Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Guess Where I Am?

I snuck out of town this week on a business trip with
Tim. I will give you 18 guesses as to where we are! (Big clue: Where did it rain 18 inches last night in 6 hours?) When we went to Chicago, it galed all week. I think I am a bad weather magnet! We are in Austin, where up to a foot more of rain is predicted tonight. I have to say, though, that last night, it looked like the hand of the Lord was at the Travis County border (Austin), and just one county over, homes were being swept away, along with automobiles, boats, and everything that was not nailed down. We were very fortunate. We did not get even a trace of rain. The weathermen could not explain it. It went all around us.

Still, the weather has been icky since we got here Sunday. The girls were disappointed we could not get out more, but they have enjoyed vegetating in the hotel room with me. We brought their dollhouse and furnishings which helped immensely.

I got to see my college roommate Sunday. More neat stories when I get back to my computer.

Tonight, even though we had heard of sporadic road closings, we got to church with no problems. Now, outside, the thunder is revving up again. We're leaving for home tomorrow, and I will try to pull some of this moisture with us to back to our drought-stricken home state. The guys who handled the all-night live coverage last night ( I am a sucker for weather stories that are out of the ordinary) said that nearly every drought ends with a flood. Tennessee, get your boats ready.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

19 Years Ago Today...

Nineteen years ago today, I gave birth to a very special young man. He gave us quite a scare by not breathing after exiting the womb, and the little guy was very, very sick. He had strep and pneumonia and got to stay in the hospital for an agonizing 18 days. The ordeal left him with mild cerebral palsy, a fact we did not learn for about 3 years.

Poor little Sam with his i.v. lines in to help him recover from strep and pneumonia.

Santa Sam

Just the other day, we celebrated his graduation from high school. Here is what was written in his biography:

The name “Samuel” means “God heard.” God certainly heard our prayers when he gave us Samuel Douglas on June 20, 1988 in South Carolina. Sam was born into an Air Force family which eventually came home and settled in Middle Tennessee, where Sam has spent the majority of his life.

Sam’s loves in life are simple --- God, family, friends, praising God in song, trucks, Pearl drums, taking things apart, sleeping and eating! God has always been first in Sam’s life; he became a Christian when he was 11. Sam enjoys leading the singing at church, and where he has many young people who are special friends. When he can attend a Bible study with the other like-minded young people and praise God in song, he is the happiest! His favorite Bible passage is Philippians 4:11-13:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”


Not too happy to be dressed up for Easter!

Sam has blessed his family with an outstanding level of devotion for a young man. When his youngest sister Hannah was born in 2003, the baby was fine, but Mother was not. Sam took over a lot of the care of Hannah so that his step-dad could keep working and his mother could recover. What he did not know how to do, he quickly learned, and he never balked at having to take on extra responsibility with care of the siblings and his home. Sam loves his grandparents, Ron and Sarah E., Dan S., Bill and Ginny N., and Juanita “Needy” C. very much! His living great-grandparents, Carl E., Jack and Nina S., and Allene M., and all of his uncles, aunts, and cousins here today love him, too, and are proud of his accomplishments.

Sam plans to enter a Technical College in the fall to continue playing with the cars and trucks he has loved from childhood. With his kind heart, his industrious spirit, his pure soul, and the Lord’s help and guidance, Sam will undoubtedly continue to be the answer to the prayers of many people for the years that God gives him on this earth.





We laughingly realized after graduation that we had left out two of Sam's great loves in life--mechanical pencils and shrimp. The love of shrimp is easy to figure out. When I was pregnant with him, I ate shrimp like there was no tomorrow. We'd go down to Shoney's every week on "All-You-Can-Eat-Shrimp Night," and I know they lost money on me. I haven't the foggiest why he is so fond of mechanical pencils, except that he just loves the cool way they write. Since we live in a town where many writing instruments are manufactured, Sam has been the lucky recipient of some cool writing tools through the years.

