Christmas 2014

Jude #2

My wonderful son Jude turned 2 years old on December 18! I am so proud to be this boy's father. Over the last 2 years I watched him fight, struggle to grow and learn. From the second he was born he seemed like he was constrained by his age was just bursting with thoughts, ideas and things to say. He is a lover of life. I love to watch him explore and discover the world around him. He really does it all with a smile. Like any boy he likes to roughhouse but he also lets his tender side show thru and love to kiss and snuggle. Just like Bethany takes after me, Jude closely resembles his mama. They are independent, strong, smart, selfless people. What a pleasure it is to be loved by Jude, those of you who are knows what I'm taking about. My blessing for Jude in the upcoming season of growing and discovering in his like is that he continues to be fearless and his heart be just as tender as his love for his family. May the God of Doug and Carole, Brian and Estelle, Brad and Cindy and other family members who make up the long history of faith that we are passing on to Jude richly bless is health and life this next year and throughout his entire life. Your Dada loves and adores you Jude Bradley. 

Tday and notes

PAt the moment I am held up in Bethany and Jude's room as Empire flooring is putting in new flooring in our house. Why? It's a long story but the short version is that a hose popped off of our dishwasher and water leaked under the flooring and warped the floor. Not good. That's to our good neighbor State Farm and credit from Wells Fargo we are getting brand-new floorings! Yep, kind of exciting. As I watch Bethany watch iPhone movies (big surprise) and jude chase Hundley around the room trying to feed him French fries I have a minute to stop moving for one second and write. I usually get a few minutes a day on my IPad (witch I do my blog writing on) to look around and a little longer in my iPhone but when I use them I usually use them to wind down or let my brain mindlessly play Madden football or check Twitter and my bank accounts. Not to mention my schedule which is always packed. So I'll back up to November and talk about my favorite day of the year...Thanksgiving. This year, with Cindys new job, she is given off the entire Tday week so she and the kids took advantage of it and headed up to Brenham to get some time away from home and enjoy life down on the Hall farm. They headed up Monday and I stayed home and worked and deep cleaned the house. The 3 days leading up to Tday Is always busy at Whole Foods and stressful but a little fun at the same time. I was blessed to get Tday and that Friday after off so after my shift on Wednesday around 11:30pm I gassed up the stinky car (Bethany nicked named it that) and drove the 200 miles to Mimi and Pappys house. It's such a nice, easy drive and a relaxing way to start Thanksgiving day. I got in around 4am and quickly went to bed and woke up around 8-9 to open presents! we started a tradition a couple of years ago that we would combine Christmas and Tday together on Tday to form a super Holiday that scholars had dubbed "Thanksmas". It's pretty much a perfect day of fun,fun and gifts. For presents this year here are some highlights. Bethany got a iPad, Jude got some outside toys, Cindy

 Got some essential oil stuff and we got a new 60 inch Tv for the family. It's incredible.  After the gift giving was complete we started getting ready for the main event, the Turkey. I was blessed to get to cook with my mom just and help out with the bird and stuffing.  It's some of my happiest times cooking with Mom and being in the kitchen where so much love, passion and good things are being created. We all cooked, watched tv and visited while the bird was roasting to a  golden brown perfection and we all sat down to give thanks and eat around 2pm. After a wonderful meal (I'm convinced Thanksgiving is on main reason that's wanted to be a Chef) we watched some football and made plans for shopping and movies. This year I stayed away from Black Friday shopping and went to the movies with Caleb and Dad while my mom lead an expedition to get some deals. We saw the movie "interstellar" it was really thought provoking and interesting. We got back and heated us up a plate of leftovers and relaxed. All the kids had an amazing day as well. They didn't stop all day and enjoyed there toys inside and out. They ran themselves into the ground but they had a blast. We came back home Friday after lunch and Cindy and the kids settled into the weekend before we started back our daily routine on Monday. 

Speaking of routines, I had talked about this in a past post about our new daily routine that involved Cindy and I working and the kids going to school a couple hours 3 times a day. We knew that this would be a challenge but for the last 6 months it has worked out ok. The only drain on all of us and our wallets (besides the daily grind) is the expense of the daycare and the fact that the kids have to attend. The monthly amount takes up most of my paycheck. We are now in a retooling time to see if there are other options for us. We new this was a fluid plan and would change. So as we enter the later part of the year we look back and see what a awesome, blessed year it has been and I am looking forward to seeing my family grow as we attempt to be servants of God as Cindy and I but our kids top priority in our lives.  

