Jo, Glo, and Mo

Jonah made some cookies at the house last night that he needed for today! I love watching him in the kitchen. I love him!

And I love those sisters of his, too!

Not Luck, Not Happenstance -- But Rather the Providence of God

We left the lake about 9:00 this morning. We were ten miles from home when the alternator on the truck went out. I had a little warning but was not able to get off the rode with the RV before it died completely on me IN THE MIDDLE OF MY LANE ON THE HIGHWAY!

I had no power to even turn flashers on. That meant cars, pickups, and 18 wheelers zooming up in the other lane as well as my lane and realizing at the last minute I was stalled. We immediately called 911.

Our first angel.....A friend "happened" by and recognized us! He immediately turned around and came up behind us and put on his flashers. Now at least those paying attention realized something was going on. Those not paying attention came up on his truck and slammed on their brakes. Our friend said he would stay with us until emergency personnel arrived.

Our second angel...I called Marilyn to come.

Our third angel...a man walked out from the McDonald's down to where we were. He was having coffee and noticed out the window what was going on. He just "happened" to be a mechanic!

Marilyn took Rick to the O'Reilly's that just "happened" to be a quarter of a mile down the road to buy a new alternator. Our new mechanic friend then began his work.

Within an hour and ten minutes, we were rolling. We got home ten minutes later!

I document this to mainly say I am grateful. I am so thankful that:

*we were very close to home
*there we no injuries or wrecks that resulted from this stall
*God watches over us and cares for us
*there are angels

Fun Weekend in Mansfield

Rick and I slept in Friday morning. We picked Marlow up from daycare around noon. After lunch, she napped for two and a half hours. We went to dinner with Jared and Jenna that evening. 

On Saturday, we all had lunch together. Then we put Marlow down for a nap. Jared and Jenna went with friends to ZestFest in Irving and out to dinner.  Marlow napped for two and a half hours again. She is always still ready to go to bed at 6:30 p.m. and sleeps until at least 7:00 every morning. That girl needs her sleep! 

Today, we had some great pizza at this place in Fort Worth and then we went on our annual trek to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo at 2:00. (Marlow stayed with Jared's parents.) I just love our annual trip to this rodeo!

We had dinner back at the house with Jared's parents. We will pack up in the morning to go home. It is just awesome that Joe Pool Lake is so close to their house!

 Beautiful Morning 

Baby, it may be cold outside, but it's a beautiful morning out there. Enjoying our view from the warm RV here at Joe Pool Lake.

Happy Birthday, Keelie!

Today is DIL, Keelie's 37th birthday. I hope she has the best day ever. (Party time a little later!)

Our Dad's Birthday - Jan. 25

Credit for this journal entry goes to Marilyn. Why create a post when she just did it! So thanks, M.!

She tells some of my favorite stories that previous entries on my blog have mentioned in past years. In fact, I just read on one of my old entries -- the anniversary story.


Kennith Marlow Scoggins, our dad, was born on January 25, 1920. The  short 70 years that he lived, he enjoyed life to its fullest. As I thought about what I wanted to say, it was hard to get it down to this short space. So for this, I decided to touch on a few facets of his life.
1. He loved the land and animals. After attending Draughan's Business college and fighting in WWII, he returned to the place he loved - the farm. He took over my mom's parents land and started his life as a rancher/farmer. In his 40 years of farming, he farmed a large percentage of land around Gunter or had cows on the land. He had the patience of Job when it came to his cows.

2. He loved to hunt. The opening day of dove season was almost as big of holiday as Christmas to our family. Next would be the opening day of deer season. He was a good shot - even until the end. Tommy Kinnaird told the story that he was with Daddy on his last deer hunt to Big Bend country. Daddy told Tommy where to get that the big one would come by the stand. They were together. Sure enough, the big one came by; and Daddy told Tommy to take the shot that he was a little shaky. Tommy shot and missed. He said Uncle Kennith - your turn. BAM! One shot and the buck was dead. Tommy said he was a good shot until the very end. Many animals lost their life to Daddy.
He also loved the deer lease and the stories. Some great stories were told by Daddy and Uncle Jess.

One of the last hunts.

3. He loved to talk. Daddy never met a stranger. If someone came to Gunter looking for land, he would meet up with them and drive them around. He may have been one of Gunter's first realtors. His pay was to get to talk to someone new to tell stories to. If he was not farming, you could find him at one of the local hangouts for men - one of the gins, gas stations, the domino hall, or Martinek Grain.

After one of his first major heart attacks, he was in the hospital with a No Visitor sign on the door. The nurses realized they kept disappearing,  in which they found them in the drawer. He was taking them down, so he could have company to talk to.

Driving around was another of his past time activities. The local people knew to watch out for him. It was good that when he was alive, Gunter was still a rural community with not much traffic on 289. Today he would be run over easily.

