In Memory of my Grandparents

Vivian Weckesser Locke

May 6, 1916 - April 22, 2010

John Thomas Locke

July 1917 - January 14, 1985

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. ~Author Unknown

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:1-4

Relay for Life

Jessica - First Bank and Trust Relay for Life Team Leaders

We participated in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Montgomery County on April 16-17. Troy's daughter Jessica was a team leader and we are very proud of her for being so committed to raising money to find a cure for cancer. Troy and I donated a chance to "Sail with a Survivor" and Jessica sold almost $1,000.00 in raffle tickets with the winner going with us for a sail on Storyville.

Relay for Life is a 24 hour long event beginning at 7:00 in the afternoon on Friday, April 16th. Each team is a relay that walks around the track at a high school football stadium. The object is to have team members walking for the whole 24 hours. We managed to have members walking most of the time but by about 3:00 in the morning we were just worn out. I can't remember the last time I stayed awake for 24 hours. It sure served as a reminder that we aren't as young as we used to be!!!!

It really is a fun event and we had a great time. The Relay does a lot to honor cancer survivors and that makes it great for Troy and anyone else that is a survivor, giving them a chance to be appreciated and also taking time to honor those that have been taken from us by cancer.

Our team raised $1,800.00 for Relay for Life. We are so thankful for all our friends and family that participated in the event and those who bought raffle tickets and made donations. We just couldn't be prouder of Jessica and the rest of our family for taking time out of their busy lives to help eradicate cancer from our lives.

Troy and Jessica

Cancer is a word, not a sentence. ~John Diamond

There's an App for That!

I've been having fun lately with my iPod Touch. There are many many photo apps that can do some pretty amazing things with photographs. Here are a few examples:

Storyville sailing in Galveston Bay

Same picture turned into a drawing by Zoom Camera app

Orignal image of Snowy Egret (just cropped a little in photoshop)

Same image drawn using SketchMee app

Original image of White Pelicans in Galveston Bay

Same image - altered using PhotoStudio app

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret altered using Pic Grunger

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. ~Ansel Adams

Pampa, Texas

A couple of weeks ago I got one of those phone calls that you know is coming sooner or later but you still hate to get it, just the same. My grandmother, who is 93 years old, had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. The doctors say there is nothing they can do except keep her comfortable. My sister, Stacey, and my two daughters, Shawn and Tory, decided that we needed to take a trip to Pampa, Texas, where my grandmother has lived almost all of her life, to say goodbye.

City Hall - Downtown Pampa, Texas

What a sad reason for a trip. We decided to drive up there. It's a 10 hour drive but we figured that it wouldn't be too bad if we all took turns at the wheel. We set out on a Wednesday evening after work. Even though the reason for the trip was a sad one, it turned out to be a wonderful trip and such a great time spent with my girls and my sister. There is nothing like a good road trip to get in some good quality time.

We made it to Pampa with only one speeding ticket and an overnight stay in Henrietta, Texas. (Stacey will never speed through Decatur again!). We drove straight to the hospital and found our grandmother sleeping quietly. She was amazingly coherent when she woke up to find us there and I think she was very pleased that we made the trip. I find comfort in the fact that one of the first things she said to us was: "it's time". We had a good, but very sad visit with her. The hardest part was when she gave me a necklace and earrings that were given to her by my grandfather. She wanted me to have them and I will certainly cherish them, but it was just really hard to have that moment with her and to know that it was our "goodbye" . I will always remember her as a strong and independent woman. I feel proud to be her granddaughter.

We spent two days with her at the hospital. We also got to take a couple of side trips that were really fun. We had read about a little town called Groom, Texas that is just outside of Pampa. Stacey had heard about a 190 foot tall cross there. We decided that since it was Good Friday, this would be a perfect stop for this trip. Check out the web site: http://www.crossministries.net/ . What a wonderful place. We really enjoyed the stop and especially the reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

Our next stop was The Big Texas, home of the 72 oz. sirloin steak in Amarillo, Texas. If you eat the 72 oz. steak and the meal, you get it free. Fun place to visit if you don't mind feeling like a tourist in Texas! LOL

The next morning we pointed our car to the south and headed home. This trip was long but short and very sad but also lots of fun.

To live in hearts we leave behindIs not to die.~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground"