I enjoyed a week of eating things I don't usually eat, like sweets, bacon and cinnamon rolls. I also enjoyed playing lots of games with the group. Here are a few random pictures from our trip or you can see them all by clicking here.
We found a little time to play some pool. I won $100 dollars (just kidding).
Connor and Cooper found a place to do a little rollerskating.
We introduced Logan, a family friend, to fly fishing. I think he's hooked.
Connor
This picture was a dare. One of the kids dared me to ask a total stranger to take our picture. It was quite possibly the easiest dare I ever completed.
Tommy working on jalapeno poppers (jalapenos, cream cheese and wrapped them in bacon). If you've never had a popper, you're missing out.
Usually it was a big group that was playing a card game called "Up and Down the River."
Bill had caught a couple of large crawdads and Cooper was fascinated.
Much of our time was spent out on the deck rocking and relaxing.
Three sweet girls headed to a bible class taught by Keith Lancaster.
Kenny didn't have a lot of luck fishing and the water was plenty cold.
I did catch one nice one. (Brian, no making fun of my vest :) )
Next year I'm inviting all the blogging world to come go with us. Wanna go?
See you Monday...
Labels: Morgan Family
Labels: Morgan Family
Parker, Taylor and his buddy, Kregg
All the Morgan's minus Parker who was feeling bad and had gone home.
Taylor and his gorgeous mom!
I thought it was SO cool that they all decided to meet for a prayer right after graduation.
Elvis is alive and well, and was in Childress this past Tuesday night. I told you I met Elvis. I just didn't know he was THAT short.
Labels: Morgan Family
I don't know about you, but I need a laugh today. Who better to provide a laugh than a child. I do need to warn you that "bathroom talk" is involved in this and if you're uncomfortable with that ... then you might want to stop right here. This is simply another example of why Lea needs lots of prayers living in a house full of boys.Labels: Humor, Morgan Family
This past Sunday morning I was given the task of preaching to the graduating seniors at church. Even though Taylor was one of them, I knew I'd be able to keep my composure because I was focused on my lesson. I was a little worried about Lea though. I wanted to be able to sit with her, but couldn't. Thankfully God placed her sweet friend Angie right next to her this past Sunday. When I finished preaching and went and sat back down I noticed both Lea and Angie were a little teary. I was a little surprised to see Angie teary since both her kids had already graduated. After services were over I put my arm around her and asked her, "Were you a little teary?" She said, "Yes, I was crying with Lea."
I thanked God today that Lea has friends that remind me of Jesus, and I asked the Lord to please bless me with a heart like Angie's.
Labels: Morgan Family
Lea and I would sure love some wisdom on how to handle things when your first child leaves home. Got any you're willing to share?
Labels: Morgan Family
At least the kid is willing to share with his mother.
Labels: Morgan Family
Our families as we know them continually change as time passes. Here are some changes that will soon take place in the Morgan family that really make me nervous... - My 18-year-old son Taylor, will soon graduate from high school and leave home.
- I've never had a child leave home. How will Taylor handle it? More importantly how will Taylor's parents survive? Will he survive without his mother picking up after him and doing his laundry?
- We'll soon have another teenager in our home when Connor turns 13? Can I handle another teenage son or should I pray that God calls me to go sacrifice one of the three on the Mountains of Moriah like Abraham did with Isaac (kidding)? (Genesis 22)
- As mine and Lea's parents continue to get older and need more help, how can we help them more without moving closer to them?
Amidst all these changes, I'm thankful there are some things in my family that I can count on never changing. The fact that some things don't change make me feel much better. Things I can count on never changing in the Morgan family are...
- Our family will continue to put God first.
- We will continue to minister & serve wherever God takes us.
- I'll continue to love Lea with all my heart.
- Lea will continue to purchase shoes :)
- I will be proud of my boys and continue to love them even when they make mistakes.
- We'll continue to trust God to take care of our family.
