Back in Texas

 Well it's good to be back in Texas... and back in air conditioning. We are having a fun filled visit with our newest grandson Titus and Bryan and Michelle. We are watching baseball games (Barbara's Rangers) and playing Uno and holding the little one who just turned 6 weeks. He's starting to show a smile here and there and finding his own hands to chew upon. He has that wide eyed intense look at the wonders of the world around him and it's a joy to imagine things through his eyes.

First Stop

The time has come to travel and enjoy the family. Let the frivolities begin! First stop Denton Texas to see our son Bryan and his wife Michelle and their new baby Titus. We are looking forward to a few cuddles and maybe some music too!

Denton Courthouse

Bank Holiday

B and B on Couch

Bank Holidays are a great time to visit the grandparents, relax on the couch under a blanket and read a book! Our friends from the University invited us over for a meal and had all these gifts for the girls who were so excited! No wonder they said "I love Luton" when they went home.

The One Less Traveled By

Why would you want to live in Luton?, is a common question we are asked. Sometimes we too wonder what in the world we are doing here. Then the Lord reminds us that we are followers not path finders. He will be enough where ever we find ourselves, and where ever we find ourselves, we find some of His beauty.

A Postman Pat Weekend

When we visit Bromley we enter another world full of characters like Angelina Ballerina, Koko Chuggington, and Belle the monkey. While there this last weekend, I was involved in one of my favorite pastimes, that of walking a two year old to a distant park. The rains inevitably came to our time in the park, (this is England) prompting me to jog up the hill with a grand girl on my shoulders.  We then ducked into the local mall to dry out. Not having a car, I rarely visit the parking garage level, but then the two year old twisted my arm for yet another ride up an escalator. There, next to the parking meters, in his red Royal Mail van, we discovered Postman Pat and his black and white cat ... and entered yet another world.

Bed Bug Vane

What did people do before the cell phone? They told stories. One that goes back to the time of bad King John, (is this the one in the Robin Hood story?), tells of a foggy night that prevents the king from reaching one of his favorite hunting lodges. He has to spend the night in Kingsclere, (where our friends the Brittons invited us for the weekend), and is waken in the night by bed bugs biting him without mercy! After his restless night of agony, the king in a rage orders the local church, St. Marys, to fly a bed bug weather vane on it's roof as a disgrace. As the story goes, the bed bug vane has been there ever since and can still be seen today. (Is that what a bed bug looks like?) Speaking of flying things in Kingsclere, one of the Britton's neighbors heard they had American guests staying with them and decided to host the US flag! Unlike King John, we think the hospitality is quite nice in Kingsclere.

Welcome the New Baby Boy

Bry and Ty

From the beginning babies have a way of rearranging our lives. They are real persons with unique personalities. Titus Coen Hurt is Bryan and Michelle's first baby and he has already rearranged their lives just a bit. They planned a reasonable hour but the labor went through the night. They planned a birthing center, but found themselves in the hospital. Surprises are bound to come, but the pleasant surprise is the joy on papas face.