SURE HOPE THESE BROUGHT A SMILE TO YOUR FACE  !

Because my Pop sold motorcycles, he knew many of the young guys who Joy and I went to school with.  He took up time with each one when they came in the store to look and wish.  Many of the guys still tell me in  how much he had meant to them.  A lot of them still look him up when they come back in town.  A few days before Christmas 1998, Brian stopped in and was talking with Pop.  He was still in high school, and was friends with Tara, my niece.  He had 4 wheelers and  dirt bikes and rode in the woods a lot.  As they talked, they came to realize that where Pop walked was where Brian rode for fun.

Mom and Pop had gotten started on their home  (#7), and Pop went over every day to check on things.  Even on new Year’s day.  We had all decided that we were not going to gather…too much going on.  In the late afternoon, Mom and Pop decided to go over and check on the house.  All was well, and they picked up something to eat and headed back to the apt.  Pop decided he would go on his walk…even though it was getting late.  Mom said, “Why don’t you just skip tonight.”  But,  a walk was part of his daily routine.   He did turn around and go back for his cell phone, though.  Now, this day 1-1-98…was freezing.  It was so cold that no one was out and about.  Except Pop.  Into the woods he went.  He walked on the familiar trail, staying away from that big mud hole that had gotten larger from all the dirt bikes and 4 wheelers playing there.  On he walked, but turned around before  he got too far, because it was so cold…and almost dark.  Heading out of the woods, he had to go past the big mud hole.  He skirted it again.  He thought. But, all of a sudden, his feet were slipping on  ice that had formed around the hole.  He was falling…and he was falling toward the mud hole.  As his feet went into the water…his left leg and hip hit the cold, icy ground.  Things went fuzzy for a little…he doesn’t know how long.  But, when he came to himself, his legs were in the water…up to his knees!  “I’ve got to get out of this water,” he thought.  And, he started to push himself backwards, he nearly passed out again.  THE PAIN WAS UNREAL!  He immediately knew he was not going to be getting out of there by himself.  It was freezing, literally.  He was hurt and in icy water up to his knees.  He knew no one knew where he was, but Mom and she only knew the vicinity of the woods he was in.  He called 911 on his phone and tried to tell them where he was.   He then called Joy, before he called Mom, because he knew Mom was going to be upset.  Then he called Mom…and as he was talking to her…his phone went dead.  The battery was dead.  In and out of consciousness, he waited and prayed.  The paramedics came to the area, but did not know where to go into the woods to look for him, and their vehicle wouldn’t make it very far without getting stuck.   They went in on foot as far as they could see, but had to come back.   They yelled to him, but he didn’t answer.   Tara and her boyfriend at the time went to get Mom, and Joy headed to the woods.  All anyone knew was that the trails he walked on were across from a funeral home. Sort of.   Panic was close by as everyone realized that Pop was down in the woods,  in the water, in severe pain, and no one knew where he was or how to get to him.  The parking lot of the funeral home is where they all met, but then they decided to walk a little way down to the spot where he entered the trails.  No one knew what to do next.  And so they waited.  And felt helpless.  And prayed.

But, you know, all those times you think you’re alone…you’re not.  And, when you think that no one knows where you are… someone does.  And, when you think the situation is hopeless….it’s not.  When you belong to Jesus, you are  like His child.   And, He watches all you do and all you say, and everywhere you go.  Just as an earthly  father watches over his children, and protects them…so much more does our Heavenly Father.  “God is with you in everything you do.”   Genesis 21:22.     Do you notice there are no restrictions on that.   It doesn’t say when you are in church, or when you are at the grocery store.   He just is with you…always…wherever you are.  Even if you are in the woods, and hurt and wet and freezing and scared.   Or standing by a busy highway knowing your loved one is lost and hurt. “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified.  Do not be discouraged.  For the Lord your God goes with you.”  Joshua 1:9 

