Goodbye to August, dentists

t still amazes me just how quickly time flies by. It is almost September and I am not sure where the month of August has gone. Ending with earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding will make it particularly memorable to millions, but for us, closing on the farm and seeing Maggie and Aaron married will be the highpoints. Weather wise, I hope it signals the end of the oppressive heat and serious drought we are surviving here. Victoria also saw her best friend married and begin deputation for serving in Puerto Rico. Grant finally understood the intent of “potty training.” It was a good month for our family.


Mama scheduled appointments at the dentist for this morning. I had hoped to be out at 9:30 but it was almost an hour later so I had to reschedule one meeting and hurry to make another. Living an hour away has some disadvantages – but not very often. I like the fact that no one is waiting on me for relief so there is rarely a pressure to hurry to the office. I do have to catch up to all the things waiting on me but it is never overly stressful.

Mama found this dentist through the orthodontic group Victoria was finishing up her braces with. They are delightful people to work with and the dental group they recommended is the same caliber of people. It had been one year since we had had a teeth cleaning so we are not too far behind. I do like the finished product. I do not like the path to get there, but it is worth the ounce of prevention. The dentist did discover two little spots he wants to seal up but nothing major at this point.

In my herbal studies I did learn that the tissue of the gums is so close in characteristic to the tissue of the heart that a trained eye can only see the difference under a microscope; hence, the correlation between gum disease and heart problems. The health of your gums strongly affects the health of your heart so don’t put down the dental work you are doing, it could extend your life.

As dentists go this one is by far the youngest I have known. I realize all of them start there at the beginning of their career, but he is the most “beginning” I have known. Still, he seems very capable and he studied in Dallas, which is a question Mama always asks. She was told years ago that those dentists educated in the north have a very different style and philosophy of practice than those educated in the south. It has proven true with each relocation.

The hygienist was telling me about a trip she had recently taken with her husband to Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and on through Virginia to see the historic sights in that area. They are both natives of Amarillo. She said some of the winding tree-lined roads made her claustrophobic. The smell of the forest floor and the morning mist that hovers in patches over the hills was beautiful to her, but not necessarily inviting. She said she waited on the drives for those glimpses of open meadows and rolling hills, not so much for the picturesque view but rather so she could breath.

I guess a person would have to grow up here to appreciate that sense of unobstructed openness. Don’t get me wrong there is great beauty here – most of it does not include living things, but there is beauty. I guess it is a panoramic vista when you can see for forty miles in any direction when you are only twenty feet above grade, it just may not qualify as pristine.

We do love it here. We just need a thorough soaking. No offence to those of you who are now flooded.

Victoria home, News on Becky, holiday planning

Victoria made it home yesterday; Mama was a little worried because of the storm on the east coast this weekend. That worry was exacerbated by the fact that she could not get in touch with Victoria to make sure her return flight was leaving as scheduled. (She is not a voracious cell phone user.)


Victoria got to meet some great people in North Carolina. One family in particular lives in a farm house that is more than one hundred years old. It is the childhood home of the father of the family living in it right now. I cannot imagine that. We have moved too often to understand such a life, but I can imagine that it has a beneficial impact on the finances of the family generation after generation.

I called Charles yesterday to get an update on Becky. His understanding of the situation is that she will be honorably discharged some time in late September. There was some question about her needing gall bladder surgery but that seems to have been ruled out – as I understand it. Charles said she could reenlist in six months, but I am betting against her wanting to follow through with that.

We talked a little about the coming holidays. With September upon us it is a subject of some interest. We moved last November and it looks as though we will do the same this November. The only question is whether we will move within Amarillo or move to Bowie. We are thinking about taking Grandma and Grandpa’s house so we can save money but the timing has yet to be worked out. It would mean about $450 per month savings. That might be worth the step down in amenities.

I am on call over the Thanksgiving holidays so my ability to travel is very limited. I have to be within one hour of a ConocoPhillips office – which is why we are leaning towards being in Bowie if possible. It is at least five hours closer to everyone than Amarillo.

We are not sure yet how to work out the logistics, but we still have time.

By the way, Victoria got her braces off today. She said the orthodontist gave her a goodie bag of some of the things she was not supposed to eat while in braces: air heads, beef jerky, popcorn, etc. She said she cracked up laughing when she looked in the bag.
I thought it a clever idea.

No tractor, no water

Our plans for our time away from Amarillo last week did not turn out as we had planned. We did not go to Tennessee or purchase a tractor, but we did take a brush hog to the farm. On Wednesday evening as we were getting out of church, the guy with the log home we had agreed to purchase called to confirm delivery for the 26th. I was pretty sure we had rescheduled it for the 1st of September but he was already loaded up ad ready to bring it to the farm so we agreed for a Friday delivery.


I was planning on staying in Decatur all this week but my boss emailed me to tell me he would be out of the office all week so there was no business need for me to be there. So scratch those plans. Without a tractor to work with there was no real drive for us to be there either. So we concentrated on doing what we could on Thursday since we had a home to receive the following day.

