Bathe in a Tin Tub and Blog About It Later

We just got back from Camp Meeting. There is no cell phone service, there is no Internet, no TV, we bathe our kids in feed troughs on the porch and go to church 3 times a day, and it is glorious.

There are roots that run so deep that the pride wells up and overflows into song. 120 years ago, my great grandfather and his family brought their horses and wagons into the Ft. Davis Mountains to gather in worship with other ranching families. Last week we packed up his great, great grandchildren and gathered in those same mountains to fellowship and sing praises to the Lord.

I look forward to this week for an entire year. There is nothing better than eating homemade cookies on the porch, cuddled up in sweaters, in Texas, in August.

I love watching my kids climb the same tree that I climbed when I was a kid.

I love the sweet melody of Roger Miller songs on a guitar.

It is glorious to hear a classic hymn played on a violin and cello echo through the outdoor Tabernacle.

Any other week of the year, you would drive by Bloys' Campground and wonder if the hundred of corrugated tin cabins are a compound, but this week you know they are filled with laughter and joy and memories.

The kids joined in the tradition of calling worshippers by ringing the bell and yelling, "Come to Church."


Here's our crew. We have two cabins and one sleeping porch for my generation at Camp Meeting. There are six adults and eight kids under seven. Here they are with their grandpas- My dad, Shirkie and his brother, Trainor.

The Lord is glorified in that place and I love the rich traditions that demand that very thing.

There is one tradition that I am bound and determined to break.

I love the traditions like, "no clapping, only 'AMENS'" in the Tabernacle, or "no kodaking on Sunday."

But who in the heck started the fashion trend?

Really, I know that we only see some of our dearest friends once a year, and you want to look your best, but tromping around in the West Texas dirt in your favorite fall fashion is a bad idea.

Especially when you have to pack for four kids under five, who will inevitably be filthy within twenty minutes from making dust angels with their cousins. And then they wipe their cherry cobbler across your paisley blouse and you are done for!

Did I mention that I washed a load of kids' clothes by hand in the feed trough on the porch?

Fashion is a bad idea.

A long game of "Wink 'Em," on the porch with 20 friends and cousins, is a good idea.

And here are a few of my 175 pictures that I took this week. Since you may not want to see every one, I have made a couple collages.


It is a wonderful blessing to be a part of such a great family. It was also such a treat to have a week away from cell phones, TVs and the computer. Bathe in a tin tub and blog about it later.

For those interested in making a collage and posting, here's what I did:
-download google's free photo editing software, Picasa
-upload your pictures
-tag the pictures you want in your collage
-create collage by pressing the button (you can modify them as you desire)
-save a copy and upload to photobucket
-edit the photo to make it the width of your mainwrapper (mine is 660 pixels)
-save it
-copy html and paste it into your post.
TADA!