Be the Gift Part Two: A Celebration of Life

As I sit here thinking and trying to put our experience into words, I'm at a loss. How do you articulate a heart overflowing with love and gratitude? How do you explain witnessing God's love through an innocent 5 year old's eyes, that give with no regard age or race or gender or status?

We set out to "Be The Gift." The gift of God's love for all. The gift of hope and compassion. The gift of a snack and a smile to the busy, tired, lonely, sad, or hungry. The gift of detergent at the laundry mat. The gift of toys to the children's hospital. And we gave, but we received so much more. It's difficult to explain the joy brought by simple acts, but it is abundant and deep and contagious.

The kids and I started out the day with boxes of laundry detergent and snacks at the laundry mat. I'm embarrassed and humbled to admit that I couldn't quickly think of where a laundry mat was. I actually drove to where I thought one was, but it wasn't. It was realization for me of how privileged and how grateful I am to have always had access to a washer and dryer. Eventually, I remembered and we unloaded our goods and took them inside.

Madison and I asked 3 or 4 people if they would like the box of laundry detergent and each one looked at us like we were crazy and said no. So we just left it on a folding table, each was labeled with "gift." They snacks on the other hand were received much better! Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies and oreos?? haha.

Throughout the day the vast majority of folks we approached thought we were selling things. I can't tell you how many times people asked "what are you selling? how much is it?" It was entertaining to watch their reactions as we explained that it was free. a gift. no cost. nope, it's really free. no, no donation. totally free. a gift.

After the laundry mat we dropped the little kids off with Aunt Jenni (thanks for being The Gift to us by watching the kids) and picked up Mimi. We stopped for a special birthday lunch at Bojangles, by birthday girl request. When we were finished she wanted to give out some Hershey bars. She chose several people and approached them by herself (within my eyesight of course) I sure do wish I could have heard the conversation though! But based on the facial expression and reactions I'm pretty sure they got the point and she came back happily empty handed.

Next, we went to Duke Hospital, armed with 2 baskets and a bag full of snacks and toys and lots of smiles. We were all so excited and a bit apprehensive. I wasn't sure what to expect and I sure didn't want my baby girl to be disappointed or rejected. We had talked about what to say. "Hi, would you like a snack? It's free. Today is my birthday and we are celebrating by giving gifts." Most of the time it came out more like "You want some cookies? We're selling them for free. Today is my birthday" haha! Many times confused people would look back to me and I would step in and explain. "Several years ago Madison was sick and here in the hospital. Today is her birthday and we're celebrating her healthy life by giving snacks and treats to who ever we meet." "ohhhhh!" confusion clears. Big smiles. Hugs. Teary eyes.

We gave starting to those waiting by the main entrance. Then the lobby, up and down the halls. We met and talked to so many people. Some just smiled and thanked us. Some said no. Some chatted with us. And a few really made an impression. There was one older black man in the 6 East waiting area. He was sitting alone not really doing anything in particular. We were sitting waiting on a friend we were going to visit while we were there. Madison said, "how about him mama? can I give him one?" I said, "absolutely." She walked the next set of chairs over and pushed out her little basket, she grinned shyly and began talking to him. I'm not exactly sure what they said but they were both smiling at the end of the conversation and she skipped happily back over to me. About 5 minutes later that same gentleman looked in our direction and said "Hey, birthday girl! Come here for a minute" She looked at him and then questioningly at me, I nodded and she skipped back over there. He told her that he really appreciated his gift, but he wanted to her have a present for her birthday. He gave her a $1 coin and she couldn't have been more pleased.

With each "gift" we gave a little slip of paper that said "This is a sign for you today: God is always faithfully good and you are always wildly loved. John 3:16 Romans 8:28-39"

Now before you go thinking I have this perfect child that skips and gives and loves, though she does, she is not perfect. Several times she got tired or she clammed up. While we were visiting with a friend she got impatient and wanted to go home.  She nearly had a meltdown over getting a drink. She's a perfectly imperfect 5 year old.

Another lady that really left an impression on my heart was a woman that was also sitting alone in the waiting room. Madison asked to go over to her and she did. The woman was so grateful she hugged Madison with tears in her eyes. Later, we chatted for a few minutes and she told me of her "baby girl" who is 34 and on a ventilator awaiting a double lung transplant. They aren't from around here, they've moved here temporarily for treatment. She looked me in the eye and held up her candy bar and said "Thank you for this. God is good and he is faithful and it sure is nice to have a reminder." Then I had to go give her a hug! This woman who is bearing the heavy burden of watching her adult daughter suffer and wait on lungs that may never come. I was overcome that God used us to bring a bright spot to her day. The very thing I had hoped and wanted and prayed for and yet was still surprised and humbled when it came.

One young man Madison approached couldn't see me, but he could see my mama (Mimi). He asked Madison, "Is that your Grandmother?" And before she could answer, Mimi said, "No! I'm her mother!" You should seen his face!! It was a hoot! He was so flustered. Quickly she corrected and said, "No, I really am her grandmother, but you should have seen your face!" He was obviously quite relieved and everyone had a great laugh!