I realize that change is everywhere. Children who were starting kindergarten yesterday are graduating from high school in a couple of weeks. Kids going off to college yesterday are now settling into the routine of a family. And those we love are slowly passing on to another world through death. You can't count on anything to stay the same. More than anything I must remember that what doesn't change is God. He's still in control, and His love and His mercy remain the same. It's only an unchanging God that remains. So now I remind myself that God will never fail. Now I feel better.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning..." Lamentations 3:22
Labels: Morgan Family, Worry
- Cooper's favorite breakfast? Sugary cinnamon toast - .10 cents
- Cooper's favorite bag of snacks? Sugary Candy - $2.00
- Cooper's favorite drink (especially at bedtime)? Chocolate Milk - $1.00
- Four cavities found by the dentist this week in Cooper's mouth? Not Priceless

So I know where my economic stimulus check is going. What are you going to spend your money on?
Labels: Morgan Family
Today I celebrate life. It is my anniversary. Not my wedding anniversary, but my cancer anniversary.Five years ago today, my jaw dropped as I sat in a doctor's office and heard the doctor say, "You have cancer." So much of that day is still such a blur in my memory. The only things I remember about that day were hearing the words, "It's cancer," and calling my wife to tell her what I had just found out. It was the very last thing I expected the doctor to say. And it totally changed my life.
I had my first surgery the very next day. Wanting to avoid chemotherapy, I opted to go with a second major surgery about three weeks after the first surgery. The second surgery required a one-week stay in the hospital. It was not fun.
I'm reminded of what cancer has taught me: The only
things that really matter in life are my faith, my family & my friends.
- I learned that my illness brought out so many friends I didn't even know I had. I had over 250 cards sent to me (I still keep them in an old shoe box). Many cards and prayers came from people and churches I didn't even know. I was over whelmed with love and support.
- I learned that there are no "do-overs" in life, so you should make the most of every day.
- I learned all over again that my wife is an amazing woman, as she supported me through tough times.
- I learned that it's impossible to have any sort of self-dignity in a hospital gown.
- I learned that real love, not the stuff you see in the movies or on soap operas, is my wife telling me I look "great" to her, even when I was pale, skinny, sick, throwing up and too weak to do a thing.
- I learned that it was okay to be scared, and that it was okay to ask God, "Why?"
- I learned that in 2003 God answered prayers and that prayer can change anything!
- "Remember me, cancer? My friends kicked your butt with prayer."
Every morning when I rise I can see the two scars that remind me that I have had cancer. But today on May 6th, I celebrate my life being cancer free. Having cancer has changed me in ways I could not imagine or predict. And, I'm reminded again today of the most important lesson I've learned from cancer: "The things that really matter in life are simple ... my faith, my family & my friends."
Labels: Cancer, Morgan Family
Here's a surprise, Lea chose not to swim, but rather shop. As for the look on her face, I'd just told her, "Now shop all you want, but don't spend any money on shoes." :)
The Rangers actually won the game breaking a 7 game losing.
Cooper spent a little time at the Wiffleball batting field.
18 hotdogs, 3 large drinks and a $6 bag of cotton candy made the evening perfect!
Labels: Morgan Family
Here are the questions that I'm supposed to answer...
What I was doing 10 years ago: I was living the dream, baby. I was getting to preach every Sunday, minister to a great community of people, I was married to a smoking hot wife and I was watching some amazing boys grow up. Oh wait, that's what I'm still doing today. YES!
Five things on my to do list for today:
- Finish 3 lessons for a weekend at the Lakeside Church in Mansfield, Texas.
- Pick up shirts and hats for the T-ball team I'm coaching. (I live such an exciting life).
- Apologize to my secretary for missing Secretary's Day this past Wednesday. No one told me that Secretary's Day had been changed and is now being called, "Administrative Professional Day." What's up with the name change? Can we not just have secretaries anymore? Do they have to have some fancy title? Next thing you know the good people who clean the church building will no longer be called custodians, but Maintenance Engineers. Sheesh!
