Pruitt's Place

White Rock again...

2011-12-07T16:19:00.001-06:00

dancing king...

2009-12-08T10:39:00.004-06:00

here's coop on the front page of the abilene reporter news insert. The headline says Tiny Dancer and the caption says: Cooper Pruitt,2, dance to Candi Davidson's tune as she plays for him. They were joined by other members of the Revolution during the Optimist Club's 53rd annual youth appreciation reception at the Abilene Civic Center Nov. 12. And then it says some other stuff about Candi and Revolution. Revolution is a mostly violin or fiddle group (some guitar and occasional base and chelo) that really was great. it was at an optimist awards banquet in abilene and we had 3 youth group kids receiving "outstanding youth of our city" awards. it was great!
as soon as they started playing, coop was up and out of his seat dancing.
cindy is convinced that he's got special musical talent. i keep asking her "why? 'cause he can shake his bootie?" he does that a lot! we love dance parties in our living room. i hope i'm still saying that in 7 years! (with a 16 & 14 yr old!)

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

2009-11-30T23:28:00.001-06:00

christmas changed the world. a gift of life was given. let's change the world. i hope you join us.

interesting... and true...?

2009-09-15T23:16:00.001-05:00

inks lake state park

2009-08-13T08:29:00.001-05:00

chillin' with dada.

Different sky, same minute...

2009-07-05T20:55:00.000-05:00

The sky turns...

2009-07-05T20:53:00.000-05:00

Turning just a little bit, you can see a different sky just south of us.

5 hours and a world away...

2009-07-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

The sunsets out here are awesome... The lack of humidity is
incredible!!! Even after the rain today!

Chillin'

2009-06-30T22:59:00.001-05:00

The youth group stayed late up at church to watch a movie tonight
after VBS (or SBA as SoHo calls it). It would have been fun to watch
with them, really fun.
I guess you could say I got a better offer...

what kind of minister is this kid's dad?

2009-04-10T23:07:00.000-05:00

on our way to longview... aubrey drew a picture of easter.

in her defense, she said that the bunny is standing in front of the
crosses, and not hanging on it... yeah right. i guess we should
tighten up our theology around our house... yikes!

home coming... ?

2009-04-10T17:25:00.000-05:00

the girls nappin' it up on the way to longview...
peace, perfect peace!

posters' progress

2009-04-07T11:40:00.002-05:00

the girls finished up their posters on saturday and then made more crafts on sunday afternoon. it's like they get started and then they find anything and everything and pull it out, draw on it, cut it, glue it, string it together... you know... and they favorite part is "clean up"!
coop ran up to to posters and barked at the puppy. then tried to grab the ball and said "uh bah" that means "the ball".

so... speaking of crafts... this is what i like to make! 2 for cindy and 1 for me. or something like that.

as far as work goes... it's been fun getting to know this new group of teens. they are a super busy group, but we some how managed to get a group together and have a scavenger hunt between 5 teams 2 saturday nights ago. it was really fun. here's a pic of something i never thought i'd do... squeeze in with 9 other people into a vw bug! we were able to shut the back hatch too!
another aspect of work is meetings and getting used to new co-workers. and them to me... yikes. anyways... here's one of my coworkers feet that were next to my chair yesterday at our staff meeting. her toes were like that the entire meeting. not stretching or moving them. that's the way they naturally were "sitting" there.
i just thought that picture would be interesting... you know... instead of the normal parts of my job that i could tell you about... like parents meetings, teaching, interns, planning, planning, getting to know youth workers, all that is good and the regular stuff.
oh, did i say "her feet"... i meant "his feet".

being in abilene has freshened me up in many ways. made me realize how old i am in other ways.
here's a song that's been working on my heart in the past couple of weeks... in the midst of me going through culture shock. some days have been really tough and cindy and i have really struggled and had to just have faith that we did follow God's leading. when we do that, we feel and see more clearly... but anyways, here's the song... and it's playing on our blog's playlist:

Today I found myself
After searching all these years
And the man that I saw, he wasn't at all who I thought he'd be
I was lost when you found me here
And I was broken beyond repair
Then you came along and you sang your song over me

It feels like I'm born again
It feels like I'm living
For the very first time
For the very first time
In my life

Make a promise to me now
Reassure my heart somehow
That the love that I feel is so much more real than anything
I've a feeling in my soul
And I pray that I'm not wrong
That the life I have now, it is only the beginning

It feels like I'm born again
It feels like I'm living
For the very first time
For the very first time
It feels like I'm breathing
It feels like I'm moving
For the very first time
For the very first time

I wasn't looking for something that was more
Than what I had yesterday
Then you came to me and you gave to me
Life and a love that I've never known
That I've never felt before

It feels like I'm born again
It feels like I'm living
For the very first time
I'm living for the first time
It feels like I'm breathing
It feels like I'm moving
For the very first time
I'm living for the first time
In my life

fun days...

2009-04-04T14:46:00.007-05:00

the past couple of days... the girls like to play basketball with daddy after he gets home. cooper runs around like a wild man... he loves the out doors! all three love to go bare footed. coop also likes to lick cool concrete... hmmm... he's a third child, dirt won't hurt. we've learned that by now!

so... it's been bath time everyday lately, too...
we had a fun wrestle mania match this morning with everybody in it. of course it's always everybody against daddy! but i just throw cooper on the others to keep them busy, try to steal kisses from mama and the girls attack me, trick me, and laugh. yes, a lot of laugher. that's the basic script. my favorite weapons are: biting, sucking on eyes, popping toes, blowing in noses, fish hooks... and other secret weapons.

today coop and daddy mowed the "lawn"... ok, over grown weeds.
it's so dusty!!!!!!!! especially when heading heading east! there is a west wind that blows it back on top of you... you just get covered!
this morning, coop played with two of his best buddies on the floor... mommy and talking and dancing elmo!!!! coop loves to dance anytime he hears music. i guess going to the toddler praise class with mommy at church where they dance and listen to music may have an influence on him!

he also likes to push the buttons that make him talk, sing, tell stories, sneeze, and - of course - dance.

the girls got creative and made posters for their rooms. aubrey already made hers, so she made one for cooper and lolo made hers.

and daddy's favorite part: mama making lasagna!!!!!! the best.

updating the blog!

Back online...

2009-04-02T22:08:00.007-05:00

welcome to west texas... yes, we miss the trees, the rain, and some variations in the elevation... but longview doesn't have this scenery every morning looking out the front door...

it's a daunting task to put the first post up after a while. especially if you just can't find the time... and you've become more friendly with the fb world (so much easier!). but here it is and these are some excerpts of a letter to our youth group here as cindy and i and our 3 monkeys and this church continue on our adjustment to each other.

The past few months have been filled with different experiences for me and my family. For the first time in 10 years, and in our lives as a family, we are in a different city, different church, different school, and different house. Not to mention different job, different families and teens, different neighborhood, different stores, different friends, different mechanic, different doctors, and at the top of the list – don’t forget - different Mexican food restaurants! There’s a lot of things that are different, and honestly, different doesn’t always feel good. There were some good things that used to be a part of our lives that are no longer a part of our lives… and we’re faced with the reality that things are different now.

What if instead of the word “DIFFERENT” we substituted it with the word “NEW”. What would that do to change our perspective? Think about it. My attitude gets pretty down about “all the differents” we face in our life. But what if I look at it as a “new city, a new church, …” you get the idea. It gives my mind and heart room to think of great possibilities.

When I was 12 years old, my favorite bike of all times was stolen from outside our house. I was so sad, mad, disappointed, and – don’t forget - left with out a bike! You’ve got to understand that everyday after school I rode my bike and played soccer with my best friend and his brother. I was devastated. After a few weeks, my Dad took me to look for a new bike. I couldn’t find one just like the grey one I had – and yes, my old one had a banana seat. The best one we could find was a kind of green/gold color and the seat wasn’t as good as the last one. It was different. It didn’t feel the same. I had lots of reasons I didn’t like it as much as my previous bike, but I guess at some point I just got on the bike and decided to start riding it. Everyday. I made some great memories on that bike just riding with my friends. Yes, it was “different”… but it was also “new”.

As I think of all this, I know that this ministry in Abilene is going to be “different” for me. I know that the yearly SHYG routines and summer schedules will be “different” for teens and their families. But what if we decide to use the word “NEW” instead of “DIFFERENT”. What if we give our mind and heart room to think of great and new possibilities? I think it’s worth a try, and trust me… there’s a lot of things we’re going to call “new” around here.

so... here's to a better attitude, and a renewed effort at beating "culture shock".

don't know why it's hyper texting... but the picture above is one of the "trees" in our back yard.
here are the girls playing on the air mattress after amy and grandmommy and grandaddy spent the weekend, while cindy and i were at winterfest with the youth group.
checking the mail in our soon to be populated street (apple blossom road!)
lolo... doing what lolo does...

the girls have done well here for the most part. school is going well and they really are each other's best friend... even if they argue 1/2 the time. it's fun to watch when they are friends... which is a lot lately. they miss their friends and just haven't found that "buddy" yet...

wearing coats and getting bundled up has been a new routine too... the wind is just ... arghhhhh!!!!!!coop getting bundled up for the "tundra" that we moved to.here's coop and me after a morning jog. coop at home warm... me in the WIND. wow. so far, i'll take the wind to the humidity in east texas... but that doesn't make it any more fun.cindy and coop getting ready to head out on the town! with cindy being able to stay home... well, with us making the choice for her to stay home this semester and the summer, she's gotten to get that first year to year and 1 & 1/2 home with our baby. she's gotten to do that will all the kids while they were really young. it's so cool. they become best buddies, and it's draining on cindy sometimes (because that buger is a little time demanding) but we both see such a great benefit to her bringing stability to our home routine... and to coopie while he's still so "little"...

this was duct taped to a minivan at the bank cindy and i had chosen to get our morgage and do our banking at. nice. i think i'll fit in here...

aubrey using my pearl snap shirt in a... creative way...

our routine has been blown out of the water and this is what we've seen more than once as we roll in late from someone's house, going out to eat (when we can ... it's hard with 2 morgages!), coming in from longview... you name it.

we have a great little route that we can walk around and get some exercise... or jog. it's 1 and 1/2 miles... coops didn't make it completely through this round!

grandaddy came to town and brought us our table that we bought in longview. we can put two leafs in it and it sits 10 people easy! awesome! we love it! now, ya'll come see us!

my senorita at a local restaurant called "los arcos". cindy and her roommates found it in college and its still there on ambler. we like it... just don't eat the fajitas - no bueno!

no place like... home?

2008-12-27T08:01:00.000-06:00

we got in last night around 11:45 and hit the bed by 1:30.
should be an interesting day unloading and trying to settle in to
apple blossom.
we're supposed to get some help today ... and we need it!
here we go...

hallelujah chorus...?

2008-12-22T23:25:00.004-06:00

vote please...

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6
jeff buckley's version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ

man vs corn

2008-12-21T13:34:00.000-06:00

Hangin' at grandmommies

2008-12-19T15:05:00.000-06:00

Watching Swiss family Robinson at grandmommies after the last day of
school.

Tour de dad - part 3

2008-12-19T12:00:00.001-06:00

Aubrey's Xmas play was really good. Aubrey and madalyn were snow
flakes and they did really good. aubrey was part of the major chorus... and she sang hard, it was fun to watch.

when her group of "snowflakes" got to get up infront of the whole group and they pranced around... it looked like a lot of fun. she did really good.

our long transition has realy hit aubrey hard. she show's her sensitivity more than lolo, and she'll miss her friends and her "secure surroundings" a whole bunch.

Tour de dad - part 2

2008-12-19T11:55:00.000-06:00

Lolo had a little party at 9 am in her teacher's, jacky brown,
classroom. Jacky has taugh both the girls and has blessed our family.

Just a little patient... Yeah...

2008-12-19T11:39:00.002-06:00

(Please read title while swaying your head like axel rose)
Coopis back home after his mini surgery of getting tubes in his hears. Dr. Rozrler said he did good and that he's a tuff little man- probably said for my benefit. He
hasn't been very irritable or sleepless, he's been just puttin' up
with it. He said it was very infected in there. He came out and told
us while he was doing the surgery that be removed both his adnoids - I
know what you're thinking and I was worried, too, but it's ok, he can
still have children.

the season is on...

