World's Biggest Fish Fry

Today I had the pleasure of driving some of the senior adults from our church to the "World's Biggest Fish Fry" in Paris (Tennessee, that is). It was a great trip to Paris. The fish, however, left something to be desired. Call me crazy but I really like the fish from places such as, Catfish House or Cock of the Walk.

You know, I think that if God intended for people to still be eating fish with bones in it, he would not have allowed someone to come up with filleting them. Remember that food is generally not good when produced in mass quantities. Also, don't forget that catfish is only good when it is "Mississippi Farm Raised"!


The WBFF got even more exciting when we went to look at the "craft" booths. Children cover your eyes while I explain what I think about crafts. *clear throat* There is a reason why the words crap and craft sound so much alike.

I walked around and listened to the girl who was performing (you know the token girl, who's mother has told her all her life that she can sing, and now she's gonna make Paris famous for producing the next big star, NOT!). I looked at the carnival rides, got heckled by the vendors tempting me to win a giant stuffed Spongebob for my woman, and then looked at the crap, oh, I mean crafts.

So you might be wondering if I spent any money at the WBFF? Yes, I bought a lemonade, candy apple, and cotton candy. Do you think I am a sugar addict?

You know, regardless of the "less than stellar" WBFF, I had a great time. We have wonderful seniors at our church and I am glad that I got to get to know them better.

*Frank Update: Great night last night, rough day today. He'll be in the hospital another night.

A Beautiful Picture

Today Abbey and I woke up early to go visit our friend Frank before his surgery to remove cancer. We've been waiting for this surgery for a long time and we want to make sure that we got to see him before the surgery started. The mood was light, but serious. We could tell that Frank and Sheila were anxious.

Abbey had to go to school, and I stayed behind to be there during the surgery. In the time that Frank and Sheila were together before the surgery, she was careful to sit near him and hold his hand. For the past few months, Frank and Sheila have agonized and prayed about this day, and it finally arrived today.

During the surgery Sheila was cautiously talkative. You could tell that Frank was really the only thing on her mind. Each time the phone rang, Sheila popped up and ran to answer it, as if it were Ed McMahon calling to tell her she had just won a million dollars. And each time, she would thank the person on the other line, hang up and give us the report. Each time, the report seemed to get more easy.

When the doctor finally emerged from the operating room, he shared the news of the successful surgery. A surge of joy ran through me, as I am sure that it did for everyone in the room. Sheila's question, "When can I see him?" As the doctor excused himself, Sheila released herself into a beautiful, emotional cry. She loves him, it's clear. He loves her, it's obvious.

You may be wondering what the picture is in this blog, it's this, Frank and Sheila are a couple that love each other and the people around them. A little over a year ago, they meant nothing to us, but they have taken under their wing, into their home, and into their hearts. They've been there to talk to, to cry with, and laugh with. They are an example to couples young and old. I hope that it's clear to the people around me how much I love Abbey. It's easy to see that Frank and Sheila are a couple in love.

The Chocolate Bathroom

You may well remember the bathroom on the left. The bright orange walls, with striped shower curtain and colorful artwork would be hard to forget. We would now like to introduce you to the new and improved chocolate bathroom.

Many of you know that brown is my absolute favorite color. I have always wanted a brown room, and until recently Abbey was totally against it. Then we went and bought towels that completely did not match the room that we bought them for. I am sure that most people would have returned the towels, but what's the fun in that? No, we decided to do a complete bathroom makeover.


You can tell from the picture above that the towels now match the bathroom. One might think that a brown bathroom would be dark and dreary, however, I think that it is quite nice. The rich brown tones are the perfect complement to the cool blue shower curtain and the soft green floormats. We opted to go for a solid shower curtain and bathmats due to the pattern in the towels and the idea that we have for the artwork for the bathroom (which I will be buying off ebay, shortly, hopefully).


There are still a few finishing touches needed in the bathroom, like painting the towel rack white (I think someone used liquid nails to get it up there). However, the bathroom is now open to visitors, so pack your overnight bag and head towards Nashville where you can use the coolest brown bathroom ever!

