"Heatherrrrr!!!!! I know you are looking up weather road conditions and trying to get your family home safely from Hickory, but can you Google how to get the helmet invention in our Scooby Doo game? Charlie and I are stuck?"
Read more...This weekend we were blessed to be able to celebrate the 4th birthday of a very special little girl, Gracie. I'm not saying I'm pushing anything.....but, I do approve of this friendship and the possibility of it leading to matrimony. Just sayin'.
Like always, my idea for a blog hit me at an odd moment. As I am sitting beside Hootie's bed, in the dark, whispering an order of Mexican food into the phone I see Jamie come to the door. "Who are you talking to?" In stride I whisper, "Dos Amigos." Immediately the look on his face cracks me up. It hits me.
My Aunt Myra is more than an aunt, and one of my closest confidants and friends. That night she was driving home from my cousin's swim meet and needed an order placed so it would be ready when she got to town. I just called. No big deal, but that night got me to thinking of all of the "favors" that have occured between me and my family. I've talked and laughed with them all week as we look back and recall favors that we ask of one another. We never think, we just drop what we are doing and do it for one another. I haven't realized until recently how odd it is. We have a CRAZY family, I mean, one tent shy of a circus, but this is something we have that not many do. I have a close group of loved ones that I know are there when I call, whatever I need, whenever that may be. Below I have complied a list of favors we have all asked of one another. I don't like inside jokes, so I hope everyone will find these are ridiculously entertaining. No names mentioned.... :)
"Hey, can you go down to my house and open the cabinet get the
pitcher out fill it with freezing cold water, go into Matt's room, throw
it on him and RUN!!!!"
"Can you edit my papers at midnight so I can submit it?"
"Go look on my Pinterest site and tell me what ingredients I need before I leave the store."
"Can you cut your date short so you can come sit with the boys so I can go into Walmart?"
"Hey, I'm driving, can you look up a number for me?"
"Quick, check my account online so I know if I can use my card before I get to the window to pay."
"I thought I saw a scary dog while I was walking. Can you come to the end of the driveway and pick me up and drive me back home?"
"I need a cake for a baby shower....tonight."
"I'm on my way to your house, can you make me a tuna sandwich?"
"I left my books at school, can you take me to get them?"
"I'm stuck in the parking deck with no cash, can you come get me out?"
"Can I borrow your parking pass because it is so cold?"
"Weather is so bad, won't you let me take you to class?"
"Call your mom and see what she heard on the scanner. I'm home alone, and cops just flew by the house!" at 11:00.....
"Can you come get me, my key won't start my car?"
"Can you come show me how to pump up my tire?"
"Seriously, something is outside. I heard it. Yes, I am calling again." "Nevermind, just a horse in the yard."
"Pretty sure my straightener really is plugged up this time. Can you go check....again?"
"Please drive all the way to Bethel to pick up a cake for me."
"Hey, I forgot to get my laundry. Can you bring it over to Nana's for me so I can wash it because it always smells better at her house?"
"Where is this building at? I've never seen it on campus. It's raining and I can't find it. Look it up for me?"
"I know I have reminded you 5 times, but can you let Willa out for me?"
"Can I use your ID to return this? Walmart sucks, and won't let me anymore!"
"Can you call Mom and tell her I wrecked....again, but I'm ok this time."
"Will you help me use the Ranger to move furniture that is way too heavy for two women to possibly move alone?"
"Can you brush my hair? I feel like crap."
"I have terrible morning sickness, can I stop and puke at your house really quick?"
"Call the phone company and pretend to be me. Be hateful and ask why they cut my phone off."
"I'm putting you on 3-way, listen to how rude they are when I call them."
"I need to look nice tonight, can you bring me any clothes of yours I can possibly fit into?"
"Yep, just had a baby. I know you want to stay and hold him, but I am starved, can you go to McDonalds before they close at midnight?"
For so long now Brady has been doing things, and I think, "Man, I really need to share that." He changes everyday. Literally. He's quite the character. My baby weighs 29 pounds and acts like he is 15. Here, in brief, is what life is like now in the world of Hootie:
LOVES the bath, and tries to pull his shirt off everytime he sees me go into the bathroom. He screams, "bass!!"
Answers you with a simple, "k." When you ask him to do something.
Dances all the time. Even to the sound of my whisk in a bowl.
