PersonalDNA

Sandra started it...keep it going! This thing is cool.
Encouraging Realist...sounds accurate to me!

Running Late...or right on time?

Lots of stuff has happened lately. I'll try to catch up later, but I have to share a cool story about dinner tonight. We had Matt and Terri Hall (our Pastor and his wife, one of my best friends) over to eat with us. We've been very close to them since they did our pre-marital counseling 5 years ago, and haven't managed to have them over dinner before tonight. I had a nice roast thawed, and it was getting to the point of no return - you know, eat it in the next two days or you've wasted your money?
So, I talked to Terri last night about how best to cook it, how long, etc. Then I invited them over to come eat it! We agreed to eat around 6:30 or so, Matt could come right from work, etc, etc.
Well, Matt got a call from someone whose relative (a young woman) was visiting from out of town this week. The woman had gotten word that her alcoholic uncle (who lives in Tallahassee) was hospitalized, very ill, and not given much time to live. The woman called Matt to see if he would visit her uncle in the hospital, since she had been praying for him for a long time. Matt went to the hospital, planning a short "hello, how are you, sorry you're sick" kind of visit.
God had other plans. The uncle had been discharged from the hospital and released to a rehab center. Matt didn't know where the place was located, and he knew that he and Terri were supposed to be at our house for dinner at 6:30. Matt hates being late. But, as he drove toward his house to get Terri, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was supposed to see this man today. So he called Terri to find directions to the place, turns out he was right near it, and told her to call me and apologize, but he had a visit he had to make.
Meanwhile at the Casa de Zorro, I've had this roast in the oven for an hour and a half, and it's still reading 100 degrees in the middle. I was trying to get everything cooked and ready for 6:30 dinner.
God had other plans. The roast was taking forever, I didn't have room in my oven for the roast and the cake I just had to make (darn nesting instinct) and I had to take the cake across the street to bake at the neighbors house.
Vance calls. He's running late, some sort of last-minute emergency at the office and he doesn't even leave until after 6:15. On the way home, the Hulk starts ticking in the engine. Never a good thing. So when he finally gets home at 6:40, he's surprised that Matt and Terri aren't there yet, but relieved that he has the opportunity to diagnose the ticking issue before they arrive.
Matt and Terri pull in, Matt helps Vance with the truck, Terri helps me get the roast out and the darn thing is still not done.
Eventually, Vance and Matt come in from the garage, we get tea for everyone, the roast finishes and we sit down to eat, right around 7:15.
At this point, Matt tells us about the visit with the dying man that caused him to be late.
That man is now going to heaven when he dies, because Matt listened when God told him not to worry about being late to Vance and Michelle's house for dinner.
If Matt, Terri, and Vance had all arrived at the house at 6:30 for dinner, I would have been so upset that everything wasn't ready. Vance wouldn't have had time to figure out what was wrong with the Hulk. More importantly, Matt would have missed the opportunity to share Christ with a dying man. That man told his niece on Saturday that he had done too many bad things to go to heaven. I'm so thankful that nothing worked out on my timetable tonight.
Dinner was awesome, probably one of the best I've cooked in years. Just ran a little late...or did it?

Labor Day! (No Kidding!)

Whew. Vance and I have worked our tails off today. (Yes, I'm taking plenty of breaks and drinking enough water.)
Details on all that's been accomplished to follow. First, pictures! (if blogger cooperates...)

Here's Momma (Granny to him) and the Dylan monkey at Shannon's house after my shower last weekend.

I got to feed him...good thing I can practice on him before Fox is born!


Shannon's friend Teri takes care of her twin grandsons...they came over to hang out after the shower. These guys are so cute!

Here's my Granny playing with her 10th great-grandchild. Granny and Aunt Joyce drove down from Charleston Saturday the 26th for my shower. It was so special to celebrate with them!

Ok, I am totally not kidding when I brag about how cute and funny this kid is. I sure hope his fun disposition runs in the family! Vance and I were cracking up with him at bathtime.

This is Vance's Aunt Angie and her first grandson, Mario. Vance's cousin, Tonya, hooked us up this weekend with a ton of clothes from Mario. He was born last October, so Fox will be quite well-dressed for the seasons! This is the little guy that Vance's mom was talking about with the great eyes...Fox comes from good blue-eyed stock, huh?

This is Vance's cousin Tonya and her husband Jeff. We are so blessed with awesome family that shared cute baby boy clothes!

Here is Tonya's brother Corey and his wife Katie, holding their sleeping little girl McKinley. She is the sweetest little girl!

So, about what got done today...
I've now washed all of the clothes and stuff that has been given to us. We have effectively determined that our unborn child has more clothes than Vance. Keep in mind, we've only had one shower, and have three others scheduled.
I put away all of the goodies from last weekend's shower into Fox's room.
Vance re-arranged Fox's closet to accomodate the 3 large Rubbermaid tubs of clothes that don't fit me for the time being.
He lowered the mattress on Fox's crib so Dylan can sleep in it when he comes this weekend (and when Fox is born).
I folded and sorted all of the clothes for Fox and put away the bigger stuff for later.
I folded and tried to organize the myriad blankets, burp cloths and bibs into some semblance of order.
Washed our sheets and towels and re-made the bed.
Vance cut the grass in the front and back (good thing, based on what happened next...)

So we got all of that accomplished, got cleaned up and ready to head out for a date at the Melting Pot.
Vance thought this would be a great time to fall down the stairs in the garage.
His right ankle instantly swelled up to the size of a softball. I had to run (yeah right) next door and have the neighbor help me get him in the car. We headed to Urgent Care.
They were really quick, and the nurse kept us entertained. After a few x-rays, the doctor came in and declared that it was "a big honkin' sprain". The nurse wrapped it up, put a brace on it, gave him some motrin and sent us on our way.
We headed to the Walworth's to mooch off of their ESPN and catch the game.
So, Vance is learning how to us my crutches from last year's ankle fiasco and we've had quite a role reversal. I'm glad I have the opportunity to take care of him after he's spent the past 8 months taking care of me. He's trying to sleep now, so I should shut the laptop down and join him. I'm still pretty wound up from all the action, but I know I need to rest and get ready for tomorrow and the rest of the week as we carpool!