Catching Up

OK, its been quit a while since my last post. Sorry about that. So what's been going on? A whole bunch and nothing at all. What I mean is, nothing big or ground breaking has happened. We've just been busy with life.

My job with EveryCarListed.com is going well. The site is doing well and I continue to grow in my programming skills.

Laura and I took the family to Florida with some friends during the summer. We stayed in a condo in Rosemary Beach. It was one of the best vacations I have ever taken. Everyone had a great time.












I didn't get to go hunting this year. That was a real disappointment, but I did get a new Weatherby .300 Win Mag. It packs a real wallop and took a few shots to get used to the kick. It's a tack driver and a hoot to shoot.














I took my younger girls camping for the first time. We went in the spring and then again in the fall. I think this will become an annual tradition.














I've gotten the chance to play some 40K. Its been a good long time since I played last and found the rules had been revised again. It was good to field my Tau army. I'm currently collecting a new Space Marine army.















So like I said, nothing really ground breaking to report. Laura and I continue to grow in our relationship with the Lord and in our marriage. The girls are all growing up way too fast and keep us very busy. We're just living life the best we can and being grateful along the way.

So whats to come? You'll just have to come back and see.

10 Years

On February 13, 1999, I married Laura in small Episcopal church on the west side of Houston. Since then, God has used her to mold me into the man I am today.

I think back over the last ten years, and I see the birth of our two daughters and the adoption of our third one. I see the career changes we have made, one trying to better provide while the other sacrifices to raise and teach our children. I see the trials that have made us stronger. I see a couple learning to love more deeply everyday.

Laura, I am so grateful that God put you in my life. Every day I learn how to love more, to give more, and to be more, because you deserve more.

Besides, how can I not love a girl that can shoot like this?





I love you, Laura, and I can't wait to see what the next ten years brings.

Back At It

Well, it's been some time since my last post. A lot has happened in the passing of the last two months. To start, I was laid off from my job at Pine Cove. It was a big blow. We had a bunch questions. Would we need to leave Tyler, Texas? How long would it take to get a another job? What if my severance ended before I found something else? What I did know, was that God was in charge. He would provide or He wanted to teach me something. What ever it was, I never failed to know that He loves me and he had a plan. My job was to be diligent and purposeful in all I did.

I need to mention that during this time, I was truly blessed by people that I know are my friends. One man in particular really came along side of me. We had the opportunity spend time with each other hunting and shooting. We didn't see any deer, but the time he took to listen to my ramblings, encourage me and pray for me meant more to me than anything else. To Mark; thank you.



I was only unemployed for a week. I was offered an opportunity to try something new and use my skills in a different area. So I switched from network and system management to programming, and I am loving it.

Thanksgiving day was special this year. I had some much to be grateful for. I had heard from an old friend through Facebook. He had gone through a very tough time and came out the other side with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Now I can tell you that when Brian and I where kids, God and eternity where the last thing on our minds. If it was at all. I came to faith in 1996 after hitting a bottom in my own life. After that I had often wondered about those in my past. Had any ever came to the same point in life and saw God for who He is? I often had prayed this for Brian. To find out that my best friend from my teenage and young adult years would be there in Heaven too is more of a blessing than I can truly express.

Christmas was great. On Christmas eve, our family had a little devotional. My eight year old, Claire, read Luke's account of the first Christmas. During the whole season, the girls really tried to keep Jesus the center of their Christmas. Oh sure they had the list of gifts that they wanted, and the lists changed almost daily. But, they also continued to ask questions about Jesus and his birth. It was such a blessing to see my daughters growing in their knowledge of Him. We all got some great stuff too. I received some new games, and I'm looking forward posting some reviews soon.



We Spent New Years Eve with friends and brought in the New year with a huge fireworks display. 2008 had a few of ups and a few downs, but God was always there. God used this last year to drive me to Him. So, along with some other resolutions, I'm back at it with this blog. I hope you all will come back and see what 2009 brings.

Happy Halloween

Well, Halloween is upon us. Soon all sorts of ghosts and goblins, super heroes and princess, pirates and ninjas will be hitting the streets, knocking on doors and yelling "Trick or Treat!"

Its neat seeing the kids going door to door again. During the 70's, there was a big scare of poisoned candy and razors in apples. The town I grew up in started providing Halloween Carnivals and Haunted Houses to give kids something else to do. This was all fun but it never was the same. There was something uniquely fun about putting together a costume and for one night be what ever I wanted to be going door to door.

The girls have questions about ghosts and witches and I think this is a good thing. Its an opportunity to teach them about my faith and what the Bible says. I can use Halloween to teach them about evil and keep them innocent of it.

Now, I am all about safety and protecting our kids. My girls will have flashlights. Mom or Dad will be near at hand, and of course, I will be sampling the goodies. Happy Halloween.

The McKeands

When I told my wife, Laura, that I had started a blog, she said, "I hope you write about how wonderful I am." She said that jokingly, but I can tell you, she is best wife a guy could have. She is super smart, beautiful, creative and she puts up with me. God truly blessed me with a wife that is fun and a joy to share my life with. I also have three awesome daughters. They all get there beauty and wit from their Mom.

We all recently went to Crier Creek for a weekend. We had a great time. I chased Claire and Megan around doing different activities, while Laura and Stormie got a chance to reconnect. The girls rode horses and I got wet when the canoe tipped over. The food was great and Sam, the director, did a great job leading some family devotionals. We came back physically exhausted but recharged emotionally and spiritually.

We had the opportunity to think about who we are as a family. Who are the McKeands. We then derived five concepts that we could say are pillars that our family can stand on. We chose Love, Faith, Integrity, Commitment, and Fun, but the foundation is our Lord Jesus Christ. With out Jesus these "pillars" would have nothing to hold them up. You see, we are not perfect. We sometimes loose our tempers, and sometimes we say things that wish we could take back. We do a lot of things we shouldn't, but we believe that Jesus Christ was put to death on a cross for our sins and God raised him from the grave. Through this we have eternal life and we are in a relationship with the Father that allows to go to Him to seek forgiveness. We then can live our life as a family loving each other and those that God puts in our path. We find comfort in tough times because we know we are loved. We can tell the truth in all situations even when it is hard to do so. We will stick together through the good and the bad and have lots of fun along the way. That is who we are. That's the McKeands.