- Check on a few of my favorite bloggers.
- Watch the Rangers play the Twins tonight at the Ballpark in Arlington.
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
- Give a ton of it to missionaries, world missions and world hunger.
- Not let Lea spend even a penny on shoes (Ha, Lea!)
- Put some back for my children’s educations.
- Buy the Texas Rangers and finally put a winning team on the field.
- Talladega Super Speedway here I come ... Yee Haw!
- I drink too much coffee.
- I've got a weakness for spending money on cool gadgets like this one. But I really needed it, honest I did!
- Smoking, drinking and dancing. Oh yea, I gave those up last week. Okay, I'm still dancing, but don't tell anyone!
Five places I have lived:
- Mobieetie, Texas
- Amarillo, Texas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Tulia, Texas
- Childress, Texas
Five jobs I have had:
- A Sacker at a supermarket (until they found out I was only 15. I needed the cash).
- Sold athletic shoes at a store in the mall (awesome job).
- Managed a frozen yogurt store.
- Paramedic
- Youth minister and pulpit minister.
Five People I Want to Know More About:
- Brian Nicklaus (My arachnophobic friend)
- Shawn Williams (A fairly new blogger)
- Ray Young (My old youth rally speaking buddy)
- Terry Laudett (A pretty nice Okie)
- Craig Hicks (Tagged my buddy Craig, because he'll say something that makes me laugh. He always does.)
Labels: Morgan Family

For those who can't read Cooper's 6-year-old writing, let me tell you what it says... "On Friday this week I am going to Dallas to watch the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys. And I am going to stay with Aunt Mel. They are cool. Yo Dog! I like to say, 'Yo Dog!'"
Yo Dog? I'm not sure where he's picked up "yo dog" from, but I'm thinking that he may be watching too much of Randy Jackson on American Idol.
Have a great day and may I be the first to say to you today, "Yo Dawg!"
Labels: Morgan Family
I looked at the clock and knew since it was 3:30 a.m., that it wasn't Lea tickling my back and neck. It was at that moment I felt it again, but this time I knew immediately that it wasn't a dream, a blade of grass or Lea. Instead there was something in bed with us. Something big. I immediately swatted at what I now knew was some sort of critter that had climbed in our bed. In the total darkness of the night the beast felt enormous. I immediately thought to myself, "I've got to get me a deer rifle or machete to keep next to my bed?" Never should a person be attacked in the safety of their own bed. Ever.
I knew I had to protect my family, so like any other man, I began to holler out in the dark, flailing my arms about trying to knock this massive beast off me and on to something else. I made the terrible mistake of knocking it towards Lea. She screamed and started jumping out of bed, too. She immediately hit the lights. At that point, my eyes went from trying to focus in the dark to being totally blinded by light. I couldn't see a thing and was expecting another attack at any moment.
I immediately thought to myself, "I've got to get me a deer rifle or machete to keep next to my bed?""What is it?" she asked with panic in her voice. "I don't know," I said, "but it was enormous!" My eyes were finally beginning to adjust when we started slowly rolling back the bedspread and then the sheet, looking for whatever it was that needing KILL'N. Finally, we pulled back the sheet, and there it was...a big, nasty, hairy, disgusting bug. I don't have a clue where the bug came from or how it got in our bed, but I knew it had violated our personal space.
With it still sitting on the bed, the bug and I made eye contact. I realized it wasn't quite so big or bad, BUT had I had a machete or shotgun, I would have used it right then while screaming in my loudest voice, "DIE YOU STINKING BUG, DIE!" I then swatted the bug off the bed and proceeded to kill what I once that was a gigantic beast with one of Lea's shoes. Why Lea's shoe you ask? (Yea, she wanted to know that too!) Because she has a million pair, it was the closest, and I wasn't going to kill it with one of mine!
