Mom's Blog

Thankful for my heritage…

2011-11-09T19:49:00.001-08:00

I’m thankful for my heritage. Every part of where God leads you, every person He allows you to be related to, contributes to who God has made you. I come from a very loving family. They love the Lord. No matter what anyone does or doesn’t do, they love you. I was born in Indiana (NORTH of the Mason-Dixon line!) and grew up in the deep south of East Tennessee. Our Dad left us, but our Mom took good care of us. We escaped the baggage of a Dad who wouldn’t have been a good influence. I married into a loving family. God has taken it all, and used it to His glory in my life, and I appreciate all those wonderful influences of my heritage!

Thankful for Scripture

2011-11-09T19:16:00.001-08:00

Tuesday’s Post:

I’m so thankful for Scripture.

It convicts me when I sin.

It tells me what sin is!

It comforts my heart.

It led me to salvation.

It tells me how to treat others.

It tells me how NOT to treat others!

There is no situation in my life to which Scripture does not speak.

It has given our family a rock to build on, the rock on which, when the storms come and the winds blow, it stands firm.

Thank you, God, for Scripture! The living, breathing, Word of God!

Thankful for computers

2011-11-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

I’m thankful for computers. I’m thankful for the way they have allowed us to do our work more efficiently. I’m thankful for the way they let us communicate with each other…email, facebook, skype…what marvelous inventions! I’m thankful for Word and Excel programs, for printers, for photo editing, for all those programs that make our lives more fun. Yes, for all the headache they can be at times, I’m thankful for computers!

Thankful for our Church and Sound Doctrine

2011-11-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for our church, and for all those churches out there who are unashamed to teach the sound doctrine of the Bible. My son Daniel teaches sound doctrine at his church in Illinois. I am thankful for his adherence to the Word of God. There is still a remnant of men who are willing to teach God’s Word. We aren’t alone!

The elders at our church are careful to teach sound doctrine, to shepherd the flock with truth and not with opinion, or “I think” statements. Doctrine determines how we live, and how we flesh out the gospel. Doctrine determines our perspective of heaven, life, Jesus, salvation, etc. Good doctrine gives us hearts of mercy and compassion. Good doctrine makes us think less of ourselves, and more of God. It trains us that our lives are meant to glorify the God who made us. Yes, I’m very thankful for our church, and its sound doctrine!

Thankful for Medicine

2011-11-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

I’m so thankful for the medical care that we are privileged to have. Daryl spent the last week ill with a high fever. We have a great doctor, and he was given a prescription, and then a different prescription when that one didn’t work. Our doc called us back, after hours, and listened to our needs on his own time. God has blessed these medical personnel with great knowledge, and hearts that care. He’s starting to get better now, and I’m so thankful!

A Month of Thankfulness...

2011-11-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

I think I'll see if I can post a thankful thing for every day in November.

November 1: I'm thankful for all the little babies who have been born healthy the last couple of weeks. Our church and family and friends have had several births...and they have all posted beautiful pics of adorable little ones. As "Uncle Gus" always says as he lays his hand on their heads, "This one for Jesus!"

November 2: I'm thankful for the Lord's grace in my life. He has saved me, given me life, granted me salvation.

November 3: I'm thankful for the peace and grace God gives in times of trouble...a dear young couple found out yesterday that their baby is not alive, on the day they were to discover the gender. They are trusting God for His sovereign good in their lives. They are hurting, and trusting.

November 4: I'm thankful for Daryl. He's such a wonderful husband, dad, and friend. He's courageous and keeps going even when he doesn't feel good. He's my real life hero. Every season of life together is a fun, interesting trip!

A Link to a Great Lesson

2011-10-12T13:06:00.001-07:00

One Saturday recently Daryl had the privilege of speaking at a Men’s Conference on his favorite topic, men leading their families in the Lord. As an elder, he and his fellow elders have been in all sorts of counseling situations. In those situations, he will tell you that all except for perhaps one of those situations could be remedied, at least in part, by a husband/father taking seriously the task of leading their family in the Lord.

If you are curious, or interested in any way, click on the link below and follow the trail to Daryl’s lesson. I’m sure all the other lessons are good, too, but Daryl’s is the only one I’ve listened to. :-)

Media: Men - Saturday AM - Countryside Bible Church

(Click on the lesson by Daryl Bennett on Being the Spiritual Leader in Your Home)

Teaching your Kids...

2011-10-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

Today Daryl gets to teach a class for Men at our church on being a Leader at home. Not the "wife under the thumb" kind of leadership, but the kind where a man leads his family in the Lord. Talking to young ones (or old ones) about how to lead their families in the Lord may be in his top 5 things to do.

His favorite part of the lesson is telling Men how to have quiet times with their family. It isn't hard. You open your Bible and read a chapter. You talk about it. You pray together. If you have younger children, then you gear part of the quiet time for their age...younger Bible stories, tweak down the story to their age level.

What it does, is to train you and your children together that God's Word is the standard, regardless of the age group or gender. Then, as you raise your children, or have "discussions" with your mate, the standard is not opinions or moods or emotions: it's God's Word. It's pretty hard to come before the Creator of the Universe and stay mad at the mate sitting beside you...it forces you to settle issues and talk things out, because you know where you aren't meeting God's standard, whether your mate is or not!

A friend of mine came to me this week and told me that she and her husband had started having devotions from God's Word with their newly blended family. She was amazed at how much the kids loved their new Bibles, which each had been allowed to pick out for themselves. She and her husband are amazed at the differences in the kids' attitudes. I could have shouted for joy...one more family has discovered the power of the simplicity of God's Word.

God’s faithful servant, Daryl

2011-09-25T06:33:00.001-07:00

Preamble: This missive may not be completely perfect in progression of thought, but hang in there with me. I’m not sure I’ll explain this well, but I’m gonna try.

I’ve often wondered why God does not heal Daryl. I have never met a more humble, honest, godly man than Daryl. I have met men as godly, but never more so. For the 36 (almost) years of our marriage, and the year before when I met him, his life has consistently been characterized by a faithfulness to the Word and to prayer. He shepherds his flock at Countryside, and his flock at home. So, of course I am amazed that God does not heal His faithful servant Daryl of his cancer. And foot pain. And fatigue.

I thoroughly understand that God does not heal everyone of illnesses, and that His glory is the ultimate goal of all things in our lives. I understand that nothing He does is wrong, and I don’t waste time on the “Why, God?” stuff. I trust Him. But I DO wonder sometimes, why did Jesus heal so many people, but not Daryl.

I’ve even gone the (wrong) route of, “is my faith too small?” “Am I the holdout?”

So, I’ve been reading Matthew (not the son, the Bible book) 9. Jesus started by meeting people’s physical needs at the feeding of the 5000 back in chapter 6. Free food gets people to listen.

Then, over and over Jesus healed people…masses of people…people who just touched Him…family members of disciples. And He did it willingly, not sparingly. It’s always been hard for me to read about all those healings, and not extrapolate it into Daryl’s need. Today, I think I began to get the picture.

After healing the masses, Jesus healed the demoniacs, and sent the demons into the herd of swine. Okay, that affected the area’s economics, so the locals told Jesus to please depart their region. They didn’t get all excited about the man who was now well and in his right mind.

After that, the paralytic was brought to Jesus by his friends. Jesus saw their faith, and said, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Of course the Scribes yelled “Foul! Only God can forgive sins, you’re blaspheming!”

Jesus (who is taking things beyond the shallowness of the “heal me next, heal me next” cries of the people) says, “okay, which is easier? To say ‘your sins are forgiven you’ or ‘arise and walk’. To let you know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” (turning here to the paralytic) “arise and take up your bed and go to your house.”

That’s where I always miss the point. The focus of the people was on the healings.The emphasis Jesus was trying to project in training his disciples here was His power to forgive sins. Jesus started off tending to physical needs. The healings were out of both Jesus’ compassionate heart, and His plan to train his disciples to focus on the eternal. Matthew is showing us the progression of a plan to take those who follow Christ from self centered to seeing God.

Then comes the point of it all…Matthew 9:8 “Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God”

The healings were not the point. They were an avenue to bring the disciples' thinking from Point A to Point G. God’s Glory. To take us from the self-centeredness of “this will make me happy. Being well will make my heart be of good cheer” to the point of understanding that my concept of happy is not eternal. It is temporal. God wants me to grasp and embrace the eternal. Salvation, a right heart with God, is eternal.

God is using Daryl’s illness to glorify Himself. I knew that, and embraced it. But I still wondered why God doesn’t heal Daryl, His faithful servant. Like the people Jesus was teaching, my focus was on the healing. For whatever reason, Daryl with cancer glorifies God in a way that Daryl healed wouldn’t. I’ll continue to ask God to heal Daryl. But now, I’m confident that when He says “wait”, then it is for His own glory, and not because I lack faith. My faith is, and always has been, in the right place. :-) And that, dear ones, makes my heart “Be of good cheer.”

What I have learned as a Mother…

2011-05-07T18:32:00.001-07:00

Being a Mom has been good for me. The experiences of Motherhood have been way beyond what I ever expected.

I remember the night I went into labor with Daniel. My overwhelming thought was, “There is NO way out of this!!!” (Delivery, not motherhood.) I’m so glad there wasn’t, or I’d have missed the ride of my life!

I’ve learned to sacrifice and love it, I’ve learned to stay up late, I’ve learned that I have to trust God to lead you, I’ve (almost) learned to listen and choke down words, I’ve learned that being a good parent on your own strength isn’t possible…leading your children in the Lord is. I’ve learned it takes a church to raise a child. I’m so grateful to all those in our church body who invested in our children and their spiritual growth.

I want to thank you, Daniel, Andrew, Matthew, and Emily for taking me down a wonderful, interesting, full, rich path. Just some of the memories along the way…in no particular order:

Scouting, camping, Debate (both between me and each of you, and when Daniel was on the Debate Team), Church plays, band, choir, home schooling, private schooling, public schooling, PTA, Skateboard Hill, Friblings, picking up the front line of the Varsity Harwood football team and keeping the van door open from the smells, reading books, movies, UHF, Pyromaniac’s Love Story, Princess Bride, art, the Giant Smiley Face, Computers, making dresses together, “girl time”, Peak, Odyssey of the Mind, 11 pm talks and tears, hashing out life together, reading stories, fun in the cul-de-sac, boyfriends, girlfriends, finding the love of your lives, weddings, funerals, births, being part of the friends from SACS in San Antonio, the River Walk, the Alamo, Ben Dog, Birthday Parties, swimming, swim team, Grandaddy’s Lake, cousins, editing papers, baking, mealtime, talking biscuits, my ability to garble words, sand box fun, building the swing set, BB guns, machetes, raking leaves, Cardboard Boat Races, Quiet Times, young heads in my lap trying to both grow up and not grow up, hugs, partings, coming together again, chalk drawings on the driveway, driving you to youth group, clay-mation, making movies, editing movies, Christmas Parties, Omega Virus,

…and watching you grow into 4 of the finest young men and lady I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.

