Happy Halloween

The Wolf Pack from Whitt Elementary School1

Ellie loves her zebra-print and when we saw this outfit we knew it had her name written all over it.  And comfy with long sleeves too - doesn't get any better than that!

She was allowed to wear her costume to school and attended a party in her classroom and at after-school care too.  What a day of celebrating!

So when it came time for trick-or-treating we knew things would be different in Texas!  There were no trick-or-treaters until after dark - and then they came in packs.  Ellie and Bill traipsed through the neighborhood and since it was early she got very little candy.  And as always she'd rather be at the door giving out the candy anyway.

So as Ellie handled the door, our friends Dan & Annette stopped by with Annette's brother to an impromptu Halloween party!  They brought their own drinks and we joined them in the celebration!

Friends from far and wide

Lori, me, Sarah and Matt
(Bill is there, I promise - he's taking the photo!)
Saturday, October 25th, 2014
Pete's Dueling Piano Bar

Here's the beauty of moving around the country with State Farm - making friends wherever we go! And even better when you're able to be in a different location with some of the same people again!

The first person who interviewed me for a job at State Farm was an HR representative, Lori White.  I remember advice she gave me about how to answer a question that was sure to be asked when a specific department interviewed me.  I was grateful for the advice, not knowing how many times I'd give that advice to people interviewing over the years.  Lori then moved to Auto Underwriting shortly thereafter and we were in the same department.  I moved to Charlottesville and then Bloomington and now to Dallas.

About a year ago I got word that Lori moved to Dallas and I shot her a quick note of congratulations. I connected her with a friend of mine here to find a realtor and better understand the area.  Fast forward, I reconnected with her here in Dallas and now she is dating a friend of mine from Bloomington - go figure.

Saturday night she and Franky invited Bill and I with two other couples out for a night at Pete's Dueling Pianos for singing and laughter.  I hadn't seen Franky in months - although Bill played cards with Franky and his crew back in Bloomington - so this circle was getting bigger.  Now enter a State Farm agent, Matt Wills who is friends with Franky - nice guy - who is dating one of the Supervisors in my department, Sarah!

Yet there are still two chairs at the table they reserved very close to the stage.  In walks - CHARLIE!  My good friend from Bloomington and his (new) girlfriend, Abby!  WOW, this is like Seven Degrees of Separation - of me!  Franky leans over and says, "everyone knows Jude!"

Needless to say a good time was had by all.

So now that we have a babysitter and a circle of friends, we have a surprise birthday party for Franky to attend on November 15th ... and the story continues!

Happy 80th Birthday to my Dad!

Today my Dad would have been 80 years old.  That is an unfathomable number to me since I never knew him past the age of 39.

As we know, life doesn't work the way we think it will.  The path is long and winding - with little regard for how we THINK it's going to go.  Hold on, this is the ride of your life.

People may come and go without notice.  And we'll never know the impact they could have had on us.  I'll never know how different my life would have been if my Dad had lived longer.  I wasn't meant to know.  There was a greater plan for me.  I accept that and embrace the life I have.  And yet it makes me think, I wish I'd had one last moment to tell him I love him, to ask him questions, to tell him what mattered to me at the time .....

Today choose differently.  Choose to tell them what they mean to you.  Take a moment to tell someone what they've brought to your life - that you're grateful they're in your life - and remind them that they matter.

You matter.

I didn't know those lessons when he died.  But I sure do know those lessons now.  People come and go - I've come and gone with this moving around the country.  Yet I tell them.  Whoever they are at the time - that they matter.

A smile, a pat on the back, words of encouragement.  It all matters.

Tell them.  Today.

Saturday Night Out

Bill and I had the opportunity to meet friends out last night - which meant preparing in advance - AND trying out a new babysitter.  That is always the challenge - the planning in advance.  Somehow in each place we've lived we just fall into a babysitter naturally.  In Charlottesville, Miss Shannon was Ellie's first daycare teacher at ABC Preschool - originally from New York she was a college student in her early 20's and a toddler son of her son, Phillip.  She was sweet, agreeable, loved kids and was always happy to sit with Ellie when we needed her.

In Bloomington we met another Miss Shannon at Clubhouse Childcare through the school-ager room.  She was also a college student, this time at ISU and would occasionally text me to make sure I hadn't forgotten her as she missed Ellie as offered to sit anytime!  She, too, was a blessing!

When we moved to Dallas we swore we weren't going to take so long to find a sitter - and here we find ourselves almost 6 months in and no sitter.  A friend of mine from NY, Lori invited us out to join her and a few other couples for a night at the dueling piano bar.  Sounded like fun - but who would we ask to babysit?!

Our friends around the corner, Brian and Natalie have 4 kids - one of which is Ellie's friend, Kalayna - and they have playdates back and forth between houses quite often.  Their oldest is Lydia - and she watches her three younger siblings.  We decided to ask Lydia, 14, to stay with Ellie for a few hours.  We knew Brian and Natalie were home around the corner should anything go wrong!

