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Home is Where Your Heart Is

We’re back to Tuesday. Today’s @genealogyphoto theme is ‘home’. (Don’t forget to visit Becky too.) Home means a lot of things to a lot of people. When Bart and I were in the beginning years of our marriage I told him for me, home was wherever he was. I might go somewhere else with him now but I’d probably go kicking and screaming the whole way. We’ve lived in a lot of places in our marriage. When we were first married we lived in a tiny little travel trailer. Our first week of marriage was his last week of college and we parked the travel trailer in the state park for a week.

I think this might be where we parked for a week.
After graduation he was working in Tontitown, Arkansas and we parked the travel trailer on a lot in Baldwin, Arkansas for $85 a month. Oh the days of cheap rent. It wasn’t long before we were in a rental house.

Google Earth photo- Crutcher Street in Springdale, Arkansas. I really can’t tell you which house it was but it was one of these two houses. This is where we lived when Derek was born.
We’ve lived in a mobile home too. We lived in the mobile home on my in-law’s place when Shaina was born. It’s gone now and my father-in-law’s log home that he designed and built is there now. We were fortunate to get to help him a little in building it.
Later, when we first moved to Idaho, Bart’s dad bought the old Landmark Missionary Baptist church building in Wilder, Idaho and renovated that and we lived in the church for a few years.

The old Landmark Missionary Baptist Church that became our home in Wilder, Idaho.

This is a Google Earth photo. I think this might be the house we lived in. It’s at the intersection of C Avenue and 3rd Street.
If I had my pictures out I’d be including all these buildings. Sadly, all my pictures are packed away. I really need to fix that.
We bought our first home in Kuna, Idaho. That home was probably my favorite.

This is what it looks like now on Google Earth. Armand Street. If my kids remembered any of our homes from Idaho it would be this one.
Then we moved to Oklahoma. We lived with our parents until we could get back on our feet. When Bart started traveling for his job he spent a lot of years living in hotels. When I went on the road with him we lived in the travel trailer that’s in the background of this photo.

Roy Drake and Bart Williams, Sr. with baby Theodore Easter in front of our travel trailer.

Our travel trailer.
Now we live in a metal building.

Our home in the country.
It was going to be the garage and we were going to live in it until we got a house built. That was 10 years ago. Time really flies. Maybe one day we’ll get that house built. This house is the most sentimental for me because Derek, Bart, our fathers, and my great uncle helped us build it. My great-uncle, Ray LARKIN, witched our well. We’ve put a lot of hard work in here. We love it here. The first time I came to this place it was on a Friday night. Derek was playing a football game that night- Moseley vs. Colcord. He was in 7th grade then, I think. I knew as soon as I found it that this was the place.
I’ve spent a lot of time in my car. Sometimes I felt like IT was my home.

Home away from home.
My ancestors have lived in some crazy places. Granny and Papa BATES once lived in a corn crib after their house burned. They lived there in the winter (with very young children) until they could get a house built.

A 15 x 4 and 11 ft high corn crib from the blog Good Things by David.
Poppy Lonzo DRAKE once owned a place with a cave on it. So did my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary MOBLEY BATES BRINEGAR. I’m not sure if they actually lived IN the caves but I sure would like to know.
Like I said, ‘home’ means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In the end, I’m just a sojourner here. God is building a place for me right now. That’s my home. I can’t wait to get there. It will be quite the homecoming, I’m sure. Until then, I’m living here- Delaware County, Oklahoma, USA.
It’s election night. This is the weirdest election cycle I’ve seen in my life. I’ve thought back to my first voting experience. I was about 7 months pregnant living on Molly Wagnon Road in Baldwin, Arkansas (which is, officially, Fayetteville, Arkansas). I can’t remember if I had no car or if it wasn’t running or what but I set out walking to my polling place a few miles from our home. I was determined to vote. At some point one of my neighbors saw me and offered me a ride. I was glad. Voting has always been important to me. What happens in the next four years will be important. It will affect me, my family, my home. I’m not going to stress about it though. I’ll wake up tomorrow in this home that I love and God will still be in control. Life will go on. Maybe I’ll still get that new house. Or maybe not. In the end it won’t matter because this is not my real home- I’m just passing through.
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:2-3, The Holy Bible

