Thursday, December 29, 2005

Baird Wildfire



Volunteer Fire Department of Baird!

ANY OF THESE PICTURES CAN BE MADE LARGER BY CLICKING ON THEM...



These guys were amazing. They fought all day, through the night, and went above and beyond just fighting fires. They would come and give us updates, reassure us, and encourage us.

Our respect and appreciation for these guys is huge. Some of them left our place to go fight the fire at Cross Plains that was so absolutley devastating to that community...it made me feel like I was invested there as well. When people are fighting for something you love, and you are praying for them and their success...you long for the Lord to give them victory in every battle they face...not just the one you are praying for right then.

Front Pasture



In this picture you are looking down from lookout point. (I type these descriptions for my brother and sister) You can see at the bottom where the fire swept over the ridge.
Sam and Emille and the girls had their picture made sitting on these rocks just 2 weeks earlier.

The North Canyon


In this picture you can see both "ridges" are black and burned. You can see the smoke still rising from the bottom of the canyon. We took our cars around to survey the damage...the ash and smoke were still very thick in the air.

More Wildfire shots...

This pic looks blurry because of all of the smoke....this fire burned itself out and then recaught later that night and burned about 200 more acres...At the ridge of this hill was a deer stand that sat on the ground...all that was left was the mark of where it had melted in its place and the remains of the metal chairs that were inside of it.
The cables that held up this deer stand melted in the fire.


West Texas Wildfires


This past Tuesday Tony went to scout out where he wanted to hunt that night. He came back pretty quick after he left to tell me to get the boys loaded there was a fire coming over the ridge fast...It had already taken out most of our back pasture. We got in the car, went and unlocked all the gates for the Baird volunteer fire department, prayed and waited to see what would happen. It was an intense, emotional time...we have ached hearing the news of all of those who lost everything...we saw this fire, its power and it was relentless. We saw that in the twinkling of an eye it could wipe out everything and for many people it did. We are thankful our barn was spared and we lost no animals. Over half ( at least 500 acres) of Rockridge ranch is now black with ash...these pictures do little to show how this landscape was transformed in a matter of moments.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Can't Wait!


Payton is beside himself for Santa to come. Yesterday at breakfast I said to Payton and Benjamin, "I sure love these 2 boys!" I then said, "I love another boy too. He is working so hard today so we can be at home together. I cannot wait until he gets here. He is so much fun and you guys love him too...Who is he?" I was speaking of Tony, Payton however, yelled out "Santa!"

When we left Santa (at the mall) Payton said, "Ok Santa, I love you and I will see you at my house." We are so excited for Christmas day...the boys circle our tree like buzzards daily.

May the Lord who gave us the ultimate gift of Christ continue to shower each of you with His extravagant love.
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!



Benjamin sat there like a slug it was his only defense! Notice the atheletic socks with the saddle shoes....We are on the cutting edge of boutique fashion around here.

Payton walked right up to Santa and said, "Hey Santa, remember me?" (He had seen another Santa at his Thursday school.)

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

I have to stop somewhere


Honestly- I took 89 pictures this weekend. When you are surrounded by so much cuteness what other option did I have? I know my sister will love looking at all of these...I wore Benjamin's hat for our jeep ride...nice to know my head can fit into something 3T(barely). I know they say a picture can say a 1000 words...but can any one picture tell you how much I love my niece Bailey? As I grow older I realize more and more my eyes overflow with tears of love quite often. The sheer sweetness of a full heart overwhelms me.

I more than love my family, I enjoy them. My siblings have always been my best friends. Now they fall in line after Tony (Who I am crazy about by the way, is he the cutest or what?) My brother Sam married someone who I would of loved to have had for a best friend even if I had never been related to her. My sister married someone who I literally burst to be able to tell people I am related to. My nieces and nephews fill my heart to overflowing. I love watching my siblings love my children. I love the fact that all 8 Jeffrey grandchildren adore my brother Andy. He does not get a moment to himself...they are crazy about him. I love that it is hard to pick a highlight from a weekend like this. We laughed so hard, we had many a deep talk, we truly shared the Lord with each other and I walk away so blessed I want to cry. We watched Sam skip an eight pound rock and cheered like he had just won the superbowl...We watched my mom and dad lead our church service and loved the way they still love each other and bring out the absolute best in each other.

Yesterday as we were getting in the car, 3 year old Payton started to cry, and then said, "Mom, my heart hurts." As much as I would love to spare my children any feeling of pain...I know that a hurting heart is the sign that one is truly living. For I am learning, that the deepest of joys, the greatest laugh out loud moments, are accompanied by the sweetest of pains...I treasure each moment, I store them away and thank the Lord for giving me a family that hurts my heart because it simply cannot contain all of the love I have for them.