Thought we were supposed to head out on Wednesday evening – for Tennessee – Grandpa found a tractor he was very interested in at a dealer in Amarillo so we stayed over Wednesday night to check it out on Thursday morning. It seemed to be the perfect tractor so we made an offer (which was refused) so as we looked over the tractor – which would not run the evening before – we were really looking in depth. It turned out to have a ruptured front seal which was filling the clutch housing with oil. Whenever Grandpa revved the engine, oil would pulse onto the ground. At the price they were asking there was no way we were going to buy it.

All in all it worked out perfectly. If Grandpa and I had been on the road to Tennessee when we got the call for the log home delivery, we would not have been able to get that done. We thought about going to Tennessee after the delivery of the home but that would have put us into Sunday and I did not see an urgency to miss church and our obligations there.

We did check out the well and found that it is a hand dug well about forty feet deep with only three feet of muddy water in it. The price of drilling a new well is about $4600. We will work on that next – one well to service both houses – especially since Grandma told me that is the next thing I need to get done. We also checked out some of the electric and found that it too can wait for a couple weeks.

Maggie is spending her first time alone. Aaron shipped out on Saturday. Maggie called us to tell us she was watching the boat leave. He will be back late in September so she is on her own until then. Thank God for the church she found to help her pass the time productively. Pray for her; she will need it. Pray for Mama and Cori as they encourage her through this time.

As I understand it, Brittany is not overcome with joy at the way things are working out for her right now. Chase, on the other hand is pretty excited; not to mention busy. He is constantly talking to two young ladies in particular – talking, texting, whatever. They keep him busy most of the time he is at home. The time he is at work, I imagine to be no less since both are coworkers of his.

Mama and I have to watch closely on that front.

Farm plans, nature, news at home, Maggie

We managed to find a decent tractor for a price we can afford. The problem has been finding a trailer to haul it. I have been looking for good used trailers and they seem to be in very short supply. When we do find one the price is not much less than a new one so today, if the tractor is still available, Mama and Grandpa will negotiate on a trailer Grandpa has had his eye on for a month or so.


That being said, if we get the trailer to go get the tractor – if it is still there – Grandpa and I are planning on driving to Nashville, TN and back this weekend. It will be about two thousand miles in a couple of days, but it will allow us to have a tractor next week as we clean up the property. I plan on working out of the Decatur office for most of the week so we can be there when the log home is delivered. This will make our time there more productive.

Norman was telling Grandma that they shook a little bit yesterday with the earthquake that shook the East Coast. I have never experienced that but I think I will get to before the Lord comes back. I have been through several hurricanes like the one that is heading towards that area. I have not heard any rainfall predictions but in that area it will cause a horrible mess. I would gladly petition for the Lord to redirect it towards us. I have a feeling that very few in these parts would mind. If things are as they predict, Grandpa and I should be going through about the same time it does. Hopefully we will be to the west of the storm.

Victoria arrived safely wherever it was she was going. Can you tell I am out of the loop?

Chase is thrilled because he is gaining ground on the savings he is accumulating for his time in New Jersey. He let me know that his administrator here and Mrs. Miller talked and got the syllabus straightened out so he will be able to graduate without any problems next spring. He is really excited about going back. I hope his expectations are met. I think they will be, but life has a funny way of throwing us a curve now and then; sometimes the younger we are the more dramatic those moments seem.

Mama is getting used to having time to herself. The three little ones she watched are now pretty permanently with their mother – which is as it should be. That leaves Mama without any scheduling conflicts so she and Grandpa are free to scout out farm related items. It is costing me about the same in gas as it always has, but it is nice to have Mama available more of the time. It at least will allow her to spend next week with me in Decatur.

Maggie called me excited about the church she has found very near their apartment. I do not remember the name of the church but they have a Christian School and College at the facility there in her town and the pastor told her to spend as much time there as she would like. She is worried about being too lonely during Aaron’s long deployments. I think she may be on to something with the church.

She and Aaron will be talking about it this week so be praying for wisdom for them.

Night at the farm. Victoria, Chase

The last thing Grandma said to me before they left for the farm was that I needed to buy a trailer so she and Grandpa could load up all their stuff and move to the farm permanently. I asked her to confirm that after they had stayed there a night or two – just to make sure. But their first night there was not as pleasant as she had envisioned. Mama said she called early on Monday morning to tell her how Grandpa was out walking around the property with his morning cup of coffee. The sunrise was beautiful and the air temperature was almost perfect.


Unfortunately, the night had been less than pleasant. It was miserably hot and Grandma cannot handle hot at all. The generator had performed flawlessly and the portable air conditioner they had taken ran like a champ; however, it could not begin to compensate for the extreme heat. If Grandma could have slept with her face on the outlet vent it might have been better. It had taken them almost all day Sunday to clear out a spot for the two twin beds they took and though Grandma had gone to the house convinced that the relatives had been responsible for the mess; it became obvious that it was – as we suspected – the result of hoarding by the last occupant. It is just difficult to imagine anyone choosing to live like that.

