Scenes from Christmas '07

How the Gallbladder (Almost) Stole Christmas

(from Bobby)

I took that picture with my cell phone, so I'm not sure how it's going to look. On the heels of her knee surgery just a few months ago, Tamie has been dealing the last few weeks with gallbladder trouble. Yesterday afternoon, we made our second trip in four months to the St. Anthony North outpatient center so that the surgeon could remove the pesky gallbladder, an organ that is apparently as useful as an appendix.

Tamie woke up from the surgery a bit nauseous from the anesthesia, but seems to be recovering nicely. She's taking her pain medication and starting to eat. We're optimistic she'll recuperate enough over the next few days to enjoy Christmas with family.

50,000

According to Statcounter, we topped 50,000 page views of this blog yesterday. That's a lot of people hitting the "next blog" button on Blogger.

Thank you to all who stop by here occasionally.

And, enjoy our temporary Christmas colors.

Icy reception at home

(from Bobby)

My return home from New Orleans on Monday was delayed by the big ice storm in Oklahoma. I made it as far as Houston before finding that my connecting flight was canceled. Fortunately for me, the Duncans live in Houston and David made the mistake of giving me his cell phone number.

David picked me up at the airport and I stayed all night at the Duncan house. It was wonderful seeing Barbara, Anna Beth and Emma, and I tolerated David. Here's a pic of the Duncans at dinner, with special guest Jennifer Reinsch, who is the children's coordinator at the Memorial church where David preaches.

Yesterday morning, I called Tamie as David and I drove to breakfast. "Can you turn the air-conditioner down so I can hear," I asked David when I got on the phone. Yes, I know, a cruel joke to play on someone stuck at home in a winter wonderland with kids out of school for a second day. But hey, we couldn't resist. (The high was 81 in Houston yesterday.)

My flight did get out yesterday afternoon and I am back home. And we are blessed that we have power. Ours never went out, so we are thankful for that.

Me and Katrina

(from Bobby)

I wake up on a beautiful Sunday morning in New Orleans. I am back on the Gulf Coast for the fifth time since Hurricane Katrina, once again to report for the Chronicle on the aftermath of the nation's worst natural disaster. My trips here, which started just a few days after the storm, have given the folks in Louisiana, Mississippi and -- as of Friday -- Alabama a special place in my heart.

Friday, I flew to New Orleans (via Houston), then drove to Bayou La Batre, Ala., where Daphne German and others (who you'll read about in the Chronicle) are doing some great work for the Lord in the hometown of Forest Gump's shrimping friend Bubba. Here's a pic of Daphne showing off some of the pictures of the Christians from all over who have come to help start a new congregation in a one-time Methodist church there.



On Friday night, I headed to my friend and super blogger John Dobbs' house in Pascagoula, Miss., where I met his wife, Margaret, and enjoyed dinner with them and Al and Jody Sturgeon (Al's blog). Margaret made a wonderful dinner and we enjoyed a great visit. John and Margaret even let me stay the night.

Yesterday, I headed back to New Orleans, where I returned my rental car to the airport and Kirk Garrison from the Carrollton Avenue church picked me up. Carrollton Avenue, even while it tries to rebuild itself post-Katrina, is planting a new congregation about 10 minutes away in the Hollygrove neighborhood, a high-crime area where young boys are often offered cash and candy to help the drug dealers ply their trade. But Charles and Angela Marsalis, who I wrote about in our one-year anniversary report on Katrina, are showing these boys a different way, teaching Saturday morning Bible classes on Angela's mother's front porch. And Carrollton Avenue has bought an old church in the neighborhood and plans to restore it. Be sure to read my story about this inspirational effort.









Last night, Kirk, Charles, Angela and several others (including church elders Robert Carpenter and Charles Edgerson) joined me for dinner at Drago's Seafood, where I tried a fried oyster and a piece of rabbit. I'm still regretting taking a bite of Bugs. I am not an exciting eater (as in: I don't do shrimp, crabs, etc.), so I ordered the catfish platter. Yummy!

Boomer Sooners!

(from Bobby)

Oklahoma 38, Missouri 17.