Sunday, August 25, 2013

Remembering Grandkids

I never sang much to the kids but did rock Nathan to sleep more than the others and always sang to him, "I love the dimples in your dimpled chin every twinkle in your eyes so blue, love every freckle on your turned up nose. I love everything about you."  Of course he was small and doesn't remember. Also I'd sing, "A tiny turned up nose, two lips just like a rose.  So sweet from head to toes. That little boy of mine." And when I was sure he was asleep I'd put him in his crib. He'd hold out his hand and say, "hand." And would want you to hold it 'til he fell asleep. So many memories of each one of them.

I'm sure Lindsay remembers us singing," You are My Sunshine". I made her and Danika a sunflower quilt. I am sure both remember, "Sweet Violets".

There was a young farmer
Who took a young Miss
Out back of the barn
Where he gave her a lecture
On horses and chickens and eggs
And told her that she had
Such beautiful manners
That suited her charms.
A girl that he wanted
To take in his washing and ironing
And then if he did
They could get married
And raise lots of sweet violets,
Sweeter than the roses,
Covered all over from head to toe,
Covered ll over with sweet violets.

Well I've rambled long enough. I love you all very much.

My Favorite Quotes

I love to collect short stories and quotes. I must print some of my favorite quotes:



It is more important to be kind than it is to be right.

Give people a bit of your heart rather than a piece of your mind.

Sometimes people disappoint you, and you just have to let it go, and love them.

He will not save any one without their wholehearted consent and cooperation.

You cannot do anything today to make God love you any more or any less.

Good examples have twice the value of good advice.

God never asks about our ability or our inability;  just our availability.

It's not where you live but how you live that's important.

What a great thing to be loved! What a greater thing still to love.

Some food is so soulful that the love content outweighs the fat content.

When you get too old for pimples, you go into wrinkles.

In spite of the high cost of living, it's still popular.

Isn't it odd that a being like God
Who sees the facade, still loves the clod
He made out of sod. Now isn't that odd?

Youth is never left behind us. It is carried always with us, gently in the heart.

Our happiness comes not from what is around us, but from what is within us. Not from what we have, but from what we are.

The cup most difficult to carry is not the empty one, but the one full to the brim.

Affliction and adversity bring disappointment and sorrow: But it is prosperity that is the most dangerous to spiritual life.

We cannot do great things, only small things with great love.

People don't care how much we know if they don't know how much we care.

Love cannot be whipped into the heart.

There is no right way to do a wrong thing.

Is the pleasure worth the pain?

Ephesians 4:2 Philips translation - Accept life with humility and patience, making allowances for one another.

The most important thing a father con do for his child is to love it's mother.

This time, like all times, is a very good time, if we but know what to do with it.

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right.

You can't take your money to heaven but you can send it on ahead.

Matthew 6:15 - But If you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.

Ecclesiastes 5: 10 Clear Word - Whoever loves money never has enough. Who ever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.

Many people want to serve God, but only as advisers.

It's easier to present ten sermons than to live one.

Talk is cheap but you con't buy it back.

It's not how much you have, or where you are going,or even what you are. Rich is who you have beside you.

I have to live with myself and so I want to be fit for myself to know. I don't want to come to the setting sun and hate myself for the things I've done.



I must stop I have so many it's hard to choose and when will I ever have a chance to get you all to read them.







The Little Old Ford













Now Henry Jones and his pretty little queen
Took a ride one day in his big limousine.
The car kicked up and the engine wouldn't crank.
There wasn't any gas in the gasoline tank!
About that time along came Nord
And he rambled right along in his little old Ford.
He stole that queen and the engine sang a song.
And the little old Ford just rambled right along.

He swung around a corner and hit an old mule
and the blamed old thing just kicked like a fool
he kicked and he kicked and he kicked the wheels
but he had to quit kicking to save his heels.
If the power gets sick just hit it with a brick.
and the little Ford will ramble right along.

Now they ran over glass and they ran over nails,
They ran over pigs and puppy dogs' tails.
They bumped into fences and telegraph poles,
Ran over rocks and deep chuck holes.
If you break a tire just patch it up with wire,
And the little old Ford will ramble right along.

Smash up the fenders, smash up the seats,
Twist it out of shape 'Til both ends meet,
Smash up the body and rip out the gears,
Smash up the front and smash up the rear,
Smash up the fenders and break up the tires,
Break up the lamps and cut out the wires,
Throw in the clutch and then forget to juice,
And the little old Ford will go to beat the deuce.
And the little old Ford will ramble right along.