Our last stop was the children's hospital. We had a bag full of coloring books, crayons, glow sticks, puzzles, and craft kits. We met Ms. Edith who takes the donations and had such a pleasant experience with her. She and Madison had a special connection immediately. Ms. Edith ended up giving Madison a tshirt, a small teddy bear, and a unicorn!!

What a day. It's hard for me to put into words how I feel. This experience stretched me. It took me out of my comfort zone. It helped me to look into the eyes of people I would have normally passed without really seeing. I heard stories of hurt and hope and took the time to listen. I watched my daughter experience the joy of giving.  I watched her grow in confidence as she approached more people. I watched her show Jesus' love without knowing that's what she was doing.

Thank you Lord for allowing us to Be The Gift!

Lindsey

P.S. Don't think we didn't do anything special for the birthday girl! We had wonderful celebrations all weekend. One even had a real live pony!!

Be The Gift!

Five years ago tonight I was nesting.

Cleaning out a spare room for a church yard sale. Glen was playing poker with the guys. I was timing contractions.

We'd taken the classes. We'd set up the nursery. We'd had the shower. Pink. Lots of pink.

We were ready. And so NOT ready.

At 1am my water broke and I texted him. And I texted again. Then I called. I texted his friends.  And I called again. So then I called the house where they were playing poker. And then it finally dawned on him and he called back.
It's time.
Really?
Really.
I'm on my way!!!

9 hours later we welcomed this perfectly plump pink 9lb 2oz baby girl into the world.

Madison Hope Newsome. A gift.

And then a crazy happy busy year flew by. And she sat. And she crawled. And she walked. And it was a gift.

 Another year.  And she gave hugs. And she gave kisses. And she said "I love you." And it was a gift.

And she grew. And tried new things. And went new places. It was a gift.

And she danced. And she loved. And she fished. And it was a gift.

Five fast funny fantastic years. . . And she is a gift.

Thank you Lord for this silly, sweet, fun loving, chocolate eating, my little pony watching, fancy nancy reading, kind, confident, rock star.

Tomorrow in honor and celebration of Madison's 5th birthday and to share the gift of Jesus love we're going to be the gift. And we're so excited!

 Please Lord help us to offer hope and be a light in the darkness for you. 

Won't you join us in celebrating Madison's birthday tomorrow by doing something kind for someone else?  And please share your experiences with us!  

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

"Mama as I was flushing the toilet Sam threw a hair clip in there and it went down!!!"
1.) What was Sam doing with you in the bathroom?
2.) How did Sam get a hair clip?
3.) It's too late, it's gone. No, there is no getting it back.

That is how my morning started. See, things go from calm to crazy in .2 seconds around here. Sadly, it doesn't usually go that way in reverse. It takes a long time to go from crazy to calm.

So, it's still pretty crazy. Like when the smoke detectors decided to go off for no good reason (aka the batteries need changing). The girls were watching tv and Sam was eating a snack of cherries when the screeching started. And it can't be just one, nooo, thankyoutechnology, they ALL have to go off. EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. Have I mentioned that I have a toddler who is not fond of loud noises? I'm pretty sure he wet his pants as his eyes welled up with tears and those crocodiles started rolling down his cheeks. The girls on the couch are covering their ears and saying "make is stop, what is that, make it stop mommy." Oh baby girl, if I had magical powers right now you had better believe I would have blown those things to smithereens. (Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the life saving smoke detector, and my magical powers would have replaced them after I calmed down.)

I go in search of the batteries and I am super duper ever so grateful to my husband who bought 50 billion last time this fiasco happened, which was in the middle of the night. I push my dining room chair around climbing up and down with TERRIFIED toddler in tow, I'm pretty sure even if I had tried to put him down he would have stuck to me like super glue. I change out batteries in three detectors. Then I realize I have to change them in 2 rooms with cathedral ceilings. Oh pretty ceilings, I could not loathe you more at this very minute. So I go outside and I lug in the beast of a ladder we have into the master bedroom and as I open it tiny frogs start hopping off. REALLY?!? REALLY?? Did I mention that we have an appraisal for our house tomorrow? I'm sure that's just what we want him to find, an infestation of tiny jumping reptiles. I put crazy toddler down because he thinks it's great fun to watch mommy chase frogs all over the room. At least he's not crying anymore. Am I being punked? Where is the camera? Good thing I'm not squeamish about that kind of stuff, score one for growing up in the country. I catch all the frogs. I hope. Then proceed to change the battery. ugh. Just one more.

I move on to the girls room with the ladder for those beautiful cathedral, ihateyousomuchrightnow, ceilings, and I manage to mark a few closet doors, with the beast, on the way. Did I mention that I recently spent about 2 weeks painting this house and we have an appraiser coming tomorrow? Sigh. I climb the ladder with an audience of 3 and change the last battery. As I come down the ladder I notice I forgot to wipe wild cherry toddler's hands and he left a lovely red trail for me to follow. Thank goodness we bought the washable paint! Seriously, I might have lost my mind a little. I wiped all the cherries off easily and magic erased the marks off the closets.