I Beat Jeff! (I think); Real Title: Habits

I'm sure my title conjures up lots of thoughts, but my meaning is I beat him to the blog! I've had something to talk about for quite a while, but Jeff has continually beaten me to the punch. I think I'll finally be able to say my piece, because I know how he thinks! He repainted the bathroom last night, and I'm sure he'll want to share it with all of our adoring fans. However, the bathroom isn't complete, so I think he's waiting until the finished product to reveal the latest renovation.

Now, about my recent experience. I must confess I have a habit that is turning out to be quite time consuming. In fact, it has cost me precious minutes on several occasions. You see, I like to follow people. No, I'm not a stalker. It's just something I find myself doing without even thinking. First example: My friend Abbie (yes, it is fun to have a friend with your name; sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself), and I were on our way to my house when we came upon stalled traffic. What do I do? Follow the cars in front of me on a detour. Unfortunately, I didn't happen to ask these people where they planned to go, and even more unfortunately, it wasn't the place I wanted to go! After Abbie (her - not me) finally realized what I was doing, it was too late. We were hopelessly lost. After about thirty minutes or so, we made it back to a road I recognized.

You think I would have learned from this, but just about two weeks ago, I ran upon some traffic resulting from an attempt to clean up after the recent tornadoes. Without a second thought, I followed a beat up Ford truck as it veered to the right. Actually, I followed him all the way to his destination (his home). Again, I found myself utterly lost, and this time it was worse, I was running late to meet someone AND I was alone. Somehow things aren't quite as funny in this situation.

How often does that happen to us in life? We have a game plan, we'll know where we're going, we're on our way there, then -without even thinking- we head in a different direction. Sometimes things are learned, lost, or delayed because of our choices. I wonder how many times God is watching us and thinking, "Didn't she have a plan? Didn't he just ask me for guidance on Tuesday?" Yet we get distracted and lose focus of the task at hand.

Neither "short cut" proved beneficial to me. I would love to say I've been reformed, and I truly desire it. However, there's certainly a reason He's God and we're not! Thank goodness He's there when I decide to come back to where I needed to be -and headed - before I left.

Blogstipation

Readers,
We are currently experiencing blogstipation on our blog. It is taking a long time to load anything. There will be a great recap of our weekend with Jason and Leslie soon!
Thanks for your patience.

(NOTE! I think the blogstipation is over. We used Ex-Lax blogger edition)

The Toetal Experience

What a weekend! We had the absolute pleasure of having Abbey's cousin Jason and his fiance' Leslie visit us this weekend. I believe that everyone had a great time. Here's a quick run down of the weekend.

1. The happy couple arrives around 9:00 PM. The movie, 9:00-5:00, with Dolly Parton (before enhancements) is on our TV.
2. Pleasantries are exchanged for a few minutes before we remember to let the couple know that they can sit down.
3. We talked for a couple of hours with the TV on mute (now Numbers is on followed by the local news, although we did unmute for a story on the 90 year old teacher who has been forced to retire by the state of Florida.)
4. We're tired so we go to our respective bedrooms (yes, we have three)!
5. Abbey and I talk about Jason and Leslie when we get behind closed doors. "She's really great," Abbey says. "Yes, I am so glad that she and Jason found each other," I say. "Can you believe how similar their lives are," she says. "I'm so glad they come from good families and are so dedicated to God," I say. "She's very approachable," she says, "This weekend will be great." Kiss, pray, and goodnight.

(I bet you're ready for a picture now aren't you!)