A few minutes later the bug was dead and now flushed down the toilet for good measure. Watching him make circles as he went down the drain, I thought to myself, "Let's see you do that again, punk!" The whole ordeal gave new meaning to the verse found in Hebrews 13:4, "...and the marriage bed should not be defiled." We went back to bed and laid there in the dark. I tried hard to go back to sleep. Lea did to. Every time one of us moved, the other thought, "There's another one." It was at that point that Lea went and slept on the couch, and I went and slept with Cooper.
Stupid bug!

Labels: Morgan Family
- I'm thinking that I love Sundays. Yesterday was an awesome day. God was worshipped, the church building was packed, visitors were present and the singing was fabulous. Now, if we could just figure out a way to get the preaching to improve. :)
Some religious blogs are, "...too immersed in the spiritual realm, blah, blah, blah."
- I'm thinking that I don't know how or why my blog was reviewed over at Blog-Search-Engine.com this week, but I sure appreciate their kind words. I thought it was cool that TreyMorgan.net is currently being listed as a feature blog. I did get a chuckle out of the part that said some religious blogs are, "...too immersed in the spiritual realm, blah, blah, blah."
- I'm thinking that the testosterone was thick Thursday night at the For Men Only Garage Bible study. I had 14 men show up and a few call and say they couldn't make it, but would be there next week. We're studying about Samson and learning from his mistakes; how to be real men. I did have a couple of Mandles burning just to give the garage a manly smell. :)
- I'm thinking that I'm excited about the Morgan family going to Dallas this weekend. We're going to catch a Texas Ranger game Friday night and do a little relaxing on Saturday. Then on Sunday I'm preaching at the Lakeside Church of Christ in Mansfield, Texas. Mine and Lea's former youth minister, Shawn Williams, is the preacher there. Shawn had a big influence on Lea and I when we were in high school. I'm always a little nervous around Shawn, because he knew me when I was a teenager, and I'm sure he could tell everyone a couple of bad things I've done (smile). Lea is safe though, she was as perfect back then as she is today!
- I'm thinking I'm sad for Evan today. Evan is one of our high school seniors at church and spends quite a bit of time at my house. Last night Evan took a turn on a dirt road a little too quickly and wound up wrecking his pickup. Evan was fine but the truck was not. I went and helped him pull his pickup out of the ditch. I hurt for Evan last night. It's never easy having to tell your mom and dad you wrecked your vehicle (I know, I've been there). Evan, is a regular reader of this blog, so I'd like to say to him, "Hang in there buddy, it's going to be okay."
How about leaving Evan a word of encouragement today? He could use it!
Labels: Blogging, Morgan Family
- Cooper took a nose-dive on the trampoline last night into the metal side railing. He looks a little rough with his nose and right eye all swollen up and very sore. We've raised all 4 boys on the old trampoline without even one injury to this point. I think our odds have been good. It did take me quite a bit of begging before he let me take his picture. This was his happiest face. I should have taken it last night right after it happened. Wow! (Don't tell him I put it on my blog.)
- There are some pretty awesome things going on at the Childress church. We've got the Australian AIM team coming to work with us for the next four months. They've had to come back to the States a little early from their Australian mission field. They wanted to finish out their mission term, so they'll be working, ministering and helping with the church here in Childress for a few months. It's going to be a win/win situation for everyone involved. They'll bless us, and at the same time, it'll be a blessing to them to minister with such a healthy church.
- Back in January I told you about my sister's house that burned. The house didn't burn to the ground, but it was pretty much a total loss for her, especially with all the smoke damage. This past week she was finally able to purchase a new house. I'm headed to New Mexico this weekend to take a trailer full of furniture to her for her new house. The good people of Childress have gathered up just about every "big" appliance and furniture she needs. Many of the items are newer and nicer than the ones she had. The following pictures are some from her burnt home (my brother-in-law is not much with a camera). I've also included a picture of the trailer full of furniture I'm taking to her.


