February 22, 2009

Celina, Texas and Calera, Oklahoma

We received a good report that Landis was well-behaved at Papaw & Mamaw's house in Texarkana last week. I was so proud of him and so happy for him to get to spend time with his grandparents.

Time with grandparents is something I used to take for granted. We lived only 7 miles from Grandpa Schwartz's farm and we were over there several times a week. And when I'd spend the night at their house, the sound of the milker (milking machine) would awaken me before dawn. I'd get up and after Grandma bundled me up, I'd walk out to the milk house. My Uncle Merlin would set me on a board fixed between 2 studs in the barn wall, which served as my perch and nervously I would sit there eye-level with the cows as they filed in to be milked. I remember being told why Grandpa limped when he walked. It had never dawned on me that something happened to him to cause him to walk the way he did. I just thought that was the way he chose to walk. Someone told me he fell out of the hay mow and broke his leg and, as a result, one leg was shorter than the other.

I have very fond memories of so many things from that farm. I remember my Aunt Ony, who was only 6 years older than me, taking me for rides on the little go cart. I wonder where they got that thing? Little platform close to the ground with four small tires and a small steering wheel. We'd weave in between all the buildings and splash through puddles or leave a cloud of dust in our wake. We used to beg for permission to walk down to the river. You could follow the lane that ran in between fields and led to the Prairie River. There was rope for getting a running jump, swinging out and making a big splash and LOTS of mosquitoes. I remember “helping” my uncles with hay baling on a hot August afternoon. And probably

one of my fondest memories is being sung to and entertained on a regular basis. My mom had four younger brothers and they were all still living at home the first couple years of my life. I was the first grandchild and with all those uncles I didn't lack attention. One of the boys would get their guitar and sing a song they wrote on the spot with my name, Becky Jo, plugged in and enough silly words in it to make me giggle until my belly hurt, while another one of them would walk across the room on his hands. Yes, good memories. And I'm glad Landis could tuck of few memories back into the corners of his mind to pull out later in life to relive.

We picked Landis up at 5:30 Saturday evening and after everyone got a potty break, we were back on the road toward McKinney, Texas where we spent the night. We found Trail To Heaven Cowboy Church near Celina the next morning and met a lot of friendly cow...people. It's definitely a much more relaxed atmosphere at a cowboy church. Pastor Kevin Landis had a GREAT sermon as he preached in his jeans and cowboy hat. He's doing a series on the calling of God on our lives and how God is constantly working in our lives to fulfill His will on this earth through us. Sometimes we don't see the point of something happening and sometimes things happen that we consider unfortunate but God is working through them for our good and His glory. I know somebody that shares this in their personal testimony.

I enjoyed visiting with Pastor Kevin's wife, Sharon after church. And Landis buddied up to their son, Garret, as they exchanged guitar skills.

We took our time driving up to Calera, Oklahoma, stopping for a long lunch at Wendy's and at Wal Mart to get a new pair of tights for Faith. She tripped walking down the wheelchair ramp and skinned both knees, tearing a hole in the ones she had on.

We still arrived at First Baptist Church of Calera about 30 minutes early. We had a quick and quiet service (yes, sometimes that happens) and drove 3 hours back to Texarkana for the night. We will stay in Texarkana on Monday for Bobby's sister Judy's birthday. We'll be back home Tuesday night.