Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The Arroyo's had their Christmas in Keller a bit quietly, the grandkids were in Tulsa and the kids were there as well. Christmas Eve Mass was celebrated at the Cathedral with the Bishop Vann and the 4th Degree Knights of Columbus at Midnight Mass. It was not until the 30th that we celebrated with the kids. The picture above was our Christmas yesterday.

More to come later....

J.

Phillip's Wish

Instead of flowers, several donated blankets to Phillip's Wish.

Memories from Ron

Thank you Ron for your memories. These three Photos help those along a bit.
This is Grandma Beio with Great Granddaughter Amiya Arroyo - daughter of Grandson Matthew Arroyo.
Grandma Beio with Grandson Michael Arroyo.
Recent High School Graduate, Shirley Anne McGrew.

Shirley McGrew Beio

I remember her big smile and her great sense of humor.

I remember her contagious laugh.

I remember how easily she was moved to tears at a sad story.

I remember her love for dogs.

I remember her tom-boyish ways.

I remember how proud I was that she was the first in the family to graduate from collage. Even beyond that to receive a Masters Degree. How she chose to live a life of serving others. Not only in the United States Army, but to help those with mental problems.

Although Shirley had many physical problems in her last years she never stopped smiling. She never stopped thinking of ways to help other. She had a great love for her husband Taft, brother Bob and her children Tony and Christina.

There are so many hero's in Shirley's life. Those who cared and took care of Shirley's physical and emotional needs. God will reward you for everything you have done to make Shirley's burden's lighter.

Along with many others I will miss my sweet cousin. I will miss all her emails and things we shared. Life will not be the same without her. I know this is true for all of us.

Our love to you all,

Ron and Carol Ellison

Memories from Jack Ellison

This is Mom with her Aunt Claudia and Grandpa AF Lawrence that Jack refers to in his email. This is the link to go to the Obituary. http://www.schaudtfuneralservice.com/

SHIRLEY
My Beautiful Friend and Cousin

I have many wonderful memories of Shirley and I will share a few with you.

We were very close and she referred to herself as my sister and signed all of her correspondence to me as "Sis".

When our parents were young they would all assemble at our aunt Claudia and Uncle Cliffords home every week end and most of the time more often than that. Shirley, her brother Bob, me and my brother Ron were together a lot. Normally on Saturday our parents would take us to the Royal theatre on 11th St. where we would watch a western movie with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry or another and what they called a serial. The serial was like a continued story each week to bring you back. Shirley and I must have been 10 or 11 years old. The price of the movie was .10 cents unless you were over 12. They always insisted Shirley was older than 12 because she grew large breasts very early. We loved it when she would play football with us so we could tackle her body. She was a beautiful young lady.

Our aunt Claudia was the matriarch of our family and loved us children more than anything. Each one of us thought we were her favorite but I'm sure Shirley was her favorite. She was the nicest person I ever knew and a big influence on all our lives. I think Shirley tried to emulate her and did a very good job of it. I'm sure aunt Claudia was one of the first to help guide her on her journey to heaven. I look forward to both of them being there for me.

Shirley and I went to Cleveland Junior High School together. I was in band and Shirley was in orchestra. She played the viola and was the instructors pet. She was very talented and smart. She also was a very good artist. I remember her drawings of beautiful ladies.

We shared our feelings and thoughts of life and religion. The internet brought us back together as we corresponded weekly.

I was fortunate to spend time with her this year when she had her first cataract surgery and shared our love that we always maintained.

I know that she can feel the feelings I have for her now.

Thank You Dear God for letting us have Shirley to share in our lives.

All My Love,

Jack

Shirley Beio

I am going to repeat what others have said and encourage you to come to the funeral home site and place your condolences and stories online for me and my sister. Donations can go to Phillips Wish to help this young 5th grade stdent of mine gather donations of blankets for the homeless.

