My Week

So many things have gone on in this past week I am not even sure where to start. My head is a mess with a brain just swishing around. Do you ever feel that way?

Friday the 27th - Britt and I are in staff meeting when we get a call - we thought Britt's dad was calling to tell us his grandfather passed away. We were surprised to hear that Britt's mom was in the Heart Hospital. We spend the rest of the day at the hospital. Britt's brother stays the night with us.

Saturday the 28th - We find out that it was not heart trouble. Praise the Lord! She goes home that afternoon. Britt's brother stays one more night. That evening through a serious of events and craziness (being up till 12am) the Lord begins to do a real work in Britt's brothers life. He is 13.

Sunday the 29th - We get a call at 6am. Britt's grandfather passed away. We go to church and pastor gives a great message. Britt's younger brother goes forward and gives his life to the Lord. An emotional day for sure. We spend a lot of the day with Britt's family and then we stay the night with my family.

Monday the 30th - Dr. Appointment for me. Shopping with my parent's, my Maw'Maw and Britt. Sometimes escaping it all is not a bad thing. Found out that Britt's other grandfather is having emergency heart surgery to put a pace make in Tuesday morning.

Tuesday the 31st - Work. Why can't you escape work on crazy weeks like this? Surgery goes well. We go to my older brothers house with several other couples to listen to a speaker talk about raising children. Home late. Bed.

Wednesday the 1st - Work. Clean house. Grocery shop. Britt's sisters come into town. One of them and her husband are staying with us. We actually go to bed a a decent time although I can't sleep. I am starving so I eat a bowl of cereal at 11. Bed.

Thursday today - Work till noon. Go grocery shopping for a retreat Britt and I are in charge of this weekend. Go see Britt's family. Go to a viewing of his grandfather.

Friday tomorrow - Go see the family, go to a lunch for the family, go to the funeral and graveside, jump in the car and leave for our retreat until Sunday afternoon.

Notes to self for today/this weekend:
- Take lots of deep breaths.
- Rely on the Lord knowing that His grace is sufficient and His joy is my strength.
- Remember what it means to celebrate a life well lived and that it is not goodbye.
- Be a support to my husband.
- Find the energy to give and invest where needed this weekend.
- Take more deep breaths and lean on my constant-one, Jesus Christ.

Thinking about him...

Sometimes I joke how this is “Britt and Lauren’s Blog” but really just me, Lauren. The thing is that Britt is apart of this blog because he is apart of me. And today I am thinking about Britt. We are not a really “mushy” couple in the way that some are, just because that is not us. When we are with other people we make a point to be with them and not in our own little world. Not that it is the only way to do things, or the right way but because it is what we feel we should do. But today…today I feel mushy. Today I want to take a moment, give a shout out, tell the world just how wonderful I think the man I am so blessed to call my husband is. Today is not a “special day” (i.e. anniversary, birthday, holiday…). It is just a regular old day, but no matter the day I find more and more that my love for him grows and it is wonderful!

I am thinking about him today and how we have been married for almost 9 ½ months. Thinking about the fact that 1 year is so close; right around the corner. He is so different from me; sometimes it is frustrating but mostly wonderful! Thinking about how tall he is and how I always knew that I would marry a tall man. Thinking about the lines around his eyes when he smiles - I love those lines. Thinking about evenings together, just the two of us, when we sit and talk, laugh, cry and just be. The way that I still feel to this day when he holds my hand or puts his arm around me; the way I know I will feel even 20, 30, 40 years from now… I don’t tell him enough how wonderful he is and I don’t express enough how much I love him; because I could never express it enough. He is just that wonderful.

I remember...

My mom came in to my bedroom and told me that I should come and see what was happening on t.v.

I walked into the living room and saw the utter chaos and confusion. I saw news announcers at a loss for words.

And then, I saw the second plane hit. I saw it on live t.v. I saw hundreds of lives taken before my eyes on live t.v. How can I forget where I was, what I was doing, who I was with?

I saw a great loss, I saw a moment in history that we will not forget. I was younger at the time and not able to totally comprehend the impact but I still felt the sting of the pain. My heart ached for those families.

After it set in, as much as it could, I really saw panic. All the way in Oklahoma people were panicking. We left to get gas because prices begin to sky rocket. We went to the store to buy canned food, bottled water and other basics because no one knew what would happen next. When we arrived at the stores the shelves were basically empty. It was hard to find bread, milk, eggs....

Everything ended up being ok. There were no more attacks. But a there was a deep wound that would take a long time to heal. A wound that would always leave a scar on America.

So, today I remember. I remember the lives of the Innocent and the hero. I remember because lives were taken unjustly. I remember because there are people grieving today. Grieving the deaths of their father, mother, son, daughter, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, cousins, best friend....

Do you remember?