I love my dog, Walker.

We adopted our dog, Walker from Second Chance Animal Shelter in Norman, OK.
I spotted him one afternoon after work. I came to the shelter, decided NOT to tell my husband because I was "just looking".

Ha! That changed quickly when I did my rounds of all the adoptable dogs and fell in love.
It really was love at first sight. Walker was in a large cage with a blue heeler in the far corner of the property.

I'll never forget. I walked up to the cage and the blue heeler was hyper and jumping and barking for my attention. Walker simply walked up, sniffed my hand, and turned around and went back into his doggy house and went back to sleep.

I looked him square in the eye and said, "There you are. You're the one I'm taking home with me."

I knew it. I could tell his temperament would mesh well with my husband and I, since we are easy-going people. I ran back inside to the front desk and asked, "Can you tell me about that Coonhound out there?"

The employee said, "Oh Walker?? He's so sweet. We all love him so much. He was adopted here as a puppy and the owner severely neglected him, didn't feed him, and used him as a hunting dog. He was shot at and abused. She returned him here claiming that he didn't get along with her other dogs and that he had been a stray for several years. Of course we think she's lying because he gets along great with other dogs here. He's our favorite. He's been here a while and we all say we would cry if he ever got adopted."

Well, we adopted him that day, and yes, the employees cried and all told us wonderful stories about Walker. We kept his name because he's 6 and we didn't want to confuse him. Plus, we like it. "Walker... Texas Ranger" lol...

It's been three months and he has never had an accident in the house, he sleeps most of the day but is athletic and energized when I take him out for a walk/run. He has great endurance and always keeps up with me on runs. He loves to pretend he's a lap dog and climb up on me while I'm on the couch. He LOVES belly rubs and when I scratch his butt lol.

Walker loves to follow me around. I've never owned an animal who was completely attached to me so this is new for me and I can't complain. He's a loving, affection companion who wants to smell EVERYTHING lol... Whether I'm doing the laundry or cleaning the kitchen, he needs to put his nose into what I'm doing.

Thankfully, he's been a wonderful indoor dog. He doesn't lick, chew, destruct, or bark. And he definitely doesn't bite. He does make a great guard dog though because, the rare times he does bark (which is when it's really necessary), it's a deep and assertive bark. We love it.

Everywhere I go, people tell me "That is such a pretty dog" and I have to agree. His coloring is beautiful and his build and stature are almost regal.

Oh my Walker, bud. You've been a natural anti-depressant for me. I am seriously a happier person because of him. Thank you God, for making dogs. Especially my dog.

Double Indemnity

Okay, Eric and I watched Double Indemnity last night. EXCELLENT. 5 stars.

"Smooth-talking insurance salesman Walter Neff meets attractive Phyllis Dietrichson when he calls to renew her husband's automobile policy. The couple are immediately drawn to each other and an affair begins. They cook up a scheme to murder Mr. Dietrichson for life insurance money with a double indemnity clause. Unfortunately, all does not go to plan..." - Col Needham

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Billy Wilder (screenplay), Raymond Chandler
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson and more...

Academy Awards, USA 1945

Oscar
Best Picture
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Barbara Stanwyck
Best Director: Billy Wilder
Best Writing, Screenplay: Raymond Chandler, Billy Wilder
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White: John F. Seitz
Best Sound, Recording: Loren L. Ryder (Paramount SSD)
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Miklós Rózsa 

here is the original trailer:

 https://youtu.be/yKrrAa2o9Eg

xoxo, A Law Student's Wife

Keith Dale Wann

So I have a new addiction: Ancestry

I have been on Ancestry's site almost every day this week, putting together my family tree. I'll likely be sharing tid bits of what I discover here on my blog.

So here goes my favorite discovery:

My cousin, Keith Dale Wann

Keith Dale Wann (25 Jun 1922 - MIA, SSgt)

Keith was a US Army Air Force Pilot and Staff Seargent. He was 5'7" and 145 lbs. Almost exact size as my husband. Keith died at 23-years-old in combat in WWII, somewhere in Cambridge, England in 1945. He is apparently buried in England.

When Keith Dale Wann was born on June 25, 1922, in Brookings, Oregon, his father, Thomas, was 49 and his mother, Dora, was 37. He was the youngest of eleven.

While researching my cousin, I found a blog in which a veteran had shared a bit about him. Here is the link: http://memoircenter.com/veteran-bill-nabers-how-world-war-ii-saved-my-life/ 

"I joined Tuolumne VFW Post 4748 in 1970. It is the Keith Dale Wann Post, named after the first Tuolumne City resident to die in WWII. Keith Wann was shot down over England coming back from a raid. We received a letter from his sister a couple of years ago saying that she had traveled to England and found the place where he was buried."

Did you read that?! Yeah, my eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped. There is a post named after him in CA. They have a memorial for him and everything! It's Post 4748 in Tuolumne, CA.