But, how could God help now?  He may know where Pop was…but no one else did.  As Tara and Joy and Mom and the paramedics  stood by the road, prayers were in their minds.  Prayers for help.  Prayers for someone to do something!  And, as they stood there with the traffic whizzing by, God answered them.  The driver of a truck that had just passed by recognized Tara. He knew her well enough to know that if she was standing by the road in that area,  something must be wrong.  So, he turned around and went back.  It was Brian.  He had just returned from deer hunting.  Tara told him what was going on and that no one knew where Pop was.  But, Brian said, “I know exactly where he is.”  And, his truck , with those big ole tires and loud motor, could easily go there.  So the Paramedics got their things and hopped into Brian’s truck and he took them straight to Pop.  Any doubts that God was ordering the steps of His children that day?   They checked him as best they could by the headlights of Brian’s truck, and they saw that he was hurt extremely bad, and the situation was quickly becoming critical.  By the way…he was only 72 years old!    They pulled him out of the water, and put him on a board and  strapped him tightly.   Pop was going in and out of consciousness from the pain.  The area was so much muddy slush with areas of ice everywhere, they knew there was no way to carry him out.  So into the back of the truck he went.  Brian turned the truck around and headed out.  The paramedics were not able to give him anything for pain, since they could not even assess the injury. They tried to hold him still as the truck bounce d along the trails and through the holes. He was near incoherent from it all.  “I must be hallucinating,” he thought.  “I’m seeing deer all around me.”  No. He was not hallucinating.  He was in the back of the truck all right…but he was next to a massive deer that Brian had shot that day!  Can you even imagine?   If he was getting out…it was gonna be on top of a dead deer!!!    You know, God doesn’t say we’ll always be comfortable with the way He decides to answer our prayers.  But, bear in mind,  if Tara and the rest had decided to wait at the funeral home…they couldn’t have been seen by passing traffic.  The way the area is where they were, they would only have been seen if they were standing where they were.

The rest of the story is anticlimactic.  He got to the hospital, and soon was in surgery.  His leg and hip were torn to pieces. It was so bad they could not even fix it properly.   They had to put a big plate in it, and a rod down the length of his leg.     It partially healed but after a few months, he realized something was not right, and the doctors agreed with his assessment.  So that called for more surgery.  However, this time enough of the leg had healed that they were  able to fix it the way it needed to be.  It was over 6 months before he was over it.  Sorta.  Kinda. 

And, the building of their house continued through all of this drama.   Mom had to take over the job of overseeing the builders.   And, the house got built.  The were able to move in and get back to some semblance of normal.  Whatever that is.  They loved ABODE #7 and lived happily ever after there for several years, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and many other special occasions.

Mom moved one more time, ABODE #8 , for her.   And, now she  lives in a mansion and is walking on streets of gold.  The walls around her are made with precious stones.  And, she is waiting for us to join her.

Friends,when we belong to the Lord, He will always do what is best for us.  We may get our selves into some big messes…but He is always ready to help us.   Our family and friends see clearly how He chose to help Pop on that New Year’s Day.   “The Lord has done this; it is marvelous in our eyes.”  Psalm 118:23    And, so I am happy to share this story of what God can do.  And what a marvelous story to tell our grandchildren.  “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done…so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and in turn would tell their children.”   Psalm 78:4-6

 Oh, FYI…..Pop says he is not moving again until he moves back in with Mom!

I need to set up this story before I start.  Otherwise it may not make sense to some of you. Plus, the back story is just as good.

My Pop loved to make my Mom happy.  He tried to accommodate all her wishes.  He loved doing this and she loved it as well!  DUH!  And, boy did she have wishes!  When they came to Dothan in around 1950, they moved into a  new home…ABODE #1.  They stayed there, on 3rd Avenue, until I was in the 6th grade..around 1965.  They built and moved into a new home on Florence St…..ABODE #2.   And, there they stayed until they built a new home on Lizzy Lane in 1982…..ABODE #3.  In a year or so they added a pool and then a pool house.  They loved living there.  Our whole family enjoyed them living there!  They backed up to the golf course, and there were plenty of woods nearby for Pop to ride his motorcycle through.   The children would swim, and Joy and I would fix lunch in the pool house.  In the summer this was an every day affair.  We also used the pool house and the surrounding land as the base for a camp we did for quite a few years.  It was for the girls, grades 1-6, and their missions class at church.  Then we had to do one for the boys, too, because they were jealous!  Also, there was a culvert that had an area that Mom and Pop made into a little pond.  The boys would fish there.  Wonderful days…some of my best memories!