I love you, kids, and love the life we’ve shared together. On this Mother’s Day, I want to thank YOU for being fun, for being the godly persons you are, and for your love for me.

Happy Mother’s Day!

W is for Whitney

2011-04-29T05:31:00.001-07:00

I think Whitney is the last of the family members for the alphabet. Whitney is my son Daniel’s wife. My mother-in-law taught me that there does not have to be a protagonistic relationship between mom’s and their son’s wives. My mom has a good relationship with Daryl. So it followed that I when I gained my first daughter-in-law, it was with the anticipation of a pleasant relationship. Whitney has blessed our family in countless ways. She and Daniel used to come to me while they were courting, and ask questions on spiritual issues, so I was allowed to get to know her on a deeper level early on.

Whitney loves our Daniel, and does an incredible job of travelling the terrain of being a pastor’s wife. God has granted her great wisdom and insights as a parent, and as a counselor to others.

Thanks, Whitney, for loving Daniel and being a great Mom to 4 of our grandkids and for being a great daughter in law! Blessings today and always!

V is for Vacations

2011-04-27T19:34:00.001-07:00

We have had some fun vacations over the years. I would say we actually had two kinds of vacations. Most often, when we left the house, it would be to head for Arkansas to visit Daryl’s family. We would go to Heber Springs, Arkansas, and play in the “Swimming Hole” at the lake and eat watermelon and enjoy time with siblings and cousins. We’d stay up late, and at night, the cousins would sleep in the living room floor, spread out side by side in sleeping bags. Oldest cousin got the couch, youngers were on the floor. Granddaddy had a Ben Franklin stove in the garage, and during winter months, he’d have a fire going and would roast peanuts. He had a huge garage, and about half of it was dedicated to pool. This huge pool table came with the house, and generation after generation of kids grew up playing pool. There were lots of times, when there were young ones, that the men and older boys would be playing pool, and the younger ones would be pulling a red wagon around the pool players. There was a playground out back where the kids could play on swings and a spinning Jenny.

The other kind of vacation was when my folks came to see us. My folks lived a 2-day trip away, which meant that by the time we spent 4 days on the road, our vacation time was spent, so my folks came to see us, usually for 2 weeks at a time. I wasn’t working at the time, so I was home, and able to entertain and play with them. They generally came at Spring Break or summertime, when the kids were off. What fun we had! No matter what city we lived in, we’d do the touristy things that our family seldom did without company. In San Antonio, we’d do the River Walk and River boat rides. We took picnics to the playground. Mom would read to the kids, or do crafts. In Bedford, we’d often find our way to things we had never done alone. Once, we went to the Mesquite Rodeo. Dub had such a good time! I remember once, Mom went to the kids’ schools and told stories to their classes.

So, I’d say we have a history of some very fine vacation times. We made lots of memories with lots of family members.

U is for Underestimated

2011-04-27T19:23:00.001-07:00

Something Daryl and I learned is that most people are underestimated. For example, Daryl went on a campout with some men and boys. He knew most of the men there, and considered some of them to be okay, but a bit shallow. As they sat around a campfire and shared things about themselves, he realized that some of the men he thought to be shallow were men who had been through some deep troubles, or had served as missionaries. Their lives had depth. He realized that they were much deeper spiritually than he thought. He had underestimated them.

It’s an easy mistake to make. We have surface relationships with people, and fail to take time for deeper conversations, in which we learn more about the real lives of people we come in contact with. Sometimes, just one or two questions showing sincere interest will open up a person to share themselves.

Since that time, I have tried not to underestimate people as much. Everyone has a story. Everyone needs someone to show a sincere interest in them, and to have the Love of the Lord expressed to them. Most always, I’m the one who walks away encouraged and awed by God’s work in others.

T is for Teresa

2011-04-27T19:14:00.001-07:00

Teresa is my sister. There are just the two of us (so far as siblings go). She is married to Tom, who is an awesome husband and friend to her. He’s a good friend to us, too. But, let’s get back to Teresa. This isn’t about Tom! :-)

When we were little, and in elementary school, I remember that she entered school when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. There were dance “twist” contests at recess, and I didn’t want her to catch me, so I made her go away and not watch. (I figured she’d tell Grandma, who had NO use for dancing!) That’s a mistake I still regret…I should have gotten her into the contest too, so we’d both be in trouble, and join forces in keeping our secret!

We lived with my grandparents for a few years, while Mom was in college, and had great times with our two boy cousins, who would spend the week during summers when their parents both worked. We had so much fun playing monopoly and outside games, and just generally enjoying being cousins. That’s when I developed the belief that cousins and siblings are the best thing to have for a kid!

She has been through the loss of a child and cancer. Those are big things in life. Yet, through it all, she will tell you that God is good, and that He is always good.

My sister is now a best friend. Even though we’re far apart geographically, our hearts are ever soldered together. We share history and memories and heritage that I will never be able to share with anyone else. We are making new memories as adult friends. I count her as one of my greatest treasures.

Love you, Sis!

S is for Sarcasm

2011-04-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

I’m not much on sarcasm. The rest of my family are all adept at the art of sarcasm…however, when I try to be sarcastic, it just sounds mean. Therefore, I swore off sarcasm decades ago.

As a result, or perhaps I was this way anyway, I don’t enjoy sarcasm coming toward me, either, so I informed my kids years ago that I am not an available target. I’ve never gotten the hang of the gracious deflection. So, I admit that I don’t enjoy sarcasm when it’s aimed at a person. It is, however, fun to sit by someone who has the art of gentle sarcasm that doesn’t sting or hurt, and they mutter little comments under their breath. (I’m thinking of you, Andrew!)

You’d think I could have come up with something more creative for S than this! :-)

R is for Ruby

2011-04-25T11:34:00.001-07:00

Well, well, well! Another family member! :-)

Ruby is my Mom. She is a courageous lady, who has faced adversities, hardships, and difficulties. She’s a lady who has traveled, and made friends everywhere, and enjoys life.

I’m glad Mom is finally living in Texas. It’s nice to have her close. To get to have her at family events, instead of having to call long distance and say, “Wish you were here!” It’s nice to have her great-grandchildren be able to see her more often. In spite of my incredibly busy life, it feels good having her close.

Our church is a little far, and the people live over a very broad area, so it’s hard to visit back and forth. Mom has found a sweet congregation just down her street where the pastor does expositional preaching, and the folks are friendly. She’s already joined the choir and sung in a special Easter service, on the backup teacher list for her Sunday School class, and going to dinner with a bunch of new friends on Monday nights. They have a Wednesday night Church Dinner. Her friendliness helps her quickly become part of a group. Anyone who meets my Mom always says, “She’s so cute!”

Mom is always willing to be a help to those in need, and doing for others is her passion. May God give her a pleasant life here, and many years to enjoy her family! Love you, Mom!

Q is for Quick and Quiet

2011-04-22T19:06:00.001-07:00

I have had to learn to be quick about some things in life. I can make a really fast rest stop now, after all those years of traveling. I eat quickly, I guess since elementary school. I suspect that I spent all my time talking, and had to gulp down food fast to get to eat! :-) I tease Daryl that he is so far ahead of me on any given day, that I have to rush just to catch up! Even with cancer, sometimes he can work faster than I can think…he’s mastered the art of focusing. He will focus on what he’s supposed to be doing, and gets it done. I’m his “butterfly” as he calls me…flitting from one thing to another, getting distracted along the way….which probably, once more, leaves me with a small amount of time to accomplish a task, since I waste all my time flitting around! Hence, I get it done quickly at the end!

As for quiet, I love quiet. Oxymoronically, I LOVE the noise of children playing. I guess it isn’t so different…I don’t usually enjoy music or electronic sounds as much as I love quiet sounds…birds, crickets, children, breezes, ocean noises…but not those CD’s of nature sounds. There’s no duplicating the noises I love. I love the quiet of rain hitting a tin roof. I love the little snuffling sounds sleeping babies make. I love the sound of Daryl’s heart beat when I snuggle my head on his chest. The sounds that are Quiet to my soul!

Patience, Priorities and Pools

2011-04-22T18:55:00.001-07:00

Have patience, friends and family! It’s been a busy week…and I just couldn’t think of what I wanted to write. Eventually, even my sister was tapping her nails, waiting…thus, the topic, Patience!

Patience…I’m a fairly patient person. I generally don’t mind waiting for things I want or want to do. I think I learned that lesson first in college, when we had to stand in line for the card you wanted pulled to allow you a spot in a certain class. (I guess I really dated myself there…now registering for classes is done online!) I realized that waiting is just part of the process, and I may as well endure with patience.

Priorities….I have a hard time with priorities. I very often go to Daryl with a long list of things I have to do, and ask him to help me prioritize things. I also let him know that I am asking for recommendations, and it doesn’t mean I’ll follow the “recommendations.” :-) He’s incredible at prioritizing…he can separate the emotional part of his head from the practical, and look at things honestly and analyze them. He’s a lot of help to me on this part of life.

Pools…which I why I haven’t been able to think about the A to Z challenge…everyone of the Environmental Health Staff have been assigned to do an hour presentation on some aspect of Swimming Pool Inspections. I drew the assignment of teaching about the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, and pool suction, skimmers, and outlets. I’m down to the wire (as usual) and MUST get this presentation finished this weekend…Pool Seminar is on Tuesday. I get the slot right after lunch…so I’ll have to wake everybody up after a good lunch together! :-)

More letters to come, folks!

O Great God

2011-04-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Daryl has been having fun helping me think of things to write about on the A to Z challenge. Problem is, he's a bit too creative! :-) I can't even begin to remember some of his ideas!!!

This morning we were singing this song in church, and I knew it was just what I wanted to say for my O day. Text and Music is by Bob Kauflin, Copyright 2006 by Sovereign Grace Music. It can be downloaded in mp3 format from www.sovereigngracestore.com for 99cents. It is on an album called "Valley of VIsion", and you can hear the tune before purchase. Awesome song!

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore.

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven's joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From teh evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me.

N is for Noah

2011-04-16T13:01:00.001-07:00

Not out of family members yet!

