Rob Bell, Frontier City, Birthday Party

We've had quite a weekend! Busy, hot, and fun!

Friday evening we heard Rob Bell at the Diamond Ballroom in SE OKC. He's a pastor from Grand Rapids, MI, who is touring this summer giving talks around the country. He's been called one of the best communicators of the day, and his message is Biblical and presented in a unique way. We enjoyed seeing, hearing, and experiencing him.

BUT!! Paul and I arrived thirty minutes before the doors opened and stood in line in the 100 degrees plus outdoors holding places in line. Doors opened at seven and we were some of the first ones in. Tony and Melody's family came down from Tulsa and met us at the Ballroom. The Lenox teenagers led the group in and went all the way to the front on the second row right in front of the speakers. AND the air conditioning wasn't working. One hour of loud, loud music and absolutely no air moving and in a very hot building waiting for the eight o'clock opening, and I thought I wasn't going to make it. I was thinking that I was way too old for this. Mel leaned over and said that Dad and I were really cool coming with all the young folks to hear this contemporary speaker. Well, okay, if you say so!

We stopped by Braum's on the way home and everyone got something very, very cold to help cool down.

Saturday, seventeen of us went to Frontier City: Wade and his three boys from Enid, plus Ann, Kade's girlfriend; Mel and Tony and their three plus Beth's boyfriend, Bryce; Brett and Kelly and their two; and Paul and me. We had a really good time. Logan rode all the roller coasters for the first time and said he really enjoyed it. Of course, Grams and Papaw rode the Renegade Rapids with Brett and his family and the log ride fairly early and got soaking wet, so Grams looked like a ragamuffin the rest of the time. We all met for lunch in the Cantina area and the little ones watched a kid show.

Wade and his gang split off to ride a few more rides and then they took off for home so Wade would have time to get ready for their contemporary service at 7:01 that evening.

The rest of us rode rides and walked around. Grams and Papaw got really tired and really, really hot; so as old folks do, they had to take it easy and walk a little slower and head for the cooler places. We kept watching each other to make sure each was okay and we kept laughing at how young we think we are and yet our bodies keep mentioning (loudly) that we might ought to take it a little easier. Anyway, by 4 p.m. we had all had it and headed for Brett and Kelly's house to have an early celebration of Papaw's 66th birthday. When we got to the car, the outside temperature read 109! We were so HOT!

The B.Burleson's house was so nice and cool and they had gone to great lengths to prepare. They had a large birthday cookie that said Happy Birthday Hulk (Papaw has become The Hulk, named by Pierce) on it and a big yellow cake with chocolate frosting with two number six candles on it. Green balloons were everywhere and they had printed out many pictures of The Hulk and had them around. Brett had iced down pop and water, and he brought in pizza. We had such a good, COOL time. (Thanks to Brett and Kelly for all their hard work and for providing us all such a good time!) It was really fun and relaxing! Papaw, aka Dad, loved his gifts end enjoyed his early birthday celebration (Wednesday is the actual 66 in 06 day).

The fun-packed weekend was more fun that we've had in a long time. We so appreciate our kids and their kids and our whole family. And we especially appreciate it when they make an effort to travel and be with us and those who work to accommodate the large group. It's an extra special family that we have, very diverse, and we love them and enjoy them immensely.
Great weekend!
MB

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

I thought I would respond to the e-mail Mom sent to all of you that told of my "accident" with the black water hose [that's the c#*# hose for all rednecks] while loading the RV to come home from the lake.

First, it was not the solid stuff that was the problem since Mom and I had been discreet and used the facilities provided by the Park. Those facilities, however, were far worse in many ways than was the hose incident. The sights, the smells, and the insects were enough to cause you to wonder if you'd lost your mind coming to the lake in the first place.

It was the liquid stuff that became my problem to the tune of soaked shoes, jeans, shirt, arms and legs. No face problem for which I am eternally grateful. [We had used the RV facilities for nocturnal times of refreshing moments of personal relief only thank the Lord.]

But in spite of that comodious experience, it was a great time. Bob Waddle and I beat Carolyn and Mom "two games in a row", count them, two games of cards, a game called "hand and foot". [They did beat us four games in a row until those last two but what they don't know is Bob and my strategy was to let them win a few to off set the hot weather to ensure a good time for all since they tend to get grumpy and depressed if it's hot AND they loose. A bit of male strategy at work and it DID work.]

Finally, I did learn a lot about this RV thing and Dara is taking me to the movie for my birthday next Monday since they will be out of pocket on the 19th. She is debating between CARS or RV. I've not seen either one and she will choose which one but I'll bet I could teach them a little something about RVing it. By the way Dara, I do eat popcorn at the movies, a big bag at that. But I'll be glad to share it with you.

