Fourth of July Gathering

We had our annual gathering at our Flat Creek gathering place.  A swimming hole which has been the family swimming hole for many years.  Rope swings are no long available for swinging and diving into the water, but there is a tree which leans over the water and some of the boys were jumping from, which was about 10 feet above the water.

We arrived at the creek around noon or so, but didn’t start eating until around two waiting on others to arrive. There were three tables with table cloths  spread out with sandwich meats, potato salads, chips, vegy trays, cheese,  and several desserts.  It was sure good stuff.

We [Madge and I] only had one of our kids there with his wife and kids.  Our others were away to Florida, or couldn’t come because of gas prices, and theft of their checking account by way of debit card number theft.  Others just couldn’t get there.  There were about forty people present though, and we all had a great time of talking and sharing stories.  My brother was shooting his guns along with a cousin who came down with his wife and daughter. 

There was a whole lot of BOOMING AND BANGING going on with fireworks and guns.  The tree jumpers got wet as did some of the others who just went swimming in the icey water.  Flat Creek is much higher than it is normally, thus being a bit more dangerous to swim in, and somewhat more swift as well.  There is no place there right now for small children to swim, and there usually is.  Some left early to go to my sisters house, so the little ones could swim in the branch called Trinity which flows behind her house.  I imagine they had a great time too.

I hope all had a great time of celebrating the freedom which we have in this great nation called the United States of America.  We do have our problems, but we are truly blessed and free for now.

-Tim A. Blankenship

 

What’s Going On???

It is a story unlike any other.  I can hardly wait to tell it to you, however you will probably not find it  to be a story of intrigue, mystery, murder or mayhem, but a story about a family, some of their troubles and struggles and some fun.  This is the story of the Blankenships and their happenings in the past month or so.

Some things since I last wrote here, and to update a little bit on my wife Madge is that for her she seems to have nothing to be too concerned about, at least according to the cardiologist she has seen.  She does seem to be doing okay, but just has not much energy.  Yet, she nevers stops.

On May 01, 2008 Madge, and her sister Margaret drove down to Philip’s and Sarah’s for Natalie’s first Birthday, and to spend some time with Philip and Sarah.  Charity and her husband Paul drove down on the second day, and the party was on the third.  My parents, Mike and Juanita wanted to go down to for the party so we hopped in their car on Saturday morning May 03, and drove down in about three and a half hours.  It was a good party, with Sarah Joyce’s parents and grandfather, brother  and sisters as well.

On that Saturday afternoon there was nothing fancy.  One thing that has become traditional for the children of the first birthday is to make them a singly cake with frosting, and set that cake before them, and watch them devour and destroy it.  Some of the pictures of these events are quite humorous, and will be in family memories for many, many years to come.

Philip has become the gardener.  He has plowed and planted he and his family a pretty good size garden.  He even has a peach tree or two growing on the place and they are producing peaches.  He is really looking forward to some of their fruit.

After the party was  over I drove Mom and Dad home with Madge and Margaret following  in the van behind us.  We made a non-stop trip all the way up to about Bentonville, then we stopped and ate.  I would have driven until we arrived at the WalMart in Cassville, but I received a call on my cell phone, asking to pull in and eat somewhere.  So, that is what I did.

We arrived at the Dad’s and Mom’s about 9:30 p.m. or so, then, Madge and I went home to begin getting ready for bed, and prepped for the day of worship in our church on Sunday.

On the weekend before Memorial Day my sister and I along with my wife, a nephew, and a friend of his went to our family cemetery and done some needed clean up work.  By the time we were finished it looked much better, but there is much more to be done.  Since our parents, and Dad’s family is getting older they are no longer able to care for it, so that now falls to the younger generation, and it should be done with joy, and will be done with joy.