Loves "goss" (golf)
Call everything in his sippy-cup, "Moooooore!"
When asked what his name is he answers, "oot"
When his Daddy is watching sports, he runs in and climbs on his lap and says, "Guys....bawls...." everytime.
Eats like a mad man and then finishes off any plates that are left. (no, I don't starve him)
Loves Curious George
His bestfriend is his teddybear, Russ
Cheats everytime we play "Don't Break the Ice"
Lives to take off the trash with his Daddy on Saturday mornings.
Shouts "Bee Bees!" (pee pees) and laughs out loud because he knows he shouldn't say it all the time, but he knows we all crack up anyway.
While eating snow cream.....
Charlie: "Mama, Daddy says we can't eat "no," but he's in the shower so we can."
Me : "No, Charlie. It's ok when it is clean snow that Mama or Daddy give you. He just didn't want you to eat snow with yucky Sophie-dog stuff in it."
Charlie: "But I eated it already Mama, and I didn't taste any pees. I tried to tell Daddy it don't have pees in it."
Minus the random messiness in the background, this is epic. Enjoy
Me: "Charlie, I love you."
Charlie: ........
Me: "Hootie, I love you."
Brady:......
Me: "I really love you, you know that?"
Charlie: "Yes, Mama, he knows dat!"
I'm not sure about you, but recently I have been overwhelmed with hurt, stress, and worries. Not with my life, but with so much going on around me and in our world. No one ever calls with happy news. No one smile when they pass you in the aisle. The news is almost too much to endure. I'll have to admit, my cheer has been tried and tested.
The Lord knew. Last week Jamie and I rushed to the car after church and quickly got the boys in the car. It was frigid! I jumped in and we went home. It wasn't until Bible study time that night that I realized what had happened. In true Heather-fashion, I left Jamie's Bible on the car and didn't get it as we drove away. !!!!! In panic I called my sister, church friends, and in-laws that live near the church. Because they love me, and I am pretty sure felt sorry for my issues, they searched into the night. No luck. I was sick. Jamie's Bible was a special gift from his parents, but beyond that it held a tiny picture of an even tinier treasure. It held the only ultrasound picture we had of our first baby that was lost. I always thought it was the perfect place for such a bittersweet reminder. I was wrong. I couldn't help but think about how careless it was for me to let that happen. Jamie woke up and searched the ditches the next day to no avail. Then, when I was literally sick, I got a call. The voice on the other side immediately gave me the sweetest feeling. I precious lady with a perfect Southern accent told me the story of how she was traveling with her husband that night and stopped when they saw it in the road. With only a name printed on the outside, they Googled Jamie and called until they found the correct Jamie Ward. I broke down and told her about what happened.....and for some reason it just came out. Tears, babbling, and an explanation about our picture. She didn't give me much information about the Bible's condition then, now I know why.
Long story shortened, we agreed to meet the next week as they traveled back through. We met at the mall, they were a bit late, when I saw this couple the Lord flooded me with emotion. A little brunette with a smile bigger than the sun handed me the Bible and gave me a huge hug, and then gave me something else. She handed me our picture. I wasn't prepared for what she told me. She explained with tears in her eyes how the picture wasn't in the Bible when she looked. It bothered her so much that she asked a neighbor to pray with her, and on their way through, the couple stopped again, in an unfamiliar area, and searched the spot where they found the Bible. They found our picture. Unscarred. She had dried it off on their way to me. That's why they were late. I had a few tears. I squeezed her and thanked her over and over. I didn't have the words. We said goodbye, promising to keep in touch. I sat in the car and was flooded with so many emotions. I clutched the paper with the tiny black and white image. My heart was touched. No one, in so long, had down anything so kind for me and my family. Strangers, giving so much thought, I cried and cried. What a wonderful feeling.
We never know why things happen for sure. The Lord promises farther along. I know for sure that afternoon my faith in true and kind love was restored. Sincere and honest hearts are still there. Still peeking through in this world of dark clouds. I am so thankful that two of them came my way just when my life needed them most. I am thankful for our Bible, for our picture, but above all, I am thankful that the Lord reminded me that He is well in control of every step in our lives.
Jamie and Charlie were playing a video game together. Brady was watching/drawing all over the den while they played. Not mentioning any names, but......Mom wasn't in the room.
.JPG)