Patch it up with a piece of string,
Spearmint gum or any old thing!
If the power gets sick, just hit it with a brick,
And the little Ford will ramble right along!

Three Monkeys













Three monkeys sat on a coconut tree
Discussing things as they're said to be

Said one to the other, Now listen, you two
There's a certain rumor that can't be true

That man descended from our noble race
The very idea is sure to disgrace

No monkey ever deserted his wife
starved her babies, and ruined her life

And, you've never known another monkey
To leave her babies, with others to bunk
Or pass them on from one to another

And another thing you will never see
A monkey build a fence around a coconut tree

And let the coconuts go to waste
Forbidding all other monkeys to taste

Why , if I put a fence around this tree
Starvation would force you to steal from me

And here's something else a monkey won't do
Go out of night and get on a stew

Or use a gun, or club, or knife
To take some other monkey's life

Yes, man descended, the ornery cuss
But, brother, he didn't descend from us

Strawberry Roan

While loafing 'round town, just spending my time,
Out of a job, not making a dime; a fellow stepped up
And he said, "I suppose that you're a bronc rider,
From the looks of your clothes.

You guessed right. And a good one I claim.
Do you happen to have any bad ones to tame?
He said, I've got one. He's a bad one to buck,
And he'd take a good rider, who's had lots of luck.

A bronc never lived or ever drawed breath,
That I couldn't ride 'til he starved plum to death."
Out in the corral, all standing alone,
Stood an ugly old outlaw called Strawberry Roan.

He had little thin ears that touched at the tip,
And a big 44 brand on his left hip!
He had little glass eyes and a big Roman nose.
An ugly old outlaw to the tip of his toes.

I lit in the saddle and doing my best,
We went up in the East and came down in the West.
He tossed his old belly right up to the sun,
For he was a surprising son of a gun.

There are plenty of broncs that I cannot ride.
There are some of them living. They haven't all died.
But I bet all my money that no man alive
Can ride old Strawberry when he makes that high dive!

Little Boy Blue

A favorite of Daddy's, though very sad was this one I found in a book of poems Lindsey gave me.

Little Boy Blue

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and staunch he stands.
The little toy soldier is red with rust
His musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new
And the soldier was passing fair
And that was the time that our little boy blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now don't you go 'til I come", he said.
"And don't you make any noise".
And toddling off to his trundle bed
He dreamt of the pretty toys.
And as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our little boy blue.---
Oh, the years are many,
And the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true.

Aye faithful to little boy blue they stand,
Each in the same old place.
Awaiting the touch of a little hand.
The smile of a little face.
And they wonder as waiting there,
In the long years through,
In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our little boy blue,
Since he kissed them and put them there!



And So Did I

A favorite poem Daddy liked to recite.

And So Did I

That long lank dude that sparks our Sue
Was at our house last night
And talk about having fun,
Well I thought I'd die outright!
Laugh, I am laughing yet,
I only have to think and then I go into a fit!
We went to supper and of course,
We had a dandy spread.
Sue trotted out the chocolate cake,
And Ma her fancy bread.
That long lank dude he stuffed himself
With cake, preserves, and pie,
Then drank sixteen cups of tea.
And so did I!

Most folks in love don't eat at all
But Jim ain't one of such.
He says that being in love made him eat
Just twice as much.
Up from his chair he staggered,
You could almost see him swell.
He'd ate so much how he got up
Is more than I can tell.
I saw him beckon Sue
She answered with her eye,
And off into the parlor sneaked,
And so did I!

They made for the old setee
In the corner by the door,
While I crawled in behind to hide
Where oft I'd hid before.
With Sue's steel hat pin in my hand
Ten inches long or more.
I heard him whisper," Sue,
Just let me kiss you once".
Sue cried Jim if you do
I'll get right up and run.
And then she giggled foolish like,
You know how young folks speak.
Before the parlor lamp is lit
And things are kind of dark.
Well Jim kissed her good and hard
And Sue yelled, "Oh! Fi!"
And jabbed her fist into Jim's ribs,
And so did I!

I bobbed down quick, he didn't see
For love you know is blind.
And then I started in with cord
His swell coattails to bind.
He'd on a new "Prince Albert",
For Jim was quite a card,
And for you knew a thing,
I had him tied up good and hard.
Then just as he was kissing Sue,
I jabbed him in his thigh.
He yelled and rolled in fourteen fits,
And so did I.

