Abundantly Blessed: Family Traditions

Every summer during my childhood my family would make the two-day trek from Chambersburg, PA to tiny Mount Holly, Arkansas, where my Dad was raised and his parents (our grandparents) lived. There was always this exciting sense of adventure that would fill my brothers and I as our family would prepare to spend a couple of weeks on the farm. My grandparents have a small farm by all accounts, but in our eyes it was HUGE. It had a pond for fishing, barns and cattle runs to explore, a large garden...and (gasp!) no TV! (At least nothing to speak of - the signal was largely dependent on the wind and the clouds.) As young children our grandparents farm had a few cows and chickens. Before retirement, my grandfather also raised hogs on the farm.

We loved visiting our grandparents. I would talk Mammy's ear off in the kitchen, where she spent the majority of her time, cooking feasts of home-grown veggies and homemade desserts. The boys and Pappa would work outside with Dad. This usually involved bush-hogging, fence/barn mending, garden working, etc. To us "city kids", as Pappa called us, this was fun!

With age, I have realized that the farm meant so much more to us than a vacation - our time spent there helped form family traditions, gave us access to our family's proud heritage, and bonded us together as a strong family unit. Knowing now that this is not the case for all families, I can truly praise Him for this incredible blessing.

Things do change, though. My grandfather passed away last May (2012) - just a few short weeks after FC was born. My grandparents had been married for over 60 years. To say we miss Pappa is really not enough - Mammy struggles still with the absence and my brothers (especially Matthew who is Pappa "all over") still hurt when left to think too long on his passing. My Dad, with help from his brother, is now an overseer of sorts with the farm maintenance. It has become clear that we must seize this time to share our favorite traditions with our children NOW.

Over Memorial Day weekend the galaxies aligned (ha!) and my siblings and our spouses and Mom and Dad's schedules were all free for a weekend trip to Arkansas. Since moving to TX John and I are now very close! Only about 4 1/2 - 5 hours from doorstep to doorstep. NICE! We were looking forward to nice weather so that FC could really get out and explore the farm. She absolutely loves the outdoors - she notices things like the wind blowing the leaves in the trees and birds pecking the ground for worms...and she delights in the them. Such as lesson to us, right?!? Our families put aside past differences and made efforts to share in the traditions of the farm - hopefully bonding us in new ways. The women also have something else to bond us - we will look back on pictures some day and probably laugh as we were ALL pregnant during this trip. Yep - my parents will have 3 new grandchildren in one year. Talk about blessings. Our cup truly does runneth over.

Having a family of my own I cherish the sharing of these traditions and am so thankful to have had this special time with my entire family and FC. Our family's heritage of love of God, faith and values, and time together are all worthwhile treasures - ones that I am so very happy to pass on to FC and TJ.

Matthew 6:20-21
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

There was much work to be done on this trip. The guys worked hard mending downed fences, bush-hogging the overgrown pasture, and mowing/trimming the land around the house. Aunt Katie did the mowing, but Aunt Ashley and I hung out around the house with FC. Mom, with Mammy's supervision, was inside cooking the food. :)