At the Library

Every week for a while now, I have taken the kids to the library. We leave with a huge bag full of books every week. It's so exciting for me, to see my babies want to get so many books that we have to make a list for the next week of the books they want. I love showing Madeline all the books I read as a child that she can read or work up to reading. There is something magical about a library. To those who aren't readers, they think of the library as a torture chamber perhaps, but to me, the library is where dreams and imaginations are. The library holds all books on all topics. It's all there. If I want to read about pirates sailing the tragic seas, I can. If I want to read about a jilted love affair from the World War II era, I can. If I want (want being the key word) to read all about the art of farming, it's there too! That's not the only reason I love the library. I love the quietness of the library. I bring three normally loud children to the library every week, but they know once they walk in the doors that they must whisper, and even Mollie Jo remembers. She always tells the sweet librarians in a sweet whispered voice, that "we mus whisprr in the libary". The librarians are always so kind to my children. We never leave without a bathroom visit of course, a trip or three to the water fountain, and stickers on every surface of their little arms. My children love being able to look and take their time picking out their three books each week. They have to sit and look at a hundred books a piece before choosing, and Mollie Jo has to have me read at least ten books before she can choose three. I never go when I can't dedicate an hour, usually more to the library. It is NEVER a quick trip and I wouldn't want it to be. In order for children to love reading and become good at it, parents must make it a priority and show their children how important reading is. It's true with anything we want to show our children, but reading is my niche and I want my children to love it like I do. There's something timeless and classic about the library. Don't get me wrong, I love my technology and I would LOVE an iPad to put all my books and music on, but you can not beat a good book. There's something special about the smell of a library. The smell of old volumes stacked on metal shelves. That acrid paper smell mixed with age and dust. It's delicious to me. I love the sound of turning pages and quiet whispers in the library. Now I hear computers typing and copy machines whirling. When I go with my children, we retreat to a back corner and ooh and ahh over our book choices. I usually just get to peruse the newest books by the check-out counter. But, that's alright. My time is better spent nurturing the love of reading in my children. I can always re-read my books for the thousandth time. Yes, they are that good! I get just as excited about going to the library as the kids. There's just something about being, At the Library! Happy Thursday folks! Come often! Sorry I haven't written much this week. It's just one of those weeks.

Fun Story Friday~The Tide Burglar

In lieu of my anniversary this week, I thought I'd tell one of our funny stories from our first year of marriage. This is a pretty good one in my mind, I hope you enjoy it!

Our first home was an older, fixer upper to be sure. It was a tiny little house. The bathroom had an accordion door on it, not exactly private. It had an old store room off the kitchen, which is where the washer and dryer were. It even had one of those old water heaters that was a little box, not tall and round like they are now. It had one bedroom, a quaint living room, and an OLD formal living room with yellow shag carpet. We never used that room to my regret now, but it was fabulous storage for all of our combined items. Troy lived alone for several years before we got married and I had acquired a lot of things as well and we had no where to put them in that tiny house, hence the storage. Looking back, I loved that old house, and I still have the fondest memories of that house, and how wonderful and simple life was.
Well, moving on. You know how it is when you first get married. You have to go to the grocery store and buy EVERYTHING! You literally start out with nothing. Well, we had just come home from my parents house after coming back early from our honeymoon and some of the gracious women from the church had cleaned our house and prepared dinner for us. We sat down that first night home to a candle lit dinner of steak. The next day we went to the grocery store and bought everything we needed to set up house, including Tide, toilet paper, all the food, even spices, and salt. We spent a fortune that day. I went home and cooked my first meal for us, I was so excited to set up house. Well, that night, after I'd cleaned up the kitchen and Troy and I watched t.v. and talked a while, I put a load of laundry in before going to bed. I placed the big new box of Tide on the water heater, it being a box shape, it was perfect for placing the Tide box and Spray N' Wash on. Well I turned the washer on and headed to bed. Troy and I had just laid down and gotten almost to sleep when we heard a scratching noise and then a huge bang. We both sailed out of bed and I thought someone was breaking in. I looked at Troy and said, "Go check it out." He looked back at me and said, "You check it out. Why do I have to?" "You're the man stupid, you're supposed to check it out. " "Who came up with that", he said. Well, being my brave knight in shining armour, Troy picked up a metal hanger from the floor and banged it on the wall screaming, "Who's there, I've got a gun!" I looked at him and said, "Well you just scared whoever it is to death with a hanger!" Troy said, "Well what else do I have to use?" Troy walked into the living room and saw nothing. He went to the front door and it was sound. He went into the kitchen through to the store room and the washing machine was just a bouncing. The old hot water heater and the old uneven floor had caused our washer to start bouncing. The hot water heater was bouncing so ferociously that it knocked our brand new box of Tide and Spray N' Wash into the floor making a horrible noise like a burglar breaking into the house. We cleaned up the huge mess and went to bed, but we learned a huge lesson that night from our Tide Thief, never put the Tide back on the water heater. Hope you all have a Happy Friday. Love you friends, Come often!