Sam has been such a blessing to me through the years. I only wish that every mother had such a pliable, loving son who is so selfless and caring for his family. I know what a gift he is, and I thank the Lord for him every time I am reminded of that fact. Sam was probably my hardest child to birth and the easiest to raise so far. What an irony!

Happy Birthday, Sammer! Drum on, "Drummerboy!"

Monday, June 11, 2007

Four Little Girls



The picture above is of four little girls--two sets of sisters--who only met about an hour prior to this picture. There are four little pairs of arms here, entangled in the tightest of embraces as they prepare to part company. It is no wonder that Christ said that the kingdom of heaven will belong to "such as these."

It follows, then, that the kingdom of heaven won't belong to those who are NOT "such as these."

Children love almost unconditionally. They don't pick and choose who they will love; for the most part, they love everyone. Unfortunately and quite sadly, that quality leaves many people as they grow into adulthood. Love, for some people, becomes a very selfish emotion. They only "love" when it will get them something (usually material) from someone. Being so conditional, it is offered and rescinded so often that the recipient cannot keep up with whether this is an "on" day or "off" day.

When I saw the picture above in a group of shots that was taken last Sunday night, the words of I John 4 and the song taken from it--"The Greatest Command" immediately came to mind.

"Love one another,
For love is of God.
He who's born of God knows God and loves God.
He who does not love, is not born of God.
For God is love, God is love...."

There are a lot of people wearing the name of Christ who do not love. Look at those four little girls up there, then read I John 4 and I Corinthians 13. Those who can go "worship" with some that they cannot bring themselves to speak to, much less love, are certainly an enigma to me.

"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. " Matthew 5: 23-24

Friday, June 08, 2007

300 and Counting



The "Graduates" Sam and Sarah Beth! (Aren't they cute? Too bad they are cousins! :)




Anne and Dana-- Friends reunited after a 20-year separation!



Anne wanted a family picture. Tim (who looks like he is shrinking) was bending over to hold Hannah, who had ketchup on her face. Daniel really isn't losing his hair, he says. The stylist just cut it extra short this time!



Anne and some church friends. Anne's parents are on the left.



The girls made some new friends, too! (l to r) Hannah, Rebecca, Sarah, and Grace.



According to my blog stats, my last post was number 300! That is really not that many in the grand scheme of things, seeing as some of my friends post nearly every day! I'm finding that blogging is a giant effort for a busy mother.

Life is sure full of some poignant moments. I have had a few of those lately, and I will probably be having a few more in the not-so-faraway future, if the earth stands.

Sunday evening, we drove over to a neighboring town to meet a dear friend that I have not seen in about 20 years. Anne and I have managed to keep up with one another somehow, and we have a sweet long-distance relationship. She has watched my family grow and change, and I have watched and prayed a lot as she and her husband fought some terrible battles with health, and tough situations and unkind people. Of course, when we left South Carolina all those years ago, Dan and Sam were just babies. It was rather entertaining to reunite her with them 20 years later, as they have grown quite a bit! :)

We met at a congregation that I attended as a girl. As "fate" would have it, one of the elders started the singing service off with some observations about the history of the congregation. He reflected on the death two weeks ago of his fellow-elder and a man whom I have respected for years, Brother Herb. He said that he was going to do something slightly different and ask all who were present on the day this particular church first assembled in 1973 to stand up. I was 10 in 1973, and my family was there on the day when we started out in an old building that had previously been used by the Methodists in town. We shortly purchased a horse barn, of all things, gutted it, and made a very comfortable church building out of it. There were lots of jokes from the pulpit about meeting in a barn until my dad pointed out when it was his turn to preach (until we found a permanent preacher) that the Lord started out in a stable. After that, I don't remember anyone joking about it anymore. The church met in that place for a number of years until the present building was built and the old horse barn torn down. Now, it is a huge church, so unlike the small group of 50 or 60 who started it. I would imagine that there were about 20 or so of us Sunday night who were present and have made it these 34 years since. It was another one of those "poignant moments" when I looked over and Brother Herb's family stood without him.

