The Big Rock

Monday Hannah was out of school and Hyrum decided to take the day off too. We decided to have a family adventure. Since we moved here, Hyrum has wanted to hike Enchanted Rock. It's basically a granite mound that rises from the land around it. It's pretty barren and really quite pretty in a rugged-sort-of-way.


We packed a picnic and headed off to the rock. The kids had no idea where we were going and Hyrum just kept telling them we were going to see a big rock. They were pretty excited to be on a family adventure. We started up the rock about 11 and boy oh boy was it windy. The sun was out and that was nice but the wind was a little chill and whipping around like crazy.


We made it up with Charlotte on Hyrum's back in the kid carrier and I encouraging and then at times pulling the other two kids from behind. It was a beautiful site from the top. We could the Texas mountains around us and various valleys all with neat rock outcroppings around. The top was pretty windy so we didn't stay long. We went around the back side and found a nice windbreak and had a snack. Charlotte was happy to get out of the pack for a while though we had to watch her so she didn't stray into an cacti.


We headed back over the top after a brief rest and then it got exciting. The wind was now headed against us and Hyrum estimated maybe 45-50 miles an hour. Hannah and Jonathan were pretty scared. At one point they were clinging to me in tears because they were afraid they would be blown away. We assured them they were fine and I would hold on to them. After a few steps down the rock the wind eased up and they relaxed a little. Going down was way harder than going up.

We walk through Echo Canyon and then around Enchanted Rock back to our car. We got back to the car around 1:40. The kids were tired and hungry but they did a great job. Hannah and Jonathan walked the whole time. Charlotte finally figured how to sleep in the carrier just as we got within site of the parking lots. We ate our lunch, ran around for a few minutes and then jumped back in the car to head home. We were tired, sore and sunburned but it was a good family adventure. We were so proud of Hannah and Jonathan. They are great adventurers and we're glad we can share things like that together.

Boy, oh boy!

I just realized that we hadn't told everyone that we are having a boy. We found out in early December that Baby #4 is a boy. We are all excited but maybe none so much as Jonathan. He is eager to have a little brother to play with. In some it is unfortunate it will take a little while before they can really play together. There are times it makes my head spin : )


We are doing well and just looking forward for things to come. There is a lot of work to be done before our little guy gets here so we are keeping busy. I feel good that I already have almost 20 boxes packed and ready to go. I only have about a million to go, or at least that is how it feels.

We enjoyed a great Christmas break with Hyrum's family and are glad to be home and going after a bit of relaxation. We hope you all had a great holiday season as well.

Christmas is in the Air

I can feel it in my bone, see it everywhere I look, and smell it in my kitchen. I love the scents of cinnamon, sugar, chocolate, peppermint and whatever else happens to be around. Right now, we're enjoying the scent of pecan pie muffins. So tasty. Later I have some sugar cookie dough I need to bake.

I love this time of year with it's happy busyness and my bouts of creativity. Most of all I love it because of the general feeling of goodwill I feel everywhere I go. I love that because it really communicates why we celebrate Christmas and this time of year. It's all because a babe was born over 200 years ago. That baby is the Son of God. I know that is true.

We believe in Christ and we believe in Christmas. These videos are amazing portrayals of the happenings of the New Testament starting with the birth of the Savior. I hope you take a moment to check them out. Enjoy and I wish you a Merry Christmas!

One Step Ahead . . .

Lately that has been my goal, just try and stay one step ahead. Mostly it has worked, though as you may have noticed our blog has suffered. The last few weeks have been busy. We've had lots of doctor appointments, three birthdays over the past three months, work, school, and just all of the changes that Hannah starting school has brought. It really has taken an adjustment.

My day doesn't really get started until about 10 am, though I'm up at 5:30. I get up and do some scripture study and then Hannah gets up at 5:50. The other two kids follow her pretty quickly and then it's hurry and get ready. I get her on the bus and the other two kids and I go for a walk. I walk about 5 miles while Jonathan runs around with his friends, Ben and William. We get home between 8:30 and 9 and then by the time I shower and feel ready to go out if need be it's usually 10. It means my days go by really fast when lunch gets here and then naps and then the bus and then dinner and bedtime.

I find I'm not getting as much done as usual but I still feel really good about things. The kids are happy and learning a lot as we work on things at home. Charlotte is so happy and easy going. It's hard to believe my baby is 1. It's even harder to believe that in April #4 will be joining us. Life is fun and crazy all at once.


I have lot's of sewing to do between now and Christmas and then packing and planning and preparing for all the changes that April and May will bring with a new baby and graduation. I have a feeling these next 6 months are going to fly.


Hannah is doing great at school. Her reading has made amazing strides the last few weeks. She now tries to read just about anything she sees. It is so exciting. Jonathan is just loving being the man of the house. It kind of cramps his style when Hannah is home from school. He is a great kid and makes us laugh a lot. Charlotte is super sweet. She is an explorer and adventurous but will give anyone a hug that will give her one. She loves to laugh and the other day tried to run after Jonathan. I don't know if I'm ready for another climber though.


What blessings the Lord has given us. I am so thankful for our family and friends. I promise, you are all on our thoughts and in our hearts.

What I've been working on

[Caution: this is something of a technical post.  Feel free to ignore it if wish.]

For the last several years I've been working on the development of Apache Subversion, a version control system tool primarily intended for use in developing software.  While it isn't the only such system out there, Subversion manages to strike a balance between power and usability which works for many people, even those working on non-software projects.  I use it personally to manage source code, financial data, my personal journal and lots of other content.

Subversion also has the nice property of being open source software, meaning that anybody can look at and edit the source code.  In fact, that's how I first got involved in the project, as I started fixing bugs which concerned me a few years ago.  Since then, I've spent the past few year doing consulting or working for companies which provide Subversion services and products.  It's given me a lot of freedom to do interesting stuff, while continuing to pursue my PhD and other activities.

My primary Subversion-related work over the past couple of years has been working on the next release: Subversion 1.7.  It's been a long road, but I'm happy to announce that we've finally gotten there: Apache Subversion 1.7.0 was released earlier this week.  I'm sure there will be further improvements in the next few weeks as we find and fix bugs, but this is a big milestone for the project, and elicits a certain sense of professional and personal accomplishment.

So if you're into this kind of thing, feel free to download the new Subversion, give it a spin, and let me know what you think.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.