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Mitchell is Eleven!

Valerie Basham

August 9, 2013

Today, my sweet “baby” boy, Mitchell Lee, is eleven years old! It hardly seems possible. He was an adorable, chubby, happy baby and he’s growing into a tall, strong, happy young man. He would wake up each day with a smile as a baby, and he does that still today! He is an early riser and a cheerful one. He is active – I know if he attended public school they would want to medicate him and reduce his activity – but his dad and I are thankful that we have a talkative, active, creative, eager and cheerful child. He is wonderful just the way God made him.

He has so many interests that we really didn’t know what to get him for a gift this year. We gave him some cash and then took him shopping. He asked for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, so I made one. The writing on it was not at all how I wanted it, but he said he liked it just as it was.

Mitchell reads his Bible first thing each morning. He has done this without any prodding from his dad or myself. He invites people to church without being told. After we moved here, he rode his bike around the neighborhood and put out 35 tracts. He hands out tracts to everyone, actually. He loves playing the piano in church (or at home!) and has gotten to play the offertory and invitational music a few times. He is excited to be starting lessons up again, and appropriately, his first lesson with his new teacher was on his birthday!

On his shopping trip, he ended up buying a watch and some computer games. He also received some cards and cash from friends at church and family far away to spend later. Thank you to all who made his day so special!

Me and the birthday boy!

Matthew helped by blowing out a candle. Mitch took care of the rest. 😉

He did it!

Aunt Melanie gave Mitch two books. He was moving so I didn’t get a clear photo. Sorry.

If only I could get him to express his true feelings on camera. Hmmm….maybe someday.

Mitchell, I love you and am so very proud of you!

A Visit with Nana

Valerie Basham

5 comments

August 6, 2013

My mother is a very busy lady. She volunteers to clean a portion of the church building. She volunteers to teach Sunday School. As a retired elementary principal and Special Ed. teacher, she volunteers to teach education classes at the Bible college operated out of her church. She also goes soul winning and changes out several bulletin boards at church. Summer time is also busy with Bible conferences and other trips that she makes. Usually, we allow the kids to go visit her in “twos” each summer. Since we live far away now, going in groups wasn’t practical. I knew time was getting short to visit her because she would soon begin teaching in the college for the fall semester. When she called me in tears last Sunday (July 28) to tell me that my pastor’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Joann Goad, suddenly passed away, I was heartbroken! My pastor’s mother died from a long illness in June. I couldn’t believe the Lord was taking Mrs. Graham’s mother now, too! I decided we should just pack up and go. Terry had a lot of work to do, so he was unable to go. That’s right, it was just me, the road and five kids…

We had a very exciting week:

Monday, I arrived safely. It took us eight hours to make the trip. Six for driving, two for stops. It was my first time to travel alone with all the kids and go so far away. I hope it was the last time. 😉
Tuesday, we had to have a plumber out to repair a toilet. The kids painted a billion pictures and built with the blocks.
Wednesday, we ate lunch with my aunt and then went to Goodwill and Kohl’s. When we got back to mom’s, I locked my keys in the car and had to call a locksmith to have it opened. Right after that, a female cardinal got trapped in mom’s garage and we worked for several hours to free it. She finally flew out after much prayer and supplication. After we got to church, a terrible thunderstorm blew rain in the building and caused the power to go off and on about twelve times. The last time, it stayed off. The last quarter of the preaching was done in the dark with sporadic illumination from cell phones. Mine was one of them. We were able to get home safely and Mom still had power. I slept like a rock.
Thursday, we went to the library and the kids played at mom’s. That night I went to the visitation for Mrs. Goad.
Friday, we left about 8:00 AM to head home. I was crying very hard. The tears made it hard to see. I was merging onto I-30, or trying to, when I realized I was in the wrong lane. I had to stop. Several native Arkansans bid me goodbye with not-so-nice gestures. As they drove by, I hope they saw my tear-stained face and felt a little guilty at their reaction. But I doubt it. I’m sure those 14 seconds that I held them up probably cost them a job or something. We arrived back in Lawton at 3:30, which was an hour less than it took me to get to Benton. I guess I got better with practice. 😉

I only had my phone with me, so I could travel light, and I didn’t get a lot of photos. Here are a few of the best:

We stopped at a Sonic that had a playground somewhere in Oklahoma.

Almost there! I love this street! 🙂

Every grandchild loves this suit of armor!

Ready to fight…but first, “Cheese!”

How do I look?

Mitchell’s block city.

Laci’s block creations. 🙂

I used some Kohl’s gift cards to get Lauren some new sneakers for volleyball. She will get to start playing with our homeschool group on August 19!