This past week Madge and I have been away at a Campground called Baptist Hill Assembly.  It is the campground I attended as a youth, and after I was called to preach, I went many years as a counselor, and a teacher a few years, and saw many young men accept Christ as their personal Savior.  We were serving as cooks to about 196 campers and staff this past week.  And, NO! We were not the only cooks there was a good crew of about nine total.  We served pancakes and sausage this morning (Friday) and the mornings before various and sundry good breakfast foods.  For lunches we served things like sandwiches, and hotdogs or conies.  For the evening meal, I call supper, some call dinner, we served fried chicken one evening, Spaghetti one evening, and something else good, that I don’t remember the other evening.  This is something we enjoy, and it helps out our Association with costs and keeps the kids expenses down too.  The cost for each camper was only 65 dollars, and most camps have it up over a hundred dollars.  In a lot of situations the churches the kids come with pay their fee.  God is great and the cost and time is worth all the reward, the eternal reward especially.

The Lord willing we will be going back in July for our Associational Children’s camp.  It will be with the same cooks, but a different bunch of kids, maybe some different CGL’s [used to be counselors, but for legal reasons that had to change], and I think that means “Camper’s Guidance Leader”, but of that I am not real sure.

The Summer time is quickly approaching, and the annual Family Fourth of July event will be here before you know it.  That is a day we all look forward to.  Our family gathering is nearing too.   That is the time near our Kid’s mother’s birthday when they all come to our house and just hang out together a day or two.  This year I am planning on taking that Sunday off from our Church, and going somewhere else to church with our kids.   Last year we were talking of a campout, but that does not seem to be materializing.

Sarah Lynn, that is Timothy’s wife is having a baby on June 30.  How do we know the date, because it is going to be born through surgery.  I said “surgery” because I am uncertain of how to spell the correct term for it.  We are looking forward to that wonderful day.  I know Timothy and Sarah are.

I have found out that one of the men who worked at camp with us is related to us through the Blankenships.  His mother is my grandfather’s cousin.  The way Forrest described it my grandfather was her “favorite cousin”. 

Have a great month of June.

-Tim A. Blankenship

 

A Birthday Get Together

On Tuesday April 08, 2008 my Dad will be 74 years of age.  Due to that the family, ie., my brother and sisters, and our children gathered together on Sunday April 06, and had a birthday dinner for Dad.  Since I was a child I can remember Dad’s family, ie., his brother and sisters getting together on his birthday and their’s too.

Now that has basically come down to just his children and grandchildren.  Part of that due to the deaths of Dad’s brother a few years back, the death of a brother in law about three years ago, the death of another brother in law just a month or so ago, and then on Thursday the death of a grand neice, due to a stroke at the age of 41.  That was the grand-daughter of Dad’s sister.

This was a birthday get together.  This Blankenship family is all a pretty happy bunch of people.  We love each other; and that is not to say we don’t have our problems; and we do love our get togethers.  We will probably be getting together on Mom’s birthday too.  That will be in June.

I keep meaning to get over and visit with Mom and Dad more than I do, but I don’t do it.  It is good to see them when I do.  I am going to need to get over to the place and work on the old barn.  That is told about over at Life On The Farm.  The farm is on the place my Dad was born, raised and grew up.  It sets near the banks of Flat Creek, and it is a beautiful farm.  That is for another time and day, soon I pray.

There was only one of our children absent from this get together, but that couldn’t be helped, living as far away as they do, and they have been up quite a bit recently.  The price of gasoline is getting to be a major budget problem.

When we get together on Sundays my wife and I cannot stay too long due to the fact that I preach on Sunday nights just like I do on Sunday mornings, and we must get away to get back to church on time, and I also usually need a little time to look over my notes for the evening message too.  It is good to be with Mom and Dad, the brother and sisters, their kids, grandkids, and our kids and grandkids.

Happy 74th Birthday Dad.

by Tim A. Blankenship

 

A Personal and Family Trial

We had a wonderful Christmas as I pointed out in the last post here.  It seems though that with the New Year there came a trial of great darkness, and I am so thankful to know that the Almighty God is in completer control.