And, of course it didn't.  They played games, watched movies and with special permission, Ellie stayed up until 9:30 when Lydia put her to bed.  Both seemed to be very happy with this arrangement.  In fact we came home to find this wonderful note on our kitchen counter!

"Thank you so much for letting me come babysit Ellie it was so fun and I hope I can come again.
She is so sweet and wonderful.  Love, Lydia
p.s. Ellie can color these halloween pictures is she wants :) "

Undefeated Season 7-0

Hard to believe that from the girl that was ready to give up soccer after her first practice with the Texas-size coach - she has played the whole season with the Pink Sprinkles team and they went undefeated!

She has grown and learned so much on this team!  I told her how proud of her Coach Frank in Bloomington would be of her for finishing strong .. and getting so much better!

Today's win was the closest game yet.  The final score was 2-1 .. the other team's defense was stellar through the first half, and finally things started to come together in the second half for Ellie's team.  She actually played offense today and did an amazing job!  Needless to say she was absolutely exhausted by the end of the game.

All in all, I can describe her in one word - FIERCE!

Powerade and snacks for a job well done!

Concentration!

Saturday soccer

While I was working on Saturday, Ellie and Bill had a great day together.  Mid-morning soccer, lunch together at In and Out Burger, a couple of stops along the way home - which included buying a floor model fridge to put in the garage.. all in all a good day together!

I arrived home for dinner to steaks on the grill and baked potatoes in the oven!  Great day had by all!

Look how happy she is to be chasing the ball

Isn't she gorgeous!

She's all that!

Parent Teacher Conference

Ellie with Mrs. Hunter on the night before school started!

Today was Ellie's Parent Teacher conference.  And I believe I get more nervous at her conference than at my own evaluation at work.  Maybe that's because I shouldn't be surprised at mine, and I sure hope not to be surprised at hers!

Her teacher, Mrs. Hunter has been teaching for 11 years, and still looks young and energetic.  You can tell she loves to teach as much as Ellie loves to learn.

I'll share the highlights of an amazingly awesome conference.

Ellie's Strengths:  Hard worker, Participates a lot, Great handwriting and gets along well with everyone.

Mrs. Hunter's comments, "I believe it's Ellie who got all the girls to get along in class this year.  She makes friends easily and is a good friend to others."

Her reading level is at mid-4th grade level, which really impressed her teacher.  And the Oral Reading test where the target score is 87 - Ellie got 179!!!  And her math tests have her at 97% so far this year.

Her teacher is also really impressed with her handwriting.  It doesn't hurt that she entered 3rd grade knowing cursive, and has improved every day since.

We are so incredibly proud of her!

Friends

Beth and Jude
October 2014

The beauty of living in different places in the country - having moved for State Farm - is that there are friends in many locations.  With us being in Dallas, as a named hub location for the company many people now travel to Dallas for meetings and training.

Last week I was fortunate to catch up with Beth, my friend from Charlottesville.  I came out of that location feeling as though I'd only made one real friend.  And that was Beth.  We met for coffee one morning last week before her meeting - as her scheduled was jam-packed full!

It was enough.  So happy to meet for coffee and laugh and talk about old times and new.  It's wonderful to pick up with a friend exactly where you left off and have them understand.  Sometimes I really miss Beth - and then I remember, she's just a call away.  And in this case an opportunity to catch up in person!

Beth and Jude
Last day at Charlottesville office
June 2011

Texas Life

Only in Texas could you find Jell-o Jigglers mold of the Texas Longhorns logo in the grocery store!  And of course they had Texas A&M as well ... I really doubt they do this in other areas of the country, or maybe its me and now Jell-o does this all over the country?

In any event, we're here.  In Texas.  So this is the Jell-o mold in our store!

This past weekend was the big Texas v. Oklahoma game.  Red River Rivalry they call it.  And it is huge!  41 year history of this rivalry ... and this year OU beat Texas!  So perhaps the jugglers were out to prepare for the game?  Let's just go with that.

And, no, I didn't buy the mold!

Whitt Walk to School Day

Wednesday was Whitt Elementary School's Walk to School Day!  The school celebrated anyone who was able to walk to school with prizes, fanfare and special guests.  And as you can see lots of pictures!

Bill walked Ellie over first thing and she was thrilled to be a part of the action!

Ellie and Bill with a few friends from the neighborhood walking to school

Ellie with Kalayna next to her and lots of Emergency Personnel to celebrate Walk to School Day

Such a cute group of girls!
Kalayna and Ellie on the end together.

Coyote sighting

Tuesday night is my late Manager on Duty night at work.  When I called Ellie last night at 8pm to say good night she asked if I was already on my way.  I told her that I wasn't and that I'd be another little while.  In fact I could stay for the next three days and still not be done.  She sorta laughed but I realized she was trying to figure out what that meant.

