Happy 36th Anniversary!

I guess I have to quit telling people I"m only 38 years old since today is Cheryl and my 36th wedding anniversary!
Wow!
We never thought 36 years ago that we would live in Tulsa, Lawton, Spiro, Denver, Collierville, Martin, Whites Creek and Clarksville.
I wish I had digital pictures from all of those places. That might be a good project for another time.
Here is a video with "our song" playing in the background. It is made from pictures from the last few years plus a couple of old ones at the beginning. Hahaha. I get all teary-eyed every time I watch it and I'm the one that put it together.

Blogging Again

I've let FaceBook take the place of my blog. It was faster and easier and I didn't have to think of much to say.
But last night as I was searching for some pictures and looking back through this blog I realized this is a perfect way to keep pictures and memories through the years. So.... I'm going to start blogging again here on Papa Lyndel's Blog.

No Posts for Months - Blame DISH

I saw that Haley, my daughter-in-law had posted something new on her blog and she mentioned how it had been 5 months - or something like that - since she last posted. So I looked at my Papa Lyndel blog (this one) and saw that the last time I posted here was at Easter!

Haley knows the reason. Dish Internet is INCREDIBLY SLOW!! It is sooooo slow that I cancelled it and had to pay cancellation fees for quitting before my contract was up. But the cancellation fee was cheaper than paying for it for another 6 months - it just all came out at once.

I guess I should ask them if I get a refund for all of the days it didn't work. What days would that be? Any day with clouds that were heavier than wispy white.

Here is a diagram that explains how satellite Internet works. This may explain part of the slowness.

If the only way to get the Internet was through satellite dishes the Internet would die in about two weeks. All e-commerce would come to a screeching halt. But then I guess we would be spared a lot of YouTube videos of cat's sleeping and stuff like that.

Maybe I should have had more dishes. This would look cool out on Hickory Point don't you think?

So if you are curious about my grandchildren - which is the point of this blog - you'll have to be my friend on FaceBook I guess. I can upload from my phone on FaceBook and now and then will put up pictures of my 6 beautiful grandbabies. Even ATT with my slow "E" connection (no! they don't have 3G in the country) is a thousand times better than DISH satellite.

You can always keep up with my church blog - http://www.hilldaleworship.blogspot.com/

A Special Easter - Gibson's Baptism

Easter is a great day as we celebrate the Risen Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

There isn't a better picture of Christ's death and resurrection than one of His follower's baptism. It's the perfect thing for an Easter Sunday morning.


However, this year we presented our Passion Play on Easter weekend. It's not a spritiual thing to pick this weekend, it's a Spring Break thing with half of my choir and actors gone during Spring Break.

This year in the Passion Play we had John the Baptist baptizing. I hate to give away any set design secrets, but we didn't really have the Jordan River, we had a horse trough from Tractor Supply hidden with various plants and paper rocks.

Today Gibson was baptized by His Papa as part of Hilldale's 9:45 morning worship service. (You may notice the horse trough in the pictures.)

First I told about when I was young and became a follower of Christ at an early age. It's a very natrual thing to do when you grow up in a Christian home and you see Christ's  love at home and spend a lot of time at church. Later as a teenager, with a more mature understanding of sin and a person's need for a Savior I questioned whether or not a six year old could really understand what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. So I made that decision again and was baptized again. But if you think about it, each day we need to decide that today I will live like a follwer of Christ. I don't mean we need to get "saved" again. Jesus, Himself, said we should take up our cross daily and follow him.

A few years later, looking back over my life at the ripe old age of my early twenties, I realized that I DID understand when I was six what it meant to follow Jesus and that WAS when I became a Christian. Jesus said we should all me to Him with the faith of a little child.

I baptize you, Gibson, as your Papa and as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Buried with Christ in baptism.

Raised to walk in newness of life.

It was a great moment.

Dancing with the Stars - Grani's Brithday

Grani's birthday happened to be on the first night of this seaon's Dancing with the Stars. Since Grani and Papa and all the grandkids like to watch Dancing with the Stars Aunt Haley and the kids decided it was the perfect theme for a birthday party!

Here are the stars!

They were right! It was the perfect birthday theme.

We danced and danced.

and ate pizza

and watched Dancing with the Stars

and danced some more

Papa had the sexy shirt-unbuttoned look going on to match Grani's fishnet hose. It really bothered Elam. He kept saying, "Shirt open!"