Well, check out Logan's new blog if you haven"t
already. It's loganslines.blogspot.com. I think
everyone is in on and aware of 8lives. That pretty
well wraps up the family blogs And you may be
wondering about the short lines in this final
paragraph, I am too, don't know what happened.

Dad/Paul/Papaw/THE HULK

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

I just had to share with everyone something very special. Roses have always been my favorite flower. One day last year Paul and I were sitting on the back porch and I commented that I wished we had some roses on our back fence. I came home that evening from work and I had two rose bushes planted along the back fence with trellises included. Unbelievable! It made the statement "Your every wish is my command." very meaningful. The two rose bushes are now in full bloom for the second time this year. Every time I look at them and enjoy their beauty I think of how much I love Paul and his everyday efforts to make sure I'm happy. Everyone should have such a "handsome feller" in their life. Just wanted to share. Have a happy Fourth. (Also did you notice we old folks figured out how to upload pictures to our blog. Yeah! We're learning.)
MB

Frontier City

We're set for Saturday, February 15, for Frontier City. Paul called and bought the tickets. We have tickets for Tony, Melody, Cody, and Nataly; for Brett, Kelly, Sierra, and Pierce; and for the two of us. We have one extra because when you buy for a group of ten, you get a free one. So, we're waiting to hear from Boe and Logan to see if they're going to be able to come. (Boe, you had mentioned you would really like to come and were going to try to. Let us know.)

We would welcome any and all of the rest of you. We just bought tickets for the for-sure ones. We can and will buy tickets for everyone who wants to go, or rather who shows up when we go. ;-)

Charlie Daniels is in concert that night at 8 p.m. Not sure if any of you guys are interested in staying, but your ticket is a ticket to the concert also. Paul and I may try to stay; we'll have to wait and see how much energy we have left after all day in the sun and riding all the rides. Remember, we're getting to be old folks. Shucks!

Frontier City opens at 10:30 and it might be best to get there early before it gets too hot. We usually meet at that Love's on I-35 and 122nd. Why don't we plan to meet there at 10:30 and drive over together.

Friday night the 14th Paul and I have tickets to the Roy Bell Concert at the Diamond Ballroom in OKC. Tony, Melody, and Brett are really sold on him, but I'm not familiar with him or what he does. Should be interesting. I'm really looking forward to it. The Lenoxes are coming down and we'll probably meet them there.

I did see one of his videos at Liberty in Tulsa, and I'm so literal that I had to have it explained to me. I'm realizing as I get older that I'm almost a pure literalist and have very little imaginative juices flowing, so when there are creative and implied presentations, I'm a little bit lost. I think I'm somewhat smart and intelligent, but I'm not too good at this other stuff. All of you kids seem to be and Paul's a master at it. Good thing I have you guys around. Please be patient if I ask stupid questions, and don't laugh too hard.
(Please.)

Looking forward to the 14th and 15th.
MB

2partners

Hey everybody, I'm sitting here in Austin TX having answered a comment on my vtm blog from a fellow named Pete, [Not his real name]
with a superbly crafted response of about 150 words dripping with wisdom, insight worthy of the ages and destined to be written down as a mini Gettysburg address...punched it in to be posted so he could read it and be blessed...and lost the WHOLE THING. Why is it always safe to comment about your own work like that when no one will ever be able to see it? Maybe that's why I can comment about my work like that. :)

Anyway, I played 10 games of racquetball with Uncle Ron Cherry this week. He beat me several. He's getting better and I'm getting old. It was fun though. I read a lot, work at the computor, play racquetball, go to movies, make long distance calls, and do the things generally that any kept man would do. Boy this IS the life. I have also been monitoring and posting comments to Wade's blog while they are on vacation. That's been a daily thing.

Mom is working hard and everytime I get a little feeling of guilt, she reminds me I worked like she is for forty years AND she loves what she's doing. If that love is ever gone she'll join me in backing off a bit and we'll both head off in the RV for some down time. Till then we're two happy people enjoying life and each other. But we're BOTH getting older so if it comes sooner than expected don't be surprised, if it doesn't come soon don't be surprised. We're not surprised by much anymore. We just take it as it comes and milk it for all it's worth, whatever the "it" happens to be.

It seem to be be shaping up for the 15th of July for Frontier City but we will be in touch more over the weekend. We're coming home tonight but tomorrow will be a busy time for both of us as Mom goes to the office to fill in the crew and I get on the yard, check on Grandma West, and generally get some things done.

This is really a post about everything and nothing really, I just felt like hunting and pecking at a keyboard. We love you guys...and anyone else, I guess, who stumbles across and reads these rambling words.


