An Amazing Act of Kindness

Even though I was a bit apprehensive about Thanksgiving this year, I made it through the day just fine. Bev, Les, Vic, Adam and my mom were all here and we ended up having a wonderful day. Of course it was hard not having Jimmy here, but I was so thankful that it turned out to be such a nice and peaceful day. I was so concerned about making it through Thanksgiving that I didn’t give much thought to the day after. Every year Jimmy would set up the Christmas tree, and I would spend the afternoon decorating it while he went outside to put lights on the house. We would put on Christmas music and get the whole house ready for Christmas. There was something about this time of year that just brought out the best in Jimmy. He would do silly things like always make sure this little bubble light that we had was plugged in and turned on. He would go shopping for our dog, Ranger, and make sure that he had a new collar and treats to “unwrap” on Christmas day. He was a frugal guy all year long, except when it came to Christmas. He would get all caught up in the spirit of the season and the cost of things didn’t matter quite as much when it meant that he got to put a smile on the face of someone that he loved. This was by far our favorite time of year. It’s hard for me to believe that just one year ago, this is what was going on in our house:



This year, the day after Christmas was a tough one. I was just filled with a lot of emotion that I wasn’t expecting. I had to figure out how to put up our Christmas tree on my own. It was so heavy, and I couldn’t figure out how to plug the silly thing in. I got so frustrated and upset that Jimmy wasn’t around. I was in tears when I sent a prayer up to the Lord explaining to Him that I had no clue where the silly plug for the tree topper was and begged Him to help me find it. It wasn’t long before the Lord, in His sweet mercy, showed me where the plug was. I managed to get the tree up. Emotionally, it was such a tough thing, but I made it through. The part of the day that broke my heart into a thousand pieces was when Braxton asked if I was going to put lights up on the house. I had to explain to him that I had no clue how to put lights on the house. He was so disappointed. It killed me. We left to go to Louisiana this past week and my sweet friend, Tianne called to check on me. In the process of chatting with her, I spilled my guts and told her about my rough day. When I hung up the phone with her, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that she would orchestrate what she did. With the help of another friend of mine, Dan Barnes, the two of them certainly made up for my bad day and then some. I pulled into my driveway after being gone for several days and came home to this:



I was in complete shock! I cannot believe what they did for me and my boys. What an amazing act of kindness! My friend Carol said, “It was a God thing in lights.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Tianne and Dan – THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! There are just not enough words to thank you! I wish you could have seen the excitement on Braxton and Auston’s faces and heard their squeals when they saw the lights. It was priceless! You guys are an amazing testament to God’s love, and I am SO thankful to have you both in my life!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit!

Growing up, I spent every Christmas at my Aunt Rose and Uncle Jimmie’s house. On Christmas Eve, my Aunt Rose, my cousin Alida, my sister Victoria and I would spend the entire day baking all sorts of goodies for our extended family that would come by and visit later that evening. It was one of my favorite Christmas memories. This year, I decided that I wanted to relive old times and ring in the Christmas season by baking with my family. So, on Wednesday morning, mom and I packed up the car and the boys and headed to Louisiana for some fun. When we got there, I knew that we were in for some SERIOUS baking when I overheard my Aunt Rose recap to my cousin Alida all of the groceries that she had already purchased. In that list were TEN pounds of sugar and TEN pounds of flour – I kid you not! If you know my Aunt Rose, this would just make you laugh because you would understand that she does NOTHING halfway. Her kitchen seriously looked like a stocked grocery store when we got there. Alida and I woke up early Thursday morning and started baking while my mom, Aunt Rose and my Aunt Dot watched our kids. We baked from around 9:00am to 11:30pm – once again, NOT kidding! We had a blast, and I laughed until my face hurt! It was just what I needed to get in the holiday spirit! My Aunt Dot came into the kitchen and helped us at one point. She made sure that our kitchen was clean and sanitary - she recommended that I pull my hair back, and I ended up wearing plastic gloves!! She warned me that if I had been working in her kitchen that I would have had to wear a hair net! I’m so glad we weren’t in her kitchen! Hairnets are NOT cute! If you know Aunt Dot, I know you’re laughing at this. She is such a nut! So, we baked all of our yummy (and sanitary!) goodies and packaged them all up on pretty trays to be shared with our family and friends. Mom, Aunt Rose and Aunt Dot spent the day driving all over town delivering our treats. From the sounds of it, they had a ball and people were surprised and so excited to get our trays of sweets. It made for a super fun getaway! Thank you Aunt Rose, Alida, Aunt Dot and Uncle Jimmie for such a wonderful week! I love you all a ton and look forward to doing it again next year!!! ;)


Me & Alida ready to get to work!


A small sampling of what Aunt Rose purchased for us to bake


Keepin' it clean!


Our trays ready to be delivered


Braxton, Auston & Caleb all bundled up for a wagon ride


A foxy picture of my Aunt Rose taken by yours truly


Aunt Dot, Aunt Rose & Mom