6. Saturday AM: Wake up and talk about breakfast. I decide to go to "Donut Palace" and pick some up. I get back and L is finishing getting ready. Jason and Abbey are downstairs talking (I'm not sure what about). I make coffee for the company and we eat our donuts.
7. We sit around and talk for a little while and then decide to go to Nashville.
8. We went by the church that was destroyed on the way to the N.
9. We went to eat lunch at Noshville Deli. It was great. Abbey got a "Fran Cheesy" hot dog, Jason got a chicken salad sandwich, Leslie got a BLT, and I got a Grilled Cheese with bacon.
10. We decide to drive over to Opryland (You just have to go there when you're in Nashville right?).
11. We walk around Opryland for a while and then decide it is time to go. We stop at Chik-fil-a Express for cool beverage of the absolute WORST lemonade I have ever had.
12. We drive over to Opry Mills.
13. We walk around Opry Mills and Jason and Leslie get new flip flops. Jason gets two new shirts, as well. I get new boxers (exciting right). Abbey does not get anything, however, she looks at Vera Bradley because her birthday is next Saturday. We decide we'd like to see a movie.
14. Lots to see, nothing really appealing except maybe "Failure to Launch". It comes on in an hour. What to do? Let's go to Starbucks for a Frappacino and wait.
15. Watch the movie. It was really a pretty good movie. Matthew Mc is Abbey's favorite "dreamy" actor (that's okay, I like Julia Roberts!).
16. We get out of the movie and we go to Demo's downtown. We wait behind a party of 53. Finally, after 1.5 hours, we are seated and we eat a delicious meal. We talk a little about the upcoming wedding ceremony. Jason and Leslie are not very particular about it, it seems. I don't think I should wear something tacky or use tribal wedding vows though.
17. We drive home and go to sleep.
18. Wake up and go to church. Jason and Leslie come to watch Abbey teach Sunday School.
(Okay, okay, here's another picture.)

19. We go to service and it was awesome. The music was great and the speaker was really good. Then I came out on stage with Whipped cream on my face along with my faithful sidekick, Lindsey (she had strawberry whipped cream on her face). We were advertising the dessert auction.
20. Go to Cracker Barrel for lunch, exchange goodbyes and well wishes.

I think everyone had a good time. We are very excited about our new family member Leslie. She is just what we have been praying for Jason. I think they will have a very happy marriage and we will continue to pray for them.

A side note

Our guests have given the towels a rave review. And to answer some of the thoughts, no, they really don't match the orange walls. No, they definitely do not match the shower curtain. So, now, we are thinking we've had enough of the orange and we are going to paint the room chocolate (abbey isn't sold on chocolate yet, but she will be!). Plus we'll buy a new shower curtain.

Special Request

The queen of Rosebud requested a picture of the new funky towels. I am happy to report that they did not fade during the washing machine and dryer experience. As you can see they are definitely not the normal towels that you would expect from such normal people as us (you can laugh now), but you will also have to remember that the bathroom is Tennessee Orange. We thought the towels were actually the perfect choice because they blend the green bedroom, the blue bedroom and my favorite color brown.

On other news, I had planned on mowing the yard today, but there was a monsoon. Instead, I decided to get really creative and got Abbey's stamping stuff out and made invitations for our ministry assistants at church for Administrative Professional's Day next Wednesday. (Thanks Ava for the scrapbook paper)

I guess I better start cleaning up the house for our guests. Currently on my television is Maury Povich. It's one of those situations like a car wreck where you want to look away, but you can't. It's sort of scary that people are in America that are so nuts. In case you've never watched it, don't! It's insane. Okay, now onto the housework.

3 T's - Trashy Target Towels

We're having company this weekend. Not just any company either. We are finally getting to meet Jason's (abbey's cousin) fiance' Leslie. We want to make sure we make a good impression on the new family member, so we decided to buy new towels for the guest bathroom. After an extensive search and several different choices, we decided to purchase their nicest towels Target had. Quality counts, right?

I immediately came home and washed the towels so they would be ready when our guests arrive on Friday evening. While folding them last night, I realized that maybe price doesn't have as much to do with the quality of the towel. Hopefully you can see what looks like bleach marks on the towel. They are on ALL of them! Fortunately, today when I was taking them back to Target, the associates were VERY friendly and did not have a problem with my return.

Please don't think that my title is too harsh on the quality of Target's bath linens. This was our FIRST set of Target towels. Of course, we could go on the advice of the Target associate that we talked to the other night, "You get what you pay for." These towels were BRIGHT blue when we bought them.