Have a GREAT weekend! ~Trey
Labels: Morgan Family
Raising four growing boys has its own unique challenges. The house is never short of things like body-noises, sports talk, strange smells, their buddies and other "boy" things. And poor Lea, with raising four boys, it makes everything in our home exactly opposite of what Lea is. Lea is quiet, and they are anything but quiet. Lea smells nice, and they smell like boys. Lea is neat and tidy, and the boys are a little on the messy side. She has manners at the table, and the boys don't (they're learning).Trying to teach them to be gentlemen when they eat has been a challenge. Some of the phrases we regularly have to say at the table are, "Don't eat with your hands;" "Don't eat until we pray;" "Don't talk with your mouth full;" and "You don't say something is nasty that you don't like, you just say you don't care for it!" All part of raising boys.
We have always made eating supper together as a family a priority. Not long ago, we'd just sat down to a nice supper. Lea had the table set beautifully and we'd just had the prayer. Everyone was eating quietly when little Cooper belted out a ground-shaking belch! Everyone looked up rather surprised at what had just come out of that little guy's body and to see what mom and dad were going to say about his slip. His momma looked over at him with a slight wrinkle on her forehead and said, "Excuse me Cooper, what are you supposed to say when you do that?" Cooper paused as if to think for a second and then replied with just a hint of excitement, "Wow, that was a good one, wasn't it Mom!?"
Not exactly the answer Lea was looking for!
Labels: Lea, Morgan Family, Parenting
Cooper has recently learned to say all the books of the Old Testament, which is great for a 6 year old. Yes, there are times when I feel like we're doing a good job teaching our boys about God, and then there was yesterday. I had just told Cooper I liked his new Bible he got for Easter. (It's a little white pocket New Testament with the words of Jesus in red letters.)Labels: Bible, Morgan Family
We don't get (or make) a lot of time for television, but thanks to a DVR we can record shows we've missed and watch them at a later time. We often try to use television for some family time. Not all our family time takes place in front of the television, but it is nice to gather the whole family around for a show. Just for fun, here are 5 of our favorite shows we love to watch in the Morgan house. - SPORTS - Hands down favorites are an NFL game, MLB game or NASCAR race. Those are the "big 3" sports in the Morgan house, and we just can't seem to get enough.
- SURVIVOR - Lea and I have watched it since season two, and it has now become a family event. We don't watch Survivor until everyone in the family is there together. Everyone picks their favorite, and the game is on. Phrases like "First things first," "The tribe has spoken," and "We need a strong alliance" never get old to us.
- AMERICAN IDOL - This is another show for which my family gathers around the television and has a little family time. We're actually newbies when it comes to Idol. We only started watching two seasons ago when our favorite, Chris Daughtry, was on the show. This year may be the best Idol yet from the stand point of people I like. I'm pulling for Jason Castro, rocker David Cook and Brooke White.
- THE AMAZING RACE - What is it about watching contestants going all over the world in a giant race that I find entertaining? I don't know, but I like it. Just like Survivor, it's just as much fun to root against someone you don't like as it is to root for the people you do like. This is a don't miss show.
- SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS - Spongebob never gets old. I have watched way too many terrible shows with my kids and afterwards I ask them, "Why do you like this show?" The answer is usually, "We just do." But when we watch Spongebob Squarepants, no questions are necessary. Even if it's an episode we've seen many times before, it never fails to entertain me.
Labels: Morgan Family
Dad: Are you completely ready for school?
Cooper: Yes, Dad.
Dad: Cooper, did you brush your teeth?
Cooper: Sure, I think so?
Dad: (noticing the word "think" in his sentence.) Cooper, did you brush your teeth?
Cooper: I think I did it real early this morning before you got up.
Dad: Cooper, do I need to go and check your toothbrush to see if it's wet?
Cooper (frustrated and speaking with a little "tone" now): Dad, I hate brushing my teeth. It's such a waste of my life.
Dad: Coop, you're only 6 years old. You still have a lot of life to waste. Go brush your teeth and waste some of your life.
Cooper (head down): Yes, Dad.
- What are some things your kids say that make you laugh?
Labels: Morgan Family

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