And now it's calm. Like the storm never even came through. Except I stand here and type with adrenaline fury like I just finished coding somebody. Nobody died here today folks, it's a good day.

My Dear Boy

Dearest Samuel,

Yesterday you climbed up the ladder on Gpa's playground all by yourself. You walked over, sat down, and slid down the slide. All. By. Youself. You aren't even 18months old yet. I'm really not ready for this. I'm pretty sure you were just born last week. So I sit wide eyed, just staring at you. Your soft blond hair. Your little legs, slightly bowed, moving as fast as they can carry you. Your sweet laugh echoing all around. You run to play with Bixie, throwing the ball for her a few times. Then you run back to the playground, climb that new accomplishment with pure delight all over your face. And I can't even blink. I know when I blink you're going to be 18 and going off to college. So I watch.

There is so much I want to say to you. There is so much I hope for you to do and become. Last night after you were fast asleep, totally worn out from your adventurous day, I watched you. I watched your chest rise and fall with each sweet breath. I watched your peaceful face. I watched your small hands curled up around your face. And then I did something I rarely do. I picked you up out of your slumber. I sat down in the rocking chair in your dark room and held you. You're so busy these days. Snuggles and cuddles are far from your mind. So, I held you and I watched you and I prayed for you. I felt your warm heavy body peacefully relax back into dreamland. And I rocked. My back hurt and my neck cramped, but I didn't want the moment to be over.

I prayed for you to be kind and gentle and strong and bold. I prayed for you to have wisdom. I prayed that you will treat all people with respect and dignity and love. I prayed you would have a heart of compassion for the poor and hurting. I prayed that you would have a heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I prayed that everywhere you go you will bring smiles and hope in the name of Jesus. I prayed for you stand strong in the face of adversity and trials, because they will come. I prayed for you to always know you are loved and cherished. I love you more than my very own breath. I prayed that you will laugh and love and enjoy this life. But I also prayed that you will always be humble enough bend your knees in prayer and in apology as needed. I prayed you will use the talents God gives you for His glory.

You see sweet boy, I don't care if you're a famous baseball player or doctor or lawyer. I don't care if you if you're a mechanic or factory worker or truck driver. I care that you find your relationship with Jesus and it's always the focus in your life. Of course, I want you to succeed. I want you to go to college and have a career. But most importantly I want you to do what God calls you to do.
Even if it's hard.
Even if you don't fully understand it.
Even if it's not what I want.
Because God is good.
All the time He is good.
And though I love you with all that I am, He loves you more.

So sleep on precious boy. Sleep and dream big dreams to change the world. And I laid him back in his crib with a thankful heart overflowing my eyes.
Lindsey

Remember that time

We've been so busy this summer! So here's a look back at a few things we've been up to.

Remember . . .

That time we made the neighborhood smell like manure . . .Yeah, that was us. We bought of a bunch of mulch to spread around the flower beds and swing set. Either something crawled up in a few bags and died or it was mixed with more than just mulch. Wow. It was noxious. Thankfully, it only lasted about a week. Gag me.


That time I took my 16mo old son to Starbucks and let him drink some of my frappaccino. Good times. No really, my mom and I met 2 of my aunts and we had a blast. Must be a third kid thing. Madison and Anna-Kathryn still haven't had caffeinated beverages. But who could resist this face??

That time a little rat ate the cheese while I was in the shower. I found this gnawed block of cheese as proof. Can you see the teeth marks?

 
Somehow it managed to open the refrigerator, open the drawer, pull out the bag, open the bag and then eat the cheese. A clever one, I'll say. I found that adorable little rat and took her picture.

I later found out that she "had to bite it" because she didn't have a knife. So she bit chunks out of the block and spit them in her bowl to eat as her snack. Resourceful.

That time Glen took me out of town for our anniversary. It was fantastic. We stayed in a hotel. We slept in. We ate out without having to feed 3 little birds. We went shopping all day. We met friends for dinner and games. We went to Geeksboro and Glen found a little piece of heaven on earth. Coffee + Gaming = Glen. We played Risk, drank coffee, ate chocolate cupcakes, laughed out loud, and learned Cody has a unique Risk strategy.

That time we decided to put our house on the market. We did all the minor repairs and painting I've been wanting to do forever. Boy, it was a lot of work, but it sure does look good. Thanks so much to Sarah and Kim for coming to help me paint!! Hey, if you or someone you know is looking for a new house or if you're just nosy, check it out.

That time the rock stars did a concert in the living room. Occasionally, we're visited by very talented professionals. Rock stars, ballerinas, my little ponies, sports stars, etc. Recently, it's been all about rock n' roll. One star loves all the attention and paparazzi and the other runs and hides when the camera comes out. If you need autographs, I've got a connection.

Until next time, rock on friends.

Lindsey