Our New Van...

As much as we appreciate the services provided by the City of Waco Sanitation department, we're a little frustrated by their driving skills. We've owned the van for less than 6 months and we love it! Not only did we get an amazing deal, it's also turned out to be the most comfortable car we've ever owned. BUT, we've got a $5,000 estimate in damages and a City Insurance company trying to blame Melissa... wouldn't be so bad if we had comprehensive insurance. We have an excellent case, but without our own insurance company fighting for us (to avoid paying for the repairs themselves) we think we're pretty much getting burned. No final decision has been reached as of yet, but we're awfully nervous.
Here's how it went down. Melissa was approaching a stop light where a Garbage truck was waiting in the middle of the road (literally not even in the lane). The intersection is wide enough for two lanes and people always approach it in to the left to go straight and to the right to turn right, in fact there are even sensors (the pressure sensors in the roadway for the stop light) for two lanes, BUT, there is NOT a dedicated turn lane. The truck wasn't signaling in any way and was sitting at the light waiting. Mel pulled up beside the truck to turn right. She came to a complete stop to check for oncoming traffic. As she was glancing to the left the light changed and the garbage truck driver accelerated, turning across her, striking the front of our van and tearing the bumper, headlight, radiator support, fender, etc. to shreds. NOW, here's the crazy part. He took off! He just kept driving. Melissa followed him honking and hollering for two blocks before she pulled over. We called the police and they tracked him down via the sanitation department (Mel had written down the truck number), but amazingly they explained that it "is exceptionally loud in those trucks... he just couldn't hear." The whole fleeing the scene deal didn't even make it in the police report.

We've talked to everyone, given statements to everyone, now we'll just have to wait and see. Your prayers are, as always, more than welcome!

Summer Swiftly Approaching

Summer is almost here! Yah!!!! Nothing like Waco in June, July, and August... well, maybe Hell is comparable, but I'm not sure it gets that humid there. JUST KIDDING... kinda.

Nevertheless I am excited. For starters summer means more time with my absolutely gorgeous wife and my two beautiful boys. Seriously, life during the school year is a whirlwind of work and school which inevitably leads to stress and general emotional turmoil. Top that off with the pastoral aspect of my job, which is to assist others with their own emotional turmoil, and you've got an almighty mess!

I honestly believe that the challenge produced by such a lifestyle is really a blessing in disguise. I don't know how many times my fundamentalist grandmother has said "Idle hands are the devil's..." and so on and so forth. But, let's be clear, when I am committed to so many fruitful endeavors I cannot help but feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve in so many dramatic ways. A day in my life (as of late) begins with a 7:15 alarm, taking Jackson to preschool by 8:15 (I'm leaving out a solid hour of crying, manipulation, pouting, and potential tantrums... plus all the stuff that Jackson does), by 9 or 10 I'm in a meeting of some sort, grab lunch somewhere around 11:30 (not like I had time for breakfast unless you count my 500 diabetes meds or my adderall), then to the office where there is undoubtedly a report of a leaking roof, a flooding dishwasher, or a frozen ac unit waiting for my expert attention, after that I'll connect with a CL or a resident, might get some homework or email time in, then it's off to class/life group/staff meeting. And yet, when the day is done and I'm sprawled out on the couch I reflect on the things that challenged me in positive ways; the student who shared about a family tragedy, the cl who talked about their goals, the class discussion over the intricasies of grace as manifested in our contemporary literature. In that moment I feel blessed.

SOOOOO, what does summer look like? Well, I am taking an intense summer language course in German (part of the doctoral program requirements) and I am continuing as a Summer Hall Director, but the scope of those endeavors is significantly reduced over the course work and porfessional work with which I am burdened/blessed during the academic year. We're taking 3 weeks of vacation this summer. May 22nd-29th we're off to East Texas (Lake Sam Rayburn) to meet up with the in-laws and ALL of Melissa's siblings and their families for a week of time share condos on the lake! Then in July (7th-20th) we're headed west to show Jackson the coast where Melissa grew up. Hitting up Ponchos Surf Shop (Pismo Beach, CA), Splash Cafe (unbelievable Clam Chowder), and a bonfire on the beach will undoubtedly highlight our summer adeventures.

Soooo, summer here I come. I'm fatter than I'd hoped, will continue to appear clothed in the pool (unless someone else wants to foot the most expensive hair removal bill of all time), and no longer own a pair of flipflops for the sojourn to Cali, but hey, it is what it is and I am who I am.

Summer may be a little less hectic than the rest of my year but I plan on approaching it with the same reckless abandon. Life is what you make of it.

First Mountain Biking Video

Experiementing with a helmet camera and creating an MTB video. I promise I'll get better at it (and change the angle of the camera).
Embedding it twice from different sources. It's the same video. I'm just experimenting with which video service provides the better in-blog viewer. If you think one better than the other please comment!