Whenever we’re visiting Nana, we have to use their great library! 🙂

Matthew is getting very good with a computer. He’s intent, anyway!

Look at that itty-bitty hand!!! 🙂

My mom spoiled me when I was little. Some would say she spoiled me when I was big, too. She used to wash my hair like this so that water wouldn’t get into my eyes. She did the little girls’ hair a few times like this while we were there and Matthew wanted to do it, too! 🙂

Ahhh! So relaxing after a hard day’s play! Thank you, Nana!

He made himself a chair out of the pillow shams.

My church has this in the hallway to honor my dad, one of their most faithful men.

As I walked into the auditorium at the visitation for Mrs. Goad, I was overwhelmed with grief. I know I’ve been away for over a dozen years now, but, that doesn’t change my love for my church family. Mrs. Goad, like Mrs. Bobbie Graham, always took the time to speak to me when I would visit. In 2009, I wrote about my dad in a devotional booklet called The Baptist Bread. I was the first woman to write for them. Many people complained to the editor that a woman was published. But Mrs. Goad came to me smiling and said, “I liked what you wrote. It was a blessing.” I needed those words at that very moment. In fact, she always had something uplifting to say. She spoke at the Mother/Daughter banquet at Victory in 2012, and her testimony helped me to grow in faith. If the Lord could help her through hard times, He certainly would help me, too! Even though I didn’t know her as well as I wish I had, I do know that she touched the world around her for good; she influenced many for Christ.

We had a great time being with Nana, and we miss her so much. But it’s also good to be home!

If You Ever Have a Summer of Sorrow

Valerie Basham

2 comments

August 1, 2013

Summer time is a time of sorrowful anniversaries for me. My dad’s birthday and death day are both in July. Another personal tragedy (which I don’t mean to remember, but can’t seem to help it) occurred in July also. This last day of July is the day we buried my dad. When you add it all up, it can lead to some heavy-hearted warm days of summer for me.

We are commanded to keep our minds on “whatsoever things are lovely…” in Philippians, and that’s what I strive to do every day, but especially when sadness overwhelms what would otherwise be lovely days. What better thing to concentrate on than scripture? I believe it’s no coincidence that when I read through the Bible each year, I read the first 64 chapters of Psalms in July, and the whole book in the summer. Here are some of my favorite verses from my journal this year:

Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, are a shield for me; my glory, and lifter up of mine head. – Psalm 3:2-3

Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. – Psalm 18:36

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. – Psalm 27:13-14

…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. – Psalm 30:5

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. – Psalm 31:24

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquited within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. – Psalm 43:5

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. –
Psalm 46:1-2

What a blessing God’s Word is! Water to a thirsty soul, bread to the famished, life to the dead, rest to the weary, courage to the fearful and companionship to the lonely. I thank God for His Word.

And I thank you for reading.

Many blessings to you,

Memories, the Treasure of the Heart

Valerie Basham

4 comments

July 29, 2013

Nine years ago today, my dad was ushered into the presence of Christ. It awes me still to think of what that moment must have been like! I remember driving to church that Wednesday evening while he was in surgery at the Arkansas Heart Hospital, unable to be by his side. I remember wanting to just wait by the phone, since I was eight hours away in Lawrence, Kansas. I remember knowing that he would not want that, he would want me to be there. But I couldn’t. And since I couldn’t, I knew he’d want me to go to church. That’s what he did every Wednesday night of my life, unless providentially hindered. So, I went to church, with my heart heavier than it had ever been. On the way, I could only gaze up into the blue sky and white clouds above and know that God was in control. I didn’t know the end of the story, but He did. Yes, I knew it was serious. I knew he might go to Heaven, but I selfishly desired for him to stay on Karen Street.

We were “partners” from the beginning. I was never a burden or a pest to my dad, he enjoyed having me help pour in the motor oil, or hold a board that he was hammering.That didn’t mean he didn’t correct me, no sirree. Of course, I gave him plenty of opportunity. I let him down all too often. I suppose that’s why it was such a shock when he died so suddenly. I had so much to pay back, so much to thank him for, so much yet to do for him.

There is still pain at not having him. I miss him so much. I wish he could see his three other grandchildren. I wish he were there with my mother. I wish I could hear him laugh, or even, just his voice.

