A cold and rainy Sunday Feb.25, 2007

The weather man predicted that Sunday would be about 60 degrees and sunny. Jake Dohm and Christiana Hellwig decided that they would like to be baptized. However, the day was rainy and in the 50's and the water temperature was 48 degrees. This did not deter either of them. They had made up their minds to be baptized and baptized they were. Christiana said that the water was warmer that the ground.

After church the congregation walked down to the pond, umbrellas in hand, to witness this act of obedience.




Jake Dohm and his father Jason


Christiana Hellwig being baptized by Jason Dohm.

Usually the weather is agreeable and the children can play outside. There were several groups of boys playing games. The girls gathered in our living room to play with babies and talk.

On Saturday, Uncle Dale Albright added some fun for the cousins and friends when he shot off his rocket. It went about 1400 feet into the air.


Up it goes and goes and goes and where does it lands ?............

on the roof of the barn. David is the retriever.


The second shot landed right where it was supposed to out in the field.

Harvesting the Herd

It was 7:30 on Saturday morning. It was 27 degrees and time to harvest the herd. The beautiful
long horn bull met his demise today. A Black Angus was also killed and the meat taken to the processor



Lester Barham, without whom this farm could not operate, fired the perfect shot. The bull was killed instantly. The horns from point to point were a little over five feet across.


Deborah's cousin, Sam Stevens and his family came from Aiken, SC just so Sam could skin the animal a prepare the carcass for hanging at the processors. He and his family raise cattle.







The carcass is loaded onto the back of the truck to be taken to the processors to be hung at least two weeks before being cut into steaks and hamburger.
The hide has been taken to the tanner to be made into a rug and the head has been taken to the taxidermist to be mounted. It will hang somewhere in the barn.


Sam and Maria Stevens, their three sons, and Kelly and Shelly Hammond and their five children were here for the week-end. It was a delightful time. The barn is able to accommodate a lot of people.

Just before the rain came

Thursday February 22, 2007
David is driving a 1957 Ford Ranchero (I think)which is for sale at the Wake Forest Classic Car show room. Once in a while an extra car is needed and David gets the thrill of driving it. David is 15 and can only drive with an adult. He is a really good driver.

Claudia and I are saying good bye to David for the day. He and Scott will be working downtown. Claudia is wearing her Colonial dress.

Wednesday February 21 was such gorgeous day and a welcome relief from the bitter cold. Blair cooked a delicious chicken dinner and Claudia set the table outside for dining al fresco. It was a70 degrees but seemed much warmer. The rain(well the sprinkles) came just as we were clearing the table. The lake was as smooth as glass and the reflection seemed as real as the trees above.

Scott and David are not pictured here because we picked them up in Wake Forest on our way to prayer time. They missed a great time.

Back in the Blog business

February 17, 2006 we drove away from Fredericksburg. Barry and Joyce Troutman helped to make the move pleasant and easy by driving the Budget truck with all our belongings and pulling the VW bug behind it. On February 20. 2006 we arrived in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It has been a very good year for us and we are very sure that this was the right move. It doesn't seem like a year. Time has really flown. I keep saying that there really is life after Texas.

From November to the middle of December we were on the West Coast with the Massaris (Carol, Fred and Christina) What a joy. It was also a time of visiting with many friends.

Our plan was to drive from CA to Colorado Springs, CO to visit with Frances and Charlie and bring Frances with us to El Paso but the huge snow storm arrived and all roads were closed so we headed straight south to El Paso. Our brother Tom and his wife Mary graciously took us in four days earlier than planned. Frances finally flew to El Paso on Christmas Day.

Now you can read of our Texas adventures and other events since. We are now back in the Blog business and if all goes well, we will keep up.

All of us here in the barn really did enjoy the movie Facing the Giants. Hope you get to see it.

Sewing marathon in the barn

Again the barn is transformed. This time into a sewing room.
Several women of the church wanted to learn how to sew the eight gore skirts that Deborah had been making so on Saturday Feb. 17 ten women came armed with their sewing machines, surgers, irons and ironing boards. It was a profitable day of learning, fellowship and having lunch and afternoon tea together. They stayed until the skirts were finished.

Sunday, most of the women wore their skirts.

The swinging sewing team.

Claudia and I made out skirts a week before the women came to learn and sew.

Claudia even made her doll has a new skirt.

Love using the surger. Surely does solve many sewing problems.

Claudia was a few steps ahead of me in the sewing sequence so she taught me how to put the skirt together and best of all how to put in a very professional looking zipper. She is a really good teacher.

Valentine's Day Feb. 14, 2007

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

The barn looked lovely. The tables were set beautifully, the fireplace was inviting, the food was great but most of all the entire evening was focused on marriage; the joys, the commitment, the trials, and the love and always remembering that marriage is an earthly picture of Christ's love for the Church.

There were 18 couples celebrating marriage this night. All brought wedding pictures. The youngest had been married only 6 months then there was the oldest couple, namely us, who have been married 59 years.

David's House

David's goal is to have his own house by the

time he is 18. He is 15 now. No one knew how this dream would come true. Lo and behold a friend wanted to develop a piece of property in Rolesville, about 3 miles away, and told Scott and David that they could have it if they would move it. David has worked really hard getting the house ready to move onto the farm. The roof and porches had to be removed in order to bring it here. It is now on the farm awaiting the foundation to be laid. The house is a three bedroom two bath house. David plans to put a second story on it and have pillars in front. It will be exciting to see how all this comes to fruition.