Shirley Anne (McGrew) Beio age 69 passed away Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Shirley was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 2, 1938 to Robert O. McGrew and Wilma (Lawrence) McGrew. She graduated from Northeastern State University with a Masters Degree in Education. She married Taft Beio in Pryor, Oklahoma on June 20, 1980. Before retiring Shirley worked as a Juvenile Counselor at Rader Center for twelve years. For sixteen years Shirley was an active member of First United Methodist Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

In her spare time Shirley enjoyed doing puzzles, reading, going on picnics and volunteering at local grade schools.

She was preceded in death by her parents: Robert Oliver and Wilma McGrew.

She is survived by her husband: Taft Beio of Tulsa, Oklahoma; her son: J. A. Arroyo and his wife, Linda of Keller, Texas; her daughter: Christina Ruth Brown and her husband, Patrick of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; her brother: Bobby Lee McGrew of Tulsa, Oklahoma; eight grandchildren: Amanda Brooke Brown, Robert Patrick Brown of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Andrew Oliver Arroyo, Michael Roberson Arroyo, Matthew Dale Arroyo, Jose' Antonio Arroyo, Landon Neal Morris of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Francis Ann Million of Keller, Texas; ten great grandchildren: Rainee Million, Chloe Million, Alec Million, Kadence Morris, Chandler Arroyo, Chasity Arroyo, Caden Arroyo, Amiya Arroyo and Matthew Arroyo, Jr.

The Rosary will be prayed at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Broken Arrow at 4:30 PM on Thursday. A memorial service will be held Friday, December 14th at 9:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Reverend Larry Varvel will officiate.

In lieu of flowers you can contribute to a charity of your choice or to Phillip’s Wish, 12188 Thicket Bend Drive, Keller, Texas 76248 (817 379-1287) http://www.phillipswish.com/.
Arrangements were entrusted to Daniel C. Schaudt of Schaudt’s Glenpool Funeral Service & Cremation Care. Family and friends may view the obituary and send condolences to the family online at http://www.schaudtfuneralservice.com/

Thank you so much for all of the well wishes and helping the family to see just how much our mother blessed so many around us.

Happy Birthday Christina!

Well, it has been quite awhile since that little blonde haired beauty came home to Inola, OK! Her grandpa McGrew could not get enough of her, and her big brother got used to her!

Seriously, she still is a cutie and happy Birthday. By the way, that was in 1968 when she came home! Do the math, she has one more year before Old-Timers kicks in!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, nothing like a few things to make one feel at home! Yesterday, the temperatures ranged in the neighborhood of the 70's, the day before in the 80's and, today, Thanksgiving day, it snowed!

Yes, on the seats, that is snow!

To our family, friends, God Bless you all and you are in our prayers. Thank you for all that you have done to help get us here.

This past year, particularly since moving, we have had our struggles but we have survived. We continue to struggle but, yes, we continue to live on in God's Grace.

God Bless and Thank you for all you have been for us.

The Arroyo Family.

The Texas State Fair and other things

Well, the Texas State Fair is here, and almost gone and it does not look like we will be going. We had some free teacher tickets but, well as Linda and I are getting settled, the money was just not in the budget even for 'free' tickets. As anyone who has ever been to the fair knows, there is NO such thing as a FREE day at the fair! After spending $10 to $25 for parking (CAN THEY DO THAT?????), and you HAVE to have a Blooming Onion! Then everyone is trying to sell something that you Can't live without!

I am working on a Blog page for the school and my classroom. It is coming along pretty well, just have not been able to get the code into my current class page. In the meantime, here is the blog page link: http://tmis-mra.blogspot.com (I think that link will work) and the class page is through the campus web site in the Faculty Contact pages - Mr. A's Math and Science Pages

Well, that is the latest, I will try to put up some recent pictures next time. When Linda was in Tulsa, we received a picture of all of Matthew and Jose's children, together. A very nice portrait of the 5 grand-children together.

God Bless and until next time....

Long Long Ago....

I thought I would put up a few 'oldies but goodies'. Yes, this is the one who is putting all this stuff on this page, J.A. Arroyo and his mother, Shirley. See, real men can wear Pink! This was in 1966 and I would have been a whopping 5 years old!

This is me, again, at My birthday. That girl next to me is a cousin, Terrie but not to be confused with my younger cousin, Terrie Perry :) This was also in 1966 and I would have been turning 5 at this party!

