Kudos to Barbara

Barbara recently showed the blog to one of her co-workers who immediately got busy creating blogs of her own. Amy had some nice things to say about Barbara on her new blog!

Amy sent me an email that she graciously allows me to excerpt here:

My name is Amy. I work with your wife, Barbara. I’m sure that I couldn’t tell you anything about your wife that you don’t already know, but I would still like to say that I feel truly honored to have met her and to work with her. She is a wonderful co-worker and more importantly she is a wonderful friend. She is honestly the most giving person I’ve ever met in my life. Her willingness to give of herself to those she works with is amazing. Her willingness to give of herself to students is inspirational. Unlike all of the other teachers in her assigned position, she NEVER limits herself to her prescribed job duties. She graciously and willingly gives her time and expertise to ALL of the students on our team. As a result she has deservingly earned the admiration and respect of our team of teachers and our team of students. I know I don’t say enough or do enough to express my gratitude towards her, but I do know a little about her experiences from the last school year and it is beyond my understanding how anyone could have missed the gifts that she brings as a professional and more importantly as a person. I hope that I get to work with Barbara for years to come…and regardless, I hope to continue cultivating a relationship with her and her family for years to come.

Wedding pictures of James and Emily on Webshots

In the old days before Google photos and Flickr I posted some pictures to Webshots. In June of 2003 I uploaded a few favorite pictures from James' and Emily's wedding.

Every Monday I get a report in the mail indicating the hits for each of my Webshots photo albums. This week there were two more hits on the wedding album, making a total of 1085. I am delighted that someone still enjoys looking at those wedding pictures.

Change the Date!

Due to an oversight, the date Sarah Jane and I are to be married was changed. Instead of being married July 14th, 2007, we are now going to be married July 7th, 2007 or 7/7/07.

I'm Engaged!

Big news through the blog. I am engaged to Sarah Jane Urban! We are planning on getting married July 7th, 2007. The exact location is still not certain due to not knowing where I will go to law school but you can be sure we will let you know on this blog.

We also took some photos yesterday and this is just one of them, not necessarily THE engagement photo.

Brief story:

I surprised Sarah Jane by "just happening" to walk by the restaurant where we had our first date. We went on and she was happy to find out I had already made a reservation in advance. They had the spot where we sat during our first date saved for us.

Afterwards, we went to the Jefferson Memorial and then the FDR Memorial. Alone at the FDR, I dropped on one knee and asked the question. She said yes!

Russell goes to school

Barbara has been enjoying an extended 'Take your child to work day.' Russell has been substituting at the same school Barbara teaches. One of the nice things about substitute teaching is that you can take off when you need to. Russell is taking a long weekend this week and is traveling to Washington D.C.

Rachel goes to court

Moot court that is. She was one of the select participants from BYU law school last week. The event was held in Virginia Beach. Barbara tells me that it is very prestigious! Congratulations Rachel. I hope Rachel fills in the blanks here.

Popeye's fire was arson

A fire at a Popeye's restaurant in North Austin on Tuesday morning was intentionally set, Austin Fire Department spokeswoman Michelle DeCrane said, and investigators are asking for the public's help in finding out more about who set the fire.

The blaze on West Anderson Lane started about 1:30 a.m. and caused $110,000 in damage. It was the latest in a string of restaurant fires in the past week, although DeCrane said the fires are not believed to be related.

Anyone with more information about the Popeye's fire can call the state's arson hot line at (877) 434-7345. The department is offering a reward of $1,000 for information pertinent to the case.