A Beautiful End is only the Beginning

This is the beautiful ending to our tale, that is actually only the beginning. I told you all yesterday that I would tell how Troy and I came to be engaged, so here is that and maybe some quick memories of nine years together. Enjoy!

The summer of 2000 I went to serve as counselor at Camp Garaywa. I was sick at leaving my mother who was sick, but my heart ached at leaving Troy. We had broken up at the end of the school year a few weeks before and I didn't think I'd make it then. It seems silly now, but at the time I was miserable. It was so hard not to call him and tell him to please take me back. But two weeks after I'd gotten back home, Troy called with some cute lame excuse about having my mother's credit card in his wallet and wanting to bring it himself instead of mailing it to ensure that it made it safely. He came to Nashville and told me he really didn't care about the card, he had missed so badly he wanted just to see me. He didn't know if I'd take him back. Oh honestly! And again my heart sailed! But when I was to leave for camp, I dreaded leaving Troy so viciously, that I broke down on my stairs in a pool of tears when Troy walked out the door. He came back in and held me and then realized just how much I did indeed love him. It was then that we both knew in our hearts that we would be together till God took one of us to heaven. Our summer being very limited in seeing each other, was a hard one, but it made us appreciate each other that much more.

Around January 2001, Troy and I went to visit my parents in Nashville for the weekend. Troy never told me he was going to ask my father if he could marry me, but why else would he take my father out to eat. I did what any other star struck female with marriage in her mind would do, I began to look at wedding dresses. Troy came back grinning from ear to ear and said, "I asked your father if I could marry you, and he said yes." I was so excited, I hollered something to the effect of "I knew IT!!" I set out to plan a wedding I had not even been asked to be in as the bride yet. I chose and bought my dress before I even had a ring. At that point that boy had better follow through. Ha! I waited and waited. I thought he was never going to do it. Valentines Day came and I knew he would do it then. He came to get me at my dorm. He was being very ugly to me, being short, and snapping at me to hurry. I was so mad at him till we got to his truck and I saw the cutest little face pressed against the window with a bow. I jumped up and down clapping my hands like a small child. I opened the door and the cutest little boxer puppy jumped in my lap. I loved him instantly! I named him General Maximus Brutus. (Gladiator was very big at the time) Max was supposed to have a beautiful diamond ring hanging from his ribboned neck, but I found out later my ring wasn't ready yet.

