I See the Moon...

When I was a kid, I remember vividly our family taking road trips. There were six of us...four kids and our parents. It was always cramped with that many people riding in our 70s version of a sport utility vehicle - our green station wagon with brown paneling adorning the side. Anyway...one of the things I remember about our trips was that we would either travel extremely early in the mornings before the sun came up or in the evenings. And no matter where we went, we always sang a song that I believe we learned from my grandpa. I remember calling it "The Moon Song." And when we did sing it, we always looked out the window at the great big dark sky and fixed our eyes on the moon. When I hear it, I always think of those road trips, and always...I smile.

I see the moon and the moon sees me.
The moon sees somebody I'd like to see.
God bless the moon and God bless me.
God bless somebody I'd like to see.

George Strait Tribute

I went to Austin this last week to visit my sister. She works out with Jack Ingram and she was talking about him singing at the George Strait Tribute Concert a few weeks ago and was telling me what a good job he did. We googled the concert and found all videos of all the artists who sang. Jamie Foxx's performance was one of our favorites.

I've Never Seen Him Sweat...Till Now!

For a few months we've had some wasps working away on two places to call home on the frame of our garage. We decided Friday that the two families needed to be dealt with. So, we got in the car, opened the garage door, pulled out, and then closed the garage door. We planned to just stick our arm out of the window, spray the insecticide and then roll the window up really quick. But thought through that and decided that it wouldn't be a good thing if one of the wasps got stuck in the car with us. So Brad decided to just get out and face those bad boys head on. Here's a video of our (his) little adventure.

Who needs toys when you've got H20?

Today...I joined the Frisco Athletics Center. We'll see how many times I get reimbursed. Anyway...i moseyed (sp?) out to the pool area to catch a few rays and finally found a seat close to the wading area. Everytime I looked up there were a new handful of boys at the fountains putting their feet on the fountains to try to stop them, standing on top of the fountains so they would shoot up their swim trunks, splashing little girls and their moms as they stood by. I was fascinated as I watched their fascination with this water. It took my mind to the men in my life...my husband, dad, brother, brother-in-law, and nephews. And as I thought of each one of them, I couldn't help but think how similar they are to these boys I encountered at the pool today. Always laughing, always trying to make the women in their lives laugh, always enjoying life. I took a minute to thank the Lord for little boys and for creating them to enjoy the little things in life and giving them the ability to grow up and deal with all the drama that the women in their lives bring to the table!

I Feel Old!

Last weekend I attended my nephew's wedding in Oklahoma City. Although I don't have children of my own, I understand how amazing it is to watch kids in your life grow up before your very eyes. I'm so proud of all my nieces and nephews for the wonderful adults that they are becoming and for the choices that they are making. Kudos to my siblings for being such good examples for how to raise kids. Congratulations Michael & Jamie. May the Lord richly bless your life together!

SolarWinds Goes Public

So...it's been a while since I've had any blog-worthy material. Today, I happen to have some. My brother-in-law, Kevin Thompson is the CIO/CFO of SolarWinds and today they went public. Not only did the executive team get to ring the opening bell at the NYSE, but Kevin was interviewed on Sqwak Box on CNBC. Congratulations Kevin!
And here he is...

New Casa

April was a busy busy month, and now that I've added Facebook to my social life, I have no time to blog! Anyway, we moved on April 4th into a place MUCH larger than what we had. We are 98% done - just a few things left to do in the garage and a few things to do as far as decorating goes. Here are a few pics.

Master Bedroom - Please excuse my un-made bed.

Master Bath - Please excuse the pile of laundry on the floor.

And this is the kitchen & living room.

Grant's Swim Meet

My nephew, Grant, qualified with his times to swim in the state swim meet that was held in Addison a few weeks ago. He had a large cheering section which consisted of his mom, dad, and sister; his cousin Ashley and her friend; his grandparents on his dad's side - Bob & Wanda Thompson; his grandparents on his mom's side - Bill & Rhetta Duke; his Aunt Sherri and her kids - Paige & Justin; and his Aunt Deanna and Uncle Brad. Grant swam like a champ and beat all of his times. It was fun to watch the fish swim! Congratulations and great job, Grant man!