But these nine years have been like corrective lenses as I look into the past. I can see more clearly than ever what a gift it was to be Ron Courtney’s daughter. For twenty-six years, I had a dad who was a hard worker, a great Christian, and also my best friend. For nineteen years, I lived under his roof. I enjoyed his blueberry pancakes, his silly songs, and his trumpet playing. I got to sit at his knee and hear stories of my grandfather whom I never knew, and about how he and Mom met. (He absolutely loved to tell about that!) I groaned at his terrible jokes, I listened to him read to me about the Presidents, and I loved those late, late breakfasts at McDonald’s on Saturdays in the summer! I saw in his eyes, everyday, that he believed in me. And somehow, just knowing that my dad believed I could do anything, made me want to be the best at whatever I did. I saw his eyes glisten with tears as he spoke of his own dad. I tried to comfort him, but I never really grasped his pain. On July 29, 2004, I understood.

I have no regrets that I spent more hours at home as a teenager than anywhere else. I didn’t know it then, but I was storing up treasure for the future. On quiet summer nights, when the crickets are chirping and a dog barks in the distance, when the scent of honeysuckle wafts by on a breeze, or when there is a bright, beautiful moon, I can go back by his side; I can bring it all back.

Memories so dear! To me they are the unseen treasures of the heart.

Me and Dad on his birthday, July 2, 1983.

Dad and Nathan, Kevin’s second son, circa 1990.

Dad and Mitchell, November, 2003.

1996 – My senior trip in Washington, D.C. I’m just a *little* excited! 🙂

I hope you can store up some “heart treasure” of your own today. I know I will. Let’s make each day count for Christ, and for each other.

With love,

Three Months and Counting

Valerie Basham

5 comments

July 25, 2013

Hello, my friends! I’m excited to say that my family and I have lived in Lawton for three months today! It feels so good to have one quarter of year under our belts. We are feeling more at home each day. I no longer turn around in circles in the kitchen trying to find the bowls and I have not purchased a duplicate item because I “lost” the original in several weeks. (Yes, I bought too much liquid handsoap because I forgot where I put the first bottle I bought. At least it won’t spoil!) 🙂 I am also feeling much more confident as I drive around town now. Lawton is laid out very nicely, mostly in square blocks, so that’s made it easier. Coming from a town of 10,000 to 100,000 has been a big change, but it’s one that I like.

Several things for which I am thankful about our new home, town and church:
1. The people of Bethel Baptist Church are patient and loving. They have bent over backwards to help us settle in and adjust. No pressure or judgment. It’s a great feeling.
2. There are a lot of people in Lawton, and the majority need to hear about the Lord. We have a big job, but we serve an all-powerful God who has everything we need to do that job.
3. We have an Army post nearby (Ft. Sill) which means people from all over the country come here. That’s a great opportunity to reach the nation in our own backyard!
4. We have lots of stores, including a mall! Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Olive Garden, Hastings, Lowes, and Target are just 1-3 miles away.
5. We have a great library that has a lot of programs for kids, including the allusive inter-library loan, which before we moved to Hope, I had totally taken for granted. It’s great to be able to get a book, even if the library doesn’t have it!
6. There is a big Christian homeschool group in Lawton, which will give our kids the opportunity to play sports for the first time. They are really excited!

We have also been busy getting the house in order. Terry put in a new thermostat for our heat and air, and I’ve purchased a few decorations for the house. I’ve got curtains up and new lamp shades for the living room. We’ve also been working on the outside of the house. Here are a few photos of the improvements we’ve made lately:

We had two dead trees in the yard when we came. We wanted to get them down as soon as possible because of all the wind here. They would damage our neighbor’s property if they fell wrong, so two sweet families from church came over and helped Terry cut them down. This is the before photo.

They’re down, and they are a mess! Here’s my man working to chop it all up.

Lots of limbs and future firewood!

Here is the “after”. Just a few branches left to dispose of now. The families who helped cut them down also brought a trailer to haul off some of it. We burned some and we stuffed some down into our trash can. Oh, and we saved some for winter! 🙂

Much, much better! 🙂

Here’s the wood we got for the fireplace.

My flower bed in front of the house had gotten rather woolly over the last few months. We’ve had good rainfall and plenty of sun, so the weeds are growing! Some of them were pretty!

I’ve been told these are “surprise lillies”. They sure were! I love them!

After weeding for 1.5 hours, it looks much better. We sprayed the grass and I still need to go out and pull it up. (I think I’ll have the kids help me.) Despite being ULTRA careful, I still managed to get a bit of poison oak or ivy on my arms. So far, it’s not too severe. I’ve got naturally sensitive skin, so I guess being “ultra” careful isn’t good enough for me. 😉

I found out that this is called purple heart. I just love it! It’s growing around my front porch.

I still find myself missing the friends I made in Arkansas, but there is nothing like having the peace that God is controlling your life, and that you’re right where He wants you.

