Who won the Texas-Kansas game?

Texas 35, Kansas 7.

This game had me worried! In spite of our apparent domination, the score was 7-0 for way too long. Unfortunately for my family, I have yet to realize that the team can't hear me when I'm not there—which is why I'm usually THERE. It took a while, but before the half we were back in business, the rout was on, and my yelling at the TV wasn't quite so vigorous.

This week's T-E-X-A-S comes in the form of Sun Chips. Why Sun Chips? What else would you do for the Kansas Jayhawks? I ended up with the Sun Chips because Kansas is famous for its SUNflowers, and just take a look at those ingredients:
Yes, yes, it's a stretch, but these chips were in honor of our wheat-waving opponent! Fortunately for us, KU fans weren't waving much wheat (or disodium phosphate) today!

With this win, the Longhorns are 10-1. That means the Horns have won at least 10 games in the last EIGHT seasons IN A ROW. I have no doubt that Texas is the best one-loss team in the nation (with our loss coming at the last second on the road). If only those USA Today voters would agree!

So we head into the bye week with this big ol' Tech-OU game looming, and all we can do is watch and root for... root for... Hmm...

OU? It goes against every bone in my body, but that could set up a three-way tie in the Big 12 South (assuming OU beats OSU the following week). If voters and computers manage to keep us ahead of the Sooners in the BCS, we'd likely head to KC to play for the conference championship. But if OU beats Tech, would they jump us—even though we beat them by 10 on a neutral field and lost to Tech in Lubbock?

Tech? It would be sweet to see TT beat the Sooners on their own turf, and if Bama managed to lose, Texas just might sneak into that #2 spot in the BCS. A Texas-TTU rematch in Miami would be way, way cool. But if Bama lost to Florida, those Gators would probably leapfrog us.

What a mess! Not much to do but wait and see what happens—and hope for a playoff someday!

Comfort food.

We weren't going to let the latest Project GOOD developments keep us from our Friday family fun night! Because we had some shopping to do, we opted for fast food this week. It's totally Brett's fault that we chose Whataburger so I could try one of these:

Wow, are these babies GOOD! Brett had discovered them when he was out working one day last week, and I'm now a convert.

Of course, Brett ordered one.

Katie and I gave 'em a try, too. (She kinda liked the pie, but I was in cinnamon spicy LOVE.)

And Ryan? He was plenty full after eating THREE chicken strips!

Thanks for your prayers, emails and comments about our house situation. In spite of our disappointment, we can see that we are blessed beyond belief!

Not so GOOD.

Barring some last-minute miracle, the sale of our house has fallen through. We'll be putting our nearly empty house back on the market, and we're terminating our contract on the house that we had fallen for. How's that for some craptastic news?

"These things happen," right? Especially these days, it's not unheard of for someone's loan application to be denied. The buyers' agent had led us to believe the buyers were pre-approved, and two months ago, they would've been set. But now? Not so much.

We are flat worn out from these last six weeks of packing and storing, so the idea of moving stuff back into this house is beyond depressing. It's so discouraging to think we've been making all this progress only to take these giant steps backwards.

Yes, this is a "rich person's problem," blah, blah, blah. It still stinks to realize that this limbo, this stress we've put up with wasn't worth it, that we're back to square one.

This weekend we'll get to work getting this place ready to show again, and we'll figure out what absolutely, positively will have to come out of storage and back into the house. In time we'll see the plan God has in store for us, and we KNOW He'll take care of us.

But tonight I'm frustrated. And so very sad.

"A Sketch of Jim (Partial)": Part 1.

Granny begins my dad's story with his birth in 1942:

We were a happy couple with two girls who were anxiously awaiting the new addition to our family. On Sunday afternoon we were blessed with a little boy, and we were especially happy since we had the two little girls age 11 and 7 years.

When our baby was 3 days old, our doctor said he would circumcise him as we had wished. Then that night after my husband left the hospital for home, my doctor came in and said he needed a little blood for my baby. I became very much alarmed and had the nurse call my husband to return. After he was there a while, the doctor came in and closed the door and told my husband and me that he had spent the afternoon there with our boy and now needed blood as he was bleeding. He thought he would be all right now.

In five days we returned home and that afternoon, my husband took the baby back to the hospital because of more bleeding. That was the beginning of many anxious trials, however we were not told then of the seriousness of the problem or what to expect. Being a baby in the house after several years, he was never alone and at every cry was instantly tended to, but despite this, he was a good baby.

When he was a year old he began to walk, and one day one of his legs, I forget which, began to swell, especially in the knee joint. Our doctor made tests, X-rays and found nothing wrong, so he put his leg in a cast from thigh to foot, and then in about six weeks, he removed it. On the way home, he was standing in the car seat and suddenly bent his leg and started screaming. I returned to the doctor and he recast it, except this time we noticed he became very pale and at times somewhat more listless. Then the doctor told us he thought he was a bleeder...