For some reason, Mom decided that she was tired of living in a house.  She decided that she wanted to move to an apartment.  Pop said fine, and she was off and planning the move.  She sold alot of her furniture and had a huge garage sale. [OK, I have to say this about my Mom.  I loved her dearly, and still do.  However, she would do things sometimes that just blew me out of the water.  She used to complain about all the ‘stuff’ I had, but she had just as much!  We discovered lots of it after she moved to Heaven.  Where she and I differed is that periodically, she would get on a tear and throw bunches of her ‘stuff’ into the garbage.  Well, I take that back…she laid it out beside the garbage pickup cans, so if someone wanted it, it was easy to get to.   OH, my friends, many are the times I would drive up to her driveway and see something that had no business being thrown away.  I would just get it and put it at my house.  Tina lucked up on several bags of beautiful garlands and greenery that she had thrown out.  She is still using it to decorate with.  Who knows what went that never should have.   Bless her heart, when she cleaned out—-she cleaned out!   Once Mom saw a beautiful vase at my house and asked me where it came from.  I told her that I found it in a pile of trash and rescued it.  She said that she used to have one like that and she needed to see if she could find it!  I said nothing.]  Back to the garage sale.. she just wanted to get rid of everything.  I went over to help her…and headed off a tragedy!  When I walked out to the pool house where she had everything set up, I saw a woman walking out of the door with my Mother’s crystal goblets that she had gotten when she got married.  I always loved them….and I was not about to let them get away!  I said to the lady,” I’m sorry, but there was a mistake, and those goblets were not supposed to be in the sale.”  She said, “Sorry, they are mine now.”  Now, I did not want to get ugly…but she started it!  So, I said, “Ma’am, I just can’t let you take those glasses.  They are too special to us.”    She said, “Well, I do not have to SELL them back to you, you know.”  I was getting a tad bit upset here.  I told her, “Ma’am, I guess you don’t understand.  This is where my family lives.  And, WE get to make the rules around here.  And, the rule is that my Mama’s wedding crystal  belongs to her daughter and that is ME.  And, I just can’t let you walk out of here with my glasses.“  She just looked at me like I was the crazy one….so I decided to finalize the deal.  I said, “You see those 3 wild boys out there in the woods…(my 3 boys whopping and hollering like they had not been let out of the house for a week)..”.they belong to me.  And, they would love to play a new game called KEEP THE NICE LADY FROM GETTING TO HER CAR!  She got mad then.  And, I knew I had gotten started running my mouth and didn’t know when to stop.  I did not know what was coming next.  But, then she said, “Fine, I’ll sell them back to you.  There’s 6 of them, so that will be $30.00.”  I paid her and she gave me the bag that held the glasses.”  She was mad.  And, I was ashamed of myself, but, I was mad, too.  But, not as much I was going to be.  Mom came out about then and asked what was I doing with those glasses.  She said that she had just sold those a little while ago.  I said, “I can not believe you were selling your wedding crystal.  If you didn’t want it, don’t you think that I would want it?”  “Well, I didn’t want those old things.” she said, ”  I never liked them anyway.  I was glad to get $3.oo apiece for them!”  “3 dollars apiece!  Did you sell them for 3 dollars?” I said.  She said, “I just told you I did,” she said, “why does it matter?”  Realizing that I had been ‘had’…I just decided not to let her or anyone else know what I had done.  “It doesn’t matter, really, I was just wondering,” I said,  ” I got the glasses and that is all that matters.”  And, it was.  And, they are still mine.  I think they are beautiful.  Before we moved here to the Creek House, I never had a place to display my china or my crystal.    There was just not room for a china cabinet in our small eating area.  But, when we moved in here, those 6 glasses were the first things I put in my new china cabinet.  And, they make me smile every time I see them.  The little cream and sugar in front belonged to my sweet MIL, Elizabeth.