Again, this is me, my little sister, Christina, and mother. I am not sure exactly when this was taken but, assuming Christina is either 1 or 2 in this picture, it would have been 1969 or 1970.

You can tell that I am ready for Texas, I have my hat on my lap. It must be a Cowboy hat! This was taken in 1968, the year my little sister was born. I would have been 7 and she was not born until December (judging from the short sleeves, I would guess that she is not quite here yet!)

Hi Uncle Drew and Uncle Michael!

I hope this video will play embedded in our Blog. The girls, Chloe and Rainee, wish Drew and Michael a good weekend. Well, it only came through as a jpg, not as the video. Sorry bout that. Anyway, Choe and Rainee wanted to wish their uncles a good weekend.
As we were doing our lawn yesterday, we certainly missed having a 16 yr old around! Seriously, we do miss having Drew around and his neices miss him as well.

Happy Second Anniversary, Matthew and Chelsea!

Sunday, October 14th, is Matthew and Chelsea Arroyo's Second Anniversary. Pictured here are a number of photos that I have taken since their wedding, including the birth of their Son, Matthew Jr., and various visits with their daughter, Amiya. They are a beautiful couple and we pray that God continues to bless their marriage and children.
God Bless Matt and Chelsea and we wish you many more years of happiness together!

National Life Chain Sunday

Support for the Unborn
National Life Chain Sunday marks 20th year today with annual march

Washington DC, Oct 7, 2007 / 11:02 am (CNA).- Today marks the annual National Life Chain Sunday, during which pro-life Americans will, for the 20th year, line sidewalks in over 1,300 cities and towns to seek God's forgiveness and His help to end abortion and related evils in our culture. Participants will hold signs that include Abortion Kills Children; Adoption: The Loving Option; Lord, Forgive Us and Our Nation; and Abortion Hurts Women. Royce Dunn, the Director of Life Chain, calls it "a peaceful witness against a violent public enemy that has terrorized and killed probably well over 100 million preborn Americans and Canadians at surgical abortion clinics and through abortifacient birth control.”

Dunn also pointed to the need for educating and motivating more people to defend the children who are in danger of being aborted, "God declared that 'My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge [Hosea 4:6].' That truth is for today, when we the church--the preborns' only hope for an advocate and defender--are disgraced by our casual response to their horror and loss."
Life Chain welcomes everyone who deems human life sacred. Over 13,000 Chains have been built in North America, plus Chains in several other nations. Life Chain is but one step into a serious pro-life commitment. Much intensive follow-up is required to close the death centers, said the organizers of the National Life Chain.

The pictures attached are from the Life Chain that I participated in from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Keller, TX. From our parish, we estimated that over 200 people attended (there were over 200 that registered, several more slipped in along the long lines!). Hopefully, this is a wonderful sign of what is to come, an end to the slaughter of innocents.

For more information visit: http://www.lifechain.net/

Trinity Meadows Pictures

I cannot begin to say how incredibly blessed these kids make me :) Enjoy these smiles and inquiring minds....

BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR OCTOBER

VATICAN CITY, OCT 1, 2007 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for October is: "That the Christians who are in minority situations may have the strength and courage to live their faith and persevere in bearing witness to it."

His mission intention is: "That Missionary Day may be a propitious occasion for kindling an ever greater missionary awareness in every baptized person."

Arroyo Update

Let's see, for the latest! I am back to being "Mr. A" and loving the classroom. I have been trying, on a shoestring (actually, borrowed "shoestrings!") to get my classroom up and running. I have done pretty good at getting my classroom into shape. I carted my Star Trek models from home to help decorate, used my imagination (well, Linda's imagination too) and this looks like I was made for this!

We did our first lab experiments last week and I am up at the school grading students' Science Journals, taping up seed plantings and trying to finish a paper for my Masters. Busy Sunday!

BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER

VATICAN CITY, SEP 1, 2007 (VIS) - Pope Benedict XVI's general prayer intention for September is: "That the ecumenical assembly of Sibiu in Romania may contribute to the growth of unity among all Christians, for whom the Lord prayed at the Last Supper."