All in all it was not a wasted trip. Grandpa did get to check out the well. It will need some repairs. He got to check out the electric and determined that we can have it safely turned back on next week when I go over to work out of the office in Decatur. He got a good feel for the area and is confident that he can find work of his choosing and he got the pallets I needed to put our logs on as they arrive next week. It was a good effort but by Monday night they were back in their air conditioned house here in Amarillo; not a set back or a failure, just a reality check. One night was enough for now.

Victoria was an excited wreck last night. Since Mama has not been the bastion of peace and calm lately I am praying their morning goes well as they get Victoria to the airport. She was a little concerned that she had no paperwork to print out – and I don’t know if it is a problem or not – but at our little airport it should be an easy matter to resolve. Victoria did all of this herself online so I hope she did everything needed to settle the flight to and from the wedding. We will know today – early today.

Chase has been “hanging out” a lot lately with a girl named Camey. I have not met her but Mama has. It is strange that I have not gotten any real feedback form Mama on the young lady except to know that her family goes to the Church of Christ; not a very compatible doctrine to ours although they tend to be gracious in their faith. I do not know where to intervene other than to pray and watch carefully.

Chase is starting school this week along with the rest of the United States. He has bold plans for accomplishing the work on his own. I remain skeptical since it cannot be accomplished through texting, does not interface with Face book, and offers no U-Tube videos. Chase is a good kid but like most his age (and many well past his age) he is thoroughly distracted by thing that matter the least; cell phones, computers, TV’s etc. If the condition of his room reflects his heart and character I am in deep trouble.

He likes his shirts pressed before he wears them, even though he pulls them out of a pile of clean, unfolded, un-hung, laundry. He likes his hair just so while his bed looks like it came from our recently purchased farm house. He will only wear the nicest ties but uses the laundry Mama faithfully does for him as padding for the chair in which he sits to do his school work. I cannot imagine having that much divergence in my life.

If something is hung up properly, it will be ready to wear when needed. If things are folded and put away they will be available when needed. If I take time to put away my clothing, I will know where it is when I need it and I will know what is available at any given time. The last thing I ever want to do is look through a pile for something I need or want. Check out my closet, my garage or my dresser and you will see the way I think and plan.

It is bizarre that I do not mind cleaning up the abandoned farm house, but I greatly dislike cleaning up after my son. I am not responsible for the character of the last tenant at 548 Van Bebber Road in Bowie, Texas. I am responsible for developing that character in Chase.

I feel that I am losing the battle and when I lose we both lose.

Mission’s Conference, life on the farm, Aaron and Maggie, Brittany

Missions Conference is over and we are worn out. Last week happened in a dead run. After getting back from vacation on Tuesday and starting the conference services on Wednesday we did not let up even a little until this morning. The church pledged $148,700 plus for the year starting in September. I was a little hesitant to commit without knowing if we will be here for the entire year but God will supply regardless of our location. We are more and more drawn to the Bowie area for obvious reasons, but I am still at the mercy of my current assignment in Borger.


Grandma and Grandpa went over to Bowie to stay at the farm. They left early Sunday morning and got to the farm before 10 a.m. We got several calls through the day and they seemed to be doing okay. Grandma left with the conviction that she was staying long term; that may have been amended by early afternoon. I bought a generator so they would have access to electricity but I have not heard how that is working out. Hopefully Grandpa can get the water checked to day. Yesterday was dedicated to getting enough space hollowed out of the mess to place the beds they took over with them in the front room of the house.

We got word yesterday that Maggie and Aaron’s wedding pictures are up on Bob Hollis Photography and as I went to bed Victoria and Mama were ooing and aahing over them. I looked at only a couple but like most males, they did not mean as much to me as to our womenfolk. I know that Bob always does an outstanding job and from what I saw, his record is unblemished.

Tomorrow Victoria flies out to attend Heather’s wedding somewhere in North Carolina. She is as excited as she is apprehensive. It will be the first time she has flown alone in over ten years. I think she will do fine – especially leaving out of Amarillo. Having to spend so much money for the wedding has tempered her desire to relocate to the farm. She is taking the wait and see approach. In fact, it is making her a little nervous to have Grandma constantly referring to the house on the farm as “Victoria’s house.”

Maggie and Aaron seem to be doing well especially since his current rotation is 24 hours on and 48 hours off. She still worries about what she will do when he deploys for an extended time but the two of them are bright kids, between them they will figure it out. For the moment they are sleeping on an air bed and have no furniture to speak of. I do not know what they are eating off of, but all those things will come to them in time – most when Aaron’s things are relocated. Over the years ahead they will load up their wagon to overflowing multiple times. They will have the chance to supply Goodwill with the things they are now buying there. It’s a wonderfully crazy cycle.

At the moment Brittany seems, as is Becky, less than pleased with the choice she has made to relocate to Colorado Springs. Becky may be discharged for medical reasons and end up with nothing for her efforts other that an extended time away from home at the governments expense. Brittany, on the other hand, has a nice apartment, a good job and proximity to her fiancé; all the things she wanted in the move, just not what she expected. In both cases, I think there were a lack of attention to prayer and definitely a lack of Godly council. It is a sad fact of the Christian walk that God rarely blesses the things we figure out all on our own.

