Oh, what a beautiful day!

Through a variety of conflicting schedules, my Booker cousins didn't get together over any of the holiday season this past year, so we were overdue a get-together.  As most of us are in the DFW area, we decided to convene at one of Ft. Worth's restaurant treasures - Joe T. Garcia's!  As Joe T's boasts seating for 1000 people, I think it's possible I've been to 2 of the largest Texas restaurants this month!!  (Post re: Oasis# in Austin coming soon)     

And it was truly a beautiful day!

We were a couple cousins short, but had a good time catching up (and getting to know some of the newest additions - both through birth and marriage!) Lots of laughing - which is always my opinion of a great time.   Being the oldest grandchild on this side of the family, I earned early on the reputation of....well, bossy.  There's also been this rumor that I always made up rules to games...I always claim I was just the one who READ all the rules - and maybe conveniently forgot to mention some of those rules until I needed them!  So I don't think anyone was surprised when I "made" everyone share something going on their life as we went around the table :)  Long live bossy!  I was blessed to hear lots of good news shared about new jobs, new houses, new experiences, dogs, babies...and general happiness. 

I pray my Pa-Pa was looking down and enjoying watching the legacy he began. 



There was a time when I was the tallest...but we're still "stairsteps" by age :)



And we're so happy for the brave souls like Leigh Ann who have joined us by marriage!

What a nice posed picture of Michelle & Derek...

...as opposed to candid - Sorry, Jules!  Documenting Heath was there!

And Scot, too!

And, of course, the youngest addition -
but soon to be joined by Booker great-grand #2 - (From another cousin - not my brother!!!)
He fit right in snacking on (tiny) chips and tortilla with beans!!!

Here's to many more cousin get-togethers to come!

p.s. Post title from the 2nd line of "O what a beautiful morning" - from Oklahoma, of course. What else do you sing when you step out and the sun is shining and the sky is blue, but it's not too hot yet?!

I like to be in America...

...but I do enjoy an International experience!! 

One goal I had this year was to try to befriend the international students at my new college home and help them in any way I could.  We have about 15-18 of them that live in the dorms.

My best of intentions have not been what I had hoped for...But I have had a few good opportunities to spend a little time with some of them and am always blessed when I'm with them.  This semester there are only 2 girls (not counting a couple we have who were recruited to play sports.)  I asked them if there was something they'd like to do outside our small town and after contemplation and some negotiating, we decided on an art musuem in Dallas!  They were incredibly gracious last Sat as I did not always take the most direct route to where we were headed. :)  As my experience has been with most internationals on our soil, they were flexible and undemanding and seemed determined to just enjoy whatever was happening. 

Between 2 art musuems, we saw art from all over the world. 
The Asian art really interests me more now that I've spent time in Asia.

We had some great conversations throughout the day getting to know each other.  Both of them are thrilled at the opportunity to get their education here and while they both have clear goals they're working towards, they're open to any number of pathways that might appear before them as their future unfolds.  That's exciting to me.  The WORLD is literally - their oyster. 

Tolu from Nigeria and Rozalina from Turkmenistan have become fast friends.
They enjoyed a beautiful day outside with a healthy veggie wrap at *Jason's Deli*
while I chowed down on the club :)

If you've spent much time with me over the last 8 years, you've probably heard me say I believe everyone needs a chance to travel outside the US to broaden your view of yourself, your country, your world and your God.  I just don't think there is anything else that can have the same effect.  At times, I have been known to be a little hard on my beloved home country, specifically our pride.  Strangely enough, yesterday was a day I found myself proud of the freedoms and joys that living here can provide.

Mostly just the "little" stuff:
     *like having so many choices of  how to spend the day;
     *free to be 3 women driving around, spending our own money;
     *to have literally every cuisine to choose from to eat dinner;

Their request for food - Indian!!  Not on my normal list of choices.  My local brother helped find me a good choice and they were So happy.  It was worth the burning mouth :) (And I enjoyed it more than I expected - yea!)

*to stop on the side of the road and take pictures of the beautiful bluebonnets;

These flowers just make me happy when I see them!

        *to return to homes (or apartments or dorms) with hot running water in the shower and cold drinking water in the faucet.


The girls acknowledged that the American dream can get a little tarnished at times...but it's still out there.  The dream is why they came. 

My prayer is that as others continue to pour into our borders from all over the world - that we realize that for all we have to offer them - we have so much to gain from them, too. 

Thanks, girls.


p.s. Post title from "West Side Story" - America

Be Our Guest

Did you build tents when you were a child?

