Expressing Thanks

I must confess. I am the world's worst, absolute worst, gift receiver. I love giving gifts to others, but when I receive gifts, I'm a zero expresser of gratitude. I say thanks and that's about it. Later I usually fuss at myself for not being more expressive. I want to change, but I'm not sure this change is an option I can choose and accomplish.

However, in an attempt to show my thankfulness for gifts received from my children for my birthday, I'm dedicating this blog post to that purpose.

From Cherri and family: Cherri and Dara treated Paul and me to lunch and gave me a card with a personal note. Inside was a gift certificate to Starbucks. Great gift!! Every weekday morning Paul and I go to the mall and walk, usually two miles or four times around the inside of the mall. Then we go to my office and Paul goes to Starbucks and buys me a cup of coffee and doctors it with his special recipe. He always uses his own money and w/a tip, that's $2 a morning. I know, I know. It's terrible to give that much for a cup of coffee, but we do. So, with Cherri's gift that's over a month's worth of Starbucks coffee. And a friend sent me a card with another Starbucks gift certificate. Yeah! I will have my caffeine jolt for many mornings to come! Thanks to Cherri and family for a great and much appreciated gift!

From Wade and family: I received in the mail a great gift from Wade and his family. It's a fantastic OU book entitled "The University of Oklahoma Football Vault, The History of the Sooners." It's not only pictures, but it has envelopes holding actual old programs and old tickets. Bob Stoops writes the Foreword. It is a true collection, and very fun to read and reread. My Dad played football and ran track at OU in the early 1930's. I have loved reading this section and seeing the OU record at that time. My Dad also played in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii, and that is also mentioned. Paul and I have season tickets to OU football and enjoy very much all the Sooner hype and we're very much a part of that, yelling and clapping and doing the Boomer-Sooner yell across the stands. Too fun. So this book is very special and enjoyable to us, and it has a prominent place on our glass coffee table for all who come to enjoy. I may need to "regift" this back to Wade after we have thoroughly digested the contents. JK Thanks to Wade and family for a unique and appreciated gift!!


From Melody and family: I had mentioned to Melody a couple of weeks ago about how much I love poetry. In fact, I admire people who can quote poetry lines. I don't quite get the abstract stuff, but certain poets are my favorites because they're able to put in a few words some great thoughts, and I enjoy so much reading those lines. In fact, I usually get inspired to memorize sections of poetry. I have a Shakespeare handbook with snippets from his works that are well known. I read them often. Anyway, that must have been an unknown fact revealed to Mel, and she gave me this book for my birthday and reminded me of my words to her. Great gift! Mel, Tony, and Nat came through Norman on their way to Dallas and treated Paul and me to lunch and gave me this gift.

Hidden in the book was a gift certificate to Borders. A double gift! Thanks to Mel and her family for my birthday gift!

From Brett and family: I have to write here that Paul and I are book store addicts. We can spend more time and money in a bookstore than in any shoe or clothing store. We love books, and we have shelves in the garage full of books, an outside building of Paul's office full of books, an inside office with one wall of shelves full of books, and then different areas of the house are filled with books. This last group of books should be given away, and we will one day, but it's hard to make the decisions which ones to part with. All of this is a preface to say that Brett and his family gave me a gift certificate to Hastings. I'm savoring the thought of getting to go in and buy more books. I'm surfing my favorite blog writers to see what they're reading for ideas. How fun is this? Thanks to Brett and his family for this great gift!

So, to make up for my lack of physical expression and adequate verbal words of thanks, thanks to all of you, four wonderful kids and families, for such wonderful birthday gifts. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and the time you took to choose, buy, and get to me your gift. I'm a grateful and thankful Mom.
MB

Grandsons and Football Games

Six weeks ago, our oldest grandson, Ty, told us he had received a nice bonus at work and that he wanted to use some of it to treat Grams and Papaw by taking us to the OU vs TX game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on October 11. Wow! We were thrilled and excited and enthusiastically accepted the invitation.


Here are Paul and Ty sitting in one of the buildings at the TX State Fair. We arrived so early we had to find some places to find drinks and food and to sit down and rest awhile. We left the motel at 6:30 am, had breakfast, and headed over to the Cotton Bowl, parked, and were walking in at 8 am. We found ESPN's Game Day and stood and yelled and laughed and stayed until the telecast started. We left that huge crowd to find a resting place before going into the stadium.