To write Becky:

PRV Fulton, Rebekah D

DCO 1-48 Inf. Regt. 2nd Plt

495 Iowa Ave.

Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473

(Abbreviations are hers)

Wagon stuffing and soap bubbles, real life

Last night Adam Thompson spoke from Genesis 45 when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and explained that although they had meant things for evil, God meant it for good. But his focus was on the verses later in the chapter when Pharaoh gave the command that the family of Joseph to “regard not your stuff…” as they came to live in Egypt, because he would give them the good of the land.


Genesis 45:19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 45:20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

Our speaker proceeded to explain that only seventy souls came to Egypt, perhaps because the children of Israel disregarded the command of Pharaoh and packed up all their stuff instead of more people. Regardless, our culture is stuff oriented and stuff takes up so much room in our wagons that there is no room left for us to put people in.

He had us ponder the words of the greatest “wagon stuffer” ever known to man as he wrote these words; Ecclesiastes 2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

What we greatly desired (a new cell phone, TV or car, etc.) and finally got a year ago, six months ago has now become boring to us and our hearts are set on some new thing to stuff or wagon with. He explained that vanity is another way of saying “soap bubbles”. Just like when we blow bubbles for children, we have to constantly be blowing out a new batch because the ones we just created have already burst and need to be replaced to hold the interest of our delighted little ones. The though really struck me; how quickly our joy can be turned to frustration or anger as a child spills kool-aid on a new couch, or a new phone gets dropped, or our car gets scratched.

Many after thirty, forty or fifty years of wagon stuffing have so little to show for the labor of all those years that there is no joy in retrospect. They have a garage filled with so much that there is no room to park a car. Their attic is filled with things that they have accumulated and forgotten about and they have a storage building that they cannot find anything in because it is crammed full of odds and ends. They know they have got “it” they just don’t know where. How much greater would be the effect of our lives if we invested our lives in things of eternal value – seeking lost souls?

So what is “stuff”? Yesterday, which was Grandpa’s 69th birthday, Mama and Grandpa were at Tractor Supply getting some prices on things we will need to get the farm going. She found a Five Day Cooler (whatever that is) and a Fire Pit on sale. When she explained to me what she had found we decided the cooler was something we should buy so Grandma and Grandpa can keep drinks and food items safe and cool as they attempt to stay at the farm before we have electricity and water. The fire pit, although the sale was so hard to pass up, was left in the store for someone else to buy. I contend that the cooler was needed and the fire pit was stuff. I could be wrong. I could be wrong, but that’s the way I look at it.

Stuff comes in the course of our lives, but the accumulation of it ought not set the course of our lives. Something to consider as we try to be wise stewards.

Missions Conference, Roughing it

Our church is having Mission’s Conference this week. Mama and I knew it would be a difficult week for me with every night being a late night. At our church we never get in a hurry so I expect to be home between 9 and 10 pm each evening. After the service tonight we are scheduled to eat with the missionaries. That’s right, after church. I do not plan to participate because I have to get to bed as soon as I can after we get home and the last thing I need is a belly full of food.


The speaker, Adam Thompson, is delightful. His message was not in the strict outline form most of us are used to but rather a progression of thought to a conclusion drawn from scripture. His stories and illustrations were hilarious and the conclusions he drew in closing were powerful. The thesis was close to my heart; there is only one way to invest money with a truly eternal value and that is mission’s giving.

Every service leading up to this conference the pastor has had one person or couples who faithfully give to Faith Promise get up and give a testimony about why they are giving to missions. When Mama and I gave our short story one of the things I said is that the only checks that I write out through the month that has any real value to God are the one for our giving to missions. That is something Mama and I will wrestle to find as we plan out move to Bowie; a church doing a work for missions.

Grandpa and Grandma are planning on going to the farm this Saturday and stay as long as they can by using the house as best as possible for temporary shelter. Mama is totally grossed out by the idea, but I have been expecting it. The idea is not nearly as unappealing to me. In fact, it seems like a workable plan. We are looking at buying a generator to make it more comfortable while Grandpa investigates the electrical service in the house. I want it checked out pretty well before we petition to get the power tuned back on.

No power, no water, no secure door. It will be like primitive camping – which never suited Mama’s tastes. But someone has to do it eventually. I remember living in our house in Chappell Hill before there was running water in the house, bathing in a wash tub, using the outhouse, cooking on a two burner hot plate. I always thought it was fun. I struggle to recall if any of my siblings had as much fun with it as I did, but none of them had invested the hours that I had working with my Dad to get the house to the point where we could do the overnight stays.

Unlike those times, when my Dad worked 60 – 70 hours per week, Grandpa and Grandma do not have much of anything to do here in Amarillo and the driving purpose of getting the farm was to get Grandpa back to work on things he loves. To me it makes good sense to get started as soon as possible doing the things we are able to do.

Lately I have started to worry as I have gone over to visit and have heard reports on every neighbor up and down the block; how many trips they made to the car to get groceries (and people say we are in a recession), how they cannot control their dogs on their morning walks (People like that shouldn’t own dogs.), how one laid fresh sod over dead sod in his yard (the idiot), how many times one went in and out of the driveway – after all don’t they know gas is expensive and shouldn’t be wasted? Shades of Marie French; a nosey neighbor we had in West Virginia.

