Saturday, May 14, 2011

Getting Away for a Weekend!

Amidst the craziness that is the last 3 weeks of a junior high school year, Blythe and I have decided to get out of town and take a quick trip up to Palestine, TX to visit Bythe's family.  Monday is Melissa's birthday, so we felt that it would be a good weekend to get out here, even if does mean a three hour car ride after work on a busy Friday.

School feels very busy right now because we are getting ready for our end of the year Pop Show on Tuesday evening.  We've had a great year, so it is great to see the kids finally be able to relax and sing some stuff that they enjoy a little bit more.  Although this is only my first year there, we have decided to do things a bit differently than they have done at Goodson before.  In stead of using the generic accompaniment cd's that come with the sheet music, we decided that it would sound better, and be a great experience for our kids to get to sing with a live 'band'.  So, somehow, I was able to convince two good musician friends of mine, Long Le and David Lerner, to come play with us.  Now, instead of using the cheesy cd's, our kids get to sing with a live piano, bass, and drums.  Needless to say, they were VERY excited to hear it for the first time yesterday.  Combine that excitement with the fact that we are three weeks away from school being let out for the summer, you can understand why Blythe and I needed to take a trip to a quiet East Texas!!!

While we're up here the plan is to go out to a lake today to hang out and grill some burgers and hot dogs and stuff!  I can't wait!  Hopefully, I can convince the birthday girl, Melissa, to get out her camera today and get some pictures of the little man hanging out with his little cousin, Gracie!

A Bit of Upsetting News:

Our little dog, Gizmo, went outside last night through the doggy door and apparently wanted to walk back to Houston.  At least, that's me thinking positively.  :(   My clock says it is 9:07am right now, so from what I can remember about last night he's now been out for about 12 hours.  The scariest part is that in this neighborhood, there are a ton of dogs that were out just running around free last night.  So my thought is that he probably went out, heard the other dogs and went to check it out, then got scared and didn't know how to get back to the doggy door that he went out of.  So, we'll keep looking for him through this weekend while we're up here, but I don't really feel very good about our chances of going back home with him this weekend. 

I've never handled losing pets very well (ask my mother!).  If a pet dies, that's part of life, but losing a pet, and not knowing where they are scares me to death. I'll try to stay positive and keep thinking that he went exploring and happened to find his version of that "farm where he can run and play outside all day long" that everyone always tells thier son or daughter about when they are upset about losing a pet.  Although for Gizmo, that would be more like him finding a tv that he can bark at all day, and finding a mosquito or fruit fly that he can chase and actually have a chance of catching this time!!!    Let's keep up hope.

Peace Out,
Luke

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day 2011


So, I know this may come as a HUGE surprise to some of you, but I am, and always have been, a big ol' momma's boy, and a huge sap when it comes to Mother's Day.   Since going through college, graduating college, getting married, and generally growing up over the last several years, I am still just as much in love with my mother as I've ever been.  But, part of getting married, and growing up, I've now got two other women in my life that deserve to feel just as special on this Mother's Day, 2011.



Cherry Kirkwood
My mother!  An absolutely amazing woman.  Any woman who could raise me and my two brothers is definitely someone special.  The fact that the three of us all survived, didn't kill each other, and all turned out to do pretty well, is a testament to the mother that oversaw everything.  She was always there when we needed someone to talk to, always there to bandage us up when we scraped our knees and/or elbows, and always there to take us from school to baseball practice to church.  It seems like I can think of a thousand conversations that my mother and I had while in a car on our way to one of those three places, or for me it seems like we were always on our way to pick up one of the other two boys.  Being the youngest of the three, I almost always got to be picked up from school earlier than my brothers which gave mom and I time everyday to ride around town in her car (which almost always was a suburban) to run errands before picking the other two up from school.  Seems like we had so many conversations riding around Pasadena in that big gold suburban!

Once I turned 16 and was old enough to drive, I started a tradition that every Saturday night before Mother's Day, I would leave home late at night to go buy mom a bouquet of flowers and a card that I would leave on the kitchen table for her to see in the morning.  Well, I now live an hour away from mom, so getting into mom and dad's house late at night isn't very easy, and probably would give mom and dad a good scare! 

So mom, this year, all that I can do is simply tell you that I am so thankful to have had a mother like you.  Lord knows that my brothers and I would be nothing without having your love and support through all these years.  I love you, mom!


Blythe Kirkwood
My wonderful wife!  Nine months ago, Blythe and I had our first baby, Carter Alan Kirkwood. . . As you may have heard ;)  Since then, I have fallen more and more in love with her everyday.  I knew as soon as I met her that she was an unbelievable woman who I could spend the rest of my life with, but as I got to know her better, I realized just how wonderful she really was.  As we started dating, I saw that she was going to be the best wife a man could ever ask for, and I also could see that she was definitely the woman that I wanted to raise my future children with.  On August 10, 2010, she became that wonderful mother that I knew she would be.  Since then she has been so patient, loving, and caring that I can hardly believe it.  Watching her with Carter is a miracle and a dream come true.  All my life I wanted to have a little boy named Carter, and thankfully, God gave him to me.  Something I am even more thankful for, is the fact that he put a woman in my life that is a better mother to my Carter than I could have ever possibly dreamed of.

Blythe, I am so happy to have you in my life, and I will likely spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to be as good to you as you are to me.  You truly inspire me everyday to be a better person by being the mother and wife that you are.  Thank you for loving me and our little boy!



    Melissa Herring
My mother-in-law.  Of course, my wife would not be able to be the wife and mother that she is if it weren't for the role model that she had in her life.  Melissa has been the best mother-in-law that a person could possibly ever hope for.  She is a woman that is kind, gentle, caring, and loving.  Ever since the first time that I met her in Palestine, she has treated me like one of her own.  There was never any question about if I belong in this family, and I am so thankful for the acceptance that Melissa has shown from day one.  I remember when Blythe and I met her family in Galveston for a Saturday beach trip in the first summer that we were dating, all the Herring kids were getting ready to take a family photo and they made it a point to say that this was a "family ONLY" photo.  Well, sure enough, Melissa told me to get into the picture, and I said, "I am not family!"  She responded with, "Not yet, but you might as well be.  Soon enough!" . . . Blythe and I weren't even engaged yet!!!  I guess she has one of those great maternal instincts!

Melissa, I am so thankful for the mother that you have been to Blythe all of her life, and the mother that you have been to me over the last five years or so.  There is no question in my mind that I can call you and talk about anything, and that means the world to me.  It also means so much to me to see how well you continue to be there for Blythe when she needs anything, and how great of a Nana you have been to Carter for these first nine months.  Thanks for everything that you do, and being the woman that you are!


Everyone take a moment today, and every day, to make sure that the Mommas in your life know just how special they really are.  These three are the Mommas in my life, and this is my way of showing them that life would simply not be the same without them.


P.S. - Check out the bottom this page (below the comment box, find "follow by e-mail). . .You can now sign up to get e-mail updates everytime I publish a new post!! I know I haven't posted in a while, but the school year is almost over, and I plan on doing quite a bit of blogging this summer!!  Sign up now!