fifth of May

Cinco de Mayo is a day that brings up all kinds of emotions for me. First of all, it's Amy Grace's birthday! She was born just a few weeks before I graduated from high school, which makes her 8 years old... I can hardly believe it.

Secondly, it was Mrs. Carr's birthday. I mentioned in this post that I could and probably should write an entire post about her. Today seemed to be fitting.

Mrs. Carr was the single hardest working person I have ever known.

She...

...was adamant about her yard. Plants were covered with blankets to withstand the cold and she mowed and mowed and mowed until everything was perfect.

...dusted the slats of her blinds (maybe that's common...) and every nook and cranny of her house. You could eat off any surface at their home- even though she lived with 3 boys and any number of dogs.

...loved and served her boys more than anyone I can imagine.

...was the tiniest little person with the biggest smile and heart.

...cooked a TON, but rarely ate what she made.

...broke a rib one time because Peter hugged her too hard.

...single-handedly ran everything about Calvary's booster club, and she never, ever missed a basketball/soccer/baseball game.

...called me one time and asked me to come over - just to hang out with her - because she was surrounded by boys.

...defeated breast cancer, but we ultimately lost her in 2007.

Late one night, after a round of capture-the-flag no doubt, a neighbor had a carbon monoxide leak. I only remember this event because it was well after midnight, but Mrs. Carr was still up baking dozens and dozens of cookies, probably for something at school. Although this particular memory sticks out in my mind, I know there were hundreds of other occasions where she was doing the same thing. Their house was alllways full of friends, and everyone was always welcome. You could show up at the Carrs' house any hour of the day and be served a giant meal. On low-key holidays when it was just my immediate family, I would finish our meal then run around the corner and hang out with the Carrs- they always had enough food to feed a small army.

The last time I spent time with Mrs. Carr, she was ironing (of course) and we were catching up. I was telling her about a few wayward friends, and she stopped, sat down and cried. That memory will stay with me forever because she cared SO much. About everyone.

I miss her. I miss calling 706-571-0320 and not having to identify myself. I hate that my David only met her one time (though I'm thankful that he did).

I encourage people not to have regrets, but my biggest (and probably only) regret in life was not driving to Columbus the night we knew she was leaving us. I spent many tearful hours on the phone with Peter and other friends as we anticipated what was becoming the inevitable, and I didn't make the drive from Birmingham. Of course, my dad was there through it all, and he is amazing during times like that. I still wish I could have seen her one last time...

I am so thankful for Linda Carr's influence on my life. I have an amazing mom, and a handful of other women that have helped shaped who I am today. Mrs. Carr is at the top of that list. She taught me more about hospitality and servant leadership than anyone ever could, and I am forever indebted to her.

I cannot wait to get to heaven and hug her neck. I'm sure the cookies and kool aid will be waiting!

*I know this is a total random assortment of disjointed thoughts, but... it's my blog and this is how it came out.

**Add/Edit:
My dad sent me this beautiful email, and it was only appropriate to include it:

the h
Dear, dear Emily --


Linda wasn't so adamant about her yard as she was a perfectionist and certainly a tireless worker. Once, walking the neighborhood, I noticed her mowing her yard diagonally one way, then 90 degrees the other way to be sure to get every blade of grass! Even during her breast cancer chemeo treatments.

I was with her in her hosptial room at 6 am on 8/21/2007 -- we chatted for an hour before other folks came to wish her well in surgery and get her ready -- she died that day so very unexpectedly.

She left her handprint and a gaping hole in eart of those who loved her.

In the days after her passing I doodled (on a napkin) the gates of heaven welcoming her with a shiny new lawn mower with a ribbon tied on it; and another, with tiny Linda in the distance (in heaven) mowing endless grass in her cross-hatched pattern; and still another (same napkin), with a tiny head barely above the stainless kitchen counter at Calvary School surrounded by heaps and heaps of freshly baked cookies.

A true Saint. While we cherish her memory she remains with us.

Great blog, honey.

Love Always ,

dad

k shay

our weekend- Part Four

Yes, I skipped a few "parts". Part Two was Max's dedication, Part Three was keeping Kate & KJ Sunday morning while Becca & Keith went to church (pics to come), and Part Four was Jodi's baby shower!

Andrea and I had a great time planning and preparing to celebrate Jodi and Baby "Bo". We don't know if the baby is a he or a she yet, and I am DYING to know! I'm horrible at guessing, so I really have no inclination towards what it is. We'll find out soon enough- Jodi is due in 12 days!

Andrea and I both like crafts and projects, so we enjoyed DIY-ing lots of stuff for the shower. I made the invitations, 2 of these cupcake towers (that of course, I didn't take a single picture of...) and these cute chocolates:

Andrea made an awesome game, but I can't share it yet because we intended it to be reusable and it will be soon :). Also, my mom made thank you cards for Jodi (you can see them in the box here) and everyone loved them! She is so talented.

The cute mom and dad to-be! We love Jodi & Greg and we canNOT wait for this baby to be here!

Lots more pictures on facebook here.

our weekend- Part One

We had a great (and FULL) weekend! I'll break it down into three-ish parts, beginning with our race!

We raced out of town Friday afternoon, and made it to Louisville around 8pm. We had to pick our race packets up by 9, so we were glad we made it in time. David ran into a guy from college at the Expo, which was really fun. After grabbing some quick carbs and checking into our hotel, we hit the hay! 5am came way too quickly Saturday morning, but we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get settled at the race. Fortunately, we got an amazing parking spot (literally 100 yards away from the start line) and had lots of time to hang out in the car before lining up.