At least working on the farm house is more productive than watching their neighbors through their front window.

The wedding, the beach, the burns

I had forgotten just hot it is when the humidity is as high as the air temperature, but it did not take long to remember as Nate and I started to erect the tents for Maggie’s outdoor wedding. Nate and Cori were able to borrow two fairly large tents from a neighbor and luckily Nate and I found the directions for putting them together – it was not immediately obvious from the parts in the boxes.


I went through three sets of clothes that day (between setting up, cooking the food for the reception and dressing for the wedding) but we got things up – tents, trellis and chairs - and set in a way that looked presentable and could accommodate the seating we were to need. The problem was that it rained every day and the tents were not big enough to cover everyone during the wedding so we were praying and preparing all at the same time.

The morning of the wedding it began to rain and continued off and on for several hours so we decided to empty the room in Cori and Nate’s house where we were to have the reception and set it up for the wedding. When it was decorated it looked very nice and I think the wedding went off without a problem. Immediately after the wedding ceremony we put the tables back and set up the reception. It worked out pretty efficiently. Had it not been for the fact that the air conditioning unit went out the day before the wedding, I would have to say that everything worked out well.

I am interested to see how the pictures came out because it was not the venue that Maggie had pictured but that is what life is like. We make our plans, do our best to work those plans and deal with the issues that keep us constantly adapting those plans to ever changing circumstances. The bride and groom got off to a late start that evening but their plans were pretty flexible. It was a good beginning.

I have not heard many details but from tidbits of conversations I have heard Mama’s side of the phone, I think they had a memorable honeymoon. They are home in their apartment in Pascagoula, Mississippi as of last night. They will make a run over to Cori and Nate’s some time in the next couple of days to get more of Maggie’s things and set up temporary furnishings waiting on Aaron’s things to be relocated by the Coast Guard – when ever that ends up happening.

The farm has officially been ours for one week. We got notice on Wednesday last week that all the necessary paperwork had been signed and the money had been released. It was good news for Mama and me but it got lost in the wedding preparations. We actually did not think much about it until Friday as we were voluntarily subjecting ourselves to excessive amounts of UV radiation. Mama did better this time. I am not sure if it was the sun screen or the limiting of our time at the beach that accounted for the success, but she came away much less burned than in times past. She did suggest that I leave her at the beach and come back in the late evening to get her, but I was not keen on that idea so she reluctantly came with us after about three hours of sun and sand.

The water could not have been more perfect. It was like being in a lake rather than in the ocean. The waves were gentle swells and the water was calm to the point that Mykenzie wanted to take her nap in the float she was riding in. Her brothers napped in the shade of the umbrella we set up. It was pleasant. I can understand why Mama did not want to leave.

Chase got pretty badly burned on his legs and feet. I suggested he cover up after about an hour in the sun. An hour later I told him to cover up and get in the shade. I was too late. He will be reminded for the next several days that he too has limits when it comes to sun exposure.

I saw a marquee that I thought was note worthy. It said, “Heavenly Forecast – Reign Eternally”

On the road again, Becky updates

We left Amarillo this morning at 5 a.m. so I could put in a few hours at the office in Decatur; partly to help me stay current on work related projects and partly to make this part of the trip a work-related trip. All in all it will help personally and professionally since we have to be here for the closing at 3 p.m. in Bowie. We are five hours closer to Pace, Florida any way you look at it.


Mama and the others are going to the farm while I am here. We split up in Bowie at a gas station off of Hwy 287 so I could get here at a reasonable time – I have to leave here at about 2:15 p.m. to make the closing - I did not want to be too obvious. I wanted to be at the farm for the initial impressions. It is the first time Grandma and Chase will be seeing the place and I am very curious about how Grandma will feel about it; especially since we are talking about her and Grandpa spending the remaining years of their lives there.

We stopped several extra times because we have both dogs with us and it is the first time we have traveled with Ketsia. It took her several hours to settle down. I think she loved having everyone close at hand but she is a very active dog and used to having plenty of room to play. Not only that, but she was not fed or watered or let out to potty as is her usual morning routine and this is a dog who loves routine. Poor thing was all messed up this morning.

I stopped at the side of the road this morning because Mama thought she might be whining to go potty. After Mama got her out to go she seemed uninterested and I got fussed at for stopping at a place that had no grass. I could only say, “We are in a 17 month drought. Not much is growing anywhere.” But my emergency stop was too prickly for the tender pooch so we moved on. As it turned out she was more thirsty that anything and Mama took care of that with my water.

Charles called yesterday afternoon to give an update on Becky. She only had five minutes to talk so the conversation was brief between them but he got the understanding that she was pretty overwhelmed. His advice to her was to “toughen up” and hang in there. I thought that was good advice; perhaps not overly loving, but good advice none the less – especially in light of the fact that she has made a big commitment she will be required to follow through on. He said she spent the second night she was in basic training in the emergency room for severe cramps which seems to have been credited to her menstrual cycle – as diagnosed by male army doctors.

