Find the Best of Waco results on page 158 of the May 2013 Wacoan magazine

For the sixth year, our contributors share, in no particular order, what they think makes Waco a great place to live. And once again, we’ve also asked Wacoan readers to contribute. Submissions were posted on www.reasonstolovewaco.com and our Facebook page. Our favorites are printed here, and from those published, the authors were automatically entered for a chance to win a Best of Waco package, which includes prizes from past Best of Waco winners valued at $1,000. To find out who won, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/theWACOAN…

By Marlo Collins, Katy Cranfill, Nika Davis, Joanna Gaines, Heather Garcia, Joe Griffin, Michelle Johnson, Robert Johnson, Kathleen McKinney, Caitlin Nowak, Laura Slack, Kevin Tankersley, Megan Willome and WACOAN Readers
Find the full article on page 139 of the May 2013 Wacoan magazine

Not only is Hotel Indigo’s Brazos Bar & Bistro hip and swanky — reminiscent of a trendy Dallas bar — but so far, everything I’ve had there has been quite tasty. You can’t go wrong with something light and refreshing like the Brazos Valley cheese board or something hearty and flavorful like the short ribs, however one of my favorite snacks is the stuffed avocado. An avocado half is served on a small platter and loaded with diced marinated chicken, fresh pico de gallo, crumbled queso fresco (a soft, white, Mexican cheese) and drizzled with a green chile white queso sauce. Such delicious, clean, simple flavors — you could eat it everyday. — KM

By Gretchen Eichenberg, Kathleen McKinney and Kevin Tankersley
Find the full article on page 153 of the May 2013 Wacoan magazine

Ultimately, you reach for the phone. Because in the tightly swaddled bundle you brought home from the hospital are contradictions you’re still trying to untangle for yourself. On one hand, you want nothing more than to spend all your time taking care of this precious package. Yet, there are times it would be pretty sweet to get some outside advice and help.

Congratulations, friend, your wish is granted. For an afternoon at least. This isn’t a phone call to check on how everyone’s eating (ravenously, see evidence of frozen vegetable bags you are wearing on the inside of your nursing bra) and sleeping (not at all). Your mother-in-law wants to throw you a Sip & See…

By Anna Mitchael
Find the full article on page 120 of the April 2013 Wacoan magazine

In fact, it was a last-ditch effort for Child Protective Services (CPS) to interview the family and see if they could, in good conscience, allow the children to remain in the parents’ home.

They could not.

Five police officers walked into the community center, and the case workers told the children to say their goodbyes. The officers and two CPS workers escorted the children to two cars and drove them to a foster home in the suburbs. When they arrived at the foster home, the little girl told her older brother she was scared. “Pretend like you’re on vacation,” he said. She has not spoken since. That was 20 months ago.

These children are my niece and nephews, the children of my brother, who has been diagnosed with a mental illness, and his wife, who is mentally disabled. Having a brother with a severe mental illness, I’ve long been acquainted with the dismal state of the U.S. mental health system. When I got involved with CPS on behalf of my family two years ago, I was thrust into nothing short of a quagmire — one over which I had absolutely no control.

Enter CASA. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. They act as the eyes and ears for the judge outside of the courtroom, with a mandate to provide recommendations to the court based on the best interests of the child. And they have given me hope for my niece and nephews…

By Martha Hopkins
Find the full article on page 124 of the April 2013 Wacoan magazine

The day begins with the Ride for Relief, which starts at 8:30 a.m. It’s a short ride, 5k or just over 3 miles, and it’s intended for families. If you need a bike, Outdoor Waco is offering discounted bike rentals specifically for the Ride for Relief.

“It’s the second year we’ve done it as a family bike he’s been a part of the Farm for seven years. “It was a long-distance ride. We decided we wanted to make it accessible to everybody, so we made it a short bike ride. We wanted to make it something that kids could ride if they wanted to. My girls are gonna do it this year. They think that’s pretty fun that they get to have their own bike ride.”

A short video titled “Ride for Relief,” featuring Hess’s daughters, another daughter of a Farm employee and some cute baby goats, is available on YouTube. The video is produced by fleetingmomentsreels, Fleeting Moments Studio’s YouTube channel.

The route will travel through a nearby neighborhood and toward Connally Primary School and Connally Junior High School. Many of the roads are closed, and police officers will be on site…

By Megan Willome
Find the full article on page 130 of the April 2013 Wacoan magazine

A pair of bronze lions frames the forged-iron door, the perfect precursor to this antique-inspired home. The exterior is composed of brick and white columns, creating a Southern feeling. Sherry Beard, who wore cowboy boots and a bohemian dress to our interview, led me through the marble-floored entrance to her favorite area: the living room.

It’s obvious why this is Beard’s favorite room. A wall of windows overlooks the pool and 80-acre lot. Through the glass, trees envelop the back of the house like a fortress. The light blue walls and neutral colors serve as a backdrop for Beard’s antique collection. A chandelier hangs from the high ceiling under soft light fixtures. Most of the high-end furniture is beige and oversized, including pieces from Drexel Heritage and Company C.
Beard spends most of her time in the kitchen and den, the family rooms of the house. It would be easy for the 8,000-square-foot house to feel more like a museum than a home because of the size, but the six-bedroom, six-bath home could not feel more comfortable. Each room maintains a unique look, but blends in with the overall aesthetic of the house…

By Caitlin Giddens
Find the full article on page 84 of the March 2013 Wacoan magazine

“We built that house in 1995, and it was perfect for our children growing up,” Madelon McCall said. “We had youth interns from our church spend the summer with us. We had lots of extra room. Having the extra room was great.”
However, a few years down the road their kids graduated from high school and moved out, so McCall and her husband decided to downsize.

“It was too big for the two of us,” she said. “I had gone back to work and back to school and decided that I didn’t want to keep up the house.”

McCall, a former high school chemistry teacher, is now a lecturer in Baylor University’s School of Education. Her husband is a retired dentist who teaches in the dental assisting program at Texas State Technical College. The two of them moved into a home in Sheffield Park, and it was about half the size of their previous home. But soon they thought they might have downsized too much…

By Kathleen McKinney
Find the full article on page 88 of the March 2013 Wacoan magazine

“People said we were nuts,” Gena said. “But we knew how solid this house was. We knew what we had. I don’t want a new house.”

So while their freshly renovated home in the community of Womack, near Clifton, is not technically new, it looks nothing like the 1,500-square-foot farmhouse they bought in 2004. They added 24 feet to the depth of the house and now have about 3,100 square feet of livable space. They also added a 10-foot-wide porch to three sides of the house. The new kitchen is about three times the size of the previous one and contains an island with a gorgeous butcher-block top that is 9 feet long.

The project was a collaboration between the Arnolds and Jonathan Grant, owner and president of Red Truck Renovations in Waco, and his crew, which includes designer and project manager, Kelly Byrd. Gena and Grant met in 2010, when she hired him for a bathroom renovation that included removing a claw-foot bathtub and replacing it with a walk-in shower tall enough to fit Gary, who is 6-foot-6.

“I told Jonathan at the time of the bathroom renovation, ‘One day, I want to enlarge and remodel the rest,’” Gena said…

By Kevin Tankersley
Find the full article on page 94 of the March 2013 Wacoan magazine