Jackson Trip

We had a really great weekend visiting my dad (Granddaddy Snow Snow, or otherwise know as simply "Snow Snow" or "No No" or even "Nos Snow") at his condo in Jackson.  Our primary purpose in going was to attend the first ever Speaker of the House/Lieutenant Governor's Easter Egg Hunt, but we also wanted to squeeze in a few fun things, as well.

Friday evening me, my mom, and my kids headed to Jackson.  We met dad at Jason's Deli and I was reminded of how much I like that place.  It always makes me think of Waco, and my friends Dayna and Kevin (who just moved to China!) for some reason.  I guess we ate there a lot.  I liked it because it was Weight Watchers friendly.  Trey liked it because there were crackers on the salad bar.  Evangeline, of course, liked the ice cream. 

I had a pretty rough night at the condo, which was to be expected.  I just don't enjoy sharing a room with either of my children ever.  Trey was in the pack n play next to me and coughed and fidgeted ALL NIGHT LONG.  I eventually moved to the couch, then back to the bedroom b/c Trey was crying and I had to nurse, then to tuck Evangeline back in, then back to the couch, back to tuck Evangeline in, back to the bedroom.  That's what I mean by 'rough night.'  I heard Evangeline and my mom up pretty early and then later discovered that Evangeline had escaped her pack n play in the office (which was also to be expected) and was kinda roaming around my dad's condo. 

Both kids enjoyed exploring the place, so much so that I was eager to get them outta there as quickly as possible!  Dad and I took the kids to the zoo, while mom ran a few errands.  My dad has a zoo pass, so we hope to go there a lot this summer.  This time last year my mom and I took Evangeline to the zoo.  I have to say that I had a much easier time this year.  Last year I was eight months pregnant and walking around took a lot out of me.  It was much easier now that the baby is out! 

Evangeline had fun, but did seem to act a little afraid of some of the animals.  Mainly the monkeys.  She also did not like the Tamirs and the Wart Hogs (they weren't quite wart hogs, but they were some kinda hoggy things).  Maybe they just got too close to the fence for her and she's afraid they would get her?  She LOVED the alligators and was thrilled to see four baby gators swimming in the pond.  She also really liked the flamingos. 

Trey was super easy going.  He enjoyed looking at the turtles and the giraffes the best.  It was so funny seeing his face when he first saw the giraffe. 

Poor Evangeline tripped over Snow Snow's foot and got her first real scraped knee.  And, eleven hours later, it is still a big deal.  She freaked out at bath time when it got wet.  Poor baby. 

We met Carrie for lunch at Mazzio's which was fun except that I was not going to pay $9.99 for a buffet when all I wanted was two pieces of pizza even if it did come with a drink and even if Evangeline did get to eat free.  So, I ordered a small pizza for $6.00.  No problem except that it took forever for them to bring it to me.  Being on a diet is miserable to start with but being on a diet and having to sit and watch other people eat pizza while patiently waiting for your food is really bad.  My mom was finished and ready to go before mine ever came.  :(  The price I pay to diet.  I told my mom that I got a Bravo star at Weight Watchers for going to Christy's wedding last week and not eating any cake and she said that she'd MUCH rather have a piece of wedding cake than a Bravo star.  Supportive, huh?

We were afraid that the wait at Mazzio's would make us late for the egg hunt, but we showed up in plenty of time.  It was a very nice event with fun jumps, face painting, an Easter bunny, real bunnies to take pictures with, and yummy snacks.  Evangeline loved holding the little bunny and Trey enjoyed his first ever cupcake (or the icing, at least). 

When it came time to hunt the eggs, Evangeline was a little bratty.  She went around picking up the eggs, opening them, and then if she didn't want what was inside, she just threw it back down.  I eventually figured out that she was specifically looking for eggs that contained skittles. 