Anyway, she is surviving and her husband says that he really missed her. His biggest concern is how much she will improve physically during her time there – and what the spill over effects of that may be between them on her return. I am just hoping she makes it. As I have stated before, she is not our most physically active child.

We will be on the road all day tomorrow and busy with the wedding finalization through the remainder of the week so I will not have regular postings to share.

P.S. It will be difficult to outdo this anniversary present for Mama, but I hope to have another 29 years to try.

Good news, great news, relationships

I took the truck I have been temporarily assigned to a service center in Amarillo yesterday because I had a feeling the work I needed to have done would need to be done by someone who would take the time to solve an ongoing problem with the truck. It took most of the day but they were able to identify and rectify a front end issue the truck had had for over a year. The final bill was less that $200. My company was happy and I was happy. It drives like a new truck. It is still an F-250, not a Cadillac, but it doesn’t beat me so badly.


Grandpa and I went to pick up the truck late in the afternoon. On the way there I got a call from the bank. Kody King, the banker, was pretty excited. The appraisal came back in and it was higher than he had expected; not so high that it will offend the sellers, yet high enough that he can offer to roll a part of the closing into the loan. It is exactly what I have been praying for. Praise the Lord!

I will know the exact numbers today but the final tally should leave us about $15,000 ahead of where we would have been. That will allow us to buy some of the start up equipment (used of course) and still have the money to buy the log home package, make repairs to the house on the property, and do a lot of cleanup. That really was great news! By the end of the day today we should have the closing date set, the closing costs fully disclosed and our final travel plans worked out. At least, that is my expectation.

Grandpa had found a trailer he wanted to show me. It is one on which we could haul a tractor or other large equipment. The price is not unreasonable, but it would require a truck to match its hauling potential. That is something we have been praying about for several months: Grandpa especially. The place marketing the trailer also had some used trucks we were going to look at, but as we passed it on our way to the exit we noticed it was closed so we decided to look at the place we had found a truck before. It was on the same side of the freeway on our way to the trailer place.

As it happened, there was a black F-350 at the corner of the lot. As is with used car lots, most of the vehicles had a price and other information written on the windshield. This one did not and we began to wonder if it was a personal vehicle of one of he salesmen. When Mama went and asked she found out it was for sale and the price really caught our attention. It is a 1999 year model Turbo Diesel set up perfectly for our needs for $8400. Some time this afternoon Grandpa and Mama will be going back for a test drive.

Cori should be back home today and I know her children will be happy to see her. I know Maggie will be happy to see her also. Her husband will be ecstatic to have her home. Life just is not the same when husband and wife are separated – regardless of how worthy the cause. It has been a good time for Cori and I know she appreciates Maggie being there to allow her to go to this conference. What I am curious to see is how much it will affect her relationship with the young people of the church. I am not sure what age group she traveled with but I expect that it will have made a great deal of difference in how they will see her relationally. Time will tell, but God always does more in any given situation that we realize and all He does has eternal value.

That is one of the reasons I have always freely welcomed into our home any child with whom Mama made contact. I will not know until eternity how profound an impact Mama has made or on whom that impact was made through her time babysitting these little ones or teaching them in our children’s churches because our God majors in relationships. She will receive the greater share of the credit, but by default some will spill over to me. I love being in the support role.

All of our successes in life will depend on the strength of the relationships we build. Take time to build strong ones. Start with God and work your way out from there.

Maggie’s dinner success, choir, the wedding

Maggie texted me last night to let me know she had successfully made dinner for Nate and the children. I texted back and asked her to let me know the hospitalization report in the morning. Like most of us, it is not a matter of what we are capable of doing but rather what we are willing to do. Like I have heard many preachers say, “The ability God is most looking for is availability.”


Chase played for me as I sang last Sunday morning and it went really well. The only catch was that in order for him to accompany me, according to the rules they have established, he needed to be a member of the choir. As Bro. York explained that to us Chase agreed to join the choir to keep things in order. As he got the low down on choir membership requirements, he was less enthusiastic and wanted to back down. I was not inclined to allow that. So regardless of the excuses he gave I told him it would be wise to join for the few months he has here in Amarillo to keep things right.

The greatest inconvenience of choir is having to be there for practice at 5 pm every Sunday night. The real blessing is the encouragement you get to be to the church as a whole. Most people in church enjoy the music ministry; few will go out of their way to support it. We went for years in Victoria without a choir or a real music program for that matter. Even the humble program we have here is a blessing to the pastor and the church – which makes it well worth the effort.

Mama is getting excited about the trip to Florida. Weddings are something she really enjoys. The fact that it is one of our own makes it a special pleasure. Things have been put together so quickly that I am still absorbing the idea that my daughter is getting married. We have been aware that this day was coming and we are excited about it but now that it is here I am having difficulty getting it to really sink in. It could be the fact that it is happening over a distance and I have had very little to do in helping with the preparations. It could be that I am so thrilled with Maggie’s choice that it is more fun than I thought to watch it play out. Maybe so many things are happening at once that I am having trouble separating them out. Maggie and Aaron have made it easy and I think what is really happening is that it was so expected that it is almost too predictable. Since the biggest scheduling conflict, Aaron’s time off, has been overcome everything else seems easy. Whatever the reason, we will go and enjoy it. We don’t need any more unpredictability.