His mission intention is: "That, following Christ joyfully, all missionaries may know how to overcome the difficulties they meet in everyday life."

A Classroom Takes Shape!

TMIS

Well, Trinity Meadows Intermediate School has a new teacher! Click on the picture above to go to the web album with us getting the classroom ready! From the picture above, you can see the boxes, my computer desk, my storage area, and plenty of boxes. If you click on the link, you will see the progress that Linda, Drew and I made Sat getting the room ready. We will be going up today (Sunday) and getting labels for the desks, etc. and preparing for the kids to come to class on Monday (TOMORROW!)

Yes, Mr. A is EXCITED!

Mr. A is a TEACHER!

Meet the newest teacher at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Keller, Texas! After I had given up on teaching, handed it over to God and was pretty sure that the only chance that I would be in a classroom again would be after a year of Job Fairs, I was offered a job! Not just a job, but a teaching job! I will be teaching 5th grade Math and Science. As you can see by the picture above, at a Beautiful school. From my meeting my team teachers, the teachers are just as beautiful as the building, if not more so.

I received a call Wed. night from Dr. Meyers (who happens to be an Okie from OU!) to come in for an interview. I went in at 8 AM and, after calling all my references (God Bless Them!), he called to tell me he was recommending me for the job of 5th Grade Math and Science Thurs evening. However, that was not a 'done deal', it would be up to the head of Human Resources to actually make an offer. I would have to wait until 2:09 PM on Friday for that to come through.

"Would you be interested in accepting the postion at" TMIS? Of course, I had to avoid answering "DUH? Ya think?" LOL I accepted and am getting ready to go up around 9 to get my room ready and show my wife and son the room! Notice this entry is going in at 5:48 AM? Sleeping is not easy tonight! I am 'Patiently' waiting until 9 AM so Linda, Drew and I can go up and put things together in the classroom, one that has NEVER been used to teach in! WOW! A lot of work for today and tomorrow since I will have 26 or so shining faces at 7:35 AM Monday morning sitting in those desks that I have yet to unstack and arrange!

I cannot begin to express the way that prayer has influenced this in mine and my family's life. Even the school name itself, "Trinity" cannot be a mere coincidence. I am working in a school that is only 6 miles from my house! I could not have imagined such blessings, only in the mind of God. Our family has Hope, Blessings, so much to be thankful for. We have family and friends that have supported us with prayers, gifts from the heart that have all carried us through. Thank you all for what you have done and continue to do for us. I have always said that I do not deserve the multitude of blessings that God showers upon me but I am definitely, humbly, thankful for them all.

God Bless you all.

Before and after with the China Cabinet

Before, the China Cabinet was White. Though very pretty, it washed out the white china...

After the renovation, it is "mocha", the china should show very nicely.

Teaching ....

Well, teaching does not seem to be in the future here in Texas. As of today, I did not get the last two jobs I interviewed for. It looks like telecommunications/distance learning will be, at least, the immediate future.

I guess discernment of where God is directing me is the direction for my future at this point in time.

Hot diggity dog is not going to be my quotable quote for awhile.

Finally, the rest of the house

Linda's and my room

More of the room

Our garage (and it actually will fit BOTH cars!)

Room for one more!

August 11 - Well, over the past week I have interviewed with Fort Worth and Dallas. Fort Worth sounds exciting, I would teach 6th Grade Social Studies at a 6th Grade center there. Dallas is an inner city middle school which presents some challenges. Being a History major, the Social Studies is the one that I am really hoping for. Monday will be the big day, I am supposed to hear from both of them at that time.

Drew's New Room

From the front looking in, Drew's Room
Drew's futon looking out the door

More of the house

This is our kitchen

This is our Dining room and Living room (in the previous post was the Family Room)

Our Entry way

Our New House

We just can't begin to say how proud we are of the new house. Here is the front.

Our back porch has a terrific view of the park which is right out the back gate.

Drew is lounging in the family room on our lawn furniture (which, one day will be something other than lawn motiff.)

Another view of the family room.