4. He loved his family, and he wanted us around. One of the sweetest stories about him and mother was three days before he died was their wedding anniversary. He was recovering from surgery in bed at home. That morning before breakfast, he wanted Mother to bring him a one dollar bill. Of course she argued with him that he did not need it that he was not going to get to go anywhere that day. He kept on until she brought him the dollar. He had cut or torn a heart out of the Sherman Democrat and put a 50 dollar bill in it. He gave it to her and told her there was a dollar for every year they had been married - 49 years.

Shawnee Trail Ride 

A friend recently posted this picture on Facebook. I had never seen it before. I was thirteen years old. It was an annual thing back in Gunter for the Shawnee Trail Ride to come through town. For several years in a row, Daddy would let Marilyn and me get out of school on that day and take us to the starting point so we could ride that leg of the trip! That was the one and only time we would ever ride a horse; occasionally we might ride in a wagon. 

A little documented history:  Grayson County here in north Texas is home to the famed Preston Road. This road was a major pioneer road, crossing the Red River into Texas. Just to the east of the Preston Road was the Shawnee Trail, the first cattle drive road in Texas. This cattle trail crossed the Red River and the herds would pass through the Indian Nations in Oklahoma to reach the railheads in Kansas.

One of those things of the past that some re-enacted for fun! I wish I knew the last year it was done here before the annual tradition went by the wayside.

Doctor Appointment, Inauguration, and Steak

Today, Rick and I had an 11:00 appointment with his pain management doctor. I was (for once) so glad she was running about 15 minutes behind. We were able to watch the President take the oath of office on his phone. 

None of Rick's medicines were changed; so we are good for awhile. 

After we left the doctor's office, we stopped off at Saltgrass for lunch. We used a gift card we had on hand; our lunch cost us $5 plus a tip for our waiter. Now that made for a great day!

Baking 

I love baking - especially during the winter months. The first of the week I made cookies to share with my bible study ladies. Later in the week I made a new cake recipe. It was a Pecan Praline Cake served with a warm butter sauce. Yep...definitely not low in calories. But oh so good!

New Bible Study

Tomorrow night my ladies' group will be starting a new study. We will be doing "Lord, Change My Attitude" by James MacDonald. I took a little ribbing by a few of the ladies (all in jest) because of the title and seeing that it was written by a man. LOL.

In all seriousness, we can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Joseph Carl Davis

Twenty years ago today Marilyn (at the age of 39), Greg (14), and Chad (11) unexpectedly lost their husband/father. He was such a great example of a Christian husband, father, brother-in-law and uncle to Justin and Jenna. We miss him dearly. After I shed a few tears today, I celebrated knowing we will all get to see him again one day!

Marilyn wrote the following the weekend he died. It was read at his funeral.

Carl came to Texas when he was 14. His stepfather and his family were painters, so he learned painting at a very early age. He also learned you had to work for what you get. When he got his first car, he was not allowed to drive it until he got insurance for it. He had to earn the money before this would happen. He learned work ethics at a very young age in life.

We met at Lake Texoma as teens. I thought he was the cutest guy I had ever met, and he knew then there was something special about me. We did not date at this time. After I graduated from high school, Diana and I moved to Gainesville for work and college. Rick and Diana were dating. Rick felt sorry for me being in Gainesville with no one to date, so he asked Carl to go to Gainesville to date me. Never did he realize that that was the beginning of a great love story. Carl was drinking and smoking at this time. He realized immediately that there was something different about our lifestyle, and he wanted what we had. He stopped drinking immediately. It took longer to break the nicotine habit; he did trade the cigarettes for chewing tobacco. When he had children later in life, he saw the importance to give this habit up. He said with God’s help and a lot of chewing gum anyone can give it up. His message is do not start!

Rick didn’t realize by taking Carl to Gainesville that he was developing a new relationship that would be so binding and permanent. The Davises and Fergusons did everything together from that date on. Carl even taught Rick to sand, putty, and other painters’ tasks. Rick was always there to help when he got in a bind.

From the first date, that was it. Carl lived in Dallas, and I lived in Gainesville and then Denton. He came nightly for a home-cooked meal.

Marriage – We were too poor for an engagement ring because we had to have a transmission for the work truck.

We married at a very young age. We had just turned 20 and 23. We honeymooned at Beaver’s Bend State Park in the back of the paint truck with a camper shell. We were young and in love. Through the years when we visited Eureka Springs, we would still go back to our honeymoon spot.

Carl loved my daddy. It was a new lifestyle – hunting stories, farming, and cows. When we moved to Gunter, he got his first three cows. Peaches died this last summer. He had her for 18 years. He learned a love for the land and cattle. He watched cows for hours at the breakfast table as they grazed.

The children – He was a great father. From the time Greg was born, he always did the night feeding and put him to bed. He did the same with Chad. As the boys got older he carried on the same tradition of putting the boys to bed every night and saying their prayers together. He had d a strong faith in God, and he wanted the boys to see this. He loved Jenna and Justin, also. On weekends and summers, if they were not around, he would ask where they were.