Fort Boonesborough, Kentucky

Valerie Basham

4 comments

July 20, 2013

On our way home, we met up with my in-laws to visit Fort Boonesborough, Kentucky. This state park is a replica of Daniel Boone’s fort which he built in the late 18th century. The Bashams had promised the kids that they would take them here about seven years ago, and one thing or another always seemed to prevente the trip. Everyone was excited when it finally happened! 🙂

It rained off and on the whole time we were there, so I didn’t get out my Nikon until the end. Most of the photos are from my phone.

These ladies are demonstrating how a loom worked in the 1790s.

Laci playing a game from the time.

Grandma and Granddad having a good time.

Mitchell with the giant bear rug!

One man made powder horns. They were very expensive!

The cobbler had some very interesting information about making shoes in the 1780s and 90s.

Matthew enjoyed wearing a coonskin cap and using a flint-lock pistol in the gift shop. Granddad and dad made it possible for him to take them home. 🙂

“Stick ’em up!” (Sorry it’s blurry!)

The whole group…minus me. Not sure why Matt is sad.

As soon as we met up with Terry’s parents at the hotel, we pulled out the birthday gift we’d hauled with us over two thousand miles. We couldn’t wait to give it to her! In May, when we visited Terry’s brother Joel and his family, we set up the tripod for my Nikon and took a photo of our families together. We had it framed at Hobby Lobby and presented it to her in Kentucky. She loved it. And we loved that she loved it. It’s a great feeling doing something special for someone you love. The Lord blessed and the photo turned out really well, considering we had 8 children to pose! 🙂

Grandma with Leslie and Laci

She loved the gift. 🙂 We were all so happy.

Here’s the photo we gave her. It was a surprise, so I couldn’t post it until now. 🙂

Mother and son.

Right before we left the fort, I got a group photo with my Nikon.

I loved these purple wildflowers blooming at the Fort!

It was a great visit with our loved ones. I have just one complaint: it was too short.

All in all, we traveled 3,265 miles. We could have driven from Norfolk, Virginia, to Los Angeles, California, (coast to coast) in fewer miles than we traveled on this trip! The Oklahoma border sign never looked as sweet as it did when we got back on July 4, 2013 – we all let out a cheer! 🙂

We are so thankful for the Lord’s protection and blessing on our journey. Thank you for praying for us.

Mount Vernon

Valerie Basham

6 comments

July 19, 2013

After camp, we headed even farther East to visit with some friends, the Dunham family, in Woodstock, Virginia. We weren’t really sure what all we would do while in Virginia, other than visit our friends. It turns out that we had the chance for a little sight seeing! We had time for a trip to Mount Vernon, Washington’s home! I was more excited about it than most of the kids, but that’s understandable. They are young and were worn out from 30 hours in the van. Still, I hope that one day, they will look back on it with fondness. Terry and I are lovers of history. We have a personal goal of visiting as many presidential homes as we can. We have visited Eisenhower’s, Truman’s, Jefferson’s, LBJ’s, Clinton’s and now Washington’s. It was hot and humid the day with traveled to Mount Vernon, and we all were pretty tired from our week at camp. Because of that, the photos were snapped in a hurry and some of them are not the greatest quality.

A view of Mount Vernon from the bowling green.

Matt is playing with George Washington’s step-granddaughter in the entry to the park.

Me, Lauren and George and Martha! 🙂

George and Martha Washington’s tombs.

Waiting in the shade of centuries-old trees for our ticket time to be called.

Part of the garden.

I couldn’t snap photos inside the house, but I could outside. While on the tour, we walked along the back porch of the house, where our first president could enjoy this lovely view of the Potomac.

It was gorgeous!

We had to take photos in front of the house in stages. Here are a few of us.

Lauren and Mitch at Mount Vernon.

Me and my sweetie!

After we toured the house, we got to go through a wonderful museum all about Washington. They had life size wax creations of Washington at ages 19, 45 and 56. They measured his clothing from the Smithsonian and used hair samples from his home (!), as well as high-tech computer models to get accurate portrayals of how he looked. Here is what his inauguration looked like.

I was unable to photograph it, but they had Washington’s false teeth on display! I remember my dad reading to me from a big, red book about the presidents when I was about eight years old. The thing that started me on my life-long fascination with the presidents, was the photo in that book of Washington’s false teeth! It was interesting to get to see it in real life. The kids were more interested in a video playing about how they made false teeth in the 18th century. 🙂

Mitch got to take the oath of office of the President!

This photo was in that big, red book of Presidents.

Here we are in front of the statue at the museum.