I'll write soon and talk about Jude's upcoming Bday, Bethany's adventures and Cindy's first year of schoolas well as Xmas and new year. Stay tuned.  

love, Brad 

Rock-tober

Before I get into the goings-on of October lets take a look back at that magical month that was September.

Two of the most notable things that happened in September were Bethany's Birthday and Cindy's first full month of being a school teacher for Coble Middle school.

1st, we celebrated Bethany's 4th Birthday and we were all blessed to have all grandparents come down to wish a happy Bday as well as Sarah and Jeremy and Holly & Aaron and kids. A couple of months before the big day we talked to Bethany about what she might want to have for a present when the time came around we discussed getting her a puppy. I researched different puppies and I was blessed to have grown up in part with a dachshund and knew that would be a good breed to be Bethany's first doggie. I found a breeder north of DFW and we loaded up the van (with Nana and Grandad) to go visit. The second Bethany layed eyes on her new pup it was love. The redish-brown pup was 4 moths old and very sweet due in-part to the fact that her mother died at her birth and our new pup was bottle feed and raised up by humans. Bethany named her Hundley Tuffy Hall. 'Hundley' after Curious Geroge's best winer dog friend in the cartoon, 'Tuffy' after Cindy's grandparent dog who made quiet an impression on Bethany and of course 'Hall' because she was adopted into our family. So far Hundley and Bethany are inseparable and have become best friends. The pup has fit into our family very well and we are blessed to have her...Even Waffles likes her (Then again Waffles has eaten his own poop before so I guess he is not a very good judge of taste)!

2nd, Cindy has had a full month of teaching under her belt.  She has been a real trooper but I know that its has been a real challenging and hard month for her. She has had to deal with getting to know the school system, coming up with lesson plans, dealing with unruly student punks (there...I said it, sue me!) and all-day Saturday training sessions. I am always amazed by my wife and often I am reminded of how determined and hard working she is. She is amazing at being a teacher as well. In the short time she has been there she has already been singled out as a leader and has had to take the led in situations. She is, simply amazing.

As for October, well, this starts my 3 favorite months of the year, The air a little cooler, the whole earth seems to mellow out a little and we take these months to celebrate with the ones we love. Its what we have been working on for 9 months people...ENJOY!

6 years @ Whole Foods

Today, August 25th, I am proud to say that I have been employed by Whole Foods Market for 6 years. I spent over 11,000 hours on the clock. The longest in have ever work for a company. Those of you who know me know that Cindy and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, I started Whole Foods only a couple of months after we said 'I Do'. It has truly been a blessing to me and I am proud to continue to work there. Just for fun.... Here is a run down of the last 6 years at Whole Foods. 

1st day: Aug 25,2008

Prep Foods Department / 

Lakewood, CO (Belmar)

8/25/2008 - 11/16/2008

Production cook / Production Chef

11/17/2008 - 10/3/2011

Sous Chef

10/4/2011 - 6/15/2012

Floor supervisor

6/16/2012 - 8/6/2012

Back up specialist

8/6/2012 - 7/14/2013

Prep Foods/ Bakery/Speciality Depts 

Glendale, CO (Colorado Blvd)

Associate Team Leader

SW Region ------ move to Texas

7/15/2013 - 12/01/2013  

DFW Metro Associate Team Leader PREP FOODS department / 

Arlington, TX (Parkway) 

12/01/2013 - 07/07/2014

Meat Team - Team Member         

BBQ Department   

Arlington, TX (Parkway) 

07/08/2014-current

Meat Team - Team Member     

BBQ Department  

Colleyville, TX (Colleyville)

Our new/old normal

1st of all I turned 38 years old July 29th, so that happened. Bethany and Jude were really cute and they keep on loving on me and wishing me a happy birthday.  Bethany had a better time with it then I did I think. 