2008-12-18T23:26:00.011-06:00

the season, basketball season, is now upon us, that is...

i'm really going to miss our team. watching chris foul guys (and get away with a lot of it), kory going redonculous on the scoring end (and chewing on the refs on the way back down the court), steven's hustle (and mosquito tactic defense), maq's steady work at point (and getting the shaft from the refs on calls), patrick sound jayhawk fundamentals (and yelling at me for not calling out screens, and his nice see through mouth piece so he doesn't damage his perfect orthodontic teeth is a nice touch, too), jon telling me to shoot it when i get it (and watching him put his hands in his shirt and scratching his chest on the way down the court... every time! i don't know about that, it's the weirdest thing i've ever seen...), and me... having a few trips to the bathroom on game day for my "pregame" unloading of unnecessary weight, my $39 reebok, looking at the scoresheets and discussing game plan with kory on fridays at lunch, shooting the ball when i catch it in rhythm (notice i didn't say make it, just shoot it), and just being with the guys. i will miss it, a lot. and for the past 8 years, i've played ball with adam norton, and his soft baby hook is legendary (not to mention his left shoulder he plows into the defender with...!!!).

nothing like singing "oh little town of bethlehem" with a little nativity scene to get you in the christmas mood.
it's been a strange christmas at our home this year... we're here but we're not here. we're getting ready to move, so our house is in looking very unchristmassy... cindy usually has it all decked out, but we've kept everything packed up this year, until now. it's the first christmas in 10 years that we have not gone out and cut down a real tree...

here are some pictures, but they are out of order... oh, well, i can't get them in the right spots.
aubrey and lolo always love to do the tree and there's always some great drama... until this year... i think we made the tree with out the big drama.

you can see coop in the back... just bouncing and watching...

yes, the other season... my job is the lights (there's more info down below, but i can't seem to get this mac book to help me move the pics...)

we got a few of our ornaments out... cindy was helping figure out the "necessary ones".

lolo's class had pj day this week, so i figured i'd better get a class picture since they'll be leaving the awesome pine tree school district at the end of this week.

here's aubrey's class. she loves school so much and has developed some close relationships. leaving is going to be especially hard on her. her two buddies are next to her in the pic

we haven't spent a lot of money this year again... that feels great. what the heck does spending a lot of money on junk have to do with salvation coming down to earth? i don't know either. ok, i do know the "God gave the Gift so we give gifts" answer, but i'm too poor to waste my money on playing that game out. but i really like to celebrate christmas, in a meaningful way. i don't have it perfected, that's for sure, but i'm really enjoying it more the past two years. our family is pooling our gift money again to help someone in need. it's an awesome feeling to know that someone is going to say "someone saved my day", instead of stuffing a bunch of gifts away that we didn't want in the first place. sooooo...

we weren't going to put a tree up, but when we decided this week to move the day after xmas, we borrowed chris and becky's old tree and just put a few of our decorations up.

it's a humble little tree, but we can work with it!

New dress

2008-12-14T17:56:00.001-06:00

Lolo went shopping with cindy to buy presents and they walked through
the childrens section an lolo saw a dress she just loved! Well... The
only girl in our family that loves to wear dresses... And she's a cutie!

Snaggle bells, snaggle bells, snaggle all the way...

2008-12-05T08:19:00.001-06:00

Aubreys teeth are falling out these days ... Her front remaining tooth
is pretty goofy, and I wish I could freeze frame this moment in our
life right now. In the midst of all the chaos of our move, thoughts
the beauty of my kids and the daily journey in our family (admitedly
some days are definitely tough) is filling me with joy this morning.
Unfortunately, this too shall pass...

The adventures of Lolo Loo-Hoo...

2008-12-05T08:09:00.000-06:00

Lolo built a little house in our fake fireplace. You can see the
stairs and the "doorbell". She decided that she would eat breakfast
there today... And looks like she had a visitor...

Gripping tale...

2008-12-05T07:22:00.001-06:00

Here's coop's latest craze. Standing up! He let's go and does the
rodeo hands and then falls down... The hardest part is that cindy
can't go anywhere because this monkey has a firm grip!!!

Fill'er up...

2008-12-02T15:23:00.000-06:00

How can filling up my gas tank feel so good?

Morning breaking...

2008-11-30T20:25:00.000-06:00

This was as much sun as Abilene got today... But it was beautiful.
From 7:15 till 7:25 I kept hurrying back and forth from my room on
the west side of the house to the front room (facing north) and aubrey
and lolo's room (facing east) hoping to see God's daily miracle.
Then I had to hurry up and shower before the 8:15 worship and didn't
get to watch the complete rising...
I'm an idiot.

My favorite color...

2008-11-28T17:36:00.000-06:00

Tonight we've been painting our awesome blue bedroom to a "neutral"
color... That means "booring"... Nice cool blue...

Flat ride...

2008-11-27T17:44:00.001-06:00

We're thankful this thanksgiving for officer cloyd todd from tarrant
county dps fir helping us change our tire quickly... Among other
things that we're thankful for...

give more this christmas...

2008-11-25T13:56:00.002-06:00

think about it.

my family gave enough to build a new water well in mozambique last year.

that's what i gave for christmas. a water well.

that's what i got for christmas. a water well.

it was the best christmas in a long time.

think about it.

home...

2008-11-25T10:30:00.003-06:00

i was 15 years old and we were at a youth rally in ohio... we lived in huntsville alabama and we had some friends up there that we just happen to be visiting that weekend. this family had lost their son about a year before our visit in a horrible drowning one day in a river, just one week after he got married.
we had just moved back to the states from argentina. we lived in rosario for the final 7 years of our 9 years there.
i felt like a fish out of water. i didn't know where to call home.
the song leader led a song that was the only song i really sang that day. i went through the motions on some of the other songs... but this one was coming from my heart. tears filled my eyes. i couldn't ever remember being so connected to a song.
through the past 20 years i've connected to other songs at different times. some have been about heaven, some about life. some about God, some about doubt, some about hope, some about the brokeness of this world, some about the brokeness of my own life.
in the midst of transition, with much uncertainty, pain, and hope surrounding us at any given moment, i found myself in a very familiar place. two weeks ago, larry parker lead a song in worship. it was an older song. not a newer/tomlin song that i'm connecting with alot these days. this was one of those old school ones. tears began to fill my eyes. it's still true. 20 plus years after that sunday in ohio, i'm still on the same journey.
even though i've found patches of home, it's still hard to completely find it. i don't get to lay claim of this some just because i'm a missionary kid... but it does bring a bigger meaning to the song for me.
in the midst of our transition... my heart broke and found hope at the same time as i sang about our hope with the alpine family...

This World Is Not My Home

This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore

They're all expecting me and that's one thing I know
my savior pardoned me and now I onward go
I know He'll take me through though I am weak and poor
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore

Just up in Glory Land we'll live eternally
the Saints on every hand are shouting victory
their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven's shore
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
O Lord you know I have no friend like you
if Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do?
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door

and I can't feel at home in this world anymore

witnessing my dad lead and sing this song from his heart has changed my life. it's given me perspective, longing, and hope.

new beginnings...

2008-10-29T13:29:00.002-05:00

this past sunday, cindy, me, and a & l & c headed to abilene to officially meet with the southern hills church. it was a beginning of sorts.
they have two worship assemblies, so we went to the end of the first service, then class, then to the second assembly. in both assemblies the elders prayed for God's blessing on our family, and even on alpine, during this transition. they prayed for God to use us to help parents raise their teens in the Lord.
honestly it was kind of scarry, but we keep coming back to the idea that "it was not our idea to go there", and we gave God plenty of other options for us, yet time and time again, this was confirmed for us to serve God at the southern hills church. so it was a new beginning.
i think for the students there it was kind of weird. i mean, i had only met 5 or so kids before this weekend, and here i walk in and say... "i'm your youth minister...!" much like an arranged marriage.
there are some committed Christ-followers that love to help teens and are learning to serve in the youth ministry there... so i'm not in a panic.
two saturday nights ago, when we told our girls that we would be moving... we just didn't have all the words to say... i kept praying in between sentences for God to give me something. when we went to their room to get ready for bed, i picked up our narnia book (we're on the third one - voyage of the dawn treader) and told them that it's kinda like a new adventure for us. we're following aslan even when it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. when we do so, we find all kinds of new great friends and experiences. so far, that's held true.

there were about 20 of our alpine family there at church on sunday, due to homecoming and college students. they all have a special part of God's book He's writing at alpine. it's been a blessing to be with them.

our house hunting went ok... we found several houses that could be possibilities. we've kind of settled on one, but when the inspection comes back, we'll know if it's "the one". oh... and if the guy doesn't die of laughter at our offer, then maybe that will help it sell, too...!

please be praying for our house hunt, that it will be a place for our family to love each other, share God's love with visiting family, old friends, make new friends in the neighborhood, and to share Christ with our community. please pray for the sell of our house here in longview.

phil ware talked about Jesus being enough. if He is transitioning us from darkness to light, from death to life, then He alone is the power and satisfaction in that transformation.

so the question is ... what part of your life is transformed? we had small pieces of paper to write our stories on. mine was from "lost to found" (in the sense that i've been searching over the past year or two. "frustration to peace" (because of my feeling a sense of completion and not having a next step to take). i hope to begin to live out those broad words of "found" and "peace" with purpose and contagiously.

so... where has God been working in your life lately...?

faces in our crowd...

2008-10-20T22:53:00.004-05:00

here's some pics of our life the past week or so...

i'm longview's new "chicken express" first customer. a whole meal for just one buck... wow. i'm proud of eric. he's got a lot on his shoulders. keep him in your prayers as he will be running this store with 40 employees.

aubrey wanted to set up a pose for her and her guitar. so... here' she is wearing an oversized soccer jersey she inherited from dj dickson.
coops providing the nightly entertainment...

me and coop in our uniforms at fallfest. that's the argentina national futbol team jersey for all you football fans.

mama and her biggest fan...snoops and me at the corn maze. we both love the back pack!from left to right: diego pruitt, lucy pevensy, super girllolo the princess... this time she's jasmine.

to my alpine family...

2008-10-19T22:08:00.010-05:00

For those of you who were not at alpine this past week and missed my attempt at speaking while crying for 10 minutes... or if you were there and could not understand what i was saying... here's the script of what i attempted to say:

Over the past 10 years Cindy and I have learned quite a bit about following Christ's footsteps. We've done so by watching some of you, and some from our Alpine members that have moved on.
We've learned that God uses people to do His work. If you don't believe that, you never had the pleasure of meeting Ed and Rhonda McMullen, Nancy Lifsey, and countless others who God continues to use here at Alpine as His garden hose to pours out His blessings on those around them.
We've learned about prayer. God doesn't always give us what you ask for, but He does meet the needs of sincere hearts. He has also blessed those who have accepted with faith the situation that God lays out before them.
We've learned to worship in song as our praise teams have used their voices to make me want to shout for joy at times, and have left me in tears other times.
We've learned to value community and love. Our friendships and our small group have brought an indescribable richness to our lives. God has truly answered our prayers.
We've learned to be a family, as we've observed some families that have been busy in the task of raising their kids not to just be church-goers, but they've raised them to be Christ-followers. This has been one of the richest blessings we've received from the Alpine Family.
We've also learned to be a family by being able to worship with my family here, thank you for the love and grace you have extended to the Pruitts and the Peurifoys. We will miss them dearly, and we claim Jesus' promise in Mark 10:28-30.
We've learned a lot. We've been brought to tears as we hear our daughters praying, thanking God for our church that loves us so much they'd send us to Disney World. Now that's crazy love. There is no way I could repay you for that trip. Your expression of love is so humbling. We thank you.

For the past 10 years, I've never worked 40 hours. Some weeks more, some weeks... less, honestly, as far as work goes. But Alpine never bought a single hour of my heart. It's never been about working. It's been about sharing our lives. It's been about a church that has loved us and supported us as we live our lives and as we encourage and equip others in Christ. I think a good example of this relationship is shown in I Thessalonians 2:8 when Paul says:

"We loved you so much that we were delighted

to share with you not only the gospel of God but

our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

I want to point out to you a few folks who have made our service here at Alpine a possibility:

Please stand if you have been an elder at this church at any point over the past 10 years
Please stand if you are one of my fellow Ministers on staff and our secretaries
Please stand if you have been a parent of a teenager in the youth group over the past 10 years
Please stand if you've ever been one of our small group leaders in the youth group over the past 10 years: Huddles, Life Groups, Reach Groups
Please stand if you've taught a class for our teens
Please stand if you've served pizza and Dr. Pepper for our teens in the LOFT
Please stand if you've served as a sponsor on our youth group trips over the past 10 years. Mission Trips, Retreats, Winterfest, LTC, ski trips
Please stand if you've bought stock or served as a prayer warrior for our teens as they've served God on mission work
Please stand if you've ever given money into the general contribution, or the missions contribution, or ATV fund

at this point i want to make sure you realize that 95% of the people present were standing. that was the point.

See, it's never been about me. God's fellowship comes together and works together to share our faith by living it out in front of our teens. God's plan is for us come together, use our gifts together to serve together. You have made a difference in the lives of teens. You have made a difference in mine and Cindy's lives. Please be seated.

For over a year now, I've felt a sense of completion about my ministry here. Not in a sense that it was perfect, or that there is no room for improvement. But a very clear sense that God has used us here to accomplish what He had had us here to do. I wish I could say we had a peace about that but we didn't. I wrestled with it. Because we didn't know what was next for us. We begin to have a sense about us that Alpine needed something fresh, maybe even a little different, but a new voice that would share the Gospel with teens and their families. I feel like the leadership could use a fresh voice, new ideas, and a fresh passion. We also felt the need for freshness in our own lives and ministry at the same time.

Over the past few years several churches have asked us if we wanted to even talk to them about opportunities to serve with them. Cindy and I have never felt the need to follow through with any of those phone calls. God had something else in store for us, we just didn't know what it was. I thought and hoped it was going to be church planting. God has not opened that door for us yet.

