my mom at the vet's office. Dusty was laying on the ground beside me which was very odd because he is always trying to sit in my lap. For some reason he was just laying on the ground staring across the room. All of a sudden, he howled at the top of his lungs. I have never heard him howl. Bark, wine, cry, whimper, and growl yes, but never howl. I found out from my dad the next day that at that very same moment the vet was putting Bucky to sleep at the vet clinic while my mom held him. I cannot say with any kind of certainty why Dusty did WHAT he did WHEN he did it, but I would be reluctant to say it was merely a coincidence. Did Dusty have a sixth sense about what was happening at that very moment? I guess we will never know, but will we every understand the mind of a dog anyways? Bucky we will miss you!