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Gratitude on Monday

Grrrr! I’m doing this on my phone because my computer is down. Don’t ask…
This is my second attempt on my phone. I’m trying hard to stay positive and GRATEFUL! Here goes.
It took me a couple of days to figure out what I wanted to write about. I know Becky had a hard time too. You would think this would be the easiest theme ever! I have so much for which to be grateful. I don’t think I could ever finish this post if I tried to list them here. At the top of my list is God and my family. But there’s something else. Something most people wouldn’t think about. My tumor. I’m grateful for the tumor I had when I was young. Without it I wouldn’t have faced my own mortality, my bad decisions, selfish actions- all the things we regret from our 20’s. I wouldn’t have realized how precious my faith, my children, my marriage, and my family were. I wouldn’t have valued life as much or realized how it can be gone in a second- irretrievable forever. It changed my life in so many great ways. I grew up quick. And let me tell you- when you know two surgeons are going to be cracking open your skull and cutting things around your brain and that one tiny wrong move could end your life- there is no doubt you want salvation. There are no atheists in a fox hole, so to speak. It’s life or death and I was on my knees praying. I actually wrote a will of sorts at 24 years of age. That’s the place I was at in my life at 24 years old. In that moment no one can save you but God.
Fast forward almost 25 years. I cringe when I see pictures of myself. I agonize over which pictures to choose for social media. You see, as a result of the tumor half my face is paralyzed. In those moments when I don’t like how I look I have to remind myself that it was a small sacrifice made to save my life and that sacrifice allowed me to live to see my kids grow up, my grandkids be born and all the other things I’ve seen and done in the last two decades. So today I’m grateful for my broken face. I’ve had a great life and I’m reminded of that each and every time I look in the mirror. So THANK YOU to Dr. Duckert and the 1994 team of surgeons and medical professionals who saved my life during the more than 9 hour surgery they did at University of Washington Medical Center. Thank you.

High School- I had a great smile before the surgery. This was probably 8-10 years or so before surgery.

Me at my college graduation at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho receiving my Bachelor's Degree. — Me at my college graduation at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho receiving my Bachelor’s Degree.

The day I graduated with my Bachelors degree I walked across the stage, walked out the door, said goodbye to my babies (not knowing if I’d see them again) and Bart drove me to Seattle, Washington for surgery on my tumor. My face was already paralyzed. The doctors said it could be temporary and surgery might resolve it. It didn’t.
Be grateful. Life can change so quickly.

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Sunday Scribe- Tool

Today’s theme for @genealogyphoto is ‘tool’. I chose to go with the definition of ‘tool’ as a device utilized in the practice of a profession (per Merriam-Webster online).
My tool of choice:

My dad's old Underwood manual typewriter. — My dad’s old Underwood manual typewriter.

An Underwood manual typewriter.

This was the tool of a writer. This one belongs to me now. It used to belong to my dad. He wrote many papers on it. He wrote his masters thesis and many other papers on it when he was getting his bachelors and masters degrees. His doctoral thesis was typed on a computer. It was the first of his papers ever done on a computer. You can find his doctoral thesis paper in the archives at the University of Arkansas and you could even order a copy of it online here if you wanted to:
University of Arkansas Library Archives
My dad’s doctoral thesis: The effect of nonverbal communication training on self-esteem, anxiety and locus of control/ by Roy E. Drake
In my high school years I had an Apple IIE computer for writing papers at home but mostly I just used pen/pencil and paper back then. The IIE was for playing Conan the Barbarian or Oregon Trail (which I sucked at).

My parents' old Apple IIE desktop computer ca 1987 ~ it used floppy disks. — My parents’ old Apple IIE desktop computer ca 1987 ~ it used floppy disks.

An Apple IIE desktop computer circa 1987.

After I married I used an electric typewriter and then in the late 1990’s I got a desktop PC to use. Sometime after moving back to Oklahoma, I moved to laptop computers. In 2009 I did a writing challenge and completed a stage play script on my laptop. I was so proud of that script because it was a completed project. The title of the play was Victory. Shortly after I completed the script (and before I printed it off), my laptop crashed and took my play with it. I wasn’t feeling very victorious. Since then I’ve only completed blog posts and I post those shorty after writing them. I haven’t had any major losses of blog posts. (Knock on wood.) In addition, I’ve come to love external drives.
I’m typing this blog post on my trusty (and old) Toshiba laptop. I’ve had this one since 2012 when my last laptop crashed- which just happened to be right after I started working on my comprehensive final exam paper for my masters degree (and I had less than a week to complete the 20-page exam paper). This one’s pretty banged up. My laptops tend to show wear since I take them with me everywhere.
I still write a lot with pencil/pen and paper despite having laptops. Sometimes you just need to feel pencil on paper. There are lots of tools that writers use today but my laptop is my favorite. We’ve come a long way since Underwood typewriters. I’m glad. Even so, I hope to refurbish that Underwood one day.

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Savory Saturday- The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home

This blog post will seem long but it’s mostly pictures so keep reading!

FOOD AND MEMORIES
“We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,” Numbers11:5, The Holy Bible
Memories connected with food are strong memories. I’m sure each of us can come up with food memories both good and bad. We write songs about food (Fried Green Tomatoes is one we enjoyed introducing to our kids), we view and paint art about food:

My mom, daughter, and I with our Mother's Day paintings, Siloam Springs, Arkansas at Harvard Avenue Baptist Church. — My mom, daughter, and I with our Mother’s Day paintings, Siloam Springs, Arkansas at Harvard Avenue Baptist Church.

Mom, Shaina, and I with our paintings after the Mother-Daughter paint at my church, February 2015.
We write books about food:

Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. — Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book – cookbook I got as a wedding present.

Pig Tails & Breadfruit: A Culinary Memoir by Austin Clarke.