Noah is my 3rd grandchild, the 3rd born child of Daniel. Funny thing about 3rd born children in this family. They tend to be a bit alike. Or at least, they tend to identify with each other. Daryl, Matt, and Noah are all 3rd born children. They are all fun people, with a bit of a wacky sense of humor.

A few years ago, we took Daniel’s family to Sea World, in San Antonio. My kids lived there 6 1/2 years, and two of them were born there, so we have a good bit of family history there. Daniel wanted to show his kids things like Skateboard Hill and the Alamo.

Each child was allowed to choose their favorite “souvenir”, and Noah chose a stuffed penguin. Now, not any penguin would do…he had to greet and hold every stuffed penguin in the batch, and chose a specific one. That penguin became “Pengy”. Pengy is still, as far as I know, a bedtime buddy. I’m not sure if it began on that trip, but Noah has a deep love for all things penguin.

Noah has always been a good snuggler (he’s only 5…will be 6 in July). When he was very small, he sucked his fingers. Daniel and Whitney were trying to get him broken of the habit, and would gently remove his fingers from his mouth. He used to climb in my lap and snuggle me good, and I loved it. I commented on how much fun it was that he would snuggle me, and Daniel said, “It’s not you, Mom. You just let him suck his fingers!” I still believe it was me he loved! :-)

We love our kids/grandkids, and look forward to our next visit with them, hopefully in May. See you soon, Noah!

M is for Matthew

2011-04-16T12:51:00.001-07:00

Matthew is my 3rd born child, and 3rd born son. His wife says she’s never seen anyone so much like BOTH parents!

We had a miscarriage between Andrew and Matthew, so when he was born, we named him Matthew because it means “Gift of God”. And that he is!

A defining moment in Matt’s life was when his best friend, Mark, was killed by being hit by a car. He learned the importance of parting from people you love with kind words, and it has made him very careful to never let partings be anything but pleasant, even if you’re still miffed at each other.

Matt’s very gifted at using his hands, much like his Grandfather Bennett. He inherited a wall plaque that says “Benny’s Place”. Any time he blogs about home projects, he puts up the “Benny’s Place” picture. When Daryl first had cancer, he did a lot of the home upkeep for us, using those talents and skills, and developing some along the way that he still uses!

Matt loves his family. He loves the family-together evenings.

Matt is a good husband who loves his wife, Amy. (Okay, that’s an easy one. She’s easy to love!) He’s a hard worker.

Matt loves the Lord, and is now doing a teacher-training class to learn to teach well. He has a deep respect for the Word of God. He’s taught little children for years, through Awana and Sunday School.

Love you, Matt!

L is for Lucinda

2011-04-14T19:33:00.001-07:00

My Grandmother’s middle name was Lucinda. Cecil Lucinda Black Campbell. She always said she had some other names, but would never tell them to me. After my parents divorced, Mom and Teresa and I moved in with my grandparents. My Grandma and I connected. We both were hard workers. We both loved a challenge. We were both more serious minded than sometimes other people were. But when my Grandma laughed, it was fun to listen to. She would all but whoop in laughter when she got tickled.

From Grandma, I learned to quilt and sew.

From Grandma, I learned to hoe a garden.

From Grandma, I learned to snap beans, shell peas, and dig potatoes.

From Grandma, I learned to love pinto beans and pickles.

However, I never picked up the cornbread in coffee thing that she loved.

She had a saying, “Things that you do, do with your might. Things done by halves are seldom done right.” I did a sampler for her when I was in high school or college with that on it. She loved it, and I got to inherit it when she passed away. It hangs in my living room hallway. Even now, when I have a project to do, her words challenge me to go ahead and do a good job. Thanks, Grandma, for all you taught me.

K is for Kindness

2011-04-13T20:59:00.001-07:00

I had to do some thinking about K. The best K word I could think of was kindness. I treasure kindness. People tend to be kind to me…even when I don’t always deserve it. I appreciate that!

When Daryl and I got married, we covenanted not to do digs or cuts. We determined that those sorts of things, in a marriage especially, can lead to more hurtful communication. As a result, there has been much kindness in our home over the years. I rejoice as I see my children continue the trait of kindness in their marriages.

When I go into a restaurant to do a health inspection, a kind word can cause a restaurateur to relax, because I typically make them nervous.

I like to be kind to people, because in my heart, I know that I am not kind on my own, so I know that if I am being kind, it is the love of Christ in me, and not myself, being kind. It pleases me to reflect Jesus.

I was thinking this morning of what God’s Word says about kindness. There are some good verses here, which I will end with:

Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, gentleness, self control…

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind…

J is for Julia

2011-04-12T05:50:00.001-07:00

Okay! More family members! Julia is the wife of our son Andrew. Our families have attended the same church since the kids were in either 3rd or 4th grade. We’ve been friends with her family for years. One of my earliest memories of Julia is watching her coordinate the Awana Quiz Meets. She would have her Awana shirt on over a cute top, and be organizing, delegating, running in 5 directions!

When Andrew was in high school, we were frequently pointing out some of the godly young women we observed…and Julia’s name was always tucked in there. Andrew later told us we almost ruined his interest by bringing her name up so much! :-) As God would have it, they were put on the same Mexico Mission Team (See, God could do it without me!), I think during their Junior year in High School.

We are grateful for Julia being in our family. Her giftings are such a compliment to Andrews, and his to hers. She loves her Andrew, she’s an awesome mother to Alyssa and Brooke and, like my other daughters in law, she allows me to be close to her, and have a sweet relationship. She freely lets us enjoy the grandkids. I am so blessed! Love you, Julia!

ps….I also should mention Janelle here, my life-long friend Kathy’s daughter. Although I could never mention all the folks out there who are like family, Janelle has been like one of my own. We’ve always been close, and I get to enjoy her long distance through her blog. Love you, Janelle!

Ichabod is Itchy, so am I

2011-04-11T04:11:00.001-07:00

If you recognize that line, you have read Dr. Seuss to children. If you know the title and can quote the whole book, you have read a LOT to children! I fall in the latter category.

Emily and I were discussing the other day who read the most to her, and whether or not I read very much to her. We decided that I was probably not the person who read to her the most…it was probably Daryl or Daniel. She was kid #4, and although we did lots of things together, reading may not have been our top activity. I DID have the privilege of teaching her to read. What a thrill when we were driving down the road, and she sounded out a word on a billboard!

When Daniel was young, I read him Dr. Seuss and Berenstain Bears until I could quote them in my sleep. I had an ulterior motive. I love to read, but even more, I love to hold children close. The rule was that you get to hold a kid on your lap to read to them, or snuggle up close at the very least. Daniel and I were both avid readers, and he’d sit for long times having me read books to him.

Then came Andrew, and I’d have a kid on either side. Joy, joy, joy! Lots of kid snuggles! Then Matt, another snuggler/book reader. By this time, I think Daniel was beginning to help with reading time, and by the time Emily came along, he was more than willing to have sister/brother time with her. She was a good snuggler, too…no matter what we were doing!

All my kids are avid readers now. I think the seeds were sown in those days of Dr. Seuss. Maybe, just maybe, they, too, have sweet memories of snuggling their Mom for a story.

Now, we read to our grandchildren. When Hannah was small, we bemoaned the fact that she didn’t know our voices very well. Aha! We bought two copies of books, sent her one, and read to her over the phone. We would tell her when to turn the page, and Daniel and Whitney even bought a speaker phone so she could coordinate turning pages and listening without having to set down the earpiece! :-) One of her favorites was a book that had been Uncle Matt’s…Six by Seuss!

Emily asked me a couple of weeks ago if we still have the Teddy Bears Picnic, a book I read her lots of times. She said Ben told her there was a song by that title, but that she didn’t think it was the same lyrics as the book. She was right (and I remember the song from Captain Kangaroo when I was a kid…how did Ben know it???). Maybe I read to her more than we thought!

H is for Hannah

2011-04-09T05:26:00.001-07:00

Notice that I am not out of family members yet!!! Sorry to the rest of you, who had to share your letters with other family members!

Our first grandchild is Hannah Gabrielle Bennett. The first grandchild on both sides of the family, she has brought delight to us from Day One, and set us all up to love being grandparents! She is bright, intelligent, engaging, cheerful, helpful…everything a first born should be! She got off to a rough start. Linda (her Gran) was there for the first grandma visit, and I followed with my visit. It was the night before it was time for me to leave, when Daniel woke me up in the middle of the night, telling me something was wrong and should we call 911.

The rest of the night was a pile of miracles, one on top of another. It turns out Hannah had refluxed, then aspirated fluids into her tiny lungs.

1. Whitney had noted in the hospital that when Hannah got a little choked, the nurse used a syringe to remove the mucous. When I got upstairs, Whitney was using the syringe, which the medics said probably saved her life.

2. I called 911, and miraculously remembered their address when I called because so many people had asked for it to send them congratulations cards. No time was lost through hesitation.

3. The ambulance was less than 3 minutes from their house, which was a spot they waited in occasionally. Miraculous that it was their night to be there.

4. They grabbed her, went to work, and rushed her to a most awesome hospital. They later told us that we had come within minutes of losing her. Another miracle.

5. Most miraculous of all was the work God did in Daniel and Whitney that night. As Daniel sat there, waiting, he verbalized that he was trusting God, no matter what the outcome, that God was sovereign and he trusted Him with Hannah. Can you imagine what an impact that night has had on Daniel’s ministry being pastor of a church, and on Whitney as she compassionately ministers to mom’s?

I know that isn’t Daniel’s favorite memory, because of how hard it was, but I remember it with great joy, because I saw God graciously allow us to keep our Hannah, and because I got to stay for a month, doing night duty, getting to feed Hannah and hold her upright at night. We bonded. How often does a Grandma get that kind of time with a grandchild hundreds of miles away? How often do you get to serve your children when they are states away?

Hannah is a neat girl…about to be 10 this month! She’s talented, happy, helpful, and smart! She has her Daddy’s sense of humor and love for reading, and her Mommy’s gracious nature and gentle heart of service. Happy Birthday month to you Hannah, the subject of the letter H!

God is the Source of All Good

2011-04-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today, for the letter "G", I'd like to quote a vignette from a book, The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan Prayers. I thought abut God, Grace, and His Glory, and finally landed on this, God as the Source of All Good.

O Lord God, Who inhabitest eternity,

The heavens declare thy glory,

The earth thy riches,

The universe is thy temple;

Thy presence fills immensity,

Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life,

and communicated happiness;

Thou hast made me what I am,

and given me what I have;

In thee I live and move and have my being;

Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,

and wisely administers all my affairs.

