{"id":514,"date":"2012-10-09T02:58:04","date_gmt":"2012-10-09T02:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=514"},"modified":"2012-10-09T02:58:04","modified_gmt":"2012-10-09T02:58:04","slug":"3-things-10812","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=514","title":{"rendered":"3 Things: 10\/8\/12"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I needed a week long to recover from Reed\u2019s Run.\u00a0 I have a series of blogs that will be coming in the next few days sharing special memories from that weekend, but I have missed writing about things that I enjoy.\u00a0 So now that Reed\u2019s Run has come to a close, I am ready to share my weekly list of things that make me smile.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Surprises \u2013 I had a big one at Reed\u2019s Run which I will be sharing in a later blog, and I had one this summer.\u00a0 On our return trip home from Florida our first night\u2019s stop was actually at my grandmother\u2019s house in Alabama.\u00a0 When we arrived, there was a car in the driveway that I didn\u2019t recognize.\u00a0 If you grew up in the South,\u00a0you know to read the license plates because it will tell you not only the state from which the car hails but also the county, designated by words or by a code number.\u00a0 In this case, the car was from Fulton County, Georgia.\u00a0 I knew in a heartbeat that could only mean one thing . . . my Uncle Rendell and my Aunt Margaret.\u00a0 Knowing that my aunt was extremely ill with Stage 4 cancer, their presence was a gift incredible!\u00a0 To know that I was loved that much to make a couple hour trip brought me to tears.\u00a0 We had such a lovely visit catching up and seeing how my kids and their grandkids had grown.\u00a0 It would be our last conversation because my aunt went home to Jesus at the beginning of September.\u00a0 Even though it was our last visit here, she is just one of the many necks\u00a0that I cannot wait to hug in heaven. Surprises that become cherished memories DEFINITELY make me smile.<\/li>\n
  2. Impromptu Family\/Friends Gatherings \u2013 The night before Reed\u2019s Run we had an impromptu bonfire and birthday celebration for our September birthdays following the Lakeview football game.\u00a0 We had a goofy sing-along naming off a bunch of names of ninth month celebrants followed by roasting s\u2019mores in place of serving birthday cake.\u00a0 The giggles and story-swapping only got better as the fire died down.\u00a0 Sawyer had a great time meeting his \u201cGod-brother\u201d for the first time and helping him to roast a marshmallow.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t fancy nor was it gourmet \u2013 although we turned a few heads by following a Team Stevens time-honored tradition of using Reese\u2019s Peanut Butter Cups instead of Hershey\u2019s bars. \u00a0Even though the gathering lacked refinement, it definitely exuded magic.\u00a0 The magic of life.\u00a0 The magic of reconnecting.\u00a0 The magic of celebrating.\u00a0 The magic of the ordinary and the extraordinary thing called love. \u00a0That kind of magic will always make me smile.<\/li>\n
  3. Amazing Friends \u2013 The week before Reed\u2019s Run, I received a phone call from a dear friend who told me that she was praying for my Sunday.\u00a0 It was a good thing that it was not a Skype conversation.\u00a0 I stood mouth-apage with eyebrows raised in perplexity.\u00a0 \u201cDid she really think that the Run was Sunday?\u201d\u00a0 My silent indignation must have been perceivable through the phone line.\u00a0\u00a0My friend further\u00a0explained that she knew that Reed\u2019s Run was probably the closest thing to a wedding that we would ever have for Reed.\u00a0 She had been praying for me not to wake-up on Sunday and say disappointedly, \u201cWe went to all that work for that!\u201d\u00a0 I understood that sentiment of disappointment. She wanted us to wake up blessed and amazed.\u00a0 (We did.)\u00a0More importantly,\u00a0this sweet lady\u00a0wanted us to know that people were praying \u2013 even for things that we didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 Having friends that know your needs even before you know them is smile-worthy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Feeling loved.\u00a0 Being surprised, even when I knew I was\u00a0 saying good-bye.\u00a0 Having second mile friends.\u00a0 Celebrating the little stuff.\u00a0 All of it confirms something that I heard on the radio the other day.<\/p>\n

    The speaker said that we should all have \u201ccampaign signs\u201d in our front yards that said that \u201cGod voted for me!\u201d\u00a0 My last few weeks have been a secure confirmation that the\u00a0speaker spoke the truth!<\/p>\n

    Blessed and loved . . . and still smiling!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I needed a week long to recover from Reed\u2019s Run.\u00a0 I have a series of blogs that will be coming in the next few days sharing special memories from that weekend, but I have missed writing about things that I enjoy.\u00a0 So now that Reed\u2019s Run has come to a close, I am ready to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[64,232,382,603],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}