About a month later right before spring break, my friend Erin asked me to the movies and out to eat. When we were on our way back, Troy called and asked me to pick something up from the drive threw for him. When we got to Troy's house he met us outside and sat on the tailgate to eat his food. I was sitting there staring at Troy with Erin beside me wondering why on earth he was being so darn rude to poor Erin. He jumped up a few minutes later and said, "Well I think Erin has to get on her way now, so we'll see you later Erin." I was astonished at how he was acting. I said, "Troy, why on earth were you so rude to Erin and why did you sit out here to eat? You're being crazy!" As we walked to his door and he opened it, I saw candles everywhere. In all my obliviousness, I turned and said, "Oh, did you make us a candlelit dinner?" Don't know what I was thinking then, um yeah, duh Robs you just ate! Anyway, Troy laughed and as we walked inside, and I realized quickly that this was not dinner. As I followed the trail of candles, I walked into the living room and thought I'd stepped into a cathedral. There were candles everywhere, all the furniture was moved out. The whole room glowed, it was magical! In the middle of the room at the end of a path made from candles was a trunk. At this point, I thought I realized what was going on. I left Troy standing there and hurried over to the trunk and opened it. Inside that trunk, was another trunk, inside that one was yet another one. I opened the smallest trunk and inside it was...nothing! It was empty. WHAT!! My only thought was ok, this is not what you thought, don't act upset. I knew the only way to not show my feelings was to not turn around, so I said, "Oh Troy I just love my boxes, they're pretty." From behind me Troy said, "I think this is the box you're looking for..." I turned to find Troy on one knee, smiling at me with that same genuine smile he flashed at me almost two years before on the first day I'd seen him, and he said, "Robbie, I love you, will you marry me?" I cleared the room in two steps, threw off my class ring, and put my hand in his. "Yes, yes, forever yes!" I cried, he cried (sorry Troy), and we prayed for our life together. Then I called every last person I knew!! It was truly magical and a moment I won't forget in a thousand years, much less nine! We were married five very fast months later! It was a fairy tale day, that I barely remember. I remember the important parts though, when I pledged my love before God and my family to Troy whom I love more today then I did nine years ago. I still remember to this day what my mother told me and Troy not long before our wedding. She said, "You must decide to love each other everyday. It won't always be about feelings and romance. You must wake up each day and decide to love the person next to you, because the day you don't, your marriage will be in trouble." Troy and I live by that still today. We wake up each day deciding to love each other, for better or worse. I'm not saying each day is easy. There are some days I want to hit Troy in the head with a frying pan, but I love that man. There have been many rough patches, and many marvelous moments, but each one has been a learning experience and there's no one else I'd rather learn with than Troy Comer. God has blessed us with three miraculous gifts from heaven, that we get to raise together. Our life has been one grand adventure and it's just getting started!

Here's a few of short memories of nine crazy wonderful years:

Year 1:

9/11

lost a baby Nov 01

got pregnant with Madeline 2/14/02

lost my momma 4/02

1st Ann. 8/4/02

Year 2:

Had Madeline 11/8/02

2nd Ann. 8/4/03

Year 3:

Madeline turned 1, 11/8/03

My dad remarried 11/09/03

moved to house in Myrtle two weeks before Christmas, then moved two weeks later (I'll save that story for Fun Story Friday) 12/03

Got pregnant with Ethan around Christmas

moved into a nine bedroom nursing home

my father came and preached our revival, fell under Holy Ghost conviction!

GOT SAVED 5/04 at 3a.m.

Troy baptized me

3rd Ann. 8/4/04

Year 4:

moved into house down the street from nursing home

Troy started working at ICC BSU 8/04

Had Ethan 9/14/04

moved to Dorsey,MS 3/05

4th Ann. 8/4/05

Year 5:

Ethan turned one 9/14/05

Began our adventure with NorthStar 11/05

bought a house 12/05

Troy GRADUATED COLLEGE!!! 5/06

5th Ann. 8/4/06

Year 6:

Found out we were having baby #3! 1/1/07

Began staying home with my babies full time!

Madeline started preschool- I cried!

6th Ann. 8/4/07

Year 7:

Mollie Jo Comer is born at 4:15 in the morning. 9/25/07

I go on the Emmaus Walk that turned my Spiritual Walk around. 6/08

7th Ann. 8/4/08

Year 8:

Mollie Jo turns one 9/25/08

Go on my first trip to the Philippines 1/09

8th Ann. 8/4/09

Year 9:

Kids get a dog for Christmas 12/25/09

I go to the Philippines again 1/10

I want to shoot the dog! 3/10 ha!

We decide to home school our children, 4/10

Craziest summer EVER! 5/10

9th Ann. 8/4/10!!

So much happened in the in between times, how can you sum up nine long wonderful years in a single blog? You can't! I am so blessed to have what God has given me.What I want to say is to you Troy, you have given me so much. Three amazing children that love you completely, a friendship like I've never known, a home that is all ours, a love some people only dream about. I love you, yesterday, tomorrow, and for as long as God gives you to me. You are my best friend, my partner, and my love. Thank you for nine amazing years, and may God grant us fifty more, for better or worse my love. This song below is silly I know, but it sums up our life together pretty well! Here's to you my love, side by side

Oh! We ain't got a barrel of money,

Maybe we're ragged and funny,

But we travel along, singing a song,

Side by Side

I don't know what's a-comin tomorrow

Maybe it's trouble and sorrow

But we'll travel the road

Sharing our load

Side by side

Through all kinds or weather

What if the sky should fall

Just as long as we're together

It really doesn't matter at all

When they've all had their quarrels and parted

We'll be the same as we started

Just traveling along

Singing our song

Side by side

I LOVE YOU TROY! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!