Visit with Suzanne and Bobby and Family

October 8, 2005

I had the great opportunity to go up with Brent Lassiter in his and Bobby's plane. This was the first time I had ever seen Newport from the air.

It was a treat to see from the air the terrain on which I spent most of my childhood. I probably trod barefoot on nearly every square foot of this area shown. If not, I rode the old white mare over it.

We spent the evening with the family. It was a treat to spend some time with Eli, whom we had barely seen before. He is big and active for a two-and-a-half year old and was lots of fun.

Eli had a great time roughhousing with Mom and Dad on the couch.

Garrett joins in with Eli, Brent and Mandi to bring the whole family into it.

Eli plays with Great-Grandmother Dorothy for a while and then joins Grandmother Suzanne at the piano. He may not have been in the key, but he was enthusiastic.

Garrett soon joins in to sing along on some hymns.

Brent gets out his guitar and Garrett his mandolin and they start to play along with Suzanne on the piano. Brent and Garrett are studying with Dave Jackson, the music minister at Newport First Baptist. Pretty soon Rod gets into the hymn singing as well.

Eventually we got the whole family involved and had an old-fashioned family hymn-singing session around the piano. We really enjoyed being a part of that family setting. I reflected on the powerful witness this can be to Garrett and even to Eli to be a part of such family sharing.