Vacation? Livestock, birthdays

I will be off for the next two days although it would be less work on me personally to be at my job. We will be moving most of the time in order to get ready for the final move – the one we will need help with – coming next Friday or Saturday. We have the house on Fairfield rented through the middle of October but we planned to be in Bowie the week of the 10th, so we need to plan our move accordingly. We have a lot of stuff and some of it needs to get to the farm over the next several trips, but that is another move altogether.


Yesterday afternoon, on my way home, I stopped to look at some chicks that someone in Fritch had advertized for one dollar each. They were listed as Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rock chicks; both of which were at the top of our list. I found the place and the trailer was a dump with trash and valuables left in piles across the yard the porch and the driveway. But since I was there I knocked and told the lady who answered the door why I was there. She was expecting me.

She fought back her five little dogs to answer the door and asked me to go to the corner of the fence where she would meet me – with all five little yapping dogs. It was a low fence without any gate, “They hadn’t made it that far yet.” she examined as we stepped over the fence into the yard which was attached to the animal area.

They had built a very nice chicken coop and horse shelter and had recently adopted a horse from the local shelter – which was so friendly that he opened the door and followed us into the chicken coop as we were looking at the chicks. She had a passel of them. I knew from the shipping boxes left on the porch that she had recently bought the hundred or so chicks that were scurrying all over the place as we entered the area segregated for the little chickens and brooding hens.

I was impressed with the setup they had and the chicks looked very healthy, much better than ones we had looked at only a few weeks earlier in another location. I offered to buy fifteen of the Reds and five of the Barred Rocks, but later bumped it up to twenty and ten. The biggest problem was finding a way to keep the little stinkers in a container to count and transfer them. She got one of the shipping boxes that had a lid and we fed them into the box several at a time while I opened and closed the lid as required. Seeing this large woman stoop to catch the fleeing chicks was both hilarious and gross – all at the same time.

The livestock waited in the truck as I went to the hospital to visit one of the men from our church that is being treated for an ulcer on the bottom of his right foot. Then I met Victoria and Mama at the Jennie house to show off my purchase. They were both impressed and we scrambled to find something to put them in for the night and to give them water after their harrowing experience.

Later Mama and I bought a cage, food, feeders and water dishes for the herd and set them up for the night. It will be a mess to deal with until we get them to the farm, but it is a fun mess for now. I have no idea how many will survive but I know Mama will morn the loss of even one should that moment come.

Two birthdays tomorrow and September will be all but over. It has been a fast paced month and the pace shows no signs of slowing as we charge toward the holidays. I am trying to do some advance preparation but it does not look like I will get too far along. We will just have to take things as they come and pray for the best; especially as I am torn in different directions at work and at home. We will see how things work out as we finish the local move. Moving to the Decatur office may follow next year, but until then Mama and I will split ourselves between two homes and two callings and do the best we can.

I can sense how my father felt as he and mom were building the home in Chappell Hill.

Chase’s birthday

Mama and I are not sure what to get Chase for his birthday. He is a very difficult person to buy for. One of the girls he “hangs out” with had him to ask Mama if she would get in trouble if she bought him a hermit crab. Mama was not thrilled. I think it could be a great gift. When I was younger a friend had a hermit crab as a pet. I asked one day to get it out of the cage and discovered that it had been dead for quite a while. We later figured out that a mouse had been eating the food he faithfully put out for his dead pet. Sounds like the perfect pet for Chase; that or a pet rock.


As we move into the house on Jennie, Mama has promised me an office but there is a caveat; all the kids must be gone so it can be set up in the second bedroom. I will eventually have to build our house in order to have a designated office space, either that or set up the herb shop.

Speaking of the herb shop idea, I am beginning to wonder if I really want that. I have spent a lot of time and money getting the background and education to be able to really consider it an option, yet I am doing nothing in my daily life to make it a reality. Sounds to me like a lack of desire - or an overwhelming fear. It is difficult to tell the difference since I am the problem.

I often compare it to Mama’s desire to learn sigh language. Maybe that is not a good analogy but in general it works for me. Mama has the ability and the desire but it has never been enough to overcome a debilitating fear. There has never been a need either. Need often drives us past our fears and allows us to accomplish things that desire alone was unable to produce. It is something I consider on a daily basis.

