My little kids asked Kelly the other day why he always says 'thank you' and he replied that he would be afraid not to say it. I'm not sure they knew what he meant, but I am.
Today Savannah, Brayden and I were waiting to pull out onto a busy street behind our house. The light turned green and the car in front of me just sat there long enough for me to contemplate a 'beep' of the horn. I am grateful that I didn't do it. As the lady finally looked up, saw the light was green and let off the brake, a huge landscaping truck barrelled through the intersection at full speed, running his red light. The lady in front of me slammed on her brakes and did honk. While I am grateful that my impatience didn't cause me to honk and have her pull into on-coming traffic, I am also eternally and deeply grateful that she was distracted and sat at the stoplight. Chances are, if she had gone immediately, we would have been in the intersection and been t-boned by that truck. I knew immediately that we were being watched over in that moment. I am thankful for both the protection and the feeling of being protected. I talked to my kids about it, we said a prayer of gratitude and talked about what daddy meant.
The rest of what I am grateful for today is silly in comparison; but I'm still going to say it because we should show gratitude for things big and small.
I am grateful that Chik-fil-A didn't wait until December to bring back their peppermint shakes! They are what one might call...delightful. I had planned on waiting until after Thanksgiving to indulge (due to my diet), but after eating potato soup, homemade bread, rib eye, apple pie and more homemade bread this week, I decided to live a little. After all, if I'm gonna get taken out by a truck, I don't want the last thing I ate to be lettuce! :) I am thankful to know that the South Beach diet will be waiting for me after the holiday season.
I am thankful for my adorable kids! After we got lunch in the drive through, Brayden offered to hold the shake for me. He said, "I'll hold it for you mom, and I won't drink out of it until we get home, because I know you don't want us to get you sick before Thanksgiving!" It's true, I've been hounding them not to drink and/or eat out of my stuff because I have a tendancy to get sick before major holidays and vacations!
I kept the shake with me and ate the cherry off the top. Face it, you can't split a cherry into 3 and I paid for it... Brayden then looked at me and said, "I sure hope no one else runs a red light because I don't want my life to end before I get a taste of that shake!"
I laughed and told him how cute he was and he literally beemed. He said, "Mom, I love being me, I like who I am." I am so thankful he feels that way and hope he can always carry that with him.
I will follow his example. I love being me! I am not perfect, I can be a weirdo and I have a lot of flaws. But I have fun! I am thankful that I like being unique, I like my name, I like laughing...and laughing hard! I am thankful that my kids have these sarcastic, witty senses of humor and that we have inside jokes. I am thankful that I enjoy being a mom. I have the most amazing family- here, there and everywhere. I am thankful for all the people in my life who have shown me such love and friendship. I don't know if anyone on the planet has a better support system and group of friends than I do, just truly amazing people. I am thankful that I'm me!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
She Drives Me Crazy!
I'm at the point in my life where I have a teen with a learner's permit...when did that happen??? Makenzie started driving yesterday and I can't believe it!! I'm old!
Happy Birthday Kelly!
So, about 21 years and three weeks ago, I started dating this guy. I was a nanny in Virginia, he was an intern in Virginia. We met at church. (There is a long, crazy story behind this, but this post is not about me, my clumsiness, nor my ensuing scheming, so we'll save that for another day). Anyway, 21years and three months ago, I started dating this guy...
He was a good guy, I could tell. It wasn't because he opened car doors for me, because he didn't. His passenger side door wouldn't open from the outside, so he would have to get in and lean over to open my door. It may have had something to do with the fact that he just kissed me on my forehead on a night where he probably deserved a real kiss, and that he sat hungry and watched me eat a cheeseburger, fries and key lime pie that he boght me on a night when that's all the money he had in his wallet! (I didn't know that at the time, or I would have shared!) It had a little bit to do with the fact that he knew, loved, and owned the music to "Somewhere in Time," which was a must for any man I would seriously consider marrying, and I asked him if he had heard it on date #2 I think. I was 19 and immature when I met him, but smart enough to know he was a keeper pretty early on.
3 weeks after our first "date," we celebrated his 25th birthday together with friends. I wrote him a poem in a card about being a quarter of a century old...then I taped a quarter into the card. I bought him the soundtrack of 'Dances with Wolves' on cassette (we're sooo old!), because John Barry of Somewhere in Time fame had also composed that music and I knew he would love it! We watched the movie together on our official first date! I also gave him a mug with Hershey kisses and hugs in it. Well, he kept the mug but gave away the candy and he spent the quarter...but he wore out the cassette in his Walkman, so that's okay.
