How cool is this?

I got a birthday email from my birth father yesterday! I don't know if this is tacit acceptance on his part that I am truly his son, but honestly, I don't think I care much. It's just cool to know that he's out there and thinking about me on (near) my birthday. Very neat.

OMG....it happened

Well, whaddya know? Yesterday I posted about possibly getting to meet (or at least hear from) my birth father.

Today, it happened. I got an email from him this afternoon.

I'll post more later about this. For now, I have some thinking to do in terms of how I want to respond to his email. This is amazing.

- Mark

Birth father that much closer now....

Sharon (my birth mother) called the other day to let me know that she has actually gotten to talk with Gary (birth dad) recently!

So much runs through my head now, knowing that the possibility of meeting Gary may be right around the corner.

1. I can't begin to imagine the courage that Sharon had in contacting Gary and letting him know of my existence. This is what mothers do though...they love, and Sharon undoubtedly loves me.
2. I can't imagine being Gary and receiving word that he has a 40 year old son less than a day's drive away. I hope the news hasn't had any negative impact. (He's in Oklahoma City, btw).
   
3. The shoe is on the other foot now. Six years ago, it was Sharon who wanted to contact me, and I was the one wondering why. What did she want? Did I really want to let this person into my life? How will this affect my family? Now, this opportunity to contact me (or not) has been presented to Gary, and he has to consider many of the same questions, and probably more.
   
4. I'm thankful that my life situation is such that wanting to meet Gary isn't a real need. With a great family, a nice house, decent job, etc...., I can approach this as just genuine interest in meeting - and hopefully getting to know - my biological father.

Who knows what will become of this? For now, I just wait. If nothing happens, nothing happens. If something does, something does. Either way, it's still comforting knowing that Gary has the chance to contact me if he wants to.

- Mark

Merry Christmas, all

No illustrious blog post here today, aside from to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

- Mark

Crazy kids with guitars

New toy time!

Yesterday I bought the family a new Squier Stratocaster guitar. No, nobody in the family knows how to play it, but that's okay. It should be fun to learn.

The kids are already having a good time. Here they are with my Seagull S6 and the Strat.

I know you're out there somewhere....

My birth mother called yesterday to let me know that she is another step closer to tracking down my birth father. He's supposedly somewhere in California, and Sharon (birth mom) has found his niece, who would of course be my half-cousin. She should be able to put Sharon in contact with him.

This is a five year story that may be coming to a peak by Christmas time. I always thought I would be just fine if this never happened, but now as it gets closer, the idea of finally meeting my birth father has me really excited. We'll see what happens.

- Mark

Little Darcy hitting the trails now!

Not one to be outdone for long by big sister, Darcy Leah has moved from her little-girl bike over to Kiara's old 20" mountain bike and is already on the trails. After first starting on a local neighborhood trail, Darcy has already done a few of the easier trails at Walnut Creek Park and is gaining more and more confidence with each outing. She is definitely Kiara's sister, because already after just a few trips she is already demanding to be the leader, even though her tiny little legs propel her along so much more slowly than the rest of us. She is confidently doing some of the easier downhills now and has even taken a few falls that would probably bring tears to the typical five year old. She has some guts though and so far refuses to cry.

Will post some pics later.

Kiara at Madrone Trail; Canyon Lake, Tx.

Here's just a quick pic of Kiara from our biking outing at Madrone Trail. Madrone is a nice trail alongside Canyon Lake near New Braunfels, Tx. We did about half of the eight mile trail before bailing out and hitting the lake for a swim. Her skills continue to improve with every outing. She pulled off almost all of the tough downhills, and her climbing is definitely getting better. Most importantly, we had a great time together on the trail, in the lake, and touring around Gruene befor heading home for a nice 4th of July with Cindi and Darcy. A great day all around. 

Hiking with DarDar

I took Darcy to the Goodwater Trail at Lake Georgetown yesterday. Here are a few pics of Daddy and DarDar out on the trail on what was a beautiful day at a beautiful location.

Cruising on "Red Beauty"

Kiara at Lake Georgetown, through the endless rock

Mountain biking with Kiara

Kiara at Lake Georgetown trail. Here she is with "Red Beauty" (her 24" Specialized Hot Rock) and "Eddie" (my Yeti 575). 

Stupid dog, funny kids

This evening, our silly kids come running downstairs, giggling the whole way but not letting us know what's so funny. Moments later, look who comes stumblinginto the kitchen; our stupid dog, Nickel. According to Kiara (our oldest), the girls were worried about Nickel getting too cold in tonight's near-freezing weather, even though she's an inside dog. So, Kiara had Darcy lock her into Nickel's crate where Kiara could then put Darcy's shirt onto the dog. Goofy dog could hardly even walk, since the sleeves were pulled down too far over her front feet.

One moment, Cindi and I are hollering at the kids to get ready for bed; next moment, they do this. Priceless.

Happy Birthday, Darcy!

Five years ago today our beautiful little Darcy was born.

Happy Birthday, Darcy!!

Miss you, Toby

Dunno why, but I've been thinking of my dear Toby a lot lately. Maybe it's because our new dog, Nickel, is such a pain in the rear.

I love you, Toby.

- Daddy

Thinking of my Georgia family

My heart continues to ache for my family after the sudden loss of my nephew on August 10. I was in Georgia from August 12-16 trying to help out, and I believe that I did some good. Now, however, my birth mother Sharon Duble and her husband Allen Duble are home alone on Lookout Mountain, and I just know that times will be hard for them for a while longer. Thankfully, the Lookout Mountain Duble contingent is very large and very strong, and their local community support system will take very good care of them. Still, I don't like knowing that my family is hurting with me so far out of reach.