For Chase’s birthday he has asked me to provide him with a drivable vehicle. I did not delve too deeply into the request but I could easily offer him the Lincoln which is now tagged and titled properly. My assumption is that he would rather drive the Breeze but there are things he would like to be fixed before he would feel comfortable driving it. Victoria has driven it in its current condition for several years so I am not sure what embarrasses him most about it but it will be fun to find out. His driving the little van is pretty much out of the question for now since it is our only “good” vehicle.

Work is a whole lot more like work with the new boss we have. It is not that he is oppressive or overly difficult, he is just very driven. I get emails from him through the night so in return I send my responses before 6 a.m. every day. Since they are sent from my computer he knows that I am at work when I send them. He remarked about them last time we talked.

For those of you who are wondering, I have already taken care of Mama’s birthday present although I promised to help Chase and Victoria pay for what they have ordered for her. Once again, everyone cleans up but Daddy.

Relocation, new neighbors, Maggie and the kids

Grandma and Grandpa are officially residents of Bowie, TX. Even their licenses are changed to reflect the new location. They had to get the license updates before the bank they would like to use would allow them to open an account. It is a very local bank but they are excited about getting everything in order to start over one last time. That was one of the many things Mama and her folks got done on Friday and Saturday of last week.


The tractor and related equipment were delivered about 3 p.m. on Friday and even tough everyone was tired from moving into the rental Thursday evening we still put it to work for several hours after delivery. For right now we are concentrating on brush-hogging the land so that as the rains continue to come there will be a chance for the new grass to grow through the stubble without having to compete for precious water with the larger brushy plants that are covering the landscape. What we were able to brush hog looks better better.

Mama and I got a chance to meet one of the neighbors and we exchanged numbers so we can get in touch in an emergency – or just for general conversation about the adjoining properties. She seemed very nice and hugged Mama right away. She was relieved that the farm is going to be put to use again. Mama and I will be able to get a wealth of information about the place from her.

This will be Grandpa’s first full week at the farm. Grandma is already put out that she will not have him sitting around nearby. She has become very used to him coming every time she calls out or moans and she realizes that those times are over. I think she will adapt very well and I know she is happy to see Grandpa so excited. He is back on a farm again. I am pretty sure we have them both set up well for the new venture.

Maggie had the grandkids for a couple of nights last week and they were incredible impressed by her house. Grant and Mykenzie were asking her about the size of her house and Maggie was explaining that is was only a small apartment but as they pulled up to the complex Grant could not get over the size of the place and remarked over and over at how big her house was. He also could not get over the number of friends Maggie had in her house. In his short life everyone coming in and out of the same building lived together so, in his mind, Maggie had a lot of people living with her.

He is potty trained now and has had few accidents since he got the idea firmly fixed in his mind as to where such physical deposits are to be made. He is, like most mastering the duty of proper toileting, impressed every time he checks out what has come out of his body. Last week he pooped out a snake in one sitting and a small alligator in another. Realizing the mystery involved for such a little one, that out of some mysterious opening which he cannot see, his body produces some substance that when properly deposited in the water of a toilet excites his Mommy beyond understanding, he must study the extruded lumps to try and understand what is so important.

Mykenzie was more impressed by Maggie’s church building which had an upper level she had never seem before. When Maggie told her what it was it must not have registered so she came up with something that was more relevant and continued to refer to the structure as a “bow the knee.”

Aaron is due home today. I wonder if Maggie is excited.

Moving in, more work ahead, our new ox

I got to the place Grandma and Grandpa are renting only a few minutes after they got there. Despite the threat of rain all day they were about an hour behind it all the way from Amarillo. It took them about an hour longer to get here than it normally does but all the vehicles and the trailer made the trip without any issues. The little truck was Grandpa/s biggest concern because of transmission problems he has been having, but it is here now and we can take our time getting it repaired.


Our poor little van looks so empty now since I took out all but one of the backseats so Mama could load it up. It will not go home empty though since we have to take back a bed that was taken to the farm some weeks ago when Grandma and Grandpa made their first attempt to stay there. Victoria wants to downsize since she and Chase are going to share a room at the house we are moving to. Her larger bed will help stuff the garage.

Grandma and Grandpa are in a very nice place for the moment. It should be one of the very last moves they will have to make. Mama reminded me that the last will be to the farm at some point possibly next year. That should be an easier move. Like the one Mama and I are making it will be a relocation of only four miles or so.