Madge, ie., my wife had a cough for quite some time, a month or so as a matter of fact.  We had been praying for her healing, and she was taking over-the-counter products and would get better for a time, but then, it would return.  One morning early in this month, I was sitting at the computer, doing some study, prepping for Sunday morning’s message or Wednesday evening Bible study; and Madge was at her sowing machine sewing clothes for the grandkids.  She broke out into a cough and could hardly get it under control.  She went downstairs, and sit down in her recliner, and continued to cough.  A short time later I went down to see how she was, and she didn’t even look too well.  That is when I told her, “I am taking you to a doctor”.

It ended up with our oldest son and his wife taking her, so I wouldn’t miss driving my evening school bus run.  That was Madge’s idea, not mine.  Under the circumstances they could have found me a sub, and I could have been with her, but there was no way of knowing how long we would be at the doctors office; without an appointment. 

When I had returned to the Bus Garage after the evening run our daugher-in-law called me on the cell, and told me they were still in town (at five p.m.), and they had taken her around 1 p.m..  They were wanting to catch me before I went on home, and let Madge return with me.  The diagnosis was not good.  They had did an Xray and found bronchitus, a bit of pneumonia, and the aorta of her heart was enlarged.  The doctor scheduled a CT scan for her a couple of days later.  With that scan they found anuerism (spelling?), which was quite frightening to her and myself.

A few days later, I think February 04, I came home a little later, due to a thorn in the sidewall of a brandnew tire on our car, and getting that taken care of; to find her sitting in her recliner with all the signs of a heart attack.  I took her to the emergency room of our little county hospital, and according to their EKG, she was not having any problems.  They did however, give her a couple of nitro pills, which seemed solve the problem.  They let her come home, and she seemed improve all day long.

The first doctor who had saw the enlared aorta  sought a cardiologist to do further test and such on her.  We went yesterday (February 18, 200 to see him.  They did an EKG there and the cardiologist saw signs of a previous heart attack.  That occured the day I had taken her to the emergency room where they found no problem.  Wednesday, tomorrow, she has to go back to Springfield to have lab work done, and then to have a sonogram of her abdomen to check for any further anuerisms or such problems.  On Thursday (Feb. 21) she goes into Outpatient surgery for an angiogram, and the doc said if they find any blockage they will repair it while doing the prob.

Probably needless to say, I have been angry, fearful, upset, doubtful, weeping, praying, asking why?, and yet fully knowing it all is in the hands of our faithful Father, God, Healer, Redeemer, Savior, and Lord.  Much of the anger that I have had has been toward God.  He doesn’t deserve my anger, and I am so glad He is merciful and gracious.  He is my Father through the Lord Jesus, and I am thankful that I can come or go to Him like a little boy, angry, hurt, upset, and ask Him “Why?”, and He takes me in His arms and loves me, and that is all the answer I need.

To give you an example of that following that emergency room visit, I was very troubled, perplexed, somewhat worried, and just wondering, “What in the name of the Lord is going on?”  When Madge and I went to bed that night we slept well.  We haven’t lost a minutes sleep through all of this, and to the Lord we give the glory for that.  As a matter of fact, I think Madge is sleeping better than she did before all of this started.  Anyway, when I got up on Tuesday morning following that ER event, I got right into my daily devotions, which is mainly hearing from God in His Word, as I read.  I was so blessed in the reading that morning, just sensing the presence of the Lord, and absorbing what I read, hearing the Lord speak.  That doesn’t happen every morning, but this morning it did.  It wasn’t until later, that I realized the whole morning was different.  I asked the Lord what it was, and in my heart I heard Him say, “Peace”.  Oh, how I rejoiced.  My rejoicing is mostly with joyful weeping.  Sometimes the presence of the Lord just overwhelms me, and I weep.