We photograph our food:

A prime rib dinner - my favorite! — A prime rib dinner – my favorite!

Yum! Prime rib!!!
We photograph each other eating food:

Laura (Butler) Hubbard and Edith (Hubbard) Drake in Edith's home. — Laura (Butler) Hubbard and Edith (Hubbard) Drake in Edith’s home.

Edith HUBBARD DRAKE and her mother, Laura BUTLER HUBBARD- photo courtesy of Deloris NORRIS and Barbara DRAKE BRATTON.
We collect recipes:

Kelly Gerdes' Pistachio Pudding Cake recipe. — Kelly Gerdes’ Pistachio Pudding Cake recipe.

(I’m panicking!! Where are my recipes from Kendra and Georgiann?!?! This was part of a group of recipes I received as a going away gift when we left Idaho coupled with recipes I collected from friends while in Idaho.)
We gift food:

My sister-in-law's and my Dandelion Jelly. — My sister-in-law’s and my Dandelion Jelly.

Photo courtesy of my sister-in-law, Becky- the master jelly maker and photographer and blogger.
We medicate with food and we forage food:

This is a photo from a series of photos I took. One photo out of this series was published in a book the same year my sister-in-law, Becky, had some photos published.

Bart and I foraging mushrooms earlier this year.
We watch movies based around food (I enjoyed Julie and Julia), and we plan events around food (really- you know we have Thanksgiving just for the food). We love food!
I’m going to share a few recipes here and include a short explanation of why I treasure each one and then I’m going to set you free to enjoy your weekend- and maybe a fabulous meal!
ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVES
“Hunger is the best sauce in the world.” ~ Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
One of the things I make that my family really loves is a sauce for meatloaf. Sounds pretty insignificant, doesn’t it? But when I discovered this sauce it took meatloaf to a whole new level. Here it is (from memory so you may have to adjust it to suit your tastes. I lost the recipe a few years back.)

Lisa’s Meatloaf Sauce recipe
UPDATE: Becky corrected my recipe. You can see where I scribbled on mine because I was unsure. I should have left it alone. Here’s my recipe in Becky’s handwriting (the correct version):

Becky's copy of my meatloaf sauce recipe. — Becky’s copy of my meatloaf sauce recipe.

SOMETHING I LOVE OF MY MOM’S
Cool coleslaw trivia: 1) Colombians use it on hot dogs and it is delicious!! 2) Coleslaw got it’s name from the Dutch ‘kool sla’- kool meaning cabbage and sla meaning salad. (Foodreference.com) 3) Coleslaw was made popular as a side dish thanks to NYC deli owner Richard Hellmann who created a formula, bottled it, and marketed it to consumers as a dressing for shredded cabbage. (Foodreference.com)
My mom always made a great coleslaw to take to meals at church. That’s really what I associate this with- potluck meals of my childhood at our small country church (Poynor Baptist Church). You can see by the picture that the recipe is a loved and used recipe. Those are always the best!!

Mom's Coleslaw recipe. — Mom’s Coleslaw recipe.

Kay’s Coleslaw

MY GRANNY BATES’ RECIPE

“Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing…And they all ate and were satisfied…” Matthew 14: 19-20, The Holy Bible
My granny loved fish. On days when we took Granny with us to town, she would often choose to eat McDonald’s fish sandwiches or eat at a restaurant like Long John Silvers or Captain John’s. Here I will share my granny’s fish batter recipe in her handwriting followed by my mom’s Green Tomato Relish recipe.

Granny’s Fish Batter

Mom's Green Tomato Relish recipe. — Mom’s Green Tomato Relish recipe.

Kay’s Green Tomato Relish

MAM’S FOOD
“You can’t go wrong with relatively simple comfort food. It’s also about ease. Some cook to impress. I cook for people to enjoy the food.” ~ Al Roker
Mam cooked for people to enjoy the food. I don’t have any handwritten recipes from my dad’s mom but she cooked and canned a lot. I’m not sure she even used recipes! Two of my favorite things that she made us were chocolate gravy and blackberry pies. Here is the recipe I use for chocolate gravy (Somewhere I have this recipe in my husband’s handwriting from my mother-in-law, Joyce, but it must be packed away somewhere).
Mix 2 Tbsp butter with some flour to make a roux. Add milk- start with 1 cup, add more if necessary. Add about 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder and 4 Tbsp sugar. Let blend. Taste test and adjust as necessary. Let it cook at a low temperature until it is the consistency of gravy. Pour over buttered biscuits and enjoy.
As you can see I sort of swag this one. You’ll get the hang of it. Or else my mother-in-law or husband will comment here and adjust my instructions. lol

MARK AND EDITH DRAKE- HERE’S THE SCOOP
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!– lyrics by Howard Johnson/Billy Moll/Robert King
You must see this! It’s a real song: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream.
What I remember having at Mark and Edith’s was homemade ice cream. So delicious! I don’t have their recipe. I don’t recall a recipe ever being used for the ice cream. I’m including a link to one here just as a tribute to their memory.
A Hundred Years Ago blog Black Walnut Ice Cream. I’m pretty sure I would have had this flavor made by Mark and Edith at some point during my childhood.
BECKY DRAKE’S JELLY
Fun fact about Redbud trees: They are the official state tree of Oklahoma.