My children blessed me with a quiet ride on the way home and we arrived just in time for our Sunday school grill-out party that was,  yes, at our house.  I am super thankful to my wonderful wonderful wonderful (hi, honey!) husband who got everything ready while I was gone.  When I asked him if we could go to Jackson, he was practically giddy responding yes.  He enjoyed the weekend by having a Friday night steak and then playing tennis with Corrie Saturday morning. 

I had so much fun having our friends over!  I am very thankful for all the friendships we have made here in Marion!  I am already looking forward to the next time we all get together for Italian night! 

Praying for a good night's sleep tonight!  At least Trey is down the hall and both my kids are pretty worn out.

Spring cleaning, lost keys, and a stump..... oh my!

Yesterday was a good example of how trying to do too much can get you into trouble.  Spring hit with a wham and suddenly I realized that it was HOT outside and my poor children were still wearing long sleeve shirts.  So, even though I was organizing a Team Kid fun night, had a photo session scheduled at Sears for both my kids, and desperately needed a trip to Wal-mart, I decided it would also be a good day to reorganize my children's clothes.  Actually, I didn't so much decide to do it as felt like I was forced into it by all the nice, but hot, weather that was just not compatible with our wardrobes. 

Thank goodness my mom is off for Spring Break!  She came with me to Sears and took Evangeline to Cici's while Trey and I shopped at Wal-mart.  Our Sears pictures were just okay.  Not nearly as good as the ones of Trey we took two weeks ago.  Here's a hint as to why: the guy who took our pictures yesterday was there for an interview two weeks ago when we got Trey's pictures made.  He was nice enough, but I'm confident that I could've gotten some better shots than him.  At least Evangeline is no longer afraid of the big flash, so she didn't freak out like she did at her two year pictures.  More positives are that I easily stayed in my budget since the pictures weren't so great and the newbie accidentally ordered me an extra page of wallets that I did not have to pay for but apparently will still recieve. 

I got home and for once both kids went down easily for naps.  They've been having difficulty (especially Evangeline) since Daylight Savings Time.  I should've known it was too good to be true.  I had plenty of time to put all the clothes that were stacked in various baskets and boxes throughout my house into some of the empty tubs that were in our shed.  I jumped in my van and headed to the shed to load up some tubs when Wham!  I hit something.  My first, sinking, thought was that it was Blue Bell.  Too scared to look under the van for a dead dog, I ran back to the house to see if she was there.  She was lying comfortably on the living room floor.  Whew!  Edy was hanging around so I knew she was not the victim either.  Then I realized that my van was stuck.  Like, really stuck.  Really really stuck.  I called Drew.  No answer.  I texted Drew to call me ASAP.  When he finally arrived we discovered that I had hit a stump.

Now, in my defense, you couldn't see this stump at all because the grass is really grown up around it.  And, since Drew isn't writing this blog, I won't point out any of his reasons for why I should've easily been able to avoid that stump.

Drew spent awhile trying to get my van unstuck and then finally called Mr. David- the man who can do anything- to come and help.  When I say he can do anything, I mean it.  Since we have moved to Marion he has built us bathroom cabinets (he's a master at cabinetry), fixed our hot water heater, made us a turkey for Thanksgiving, a ham for Christmas, baked the best dessert I have ever eaten called California pie (okay, tied for the best ever with Tammy's lemon cookies, Jody's Bakery iced sugar cookies, and Carolyn's Creation's cheesecake.... I like desserts, can't you tell?), built the church a soft serve ice cream machine and then made us ice cream for Evangeline's party.  How this man has stayed single I have no clue.  Anyway, after an hour and a half Drew and Mr. David managed to unstuck my van.  Next time I'm just going to call Mr. David directly.  I'll probably get just as much grief, but in a little nicer way.

Because Drew was busy unstucking my van, and because, unfortunately, the place the van was stuck was Blue Bell's potty spot, I knew Drew would not be able to pick up our pizzas for the Team Kid pizza party. So, I called my mom, my second hero of the day, to once again come to the rescue and watch my kids while I ran to Cici's.  When I dropped the pizzas off at the church we already had one family there.  They had misread the bulletin and come an hour early.  Their granddaughter had been to Vacation Bible the past few summers, but Sunday was their first official time to visit the church.  So, naturally, I asked them to help me clear out some tables and put them straight to work!  They are really hard workers and I am very thankful they came early! 