This past June and August, we had two conversations that intrigued us with a church. A few weeks later, in late August, in a prayer meeting with Terry Booker and Steve Caldwell, we prayed for "clarity of vision for our ministry and our calling to ministry". Terry commented that those were dangerous prayers to be praying (of course he warned me after we prayed about it). The very next day a church extended an invitation for Cindy and I to join them in ministry to their teens. We had no idea what this church was like. They have been in transition in their youth ministry over the past year, and desperately need someone to cast a vision for parents, teens, and youth workers. Their needs in youth ministry fit the experiences God has work through us here at Alpine. The job is not a "step up the ladder" by any means. It's probably the biggest ministry challenge that I've faced in my life. It's more like an invitation to "come work hard"... now doesn't that sound attractive!

So, Cindy and I have visited twice to learn a little bit about their congregation. The Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas, has asked me to join the ministry staff and bring my family along to share our love with them and them with us. As of Friday, Cindy and I have accepted this invitation. Between now and Christmas, we will be preparing for our move to Abilene. We will serve God there as a Youth Minister with that church.

To our youth group here, I want to say, that I love you. We are not upset with you, or at anyone in the group. Nobody drove us away. We truly feel like God has someone in store that will love you and help you to grow deeper in Christ. We truly believe this. We also want you to know that it's taken us two months to pull the trigger on this decision because you are one of the big reasons we wanted to stay. We would not go if we did not feel that God was leading us there. We've only met 5 of their teenagers and I couldn't even tell you their names. But we also feel that you need something we cannot give right now.

Cindy, myself, and the elders here have peace about this decision. That doesn't mean that it was an easy decision, but we believe that God is opening a door of new possibilities, for us and for Alpine. We know that some will be sad, some will be mad, and some will be... glad at this transition Cindy and I are making. Some may not even think it makes sense. So we ask that you extend us grace and we need your prayers for my family, and for the High School Ministry here at Alpine.

So, I say thank you and we love you. We hope that you will pray for us and our children as we embark on this new adventure, and as God turns a new page in Alpine's life.

Thank you to my fellow ministry team members: Melissa Kitchens, Rodney Cox, Larry Parker, Jerry McCaghren, Eddie Gooch, Sandra Boorman, Rachel Smith, & Paul Boorman.

Our secretaries that have helped me have been: Debbie Secord Knight, Nancy Lifsey, Rhonda McMullen, Maggie Morgan, Beverly Ray, Jill Corbitt, Rebecca Horton, Sandra Braumbaugh, Sharron Sanders, and Patricia Castillo.

We are very grateful for the loving teachers at Alpine Christian Academy and Camp Sunshine: Misty and Joy, Debbie, Dolores, Sharon, Shelley, Teresa, Margaret, Robin, Brenda, Jessica, Grandmommie, Christy, Bobby, & Linda. We are indebted to their directors: Mary Alice, Annette, & Sandra.

I've been blessed to work with incredible loving Youth Workers: Jimmy and Jannelle Carver, Jay and Teresa Knight, Bubba and Donna Bogue, Doug and Dona Williams, Steve and Carol Caldwell, Bill and Cecilia Carr, Bill and Cindy Ellman, Ed and Rhonda McMullen, Rand and Maggie Morgan, Tom Rutledge, CV and Karen Dickson, Scott and Anita Cranston, Charlie and Cindy Farrell, Scott and Michele Heolzle, David and Tara Rangel, Drew and Jill Corbitt, Brian and Nicole Hoyle, Erin and Melissa Higgins, Bernie and Shelley Krupa, Charlie and Cindy Farrell, Adam and Christy Norton, Mark and Lacy LaLena, Patty Burns, Panta Utakrit, Margaret McWilliams, Carolyn Taylor, Tina and Steve Howard, Tesa Wilson, Edie Beckner, James Townsend, Jeremy and Diane Belyeu, Chris and Angela Mays, Kory and Jaymie Phillips, Chris and Mindi Collier, Rebekah Rotzler, Debbie Hoelzle, Joe Campbell, Bob Burke, Don and Janie Farrer, Don and Charlotte Esch, Kyle and Kaye Perry, David and Debbie Nelson, Jess and Leann Dowdy, Lanny and Brenda Buck, Kerry Woods, Kathlene Smith, Charles and Julie Orr, Steve and Brenda Alexander, and Melissa Kitchens. Many others have joined us on trips, but these volunteers have served as small group leaders or hosts, or as constant volunteers. I know I've left out some names, but it would have been impossible with out these servants and more.

My interns have been: Melissa Wiley Kitchens, Charles Kiser, Taylor Davis, Sean Paul Jones, Audrey Everson, Melody Forrest, Eric Albright, Steven Spiess, Loren Britton, Matt McMullen, Justin Thompson, Jenna Trapasso, Beau Brasher, Justin Wyatt, Allison Hubbard, Jordan Bills, Adam Bagley, Abby Stutzman, Shannon Morgan, Julie Kelley, and Bobby Burke. These people have enriched my life as we've shared ministry together to our teens at Alpine.

I know that all these words fall short of describing the inner seach Cindy and I have been through over the past year. Trying to list the names of those who have helped in very direct ways is even insane. But... this is my attempt to let you into our hearts and minds' journey.
Still serving WITH you,
Ricky, Cindy, Aubrey, Lolo, Cooper

FYI: and important part of our spiritual journey has been the music and lyrics of third day's new album "revelation" (tracks 5, 6, & 9, and others too), and chris tomlin's "hello love" (several, but especially track 4 - God of this city). buy those two albums and you'll be blessed.

thirty six, smirtysix... here we go again

2008-09-27T07:33:00.004-05:00

party at tele's again! this time we went to jose's store, on hwy 80 and green st. ahhh... #11 (the friday special) w/ no pico and no onions in the enchiladas. water with no lemon. perfect. happy birthday to me...

5:29 a.m. coop wakes up and let's us know he doesn't want to lay in his bed anymore. daddy to the rescue

6:15 a.m. daddy gives up the rockin' technique and does a no no - i gave him 6 oz of formula... that's weird because i'm the strongwilled one in the family. i've outlasted my other two on many occasions. aubrey's first poop on the potty was an unforgettable stand off ... but that's another story... he was starting to threaten my jogging time, i was desperate, i compromised.

6:33 a.m. coop is out like a light

6:42 a.m. i sneack back to our room to get some running clothes on. cindy wakes up, tells me i did a no no

6:52 a.m. i'm joggin my 3 mile route. i start my stop watch. i stop to stretch for a few minutes once i get to julianna park. keep joggin'.

7:07 a.m. i felt a twinge in my left calf. i stop, stretch, turn around, and walk and jog home slowly.

welcome to thirty six

disney day 1 - to infinity and beyond...

2008-09-24T08:54:00.009-05:00

we arrived at our hotel to find that we were going to be living in Toy Story for the week!! The girls loved it. Another toy to play in at our hotel.

we saw two parades that day...

coop and kids

2008-07-08T21:37:00.005-05:00

well... here's a quick update.
i've been on a mission trip and to wilderness trek in the past 4 weeks. it's good to be home. both trips were great. now if i could just finish up in the Loft this summer and then get the medical mission done... it'll be great!
i'm currently reading a book called "in a pit with a lion on a snowy day"... pretty interesting. cindy and i just finished watching "the bucket list". pretty good.
both have provoked me to think. dangerous. exciting. risky.

it's good to be back home.
as you'll see ... coop hasn't missed any meals, and the girls keep getting more beautiful every day. they are turning 6 and 8 this week. wow!

ok, so here's coopie getting some delicious lunch! he eats about 5 bottles of 8 oz per day.

aubrey says "peace out!"
lolo loves to wrestle with dad, and anyone who will tangle with her. coop likes to play.

the obligatory naked baby on the bed pic... with the towel underneath...
and the girls love to jump in on the picture action!
a couple of weeks ago weeks ago we watched the usa vs argentina soccer match on tv. to my pleasure, they came out of their room with their jerseys on. so i sported mine, too! it ended in a 0-0 tie, and it was an awesome game!
that's my boy...
coop loves to play with his excersaucer and jumping seat.he has jumped for over 45 minutes at a time before.and more than a few times, he falls asleep in his jumping seat. it's pretty funny.
anyways... hopefully i'll get some more pictures up... and finally turn this thing over to cindy lou. check ya'll later! and like i said... it's good to be back home.

i'll leave you with these words from coop. this is i guess, his first words. he's been saying it all day. and was still saying it tonight as i wrestled him down to sleep... wow, that sounded violent...

May be... 2

2008-06-04T21:49:00.005-05:00

May be...

2008-06-03T22:29:00.003-05:00

updates ... kind'a... from april (with captions)

2008-05-28T07:34:00.006-05:00

well... here are some pics from april. it was a good month. these first couple of pictures are from one of my favorite days i've had with my girls. they got skates from santa in december (when else...?) and had been working hard on learning how to skate. so ... grandmommie and grandaddie had an afternoon with Cooper... while cindy and i had a good time with the girls. it was so fun! lolo is the faster of the two... but she didn't really skate! she runs and then coasts!aubrey is the more graceful of the two. she has pretty good form, too. overly cautious and less of a risk taker... what can i say, she's a first-born!
then, probably my favorite part of the day. through out the winter we read "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" from the chronicles of narnia by cs lewis. it was awesome. so many times the girls would stop and want to talk about it. their imagination was picturing all the fauns, centaurs, and faces of peter, edmund, susan and lucy. lolo once told me "i'm imagining all of this in my head"! she loved every bit of it. so did sissy.

so... after we rollerskated, we sat down and watched the movie. it was incredible. i loved it. maybe because they sat with me most of the time (it's actually kinda scary in parts...). but we loved it. actually thought several times throughout that day ... "man, i wish this day would never end." it was awesome. lolo got to dress up as gigi for her "book character day" at aca. awesome school. fun day. great girl.

coop likes to sit in his high chair. he can't sit up completely on his own by now... but he's working on it. maybe that's why he enjoys his high chair.

yumm ... he's pretty good at eating, except that he still expects a full bottle afterwards.
here we are having "diny dino time". coop is having some treatments due to bronchialitis... or something like that. anyways. here's where the doctor wants us to spend 2 hours of our day... he does ok most of the time. he's a good boy.

big sis couldnt resist putting a tutu on little bro. needless to say, i couldn't wait for that moment to be over...
coopie likes his bumbo... for a little bit... then he's done with that. he's a little big for it now.

the girls are great with him. they love to lay next to him and compete for his attention. their favorite thing to do is to get him to chuckle or scream... it's pretty funny.

food for thought...

2008-05-06T10:22:00.003-05:00

last year's youth group theme was rEVOLution (the way it is spelled in this clip... and yes, i came up with it before these jokers did)...
but, this poses some interesting thoughts, that are neither republican or democrat. i'd like to suggest an interesting book "The Irressistible REVOLUTION", by Shane Claiborne. a must read. his newest book (on my to read list) is "Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals". So, anyways... check that out.
i'm not saying i agree with everything in this video... just check it out. i agree with a lot of it.

because of the lack of blog entries with pictures of our kids... and the prominence of youtube appearences on our blog... cindy will be taking over the blogging and i'll be a guest contributor...

stop the machine...

2008-04-15T23:41:00.002-05:00

i keep thinking of this song. the past few days have been hectic, crazy, unstopable...

family fun... toddler's truth...

2008-04-04T17:54:00.003-05:00

over the past two weeks, my family has been enamoured and annoyed with two of our new friends. we met them on easter sunday. to be honest, one watch is not enough... and sharing the video with others just makes it funnier and funnier.

lolo and aubrey love to re-enact the video over and over and over. they love to say the word "charlie" and "hurt" and "bit" with an accent. it's pretty funny.

then two hours later when we're trying to get ready for bed and they're still saying it ... it gets old. but the next day it's funny again.

here's lolo's interpretation:

gary burns, our neighbor, returned to me the youth group's wooden podium which he had repaired for us. when they saw it after school today, aubrey and lolo wanted to play church today. so we took the Lord's supper about 5 times. aubrey did read some scriptures, lolo and aubrey led songs, i led some with my guitar, we ate bread sticks for the "body", aubrey asked questions regarding the scriptures that she read. it was actually pretty cool. i got to explain what we thought about when we took the Lord's supper. and yes... we still had some behavior problems afterwards. it was fun, and real at the same time. i explained to them that we weren't really playing church, we were actually worshiping just like we do on sunday mornings (insert confused look here).

anyways, during the worship time, lolo took the magnadoodle and wrote a message. i thought to myself... "isn't this the message God is trying to give every sunday?" (and everyday for that matter...). here's God's message for you:

so... enjoy God's word to you today. print out the picture and put it somewhere that you can always remember it... daily. THAT is God's message to you. all the time.

pieces of march

2008-03-29T14:23:00.004-05:00

cooper's swing and bouncyseat have both been running low on batteries. my guess is that that it scares cooper because he yells at it and kind of looks disturbed. it's pretty funny actually. with out the batteries the music kinda' slures the music reminds me of a "horror circus" with freaky clowns. anyways.... pretty funny and erie to listen too...

yes... i chose the shirts. we hang out on fridays together and have a good time.

he's starting to hold his head up... so layin' with dad on the bed is doable now. here he's chillin'.

the girls love when sooper cooper jumps in bed with them in the morning to wake them up... or at night for some good night kisses.

soccer season has started. there's lolo (#7) gettin into the action. today aubrey got hit pretty hard in the chest and came out the rest of the game... and lolo's game got called because of lightning... bummer for both.

hmmm... meat. atta' boy!

little drawing... bigger picture...

