Thank-ank-ank! You-ou-ou!!!

Is my title the way you write it when you’re shouting and it’s echoing from the mountains? I hope so!

Dad’s great!

The surgery was quick (two hours, but that’s pretty fast) and he had no pain when it was over. Dad was back in his room by 10:00 a.m. or so and feeling good.

The family crew was in and out of the hospital until about 9 last night and he still wasn’t hurting. (much)

They’ve come a long way in the four years since I became a hippy. I’m amazed. (And grateful!!!)

Don’t tell Dad, but we had a great time yesterday. I got to spend time with my brother and all my sisters (except the one who lives out of state) a niece, a brother-in-law, Dad’s wife, her son for an hour or so, and my preach!

Those are some of my favorite people in the world.

I got to thinking yesterday how very lucky I am. My siblings are people sharp, funny, likeable people. I’d LOVE them even if I weren’t related to them.

That’s a little bit rare, you know? Some people don’t even speak to their sibs.

Boy, those people miss a lot of fun. 🙂

We love telling stories. The best part is telling a story about someone else and then hearing it from their POV.

Finally, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Everyone who kept Daddy in your prayers, thank you! God hears his children and he certainly heard our prayers. I appreciate you guys!

God is great! All the time!!!

Family Road Trip

Time: 5:00

I’ve been up since 4:30 so I could have my Jesus Time before I get ready to go to the hospital for Dad’s hip surgery. I’m looking forward to seeing him out of pain.

This hip stuff is the pits! 😦

Going together to the place: Debbie, Amy, Hope and me. Hope is driving. (I think.) Or Deb. I’m a little light headed these days, but I have an excuse. Medication for a slight prob. (Argh.)

And no, it’s not a ploy to get some attention when all the attention is focused on someone else.

I hope. (Wow, how selfish would that be???)

Anyway, keep the entire crew in your prayers. I’ll keep y’all updated!

G-I-G.

A-T-T.

Meeting a Brand New Hippy

Almost four years ago, my sister Cindy had her first grandson, and on the same day, I got my new hip.

Tomorrow, my dad is getting a new hip.

Think I can blame him for passing me the bad hippy gene? Or maybe I passed it to him. Who knows?

Actually, mine came from accidentally doing the Chinese splits in my pond one day. (I put one foot in my pond, it took off for Tulsa and my other one stayed planted firmly on the ground near Keystone Lake.)

Dad’s is simple wear-and-tear arthritis.

Dad’s the one without a crutch in this picture.

 

I’m not sure Dad would have had his replaced, but the silly joint is slowing him down. Although he’s 21 years my senior (well, 20 1/2 years) he’s still much more active than I am.

We both work every day, but when he works, he WORKS! He works at the office, overseeing the workings of our company. He oversees our farms. He gardens, studies, travels (a lot!) and he has chickens.

Since he won’t be shuffling off to Buffalo for a few days after he gets his new hip, I asked if he’d like me to help out with his chickens. “You bet!” he answered, and went on to explain how to care for the hens.

And he mentioned his tomatoes and okra would need continued harvesting.

I love learning from Dad day after day. Until Mom died and he remarried, he was an elder in our church. I still depend on him as a spiritual leader, even though we came to the Lord on the same day.

Sister Debbie will be staying at Dad’s house, helping out all she can after the surgery “until they throw me out,” she told me. I’m a little envious, but I’ll be making frequent trips to see him, take him the mail he needs to see and helping out in his yard and visiting his chickens. (I haven’t robbed hens’ nests since Grandma Reeves lived on the Meade place. Her chickens pecked me when I tried. We’ll see what these do.)

So if you would, keep my daddy, his wife, his surgeon and his kids in your prayers for a successful hip replacement and recovery.

God is good.

All the time.

 

Amazed

The song  below was our special worship song Sunday morning.

I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, the best part of Sunday Morning church is the song/communion/prayer time. Don’t get me wrong. Preacher Dave is the best minister I’ve had the pleasure of learning from. I really enjoy hearing him.

While I learn from PD, during the song/communion/prayer time I’m part of worship. For me, corporate worship means more than just those two words put together.

It’s our hearts joining together in adoration of the King, (AKA the Creator of the Universe and everything in it.)

It’s beautiful!

This past Sunday, just before we heard from the preach, a trio from the worship team sang while we watched the video. (Dad asked if they were the Andrews Sisters because of the beauty of their song.)

Take a few moments to listen and watch. You’ll be blessed.

♪♫ YOUR GRACE STILL AMAZES ME ♪♫

 

Climbing the Family Tree

Just in case I didn’t have enough to keep me busy (House work? What’s that?) I’ve started working on our family tree.

FTs have always fascinated me.  (No, I’m not Mormon.) I don’t know if it’s because of the stories we heard about family when we were kids or the stories we didn’t hear.

Once Grandma told me her granddad (or her gr-granddad) was the younger son of a German count. I haven’t found any evidence of it, though. Maybe she was just wishful thinking.

BTW: I have one branch of the tree I can’t follow back very far. I call it the family stump. 😦

This is my maternal great grandma. It’s a picture of a tintype Grandma gave me a long time ago. Wasn’t she pretty?

Here’s the whole tintype.

Those are a couple of friends with Gr-grandma on the right. Tula and Betty. They don’t look like they’re having much fun.

This is another grandmother. Not sure which one. She doesn’t look very happy. The kids don’t either. They really look as if they’re expecting to be shot rather than remembered.

Why is that?

I love this picture. Looks like they’re having so much fun . . . except they left their smiles at home.

A couple of things I’ve really enjoyed about Family Treeing is the names of my family. A couple of my uncles had really different names.

One was Quitman.

The other was Okla Homer.

(No, I’m not kidding.)

The other thing I’ve noticed about names is the repetitiveness. There are several Josephs. And Lewises. And Bettys. Mary seems to be a very popular name in my linage. (Mama’s name was Mary.)

 I wish I knew more about them.

I do know that my grandma’s daddy died when she was less than a year old, so Grandma’s mama took the kids to live with her fam.

So why do I bother? Why do I want to know where Grandma Reeves moved to Oklahoma from? Why do I care where Grandma Nycum came from?

I don’t know. I met a woman once who grew up in the town my Grandmother’s family moved to Oklahoma from. I told her my ancestors had lived there by the name of Mitchell.

She got very excited. Her brother’s best friend’s name was Mitchell and, oh, my gosh! I looked just like them.

Knowing my family history kind of makes me feel as if I have a base. Roots. You know? Now, maybe I know who I have in heaven, praising Jesus and praying for me.

And if I run into anyone who looks just like me, I’ll know we’re related. 🙂

Is your family tree finished? Do you have it proudly framed and displayed on the wall or tucked away in a drawer somewhere?

If it’s finished, how do you know where to stop? 🙂