We had a great fun night with sixteen kids at church.  The only mishap was a lost tooth.  I teased Maggie telling her that she lost her tooth twice!  The first time it fell out of her mouth.  The second, it accidentally got thrown in the garbage.  I hated for the poor child not to get any tooth fairy money :) so we dug through the trash and Mrs. Sherry came out with the tooth! 

The tooth was not the only thing to be lost.  Somewhere in the process of cleaning up I borrowed Drew's church keys.  I really, REALLY, thought I had returned them to him but a while later he asked me for them.  They weren't in my pockets.  I searched the entire building.  No keys.  By the end of the night, everyone was searching.  As a pastor, Drew feels like it is important for him to have keys to the church and his office, etc.  I agree. But, the keys were lost.  After we went home and put the kids to bed I went back to the Family Life Center and searched again.  By this point, I was kinda feeling like our marriage was at stake (just kidding, but I certainly was testing it!). I dug through another trash can with no luck.  Finally, I came home and recieved a lecture on how I never give Drew his keys back when I borrow them which is, sadly, true. 

Two guesses as to who found the keys first thing this morning?  Yep, the man who can do anything.  I don't know why we didn't call him last night!  I'm just glad Drew has his keys!  I think I need to put Mr. David's number on speed dial. 

Don't Drink and Drive

March 6, 1994 is a day I will never, ever forget.  That Sunday morning I was finishing up a retreat with my youth group at Lake Forest Ranch.  I had had a really good weekend on one of my first youth trips.  I spent a lot of time playing tennis and thought that I might like to start taking lessons.  Also, that morning, while on a walk around the lake, I'd seen a deer.  I got very excited and thought, "I wish I could see Granny Gay so I could tell her about this deer!"  Spotting deer was something that Granny Gay enjoyed doing with all her grandkids.  Every year we would go to Guntersville State Park and count how many deer we saw.  I was definitely brought up in an anti-hunting family!  Later that evening I felt guilty for ever wishing I would see Granny that day!

That afternoon we took our dog, Freckles, on a walk by the creek.  Katie caused Freckles to jump up and I got a bad scratch on my leg.  I yelled at Katie for causing me to get scratched on my leg.  Felt bad about that later, too.

I went to church early that evening because we had youth choir practice.  My mom and sister would be coming later for church and then to take me home, something we did every Sunday night.  I remember glancing up in the sanctuary from the choir loft and noticing that they weren't there yet.  I didn't think too much of it.  They were either late, or had decided just to come get me and not go to church.  Something had come up.

Towards the end of the service, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  One of the ushers motioned for me to come to the back of the sanctuary.  "What did he need with me?" I wondered.  One of my neighbors was standing at the back (front) of the church.  It was my friend Ramey's mom.  Our pastor was also there, having just given the invitation.  Mrs. Rush explained that my mom and sister had been in a "little fender bender" and she was taking me to the hospital to see them.  She was lying.  It was more than a "little fender bender," but I am grateful today that she sugar-coated it so much.  Her sister was also with her.  Apparently her sister had come by her house and said that she'd driven by a wreck and thought it was a familiar car, one of their neighbors.  They immediately drove out to the scene, only a few miles away.  They found out the details and saw off the ambulance.  They were even there when my dad happened upon the scene.  He's who told them where I was and asked them to go get me.  As we drove to the hospital, my first clue that this was worse than I had been led to believe was when I found out they were at Riley hospital.  Longer story than I'll go into, but I knew that my mom would have never gone to Riley's on her own, though I will add that Riley did a wonderful job taking care of them during their stay. 