2008-03-24T08:23:00.009-05:00

i've been meaning to write this post for the past 2 months. it has grown in my mind as a picture. i've erased parts. i've redrawn parts. i've discovered new parts that i could have never imagined. and still i know it falls short of the bigger picture that i believe it's pointing to. i know it's too long... but i had to get this out, even though i know i won't put it all down right, or in the right order.
i'll try to explain it this way. at the end of some of my daughters' disney princess movies (well, i guess they are coopers now, too... yikes) they have these little "how the movie was made". especially in the older ones made in the '50s and even 80's, they show the drawings that walt was going by. the discarded sketches, the rewrites, the originals and the final products of the art work. they even show the live models that come in for some of the parts. one of our favorites to watch the "behind the scenes stuff" is "the wizzard of oz".
ok, to the story...

i look forward to basketball season every year. not college or nba... but church league. yeah, that's right. we're a decent collection of players. we play in the upper league and do well. some seasons, we've lost more than we've won. but we mostly seem to be in the hunt for the season title. about 2 and 1/2 months ago i hurt my leg. my first muscle pull i've ever had, and the jokes about being 35 just kept rolling in.

here's the interesting part. i realized pretty quick that this wasn't a cramp or just a little something. i couldn't believe it had happened. i was frustrated, but at the same time i knew that it was out of my control. i didn't want to miss any games, and at the same time i felt resigned to my fate. first game that i had to miss i wasn't exactly at peace. maybe numb and feeling stuck was a good way to put it. the reality that i was living in was that every step that i took hurt me. until somebody finally gave me one of those velcro on walking casts, i just kept on aggravating my calf.

i tried to carry on my normal routine. it affected the way that i was able to work with my family, move around at my job (i got hurt the weekend before the winterfest trip with our youth group - lots of walking and 1 two hour mosh pit). the soft cast really didn't draw much attention to itself, so some people didn't even notice. when they did, people wanted to hear the whole story, some people just wanted to small talk about it...

sharing it with people became an interesting part of my day. do i give them the short "i hurt it playing ball" or do i go down the line to ward off questions by telling them the long story, including how long it will last (which i'll get to in a moment). of course, sharing it also meant that i was going to hear some trite comment about "not being a teenager anymore", "being too old", or a bad joke. there were also sincere... "i'm sorry" and "i hope you feel better" and "bummer" comments. and my all time favorite "everything happens for a reason" (i could have choked a couple of people for that one). now, you need to know that i've said both types of comments to others, so i'm not judging the comments, just reporting them.

the summer of 2008 is going to include a wilderness trek trip. i remember back at the beginning of february thinking to myself "i don't know if i'm going to be able to make that trip", and "how long will this last?". i didn't want to look too far ahead. i had a very raw reminder every time i stretched in the middle of the night and flexed my calf muscle accidentally, or even stepped funny with the walking cast, that i was in pain and something wasn't working right. i had kind of resigned myself to the fact that this is the way it's going to be. some people told me 4-6 weeks (coaches and trainers that i know), others said 2 weeks, others said it could be a tear, which could mean months (maybe 3). wow, i really should have gone to the doctor, but why pay someone for something i just wanted to go away, and that with me doing the minimum of icing and wrapping and elevating several times a day (along with resting it), it should go away... right? so i was caught wondering ... which was kind of a scary/frustating place to be. i wanted an answer, not a "you'll know when it feels better" answer. i needed something concrete.

the pain: well, i'd be lying if i told you i didn't do my limit most of the days on ibuprophen (sp?). i was even tempted by my left over vicatin (now that's the good stuff - except that it renders me useless to useful to the rest of the world...). the begining stages was a ice pick stabbing me any time i pushed my foot down. i conjured up some funny ways of walking. at the most unexpected times i would do something not realizing it and re-activate that sharp pain. wow, it was sharp! but most of the time is was a nag. there was an underlying pain that was driving me nuts (kind of like a high pitch ring that annoys the heck out of ya), and would sometimes make me twitch... which would hurt.
i just seemed to be in a dark tunnel. i couldn't see light at the end of my calf injury. i was stuck being this person that was hurt. yes, i was able to function pretty well at work, and at home. but i needed my leg for both work and family life. it was a constant pain... and a reminder that i was missing out on something i loved dearly, playing basketball with my friends. i had some guilt, thinking i was letting my friends down on the team, too. maybe i had done something wrong that made this happen to me? did i not stretch? was i focused to much on a noon basketball game and God stepped in and took it away? so i had a bunch of weird feelings about the whole thing.

after 2 weeks it got old and at the same time i kind of grew into the mental role of "this is how it's going to be..." my leg was pretty swollen still. i began to experiment with just trying to walk in a straight line on my treadmill... slowly. so i took the cast off and tried some more the next day. during the 3rd week, i slowly began jogging on it. some steps i'd feel a tweek in it... most i didn't.
on my first game back, i warmed it up, stretched it out, warmed it up, stretched it out, and ran on my heel most of the night. after 5 minutes of being in, kory got me a pass on a fast break and i jumped with both legs for my shot... and "snag" i felt it. i think i even yelped a little bit. but i landed and kept on going (albeit on my heel without pushing off very much). my leg was noticeably swollen after the game, and the "high pitch" pain was there for a few more weeks... and i continued to ice, rest, stretch...

i'm thankful for the ones around me that shared with me what helped them. certain stretches. lending me $300 walking boots for free. encouraging me get better. helping me strap on the ice onto my leg. still making me feel like part of the team even whe i wasn't contributing... i just kept showing up (a whole other great lesson) even though i wasn't able to play.

i've got several friends who have been going through life, just as i have, and snagged on something (loss of a child, loss of a friend, multiple miscarriages - by one couple, one miscarriage - which is one too many, loss of a parent or family member, family split, ...). it causes pain, and yet they have to go on with life, feeling altered. feeling no control. feeling pain. feeling frustrated. feeling the "dark tunnel". feeling the "i'm missing out on something i love" feeling. feeling the uncertainty of "will it ever be back to normal" or "will i ever be normal". i've never directly experienced it. i feel as if i've tried to understand, love, care for, give God space to heal them, be used by God to help heal, that i still didn't understand. i've still said trite things. i've tried to show the lighter side or brighter side. i've settled for the short answer, not allowing or wanting to let others open up, feeling safe about doing so. i've wondered "when will they 'get over "it"?' " not in a mean way, but truly wondering. i've tried to talk about the light at the end of the tunnel, having not been there before.

i feel like God showed me the sketches ... while others have had to live through the full color and sounds of the movie, the real life hard experience. i feel like i've see the "preview to a movie that i never want to see", and still realize at the same time that friends and loved ones are living in or have lived through the movie. you know, it's also kind of like when i said an "ice pick stabbing me in the leg", what does that really mean? why would i choose those words? none of us have ever experienced "that". again, words fall short of being able to explain what we go through. it just give us a picture of something we think would feel that way to the one we're explaining it to. i believe that so many times our friends and loved ones try to tell us what they are going through, and words will never quite be able to explain, convey, give life to the feelings that are shaping them, changing their life. in some cases the "sharpness" of the pain goes away and they live with the "high pitch ring" that sometimes makes them still twich... and hurt. rusty caldwell has told me some stories of the importance of just being there for his friends in mourning, because there isn't anything to say. there are some great lessons about being a community to each other.

i do believe in a God whose redemption He is working in our lives includes healing our wounds. i do believe in a spiritual reality that God's Spirit brings comfort into our darkest hour. i do believe that there is hope of life after death in a place that is absence of the corruption of this world's pain, sin, germ. i believe that God is close to the broken hearted. i believe God cries every tear that satan brings into our lives along with us. i can see Him say "this is not how it was supposed to be!" this is not what He wanted... but He's passionate about restoring this world to Himself. and yet He seeks to comfort and restore ... "to prepare a banquet in the presence of our enemies" (ps 23) because He is greater than the one in the world.

i do not always know how God wants to bring His kingdom's reign into this broken world. i do know that God wants to reign in my heart. he want's to be my hope. he has promised never to forsake us. he has left us with fellow journeymen. he has sent the Comforter and Counselor. we are not alone, and yet we do not always understand what each other is going through. we are called to love, not fix, each other. helping and fixing are two very different things.

so, for those of you going through the dark tunnel, i hope you see the light soon. for some it will be closer than others. for those who can't see the light yet, just keep showing up everyday. i don't know when the light will come... i'm sure you'll still hurt in ways you can't even describe to most people. just know that you are not alone. find someone you can share your story with. you may have to remind them you don't want to be fixed... you just want to be with someone. remember... you are not alone, even in the dark tunnel. you probably won't be exactly the same as it was before. but some day you will walk again, you will run again, you will enjoy it again. i don't know when, but i know it's true.

i hope you made it all the way through. i hope this helps you. helped me to write it. an interesting part that i seem to forget to tell people (i've only told this story 2 or 3 times to others, because it's been on my mind and i had to let it out) is that i still feel "it". i played in 5 basketball games this weekend (in a tournament). as i showered and cleaned the back of my leg, it wasn't swollen... but i did still feel "it". i was able to do an activity at the rate that some people cannot do. still, the back of my leg feels tingly (sp?) and numb. i never notice it or think much about it till i touch it. it doesn't hurt. but "it" is there. i remember how it hurt and i'm greatful that i'm able to play now. not to the extent of "feeling the pain all over again" or "feeling like i'm in the tunnel again". i just know "it" is there and that "it" is some how a part of me, even if i don't feel "it" or think of "it" all the time anymore. i noticed that pretty quickly on after i was able to start walking, running and playing again. "it" is still there. i wonder how long "it" will be with me?

He lives...

2008-03-23T16:25:00.003-05:00

thanks to all of you who let God use your musical talents to tell the story or our Redeemer... He lives and i was reminded of that today at Alpine through a song.

i hope i can remind others that i've been redeemed and that they are or can be redeemed because of a passionate and merciful God who created this world to glorify Himself and have a relationship with mankind.

if this video is not available anymore, the song is by nicole c mullen and an alternate video (produced by a church or person) that has a slide show with the original song is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQfKoCzn3Eg . yes, the original is better.

love letters...

2008-03-12T10:21:00.004-05:00

one of my favorite parts of my girls growing up is to watch there intellect explode... it's almost as if you can see the wheels start to turn, the sparks to fly, you know, add in your own cliche'.

lolo's reading skills took off right after thanksgiving. it is so awesome to watch her enjoy doing it. today on the way to school she told me she knows how to make the "thu" sound. i said how. she said with a "t" and "h".

wow, brenda has really done great with her. now she's started writing and making up spellings for words. it's pretty cool and she loves it!

so, none other than "super blue girl", as she named herself the other night, has written her mom and i some love notes. i'm sure we'll treasure the all our lives.

so... super blue girl wrote her mom a note... and her mom loved it!i guess one of her favorite cartoons is "word girl". that might be where she's getting the idea to expand her vocabulary and use letters to make words.

here's the letter i got yesterday when i got home from work. how do you like this one? wow. that's all i can say. it's so funny, but i love to play mad with her and ask where's my love letter... so...

today on the way to school she wrote me one on her magnadoodle. i gave her my answer which is on the top left. she wrote the whole thing, so i guess this is a case when the "c" sounds like an "s".

my girls are awesome. and i love my "super blue girl" no matter what she writes...

hacked off...

2008-02-29T21:45:00.007-06:00

cindy's been on me for a couple of weeks now to get my hair cut. she doesn't want me to go back to cuts galore. but hey, $8 for a hair cut aint bad. especially when the ladies in there have husbands that sport the mullet. this means that they respect and know how to handle the mullet. no scoffing, snickering, or teasing. kristen has cut my hair for 3 years. last 2 or 3 times i went up there, she was on a break or off those days. i called last week and she no longer works there. bad. bad day.

but no. cindy said that the past two times they've jacked my hair. what?! anyways, so today i gave procuts a try. i walk in there and they are playing "talk dirty to me" my poison or motley crue - can't remember. but the point is surely they'll know what to do with a mullet. no. incompetent overpaid haircutters. i paid 12.99 and left a $1 tip (hopefully the lady will use it to take another correspondence course on hair cutting).

she asked exactly what i wanted. she did exactly what i said. but in the back she took well... more than i said. totally blew off what i said when i corrected her (when she jumped in and tried to complete my sentence for me), i wasn't rude. in fact we were laughing in friendly conversation. we were friendly all along. i just couldn't tell what her freakin' fingers were doing back there.

here's a pic of me and coop this week. just hangin. look how happy i was. look how happy my son was. look how natural the kentucky waterfall looks on the back of my head.

here's cindy and i at thanksgiving. it's short... but it's still there. see, i'm happy in this picture. so is cindy.

but here it is. redonculous.

