I have intended to start a blog for a long time, but kept postponing it simply because I did not know where to start. I have stashes of notes, letters and journals that I have wanted to put on a blog. Herein lies the problem. There are so many things I want to blog about that to find a starting point seems overwhelming.
I recently heard an incredible message at Canvas Church by Adam Boudreaux. Adam's spoke about remembering God. He said that we have markers in our lives, moments where God shows Himself strong in our lives. Adam talked about the importance of remembering those markers. They remind us of how God has delivered in our lives and shown up for us. Listening to the message that day I realized I have many of those markers in my life and I need to write them down. Those markers will be invaluable to me on my journey through life. They will be a reminder of God's grace and how He can bring me peace in the storms of my lives. Maybe my markers will be an encouragement to somebody going through a difficult time in their life.
Not only will my blog be about the "markers" in my life, it will be a menagerie of just about everything. There will be blogs taken from journal entries as well as letters, memories, recipes and everyday happenings. Some will be fun and humorous and others won't be, but that's life. I want my blog to reflect every aspect of my life, both the good times and the bad. With my ADD issues, it should be interesting and entertaining.
For my first blog entry I'm going to write about an amazingly fun, yet bittersweet weekend. Jim and I rarely take long road trips. Our road trips consist of short ones to see my parents or the grandkids, and that's only an hour's drive at the most. I always enjoy our road trips, no matter what the distance because we spend the time talking about our lives, our kids, our future, our faith, and anything else we can think of. On June 29 we ended up taking a long road trip that was out of the ordinary compared to our usual road trips.
This particular road trip actually began with a plane trip to Nashville, TN on Friday, June 26. Chance was deploying to Afghanistan and we went to spend the weekend with him and drive his car back to our house. Jami and Matt decided to surprise Chance and drove all the way from Dallas to Nashville with their two kids in tow to spend the weekend. It has been over a year since Jim and Chance has seen Eisley Grace, and they had yet to have the opportunity to meet Beck. Knowing they were coming, it had to be a fun filled weekend, and I was not disappointed in the least.
Jami and Matt arrived in Nashville on Thursday. Jami called Chance to ask if he had plans for the night. He asked why and she asked if he wanted to do something with them since they were in Nashville. Not only was he surprised, he was in awe that they drove that far with two little ones just to spend the time with him.
We had adjoining rooms with Jami and Matt. Every morning Eisley would come into our room and crawl in bed with Jim and me. Then she would ask, "Wake up Uncle Chance?" and go get in his bed. She would pounce on him and say, "Wake up, the sun is shining." Keep in mind that the curtains were closed and the windows of the room faced a brick wall, keeping the room very dark. She would persist, telling him that she sun was shining, until he woke up. He loved every minute of it. It could not have been a more perfect weekend for all of us. Thanks to Eisley Grace, we had plenty of smiles and laughter.
Early the next morning Jim and I drove Chance to Ft. Campbell. We were able to spend the morning watching the guys prepare for their deployment. The five guys who were deploying lined up and their fellow airman told them goodbye and wished them well. Witnessing this exchange made me even more thankful that we had made the trip to Kentucky. After their goodbyes we drove Chance to the airport. He gave me a big long hug. I asked for one more picture and he turned, gave me the biggest smile (unusual for him when it comes to pictures) and walked away.
I recently heard an incredible message at Canvas Church by Adam Boudreaux. Adam's spoke about remembering God. He said that we have markers in our lives, moments where God shows Himself strong in our lives. Adam talked about the importance of remembering those markers. They remind us of how God has delivered in our lives and shown up for us. Listening to the message that day I realized I have many of those markers in my life and I need to write them down. Those markers will be invaluable to me on my journey through life. They will be a reminder of God's grace and how He can bring me peace in the storms of my lives. Maybe my markers will be an encouragement to somebody going through a difficult time in their life.
Not only will my blog be about the "markers" in my life, it will be a menagerie of just about everything. There will be blogs taken from journal entries as well as letters, memories, recipes and everyday happenings. Some will be fun and humorous and others won't be, but that's life. I want my blog to reflect every aspect of my life, both the good times and the bad. With my ADD issues, it should be interesting and entertaining.
For my first blog entry I'm going to write about an amazingly fun, yet bittersweet weekend. Jim and I rarely take long road trips. Our road trips consist of short ones to see my parents or the grandkids, and that's only an hour's drive at the most. I always enjoy our road trips, no matter what the distance because we spend the time talking about our lives, our kids, our future, our faith, and anything else we can think of. On June 29 we ended up taking a long road trip that was out of the ordinary compared to our usual road trips.
This particular road trip actually began with a plane trip to Nashville, TN on Friday, June 26. Chance was deploying to Afghanistan and we went to spend the weekend with him and drive his car back to our house. Jami and Matt decided to surprise Chance and drove all the way from Dallas to Nashville with their two kids in tow to spend the weekend. It has been over a year since Jim and Chance has seen Eisley Grace, and they had yet to have the opportunity to meet Beck. Knowing they were coming, it had to be a fun filled weekend, and I was not disappointed in the least.
Jami and Matt arrived in Nashville on Thursday. Jami called Chance to ask if he had plans for the night. He asked why and she asked if he wanted to do something with them since they were in Nashville. Not only was he surprised, he was in awe that they drove that far with two little ones just to spend the time with him.
We had adjoining rooms with Jami and Matt. Every morning Eisley would come into our room and crawl in bed with Jim and me. Then she would ask, "Wake up Uncle Chance?" and go get in his bed. She would pounce on him and say, "Wake up, the sun is shining." Keep in mind that the curtains were closed and the windows of the room faced a brick wall, keeping the room very dark. She would persist, telling him that she sun was shining, until he woke up. He loved every minute of it. It could not have been a more perfect weekend for all of us. Thanks to Eisley Grace, we had plenty of smiles and laughter.
Early the next morning Jim and I drove Chance to Ft. Campbell. We were able to spend the morning watching the guys prepare for their deployment. The five guys who were deploying lined up and their fellow airman told them goodbye and wished them well. Witnessing this exchange made me even more thankful that we had made the trip to Kentucky. After their goodbyes we drove Chance to the airport. He gave me a big long hug. I asked for one more picture and he turned, gave me the biggest smile (unusual for him when it comes to pictures) and walked away.
I have to say taking Chance to the airport is probably number 1 on my top ten list of "difficult mom moments." I got in the car, tears flowing and realized I wasn't the only one in the car crying. Jim and I drove off in silence. Our hearts ached to the point we just couldn't talk. Silence and more silence. There was some small talk when we needed gas or something to eat, but our usual road trip conversation was missing.
About six hours into the trip I received this text message from Chance. "You guys mean more to me than you'll ever know. Couldn't ask for better parents, love you and see you in January." He will never know just how much that text meant to us.
During the trip, I reflected back to the day I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was December 22, 1995. The doctor told us that I had cancer and the the tumor was deep into my chest wall. Depending on the pathology report, I might not live to February. When we came home from the hospital, Chance and Brandon came running in the house to find out what the doctor had said. We had made the decision to tell them I had cancer and nothing more. They both started crying and I told them it would be OK. I knew in my heart that with God, it would be alright, no matter what the pathology report, and I had to completely trust Him. Chance's deployment is no different, I have to let go, place complete trust in God knowing that it's all going to be alright.
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