Redbud trees.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include my sister-in-law’s jelly in this blog post. One of my favorite recipes is the redbud jelly. I foraged and she cooked. I’m not sure if the recipe below is the recipe she used but it is one of a few that we passed around. I know I have her jelly recipe- I just can’t seem to find it. Here is one that we looked at as a possibility at one point. It will be close enough to taste like her jelly (unless she used a secret ingredient).

This is Becky’s redbud jelly- newly canned. I hope she doesn’t mind that I stole her photo for the blog.

BECKY’S REDBUD JELLY
3 cups of redbuds
Approx. 2 cups boiling water
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons sure-jel powder
2 cups sugar
Rinse the blooms and put in a large jar, pour boiling water over to cover. Cover and let sit till room temp the put in fridge for 24 hours. Pour through strainer into a pan, discard flowers and heat to boiling. Add lemon juice and sure-jel, heat to boil again, add sugar and heat to boiling. Boil hard for 1 minute. Put in sterilized jars and seal. It’s that simple. Made 3 1/2 jelly jars.

RALPH AND BESS LARKIN’S CANNED FISH
“Life is rather like a tin of sardines- we’re all of us looking for the key.” ~ Alan Bennett
My dad has memories of Ralph LARKIN fishing every weekend and Bess canning the fish. They would can small fish whole. The canning process softened the bones so there was no need to bone the fish first. Dad says the canned fish were good. I don’t have a recipe for canned fish but here is a website I trust that talks about canning fish. Becky and I may have to try it sometime.

Ralph and Bess (Williams) Larkin fishing, probably on Grand Lake.

Ralph and Bess LARKIN fishing.

LAURA RITER AND HER ANGEL FOOD CAKES
“Cakes are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends with something sweet, a cake, and people remember. It’s all about the memories.” ~ Buddy Valastro
I don’t have a recipe for (nor do I have a memory of) Laura’s angel food cakes but when I was young my mom shared with me her memory of Laura’s cakes and now whenever I make an angel food cake, I do this as a nod to Laura. When Laura made angel food cakes she put candy sprinkles in the batter before baking so it came out with colored dots all through the cake. It makes a pretty cake and is safe for diabetics to eat for dessert.

Candy sprinkles that go in my version of Laura's Angel Food Cake. — Candy sprinkles that go in my version of Laura’s Angel Food Cake.

Candy sprinkles that I use in my angel food cakes.

I would love to see your family recipes or food memories. Share them here or on Facebook. I hope this weekend is all “comfort food and sprinkles” for you.

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Flawless Friday: Weathered- A Worn Bible Equals a Life Well-Weathered

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105, The Holy Bible

A LIFE WELL-WEATHERED

That’s what I want- a life that is steady in the word of God no matter what life brings me. In the past, a family’s Bible reflected how much time they spent in the word. Today we have digital Bibles and, I confess, that’s mostly what I use now. It’s not the same as my physical Bible, though.

My Bible I received as a gift in anticipation of my high school graduation. My then-pastor, Les OSBURN, gave it to me.

This Bible has seen me through so much and sadly, it doesn’t look worn enough. This Bible was mine when I got married, when I had my children, and through all the many problems life brings. It also saw me through my successes- graduations, births of children, marriages of children, births of grandchildren, a million things that gave me joy in my life. It has been my companion for three decades. It’s well-traveled, having been to almost every state I’ve been to and even went to school with me when I was in high school. This Bible has been chewed on the corners by our puppy. It’s had pages torn and ripped out by my children (and probably a couple of grandchildren). Pages are highlighted, corners folded over- all the highlights of use and study. Lots of things are tucked in there- photographs, church bulletins, sermon notes. There were times in my life that were so scary I’ve gone to sleep with my Bible on my chest and my arms folded across it. It’s been to the hospital with me when I had a brain tumor removed. It’s been pretty much everywhere with me. My Bible should be more weathered than it is. I have purchased new Bibles over the years and now have a digital Bible, but this Bible- this one is mine and the one that I love most.

EDITH’S BIBLE

My great-grandma, Edith HUBBARD, had a Bible. Like me, she lost a son. It is said of her that she read her Bible every single day of her life without fail. When she heard her son had been in a bad car wreck she was down on her knees praying hard for his life right up until the moment they told her he had died. My heart knows why her Bible looks like it does, with no cover and tattered with use. Her Bible and in turn, her life, was well-weathered.

Edith HUBBARD’s Bible

JESSIE’S BIBLE

My granny, Jessie BATES, had a large Bible on her table and also a Bible for reading. I never saw her reading the Bible and I never knew her to go to church. She was a good grandmother. Very loving and kind. She also lost a child. I can’t imagine that a person can go 8 decades without her son and never pray to God for guidance, help, or comfort. Especially while still retaining such a sweet spirit as my granny had.