I thank thee for thy riches to me in Jesus,

for the unclouded revelation of him in thy Word,

where I behold his Person, character, grace, glory,

humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection.

Give me to feel a need of his continual saviorhood,

and cry with Job, "I am vile",

with Peter, "I perish",

with the publican, "Be merciful to me, a sinner."

Subdue in me the love of sin,

Let me know the need of renovation as well as of forgiveness,

in order to serve and enjoy thee for ever.

I come to thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,

with nothing of my own to plead,

no works, no worthiness, no promises.

I am often straying,

often knowingly opposing thy authority,

often abusing thy goodness;

Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges,

my low estimation of them,

my failure to use them to my advantage,

But I am not careless of thy favour

or regardless of thy glory'

Impress me deeply with a sense of thine omnipresence,

that thou art about my path,

my ways, my lying down, my end.

F is for Family

2011-04-07T05:07:00.001-07:00

I’ve heard it said that you can’t choose your family, and they have to love you. I’ve worked in a Junior High before, and believe me, the latter is not true! I’m thankful that in my case, they do!

I am blessed with a lot of “family groups” in my past and present. We may or may not see much of each other, but we are still family, and share a special bond.

My birth family loved me. Regardless of the problems my parents had, I was loved by them. (Okay, Daddy was questionable, but Dub stepped up to the plate in later years, and couldn’t have loved us more!)

When they split up, we lived with my Mom at my Grandparents (including an unmarried aunt, and an unmarried uncle). They loved us.

Mom and Teresa (my sister) and I lived on our own for a while, and we loved each other. Okay, we fought a lot, but believe me, any trouble from outside us had all 3 of us to recon with!

I married Daryl, and we were a new family. We loved each other, and treasure each other even more now, 35 years later, than we did at the beginning.

I was a part of the new in-law family, and they loved me.

We had 4 children, and were a large family (Daniel often called us more of a circus than a family!).

We’ve added 3 daughters in law, 1 son-in-law, 6 grandchildren, and my Mom, and we fill a photo now! We all love each other.

My sister added BJ, Tom, and Mandy and Michelle and Myranda. More family!

We’re part of a loving church family.

We’re part of a neighborhood family, who have raised a neighborhood of kids together.

We have friends we’ve shared life with over long years, and they’re family.

My kids’ in-laws have become more of the extension of our family, and we love them.

I’m also blessed that my office is like a family. Some of us are a little odd, but we have that family feel to us. We care about each other.

Some family members have gone Home…Grant, Mark, Myranda, Dub, James and Velma, Mama Greene, Homer, Cecil, James…and numerous aunts and uncles. So, we have part of our hearts in our next home!

So, I have to say that family is a warm, happy word for me. Not without it’s stresses and challenges…the trip here has had some thunderstorms along the way. But one thing is true: A family founded on Jesus Christ, the Rock, has a firm foundation, and can weather the storms.

E is for Emily and Ellie

2011-04-06T04:47:00.001-07:00

Wow! So far, I’ve hardly had to think! We may have enough family members to make it most of the way through the alphabet! :-)

Emily is my girl. I have 3 boys, then I had a girl. Lest you think I don’t love my boys, let it be known that we always hoped to have 4 children. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it is nice to have a girl to relate to in life!

Ellie is Daniel’s youngest child. She has a sister and 2 brothers.

As I think about the girls, they have some interesting similarities!

They are both the 4th child in their families.

They both major in cuteness. And know how to use it.

They are both unique among their siblings: Emily is the only girl sibling, Ellie is the only adopted sibling.

They are both kind and sweet and loving.

They both give awesome hugs, and they both love me!

Both have “nicknames”. Emily is often called “Em”. “Ellie” is a nickname for her full name, Elizabeth.

Both Emily and Elizabeth are classic names.

I love my E girls!

D is for Daryl and Daniel

2011-04-05T04:58:00.001-07:00

In case you don’t know, Daryl is my husband, and Daniel is my first born. They’re a lot alike.

Both have names that begin with D.

Both are in church leadership, Daniel as a full time pastor, and Daryl as a non-staff elder.

Both have a strong sense of right and wrong.

Both have mellowed as they have gotten older, yet are more and more committed to the narrow way of the Word.

Both are good at counseling people.

Both of them are committed to their families, and are good Dad’s.

Both of them were born the first week of September.

Both of them have 4 children.

Both of them have male and female siblings.

AND…I love both of them!

C is for Carol

2011-04-04T05:04:00.001-07:00

That’s me. I like being me. I have had the best of all worlds. I grew up knowing I was loved, with a family who made me believe there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. Being poor wasn’t an obstacle to success in their minds. Success was separate from income.

God brought me my wonderful husband….Daryl is a great man, godly, an elder in our church, and has always been a strong leader of our family. I have 4 kids, 3 daughers-in-law, 1 son-in-law, 6 grandkids, and there isn’t a rotten apple in the bunch. They are all walking with the Lord, and active in the Lord’s work. THAT is all God’s graciousness toward me. I didn’t deserve any of this….God did it all!

For the last 35 years, I’ve been a wife, a stay-at-home Mom, now am a grandma, and (at one time or another) a published writer, video maker (those slide show videos you show at birthdays and anniversaries and weddings), got to work at a school, and now I’m in my next job of being a health inspector. At every stage of life, I’ve had my favorite job, whatever it was. When I wasn’t needed to be the Mom at home anymore, God gave me something else to do. I’m incredibly grateful for the years at home with my kids…I got to sow into them, to know them, to be there for them.

I’ve had enough troubles in life to teach me that trusting God is the only way to live. His Word is sufficient for all my troubles, all my joys, all my needs. He is all. As my sister says, God is good, all the time.

I’ve got amazingly good friends, who would do anything for me. That’s another treasure.

I’ve got a sister and Mom who love me. In laws who have always loved me like birth family. Relatives who have always been there for me.

C is for Carol. I’m her. I like being her.

B is for Bennett and Ben and Brooke

2011-04-04T05:02:00.001-07:00

Taking a new name is a big deal. You want it to be a good, solid name. You want it to be one that isn’t weird. You write it with your first name over and over before he proposes, just to see what it feels like.

Think about the way names are a positive or a negative. Where I grew up, Campbell, my Mom’s family name, was an honorable name to have. My family had been in the area for years and years, and it was a thing of honor to be related to the Campbell's. Other names bring negative thoughts…Judas, Benedict Arnold, etc. You get the picture.

I like the name Bennett. I like the way Daryl makes it a good name, the way he has always brought honor to his family. I like the way he has protected it by living a life of integrity and honesty and faithfulness. He has passed that honor along to his children, so that when my boys were young men, mothers wanted their daughters to marry a Bennett. People trusted our kids, because they knew us. It was up to the kids to keep it that way, but the name we protected gave them a good boost in the community.

I’m glad that the kids have continued the legacy of Bennett being a good name. They all are adults known for their honesty, integrity, good character, and being nice people. Thanks, kids, for maintaining the family name.

And thanks, Ben, for bringing yet another good "B" name to the family. You, too, are a man of honesty and integrity and good character, and being nice to people. I'm glad our Emily married you!

Now, Brooke is the littlest Bennett. She is Andrew's youngest girl. She is sweet and affectionate, and gives awesome hugs! She just turned a year old, and has both sets of grandparents in the same city! She has a big sister, Alyssa, who was on of the A names. She likes to come to our house to play. Love you, Brooke!

A is for Andrew, Amy, Austin, Amy and Alyssa

2011-04-04T05:01:00.001-07:00

I’m going to quietly try the A to Z challenge Mom does on her blog. I don’t think anybody will notice until I get several letters in, since I never blog and nobody expects me to, and by then I will either be on a roll, or, as usual, find that adding an activity was too much and bid it adieu as a bit of fun, but un-doable. I’ll catch up a bit…I’ve just missed two letters so far.

Today, is the letter A. I realized we have a lot of A’s in the Bennett family. Andrew, Amy (Halliburton), Austin, Amy (Bennett), and Alyssa. Did I miss anybody? I’m thinking of the multitude of A’s in our family. (I’m going to let you all guess what determined the order of names, like we used to do as a family when some “order” was called for. Guess how I chose that order?)

Andrew is my quiet, strong son. (This is where I get in trouble, and don’t do blogs. I’ll get challenged by the other 3 boys as to whether or not I think they’re strong. It’s a given he’s my only quiet man, just as he was a quiet boy. Don’t hassle me, boys! You’re all strong. Andrew is,too.) :-) He’s the one I like to sit next to and listen to his dry wit, the undercurrent of little comments. Sitting by he AND Emily, my other quiet one, is a riot! I love watching him with his little girls, and the way he treasures his Julia. He’s always been a bit stubborn, but that tenacity helps him do well and accomplish much. I’m so proud of his persistence to get his college degree, and his faithfulness to be a hard worker. I’m proud of his gentleness with his girls, and his firmness in being a good parent. He’s good with his hands as well as his mind, and has just built a wooden fort/swing structure for the girls and their friends.

Amy Halliburton is my niece, a treasure from day 1. She and I have always connected…how I treasure the days of getting to pick up she and Grant from the “meeting place” and letting the cousins play together (or dropping my kids off for time at their house). From cut feet (remember cutting your foot on the stoop to the garage?) to boyfriends, we’ve been close.

Austin, what a wonderful grandson you are! I’m so blessed that you have always talked to me and confided in me. I remember one time you were telling me your thoughts of adding a new sister. You think deep thoughts. You’re a good big brother, too. I love the way you still sit close to me and share time together. Looking forward to our next trip together!!! Yay for Cracker Barrel!

Amy Bennett…you are always so sensitive to my thoughts and feelings. I was blessed at already having two daughters in law with whom I connected…how wonderful that God allowed it to be all 3!!! I remember Aunt Kathy marveling at how I was so blessed with good relationships…beyond just the in-law thing…with my kids’ mates. You’re so very good to my Matthew. Glad you’re in the family!

Alyssa…the grandkid who looks like I used to! Grandpa calls you “little Carol”, and it’s fun to hear him do so with endearment! What’s fun is that you also have my sense of wonder and joy at all things. I love getting to watch you grow and have such fun having you here!

Well, those are the best A things in my life. Day 1 done. :-)

Six more days!

2010-09-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

I'm hearing strains of "Sunrise, Sunset" in my head these days. In six days, my daughter becomes Emily Thompson. Emily has all the qualities of a godly wife, and a sweet spirit, and a tender heart toward the Lord. There have been some candidates for seeing Emily who didn't quite make it around here, for one reason or another. You have to expect that when you have a sweet and beautiful daughter! With three older brothers and a Dad, the candidates had to expect it to not be easy to get to date her!

