Saturday, July 24, 2010

You won't believe where I took my kids pt. 2

If you haven't read part 1, go here.

So Steven leaves to go to the auto parts store and the kids and I head into the liquor store. The wife invites the kids to watch tv, which is conveniently located behind the cash register/counter area. Nice. They are more than willing to sit there and enjoy an episode of Sp*nge B*b. For the first little bit, everything was ok. I was just standing around, holding Asher, the wife had resumed her work on the computer. Since she was working on an online class assignment, I didn't want to interrupt her by making small talk.

It was so awkward when a costumer would come in and my children would be sitting right there by the register, watching their transactions. But I took the opportunity to pray for each person that came in.

Did I mention that I happened to be wearing my JC 4 JC tshirt? For those of you who don't know our community just hosted a county wide crusade, Jenkins County for Jesus Christ. I made of point of turning around so the costumers would see the back of my BRIGHT orange shirt!

Not long after we got in the store, my sister sent me a text to see how are trip home was going. I briefly stated, "van broke down, we're in Savannah." She called me after getting my text and amazingly, they were only about 20 miles from us. We needed them to come because if we couldn't get the van running, we wouldn't be able to fit all 6 of us in a 4 door car! When she asked where we were, I kept saying, "we're at this store." "You'll see our van in front of this store." As soon as I hung up, I sent her another text that said, "we're in a liquor store. seriously. lol"
She responded, "ROFL!"
Within a few minutes, here comes my sister, brother in law and their son, Chaz. The liquor store is getting crowded!

Back outside, Steven and the gentleman are having trouble getting the right belt. Steven has to go to the store 3 different times. After the last time, the man decides to ride with Steven to help him find the right belt.

Back in the store, the kids are getting restless, especially Asher. I was completely stressed that he or Caleb was going to break some $50 bottle of liquor. I kept thanking the lady for letting us hang out in there and she kept reassuring me that it wasn't a problem. One of the funniest moments was when Phil asked the kids if they wanted a drink. (There was a cooler with cokes and juices.) The look on Dougie's face was one of complete shock and he immediately looked at me with a look that said, "Momma, Uncle Phil's offering me alcohol, what do I do?!" I assured him that Uncle Phil meant one of the cokes and NOT the alcohol. We all got a big kick out of that! After being there for over an hour or so, I decided it was time to get out of this lady's hair. We vacated the liquor store and moved to the Mexican restaurant next door.

After we ate a light meal, Steven and the man had fixed the van. It wasn't until later that night that Steven and I realized how God had worked throughout this circumstance.

*What if we had decided to go downtown? We would have had to call a tow truck and we never would have met this couple.
*Since I didn't have any trouble with the steering before lunch, we figure the belt must have broken right as I parked. What would have happened if I had been on the highway when that happened?
*Although Steven tried to talk with the gentleman while they were working, it wasn't until he rode in the car with him, that he really opened up to Steven. This man wept openly about his life and problems to Steven. Steven was able to share the gospel and the man assured him that he had given his life to Christ years before. But he knew that his life now was in turmoil and he needed to get right with God.
*And because I moved our large group to the Mexican restaurant, Steven was able to go back into the store and, in a customer free store, talk with the lady about her salvation as well.

When we left the restaurant, we all gathered back in the liquor store to thank them again. And before we left, Steven asked the couple if we could have a word of prayer with them.

So there we stood, with our children, in the middle of a liquor store, praying and thanking God for His protection, His provision and for His divine intervention in our lives.

This is a day that I won't soon forget. God is at work, we just have to open our eyes and be willing to see it.


Friday, July 23, 2010

My Grandaddy


Charles Franklin Fitzgerald
January 12, 1921 - July 23, 2010



Thursday, July 22, 2010

You won't believe where I took my kids......

I know you all are anxiously awaiting the posts about our recent trip to St. Augustine. And those will be coming soon but I wanted to share something that happened on our trip home.

Because Steven had to be in Savannah early Saturday morning to take the Ga. Teacher Certification exam, we took separate cars on vacation. He left St. Augustine for Savannah about 4 am on Saturday. Then the kids and I left later, headed for home.

We were south of Sav., when Emma and Dougie needed to make a pit stop. I pulled off the highway and made our way to a gas station. I let the kids run in and stayed in the car with the little boys because we still abide by that whole never wake a sleeping baby rule, even if they're 1 and 3! When we got back on the road, I noticed that the AC wasn't blowing cool air. In fact, I realized that the faster I drove, the hotter it was getting. So I shut it off and we rolled down the windows.

Now you may or may not know that back in May we had a brand new air compressor put on the van to the tune of $900 and a few weeks before vacation, we were still having trouble. I don't know exactly what but the mechanic fixed it at no charge. So you can understand why I was a little aggravated that it stopped working again but I was thankful that it hadn't happened while we were in FL.

