Fun Happenings and Catch-up

I've been asked to please write on our blog and not wait so long between writings. I have two problems: a cranky and old computer and a boring life.

Charis stayed with us a couple of weeks and we barely knew she was with us. She was so easy to have as a guest. She's back down at Baylor beginning her sophomore year.

Ty turned 23 August 22 and we enjoyed frito pie and oreo dessert with the Moxleys and Mike's parents and Dal's girlfriend, Megan. Great fun! Of course, we enjoyed a lively debate between Ty and Papaw. Such fun.

Last week we took Pierce and Sierra for ice cream at Braum's. Pierce politely declined our invitation at first saying he would let us know when he wanted to go. Brett gently persuaded him he really did want to go. When I asked Pierce why since he was only three years old he had been promoted to the four-year-old class, Pierce responded that it was because he was smarter than the other three-year-olds in his class and that was only because they hadn't received their smarties yet. He was quite serious! Entertaining kid.

FYI: Brett is having a procedure this morning as an outpatient, but last time he had this, we didn't know and we asked him to let us know next time. Paul is planning to head up there early and be with Brett and Kelly before Brett goes under. Brett says it's nothing, but we think it's something. His throat closes up and when it gets bad enough, his food won't go down. He says he just needs it stretched open again. No big deal, he says.

We enjoyed the two Cherry family weddings the last two weekends, both in Edmond. Rye married Christy and Mandy married Max. Paul performed Mandy and Max's and twenty-eight years ago he performed Mandy's parents' wedding. How time flies! The rehearsal dinner for Mandy and Max was at Toby Keith's in Bricktown. That was really a fun experience and way too much food. OKC is really a hoppin' place on Friday nights. Could hardly find a place to park.

Hey, I have my own personal shopper now in Mel. She works at Donna's in Tulsa and they had a great sale and she called and wanted us to run up last Thursday, but I go to clogging class and it was too late for us to make it. So Melody pulled a bunch of clothes she thought I would like and brought them to me yesterday. I really did like them and they're expensive brands. Such fun. I kept about half of them and she's returning the others this morning. Wow! I've always wanted to have a personal shopper, someone who knows my size and what I like. Most of the items I bought were seventy-five percent off. Great bargains.

And, we got to treat Nataly to her first banana split. I was telling them about Sierra always wanting a banana split when we take them to Braums and Nat asked what a banana split was. So that called for a trip to Braums and we ordered a banana split and all four of us ate on it. Quite fun. I took a picture with my phone of Nat enjoying her very first banana split.

Well, to wind this up just a couple more things: Paul is speaking at a Guys, Grits, and Gravy men's meeting this Wednesday. He's riding his motorcycle up and is to ride it clear in to the stage area where he will speak. They're also setting up a fun motorcycle ride for guys (and girls), which Paul will lead later in September.

And, I fly to Austin every Monday evening to spend the day Tuesday in the office there, so better get ready and think through what to take and where to pack it with all the new rules. Work is going well and I still like it a lot.
That's it for now.
MB

2partners


I hate to post and thus remove those great pictures from the blog but.....

What shall I say?

People--Mom and I have had Charis with us for about a week with a couple of days to go and what a great time for us. I have to admit that, while willing and even excited about it, I was a little apprehensive since we've had the whole house to ourselves for so long. But boy was there no reason to be apprehensive. She is a delight. Her mom and dad can be proud as punch of the way she is responsible, fun, helpful, and I was amazed how much I ENJOYED her being here. I know all our grandchildren are that way, but, first hand experience has been a good thing for me personally.

Mom has been in Austin since Monday and got home last night. She and I and Charis sat around the table and talked and ate. [I grilled some sausage/cheese frankfurters, onion hamburger patties, chicken breasts and we pigged out.] We laughed at old pictures and times and I realized how much Mom is the heart and soul of this house. She made her and Charis an oldfashioned ice cream sandwich [gob of ice cream between two graham crackers-I passed] and they looked like two little kids eating them.

Brett and I had a GREAT lunch on Tuesday his 35th birthday. We ate at Coaches in Edmond on me since it was his day and sat and talked for a long time. I think I heard for the first time [meaning he'd told me several times but my mind couldn't wrap around it] what his work is and boy what a job he has. Remember I am now 66 and my mind is not what it used to be. [Although that isn't saying it was much in the used- to- be times.] They are building a new building right across the street from their present site and expanding considerably. He's excited for good reason about the possibilities in it.

Things--I spoke this past week at Henderson Hills in Edmond on Wenesday night, Saturday night, and twice on Sunday at 9:00 and 10:30 am. It was a lot of fun although I think I kinda blew it Saturday night not having been at one of those services before. The people probably wouldn't know but I know when I "get it across the way I want to" and when I don't. Don't get me wrong, I know His Word will accomplish it's purpose, but I'm telling you guys my feelings about the delivery. But Sunday made up for it all in freedom and enjoyment. HHBC is a great church and the whole thing was a great time for me.

