Day Three

I put lipstick on.

When I looked at my face in the mirror this morning, I thought to myself surely the bride of Frankenstein had seen better days. Nikki had planned to come see us this week, and I had mentioned to my family that she might laugh when she saw me. She said that she would try her hardest to refrain. As I was getting ready, I was worried that when she saw me that she would not laugh. Then I would know how badly I really looked.  

When Nikki arrived, her expression did not reflect any humor, only concern. I was afraid of that. However, after she had been with me for about 30 minutes, she said, "Too bad it's not Halloween."

Funny.  

I had my first public outing today. We went to Target. Nikki said that my new purple sunglasses match the bruising on my face perfectly.

That was funny too.

In all seriousness, we joke to ease the pain. We are counting our blessings this week. As we go over what happened, it amazes us how blessed I am. For instance, at the last minute, I considered taking my sunglasses off, but I felt that I shouldn't. My sunglasses probably saved my eye.

One day when I am completely healed, we really will look back at this and laugh. 

The Big Race

The day after.

I've been training to have a big race with Everett for months now. I have been very hopeful that I just might win. We are in South Carolina for the week visiting Brad's family. The big day finally arrived yesterday while we were playing in the courtyard. It's the perfect distance for running a race. I was so excited. The entire family was there, so that gave my little legs extra incentive to run their fastest!

I remember Brad yelling, "On your mark, get set, GO!"

I sprinted for my life. I recall keeping up with Everett and processing a little anxiety that I was running too fast.

What came next is a blur.

I lost control at the finish line, and I skidded face first into the pavement. 

I remember being turned over. I could feel the blood running down my face. My sister-in-law, Meredith sprinted home to get the car. Later that evening she joked that she wasn't sure if she sprinted as fast as I did, but she did her best. That really struck me funny.

I do not remember getting into the car, but I do rememeber looking into the bathroom mirror. There was so much blood. My mother-in-law was assisting me. I am so thankful for her calm soul. She is a nurse and knew instinctively what to do. I was shaking and crying uncontrolably. All I could say is that we needed to have a prayer.

Brad gave me a priesthood blessing with the assistance of Bill and Sam.

That gave me comfort and strength.

When I walked out of the bathroom, Everett was sobbing, Kayleigh was crying, the cousins were distraught, Meredith had tears in her eyes, and I knew I had to say something.

"Well, did I win?"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Then we headed to the urgent care center. I am very grateful the x-rays showed there is no damage to my face, and I did not have to have any stitches. Cleaning out all of the wounds to my hands and face is an experience I would never want to go through again! I need to mention that it's a miracle that my teeth were not knocked out, and that I did not break any bones. This terrible ordeal was bearable because of the tender care of my dear family.

Last night at dinner I told Everett that when I was at the urgent care center, I had a memory flash of  him crossing the finish line first. Someone added, "yeah but only by a hair."

Then Meredith chimed in, "Jeannie, I think we can safely say you won the race!"

Brad teased me by suggesting we have another race.

No thanks.

I believe my racing days are over!

Merry Christmas

Every other year Mommom, Papa, and Nikki spend Christmas with the sweet home Alabama crew.  Here are some pictures of the Christmas celebration we had with my family earlier this week.

Quincy and Kirk were featured on the front page of the Huntsville Times today. The headline read Joy shot through with sorrow mixed: Parents empathize with Joseph and Mary. As I read this to my little family this evening, we were moved to tears and filled with hope and remembrance of our precious Elijah. It made reading the account from Luke chapter two even more meaningful. How grateful we are for the humble life of a baby who was born in a manger.

Please click here to read the article.

Merry Christmas.

The Best Christmas Story Ever

Sydney at Halloween

I've had the pleasure this year of teaching the six year old class in Primary. These kids have made me laugh, and they have often been the reason for me going straight to bed after church! Today was our special Christmas lesson. We discussed why we give gifts at Christmastime. Their insight on gospel principles has made an impression of good upon me. I told them I wanted to share a Christmas story with them. My class understands that they must listen, because they will be quizzed afterward. The account I shared is of S. Dilworth Young, who was a General Authority for 36 years.

When Elder Dilworth was a boy, he dreamed of getting a fire engine puzzle for Christmas. He was jubilant on Christmas morning when he received this treasured gift. After putting it together, and playing with it for about an hour, his father came into his room and told him about a family from Denmark who did not have any Christmas presents. His father proceeded to ask him to give up his most cherished gift to a boy who was the same age as him in this family.

We all have heard different versions of this story. People make selfless sacrifices during the Christmas season to give to those in need.

Elder Young shared the feeling of joy he had after giving up his cherished puzzle. When I finished telling the story, I asked the kids how they would feel if they had to give up a treasured gift.

They paused for a moment to contemplate this. No one answered me.

Sydney then spoke up, "Sister Simpson we did that once."

"Your family gave up your Christmas?" I was incredulous.

"Well, we just got a new Wii, and when we started playing with it, my mom came in the room and told us about a family who only had one dollar," She explained to me.

"Did you give them your Wii?" I was eager to know.

"Yes. We did." She answered like it was no big deal.

"Sydney, that is the NICEST thing I have ever heard." I practically had tears in my eyes.

Sydney looked at me, popped a chocolate in her mouth, and nonchalantly responded, "Well, actually it was the worst day of my life!"

I have been laughing all day.

Preschool Musical

The Christmas program at preschool is a highlight of the season. Today's presentation reminded me of the days when I taught music at preschool. You have the children who steal the show, the ones who wave at their parents, a few get stage fright, and then there's the one who refuses to sing. I don't think that happened today. Today's program was titled, "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Cozette was front and center, and it pains me to report that she hardly sang one word. She mostly just stood there and stared into the very large crowd.

She did wave to her Daddy twice.

I noticed her lips moving some, and she did the motions to some of the songs. I spoke to her music teacher afterward, and she told me that Cozette would sing very loudly in music. She also said that  Cozette knows every word to all the songs. I believe Cozette caught a case of stage fright!

Cozette's class had a book exchange at the Christmas party afterward.

Cozette could hardly wait for us to come home and open the present she made for us. We agreed at school that we would wait for her daddy to be there, but once we got home she said, "Why don't we just open it now!"  She made us a very lovely candle holder.

I asked Cozette what was her favorite thing about the Christmas party today.

"That my daddy was there."

Why am I not surprised?