Not sure why Ty is frowning when he has his picture taken with me. Hmmm... Maybe it was because Papaw had to try twice to take the picture, and Ty's not the greatest fan of having his picture taken although he was very gracious.

We had so much fun. Best of all was the one-on-one time with our 25-year-old grandson who is smart, good-looking, and just a pleasure to be with. He knows so much about everything!! We had fabulous seats at the game; it was a perfect weather day; and everything was so much more than we could have even hoped for. Except that, of course, we lost. Bummer! Otherwise a perfect and fun day!
MB

Her Life 1918–2008

Julia Margaret Lee Burleson West left her earth suit Saturday, October 4, 2008, and put on her heavenly suit and entered another life. In our common vernacular she died yesterday.


Margaret and Reed Burleson had four children, two girls Betty and Fern, and two boys Paul and Jim.


Reed Burleson died in 1971 in October at the age of 56. Margaret remarried a few years later to Eldon West.


After a few years of marriage, Eldon died. Over the years Margaret became a widow twice, lost her daughter Fern, and had some health issues. As she grew older, she progressively moved into smaller living quarters, assisted living, and finally became a resident in a nursing home. None of this was easy, but she made the best of every situation. As the changes came and she adjusted, she would eventually say, this is okay. She was a real trooper and learned to accept the different stages of her life.

Last May, the family hosted a 90th birthday party. Here's a picture of some of our family with her at that party.


The services are pending and the details will be decided today, Sunday. The reality of losing a loved one sometimes takes time to soak in. As I was looking through and choosing pictures for the service, I walked down memory lane of Margaret's life. Though she's gone from us physically, she as others of our family who have died, will live on in our hearts and memories. This is the way I'll remember her, younger and laughing and enjoying life.


See you later, Margaret.
MB

50 Years? Can't Be!

This weekend we are having fun at Paul's 50-year high school reunion. Last night was the opening party in OKC, and it was fun. Paul was definitely the youngest and best looking guy there!

Today we're touring the high school, at noon we're meeting for lunch, and at 2 pm we're gathering at OCCC (community college) for a poetry reading by a fellow classmate. Then we're attending a banquet tonight at 7 pm.

Being a "spouse" at a reunion can be fun and it can be boring. It depends on who you happen to sit next to (and get left by). Last night I sat by a "young" spouse who was 3 when her husband graduated from high school, so obviously she was 15 years younger than the majority there. She had fun evaluating how old and how decrepit so many of the alums looked. And I agreed, especially the guys. Most were very old, tough, and hard looking. It's her husband in the picture above with Paul.

A very fun moment was when my seat mate found out Paul was a preacher. That was well into the evening, after lots of fun and sharing. Then, she just couldn't get over it. She had had some bad experiences with preachers in her past and she didn't necessarily like them. She kept saying, "You had me fooled." We were both thinking, "Yeah!"

My handsome feller has aged well and was, by far, the best and youngest looking guy there. He loved my telling him that and kept doing the come-on sign on the way home for me to continue telling him. I did, I did, I did. . .

Looking forward to more fun today.
MB

Waterfall, Voilå!

The waterfall is completed and working.


Looks fantastic. Sounds fantastic. It is fantastic!!


We couldn't be more pleased. Relaxing, refreshing, rejuvenating!
MB

OU Fans Publicized

A 2007 Christmas present from our daughter, now being given.



Putting on the finishing touches.



Admiring the finished product.



Artist and helper trying to duplicate OU! Huh?



Finished product "aerial" view.


Rain threatened later that evening. We two quickly covered our newly painted OU with plastic and anchored it with all of our steak knives. We're truly fanatical OU fans. Too fun!
MB

Swimming Pools and Rain

No pictures today.

We will always remember the month we put our pool in.