He knew his business well. He was a very successful painter. People would literally wait a year or two on him just to have him paint their house. Usually the people who didn’t have the patience would end up calling and complain about the other painters. He knew colors. He could match or do anything, He had a critical eye and was always looking and critiquing. He could paint anything. He never learned to say “No!” and that is why he had to work so hard, He always said there might be a day when he needed that person, so he tried to keep everyone happy, He might go to two or three places in a day, He died doing what de did best. The spray gun was still in his hand.

He wanted the boys to learn his work ethics. He had started taking them to work this last summer, He wanted them to learn the trade, but he wanted them to go to college. He wanted the painting to be on the side or something to fall back to.

He worked hard but never, never complained, He might work 21 or more days straight without a day off, But he found time for going out to eat and church. He felt bad about working on Sunday mornings, but he would try to be there on Sunday nights when he did, He was never too tired to go out to eat, He may have worked 12 hours a day, but all he needed was a shower and he was ready to go to

Sherman.

He was a good person. Not only did he not complain, he did not get upset. Very few people ever saw him mad. The boys, with bouncing basketballs in house while he was watching TV, would sometimes irritate him. But in life in general, he was a very laid back person, He did not live by a clock. He was always late, because he did not rush. He did not talk about people. He was a very positive person.

He loved music. He worked to the radio, He sang in the choir, and he loved to go to musicals. He loved the music shows in the Ozarks. He had a great ear for music, He knew who was on tune and who was off – ME!

He loved his farm -the cows, the grass, and the hay. When he first planted the grass out there, he went every day to see if it was growing. He took the family to see his grass. Someone finally told him it would be months before he ever saw his blue-stem grass. He got his lake built this year.

He provided for us well, but he never had money with him. He died with 36 cents on him. His favorite line was – “no money.”

He loved to go to stores. He was a shopper whether it was for groceries or a new shirt. We would always go to the grocery store after eating out on Saturday nights. He loved to walk malls and go to Wal-Mart. What a match for me!

He liked children and teenagers. He enjoyed all the senior activities, the banquets, the proms, the senior trips, the concessions stands, the FHA parties, and outings. He missed this with my new job.

He loved to travel and see God’s country, although the Ozark Mountains were always his favorite. He loved amusement parks, and we went to many.

He this last year picked up a new sport with the boys. He developed a love for golf, and he even bought a set of clubs.

He loved the church and God. He tried the other side of life, and he knew that true life was only found with a relationship with God. He had a strong faith in God. He always gave his success as a painter to God. He believed in giving God his portion.

He was a family man and he loved me. I was his best friend. There was nothing he would not do for me. He was close to being a perfect husband. He would rather be with us than anything or anyone else. He would always set with me at ballgames or where ever we were. He was a good husband. We made the bed together every morning. We said a husband and wife who share this - will share everything and will stay together.

He loved the simple things in life – cows, grass, music, God and family, He had a big heart, and he never tried to impress anyone. He worked hard, but he played hard. He truly enjoyed life. There are no regrets.

If he had a few last words, it would be to tell you to live your life as this was your last day so that you don’t have any regrets. He would also say to have a strong relationship with God and have strong family ties.

Written by Marilyn Davis January 18, 1997

Baseball, Pie, and Cake

Jonah came over this afternoon for awhile. We talked baseball for a bit. I am so excited that he is going to play! We did some online searching for baseball necessities - you know like gloves, shoes, bats, etc.

Then the kitchen started drawing us both its way! He helped me make some peach jelly. While I was making a key lime pie, he asked if he could make a cake. Well, of course, he could!

I had fun, and I think he did, too.

(Can you tell he loves sprinkles?!)

Glory, get well quickly. She's running fever AGAIN!

Quick Trip to Mansfield

We were so suppose to leave on a camping trip yesterday. However, the rig had an issue; so we had to take it in. Therefore, we just went to spend the night in Mansfield. Jenna had to take Marlow to the doctor. She had a double ear infection. We spent the night and kept her home from daycare today. By tonight she had gotten two days of antibiotics and was feeling much better.

And.........Molly is five months old today!

Snow Day

It snowed here some in North Texas today. It is so pretty.

Enjoyed looking at it -- sitting by the fire!

Jonah and Glory came over this afternoon.

Enjoyed watching them play in it -- from the backdoor!

Yep, that's how I've rolled today.

Family Christmas on 
New Year's Eve Eve
and Happy New Year

With my surgery, our family Christmas had been rescheduled. It worked out great. Chad, Tara and Tim got to be with us on Friday evening. Everyone pitched in with our Mexican food meal. It was yummy! We had a great time playing games and exchanging gifts.

Happy 2017!!

We had our black-eyed peas with everyone at a meal last night at Marilyn's.

So blessed!