What's so sad about his story is, not only did he die in combat at the ripe age of 23, he left behind his young wife, Gwendolyn "Goldie" and newborn daughter, Vicky. 

Keith Dale Wann and Gwendolyn "Goldie" Alexander, young love.

Here he is as a child, youngest of 11 children.

High school photo

Stud

I located this photo today. His daughter Vicky is on the left and his grandson is on the right. This was taken in 1999. I don't know who the woman is in the middle. I've yet to locate information about his daughter, although I believe she is still alive. All I know is that she was either just born or 1 yrs old when her father, Keith, died. 

I feel totally honored to be related to this guy. A hero. Wow. No words.

He was my great-grandma, Eva Mae's cousin. 

He would have been 94 this year. 

Ugh, my heart! 

I will be trying to discover more about him in the meantime. I will keep y'all posted. I've already contacted another distant relative about him and also the Post in CA that was named after him. 

In case you are curious, Here is their site:

http://vfwpost4748.org/

I would love to visit his Post one day!

xoxo, A Law Student's Wife

Is blood thicker than water?

"Blood is thicker than water"

This old saying has been used over and over to make a point about blood relatives being #1 in your life. 

I come from a Hispanic background where this is the main mantra. Family members would go so far as to cover up illegal or dangerous behavior for the sake of 'familia'. Stupid, right? Not to them. If you really believe that the unity of blood relatives should precede all others, why not lie for them, steal for them, compromise morals for them?

This is something many Americans deem to be true as well. How dare you cut your parents out or stop talking to your crazy uncle Joe for the protection of your own children? Family forever!

Now, before I get carried away, let me clarify. The Bible does uphold the nuclear family as being VERY important. We are to honor our father and mother and love our children and teach them to fear the Lord. We are to forsake all others, leave our father and mother, and cleave to our spouse. Husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church and wives should submit to husbands. There is bold instruction in regards to certain family dynamics. But there is NOWHERE in scripture, a command to be your blood brother's best friend or bend over backwards for your aunt and uncle in the name of "family". Nope.

What the Bible does say is that we are to love our neighbor. We are to love and keep peace between everyone so long as the ball is in our court. (Romans 12:18) We are also told to love and pray for our enemies. Almost all of us have a family member or two who appear to be an enemy... and therefore, we are called to love and pray for them. So there's that. We are not told to hate our blood relatives. They too are our neighbors. We are to love them!

BUT... Does the Bible uphold blood? Didn't Jesus come to abolish carnal importance? He did, indeed. Before Christ came, the carnal flesh was regarded as very important. Whether you were a Jew or Gentile mattered. Who you descended from mattered. But Christ came and died for us and then it was made clear that, "...there is no difference between Jew and Gentile for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him." (Romans 10:12)

Gill's commentary says,

"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.... Some reasons are here assigned, confirming the apostle's sense of the prophet's words, that everyone that believes in Christ shall be saved; for there is no distinction of nations, no superiority on account of carnal descent, or fleshly privileges, no preeminence on the score of the laws and ordinances of the former dispensation, all which are now abolished; nor is there any difference in their state God-ward, all being under sin, and without a righteousness, and all standing in need of the righteousness of Christ, and salvation by him; to which is added another reason."

Jesus tells us that truth will divide. He says we must be prepared for the inevitable division that will occur when family members are offended by his Truth AND we have to be willing to stick to Truth. We have to choose Him over family, always. Matthew 10:34-37 says,

 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

In fact, Jesus himself tells us who we are to regard as family.  Matthew 12: 46-50 says,

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

We are called to put our church family above extended relatives. The Bible is clear that just because someone is related to us by blood does not make them true family. Eric and I have learned this since moving away from all of our blood relatives. Though we love our blood relatives, we truly have gained family members out here. Our church is filled with those who, because they have love for the Lord, they love and care for us as their own. Blood is not upheld. It is irrelevant. We have brothers and sisters here in Oklahoma and all over the world, for that matter. The Church is our true family. We've been graciously adopted because of the blood of Jesus. That is the only blood that matters. His blood!

I found this excerpt from another blog... her name is Robyn Wilde and I honestly have no idea who she is but this was just too brilliant not to share:

"Everyone I know who protests the point I’m trying to make here is someone from a very close-knit family that understands the way God meant that social unit to operate. If that’s you, then praise God, because He has blessed you in ways that a lot of the world will never understand. I’m not here to rend asunder what God has put together.

But for everyone else— the ones who come from broken homes, the ones who could never confide in their father or brother, the ones who never knew their birth parents, the ones who are alienated from their families: you are not alone. God is “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows…[He] sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:5-6.) Before the world was created, He “predestined us to adoption as sons” (Ephesians 1:5,) and “loved [us] with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3.) God knows full well how broken human families are. But He is a perfect Father. And your adopted Brother? He took on mortal flesh just so that He could die to save you. He didn’t just pull some strings from on high, no, He walked willingly to the whip, and the thorns, and the nails, and the spear, and shed His blood to make you a part of His family so that you need never be alone again.