How do I get through one night without you

If I had to live without you

What kind of life would that be

Oh I, I need you in my arms

Need you to hold

You're my world, my heart, my soul

If you ever leave

Baby you would take away everything good in my life

And tell me now

How do I live without you

I want to knowHow do I breathe without you

If you ever go

How do I ever, ever survive

How do IHow do I Oh, how do I live

Without you, there'd be no sun in my sky

There would be no love in my life

There'd be no world left for me

And I, oh Baby, I don't know what I would do

I'd be lost if I lost youIf you ever leave

Baby you would take away everything real in my life

And tell me nowHow do I live without you I want to know

How do I breathe without youIf you ever go

How do I ever, ever survive

How do IHow do I

Oh, how do I live Please tell me baby

How do I go onIf you ever leave

Baby you would take away everything

Need you with me

Baby don't you know that you're everything good in my life

And tell me now...How do I live without you I want to know ... How do I breathe without you If you ever go.... How do I ever, ever survive... How do I How do I Oh, how do I live how do I live without you how do I live without you baby how do I live...

something i probably failed to mention on my blog post earlier is the fact that i'm a native from alabama and now i live in east texas. in alabama, the mullet is a way of life! just look at the profile and shape of our state!

need to do...

2008-02-27T14:37:00.002-06:00

i've sworn for a while that i was going to write several posts... and never do.
basket ball season review.
injury lessons learned.
american idol thought.
and there were atleast 2 more that i can't remember. so i'll keep this list running. i'm sure all 2 of you are going to check back hourly to find out if i've posted it. but hopefully this will remind me to do so.

coop and co.

2008-02-25T21:11:00.006-06:00

here are some pics from the past 2 or 3 weeks. hopefully we'll start getting some soccer pictures up soon... season starts on saturday!

a couple of weeks ago, we got a call from becky telling us that she had a friend with 3 extra tickets to see the "hannah montana and miley cyrus best of both worlds concert", and that that night was the last showing of the 3D concert. wow. so... we jumped on it. they went. the theatre was half full. it's still at the theatre today. the girls loved it. we usually don't do crazy stuff like that, but, it worked out, and it was fun for cindy and the girls. here they are about to leave, with their hm shirts and belt (aubrey). confession: i love hannah montana. miley cyrus is hillarious, milly and rico give the show the interesting twist! i can't believe i just wrote that... cindy and i are just scared about miley's album that she'll do in a few years (when she tries to prove she's not just a little girl anymore, and they way she'll dress, and most importantly, what our girls will say and think about it..., so we're trying to be cautious).
a couple of days later... the girls woke up early one saturday (7 a.m.) and cindy and i stayed in bed till about (9 a.m.)... coop stayed in his room pretty happy, too... when we came out this is what we found. super girl and iceberg girl. (they had been watching "word girl" on tv... another family favorite).

aubrey and lolo also got ahold of the camera later that day and took some pics and vids of themselves playing the instruments they got for christmas... i really don't know if i should even try to say anything about this picture... except that the guitar is upside down... she's probably singing some chris tomlin or something. maybe not. maybe one of her own songs...
this sunday afternoon they were playing cowboy and cowgirl. lolo's idea of looking like a cowboy included the "backward jeans"... i love my girls. they are crazy!coop loves his bath time... it's getting out he doesn't always love. this pic must be before the cool air hits him. you have a 50-50 chance after he gets unwrapped from the towell!

coop loves him som' naps...!

coop is showing off a bib and smiling. he usually lights up when he sees his mama. especially fridays when she goes to work for a day.
last night we had picture time for the naked (ok, acceptably naked) giganticous. this kid has cellulite all over his body, ... fer real! he actually skipped about 1 hour of his grumpy night time last night and talked talked talked to mama on the couch. it was a lot of fun... we usually have a good time when the girls go to bed and it's just us and coopie. but we usually don't get to get a full hour of "happy time". yes, we have fun when the girls are up. but it's just fun to spend time and talk and focus on one monkey. uhh... yes, he has a full diaper.
coop got to go to the park yesterday for the first time. cindy and coop walked, me and the girls played soccer, rode scooters, and roller skated (i pull them or walk with them). our neighborhood park is pretty cool. our girls love it and it's a good walking distance for us... but we drove. it was pretty windy, but we had fun. and cooper seemed to get the first significant amount of sun on his skin.

my friend shelby anders...

2008-02-15T10:00:00.004-06:00

here's shelby... couldn't imagine him going to A&M and not popping up sometime or other... ha! well, if I know shelby, they had to edit out the "faith talk" that is a part of his story. he's become active in the Aggies For Christ, as well as attending as many aggie sporting events as he can, and studying some from time to time. too bad they are missing the best part of his story - the part where God does something amazing and makes this video possible.

shelby came through the youth group for three years and graduated in 2006. i remembering hearing that he was going to die. i remember praying alone and with other guys (alex howard, lil' bill, beau, blake, secord, drew, clay, and others) at taco bueno or the butcher shop just asking for God to stop that "uncertain sickness" and heal our brother. i remember alex howard calling me late one night and saying "the doctors say the desease has stopped spreading!" God is extending his life. i'm greatful to God... i love my brother shelby... even if he is confused when it comes to football teams!

turn it up man...

2008-02-11T07:39:00.000-06:00

last night corey challenged us to take the opportunities that God gives us everyday. meaning actually look for the opportunities... we ended up talking about point of grace's new song, and bevin already had it posted on her blog. on the way home, klove was playing it (88.7) and lolo was singing it. it was fun, cool, good. so here it is.

what if the only thing that mattered was accepting God's love, loving God, and treating others around you with love... oh, wait, it is...

sweet bammy

2008-02-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

last week we made the trek to birmingham, al, and back in 3 days. we were actually gone from longview for less than 60 hours. 22-24 of those hours were in the minivan. we took two cars for all 11 of us.
as much as i hate long blog entries... they are kinda' cleansing for me. i could make a couple of analogies and applications there, but i won't. i'll put the pics first

no sense on travelling for 12 hours on i-20 with out stopping at a cracker barrell! here we are in jackson, ms.

aubrey fround this really cool pen. i gave them $5 a piece to spend in the shop. this pen was $2.99... it was really eye catching and sparkly. i really was proud of her pick. she even had that little girl look in her eye... "i've found a treasure, and it's the most beautiful thing i've ever found" look. i look at this picture and just think how beautiful aubrey is... she has that "wide eyed wonder" beautiful look.

so we asked the lady behind the counter to hold the pen until we finished eating. we ate and began to look on how to spend the rest of her $2... and then she found "bob". that's when she made the "i've found the cutest toy in the world and i want to snuggle with it for the rest of my life" look. (dad's of daughters understand exactly what i'm talking about).

so this blue little baloon stuffed with flour was her new "love". i tried to convince her what a great deal the pen was... but no besides "dad, we can't have pens at school". so bob travelled with us the rest of the way, and the treasured pen did not... lolo found lot's of stuff... and ended up picking a "hearing-aid" type of thing to hear accross the room. she said: "that way i'll know what you and mommy are saying"... i said when? "when your telling secrets", i had to laugh. i love that girl so much! ok, both of them!

fun with caleb and becky... "i want to sit by caleb" "no, i got here first"... and so it goes.
rockin' chairs, checkers, family, and... bob.

nasty weather is combated with notebooks, naps, and a few dvd's. we don't let them watch it all the time because it turns them into zombies. plus, they have the right to stare out the window into the endless trees, it helped me to grow up and be a responsible human. it'll help them.
roll tide. truck stop. cheap hat. mullet in the mirror. roll tide!

stop hurting him... he hates it!

grandmommie and lolo at the funeral home. it was a good day.

chrispy, becky, my cousin paul neill with caleb.

my mom wanted to know... "where did you get that sportscoat?" i do have one, in case anyone else was wondering. but it just for emergencies (along with slacks and ties). aubrey and lolo laughed at my "wingtip" shoes and said... "those look like paw paw's". i couldn't agree more... just like my paw paw's (ralls neill).

as we carried granny's casket and sat at the graveside... i couldn't help but wonder "wow, people have been doing this to/for their loved ones for thousands of years... we're just a drop in the bucket... a small piece of the story..."

granny and paw paw's head stone.

my mom and her two brothers (r to l): david, mom, larry.

ya snooze ya looze... this is the documentation of my long hours behind the wheel. and the long hours of sleep put in by others. except for aubrey... she hung with me. actually i wanted to drive. we were all caughing and getting colds in our van... so sleep was needed.

and the comedy relief comes from... again...

whatchu lookin at...?" cindy kept laughing ... like really laughing and amy and i asked what was going on. turns out coopie-doop was making some pretty crazy faces...

cooper was a trooper. for real. he did really good ... we were so blessed on that one! did i mention that we were in the car for 22-24 hrs... of 60 hours?

the sky was beautiful and scary at the same time... these pictures don't do justice to God's creation... and i can't find the words to describe them any better either.

I'm typing this from the back seat of our Grand Caravan. We're returning from my Granny's funeral, her big promotion. I guess I' ve been a little more aware of the "Three Dials" (Three Relational Dials in each of our lives: relationship with God, relationship with our parents, and relationships with those outside our house) in my own life recently. A memory that comes to mind that involves my Granny and Paw Paw is driving accross Argentina to get to the beautiful Andes mountains in the mid 80's. We visited several destinations near the resort of Bariloche. I remember riding in our station wagon (green Ford Falcon), in the very back - this is before the advent of the "third seat". So me and my sisters took turns sitting between my grandparents and laying down in the back (yes, you remember, NO SEATBELTS), playing cards, singing along to "cassettes" of Elvis, and other oldies that my parents liked, and we liked, too. Paw Paw would tell us stories, Granny wanted to hear us sing, we made up songs, and we sweated the whole way with out air conditioning. We got on each others nerves, we pulled up to hotels and motels without reservations or print outs of their ammenities.I remember Paw Paw's big hands coming together to pray for meals. I remember Granny marvelling at the glacier God had created. I remember a lot of time of talking. I remember discovering the world around me. I remember my parents seeming to enjoy our time together. I remember getting to sit up front with Dad from time to time talking about the trip what we did and were going to do.It's now 2008, and we've managed to squeeze a 9 hour trip into 12 hours. Cooper is sleeping. Cindy and Amy (my older sister) are in the front seat listening to the iPod. I'm typing on my laptop, and charging my phone. My daughters are watching videos on our portable DVD player. It's a different world, and I'm more aware than ever of the importance of Cindy's and my task to be parents. The experience of going to the Andes mountains was impactful. But this experience is tied to the relationship with my parents, sisters, grandparents, and the Mitchells (a missionary family that caravaned with us). I don't remember one single "God-Talk" I had with Paw Paw on that trip, but I remember a Godly example. I remember a Godly man, who loved God and treated the people around him with love and respect. My parents made a point to travel with people who would be Godly influences in our lives. We had other great trips with my family, and they all have those characteristics: Godly parents, Godly friends, Godly perspective that I was exposed to. The experiences were tied to those relationships. The experiences were the secondary attraction, the relationships are what made those trips in my childhood so special.

Side bars: 1) On our way to Birmingham on Tuesday, we left town at 8 a.m. after we passed through Bossier City, Aubrey asked the eternal question: "Are we almost there Daddy?" "Err, uh... no baby, pull out one of your books... we've got a long ways to go..." (10 and 1/2 more hours it turns out!)

2) As we left the Beautiful state of Alabama on Wednesday, I told the girls to pause the movie and we had a mandatory singing of "Sweet Home Alabama" with Lynyd on the iPod. One chorus into it my girls wanted to know if I would turn it off so they could get back to "Stuart Little 3"... Wow, I have a long way to go as a parent. But I'm not giving up...

3) As we're walking to the graveside, Aubrey tells my dad, "grandaddy, people only have two really sad days in our lives"... after a dramatic pause, she finishes her statement..." day when our dad dies and the day when our mommy dies".