You must know Jim hit the ceiling
And the settee went there too.
Then round and round he dragged it
Like a mule hitched to a truck.
Til both his coattails tore loose.
Then Jim just cussed his luck.
The neighbors heard the yelling
And come rushing through the door
And stumbled over Sue
Who lay unconscious on the floor!
We soused her too with water
Then an argument arose
As to just what old animal had
Bit Jim through his clothes.
Ma thought it was a snake,
Sue thought it lightening from the sky
But at last they blamed it on the cat.
And so did I!

Songs Daddy Sang To Us

The following are songs Daddy used to sing to us.

Ham bones and gravy Chicken am good,
Rabbit am so very, very fine,
But give me, oh give me,
Oh, how I wish you would,
That watermelon hanging on that vine.

Another favorite was:

On a summer evening, when the sun was low,
Out to rob a hen's nest softly I did go.
And when I grabbed a chicken,
I heard her husband crow.
And then the farmer chased me with a rusty hoe.

Out in the corn field that's where I was found,
And oh the walloping he gave me,
Lying on the cold, cold ground.
He locked me in the stable with the sheep
And a dog that wouldn't sleep

By and by that mutt got tired of watching
By and by that mutt laid down to rest
By and by I jumped out of the window
And landed in a hornet's nest.

Good night my loved one, good night,
All those hornets were full of fight
I've got stings on my fingers
And stings on my toes,
When they got through with me
They lit on Fido's nose.

Oh say can you see it was my time to flee.
That dog he was angry the moment he spied me.
He chased me around the old barn lot
He chased me cross the prairie.
I've seen many dogs of his kind,
But none quite so contrary.

I heard his pants as he advanced
But I left mine behind me.

Other favorites were:
Mocking Bird Hill
Old Shep
When the Works All Done This Fall
Old Limpy
The Heart That Was Broken for Me
How Great Thou Art
And So Did I
Little Boy Blue
I Had But Fifty Cents
Strawberry Roan
The Little Old Ford

His very favorite song was The Love Of God.


Songs My Mother Sang

Mom never sat down and sang us songs as Daddy did. She sang and whistled as she worked. I remember this song she sang.

"Life's evening sun is sinking low
A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done
Where there will be no setting sun.

Each day I'll do a golden deed
By helping those who are in need
I'll try to turn the night to day
Make flowers bloom along the way.

Another song I remember is Two Little Girls in Blue.

An old man gazed at a photograph
In a locket he'd worn for years.
His nephew asked him the reason why
That picture had caused him fears.

Listen he said and I'll tell you lad,
A story that' s strange but true
Your father and I at school one day
Met two little girls in blue.

Two little girls in blue lad
Two little girls in blue.
They were sisters
And we were brothers,
And we learned to love the two.

One little girl in blue lad
Won your father's heart
Became your mother
I married the other
But we have drifted apart.

Other songs she sang were:

Corn Bread and Butter Milk
Good Old Turnip Greens
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
After The Ball Was Over
Come and Dine
The Golden Bells
The Unclouded Day
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
On The Jericho Road


Grandma Grace Lawry


She first married Jim Helms who died from pneumonia after getting wet chasing away a neighbor's cows. I think they had three children. I only know aunt Nanny and Uncle Jim.

Grandma and Grandpa married and had seven children, Sadie, Mary, George (Dike), Jimmy, Bennie, Johnny, and Baby Charlie who died at infancy. I didn't know many of them. We did go to visit Sadie who never married and kept the home place, a forty acre place grandma and Jim Helms owned. I think they homesteaded it. Grandpa became blind some time before the last few children were born so they were desperately poor.



It was a great treat to drive up to see Aunt Sadie and to see her Model T Ford. She bought it new and kept it all her life. She lived at Bronson, Kansas. 'We always stopped at the "Dime Store" in Iola. Daddy always bought us a small gift. Aunt Mary lived near by. They had three girls and they were the cousins we knew best from Daddy's family. Two of them are gone now. We enjoyed sitting by the fireplace with popcorn and home made apple cider. The "secretary" I have belonged to Aunt Sadie, Daddy's oldest sister. Mom didn't know where she got it but had it when she and Daddy were married,on September 30, 1927.