Paul/Dad/Papaw/The HULK

Summer Fun

We still haven't worked out our Frontier City date, a date which will work for most of us. Right now we're set for July 8, but the little ones can't come. July 9 was suggested, but we don't think that will work. I'm suggesting Saturday, July 15. Reason: Rob Bell is in OKC on July 14 (Friday) and several of us have tickets. Lenoxes, you could spend the night with us and go to Frontier City the next day. Hopefully, the two little ones might be able to make it on that day. Would each family weigh in on this? And, Boe, please post a comment.

We were in Enid yesterday; Paul preached for Wade both services. (Wade, Rachelle, and Logan are in AL at their timeshare enjoying a week at the beach.) We chatted with Kade who has a very, very short haircut, which looks good. And we chatted with Boe, who has a shaved head!! I told him it makes him look older and he said, Thanks! Boe also told me he reads our blog every day (Hi, Boe), and that he wants to try and go to Frontier City with us. I encouraged him to write a comment sometime.

We're headed for Austin today and hope to return late Wednesday, but may have to wait and return late Thursday.

A funny thing: You know how Pierce calls Papaw the Hulk (FYI: He calls me the BAD Wonder Woman, LOL). Well, yesterday a woman at Emmanuel BC told Paul he looked like The Hulk. At least that's what Paul heard. Later, on the way home, he commented to me something like, wasn't that funny that lady said I looked like The Hulk. Interesting!!

I said that I heard her say that he looked like Hulk Hogan, and then I said, is there a Hulk Hogan? We laughed and Paul said that makes more sense. Of course, this morning I Googled Hulk Hogan and saw that he is a wrestler and does star in some movies. I can see the resemblance, but Paul is better looking, by a long shot!! LOL. Live and learn.

A sad thing: Yesterday, June 25, would have been Carmen Cherry's 60th birthday. She died August 1, 1990. I wanted to stop by her grave in Edmond and leave a yellow rose and spend a few minutes remembering and working through any grief that surfaced. (I find this very therapeutic.) But, our schedule didn't allow it, so I thought I would just write a note here remembering her and saying I hope she's never forgotten. She was a special sister who had a lot of problems, but we also had some good times together. Seems impossible that she's been gone 16 years.

A happy thing: We stopped by Brett and Kelly's on our way home from Enid. Sierra has lost two front teeth and was quick to hug both of us. Of course, Pierce hides, then sticks his tongue out as a greeting. He does warm up to us a little later. We had fun seeing how well B & K are fixing up their home and yard. Looks great! Then we watched as Pierce drove Sierra around in their little motorized white Porche that Grandpa Ezra gave them. They go really fast and it's just like a real car. Pierce likes to go in reverse and go fast. Funny thing, when he goes forward and fast, he's looking back at us and laughing, not caring and not looking where he's going. Already drives like a teenager, LOL.

Well, that's the latest from Mary and Paul, aka Grams and Papaw, aka The Hulk and BAD Wonder Woman.
MB

2partners

Hey everybody, July 8th seems the best date for all who can go to
frontier City. It is a go for mom and me too. Let's plan on that if that's ok with everyone. Details can be worked out either by e-mail or post.

By the way, check out the couple in the picture on 2partners profile only don't look to closely, the HULK is wearing a speedo and WONDER WOMAN isn't nearly as pretty as Grams is. :)

My ministry blog is going really well. The comments are fun to respond to and the connections are unbelievable. People are contacting us from years ago and I've already gotten a meeting in Kentucky from it. Who knows what words and thoughts lurk in this evil mind of mine but they will eventually be in print I assure you. Boy we all may be in trouble.

Paul/Dad/Papaw/The Hulk

Let's All Go To Frontier City

Nataly wrote and suggested that she and Cody and her Mom and Dad come down and we all go to Frontier City together.

I think Nat remembers the times when I worked at Saxon and they had family day at Frontier City and we would all meet at Love's and go in together and enjoy the day and a great meal, all for free!

Just because I (Grams) don't work at Saxon any more, doesn't mean we can't have a family day at Frontier City. Papaw (aka Paul) and I will foot the bill. Right, Papaw?

Let's have some fun and take a poll. How many would be interested in having a family day at Frontier City? If you're interested, what Saturday in the near future would work for you and yours? If just two or three are interested, that's enough to have fun and a good time, right?

Answer quickly so we can get plans underway. (I'm assuming we have some interested parties, LOL. But, hey, I know Nat and Cody want to come.)
MB

2partners


Home again home again. Boy does it feel good. My bed, my refrigerator, my recliner, my woman...oops she really is first in the order of things. But boy was it worth the whole 2350 miles. For a full report go to vtmbottomline but this is for family and friends only.

Mom/Grams/Mary [I'm never sure who will read this] went to Austin this morning at 6:00am and will return tonight at 6:00pm. We will be going to Enid tomorrow afternoon late to spend the night because I'm preaching an early [7:00 am] breakfast for Dads and their boys and then two services that morning and one that evening. A full day it will be. Wade @ family gone to the beach in Mobile Alabama for a couple of weeks. I'll repeat the next weekend minus the early breakfast.

