Change of Plans

We were supposed to be leaving tonight for vacation.  Andy, Lauren, Ollie the dog and I were going to head to Florida for the week to stay with our Aunt Cris.  The last several weeks had left us all sort of halfheartedly planning our trip because there was a sneaking suspicion we wouldn’t be going.  None of us voiced it, but all of us felt it.

That suspicion came true.  Since Memorial Day weekend, my dad’s older brother, my Uncle Dick, has been in the hospital.  He was extremely ill, and the last six weeks had been difficult for him, for his wife, and for the family in general.  My parents have been at the hospital endlessly, trying to help, to offer support, to just be there.  To be family.  Others have been there, too.  Many others.  Because that’s the kind of family I grew up in.  The type of family that shows up, that offers support, that bears one another’s burdens in a mighty way.

Yesterday, my uncle passed away.  After six difficult weeks, he has gone home to be with the Lord.  So we are going home, to be with our family.  Because that’s where we belong.

Through this difficult summer, I’ve realized something.  My family is unique.  Everyone’s family is unique, but I’ve discovered what makes mine special to me.  For me, it’s all about the relationship.  I knew my grandparents.  I know my cousins.  I know my aunts and uncles.  I had real relationships with them.  We weren’t a see each other once or twice a year family, we were a real, honest to goodness close family.  And I loved it.  I could see cousins from all different sides of the family often.  And I did.  I knew each of my dad’s siblings and all of their kids.  They were my friends.  Or sometimes my enemies.  It depends on what day or year it was.

But our family was close.  I attribute a lot of that to my parents.  Because they are the type of people who show up.  Who do anything for the people they love, and even the people they hardly know.  They were incredible examples to Lauren and I.  I want to support my sister the way my parents have supported their families.  I think back to countless times that I have seen my dad work quietly in the background to take care of things, to help people.  I watch my mom work herself to exhaustion making sure that everyone else is taken care of.  And I love them for it.  I can’t count the number of times that my dad has been there for his nieces and nephews—the phone calls, the conversations, the support.  All of it.  I am always amazed when the whole family is gathered to see how many of them turn to my dad.  My quiet, sweet dad. 

So as we go home to celebrate my uncle’s life, it will be hard.  It will be sad.  I type this with tears in my eyes, knowing the pain that we are all experiencing, the pain that lies ahead.  At the same time, though, I am hopeful.  Hopeful that this will be another time for our special family to bond, to come together, and to carry one another’s burdens.

Anniversary Outtakes

Ollie has me pinned to the sofa with his cute little paw, so I’ll go ahead and post these while he naps.

Attack Puppy!

A pretty normal day, actually

I’ve had enough!

Now we’re getting loopy!

Dude, we just had dinner.  Chick-Fil-A, remember?

I guess I should be glad he didn’t flip his eyelid inside out this time

Normal.  Totally normal.

I don’t even know.

Happy Family

Attractive.

 

I’ve had enough

Who Knows

Anniversary Photos

Here are our anniversary photos my sweet sister took in May.  I had been waiting for Andy to edit them, but he didn’t have the time, so I did it myself this morning :)

I think you can click on any one of them to see them larger.  They aren’t great…mostly because I don’t really know what I’m doing :)  I might do a post with the outtakes in a bit….there are some really good ones :)

Snippets

-After a week of camp, I had a weekend of mostly nothing.  It was nice.  And I needed it.

-I read the second book in the Hunger Games series last night/this morning.  I started reading at 10, thinking I’d read a chapter or two….I finished it at 4 this morning.

-Oliver isn’t feeling well right now.  He seems to be having some stomach issues.  I feel bad for the poor guy.  He’s still pretty wired sometimes, but he fell asleep on my chest for 2 and half hours on Saturday—which he has never done before.

-I just did Jillian Michaels “No More Trouble Zones.”   I have been really struggling with some confidence issues lately, and I’m hoping that this helps.  Also—I had no idea I could sweat so much.

-I realized I have a lot of work to accomplish this week and next.  I need to get all of the baby shower stuff ready for the shower I’m throwing RIGHT after we get back from vacation.  And I have a school project to complete before August 10—which will totally be here before I know it.

-I have a lot of gifts to buy this weekend when we go to Indy—well, just a few, really…but it feels like a lot.  I’m pretty pumped to buy a baby shower gift for Mandy.  I think it’s going to be my favorite to pick out :)  I got to feel the Little Man move around last week at camp, which was pretty awesome :)

-I haven’t had my hair cut or colored since February.  My March appt. got cancelled last minute, and I keep forgetting to reschedule.  I look like the Bride of Frankenstein right now.  I need to call like immediately and get that taken care of.

