Teetee in the grass; not on the porch.
The calf keeps trying to come inside.
Get the kitty out of the cat food box. You can’t lock them up.
The cat is in the laundry room; I don’t know how he got in there.
Just because you have a helmet on does not mean you can do anything you want.
Where can I buy a fly-swatter?
I love our little house on the hill.
Last night as we talked in the car on the way to (and from) dinner, we found ourselves reminiscing over the memories of the last 14+ years.
We sang songs from high school to see who could remember the most words; we remembered college fun and great times with friends.
As we talked, though, one theme came ringing though: we have the best friends. We have always been surrounded by people who have our best interests at heart. They love us, care for us, and go out of their way for us.
One of my favorite stories we told last night was Uncle Clay’s journey to be in our wedding. He was slated to be Mr. Gray’s best man, but his duties in the Navy were preventing him from being able to be home the weekend of the wedding. We had all these grand plans for taking photos where his shoes were in the place he would be standing, and all sorts of other ways to include him as much as we could (this was before Skype–I know, we’re old) while he was not there.
Unbeknownst to us, he got word he could be at the wedding. He made some crazy trade with someone and worked 50+ hours straight to be able to able to be off duty for the wedding weekend. He secretly had his suit measurements taken and turned in to the girl handling the grooms men’s attire. It was all totally under wraps–until he let Aunt B in on the plan. See, she and I have this thing where we don’t actually have to say anything to each other to know what the other is thinking. That’s exactly what happened. She said nothing, and my immediate response was, “CLAY’S COMING?!?”
Boom. Surprise shot.
But not really, we kept it from Mr. Gray, and he got to be surprised! It was the coolest thing. It was something I’ll never forget. And I’m pretty sure no one will ever tell Aunt B anything I’m not supposed to know again.
Happy anniversary to us! I can’t believe it’s been eight years since we said “I do!”
People warned us about getting married young, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. We have grown together, learned together, been challenged together, and come out on the other side. There is absolutely no one else I would rather do life with.
ILU, Mr. Gray. Always! Thanks for being my biggest fan.
Photos by Sledd Weddings and KLB Ranch Photography, respectively.
As I lounge in the recliner still sort of exhausted, I’ve got the ol’ Beatles tune running through my head. How’d I get so tired, I keep wondering. Yesterday.
We woke up with plans to go swim, go to yoga, eat lunch, go by the shop, and get a haircut. Simple enough. We’d be home by nap time and all would be right with the world.
Instead, we woke up, and Baby Gray was still favoring his arm after a fall in the foam pit at gymnastics Wednesday. I called the doctor’s office, and they could get us in in about the amount of time it would take us to drive over. Off we went!
They felt it was best to get some x-rays, so we headed over to the radiology office. There was quite a wait, so we played some games in the lobby and read books until they could get us back. The x-rays were an ordeal in and of themselves. We survived, though.
We had some time to kill while we waited on the readings from the x-rays, so we actually accomplished the lunch and work portion of our original plan. Hooray, progress!
About the time we wrapped that up, we got word from the doctor that we needed to go to an orthopedic specialist to have the arm taken care of; he had a non-displaced fracture in his arm. We headed to Austin just in time to make the appointment and skirt most of the traffic. Baby Gray was met with Legos, train tables, blocks, busy beads, and all sorts of fun when we walked in the new office. It was just the pick-me-up he needed to finish the day.
A couple of nurses, nurse practitioners, and doctors later, and we had a sling and were out the door. After a very exhausting day (for both of us) we were finally headed home.
He was greeted at the door with a SparkBox (use GRAY to save on yours), which made his day!
Thank goodness Annie brought us supper. Otherwise, I think we would have just done without and gone straight to bed.
Yesterday.
A while back, I threw out two truths and a lie. It was fun. Let’s do it again. See if you can pick out the fallacy!
1. When I started this running journey, my goal was a 5K. This weekend, I’ll do my second triathlon. I’ve also done a couple more 5Ks, a duathlon and five half marathons. Looking back at my high school cross country career, I can’t believe it.
2. One time I ordered something online and forgot about it. When a handwritten envelope showed up in the mailbox, I surveyed it carefully for explosives and anthrax before opening it. It was a shirt.
3. I got the Chicken Pox when I was in first grade. My parents both worked, so they traded the days they stayed with me until I could go back to school. On the first day with my dad, I spent the time learning how to ride the four wheeler. And you wondered why my Renegade Racer was so brave.
Well, which is it? Shout out your guess in the comments or on Facebook, and the truth will be revealed Monday.
Oh y’all, my cautious kid has been empowered by country living and a helmet. He’s had the helmet for quite some while, so it’s the combination of the two that are making the difference.
Friday was quite the adventure. As Tootsie was taking a drink, I noticed Baby Gray kicking the water bucket and splashing her. No big deal, I thought. I continued getting ready, and out the window, I saw a helmet-clad kid–my helmet-clad kid–trying to ride the calf!