The blood of the covenant made in Christ is by far thicker than the water of the sinful human womb."

xoxo, A Law Student's Wife 

Psalm 73- When I need it most.

Psalm 73English Standard Version (ESV)

Book Three

God Is My Strength and Portion Forever

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 Truly God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
    my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
    violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find no fault in them.[a]
11 And they say, “How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
    and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
    and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their end.

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
    swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
    I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength[b] of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    that I may tell of all your works.

A Blessed Thanksgiving

Many who move away from their extended families experience the sorrow of holidays alone. They feel a loneliness when facing Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc, because they've got no family around to celebrate with.

Thanks be to God... this has not been the case with us. I don't mean that Eric and I are socialites... trust me, we're not. I mean that Okies are particularly friendly and hospitable. It's a stereotype for a reason.

Since moving here, every holiday, we've received several invitations to family celebrations. This Thanksgiving, in fact, it was hard for us to choose who to say 'yes' to and whose invitation to decline. Last year we spent Turkey day with several families from church, but this year we decided to spend it with a friend's family out in Calvin, OK.

Eric told me a few weeks ago that his friend, who had gone to law school with Eric last year but is now an attorney, invited us to his family's annual Thanksgiving get-together. We accepted with excitement because this friend of his, Ryan, had invited us to other family functions of his several times before but we'd already committed to spending other occasions with another family so we had to decline. We were excited to finally get to meet his family and spend a day with them.

We were told it would be out in the middle of nowhere-Oklahoma. It was about 2 hours south of Norman in a tiny town called Calvin. Calvin has a population of about 200 people and not one stop sign or stop light.

We were told there would be food and fun and to bring a change of clothes that we were comfortable getting dirty in. Ryan said, "Think... Deliverance" hahaha... If you get the reference, good job. Basically Ryan  prepared us to be fully baptized Okies.

We left around 10:30 am and drove through the beautiful fall foilage to get to our destination. We drove through many tiny towns, tucked away in the hills (Yes, it gets hilly south of us). It was a beautiful drive and we arrived in Calvin around 12:30.

Ryan told us to map quest the Crazy Horse Saloon, which is now called The Office Bar, and that his grandmother's house would be directly next door. When we arrived, we were laughing because the bar was in a tiny trailer. I mean TINY. The town itself was adorable. Very small as we suspected. We met up at Ryan's grandma's house and he took us over to his aunt's house down the road where the food and festivities would begin.

We met all of their relatives and began eating the delicious food. Lemme just insert... fried okra is life. Trust me. Thank me later.

Soon after, we got a tour of the farm which was in the family for many many years. It was originally a peanut farm and they also raised cattle. They still do, to my knowledge.

The farm was huge. Hundreds of acreage if I'd guess. Filled equal amounts of prairies and forests on hilly terrain.

We changed into our play clothes and went over to a corner of the farm where they'd often go shooting. We shot clay pigeons for a while (SO FUN). I got a couple but mostly sucked at it. Also, though I have some experience with guns, shot guns hurt my shoulder and wrist after a while haha. Eric, of course, killed it and hit almost every clay pigeon.

Soon after, we were invited to ride quads and follow a group on a ride around the property. The quads were big enough for two so Eric drove and I sat behind him. I was a "backseat driver" as they call them. It was Eric's first time operating that kind of vehicle, and since I grew up riding quads, I was arrogantly instructing him haha. I finally relaxed after about an hour ;)

They took us all around the property and we experienced almost every type of terrain there was. We climbed up and down big, rocky hills, through forests, across prairies, up to the highest point where we could see miles of Oklahoma. It was all breathtaking.

We saw a lot of wild life but aside from the doe that ran in front of us, we were ecstatic when we saw an armadillo. Sucker was FAST and hilarious to watch. We don't have those in CA so, of course, Eric was thrilled. He wouldn't stop talking about the armadillo.

 

When we got back from our long ride, it was quite cold. We headed back in the house and ate more food since it was dinner time. Time flies when you're having fun. The rest of the night consisted of laughing and talking with Ryan and his wife. They both gave us super helpful and encouraging insight on law school, post-law school, having a family, etc. It was especially wonderful for me to talk to someone who has been a law student's wife like me. She was so encouraging and it was comforting to feel validated in my fears, anxieties, and worries. It was cool to see how everything had worked out for them.

The night only ended because we were worried about Walker being home alone. Oh, have I mentioned Walker on my blog? I don't think so. Anyways, he's our coonhound.

In a nutshell, it was a perfect Thanksgiving. We may have another adopted family. They even invited us back for Christmas. We'll have to flip a coin since we have a few Christmas invitations as well. So blessed.

xoxo, A Law Student's Wife