Personal
I have been very fortunate in my personal life. I have been married for over 20
years to the lovely Catherine. Together we have 4 beautiful and talented children.
My oldest, Elizabeth, is about to head off to college and has already gotten started
on a very promising art career. Olivia, my second child, is a bright young lady
still in high school but with a real flair for cooking and a very good marksman.
To the right is a picture from a family trip that included 13 states from Alabama,
up to South Dakota, over to Montana and Wyoming and back. We spent 8 days with my
brother's family in Yellow Stone National Park. In this picture we took a detour
on the way home to swing by Jackson, WY. A beautiful city - but I could only think
of the "Any Which Way But Loose" movie with Clint Eastwood.
To the left is a picture of Elizabeth standing w/ her artwork which was hanging
at the Birmingham Museum of Art for the 2012 Chinese New Year exhibit. She was one
of a few select students from the Birmingham area to have work selected for this
exhibition. The artwork is a plaster work painted in acrylic. The dragon presents
the Chinese New Year - year of the dragon. The creature below is a Nian - evil beast that fights the changing of the new year.
In mid 2011 we introduced two of my girls to a shooting program in the area. They
both took to it very quickly but Olivia kept it up in the winter 2012 and even participated
in competitive shooting programs. It has been a great experience for her as she
learned responsibility and has been remarkably quick to learn it.
The other two are also very active in school and church and their mom and I am proud
of them all. Even though they are 2 years apart in age, they both participate in
scholars bowl and science olympiads in the school. All 4 have also been in the Honor
Choir for the Alabama Baptist Association, bible drills through our church, and
each even did a few years of gymnastics through their school. They are all very
individual despite so much they have in common.
The picture to the right is from
a river trip down Bear Creek back in summer of '97. Some friends took me down for
a great trip. Fortunately Debra put up the camera before I fell in the water changing
boats. What a trip.
I do not get to spend as much time outdoors as I would like - but enjoy it fully
when I can. Whether it is racing down the river in a canoe or raft or long hikes
with the family there is something about spending time away from it all.