Holiday Season

I'm back after a week and a half of not blogging (that's a long time for me). We had a great Thanksgiving with BJ's family. A few weeks ago, BJ's mom bought the family a Wii, so we were pretty well entertained the whole holiday. I scored a 233 in bowling, so I consider it a very successful holiday.

Tonight, BJ and I are putting up the Christmas tree, so hopefully I'll have pics in the next few days. All I can think about this morning is how three weeks from today I'll be pulling into Menard! It has been nine months since I've seen my home, so I can't help being horribly homesick. I'm so ready to sleep in this bed...

and stay up late talking to this guy...

and give this guy a big hug...

and cook all day with this lady...

I know those are really old pictures, but they're all I've got right now. And you get the point. I miss my family and my old house, and I can't wait to get to Texas.

A tired little man

Ever had one of those mornings?


You know. One of those mornings after a long night of sleeplessness when you just don't want to face another long day. When your eyes are fluttering shut, and you can barely keep the sleep away. And to make it even worse, your mother thinks it's cute and keeps taking pictures of you.


Yeah, one of those mornings.

Gus's new thing

Gus is a friendly dog. In fact, I am convinced that if humans would be even half as friendly as Gus, the world would be a remarkably better place.

Gus is also a sociable dog. If you come to our house, he will be excited to meet you. That is, after he has barked so loud he has scared you half to death. But it is only because he loves you. Even if he has never met you before, he loves you. I think Jesus would like that about Gus.

We are blessed not only with a very nice dog, but also with a very nice neighbor named Tom. Tom and Gus are friends. I don't know when it happened, but Gus managed to sneak over to Tom's yard enough times in the past year to establish a bond.

So this is Gus's new thing. Gus never runs off, but he does occasionally disappear for about thirty minutes when I let him out for his morning business. And I recently discovered where he disappears to. He goes on walks with Tom. They go on morning walks in the corn fields behind our yard. Why? Because Gus is the kind of dog you take on walks without a leash, and he just quietly keeps you company. He may nudge you around a little bit, but that is only to herd you in a better direction. Don't ask what makes it a better direction; it just is.

Dr. Beck (the chair of Psychology at ACU) did a blog post a few weeks ago about how the relationship between man and pets (especially dogs) is a reflection of the way things were meant to be in Eden. I entirely agree. There is something deeply good about Gus. He is loyal, kind, obedient, and unconditionally loving. All of these things make for a very good dog and a very good friend. So if you are feeling blue or people are being mean to you, come over to our house. BJ and I may not help very much, but Gus will make it all better.

A little stupid

Yesterday, BJ and I overheard a conversation between some church members in which they talked about a long-deceased woman named Sunshine. Her real, on-the-birth-certificate name was Sunshine. Here is the conversation that followed in the car as BJ and I drove home later that night.

Me: Sunshine is a cool name. But I think I would rather be called moonlight (said in my mock sexy voice).
BJ (in his effeminate voice that he and his friend Josh reserve for their most politically-incorrect moments): I want to be called Starspunk.

I have no idea where he comes up with these things, but please, the next time you see BJ, call him Starspunk. Really, he likes that name.

Just so everyone know, the world is not that bad of a place after all. I have seen the sun four days in a row. After the month that was October, that is nothing short of a miracle.

Apparently, KY usually gets 3 inches of rain in October, and we got something like 15 inches this year. 15 inches in one month! So all you people in Texas, be grateful for the abundance of sun and the longer days. It is truly a blessing.