"Here It Is....The Day She Said YES!"

I would like to begin this Blog with how I PRAISE God in all the many wonderful ways he is working in each of our lives!! His mercy and grace are unfolding a step at a time and it is so much more than amazing to watch him work!! Friend, he has a timetable and a plan and knows how to fit all the many different pieces of life's puzzle together to make it into something BEAUTIFUL! As the song goes "I'm gonna take all the broken pieces and make something beautiful like only I could. So put it all in the hands of the Father - Give it up, give it all over to the One and only One who can turn it into something beautiful."
I truly believe he is doing exactly that....in his timing. Don't get discouraged when YOU can't see it happening. Most of the time we don't. God is just working a little longer behind the scenes to make it that much more beautiful. Trust HIM. There is hope.

And now....for the BIG day!!

Tuesday, October 16, 2013 would become a day to represent a very special time in the life of our daughter, Savannah. It would become the day she received Taylor Tibbitts proposal question with a .......YES! It was also a day that was shared by many including her parents. Something that this mother will cherish always. God is doing some really super amazing works in the life of our daughter and us....and I give God all the glory and thanks from a truly grateful mother's heart! Please, I ask that you keep us each one in your prayers as God is working out his will in our lives.

At 5:30pm, we met up with Taylor's family and their friends, inside a privately owned hangar. It was a little overwhelming to see all the many people there. We were told to wait inside the hangar. Once Taylor and Savannah arrived, then the doors would be shut concealing our presence. This was ALL a surprise to Savannah. Taylor had taken her to Oive Garden to eat. He had made up an excuse to have to go out to his work site, after their dinner, and do something he had forgotten. Once they had arrived, the doors were shut, and we all were making up our own stories of just what was going on beyond those doors. Taylor had a helicopter awaiting Savannah once they got there. They would then take off for a ride and finish it with a view of the field below that said "Will you" with a heart to land in below the words. Once she saw the words "Will you" he would then finish the rest of the sentence himself with the words "Marry me?" while holding the ring in his hand. :) Smooth huh!

 Heather and I knew that Savannah was nervous about flying in general. So, many of the stories circulating around were ones such as "The poor thing probably isn't wanting to get on the helicopter!" "She's probably standing there crying and Taylor's trying his best to talk her into it!" Many of us had our ears up to the hangar's door trying to catch anything we could possibly hear. I thought I heard her scream once and told Heather....that in turn started all the more stories circulating! Haha! We had Savannah a pitiful mess. BUT in reality, what did lay beyond those doors was the complete opposite. She was loving every moment of it and quite excitedly agreed to go for the ride!! :)

All the many people celebrating a special day with Taylor and Savannah!

Taylor's Mom taking an aerial picture of the proposal field.

Such a beautifully HAPPY girl she was!!!!

Savannh was SO excited!! She was sending Heather and I pictures while they were up in the helicopter! :)

We also got aerial views of the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship of Texas!

She was loving it!

Soon we excitedly spotted them coming in the horizon!!

It was SO exciting watching them come in!! :)

This Mom got a very HAPPY hug from her daughter - - a true blessing indeed!!

A toast to the newly engaged couple!

Our beautiful girls!!

Taking a picture with Taylor's brother. :)

Cody...always the character.

After all the excitement, we were invited over to Taylor's parent's house for fajitas.

It was a very wonderful night shared by two special people . . .

Thank you, God, for the growing blessings you are allowing us to see in our lives.....

And the BIG DAY is - - - - -

May 8, 2014!!!!!

"That Phone Call No Parent Wants!"

I really thought I had Blogged about this story already. I guess the time was never right til now as they say. It has been crossing my mind ever so often to share with you.

Four years and seven months ago (April 08) I received a phone call from my daughter, Savannah, who would have been about 2 months from turning 17.  She told me she had been in a wreck. It wasn't the first time for me to receive such a phone call. Our daughter, Heather, previously had multiple wrecks herself . This would be Savannah's first one.

As I remember, she didn't have panic in her voice....most likely she just matter of factly told me we needed to come. I gave the phone to her Dad and thats when he was put on the phone with the Fireman. Wait....the Fireman?!? Hmm....a little unsettling, but still nonetheless we assumed all was well.

We got the location and we're off to find her.

As we are driving, we see countless flashing lights ahead. Hmm.... As we are nearing the lights, we see that the entire FOUR lanes of traffic, on Hwy 1960 going both directions, are completely closed down!! We pull over and begin walking. Still not understanding the sights we are seeing! Savannah had simply said "I've been in a wreck. You need to come." (My heart is starting to race as I'm just thinking back and relaying this story with you.) Closer we come upon the scene. . . there in front of us in a vehicle turned over on it's side. It's laying in the grass median of the intersection of 1960 and Will Clayton. I quickly exclaim to David, "Look someone's car is turned over!! O my gosh!!" It is nightime. We are walking around it and that's when we notice......this isn't just someone's car anymore. This is our daughter's truck!!!!!!!!!!!! (I seriously did not think I would have this reaction while sharing this story with you...but my heart still is racing remembering this moment!)



