Texas Fish Story

Deep in the heart of Texas, near the quiet village of Milford, a suburb of Corsicana, lies a small lake about 10 miles long and a mile wide.  Lurking in the shallows are monster fish just waiting for the juicy toes of swimmers unaware of these nibblers who enjoy such morsels!  The usual bait is worms, minnows, grubs and a variety of spinners, divers and plastic scented worms.  Now and then you nail a 5 pound largemouth bass or what Texans call hybrids, a combination of bass with silver skin that glimmers in the moonlight and usually weigh 3 pounds and up and fun to catch!!!  But the catfish and gar monsters don't come along very often and are usually wise enough to avoid these common baits. Their looking for a chicken or duck, any big meal!  With a 5 foot catfish with a mouth big enough to eat 1 pound crappie,  you have to go prepared to hook this monster!  Then what do you do after being hooked?  We'll have to ask Tyler how he landed this 30 pound sea monster!  And we need to ask Joel and Blake,  Holly and Joe's pair,  how they managed to get that gar on the dock?  If that gar was chasing them in the water,  I'm sure they would have made it to the pier before the gar!  It looks like they were having lots of fun!  You know that they say,  everything is bigger in Texas.

Derrick & Paul in the BIG APPLE

When Payton was 8 years old, Jana and Paul decided it would be a great adventure to take her to visit Paul's sister on the East coast.  Over the years, Payton and Brady have enjoyed this trip to Boston and New York City!  This year it was finally Derrick's turn!  When school was out for the summer, Jana and the other two kids came to Ashland and Derrick & Paul headed East. Of course, they had to visit the Boston Red Sox which turned out to be one of Derricks favorite memories!  Then on to New York City and Times Square, The Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building!  They arrived home with lots of photos and grand memories!  We all congratulate you and only wish we could have been with you!

Jaime's World Travels

Jaime,  Dan & Sheila's daughter,  has been in the Navy for several years and presently is on duty in the Mediterranean.  She has seen Rota, Spain, the pier in Jordon and the coast of Africa.  The USS Iwo Jima is an amphibious assault ship and can carry 1897 Marine troops along with a crew of 1009 enlisted personnel and 73 officers.  The ship is 844 feet long and 110 feet wide!  What a way to travel around the world!  When your in the Gulf of Mexico or cruising down the West Coast,  be sure to let us know!!!!

With Jaime's computer training,  she is being promoted to work center assistant supervisor.  Congratulations, Jaime!  You are a credit to our country and we're delighted to have you in our family!

Adam Graduates

     








Adam,  Lori's son has spent all his school years in Ashland, Oregon!  And his big day was Friday,  June 8.  His 2012 class graduated outdoors on a chilly evening beginning at 6:15pm.  Of course we got there about 5pm and could hardly find a place to place a blanket on the ground.  Grandma and I took folding chairs!  The days of sitting on the ground are long gone!!!  We even took a picnic but it was so crowded we decided to eat later. . .about 3 hours later!!!  Graduation programs are just too long and after all the speeches came the grand 268 diploma parade!  You'll notice Adam with diploma in hand!  We congratulate him and wish him well as he makes this first BIG step towards independence!  He plans to attend Portland State University in Portland this fall.

Tyler Graduates in Colorado

Tyler has finally finished 4 years of snowboarding to earn his Batchelors degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder.  The whole gang from Texas was there to celebrate!  We all congratulate Tyler for his long hours of study to earn his degree!  Now it's the real world, a job, a paycheck, and giving up his comfy bed where he grew up in Corsicana, Texas!  We older folks all faced leaving home for good and like someone said,  when we leave home the right way,  we are then free to return!. . .for a visit!  The photos tell the story and even the newest member of the Freed Clan,  Alice, seemed to enjoy the occasion.  We wanted to be there but glad for the photos reminding us of our journey together.  And as we all learn,  if we don't board the right train,  we never make it to the right destination!

Alice, Our Tiny Texan

I was all set to post these photos when I discovered that Google had completely changed the format telling me I now have the latest!  I had to jump thru all the hoops,  wrote what I thought was a great piece about Alice and went to add these photos but nothing happened.  I searched and searched for the remedy even added Google's new browser and gave up. Accidentally, I found another possibility and waded thru the process again and I got my photos!!! As you see!!  This is the first new posting and hope it works for you.  I have a lot to relearn!

I will never be able to reconstruct the article about our new tiny miracle in Austin, Texas but Ashley and Zack certainly must be extremely happy to hold and love this result of God's creative gift!  When we look into the eyes of our combined genetic influences,  we stand in awe at this miracle in our midst.  Such tiny fingers and toes and such loving smiles helps us understand what babies want from us. . .touch, warmth,
dry, food and above all our love!  Alice reminds us that we all started this way and it is now our responsibility to give back what we've all received.   And we're waiting for a photo of Zack changing
Alice's diaper!

Non-Conformist Texan

Blake, the blondie (right bottom) is the son of Holly (Freed) & Joe Pair in Corsicana, Texas. It would appear that Blake has a few Freed Non-Conformist genes. Great photo to remember how fun school was! Note the beautiful Texas Blue Bonnetts.