My favorite feature of the house was seeing Washington’s chair! It was the chair he used at Mount Vernon and in his office as President. Can you imagine the conversations and decisions that took place in that chair? I only wish the tour hadn’t been so rushed so I could have savored it all longer.

It was a blessing to be able to visit such a great historical site, and to get to do it with the kids. I love history, not just for what it can teach us about the past, but also for how it can enlighten us about the future.

Summer Camp

Valerie Basham

7 comments

July 18, 2013

The reason we got to take this amazing trip, was so my husband could preach at a Junior High Camp in West Virginia. It just so happened that two of our kids were the ages to be campers that week. And it just so happened that my son was praying for a chance to go to summer camp! He wasn’t old enough to go to the camp Lauren went to last year, so I just told him to pray about it – with very little faith that God would answer. After all, a trip to camp isn’t a “need”, so my faith was weak. Weak, but not non-existent. It’s amazing how God blesses even my microscopic faith! God answered and gave Mitchell the chance he’d been longing for.

I was busy caring for our three younger kids most of the week, so I didn’t get many photos of the campers. They had a great time, though. Mitchell was on the orange team, while Lauren was blue. They memorized dozens of verses, swam, played games and ate the wonderful food prepared by the ladies of Faith Way Baptist Church. Of course, the preaching was amazing. 🙂 Each night, there was a bonfire outside which was also a testimony time. If a camper wanted to share what God was doing in their lives through camp, they were free to do that. There were several sweet testimonies given during the week.

Mitchell in line for the “human bowling” game. I never got a photo of him actually hitting the pins. 😦

Lauren, knocking the pins down in “human bowling”. It was a fun and exciting game!

The bonfire.

Bro. Downing Gregory, the pastor of Faith Way Baptist Church in Belington, WV, and leader of Camp Popeye.

The whole group on the final day. It was sad for the kids to say goodbye to the friends they spent all week with. It reminded me of how I used to feel at the end of camp when I was a teen. I would have to say goodbye to friends like Amanda Tyler. It was never easy.

Lauren, and her team leader, Todd Hall.

Mitchell, and his team leader, Pastor Scott Hall.

Terry signing a Bible on the final day.

This is Terry and Bro. Dan Vaughan. He and his wife, Hollie, are sweet people.

(And he is hilarious!)

While we were at camp, Laci lost one of her front teeth!

Then she lost the other one!

We had a great time that week, but our adventures weren’t over yet! I hope to share more soon.

Thanks for reading, and for all the great comments. I sure love hearing from all of you!

St. Louis

Valerie Basham

7 comments

July 17, 2013

On our way to West Virginia, we went through St. Louis. We were in a hurry, but we managed to stop for about an hour and snap some photos around the Gateway Arch. Terry and I came here together for a “belated honeymoon” trip over 15 years ago. It was nice to come back and this time, bring our five precious children. They were able to run off some energy on the multitude of steps that go up to the Arch. (We had been in the van for about nine hours by the time we reached St. Louis, and were only halfway to WV!)

I missed getting Matthew! Oops…

You can barely see Matthew on the end. He didn’t understand what he was supposed to do. 🙂

My little stair-steps. 🙂

Laci, in front of the mighty Mississippi.

Everyone at dusk.

Lauren beneath the Arch.

We all had a great time in St. Lou-ie. 🙂

The Kitchen: Before and After

Valerie Basham

14 comments

July 16, 2013

Last week I started working to make this house more “homey”. I picked out some curtains for my kitchen windows and a paint color to match. I have red apple decorations for my kitchen, but a lot of them have broken over the years. Rather than replace them, or change my theme altogether, I decided to just go with red as my main color. Any red decorations will match, be they apples, strawberries or chili peppers. 🙂

BEFORE:

Some of my cabinets have glass doors. The walls inside were painted a pretty pink color. If I had pink accents for my kitchen, I would have left these alone. However, they clashed with the red I was going to put above the cabinets, so I had to paint these walls.

Everything was pure white! Very dull and sterile.

You can see how white it all is, and the pink just barely shows up through the glass.

And now, AFTER:

Here are my glass cabinets. The walls are the same color as above.

I think it looks so warm and inviting now!

Not only did we get new paint in the kitchen, but we got a new dishwasher! Our sweet church family gave us a housewarming on July 7, complete with generous gifts. We used the cash to purchase a new dishwasher on sale. The one that came with the house was about 15 years old. The racks were literally falling apart and the dishes were not getting clean. The new one makes this chore so much easier! 🙂

I am not a great cook, nor is cooking really my favorite thing to do, but I am enjoying being in my kitchen so much more now. I think I’ll even whip up some new recipes soon! I think the family will like that. 🙂