Facts:
• We started filling our pool with water on 8/8/08 (which happens to also be Brett's 37th birthday).
• The month of August 2008 set a record for rainfall in OK City. We've not had to add water; we've had to drain water!
• We have already used our pool heater a lot. Yesterday the pool temperature was 73 degrees. I'm comfortable with the water temperature at 85 degrees.
• The electrical line had to be moved, and the company couldn't find the line. It was buried twice as deep as normal.
• So much rain has hindered much of the work getting done on schedule.
• August is usually one of the two hottest months of the year. Not this year. Very, very cool.

Those are some of the things we will remember.

What we're finding out:
• Exercising in the pool is fabulous!
• We need many bathing suits–three a day minimum. (Can't stand to put on a wet bathing suit.)
• Paul is addicted! (He said that yesterday. He absolutely loves it.)
• We're so pleased with the crews who've worked on our pool. Yesterday we had the drains replaced, and we wondered how they would do that in a full pool. One of the two young men who came to do it ran and cannonballed into the pool. I wasn't here, but Paul said it was so much fun and they laughed and laughed at how much fun it was. (Truth be known, Paul and I haven't done the cannonball entry yet, I rather walk slowly in gasping at the change in temp. Maybe one day . . .)
• I work in an office five minutes away. I can get home, eat lunch, and enjoy a fun time in the pool during the lunch hour.
• The most amazing thing: Paul is loving puttering outdoors. That's a major switch for this speaking, traveling man. He can't do enough outside and has found many new interests. It's fun to watch.

Overall, I guess you can tell, we are so excited about having a pool. I told someone the other day, it almost makes me feel rich. I know that's goofy because our pool is really quite small, but it's perfect for us. It's just one of those things the two of us have always wished for and never thought we would have.

Labor Day all four kids and mates and kids are coming for food and fun, almost all with a few exceptions. We'll have about two dozen here. We're going to tell them all that it's only on if the weather is fair. We're fair-weather hosts!

We're still not through with the construction. The waterfall into the pool hasn't been constructed yet. Guess why. Too much rain.

(I'm not griping; I just find it humorous that our area was behind in rainfall, but we put in a pool and now it won't stop raining. Fun things we'll never forget.) ;-)
MB

More Progress

The fire pit is now built. Two more things to go, the electrical line rerouted and the waterfall built. It's looking good and feeling great! We can't figure out why we waited so long to do this. It's absolutely fabulous. We'll keep you posted. MB

Swimming

No pictures today, but the pool is full and we have swum in it. Too, too fun!

Friday morning Paul left for a speaking engagement. I came home from work and there were two hoses filling the pool and a big, noisy machine blowing under the liner to keep the wrinkles out. I didn't know what to do and there were no instructions left. Later our pool man called and told me what to do just before I panicked about going to bed and dreaming of flooding the house.

Saturday, I got up and started the hoses again and the plugged in the big machine. Then I started cleaning our screened-in porch, which had tons and tons of dirt and sand all over everything. I worked five hours and moved everything and got all the dirt cleaned up. By then it was 104 degrees. Hot, hot!!

The pool man came by and took out the big machine and told me how high to let the water get. He poured the salt in (four big buckets) and brushed it so it dissolved and went into the drain so it would go through the system and make the natural chlorine. Being the inquisitive individual that I am, I had to know what was happening and why. I love learning new stuff.

He asked me if I was ready to jump in. I told him I had promised Paul that I would wait until he returned so we could experience the pool for the first time together. That was all my idea with Paul all the time insisting I should get in and not wait. It was hot, hot, and the pool man said, "Well, if you're not I am." Soon I said to him, "You know, that was a dumb promise. I'm getting in. That's why we have the pool." He laughed and left.

So all was ready. I called Paul and put the phone on speaker phone, to comply with his request, and he listened and we laughed and talked together as I waded in and oohed and ah-ed about how wonderful it was. So fantastic!

I stayed in about an hour and swam the length of the pool (30 ft) back and forth. Amazingly, I was out of breath. No wonder people say that's such good exercise. Fun, fun. Later that evening I got back in and had more fun just by myself. Then early the next morning I got back in and couldn't believe how nice and wonderful the experience was.

Paul got home Sunday evening and came running in the back door and before he even got all unpacked, he put on his bathing suit and jumped in. We had such fun. Then some friends came by and we truly initiated our pool.