-There is honestly nothing worth eating in our house.  I had scrambled eggs in the microwave for three meals this weekend.  Andy kept heating up frozen mini pizzas from the Schwans man.  I must go to the grocery store like immediately.

The Last Week

From Monday to Friday of this past week, I had the honor of attending Student Fusion Youth Camp with some of the youth at our church.  It was honestly a total blast, and I wish I hadn’t left my camera at home.  Here’s a quick rundown of the week.

Monday—Leave the church parking lot BRIGHT and EARLY to head out.  Spend two hours driving to camp.  Arrive, find our cabin, and meet the other girls in our cabin.  Monday was a settling day.  We had our opening celebration where we got to meet the worship leader and camp pastor (both awesome, by the way).  That night was our first evening worship service, where Mac (the camp pastor) spoke from the book of Jonah and challenged everyone to go to whatever Ninevah God is calling them to, instead of running to Tarshish.

Tuesday—We woke to a storm Tuesday morning.  We also quickly learned that the adult leaders were being called to participate in every game as competitors.  We had to run like madmen during games in the chapel.  In our adult Bible study that day we were talking about sharing the gospel, and I realized what a terrible job I have been doing.  That afternoon M and K, the two girls with me finally started to branch out and meet new people.  That night, Mac preached from 1 Samuel—the story of David’s annointing.  His main focus was that God called David up and told him he was worth it, even when his dad told Samuel that he was only a shepherd boy.  He wanted the students to realize that God thinks they are worth it, too.  I think it was a powerful message for both of our girls (probably our boy too).  They each come with their own full set of baggage, and I think it’s great for them to learn that God is bigger and better than their pasts.  During the afternoon, the kids all signed up for different track times—things that they wanted to do for their afternoons.  I ended up in duct tape art—where I made a kickin duct tape wallet Tuesday afternoon and Creative Movement….which ended up being a lot of fun.  For creative movement, we used blacklights and white gloves to do a performance with our hands to the song “Praise you in the storm.”  We made thunderclouds, spelled out Jesus, Amen, and made a hill with a cross and a variety of other things.  We performed on Friday morning in front of the whole camp.

Wednesday and Thursday—About the same as Tuesday.  The formats of our full days of camp were the same.  We had morning celebration, recreation time, group Bible study time, lunch, track times, free time, supper, evening worship, church group devotions, and then late night.  The late night times were different each day---we had a bonfire, battle of the sexes, blow up night (with inflatables), and a talent show.  The girls really settled in by this point in the week—so much so that they became impossible to wake up in the morning :)  There were two other churches in our cabin, and it was a perfect mix.  All of the girls got along really well and were just really sweet together.  I think one of the girls bought every Slim Jim they sold in the gift shop.  They both came out of their shells and really had a blast.  It was exciting to see them open up just a little and have fun with new people.

This week was an awesome week.  It was challenging, to be sure, but I am so thankful I had the opportunity to be there.  I can’t even begin to formulate the words to describe this week.  That’s why this is so vague and generic.  Truly, I’m still working out this week for me.  But it was pretty great :)

You can’t take that boy anywhere

Andy turned 27 this week.  We’re still waiting for him to act his age.

Oh, I kid.  I love my husband.  And his goofy antics.  Except occasionally.

Like last night.

We went to Columbus for sushi and I asked to stop at Kohls on the way home “in case something caught my eye.”

Because I hate my clothes.  All of them.

So….two shirts, two necklaces, and three Andy shirts later, we were standing in the checkout lane.

Andy really loudly asks in a sort of mocking, joking tone, “Hey, do you need any extenders?”

At that moment, the sales guy picks up and rings up the three BRA EXTENDERS that the woman in front of us was purchasing.

If I could have melted into a puddle and seeped through the cracks.  Seriously.

I look at him, my eyes wide and mouth contorted in that weird wife way that says, “What on earth are you doing right now?!”

Then he asks me what the extenders are.

I turn my whole body and explain it as quietly as I possibly can without ever unclenching my jaw.

Then his eyes get wide and his mouth contorts in that way that says, “Oh my gosh….I had no idea.”

And he didn’t.  No idea what an extender was.  No idea that the woman in front of us was actually purchasing them.  No idea.