They've asked me to speak at the kickoff breakfast for the men's ministry later this month and want me to ride in on my motorcycle in jeans and boots and ballcap. They will actually raise a garage type door in the youth building where the breakfast will be held and I'll ride in to the speakers stand. I'm going to have my music blasting out that song by John Fogerty "I'm a rambunchous boy". It's mom and my favorite riding song.

We are having a 12 ft by 40 ft slab put in on the south side of the house so we can park the RV next to the house and use it for space as well as be able to keep it up a little better. Melody, and all of you, when you come and spend the night you can have some privacy. :)

We just got our season tickets to OU football and I'm ready for some football. My prediction is that Paul Thompson will do a better job at quarterback than anyone can imagine and we will win the Big 12. I predict Texas Tech will be second and Texas will be third in the South division. It's anybody's guess who will win the North division but OU will whip them December 2nd in KC. Remember I said it in August.

Well I've hunted and pecked myself into exhaustion. So keep up the blogs and Logan, get those fingers to working.

By the way, Wade just called and told me to go to the HHBC website and see the Wenesday and Sunday messages. Just click on Podcast. The site is www.hhbc.com I think.

Dad/Paul/Papaw/ THE HULK

Family Shower and Other News

This is Monday morning, and I thought I would just report on our weekend.

Saturday we spent the day cleaning out the closet in the front bedroom so that Charis would have plenty of space to put her stuff while she's here. That was quite a chore but we got it done. We have five or six bags of stuff for Habitat for Humanity to pick up today and I took Grandma Cherry back about a half dozen of her paintings that we had stored in the closet. We are such pack rats and we save really stupid stuff and it takes having a reason for us to start throwing away and cleaning up. We then ate a late barbeque lunch at Rudy's, but Charis wasn't working.

Sunday we went to church and expected to vote on a very controversial subject, but the announcement was that the vote had been delayed. One of the elders caught us in the hallway as we were walking in and asked Paul to preach this Wednesday night, Saturday night, and both services Sunday morning. Wow! He said the Elders thought Paul's voice of experience would be very good for the church at this point. That was very unexpected, but exciting.

Then Paul dropped me off at Grandma Cherry's for Mandy's shower and we delivered the pictures we were returning and Paul helped me take in our large and heavy present (TV trays) and he helped me wrap it. Then he left and drove home.

Jenny came and finished up the decorations. Mandy's colors are black and turqoise so the table was decorated with a turquoise cloth and net w/pearls and black candles. Mandy's shoes that were on the invitation were on the table and Jenny had some small decorated votive candles and little colored marble throws that finished off the table. Very pretty.

We had cookies, fruit, mints, nuts, and punch. The nuts were late because Kathy's preacher preached too long, LOL. The punch was provided by Starley in frozen packages. Funny happening: Somehow Starley's recipe wasn't followed and the punch was served sans ginger ale. Pucker punch! We started running out too quickly and Starley asked where the ginger ale was. Mistake realized. Jenny started running around with the ginger ale bottle pouring some in everyone's cup, the ones who had already gone through the line. The later served ones got punch, heavy on the g.a. We always have such fun at these family showers. It's things like this that make us laugh a lot.

People present: Rachel, Mandy (dressed in aqua and black), Audra, Shelby (Isaac's wife) and Shelby's sisters and Mom. Max's (groom) Mom (Marianna), Max's sister (Tasha), Max's aunt and four girl cousins and one nephew. Then Phil's mom, aunt, cousin and her daughter. Then all of Rachel's kin: eight hostesses (Cherry sisters and sisters-in-law) and all the cousins and kids, etc., etc. Remember, Grandma Cherry's house is not air conditioned. She had put in a window unit by the piano and Freddie had bought some fans. It was okay; everyone sweated a little but it wasn't unbearable.

I would guess about fifty people were there and Mandy got some really nice gifts. Rachel was taking lots of pictures and I want her to send me one with her and Mandy (and Audra) so I can post it here. (Ra-Ra, if you're reading this, would you send me that pic.) I'm always amazed that Mother, 88 almost 89 years old, gets around so well and can handle such a big party. She starts the shindig with a little talk and she presented Mandy with a picture she painted for her, one with lots of red poppies in the foreground.

Jenny had put together a lot of questions for Mandy to answer about Mandy and Max and every time Mandy came to a hostess gift, the hostess had to read a question. That was fun and informative. All in all it was a really fun time. Wish you could have all been there.

Can you believe I could post this much info about our weekend? Kelly, it's all your fault. You challenged us to "Come on, guys, . . .!" By the way, where's yours? ;->
MB

The Dog Days of Summer at the Burlesons

Read Brett and Kelly's blog and laughed at Kelly's statement encouraging everyone to write and keep everyone posted. I have had the same thoughts and have also been lax about posting. I also check everyone's blogs each morning, and I agree, we're all either boring or busy.