After this trip is over I hope to stay home or close to home for the remainder of the year. I do not know if we will be able make that happen, but financially it would be prudent. The real issue is whether we count the farm as a home base. With it being three hundred miles away, it seems a little excessive, but that is where Grandma and Grandpa – hopefully Victoria too – will be. The fact that I have to travel there on business regularly makes it a little more plausible from the money side.

I have run the numbers on the farm purchase so many times I almost have them memorized. It reminds me of a scene in “White Christmas” where Bing Crosby is setting up to move the show he and Danny Kaye produce to Vermont to help out a man they admire. Danny Kaye is anxiously listening in on the conversation and asking “How much?” When Bing Crosby gets off the phone after asking the stage manager that question, Danny Kaye asks again, “Well, how much?” to which Bing Crosby responds “Somewhere between ouch and boing!”

I have a feeling that is about where we are going to fall out.

Updates – Becky, the farm, Maggie and Aaron

Becky is off to get vaccinated for service in the National Guard. She texted me last night about midnight to tell me the news. Of course, I did not see the text until about 4 a.m. but I will pass it along belatedly. She will be out of touch once she actually reports to the base and turns in her cell phone. This is a very bold move on her part. I hope it works out well for her.


The news on the farm is not too awful after all. I called yesterday to get any updated available and found out that the rates are basically unchanged – as I thought they would be – and the closing may happen on the 8th; that is a big may happen. All in all it looks like things are happening quickly which is only a concern because of the travel to Maggie and Aaron’s wedding at the same time.

Once we actually start paying for the farm it will be a good while before we can do much agriculturally since the drought is so severe, but Grandpa is very excited to just go and really start poking around the house and land. He has the weed eater gassed up and ready to go. We are all anxious to see what is under the overgrowth that has taken over the property during its neglected years. If it works out as planned Grandma and Grandpa will follow us over in Grandpa’ truck and spend the day doing little things to begin to see what we actually have. (They are not coming to Maggie’s wedding because Grandma is not able to travel that far comfortably.)

I called Fabian and Sarah to seek their help in finding some of the more exotic things we will need to allow Grandma and Grandpa to get around the property in the early stages; mainly a golf cart type vehicle for Grandma that is rugged enough to handle the farm until we are able to grade and delineate roadways. Fabian is very good at such research; not that Sarah is always happy about the time he spends in doing such internet exploration.

I have not rescheduled the log home delivery yet. I need to be sure how things are going to play out before I set the final delivery date. It requires two of us to be there to help ramp the bundles of logs off of the truck. I figure it will be Grandpa and me with Mama and Grandma watching, but that is yet to be determined. Victoria is praying about transferring to the Wal-Mart in either Bowie or Decatur once things are rolling along. Grandpa hopes to get a job I the area and I think that is entirely possible once he gets around and starts meeting people. My hope is that once we buy a sprayer, he can make money using it to spray people’s fields with AgGrand.

I called Maggie yesterday to see how my grandchildren are faring under her care – Cori is away at camp with her church. It seems things are okay especially since Uncle Aaron has been there the past few days to help her and distract the kids. Mykenzie is counting the days until Grammy arrives.

My biggest fear for Maggie and Aaron is that, to the best of my knowledge, she has never cooked anything. I have seen her make a fried bologna sandwich or an egg sandwich but beyond that she has been perfectly content to let her meals be prepared for her while she lingered somewhere outside of the kitchen. When Mama and I were first married, she had not had much experience cooking by herself but she had paid close attention to what Grandma and Great Grandma were doing and had been a part of the kitchen routine for many years. She developed a wonderful skill set pretty quickly.

Maggie tells me that Aaron is a lot like me in that he enjoys cooking. She has seen that work out well for me and Mama but in the beginning of our years together it was not that way and I expect that Aaron’s time to cook will be limited. So Maggie will have to step up, put on her apron and put Mama and Aaron’s mama on speed dial.

Mama started out ahead of the curve because Grandma Kline did not like to cook so meals were adequate, not exceptional. Everything that could be done from a package was freely used. Everything that could be done in one pot was first choice. I do not know if Aaron came from that kind of cooking lineage. I had no favorite meals or individual dishes (still don’t) because I ate what was there when I was at home and I fixed what I wanted when I cooked my own meals. Besides I have always loved to cook and I lived by myself for several years before Mama and I met. I was always ready to cook dinner, but I liked it when I came home to a meal Mama had prepared.

My heart goes out to you, Aaron.

P.S. Maggie called me to let me know she was indeed cooking today.
I'm proud of her.

Not so good farm news, Chase’s raise, Becky in basic

Yesterday when I contacted the bank making us the loan for the farm I did not get very good news. I was told that since the title company had taken so long getting the paperwork to them that the closing will probably be delayed to the point that we will lose our current rate; which expires on the 10th of August. Not only may we lose our rate but the closing may be delayed until sometime after we get back from Maggie’s wedding. We are praying hard that things still work out to make the closing on the 8th, but we will have to deal with whatever comes.


