Back in Dallas and a Trip to East Texas

I came back for the weekend for a wedding and to check in on my puppy dog. Of course, I forgot to take my camera to the wedding but it was great to see some old friends from high school! On Sunday, my parents, Joanie, Matt, Luke and I went to our annual family reunion at the Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Lindale, TX, about two hours east of Dallas. It's funny how big Texas is- my immediate family all feels like we live in the same general area but for Joanie and her family, the trip was only an hour. For my parents and me, the trip was two hours. If Erin and Ed had been able to make it, it would have been at least three hours for them! We may be closer than we used to be, but we're still pretty spread out.


Texas is big, y'all.

The reunion consists of a sermon, the always entertaining Bethesda Cemetery Association meeting (famous for fights about mowing, trash collecting, etc.) and a fried chicken lunch afterward. I have been coming to these for as long as I can remember. This is one of those places that is very special to me and my family; it's the church that my grandfather attended in his childhood and I always think of him as a little boy sitting in the same room.





The church was started when the Henderson family came to Texas from Alabama. The majority of those ancestors are buried in the cemetery behind the church. We determined that my grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents are buried there. The historical marker out front even mentions the annual meeting!







This meeting was bittersweet for my family this year. One of the joys of attending was hearing my Grandaddy, Uncle Darryl and Aunt Virginia tell all of us stories about growing up in Lindale and in that very church. All three of them have passed away in the past few years and it was difficult to be there without hearing their voices. But it is still a special place and I really enjoyed having Luke there for his first Bethesda experience.


My mom with her Aunt Nat, wife of Darryl



At one point, Joanie told me she could tell that I had become a blogger because I was taking so many pictures! It's true; but I'm glad that I did. I realized that the last time I made it to Bethesda I took only three measly pictures. They aren't very good, either. I wanted to share them anyway:


Aunt Pete and Joanie


Uncle Darryl, my brother-in-law Matt, JP and Grandaddy. JP is my mother's cousin's son- I'm not sure how he and I are related but we are!


Darryl's son Walt, my Dad and I think that's Virginia's daughter Lyric in the foreground. I'm not good at keeping all my relations straight!


After the reunion, we headed to the Cracker Barrel for lunch with Joanie, Matt and Luke:




We took a real picture but this was one was far better. I love it!


Little Man just moves too quickly for me to get an unblurry picture of him! I think he's giggling at being allowed to stick his feet on the table. I love him to pieces.