Then, you know what happened? Norman OK received 4.6 inches of rain yesterday, Monday. Set a record! We were watching carefully as the pool level rose and rose. Yikes! It stopped about an inch from the top of running over. Can you believe it?

Then last night, it was too cold to get in the water. Paul led the way while I was changing, and he came running back in saying the water was way too cold. He couldn't do it. I just changed right back into my clothes. If it's too cold for Paul, I'm not even giving it a try. Another "Can you believe it?" Too cold on August the 11th.

Anyway, that's the saga of our getting into the pool. We still have some construction going on. The fire pit and the rock waterfall have to be built and the electric company has to reroute the lines. So, we're not through yet, but we've had fun in the water. I'll post more pictures of the finished product.
MB

It's Filling Up!

We still have some finishing touches like the rock waterfall and the brick fire pit, but the pool liner is in and the pool is filling up with water. Yeah! We're almost there, and it's only been two weeks. Who would have thought!

There is some clean-up to get done and we have to go to "pool school" to learn what we've gotten ourselves into. Otherwise, it's almost time for that first dip. Can't wait!
MB

Nine Days Later

The noise has been loud, the mess has been much,
the finish is close, can't wait, but
must.
Paul is imagining how the new fire pit will be. The brick layer will come back after the concrete is poured. Too fun!
MB

Eggs and Omelets

"You have to break an egg to make an omelet. We're breaking the eggs!" That's how our pool man explained the mess we're enduring to get a pool in our backyard.

We're finally doing it. We started talking about it back in March and actually wrote up the contract. Then several things happened and we postponed. Then we started debating whether we really wanted to or not. We are doing it!

The one most excited about this is Dara. She can hardly wait. We are making a sidewalk all the way around the side of the house to the pool's edge. She can "wheel" to the edge and get right in. We plan on having lots of visits from Dara. Yeah!

Our pool man is one to be recommended. He's great! So often you start a project like this and the people doing it leave much to be desired. We are thrilled to have contracted with our guy. He's nice, he's fun, he demands quality, and he oversees much of the work himself in person. I thought this type of guy vanished from the work place a long time ago. What a nice find!

Well, we'll be having eggs broken and stirred and seasoned for quite a while. We're really looking forward to the omelet.

I'm planning a special celebration when the two of us actually jump in or slide in or walk in, whatever. We're anticipating it will be very fun and relaxing!
MB

Remember the Chair

Today is Paul's 68th birthday.
H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y!

The title of this post is for Paul. I bought his birthday gift a couple of weeks ago when we were at Sam's buying groceries, and we saw this OU chair. They had just arrived the night before. Paul's the ultimate OU fan and has his home office decorated elaborately with OU paraphernalia, on the walls and all around.

I'm the world's worst gift-buyer and gift-giver, so when I saw the leather OU chair, I thought my birthday-gift-for-Paul dilemma was solved. I asked him if he would like to have that chair. His eyes lit up, and he said, "Really?"

Then we read on the large box that you have to put it together. His lit-up eyes went dull, and he said, "Naw, that's okay. I don't want to put it together."

My proposal: "If you would like to have this chair, I'll buy it for you for your birthday. And, as part of the gift, I will put it together by myself."

Again, Paul said, "Really?" And we both laughed.

And that's what happened! We got the large box home, and we agreed Paul would leave and run the rest of the errands, and when he came home, his chair, aka his birthday gift, would be set up and waiting. And it was!

So, today I need to say to him, "Remember the chair! That's your birthday gift even though you've already been enjoying it for a couple of weeks!"

On a more serious note, we are doubly celebrating Paul's 68 years. His Dad and uncles all died in their fifties from heart disease, and when Paul had his first heart attack at age 46, we thought he would too.

But today he's in very good health and just this week in Austin on Wednesday, he played four games of racquetball and said he felt good and strong. Yeah! And he won all but one of the games, which was a three-way cutthroat game with an extremely skilled stranger at the health club.

Hey, Handsome, happy 68th birthday!

Hope today is your best ever, and remember the chair!

Love you much,
MB

Then and Now

THEN–1959












NOW–2008


Here are just some fun pictures.
This last weekend I attended my high school reunion. What fun! I thought these pictures showed how much we change in 49 years. Pictured above are Mr. and Miss Edmond High School of 1959. Pictured below are the same two people 49 years later at their high school reunion.