Moxley crew get your blog set up and we'll burn the airways with Burleson blathers along with the L5life bunch and the blogosphere will NEVER be the same.[Cherri just called and Terry is going to set theirs up in July when she's home.]

Brandon is in Idaho. Way to go Brandon. He is practicing today and plays every day almost until September. Come to think of it, Majestic 6 has already told all this but what's blathers for it you can't say it again?

I listened to my Sirrus sat. radio for hours and one channel is clean comedy and I laughted out of control several times. One guy said a new redneck word...aorta...."Eh orta mow that grass for long." You should have heard some of the funniest stuff on radio. Thanks Mom for my birthday gift.

I'm mowing the grass right now and came in to rest and check blogs, so I guess I orta git back to it.

Paul/Dad/Papaw/THE HULK

GREAT BARBECUE AT RUDY'S

Charis (Burleson) met us at the door of Rudy's and we got a great welcome and a hug. Tuesday night was free food night for the families of employees of Rudy's Barbecue in Norman, which has its official opening today. The atmosphere is loud and fun, country music playing in the background. The tables are picnic tables and benches. The food is fantastic. Mom, Freddie, and I enjoyed way too much food. Charis stopped by our table a couple of times and chatted with us. We appreciated her invite and we all said we could highly recommend Rudy's as a great place to dine, or rather to eat supper. ;-) And, of course, the service is the best, especially if you get Charis waiting on you!

Welcome to the Lenoxes as they've joined the blogosphere. Their address is L5 Life@blogspot.com. It will be fun to get the news from T-Town when they post. This is too fun, like a family bulletin board to check when you want to and to stay up with everyone. I love technology and the age in which we live. Beats the horse and buggy days by a bunch.

The news from Greensboro is good. I viewed Wade's Web interview yesterday. It was also really good. Great way to be a part of what's happening without actually being there. Paul had lunch yesterday with Dave Clippard and Rick Shepherd. When he tells me that news, I wish I were there. Would be so fun to see everyone. (You know, grammatically, I should have written "I wish I was there" because technically I could have been there so I wouldn't use the subjunctive mood of the verb, which is only used in wish situations or impossible situations. But I thought you might think I made a grammatical mistake, so I left it in the common form. TMI, I know. But, hey, I couldn't resist. LOL)

Dara's first Premier show is Thursday night. Good luck, Dara. Have a good show and we wish you great success. Let us know how it goes.

Have a good day, everyone.
MB

A Good Report

Last night Paul called from the convention center in Greensboro. We talked about fifteen minutes and we were interrupted many times by people greeting Paul. Many of them used that preacher tone and that silly religious language when giving their greeting. Paul and I enjoyed some good laughs afterwards. (Shame on us, but we have fun. LOL)

One of the more prominent bloggers, Pastor Ben Cole, grabbed the phone and said to me, "God should have shut up your womb, you know. It's because of the fruit of your womb that we're in this trouble today in the convention." I replied, "So this is all my fault?" We were all laughing hysterically. Ben's a really funny guy.

From all the reports it looks like the convention may be turning around, at least that's what it seems like at this point. Several things happened yesterday in committees and in the way certain keynote speakers were saying things. The bloggers seem to be very encouraged. Funny thing though, no one wants Wade to endorse them or to seem to be on their side of the issues. They're afraid he's too controversial. At least that's the report I got. It's fun to read all the blogs and the different perspectives.

Life is pretty tame here at home. Tonight I'm going to Rudy's Barbecue, a new restaurant that's opening here in Norman tomorrow. Charis is a waitress there for the summer, and tonight is family night. I think Freddie's going to come down and go with me to enjoy a free meal of barbecue.

Tomorrow at noon Margaret Purifoy is going to drive down to Norman and have lunch with me. We've tried to get together on a regular basis, but with both of our schedules, that's hard. She offered to make the drive down so we could have lunch together. Then tomorrow for supper I'm meeting Christine Burleson in Moore. I'm going to be five pounds heavier when Paul returns because of all this eating out. Oh well, he'll be heavier too with all the convention eating. Guess when we hug on Thursday we'll bump together like bumper cars, a little blubber bouncing. LOL

We're busy at work. I'm hiring two more people. Managing is fun and time consuming. Right now, I've got ten people total, eight are working, and two are getting set up. Keeps me hopping. I'm flying to Austin Friday, down and back in the same day. (I reread this before posting and noticed the verbs "hopping" and "flying." Got a mental picture of a morphed creature, part bunny, part bird. Hmmmm...)

