poems, quotes, memories

(those are for you Lance. i love being married to you. i love the way you love me. and i've probably said it 10x already today, but ... i love you!)

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"Do not for a moment be intimidated by the enemy for it is a sure sign to him, and to you, that you are not believing in your promises. The enemy seeks to do more than just depress you. He seeks you for an ally." [Graham Cooke]

THIS has really been speaking to me lately ... 

"Love and help everyone. But if you let negative people influence you, you won't ever fulfill your destiny. Some people just suck the life out of you. They deserved to be loved but you must set boundaries with these folks. We minister to the poor but you better have people who are full of faith in your inner circle." [Kris Vallotton]

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memories that make me laugh out loud every time i think of them:

1.) my stepdad slipping and falling on the hardwood living room floor when he was running/hurrying to answer the phone. i was upstairs with my mom and we could hear something crash from upstairs and when we went to see what happened we laughed SO HARD. (he was okay and laughing too.)

2.) lance's dad getting kicked in the face with a very forceful kickball in a family game of kickball. it kind of blew his face sideways and he reached for his glasses and grunted, "that hurt." it was at least five minutes before anyone could say a word because everyone was laughing SO HARD.

3.) one time i was making my mom laugh and the phone started ringing. she told me to stop and i don't know if i did or not, but i was laughing really hard too and she hadn't regained full composure because when she pressed the button to answer the phone she paused and apparently couldn't remember what to say because she said, "hi." then she looked at me and lost it. (lesson: do not answer the phone if you are in hysterics! i have no reservations about not picking up my phone. apparently my parents generation feels inclined to answer calls immediately.)

4.) i asked my dad if he knew whitney houston died and he said yes. i asked if he knew how it happened. "no, what?" "she drowned in a bathtub. drug overdose." and the look on his face when he shook his head and turned away and said, "oh my God."

5.) my dad telling the story of when my uncle crapped his pants. (he was in his 20s, not a child.) the way my dad laughs while telling it, combined with his storytelling abilities and imagining my pappy's face/role in the story ... gets me every time!

6.) the story of my mom at small group talking/listening to some woman beside her that she had been in the same small group with for months, and later the woman piped in during the group discussion time, "it's like i was saying to judy" and motions toward my mom. my mom's name is CHERYL. NOT JUDY. there was no other judy in the room. the face my mom made when telling me this story is probably what made it so funny. how do you get judy out of cheryl?! if you are THAT bad with names, you need to reevaluate your life and priorities, or at least learn to use fillers like "girl" and "man" at appropriate times to hide your lack of class, manners and respect for people.

7.) one time we stopped at a mcdonalds in the city, i think for my dad to use the restroom and to get milkshakes. we never got the milkshakes because when colby and i were at the back of the line when my dad came tearing up to  where we were saying, "come on let's get out of here." "wait dad, i want-" "we'll get it somewhere else! come on! let's go!" and we rushed out of there and tore out of that parking lot in his truck wondering what was happening and if perhaps the police would soon be following us depending what we were peeling away from. well, when my dad calmed down to explain himself a block or two later, he told us that he went into the bathroom and opened the (unlocked) door and there was a homeless man on the toilet and he started screaming.

family humor runs deep - one of the many, many things that makes family so special. whether we're family or not, maybe you got a laugh out of one of those stories. :) 
have a happy weekend! know that you are loved and the best is yet to come!