Edited to add the other "Sketch of Jim" entries:

A Treasure Unearthed

Part 2

Part 3

Conclusion

A treasure unearthed.

My mom visited my aunt and uncle over the weekend. She expected to have a nice visit; what she didn't expect was this:

My aunt found one of my grandmother's notepads when going through Granny's stuff recently. In this particular notebook, Granny had written an account of my father's health, from the first inklings that something was wrong to his hemophilia diagnosis to his injuries and hospital stays. Neither my mom nor I ever knew this journal existed. We were floored to read my grandmother's 16-page account of my father's childhood. Details we'd forgotten, stories we'd never heard: all in there, all told in Granny's unmistakable voice.

My aunt gave my mom two crystal clear copies, so I now have one in my possession. I read my copy right after Mom gave it to me at lunch Sunday. Of course, I cried like a baby. Although I'd never really thought about it, I shared a bond with my grandmother; she and I both had sons with hemophilia. But more than ever, I realize how very blessed we are that medical advances have made hemophilia so much easier to live with. She raised my dad in a world without hematologists, blood banks or 911. Her strength and resolve in the face of great trials are palpable in these pages.

Even if the subject matter hadn't been so dear, this journal would still be priceless. How wonderful it is to see her handwriting again! How awesome to discover her thought process, to notice the words she crossed out and rewrote! So add to that the fact that she documented these physical trials my father endured, and this account is off-the-charts FANTASTIC! I'm so thankful my aunt found this, and I'm beyond thankful that Granny wrote it in the first place.

And that, my friends, is WHY WE BLOG. Sure, sometimes I skip over the painful stuff, and yes, there are certain subjects that will never hit the web. And while I try to document the special events, surely there's some value to the everyday occurrences, too, the mundane details that in total make up our lives.

In the next few days, I'll share some excerpts from "A Sketch of Jim (Partial)." I want to give Ryan and Katie a chance to finish reading it. The kids were pretty young when Granny died, but they definitely remember her. I have a hunch that thanks to this legacy, they'll have a much better picture of what an amazing woman their great-grandmother was.

Edited to add the journal entries:

Part 1

Part 2
Part 3

Conclusion

Breakfast of champions.

We love us some Kerbey Lane! While in Austin last weekend, we bypassed our hotel's free food so we could eat breakfast at Kerbey.

I had the California omelette with a short (but very wide!) stack of buttermilk pancakes. We're big fans of the flapjacks that are as big as your face.

Ryan employed an interesting technique to keep one pancake from getting sullied by the syrup on his plate.
And Katie? Katie showed just how strange a blueberry pancake can appear as it enters the mouth!

Backwards tailgating.

Since our game was at 11, we met at the tailgate before kickoff for a few snacks.

Once we got there, Katie called Dad to check in with him.

We hung out there for a bit until it was time to mosey to the stadium.

After the game, we were ready for some bear meat! (Actually, it's just beef, but doesn't bear sound so much more exotic?)



The H-E-B cookie! When the kids and I went by the store that morning, there were no UT cookies to be found. One bakery worker said we were out of luck, but another said she could whip one up for us. Whew! Wouldn't want to go to a tailgate without our lucky cookie!

Our Grill Men of Genius did their usual bang-up job cooking the steaks. Unbelievably good!

And so went tailgate #6!

Scenes from Section 1.

The Horns took on the Baylor Bears on this gorgeous fall Saturday, and even though this win didn't exactly erase the pain from last week's loss, it was good to get back to our winning ways! (With our win and Notre Dame's loss this week, Texas is now tied with the Fighting Irish for second in all-time wins behind Michigan.)

Flyover

Pregame with bonus flag

Quan's back...

and he's in for the TD!

Notice how the ref CLOSEST to the play waits to signal?

NOW he signals! Peer pressure, maybe?

Fun with binoculars

Timeout for a hug

T makes a point
(probably about never going for 2 unless absolutely necessary)

What hams! I just wanted ONE PICTURE.

A little better!

Ryan and Katie were able to join me for this penultimate home game. Except for those few moments when the score was 14-14, we enjoyed ourselves. Before the game, I took the kids to explore the new north endzone, and they were impressed, especially when they saw the Krispy Kremes! The game was well in hand in the second half, so the kids went exploring, trying out the ramps behind our section to travel to the top of the upper deck. I think they enjoyed the chance to venture away from our usual corner of the stadium.

Because the game started at 11, we waited until afterwards for our tailgate feast. But since it's NaBloPoMo, those pictures can wait until tomorrow's post!

Who won the Baylor-Texas game?

Longhorns 45, Bears 21.

Today's game, as depicted by Teddy Grahams

Every move I make.

No, we haven't moved yet.