Spring Break Fun

Now that things are settling down a bit, I finally have some time to sit down and post. During Spring Break, Brad took off work and we spent the day in Ft. Worth. Our first stop was Joe T. Garcia's. O my! I think those were the best fajitas that I've ever had. Here is my husband sitting in front of the fountain in the Courtyard of Joe T's.

Next, we went to Billy Bob's and walked around for a little bit. Brad knows the General Manager, so we stopped in and talked to him for a little while.

While we were in Billy Bob's, we took some pictures of the wall of fame.

I wish EVERY day were Sunday!

Have you ever wished that a day wouldn't end? That's how I felt today. It was an awesome day. The only thing missing was our regular Sunday church service. Today was Service Day where once a year, our church foregoes our regular Sunday services and everyone meets at the church and gets on buses to go serve in different parts of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We actually did not go because our community group was not going together and because we are moving this week and really needed to continue packing boxes. Anyway...it was just a good day. We spent time doing our own thing for a few hours and then came back together. Because it was such a gorgeous God's day, we wanted to be outside. We drove to the Allen Outlet Mall and sang at the top of our lungs all the way there. Then we came home and I was going to make homemade pizza; however, as I began to do so realized that everything I needed was packed in boxes. We decided to go to Ferrari's - which is a little family run pizza place close to our apartment. We split a small piece of stromboli and a slice of pizza. It was delicious. We laughed and cut up and just enjoyed our together time immensely. Now we are home and Brad is watching Celebrity Apprentice while I blog. So thankful for another day of life! I hope everyone's weekend was just as delightful!

Priceless

We went to Oklahoma a few weeks ago to celebrate my mom's birthday
and I took this little video. It's priceless to me.

Spring Break Adventures

Sunday Brad and I were on a mission to upgrade our phones. We happened to be in the Valley View mall area so we decided to stop in at the Verizon store there. As we drove through the parking lot by the Super Target, Brad said, "O my...look at that up there on the right; is that a street walker?" An incredibly tall woman was walking out of target with at least 4-inch heels on, and a teeny tiny skin-tight red...for lack of a better word...skirt! As she crossed the parking lot to get to her large 'big bird-yellow' truck, she turned her face toward us and flipped her long red hair to show us that she was indeed a man. And that was how I started my spring break!

Happy 45th Birthday...

...to my big sister today. I hope your day was so fun and you had fun on your date.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Finally!

We have been looking for a little over a month for a place to live. We decided at the beginning of this search that we would find a house and continue with renting for a year or so just to get ahead on bills and put a little more in savings. It seems, though, that everyone else in the house search decided to do the same thing. Everytime we would find one we liked, we would find out that it was already in the application process...or...that it was already gone. It was exhausting...and was starting to become a little discouraging. Anyway...we finally found one late last week, placed an application, and found out yesterday that we were approved for it. So...the moving fun continues. (For those of you who know me well, you know exactly what I'm talking about!) It is a 3-story townhome, and well...I'm expecting my legs to be in great shape by the time we decide to purchase a home in a year or two. April 1st is the big day. I guess my spring break plans are now made. Anyone who needs a little fun in your life, please feel free to come on over and help me pack!

January Birthdays

This is so long overdue...but we have been looking for a place to live and it's taken all the live long day to do so. Now that we've found one, I was able to sit down and do some stuff tonight. In January, we had 4 birthdays to celebrate in our families: Deanna - Brad's sister; Yvette - Brad's sister-in-law; Brad; and my Dad. Here's a little digital photostory of all the birthday party fun.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Praise the Lord...It's Dinner Time!

We came to Oklahoma City for the weekend to visit my mom and dad. My brother, Mike, and his kids Jeff and Courtney came over along with my nephew Chad and his girlfriend Jenn. Dad made his famous ribs for dinner and they are deee-lish! As you can see eating dinner can be a religious experience in our family!

My Purse

It's been a while since I got to sit down and read the blogs that I follow, so I decided to spend a little time this evening catching up with my friends. In doing so, I found that my friend Shelley tagged me on her blog. Now...I have to tell about my purse. So here goes...

Here it is...my purse...that at the moment weighs a lot.

