After Christmas, we gathered with my whole family two more times, apparently in an effort to not let a 48-hour period of Christmas break pass without seeing each other. First, we all piled into Russell's Tahoe to head to Houston for the Baylor bowl game. That's 7 adults in 1 car for 4+ hours. Not to mention that both my brothers have a fondness for all the most disgusting road trip snacks-- Chili Cheese Fritos, Combos, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bugles, you name it.
This shot may make things look nice and roomy, but Russell, my dad and me had the luxury of sharing the back seat, thanks to preggo Remy needing to drive so she didn't get carsick. And if you aren't familiar with the back seat of a Tahoe, it would probably be an uncomfortable squeeze for 2 kids, much less 3 adults. Then things got worse:
Russell was so tightly sandwiched between mom and dad that he couldn’t get out to pick up Megan at the door, and Remy had to go to the bathroom. So poor Megan, who has only been dating Russell for a few months and had no idea what she was in for, answers her door to a pregnant woman needing to use her restroom and then goes to the driveway and opens the door to Russell’s Tahoe to find his entire family in there like it was a clown car. Bless her heart.
Russell: “So what time are we picking up Megan?” (his girlfriend)
Emily: “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Russell: “What?”
Emily: “How in the world are you thinking we can fit one more? I haven’t been able to feel my legs since Madisonville.”
Mom: “We can make it work. Emily, you can climb onto Kolby’s lap, and I’ll whip around into your spot and Megan can sit here.”
Emily: “Mom, there is no way that you and dad and Russell can all fit in this back seat.”
Mom: “Sure we can, I’ll just whip around.” [laughing at herself]
Dad, Russell, Emily, in unison: “There’s no way.”
Mom took this as a challenge and sure did just “whip around” into the back seat, brushing Russell’s face with her rear on the way. 
We survived the trip, although I did hear a "OK, 1...2...3!" count coming from the back seat when we stopped for dinner, which I can only assume was my parents prying one or the other out. Unfortunately, Baylor didn't play well and lost the game, but fortunately we still had a fun time together.
A few days later, we had a joint New Year's Eve celebration with my mom's brother and his family that included Whilrlyball, pizza, and of course playing games.
On New Year's Day, Kolby got a call from our pastor who was really sick and asked if Kolby would be willing to preach on Sunday in his place. He told Kolby the passage he wanted the sermon to be on (Romans 7), and left the rest open. So, on less than 24-hours notice, Kolby had the privilege to preach at our church. He had written an amazing sermon (not surprising) and delivered it perfectly. I was seriously in awe of him. So proud. He has such a noticeable talent for teaching-- whether it be teaching Scripture to a congregation or teaching literature to a class of teenagers. I was really nervous for him that Sunday, but he wasn't at all-- he said he faces a much harsher audience every day at a school :). I think he shared a great message on the new life we have in Christ, and so many people came up to me (or him) to say what a great job he did. Getting to teach that lesson really lit his fire, and it was so fun to watch.
My preacher man:
Here is the audio of his sermon, if you care to take a listen (20 minutes).
[the first part got cut off, so here's the text of what's missing from the audio]
So I’m in first grade and my older brother and I are in the backyard of one of his friends with some of the other neighborhood kids playing whiffle-ball. Because I’m the youngest one there, I’m the designated pitcher, so I don’t get to hit, but I’ve got my slider working and the game is going pretty well. It’s the bottom of the last inning, I’ve got my eye on the ghost runner on second and third and the chunky kid is on first. My brother is at the plate—he’s got that skinny, yellow bat waggling behind him, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. I give him a high heater and he swings and he bombs it into deep right, which is the bed of monkey grass against the side of the house. Our right fielder takes off after it and stretches out his hands and looks like he is going to make the catch but then…it gets caught in the top of the crape myrtle tree. So of course I explode, saying that it was going to be an out, so we win the game. Needless to say, my brother saw it a little differently—he’s screaming that with his speed, he would have easily had an inside-the-park home run on that hit, so they win the game. I’m in a headlock in about two and a half seconds and the right fielder is threatening to take his bat and go home and everything is falling apart until finally I whimper those two magical words. If you have ever been in first grade and played any sort of playground game then you no doubt know what these two words are that can pacify everyone. DO OVER! Do over! Reset everything just the way it was and let’s just do it over again.
Isn’t that what the New Year is for us? We look at our waistlines, in our refrigerators, our closets, our checking accounts, our email inboxes, our Bibles collecting dust along with the half dozen devotionals we bought that year and we think: Do over. Let's pray.
[sermon continues in audio clip]
[sermon continues in audio clip]
We both started back to work last Monday (I took a few days off the week between Christmas and New Year's) and are back in the swing of things. I traveled to Denver on a business trip last weekend and attended a conference where there were 11,000+ economists in attendance. Now if that doesn't sound like a party waiting to happen, then I don't know what does. Just kidding... really just kidding. It was actually a pretty lonely trip because I didn't go with any co-workers. On Friday night, I was back to my hotel and in my pj's by 4:45pm. I ordered pizza and a 20 oz. coke from Papa John's, and when had I called the concierge for the number, I caught myself saying to her, "We're thinking about ordering a pizza, ..." because I was so embarrassed that it was just me. Yes, I realize how pathetic that sounds, mainly because I know how pathetic it felt. I gotta tell you, though... a small sausage pizza, an ice-cold coke, a fancy hotel room all to myself, and a TBS lineup of The Wedding Planner followed by Father of the Bride... not a bad Friday night once in a blue moon.:) Again, I do know how pathetic that sounds. As I've said before, I don't think I'm really cut out for business travel!
OK, I think that about sums it up. Aren't you glad you're up-to-speed on these exciting happenings?!? Until next time...
1 comment:
Take me with you next time. Please.
Tricia
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