Blue Like Jazz

I recently finished a re-read of one of my favorite books. I first read it a couple years ago. It is a truly amazing book and I highly recommend it. Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz is one of the most important books I have ever read. Miller's writing and storytelling abilities are both moving and convicting. Read this book!

NE 5th

I was exploring an area just east of downtown OKC and came across an older neighborhood that has seen better days. I liked the character of the old, abandoned buildings and wondered about what the neighborhood must have been like years ago when it was alive and vibrant.

OSU Tree

Each year, lucky Cowboy fans get a visit to their house by Pistol Pete on Christmas Day. Good OSU fans awake to find special OSU ornaments and Eskimo Joes clothing under their trees. In honor of this visit, we have a special, beautiful Oklahoma State themed Christmas tree in our living room.

Christmas

Here are a couple of pictures from Christmas this year. More to come soon!

Chickasha Light Festival

Here are a couple pics taken tonight in the freezing cold weather in Chickasha. We take our youth group to see the lights each year and always have lots of fun!

Graffiti

Here is some cool looking graffiti I saw in a train yard a couple days ago. I had to be sneaky and quick to get to in and snap a couple of shots and get out.

7 Things

Amanda "tagged" me to fill this out, so just to be cordial, I guess I will do it.

7 Things I plan to do before I die: Try to grow more "Christ-like' every day, work daily to be a better husband, father, and friend, be a foster parent, travel travel travel, become better at handling money, get in phenomenal shape, become great at photography, buy a trampoline--I have a top 50 list somewhere, so this is just a sampling.

7 Things I do now: try to spend as much time as possible with my family, read the Bible daily, Youth Ministry, mountain bike, get outdoors, listen to music, take pictures

7 things I won't do: skydive, listen to most country music, eat nasty olives, fill out surveys (except this time), pull out the shower drain to remove disgusting built up hair, I'm sure there are plenty of other things, but I am drawing blanks right now

7 Things that attract me in the opposite sex: I'm so attracted to my wife I can't even think of any answers to this question.

7 Celebrities that I admire: hmmmm, Rob Bell and David Crowder--not really "celebrities" I guess, but I admire their work, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Lance Armstrong, Angelina Jolie, Bill Murray

7 Favorite foods: Sushi, Chinese food from Stillwater, pizza, burgers, Clif bars, Fruit, Gyros

Alley

This is a random picture I took outside the Lama Temple in Beijing this summer. Something about the space just grabbed my eye.

Seals

When we were in San Francisco this past October, we made sure to stop by and see the seals at Pier 39. They were smelly and loud, but a cool site to see.

Christmas Play

Tonight was our church's Christmas play, and of course, our boys were awesome in their roles!

Random

Here is a picture I took of a student in our youth group on our fall retreat. This was another shot where the shutter was left open long enough to create the effects you see.

Random

Here are two pictures my friend Randy took of me on our youth group retreat to Lake Tenkiller. I took a three foot long stick that was lit on one end and just tried to make as many revolutions as possible before the shutter closed. The shutter was open for right at about ten seconds on each of these shots.

Stew in a Shoe

On my youth group's recent fall retreat to Lake Tenkiller, we played a game called "Stew in a Shoe." Two contestants squared off to see who could eat the most straight out of the can stew from a shoe. Both contestants did a great job and ate a lot of cold, nasty looking stew. Here's a picture of what remained. Anyone hungry?

Tooth on the Loose

The boys and I were staging a big time, all out, knock down wrestling match on the bed upon my return from the youth fall retreat, when C-Rok realized his loose tooth was missing. When I asked him if he knew where it was, he told me he was "going to have to poop it out." Uncertain as to whether or not he had actually swallowed it, I began the search. Fortunately, it did not take long to find. I was not at all looking forward to him asking me to come investigate the toilet bowl throughout the week. He was pretty pumped to lose his first tooth.

Inflation has hit the Tooth Fairy hard. We used to get a quarter. Big C lost his first tooth a couple years ago and wagered a guess that the Tooth Fairy would bring him $100.00. We let him know that the current going rate with the Tooth Fairy was $1.00. Last time a tooth was lost in our house we forget to have the Tooth Fairy come and Big C was pretty shocked and puzzled to find out his tooth was still present. We better not mess this up for C-Rok tonight!

Edna Fahle

Today would have been the 63rd birthday of Jana's mom, Edna Fahle. I only new Edna for about a month before cancer took her life, but it was easy to see what an amazing person she was. I could just tell what a generous, caring, loving person she was in that brief time I knew her. I see those wonderful traits everyday in my beautiful wife--Jana is a very generous person, cares deeply for others and their needs, and has an abundance of love to share with others, just as her mother and father raised her to be. I know that Edna would be so very proud of Jana and all the things she is doing and has accomplished. She would be so proud of Jana for working so hard to get her masters degree. She would be so proud of Jana for being such a great wife and mother. And she would be proud of the strong Christian witness Jana lives daily. Jana's mom has been gone for 10 years now, but the wonderful memories of her live on in the hearts and minds of those who knew her. Happy Birthday Edna!

Coldplay Concert

So my awesome wife got Coldplay tickets for me for my birthday this year. We had an absolute blast at the concert. Coldplay was freaking amazing live. As much as I loved the Jack Johnson concert in KC in August, this show topped it. Jana snapped some shots with the stunning camera on board her cell phone. She's been asking for a nice digital camera that she can carry around in her purse or pocket--sure would have been nice to have at the Coldplay concert! So, this year for Christmas, she is def getting a digital camera (then I can steal it from her and throw it in my camera bag).

Cell Phone Service

Here is a funny advertisement for cell phone service that I found on a wall in a small town in China. Who needs celebrity endorsements for their business when you have great stuff like this.