Feeding the cows



The highlight for the kids is feeding these cows. These are the tamest cows ever and Payton loves acting like they are his pets. He calls the red one that is looking at the camera Sweetheart. She is his favorite. By the way, it was freezing, hence our attire.

Beautiful and Tough Brylee Hannah



These pics show our precious Brylee, one dressed for graduation, the other cruising around the ranch! Oh how we love her!

The Family (-6)


There are 11 people in this picture...There are 6 missing. (They are in Benin) Friday night our youngest brother Andy graduated from ACU. This marked the end of an era. My parents have had a child at ACU since 1988. It was a great night filled with lots of emotion, somehow in all the graduates exiting the ceremony it worked out that my mom and Andy were the very last to leave...they walked out hand in hand. It was a beautiful picture. One that was full of symbolism for me.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

I can't wait!

Once again I am reminded that my brother Sam, who created this blog, still has the password to it and can write/download whatever he pleases. Thankfully today we find the picture of one of the cutest kids I know, Brylee Hannah Jeffrey. We are looking forward to being with Sam and Emille and their girls this weekend.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving From Chief Paleface



One of our dear friends had a Thanksgiving feast for the kids. The children all came as Pilgrims or Indians (or in Payton's case...as himself.) Payton is not a fan of dressing up, Benjamin on the other hand was thrilled with his loin cloth and feather.

Our family continues to thank the Lord for His goodness in each and every situation. We have seen His faithfulness on display in our lives...in the moments of rejoicing and in the moments of tears. Our hearts overflow with thankfulness for gifts too numerous to list...Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Bullseye

This morning while I was helping Payton get dressed he said, "Mom, dad is the greatest guy." I of course told him he was right. He then said, "Mom do you miss dad during the day, I sure do." I told him I did and then he added, "I love dad, He is my very best friend."

My high school Bible teacher used to tell us he did not believe there was one perfect person for everyone to marry. That as you dated people you would see there are lots of people out there that were on target (that you could make a marriage work with) but there are most definitely people out there that are closer and closer to dead center...Today is one of many days where I am walking around with a smile on my face knowing that with Tony, I hit the bullseye. I look at my children who are miniatures of him and I know there is no one else in the world I would rather have 2 miniatures of...He is it for me- this is something I have known for over 6 years now...but to hear and see the love in the voice and eyes of my child for his dad overwhelmed me with joy in the Lord. Only He could give gifts this sweet.

Friday, November 04, 2005

The Boys




Our "Jamin"


This is Benjamin doing his godzilla walk. Oh how we love him!

Friday, October 28, 2005

In an attempt to appease my brother

In order to save Sam time in his day, I have decided to enter the blogging world. I feel like this will most likely become a place for my brother and I to talk daily.

I am, at heart, a blog reader, not a writer. However, I do have many sources of inspiration...my husband, who makes me laugh, my 3 year old who is an endless stream of hilariousness, and my one year old who brings us so much joy we might just bust. So to all my readers, (IE Sam), drink deep from the well that is the Brooks Family!

Love you Sam...thank you for setting this up and making us laugh in the process.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Never blogged before, but here I go!

What is up with dryer lint? Who is with me on this? Where does this stuff come from!? It is not like I am putting furry clothes in the dryer. They are not fuzzy when they come out. It is as though this stuff just appears in the trap just to make the dryer happy. I heard once that lint is a great fire starter. Not sure what that information is good for, except maybe as a helpful hint on how to burn down the office of the guy at Maytag who invented dryer lint. Man, wouldn’t that be ironic!? “LINT TRAP INVENTOR’S OFFICE BURNED DOWN BY LINT FUELED FIRE.” Maybe he would know how I feel then. Who is with me? I mean who among us has not pulled a load of fresh clean laundry out of the dryer and drug it across a full lint trap only to get it to the couch or bed to fold it and see that it has lint all over it. And for heaven’s sake, don’t try and clean the trap when your hands are wet! It is the modern day equivalent of being tarred and feathered! My sister lives in Africa where there is not enough power to run her dryer so she is free from the daily toils of it all…for now.

Love to all (except that guy at MAYTAG. Ha Ha!)

Becky

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Have Fun Storming the Castle

Just got the Crawford pictures back! There are some great ones of Tony with his new hero, Cindy Sheehan. Can you feel the love!?

Tony had a great weekend

Tony had a great weekend catching up with "the guys" from college. Tony said that the guys asked him why he looked so much younger than them and he said "boys, I eat bacon for breakfast, bacon for lunch and I drink my dinner" Ha Ha that is classic Tony!