I reminisced this week that I had a canopy bed growing up (do they still make canopy beds??)  It had been my mother's as well.  The canopy was hung on little metal pipes/rods on all 4 sides of the full-sized bed, plus it had a strong middle rod that crossed over the bed.  Through the magic of clothes pins and hanging afghans & blankets from those rods, my brother and I could transform my bed into a tent/castle/house/whatever-we-could-dream-of space.  What a fun memory sparked by.....this!

Blankets, and pillows, and furniture - oh my!

Check out this tent built by my sweet friends' children during our visit this week.  They did invite us "in" but we had to decline (as I'm pretty sure none of us fit!)  I was quite impressed, though, and they were thrilled with their end product.  I think it lasted a whole 15 minutes before one child "accidently" messed up part of it....but that's usually the way tents go, right?  Then they moved on to the next joyous activity.  Oh, to have that energy - and creativity!

These kiddos worked (& played) together so well! 
Kristen's Samantha, Mollie's Mattie, & Kristen's Julia & Blaine

p.s. "Be Our Guest" is of course, from Beauty & the Beast.  I highly recommend both the movie version AND the Broadway version.  It was one of the first 2 musicals I saw on Broadway when my family went to NYC for the first time after my high school graduation. 

You'll Never Walk Alone

How long have you known your oldest friend??  

I have 2 friends I've had since within the first 6 months of our lives.  Our mothers were friends - along with several other couples - in a small group at church.  After I moved at age 6, we kept up with weekend visits, birthday parties and then in middle school began our annual summer Leadership Camp week at ACU!  Every summer we grew closer, living in those dorm rooms for a whole week.  And then, freshman year we lived across the hall from each other a whole year!  Our friendships have grown and stretched over the years as our lives have taken different paths through weddings, children, moves far away, and just life in general.  But there's something about old friends...and I trust these friends with my life. 

What an absolute joy to spend the day with them this week!  Through laughter and tears, I know with these friends, I'll "never walk alone."




The Three Muskateers :)  Kristen, Sarah, Mollie




The next generation of childhood friends - Mollie's Mattie & Kristen's Blaine - 5 months apart!

P.S. Back to Broadway - this post title is from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Carousel".  A somewhat sad musical, this song is amazing and I have been known to sing it in times of trouble.

Happy Birthday - part 2

Well, I should have looked up how to say (sing) that in Brazilian Portuguese, because that's how we decided to celebrate on my brother's and I birthday weekend.  The last few years we've taken our parents on an international food ride (somehow they just don't get the chance much in our hometown!)  A Japanese steakhouse for a couple years, last year we did Mediterranean/Greek.  But this year - a Brazilian churrascaria (that's "shoe-HUSK-a-ria")!  I was blessed to spend 6 amazing weeks in Rio in the summer of 2002 on a Let's Start Talking campaign.  Besides the wonderful people I got to read the Bible with, we also got to experience a lot of culture (_World Cup_ was going on during our stay and Brazil won!) We ate at a variety of their "steakhouses" - from the corner, open air to the much nicer sit down.  No matter how much you paid, though, it was always "death by meat".  So for the last 9 years, Mom and Dad have been curious and last Friday they were able to experience it for themselves.  The Bookers will probably never get their money's worth at an all-you-can-eat meat fest, but oh, did we savor the bites we took! 

Here are Mom & Dad with knives in their faces - those waiters swoop right in to serve you!  15 different kinds of meat served right onto your plate!!

And of course, we had our own entertainment with us, too.  Here's Holt demonstrating how to request more food:




Red coaster - No more...for now :)



Green coaster = More meat please!!!



Saturday was more relaxing, playing and enjoying each other's company.  Can't believe the little one will be one year next month!  More birthday fun to follow...



Until then - pictures to hold us over.  Thanks, Family, for a fun time. 

Our one group shot - the valet called out "say cheese" - but Mom decided to say "churrascaria" instead!! 
Love ya, Mom :)



Serious concentration for this boy and his toys!!

Feb, March, (&April) Booker Birthday Buds!

And the wished for chocolate pie!!! Thanks, Mom!









