John’s great-grandparents from Germany, settled in New Baden, Texas in the late 1800’s. Our family, along with John’s parents, uncle from New York, and two cousins, traveled there Thursday, January 26th.

What was the New Baden General Store.

We enjoyed spending 2 days seeing the very old homestead and nearby sights.

Old Barn

Josh, John, John’s dad Carl, Mr. Dodds (the current owner), and Uncle Herb. They are standing in front of the gas drilling rig on the property.

The New Baden Cemetery

John’s great-grandfather’s tombstone.

All 11 of us enjoyed lunch at “The Burger Bar” in downtown Franklin (the closest town nearby).

We looked up family records at the Robertson County Courthouse in Franklin.

Touring the Texas A&M campus in College Station on Friday morning.

Lynette, Jennifer, and Jaimee were taken on an aerial tour of the New Baden property by our friend Dr. Paul Carlton.

Getting into the Cozy IV.

Jaimee experienced her first flight lesson! It was an unexpected thrill for her, but a fright for Lynette and Jennifer!

Preparing for takeoff.

Enjoying Mexican food at Mi Tierra in San Antonio.

It was a delicious end to our family gathering.

January 7th we celebrated Lynette’s birthday. John says she’s 39 and holding!

This morning, Jennifer had arthroscopic knee surgery to remove some abnormal tissue behind her kneecap (1cm in size). The surgery was successful, although she had a bit of nausea from the anesthesia. She is home resting, sleeping, and watching some movies!

We’ve been studying the Book of James with our church recently, and seem to be getting lots of practice in “counting it joy as we encounter various trials.” Dad’s office A/C unit went out early this week, and our home A/C has been having problems (these are important items in a Texas winter!). Yesterday, Mom accidentally flushed a mini air freshener down the toilet, and while she tried to retrieve it, she was not successful. Dad exclaimed, “You did what?!” The plumber had to be called. Last night, the washer decided to quit after Joshua had well-supplied it with laundry, water, and soap. Our neighbors were very gracious to allow him to finish his wash, while we wait for the repairman to come next week! We are eager to complete this study, but know that God is teaching us many valuable lessons (and some costly ones too ).

Click here to view the 2005 Lavin Family Scrapbook.