Marriage Retreat

Saying "marriage is easy" would be the equivalent of saying "this booger tastes good" - neither hold much truth. If you're reading this and not married then I'm sorry to burst your bubble. It's not that we are terrible people (I have a wonderful wife) it's just that we're human beings. Let me be honest, there have been times when I'd rather have a flaming hot dog shoved up my nose than resolve a conflict. However, in my one year and nine month experience it has been nothing short of incredible - good, bad, and ugly.

This past weekend Allison and I had the privilege of attending a marriage retreat - put on by Young Life - at a Young Life camp property in Colorado (Trail West). We been to marriage conferences where you sit down and they tell you how to make everything right, but this was different. The speakers, music leader, and program team did an amazing job making sure this retreat wasn't just a fluffy three days in the mountains. Rather, they made it a time where a husband and wife could take an honest look at their marriage and take the steps necessary in creating/maintaining a marriage honoring God and each other. Walls were broken, feelings were expressed, and grace abounded. How grateful we are for the folks at Young Life for their effort in helping us in our journey.



We were not the only couple from the Houston area to attend. From left to right in the picture is Doug and Brooke Tigtig (my Area Director), Will and Tara Otto (staff in NW Houston), and Brian and Heather Reeder (staff in the Houston bay area). They've each been married much longer than Allison and are always a blast to hang around. One things YL does so well in is making sure staff do not feel like they're all alone in ministry. We have a terrific group of staff people in the Houston Region and I feel fortunate to be here.

I'll leave you with another picture taken at the retreat. Allison is currently 23 weeks prego and we're getting close on nailing down a name.

The Great Debate

Is it a boy or girl?

This past Wednesday Allison and I went to the doctor to find out the gender of the little human being inside her belly. For most parents-to-be this is a highly anticipated event. By knowing the gender we can eliminate calling the thing in her belly an "it", focus on gender specific names, and answer the always asked question "is it a boy or girl?". More importantly, as a father, it lets me know if I need to start buying footballs and fishing poles or ribbons and lace. So, without further ado, I present the pictures that were printed for us at the doctors office and decide yourself if it's a boy or girl.



This is just a profile shot of the face. You can't really tell too much of the gender, but for the next picture the baby turns bottom up and gives us a solid shot of his buttocks and what's between.



There's no arguing here! It's a boy! For the record, from the very first day we knew Allison was pregnant I thought it would be a boy. The reason: I trained my 'Y' chromosomes to swim faster than my 'X'. We're excited about HIM coming into the world and I know our family is as well. I was reminded by my uncle the other day that our baby will be the first boy born into my(Gary) side of the family in 14 years. We have six beautiful little girls and now they have a cousin who can protect them - or who they can dress up like a girl...

Allison is officially 20 weeks pregnant and pregnancy has been good to the both of us(directly her, indirectly me). She feels very fortunate to not have had any morning sickness, illness, or unpredictable hormonal swings - I'm most grateful for that. After watching the sonogram this past week we learned that he weighs approximately 12 ounces and seems to be a healthy, strapping young boy. Allison can feel him move around - which he does quite a bit - and I've been able to feel a kick here and there. I can already tell we'll have our hands full.

Our favorite name so far is a combination of my grandfather's and grandmother's:
Buford Clydine - what do you think?