I found so much delight in my sister in law & neice over the Easter weekend. My neice broke her leg a month ago on a ski trip. I know it hasn't been easy on them at all. In the midst of a hard time - I loved how my sister in law made the most of my neice needing to use crutches each day. If you are looking for a way to make using crutches a bit more fun - decorate crutches w/ colorful duct tape. She said they tried using mini pillow pets as cushions on the arm pads. It made the height a bit too tall for her - but a creative idea for someone in need of a cute cushion for their crutches. LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU - SWEET FAMILY!! :)
We are very excited to post that this week begins one of favorite events of the year - college football season!! Our family has taken quite a journey in our loyalties with college football teams. Chris & I went to TCU for college & Chris' master's degree. We were loyal fans, I even cheered my sophmore year for the Frogs. At the time, we were not a winning team. They did well, but nothing of the caliber they are today. Winners of the 2010 season - Rose Bowl. We remember our roots & say with pride - Go Frogs!
We graduated from TCU, and moved on to Dallas where Chris worked for a few years at ATT & I taught school in Plano. As we began to dream of who we desired our Blocker family to be - we began dreaming alongside God & asking what he desired and where he wanted us to be. In 2003, we packed up all of our belongings & moved from Dallas to Knoxville, TN, for Chris to begin a four year business doctoral program at the University of Tennessee. We fell in love with Knoxville, and as I've written previously, the beautiful seasons. It was a joy to experience Chris living out a dream of one day becoming a professor. For family time, we would hang out with friends, take walks or have picnics in the beautiful trees or Smoky mountains. In the fall, we were most definitely faithful watchers of the Volunteers. It is hard to escape the contagious spirit of 100,000+ screaming fans shouting Rocky Top at the top of their lungs. My degree may be signed with the TCU emblem, but the Blocker family most definitely bleeds orange. Passion is contagious (in all aspects of life). But in this case, our 3 year old daughter that never lived a day in her life in TN - sang every word of Rocky Top in the backseat of the car. So in honor of the 2011 season -- "It's football time in Tennessee" "In to the checkerboard!"
Even though our time in Tennessee was limited to four years, we continue the tradition of flying the flag proudly for football games & running laps around the living room each time the football enters the checkerboard. We moved our family from Knoxville to Waco & are now Baylor Bears where my husband in a professor. So in honor of showing local spirit & creating new traditions. Here's to the Green & Gold - Rise Up & Sic' em Bears!
So if you are needing a little taste of fall, turn on the tv next weekend to your favorite college football team. Crank down the A/C, make a crock pot of queso, & enjoy what has been a celebrated tradition across the nation for hundreds of years!!
“SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA follows the story of Luke Chisolm (Lucas Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (Robert Duvall). But Johnny’s more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future.
Based on David L. Cook’s best-selling book Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia, SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA also stars Melissa Leo, Deborah Ann Woll, Brian Geraghty, Jerry Ferrera, Joseph Lyle Taylor, KJ Choi and Kathy Baker. The film is directed by Matthew Dean Russell from a script by Cook, Rob Levine, Russell and Sandra Thrift. The film was produced by Mark G. Mathis (Brick, Precious) and Jason M. Berman (The Dry Land).” – Excerpt from the Seven Days in Utopia website
David and Karen were sweet friends of ours while we were living in Fort Worth. As Chris and I were just beginning our life together – David & Karen were so kind to love on us and encourage us in our early years as a couple. Chris and I would come babysit their girls & learn by example from watching them as a family. Each time we were there, they would tell their girls that they were a blessing. One night, the girls told us we were blessings. It was my first real encounter with blessings & blessing those around us. Since then, we have four kids of our own & tell them every night before bed – “You are a blessing, a treasure & soooooo special!” I highly recommend the book & the movie!!