Then came Ben. We are thankful that Ben grew up in a believing home, of some wonderful godly parents. (At this point, I must express gratitude to the Lord for giving all of our children mates who have believing parents, who have raised them to love the Lord. ) Ben has a gentle heart, and yet is able to say, "Now Emily, that's my job." We were privileged to have Ben live in our home for 2 1/2 months, (since Emily lives in Arlington with Jessica) and we went from, "Well, he's passed all the 'tests' and answered all our questions correctly. Em loves him, and we trust her." to an enthusiastic, "He's perfect for our Emily!" Ben is consistently patient, loving, encouraging, and absolutely loves our daughter. Emily's love for Ben passes Daryl's "sparkle" test...if the girl's eyes don't sparkle, something is missing! (See above pic, where her eyes sparkle!)

What can I say? Daryl has already measured the 66 feet from the back of the sanctuary to the front of the sanctuary, where he places Em's hand in Ben's. I'll probably cry all week, and have a blast helping Em get ready for the wedding. In six more days, she becomes Emily Thompson. As in all the other weddings around here, our family has been blessed by it's additions! I'm not losing a daughter...I'm gaining a Ben!

A Good Dad

2010-04-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

I caught this picture through the window at Matt and Amy’s new home. Matt moved in on Saturday, and Amy will move in after the wedding. This will give Matt time to do some “home repairs” to a few things.

Emotions tend to run high when you send a kid out…and in this picture, I see a lifetime of parenting. Matt’s the kid here, but it could have been any of the four. I see a Dad who has spent hours on his knees, praying for his children and pleading with God to act on their behalf, for their salvation, for their well-being, to give them wisdom, for their future mates. I see a Dad who has taught his kids how to work. I see a Dad who has been there through thick and thin for his children. I see a Dad who is always there for his kids when there’s a need. I see a Dad whose children still come to him for advice and to pick his brain for wisdom. I see a Dad who has always been a fun Dad. I see a Dad who has taught his children the Word of God, and has patterned it for them. No matter what the kids have been involved in, Daryl has always been right there beside them, getting involved, cheering for them, and even occasionally, trying to reason them out of mistakes. And, even as they grow up, Daryl continues to be there for them, and treasures every moment we get with the kids.

As we launch this next son, I take joy in knowing that he’s ready. I see a young man who has learned much from his Dad, and who has been much help this last two years. Like his older brothers and his sister, he’s turned out well. He’s sitting on his own back porch, hangin’ with his Dad, conversing Man to Man. Blessings, Matt! Amy, you’re getting a good man, just like his Dad!

Brooke Renee Bennett

2010-03-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Daddy and his girls...

Meet your sister!

It never gets old....every one is special!

Well, everybody in the Bennett and Jones families are excited about the safe arriveal of Brooke Renee Bennett. Julia felt good going into delivery, and the Lord graciously gave her a safe, "boy do I feel better than the last time" delivery. At less than a day old, Brooke is already holding her head up! Welcome, Brooke!

Winter in Texas

2010-02-13T14:17:00.001-08:00

This was too good not to take a picture of. The Fire-snowman is courtesy of Bedford Firestation #2, behind our house. WAY too cute!

This is my very obliging Daryl, whom I talked into coming out back and demonstrating with a yardstick how deep the snow was...we got 7" in most spots, but I found a few 8" places after this picture.

We were headed into Atlanta this morning, courtesy of some flight miles from Steve and Kathy Hensley to come to Atlanta for a visit, but the snow went there after it left here, and Delta was cancelling all flights. The re-schedule Delta was offering would have given us less than 24 hours in Atlanta. Sigh. God knows best, and it's good.

It's a Girl!

2010-01-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

The Bennett Family is rejoicing tonight at the announcement of Matt and Amy's engagement. We love our Amy, and welcome her into the family.

In typical Bennett fashion, we did a family pool on the engagement date. It has been a long wait on the Lord to work out job and ring details for the happy couple, so since we knew the time was near, we decided to do some guessing while we waited. At first we were a little hesitant, lest we lesson the joy, but Matt and Amy heard about it and thought it was great fun!

I gave out the info that the ring had been ordered but had not come in yet, and the grand prize for guessing the right engagement date was to get to be the first to get dessert at the Rehearsal Dinner. Guesses came in and were logged into my datebook.

Congratulations to Austin Daniel Bennett, who guessed that today would be the Engagement Day. Today also happens to be his 7th Birthday! Happy Birthday, Austin! You will get to have the first dessert at the Rehearsal Dinner! What's your favorite dessert?

Health Inspector Superior

2009-09-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

This blog has been written by the anonymous Guest Blogger - aka Don'tknow Who Blogger (DWB). The health inspector of this blog had a very interesting Friday night. A Wal-Mart store in her territory had a fire on Friday afernoon, and had to close down while things got cleaned up and electricty restored. Ms. Health Inspector Superior had to go down and check things out before they could reopen the grocery side of the store. She left the house about 10 pm, inspected from 10:45 to 2:00 AM, and got home about 2:45 AM.

This particular store is the largest volume Wal-Mart in the whole state of Texas (and that's a pretty big state full of Wal-Mart shoppers). She had to decide which food stuffs to inspect and which to accept "as is," like those wrapped, those wrapped but processed (having at any time come into contact with human hands), what about open produce, unrefrigerated but were they exposed to smoke or toxic fumes, and then all the refrigerated or frozen foods. Then she and the store management team went through each section of food types to be inspected, meats, milks and eggs and dairy products, all sorts of frozen and refrigerated foods, the bakery and the in-store Subway shop, etc. She inspected all the refrigerated trailers in the parking lot, where the store had hurried frozen/refrigerated foods out to save them, and go through all the cooler and freezers in the store to see if they were keeping acceptably low temps with the electricity out. This DWB went with her and she was awesome to watch. Attagirl, Carol!

Hey, Grandma

2009-09-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

Some folks love Mozart. Some love Brahms. Some love Elvis (why, I am not sure). But to me, the sweetest strains of the most melodious music to my heart were the words "Hey, Grandma!" on a recent trip we took with the two eldest Grands this summer.

We went to see the Illinois Branch, and left with Hannah and Austin in tow. They enjoyed me bringing along some old car toys we had when their Dad used to be a young boy and go on car trips with us. I think we ate at half the Cracker Barrels in the area. We went to the Birthplace of Lincoln, Mammoth Cave, the Smokey Mountains (hiked to a waterfall), and played in Lake Cherokee, near where Grammy and Gramps live, with Grammy and Gramps watching from the hill. We took a tour of Grandpa's old college campus, the University of Tennessee, and, after a quick stop in which they had one last visit with their Great-Grandma Bennett, hurried on back to Bedford, Texas, where the Pait Grandparents took over and enjoyed a few days with them until connecting with the rest of the Bennett Bunch in Oklahoma for some family time. I heartily recommend grandparent trips...the kids were well-behaved, enthusiastic, and enjoyed everything we did with cheerful and loving hearts.

Eating at Cracker Barrel...everyone's favorite on the trip.

Cheerful...and I didn't have to bribe them with candy the way I used to bribe my kids....

Striving to conquer the same games his Dad used to play in the car on trips...

Good hikers! After the fun at the waterfall

Austin wanted to climb this rock on the way up, but was patient, and got to climb it on the way down the mountain.

Grandpa the work horse....made sure we didn't leave anything behind.

Wearing the new hats Grandpa got them to keep the sun off their heads...and Austin wearing his souvenir shirt...which he wore the rest of the trip, between washings.

Some pics from the Illinois part of the trip...

Ellie and Noah at the Children's Museum we took them to while we were in Illinois. Ellie never got bored of getting the small balls to "suck" up the pipes. Noah was proud of the lego structure he built.

Some snuggle time with Grandpa. I'm not sure who was asleep first, Grandpa or Ellie, but I don't think it was Noah! He looks pretty perky!

Girls just want to have fun…

2009-06-12T14:38:00.001-07:00

You kids know your Grandma Young….she’s going to have fun anywhere. Today, she REALLY needed her hair washed. Since she did tandem surgeries (they even used the cut from the first surgery for the second one!), it has been about 2 weeks since her hair had been washed. She still had to be careful of the staples from surgery, and an IV line in her clavicle. Today, Harland, the CP (Care Provider) gave her a really wonderful shampoo.

Grandma Young

2009-06-07T15:06:00.001-07:00

Here’s Grandma, at the hospital. I’m here in Tennessee, enjoying time with Grandma. She had gall bladder surgery Tuesday (didn’t get to do the easy laproscopic route), and is recuperating nicely. Except for one tiny detail…seems to have a blocked bile duct. Tomorrow morning, they do a procedure to check on exactly what is going on, put in a stent, and hopefully, after they take out the stent in 4 weeks, that is that. Notice that except for the slightly yellow tint to her skin (I’m refraining from calling her “Old Yeller”) she looks really good, and is currently sitting in that same chair, reading a book. Vintage Grandma! Prayerfully, all will go well tomorrow, and I’ll be home Wednesday night, and my Aunt Imazo will take over the care of Mom and Dub in New Market for me.

They have these things they put on your legs to keep the blood from clotting…designed for those who stay in bed several days. Mom obediently used them this afternoon, but the nurse, as she put them on, quipped something along the lines of, “These are really for people who stay in bed. You don’t stay in bed. That, though, is a good thing!” She’s doing a good job of moving, and walking, and exercising. I get her outside for 30 minutes each day for some good ole’ Vitamin D. Except for being a fussy eater, she’s a really good patient, and I attribute her improvements to not laying around in some old hospital bed. Viva la improvements!

A Patriotic Memorial Day

2009-06-07T14:56:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Sunset….for real! Charlie Yates

Diane Yates Linda Chandler

Some friends (Charlie and Diane Yates and Brian and Linda Chandler) invited us to join them on their boat for Memorial Day. (See Daryl’s blog for more pics…these are the ones I had on my camera, minus the one of Angela that she will thank me for NOT putting on my blog….) It was a refreshing evening.

I had been missing my uncles, to whom I was always grateful on Memorial Day for their part in World War II. This year, I felt a bit of a gap, since my last two uncles passed away this year.

To my joy, we got to celebrate with a vet, Charlie Yates. He fought in the Vietnam War, and flew airplanes. (Again, see Daryl’s blog for more accurate detail) Thanks, Charlie. It meant a lot to me.