No, we don't even have a closing date.

Yes, we need your prayers.

Because of some issues on the buyer's side, the closing on our current house has been delayed. We're beyond anxious because (1) most of our stuff is now boxed up and sitting in a storage unit and (2) we need to close on the house we want by the end of next week. Then there's the looming (3): What if the deal falls through and we have to move back into our old house?

The kids and I are in Austin tonight/tomorrow, blissfully far away from the boxes and the few remaining items that I just can't get motivated to pack (for fear that our house will not really sell and we'll just have to unpack it again). My goal this weekend is to STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS STUPID HOUSE STUFF. (See me not thinking about it? SEE?) So far, no good. I can't quit thinking about the scenarios, and in spite of my prayers, I'm just not letting go of this one.

Why? Why am I not trusting God? When we got this offer on our house and found the new one, I felt God's presence in each step of the decision making. But now, this move is not progressing according to MY schedule, so I suddenly forget that God is with us! I'm not just failing, I'm bombing this test. Way to go!

So please pray for us. Pray that I can completely lean on the Lord and let go of this all-consuming worry. And please pray that God will guide our every move, figuratively and literally!

Thursday night lights.

Tonight was our big rivalry game against the mighty Trinity Trojans.

Whenever one school district's two high schools play each other, it's a big deal, and the Bell-Trinity rivalry has an appropriately rich history.

Lately, though, Bell has been excited to make the playoffs while Trinity has been winning it all, taking two state championships in the last three years.

So we were ecstatic to see this!

The Trojans' offense, especially that massive offensive line, proved too tough to overcome. THS won, 30-20. Still, considering recent scores in this series, a 10-point loss is quite respectable. The Trojans are ranked #3 in the NATION, after all! I was so proud of our boys, too. They never gave up, never stopped hustling.

As expected, we won halftime! The defending Grand Nationals champs performed their state silver medal-winning show,

followed by an old favorite, the spirit show.

Beginning with dinner with teacher friends, the whole evening was a great celebration of BHS, from the cheerleaders to the drill team, from the band to the football players. It was a great night to back the Blue!

Way to RO.

As I sit here grading the last few research papers for this trimester, I'm amazed that the run-on sentence is ever so prevalent, in spite of my reminders, in spite of in-class exercises, my students, these seniors just six months away from their high school diplomas, still just go on and on and on without even thinking of using a period, I mean, why use a period when you've got all those commas at your disposal, you know, but the period is RIGHT THERE NEXT TO THE COMMA, and hey, the semicolon's even on the HOME ROW, right, but hey, it's only a comma splice never-ending sentences aren't all that annoying, are they?

Yes, we can.

Can we, as a nation, put this ugly campaign behind us and get on with the business of building up instead of tearing down?

Yes, we can!

From the New Hampshire Primary Speech, January 2008

...We know the battle ahead will be long. But always remember that, no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics. And they will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks and months to come.

We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.

It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land: Yes, we can, to justice and equality.

Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can.

And so, tomorrow, as we take the campaign south and west, as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas, that the hopes of the little girl who goes to the crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L.A., we will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggest, that we are one people, we are one nation.

And, together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story, with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea: Yes, we can.

Stormy weather.

Honestly, I think about real-life issues and not just Texas football (really!), but I'm posting every day this month and need some easy material tonight.

It's always interesting to hear people's comments after Texas loses a game. Ryan anticipated some razzing from his friends at school, but he was surprised to find that some Texas "fans" had gone over to the red-and-black side. We discussed how fickle some fans can be, and that since we're not fairweather fans, we'll still stick with our team. I told him how it's times like this that separate the devoted from those who just jump on the latest bandwagon.

I really had a pretty easy time of it today. Most people just offered their sympathy! When one of my co-workers did get a little "mean," I had to throw down some "Golden Rule" smack. In my sweetest voice, I reminded her, "Do unto others!" I asked how many times she'd heard me rub it in when Texas had won, and she couldn't recall one instance. And since Tech's beaten Texas just 15 times out of 58 meetings, I've had more than a couple of opportunities.

Yeah, I can throw down some all-time record smack, too.

I know, I know: Tech has "scoreboard," and it's going to be a L-O-N-G year before we can get even with those Raiders when they travel to Austin next fall. But I can't help but hope it's an even longer time before Ryan and I will have to have another talk about fairweather fans.

Coaches on crack.

Let's say Team A loses to Team B by 10 points at a neutral site.

Then Team B loses to Team C in the last 2 seconds of a game on the road.

A < B < C. Correct?