SO, tonight we went to HomeGoods and bought some really trendy towels. They are in the washer right now. I'll let you know how they come out.

Garden Update: We had a hailstorm last night and the new flowers took a severe beating. I think that they will survive but they are not as pretty right now.

BM '06

I know you are all thinking that must have been one major bowel movement if we are referring to the BM '06, but alas I am referring to the "Big Move" of 2006. The BM refers to the moving of the royal throne, no pun intended, of the queen and king of Rosebud. They will now be the Queen and King of Bartlett. I'm pretty sure that they will be moving into a subdivision with a larger population than the community of Rosebud.

The new home is very nice. You can't see the three car garage from the picture. We are especially excited that the queen and king will be living much closer to us know. There is not a definite date of move in as of yet, but we'll be sure to keep you well updated.

I am sure that our readers are like me and are asking themselves, "What about the mailbox?" Contrary to word that we were sent a picture of the mailbox (hint to the queen), we have heard that it is bricked in and all of the boxes in the neighborhood are bricked! Can you sense the smile on my face for the symmetry?

Death of a Dandelion

So there I was, minding my own business, just brushing my teeth. I always take the time while I am brushing my teeth to look out the window into the backyard. That's when I saw it. A yellow bloom amidst the sea of beautiful green grass. Now if there is anything that I don't want in my yard, it's a dandelion! I quickly finished up my dental hygeine, grabbed my camera and went to face the enemy.

Once I was out there, I took a picture of the weed and then I quickly began taking out my fury on this horrible excuse for a flower. See its demise below.

I got rid of the only D in my yard currently and I will be on the look out for more. It wanted to make sure that its evil roots were not able to regain any ground in my yard so I took it into the woods behind the house and through it into the mound of leaves. The WEED IS DEAD!

All of this got me thinking about dandelions. Everyone can probably think of a time when they picked a dandelion for their mom when they were little. Over time, we came to a realization that the flower was really a weed and that it held very little value.

That's kind of how I think of sin. It is pretty for a little while and then we realize how bad it is. We want to get rid of it before it permeates our lives, just like we want to get rid of the dandelions before they pervade our whole yard. Inevitably, despite our greatest efforts, a dandelion might appear in our yard. Sin is the same way, but the more we keep our lives in tune with the Holy Spirit the better able we are to fight off the evil attacks. If we keep get rid of the weeds when they are small in number, they will not have the opportunity to take over our yard.

Sorry for the metaphor, but it just got me to thinking. I hope it makes you think too!

A Beautiful View

One of my favorite things about our house is the view from our bed. Each morning we wake up to the awesome view of the trees in our backyard. We have a huge picture window in our bathroom and it looks out into the woods and trees behind our house. It is amazing to watch how it changes throughout the year. Even when there are no leaves on the trees, it is beautiful.

In case you were having trouble seeing the beauty in the view that I took, I went outside into the backyard to show you the trees. They are really nice and great right now. It seems like overnight they have gotten leaves on the trees. Just last week, there were only little bitty fronds on the limbs.

Editor's Note: In case you were watching Wife Swap tonight, the little red-headed girl and short brown-headed girl, in the etiquette class are my cousins, Mary Elizabeth and Catherine Anne. It's been several years since I have seen them, I can't believe how much they have grown up!

Jack

I am dedicating this post to Jack and I am not talking about the cat. Jack is a friend of mine and for security purposes I will not reveal his age or what he looks like. You see, Jack is a very cautious guy. He thinks people give too much information away on the internet. He is really cool though. I hope that one day you will ge ot know him better. I will tell you that he loves Star Wars (a movie that I have never seen in my life, or should I say movies). So, Jack, this post's for you!

The other day I was mowing my yard and I realized how great our house would look if we had a flag in front of it. I am a pretty patriotic person, so it is only fitting. So, yesterday, in one of my adventures out, I bought us a flag. Doesn't it look nice.


