.....and they're living happily ever after

it was a magical night.

a fairytale.

she was beautiful.

he was handsome.

the night was straight out of a favorite book.

the first page in a brand-new one.

and it's their book.

off they went to the honeymoon. the virgin islands. sun, sand, beaches, beautiful water, a 45 foot sea ray adventure, forests and views of God's handiwork everywhere.

sunsets on the ocean are unique and awesome.

they're home and life begins ~

it will never be the same because now, now they're sharing it together. just as it should be.

the book is open. and now every "first" begins.....

yesterday was their first one-month anniversary.

today is their first thanksgiving as mr. and mrs. lawrence.

let the story begin....................

"May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord's face radiate with joy because of you!

May He show you His favor and give you His peace."

Numbers 6:24

going to the chapel and they're gonna get married...

she's getting married four weeks from yesterday.

kate, darling, (let me borrow that endearment from grandmother) ~ you were the object of my dreams, the prayer that was answered by God. just when i had given up, God smiled and said yes!

only parents, of course, understand the wonder of first children. you truly were a wonderment. "the best gift". (thank you barbra streisand) and just in time for christmas.

eleven days before you get married you'll have your twenty-eighth birthday. happy birthday. (two and a half weeks early) what a nice present!

you're marrying a great guy, kate. he really loves you. he's nice. and handsome. you go together. you fit. we were happy to give you our blessing. very important.

you will be such a beautiful bride! the most beautiful. i can see you now coming down the aisle. radiant. full of joy and love. the biggest day. i pray that you and kyle will make the most important part of your lives together based on the Lord. it will determine everything. and life will go so much better for you!

here is one of my favorite verses for marriage ~

"two are better than one because they have a good return for their work. if

one falls down, the other can pick him up. but pity the man who falls and

has no one to help him up! also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

but how can one keep warm alone? though one may be overpowered, two can

defend themselves. a cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

i love you both and i'm looking forward with great anticipation and joy to your very own day!

xoxo mthr

(it's nice to have a boy in our family, kyle, you've done a great job of handling all these girls!)

the baby chick

it's true. my baby chick, emily jane, graduated from college. thank You, God! yea. no more payments of any kind, at least to or for texas a&m. ever. to any college. any. where. ever. you can see me doing the happy dance, can't you?

packing and moving was......well, insane. but it's done, over, kaput. with tons of help from her 'mama' and a cache full of amazing friends. thank you, amazing friends.

so now it's job fair. every. day. not nearly as much fun as college. (the fun part not the class and studying part) it's real world part. it's going back home to fun-filled parents part. i crack myself up with the adjective there. we, the parents, are down to the mundane with only bursts of fun-filled-ness. not to be confused with college graduate fun-filled. ness. it's major computer time and resumes part. it's the interviewing part. with companies that aren't even close to what she wants to do. what does she want to do? no worries. she'll figure it out. sooner or later. no pressure but we're all hoping for sooner. wink.

okay. we're going to make it. all of us.

"this is a test. this is only a test. if it were not a test, your local broadcasting company would inform you. stay tuned to this channel."

we're staying tuned to this channel.

and guess who the broadcaster is? yes, thankfully, it's God Himself. so we will all persevere, we will all continue to pray (especially ejb) and we will all keep tuned-in to every channel that He gives us.

He really is... mighty to save.

even college grads without a job.

i love you baby chick.

AND DON'T YOU EVER FORGET IT.

wink. wink. wink.

just random thoughts...a few more things

i just can't shake this 'feeling'. when your parents die, life goes on. and everyone and the world goes on. as it should be. but i'm left with the feelings, the memories. the fragility of life. the strength of life. the wisp of death. it really is like "the twinkling of an eye". you're here one split second and then you're not....you're gone. in an instant, you're gone from this world.

for my children ....i just want to write this down for you. i want you to know that, without the smallest doubt, God is real. Jesus is real. He is who He says He is. He is God and there is no other! i want you to know that God does the most unbelieveable things for me. i am at a complete loss for words as to why.

here's the story that i want you to know ~ i was sitting by my mother's bed the morning that she died. her breathing had changed even more, her body, her eyes, everything about her was changing. but is was sweet and peaceful. i watched as she was being drawn away, as she was leaving this world. i saw her eyes moving under her lids. i watched the artery in her throat pulsating. she made a grimace and then another one. then she made three distinct 'sounds', like sighs except that i heard her voice in those sighs. it was surprising to me even at the moment. and that was it. she was gone.

it wasnt' until later when i sat beside her again and began writing in my journal that i suddenly realized what i had witnessed. the Bible tells us that God has 'called us by name' and that we will rise to meet Him when we die unless we're living when He returns and we will rise with Him. as i was writing about hearing her voice in those sighs, i instantly knew that God was calling her name and that she was answering Him!!! that God allowed me to witness this most sacred event is beyond my comprehension. i was sitting there, seemingly alone, when in actuality we were surrounded by angels and God Himself calling her name. i am as humbled as a human being can be.

i still feel fragile but i wanted you to know this.

betty jean long smith 5-8-24 ~ 5-29-09

my mother died today. in one tiny, last breath she was gone from this earth.