                                             AUNT SADIE AND HER MODEL T

I remember it in Aunt Sadie's living room. She lived sixty miles away and we visited her at least once a year. She kept family pictures in the secretary in the house where Daddy grew up. Aunt Sadie taught school in the same school she and her siblings attended until they needed someone who could teach music. This really hurt her and she always had a rather bitter attitude toward life. It was a very hard life on her forty-acre farm where she raised cows, etc. and hired out the farm. One year she picked out enough black walnuts to buy a couch for the living room. Unless you've ever picked out black walnuts, you can't imagine how long that took her (Daddy used to send me a pound every year----delicious in pumpkin pie!) Sadie had four rooms built on to the original house. (one room with a shed kitchen. I'll always remember her kitchen with the big enamel stove with a warming oven. There was always a cot by the window by the stove. So cozy! Heated with wood.

 I never knew either grandparent. Grandma died when I was an infant.

Grandpa George Lawry


We never knew much about Daddy's side of the family. Cousin Oscar said he walked from Roanoke, Virginia, carrying the wooden tool box Aunt Sadie gave to Lloyd. At his death Kathy gave it to Delbert. It was burned when Delbert and Ellen's house burned down at the time of Cynda's wedding. Daddy said his father was Pennsylvania Dutch. His wife died and I don't know how many children he had.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Chapter 1 Part 4

                                                             JE'SUS VEGA

Je'sus mother died when he was born. He was mostly raised by Alicia and Anna (sisters). His stepmother was very young and had a baby just eleven months younger than Je'sus. His father died when he was twelve. He lived with Chinto and Juanita and their five children. A neighbor brought the Adventist message and about one half of the children accepted.

He then stayed with Anna and family and went to academy in San Juan. The principle told him about Madison. Chinto helped him some, Alberto gave him an old suit and he arrived at Madison with three dollars. He could read English but couldn't speak it. That's all the help he ever got. He graduated with lab and x-ray credits.

When he returned, I took the train from Oregon where Teresa, David and I had been staying with my parents.  We got to spend a lot of time with Viola and Harley Witt and family. We came before Je'sus did and we visited Bob and Pat. While there David had what the doctor said was an ear ache. We came on to Collegedale and David got worse (he was having seizures by this time and spent two weeks in the hospital with meningitis). We took him to Thompson's Children's Hospital in Chattanooga.

                 DAVID, KIETH AND TERESA VEGA WITH THEIR GRANDMA LAWRY

The college told Je'sus he had to take more classes than he thought, David was sick, got better but it took two years to be potty trained, etc. Je'sus was discouraged and we moved to Puerto Rico to be in charge of the lab at the Bella Vista hospital. A doctor there encouraged him to go back to school. He had his GI bill to use so we went to Nashville and he earned a Masters Degree in Biology.

We went back to Madison where he taught at the academy. Theresa started first grade there. Before the year was up they needed him in the lab so he went. The doctor who encouraged him to go to Madison still encouraged Je'sus to go to Loma Linda. He applied and was accepted. We bought a better car loaded all we could in it and took off!  It was 1961 and we had Eric, one year old, Keith, two years old, David, five years old, and Teresa, seven years of age.

                       THE VEGA'S ON THEIR WAY TO LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA

While at Loma Linda I finally had to learn to drive. My mother tried to teach me in my teens but I had no interest. With Je'sus in school and all, I had to learn. The Oldsmobile was automatic and that helped a lot. Je'sus rode his bicycle to school. (I hear that Danika and David skateboarded to school and to work!). It is hard to believe they are living where we lived so long ago.

They hadn't completely finished the new hospital when we left. They tore down the old original before we left. Lola Fay took classes in it. We spent eight years there. Four years in medical school and four years internship.

When we arrived a friend was leaving and he could have taken his job at a very good salary by working every weekend but he chose not to work on Sabbath. He could also come home evenings and be with the family. Instead he worked part time as a lab tech and for the first four years he got $200.00 per month from Puerto Rico. That's why we went to Puerto Rico to pay it back. He lost the GI bill by going to Peabody.

Later, Lola Fay and girls came to Loma Linda where Lola took Physical Therapy. We had lots of good times together, us and our four kids and her and her two. In the Oldsmobile, we would go to the desert and camp or to the forests. Twice we went to the mountains for a white Christmas. His niece Ruth from Puerto Rico stayed with us a year. Dino and Fay settled there and we enjoyed them and Gracella came and fell in love and married there.

Je'sus finished in 1969.  We shipped our stuff to Puerto Rico.  We found this used Cadillac, drove to Kansas to visit my family, stopped in Florida and visited Donna and Bill. We stayed in their camper and watched the first shuttle to the moon. Then in our motel in Miami on TV we saw them land.

I am glad we spent time in Puerto Rico as the kids got to know their Spanish heritage and learned to speak the language and to know and love our other family and you know the rest of the story.

GO BACK TO CHAPTER 1 PART 3