Jessie BATES’ Bible- reading size.

Jessie BATES’ Bible- table size.

AUDREY’S BIBLE

This is my mam’s Bible. All my childhood I attended church alongside her every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I watched her help raise four of her grandchildren and care for my grandfather as he died from cancer. She helped care for elderly relatives as they lived out their final days and years. I know she prayed fervently and often and always read her Bible. Her Bible is definitely worn and indicative of a life well-weathered. It is missing it’s front cover.

Audrey DRAKE’s Bible

ROY’S AND KAY’S BIBLES

My parents, Roy and Kay, took me to church from the time I was born- every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night- and any other time the church doors were open. They made sure I was raised to know God and to love Him and I’m so grateful for that. I probably would have been a wild child if they hadn’t taken me to church early and often! I know they prayed often and always read their Bibles. They’ve had many Bibles over the years but these are ones they owned early in their lives.

Both Roy and Kay DRAKE’s Bibles

DEREK’S AND SHAINA’S BIBLES

My kids had Bibles from the time they were old enough to carry one around. They wore their early Bibles out. I’m quite certain that the last time I saw those Bibles they didn’t have covers and the spines were separating from the books. They also had tiny little pocket New Testaments. Derek’s was given away years ago to a homeless man in Boise, Idaho. Shaina’s is packed away. I also have a tiny pocket New Testament packed away somewhere that belonged to me when I was young. Somewhere packed away I’m sure we also have my husband’s old Bible. These Bibles are worn with use and we’ve gotten new Bibles over the years. I don’t have pictures of any of these Bibles so I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it. Derek’s favorite story when he was a child was in Judges 3 where Eglon, King of Moab, was stabbed by Ehud. He loved the battles in the Old Testament. Shaina’s favorite story was the story of Esther.

Derek and Shaina as children

YOUR LIFE WELL-WEATHERED

“A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone that isn’t.”– Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon was one of my son’s favorite preachers. He is very good and I highly recommend listening to his sermons if you get a chance. You can find them in various places on the internet including Spurgeon.org, Sermon Audio, and Spurgeon Gems. Google his name and you will likely find more. He is called “Prince of Preachers”.

I’d love to see photos of your Bible. Show me your Bible-proof of a life that has been “well-weathered”. Tell me your favorite verse or favorite Bible story. Show me photos of your family Bibles and tell me their stories. I’m looking forward to it.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, The Holy Bible

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Flawless Friday: Weathered- A Worn Bible Equals a Life Well-Weathered

It’s Friday. The photo/blog challenge theme of the day is ‘weathered’. I love these challenges. I’ve told my SIL, Becky, before that we could be given the same ancestor and the same theme and never come up with the same or similar blog post. I love that. I think that’s one of my favorite things about these challenges is seeing where the theme took her versus where it took me. You can read her ‘weathered’ blog post here.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105, The Holy Bible
A LIFE WELL-WEATHERED
That’s what I want- a life that is steady in the word of God no matter what life brings me. In the past, a family’s Bible reflected how much time they spent in the word. Today we have digital Bibles and, I confess, that’s mostly what I use now. It’s not the same as my physical Bible, though.

My Bible I received as a gift in anticipation of my high school graduation. My then-pastor, Les OSBURN, gave it to me.
This Bible has seen me through so much and sadly, it doesn’t look worn enough. This Bible was mine when I got married, when I had my children, and through all the many problems life brings. It also saw me through my successes- graduations, births of children, marriages of children, births of grandchildren, a million things that gave me joy in my life. It has been my companion for three decades. It’s well-traveled, having been to almost every state I’ve been to and even went to school with me when I was in high school. This Bible has been chewed on the corners by our puppy. It’s had pages torn and ripped out by my children (and probably a couple of grandchildren). Pages are highlighted, corners folded over- all the highlights of use and study. Lots of things are tucked in there- photographs, church bulletins, sermon notes. There were times in my life that were so scary I’ve gone to sleep with my Bible on my chest and my arms folded across it. It’s been to the hospital with me when I had a brain tumor removed. It’s been pretty much everywhere with me. My Bible should be more weathered than it is. I have purchased new Bibles over the years and now have a digital Bible, but this Bible- this one is mine and the one that I love most.
EDITH’S BIBLE
My great-grandma, Edith HUBBARD, had a Bible. Like me, she lost a son. It is said of her that she read her Bible every single day of her life without fail. When she heard her son had been in a bad car wreck she was down on her knees praying hard for his life right up until the moment they told her he had died. My heart knows why her Bible looks like it does, with no cover and tattered with use. Her Bible and in turn, her life, was well-weathered.

Edith (Hubbard) Drake's Bible. — Edith (Hubbard) Drake’s Bible.