Next year will be our 50th. We're making big plans. However, the 49th was great fun. We'll have to go some to beat the reunion this year. I'm really looking forward to it.
MB

Love Birds

This is a picture that my handsome feller had painted for me for our 49th anniversary last month. The style is the artist's unique and different way of painting birds.

I especially like the female bird. She's red and she has a crown. Red is my absolutely favorite color. I have a disproportionate percentage of red garments in my closet. And I love the crown on the female bird's head. Wonder what that means? Queen of ...?

Brown is one of Paul's favorite colors. And Paul has blue eyes as does the male bird.

These birds are really a good representation of us in this our last year before our golden anniversary. (Gosh, that sounds so very old. Aren't golden anniversaries for white-haired, inactive seniors? =)

We put this picture over a table in our entryway where we have pictures of all our grandkids and our great-grandchild. It's our nest of offspring's offsprings. I know the rule of decorating is that you don't put any personal pictures in your formal living area, but we're not known for our stylish decorating, so it's okay. We love it!!

Thought I would just share a fun event we're enjoying. My handsome feller loves surprises and loves to surprise me. This was my surprise for our 49th anniversary.
MB

Home, Hoarse, and Healing

Paul came home on Thursday after two surgeries, one Monday and one Wednesday. I wrote e-mails to those who had inquired and to the boards of Paul's ministry. I used this title as the subject in the e-mails. I thought the alliterated subject line was clever. But, that's just me. =)

The whole experience was very positive. Mistakenly, we thought these surgeries might be more minor surgery than major surgery. Wrong! The first surgery was so major, I wasn't sure it was smart to do a second one two days later. But it was done and the second one was not so major.

We discovered that the anesthesiologist had been a member of our son's church and actually knew who we were. He didn't discover that until they were in surgery. Paul and he had a good talk between surgeries. The physician's assistant, Annette, plays the orchestra in a church where our nephew is a member and is a former staff member. She knew him. Such a small world.

The doctors were great. The care was exceptional, and we made some new friends including a nurse's aide who is on the OU baseball team. We'll probably go watch him play next season. How fun is that?

Also enjoyable was the waiting room experience. I learned how to play Crazy 8's with Dara, my granddaughter. (She insists she's my favorite granddaughter. I continue to tell her that yes she is, she is one of my six favorite granddaughters. =) All the kids were there and it was fun visiting and catching up. My brother stayed up there the whole time Monday and Wednesday, and Wednesday was his birthday. Imagine! Spending your birthday in a hospital waiting room. Very special!!

I learned lots of new information, mostly trivia. I do think I'm an information junkie. I learned that the operated-on arteries are sewn up with a cow's pericardiem patch. Isn't that interesting? I also learned that the risk of these carotid arteries clogging up again is very low. Usually they don't.

Wouldn't you think that a better blood flow through the carotid arteries would make you able to think better? We asked the doctor that, and he chuckled and said no but that a lot of people think it does. He said it's just a preventative measure to reduce the risk of stroke.

We're home and Paul is hoarse, but improving. He had the breathing tube inserted twice, and that made him hoarse. His throat is swollen on both sides where the incisions are and underneath in the middle under his chin. Another trivia note: after surgery the area under the chin fills up with fluid, which is a natural result from the surgery. The PA warned us and said that is natural and will go away on its own.

You can imagine how he looks. Both sides of his neck swollen from the incisions, and swollen with fluid under his chin. Really, he doesn't look that bad, but he thinks he does.

All is well, and we're glad last week is over. Paul thinks he'll be back to almost normal in a couple of days. We'll see.
MB

Paul's Procedure

I'm an information junkie. I "google" anything I want to find out more about. I want to know.

Interestingly, I have relatives and friends who don't want to know. I find that curious. I want to know anything and everything about what's happening. Not sure why. I think it's because I think I can make informed decisions. I also know that the type of person I am that I do not like surprises. That's probably more it than anything. Hmmmm...

Today Paul is having his first of two endarterectomies. And that is?


Looks pretty scary, doesn't it? But, I like to know what's happening to him when they roll him away on that stretcher.

