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.

Veteran's Day

On my blog today, Veteran's Day, are two pictures in memory of my Gramps who served in World War II, and a picture in honor of my father-in-law who served in Korea and Vietnam. The bottom picture is Gary Fahle (on the left) in Vietnam. Photo credits unknown.

Chihuly Collection

Here are a few pictures I took a couple months ago at the Oklahoma Museum of Art. These pictures are just a sample of the amazing Chihuly collection at the museum. Go check it out sometime!

CCTV Headquarters

While in Beijing this past July, we took a taxi out to see the big Olympic sites--the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. On our way, we passed by the CCTV (China Central Television) Headquarters which was and is under construction. I snapped a few quick shots from the cab as we zoomed by. It is a truly amazing structure. I'm not too sure I would want to office out there in the unsupported area.

Josh and Bonny

Here are a couple pics I took of Josh and Bonny at the Golden Gate Bridge when we were all in San Fran. The walk across the bridge was cold and windy but was fun. The San Fran area is the most bridge having place I have ever been to. You can't drive 200 yards without running into some two-mile long bridge. Yea for sweet bridges, and yea for no earthquakes while we were on them.

Random

I was out walking around OCU's campus last week with my camera just for fun. I wandered a few blocks away from campus and found this overgrown tree and liked how the sun was coming through it. The leaves were a beautiful bright yellow, but I really liked the picture better converted to black and white.

More Pumpkins

Earlier in October, Big C got down to some serious artwork on a few pumpkins. He had a lot of fun drawing on the pumpkins. He's a great little artist! He was very shocked later in the week though when he came home from school and discovered rain had erased his awesome work.

Pumpkin Carving

So, we didn't actually carve any pumpkins until Nov. 1, but it was still a lot of fun. The boys drew on some cool faces and cleaned the guts out, I took care of the carving, and Jana provided the candles and flames. It's great being outside this time of year when we are having great weather.