Sadness

Today I am sad.  My very first blog was about a dear friend who had cancer, Bobby Renfro.  After many months of fighting this dreadful disease, my dear friend went home to be with his Lord and Savior this morning at 7:30 a.m.

Thank you, Bobby, for giving so much for all of us.  Thank you for sharing the love of Christ everywhere you went.  Thank you for being an inspiration to all you met.  Thank you for being there when we needed a friend, not just a preacher.  Thank you for living an unselfish life.  Thank you for being my friend.

I am sad, not for Bobby, but for me.  You see, Bobby is now walking the streets of gold he so often preached about.  He is sitting at the feet of his Lord and Savior.  He is whole again.

Bobby, you will always be loved and remembered as a dear friend. 

The Hyatt Family Christmas

Ten extra people in the house!  Food everywhere!!  Beds in every corner of every room!  Laughter!!  Memories shared.  A puppy dog who is so tired he just wants to sleep!!  White elephant gift-card time and all the uproar that goes with it.  Twelve people trying to get ready for church on Sunday morning at the same time!

What, you ask, do all these things have in common?  Well, it was just simply another fun-filled Christmas party when all of my in-laws came to our house to celebrate the Christmas season together.  Yes, the "Annual Hyatt Family Christmas" has come and gone and I am a bit lonesome this morning as I sit here and write this post.

Food, and so much of it....from maple ham to roasted chickens to roast to corn casserole to mashed potatoes (Lee and Anthony John did an awesome job on them) to every kind of dessert imaginable.  I don't think I will ever eat again....until dinner tonight!!

Grandpa, Susie and Michael, Andrew, Anthony John, MaryAnn and Tony, Mattie, Anthony Wayne, Amy Ann, and all of my family (including Gunther) had a wonderful time together.  Grandpa shared some really funny stories with us and told us about people we did not know who were in old, old photographs.  The boys had a good time outside with Uncle Gary's guns and bows and arrows (at my house they can only shoot at boxes or bottles - not any of my wild animals!!).  Amy Ann helped me wrap more gifts and all we could do was laugh!!  So much fun.  So many great memories!!

Isn't this is what Christmas should be?  Loving each other and loving our God.  What a truly precious time!!  I love all of you guys.  Come back any time you want to.

The Gift of Laughter

Laughter has always been an important part of my life.  I can still hear my Dad's laugh, a deep one that came straight from the soles of his feet.  My Mother was a very short lady who laughed all over her body.  Our family spent many hours together laughing and just enjoying life.  I had many friends who never heard laughter in their homes and I often felt sorry for them.  A young cousin was visiting from Oregon once and asked why our family laughed so much.  Rather than laughter being the norm in his home, it was a rarity.  I often wondered how we could come from the same bloodlines and have such different homes.  When we were married and started having children, I made it a point to enjoy laughter with my babies.  There were times when I wanted to scream (and I am certain I did on numerous occasions) but found the best answer was laughter.  I have laughed so hard at times that I would cry.  My face felt as if it would break and my sides were splitting in pain.  

There were many, many times when LH and EAH were growing up that laughter could be heard coming out of the house....times when so many of their friends were over and talk and laughter were freely flowing.  I have longed for those moments so many times since our children graduated from high school....just to hear side-splitting laughter coming from those happy faces.  Well, we experienced that once again last night.  We had the honor and privilege of having the College/Career Dept. from our church over for their Christmas fellowship.  Twenty-one young people and teachers joined us for a time of food and fun.  I think I have mentioned in past posts that my husband is a really early-to-bed person.  As usual, he went to bed around 9:00 p.m. last night.  He has sleep apnea and requires a C-pap machine to help him breathe properly at night.  About 30 minutes after he went to bed (and I thought he was asleep), the fun really began with the party going on in the other rooms of the house.  You see, there was a "white elephant" gift exchange which caused uproarious laughter from everyone.  All of a sudden, Gary says, with the machine still on, "That sounds so good!".  At that point, I started laughing...he "rose from the dead" to make that statement and all that laughter sounded so good.  Our gift last night (and it was not a "white elephant" one) was the longed for laughter from young voices once again raising the roof at our home!

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of laughter and for all those young people.  Our Christmas is already a wonderful one!

Supper Club and Taco Soup

Last night Gary and I had the honor of being the host home for what is called "Monday Night Supper Club".  Both of our children and several of their friends get together on Monday nights to eat and just visit.  Paige called and asked if we could provide the house this week if she provided the meal.  Of course, I said, "Yes", and am so happy that I did.  I had been hearing a lot about this "event" every week and wanted to be a part of it this time, too.

I ALWAYS enjoy it when some of my "kids" come to our house, whether it be to eat or just to drop by.  Because our two children are so close in age they have many mutual friends.  During their "growing up years", we had the privilege (and I really, really mean privilege) of having many of their friends at our home on numerous occasions.  There was rarely a Friday or Saturday night that someone was not at our home.  During a "True Love Waits" function at our church,  Elizabeth got up and thanked us for always opening our home to their friends and mentioned that we (meaning Gary and I) never knew who we would find on the sofa or floors when we got up on Saturday or Sunday mornings.  What she does not realize is that I long for those days again....getting up with kids everywhere.  I long for the laughter and talking and mud football games and the Bible studies that they so often did together.  I long for the times when my mother would have to tell Lee and Justin and Matthew to settle down (at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.) and to get to bed (Gary and I were soundly sleeping and found out about this later).  I long for the times when Elizabeth called me at work to ask me to tell Lee and Matthew to let her out of her room....they had tied her door knob with a rope and had tied the other end to the bathroom door knob!!  I long for the costume parties and for the kids coming here on their way to the prom or Favorites dances.  Those times were some of the best times of my life and I hope theirs, too.

I look forward to visits from all "my kids" who have come through my home at one time or another.  I thank God that we were a part of their lives and pray that in some way or another we have made a positive impression on their lives.  I love being a part of their lives and their babies lives now.  

Thank you, "Monday Night Supper Club", for coming to our home last evening.  Paige the taco soup was wonderful!!  (thanks, Kimberly, for the recipe!!)  Thank you, all of my kids' friends, for allowing me to be a part of your lives.