A very special Birthday

Here are a few pictures of Jeff, daddy,papa,David etc...

Well. it's Dec. 6th once again and so chilly in Houston that everyone is still hiding out under their bedcovers- even the Birthday boy. He was out late last night last night with his Ambit friends. They had their yearly Christmas Party. So, if I plan a party tonight, what can I do for a man that goes from party to party?

Being the Sag that he is, I don't think that's a problem.

How old is he? Well, he is over half a century now. That seems like such a burdensome way to count. Maybe it's easier to say he was born in 1052....oops, I mean 1952. That would have made him a peer of William the Conquerer. Come to think of it, if he had been born in that particular time, I'm sure William wouldn't have been such a grump and would have had a more positive outlook on life. Maybe William would have kindly stayed in Normandy and the whole French Revolution would have been averted further down the line.

Back to Houston-

Even tho' we don't see him around home all that much- he has the Lord's gift of caring for the needy and bringing a sense of peace in troubled times. He's the son of a son of a son........of a diplomat. More accurately- one of God's ambassadors.

Everyplace I go, people come to me and tell me how wonderful he is and how the Lord used him to change their life. He just seems to have to right words at the right time.

His days are crazy. He usually starts it off by asking me to turn off the light. I get up at 5 and he doesn't as he is usually just entering his 2nd or 3rd hour of nightly slumber. The way he so soundly sleeps. I never have figured out how he detects when I have a light on. Since I usually have a litter of pups somewhere in the bedroom, he then gets up to let the mom out for a pee break, then stumbles into the kitchen asking if there's coffee. Since Jeannie moved, there usually isn't any so he makes it for all of us. Then he plops down on the couch and cracks open the laptop for a bit before he so gently runs off a list of things he has to do for the day and casually states at the end, that he is already late. Then he is hurriedly out the door. I can count on a phone call within the next 5 minutes with reminders and such. About once a week, I trudge down the street to see if I can find the coffee cup, phone or whatever, that he accidentally left on the top of the car. One time I had to go an entire mile to recover about 20 large display board pictures of his trip to Kosovo that had fallen at intervals all the way to the I-45. It was dark but I recognized the big folder and pictures and managed to dodge the traffic and collect them all .

The things I do for love.....

His car, that is a different topic. It is amazing. There is so little time in his life for pit stops and repairs so the little gray Hyundai keeps announcing it's arrival and departure at all hours with a squeal that makes the squirrel's fur stand on end. She is trying to raise a family in the tree right by where he parks. One neighbor suggested putting dish soap on the car's belt. That worked for a day. His car is fun, you never know just what you will find in the back seat. He keeps a supply of everything there- just "in case". His security is great tho. You can never really find anything specific in the pile.

Then, in his regular day, he traverses Houston a few times- going from need to need. He is always just a phone call away. I am seriously doubting that cell phones are a good thing but all his friend's love the idea. I had this plan that all of our friends could move into the same area of town. Now, it's not really that bad but when gas was at $4, I was seriously looking into motorized tri-cycles. He would of had to have a sidecar for all his things! Still, Houston is so big, it would be nice if everyone didn't live 100 miles apart.

He knows the value of taking time off and he diligently does that. He takes a bit of time each day. Why, he sits down and rests daily........... (and fix networks and computers, send out e-mails etc.)

What does he enjoy? He does love movies but only if it's the Patriot, Gladiator, Waterworld, Don Quixote, Postman or the Ultimate Gift. James Bond and some of the other action films are ok in a pinch.

He loves fruit salad and chicken fried steak, artificial sweetner, eating at Black'-eyed Pea and Valorie, Denise and Lisa's leftover takeout at the office. I can't forget to mention that they are discussing charging him rent at the local Taqueria Arandas.

Well, I could go on. He is a colorful person and always fun, mysterious and a very busy missionary.

Happy Birthday and MANY more......