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The boys have been counting the days until they get to see the cousins and Grams and Papa back home. It is time to touch base again with the familiar. We parked the RV at Bob’s old house on the farm in Williamsville. The big front windows of the coach look out over a farm field with horses grazing in the distance. It is particularly pretty in the morning when clouds rest along the grass. Fall, a season I hate to miss, is in full glory and the foliage is most impressive on this beautiful piece of land.

The ten or so days here got quite busy as there was much catching up to do with all of our friends. Jack and Ben ate up their time with Coulton, Andrea and Kaylin. They spent time at Grams and Papa’s house. We were able to fill our tanks with the company of many good friends, (Myers, the other Myers, Hudsons, Rhenda, Cheyenne & Chelsea, Grandma Mazie & Grandpa Howard, Osborns, Kim & Logan, a very pregnant Tanya, Laseters, RuthAnn Brickell) but didn’t get to see EVERYONE we would have liked in the time that we had. Halloween provided an opportunity to see lots of friends. Ben was a very believable Jack Sparrow, complete with a moustache and beard that his dad GLUED to his little face. I mean industrial style glue! Jack was a red Ninja for the afternoon parade in Williamsville but changed to a blue Ninja for the evening festivities. We trick-or-treated in the old neighborhood with Coulton, Cheyanne and Chelsea before spending the rest of the evening at First Baptist’s Fall Festival . There were LOTS of old friends to catch up with there. Ben got to see his friends from kindergarten and first grade at O’Neal; Savannah, Hunter, Kaitlyn, Elizabeth, Grace, Jantzen – to name a few!

Grace, Nathalie, Hunter, Ben, Kaitlyn, Savannah: former school mates of Ben’s

Cheyanne, Tanya, Coulton, Brianna, Jack, Ben & Chelsea

Corin, Jack, Kyle, Logan

Jack had a very special opportunity one day to spend an afternoon in Mrs. Renee’s class, where he got to hang with several kids he knew from pre-school. What a nice invitation that was! Jack thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ben had the pleasure of being in Renee Lovelace’s class and enjoyed her very much. We feel so blessed to have had our kids under the wings of such fine teachers as Renee, Betty Doherty and Christi Todd at First Baptist Pre-school and Kindergarten. They really gave me much to aspire to when I made the decision to become my boys’ teacher.

One of the last details to see to before leaving Williamsville was voting absentee. And vote – we did. Would that our two little ballots could have turned the tide at least in our home state, but it would not be so. Mid-term elections rendered the SPANK heard around the world. Brian and I extend our deepest, heartfelt congratulations to our Democrat family members and friends from coast to coast. Brian and I humbly concede. America has spoken! No gloating, Ned!

Before leaving the state we spent a long weekend in St. Louis. We attended a Mercy Me/Audio Adrenaline concert in St. Charles, thanks to our buddy, Scott Brickell. Kory, Dawn and Kyle Myers joined us from Poplar Bluff for a very uplifting evening. We went to one of our favorite churches in the city called Grace Church. Actually, because we’ve gotten lost and been late every single time we’ve ever visited there, we decided to sleep in their parking lot! No excuse now! And it sort of worked. We were not…too…late…but we weren’t early either. What’s with that? We were joined for Sunday lunch by Theresa Smith (Luecke) and her lovely daughter, Caroline. After lunch we went to the movie “Open Season.” It was so nice spending the afternoon together. When we returned to the RV to move to another sleeping spot, the security guard at Grace graciously suggested we stay the night so he could make sure we were safe. God’s hand is always upon us everywhere we go! On Monday, we got to see Aunt Dianne, who had just returned from Russia. Now if you think we’re on an adventure, talk to this fun lady. She lives one of the most adventurous lives of anyone we know.

East coast – here we come!

It is great fun staying in Nashville because we park our house right next to Scott Brickell’s house. Our kids and their kids can’t get enough of each other and Brian and I thoroughly enjoy the comfort of the Brickells’ hospitality. Brian coordinated a songwriter night at the French Quarter, featuring Laura Sullivan, Nathalie Whisnant, Jayron Weaver, Lane Turner and yours truly. It was a wonderful night of high quality entertainment and fun with our amazing friends.

Brian booked Sunset Blvd. Studios to get a few more songs recorded. I finished “Liberating Paris,” a song I wrote based on Linda Bloodworth Thomason’s book of the same name, on the road from Florida to Nashville. As usual the Dream Team of David Cleveland, Steve Brewster, Mark Hill and Jason Webb gave the song wings. We cut “Surrounded”, written by David and I, and “My Favorite Sport”, written by Brian for Ben to eventually sing. I was SO proud of my little boy when it came time for him to sing it for the guys. We knew he was nervous but he threw off the nerves and sang like a pro. Very impressive! Soon Ben and Jack will have their own CD to share with their friends. I am so proud of my two little boys. To hear them sing thrills their daddy and I to no end. Ben picks out harmonies and nails ’em. Their pitch is dead-on. They’ve even written a couple of songs. When I hear their little voices in the back seat belting out, “Mary’s gone to heaven rainbow in the sky”, I’ve arrived. There’s no greater joy that music could possibly hold for me. I pray that Ben and Jack will know the satisfaction that I have fully appreciated, of being able to sing a song, to accompany themselves, to write a song, to be in a band with amazing musicians, and to share that with people. Not for the gain, not for the glory, not as a means to an end, but for the pure joy of it. What a gift – to be a musician.

We’ve never spent time in northern Florida so our stay in Navarre Beach was wonderful. Our RV site looked out over the bay of the Gulf of Mexico. What a sight to fill our eyes with each morning and evening! Each night, the cotton-candy-sunset-sky found me lounging under a tiki tent, watching Brian and the boys fish from the white sand at the water’s edge. Perfect.