The only hair gel we could find was Haven's, so that's what I used. It had sparkles in it! but I don't think they show up in the pictures. Haha.

We had a wonderful evening together. Gibson said, "We HAVE to do this next year!"

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

There's rarely any time to blog...

And even when there is time it takes forever with our incredibly slow internet from DISH. And if the clouds are very thick then it's even slower. And if there is rain it probably isn't going to work at all. But of course DISH says that never happens. HA! So uploading pictures of grandbabies can take a verrrrrrry long time.

We have lots of fun on Hickory Point with the grandkids.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving all of the kids and grandkids were at the house so we decided it would be fun if Papa and the grandkids put up the Christmas Tree.

Thanks to DISH internet it took me over 30 minutes to do this post. Just sayin.

a Big Bunch of Littletons

My mom and brothers and their families joined me and my family at my house for Thanksgiving.
We had a wonderful time together. We don't get to all see each other very often.

Christmas Memories

I'm getting ready for our choir Christmas party and ran across this picture from 2003.

A Visit with Shirley

Today, Papa, Gibson and Elam all went to visit Ms. Shirley. Ms. Shirley gave Gibson his very first haircut about 6 years ago. She looks the same, but Gibson is a lot bigger!

Here are some before and after pictures from today's visit.

Elam was great. He only had one breakdown when Shirley asked him to scoot back a little while Papa was getting his hair cut. She didn't want him to get hair all over himself. When he didn't move Gibson "helped" him. Thankfully another sucker from Shirley stopped the crying.

Gibson took my picture too.

Birdhouses

WE painted birdhouses last night. The kids were very serious about their work. I'll post pictures of the finished products after they wake up this morning and we take some pictures.

and - hahaha - it's 9:10 and Benjamin and I are the only ones up. YEAH!

Zoo Day at Cousins' Camp

We had a great time at the zoo.

Too much fun!

No time to type details.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Playing in the Creek

Cousins' Camp is under way! The Oklahoma cousins got in about midnight. The Tennessee cousins arrived today just before lunch.

The first thing we had to do - of course - was get out in the creek! We might not be able to move to Clarksville. The creek is too wonderful to leave.

Uncle Andrew found a snapping turtle under a rock ledge. Awesome! (be sure and say that with a 6 year old's tone)

Look at him trying to bite the stick.

A New Mailbox

Cousins' Camp starts Sunday night after church!!!

WOOOHOOOO!!!

All 6 cousins and their moms and dads are going to be here for a week. It will be so much fun!

So to get ready for cousins camp Papa washed all the mailboxes, chased away ants and snakes and spiders and all such things and...

most importantly...

added a new mailbox - a yellow one for Beau.

I had to put it on the end by Gibson's (I was putting them up in order) because 6 years ago when I put Gibson's mailbox up I wasn't thinking how in just a few years I would have 6 mailboxes!

Notice that the flags are up! That's means there's something in there for Gibson, Haven, Hannah, Elam, Benjamin and Beau!

A Bunny on Bear Hollow

You'll want to see a beautiful collage if you haven't been to my Hilldale blog.

http://hilldaleworship.blogspot.com/2009/05/beautiful-bear-hollow.html

I want the grandbabies to see these pictures.

As I was mowing the back acre (which was WAAAAY overgrown - mower was broken, just got it back and then tons of rain) anyway, as I was mowing I guess I disturbed a baby rabbit nest because all of the sudden a little baby bunny rabbit took off running. I then started driving a little slower - in case there were others. Sure enough, another time around (or two) and out ran another baby rabbit.

This one ran just a little ways and then I guess he thought he was hidden in the grass. I turned off the mower hoping I could get up close to him and take his picture.

I walked slowly and quietly wanting to get a closer shot.

A tried my luck, walking in closer, wanting a better shot and hoping he wouldn't run away.

I was so close. He wasn't moving a whisker - holding verrrrrry still so I wouldn't see him. I could see him breathing hard. I stretched out my arm to get as close as I could for a picture.

I probably could have touched him! But he was so scared and I didn't want to terrorize him, so I went back to my mower and he ran off to join his brother.

After the next time around one more baby bunny ran out of the tall grass. I guess they'll get together tonight and talk about their scary afternoon.