Life is a wonderful adventure! Could it get any better? We'll see.
MB

2partners

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Traveling is something I'm familiar with but this trip was long even for a seasoned guy like me. It could have taken just fifteen hours from Norman to Greensboro except for two things. I drove nine hours Saturday and spent the night about 60 miles west of Nashville Tenn. I left at 6:20 am for a normal 6 hour drive on in to Greensboro but about 80 miles west of Knoxville a van immediately in front of me overcorrected off the left shoulder and rolled at least 6 times winding up in the bar ditch on the right side of the highway. The van was totally demolished as you can imagine and I was the first one to it. I reached in and turned the ignition off as gas and fumes were coming out and the motor was smoking. The van had it's bottom up on a ledge so that the driverside doors could'nt be reached and the passenger side was about four feet off the ground. I got around to the passenger side and an old man was crawling out the passenger front seat window. I helped him and by that time several people were helping. The woman inside the van pushed a baby into my arms and I set her on the ground. Then a seven year old [I asked her how old she was and told her she was being very brave] brought a smaller baby with her. I tried to get the woman to let me help her out but she would not leave her husband who I think was asleep in the back seat. If that's true then the woman was driving. Five minutes later the ambulance arrived as some one had called who didn't stop evidently.
Once it arrived I left but there was a lot of blood from cuts but no one was seriously hurt unless it was the man in the back seat who I think may have had some broken ribs. The little girl said everyone had on their seat belt except dad in the back asleep. WHEW.

Then, 50 miles further down 1-40 A tunnel crumbled and they closed east bound 1-40. I had to take the Appalachian trail highway which was two lanes, winding, slow and BEAUTIFUL. Fred and I have seen stuff like that on our bikes on rare occasions. I'm coming back here for a ride.

So what should have been 6 hours turned into 9 hours. What a day. But I made it and will write some more in the next little while. This is just fun family stuff. If there is anything about the business of the convention, I'll post on vtmbottomline and mom can fill in here. I'm NOT going to hunt and peck both places. :)

PB

It's a Small World

Yesterday afternoon was a fun time at Carl Ralph Bullard's retirement party at First Southern Baptist Church in Del City. The greeting time was from 1 to 2 p.m. and the program was from 2 to 4 p.m. All ten of the Bullard kids were there with their mates and with their kids. A total of 68 people were on stage when they asked the family to come up.

During the greeting time Sarah and I were sitting in the auditorium, and a couple came in whom I recognized as sitting two rows down from us at the OU football games. I introduced myself and we made the connection with CHA. He then said they were good friends of Phil and Rachel's and also their son played ball with Rye Cherry. He told us of a funny time when he saw John and Rachel together at the hospital and had a difficult time trying to figure out how they knew each other. It's a small world, and I often think of the six degrees of separation theory.

The retirement party was great. Junia and Basil spoke representing the kids. Starley spoke and told how Ralph made her laugh. She gave several really funny events and then thanked Ralph for what he meant to her. They had a couple of friends speak and a couple of business colleagues speak. The finale was they gave Ralph a brand new GMC truck. He had mentioned that was something he had never had but was going to buy when he retired. The whole theme was the legacy that Ralph was leaving at CHA. It was really, really good and fun to attend.

Before I headed home, I went to Edmond and got to see Skye and Denvre, Ruth's girls, perform with their dance troupe. Boy, are they good. Many of the dances they performed are ones they will be doing in competition in Las Vegas this summer. Leah and Dean's oldest, Bridgette, also performed, and Freddie and I got tickled watching her because she reminded us so much of Leah at that age. Very fun. Ruth's girls are unbelievably good (I know I'm repeating myself), but if you ever get a chance to see them, it's worth the effort.

To finish this post about it being a small world: Cherri and Mike were at a surprise birthday party for Mike's mom Saturday afternoon. Earlier, Mike had noticed on a blog forwarded to him by his Mom from his Aunt Nancy that Fred Cherry's name was in the list of people in the From section on the forward. Mike asked his Aunt Nancy what the connection was. It was clogging. Freddie and I have clogged with Nancy for years, and we met and knew her husband, Kenny, who got cancer and then died a couple of years ago. That same Kenny is Mike's mother's brother. Now, is this not a small world, or what? Nancy couldn't get over that Cherri was my daughter, that Kenny's and her nephew had married Mary's daughter. I couldn't wait to call Freddie this morning and tell him. He was as surprised as I was.

It's a small world! And each day brings new adventures. Life is good!
MB

2partners

I love Saturday mornings. We walk our two miles and arrange our route so we can end up at Braum's and split the small biscuits and sausage gravy combo. Of course, we eat double any calories we might have walked off. But, at our age, we're walking to stay active more than looking slim and trim (fat chance, no pun intended, LOL).

Well, we're almost back to having our house 100 per cent. We still have a couple of people coming next week to put on the final touches, but we have our lives back to almost normal. Funny, how you don't realize how much you enjoy having things in order until you have to live in disarray.