My other goal yesterday was to do my summer plantings in the front beds. I chose a purply theme to go with our already established burning bushes, boxwood, and plethora of yellow lilies. There are african violets, purple daisies, purple pansies and a purple leafy spreading vine. I put these all around the beds in front of the house and in the bed around the mailbox.

In our planters there are yellow gerbera daisies and in the bed in the middle of the yard there is a combination of white daisies and white begonias. They will match the orangy lilies in that bed when they bloom.

I am very happy with our yard right now. Soon I will begin working on the container garden for the back deck and the backyard flowers. Suggestions are welcome!

Mailboxes

Okay, so I admit it. I have quirks. Not a surprise to you all I am sure. One of my oddest quirks is my facination with mailboxes. It almost uncontrollable for me to try to not to evaluate a person's mailbox. I love neighborhoods where everyone has the same mailbox (well, when the mailbox is not really weird like the ones I saw in the new neighborhood in Pleasant View the other day).

When we bought our first house, it was brand-new. Therefore, there was no mailbox. The picture above is the one (except the actual box was natural copper) that I bought from Copper Sculptures, Inc. in Brandon, Mississippi. Although I loved it, I think that there were some people who thought I was insane for paying $200.00 for a mailbox. I still contend that it is the first impression of your house when someone pulls into the driveway, so it should be nice!


One thing that attracted me to our neighborhood when we were looking for a house is that we all have the same mailbox, as seen above. Today, as I was working in my yard, I noticed how nice it was that everyone's mailbox was the same. (Okay, so maybe my doctor should up my prescription) Then I went for a ride through the subdivision that is being built at the back of our neighborhood.

It is like someone was playing mailbox potpourri back there. One street will have 6 houses with the same mailbox, then all of a sudden they change to something else. Besides the fact that the houses are ugly back there, this really detracts from the overall look of the neighborhood. Well, that's enough about mailboxes.



Survey Opportunity
I have been thinking about getting another cat so that Jack won't be by himself. Abbey is for it, I think. What do our readers think about us getting a new cat? There are a lot available that were displaced in the tornadoes last week.

Update on the patient
Abbey is doing much better today. She has taken a lot less medicine and ate a good meal. She is going to go to church with me tonight. This will be her first venture out since the surgery.

1000th Visitor

Please check the counter at the bottom of the blog. If it is on 1000 when you view this, please comment and let us know who you are! We'd love to know who the 1000th visitor to LandLife.

Our 7th Anniversary from the first date!

It all happened one Tuesday night after BSU. It was a special BSU held a local coffee house called Gravity in Clinton, Mississippi. We had planned on going to play putt-putt but when we got there it was closed. When we discovered that the place was closed we went to see a movie at the theatre on Lakeland in Flowood. We saw "Never Been Kissed." We were the only people in the theatre so we talked quite a bit throughout the movie. We had a lot in common. I was in love, quickly. The next day after the date (NO, we did not kiss on the first date), I set up a savings account to buy her engagement ring. And now, here we are 7 years later and still in love. Well, more in love than we were before. Her eyes are beautiful as you can see in this picture.

For our seventh dating anniversary, Abbey got seven presents as seen here. The first present was a Willow Tree figurine known as courage. Next, she got her favorite flavors of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (Toasted Marshmellow and Buttered Popcorn). The next day, Abbey got a giftcard for a manicure. On Monday, she got some Creme Brulee Body wash. Tuesday was a figurine made back in 1999 (just by chance I found this, but that is the year we started dating). Wednesday there was a coffee mug that had a picture from a card I had given her when we first started dating. Today was the big day, when she got three new pieces of Vera Bradley. She got a new pattern, Java Blue.

The florist made another visit to our home today. This time with a beautiful hydrangea bush. It was from the teachers at East Robertson where Abbey teaches.

An Update on Our FAVORITE PATIENT

The patient has not been doing much today. She slept until 11:00 thanks to some wonderful phenegran from Dr. Jack. Then she got up and took a shower (I think that was tough). She then came downstairs and has been on the couch for the rest of the day. She is in a good bit of pain still, but we are keeping her well-medicated. As you can see, she has not moved much from the couch. She is sitting up currently because Danny, Michelle and the girls came over with dinner.