Edith HUBBARD’s Bible

JESSIE’S BIBLE
My granny, Jessie BATES, had a large Bible on her table and also a Bible for reading. I never saw her reading the Bible and I never knew her to go to church. She was a good grandmother. Very loving and kind. She also lost a child. I can’t imagine that a person can go 8 decades without her son and never pray to God for guidance, help, or comfort. Especially while still retaining such a sweet spirit as my granny had.

Jessie (Riter) Bates' Bible. — Jessie (Riter) Bates’ Bible.

^^Jessie BATES’ Bible- reading size.

Jessie BATES’ Bible- table size.

AUDREY’S BIBLE
This is my mam’s Bible. All my childhood I attended church alongside her every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I watched her help raise four of her grandchildren and care for my grandfather as he died from cancer. She helped care for elderly relatives as they lived out their final days and years. I know she prayed fervently and often and always read her Bible. Her Bible is definitely worn and indicative of a life well-weathered. It is missing it’s front cover.

Audrey (Larkin) Drake's Bible. — Audrey (Larkin) Drake’s Bible.

Audrey DRAKE’s Bible

ROY’S AND KAY’S BIBLES
My parents, Roy and Kay, took me to church from the time I was born- every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night- and any other time the church doors were open. They made sure I was raised to know God and to love Him and I’m so grateful for that. I probably would have been a wild child if they hadn’t taken me to church early and often! I know they prayed often and always read their Bibles. They’ve had many Bibles over the years but these are ones they owned early in their lives.

Both Roy and Kay DRAKE’s Bibles

DEREK’S AND SHAINA’S BIBLES
My kids had Bibles from the time they were old enough to carry one around. They wore their early Bibles out. I’m quite certain that the last time I saw those Bibles they didn’t have covers and the spines were separating from the books. They also had tiny little pocket New Testaments. Derek’s was given away years ago to a homeless man in Boise, Idaho. Shaina’s is packed away. I also have a tiny pocket New Testament packed away somewhere that belonged to me when I was young. Somewhere packed away I’m sure we also have my husband’s old Bible. These Bibles are worn with use and we’ve gotten new Bibles over the years. I don’t have pictures of any of these Bibles so I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it. Derek’s favorite story when he was a child was in Judges 3 where Eglon, King of Moab, was stabbed by Ehud. He loved the battles in the Old Testament. Shaina’s favorite story was the story of Esther.

Derek and Shaina as children

YOUR LIFE WELL-WEATHERED
“A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone that isn’t.”– Charles Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon was one of my son’s favorite preachers. He is very good and I highly recommend listening to his sermons if you get a chance. You can find them in various places on the internet including Spurgeon.org, Sermon Audio, and Spurgeon Gems. Google his name and you will likely find more. He is called “Prince of Preachers”.
I’d love to see photos of your Bible. Show me your Bible-proof of a life that has been “well-weathered”. Tell me your favorite verse or favorite Bible story. Show me photos of your family Bibles and tell me their stories. I’m looking forward to it.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, The Holy Bible

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Thoughtful Thursday and Headstones- He Loved Much

Thoughtful Thursday & Headstones
This post is not for everyone. It is very personal to me and something I don’t talk about often in a public forum other than a brief statement of encouragement to someone in the same circumstance.
Today is Thoughtful Thursday. Also, the theme for the third of November photo/blog post is Headstone. The headstone I chose was my son’s. He signed his name “DeReK” so when I write his name that’s how you’ll see it. I’ve avoided writing anything substantial about him for a number of reasons but today is the perfect theme with which to write about him.

DeReK on his Europe trip the summer after his senior year of high school.

DeReK on his trip through Europe the summer after his senior year of high school.

DeReK's gravestone. — DeReK’s gravestone.

DeReK’s headstone.

I encourage you to look up the Bible verses on his stone. They were special to him. If you do look them up, you’ll get a little surprise. Some of those verses don’t exist. The first time we saw his stone I pulled out my phone and looked up the verses. I looked in almost every version of the Bible I could find- ESV, NIV, KJV, etc. I talked to his pastor who had been very involved in the funeral arrangements, etc. He laughed and said he thought DeReK would love the mistake and want it to remain. I thought about that for awhile and realized he was right. DeReK had a wicked dry sense of humor and loved God with all his heart and he would have loved that this mistake on his headstone made me immediately open my Bible and start digging. He would like for everyone to have that reaction. Anything to get you to open God’s word and look.
So I encourage you today to look up those verses. Read and reflect on them and on the state of your relationship with God. If you do a personal worship time (or even if you don’t) I’d encourage you to listen to what I think was one of his favorite songs, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. There were a couple of songs that were played at his funeral and one that I listened to after his funeral that were especially comforting to me. If you’d like to include those here they are:
I Need Thee Every Hour
Absent from Flesh
I Will Rise
God is merciful. Blessed be His name.
If you have a friend who has lost a child please don’t be afraid to talk to them about their deceased child. However irrational it may seem to you, one of my biggest fears was that people would just forget that DeReK existed and it would eventually become as though he had never existed. This is common among parents who have lost a child. The parent may cry when you bring up that child but it isn’t because you have caused them pain- they are already in pain. By bringing up their child you are helping them release some of that pain and you are relieving some of their fears that no one will remember their child. Sacrifice a little of your own comfort this week to stand with a grieving parent. Share with them a memory or a photograph of their child. They will thank you.
“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven- for she loved much…” Luke 7:47, The Holy Bible

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Wacky Fact Wednesday- We’ll Just Park Right Here, Thanks!