That's when my mind just started going numb I suppose. 

As we kept walking towards the now visible Ambulance, I wasn't quite thinking clearly. David had to reach for my hand and pull me back from being hit by some passing cars even. All I could think is "How can this be happening? Cars turned over are serious! She just simply said 'Ive been in a wreck'. This isn't a wreck, this is a WRECK!!"

We found Savannah with the Fireman. He had put a neck brace on her and they were about to load her onto a stretcher. Still puzzled, I can't believe my eyes. She appeared to be visibly alright. She was shaking. She remained calm. As her mother, I wanted to reach out to her and hold her in my arms. I was SO thankful she was alive after seeing her truck and would be even MORESO thankful later as I heard the details of the story to follow. But....I couldn't. We, as her family, had, have, and will always love her dearly....but we were not close in fellowship. She was living with another family pretty much during that time. And it would be them who would reach out to her. That hurt deeply as her mother. But, I hold no remorse for this family. As she was placed on the stretcher and shaking....I simply reached out to touch her leg somehow hoping she knew just how very MUCH I cared.



Savannah was with a friend (daughter and neice to family reaching out to her) and so they both were transported to a hospital in another town. As I watched her ambulance go away, I just sat there and wondered helplessly what was happening to my daughter. David went and talked with the police and witnesses. The story goes as follows: Savannah and Jessi were leaving Chick Fila entering 1960. As they came upon the Will Clayton intersection, they both were talking and NOT noticing the very RED light in front of them. Savannah drove through the intersection and 1 van and 1 car hit her hard at the same time. This would send her truck spinning in circles AND rolling over several times before coming to a rest on it's side in the median, right beside a pole!

Jessi would later say that she could remember looking over and seeing Savannah's hair flying all over the place and wondering what was happening to them. Terrifying to say the least!! Once they came to a stop there were some friends that had seen the wreck and ran up to it. They first started trying to rock the truck back over. Once that wasn't accomplished, they got the passenger side door opened and tried to get the girls out. Savannah remembers smelling something and thinking her truck was about to catch on fire. No way was she going to burn alive! She tried to get Jessi to crawl out quickly, but apparently she was too dazed to move. That's when my dear daughter puts plan to action and actually crawls literally over Jessi and out the passenger door!!! They did get Jessi to crawl out as well. :)

In time, we arrived at the hospital. I was very anxious to hear how my daughter was and where she was. They were only allowing 2 people back at a time to talk to her. Again...WHAT is happening here....going through my mind! Heather, her sister, had receieved word about the wreck and actually beat us there to the hospital. She was back with her at the time. I went when allowed and found my daughter sitting up in bed smiling and talking as usual like nothing major had even happened! She had some minor cuts and scratches from the flying glass and probably some bruising later. I was so very THANKFUL!! I had to ask her if I could hug her....and again very THANKFUL I was that she let me!! It was quick, but it was a hug that I needed to give. I left her room and went back to the waiting area to do what you do in a waiting area......wait. Jessi, her friend, was complaining about a little more serious injuries. So we waited with her family. Before not too long, Savannah was released and comes walking out. She sat with us to wait to hear Jessi was going to be. In time, Jessi was released and both girls miraculously walked out and away from that hospital on their own!! We would later hear just how serious of a wreck that was through others as well as our insurance agency. Many, many people do NOT walk away from a wreck such as that....in fact many die!! These 2 girls were given a giant miracle as well as a very BIG BLESSING!! We hoped that we could and tried to convey that as much as possible to Savannah. She seemed to understand.

In the following days, we located her truck in a junk yard.

Can I just say here that as David and I came upon this truck in full daylight, the full reality and somberness of this event really hit us H A R D. There is just something about the fullness of a tragic situation being brought to full terms that makes you realize just what a beautiful blessing you have just been given. It was almost eerie looking at this mess and leaning inside the doors to realize what your precious child just went through.



Pictures don't always do justice, but here are some:

You can see the grass in the frame from rolling over.

That wheel is in the wrong place by the way!

Needless to say....the truck was totaled.

But thankfully....our daughter was not! :)

There is one very special picture I will leave with you as I close at this memory and story. This picture I share speaks a 1,000 words to this Mother. Although it may not speak as many to you, know that it holds a very dear place in my heart.

This picture was taken after the fact that this truck had not only spun, but rolled as well. This picture was also taken after the fact that this truck had been righted up, hoisted up, taken to a junk yard, and placed in the position it now was in. In this picture, you will see one penny lying in the driver's seat...my daughter's seat.