The nurse (aka The former queen of Rosebud) has been busy tending to the poor patient today. She has even done some of my laundry. What a mil, willing to fold her sil's boxers. She said that the patient has not moved too much today. The nurse will probably be here for one more night. She is seen in this picture looking for a new house and talking to her husband (former king of Rosebud).

Here are some flowers that were sent by our great friend Melanie in Mississippi. They are very pretty and it was very thoughtful for her to send flowers to the patient.

Other news: Tomorrow is our 7th anniversary since our first date. Can you believe that? Some of you may remember our first date. I will reminisce (I can't figure out the spell check on this thing) tomorrow. Tomorrow is also Mr. Roy's birthday. Happy B-day Mr. Roy (or Dad or former king of Rosebud).

The Poor Patient

Here is a picture of my poor patient (aka my wife). She had extensive out-patient surgery today and has been in quite a bit of pain. She was not really thrilled with the paparazzi taking this picture, but her fans need to know that she is okay. She is a little nauseated, but as I type she is snoozing quite well from a delicious dessert of phenegran. The good news is that the doctor (the amazing Dr. Jack), was able to take care of everything and thinks that we have an excellent chance of becoming parents in the near future! Keep praying!
My parent's sent Abbey this beautiful arrangement since they could not be here for her surgery. The Hawcroft's, a family from Mississippi that are members of our church, brought a delicious meal over for supper. People are so nice!
This is a picture of Abbey's nurse/mom. She would not let me post the full picture, so I cropped it down to showing just her major nursing duties. She fears that people would be bombarding our blog for a look at the former queen of Rosebud, Mississippi. She has recently realized that she will not be able to fulfill her duties as queen of the royal kingdom of Rosebud. The first runner up, Barbara Mandrell of Miss Goldie Chicken will be the new queen.

What a Weekend!

It's been such a crazy weekend, and therfore we have not posted. Let me start by saying that my TBC training was great and I met some awesome new people.

On the way home on Friday, there was LOTS of bad weather in the Nashville area. Thankfully, I did not have to drive through the huge hail and tornadoes that a lot people had to endure. Several people died in the tornadoes. The picture is of a church in the area that was destroyed. The picture really does not do it justice. It is amazing how powerful that storm was and amazing that the kids inside that church during the storm were not hurt.

The devastation is huge. Tomorrow, people from our church (including me) are going to go help clean up some yards and houses.

Yesterday we had the Eggstravaganza. It went really well despite the cool, damp weather. Last night and tonight we had the Choir and Drama Easter program. It was really good. I played Judas. Now, my lastest goattee will be bidding farewell tomorrow morning.

Storms

I've always liked storms. Recently I discovered that maybe it has something to do with growing up as a daughter of an electrical engineer; a friend of ours' daughter shares the same like. Her dad works for a power company too. However, I also recently realized how much I loved storms while safely inside away from danger. Watching and hearing the rain and wind along with the lightning that expands the sky is enchanting. Once the storm passes, everything is clean and new. I think storms appeal to me because during the storm, there's no doubt God is in control. Who else could have created such a show?

As we continue to see what God has in store for us, I have the feeling we are in the storm. We may not be able to control it, but we know who does. We may not be where we want to be, but He has us where He wants us.
Perhaps one of my favorite bands, Casting Crowns, puts it best...

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
And stepped in and saved the day
Once again, I say Amen, and it is still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
I'm with you
As your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll Praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
You are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will Praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find you

I lift my eyes into the hills
Where does my help come from
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth
(You can hear this song if you go to www.castingcrowns.com)

I don't think I could convey my feelings any better than this song does. However long the storm lasts, we will continue to praise Him.

Thousands of Eggs

It's that time of year again. Time for the the EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA coming up this weekend. Last year, we had a bunch of people here and lots of eggs. This year we have LOTS more eggs, lots more advertising, and hopefully we will have a lot more people. Plus we are having mine and Abbey's favorite, Cotton Candy!