Last night we took a couple to supper to thank him for being available to come and help out when we needed him. He came over and turned the water off for me the Sunday morning of our flood. He then came back by two other times and also called to check. He was very helpful. They kept saying our taking them to dinner wasn't necessary, but be sure and call again when I needed help because they enjoyed having dinner with us. Fun time. Russ Ortiz (pitcher for the Diamondbacks) is their son-in-law and he's scheduled to pitch against the Rangers next weekend. We had fun discussing baseball with them, and of course we were bragging again about Brandon.

Paul's got his wireless working again. He's so grateful. He was going to a wi-fi restaurant every morning after he got me my Starbucks coffee so he could read all the blogs and post on his. It was a funny sight if you could have watched us each morning. I get up first and get on the Internet and check all the blogs. Paul's up before I'm finished, and he's trying not to pace so I will hurry up and let him use my computer. Pressure, pressure! And that from a guy who bragged just a few short months ago that he wasn't a computer-type guy. He's living proof you can teach an old dog new tricks. Not that he's an old dog, . . . ;-> He would then finish up what he didn't get finished on my computer at the wi-fi restaurant.

We plan to follow all the exciting things going on at the Southern Baptist Convention through all the bloggers, mainly Wade's, this next week. So glad Paul's computer's working. I have a Google alert for Wade and this morning there was one from the Dallas News and one from the east coast. The Daily OK also has an article this morning. Interesting stuff.

Today we're looking forward to Ralph's retirement celebration. Found out that over 6,000 invitations were sent out. Should be a gala affair. We'll post later about it.

Better go walking. Braum's is now open.
MB

2partners

Happy Birthday today, Kelly. Hope it's a good one! Hope the baseball draft selections help to make it a good one! Good luck to you guys.

Rachel's reading our blog and wrote and asked how the adventure is going. Good prompt for me to write again.

Our adventure is moving along. We only have two of the seven original machines left in the house dehumidifying and blowing and making noise. Those will probably be gone today. Yeah. A little quietness will be a welcome relief. The insurance adjuster is also coming today to view and decide.

While we're in a mess and since our hot water heater is fourteen years old and not up to code, we're having a new hot water heater put in Thursday. Then we'll have the carpet redone either Friday or Monday.

Saturday morning the Cox guys are coming to rewire all our stuff since apparently the water leak has messed up our brand new surround sound and TV equipment. Paul's wireless computer doesn't even work in the house any more. Just to check it, he went to a wi fi restaurant and booted up. It worked fine there, so it is our problem.

Then last, but not least, early next week we'll have to have the guys who installed our sound system come out and rewire it. Actually, the very last thing will be to clean up and put back everything in this house. What a challenge! Oops, I mean what an adventure! ;->

Last night Cherri had invited us to hear a sports nutritionist do a special presentation at their church, but we didn't think we were interested. However, to escape the noise in the house, we went. It was very good. Paul was especially captured by what the guy said. He was very articulate and made a lot of sense. We came away with a chart so we have a visual to help us remember the info.

Next Saturday Ralph Bullard's retirement celebration from CHA is occurring at First Southern BC of Del City, 6400 South Sooner Road, Del City, OK. The invitation reads 1:00 p.m. opportunity to greet Mr. and Mrs. Bullard, and 2:00 p.m. celebration program and presentation of gift. Fellowship to follow. We're going, and wanted you to know about it and encourage you to come if you can.

That catches you up on the few happenings out our way.
MB

2partners

What is that saying? The best laid plans of mice and men. . .? Or something like that.

This morning started out normal. Paul and Freddie left for their three-day motorcycle trip about 7:30 a.m. after some rolls and coffee on the porch. It was a perfect day to start a motorcycle ride. They were headed to Carlsbad.

Thirty minutes later I discovered water coming into the back bathroom from somewhere. At first I thought it was a toilet leak, but I could see the water was coming from under the back wall. I checked the closet where the air conditioner and the hot water heater are, and discovered two inches of standing water. The carpet in the hallway was soaked and when I checked, I found wet floors in two closets, the middle bedroom, and parts of the living room.

I talked with Cherri and Jenny. Mike was in Tulsa, and Tommy suggested I turn the water off at the meter. So how do I do that? LOL. After I tried everyone in the family I could think of (males, that is) with no luck, I woke my next-door neighbors and he came over and checked and concluded we had a slab leak. All we could do was call a plumber. He didn't offer to turn the water off. I called a friend from church for a recommendation of a plumber, and he came over to check for himself. He came to the same conclusion and brought his home-made tool for turning the water off, and I now know how to do that. Very simple, but when you don't know, you don't know.

In the meantime, I was calling Paul every thirty minutes hoping against hope he would check his cell when they stopped for a drink. About 10 a.m. he heard my frantic messages and he and Freddie turned around and headed home. They got here about 12:45. I do believe that's their shortest motorcycle ride, even shorter than last year's ride to Memphis.