We are just finishing Summer here and I for one am glad to see it go. It's been a summer with a lot of question marks. First, Cindy's employment ended at the beginning of the summer. Her wonderful para position was over and in order for our master 'plan' to work out Cindy needed to find a full time teacher job for next semester (or as soon as the right one came around). Cindy worked hard getting her teaching license transferred over to Texas and she has been feeling the itch to get back behind a desk. 

The summer started out a little slow, Cindy had a few job opportunities but nothing really panned out until..... 6 DAYS UNTIL THE START OF THE SEMESTER! This excellerated all of our plans and forced us to get all of our planning enacted very quickly. 

1st, Cindy's new job (Coble Middle school) is looking like a a wonderful fit for Cindy! She has completed her first week, the meeting/planning week. The first bridge that we had to cross is the timing. Cindy's school gets out at 4:30 and I have to be at work at Whole Foods in Colleyville (40 mins away) at 3/4 pm. Makes this a impossible task for us both to be employees full time. So something had to change. Cindy's job makes more sweet moola than mine so we considered me going part time or even finding another job... But my insurance and benifits are too great here so we tried

to find another option. One option that we really never wanted to consider is to but the kids in daycare to cover the 2/3 hours of job overlap. We hated the thought but in order for us to have a decent amount of money flowing in and keep our great benefits we had to look into it. Cindy found the Children's courtyard in Mansfield. It was a little expensive but would be a safe environment for my babies. So, with that all being said in order for the daycare to take place we had to get another Car. We, with the guidance of Pappy, found and purchased a brand-new Dodge grand Caravan within about 3 hours time. AWESOME!! With one day to spare we got everything ready for D-Day, Cindy's 1st day of school

So here's were we are at...

Monday - Friday Cindy works at school 8:30-4:30, I watch the kids at home. I take the kids to daycare around 3pm and go to Cindys school to switch cars (so Cindy has the car seats). I then go to work. At 4:30 Cindy goes to day care to pick up the kids, takes them home and take care of them through the evening. I get home around 11:30 and hit the hay. Then we get up and do it all over again!! Crazy but it works. I feel blessed that my boss lets me have 2 days  off during the week so the kids only have to go to daycare 3 times a week. The kids after 1 week of daycare are staring to get use to it. Bethany is liking it more than Jude but it's getting better.

We are making it a point to go to church every week and have mama/dad time as well so please don't feel sorry for us,  we are blessed beyond measure!! GOD IS GOOD!!!

So how did I find time to write this blog you ask...  I'm on my lunch break, time to go make some more BBQ!  

Whole Foods Market Colleyville

15 days & 106 hours later I enjoyed my first day off from my new store yestarday. I really didn't know what to expect but it was a lot of insanity. Even though I know my job and what to do I had to get use to the new set up and try to fine a new everyday 'normal' on how things flow. To further increase the crazy we had all the leaders and big wigs (with us small wigs) giving their 2 cents on how things should be. I guess I did good I only lost it twice but I guess that is good for the continual pressure undo and do coming down on us. I also had to train a new team member who was a space cadet and ended up quitting after week 1. On the positive side we have a great crew and I like my team. This is the first time that I am working on a team that has more Christians than not. How cool is that. And we have all kinds of brand new equipment to break in. All in all I'm excited about the new store and I might just have found my niche at Whole Foods!!! I like being a BBQ man!! 

1 year

It has been 1 year this past weekend since I left my family in Colorado for 2 weeks and started work and getting set up in Texas. We have gone thru a lot of growing pains over the last year but what a wonderful adventure it has been and with the help of family we have set up a wonderful life here. We are still adjusting but I'm so proud of the past year and what we have accomplished. Now I think I need a vacation!!!!! 

6

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the beginning of my life. I'm not going to publicly say much in this blog about it because some things are ment just for her ears but I will say a few. I have never meet such a more beautiful person both inside and out. Cindy is my everything, truly my best friend. She has given me not only two wonderful kids but also let's me be myself, and that's all. She doesn't love me for who I strive to be she loves me where I'm at now. And if that isn't the purest form of God-like Love I don't know what is. Happy 6th! 