But for the moment there is some rest. There is plenty of work to be done, but it will be the patient, persistent, plodding type of work characteristic of running a farm. I know Grandpa is looking forward to that and so am I. Mama and Grandma are anxious to get started too. They were really getting into the area as we sat on the front porch, drinking hot tea and watching their neighbor practice calf roping. He was out there for over an hour throwing his loop, roping the calf then letting it go and doing it all over again. Even though we were a good distance away, it was fun to watch.

We watched the sunset paint the sky the most beautiful orange. It was even more impressive since the horizon was full of large oak trees almost as if it had been planted for the effect we were enjoying. I am confident there will be a repeat performance tonight, something unique to the night. God is infinitely creative that way.

Today our equipment is being delivered to the farm. We are all very excited about that. I imagine, back in Bible times, a farmer and his wife lying in bed talking about the oxen they have bought. The delivery is tomorrow. They are excitedly sharing with each other the vision they each have for the increase the animals will bring to their humble farm, how much more they can do, how much more they can plant and reap, the stalls they have built to house them. It is the same with me and Mama as we see our modern day oxen delivered tomorrow.

Livestock will be coming soon. I will wait on Grandpa to begin those purchases after the stalls are ready.

Fall is here, the convoy, wildlife

Tomorrow is the start of Fall as far as the weather watchers are concerned and tomorrow will feel like Fall for about twenty four hours. It will be cool, rainy and very windy. The problem is that those conditions will start this morning and Mama, Grandma and Grandpa will be in convoy from Amarillo to Bowie. I am already in Decatur. I drove over last night so I could be here when they got here. It made more sense as far as being able to help them unload once they arrived. I wish they could have come over last night as well but it was a bit too much for all of them.


Rain is in the forecast for the area but the heavy rains will stay north of us. All the area needs a thorough soaking so I can’t be disappointed about how much it will rain, I am just thankful that it is finally beginning to rain.

I stopped by the farm last night even though it was well after dark, not so much to see the land but to listen to the night sounds. It was very soothing. There is a business on the highway near enough to our property that the lights from the yard there send a good bit of light onto the high areas of our property. I do not think we will have to install too many dusk to dawn lights of our own, we will mostly use theirs.

On the way out of the driveway I ran over a large copperhead. He should still be there since I heard him pop as my back tires completed the rupture. On the way to Decatur I ran over another large snake which I thought to be another copperhead. We will have to be careful in the next several weeks as they look for places to hibernate during the coming winter weather. It scares Mama a little for Grandpa to be working the farm alone – especially with the snakes we have seen there.

I told her those worries were unfounded because we had more snakes on our property in West Virginia than we have seen here and Grandpa worked a farm there for over twenty years without incident. I was the only one who got bitten by a snake in our time there.

I am more concerned about their finances. While they were close we were able to help them out either directly or indirectly but now we will see them only a couple days per month. That is one of the reasons I would like to time my week in Decatur to be the second week of the month. That is when their money is generally at its lowest. I know it will all work out and Grandpa is going to look for a small part-time job in Bowie so they will be able to build up some savings, but until they get there I will keep a close eye on their needs.

Along with the snakes the deer were also out. On my way out of Bowie towards the farm there was a good sized doe standing in the other lane – right in the middle of the lane. I am pretty sure the eighteen wheeler barreling towards town smashed her just a moment after I passed by. I slowed down after that and used my high beams as much as possible. I was hoping to see some deer on our property but there is no good access right now.

Soon enough that will change.

Early morning beggars, looking forward

It was cool enough this morning that I had to put on a jacket as I was filling the truck with gas. While I was doing so a man approached me and gave me his sob story about a breakdown and how he only needed sixteen dollars more to pay the mechanic to fix it. Mind you, this is at 4:30 a.m. I did not give him anything but I was unsure if he was legitimate or one of the best cons I had come across in a while. At least, he maintained a non-threatening approach. I wondered as I was driving to work if he would have approached Mama or Victoria in the same manner and just the thought of that worried me a little.


I wonder if this morning was a harbinger or things to come.

Chase spent the evening with friends – mostly girls – at the fair. He had talked about getting a week long pass but that fell through when his friends finally decided that they were not going to go more than once or twice. I think he told me that the picture he entered in the photo contest at the fair got an Honorable Mention. Victoria’s, on the other hand, was hung upside down. They discovered the mistake as we were looking at cattle Monday morning. Needless to say, she did not win with that entry.