Fifty Ninth Wedding Anniversary

On December 23, 2006 Mary's brother Tom and his wife Mary, sister Libby and her husband Ken and Bill and I drove about an hour from El Paso, TX to Columbus, NM . Tom and Mary had flown there with friends before and knew all about going to Paloma, Mexico. It is a charming place and brought back many memories of the way Juarez used to be when we were younger. Now it is not safe to be in Juarez at all.

There is no river to cross here from Columbus, NM to Paloma Mexico. You just walk across the border.

We do not like going to Juarez, Mexico but felt very safe here in the small town of Paloma.

Cell phone service stops dead at the border. So we took avantage of the chance to call Carol and JoAnn to let them know where we were .

There is a small museum in Columbus telling of the history of the area and particularly of General Pershing and his pursuit of Benito Juarez.


This is the entrance to the Pink Store. The Pink Store is THE place in town for tourists.

Most every one got a fabulous Mexico shoe shine. Libby said that she always wanted to get a shoe shine. This was a dream come true. The man shining shoes said that he has made several unsuccessful attempts to cross the border to find work.

Oh, the shopping!

Benito Juarez and General Pershing shaking hands in the court yard of the Pink store. Bill and Ken are confirming the unlikely "friendship".

Libby and Ken, Mary and Tom, Bill and Mary are enjoying a muy sabroso lunch and being entertained by strolling musicians. A special song was sung for The Browns for thier anniversary.

Cornudas

Cornudas
December 26, 2006
Burrell Thomas Holmsley died twelve years ago. He was cremated and his ashes scattered in the vicinity of the Cornudas Mountain. Bobby and Pat Jones, owners of the Cornudas suggested that a marker be placed in their family cemetery because they knew how much Tom, our dad, loved that land and that their families had been friends for many years.
Dad lived at the Cornudas when he was ten and eleven years old with his sister Mary and her husband Joe Neely in 1903 and 1904. This was a defining time in his life. Memories, sentiments and emotions always drew him back there. Many times he took family and friends to see the pile of rocks where Indian pictographs are still visible and where once the Butterfield Stage ran. He showed where the garden was planted, the cave where the well supplied sweet water, where the house and store house were located.

For those of you who have the Holmsley Trail book you can read what Dad wrote about his adventures there. See pages 34-41

About a year ago our brother, Tom, saw Bobby and Pat Jones again and they reminded him about the marker. This prompted Tom to pursue the project. He and his wife, Mary, designed the marker and we want to thank them for all the time and effort it took to see that everything was done well. They even had men go out to the Cornudas ahead to place the marker in cement.

On December 26, 2006, an absolutely gorgeous day, a caravan of twenty one people drove the two hours from El Paso to the ranch. Along the way a herd of ten or twelve Antelope ran alongside the car then sped up to cross over the road in front of us. The Antelope did this three times before running off over the hill.

A big pot of Cowboy coffee cooked over an open fire was waiting for us when we arrived. The Joneses are wonderful hosts. After a sumptuous picnic lunch was eaten near the cave where the well is, Bob, Bobby and Pat, told of the history that has happened at these rocks. They told stories we had heard and stories we had not heard, then they took us all on a tour of the rocks and pointed out many of the pictographs and signatures of people who had been there in the 1800’s. One of Daddy’s brands, T H, is carved into one of the rocks.

There is an area where the rocks are smooth as glass. Samples were sent to be analyzed and revealed that Mastodon hair is embedded in the rock as a result of being rubbed smooth by these animals.
The Joneses host a community celebration on the Fourth of July. Fiddlers come and play inside the cave because of the perfect acoustics.
Pat Jones talking with Doris Gurss. Bob and BobbyJones, the father son, tour guides and history buffs. This picture was taken inside the cave. The well has been updated and is still usable.

At the marker, Mary Brown read an anonymous poem which reflected our thoughts and feelings about our dad.
On a lighter note, Scott Whetstone, now a man, allowed Mary to read what he had written in Holmsley Trail when he was six years old. Life marches on.
In case you don’t recognize Sonny, he had just finished his tour as Santa all over Hudspeth County

Family members who enjoyed the day were Ken and Libby Biedermann, Frances Stenicka, Bill and Mary Brown, Tom and Mary Holmsley, Sonny(Tom) and Winnie Neely, Ray, Betsy and Scott Whetstone.

Daddy had taken Boy Scouts camping at the Cornudas and they never forgot the experience. A few of them and Tom have remained friends and they always wanted to go back. This day was their dream come true. Two of the Scouts were Lester Lieberman who brought his wife Cherryll, and Tony Galindo. Other special friends were Hugh and Sally Jameson, Ralph and Carolyne Navar, Rollo and Doris Gurss
. The best pictographs are on Betsy’s shirt.


Pat Jones, Cherryll and Lester Lieberman, Frances S. and Scott Whetstone experience the joys of a camp fire.

Sonny(Tom) Neely, Frances Stenicka, Mary Brown, Libby Biedermann, Tom Holmsley, Betsy Whetstone.

This was a very Blessed day. I count it a gift from the Lord. The weather was perfect. The food was delectable and being with loving family and friends was icing on the cake.