Is it humanly possible to have too many reasons to celebrate or be grateful?
I would definitely say, "No." Think about it. If you woke up this morning and got rear ended on the way to work, it may ruin your day....or, you could step back and realize: "Wait a minute. I am healthy, I have a car, I also have insurance, there is air in my lungs, money in my bank account, my closet is full, whether or not I "like" anything in it, I have running water and POWER in my house (for which many of us have a new found appreciation)"...and the list continues.
You see, so much of life is how we choose to see things. Always pray that God will keep your perspective in check.
Life is also about improvisation.
...like that moment you ask your husband to put up your child's hair, and he uses a potato chip bag clip.
#ChipOfftheOldBlock
#HairYouGo
But at least we're making progress.
This month has brought some sadness over the massive flooding and loss our state experienced, but it has also given my family and friends so many reasons to be grateful. I'll start with number one.
I'M GETTING A SISTER!!! You may remember my story last August when my family met Jay's girlfriend Laura for the first time. She was- and is- everything we could have imagined for Jay! We knew the day would come, and the Lord answered our prayers with a name. Since the day he came home from the hospital, Jay has been one of my best friends. This was the same little boy who cried when he saw a stray dog at church and wanted to take it home. He wants everyone to feel included, and he always puts the needs of others over his own. I am absolutely ecstatic about their wedding next year and can hardly WAIT to gain a sister!
Wait to gain > weight to gain
#AnotherPerceptionJoke
To keep the celebration going I invited several friends over for multiple reasons. Let me explain.
Megan (far left) is moving (I'm so sad but so happy for her at the same time)! Abi (in the bright Lilly shirt) is getting married in about three months, Emerson and I both have Birthdays this month, and Halloween is around the corner. That's a whole lot of reasons to eat ourselves silly be joyful!
You're going to find this next photo on one of those Shoebox cards at Walgreens in a few years when these girls go from Johnson & Johnson to Lip Smackers to Rodan Fields...and finally Oil of Olay.
#GirlTalk
#LetsFaceIt
The kids weren't the only ones who enjoyed the slam dunk bouncer!
We made hand cookies...saying "bye bye" to Megan and Collins. There were also Birthday and wedding themed cookies. I'm still eating the dough.
#DoughWhat
We celebrated my Birthday with my in-laws at Carowinds, and it did not disappoint!
Fortunately I took my Dramamine. Most people take that for a car ride on the interstate; I take it to ride the tallest and fastest coaster in our region...
"We hope you enjoyed the ride!"
Then there was the Dinosaurs Alive park! Those creatures moved and made very loud noises...hmmm...so do toddlers. Are dinosaurs the toddlers of the past?
It's BEDTIME, kids! How many more times do I have to say it?!?
If only Emerson had a Fitbit...we did a ton of walking that day.
She will literally ride anything now!
32 isn't exactly a milestone year when it comes to Birthdays, but I figured T-Rex selfies would make it memorable enough!
While in line for one of the rides I met a precious boy named Lucas and found out that our Birthdays are two days apart. This called for a picture!
The next day was Emerson's first day of gymnastics! She absolutely loves it and sleeps like a baby on the days when she goes.
Getting ready for Olympics 2028
I don't think any of us were prepared for what was coming the next week. I was talking to my Mom one night when she mentioned something about a hurricane that could possibly hit us...and I realized that she wasn't talking about the current state of my living room.
Picture was googled to protect the innocent. This is fake, just so we're clear.
This is an actual, un-doctored radar photo of Matthew making its way toward us. It will make you want to make peace with the Lord very quickly!
School was cancelled in 26 districts across the state to prepare for evacuations and shelters, and our church was scheduled to have their 125th anniversary that weekend. I wouldn't miss that for the world and didn't want to get caught in bad weather on Friday, so Emerson and I headed out of town early...and actually 'evacuated' into the storm and closer to the coast.
My parents were a tremendous help while I worked from home. We spent the days decorating for Halloween, building forts, and turning the Carlson residence into a total fun-house.
While I wasn't working, making calls, or tending to Emerson I was monopolizing my time with things of upmost importance; like setting up dominos in the foyer.
On Thursday we enjoyed a delicious Starfire dinner with "Darfy" and my parents.
Meanwhile, Friday-Sunday were spent house ridden while my Mom and I were glued to the weather channel and the pantry.
And evacuation updates.