I have had a very busy month so far and it does not look like it will be slowing down for some time. Mama and I are beginning to forecast my time commitments into early 2012 to see what we can schedule for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is pretty certain that both holidays will be spent in Bowie, but we have to keep our commitments in our church here in Amarillo as well as help Chase with maintaining his schedule of work and study.

We are expecting that late this year Victoria will move to Bowie and in January of next year Chase will go to New Jersey to finish his senior year. But we are not there yet so we have to stay flexible in order to get the majority of needs met. We will never meet every need in full; such a life exists only in books. But we are coming reasonably close right now.

As we were loading the truck last night Grandma pulled a chair out into the front yard and was hollering at each of the neighbors as they either arrived at their houses or as they were leaving telling each of them that they were moving to Bowie to start a farm and that Mama and I were moving into their house as soon as we could. I do not know if anyone was really interested, but she was certainly was having a time telling each one she could.

I was looking at the space available and wondering how everything was going to fit. We will find a way to make it happen but it could be a real challenge. Although it may not be as difficult as it was getting into the house we are currently living in. That was probably the biggest downsize we have done since we originally moved to West Virginia from Texas when Victoria was not even crawling.

It’s a good thing. Our wagon is too full anyway.

More on moving, news on Becky, serving the Lord

Mama and I packed up some boxes yesterday in preparation for our move but the focus of our efforts is across town at Grandma and Grandpa’s. I have to admit that the visits are better when there is a focus on something other than sitting around and yakking or listening to yakking. Also, since Bella is gone the home seems more inviting. I am not sure why, it just seems less stressed.


I have to give Grandpa kudos’s for the effort he has put into preparation for the move; getting the trailer ready, getting the trucks ready, packing up the working garage and the house. He has been very busy. I know Grandma has helped, but the weight of the work has fallen to Grandpa. He is incredibly excited about getting to the farm, getting the tractor, getting out from under the financial load he has been carrying. November should be a month when they can breathe a sigh of relief – hopefully. It all comes together in the next couple days.

I am beginning to change our address on all the paperwork that accompanies our financial lives; bank statements, driver’s licenses and ID’s, credit card statements, utility bills and local government registrations, insurance statements (medical, dental, life, auto and home), voter registration, Post Office address, and the list goes on. Of course Mama is resistant to making the changes since we are unsure how long we will be at the new address. I keep telling her, “By law, we have only thirty days to make the changes on our driver’s license.” That does not sit well with her, but it is the law. Though she is a person who would never lie, she hates being told what to do.

Becky texted me at 0530 this morning. She is transferring to a discharge unit and should be home early in October. I know she is ecstatic over the news and Charles is almost equally excited at the thought of getting his bride home. It seems that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. It is nicer when that fondness endures for a lifetime. There are enough unpleasant distractions and interferences in life that can affect how we feel about each other, but love is still a choice.

I made my pastor aware of the changes in my schedule since I am pretty sure it will affect my ability to serve in the ministry there. Since I will be missing one Sunday night and one Wednesday night service per month as well a soul winning during that same week I may not be able to meet the requirements for service as set forth by the church. I hate to give up any of the thing we are doing, choir, Children’s Church, special music, etc. but I do not want to violate the rules in place. It is the pastor’s call. I will continue to serve as long as we are there, but I will only do so if it does not compromise the discipline established there.

Mama and I are hoping Grandma and Grandpa will go to the church we have visited in Bowie, Bible Baptist Church. Mama said Grandpa really liked what he saw when they went together several Wednesday nights ago. I just hope they find somewhere to serve since there is little possibility for growth without service and there are few avenues of service, Biblically speaking, outside of the local church.

I go back to the flight illustration of several months ago. As we make a turn in flight if we do not increase our throttle and forward speed we will lose altitude without realizing it. Any turn we have to make in life requires an increased focus on service for the Lord or we lose momentum and altitude; Bible reading, prayer, Church attendance, personal devotions all need to be stepped up just to maintain our current walk.

If Mama and I lose our place of service we must be very vigilant to maintain our current spiritual walk so we can still grow in the Lord. Time to step it up a notch. No coasting allowed.