Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Happy Turkey Day(s)!

The Spears family enjoyed a great Thanksgiving holiday again this year. We ate and ate and ate some more... with all of the family that we have, we not only celebrate Thanksgiving one day- but an entire weekend. We started on Thursday at my mom and dad's house. We had a great time eating, visiting, and playing "Catch Phrase". We loved it! I have to say it is the first game that the entire family has sat down to play and not gotten into a fight over in a REALLY long time. Ha Ha!

On Friday we had the day off so Jamie and I spent the day putting up our Christmas lights on the outside of the house and (yes I broke the family tradition) we went ahead and put up the Christmas tree.

On Saturday we headed to MiMi and Papaw's house to have Thanksgiving with them. Colyn had found their old original Nintendo- complete with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. Embarrassingly enough, I played it so much I had a blister on my thumb! Oh the good ole' days! We had a blast trying to see who could make it the farthest without dying! Such fun! Kinsley didn't understand what all the fun was about...can you believe it?

On Sunday, we went to church with Jamie's grandmother and then went to her house for the day. While we had a good time, it was also a little sad as this was the first Thanksgiving without Jamie's granddad sitting in the recliner smiling at everyone as they came in. We sat around and got to visit, which is good. It seems like life is so busy for everyone that we don't take the time to really sit down and talk to each other about what's going on in our lives often enough. We had a nice visit.

When we got home that night, we learned that Jamie's sister Danielle and her boyfriend John Ross had been in a car accident on their way back to college at Tenn. Tech. We were thankful to hear that neither of them were seriously injured even though John Ross's car was totaled. It really made us stop and count our blessings...which is really the whole reason we celebrate Thanksgiving. It's not about the turkey, or dressing, or pecan pies...it's about the people you are surrounded by and all of the wonderful things that God has placed in your life. These are the most important things.

As I look back over the 5 1/2 years that Jamie and I have been married, I realize that we have been blessed TREMENDOUSLY. We have two healthy, beautiful daughters and we do not take this blessing lightly- it was the day before Thanksgiving two years ago when my pregnancy was ended at 9 weeks. When things like that happen, you wonder why, and you wonder what God has planned instead. Two years later, I can't answer why it happened, but I can say that if that pregnancy would have gone full term, we wouldn't have Karlie. And at this point, I can't imagine life without her- she is so precious. And as Jamie and I sit back and watch Kinsley and her play together, hug, and even fight (already), I can't describe how blessed I feel. And while we gain a lot more weight over the holidays because we have so many places to visit, I can't complain because I am thankful to have all of that family to surround us and love us.

I hope all of you had a happy thanksgiving with those that you love...and if you forgot to count your blessings- do it now.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Oh What a Night!

Well, the Spears family had a very exciting night last night so I had to share it with everyone...be sure to use your mind to picture all of this as I explain it to you.

Last night I got home from work (late), started supper, and got both girls in bathtub so we could get ready to go to church. During supper, a pretty big storm came rolling in and it sounded pretty rough outside so I told Jamie I was going to check the news to see if there were any warnings for our area. Just as I turned the TV to the station - BAM! A huge bolt of lightening, a loud pop, and our house alarm system begins blaring with the loudest noise I have ever heard. I immediately realize we've just been hit by lightening and start telling Jamie to check for fire or smoke. He is running around the living room with his fingers in his ears proclaiming that he is about to go deaf...can I do something about the alarm system. I pick up the phone to call the alarm system company and- NOTHING...no dial tone. So our only way to communicate with the outside world is to use our cell phone, and if you know where we live, you realize this is a miracle in itself.... so i go into our bedroom in front of the window (where it is still lightening) and try to tilt my head just right to talk to the lady on the phone. After saying "Can you hear me now?" about 100 times, she finally gets our phone number for someone to try to call us back. When the guy calls back he can't hear me so he hangs up on me the first time. I call him back and can hear just enough to know I need to find out how to unplug the silly alarm. I hang up on him this time and go start pulling wires apart until the crazy thing finally shuts up. During this, Jamie is walking around the house looking for fire and Kinsley is screaming and crying. Karlie is still in her high chair just looking around to see what in the world is going on. Jamie opens the front door to go outside to check for fire and a bird flys into the house. Kinsley starts screaming again. She and I lock ourselves inside the bedroom while Jamie gets a broom and get it out ( not before it poops on the hardwood entry way).

Oh we're not finished yet...more excitement to come.

Once the first round of excitement has settled down, we realize that half of the house has power and the other half doesn't. So, I again stand on my head by the bedroom window to call my mom and ask her to call the power company for us. About 2 hours later, they arrive and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb knock on the front door and say "Your lights are on." (Like we had not noticed that point already Captain Obvious!) This stupid statement confuses Jamie so badly that he turns around and asks me "Did we call the power company?" So, I push him aside and step in to have a conversation with Tweedle Dee. We come to the conclusion that the lightening must have hit the breaker so its the box that needs fixed, not the power. Okay...so...."We don't fix that- call an electrician." Thanks for nothing.

So, Jamie and I are making phone calls today trying to get people to fix what needs fixed. So far the list of damages are: no power in garage area or hallway leading to the garage, breaker box damaged, internet and digital phone box blown, alarm system damaged, TV in our bedroom is dead as well as the cable box in our bedroom. Where do we start?

Well, I guess there is some good news out of all of this, there was no fire or smoke. It could have been much worse, and we are thankful that it wasn't. But I hope you got a laugh or two from the picture I painted for you about the events of our night.