| It was so frustrating to see people
trying to make their marriage work and still getting a divorce.
As one of the fortunate few who grew up in a
healthy family, I (Butch) knew the joys that family could bring and I
longed for more people to feel that joy. I had also seen how those who
grew up in less ideal surroundings often struggled to know where to go.
My mother chose to quit work, become a homemaker and run a home
daycare business when I was young so my younger brother (Scott) and I
were fortunate to spend much of our non-schooling hours with one or both
parents. Like most siblings, we fought constantly and I'm sure my mother
thought she was a miserable failure, but family was always a positive
concept for me. Through the influence of my family, I accepted Christ as
a boy.
Karaña's family life was more challenging. Her mother passed-away
when she was young, leaving her to be raised in several different home
environments over the early years of her life. She was blessed to be
raised in a Christian home and also came to faith as a child, but she
later faced many of the challenges of a step-family.
We were married in 1988 before my senior year at the University of
Oklahoma. Our first child was born in 1990, after which Karaña became a
homemaker. She has
been home schooling our children since 1995 and serving in several
volunteer leadership positions including as the coordinator of the
church's nursery ministry for seven years and leading a local home
school support group of over 50 families.
My education is in Computer Science. I received a Bachelor's and
Master's Degree in that field from the University of Oklahoma in 1989
and 1993 respectively. I initially worked at the University until taking
an IT leadership position with a local marketing company in the Oklahoma
City area.
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