So explain this to me:

USA Today Poll

1. Alabama (40) 9-0 1,498

2. Penn State (14) 9-0 1,437

3. Texas Tech (6) 9-0 1,409

4. Oklahoma (1) 8-1 1,290

5. Florida 7-1 1,268

6. USC 7-1 1,232

7. Texas 8-1 1,227

8. Oklahoma State 8-1 1,066

9. Utah 9-0 1,018

10. Boise State 8-0 958

11. TCU 9-1 862

12. Ohio State 7-2 843

13. Missouri 7-2 794

14. Georgia 7-2 693

15. LSU 6-2 683

16. Brigham Young 8-1 591

17. Michigan State 8-2 516

18. Ball State 8-0 503

19. North Carolina 6-2 359

20. Georgia Tech 7-2 289

21. Maryland 6-2 243

22. California 6-2 192

23. West Virginia 6-2 172

24. Florida State 6-2 150

25. Northwestern 7-2 120

This is the coaches' poll, and I seriously wonder if they're voting for their buddies. Bitter, maybe? OU even got a first place vote! I think I took last night's loss pretty well, but this travesty has me up in arms!

At least the AP poll makes more sense:

AP Top 25

1. Alabama (46) 9-0 1,600

2. Texas Tech (12) 9-0 1,528

3. Penn State (6) 9-0 1,525

4. Florida (1) 7-1 1,398

5. Texas 8-1 1,353

6. Oklahoma 8-1 1,324

7. USC 7-1 1,250

8. Oklahoma State 8-1 1,198

9. Boise State 8-0 1,030

10. Utah 9-0 1,028

11. TCU 9-1 958

12. Ohio State 7-2 898

13. Missouri 7-2 830

14. Georgia 7-2 808

15. LSU 6-2 746

16. Ball State 8-0 594

17. Brigham Young 8-1 536

18. Michigan State 8-2 456

19. North Carolina 6-2 418

20. West Virginia 6-2 303

21. California 6-2 288

22. Georgia Tech 7-2 286

23. Maryland 6-2 242

24. Florida State 6-2 128

25. Pittsburgh 6-2 96

I would argue that we're the best one-loss team, and the gauntlet we've faced in the last four weeks is one I can't imagine any other team surviving. Fortunately, the BCS standings reflect that strength of schedule:

BCS Standings

1. Alabama 9-0

2. Texas Tech 9-0

3. Penn State 9-0

4. Texas 8-1

5. Florida 7-1

6. Oklahoma 8-1

7. USC 7-1

8. Utah 9-0

9. Oklahoma State 8-1

10. Boise State 8-0

11. Ohio State 7-2

12. TCU 9-1

13. Georgia 7-2

14. Missouri 7-2

15. BYU 8-1

16. LSU 6-2

17. Ball State 8-0

18. Michigan State 8-2

19. North Carolina 6-2

20. Georgia Tech 7-2

21. California 6-2

22. Florida State 6-2

23. Maryland 6-2

24. Northwestern 7-2

25. West Virginia 6-2

(Full BCS story on ESPN.com)

Of course, there are plenty of games left, and who knows? We could lose to Baylor Saturday (or Kansas or A&M after that). It'll be intriguing to see how this all plays out, but regardless of the rankings, you know the Horns will always be my #1 team!

It's NaBloPoMo! Since we're hoping to move soon, we may be without an ISP for a few days this month, but until then, I'm going to give this whole "post every day" thing a whirl--again. Happy November!

Who ALMOST won the Texas-TTU game?

in tortilla strips in recognition of those crazy Lubbockites' tendency to fling tortillas

I always said the #1 ranking seemed too good to be true, and sure enough, it was. Our thrilling run has come to an end, but WOW, was it fun while it lasted! The Raiders are a great team, but my Horns, even in their exhausted and injured state, were THIS CLOSE to beating them. I really wish we could get another crack at 'em after THEY play ou and Okie State!

Now let's get Rak, Miller and Quan healthy, and let's win these last three regular season games! A BCS bowl is still within reach, as is our eighth straight 10-win season. Oh, you bet I still love this team!

Hitting the streets.

You've got to love trick-or-treating! When else can you visit with neighbors, see tons of cute and cool costumes, and collect lots and lots of candy? Brett especially loves the whole atmosphere, this night that's different from every other night of the year.

We started our evening on our own street.

Then we drove over to Memaw's apartment.

Of course, she had candy for us. She also had Halloween cards!

She was a little freaked out by Ryan's "bleeding" skeleton costume.

Speaking of costumes, here's Katie, the '50s girl.

And here's Ryan, the creepy skeleton.

After Memaw's, we headed to a neighborhood that was bustling with trick-or-treaters. Many of the houses there were decorated, and a lot of the neighbors were sitting in their driveways to greet the kids.

Another tradition: We always end our Halloween night at Nana and Papa's house.

While at the grandparents' house, the kids like to dump out their candy to tally their profits. This year, Katie's pumpkin was so full, the candy was stuck!

Not bad for a night's work!

By night's end, we were dead tired!

Happy Halloween!