Not long after the kids and I had gotten back on the road, Steven called. He had finished his test and since it was close to lunch, we decided to meet in Savannah for lunch. We talked about meeting downtown but then decided to find something right off the highway. We got off at an exit where there wasn't really a lot but we found a new shopping center that had a hamburger place and a Mexican restaurant, we went for the burgers. As we parked and got out, Steven noticed that their was a weird smell coming from the van. I told him about the AC. We chalked it up to overheating and hoped that it would cool down while we ate.

After lunch, Steven said he would drive the van. So Emma and I got in the car and started to leave. I noticed that after Steven backed out of the parking space, he drove forward but then stopped. I pulled up beside him and asked what was wrong. He said there was no power steering and something was seriously wrong. So we did what everyone who's having car trouble does, we popped the hood and looked at the engine with absolutely no clue what we were doing. I don't mean this as an insult to my husband, he will readily tell you that he is no mechanic.

Within a minute, I'm serious, a man and woman walked up and the man asked what the problem was. Steven told him and when the man looked under the hood, he immediately pointed out the problem as he pulled out a belt which had broken. He told Steven that if we could get another one, he could put it on. When Steven asked him how much he would charge, he said, "nothing." The man told Steven that there was an auto parts store just a few miles down the road and said that the kids and I were welcome to hang out in their store until he got back. While the man was saying this, he pointed towards the store, I looked towards the shopping center to see where the man was pointing and saw the bold letters that spelled out~

L-I-Q-U-O-R S-T-O-R-E

Gulp....

Immediately the inner struggle began. Do I really go in this store? Do I begrudge these people the kindness they're showing us just because of the place that they work? I decided to wait to see what Steven would say and he without hesitation said ok. As I was thinking, "really?" God spelled out another word for me~

O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y

I told Emma and Dougie that we were going to wait in this store and that it was a liquor store. I had to inform Dougie that it was not a place that sold licorice. But that these people were being very kind to us and we should be grateful that we don't have to wait out in the heat. So as the kids and I headed in,

I began praying.

This was no accident.

I'll stop there for now, this is longer than I realized. Part 2 coming soon!

Friday, July 9, 2010

July 4th on July 3rd

Our little city had our Fourth of July celebration on Saturday evening. We got to the Rec. dept. a little early so Caleb jumped in the moonwalk.
We had a great time hanging out with some dear friends. Emma and Dougie had fun meeting up with their friends and couldn't be bothered by being with us! Just kidding, when it got dark, Dougie came and sat with us.
As always the fireworks did not disappoint. We weren't sure how Caleb would react. He does not like loud noises at ALL. When they did a test firework before the show started, he freaked a little and jumped in Steven's lap. But Daddy did a good job of encouraging Caleb and within a few minutes he was loving it! The noise didn't really phase Asher except once when several boomed at the same time. So Dougie picked him up and they both sat in my lap!
This is Brandi. She is the daughter of one of my good friends. She is so precious and she LOVES Caleb and Asher. She even used her own money to buy Caleb some popcorn!
On Sunday, since Steven wasn't preaching, we went to his brother's church. Then we spent the afternoon with the rest of his family. It was a great weekend!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Ju....July?!

Excuse me July, I know that you are an exceptional month filled with birthdays and beaches but couldn't you have let June stay just a wee bit longer?!?
I cannot believe that it is July 1st! Before you know you know it, we'll be heading back to...ok, I can't even say it!
Well, here's an update of what took place during the last few weeks of June.

Dougie played on our 9 and 10 year old All Star team. We had high hopes for our team but unfortunately, they lost the 1st game, won the 2nd and then lost the 3rd game, which knocked us out. Dougie played right field and did well. He caught several balls that were hit to him and he got on base everytime he batted.
Here's a team photo: Dougie is on the front row on the far right.
Asher has started pulling up but once he gets there he doesn't really know what to do. He gets frustrated and starts fussing, so I thought I'd document it because it makes me laugh!


These were taken about a week ago, so now he's figured out how to squat down. He's not cruising yet but it won't be long, well hopefully, but knowing Asher, you never know!

Emma went to church camp last week and had a great time. She seemed to have a clumsy streak and slipped and fell 3 times! She now has the nickname "Splash." She has been such a big help around here this summer. It's so nice being able to run to the store and not have to load everybody up!

Caleb is just being Caleb. He still says the funniest things and cracks us up!

Life is really good and we're enjoying a relaxing and easy going summer. We changed our beach plans from going to the Gulf and now we're going to St. Augustine. I can't wait!!

Hope things are going well for you!