Christmas at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH)

Each year volunteers from Baker Hughes visit TCH to spread a little bit of Christmas cheer to the children and families down there. I was honored to be invited to go play Christmas carols while Santa and his helpers passed out presents to the boys and girls.

Here are some pictures of the day.



Santa (Joel), Jamie (TCH events coordinator), Santa’s little elf (Darryle) and Rudolph (Brooke)

Santa and his helpers giving gifts to one of the precious children in an examination room.

Me entertaining with Christmas carols in the main waiting room.

Santa with more of the kids. The little boy in the lower right corner was so cute. He was transfixed on my guitar and had a smile that would light the world.

. . .and Santa receiving their gifts of love.

Evan Lost His First Tooth!

Evan finally lost his first tooth! To celebrate the evening we went to eat at Texas Roadhouse and Nanou and Paran met us. We had been singing "All I want for Christmas is to lose my two front teeth..." for about two weeks now. The one next to it is loose too, so hopefully by Christmas, he'll have his wish.

The Lego Star Wars Nativity Scene

Yes, nothing says Christmas like Lego Star Wars. Elliot came up with this great idea of making a Nativity Scene out of our Lego Star Wars men, so here it is in all its glory. An overview of the Scene: Mary (Palpatine...hey, the hood is on, so you can't tell) and Joseph (Han Solo) adore Baby Jesus (Luke Skywalker) while the Three Wise Men (Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader (sans Helmet and scarred face) and battle warrior guy) present their gifts.

Ice Skating at the Galleria

We took our annual Christmas trip to the Galleria this past weekend. After buying our new Fontanini Nativity piece (Gloria Angel) we went Ice Skating!! You should have seen us crossing the "freeway" to get from the wall to the Christmas Tree!

Fall Fun

Elliot, Drew, Tyler and Garrett have fun playing in piles of leaves.

Halloween 2008

This Halloween we went Trick or Treating. Evan was Jango Fett, Elliot was an Indian and Drew was Batman.

Houston Half Marathon - Run for a Reason

I am running in the Houston Half Marathon on January 13, 2008, and I am representing a local charity called Bo's Place. Bo's Place exists to give support to children who have lost a parent or sibling, and it is Houston's only free of charge grief center for children.

With Christmas fast approaching, I know many of you will be asking what's on my Wish List. Well, I'll tell you: in lieu of gifts at Christmas, I would rather you make a donation to Bo's Place.
To donate, visit my Half Marathon Bo's Place Fundraising Page by clicking here.

Below is some art that was made by the children at Bo's Place. Art plays a major role in the grief process at Bo’s Place. The physical act of drawing and creating can be an emotional release as is the art created. These activities give the child a way to externalize overwhelming emotions in a safe way.

Worry Cloud

The purpose of this activity is to help group members identify worries or concerns they have and connect as a group. The members each have an opportunity to write or draw their worries on the cloud. This allows them to get the concerns out of their head and onto the paper, facilitating conversation with other group members.

Memory Rocks

Children decorate rocks in memory of their lost loved ones.

Broken Pot

Families are given pieces of a broken clay pot. They are asked to write and draw things that are difficult on the inside of the pieces such as holidays, school, scary emotions, or sadness. On the outside, they express what has supported them through these trying times, such as family, friends, etc. As a family, they glue the pieces back together. The broken pot looks like their new life - scarred, rough but held together with strength and support from each other.

Quilt Squares

Quilts line the walls of Bo’s Place that speak of each child’s journey through grief. Children and their parents have the opportunity to make a quilt square memorializing their loved one. The squares are then made into a quilt representing each support group. The commemorative quilts are a lasting reminder of their loved one.

Again, in lieu of gifts at Christmas, I would rather you make a donation to Bo's Place. To donate, visit my Half Marathon Bo's Place Fundraising Page by clicking here. It's simple and secure, and it is for a great cause.

Thanks and God Bless!

Chad

My Son the Rock Star

Kim took this picture of Evan at the Children's Museum in Lake Charles. For the record, The Beatles' Hey Jude was playing while he was doing this.

My First Triathlon - Try Andy's Tri, Sugarland TX Oct. 14, 2007

This weekend, Scott and I ran the Try Andy's Triathlon in Sugarland. Kim and the boys and Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty and Scott's boys came out to cheer us on. This was my first triathlon and my goals were to: 1) Finish 2) Not finish last 3) Finish in 1hr 40 min.

All goals were accomplished. We finished with our time being 1:22 and we were 58 and 59 out of 62 in our age group, so we didn't finish last! Not too shabby for a first timer riding a mountain bike!

Here are some pics of the big day.



It's hard to look cool in a swim cap.

Getting ready to swim, hopefully not drown, and avoid any brain eating microbes.

Can you see me?

Whoa Nellie...I gotta get my land legs back!

Triathlon Continued

Scott leaving the water behind (did I mention the brain eating microbes?)

Wheeling the bikes out of T1

Leaving T2 to start the run leg.

1 Cor. 9:24

More from the Triathlon

Photo Finish!

Evan enjoys some post-race refreshments.

Elliot with his white non-planet thingy.

Not to be outdone, Drew has a beverage of his own.

Elliot's Short-Lived Soccer Career

Elliot really wanted to do YMCA Soccer, so we signed him up. He lasted exactly two games. Actually two practices. Below are some pictures of the young Pele before he hung up his cleats!

Hmmmm.....did I leave the iron on this morning?

Elliot stands ready for action.

He goes in for the score...

I think I'm supposed to kick this thing.

YMCA Dragons

Destin Vacation

Mommy and the boys watching the surf in Ft. Walton Beach (on the boardwalk behind Floyd's.)

Our two Surfer Dudes on the last day at the Beach.

Daddy and the boys in the beach house pool.

Family photo taken in Sea Side, Florida (about 35 minutes East of Destin on 30-A).

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Our late Summer Vacation was one week in Beautiful Destin Florida! Gran and Pop and Nanou joined us and we had a wonderful time. We stayed in a beach house that was two blocks from the beach. It came equipped with a golf cart to taxi us to and from the beach with minimal effort.

Some of the highlights of the trip:

1) Mass at Resurrection (http://rcc-destin.org/) and their beautiful prayer labyrinth. They had the most incredibly moving life-sized depiction of Christ on the Cross that I have ever seen.

2) Beach, beach, beach, beach, beach!!!! The first 4 days the water was as calm as a lake and crystal clear. The last two days the winds kicked up and gave us some good boogie boarding waves and the boys really got into that!

3) Pool, pool, pool, pool, pool!!!!! Having a private pool at our beach house was great! After each trip to the beach, we'd spend a few hours relaxing in the pool and having a blast. We grilled burgers and hot dogs by the pool on Labor Day and Steaks on another night and ate right there next to the pool at the table. The umbrella had solar lights for ambiance.

4) Beautiful beach house. The Cajun Riviera (http://www.vrbo.com/93545) was fabulous. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with room for at least 12 if you include the pull out couch in the living room. It held our family and Gran, Pop and Nanou very easily.

5) The shops. Destin Commons (http://www.destincommons.com/) was really nice - it reminded us very much of the Town Center in the Woodlands. We also went to the outlet malls a little bit East on Hwy. 98.

6) Sea Side, Florida. We went to this quaint little town one evening for dinner. It really had that "Martha's Vineyard" vibe. They had a band playing that night in the town square.

Click on this link to view all of the pictures of the trip: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172649171/a=94935808_94935808/t_=94935808