4) Aubrey and LoLo also said to me: Daddy, when you get to heaven, if you haven't been good, God pushes you down to hell. Wow... i didn't rush to correct any theological errors there... but we're definitely working on that one, i don't want to get "pushed down to hell" do you?

closing a chapter... the book is still open

2008-01-27T17:26:00.000-06:00

sometimes i just don't know what to say.
i know i can say: i love my granny and paw paw.
through out the years, their house has been the only house in the u.s.a. that us kids have really known in our childhood. the red house at 609 lee road... with the ever expanding garden in the back! they taught my family about God's love and about following Him. they've helped create incredible christmas memories. granny taught me how to wrestle. paw paw threw endless spirals and fastballs at me. he taught me to frizbee. he taught me to be kind. she taught me to love grits and scrambled eggs. he taught me to love bologna. (yeah, hard to believe we're from alabama, huh?). he taught me the true way - roll tide!!!! (paw paw ushered for alabama at the ironbowl for many years). granny got us tickets to watch uab play basketball, monster truck shows, the circus, the globetrotters, and ... lot's of other things since she worked at the jefferson civic center. they let me shoot their b.b. gun, and there's lot's of stories about that (i'm sorry for shooting pebbles - their dog - whew... good to get that off my chest, it's been over 20 years since the "accident"). he taught me to help others. she showed me it's a good thing to pick up old people who needed a ride to church. and so much more... $50 a month during college, trips to the beach, watching countless football games, being at center point church of Christ every time the doors were open.

granny died this weekend, late friday night. she was due for her promotion. she was tired. she was ready.
there's so much more to say... i may just have to come back and edit this blog again later.
here are some pictures of when granny and paw paw came to visit us in the fall of 2000. all they did for about a week was hold and feed aubrey (we did the changing). but paw paw would not let us lay her down by her self anywhere. a quick side bar... aubrey's baby pics look a whole lot like cooper's ... surprise! caught us off guard with that one, even though my mom swears he looks like me.
here's some pics of my favorite people.

sunday sleepy sunday (a la U2)

2008-01-27T17:03:00.000-06:00

what a weekend. but not really. but really. we didn't do anything extra heroic. it was simply tiring. on friday night we were at the clairemont nursing home with my parents and granny and amy and didn't get to bed till close to midnight. i'll elaborate more on that in a different entry. yesterday, we slept in for the most part. i wrestled the girls on our bed (and yes... someone always get's hurt - part of the fun right?). went out to eat @ tele's with my uncle larry who came into town friday late at night. came home and slept and relaxed and played. got to bed late. coop pulled a fast one on us last night. it took 2 hrs to get him down after his 3:30 feeding so we both had to get up and tag team him.

so i came home from cleaning out the nursing home room with chrisp and dad, amy, mom, & mark. the one that granny stayed in and we put the stuff in several places. cindy was konked, coop was out... and the girls were monkeying around quietly in their room. so i turned out the light and got them into their beds and played some ball to try out my calf.

here's what i came back to:

so ... now it's 5 p.m. and we're about to head over to the rangels for a fun night of small group fellowship and worship and learning (for me, the eating part is included in the worship part).

i/r

2008-01-25T08:26:00.000-06:00

for some of you non basketballers... "i/r" stands for "injured/reserve". 10 days ago i suffered my first pulled muscle. and yes, the "you are not young anymore" and "you are getting old" comments have been pouring in... and have gotten pretty old, too. 35, c'mon.

so anyways, the brace i borrowed from rodney cox was working ok... but i decided to go with the full boot, to completely inmobilize my calf - thanks to bobby burke's brace. i've worn a brace for 9 days now and today is my first day with my feet free. i'm taking it lightly. i hope to be on the treadmill this weekend and shooting ball by tuesday. we'll see.

nice site of pooled blood up and down my leg, huh?

i guess there's a "little captain in me"... (capt morgan commercial reference - but i guess that makes it not funny if i have to explain it).

i'm really looking forward to getting with the guys for basketball. they did awesome last night, almost pulled it out agains a team we'd beaten the past year or two, but used to beat us... so kinda' rival-ish. but they are good guys. anyways, we came back from 18 down in the 2nd half to within 2 pts with under 2 minutes. it was awesome, we just couldn't get over the hump (and some chincey missed calls at the end didn't help either).

coop got to come with me to the game. cindy gave me one of those "ya'll ain't stayin' home and you've got to get the heck out of here" (ok, so i changed up a line from stewart scott from espn) lines. so at 9:15 p.m. we went to his first basketball games. it was fun... and right when it was time to go, he decided it was time to eat. so i drove home with my arm behind my back holding in the paci ("opi" at our house)... and smiling.

blubbery monster

2008-01-25T08:22:00.000-06:00

coop and i hung out in the room before the girls came in for our nightly devo. we had it our bed tonight... lolo suggested we rotate rooms - the girls', mommy & daddy's, and cooper's room - through out the week. such a smart girl. her brain is just exploding right now. mrs brenda and mrs margaret are doing an awesome job in that class at alpine christian academy's kindergarden.

so... back to coopy doopy. i took some pics of him like this back in mid december and posted a few, i think. so now that we think he's about 9-10 pounds, and he has grown from 20 to 21 inches, i thought i'd update the naked picture files.

we were both falling asleep on this one. but as you'll read in the next blog... cindy had other plans for us. by the way... she's a great mom, and we got her some "alone time" - something that i had to learn about from her. when i learned it... i started kicking her out of the house to go get sonic, and she'd come back a different person. it worked.

so coop and i are just bumps on a log in this pic. sleep is so hard to come by these days for cindy and me. we're both looking forward to sleeping together again. not that way. although we are - i am, atleast. sleep ... i mean sleep. "r.e.m." overdose sleep. 8-9 hrs in a row. both of us. feeling fresh in the morning. maybe in a few months... the actual sleeping part - that is.

princess and... prince?

2008-01-21T17:22:00.000-06:00

i snuck in on the girls today. it's cold outside and they were playing quietly so they wouldn't wake up mommy and coop.

i heard the music playing and had to see what was up? recognize the tune?

against the rules...?

2008-01-21T11:57:00.000-06:00

catching a smile - part 2

2008-01-21T09:28:00.000-06:00

catching a smile

2008-01-21T09:11:00.000-06:00

faces in the crowd

2008-01-20T22:45:00.000-06:00

the best christmas gift ever...

2008-01-18T14:23:00.000-06:00

ok... this is me opening the only gift i actually recieved. it was a book about all kinds of sports from becky and chrispy.
but my favorite present was something else.
this fall i came accross a concept called "advent conspiracy". the thought is "worship more, spend less, give more" during the christmas season. we did. i don't think we did it perfectly, but we gave it our best shot!
the pruitt clan, cooper clan, and peurifoy clan contributed $875 to mission projects in mozambique, africa. our missionary friend will dig a new water well with that money. clean water for a whole village. that's what i got for christmas.
$875... that's what it's worth not to worry about what gift to give who and how much are you spending on each person and the feeling like you got shafted with what you got. cindy and i bought no other family gifts for adults, and only a few for our girls. we really scaled back, and put some money in the pot for our gift that will give life... LIFE! "i have come that you may have life, and have it to the full" is what our Savior said. we've helped contribute to that this year, and we're not worrying about how much we spent on xmas... we celebrated the life bringer, instead.
so... if you are interested in the concept, check out www.adventconspiracy.org , it's becoming a movement! although some centralized their giving to work with a certain organization to give clean water through out the world. others have used the money in their community.
imagine...

family fun

2008-01-17T22:11:00.000-06:00

krazy kids

2008-01-17T21:56:00.000-06:00

retelling the story

2008-01-17T21:54:00.000-06:00

celebrating the king

2008-01-17T21:50:00.000-06:00

the daze before christmas

2008-01-08T23:05:00.000-06:00

christmas is coming...

2007-12-16T22:05:00.000-06:00

for the past 9 years... the pruitts and the hoelzles have gone christmas tree "hunting". on the 2nd or 3rd year, the nortons joined in with us. we've been to about 4 or 5 different farms. it's pretty fun. the weather is always an adventure. rain. bitter cold wind. 80 degrees. you name it. we've been through it... except for snow. hopefully one day...!

so for all you rookies out there. you get to the farm, grab a saw... and start hunting. that's always interesting... trying to find "the one", because there is "one". it's not that you could pick any and make it work. no. height, girth, fullness, color, holes, the top, and of course - the over all presentation of the pine.

this year it was cold and rainy... but that's nothin' a little hot chocolate can't cure.

a little too cold for jack jack.

partners in crime (that goes for the pic above and below!). ella decided to sit this pic out... and jackson, too.

i know what you're thinking... lolo with the saw. but nobody got hurt... this time. and don't underestimate the power of the "hay ride" even if there's no hay. it'll make or break the trip. you and the kids will gumble about the lousy and lazy farm if you don't get some kind of a ride!

triplets in crime...roastin' peanuts is a great way to pass the time. this farm was pretty good. they had a great selection and a the few little free perks that make you want to come back because the kids thought it was great... inspite of the cold cold cold wind, rain and mud.now it's time to put up the tree. this year was really fun. the girls did great! cindy kinda' parked it in the middle of the floor and handed out stuff! but wait... daddy gets to put the lights on first! ha!

we hope you celebrate the birth of God who became flesh because He loves us so much during this Christmas season.
our family has gotten involved with a sudo version of www.adventconspiracy.org . check it out. it's so worth it. we're looking forward to this years worship, giving, and joy.

facing the future... prudog and coopdog

2007-12-12T18:28:00.000-06:00

it's wednesday nite and we are still in the hospital. we hope to be able to go home tomorrow (maybe around lunch?). shoot ricky a text if you are in the neighborhood and want to come by.

so... i wanted to give you some of my favorite pics so far...

ok... i'm a little excited in this one. i've got my game day shirt on (argentina soccer jersey) and my boy with me (listed in ascending order of importance, of course). life is good.

showing off the soccer uniform and his "golden" right foot. i've already got it insured.

two monkeys in a barrell.

thinking...

smirking...

puckering...

workin' it...

reality setting in...

rockin' the mullet

less than 24 hours...

2007-12-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

the girls are doing great at being big sisters. they love cooper so much and we are so proud of them. it got a little crazy last night in the hospital room... so... thank goodness for grandma and pawpaw for taking them home! they didn't get much sleep the night before, but they'll be back on their routine now!

aubrey is really good at holding coop. he's less than one hour old in this pic!

cindy got the girls shirts that say "i'm the big sister" for lolo, & "i'm the bigger sister" for aubrey.

lolo is a big sis for the first time... and she's taking it very serious! they are both great big sisters. we are proud of them.

we love cooper so much. may God be glorified with his life.

DIEGO IS HERE!

2007-12-11T02:20:00.000-06:00

RICHARD COOPER PRUITT

DECEMBER 11th, 2007

12:28 am

6 LBS 9oz

20 INCHES LONG

LOOK HOW PRECIOUS THIS BOY IS. HE'S AN INSTANT CLASSIC IN THE PRUITT FAMILY. LOOK AT ALL THE HAIR HE HAS! AND HE IS REALLY TINY!
THE DADDY'S COMPARING THEIR BOYS. COOPER & CALEB... POTENTIAL BEST FRIENDS. THEY COULD EVEN FIGHT OVER THE SAME GIRLS!
WE DID HAVE FUN IN THE WAITING ROOM. WE HAD JUST FINISHED A ROUND OF "TERIDACTLE" FUN GAME AT MID NIGHT. (-: EVERYONE WAS THERE TO WELCOME THE BOY. SISTERS AUBREY & LOLO, AUNTS AMY & CHRISTY, GRANMOMMY & GRANDDADDY PRUITT, AND CHRISPY & BECKY. CALEB WAS THERE TOO.
THE PRUITT FAMILY

RICKY & CINDY

AUBREY, LOLO & COOPER

G-MA & G-PA WITH THE TWO BABY BOYS.
THE PROUD BIG SISTERS. THEIR REACTION WAS PRECIOUS. COOPER LOOKS EXCITED ABOUT BEING HELD.
ALL THE COUSINS TOGETHER. CALEB IS A MONSTER COMPARED TO BABY COOPER.
MAMA CINDY DID AWESOME. SHE WAS IN LABOR SINCE 11 ISH THIS MORNING. SHE STILL LOOKED FRESH AS A DAISEY. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU GIRL.

HERE'S JUST A LITTLE VIDEO SO YOU CAN FEEL THE EXCITEMENT WE HAD THERE IN THE HOSPITAL ROOM.

THIS IS BECKY WRITING FOR RICKY. HE'LL BE BACK LATER TODAY, I JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO SHOW YOU THIS NEW BOY.

WE LOVE YOU RICHARD COOPER PRUITT!

20 more days...

2007-12-08T22:55:00.000-06:00

20 more days to go!! Ricky made me put this picture on the blog. Don't I look excited to be pregnant?? No really, we are ready to meet this little baby boy!!

kiss my grits... not a happy day

2007-11-30T15:37:00.000-06:00

today... november 30, 2007
it's a bad day.
on the way home from school today, aubrey told me that a boy kissed her hand and then blew "kissies" (as she says) at her and chased her around the playground.
i said "WHAT?"
and she wispered... "he has a crush on me"
i said "what's a crush?"
"that means that he likes me"
"WHO WAS IT?" a boy named hayden.

i'll trust you won't reveal to her that i've shared this with you. and frankly, this will be the last that the matter will be discussed. she will not be around boys for the next 18 years (that way she'll be 25. yes, that sounds reasonable...

thanksgiving... a happy day

2007-11-27T23:30:00.000-06:00

oz at pt hs

2007-11-23T23:37:00.000-06:00

make sure you make your "best western movie list" two entries down.

pine tree high school put on a great rendition of the wizard of oz this past weekend. aubrey dressed up for the first night of the show... she attracted as much attention after the show as the stars themselves... ha!
here's will morgan as the "tin man"

here's aubrey with toto "jeffers"

aubrey and taryn parker show off their matching outfits... both beautiful!

the lion did a great job in the show. he did an incredible job and kept the crowd laughing.

as you will see in the next couple of pictures... aubrey really liked the straw man!

on saturday, laurel was over her "stomach bug" and her and cindy went to the show. aubrey and i joined them after intermission. aubrey put something together the last 10 minutes before we left. check it out...

it was a great show. we watched the play twice. the movie twice. and my daughters skip everywhere now! timeless...

happy belated halloween...