I could give you a play-by-play of the race, but that would be boring. There are a few noteworthy highlights:

• There were lots of crowds along the race route, but they mostly weren't very encouraging! I was frustrated that everyone was only looking for their one friend/aunt/co-worker to cheer for and ignoring the rest of us. And then... I saw someone holding a sign that said "Hello stranger, I'm proud of you!" The sign alone was awesome, but I looked down and the girl holding it was a friend of mine from college (Katrina Roger)!! Jesus was so sweet to send me that encouragement exactly at the point I needed it.
• I saw another guy from college (Matt King) watching along the race route too. I probably looked a fool when I called out to him waving vigorously. I was super excited, to say the least.
• The course was boring, but almost entirely flat. We'll take boring and flat over exciting and hilly any day!
• The best decision I made that day was to bring my chapstick with me. I reapplied 4x.
• I ran a half-marathon in 2008 in 2 hours, 36 minutes.
• David's goal: under 2 hours
• My goal: finish without having to stop and walk

Our results:

David: 1:52, 8:35 pace, 1,771st place (11,394 total)

Emily: 2:11, 10:01 pace, 4,659th place (11,394 total)

We did it! I'm SUPER proud of David. Especially when you consider that we trained for 6 weeks, and David had never run long distances before then, he's doing a fabulous job. Now we're on the lookout for one more half marathon and a full (for D to run) this year!

David's favorite part of the race?

There was a Skyline close to our hotel. He ate FOUR chili cheese sandwiches in 3 minutes! Obviously he was super hungry, and the boy loves Skyline.

If you're squeamish, stop here...

I was foolish enough to NOT listen to all the advice about getting new shoes before the race. I thought I could make it through with my current, worn out pair... and well, I did, but it came at a price. I had/have some for real blisters as a result. These pictures really don't do them justice.

Left foot: huge blister on my big toe and just about every other toe...

Right foot: GIANT blood blister (looks like a blueberry) between my toes

Needless to say, walking has been interesting this weekend. Crocs are my new best friend.

Part Two of our weekend was church Sunday night. Afterwards, we stuck around for Max Linhosses dedication. Of course, I forgot my camera, but it really was a special time to be with our friends as they dedicate their child to the Lord.

keep praying

What a day! Our storms started about 9am and the rest of the day was a bust. The University sent everyone home by 1pm, and I spent the rest of the afternoon (in the dark) cuddled up with Harley reading this book (it was great!) and eating Sour Patch Watermelons.

hanging out with Harley in the bathroom while the worst part was blowing through- I was so thankful to have my little buddy!

The (vacant) house next door... this happens every time it rains, so this really isn't storm specific. This is only after the first round of storms. It nearly cleared the retaining wall (~2 feet) by the end of the day.

Harley and I sat in the car to charge my phone and listen to the radio on and off all night. I hate being out of touch and unaware, so I was texting and checking facebook on my phone constantly.

We are totally fine. The storms that hit the Chattanooga area (even Ringgold) are nothing compared to the devastation in Alabama. As far as I know, all of our friends and family are safe, and we are so thankful. Unfortunately, lots and lots of people and their families are not as lucky. Please keep praying for the people affected by these horrible storms.

Easter Sunday

Sunday morning started with a grueling (for me, simple for D) 10 mile run. I'm having shoe issues, but knowing that our race is this weekend and that I'm going to be cutting back on running (distance wise) afterwards, I can't justify new shoes... Regardless, it was a sweet time of worship as I listened to my Hillsong United Pandora station and thought about Easter morning two thousand years ago. Wow! We sang this song at church, and I've been playing it on repeat this week:

When I made it back to the car, David was waiting for me with a surprise. I was (and always am) craving a smoothie SO badly, and David had already gone to McDonalds and gotten them for us (yes, he is that much faster than me)! Added bonus: they were free because he had to wait too long!

After running, we made it home to shower, fix some food and head out to the lake. The Bryants included us in their family Easter celebration, and we really had a great day. I still can't believe how thoughtful they are to have adopted us into their family! We are so blessed.

We spent the afternoon eating, playing a few intense (and at times, heated) volleyball games and lounging by the water. It was a perfect day to celebrate

MA found an egg that had a cricket inside! ha!

Easter Saturday

We celebrated Easter* with church Saturday night, but our day was full of productivity. David tackled a few big yard and outside house projects, and I helped some too :). 

Finished product! Tada!

I know it may not look like much, but we/David mowed the lawn, moved our two scraggly rose bushes to the back yard, replanted the three bushes on the right of the porch to be evenly spaced, planted three more bushes on the left to make the porch symmetrical, added 5 shrubs under the garage windows (so eventually we will have a hedge there), spread new mulch (27 bags!), hung new ferns and planted "window box" flowers (those 2 were my jobs) and pressure washed the gutters (and the entire back porch- me again). I'm seriously excited that this area is right on target with my vision for it since we moved in. I'm definitely impaired when it comes to yard/garden/landscaping stuff, but David did a fabulous job!

I was productive on the craft/home front. My favorite project were these cute zippered pouches. I used a combo of this tutorial and this tutorial to make them waterproof for cloth diapers as a baby gift. I was excited to learn how to sew zippers- this was my first time! Oh, and they cost next to nothing to make (shhh). I got a slew of zippers at a yard sale last year, I used fabric from my stash, and I used a dollar store shower curtain liner ($4). I have enough shower curtain for about a zillion more bags, so there are likely many more of these in my near future!

*We celebrate Easter every day as we worship our risen Lord. At least, we strive to.