Some people will think today’s fact isn’t so “wacky”. That’s okay. Call it what you want- as long as you read on!
Wacky Fact Wednesday was going to be part of my effort to shorten blog posts for a while. Then my SIL Becky came along with the photo/blog challenge and that theme for today is ‘Ancestor’. So I’m combining the two for this blog post, but don’t worry- it’s still short and sweet.
The “wacky fact” of the week is: my direct-line Drake family has lived in Delaware County, Oklahoma for 6 consecutive generations (including me). Here is the line, being respectful of privacy by starting with my great-grandfather: Mark DRAKE, his father Poppy Lon (Alonzo Ervin), and Lon’s mother Hester (MITCHELL) DRAKE after she was widowed by Lon’s father William.
The ancestor I want to focus on today for the Ancestor photo/blog section is Mark DRAKE. Mark Hanna DRAKE was married to Edith HUBBARD whom I wrote about here. (Better grab a box of Kleenex before you go read that one.)

Mark Drake with his team and two children ca 1954.

Mark Drake circa 1954. This is the best picture I have access to tonight and is the only one I could find. Sorry for the quality.
I only remember Mark when he was old, of course. His eyes looked cloudy blue which means he probably had cataracts. He smoked cigars all the time (I wish I knew what brand). He and grandma Edith made wonderful homemade ice cream. They always cranked homemade ice cream at a yearly extended family gathering in the summer each year- at least that’s what I remember. We got to crank it when we were kids. Somehow it seemed a privilege when we were young- not so much when we got older. I remember them being very loving and quiet. Mark had a little spark- I bet he was a real character in his younger days. In fact, this story that I was told about him by one of the older Hubbard relatives (Deloris NORRIS) goes something like this:
Mark’s brother had a pair of new boots that Mark really liked and wanted. Mark tried to talk his brother out of them but the brother wouldn’t give them up. One day the brother left his boots on Mark’s porch and went inside. Mark went outside, put the boots on and walked through the barnyard muck in them (think the worst possible thing when you think about the muck), took them off and replaced them on the porch for his brother to find. With the Drake’s proven penchant for fighting I just wonder if that dig at his brother caused them to have a little row – or maybe it began a lifelong tit-for-tat!
Although Mark seemed to still have a little underlying spark in his old age I never remember him being anything but loving and kind. I actually enjoyed seeing that spark come out when I was young. It made him more real and gave him a personality. I liked to go over and visit them and sit on his lap and talk to him and Edith. I surely miss them and am looking forward to the day when I see them again. Maranatha!
I would love it if everyone shared their memories of Mark and Edith here.

Until next time
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

‘Tracts-of-Land’ Tuesday- My View

My SIL, Becky who blogs at Down in the Root Cellar, challenged me to join her in a month-long photo-a-day challenge. This is nothing new- this business of challenge invitations between us. We’ve looked at a lot of them (even non-genealogy challenges), done some of them (like Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks), talked about doing some of them (like Hunger and Thirst’s Wild Food Round Up challenge), and skipped on some of them (like Amy Coffin’s 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy challenge). This time we’re doing an Instagram challenge (even though I have no Instagram) from @GenealogyPhoto. Today (the first day of the challenge) Becky decided to increase the challenge a bit and couple her photo with a blog post. She knew how to get me! (Or maybe to get back at me!) You see, Becky’s an incredible photographer. She has a knack for grabbing that perfect photo without even trying. Me? I’m more of a writer. Say “genealogy blog post” and I’m all in. So here we are at Day 1 with a theme of “My View”. Becky did a great post with her photo here. You should read it.
This is my view:

^^One view of my driveway.

^^My attempt at an “artsy” view of my driveway.

