Sundays and Jellies

The choir is off for the summer, so I get to sit with my family during church. You- know-who is pretty happy about that. Such a typical pose as she is modeling her new pink jellies!! Audrey Anne you have stolen my heart!

A New Day And A New Dog

There have been few changes in Dr. Mac's world - personal issues and it's gonna be okay. Everything happens with purpose and for a reason. I want to squeeze more life out of each day and live my purpose - more purposefully.

One change involved finding a new vet yesterday for Ella. Thanks to Annie for the recommendation - an awesome lady vet who is super friendly and Ella loved her. She spent a good 15 minutes just talking to Ella and giving her treats -- I thought she was the vet tech till I saw her name badge! Anyway, I asked her about shaving Ella. Its SOOO hot outside, Ella likes being outside, but American Eskimos (Ella's breed) are not meant to tolerate the heat we are experiencing in South Texas. The vet totally dispelled the misconception I had seen many times, "dog's hair acts as an insulator both in heat and cold...prevents them from getting skin cancer..." etc. So....here is Ella before and after our trip to PetSmart:

Lotsa hair - I mean, fills up the vacuum canister once a week lots of hair.

And then:


She feels soooo soft! Like a lamb. I can't believe how well it turned out. And I can tell she likes it -- you just know when one of your best friend FEELS better.

Tomorrow we will take to the streets for our pre-dawn run. I bet she enjoys that more too!

Music for the Soul

Here are some posted videos from youtube - The Corpus Christi Pontifical Chorale's performance "Cathedral's Got Talent" last month. I can't express what a blessing it is to be a member of this talented group of musicians. The music moves my soul:

Brahm's How Lovely Is they Dwelling Place from A German Requiem; Click here

Beethoven's Hallejuah from the Mount of Olives: click here

And for those of you who appreciate a good spiritual, Ride on King Jesus, arranged by Moses Hogan; click here Ya GOTTA listen to the ending! I love watching our assistant director and my friend - Lupe Riveria - in this one. He is awesome. Love you Loops!


More to come - including my favorite... The Awakening. The Pontifical Chorale is cutting a two CD set this summer. Lots of rehearsals and production time. Can't wait!!!

Random Photos of my family

Some photos of my precious family that have been locked up in someone's (ahem) phone for a while...I love them.


Jen, Annie, Audrey and my Mom

My Mom's duck fountain totally entertained Audrey - Jen having deep conversation with her.

Audrey's hair is amazing.

Audrey and my Mom.

Audrey and her Mom patiently waiting...two beautiful girls.

My beautiful children and grandchild receiving God's blessings.

It was an awesome day!

And last but certainly not least, at the end of a 1.5 hour line...we got to meet Mickey Mouse at Disney Land. It was like a private audience...they let in groups of 10 or so. We took up a group...only Audrey was the one who had to meet and greet. Priceless.

I am so proud of my family!!!! I love you so much!!

A weekend with Audrey

A whole weekend, just us. This is what I've learned about three year olds (or I knew and had forgotten):
*Every answer to every question can immediately and without skipping a beat be followed up with "why?".
*They can go from laughter to totally screwed up, beet red face in a matter of minutes.
*Finicky eater is being generous.
*Their little bodies are so precious, and so perfectly proportioned.
*I wish I could sleep so soundly.
*Her hair, beautifully curled and below her waist now, must always be brushed "softly" and I am constantly reminded that "it is not a toy".
*Always read the fine print when purchasing puzzles at the thrift store. We got a set with 20 puzzles, no edges, same colors...it took us hours to sort and figure it out. When we were done, I took each completed puzzle and placed them in envelopes so she could do them again. She cried when I didn't let her shake the box.
*She loves to learn things - knows the names of many sea creatures including 12 species of sharks and coral reef inhabitants. She loves bugs, snakes, crocodiles and super heroes. Audrey could care less about princesses.
*Using her Mom's season pass at the Texas State Aquarium is awesome!
*Three year olds and movie seats don't do too well - she weighs too little to keep the seat down - kept trying to fold up underneath her. So had her in my lap in spite of the fact that they charge full price for her ticket. Was totally worth it (We saw UP).
*Installing some drapes in the dining room - she told me, "We don't need stinky boys! We can do it!"
*I love her with all my heart.

Midsummer Session I musings

We have completed about one half of the summer class I'm teaching. It's a major deal for all involved -- covering 6 months of curriculum in a 4 week period. My students are doing amazingly well and I am proud of them.

My teeth are almost finished - it has been a huge restoration project as you may remember I fell, mouth first on pavement, and did major damage to my four front teeth. I have a temporary crown thingie that replaces the four teeth and the permanent one should be in soon. Well, permanent four crowns. The root canals and grinding down of the remnants of my teeth was torture to say the least, and the root canals (X4) had to be done TWICE because of infection. Oh how I wished I could turn back the clock and not fall as I did...but the replacements sure are pretty and I am so lucky to have a very talented dentist. I noted one of my summer 'at risk' students (I hate that term and prefer to call them 'at promise')that is joining my class for the next two weeks (I have 25 of them) was missing her four front teeth. Gone. A big, blank spot marks her smile. I am very, very lucky.

So, I have some pictures from earlier summer escapades. Of course, they involve my favorite three year old....

Audrey at the Texas State Aquarium


Waiting for Disney On Ice to begin!



.


Audrey watching Disney on Ice - for the first 30 minutes, she never lowered her arm and was totally mesmerized.