The Great Ironies of Life...

2009-03-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Life is full of funny ironies. I would have missed this one if not for Daryl noticing it.

My boss signed us newbies up for a class to become Certified Pool Operators. We have to inspect pools (twice each between Memorial Day and Labor Day), and I guess he figured this was the best way to get us ready.

I just spent 2 gruelling days learning about Flow Meters, Pool Volumes, Titration, Sludge Diatomaceous Filters, dosing the pool with chlorine and bromine and sodium whatevers, and Pool Illnesses, just to list a FEW of the things we covered. We had our final test this afternoon, which I am relieved to report that I made 55/60, which Daryl says is a good solid 92% right.

I can now put the official initials, CPO, after my name.

The irony is, I don't swim.

Grandma Saturdays

2009-03-23T18:45:00.001-07:00

Grandpa came up with a brilliant idea! I run errands every Saturday morning. Grocery store, Walmart run, etc. We’ve been lacking with time with Alyssa, through no fault of her parents! Just busy schedules, cancer, exhaustion! Sooooo…..Daryl suggested I see if Andrew and Julia would think it was okay to snag Alyssa on Saturday mornings to go to run errands.

They decided that probably every other Saturday would be fine…she is, after all, only six months old, and they don’t want her to be running too busy a schedule. There are a couple of other things Julia does during the week, so they figured they’d try it out and see how she does.

Well, it’s a blast! The first week, we met Grandpa at Lowe’s and picked out some fence panels for the fence between us and Miss Mae, next door. This Saturday, we went to Target, and to Calloway’s, back to our house to do some swingin’ with Grandpa, and on to a quick Kroger stop. Above is a picture where we paused to talk to a friend we ran into…Alyssa LOVED the pink and purple of the Easter aisle!

She laughs and smiles easily…you’ll have to check out Daryl’s blog for swing pictures.

Looks like we have a fun tradition now. Thanks, Andrew and Julia, for indulging us. What a joy that little girl is!

One more thing…

2009-03-15T14:07:00.001-07:00

Daryl says I should add #11…

11. I get to look at things by touching them!

Do you think it’s a fit???

2009-03-13T21:04:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about my job the other day in the car, and burst out laughing. This job is SOooo me!

1. I get to boss people around.

2. I get to snoop into every nook, cranny, and drawer.

3. I get to tell people they have to conform to health rules.

4. I get to work at destroying germ populations.

5. I get paid for this!

6. I get to boss people around.

7. I get to choose my schedule.

8. I get to drive a county car.

9. I get to meet all sorts of people.

10. I have interesting things happen to me during inspections.

What do you think…is this job a fit, or what!!!

It’s good for young men to carry caskets.

2009-01-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

Above are four of the young grandsons who carried Hugh’s casket today. In addition to Thomas, Steven, Joshua, and Andrew, was Mike (one of my cousins) and Mike’s son, Joshua. With the exception of Mike, who is a bit younger than me, they were all young men.

As I watched them carry the casket, I realized it’s a very good thing to have young men carry caskets. Young men feel so invincible. They think, as Daryl sometimes says, that the laws of physics (gravity, etc) don’t apply to them. They think life stretches outward, and sometimes fail to see the more important concept of eternity. The very act of carrying a casket has to bring you face to face with mortality.

To those young men, I write this blog. I loved meeting you. I loved watching how you loved your Papaw and love your Nana. I wish my kids had known you better, and known you as cousins. I want to set forth the challenge to you to give thought of eternity. Think of your Papaw’s life, and what it stood for. I don’t know where any of you stand in relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, but take time to find out. It’s the single most important direction you will take in life. Talk to Nana. Talk to Mae. Talk to Ruby or Dub. Talk to your Dads. They know. Love you, guys!

He isn’t here….

2009-01-26T19:11:00.001-08:00

Customs are interesting to me. Today, (Sunday) I was privileged to get to attend my Uncle Hugh’s funeral. In Texas, we receive friends the first night, then do service and burial on the next day. In Tennessee, they do the receiving of friends and the service the same day, then the graveside service the next day.

I wasn’t going to get to go to the funeral at first. Daryl and I had tickets reserved, but my blood pressure was doing some loopy things, so he asked me to stay home. By Sunday morning, it seemed to settle down, and he agreed that it would be a good idea for me to be there. (Me, at 6:30 am this morning…”Honey, I’m feeling better. Do you think I could go on to Tennessee? There’s a flight that leaves at 10:30…I bet I could get a bereavement fare and go on to Tennessee?)(Daryl, shaking his head as he says “Sure.” Probably thinking he will NEVER know what I’ll come up with next, and that his life will never be boring!) It will be a 24 hour turnaround, more or less, but is well worth it. (Thanks for letting me use the vouchers I salvaged, Mom.)

I wanted to be here for my Mom…she’s lost 3 siblings in 13 months. That leaves her the last of the siblings. I wanted to be here for Imazo…she and Hugh were always so good to us girls. I wanted to be here for my cousins….who are more like brothers after the summers we used to spend together at Grandma’s. I wanted to be there for me, because I love my family, and need them. I miss Daryl being here with me, but am grateful he sent me on, even though he couldn’t drop obligations at the last minute like I did.

My Uncle Hugh was a wonderful man. He was kind, loving, and a Godly man. The lines of people who came to console the family began at 4 pm, and the funeral wasn’t able to start until 6:15pm instead of 6 because folks were still in line to talk to the family, especially to Imazo, my aunt. Hugh was loved deeply by all who knew him. He had the gift of caring, of making you feel important, and you loved him for it. Daryl told me that at our wedding, Hugh took him aside and said, “Now, you take good care of Carol. She’s a special girl.”

An interesting phenomenon occurred in the course of that 2 hours of guests arriving. When I first went to “see” my Uncle’s body, it was SO obvious, as it always is, that he wasn’t there. It was still a bit uncomfortable to “look” at him. The way these lines work, the family stands near the casket, lined up, with the One who is nearest and dearest to the deceased at the head of the casket. The rest of us spread out. Since my mom was his sister, she was to Imazo’s right, past the casket. As we stood there, we became comfortable with death. It ceased to be Hugh, it ceased to be eerie. It just became fact. It was clear and undeniable. I wish I had the eloquence to communicate the shift of emotion.

When I was a little girl, my Grandpa Gray passed away. My Aunt Imazo coerced me into “viewing” his body. I remember her telling me that it’s something I just needed to do, so I could understand it better. She was right. I needed to, and it was a clear lesson that death separates the spirit from the body.

Having that time to be near the casket, that time being comforted for our loss, gives the emotions time to become accustomed to reality.

Tomorrow, when we have to bury Hugh’s remains, we will have been through today, and that separation of events, I think, will have better prepared us for tomorrow. It certainly does not ease the pain of loss, it just prepares the heart to view life and death more like God does. Hugh isn’t there. He’s Home, with his Lord, whom he loved even more than this life. Love you, Hugh.

My Mother always said I was a snoopy kid....

2009-01-18T13:26:00.001-08:00

Yep, that's me in front of my county car. I had just finished a day of inspections.

I figured I'd answer all those questions about "What do you actually DO in your job?"

It started off with roughly 3 months of training. We had to read all of the Texas Regulations for Food Establishments (TFER). In tandem, we had to go online and do some FDA modules that were much like a refresher college course.

Then, we started working alongside other inspectors. At first, all we did was observe. Then, bit by bit, we went from observing, to listing the violations we saw and comparing them to the other inspectors' list. The next step was to start entering those violations in the fellow-inspector's computer. Last, we were allowed to do an inspection and write the report ourselves, with the experienced inspector watching us.

I owe a great debt to those co-workers who gave of their time and schedules to do our training. We slowed them down, we asked tons of questions, and they never let on how hard it was on them to add us to their schedules!

On January 2nd, we were turned loose on our new territories. I say "we" because there were 3 of us who were new hires. Three inspectors had retired within the last year, leaving 3 spots unfilled. It's extremely hard to get jobs in this field...folks tend to stay in these jobs for years! Getting this job was DEFINITELY a God-thing. No other way would I have been hired 33 years after getting my degree!

My territory is Burleson, Benbrook, and Crowley, Texas. I teased my boss that if the took a string and tried to find the place on the map furthest from Bedford, he was successful. The good news is that it is a DELIGHTFUL territory. The people are warm and friendly, and the inspector before me was a well-loved gentleman. He also hardly gave demerits, so a few folks are kind of surprised that I do such a thorough inspection. Once I let them know that I'm a nice person, and that we've just been through a standardization process so I have to be more thorough, they relax a bit, and all is well.

An inspection is a long process. At my stage of experience, I probably can do 3-4 inspections per day, depending on whether it's a hard place to inspect, or a simple convenience store.

I'm looking for any sort of health violation. Just as as Christians are to live by God's Word, and try not to either add or detract from what the Word says, as inspectors, we live by the TFER, and try not to add or take away from any regulations.

Violations are things like food workers not washing their hands, not keeping foods cold nor hot according to regulations (Foods have to stay below 41 degrees F and above 135 degrees F to be in the "safe range".) or doing things that would contaminate foods being served. There's lots more, but I could get boring here!

I probably ought to write down some of the funny things that happen some day. Like, the lady who has a cake business that isn't making cakes, and doesn't even have a refrigerator. Needless to say, I had to close her until her place is in order. She, thankfully, agreed and was delightful to deal with.

Today, one of my inspections was a Foodborne Illness inspection. People can call in reports of suspected illness, and we do an inspection to investigate the possible problems that might lead to foodborne illness.

Well, that's the basics of the job. In one family member's words, after we were talking about the fact that I was probably going to be a little over the top for a while on germs, "Yeah, I noticed you were even a little weirder than usual!" :-)

2008-11-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

When Hannah was born, Daryl made her a swing with the help of Daniel. Now that Alyssa has come along, Daryl made a swing for this Bennett tribe, this time with the help of Uncle Matt. Alyssa liked it, and we think she looks adorable in it! Now she can go outside with Daddy and Mommy when they want to be in the back yard!

2008-10-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

Tarrant County Public Health
Safeguarding Our Community's Health

Well, today was my first day working for the Tarrant County Public Health Department, Environmental Health division. I am one happy girl!!!

More to come later....

Alyssa Faith Bennett

2008-09-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

Go see Daryl's blog for a better assortment of pics...

This is probably my favorite pic from today. Today Alyssa Faith Bennett was born at 1:06 pm, weighed 8 lbs and 4 ounces. She was 20 1/4 inches long.