This is the entrance/exit to my own personal paradise. My 87 acres of solitude and peace- Honeysuckle Ranch. We bought this place in 2003. It was all uncleared land with a very crude “driveway” of sorts up the hillside. We blocked off the old “driveway” and we put in this new driveway you see in the photograph. When I look at this driveway it brings back a lot of memories. It took a lot of time and effort and machinery to put it in.
I can remember walking the land from the area where the gate is now to where we built our house about a quarter mile up the hill. We plotted out the driveway by walking it, marking a tree here and there where we wanted a curve in the drive for aesthetics. Before the driveway was in we would come out to work on the place anytime we could. The kids would play on old grapevines hanging from trees. They’d climb the hill, grab a vine, and push off with their feet- swinging out back and forth until the vine broke. Then they’d find another and start over.
Another driveway memory is of one of the years when ice and snow was very bad. I had to go to work and the kids had to go to school so we loaded up and headed out. We got to the top of the driveway and looked down the steep hill with the curve at the bottom of the hill. I started out slowly but (as my husband says), gravity works! Between gravity and ice we slid down the hill from top to bottom with the kids screaming all the way and me praying all the way that we didn’t crash through the gate. Times like those are funny- after a few years to think about it.
As the seasons went by we discovered where the wild onions and wild mushrooms were in the spring; where the raspberries, huckleberries, dewberries, and blackberries were in the summer; where the passion fruit and persimmons were in the fall. We never had any blackberries along the driveway because each day when the kids got off the bus (or got on in the morning) they would eat the blackberries for a snack.
But this land has a history all it’s own and my family and I- we’re only a small part of that history. This land used to be Cherokee tribal allotment land. My family was Cherokee, but we didn’t get any allotment land- at least not that I know of. The land where the driveway is was first given as a Cherokee Nation Allotment Deed to Charles OWENS, Cherokee Citizen, Roll #19697 on 19 August 1907. Charles OWENS was 37 years old and was enrolled in 1902 on census card #8495. He was a full-blood Native American. The land was designated as exempt from taxation and was “restricted” land. Charles had to leave his thumbprint on the original record and there were two witnesses to his thumbprint- Ben F. SMITH and Carlotta ARCHER.
Charles died in 1944 and his land was probated. Some of the probate records are included in my abstract so I know that Charles was married to Susan OWENS, Cherokee Citizen #19698. He had 5 daughters- Maggie OWENS WILEY (married Frank WILEY), Betsy OWENS KETCHER (later married a PARCHCORN), Jennie OWENS SAPSUCKER (married a SIXKILLER before she married Homer SAPSUCKER), Esther OWENS COCHRAN (married Willie COCHRAN), and Annie OWENS. All the daughters were enrolled Cherokee citizens except Annie. Charles also had 3 sons- Scott OWENS, Judge OWENS (married a woman named Jennie), and Arch OWENS (married a woman named Laurie). None of his sons were enrolled Cherokee citizens. All the children were full-blood Cherokee.
We’ve found evidence of old house places all over our land. I enjoy reading the abstract books because it’s like the genealogy of my land- a way to learn about the people who were here before us who also called this place ‘home’. This land means a lot to us. My son helped build our house a few years before he died. Everywhere I look, I see memories of my children and my family and our lives together. For me, that’s priceless. It will be a sad day when I leave this place behind. Until then, I’ll enjoy learning about the people who were here before me and I’ll enjoy making new memories with people I love. If you are related to some of the families who owned this former Cherokee Nation reservation land, I’d love to hear from you some time.
I hope everyone has a great week making beautiful memories with the people you love!

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives Blog

Medical Monday- Know Your Health History!

Medical Monday is a part of my effort to return to some shorter posts to get more information out to you. It’s so important to know your medical history. So often a doctor will ask if a particular disease runs in your family. It’s to your advantage to know the correct answer! You can actually get insurance to pay for genetic testing for some diseases if the disease is prevalent in your family history. I’m going to start Medical Mondays with Ralph LARKIN, my great-grandfather.

Here is his death certificate from Missouri Digital Heritage.

Ralph’s official “immediate” cause of death was “acute myocardial decompensation”. Wikipedia says this:

“Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is a sudden worsening of the signs and symptoms of heart failure, which typically includes difficulty breathing (dyspnea), leg or feet swelling, and fatigue. ADHF is a common and potentially serious cause of acute respiratory distress. The condition is caused by severe congestion of multiple organs by fluid that is inadequately circulated by the failing heart. An attack of decompensation can be caused by underlying medical illness, such as myocardial infarction, infection, or thyroid disease.”

Ralph’s ADHF was caused by the underlying illness of myocardial infarction, better known as a heart attack. According to emedicine.com and Wikipedia, Ralph’s signs and symptoms would have looked like this:

“Difficulty breathing, a cardinal symptom of left ventricular failure, may manifest with progressively increasing severity as the following:
-Difficulty breathing with physical activity (exertional dyspnea)
-Difficulty breathing while lying flat (orthopnea)
-Episodes of waking up from sleep gasping for air (paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea)
– Acute pulmonary edema
Other cardiac symptoms of heart failure include chest pain/pressure and palpitations. Common noncardiac signs and symptoms of heart failure include loss of appetite, nausea, weight loss, bloating, fatigue, weakness, low urine output, waking up at night to urinate, and cerebral symptoms of varying severity, ranging from anxiety to memory impairment and confusion.”

A physical sign that others would have seen include “jugular venous distension” (an enlarged jugular vein). It looks like this photo from Wikipedia (look for the arrow):

Lastly, Ralph’s death certificate lists his heart attack as being caused by Arteriosclerosis which is “hardening of the arteries” (from Mayoclinic.org).

I hope this week is a healthy one for you. If you are in my same line of descent, please take charge of your own medical health. You know your body. Watch out for these symptoms of heart failure. Change your diet and activities to take into consideration that you may be genetically predisposed to have heart problems and let your doctor know this!

Peace and health!

Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

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