Sick

We'll, the sickness bug has entered the Hall house. This started with Cindy about a week ago and we are lucky all on the road to recovery now hopefully. Cindy has some throat pain and was unsure what it might be. She was in considerable pain and had a hard time swallowing. A few days later, Bethany came down with a low-grade fever. This lasted only one day. Two days after that Jude came down with a low-grade fever that lasted only one day. Cindy finally got a doctors apt and found out that she had strep throat. Cindy took the kids in the next day to be tested for strep throat. Luckily both of the tests turned out negative but they did have a virus.... Foot, mouth & hand disease. The doctor explained that this was a mild disease in nothing to worry about. Jude got it worse than Bethany and developed rashes all over his body. They both seem to be doing a lot better and I think we've been through the worst of it. O and me..... Well nothing yet but that remains to be seen. Keep your fingers crossed. 

Rangers vs Rockies

A couple of weeks ago we were excited to get to go out as a family to the Rangers ballpark to see a game. We were especially excited that the Rockies were going to be in town and also that this was going to be Jude's first baseball game. To start out the day we were a little worried because of the huge amount of rain storms in the area. We were blessed though that the clouds parted and the sun came out a hour before the game started. Bethany had chosen the cuisine far in advance and we all ate at the kids favorite restaurant Taco Buneo before the game. 

Then we arrived at the stadium and did some souvenir shopping. Bethany picked a stuffed dog, Jude picked a baseball and Cindy and I got some Rangers hats (sorry Rockies). We had seat in the outfield and besides one other man we were the only ones in our section which was good for our crazy kids. 

 The kids woofed down some bluebell ice cream and Cotton candy. 

The kids really enjoyed the game and Cindy and I had to take turns letting them roam the stadium a little. The Rangers won the game and we had a wonderful family day at the ballpark! 

Jude-isms

Like his big sister before him, Jude has cleverly come up with his own words and some words that sound similar to our English lingo. Here is list with definition of some of Jude's words. 

Ssss-eows : this is the word Jude Bradley use for SHOES. He adores shoes and loves to take them on and off. He especially loves his green crocs, probably because sister has crocs.  

E-aah : Cindy discovered that this is Jude's word for PLEASE. He has discovered that when he says please he will get stuff (mostly food) so this is his favorite word. 

Ha-hooo : this is the phrase "THANK YOU".  He really doesn't say and words or really any letters when he thanks us he just uses the intonation in his voice. 

A waunt it / A waunt thaat : this one is pretty easy to decifer. He usually says this when he wants.... You guessed it, food. 

Open it : this one can be for food or anything he wants taken out to play with. 

Pea-pea : this is a term for solid or liquid waste. 

Baaaaa: nope, not a sheep but a plea to take a BATH. He also throws a fit if his bath does not come in a timely manner. 

Jude is really growing up since we have moved to Texas. He has learned to walk, talk a little, doubled in size and plays with friends and sister. He is also fearless and will go down a big playground slide by himself. He loves to wrestle and he has a hardy, cute laugh. 

Ballet Queen

Bethany was born with an artists heart. She has shown passion for dance, music, cooking and creating beauty in this world. Cindy and I have been wanting to for a while now to find the right opportunity to get Bethany involved in a ballet class to help fuel her passion and to give her a chance to have some fun! After we moved to Mansfield we were blessed to find out the there is a Christian dance academy less than 5 mins from our house! We checked it out and found a pre-ballet and tap dance class for her age group that meets on Mondays. We went and got her some tap shoes and dance gear and got ready for class. The first class was a little rough. Bethany has the same disorder that I had as a kid witch is being painfully shy. She ended up not going to class but waiting in the lobby. We spent the next week talking to and encourageing Bethany to give dance class a shot. The next Monday came around. With all of the courage that she could gather up Bethany walked into the the dance studio and cut a rug!!! The first thing that she did when she got out was hug us both and say "I had SO MUCH FUN!" I am especially proud of Bethany because I know personally how hard it is just to take that first step. I couldn't be prouder for her and Bethany is now one of my heroes for overcoming fears.  I love that my sweet daughter is a artist and and takes after her Father (o, and Bethany decided that she is going to call me 'Father' now.)

February 2014

This month was great for the Hall family because it found us getting into a nice solid groove when it comes to schedules. I think we as a family were craving some structure and routine and we are getting some. Structure & routine don't have to be a bad word, I think that they actually breed a atmosphere of spontaneity and open things up to enjoy the everyday parts of life, because if you can't enjoy the daily 'Grind' and schedules well then your screwed and will be miserable. 