Anyway, I write all this to hopefully encourage anyone else who might be going through a similar or worse time.  I think I choose to praise Him, the Almighty, through this trial in our lives.  He has saw us faithful and able to stand for His name, and that is where I will forever stand, by His grace.  For many years, and at many times I have ended in my personal prayers, “Father, what ever it takes to make me like Jesus; do it.”  I pray He is doing it, and He is merciful.

That is what is going on in this Blankenship family.  Please pray to the Lord Jesus with us.

-by Tim A. Blankenship

 

Blankenship Christmas - Zero Seven

How could a man be more blessed?  My Dad on Christmas, as he stood to lead us in prayer for our Christmas meal shared with us.  He asked that question, “What more could a man want than all the family gathered together on Christmas Eve and all of them saved and on the way to heaven”.  Now I don’t think he said it quite that way, but that is what he said. 

There was a house full at my Dad’s and Mom’s house with about fifty [that is just an estimation on my part] of my siblings and their families, and my family as well.  Such a wonderful blessing to be part of such a wonderful family.  We aren’t a perfect bunch that is for sure.  There is none perfect or good except the One who came and died for our sins.

At our house we had about twenty, and that included all eight of our grandchildren with one on the way, and all our kids and their spouses, who are our kids as well.  We just live in a little one or two bedroom house with one bath, so we have kids and adults sleeping all over the floors, since there is only one bed.  If you need to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom, then you get to walk an obstacle course, and try to avoid stepping on someone.

There are some people who might not enjoy such crowded spaces, and I am one myself, but when it comes to our family there could be nothing greater.  As far as I am concerned we have the best kids on earth.  They have never caused us any reason for shame, but have always blessed us.  Now, I am not saying they were never a problem raising, but that seems like something that never really happened now.

As Madge and I get  older they just bless us more  and more.  The Lord gets all my thanks and praise for that.

Thank YOU Father in heaven.

 

Blankenship Christmas

This is just to inform that this will be the final post from me for 2007.  I am taking a break from blogging.  I hope and pray that 2007 has been a good and prosperous year for you all, and that 2008 will even be better.

Our family will be meeting on the 24th for our family get together at my parents house with my brother and his wife, my sisters and their husbands, and most of our kids and grand kids will be there.

After there our kids and grand kids will come over and spend the night, and awake the next morning [Christmas morning] to a large breadfast - at least that is how it usually is - and then, following breakfast opening of the gifts.

We remembet the most glorious and wonderful gift given is what God the Father gave us in his Son Jesus, when He was born in that manger 2000 years ago.  WOW!!!  What a Savior.  WOW!!! What a glorious God.

God bless you all and have a Christ filled Christmas and a Blessed-Happy New Year.

God willing I will be back next year.

T.A.

 

Thanksgiving in Louisiana

For Thanksgiving this year Sarah and I went to Louisiana.  That is where her Grandparents from her Mom’s side live.  They have a nice place down there with a few acres.  We call them Granny and Pap.  Pap is quite the deer hunter.  Well pretty much her whole family is quite the deer hunters.  I’ve really never much gotten into it.  I do it just as a form of relaxing while I’m there because, I guess everyone else is so why not.  I think he has about 6 or 7 stands that he keeps up year round.  He clears paths around the stand and keeps corn out for them all year so that when his grand-kids and kids come in they can get them a deer.  Well my brother-in-law, Matt, hadn’t ever seen a buck in the wild.  That is until Friday, Nov. 23.  He got out in the woods right before day light so he could get situated in his stand before daylight.  On his way to the stand he ran into 2 doe.  He was certain then that he wouldn’t see anything that day.  The sun was coming up about the time that he got in his stand, he was trying to get everything settled in his stand when he heard something coming behind.  He thought oh them crazy squirrels.  Then he heard a grunt.  His first thought was that wasn’t a squirrel.  He’s on a lean too that is somewhat crooked, and he’s trying to look behind him to find the noise.  Next thing he knows he has an 8 point right below him.  He must had caught the sent of those doe, because he was on a mission.  He was drooling at this big buck that came right to him.  He was getting away in a hurry so he whistles at him.  The buck looks back and keeps on going,  so Matt whistles a little louder.  This time he got that bucks attention.  He looks back and kinda turns a little.  Matt was so excited that he couldn’t keep his gun steady and when he shot he got him right in the stomach.  The buck was off to the races.  Matt being the intelligent hunter that he is knows that if he chases him then he will run for hours.  So he gets down and checks for blood.  Matt found a good blood trail, so he thought he’d give him so time to calm down hoping he’d lay down.  He comes back to the house and the real hunt is on. 