Happy Birthday to me

Well - it's still a song title, right?? :)

I must confess that I do love birthdays.  And I do love My birthday.  I think it may sound a little selfish but I've just always enjoyed knowing it was a day to celebrate - ME!   It's never really bothered me that other people had the same birthday.  Growing up, my family doctor shared my birthday and we often got to wish each other a happy day as this tends to be the season I get a sinus infection :(  When I got to college, I found 3 other girls who shared my day as well (including 2 my age!)  But in a fun twist-of-God, the 2 girls I've ended up sharing the most time with in my adult life have birthdays within 4 days of mine (on non-leap years!)  We threw ourselves group parties in college and have continued to celebrate together in some form or fashion each year since (as long as I was in country).  This year we all hit the big 3-5.  Of course, I always get to start :)  After a so-so day of meetings/trainings at work, I bee-lined it to DFW to hang out with these lovely ladies and 3 other friends we invited along.  I can truly say that my idea of a perfect evening is good food and good conversation with good friends.  

Oh - and the over a hundred birthday wishes on *Facebook* are just like cherries on the top of that "feeling special" kind of day. 

Of course, in a truly perfect world - my birthday dinner would have had a few other special people, but that's one of the things I look forward to most about heaven - Dinner with Friends every night!

Me, Katie (2 days younger than me) and Kristen - a friend since I was about 6 mo old!



Kelly, my former neighbor, Jenni (4 days younger than me), and Mary


For my second celebration, my sweet Friend Tifani sent me.....her parents!  When Tifani and I taught together in the Philippines, I gave her a hard time about the fact she didn't like her birthday.  Instead of teasing me back, she always planned a celebration for me because she knew how much I did like my birthday!  God has allowed our friendship to continue after we both returned to the States even though she lives in Oregon.  When I went to visit her at her wedding and her son's first birthday, both times I got to spend time with her parents as well.  Last week she called and said they would be parking their motor home in Texas for a few weeks during their trek across the USA and since she couldn't be here to help me celebrate my birthday, she was sending her parents to take me out!  I must confess it's one of the sweetest things I think anyone's ever done for me.  Thank you, Tifani.

The Riggles and I pigged out on Italian food in Dallas' West End and then went on a little walk to see where JFK was shot (I know that should be weird, but my dad's a history teacher - what can I say?)  The day was windy, but warm, and it was great to be with them.  God sure does give good gifts.

Here are the Riggles in front of the historic Old Red Courthouse and the Dallas skyscrapers!

By the way - lest you say "where is this girl's family?"  Never fear, we meet next week to continue the celebrations (plus my brother's birthday is 10 days after mine so we get to have a double celebration).  We'll see if Mom brings 2 different desserts as she has in the past! :)  Just so you know - I'll take a chocolate pie over any kind of cake any day!  Here's to a new year of life!

Grace that is Greater

So last week was...bumpy.  As it ended this weekend, though, I was overwhelmed by how much I have to be thankful for.  And ultimately, God's Grace is Greater.  Greater than my sin and guilt.  Greater than any bumps in the road.  Greater than my sadness AND Greater than my joy.  It is just Greater.  And today as I start a new week, I am so thankful for that.

Here are some other things I'm thankful for that came out of this week:
    * God's instruction for the older women to teach the younger women.  So thankful to the older woman at church who listened, taught and prayed with me this week.

    * Courage from the Holy Spirit when my heart is racing with fear.

    * New friends who "braved" an icy night to come for our weekly Supper Club and who stayed to pray together. 

    * Lockdown at the prison so I got a night off from teaching :)

    * A great haircut from a wonderful stylist (even if I do have to drive back 2 hours to get to her!)

    * Time with this sweet boy who proved to me without a doubt that he is a crawler!!  :)

Check out the bib....!

    * Authentic Chinese food with the sweet boy's parents.  Thanks for the time.   

    * 1st time eating Cheese Blintzes - oh my goodness - an amazing Sat morn breakfast at a local Dallas spot with best friend Jenni

     * A beautiful Texas Blue Sky on a warm afternoon after 2 weeks of ice and cold.

     * Blessed praise music and scriptural teaching at my new church.

Of course you can't really capture the blue, but I tried. 
This was taken on the site where my church has broken ground to build its first building! 

    *  An afternoon of watching "Anne of Green Gables" on PBS.  Nothing like childhood loves.  And oh, the truths she speaks.  "Every day is brand new with no mistakes in it."


An "attitude of gratitude" always sounds so cheesy to me, but I have learned over the years it is one of the most powerful ways God can change me.  May that be my attitude every day.


p.s. Bart Millard (lead singer of MercyMe) has 2 albums he recorded of hymns.  Some are fairly straightlaced, but most have some fun little musical backgrounds (country, New Orleans jazz, etc).  His rendition of Grace That is Greater is one I can just put on repeat and sing away.  I highly recommend it if you are blessed by hymns (and maybe even if you're not!)