Paul spent the afternoon on the phone with the insurance company, getting all the scoop. We had to start immediately getting the water out of the carpets because our insurance doesn't cover mold. The drying-out company is here now and has rolled the carpet back and taken up all the wet pad. He said they will have their machinery here three to five days, and they will check every day to see how it's doing. Then they will reinstall new padding and fix the carpet and clean all the carpet in the house.

But we have to have the plumber out tomorrow to determine where the leak is and get it fixed. In the meantime we're without water. If the plumber finds a wall leak, we're looking at having the sheetrock torn out and fixing that. If he finds a slab leak, we're looking at who knows what and how long? See? Best-laid plans. . .LOL

I felt like a woos calling Paul and saying to please come home, I can't handle this. Actually I did handle it and everything was under control when he got home. Except I most certainly cannot handle all the people coming and going the next week or two to get everything done, along with my pressure-filled job. So, I'm very glad he's home.

I often think of Sierra's question to me one day, "Grams, is this an adventure?" I love saying and do so often, "This is an adventure." Which, implies to me that there are possibly some exciting things that can happen and that we can learn from this experience. Makes it a lot easier!

So, just wanted to let you in on our new adventure! Actually, one thought I've already had is that I have a new appreciation for people who have their house flooded. Not fun.

And, so much for brand new plush carpet. We're telling ourselves it's just stuff, no big deal. And it's really not. But, we also had to unhook our new speakers and move everything. No way are those ever going to get put back together like they were. LOL. It's all a challenge.

Here's hoping we won't seriously injure ourselves when we get up in the night and head for the bathroom. It's an obstacle course. And, if that doesn't get us, the noise will. Have you ever heard five large drying machines and two huge dehumidifiers going 24/7? Thank goodness for my office, I can at least get away for awhile.

So what does the future hold? Mess and noise, at least for awhile.
Great adventure!!
MB

2partners

An additional post: On yesterday's post I forgot to mention an important event coming up for Wade and Paul. The Southern Baptist Convention is in Greensboro SC June 13-14. Paul's driving out on Sunday and Monday. Bob Waddle is planning to go with him, and Jim (as in uncle) is flying up from FL to join them. Should be an interesting convention. Be sure and check out Paul's blog at vtmbottomline.blogspot.com. He's having fun being a part of the blog discussions.

Wade has asked Paul to speak for him two Sundays, June 18 and June 25, so we'll have fun going to Enid and enjoying those services as we always do.

Saturday evening is the monthly Cherry gathering at Johnnie's in Edmond. We haven't made it for the last few months but are looking forward to going tomorrow night.

Last night I was able to return to clogging class after missing several weeks. Yikes, am I out of practice and somewhat out of shape, but so much fun. I've dropped back to the intermediate class from the advanced. Use it or lose it is so true. Freddie was also there and he teaches a clogging class (Jenny, Starley, and Karen Cherry attend) in Edmond, and he rarely misses our Thursday night class, so he's quite the pro and so fun to watch. We've decided we think it's keeping us younger and healthier. Hmmmm. . .Time will tell.
MB

2partners

Today is June 1. How time flies! June will be a fun month. Kelly has a birthday June 7, and June 6-7 is the baseball draft. Brandon will surely be picked and hopefully early on. It's a suspense-filled wait!

Today through Saturday Cherri, Mike, and Dara are hosting their Premier retreat in Denton TX. Dara told us at her Premier show that she had to give up being senior class treasurer because she didn't pass one of her classes. That was pretty tough for her and she was sad about it, but she said at least she knew she had the support of her classmates.

June 9 is the one-year anniversary of Paul's stroke, and not to be curtailed at all, Paul and Fred are going on a motorcycle ride next Sunday through Tuesday. They make tentative plans and then watch the weather forecast. They can change their plans at the drop of a hat and turn away from any bad weather. That's one of the things they love about their trips, no schedule and flexibility.

Beth is halfway through her year of beauty school and still enjoying it. She plans to move to Illinois when she finishes, so Brice can go back to college to be a history teacher.

Sierra lost her first tooth and got three dollars from the tooth fairy!! We felt extravagant giving a quarter instead of a dime. Times have changed!

Hope you all have a great June. It's starting out nice with rain and cooler weather. Keep us posted on what's happening with you. And, leave a comment as you pass by.
MB aka Grams, Mom, Beautiful (called that by Handsome, LOL)

2partners

Yesterday, Sunday, was a good day for us. We drove to Tulsa and went to Liberty Church. Beth came and sat with Paul and me. Tony worked in the sound booth and Mel was in the praise team. We visited with Paul and Linda Taylor before the service, and when Paul asked us what was up, we told him it was Mel's birthday and our 47th anniversary. We all three registered complete shock that in three years Paul and I will have our golden anniversary. All the golden anniversary celebrations I've ever attended were for older, much older people. How can that be the two of us? But, it is. LOL We're hoping we can plan a motorcycle trip instead of having the traditional cake and punch. We'll see.