As I headed for the front door to suggest he maybe not ride Tootsie until she’s a little bigger and Daddy could get home to help, I found him heading out the front gate with his four wheeler (still wearing his helmet). No big deal, I thought. I helped him get out the gate so he could ride on the gravel instead of in the grass. I should mention he shouldn’t go down the hill, I thought. Nah, he is cautious; he won’t go down the hill, I thought.
I continued getting ready and snuck a little peek out the window to double check Baby Gray was safe and sound at the top of the hill. No such luck. Down, down, down he went. Out the door I went. I called him from the porch, where he turned, acknowledged me, and continued on his merry way.
I grabbed my car keys and headed down the hill myself. Lucky for me, his four wheeler only goes about -2 miles per hour, so he hadn’t actually gotten too very far. When I stopped him, he was quite upset; he just wanted to go “over there” (he said pointing to the chicken houses across the public gravel road).
My suggestion to head back up the hill was met with quite a protest, but he finally headed that direction.
Apparently, we’ve got quite the cocktail for courage up here on the hill.
Last week, Jodi Gray (see what we did there?) from The Gray Way (see what we did there?) approached me about being part of the Monday Blog Tours. What fun! Jodi and her husband Andy pastor City Hill Church in London, and I met them (well, I’ve never officially “met” Jodi, but I feel like I have) through our pastors. I love being connected to people all over the globe–something I never would have thought possible before the internet!
Tour time:
What are you working on?
I’ve got a little of this and a little of that on my docket. Mostly, I’m working off the web these days since the move. I’m trying to find a place to be, to plug in and pour in. As a family, we are working to find a church. As a mom, I’m working to find friends and groups to plug into that Baby Gray and I can enjoy together. It’s a lot harder moving back home than I thought it would be. We’ve been gone a long time, and our old go-tos aren’t necessarily the same as they were when we left (I know that’s not shocking, but I had a naive view of how this would all go down).
How does my work differ from others in its genre?
I’m not quite sure exactly what my genre is. I’m part mommy blogger, part faith blogger, all put-it-out there blogger. Maybe that’s where I’m different. I’m multifaceted, and so is my blog. I didn’t set out four years ago knowing anything about blogging. I just started a blog. (Really, I sent an email with the subject, “Got bored. Started a blog.” and the link.) I still don’t do much with the stats and numbers of it all, I just enjoy writing.
Why do I write what I do?
I’m not the only person out there in my shoes–cooking dinner, parenting a young child, feeling called to adopt, whatever the case may be. I feel like sharing my stories may help someone get through what they’re going through. When we went through a period of grief almost two years ago, I wanted people to know it’s okay to hurt and grieve. As we are moving and are going through a transition into a new season, I want to share that with others. God gives us our stories to share. He wants us to go before and help others. I am grateful for the people who have done it for me, and this is a piece of how I can do it for those following.
How does my writing process work?
Process? What process? Ha! Well, mostly, I just write what’s on my heart. Sometimes it sits in the draft folder for months before I feel like it’s “finished” enough to put out there. Sometimes it takes me five minutes and it’s done. I tend to hold back when it’s something I feel is a big God thing. I don’t want to take away from what He is doing with it, so I wait to be sure I have the right words to glorify Him. I also process things that involve our family with Mr. Gray. I make sure he is okay with what I’m putting out there. This is as much a family project as it is just my own.
Who’s next?
Following in the tour footsteps, I’d love to have my friends Lisa at A Little Slice of Life and Jess from jessclark.tv answer these four questions and give us a peek into their blogs next Monday!
Here’s to Friday Five randomness!
1. I finally got some much-needed Lila Pearl snuggles this week. I hate when I don’t get to meet my friends’ babies immediately. I don’t need to be in the room when they enter the world or anything, but I like to be there pretty soon after. I love babies–and instant gratification!
2. Thanks to Facebook, I saved money on our Amazon Prime membership since Mr. Gray is working on his MBA. College for the win!
3. I am having the hardest time getting used to having an outdoor laundry room. I mean, it’s attached to the house across the back porch, but still. (Total first world problem, I know.)
4. On the same note, having a PO Box is not the same as getting mail delivered to your house every day. It’s still mail, but it’s so much more work now. (See parenthetical expression above.)
5. Baby Gray has not grasped the concept that we are no longer close to things. He regularly asks for Target, Freebirds, and the like. Geography hasn’t set in yet (for me, either).
PS: In case you missed it, I talked about The Next Big Step earlier this week along with a Hair-Brained Idea I have.
A friend posted today that she is going to start offering mentoring as part of her services (she has a laundry list of things that she does).
I’m interested. Not in her mentoring me necessarily (although I have plenty of areas I need to grow in), but in possibly mentoring others. I feel like I have a lot of things I do well. I’d love to help someone through things I’ve already been through. I rely heavily on those who have gone before me, and I’d love to do that for someone in an official capacity.
I have no idea if anyone would be interested or if it’s shallow and superficial to even think I’m worthy of putting myself out there for that (it has a “better than” vibe to it, I think) kind of thing.
So what do you think, world wide web? Should I go for it? Anyone interested? I’d love some feedback.