ANYWHO…..they finished their sale, and did, indeed, move to an apartment…..ABODE#4.    I asked Pop today why they moved.  And, he said that he  thought he was getting old (65) and it was hard for him to keep all the yard work done.  [I must interject right here, that he was mowing grass, and weeding flower beds just last summer…at 84!!!  But, he’s not going to do that anymore.]

I am afraid that the Apt. people did not expect what had moved into their midst.    And, I’m sure that whomever moved into #268 after them, was very grateful that they did!  They were in one apt. and decided that they wanted to be on the second floor, and so they moved across the complex to a second floor.  Then the changes began.  Even though they had repainted the apt before they moved into it…Mom wanted it painted in ‘her’ colors.  And, so she had it painted.  Then, every time she looked at the fireplace…she got so sad.   There was NO mantel!  This would just not do, as she loved to decorate her mantel.  And, so, she got permission, and had one made and hung!   A BIG ole mantel!   And, how could anyone ever enjoy living anywhere in the Deep South without a nice ceiling fan?  So they picked out a nice one and installed it.    They removed wall paper in a bedroom, and installed shelves all around the room in the guest bedroom.  And, finally, it was done to her liking.  Well…to her liking for about a year.  By then, apartment living had lost it’s appeal, and they began building a new home…..right in front their ABODE  #3.  This was a beautiful home…2 stories, and all to her liking….ABODE #5.      We all loved this house.  It had a big porch on 3 sides with rocking chairs and swings…very Southern.  She  had the yards landscaped beautifully where once was a treeless empty lot.  She planted blueberry bushes that the children loved to pick for her to make pies with.  They lived there about 2 years, and bet ya can’t guess what came next.  Yep, they decided they did not like living in a house that had stairs.  And, so they were going to build a smaller house to better suit their needs during their later years.  So, back to an apartment…not the one they had totally remodeled.  Someone was living there and they weren’t about to move.  So this was just a regular apt, ABODE #6.  And, since they knew they were not going to stay there, they managed to live in it just as it was.  And, they were happy there…the only exception being that Pop missed having woods to walk and ride in.  He did, however, find a place to walk. 

Below is my humble attempt to show you where Mom and Pop made their homes.  Houses 3–5–7 are all right together.  I think I made the cul-de-sac a little out of proportion.  Oh Well…

Now this is what where I wanted to start this post.  But aren’t you glad you know all the back story?  So, I will end Part 1 here…and pick up THE GRAND ADVENTURE  in the next post.  You can’t even imagine……

Finn, Finn, Finn.  You are a wild and crazy dog!  Why Lucy Jane even calls you ‘Wild Man’!  And she came up with that herself!  You are  so happy…bounding here and there…you are in the air as much as your feet are on the ground!  But, you are NOT doing well in the area of ‘taking care of business’ OUTSIDE!   Come on, now, and get with the program…you are causing us too much stress.   

Here are some pics I made of you while we were outside yesterday.  You remember when I asked you to pose for me and you ran the other way?  Until I held one of your fav treats in my teeth!!  Oh, the things you make me do!

Here’s where I asked you to pose…You looked at me like I had lost my mind!  By the way…your right ear is inside out!

Mo-ooooom…… OK, here I am on one side…

And, here’s the other… really, Mom, do you think anyone can tell the difference? 

This one is the best!  And, I fixed my ear, thank you very much!  Hey!!!  Be careful with that treat…don’t swallow it!

OK, here’s my polka dots….And, that’s all there is to me!  Oops!  Sorry ’bout the ear!

That’s it.  I’m ready to get my treat and go.  Umm!  Yum, yum, yum!  And, I’ll have another, please…you must have licked off the best part when it was in your teeth!   Now.  I’m ready for my close-up.

OK, I’m going, now.  Places to go….holes to dig…things to smell…

I had a little project to do at home last  week  (before I hurt my back) . Alex gave me this great  sign for Christmas, and I wanted to get it hung up.  I knew I wanted to hang it in the rear foyer, and the only appropriate place was on this small wall next to the oven. 

I knew there was no way to use a nail there, so I headed to T*rget to see what was available.  I found about 50 packages of C*mmand  products.  However, I had never used them before, so I ws a little uncertain of which ones to buy.  And, there is never anyone to assist you when you need it.  This looked promising, so I bought this package.