If all goes well, I have a picture to know what happened. If all does not go well, I want to know what and why. I want to know exactly what the doctor is saying and understand it.

I'm so bad about this that one time I was arguing with my doctor, who was also a friend and fellow church member. He took me by the hand and led me out to the waiting room and introduced me to the waiting patients as "Dr. Burleson." I thought it was funny, but our child I had with me got angry and then started crying because it was so embarrassing. I actually thought the doctor was intimidated and switched to teasing me because maybe he didn't want to answer my questions. It was all in fun and we remained friends.

That's just a fun example of my way of dealing with doctors. That same doctor asked me what medical school I attended when I was questioning him about something else. I said I didn't, but I still wanted answers. This happened years ago, but it illustrates that I'm a question asker and want to be informed. Why is that so hard to understand? =) I really can't understand why everyone isn't that way? JK

Well, that's my self-revelation for today plus information about Paul's procedure. Thanks for stopping by.
MB

A Special Birthday

Today is Kelly's birthday.

I wanted to use this space and take this opportunity to express what a special person she is and to wish her a very happy birthday!

As I've observed Kelly over the last three years, here are some admirable traits that are evident:

Energetic: She is always "up and at 'em." She has energy to stay up with, entertain, and have fun with a five year old and an eight year old and her grandson, who just turned one. She keeps her home and is always decorating and redecorating. She has a beautiful yard and is always helping or planting new trees and flowers. It's fun to drive up and see the new look.

Loving: Kelly is very loving. She always hugs us when we come and when we leave. Her two stepchildren always want her to hold them or carry them. Her two grown children are very close to her and those relationships are fun to watch.

Physically beautiful: Staying in shape as you get older is a real challenge. Kelly is one of those rare women who cares about how she looks AND keeps herself in good physical shape and always looks beautiful and attractive.

Forgiving: Kelly came into our family during some tough circumstances. Yours truly was the worst offender. Kelly has repeatedly said to me that all of that is forgiven. That is a rare quality, especially forgiveness of your mother-in-law. I'm especially grateful for this trait in Kelly.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, I am so glad that Kelly is a part of our family. We're fortunate to have her as one of us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY!!
HOPE IT'S THE BEST EVER!

Love you much,
MB

Honoring Dad on Memorial Day 2008

The following is an article written by my Mom last year when she participated in a request for survivors of veterans to submit their stories. I thought this was appropriate to reproduce here on Memorial Day 2008.

I am the widow of Captain Fred T. Cherry, who spent forty-four months serving his country several places in the United States and several countries in Europe.

We were both born in Oklahoma. I was Virginia Pearl Salyer. We met for coffee in my parents’ home in Overton, Texas, where Fred was sent as the new engineer for the British American Oil Company, my father’s employer also. It was in the spring of 1936. That night Fred met me at my place of employment to take me home. We were married in January of 1937.

Fred graduated from Okmulgee High School, an outstanding athlete. He made the all-state football team when only eleven men were chosen. He was also a record-breaking track sprinter on both his high school and Oklahoma University football and track teams. He was The Oklahoman’s football team’s star end for three years, making headlines consistently. He was also in R.O.T.C.

He continued working for the oil company until his superintendent told him he would have to quit “preaching” or resign. Fred was devoted to sharing his faith with all with whom he talked. So, he resigned. During the time of his unemployment our second child was born.

Don McBride, who was employed by Robert S. Kerr, was a good friend of Fred’s. He placed Fred in a filing clerk job at the state capitol. His salary was the same as his high school job as a “soda jerk” in his father’s drugstore. Soon he was appointed to an engineering position with the state’s Water and Resources Division, where he worked until he was called into active duty, leaving me with our now three children.

After a time at the proving ground in Maryland, he was assigned to the munitions plant in Carbondale, Illinois, to be there for the duration. So we moved to Marion, Illinois. In less than a year the age limit was lowered for overseas duty. In less than ten days Fred was gone again. I returned to Texas to be near my family, driving 672 miles in one day. Fred spent a short time in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and another assignment in Needles, California, for desert training. Our fourth child was born during this time.

I traveled by train to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to be with Fred a few days prior to his immediate departure for overseas duty.