We trailed this buck into a big field where it was nearly impossible to find any blood.  After about an hour of looking through the field someone found some on the other side and we were off again.  Then we came to a creek.  It took us what seemed like forever to get across the creek, but once we did the trail was very evident.  The water from the creek must had opened up the wound because it was much easier from there.  That is until we hit the swamp.  The water was a foot deep everywhere it seemed.  Not to mention that blood is really hard to find in water.  Once again we found the trail.  The neighbors had this dog out there and he kept running all over the place.  We came up on a trail that went two ways.  Matt and I went one way and two other guys followed the dog the other way.  Matt and I found the blood trail but it was going in circles.  Then we hear bring the gun.  Matt and I could tell that they found the Big Buck.  We couldn’t barely hear them and the gras and brush was taller than I am.  I’m 6′3″, so that is pretty tall.  We were trying to follow their voice and we ran in to that blamed creek and we couldn’t find a good place to cross.

 I thought I find a good way across.  There was a small flexible tree that leaning over.  So I just grabbed on to the top of this tree thinking that it would land me on the other side.  I got about half way over when the tree snapped in half.  This creek was about 5 or 6 feet across and I found out the hard way how cold water is in the winter time.  It was only about 3 feet deep in that spot so I just crossed the rest of the way.  The other 2 guys were right there when we got across.  Matt found a beaver damn a little ways down and crossed over it.  That crazy dog had found this Buck.  He was about ready to charge that dog.  The two guys were holding back the dog so the Buck lays down.  He was ready to give in.  Matt finished him off.

Then we had to find our way back out of this swamp with 170 dressed out 8 point buck.  I tell you he was a monster.  We had to holler back at Pap so that we knew our way out.  We were almost back and I hollered and asked him if they found him.  They knew partially that we had him though.  We got him back to the house safely but that was quite the adventure.

Philip

 

Thanksgiving - Two Zero Zero Seven

It has not been that long ago since we celebrated Thanksgiving last year.  It has truly been a blessed year, and I know that the Lord has been completely in charge.  All praise and thanksgiving belongs to Him.

The Blankenship family; at least this part of it; has had its share of bumps and trials.  My Dad has had his leg amputated, and is now using a prothetic on his right leg, below the knee.  He is truly grateful for that prosthetic.  As are the rest of us.  He is progressing in learning to use it.  He is driving his old four speed, manual pickup and improving at that.  I imagine that using that right foot, without any senses in it, shifting gears and such would be a bit difficult.

Madge and I are expecting our kids to mostly be here, at least at their grandparents, for our annual Thanksgiving feast.  I know we will all have a great time.

Madge and the girls are going to do the woman thing, and go shopping on Friday.  They will get up early, and find the stores blocked with other people, and love it all.  Not me.  I will just stay at home, by myself, and enjoy the peace and quiet.  I might even take a walk  in the woods of the Piney Wilderness area.  I don’t know yet.  At any rate Friday following Thanksgiving is going to be a great day.

God bless you all and have a wonderful day thanking the good Lord for His many blessings and provisions.

T.A.

 

Family at the Barn

It is a good thing, even a great thing when families can get together and work on a project, enjoy the day together, and just have an all around good time; a good, clean, fun time.  That is what the Blankeships did this past Saturday [10/20/07].

Some of us got a little earlier start than others.  My wife Madge, Timothy our son, and myself went to the old barn to start with, and we began pulling away old broken, rotted boards which had made up the old rafters, roofing slabs which the metal roofing was nailed to, and the side boards which could not or would not stand without the afore mentioned things.