Julia was having some pretty serious blood pressure problems, which have been going on for a couple of weeks, and got worse this week. The doc put her in the hospital Tuesday evening, did some sonograms, a 24 hour test of some sort was planned, but by this morning, the decision was a C-section.

The C-section went well, and in spite of the difficulties Julia and Andrew have been through since mid-July, Alyssa was born healthy, whole of mind and body, (all answers to our prayers!) and Julia came through fine. She's in a lot of discomfort (Julia might call that an understatement!) but still managed to look beautiful holding her little one when we walked in.

The Grandparents all showed up by the time they were bathing Alyssa (I think the Jones' had been there much longer than we had) and stood around oohing and ahing to our hearts content. The nurses were kind, and put her at the window for our viewing and picture-taking pleasure.

We went for a soda, then came back when the kids were ready for a little visit. As different grandparents held Alyssa, I noticed Andrew stood near, watching his little one. When we were done, he scooped her into his arms, comfortably plopped himself indian style on a chair, and looked content cuddling his girl.

Congratulations to our kids, but even more, Praise to the Lord for bringing Alyssa Faith safely into the world, and for preserving our Julia through childbirth. We rejoice!!!

Your children will be taught of the Lord...

2008-09-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

There's an Old Testament verse that speaks of your children being taught of the Lord. I may be pulling it a bit out of context, but it certainly is the hope of every believing parent that their children move from being taught at our tables to being taught of the Lord, that they will make the Lord their trust, that they will walk with the Lord and bring glory to Him in their personal walks. We have that great blessing in our children. They have made the Lord their trust, and they are taught of Him. It's wonderful to watch His plan unfold in their lives. Adult children are as fun as little ones. In fact, our next event is waiting for the birth of our next grandchild that Andrew and Julia are expecting any day now!

We had the privilege this weekend to watch God unfold some of his plan in Daniel, our eldest. All 4 of the grandparents (Daryl, myself, Dave, and Linda Pait) were at the "Grand Opening to the public" (not the best term but descriptive) of Bethany Community Church. This is a church plant from the parent church, Bethany Baptist Church in Peoria, Illinois. The plant is in Washington, Illinois. I can't begin to describe the emotion of the day, and didn't want to head to bed until I get some of these thoughts in type. I guess it was sort of like the birth of a grandchild, in that you are so overwhelmed at God's grace and work in your children, and that something of great joy has been born. Daryl and I were both overcome and found our eyes leaking, but I'm not sure quite what the emotions were. I think it was just the joy of seeing God's Hand working in our children.

As the service began, I had to fight being proud of Daniel...I knew it isn't his church, it's the Lord's church, and His mighty grace at work. However, I confess to some initial parental "pride". As I battled that, I realized that I was with fellow believers, and was there to worship God, not honor Daniel. The wonderful thing was, it was easy to make that shift. The focus was not on the leadership, the newness of the church, or even the 596 people in attendance. The focus was on the Lord. He didn't distract from that by saying, "I want to introduce...or I want to thank" anybody. No focus on who did what, or on what hard work went into the day. Daniel just led his flock into worship and the teaching of the Word.

It was a wonderful time, and I'm glad to have been there for it. Thanks, Dave, for the work you did getting tickets for us that were economical, and Thanks, Daryl my love, for letting THIS be the weekend we went. I wouldn't want to have missed this for anything!

Space Shuttle takes flight...

2008-07-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I sold the Space Shuttle Sparrow. I named it that because it was about as big as a Space Shuttle, and with me driving, it reminded me of the phrase from a song, "His eye is on the Sparrow, so I know He watches me."

I owned the Shuttle for 11 years. It's maiden voyage was to Florida to see my sister and her family. It has been to Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, and who knows where else in the state of Texas! It's been to Sea World, Six Flags, camping trips, local excursions, and uncountable trips to church and church functions. It has shuttled friends, family, and even a few folks who were neutral, but rode with me anyway. :-) It has provided comfort to our family and friends and a graciousness of hospitality afforded by few vehicles. When we bought it, I was resistant to purchasing a huge van, but Daryl wisely said it was best for the family for a while. My hands had to be pried off the steering wheel to sell it, and if I had gone car hunting before I sold it, it would probably still be in the driveway! May it be wonderful for your family, Fidel and Debbie!

My kids are good to me....

2008-07-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

I have the nicest kids (this does, by the way, include my daughters-in-love and a girlfriend). (Note: I have nice grandkids, too, but this one is for my kids.) Even as adults, they still let me do things for them. And they do stuff for me. They care, they call, they help, they console, they laugh (sometimes with me, sometimes at me), they include me in their lives, they give me grandchildren, they pray for me, they seek out my company, they honor their parents. I'm a blessed woman.

Thanks, Matt, for today. It reminded me how you all look out for me, even when I'm resistant.
Love you all....MOM

Life's Via Points

2008-06-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hi. Daryl's upstairs blogging, so of course, I have to get my blog done at the same time! We had a wonderful trip to Arkansas last weekend. It's awfully easy in the midst of health stuff to fail to plan to have fun. It's easy to lose sight of the freedom you DO have to do stuff. It can be consuming.

So, we planned a trip, thought we wouldn't get to do it, but DID get to do it. It was refreshing and fun to get away. We have been going to Arkansas by our current route for probably about 26 years. As we go, we pass the Crater of Diamonds State Park, and DeGray Lake State Park. Two very enticing places to go, but when you have a destination, you seldom do via points.

This trip, we did the via points. We stopped Thursday at Crater of Diamonds State Park, and sifted for pretty rocks. No diamonds, but lots of fun. I kept moving around, hunting here and there, digging from different spots, shoveling up various rocks, not sure how to use the sifter. My system was pretty useless, and I was wondering where the fun was. Finally, I got the hang of using the sifter (not having the sense to ask Daryl how, and him figuring ANYBODY could use a sifter) and started having fun. (I do know what Jasper looks like now.) It was kind of like gold fever must have been, only less successful. I ended our time thinking..."next time....".

Then we hustled on to our next via point...DeGray Lake State Park. VERY pretty place...it sits on a literal island. (I hope my kids note that their Mom crossed a bridge to an island....) We had a nice dinner with a lake view, and afterwards sat outside and watched the geese (and made some ministry phone calls, and worked sudoku) and took a walk along the trail behind the lodge.

Our final stop was Heber Springs, where we had a great visit with Jim & Ginny and 2 of their grandchildren, Vanita & Terry, and Mom Bennett. Mother was in a good mood, and was perky and alert. (One picture has Daryl and Vanita with Mom, who was pointing at me for pestering her, the other is Jim and Gin's grandsons. We took her out to where the family had donated some Bradford pear trees 3 years ago. They have grown well. I like to think the trees inspired some other improvements the nursing home has made to the sitting area. They've added flowers, some nice wicker furniture, a little garden. It's the nicest spot on the nursing home property.

We were talking later about how hard it is with Daryl's cancer and back problems to know how to plan. To know how to dream. I guess what one has to do in life, regardless of its challenges, is to learn where the via points are. How to find those places of fun and rest that enhance the trip. As a result, I'm going to start trying to find life's via points along the way. They can be pretty fun!

Blooms of Friendship

2008-03-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

The flowers in this picture are Camellia's. Over the years, we've made a lot of memories with the Hensley Family. One of those memories was a trip that Kathy, her sister Julia, and myself made to a Camellia garden. At the end of the trip, I bought 2 Camellia plants to bring back to Daryl, who loves to make our property bloom and who financed my trip to Georgia so I could see Kathy.

Over the years, they've gotten to be a bit of a joke. We get one, maybe 2 blooms a year, and those usually have a brown tinge to them that isn't good.

This year, I was in the backyard and realized the plants were FULL of blooms! Daryl had told me they were blooming, but never did I imagine more than the one or two brown blooms we usually got! They were loaded, full, beautiful blooms! I cut a little more than half of them, and put them inside in a vase. The humorous thing was that I found out I was allergic to them, so I put the vase on the back porch outside my kitchen window, where I enjoy them while I clean the kitchen.

Just thought you'd want to see them, Kathy!

Legacy of Love

2008-03-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted. We've been a little busy! After a wonderful November with the Illinois Bennett's, and a fun Christmas, we hit the new year. My Aunt Margaret passed away the first bit of January, and I was blessed to get to go home for the funeral. (Thanks, Daryl!)

Mom and I took one morning and went to my Aunt's apartment to go through her things, since Mom wanted me to choose a quilt for myself and Teresa, and some things to bring back to some of the other females in the family.

We have been through a similar set of visits to Arkansas, during which we and Daryl's siblings have gone through the stuff of his folks' house. It's been rewarding to share memories and stories, and to sort through the "stuff" together.

As I thought about the scavenger-like feeling of going through someone else's life collection, I pondered the right/wrong of it all, and came to a conclusion or two.

At the end of one's life, you need to have invested enough in others for there to be someone who wants some of your stuff. There needs to be someone out there who wants to have something of yours to keep alive the memory of things you did together, to have a piece of your legacy in tangible form. Someone needs to see the treasure in your things, just because they were yours.

Something else I learned is that even though you may not have met the people who owned some of the items, a sense of family is carried on through the legacy left in "things". It becomes a connection to the people whose names grace your family lineage.

From Margaret, I came home with a beautiful quilt that she made. She loved to quilt, and to give them as gifts. I have one she made me when Daryl and I got married...it had fabric from all sorts of clothes I'd made as a younger girl. I ended up with a picture of my grandparents holding ME as a little baby! I have a coffee table runner now that my Grandma crocheted the border for, as well as one to take to Whitney. Julia now has a lovely broach that was Margaret's. Emily and Hannah have a piece of jewelry each. Margaret will be remembered each time we enjoy these things, and her legacy will live on. What is the legacy we will remember? Margaret was always willing to play, to do, just to peacefully be. She never worried about winning games, and always had an "available" heart. She taught me to have an available heart, too.

From Mom Bennett, I have her old nut chopper. I remember her using it for all those wonderful desserts she made for every occasion. At one time, she wrote down what everybody's favorite dessert was, and tried to have it made when they arrived at her house. She also mistakenly thought Daryl loved Lazy Daisy Cake, but that's another story! I got the pickle bowl and the Cranberry Fluff bowl, and the silver set that was "the one thing she ever won". Where Vanita could have appropriately claimed anything she wanted as the only birth daughter, she open-handedly shared those memories around the family. We shared things that Mom Bennett had from generations who went before her.

