Buckets of Tears

I've thought all day...as I shop for groceries and fold clothes...the mundane. I ran into a friend who lost his wife 6 months ago to lung cancer. He shared how he is moving on. He explained the grace of God to bring healing of their relationship through her dying.  In my trying to roughly grasp his aching heart, I shared how my Mom felt when she lost my Dad. Lost my Dad....wait that was yesterday, no wait that was today. The mundane had taken over. I had let it slip up. Twenty years ago today, my Daddy went to live in heaven with his. My heart ached then and does today.  I feel my bucket beginning to fill ...it started when my friend shared his aches, the filling was deeper when I realized my forgetfulness. I have reflected since that discussion about my Daddy. Philip even asked me today what I thought he would look like at 68. Well, I have no idea because his Dad's life was cut short as well. I do know that he would love his 6 grandchildren. He would be chasing them from soccer, to cross country, to ballgames, to school programs. He and George and Trippe would be hunting ducks and golf balls.  My bucket fills even deeper as another friend text of the death of her Father-in-Law. Philip found his cancer just a month ago. How our hearts have ached for them. Death can fill a bucket full of tears.  We ache because we are  left behind. We ache because we miss life with the ones we love. We ache because of what those loved ones will miss out on in our lives.  Our hearts break and spill out into our buckets with tears. I ache because today I got caught in the mundane. My joy bucket is still half full today...half joy...half tears.

We did it! We skipped  school on Friday and headed to KY. Will is finishing seminary at Asbury (or better known as ASHBURRY) this year. Lilla turned one year old and we decided that a visit was in order. It just worked out that our first free weekend was the weekend after her birthday and the weekend of Halloween. Our visit was great! We needed to see our friends.

Our trip included a special birthday party for Miss Lilla. We enjoyed a stroll to campus where Will and Merissa lead the kids on a scavenger hunt. The fun that they have with our kids...I know that our children are blessed and will never forget.

I see two monkeys in a tree!

Saturday, we woke to sweet sounds of a little girl excited to find her friends still at her house to play. Will ran to gather homemade donuts for us. We decided to take a tour through downtown Lexington. We walked through the Farmers Market. They offered many choices of fresh food. It was neat to see the many choices. We continued to walk through Lexington and found the Green Festival (ok, Merissa, I can't remember what it was called). Merissa was excited to see her favorite writer, Wendall Berry, speaking. While she listened a bit, Philip and Will lead the kids through the displays gathering "FREE" stuff. Nothing makes Philip happier than a bag of free goodies. We tried some organic coffee that guaranteed our weight loss, Trippe and Wynn went on a scavenger hunt through the kids section, and at the end the kids got a pumpkin. We were grateful for a stroller at that point.

Teaching kids to respect the Father of Methodism!

Philip and I took advantage of our new found desire to see all SEC football fields. A stop at UK was in our sites. We jumped out of the car and began to look for our search of the perfect picture. It happened to be the weekend that MSU was playing KY, but the game was in Starkville. In fact, Dr. Yarbourgh had called Philip earlier in the day offering boxed seat tickets. How nice that would have sounded, but we were glad to be with friends!

We had a quick stop for resale shopping and Joseph Beth's. We left MK in the corner to read her book that she forgot to bring. (thanks Will for checking it out at the seminary library so she could finish). Trippe & Mama found books that we needed wanted, but we resisted temptation and left them there. It was on to Wilmore for pumpkin painting.

It was time for trick or treating in downtown Wilmore. Lilla transformed into a butterfly, while Trippe became a pumpkin. The Howell's and Will put on our maroon and headed out for some time of treating! Will and Philip kept an eye on the time so that we wouldn't miss kick off. Will set us up for game watching and indoor tailgating. Merissa and the kids all waited outside for the neighborhood trick or treaters. Lilla was facinated with all the people who were coming to her house.

The Bulldogs pulled away a nice victory in football. MK finished her book for school. We had celebrated a great Halloween.

Sunday morning we woke to get ready for church at The Quest in Lexington. We worshiped with music written by Eminem. Who would have thought? Wynn enjoyed the teaching and took notes on how not to live in fear. It brought tears to my eyes to realize that my 8 year old was so moved by the message that she wanted to remember it. We enjoyed lunch and then to campus for Christmas card pictures. (thanks Merissa).

It was time to head back home. The best part was knowing that our friends would be home in two weeks for Thanksgiving. One last adventure on our way home. Will reminded us that Vanderbilt was just off of the beaten path. Heaven knows, we jump off that path often for the experience of life. Well Vanderbilt we saw. Pictures we took. At this point, I am 4 SEC schools in 2 1/2 weeks. You must love a Howell adventure. At least our kids will have stories to tell.