The town where I grew up is now so different that it bears no resemblance to my old stomping ground. It is now a very affluent suburb of Nashville, and I marvel every time I go back at the changing face of the city. The old hill above my house that used to boast of the presence of Skeeter Davis' and Little Jimmy Dickens' homes now has mansions that are indescribable. Long gone are many of the modest "mansions" that I admired from my spot in the valley below.

For old time's sake, we drove down my old street before we jumped on the interstate. The old house is still there, but it will only be a matter of time before all those houses are eaten up by "progress." In some ways, that would not bother me, because it frankly does not seem right that anyone else could ever live in that house. We were the first to live in that house, and Mom and Dad stayed 30 years before moving. Across the street, I noted the home of "Mr. Tom" who was lost to cancer a couple of months back. "Our town" has lost some colorful citizens lately.

I'm learning that it is pretty painful to look back, because you want to see things the way they were when you last left them, and that is not going to happen. It seems like looking forward is more productive. I will miss the things I have left behind, but they are effectively dead now for me. I came home Sunday night with both sadness and happiness. I thought about how much I love my family, how proud I am of each one, and how happy and blessed I am to be with the man I love. I had some good times in 1973 when a new church was growing explosively. I had some special times with some good people in South Carolina in 1988. But it is 2007, and I am here, and since there is no going back, I look forward, slightly curious and hopeful about the next of my "poignant moments."

It seems I have dragged some of my "time-travelers" with me, through nearly 45 years of history now, and I would not take anything for the friendships and family ties we still share. However, I think we all realize that we are older, slower, (hopefully) wiser, and many more "-ers" than we were back then. We all seem to be o.k. with it. Most of us share the same goal--that most poignant moment of all, when we look into the eyes of our Savior--and all of this other stuff is over. I am sad that many I have known have grown weary and dropped out of the race. Apparently, our goals ceased to be the same at some point. But I thank the Lord every day for people like Anne who refuse to give up, who urge me on when I get lazy or weary, and who have the guts to stand for something. These folks are the stars of my "poignant moments."

So, onward I trod...301. I was telling someone today that with Sam's graduation, I feel like I have turned another page. It isn't one of those little thin pages, but rather it seems like I have turned one of the thick ones between chapters. The family dynamic is changing again, with another man raised and venturing out to find his way. Sometimes I don't think I will ever survive the little ones. Then, the Anne's of my life email and tell me that I will make it. I reckon, with God's help, that I will.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Graduation Photos

We made it through graduation for Sam! It turned out to be a very sweet and personal program. The speaker, Chris, a family friend and preacher, did an outstanding job, and I think all the moms shed a few tears. Even some of the uncles "got something in their eye!" Sam looked handsome as ever and made us proud. Here are a "few" pictures from his day:




Sam enters....


Sam's brother, Daniel, acts as Master of Ceremonies for the Day....



Our friend Chris gives the Commencement Address



We stand with Sam as his biography is read, and I try not to cry....





Sam gives me a rose and a hug....

One of the neat things about home school graduations is that the world stops for you, and everyone takes lots of pictures! In fact, they insist on it!




The guys of the Heart and Hearth Class of 2007!


The 'Sammer'

Sam has a few refreshments!

Sam with the 86 year old pianist, Ms. Brandon! She was outstanding! Anyone that can play 3 rounds of Pomp and Circumstance live on a piano and hit the notes is A-O.K. in my book!
Sam with his brothers, sisters, and cousins



Sam with his Uncle Doug

Sam with his Uncle Dan and Aunt Steph


Sam with his Uncle Drew, Aunt Brooke, and Cousin Emma

Sam with his maternal grandparents

Saturday, June 02, 2007

It's Graduation Day!





Today is Sam's Day. There is no more deserving boy than Sam of good things! Here's his photo story...if you are coming today, don't watch it! :)

Click here to watch 'Sams-Graduation-Day'


It's gonna be a sweet service. Our good friend Chris is going to be the speaker, and he is awesome!

Well, time to get 5 kids and one hubby dressed! Have a great day! We will, Lord willing!