For those who know and those who don't know, pennies have meant so very much to me. For on them, as we know, it says In God We Trust. Each time I see a penny on the ground I pick it up and it to me it symbolizes a reminder that I CAN trust in God for He is there reminding me to and showing me that He is with me. So when I saw this one lone penny sitting there in her seat, it was as if God Himself was saying "See...just keep trusting me. I took care of her through this terrible accident. I will continue to take care of her as the days come and go." And in that I say ..... "Yes, God. I do and I will trust you. For YOU alone are trustworthy!" Although there have been bumps in the road and I don't always understand all that He allows and doesn't allow.....I will trust my heavenly Father. For in Him I find my hope.



Thanks for letting me share a very special time in my life.

I hope that in reading it, you also will find God to be trustworthy in your own life.

For He is.

"Don't Touch Me Mom!"

Out of the 40 something Blogs I've shared I've probably written about or touched on this subject somewhat before. That's alright. . . I can repeat myself. . . I'm at that age that allows it. : )

I will tell you that I REALLY really wanted to be inspired to write something this past weekend and I kept coming up with blanks mostly but not entirely. I told my Mother that I was having a hard time finding just the right story to share. I pray always before I write and I sit and wait after that. I had in fact started going in a direction but didn't finish. That's when my ever present, always willing to help Mother texted me this morning with the simple words of "A Mother's Touch". . . and thus begins my Blog. . . .

Yesterday, while leaving church, I was walking out with David and Levi. While still in the building I happen to reach over and just lovingly pat my son on the back. He immediately jerked away and made quite a mad face. He said "Why did you have to do that?!?" to which I replied "Because I'm your Mother and I didn't know I wasn't supposed to." When we got to the car, he still seemed pretty mad about it. He said "I just don't see why she had to do that." David spoke up at this time and said "Because she's your Mother, she loves you and she wants to touch you." He still didn't get it of course. . . and David ends the conversation with "Someday...... you will."

A Mother's touch is so important throughout our lives. I can remember every single day that I lived in my parent's home that I always came and hugged my Mother before starting my day. It's just what I needed. Today, when I visit,  I still hug her as well. There is something comforting and securing in that hug. I believe, that in those days of growing up, it gave me the strength I needed and to know that I was loved. . . always. Today I have my own children to love. . . and love them I do! But I will tell you . . . they each are different. Although I love each of them with great amount, they each respond differently to it. I have a child who comes often to give and receive a hug of love and comfort. . . but it must be of her decision because when I come to give it myself it doesn't hold the same meaning it would seem. This child loves to hug with great aggression due to her personality. She will hug me anytime and anyplace. I have another child who has not let me even so much as reach out and touch in her anyway whatsoever for a very long time . . . and this hurts. Not even on a birthday or holiday. Through time I have come to accept it and know that God's great ways of overcoming things in our lives are always able and present. . . . I choose to wait on Him. And then, of course, there's my "sweet" son. No, really he is my sweet son and for the very most part he allows me to hug him, play with him and I even sneak in a kiss on his cheek when we are wrestling. I understand too though that he is growing up and doesn't need a "Mother's touch" out where he can be seen by others. : ) Sidenote: Although I didn't find it TOO noticeable when we are walking through a crowded room of people all with the mindset of finding their family and leaving! Haha! Ah well. . .

So as much as I love my children I also accept the fact that they all respond differently to my touch.

How about when we think of God's touch in our life? How does God touch our life?

I will be honest with you and tell you that I get really put off when I read stories of how people have just felt that "overcoming sense of God putting His arms around me and hugging me tight and everything just became better". I know God very well CAN do that. . . but just the same I don't think He's ever chosen to do that in my life and believe me when I say I've needed it! There's is kind of a funny situation here as I think about this. . . .I was upset no make that VERY upset. . . I was crying and praying and just really needing God to be close to me. While being like this, I started feeling very WARM all along the back of me. I was sitting and praying out my prayer window. As this warmness came upon me it started making me feel sick. I told God through tears "Ok God....you're standing too close and it's making me feel sick!" :) Heehee!

Although God may not choose to physically reach out and touch/hug me, I most certainly believe He does still touch us in many ways! There are touches through other people God places in our life! Our family members (I am SO blessed with the family members who give me God's touch often), there are friends (many of you have given me God's touch through your encouragement), there are godly leaders God gives us, even strangers can be used by God to touch us! It can be something simple like a song on the radio, a song at worship, words spoken through devotions/messages, books, ...... you name it! And one very important way is through God's Word....the Bible. Any and every part of life we live (yes, in this day) is covered in His Word. But don't forget. . . God does also speak to our hearts and you will know it.

How will you respond to all the many ways God is reaching out to touch you today? I hope and pray that you will willingly and gladly accept each and every single one of them! For He happily gives them! Will you accept them, draw strength from them and be renewed from them? Or will you turn away from them, going your own way and drawing from your own strength? The choice is yours my friend!

I hope that you will choose to be touched by God today and be on the lookout for all His many ways! I know I have been through, a distant in miles though near in heart, Mother's touch of a text leading me to share this Blog with you. I love you Mother! :)