On the way to Boston

On Monday June, 29 Scott, Deborah, Blair, David, Claudia, Ryan Glick, Meghan Dohm and Bill and I left Rolesville at 7:00 AM in two vehicles and headed for Boston MA for the Reformation 500 a celebration of 500 years of the Faith of Our Fathers. Fifteen long but now tedious hours later we arrived at the Park Plaza Hotel for the six day stay.

Doug Phillips says," We gather on the Quincentenary of the birth of John Calvin, the man most responsible for influencing Western Civilization with the liberty-advancing doctrines of the reformation. Calvin has correctly been called America's true founding father, and he was the undisputed theological giant of the Reformation. As we remember the influence of Calvin and his fellow reformers, we celebrate the mighty providence of  God in the life of His Church through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do so because our sons and daughters must not only stand firm in a day of tremendous compromise and spiritual confusion, they must follow the example of their Reformation fathers by advancing the crown rights of Jesus Christ in every sphere of life and thought. 

 

Tuesday June 30 Bill and I drove to Weymouth to visit Ed and Diane Bates.  Bill and Ed last saw each other on Iwo Jima in 1945.  It was a very sweet reunion of two Christian brothers.

Ed grew up in Weymouth so he drove us to see his old neighborhood, his schools, and other points of interest. One of which was the birth place of Abigail Adams and the Congregational Church where her father was the minister.  Ed's grandfather, father and the family attended this church for many years. 

Trying to catch up on what has happened in 64 years is impossible in such a short time. We need to visit again.

Father's Day June 21,2009

What a joy to celebrate fatherhood with Peter and his two sons, Knox and Triumph, Scott the grandfather and Bill the great grandfather.

We love you.

Father Daughter Tea and fun

Meetings began on Friday night downtown Wake Forest in the conference room at Scott's office.

Saturday morning breakfast was served and more teaching followed.

The messages for the week-end were:

Marriage and Courtship

The blessing of a woman's life

The importance of a woman's life

How fathers and daughters covenant with one another for victory.

At 1:00 PM everyone came to the barn for tea.  The barn was transformed into an elegant Tea Room.

Strawberry soup was the first course followed by Chicken salad filled croissants, ham and cheese sandwiches and many delicious sweets.

After tea, everyone changed into swim gear and played water games and swam. This picture does not show many people but there were 50 in attendance.

Claudia and Scott were the last to leave the pond.

A new herd of cattle

Fifteen black angus have arrived just in time to "mow" the grass.

At first they were kept in this corral for orientation.

The cattle will graze till the fall then they will be butchered and sold as "grass fed" beef.

Spectators

Peter has Triumph sitting on the fence.

The cattle arrived in this truck.

How would you like to go up in a swing?

How would you like to go up in a swing?

Up in the air so blue.

Oh, I do think it is the pleasantest thing ever a child can do.

I am sure that Robert Louis Stevenson didn't dream of this swing.

Especially if the swing is in the house(barn)

David has a perfect view from the skylight.

Some prefer other ways of using the ropes.

Memorial Day Celebration

Memorial Day Celebration May 25, 2009 has come and gone.  Even with the threat of rain, nearly 900 people from the community and far and wide came to honor all Veterans, living and dead and all servicemen serving so tirelessly and bravely to protect our freedoms.

Hope Baptist Church has sponsored this event for the past eight years on the Brown's farm.

This year was very special for us because our whole family was together for the first time in nine years.  It was a busy time, but a happy time.

For more Memorial Day pictures go to www.NCFIC.org

Kelly with Knox Defender

Carol, Blair and I having a tete-a-tete in our bedroom in front one of Deborah's quilts.

Inside the barn

Fred, Carol and Christina had been exploring the property in our Easy Rider.  The Damings motor home was their home away from home. Many thanks to the Damings.

Yes, we really did enjoy the day.


Breakfast is served

David and Taylor are the ultimate sound men.

Cindy Decker is mixing hush puppy mix for lunch. 

Lester Barham did it again.  He is the one who cooks the pigs and the hush puppies.  He stays up all night to monitor the six pigs in the cookers.

Christina and Claudia stacking brownies to be served as dessert.

Rides in jeeps and hay rides provided much excitement.

Carol and Christina are putting the finishing touches on the stage.

Deborah's dad, Tom Albright and Fred are engaged in animated conversation.

The Iwo veterans... Bill Henderson and wife, Dot, Buck Bunn and wife,Pat and Bill and Mary

Ezra Hill a Tuskegee airman gave a wonderful testimony and sang His Eye is on the Sparrow and I'm Proud to be an American. 

Ezra Hill's Congressional Medal.

The Pierce brothers have come every year. Three of them served in WWII, each in a different branch of the service, and one was in the Korean War. With them is a friend who served in WWII.

JoAnn talked with one of the Pierce brothers about his service in the Navy.

Ezra and Mabel Hill and daughter Linda 

Here they are.....The three Brown kids.  

What a joy it was to see Bill's niece Gretchen and husband Brent from Winston Salem. 

Bill was so happy to see Gretchen and Brent.

The days leading up to and the day of Memorial Day were so full of activity that these people were the most we could gather at the same time.

Claudia, Mary, Bill, Scott, Carol,Christina, Fred and JoAnn.