Both Bethany and Jude are doing great!! 

Jude is becoming a lot more vocal and seems frustrated that he can say what he wants to express himself. He is still the same sweet boy and quickly moved into toddlerville. He loves to giggle and he follows sister around like she is the coolest thing in the world (She is!)

Bethany is excited because she starts Pre-Ballet and tap lessons this next week. We found another reason that Go

d brought us to Mansfield in that we have a CHRISTIAN Ballet school less than one mile away from from our house. Man,  sometimes God doesn't move in mysterious ways, sometimes he just slaps you in the face with his blessings - Chuck Noris style. I love a good blessings slap!!! 

Bring on March!!!!!!

May God bless everyone with some slaps of blessings this next month.... O and welcome Kelsay to the family, I'm glad she got her mamas looks 😉

10,000

Last night as I worked smoking some of the finest BBQ in the DFW area in reached a milestone in my career at Whole Foods. I passed 10,000 hours of service. This brings with it some extra perks and benefits but also it is a great time to stop and thank God for giving me this Gift of my job at Whole Foods Market. I have meet some incrediable people in the last 5+ years and have grown so much in the culinary industry. I have been so blessed to be a Whole foods Team member for 10,000 hours and look forward tonight to hour 10,001. 

The Dallas Zoo

For Christmas, Sarah and the Yates family family got me and my herd year long passes to the Dallas Zoo! Well, after a 8 straight days of BBQ'n since Christmas I finally got a day off and we decided to head on down to the Zoo and enjoy the day. The Zoo is only about 35 miles from our house so it was a easy trip. After tanking up on some breakfast burritos we made thee by around 10:30 am. The weather was absolutely beautiful, a little nippy and clear sky all around. We had been to the Denver Zoo multiple times for Bethany's Bdays. This was Jude's first time experiencing a lot of these animals.

With the small nip in the air, this kept most Texans indoors with the heater on. We had the Zoo pretty much to ourselves for most the day. 

We started with the monkeys and the gators. We then went to the African Safari area. It was like walking on to a movie set in Africa. The coolest part was a ledge that the Gariffs would come up to you and you would be face to face with them. Bethany and I got to touch them and pet them. It was a unique experience. It's not everyday you get to pet a creature like that. We then had a fun picnic and then looked at a bunch of different birds. We also watched a bird show that had a parriot that could sing old McDonald. 

What a fun, enjoyable day. I couldn't help but think of Gods sence of humor as I looked at a ant-eater nervously pace back and forth with his strange body and wirey hair. They have to be the strangest creatures on the planet. 

2013-2014

Well, another wonderful, family fuled Holiday season is officially over. We were blessed to get to spend time with most members of our inner circles of families and THIS is one of the main reasons we moved to Texas. We were blessed that Nana & Grandad came down to celebrate Christmas with us here in Texas. Bethany and Jude have really missed them since we left Colorado. Being in Colorado gave Bethany and Jude a advantage of having them kind of to themselves and developing a strong bond that will I'm sure last a lifetime. 

One of my favorite Holiday has always been New Year's Eve. I love to idea of new beginnings and starting fresh. This year I had to work until 9pm. It was extremely busy at work and this was the last "official" day of the Holidays so after the last 2 months of being really hectic at work I think everyone at Whole Foods is worn pretty thin. I know that is another reason that I love the new year is that everything start back with routines again. 

After I got home from work Bethany, Cindy & I watched the New Year's Eve shows on the TV and  I had picked up some Sparkling wine and some 'Kid' Champagne for Bethany. We started a fire because it was 41 outside. We snuggled on the couch and Cindy popped some corn. We counted down from 10 and gave lots of kisses. Soon after we stared watching a movie that I watch every New Year's Eve, it's a classic..... Dumb & Dumber. I adore this movie, I will never forget the first time I saw it back in 1997 in the movie theater in Abilene, Texas. So funny. Bethany lasted about 20 minutes then feel asleep. Cindy and I finished the movie and then Cindy went off to bed and I continued to party into the night. 

Happy New Year!