Then we both stand in line, completely unable to look at each other because we are on the verge of laughter.

Once the woman left the store, I dissolved into a puddle as I tried to swipe my debit card.  I could hardly see the screen through the tears of laughter forming in my eyes.

He told the sales guy (who totally cared, by the way) that he didn’t realize that she was purchasing the extenders.  He thought they were just extra things lying at the register.

And I realized something.

When we have teenaged kids, they are so going to hate being in public with us.

But that didn’t stop me from asking my husband every five minutes, “Hey do you need any extenders?  Are you sure?  Isn’t your bra a little tight?”

Rough Ride

Last weekend I was at my parents’ house.  As I attempted to make the drive home, it fast became one of the most miserable two part drives of my life. 

Things started smoothly enough.  I stopped for gas at a really ghetto gas station in Marion.  They were advertising a chicken liver and gizzards meal and that they accept food stamps.  Two things I have never seen at a gas station before.  I was playing a game while driving—the “Can I get to this exit before this time” game—which is played pretty much how it sounds.  You figure out an exit number, then the time you want to be at the exit.  Like… “Can I get to exit 45 by 8:30” and then you do what it takes to meet that goal. 

Then came the ominous sound.  ERRRRR….ERRRRRRR…..ERRRRR…..The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning……40 mph storm…..gusts of up to 70 mph……affecting the area where Ashley is driving right now.”

So I call Andy.  I let him know, “Hey, I might be late.”  We chat a bit. 

Then came the ominous sights.  “Andy, the sky just turned black above me.  Like really black.”

So he does what any good twenty-first century husband would—he went to weather.com.

“Ashley, I need you to stay calm.  I’ve never seen this before…the radar where you are is black.  It’s beyond red.  I think you need to pull over.”

Then the storm began.  And my windshield wipers tore into shreds.  And I could see the rain being torn in two directions by the wind.  Close to the ground it was going across the road to the left.  Higher up, it was pouring to the right.

I did pull over.  Right on the side of the road.  For the very first time in my life.  And I sat there for a good while with my blinkers on until I could regain visibility even without the use of my shredded wipers.  During that time, Andy and I decided it would be best for me to get to Indianapolis and spend the night at his parents.

I eventually made it to Indy where my wonderful father-in-law replaced my windshield wipers and I was finally able to  calm down.

Then yesterday.  I attempted again to make it home.

At one point on my journey home, I thought in my head…. “Gee, it could be really dangerous if your tire went flat or blew out on the interstate.”

Then, as I got off one interstate onto another, I started to notice my car not speeding up properly.  Then I started to hear what sounded like a helicopter.  I quickly realized that I was the helicopter.  In the middle lane of three lanes of traffic.  On I-65 South of Indianapolis.

My rear driver side tire was completely exploded.  Like totally gone.  The whole sidewall blew out.

I couldn’t get over.  I turned my blinkers on.  I kept on breaking.  And eventually, instead of dying, which I was certain was going to happen, I got off the interstate, where I quickly noticed two things.  The first—those shoulders sure aren’t very wide.  And my tire sure was flat.

So I call Andy.  Again.  This time at work.  And I let him know, “For the third time, one of the tires on my car has completely exploded and I’m pulled off on the middle of an interstate.”

He begins talking me through the process of changing my tire, the whole time I’m praying for some nice man to pull over and help me out.  I’m sure I could do it, but my mental capacity was pretty close to nil at this point.

Thankfully, a nice man pulled over and changed my tire.  He did it in about 5 minutes, where it would have taken me more like 55.  He lived nearby, so he gave me directions to several different tire stores.  He even waited and waved me onto the interstate and followed me to the next exit to make sure I got there safely.

I quickly (as quickly as you can get with a donut tire and nerves of Jell-O) pulled into the Tire and Lube Express at the Greenwood Wal-Mart.  Where I promptly replaced all of the tires on my car because that was the third one that had blown up.  The first two had been at low speeds here in town….one three summers ago, the other two summers ago.  And my husband told me that under no uncertain circumstances would I be returning home with those tires.  He was done with them.  I was done with them.

So an hour and half and a few hundred dollars later, my new tires, my new windshield wipers, and my very frazzled self made our way home.

The rest of the drive was pretty easy.  At least, I think it was.  I don’t really remember much.  Except that when I pulled in my driveway, I cried for the first time.  Because my nerves were shot. 

But I made it.