Elk Mountain

Here are a couple pictures I took the day before Thanksgiving while hiking around Elk Mountain with family and friends. It was a gorgeous day and we had fun exploring and getting off the beaten path a bit. The boys are adventurous climbers and we are all anxious to get back out there soon.

Homecoming

Here's a pic I took of Matt and Betina in China this summer at Tiger Leaping Gorge. Only 10 more days and they will be home from 16 months in China!

Thankfulness--Christina

This Thankfulness post was submitted by Christina. Thanks Christina!

I am thankful for my camera:I can capture memories not only in my mind and heart but digitally; I can share the memories with others and create (scrapbook pages) with the printed photos.

I'm thankful for the Rosenkranz family too and I am so grateful that we can communicate and keep up with each other's lives.HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Christina M. Phillips~

Thankfulness--Troy

Since all of us are obviously very thankful for our friends, families, loved ones, etc., I thought I would share a picture of something else I am very thankful for. It's my "blankie"--and it's the greatest blankie in the world. It's a good sized blanket and there is always room for it on my bed. My sweet Grandma Rosenkranz made this awesome blanket for me when I was little. I often tell people that God forbid if my house were to ever catch on fire, this would be one of the first things that was grabbed on the way out the door. Thanks for the greatest blanket ever grandma!

Thankfulness--Amanda

Amanda sent me this picture and description of something she is thankful for--

This may seem trite, stupid or dorky but bear with me...Elvis is a thankfulness of mine for the following reasons:

He's always there

He was a way for me to connect with my mother

I loved that my father loved him

He's just dead sexy baby

Thanks Amanda for sharing! She has promised to send me another picture and description soon. Hope to get more responses this week to post! Send me your pictures and descriptions of something you are thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Thankfulness

It's Thanksgiving week, and a great time to reflect on what we are most thankful for in our lives. This week I would like to display some photographs submitted by friends and family showing what they are most thankful for. So, if you would like to participate (I know you want to), then email me a picture or two or three showing what you are most thankful for in your life and I will post it this week. Please include a description of the picture and a little about your thankfulness as it relates to the picture(s). Send pictures to troyrosenkranz {at} gmail {dot} com.

Historic Site

When we were in downtown Sacramento, we toured a couple historic sites. This was one of them. I don't remember what the guys name was who lived there with his wife and kids, but he was kinda a big deal evidently. Something to do with the railroad and making lots of money.

Graffiti

Okay, this picture was taken while traveling a freeway through downtown San Fran. I saw it from the vehicle and thought it looked awesome so I grabbed my camera and caught a couple of quick shots. It's beautiful art (click on it to get a better view), I'm just hoping there is no gang significance to it since I am posting it to my gang affiliation free blog.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is a tough day as it would have been my father's 60th birthday if he were alive today. He died way too early, at the age of 40. He left behind a loving wife and three kids. I was 15, my sister was 12, and my brother was just 7 at the time of his passing. I am so grateful for the precious time I got to spend with him. I have such a wealth of rich memories from being a child and the things I got to do with my father and how he loved me so much. I think about what an amazing grandfather he would have been to my two boys. They would have had an absolute blast being with him and knowing him--I can just see him on the floor giving them "horsey" rides, wrestling, and tickling each other. He would have built them a big treehouse in the backyard. I think the way I am most like my father is the love and passion I have for my family. It's just the way he felt about us. His love for me inspires me to be a better husband and father. His short life reminds me that each day is so very precious and to shower your family with all the love that you have.

I remember the last time I saw him alive. A family friend picked me up early from church that night and took me to the hospital where my mother, our pastor, and several people from church were already in his hospital room. The pastor asked me what my favorite memory of my father was and I broke down in tears, unable to answer. Words were said by some, prayers were prayed, and people slowly left the room. I stood as a statue in the room, not wanting to move or leave that place. It was just me and my dad one last time. His illness had taken so much from him, his ability to communicate, his ability to recognize us, his appearance, he was a shell of his former self. His eyes were filled with a look of pain and confusion and he was struggling for air. I remember going over to him two separate times to give him a big hug, to kiss him, and to tell him that I loved him as tears streamed down my face. It was at that moment that I felt with all my being that a heavy weight was lifted from him. The deep look of pain and struggle was visibly lifted from him. His eyes at that moment were filled with a true peace. At that moment I could feel his love for me and felt like he knew it was okay to let go. The pastor came in and told me it was time to go.

As my mother and I drove home I asked her if dad made it through the night, could I skip school the next day and sit with him at the hospital. She said she would think about, but she probably knew he wasn't going to make it til the morning. Around 2 or 3 in the morning on January 9, 1989, my dad went to be with the Lord. I was numb as my mom and I made our way back to the hospital. It didn't really hit me until my mother had me call a family friend from the hospital to tell them that my father had passed away. I don't remember if I was even able to get the words from my mouth. I didn't go to the funeral home to see my father. I wanted the last time I saw him to be while he was still living and breathing. He had a closed casket at his funeral. I think he had threatened my mom that he would jump out of his casket and get her if she had an open casket funeral for him. She didn't want to take any uneccessary chances. I remember thinking I had to be strong at his funeral, and how violently and painfully my jaw shook as I clinched it in an attempt to hold my tears in. It would have been so much better for me to have just let it all out.

My dad is my hero. My dad was the best in every way and I miss him every day. I am eternally grateful for the awesome memories I have of him. The pictures posted today are from right around the time I was born, just months before he graduated from Oklahoma State University. More picture will be posted tomorrow of him.

Happy Birthday Dad, I love you!

Sunrise on the Bay

Here are a couple shots I took just after sunrise when I was in San Francisco last month. I really love the colors in these pictures.