New York City

- Post by Adina  Murphy, Office Representative

One of my favorite pastimes is hanging out with my Uncle. We have fun no matter what we are doing, but our best time is spent going on trips. I am originally from New York, so when we decided to take a trip back up there I wasn’t expecting much. Now looking back, I have to say you never really see or experience the surroundings your city has to offer until you move away and go back for a visit. I had been to New York City countless times, but never as a tourist. This trip opened my eyes to a whole new world. The most exciting thing I saw was a very old church in Manhattan with a history worth sharing.

St. Paul’s Chapel, completed in 1766, is the oldest surviving public building in Manhattan. During the Revolutionary War, Alexander Hamilton held drill practice in the chapel’s yard with his militia unit. It survived the Great New York City Fire of 1776 when the British captured the city during the war. George Washington worshipped there on the day of his inauguration in 1789. On September 11, 2001, the chapel kept its doors open and took in the firefighters to give them a place to rest, eat, and pray. They still have the actual bench on display where the fireman rested. As much as I wanted to capture all the history, they don’t allow pictures to be taken inside the chapel.

 

Another fun site we visited in Manhattan was The Port Authority Bus Terminal. The terminal was created as a result of the growing bi-state region of New York and New Jersey. It consolidated the bus routes and takes you around New York and into New Jersey. One thing that particularly caught my attention was a statue in front of the building of Ralph Kramden. For those of you who ever watched the TV show “The Honeymooners,” you know who I am talking about and will appreciate this.

New York was a wonderful place to spend my vacation after all. If you are ever out that way, make sure to stop by these landmarks and don’t forget your slice of pizza!

Family

- Post by Bryan Bynum, Tool and Firearm Expert

Once you’ve settled into your career and the “real world,” it’s hard to think that life can get any better. You’re on your own, living life to the fullest, and making your own rules, but then you get to a point where you feel like there is something missing. At first, you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know the void is there. This was how I felt until I met my beautiful wife Tiffany.

All of that free time I spent doing what I wanted like fishing, hunting, and wrenching, suddenly became a thing of the past. After we met, all I could think about was the next time I would see her and get to be by her side. The rest they say is history. We fell in love, I proposed, and rushed to get married as soon as I could. (I didn’t want anyone else to steal her away.)

 

It didn’t take long before we wanted a child to share all of this love with and on June 11^th, 2007 our son, Cody, was born. He was a little miracle from God and a blessing to the whole family. Cody is the kind of kid that loves to light up the room, whether he is singing, dancing, or just giving you a wet Willie! Being his father has made me a better man and I love that kid more than life itself.

 

The funny thing is now I get to go fishing, hunting, and work on the hot rod wrenching again. Except this time around, I have two little extra hands to help me and share the fun with. I could not imagine waking up without either of them to greet me or a cute little “I wuv you Daddy.”

 As you can see, family is the most important thing to me in the world. We have another little one on the way who is expected to arrive ANY day now. It is hard to imagine I have any more love to share but with each addition to my family my heart just continues to grow.

Hands Down Family Camp

- Post by Megan Webb, Marketing

Every year Scottish Rite Hospital hosts a Hand Camp and this year I was given the opportunity to volunteer as a counselor. Now, this isn’t just any old camp, it is the most amazing camp in the entire world. Hand Camp is a camp for children, ages 4-9, with upper limb differences and their immediate family members. An upper limb difference can be congenital (present at birth) or an outcome of an unfortunate accident. The most common congenital hand conditions include extra, webbed, or missing fingers. Camp is held in Meridian, TX at Camp John Marc and this year we had 56 families!

My group of counselors was in charge of the seven year olds. Keeping up with 23 seven year olds can be a challenge so we had a lot of fun things planned. The day is broken out into “sessions” such as sports and games, self help, cooking, how-tos, arts and crafts…you get the idea. We went on a nature hike, fished, played soccer, and even cooked squid dogs and astronaut food (delicious).

Saturday night we had a carnival for all of the families. We danced, had a hoola-hoop contest, ate WAY too much cotton candy, and one of our counselors put on a slam dunk show!

Parents and family members are encouraged to come to camp with their kids. This is not only fun for the whole family but also a great opportunity for parents to get together and discuss any questions and/or fears they may have with parents in similar situations. They group together in "breakout sessions" where they have the opportunity to discuss parenting challenges that have come up with their children, and most of the challenges have nothing to do with having a limb difference! For me personally, the most rewarding thing about camp is what I can learn from all of these amazing children. They look at life as if nothing is out of reach and they are determined to overcome any obstacle life throws at them.

Golfers Anonymous

- Post by Brandon Frame, Pricing Specialist 

My name is Brandon Frame and I am addicted to golf. They don’t have an official support group for people like me, but I know I’m not alone. When I am not at work, chances are I am probably swinging a golf club. For my 8th birthday my grandfather gave me a set of golf clubs and I've been hooked ever since! It gets me away from the fast pace of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for a few hours. Golf is a game that tests you physically and mentally. There are many things that have to take place to execute a good golf shot, but you'll never hit the same shot twice. It seems that every time I play there is one part of my game that is suffering. Whether it’s my driver slicing to the right all day, my 6 iron continually finding the green side bunkers, or my putter not seeming to work right. Hey, even Tiger has bad days. You have to know your strengths to try to compensate for whatever is lacking in your game. Also, living in Texas does not help, the sudden weather changes and random wind gusts can change your shot in no time. 

 

I try to play golf more than once a week during golf season. My buddies and I play every Sunday at Firewheel Golf Course for weekly bragging rights and competitive trash talking via text message until the next time we meet. I also take a trip every year to New Braunfels, TX to play golf with my grandfather for a few days at my favorite golf course, The Bandit.

I love golf. It's an individual's sport that will always keep you guessing; a game that people of all ages have fun excelling at, and a place where I can relax while enjoying time with those I care for. There is nothing else that I would rather be doing on a nice summer day than walking the fairways.

Meet the Garcias

-Post by Krista Garcia, Jewelry Expert

My husband Mike and I both have the pleasure of working here at ReSource. We met over 11 years ago at work, and have never left each other's side. So you might ask, what do we do together in our free time?   

We spend our time with friends, family, and our animals. Our animals include our dog, Lady, who is a German Sheppard-Husky mix that we rescued from a bad home. Precious is our cat and she is constantly talking, although I’m not quite sure what about, and they both follow us around like they think they are humans!

The weekends are packed with Church and lots of food! We pick up the family and off we go to the early services, followed by a wonderful brunch. We love to start the day off inspired and with full bellies ready to tackle whatever the day has to hold. 

We are also homebodies, we enjoy renting movies and hanging out with the neighbors. They see the grill and come running. I think they are always over for the fajitas, and playing poker in the dining room. There is no satisfaction like taking their money! :-)  

  

Mike is a huge Green Bay Packer fan. He even made the trek to the freezing cold north to see them in Green Bay last year to play our hometown Cowboys! I bought him the tickets for our 10 year anniversary and he had an absolute ball. You would think he would root for the Cowboys, being from Texas, and unfortunately we get tons of grief on that one.  He is constantly wearing his gold and green gear out, even to the grocery store. It is so embarrassing when he wears his Cheese Head in Public!

Who knows what our future will bring, but for now we know that we are truly blessed in our lives. I hope you have enjoyed getting to know us, and stay tuned to the blog for our future adventures!