That's all I have time for right now --- will be back soon. Tomorrow we are dissecting crayfish and earthworms with the high school at-promise students working alongside my future teachers. Then there are starfish, perch, sheep hearts and owl pellets to explore next week. Yeah, they pay me to do this. I love my job!!!

Post Script for Allison

A wonderful tribute is posted here. And Jen was still saluting....

Meet Allison

A beautiful girl isn't she? She is a Naval pilot - a helicopter pilot like my daughter. Allison had the world by it's tail -- she was smart, a naval aviator, great family, and wonderful future ahead of her. She was going to be married next month. Her fiance and she were very much in love. She was getting ready to be deployed and was aboard the Nimitz off of the coast of San Diego - not that far, really. You see, the pilots and other soldiers do 'work-ups' where they practice their maneuvers and drills and such before they are in harms way. It's like a dress rehearsal. It's all done in a safe territory. Well, as safe as you can be when you are flying in a helicopter... in a night fog, using infrared lenses to make out land from sea. Something went wrong. We don't know what - we may never know.

Allison and four other soldiers went down in the sea. The helicopter was shattered as were so many lives. There will be no wedding. There will be five funerals.

I have gotten to know Allison in a vicarious way as my daughter Jen was assigned to bring her home to her family. Jen broke the news to the family, made countless arrangements, and was the soldier that saluted Allison along her transport as she made her way in a flag draped coffin aboard her many aircraft that carried her from San Diego to her hometown in New Orleans. Along her side, there was Jen, in salute. There were transfers along the way, and Jen stood by her, saluting. I asked Jen, "When is your responsibility over?" Through tears, which no one but I know about, she replied, "When she has arrived at the mortuary".

Jen will be at the funeral. Allison's family is blessed by Jen - another female aviator.

How can we ever begin to fathom the loss of lives that continue to happen?

I don't know. I knew Allison through Jen. When Jen sent me the picture, I cried. All of a sudden, there was a person attached to this horrible madness and I can see her.

God bless Allison and all our fallen soldier's and their broken hearted families. The tragedy is beyond comprehension.

And God bless people like Jen who offer to play the piano or otherwise participate at their funerals. Who go above and beyond. They are the angels that the family needs to help during this difficult time. I am as proud of Jen as I am sad for Allison and her family.

This is when you see real character in people.

8 years ago today....and my love for Saturn

I've been driving a Saturn model like this one for about 10 years - 3 different cars, same make and model with three doors and sunroof. When I bought the first one, my dog Gracie and me were actually filmed in a Saturn commercial as Gracie went to the dealership with me to make sure she was okay with rear 3rd door -- it opens from the inside and swings out. We had quite a time! We loved that car. Then, one day, I was heading home in the middle of negotiating a move, a divorce and a life transition into my doctoral program at UT. I was heading south on IH 35, going the speed limit of 70 mph. I still remember the song that was playing on the stereo. There was a grass median in between the northbound and southbound lane. Heading north on the opposite side was a young woman in her SUV, speeding and passing people on the inside (adjacent to median) lane. She caught some gravel, lost control and came careening across the median, hitting me head on. I saw her coming and there nothing I could do - I was, quite literally, a sitting duck and saw her coming. Her speedometer was clocked at 80 mph at the point of impact. After we collided, my car bounced around the freeway, was hit again and spun around and around and around, was hit again, and finally, after constant spinning, stopped. I didn't know where I was. In the middle of the freeway? In a ditch? I couldn't see out of the car - all the windows were broken. I felt my hands and feet and squirmed around and everything felt like it was okay, but I was terribly shaken. I heard some voices outside my car, and they said, "There's no way. They can't be alive." I yelled for help, and someone told me to cover my face as they popped out the broken glass in the window. A man peered in and asked if I was okay - "Sure! Please just get me out of here!" But they couldn't. Jaws of life arrived, an ambulance followed and they finally got me out. I couldn't believe what I saw when I got out...I just could not believe it. I vomited, the sight was so upsetting as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. These pictures of my car were taken the following day at the wrecking yard where my Saturn was transported: I found out while in the emergency room that the woman who hit me was a mother and was killed instantly. She didn't have her children with her and must have been in a hurry to get home. Even more tragically, another car that was involved had children inside and they were in surgery with life threatening injuries. I never knew their outcome. I walked out of the ER with some scrapes, a sore ankle and sore shoulder. I walked out. I should not have lived through that -- many have seen these pictures and said so. Three tires were knocked off of their rims by the sheer force of the collision. My luggage remained in the trunk but the suitcases were literally in shreds from the impact. A computer printer in pieces in the seat from the forces that shook it. My watch was ripped off my wrist and somehow was found up and underneath the front dashboard. The next day I was hurting from sore muscles and such, but was okay physically: I think there is more in that picture than words can say.
After that incident, I got a Saturn, exact model but newer year.. And then, replaced that one with the exact model when the time came. That's the one I have now. It's got 100,000 miles on it. They don't make the coupe anymore -- too bad. That car and angels undoubtedly saved my life. I will never forget that day. I remain so thankful that I was given the chance to live and live with purpose. I hope to always live my life with purpose. I keep a picture of the wrecked Saturn on my bureau to remind me how lucky I am to be here, and pray every day to live my life with purpose.

Post Script: This is a tough post......I started it several months ago when I was contemplating buying another car, and thinking about how much I love Saturn. I looked up the insurance files and stuff related to the accident after locking away those memories for many years. It's not a good memory -- but, a lesson that I will always carry with me. I thank God I lived and try to make the most of every day.