I bought my purse at Sam Moon for $18.95. I never pay very much for a purse because I get tired of them too quickly and feel the need to change. I used to keep all my purses just in case I wanted to carry it again someday, but I no longer do that. I found that I never carried a purse again after I grew tired of it and bought a new one.

At any given time you could pick up my purse, look on the inside and know exactly what's going on in my life. When things are hectic, my purse is heavy because I don't have time to purge it of the gum wrappers, receipts, external hard drives, extra change, medicine, mail, old grocery lists, empty gum packages, and all the million other things that make my purse their home. When it weighs in on the lighter side, that means that I'm organized and caught up on all the arduous tasks that take up my time.

So...take a look...whaddya think?

I think it's time to get rid of the razr and buy an iPhone.

There you have it...my purse...my samsonite. Now, I tag Cheryl, Kim, Kiki, Donita, Angie, and whoever else has not been tagged.

Seussville Fun

Last Friday a few Facilitators got together to work on the Read Across Frisco videos...and a few of us had to dress up!

Date Night at Watermark

On Friday night we went to date night at our church and saw Fireproof. We both had been wanting to see it because we kept hearing that this is a must see for anyone who is married whether you are newlyweds or have been together for 50+ years. Now that I've seen it, I have to agree. One minute we were crying and the next minute laughing. I HIGHLY recommend it. God can restore anything and this is a reminder that no matter how impossible we might think things are that nothing is too hard for the Lord. (Gen. 18:14).

Our next step is the Love Dare.

Duke Family Christmas 2008

I love Saturdays!

It's been a while since I have taken the time to sit down and blog. I haven't been too busy; it just seems that when I get home in the evenings, I just want to chill on the couch with Brad. Anyway...I loved today. We spent the day doing nothing. I finally managed to change from my pajamas into clothes appropriate for the grocery store around 2:00 which is when we decided to venture to Walmart to stock up for the week. After we got home we dug into the warm rotisserie chicken that we purchased at the store, and I must say it was delicious. After we ate, we watched 'My Cousin Vinnie' (the first time I've ever seen it) and then 48 Hours Mystery. We were craving something sweet, so Brad went to Walgreens and bought 2 candy bars, 2 pint-sized Blue Bell Ice Creams (one was vanilla and the other cookies & cream). I made a chocolate & peanut butter shake. It was sooooooo good! Since I have been catching up on my friends' blogs and writing this one, Brad is checking out the UFC. I just witnessed a heavyweight - 6'1" - 265 lbs - thank the Lord for helping him to bash in the head of his opponent. Well...he didn't actually say those words...but that was the gist. Hmmm...! I love Saturdays.

Living Life on the Other Side of the Cardboard

This morning I woke up thinking about the message at the Christmas Eve service we attended at our church. I love it when I wake up thinking about things like that instead of what I'm bothered about for the day. Anyway...our pastor was talking about why in the world God would come to earth in a manger surrounded by dirt and stinky animals and journey to a place where He was shamed, humiliated, beaten, and nailed to a cross. It is...to us...such a strange way to save the world. During the course of his message, he kept saying, "I hope that we can start living with our cardboard flipped." I didn't really understand what he meant but knew that...like always...he would tie it in somehow and by the end of the message it would make sense to me. And of course it did. The way he tied it in not only made sense, but moved me...and my husband...and I believe every person in the church to tears. He stepped off the stage, the lights went down, and music started playing, and one by one individuals, couples, and families would come to the center of the stage holding a large piece of cardboard with a message on it. Messages like this: homeless, addicted to cocaine, no hope; addicted to porn, failing marriage, filled with anger. And then they would flip it over and another message was written. Messages like this: found Christ and living free every day from addiction; wife continued to pray, reborn, and marriage is healthy and alive. As those messages were displayed and cardboards flipped I started thinking about what mine would say. I came up with way more than one and realized that He saves me in some way every single day. Over the course of my life, some of those messages have been a little more life-changing than others; nonetheless...there's a million plus ways that He has saved my world...none of which I deserve. After the music stopped and all the people had shared their story, our pastor came back to the stage and ended it by saying, "This is why He came in a manger and went to the cross...so that we could live life with our cardboard flipped."

It's difficult for my human mind to grasp that kind of love, but I know He doesn't expect me to grasp it. He just wants me to accept it and live my life on the other side of the cardboard.