The best kind of love

The BEST FRIEND kind of love. My husband. He is the best. And he is my best friend in the world. We talk about....literally....everything. We have no secrets. Except with each other. And today....love day....he came home with the best present. Fried green beans and a mediterranean salad.

Now, I know you are probably thinking, what in the world?? Why would he bring that to you on Valentines day? Doesn't he know about chocolate and flowers? First of all, if you haven't tried fried green beans, you have to head up to Tall Pine Grill up by the theater in Lakeside and get some. I promise you won't be disappointed! And both have to do with 1-I'm pregnant and when I'm pregnant and certain things taste good...my husband pays attention...and tries to think of how he can get me said thing. And 2-Because I'm pregnant and have the curse of a pregnancy related never ending yeast infection, I'm not eating any sugar. Sugar makes it 100 times worse. And my husband knows this, and is thoughtful, and didn't want to buy me sugar. As far as flowers go, he buys me those throughout the year so it isn't something that I have to have on love day beacause it is even more special when he gets me them on ordinary days :-) So, this is my husband, loving, thoughtful, kind, caring, wonderful! I love you baby! Thank you for loving me so well! :-)

I'm NERVOUS!!!!

Tomorrow morning bright and early, I will have to force myself out of bed, get dressed in a groggy haze of alertness and go to the early service at church. We NEVER go to the early service unless something like this forces us to! I have to make my legs work, one in front of the other, walk up onto the platform and get behind the podium. I have to give my testimony! EEK!!! Wait? What exactly is a testimony? I mean we hear the word in church and other times but what exactly are we looking for? I looked it up. It is simply a formal written or spoken statement. And I am supposed to be talking specifically of how EE or Evangelism Explosion impacted my life and how I met Jesus. So here goes everything! I'm just going to be praying that my legs don't collapse and my thoat doesn't close up and my face doesn't look like a tomato! I'm def going to be wearing makeup tomorrow :-) Maybe it will hide my uneasiness! Ok, here it is!

My Uncle was going through a rough time in his marriage. He asked us if we would go to church with him. So, my Mom brought us here. I didn’t grow up in a church but I also didn’t grow up not believing that there was a god of some kind. It just wasn’t important in our house to learn about Him. So going to church wasn’t too awkward. The awkward part came when Pastor set up a time to come to our house and “get to know us a little bit.” I just turned 16. I just got my license that day. I didn’t want to get to know a pastor. What did that mean anyway? What was he going to say? Isn’t it weird to ask if you can come over? So I, in my slightly rebellious nature, was trying every way to get out of it. But my Mom wouldn’t let me. She told me I had to be home at a certain time because the Pastor was going to be there. As I was pulling into the drive way they were walking up to the door. I say they because there were 3 of them, Pastor and 2 kids from the youth group. My stomach started to churn. I was nervous. I was thinking,”seriously mom, why are you making me do this?” I went inside and sat down at the table. And in his usual way, Pastor started talking and made everyone feel more comfortable. I’m pretty sure we didn’t jump right into what the Bible says about Jesus but that is all I remember. I remember him showing us the Bible and telling us who Jesus was. Then he asked the question,” If you died right now and Jesus was waiting for you in heaven, and he asked you why he should let you into his heaven, what would you say?” In my head, it was clear to me that I didn’t have any reason why He should let me in. And I answered,” I really don’t know.” And then Pastor told me that I could know Jesus and that he would forgive me for my sins because He took the payment that I deserved. My life was forever changed when my sin was revealed to me and Jesus was made known to me. I was grateful after that, that my mom had forced me to come home and that a pushy Pastor had made an appointment to come and get to know us a little bit! My name is Krystle Hummer, and so you don’t have to ask, I’ve been here for 10 years!

The cold kicked us out last night

Around 6:30 pm the lights flickered off and on and then kept flickering. I thought I was at a club somewhere :-) Then the lights dimmed down to being barely on. Then the stove stopped blowing the fabulous hot air that warms our house. And I started to panic and texted my husband who had been gone all afternoon at junior high basketball games. Thankfully, he was just around the corner. I tried calling our neighbor but no one answered. So I called APS. They told me that they had a crew on it and they were having some trouble with a few transformers and that they usually have it fixed within 4-5 hours. By then we all would have frozen in our sleep with how cold it has been so we packed our bags. We bundled up the babies and put them in our freezing car that has no heater and headed to Concho. On the way down the road the snow was blowing off of the hood of the car and somehow hitting me in the face! We really need a miracle car. I'm thankful my parents live close and that we had a warm place to stay. But I don't do well with the stress of instant packing and driving in the cold. I'm also thankful for an amazing husband who came over before work and filled up and started the pellet stove so that when we all were ready we could come home to a cozy home. Thanks baby!

Today, our friends buried their baby girl...

....she suddenly got sick. And 4 days later she died. She was just over a year old. And my heart has been broken in so many ways. A mommy and daddy had to say goodbye to someone they gave everything for. They can't hold her anymore. They can't teach her anymore. They can't kiss her anymore. They can't rock her to sleep. She is gone.

My week has looked a little differently. I have looked at my babies a little differently. I love my babies. I try to be the best mommy I can for them. But I have been tired and a little distant for the last few months. This week that all changed because they could be gone tomorrow and I don't want to miss out on today and what could have been. I have enjoyed combing my fingers through Genevieve's hair as I dry it every night. I have listened more closely to all of Edmund's imaginings. I have stopped and cuddled them when they have needed it. And I have sat with them to eat. Because just being with them and present for them is a blessing and something that shouldn't be overlooked. We spend quite a bit of time at night getting ready for bed. We bathe them, brush their teeth, dry their hair, read stories, sing songs, and pray.Robert stays with Edmund and I take Genevieve and we sit in the rocking chair with a blanket and I just enjoy her and pray for her and sometimes she falls asleep but more often, she asks for her bed. I wouldn't trade these times for anything. It's a precious time that we all get to enjoy each other and slow down and love in a peaceful kind of way.

I'm sad. All I can think is that while I get to hold my baby close, my friend has empty arms, and it hurts me. I know that the Lord must have something amazing planned for them. I pray that their marriage is strengthened and that their hearts can be healed and filled with peace. Because HE can do it.

-Krystle