My beautiful boys

Brian attended an internet conference in Orlando so we stayed at the Marriot for a few days while the RV had warranty repairs done. In pure “keeping up with the Disneys” fashion, the hotel looked like its neighbor’s yard with palm trees and flowers everywhere. The pool had cascading waterfalls and a water slide. It was a very cozy stay while our RV was in the shop.

We surprised an old friend, Scott Welch, one Sunday morning, when we showed up at the church he pastors in Oldsmar, near Tampa. Scott is the guy Brian and I patterned our youth group after back in ’93. He’s a brilliant communicator, a very funny and cut-to-the-chase kind of guy. We even got to see his daughter, Jordan, who was younger than my kids are today when we brought 20 youth down to Florida to bike the Keys with Scott’s group.

Scott Welch & Brian

He offered us his condo on Indian Rocks beach while the RV underwent further warranty repairs. Our stay there has been a highlight of our travels to date. We could see the ocean from our windows, the beach just a short stroll from our doorstep. Once again the boys were in fishing nirvana, heading out every chance they got with their gear. One day they ventured out to the great deep on a charter fishing boat. I know they caught something because we choked on the smell of it for weeks each time we boarded the Envoy, as the bag of goodies never made it to the fridge, let alone the frying pan. I loved walking on the beach as the sun rose and taking in the majestic sunsets from a beach chair with a little boy on my lap. Jack and I were always quicker to retire than the fishermen. However, one thick night sky witnessed the triumphant catch of a shark, a truly satisfying end to the means.

Finally, our home was finished and we set off for Nashville.

On long hauls like this one we “boondock” in Wal Mart parking lots to save the time and energy it takes to get hooked up at an RV park or campground. It’s kind of weird, but when all the shades are closed, it really doesn’t matter to me where we lay unconscious during the twilight hours. Brian did, however, have an amusing revelation one morning while showering, “Hey, I’m naked in Wal Mart parking lot!!” It’s best not to think too deeply about it…

We found our way to Dallas where we stayed at a very nice RV resort on Lake Grapevine. The summer drought had taken a toll on the lake so fishing wasn’t what we’d hoped BUT the Dormadys were Dallas’ biggest attraction.

Ben, Marcus/Breck, Jack, Quinten/McKenna (I think)

Mike, Lisa, Quinton, Marcus, Breck and McKenna were finally settled into their new home after leaving Poplar Bluff last summer. Lisa held me together on more than one occasion during our “pulling away from Poplar Bluff” days. She inspires me. It was great to see them happy in their new life, especially with their new church, Gateway. We enjoyed every minute we got to spend with them and have already planned to see them again in December.

Moseying a bit further south we drove our house to my sister’s house located in the gorgeous hill country of Georgetown Texas. She lives there with her husband, Larry, and four kids in a beautiful Tuscan villa style house that Larry designed and built. Jenni may be my “baby” sister but she is wise beyond her years and I’ve followed her lead on many issues including home schooling. She home schools 13 year old Alexandria, 11 year old Nathanael, and 8 year old twins, Micah and Elijah, and makes it look easy – but that’s Jenni. She’s brilliant. We have a lot in common, the most special bond though is our faith in Christ. Visiting Jenni’s family always feels like a retreat and this trip was no exception.

Alex, Jenni, Brian, Nathanael, Larry, Micah, Ben, Elijah and Jack

When we’re together, we laugh and talk, we relax and have fun. And the kids! We hardly saw them once they were cut loose from school to play. They ran wild around the yard playing cowboys and Indians, hunting for treasure and lizards and snakes.

Micah, Jack, Elijah, Nathanael & Ben

When they weren’t playing under the big Texas sky they played in the RV, having commandeered it as their fort. With nine special days worth of fun well spent we pulled away from Georgetown and headed to my old stompin’ grounds – Houston.

In the middle of the Ginormous sprawl of Houston lies a quaint RV park, complete with fishing pond and swimming pool, just four miles from Westbury Baptist Church where I was scheduled to do a concert. While there we were fortunate to catch up with old Poplar Bluff friends, Eric and Carol Luecke and two of their kids, John Carl and James, as we all played hooky one day to hang out at the campsite.

James, Jack, John Carl, Eric & Ben

My “spiritual mom,” MaryAnn Parker, lives in Houston. MaryAnn had eternity in her sights when she befriended me all those years ago, making sure our friendship soared beyond this earthly plane. She told me about Jesus, she told me Truth. I gave my life to Jesus while walking on the beach in South Padre Island, near the club where my band played in the evenings. This was in 1987. I didn’t know how to “do it” or “what to say.” I just traded my life in: I gave God mine and He gave me His. It was so simple and seemed too good to be true. But true it was and I knew in that instant that I was not the same and would never be. What a mighty warrior MaryAnn is and I am deeply grateful for our friendship. Today she is waging a battle against cancer, how severe it is I don’t exactly know, because she doesn’t let it show. She is “unaffected” it seems because she holds such a grasp of the big picture. She is SO not of this world and will lead a very extensive trail of souls in her wake to the Presence of Almighty God when all of our time here is fully spent. I’ll be there! Jenni will be there…and the roll goes on and on.

The concert was a lot of fun. It was refreshing to spend time with the friends who came to see us: Pat Hunt, Jeremiah Jordan, Pat Fleming, Leann LaRocca, Stan and Jan, Steve and Sherry Adell, MaryAnn, Ruby Chapman, Keith and Ray Parker, Pierre DuBois, the Lueckes and many more. I appreciate the help of Kyle Damron and Keith Haggett in making the concert happen.