I guess the final analysis is that I hope someone wants my stuff when I pass on. That there will be a few things that my kids and off spring will sit down and remember me as they go through them. That the funny stories will be remembered, and that my life will have been such that there are good memories to be had when they look at those things. I have little doubt that MY Aunt Margaret's quilt and Mom Bennett's things will be among those things. May my legacy, like Aunt Margaret's, be a Legacy of Love.

We should all live like our loved ones have cancer...

2007-10-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

When the cancer hit, one of the things I told Daryl was that I was not going to patronize him, and that when I get irritated with him, I will treat him just like normal, and not tip toe around like we can't disagree anymore. I figure life as normal as possible is good.

One event, however, has taught me that we should all live like our loved ones have cancer. The results are really pleasant, and, I suspect, pleasing to the Lord.

There is a picture that is a treasure to Daryl from his childhood. It was an expensive picture for the times, and his dad (who we have always jested could squeeze a penny till Lincoln yelled "Uncle!") bought it over some cheaper, less appealing pics, especially for Daryl's room when his older brother moved out. It is nicely framed, has a gold plate with the title of the picture on it. It is also not particularly my taste, and I was dreading finding a place to hang it.

Daryl also told me that he enjoyed looking at it while he had rheumatic fever as a child, and had to spend a lot of time in bed. It's a train station, and I can just imagine him thinking about places to go, and imagining stories of where he went and what he did.

Sooooo...this time, I did let cancer influence me, and determined that regardless of my personal dislike for a train pic in my pretty blue living room, I was going to find a place of prominence and defer to my dear husband's preferences. The story surrounding it was just too sweet to do anything else.

Well, I truly believe God blesses good attitudes, and I figured I'd get the attitude in line, and trust God to make the feelings follow along. I should not be surprised that God led me to the perfect spot for the pic, a spot where Daryl spends time listening to his music, a spot in the living room, and a spot in which the picture not only looks nice, but fits in with the decor. It's in what used to be a conversation pit, where we have a music entertainment center. On top of the center, we have an old chiming clock from his Dad, a collection of old books, and a pool ball in a wooden triangle from the folks pool table. Even the smoky coating from the old stove in the folks garage looks good on the pic now, giving it an antique haze. I love the way it looks. A warm connection to family and good memories.

So, I contend that we should all defer to one another occasionally in areas we would rather not, and take those emotional plunges on a regular basis that we normally reserve for loved ones who have cancer. It might be a nice way to live!

Lion King

2007-10-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

Daryl is always coming up with fun things to do. His latest was Lion King. (Okay, the latest was No Time for Sargeants at the local play house, but unfortunately, I fell asleep through most of it...it looked hilarious, and the actors were well cast.)

Lion King was an incredible feast for the senses...the music was, of course, the standard Disney music, but live music is so much richer than recorded music! You already knew the music, and the story line, so you could just sit back and be amazed at the costuming and the actors plying their trade. For instance, the elephant was composed of 4 adults moving as the legs, with the rest of the elephant above them. You had to take your field glasses just to see the details (okay, we decided if we sit in nosebleed sections, we can justify going to more things...it means you take your binoculars!).

Daryl, during intermission, while I was being herded through the ladies room, was making friends with the kid in front of us. It was interesting...the parents sat in two different places. We think they got good seats for two people, and the other three sat in nosebleed section, where we were. There was one younger kid who wouldn't have settled down for a nearer location (this was the one Daryl connected with). The two older boys took turns sitting with Mom in the nicer seats...one before, one after intermission.

Anyway, Daryl connected with the younger, more active kid. I had had fleeting thoughts of sharing my binoculars with him, but dismissed it...his brother had a pair he could have shared, and Daryl spent good dollars on me having a great time. Which meant, use the glasses myself. By the time I got back from the ladies' room, the kid had Daryl's glasses around his neck. (predictable, I might add!) Daryl was jabbering away with the kid. I quietly let Daryl know I was not sharing my glasses with him, and he ought to get his back for the production. (uncharacteristically uncharitable of me, but it was the only way to see the costumes.) Of course, Daryl chose the high road, and let the kid keep the glasses. His reward was that when the kid laughed, instead of turning to his Dad, beside him, he turned around and gave Daryl grateful grins. Daryl won on that one!

Everything is not as it seems....

2007-10-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Life isn't always what it seems to be on the surface. We think we're in control. We think we know what's happening, and more or less, what's going to happen.

Then God shows us He is in control, and we had no idea what He was up to, and it's magnificent.

Daryl has Multiple Myeloma. Now, while that certainly isn't what either of us would have chosen to deal with, it is what God has gifted us, and it is good. (Disclaimer: I'm not the one with it, and we're in the easy part now. I reserve the right to not always feel that it is good, but I hope I will always know that God is doing something good with it!)

God has taken a shy, quiet man (okay, my kids don't know him as shy or quiet, but He is!) and given him a voice, a platform with which to converse with people. I can't remember how many times I have realized that someone thinks we have this perfect, trouble free life. Every person has struggles and hard things to deal with, but it doesn't always show on the surface that you arrive at pleasant places through work, prayer, struggle, and sometimes, sheer determination to do right. Now, however, we suddenly have visible credentials, Trouble with a capital T, and people relax around us.

My prayer is that Daryl will be healed, and if God says no to that, that the Myeloma will not be wasted, and that in either case, God will be glorified.

God's not done with Grandma...

2007-08-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here we see Uncle Jimmy, Dad, and Vanita (notice the phone in the front area? That's Vanita talking to Mom) enjoying Grandma's 88th birthday. The other pic is Uncle Rocky pestering Grandma. We had a wonderful time. You know what's incredible? Many would question why God has left Grandma alive. She isn't in a nice place (there is no such thing as a nice place when it's a nursing home!) She is unable to converse normally, or take care of herself. Yet, think about how God has used Grandma. She has kept Daryl, Jim, and Vanita in touch with each other, pulling together, enjoying times together. Her life has cemented the next generation together as friends, not merely relatives. Her life has give us memories of times spent together. The way Daryl, Jim, and Vanita have worked together to share their folks possessions is a testimony of God's grace in a family.

Beyond that, Grandma is a cheerful, content lady. She laughs to communicate...I am convinced there are thoughts there that simply cannot come out, yet her laughter communicates as speech for her. How many people with good minds are always cheerful, and communicate with laughter? Lessons to be learned....

Skiing in Arkansas

2007-07-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

Hi, all! Doesn't Dad look cool driving a ski boat??? We had a great trip to Arkansas. It was also Grandma Bennett's 88th birthday on Saturday, so there was a serendipity there.

We learned that as old as Granddaddy's water skis are, they are probably the best one's any of the skiiers have used, which we found out because the rental ones weren't very useful. We had a great time anyway. Emily had a great time on a ski tube, which worked great once you got on it...it was huge!

Dad obviously liked the ski tube, too, once he was able to get on. It kept flipping and rolling while you tried to get on...Emily offered to get in and help, but again, we're talking little light Emily.

I'd say a good time was had by all, and I barely was nervous at all. For some reason, I was in the mood for a boat on the lake...Dad is so happy on a lake. It was a nice ski boat, which Dad says is the cheapest way to own a boat. Clouds started rolling in soon, and we had to abandon ship (or at least return it) when the lightening started approaching. We moved our picnic from a rock in the lake to a picnic table on shore, and had a fun rest of the weekend. Will post pics of Grandma's birthday later.

Anjelah Johnson: Nail Salon

2007-07-23T08:40:00.001-07:00

Girl Time

2007-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa were visiting a couple of weeks ago, and Grandma decided we girls needed to do something together, and she thought it should be a pedicure. Now, only Daniel will be able to understand my reluctance...I am a bit of a germophobe. I also had attended an Environmental Health conference in February in which we saw some slides of tatoo parlors, tanning parlors, and, I think, nail spas. Needless to say, these were worst case scenarios, and purposely warning of inspection things to watch for, so having the courage to DO overcome my knowledge and do such a deed took great love for Grandma, indeed.

In fact, when we left home to find a nail spa, I had effectively passed off my place to Emily, having inside knowledge that she actually WANTED a pedicure. When we got there, unfortunately, Em had found a place with plausible pricing, so I went ahead and took the plunge.

As the three of us sat in very nice chairs being soaked and filed and clipped by three very nice young Vietnamese girls, the owner occasionally wandered over.

Owner: "Don't you want a manicure too?"

Me: (seems that she targeted me as either the verbal spokesperson, or the best target, I'm not sure which) "No, thanks."

(5 minutes later)

Owner: "Are you sure you don't want a manicure, too? Only 8 dollas more!"

Me: "No, I don't think so, but thanks."

(5 minutes later)

Owner: "You really should get a manicure to go with your pedicure."

Me: (Actually having a pleasant time by now, having endured the nailfile without completely comign out of my chair, and thinking I should spring for some of the fun, since Mom was paying for the pedicure) "Only 8 dollars more, you say?"

Owner: "Yes, only 8 dollas more!"

Me: (looking at Mom and Emily, who probably would have caved after the first inquiry if I hadn't said no.....) "Okay, I'll pay for the manicure, since Mom paid for the pedicure."

I'll post a video Emily found on You-Tube

2007-05-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Daniel (a son who loves me and calls himself my favorite son, who also posted a hello to me...) wrote me a greeting that reminded me of how all this "You're my favorite, but don't tell the others" got started.

Erma Bombeck was my hero. She was a mother a good bit ahead of me, and had forged the territory of motherhood with bravery and humor. She didn't pretend that every moment of mothering was a perfect moment, and brought a fresh honesty to the honored task of mothering. She made me feel like I wasn't alone. She made me feel like it was okay to be weary, and that it didn't mean I didn't love my husband and children when I had thoughts of running away from home. When she died, I cried with the personal loss. She was a lifeline of perspective for me!

Sometimes her columns was less humorous, and more serious. One of my favorites was the story of a mother who had passed on, and had left a letter for each of her children. Each letter began, "You were always my favorite..." and ended with "but don't tell the others I love you best." I began saying that to my children, privately. I thought it was such a sweet sentiment. I knew they knew I said it to them all, but I hope they all knew I always meant it!

Each of my children and in-love's bring something special to my life. Each has gifts that make our family function well. Each makes my heart light up with joy. Dad and I rejoice so much over our children.

I love you best, but don't tell the others!

2007-04-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Carol, and I'm starting a blog to keep up with my kids and family, and have some fun. Also, to see if I can do it. Monday - Friday, I work as an Attendance Secretary at a Junior High, which will lend itself to some fun stories. We are watching Night at the Museum. It's a great movie, and fun to sit with Emily and Daryl and watch it. Remind me to stay out of a museum at night!