wedding bells - ding, ding, ding!

Yeah! James and Karen got hitched this past weekend. Congratulations newlyweds!! The wedding was beautiful, and James and Karen kept their smiles on the whole night!


Yvonne and I took the opportunity to drive around Dallas and look at potential neighborhoods. We were sad to see that most of the neighborhoods that we wanted to live in were either unsafe or out of our price range. But we're still keeping it all in prayer...that God will lead us to our new home.

Today, I had jury duty. What an experience. First off, there's no public parking in the area, only meters that have a 2 hour time limit. I saw tons of tickets so decided to park in a garage 2 blocks down ($11). Wait another 30min for them to call us in. All the lawyers and the defendent are staring at us as we walk in. I'm in the back row, in the corner. We find out it's a murder case. (whispers in the room) Judge speaks, prosecution speaks on the laws pertinent to the case. People now get confused and start asking about hypotheticals. Took a break. Prosecution continues. The DA did a good job in bringing it back, and told us what was important. Another break. Defense attorney took about 10 min asking us if we could be fair despite our biases. Reminded us of the fact that the defendent is innocent and the state had the burden of proof. They deliberated to see which jurors were going to be chosen. I was 61. Yvonne told me that I was not likely to be chosen. She was right, they chose people mainly from the first and second row. Relieved and disappointed. I was reliving my days in Mock Trial in high school. My sister-in-law incidentally is in law school and is interning for the NYC DA's office prosecuting juveniles. That's tough. Glad I didn't become a criminal lawyer. So 5 hours and earning $6 later. I get to go back to work having served the US Justice system.