We did a little bit of other clean up of things which were on the ground, covered with grass that was about two feet deep and thick.  I thought as I was wading through this river of green grass that it would have been nice to have brought down a tractor and bush hog and mowed it down, but I didn’t, so we had to wade through it.  That grass was so thick that an old metal fence panel had lain on the ground and the grass had grown up through it, and we worked for several minutes pulling grass, and it wasn’t until Timothy went and got a weedeater to cut it down some that we were finally able to get it off the ground.

After we had worked on this for a while our daughter Charity, from Springfield and her family got there, at which time her husband Paul, Timothy and myself went to another old barn which had already fallen down, and got some metal roofing, some 1×3’s for the roof, and some 2×6’s for whatever we might need them for.  We had about a pickup load when they called and said they were ready to eat lunch.  So we finished up and went and ate lunch.

There are dangers to doing this type of thing.  Just ask me I know.  I have personal experience.  As we were working at the other fallen down barn getting materials; I stepped on a portion of the old loft (It had fallen to the ground already), and a rotten board broke through, and so did I, sending me sailing, stumbling looking for a soft place to land.  You know what in an old fallen down barn, there is no such thing as a soft place to land.  But I landed anyway.  Ended up with a small skin hole in the center of my left hand, a scratch on my left arm, and a bad bruise on my left hip.  Hey!  I thought it was funny.  I am still laughing about it.

Anyway the old barn is still not finished.  It still has a lot of work to do on it.  We will get back to it as soon as we can.

On a windy day in October, with the temps in the low eighties or so I sure can’t complain about that.  Having so many of the family show up to that was neat.  Timothy and Sarah, and their two kids; James and Amber; Paul, Charity and their three kids were there, and we missed Sam and Monica, and their daughter.  We also missed Philip and Sarah and their two daughters.  Mom and Dad came and joined in by watching and enjoying the lunch which was cold hot dogs - we didn’t want to build a fire due to the wind - and had a great time.  My sister Jane showed up later with some of her grandkids, and her daughter Tammy also came down.

My how God our Lord and Savior has truly blessed us all.  That includes you too.  Just look at how He has blessed you so greatly.

 

The Old Barn

On the farm where my Dad was born and raised is an Old Barn.  This barn has been standin’ for many years, but is nearin’ a time where it needs some major repairs.  As a matter of fact on the East side it is fallin’ down, and under that barn is an old antique hay baler.  It is one of those stationary kind where you brought the hay to the baler, men stood along side it and balin’ wire was used to tie those bales.

Now, mind you, I don’t remember that baler at work.  I was pretty small when they quit usin’ it, for the more modern tractor pulled type that used windrowed hay in the field.  But, back to the Old Barn.

Dad has been wantin’ to get it back in shape.  At least better shape than what it is in, and some of our kids have decided to get together on October 20, and do some barn work.  The plans are to make a whole day of puttin’ this Old Barn back into a somewhat of a good shape.  This is all what I have been told, and been hearin’, and you know how things go sometimes.  As usual this will be as our Lord wills it.  We don’t know one day to the next what is going to happen.

If everythin’ goes accordin’ as planned this will be like a modern day Barn Raisin’, but just  usin’ old barn parts.  You see, we’re going to use the old wood from another old barn on Dad’s place that has already fell in.  The “Fell in” barn is on the place where I grew up, and where my brother, Steve, and his wife now live.  We used to put a lot of hay in that “Fell in” barn.  But no more.

If Sarah L. hasn’t got the invites sent out yet, any of my kids readin’ this; here is your invite.  If you can and are able come on up or down or over and join in.  I even think we’re goin’ to do some BBQn’.  It’ll be a great time, and another family get together.  Oh, and by the way; anybody tryin’ to make off with that ol’ baler just might be met by a double barrell twelve guage shotgun. :&gt