...until my Dad and I decided to walk to a nearby lake. Water was washing over the road at such a fast pace that we were almost pushed over, and men were putting out cones on the road right in front of us. Good thing we were on foot! I had never seen anything like this.
The devastation was unimaginable. People were being rescued from the rooftops of their houses, roads were washed away, and that was only day one. Some people were without power for almost a week, and the rivers continued to rise in the following days. We actually rode to Lumberton on Sunday in search of hot breakfast when we later realized that they were hit worse than we were. We saw entire tractors submerged in water....and there we were searching for a McPancake or something similar.
This was pretty much the look the officer gave us when we asked if anything was open.
My heart was broken as I heard story after story of devastation, and while I kept those affected in my thoughts and prayers it wasn't until a few days later that the Lord laid something extra special on my heart. More on that shortly.
Gary Sanders and his awesome wife Nancy brought this wonderful gift to my parents' house a few weeks ago, and this was my first chance to see it in person; a framed article of this year's Night of Worship. This meant so much to me! What a way to remember such an incredible event. I'll treasure it always!
When we finally made it back to our house the next week things returned somewhat to normal for us.
We celebrated Ryan's Birthday on the 11th with some personalized balloons. Because what's a celebration without personalized balloons?!
We also celebrated Papa's 87th. I love them both so much, and they actually sort of favor each other in this picture!
Just 1.5 weeks before her third Birthday Emerson had her first all-around haircut. She was pretty excited and thought she was wearing a super hero cape.
Last weekend was Abi's Bachelorette party at Debordieu, complete with handmade 90s boy band shirts and pjs. It was such fun!
October isn't quite complete without a trip to the state fair! My new favorite things are the mini fried donuts. These will also be listed as one of the causes of death on my future autopsy report. I speak the truth.
The most precious lady named Mildred at the donut stand gave Emerson a whole free bag when she found out that her Birthday is next weekend. That really touched my heart!
This weekend we also celebrated our Carlson family October Birthdays, Natalie's Birthday (she's in Emerson's class), Sara and Joseph's baby shower, and Abi's engagement party. Did you get all that?
While getting gas the other day I came upon this. It's possibly the most appropriate fuel for yours truly, as my schedule is more rapid than the speed of light.
But sometimes we have to slow down, and as schools, etc. returned to normal a couple of weeks ago I still couldn't shake the fact that so many were without homes and even family members. I was literally wide awake at 3:00 am when I prayed, "What can I do for these people? I don't know a thing about fixing power lines or repairing roads. Do I write a song?"
The next morning I traveled 45 minutes to visit one of my schools and realized when I got there that my contact thought I was supposed to come another day and needed me to reschedule. I was super tired and figured it was a blessing in disguise.
When I pulled out of the school and started the drive back home I began singing, "You are higher than the mountains. You are deeper than the seas..." And I thought, "Where did those lyrics come from?" I grabbed my phone and voice memo app so I wouldn't forget the melody. When I got home I put down all my things and sat at the piano with a crumpled sheet of paper and pencil. It was there that the song, "We Are Not Alone" was born in about 15 minutes.
I am incredibly grateful for how many people the song has reached and touched, and I will tell anyone that I appreciate their support from the bottom of my heart...but I can't take any credit. God put those lyrics in my heart, and he happened to use me in that day and moment to write it. Then I realized when listening back to it that it could apply to anyone facing any kind of storm in their lives; physical, emotional, and the list continues. I don't ever want this song to stop bringing hope, because we need it. As people, as flood victims, as a nation...WE NEED IT!
You can listen to the song and share it here: "We Are Not Alone."
While out for a walk two weeks before the storm I found an odd looking stone and wanted a picture of it. Call me crazy, but don't those clouds look like South Carolina in the shape of a heart?
I'll leave you with some humor tonight, because isn't that the best way to go out? Emerson and I spent an entire 24 hours at my parents' house without power. We pulled out all of my old toys from the 80s and 90s and had some good old fashioned, non technological fun. Emerson still didn't understand why she couldn't watch her shows or why it was so dark at night. We slept in my Mom's bed by the light of a Curious George flashlight.
Our scene the next morning was THIS. I almost died. My Mom had an entire leg in her face, and by the looks of it, my Dad had clearly lost his marbles.
But when the person sleeping next to you is this sweet...
It beats this any day.
No comments:
Post a Comment