When we arrived in the ER waiting room my dad, Grandmama, Granddaddy, Uncle Shag, and Aunt Mary were all there, among a few others.  I remember my dad being on the phone a lot.  He'd called my mom's parents to give them updates.  Sammy Bill and Granny Gay were unfortunate to have had all three of their children in car accidents involving drunk drivers and this was sadly familiar for them. My dad had been so upset talking to them that he'd told them that it was mom and me, not Katie, in the accident.  When they asked on the phone how I was, he said, "fine! She's standing right here! But Katie's got a broken leg." 

For the most part, Katie was okay.  Her major injury was a broken femur and she was in a lot of pain.  When I arrived at the hospital my mom was upstairs getting tests run.  Her injuries were more serious.  She suffered a blow-out fracture to the face.  Her doctor said it was like getting hit in the eye with a line drive.  She also had a broken ankle, hip (I think), and tons of cuts and bruises. 

Everyone kept asking me if I was okay and trying to comfort me.  My Aunt Mary bought me pretzels from the vending machine.  I was wearing a long sleeve hunter green shirt and khaki shorts.  People kept rubbing my legs and I was embarrassed because I hadn't shaved all weekend. 

I was allowed to go into the ER to see Katie.  By that point her third grade teacher, Mrs. Stewart, had arrived.  Katie's leg was in a sling and she was in a gown.  Her cute little leopard outfit had been cut in two.  Katie complained about her foot being cold and Mrs. Stewart took off her own sock and placed it on Katie's foot.  I felt guilty for not thinking of that.  Afterall, I was her sister.  But, I have remembered that moment so many times as a teacher.  I want to be the kind of teacher who will give the socks off her feet to one of her students! 

I didn't get to see my mom until many hours later in the ICU.  By that time, Sammy and Granny had arrived.  I'd forgotten all about wanting to tell her about the deer.  My mom was really really swollen and in obvious, severe pain.  And there was nothing I could do. 

There was never a moment where I thought they may not make it and I can credit Mrs. Rush for that one.  I always thought that it was "just a fender bender" and they'd be fine.  Thankfully, I was right. 

That night we got home and discovered that Katie's hamster, Dizzy, had escaped from his cage.  I told Granny, "I am NOT going back to that hospital and telling my sister her hamster is gone!"  Granny said, "I am NOT sleeping in this room with that hamster out of its cage."  We found Dizzy under the bed and I don't think I ever told Katie he'd gotten out. 

The next day I went to school.  Big mistake.  I learned that if there is ever a tragic family event, it's a good idea to keep kids out of school the next day.  I spent the entire day crying.  Everyone knew about the wreck.  It had happened on a major road in North Meridian, right in front of The Landing restaurant.  Traffic had been blocked for a while.  Everyone knew and everyone knew it was my mom and my sister. Even those who meant well and would say, "I'm so sorry!!" would make me cry.  I was thankful that my English teacher pulled me out of Social Studies to check on me.  We sat in the courtyard and talked and she even bought me a Sprite out of the drink machine in the teacher's lounge, which I didn't drink because I was so upset. 

We spent the next month driving back and forth to the hospital.  My mom came home in ten days, but because Katie had pins in her leg, she had to stay five weeks.  She got tons and tons and tons of gifts in the first few weeks.  Then, Easter came and she got more stuffed bunny rabbits than you'd ever imagine.  Granny and I made sure that the Easter bunny would come visit her in the hospital! 

The ladies of First Baptist Meridian did a fantastic job providing meals for our family.  For six straight weeks we had a meal every single night. 

Sammy and Granny stayed with us a long time.  That's how I got my first alarm clock; Sammy bought it for me, tired of having to wake me up like my mom always had. 

We learned from witnesses that a drunk driver had swerved into my mom's lane and hit them head-on.  Thank goodness they were in a van, or the impact could have easily killed them.  My family does not drink.  And after this, we certainly never have.  Drinking and driving hurts people.  The effects are felt even eighteen years later.  My mom's eye has never been the same.  But, my mom and Katie were lucky.  They survived!  Please, if you drink, don't drive!