So now it's 20 years of marriage and 5 kids later...wow! Today is his birthday and he's...older than 25! :) He's a wonderful husband and a great father and people love him. They love him because he's kind...to everyone...even, and especially those whom others are not kind too. He always has time to talk to people; friends, family, co-workers and strangers. There are homeless people that are on a first name basis with him...not because he's always given them money, but because he's always talked to them. It's a running joke in our family that the homeless and mentally ill are attracted to Kelly - and it's true. He's been approached by so many different people over the years that I know they can sense the kindness and sincerity in his spirit. He is honest to a fault (don't ask him how you look in something if you don't really want to know) and works harder than anyone I know. I don't think he always gets all the credit he deserves, but he's humble and just keeps on keepin' on. He does what he's supposed to, when he's supposed to and how he's supposed to. He's not perfect, (if you've read other posts you know that), but he's perfect for me. He's so much nicer to me than I am to him. He will do anything for me that I ask, including, but not limited to, getting up at 1am to get me socks for my cold feet, a drink of water, Tylenol or a barfing kid. He'll do anything for our kids; pick them up late from movies, get up early to take them to basketball, make a midnight run to a.m./p.m. for nachos and soda...you get the picture? He'll do almost anything to help anyone, and yes, I have occasionally had to put my foot down- but that's who he is. The only times he's not nice is if you mess with me, then heaven help you!
What a blessing for parents to have a son like that. I hope our kids will follow his example of service and Christ-like love for others. Now that I have known him for almost a quarter of a century, I can honestly say I am the luckiest girl in the world. Love that guy!! Happy Birthday!
He was a good guy, I could tell. It wasn't because he opened car doors for me, because he didn't. His passenger side door wouldn't open from the outside, so he would have to get in and lean over to open my door. It may have had something to do with the fact that he just kissed me on my forehead on a night where he probably deserved a real kiss, and that he sat hungry and watched me eat a cheeseburger, fries and key lime pie that he boght me on a night when that's all the money he had in his wallet! (I didn't know that at the time, or I would have shared!) It had a little bit to do with the fact that he knew, loved, and owned the music to "Somewhere in Time," which was a must for any man I would seriously consider marrying, and I asked him if he had heard it on date #2 I think. I was 19 and immature when I met him, but smart enough to know he was a keeper pretty early on.
3 weeks after our first "date," we celebrated his 25th birthday together with friends. I wrote him a poem in a card about being a quarter of a century old...then I taped a quarter into the card. I bought him the soundtrack of 'Dances with Wolves' on cassette (we're sooo old!), because John Barry of Somewhere in Time fame had also composed that music and I knew he would love it! We watched the movie together on our official first date! I also gave him a mug with Hershey kisses and hugs in it. Well, he kept the mug but gave away the candy and he spent the quarter...but he wore out the cassette in his Walkman, so that's okay.
So now it's 20 years of marriage and 5 kids later...wow! Today is his birthday and he's...older than 25! :) He's a wonderful husband and a great father and people love him. They love him because he's kind...to everyone...even, and especially those whom others are not kind too. He always has time to talk to people; friends, family, co-workers and strangers. There are homeless people that are on a first name basis with him...not because he's always given them money, but because he's always talked to them. It's a running joke in our family that the homeless and mentally ill are attracted to Kelly - and it's true. He's been approached by so many different people over the years that I know they can sense the kindness and sincerity in his spirit. He is honest to a fault (don't ask him how you look in something if you don't really want to know) and works harder than anyone I know. I don't think he always gets all the credit he deserves, but he's humble and just keeps on keepin' on. He does what he's supposed to, when he's supposed to and how he's supposed to. He's not perfect, (if you've read other posts you know that), but he's perfect for me. He's so much nicer to me than I am to him. He will do anything for me that I ask, including, but not limited to, getting up at 1am to get me socks for my cold feet, a drink of water, Tylenol or a barfing kid. He'll do anything for our kids; pick them up late from movies, get up early to take them to basketball, make a midnight run to a.m./p.m. for nachos and soda...you get the picture? He'll do almost anything to help anyone, and yes, I have occasionally had to put my foot down- but that's who he is. The only times he's not nice is if you mess with me, then heaven help you!
What a blessing for parents to have a son like that. I hope our kids will follow his example of service and Christ-like love for others. Now that I have known him for almost a quarter of a century, I can honestly say I am the luckiest girl in the world. Love that guy!! Happy Birthday!
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