At roughly 8:00 o'clock Saturday morning, the bounce houses will arive along with the cotton candy machine and the sno-cone juice (note: we already have a sno-cone machine). We will already be hard at work setting up the registration tables, getting some popcorn popped and working on the cotton candy. We have 6 bikes to give away (you have to bribe people to give you their name, address and phone number.) We will have 12 Easter egg hunts. I'm guessing we have over 5,000 eggs. That's alot, isn't it? I heard of a church that has 100,000 for their egg hunt. NOW, that's a WHOLE LOT!

We're getting excited! This weekend will be really busy. Abbey's WISE Women's ministry event is on Friday night, the egg hunt is Saturday morning, and the Easter Choir and Drama Presentation (starring me as Judas - must've drawn the short straw - the goattee is back temporarily) will be Saturday and Sunday evening.

Our faithful readers may have to go several days with no post, as I will be out of town Thursday and Friday in Newport, Tennessee at a state consultant training for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Maybe Abbey will let herself be heard while I am gone!

Another Target Experience

Okay, so our friends Jon and Alicia are always telling us about the different stores that we need to boycott. As you may or may not know, Abbey and I love to go to Target. In fact, we go almost every Tuesday evening after Chik-fil-a (We're not at all routine, are we?). Well, Target is one of the stores that J and A tell us we should boycott, and for a variety of reasonable reasons. However, we can't seem to shake the habit.

When I go to Target for the church, though, I always use my tax exempt card that has all the church tax exempt numbers on it. Today I went to buy bikes to give away for the Easter Eggstravaganza this weekend. I was checking out and having an otherwise normal shopping event when I gave the clerk my TE card. She was putting the number in without any question, and then this "manager" type started looking over her shoulder.

He looked at me and said, "Don't you have the real form?" I said, "I come in here every week and use this card and no one has questioned it." He said, "Well, we can't just believe you, next time, bring the form!" I wanted to say, can you believe the church name on the credit card?

So now, Abbey does not like the clerk Regina and I don't like the manager Jim. Target's service has gone batty as of late. Jon and Alicia say it is because they are now owned by the French!

Trace and Grace

Most of you know that last March, Abbey and I suffered a miscarriage. We were tremendously saddened by the loss, but God was very faithful throughout it all. As a way of remembering our little one, we decided to go to "Build a Bear" and build a little lamb. We named the lamb, Grace (a name we both love, but would never name a child that because then she would be Grace Land - we're not big Elvis fans). Grace spent many nights in our bed after the loss, but she eventually made her way to what we call the "kid room" or Carah calls it "my room."

Some of you may know that yesterday, we suffered another miscarriage. We did not really know Abbey was pregnant, but we were pretty sure. Ultimately though, she was and we had another little one go to be with Jesus. We chose to return to "Build a Bear" and we built a giraffe named Trace. He is cuddly and soft. Last night, Grace and Trace slept in our bed with us.

It is sad time yes, but it is a time full of faith and peace from our Lord. Abbey and I are positive that God has a tremendous plan for us and will use our testimony. We know that one day we'll be parents. Until then, we will be loving on our 300 kids at church and making them feel special. Of course, we'll also spoil Carah and Cate as much as possible, too.

Abbey will be returning to the doctor on Friday to begin testing for different possibilities for the miscarriages. Pray that God will provide us with answers and continued peace.

Grace

For the past few hours, I have been in my backyard laying in my hammock. This is my favorite time of year. Lawnmowers are starting to run and the smell of the air is clean and warm. Some of the early blooming trees and bushes have started to show their color and things are just pleasant outside.

I have been reflecting on the fact that we really don't get what we deserve in this world. Humans are pretty sorry in my opinion and I am always amazed at the grace that God gives us. But He does. It makes me think that I should be more giving of grace and less judgmental. That's kind of the part of the book that I am reading about Mr. Rogers and it's kind of been my thoughts all day.