when she opened her eyes she was looking at daddy, her charles, and all the people in her whole life who loved her. they were waiting for her at the gate. yes, i've been a little jealous all day trying to imagine how wonderful it was and what she's doing now. and how happy my father is to have her there with him. i wanted to be "in on it", too. i can see him taking her around and showing her all the beautiful things that are made with precious stones....the very ones that he loved on this earth. i think of all the people that i know that she's talking with now. i think of daddy, young and vibrant again. of mother, free from this earthly stuff.

freedom. love. forever.

i think of Jesus. actually i see Him standing back, just enjoying the scene. i'll bet He gets to do this every day, all the time. and then when all the excitement dies down a little, someone turns and then all heads turn..... and there He is. and He smiles. at her. and she smiles back. He holds His precious hands out and she runs ....straight to Him.

she only died in her earthly body. now she's done with it. now she knows, not in part, but the whole. what do people do who don't believe in Jesus? i want everyone i know and love to come to Him and be saved. to be forever with the Lord. to live happily ever after. with Him. that's the only way it works.

here's what i know ~ life is about Love. relationship. it's all that matters. all the rest will be burned up and blown away.

thank You, Lord, for being so sweet to me. i can't figure it out but You keep doing things for me that are simply amazing. me. ME. thank You for giving me the desire of my heart....to be with her when she left this world. to share in that most sacred moment. just she and i. alone.

You are worthy! i love You so.


good-bye, mother. i'll see you soon. and daddy, too.

reflections on mother's day...to kate and mollie and emily

aren't you beautiful? yes you are! wow, God, good work!! i am simply stunned by Your handiwork.

three girls. three. did you know that i always wanted three children? being an only child for thirteen years, i always wanted a really big family. hahaha....i thought three sounded huge.
well, it is. ;)

you have been my heart's desire from the beginning. look at God....showing off big time for me!

each one of you has given me more insight to life and to myself than i could've ever imagined. what on earth do people do who have no children? you are truly a "gift from the Lord".

but trust me...okay, here comes a reality hit...there were days when i would've gladly sent you back to where you came from! but see.....now we can look back at them and smile because like musafa said in 'the lion king', "it does't matter, it's in the past!" (what would we do without movie quotes? seriously.)

thank You, Lord Jesus for these precious, beautiful girls!!! and thank you, girls, for all that you are and for all that you are becoming.

i love you more than you will ever know. but one day i pray that each of you will know, when you hold your own darlings in your arms.

then.....you will know about my love for you.

muah!
xoxo

our story ~ reader's digest version

here's the guy i've been talking about....... 33 years.
i love double numbers, don't you?

we met at a garbage company (omg) (almost 2 years before the 33). he sold trucks (18 wheelers...yikes) to a garbage company and i worked at that garbage company's corporate offices.

we met. we dated. we married.
we had three daughters ~ kate, mollie and emily.

that sounds so tidy. it wasn't so tidy. it never is. for anyone. or for alot of us.
i know that now.

when two broken people marry (and we're all a little broken to some degree or other) they have no idea what's ahead. when those two people have a quasi-relationship with God then things are going to get dicey. the funny thing is that God doesn't rush in and say "hey, wait a minute, I'm over here! here I am! don't do it that way, listen to Me!"

what i've learned the hard way is that we have to do what we have to do until we don't have to do it anymore. until we give up and say "God, i need You. tag, You're it." it's taken my whole long-legged life to get here.
i'm not proud of that statement.

we've been through a lot. a whole lot. but it all seems like a blur now. that's what God can do! He's in the business! that's His area of expertise! He's a "life changer". He's changed my life 360 degrees (i'm kidding...that's an inside family joke). how 'bout a 180? actually how 'bout a 160 or a 170...i still have a lot to learn!

when each of us, bill and i, began to let God open our eyes (at different times, of course...that would've been way too easy) and allowed Him to show us about ourselves, instead of looking at each other ~ then the dance changed, the music started again and life has become a brand new thing.

we have to ask Him. ask Him to come in and sit with us and teach us and be with us. we have to want Him more than we want our own way. we have to see ourselves as we really are not how we think we are.
because we're blind until we let Him in.

honestly, i would have preferred for this wisdom to have come to me a very long time ago. it would've saved us from a lot of pain. but then i wouldn't be who i am right now. i can't go back. so i go forward with joy and peace that only God can give and how grateful i am that He is such a generous giver of love and mercy and grace!

bill is this to me ~ perfect!

{start watching to see how many men - young or old, married or on a date - open the car door for their ladies? (ahhh....but how many girls stand by their side of the car and wait for their guy to open the door? we'll talk about that later!) (they're teachable, girls!)} bill has opened the door for me every single time for 33 + almost 2 years!!

and there's alot more to be said of the man i call "b".
i'll tell you later, gator. ;)

i thank God everyday for having a crush on me....and bill !

the feeling is mutual.

wink.

here i am!

bill and i have been married for 33 years. that's just crazy. vbg (very big grin) that leaves no doubt that God REALLY DOES have a sense of humor. two very imperfect people get married and set out on the "happily ever after" trail. and God was so sweet to lovingly and generously give us the greatest desires of our hearts times three! namely ~ kate and mollie and emily. one of these days i'll write about that "happily ever after" trail that we so effervescently set out to travel. but this is my maiden voyage for blogging and this is all a little scary to me. (i'm old-ish) ;) let me leave you with this. i have a husband who loves God and is the best thing that ever happened to me. there's a huge story behind that statement. you'll just have to wait. wink.