2007-11-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

my girls looked too cute to not post their halloween experience.
october 31st is also cindy's birthday. it's hard to keep that in full focus, especially now with the girls and our church's "trunk or treat."
here's aubrey and lolo in their original costumes. they picked them out.
aubrey picked out a cat outfit and lolo wanted to be "hannah montana".

here's the ritual of killing the pumpkin... i'm usually the "cutter".

cindy and the girls then get to play with the guts! it's actually pretty fun. we spend about an hour together doing something together and laughing. it's so worth it. this year our little fella was named spooky... and we didn't even get a picture

just as cindy predicted... laurel would not go through with wearing the wig. she began crying at about 3 pm she begins crying about the wig. cindy then begins to pull things together and make things to come up with an extra cat outfit. yep... super mom!

here's our fishin' hole at the trunk or treat... cindy and lolo are working hard...

lolo and tara help the wonderful princess from "duvall land". we had a good time. jessica thomas did a lot of the pre-event set up. the rest of us just showed up and put the candy on the "hooks".

kanyon showed up a little roughed up from his sparring match... aka: physical therapy. we had a great time together. as far as cindy's birthday... we all went out to eat on tuesday night, and on wednesday (her bday) me and her ate at mcalister's (where else?). at the end of the day, i was able to quote "ice cube": today was a good day.

'cuz i'm a cowboy, baby...

2007-11-22T16:28:00.000-06:00

last night cindy and i went to see 3:10 to yuma and i was impressed. good cowboy movie and it had some substance and of course, plenty of guns and blood. but the story was solid, great movie... but let's see how it stacks up. ok... i don't know if it's the "best" western movie of all time... but... i'll give you my top 5 of all time.

1. tombstone (kurt russell)
2. 3:10 to yuma (russell crow and christian bell)
3. true grit (john wayne)
4. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
5. open range (robert duvall and kevin costner)

here's my honorable mention / not the right genre / other good ones:
best series: "young guns" with emilio estevez and crew was impressive and just what i needed as a teenager to keep me from totally abandoning the "westerns". they both make my top 10 in the whole western list. "broken trail" was also a good one.
good movies but not westerns: "last of the mohicans" and "dances with wolves". both of these make my "top ten favorite movies" list.

as a kid, i used to ride my bike or walk up to the catholic church's theatre in rosario (yes, there were regular modern theaters, this was just like the neighborhood's dollar movie place) with my friends. there was a series with terence hill called "trinity" and "lucky". so, that get's my vote as best in the "spaghetti westerns" category.

so... on the outside chance i missed on my top 5... go ahead, make my day... post your "top 5 westerns."

garage sale

2007-11-21T09:07:00.000-06:00

aubrey's soccer season

2007-11-20T23:40:00.000-06:00

aubrey really came out of her shell this year. her defense was really good and pretty consistent through out the season. she's the youngest one on the team and finally started to gain some confidence with the ball. of course, i asume that can happen when we play in the living room every night... so, anyways, check out this chestball she's trapping!

coach charles points to charlie or bailey... "throw it that way aubrey!" coach jeff and charles did really good this season getting her in the right spots to play and understand the game.

here's aubrey intercepting a ball with bailey watching. bailey is a good player and has always been a sweet friend to aubrey. the girls are a lot of fun, and they really have gotten really good.

we had a fun party at "double daves" and watched a video that olivia's family put together. it's been a fun three seasons. and next season we have to split up and re-pool. that will be pretty sad!

lolo's soccer season

2007-11-20T23:06:00.000-06:00

lolo finished out her first soccer season. she enjoyed practice and played hard with her fellow wildcats! the back of this shirt is like the pink one that i have for aubrey. it says "lolo's dad". it's so fun!

lolo scored a couple of goals and loved to push the "pile" around when everybody got bunched up. she get's lots of practice with her sissy in the living room... and daddy.

i got to lead ther cheer. i think it was fun... and i think coach jana got a big laugh at it.

here's the fun tunnel at the end of the game. the wildcats love to do the tunnel. the parents on the team were great! we're looking forward to next spring. it'll be a lot of fun.

i could listen to this song all day long...

2007-11-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

boyless party for a boy

2007-11-14T22:34:00.000-06:00

yep, that's right. the party was for a boy but they didn't invite any boys. i mean ... where's the tonka trucks, where's the beef jerky, little smokies... you've got to have little smokies! oh the humanity - at least the female part of humanity! so, we'll do with what we get. so how about some pastel cake, some fruity snacks, and other cute-sy stuff.
cindy really enjoyed it... inspite of drama that involves all things female.

mark and chris... please feed your women before you let them go out to play. j/k! ha!

cindy really enjoyed all the fun at aunt cindy farrell's house. she especially enjoyed the games. she said she thought i came up with the games. just a reminder that were i am... fun is there!

and here's the real party!!

thank you to all who threw a clandestine shower for us (after all, it's not our first child... and we still got a shower!). that's cindy... mrs rule breaker. thanks to the hostesses...
we've been so blessed by all the gifts. we've cashed in the gift cards... now all we need is for cindy to be able to get a decent night's sleep. all is well so far, except for her comfort. diego keeps sticking his rear end and poking it out the right side of her belly. braxon hicks (sp?) has made it's appearance.

what's a shower without grandma's havin' fun with all the fun clothes...?
i'll try to put some of our halloween stuff up pretty soon. we also had a garage sale. lots going on. doesn't seem to be slowing down. work has been weird and busy. cindy's job has been working out so far.

we'll be back soon...

2007-11-13T00:29:00.000-06:00

hey guys.. sorry we've been gone for a while... we'll be back soon. i thought you guys would appreciate a picture of the girls playing with caleb. there's aubrey trying to get the doll (my doll joey from when i was 6) just right... and lolo being a clown. that's my girls.

purdy in pink

2007-10-23T22:18:00.001-05:00

well, it all began last season when i bribed aubrey and tried to motivate here to work hard in her games. the deal was that if she scored a goal, i would wear a pink shirt.

this season, coach jeff put her at defense and she did great. she could see the whole field and having that structure really worked for her. well, instead of a goal, i told her if she got 5 steals or a goal... then i'd wear the pink shirt. well, against the toughest team we play this season, the "little angels", aubrey scored her first goal. you can check it out on the peurifoy's blog. her team mate crossed the ball to her and she kicked it in. it was awesome. she was so excited, me too, and cindy cried. it was a pretty cool moment. the next week she had 5 steals (she's had 4 before, but not 5). she really seems to be understanding the game more and enjoying it.

so friday night, between going to hobby lobby and becky's final home volleyball game, a visit to amy's friends house, and going to a high school football game to watch some of our band members and a football player... we put our shirts together. she wanted to make one for her, too. we actually burned some of the letters and numbers on my shirt but, oh well.

man, i look good.

uh... errr... except i don't know how to spell my daughter's name!!! look at aubrey's face!

lolo also has scored a few goals this season. she's having fun. i'm helping jana russell coach the team. we're the wildcats, so i use an acu purple soccer shirt to match her's...and i'll add on her name and number to the back.

so cindy and lolo picked out numbers and letters.

in case you are wondering, i went back to the house on saturday, after aubrey's first game and ironed new letters on. it was her fall tournament... 3 games! we went 2 and 1 (a 2-1 loss to the little angels).

let me know if you want to see the princess power or wildcats in action. just give me a call and i'll let you knowat what time their last game of the season is on nov 2nd.

new room... kinda'

2007-10-21T21:41:00.000-05:00

here's the pics of the girls room... as you walk in... this is aubrey's bed, their dresser and the bookshelf grandaddy made for them...
and lolo's bed... notice their little teacup carpets...

... and here's the new room, kinda...

here's as you walk in... you can see their new bunkbed...
here's their bed, the wall, and the book case

and here's the wall by the closet, with their dresser, little table and coat hanger with a bunch of dress up dresses...

catalyst...

2007-10-08T16:12:00.000-05:00

wow... i'm still reeling from our experience in atlanta, ga, last week. our day started off on wednesday morning with getting the girls to school, cindy having scheduled doc appointments, and getting on the road to meed doug and lana page to go on a journey.

if it wasn't for mom, dad, and amy, we would not have gotten to go and take part in the catalyst conference, which is geared toward young church leaders, basically 20's and 30's.

this first picture is of my knees against the chair in front of ours on AIR TRAN... yes, i used capital letters. we had a much better experience on the way back. but on the way there we were in the row in front of the emergency row. the row is smaller and the chairs don't recline. i didn't complain, but i did ask if there were other seats available... and that was negatory. so, i slept and survived, and hope i never have to do that one again. i'm sure we've all had those experiences - very uncomfortable, but just for 1:45 hrs.

also, shane claiborne was at the conference. incredible. his book has given me a new perspective to look at the world through. the deal is, he doesn't just look at it differently, he's living differently. incredible challenge. check out his website or buy and read his book "irresistible revolution".

one of the big blessings i've had the past two years of attending catalyst is getting to spend time with the browne family. rob and i were close prayer partners in abilene during grad school, i was roommates with his brother phil (owner operator of the chick-fil-a in waxahatchie, tx), and my wife and traci hung out some in abilene. this year i got to know nancy - aka "nan". that was an awesome experience. that's rob and phil's mom. here we are after eating at mexican restaurant on thursday night (yes it was good, it's in a shopping center with at least one store closed and vacated).

here we are infront of the gwinnett county colosseum (ok, i don't know what the official name is). we both had a cold or alergies going into the trip, and something kept irritating cindy's eye, too. but it was incredible. the speakers, the worship, and the friends we were with.i was standing outside with cindy, doug, lana, nan, jennifer cook, and all of a sudden i recognized someone standing right beside me... it was eric albright. one of my interns from the summer of 2003. eric is awesome. he makes me smile and laugh and love God more. it bought back lot's of memories and i was extremely excited to see him, and "little e" seemed excited to see us, too.on friday night we went out and i had a steak (rib eye, medium well - no pink). it was awesome. we ate at "longhorns". it was doug & lana page, jennifer, and nan and us. it was a blast. but doug wasn't finished. he had to celebrate ... so we went for ice cream. it was so much fun.

we ihop-ed on saturday morning after doug and i went for a jog. dude, it's "hill-y" in atlanta! but the morning was capped off by nan praying for us in the parking lot, as she prayed for our marriages, our families, and our churches. she's awesome.

here's nan's house. cindy and lana are in front of "the cottage in the woods". we had a great time. we just got some more sono pics of diego... so i'll get those up soon.
if you are in need some good worship music, steve fee is one of the worship leaders at the conference. this is him last year leading one of my favorites. glorious one - click here. you can also youtube the catalyst conference and other steve fee worship. some of the conference stuff is crazy, then the preview stuff is really good, too. it was awesome.

happy times with the hoelzles...

2007-10-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

here's an ol' school pic of lolo and ella from back in the spring...

and here's lolo in september with ella and big bro jacob. they had so much fun. and ella is so sweet!
of course, jacob and the girls wanted to ride around together. you can see just how excited the girls can act about it... ha! the best part about sunday was... freebirds! no, i mean the toby mac concert... ok, it's a tie!
jacob is so much fun. he's a hugger, and i guess a hand holder, too. it's so fun to see them having fun. the girls look forward to seeing him and playing with him. they love to talk to each other. it's funny to hear them talk about stuff. in this picture we're heading into the stadium in frisco to watch the fc dallas vs houston dinamo professional (mls) soccer game.
cindy, ella and michele stayed home while we got to the stadium somewhere after 2:30 p.m. uh... dallas lost 3-0.

but with a little cotton candy and snugglin' with dad... all is good!!!

so then we headed down to t field to play and watch the concert

so we played on the field and then listened to toby mac get crazy. it's the best concert i've ever been too. i've been to dozens of concerts. but toby macs band and their ability to create music and to spread energy to the whole audience is incredible!!!!!!

so then we head back to the car... talking about toby mac, singing, and running in the parking lot.

one last pose after chowing down at taco bueno at 9:30 p.m.

we were less than a mile down the road and this is what we saw in the rear view mirror. so they slept, as cindy and i listened to "velvet elvis" on the ipod. my girls are pooped out! cindy and i were pretty tired too! it was a lot of fun... thanks hoelzle's for an awesome weekend!

it's my birthday and i'll blog if i want to... blog if i want to... blog if i want to...