All was fine, until I started to put it up last week.

Will you look at all the steps you have to go through?    All I wanted to do was simply get my sign up….this looks like enough instructions to put a stove together!  But, I soldiered on.  Yes, I was determined.  I could follow these directions…and get this job completed.  Donald is very, VERY particular about putting things on our walls.  It would be a wonderful thing if every wall was totally empty…according to him.  “You build a new house…you don’t put nails in the walls.”  But, sometimes things happen when he is at work.  It is a wise woman who knows the optimum time to tackle decorating projects.  If you know what I mean.

So, let’s look at this book of instructions.  Because if I mess it up, it will be a topic of discussion for as long as we live!

Friends…you can’t read it, can you.  This is just what it looked like to me.  This pic is made at the distance I would actually read it.      This type is so small…it is ridiculous.  I’m telling you…not just small….itsy. bitsy, teeny, weeny….miniscule…diminutive…lilliputian…microscopic…wee…oh, so, very tiny!  I tried.  I really tried.  I rubbed my eyes.  Then I tried to widen them…nope.  So, I squinted them…nope.  I held it at a distance…then touching my nose.  I moved to the window.  I took off my glasses…I put on another pair of glasses.

I went and got my magnifying glass.  I held it close, and far away.  I went to get a battery for the handle.  This magnifying glass has a light in it.  Didn’t help.  Not a bit.  I even looked through the small super magnifier spot.  This type was not meant to be read.  Because I tried every single way I knew to read it.  Unless you had the eyes of a 18 year old…this was just scribble-scrabble with pictures. 

Now, I wouldn’t have been so worried about reading it except with all those pictures, I thought there had to be some magic formula.  And, because in a smidge bigger type at the very bottom, it said that “failure to follow these directions will cause the wall upon which you put your picture to fall to the ground and bust into a million pieces.  And, also, you can never remove the sticky things from the wall even if you try for 10 years.  All of which will cause your husband’s head to explode…and make him really mad.”

I had to put it away.  There was no way I could read it.  I was so outdone.  I felt old…very old.  That package cost me $11.49 !  What to do?  I couldn’t ask Donald to help me.  As I explained, these things need to be taken care of when he is at work…to spare him unnecessary grief!  So when my friend, Patty, and the famous and beautiful Lucy Jane came over, I put her to work on it.    Patty…not Lucy Jane.  Besides she was busy eating cheese and ice.  Lucy Jane…not Patty.  And, people, she could read it just fine.  Patty…not Lucy Jane…she’s only 3! 

But, here’s a helpful little hint for you, my dear friends.  Are you familiar with v*lcro?  Well this is sorta like that.  Looks the same.  It says to put one rough piece on the wall and then put a corresponding  smooth piece on the picture.  Patty had determined that we needed 4 pieces.  And I determined…and I am sure you will agree, that putting 4 pieces on the wall and then putting 4 pieces on the picture and getting them to align would require many math skills, and measuring and other such things too horrible to speak about.   And the chances that the pieces would ever match up in this lifetime were about the same as ever seeing me wear a bikini on the beach!  So, we just put the smooth piece on the picture….. then stuck the rough piece on top …removed the sticky back…checked level…then smashed it on the wall!  Easy Peasy!  And I felt very builder/construction/handy man like when I got out my level…and actually knew how to use it!

Why does this sign resonate so to me?   To me it says :  draw and  color your own picture…don’t just add color to someone else’s.  You can draw as well as anyone.  Live your life and color it to suit yourself.  Don’t try to live another’s life…they may not even like the same colors as you.  Don’t be confined to just the little picture on the page…it’s all tight and confined and stuffy there.  Instead, venture out.  Look for the beauty and fun and blessings that are waiting just for you.  Oh, and be sure to bring your color box with you…life takes lots of colors.”

PS .  Even though I said this was like v*lcro…don’t actually use v*lcro.  Unless what you are putting up will never be moved.  I know from sad, sad experience that the velcro just might, could possibly, pull the paint off the wall.  And, just maybe a little of the drywall. as well.