Nothing much happening around here, but I'll start writing and see what pops up in my mind and comes out through my fingers. ;->

We're investigating putting in a third driveway and going several feet back so we can park our fifth wheel here at the house. We got a bid yesterday and will probably go ahead, and in the process we'll get our crumbly sidewalk fixed. We think having the fifth wheel close will be more convenient for quick, short trips because it won't be such a hassle to put everything in and make sure everything is working. We'll see. We've also promised Sierra that she can go with us and sleep in our fun trailer. We made that promise over two years ago. Our reputation as grandparents is hanging in the balance. We MUST go forward with these plans!!

Charis called and needed a place to stay between August 1 and Baylor classes starting, so she's moving in with us next Monday for about ten days. We're really looking forward to having a teenager with us for a few days. She'll probably liven things up around here.

We're in the process of changing churches. This is an experience we don't have very often and I don't like change much at all. But, we're doing it and moving forward. Interesting times.

Logan, if you're reading this, I want to ask you about what's happened to your blog posting? I check it every morning and I really enjoyed it when you were posting. Hope you get back to it soon. You're a good writer and I miss reading what you write and what's happening up in Enid.

Cherri, thanks for sending the e-mail and letting me know Mike and Dara have been sick and how busy you guys are. Yikes! I was tired just reading all that's been happening out your way. Hope you get caught up and get to rest a day or two very soon.

Sunday is the family shower for Mandy. She's getting married the last Saturday in August. Paul's performing the wedding. It's rather nostalgic as Paul also performed Mandy's parents' wedding, Rachel and Phil's, many moons ago. Should be a fun time. Rye is also getting married the week before at the same place Brett and Kelly got married. August will be a busy family time besides also being Jenny's, Brett's, Megan's, and Ty's birthdays.

As I wrote before in an e-mail, Hannah and Derek had a baby boy, who was Starley and Ralph's 48th grandchild and Grandma Cherry's 80th great grandchild. Think our Thanksgiving place will continue to hold all of us? Our large family continues to get larger. Fun and funny.

I've started rambling, so I'll sign off. Not sure this was worth your reading, but, hey, these are the dog days of summer. LOL
MB

2partners

Waxing Philosophical

This is a personal/public word to all you kids and your spouses and children, my grandchildren.

"Thank You" for the wonderful birthday celebrations. [There were more than one.] The cards, gifts, kind words, and every hug were all appreciated more than I can express. But I want to "thank you" for something else too. That is your maturity.

I've thought a lot about maturity lately. I know it doesn't automatically come with old age, [maybe an appreciation for it does] and it isn't excluded because of young age. But I'm impressed with all of your maturity.

What is that anyway? I'm not sure but, from my perspective, it is at least these things.

Taking responsibility for where we are. I think this includes feelings, circumstances, and where we are as a person. In other words, it is not blaming someone else for any of those things. I am what I am by the Grace of God...and my choices.

Respecting other people where they are. It is, perhaps, an ability to recognize my differences and being OK with yours. I guess this is celebrating who we are and who the other person is without a need or desire to fix them.

It is, perhaps, living as a resource for others and their needs but never as the source of what they need, [Only God is that] or they the source for me. [He is.]
So maybe it is becoming interdependent rather than independent or dependent. This allows for relationships but never interference unless requested or the control of others.

If this is maturity...and I think it may be a part of it..."Thank You" is in order for your...maturity. I'm proud of you all.

Dad/Paul/Papaw/THE HUlK [I warned you...maybe too philosophical?]

Happy Birthday!

Happy 66th Birthday to William Paul Burleson aka Papaw, Dad, Handsome, Butch, and The Hulk.

Looks like today is going to be a scorcher again. Yesterday afternoon my computer readout said it was 106 degrees in Norman. Don't think we'll be celebrating outside today!

I love birthdays. I think it's such a great time to give focused attention, celebrating the special day when the world welcomed that person, however many years ago. Everyone should have at least one special day in the year when it's just their day.

And today is Paul's! It's so easy to celebrate and honor him because there's hardly an adjective that doesn't describe him, the good ones that is--warm, friendly, helpful, responsible, fun, engaging, interesting, and loving. Does anyone give better bear hugs? I could use this whole text box to list adjectives, but I won't. Suffice it to say, he's the BEST!!

When Brett called last week and asked Paul his favorite cake so Kelly could bake it for him last Saturday, I heard Paul on the phone say that it's really Waldorf cake, but that's too hard to make, so yellow cake with lots of chocolate frosting would be next. Kelly was very gracious and had the very best cake with 66 on it! (Thanks, Kelly.)

Yesterday at work I thought about Paul's statement and decided to take on a Waldorf cake last night. I went to the store after work and had to buy all the ingredients. I haven't cooked in so long I even had to buy some flour, even the basics.

But, he has his Waldorf cake this morning, complete with that wonderful butter icing, albeit a little crooked and a little patched up. LOL. Tastes wonderful! We couldn't wait, so we had a piece, still warm, before we went to bed last night.

We are in our 48th year of marriage, so I've had the privilege of being with Paul and celebrating his birthdays almost 50 years now. There's no better day than July 19th! Happy Birthday, Handsome!! Hope it's a good one.
MB

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