2007-09-27T20:41:00.000-05:00

go back and read the title with a monotone indifference. thanks. proceed.

so, i'm 35 now. september 27, 1972, jefferson hospital in birmingham, alabama. richard and vicky had their 3rd kid in 4 years.

cindy woke the girls up before they "woke me up." i saw them scurrying down the hallway pretty giddy. that's not the normal behaviour in our home in the mornings. but they were happy. they couldn't wait to surprise me and give me gifts. so they rush in carrying things and saying: "da...ddy, wake up daddy, it's your birthday. we've got presents.."

so i pretend to snore a time or two and act disoriented. it was almost as if i was bating them. and they bit. "da...ddy, wake up! it's your birthday! c'mon daddy."

so i turn over and look at my beautiful two daughters. they had smiles and a bag full of presents for me. so i "read" the cards, they were basically pictures of things i like and represent love. a rainbow heart from lolo. hearts, soccer and basketball from aubrey. things i love. with their name on it. i gave them their names.

so, i smile and thank them. i truly was excited... not so much for the cards, but the fact that it made them so happy to bring me joy and do things they knew i enjoyed.

so then i open up the gifts. i pulled out several things: one by one i pull out 3 "hot-wheel" cars. i told them how fun it was going to be to play together with them. then, i pulled out a snack bag of "gold fish". cindy bought these last week for aubrey's soccer team. and then i pulled out a zip lock bag of chocolate candy. this candy is from their dessert bowl. after dinner every night they each get one or two pieces of candy. that's all the candy they get during the day.

as i thought about it, my heart was pounding. i was smiling. they were so excited to give me what they gave me. but everything they gave me already belonged to me. it is all mine. it was given to them by their father. it was bought by their father. and they brought it to me with joy, and it made me extremely happy.

cindy and i grabbed some lunch at mcalister's. i can't wait to spend the next 35+ years of my life with her.i actually worked a full day today. we're taking off to dallas tomorrow, so i just had to get stuff done. but, we met up with family and friends at tele's in spring hill for my birthday party. about 25 people gathered to eat some of the best food in town. it was a lot of fun. i was so glad to be able to celebrate and thank God for these people who help me live for God and experience his love and joy, and over come trials. God is so good to me.

of course, i ordered the #11 (enchiladas mejicanas - cheese enchiladas with fajita beef on top) - cut the pico and the onions in the enchiladas. it came out just like i ordered it. and i did some damage to it! cindy ordered the #4 with the sour creame sauce (chicken enchiladas).

cindy helped the girls ... or the other way around... make chocolate cup cakes with oreo icing. hmmm...

and then the birthday boy special. a baskin robbins oreo cake. now that's good stuff. becky can probably do a cake just as good (with blue bell) but she's in the middle of her volleyball season right now.

uh... who gave us this? becky... i think this one is yours. i thought this is a funny pic. caleb is 4 months old today.

i've been around here for 35 years now. i've prayed prayers of thanks giving to God for this life that's mine. i've told him how i want to give him my life, i want to use my gifts for him, i want to thank him for things that i've done or have had this year. that's when i realize that my life is a vapor of his breath. the gifts i have are his - not something i've developed and now show him something new. the things that i have that i say i want to give to him are already his.

all i have is his. it was his already. it is his now. it will be his. i wonder if he had a smirk on his face this morning when i woke up and "told him" about the gifts i'm going to use for him and the things i'm giving him. i wonder if he smiled and hugged me and thought: "ricky, your life is my gift to you, your gifts are my glory i placed in you. it makes me so excited to see you give the to me with joy. you please me." as i go through my day, a light bulb comes on in my head. "none of it was ever mine to begin with..." and i see Him smirk with joy.

P.S.: as we're getting ready to leave the exquisit cuisine establishment of tele's... in comes another huge group of people to sit in the same room as us. a guy walks in with a pink baseball cap on and a dallas cowboys "t.o." jersey (#81). it was neal mckoy. he does a lot of work for the "angel network", you know helping sick and handicaped kids. good stuff. and no, he didn't "give me that 'wink'!"

world's worse home owner...

2007-09-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

the title of this entry is singular. i'll claim the "worseness" of the two. i just don't care enough to do stuff. i feel secure enough say that i spend most of my time loving people in my home than loving my house and taking care of it. that's my personal rational. yes, i realize that loving my family means taking care of the roof over our heads, so from time to time, after family, work, and espn... i'll use some of my time to do house repairs.

i'm not that good at it in the first place - just ask kory phillips. we almost called 911 in the middle of replacing a ceiling fan last summer. now that was exciting. turn off the switch before you grab any wires, in case you are going to try that type of repair soon.

so anyways... back in june when it rained for a week while me and the girls were in mexico on our mission trip... our roof leaked in our living room... causing a sagging sheet rock to break and leave a mess in our floor. the sheet rock had been sagging for about 6 years... how about that for home owner. well, i put another coating of tar on the outside in june... and in august finally did the sheet rock. charlie farrell, my dad, and i did the sheet rock, cindy did some painting, and i repainted the entire ceiling (it could still use a second coat if you are a pro... but i'll see how long i can make it on this one).

here's the way the ceiling looked. how do you like that black mold action? we bleached it and it cleared out.

puttin' the mud in...

after the mud and sanding and mud and sanding and one more time... mud and sanding. then we started painting. i did the ceiling in the kitchen, living room and dining room... sure wish i had an extender.

dad painted the edges and cindy painted the walls and the cabinets. the wall right where my dad is used to be the country blue checkered you see on the other wall. so cindy primed and painted it. then she had to all the dining room walls (the bottom half) and aggravated her sciatic nerve. this is the only pic i've got on that...

all of this done of course under the great supervision of charlie farrell... here you see him working hard while my dad uses the paint brush. actually, charlie came over several times during the week to show me how to do things and get me started on different parts of the project. he also loaned me some tools and materials... thanks charlie!

here's the ceiling... vuala (sp?)

but wait... i'm not done. nope, today i finally replaced the ballast (sp?). i've actually talked about "replacing the ballister" all week. what a geek.

i had a trusty little helper ... and not a bad photographer, huh? she's got a mouth full of apple.

hey look... we made light! ok, maybe we just fixed an electrical artifact that produces light by channeling an charged current through a glass tube...

well, i just finished my last project for a while. we changed a plug outlet. that was quite the task (don't worry, i pulled the fuse this time). aubrey and lolo helped me with their flashlights (the rechargeable ones that they get to wind every 2 minutes). they even got to screw in part of it. we went from a two prong to a three prong (one with a ground on it).

so there you go. all the work has been done over the last month. the next project is the fascia board and the sophet (sp?) too. but rand said if i help him, he'll help me and dad do ours. that's it for now. no major work to do in diego's room. we wish we would have put the wood laminate down the hall way of the house... but that's way beyond my learning curve. that's the house front.

on the home front, i'll get you up to date on the girls school and soccer here in the next week. cindy is currently looking for a job, since the only way to keep her hospice nursing job at "southern care" was to become what they wanted: a full time nurse. cindy and i feel good right now about two days a week. so... we hadn't planned on this happening until december, so... pray for her job search. keep our whole family in your prayers as we continue to search for God's will for us. more posts to come...

who are we...

2007-09-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

ok... it would have been really cool if i would have asked the girls to fill out some "favorite things" type of a questionnaire for this entry... but i didn't. you'll have to settle for staring at their beautiful pictures. i wished we would have cataloged our experiences with both our girls since their birth... but we didn't.

so, in july of 2000, aubrey victoria decided it was time to come out of the hatch (even if she was 3 & 1/2 weeks early). this one is all princess, although last week she put her shoulder into the girl she was stealing the ball from in her soccer game. she is very creative and a good artist. she loves to dance, the colors blue and pink, and is a great reader. she's a good soccer player. one thing she is really good at is singing. wow, she's going to be a great soprano, like her dad. she looks like her daddy (and has her mom's green eyes) and loves to laugh.

so, about a year and a few months after aubrey came along... cindy and i got "9/11 syndrome" in the fall of 2001, that's what they are calling the phenomenon of all the babies that were born within a year of 9/11. they say that people were trying to get close to each other again and valuing family. hey, i was just celebrating cindy's birthday. nine months later, two days from her sissy's birthday, another baby has arrived for the pruitts! laurel ann! when we introduced her to her big sister, we said "can you say her name?" she said "baby lolo"... and it stuck. lolo is a bunch of fun. she's our snuggler, just like her daddy. so she loves to wrestle, play soccer in the house, color, dancing in the living room, and talking with an accent with her daddy (ratatouille style - sp?). she has a beautiful soft alto voice, like her mom. one thing she's really good at is goofing around. her pictures look just like cindy's pictures growing up, although i saw a picture of becky (my sister) the other day that looked a lot like her. she's got beautiful blue eyes (like grandpa' cliff cooper) and loves to hug, tickle and trick people.

so, now we're on round 3. it took me a while to convince cindy that we needed number 3... but with my good looks, charm and maybe some other help, we conceived #3. we were hoping for a boy, although i really love my girls. i had no idea how much i would fall in love with them and love being their daddy. so a girl would not have been the end of the world... but i can honestly tell you that i have day dreamed for the past few years of things i would like to do with my son. we've got some friends who have 3 boys, and the dad is known as "the bull" because he procreates so often and produces male heirs. they used the "dr shettles" method. it has to do with the time of the month you try to conceive, basically. (look it up, this ain't no scanky site!) so anyways i asked him for some advice on conceiving a boy. he helped me out with some good advice. he said "take your wife out on a nice date. dress up nice, buy her flowers, the works... you know, take her to her favorite restaurant and complement her the whole evening. take her home, let her shower up, powder up or whatever she wants to do, and tell her to put something on that makes her feel like a real woman while you wait in the living room. when she's done, all of that, then pick up the phone and call me. i'll be right over." so i did everything i was instructed to do and... well, there you go, i guess it worked.

ok, really, i've prayed for him. and we tried the shettles method, although we missed by a few days. oh, well. God is gracious, even if he hadn't granted me "diego". we are almost out of our 2nd trimester right now. he's a wiggly fella'. i think he's just practicing his kicks, or dance moves. uhh, hopefully his kicks. "diego" has a "two-vessel chord" instead of three vessels in his ubilical chord. that means that blood flow and proper nutrition can be restricted, and there's a higher rate of chromosomal or physical abnormalities, but so far, the doc, the specialist, and God say all systems clear. the specialist told cindy she was a "boring sonogram". that was great news. "diego's" due date is late december, so keep him and cindy in your prayers. (his face in the picture is looking to the left of your screen). we think he's got his dad's nose!

the day we found out if our baby was a boy... it was kind of hectic. cindy went in for an early appointment and called at 8:40 saying... "get up here, they're going to let us see a sonogram". so with the girls in their pj's eating cereal watching "curious george", it was quite a hussle, but we got there in 25 minutes. it was fun. it was kind of like waking up and someone saying "it's christmas!". you don't really know what to say, you are not ready for it but you know it's supposed to be a fun day! i didn't know how i was going to react either way, but i was trying to be ready and excited. the girls were in the room with us and they were very excited. i didn't know if i would cry or not when i found out it was a boy... and i didn't, but i figured it might happen.

and then there's mommy... ahhh, the most beautiful woman in the world. she's a loving mom. she don't mess around in the kitchen - it's serious business in there. she's a great cook, she's a caring nurse, and loves to read. she makes me think of the songs "she don't know she's beautiful..." and "Lord have mercy, baby's got her blue jeans on..." (even if she's now wearing the "stretchy" jeans... she can still work it). i would show you the pictures of her belly progression, but she's asleep and i figure i'm already going to have to edit this entry once she see's it in the morning, so maybe there's a few lucky ones that will get to enjoy my humor. so i'll just put a picture of my pregnant wife, who i think looks extremely beautiful when she's pregnant! so i'm going to post a picture of her for you to agree with me. (yes, she's 6 & 1/2 months pregnant in this picture).

and i guess i'll introduce myself. this is me. (i'll get cindy and me to do a little more biographical stuff sometime later). my hair style (which is still working for me since 1989) represents my lifestyle: business in the front, and party in the back! i know what kind of lifestyle some of you were thinking of, but you are erroneous, i did not say "alternative lifestyle". you will see what i mean in two years, when my hairstyle officially becomes a classic (20 years old), and it'll come flooding back into style. other than that, i love to help people. i love to have fun. i love to see people connect with God. i love to go on dates with my wife. i love watching my girls do just about anything. hmmm... and i love food.

so... that's kind of who we are right now. we're at the beginning of soccer season. we've actually done some home repairs lately. we're praying about how our life will change.

You think YOU're checking US out...?

2007-09-13T18:03:00.000-05:00

well, this fall has started off blazing for us. we've ended the "endless summer", which started in mid may and ended on september 4 and 6 (for aubrey and lolo - respectively).

we've really enjoyed keeping up with our friends and family on the web... even though some live just a few blocks away. so we thought: "of course everyone wants to keep up with us, too." so we've joined the latest fad and so the journey begins.

i'm not big on capitalizing or sentence structure. we just hope to put some stuff out there to keep you guys up to date. (yay - cheer from all 2 of ya'll reading)

This could be fun or tedious

2007-09-11T22:59:00.000-05:00

so... here's a place for the pruitt's to keep their friends up to date. yep, some of the biggest news could be highlights from the princess power or wildcats... or sonogram pics. so... enjoy it. i feel like the last kid in the class to get my driver's liscense. "everybody's" got one of these. i guess the bottom line is that we've learned a lot about some of our friend and enjoyed their updates on their sites. so, we'll give it a shot.