I promised to tuck her in when I got home and I'd see her in the morning.  Usually I leave somewhere between 8:30 and 9pm and it's a 15 minute drive at that time of day.

So I got in my car, which was parked in the parking garage about 8:40pm to get on my way.  I wasn't two streets away from the building, still in Richardson and I saw a coyote standing in a lot on the side of the street.  I stopped at a red light and it crossed behind me.

I have to say it was a bit unnerving.  Ask Bill and Ellie - I'm pretty good at spotting any sort of bird or animal on car trips.  I'm the first to spot deer, hawks and wildlife of any kind.  Although it was dark, the roads were well lit as I was still in the city!

Since I get home late and have things to check on when I arrive, I didn't get to look up the meaning of the coyote last night.  So that was my first thing to do this morning.

I found there have been plenty of sightings in the North Dallas area over the past several years.  And with all the construction and development it shouldn't be a big surprise that the wildlife is forced out of their habitat and seeks new ground.  I was just fortunate to have seen this one last night.

When I looked up the meaning this is what I found:  "Much magic has been associated with the coyote, and there is always hidden wisdom where the coyote is concerned.  The coyote is to the plains Indians what the raven is to the people of the Northwest.

They remind us not to be too serious, and that anything is possible.

The coyote teaches the balance of wisdom and folly and how they go hand in had.  It is a balance. It reminds us that true teachers of wisdom have a wonderful sense of humor."

This sighting for me came after I'd had a long discussion with a mentee in my office.  I was complimenting him for his poise during a recent leadership meeting.  When I advised I admired his ability to gain levity with humor during a serious subject, the sighting of the coyote reminded me that humor is the key.  Wisdom and sense of humor go hand in hand!

Fortune Cookie

Over the weekend Ellie happened upon this fortune through a machine at our meat market.  Of course she's just like me and eats this stuff up!  When she read us her fortune she had that knowing look in her eye - to say, I already knew that!

She and I talk a lot about common sense.  About using hers.  And she does.  So after she read this it was a huge realization that she was headed for genius!  Helped her realize that I knew what I was talking about - and how valuable having common sense really is!

Monday, Monday

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Such a nice, relaxing weekend we had ... together and apart.  Bill and Ellie had their time together, Ellie and I had our time together .. and Bill and I celebrated our 12th anniversary!  These gorgeous flowers represent our celebration of the weekend!

Our weather is becoming more mild.  Although we don't have the colors of fall that we'd like, we are enjoying the change of seasons.  And we're sure that in January we'll be thankful for not having weeks of sub-zero wind chill weather!

Fall is settling in.  That means football, Sundays with a pot of chili on the stove, long sleeves at soccer and making hot apple cider.  We don't have apple orchards, but we do have the Texas State Fair and crazy-go-nuts for football here.

Yes, there's a change.  And isn't that what makes the world go round?  Change and adaptation.  Growth, you might call it.  And that's what we see in Ellie.  Everyday.  She's growing and maturing right in front of our eyes!

We treasure each day with her.  The new things we learn about her and she learns each day herself.  This is quite an adventure.  Hang on, there's much more to come ....

Yesterday and Today

Doesn't take long to realize that a lot has changed in 12 years.  And that's a good thing.  I always tell Ellie that if everyone looked, sounded and thought alike it would be a very boring world.  Hence the theory that life is good when there's been change over the last 12 years.

Growth, adventure and progress are at the top of the list for me.  Within our family, our moves, our jobs ... in other words .. in our lives together!

Happy 12th Anniversary!  And how far we've come ....

Yesterday ...

Today ....

Saturday already?

As I sat down to write this blog and realized I hadn't written anything since Monday I thought, "oh my goodness how is it Saturday already?"

Its not that we didn't have a busy week.  We did.  Its not that I haven't written this week.  I have.  Although I guess none of that made the blog.  I have begun the October Challenge of 500 Words Everyday - to write 500 words per day with writing prompts.  When Ellie asked what I was doing I explained that everyone needs practice.

She reads for 20 minutes every day and logs her time with a colored in square.  I log my 500 words by writing on the topic I've been given.  Its discipline I told her.  And explained that in order to get better you need to practice at something every day.  It becomes part of who you are.

"Like making your bed?"

"Yes, like making your bed!"

Discipline!

Here's the soccer shots from today.  They won 4-0 against who they thought was going to be a very hard team.  This improves their record to 5-0.  Unbelievable how good they are getting.  And by that I mean how well they are playing together as a team.  Its like a symphony when everything comes together - just beautiful!

Happy to be celebrating after the win!

What a team! - Ellie far left

She has just kicked the ball out of the other players reach!

Another action shot where she has just kicked the ball away.  You can see the players on the other team are taller than she is - doesn't stop her.  She's FIERCE!