He landed in France, was in London during “the Blitz” where he was assigned to a high-rise flat, that was bombed so heavily that had he been there, he might not have returned. His equipment was heavily damaged. He talked little of that year, but spoke of his time in London and Belgium, where he was during the Battle of the Bulge.

Fred was assigned to the Ordnance Corps, the army of supply, which placed him ahead of the troops. He was assigned a jeep and he named it “John 3:16.” He was disturbed that so many American soldiers didn’t know that was a favorite Bible verse. At one point in Belgium he and his sergeant vacated the jeep for the ground beneath it to avoid the strafing of an approaching plane.

Families shipped food to their loved ones, baking favorites. He wrote me of sharing a chicken I had pressured in a gallon bucket and shipped to him in Belgium. He shared it with a priest on Christmas Day in a Belgium monastery.

Fred was assigned to the Army of Occupation following D-Day. He spoke of helping German families with food supplies, especially buckets of peanut butter.

Later, a friend told him he spotted his jeep in a stockpile in Germany.

On his return Fred was appointed Assistant Park Director with the state, where he worked for five years. Churches were inviting Fred to speak. When I asked him what he would do when he couldn’t fill all requests and keep his state job, he said he would resign, which he did, again, with no assurance of employment scheduled.

By then we had four more children. He was already in Arkansas preaching a revival meeting, so he became a Baptist evangelist and preached twenty years all over the United States and up into Canada. We sold our home in Oklahoma City and moved to the country, south of Edmond, into an old log and rock house where I still live.

We had three more children bringing our total to eleven. My parents moved to Oklahoma and were near to help with our one shy of a dozen children.

Fred never required an honorarium for his preaching though he was asked frequently. He told pastors who invited him to just let the people give as they felt led. Only one time did we run out of money, as I remember. I asked our two older children to pray our need would be supplied, and in a day or two we received a check from Fred. In those days churches scheduled two-week meetings. This was the only time a church took an offering midway in a revival meeting. Sometimes offerings only paid his expenses, like one small church in California only gave him enough to pay his train fare.

Fred had a fatal heart attack in Texas during a revival meeting in 1970.

I continue living in our old country home we bought in 1950. It is requiring many repairs, but the children help me with needs. In a few weeks I will be 90 years old. I have 42 grandchildren and 86 great grandchildren. I feel sure Fred would be proud of the family he fought to protect.

As for me, I claim the old saying I heard years ago, “My life is a bowl of cherries.” My bunch is requiring a bigger bowl real often.

Mother's Day 2008

My mother, Virgina Pearl Salyer Cherry, has been a mother for 71 years. She birthed twelve children, raised eleven to adulthood, and is mother to 10 living children, 41 grandchildren, 87 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. (These numbers are my quick post-it note addition figures. Accuracy in doubt, but close enough.)



Yesterday our gift to our mother was to go to her home and help with a little spring cleaning on the patio and porches. Four of us were able to come and three of our mates, so seven of us worked for a few hours sweeping and washing and cleaning and joking and reminiscing. Jenny and I used to hate our Saturday chores, one of which was sweeping the patio. Three areas, the patio and two porches, had things rearranged, removed, and cleaned. It took a lot more energy than it did many years ago.



While we were working, Mother enjoyed her morning coffee and watched us. I asked her if she was sweeping vicariously. She asked me what that meant. I shrugged and we laughed. I figured if she didn't know, it wasn't worth explaining.



After all the cleaning was done. Freddie built a fire in the converted well on the patio so we could have a weiner roast. Last Sunday when I visited Mom, she was lamenting that she would love to have everyone come out and have a weiner roast, but she just wasn't sure she was up to cleaning and preparing. Thus, the idea for her Mother's Day present.

We brought franks and buns, chili, onions, relish and mustard. We had to have potato salad, cantalope, baked beans, and chips. Then for dessert we had strawberry shortcake including ice cream. We all ate way too much and had great fun enjoying the beautiful weather, which was perfect for a picnic, and enjoying the scenery basking in our finished chores.



After we were all stuffed, we enjoyed sitting around and visiting. It was a great Mother's Day.





The workers: Freddie (pictured above with Mother), John and Karen Cherry, Jenny and Tom McMonigle, and (us) Paul and Mary Burleson