Still Hard

About 2 hours ago I said 'goodbye' to my little Emily for another year of college at Hardin Simmons . . .

Dang it!!! I thought this was gonna be easier this year . . . I thought that since I had been through the trauma and angst that it would be like sending her to HEB for a gallon of milk.

And then as she and her Mom pulled out of the driveway that some flood of emotions spilled over again.

It's not easy being a parent, but it seems even harder to try not being the parent that you've been for so long . . . or at least letting go of so many of the parts of parenting that have become so much a part of your life. Not to mention physically letting go - as you must - of a child that you love so much.

I don't guess that it will never get easier . . . And this is only year 2 of college of the first of 4 kids!

Dang it!!

Thanks!

Thanks to many of you our entire family is headed to Houston this afternoon!

A few weeks ago ya'll surprised us on our ninth-anniversary at Oso Creek and gave us tickets to tomorrow's Astros game, along with hotel rooms for tonight, and a very generous sum to eat and play on!

It's perfect timing to give our family one last Summer fling as Emily leaves again for Hardin-Simmons on Friday!
We are so very thankful and blessed to be at Oso Creek!

So thanks again . . . and go Astros!

Abilene . . .

Made it to Abilene last night . . . 6 hour drive . . . pretty peaceful.
Always great to see old friends -- we are staying with Mike & Donna Walls in Abilene -- great friends from our Lubbock days.

And I slept 10 hours last night!!! Worn out from the last week of excitement . . .

Today we drop Laura off at soccer camp at HSU and then it's off to Lubbock . . .

Homecoming Refelections

We made it to Hardin Simmons and Emily is doing great! 10 weeks since we had seen her . . . it was awesome to hold her again. She took us on the grand tour and we also met about 50 girls named Ashley or Lauren (and a couple of guys but I'm gonna ignore that!) . . . was lots of fun . . . I'm just already not looking forward to leaving her again tomorrow. . . .

This is Homecoming weekend and also is Cindy and I's 20th graduation celebration. We went to a gathering last night of folks we graduated with and I tell you what I had no idea that some of those people we graduated with were so old! They must of been about 30 when we were in college cause their stinkin' old now. I'm just glad that Cindy and I aren't that old :)

Being back in these places of life history send me into life reflection. Is my life really counting? Am I pursuing Jesus with everything or just happy to get down the river? How can I make the next 20 count?

Emily Update

Some of you have been asking about our sweet Emily (our oldest and first to go to college just 3 weeks ago) . . . And she is doing great! (Here she is with her Mommy in her new door room when we dropped her off.)

She is loving Hardin Simmons, has gone to her first college football game, makes me dizzy every time I talk to her with the names of all her new friends, got an A on her first paper, and went away last weekend with some friends to Focus in Dallas.

We still have an empty place at our dinner table (and our hearts) and are trying to get into the flow of the adjustment of not having her here . . . but we thank God that she's in such a great place. (And I still text her 'goodnight' every night :)

Here's her email if you wanted to drop her a line . . . Emily's Email . . . I'm sure she'd love it!