The church service was great. We got to see several friends who are still there from when we were members several years ago. That was fun. And then Mel and Cody are going to Falls Creek this morning so they had a preparation meeting after church. We took Nataly, Tony, and Beth with us and we went to Macaroni Grill and got in line for a table for seven. Mel and Cody joined us not long after we got a table. Had a great meal.

While we were eating, we saw some more friends, Gordon and Virginia Christopher from Broken Arrow, who were standing with friends of the Lenoxes. Seems Mel and Tony's friend preached at the Church at Battlecreek (formerly Gracemont) where the Christophers are members. We all said hello and of course said, what a small world.

When the waitress came and asked if we were ready for dessert, I said no we had a birthday cake waiting at home. Before the check came, here came a beautiful lady holding a small birthday cake with a candle and she asked whose birthday it was. Mel had previously strongly urged us not to have the group-sing that occurs at many restaurants. ;-) But, we were trapped. I had inadvertently let it slip about a birthday. Anyway, we pointed to Mel and the cake was placed in front of Mel and this woman started singing Happy Birthday in Italian as a solo. It was UNBELIEVABLE! Mel was moved to tears, and the whole restaurant broke out in applause at the end. Quite different from the goofy hand-clapping jazzy group-sing. And, it was perfect. Very classy! LOL.

We all then went to the Lenoxes and Tony had a beautiful birthday cake for Mel and when the 43 candles were lit, we had all the usual jokes about setting the place on fire, or at least setting off the smoke detectors. Mel got some nice gifts and we had a good time. Beth's Brice joined us for the party. We took some pictures and then we headed home about 2:30 p.m.

Dad's energy leaves him in the early afternoon, so I drove to midway while he slept. Then I got sleepy and had to stop for some caffeine, and Dad drove on home.

We got home and we both put on our at-home grubby clothes and checked all the blogs, our favorite entertainment. We ended the day watching Mel Gibson's movie, We Were Soldiers. Great Memorial Day movie. We'd seen it before, but we both enjoyed seeing it again.

Today (Monday) I have to go to the office and work awhile. Paul's going to ride the motorcycle around and then we've both got good books going. We may visit the cemeteries where the graves of all our loved ones are. That's three different ones. We usually do that, but we may/may not. We'll see.

Anyway, hope everyone has a good holiday.
Mom/Mary B.

2partners

Day after tomorrow is Sunday....May 28th. That day I celebrate the merging of two gifts given to me on that day.
One is a daughter. Her name is Melody. It stands alone. There is no other name needed. It speaks of the person that bears it as none other could. What I'm about to say can be said of three others but this is her day...May 28th.
When I see her or say her name my heart is filled with a song. She is one who is real, growing, faltering, faithful and unique. She journeys life as it should be journeyed, challenging surface things to get to the core of things. She and the one she chose as a partner are responsible for three other gifts that cause this old man to cherish the day...May 28th...even more. From such a small beginning so much has come it is no wonder that day...May 28th....is a day of celebration for me. "Happy Birthday" is inadequate but is my desire for her on that day.

That brings me to the second gift that was given to me on that day...May 28th. The roots of all spoken before can be traced back to that day...May 28th....only it was in 1959. So, in reality, the last was first. Her name is Mary. Forty-seven years ago....May 28th....she said "yes". If you have ever had a dream for something and that dream become a reality you know what she is to me. She is the fulfillment of what has been the longing of my heart on a human level...a relationship based on acceptance and respect while knowing the reality of my heart which is often frightening. That is love. The living out of that relationship has taken years but my dream has become my reality. Mary is without a doubt the most genuine, real, completely there person I've ever known. She has been the catalyst for most of the moments of growth I've had as I've watched her grope with life. Her patience with failure on my part has been immeasurable. In the intervening forty-seven years she has become the light in every room I'm in, the warmth I've needed in every cold hurting situation and the joy I've longed for in every difficult circumstance. She is independent and self sufficient in a completely healthy way. She is the one who has given herself to me in ways that stagger my mind and heart. I cannot believe what that day held for me. No wonder it is a day of celebration for me. She will be completely embarrassed by what is being said so it can just be added to the many times her embarrassment has been real at the mention of qualities found in her. That is the best thing of all perhaps.....she is beautiful....but doesn't think so.....smart......but doesn't see it......capable....but doesn't parade it.....and most of all......my dream come true. What a day....May 28th.
So....Mary....Happy Anniversary....and thank you....for making May 28th a day of celebration for me.
One day..Two gifts...I hope all of you enjoy the day like I will.

PAUL........DAD