At any rate we will still be able to purchase the farm. When we take possession is the only thing up in the air. I do not expect the rate to change dramatically. With the economy as frail as it is interest rates have not increased much if any, but I do not know how it will be calculated by the lender in this case since this is a land only contract.

Chase got a surprise raise. Mama said he went to talk to the manager of the new Chick-fil-A yesterday and asked if he could be transferred to the new location. That manager asked him to speak to the new manager of the mall location where he is currently working and depending on that “conversation” he would make his decision. When he broached the subject with his current manager she gave him a raise and asked him to stay until she had the store fully staffed. They will talk again when she feels comfortable letting him go. He was ecstatic. He got a raise and he still may get the move.

Mama and I will feel more comfortable getting him out of the mall. Every time we go there we see things that are not healthy for me to see much less a young man of Chase’s age. It seems the baseline for inappropriate dress and behavior has lowered considerably and it is not just teenagers who are pushing the envelope of decency, it is people mine and Mama’s age; people who really do know better. It’s sad, embarrassing and quite disgusting.

Larry the Cable guy once remarked on women wearing spandex that as one particular woman walked through Wal-Mart it looked like two raccoons fighting in a sack and one missionary was told by a local pastor that if it looks like a pan of biscuits it should be covered up. Somewhere along the line there are a lot of people missing that obvious logic. And what’s with young people wearing their pajamas to the mall?

Becky leaves today for basic training somewhere in North Carolina. She seemed really excited up until I talked to her yesterday. The reality of the separation and the dread of the unknown seemed to be sobering her considerably. She will be headed to Little Rock, AK at 7 a.m. and fly from there to her training location. I think she told me she would also be taking her first several training classes at the same location. After some time in Basic she will be able to use her phone, until then we will have to reach her through snail mail. When I get the address I will let everyone know.

I do not fear the emotional stress of her training as much as I fear the physical part – for her sake. Becky is not our most physically accomplished child. She has a quick mind and often has piercing insights that allow her to learn things easily. She has not, however, been one to exercise – even to walk around the block on a regular basis. I will be praying for her more in that area than any other. Do remember Charles also. I am not sure what is happening in his life in her absence, but he will be without Becky until December 2.

It is one of those cases where we truly hope that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Mama and shoes, Mama and Skype, Jake

I took Friday off so I could spend some time with Mama. She had some last minute shopping to do to wrap things up for the wedding and I had not had much part in all the preparations due to my work schedule. We had fun. We usually do but what was special to Mama was that as she tried on a pair of shoes – on sale of course – I found several other pair on an even bigger sale.


One particular pair she was excited about was a bright red pair. Miraculously, they fit her perfectly. There were two other pair that fit from the super sale, but the red shoes were the outstanding find. The sad ending to the story is that Victoria wore them to church Sunday morning and ruined them while she was wrestling around with some of the kids in Primary Church so Mama won’t get to wear them with the winter dress they matched “perfectly”. Oh well. She still has the three other pair we found.

She was still a little worried about her outfit for the wedding especially since David’s Bridal had a silver dress that made her look so good she set up an appointment for me to see her try it on. We did not make the appointment since the cost was a little over $150. I’ve already said my piece about “to be worn once dresses.” So to settle her mind she tried what she planned to wear to the wedding for Maggie and Cori via Skype.

The way her all-in-one computer is set up she had to stand on a chair to model the outfit for the camera. I thought it was pretty funny to see Mama perched on a chair doing slow circles while her audience in Pace, Florida gave a running commentary, trying to ease her mind. I still don’t think she is satisfied with it, but we will all have to make due. At least she found the perfect pair of shoes to go with it.

I tried on my tux and it still fits me well. I have no idea what shirt and tie I will be wearing with it. I have not been told yet, but what was obvious was that it needed to be cleaned. It still had makeup and baby slobbers on it from the last time I wore it – at Cori’s wedding. It is at the cleaners getting prepped for Maggie’s wedding which we all hope will go on as scheduled. It is one of the things we are praying about pretty diligently.

Jake called on Friday Saturday and Sunday. All told he called at least forty times this weekend. It got to be a little annoying, but mostly it was pretty amusing. It seems his home phone would not connect properly to Mama’s phone. He could hear us but we could not hear him. The best part was when Chase was answering the phone as we waited on Mama. Chase has a low tolerance for such things.

Chase answered the fifth call in three minutes and said calmly, “Jake if this is you we can’t hear you. Call on another phone.” Then he hung up. Almost immediately the phone rang again (Mama’s well known baby laughing ring tone). Chase growled through his teeth and answered, “Hello Jake. Try back again later. We can’t hear you.” He hung up. Almost immediately the phone rang again. He rejected the call and continued to reject all subsequent calls until he gave the phone back to Mama. All told he called thirteen times in about eight minutes. Can you say speed dial.

Mama finally got to call him back between his attempts to get through to her. For some reason, they can talk when she does that and she tried to explain that we just could not hear him when he called her phone from his home phone. To which he answered, “Chase said to try back later so I did and then he wouldn’t answer.”