We had talked this weekend about trying to meet up with Jim's parents at some point. Logan said that it had been a long time since he had gotten to see them. We made a plan to meet up with them for lunch after the race.
Faith said that her parents would like to come, too, because they were DYING to meet my in-laws.
My day got better instantly.
Apparently, Faith (and Clark) had filled them in on stories about Jim's parents and all the crazy things they do and say. They had also told them how sweet and sincere and generous they were, and they just wanted to thank them for being so nice to Faith.
I was so excited for them to meet.
You know, my family (and some of my friends) think that I have a tendency to exaggerate or "embellish" the stories I tell about my in-laws, but I've told them a million times that that's just not true. My own husband once said that I had a flair for the dramatic. (WHAT?) I always love for people to meet my in-laws in person, so they can put a name to a face...and kind of see what I'm talking about.
It's even better if they can come with us to see them at their home, because OH MY WORD.
So I couldn't wait for this lunch!
As soon as we got in the car, Joshua started stripping out of his clothes. I told him he could, remember? He is a little Houdini, because he never got out of his seat-belt! Jim and I were in the front, Logan and Morgan were in the middle seats, and Joshua and Clark were in the back. I just had to tell Morgan, "don't look back there," because Joshua was a man on a mission. Those layers he hates so much? They were coming OFF! And when he finally got himself all put together, he let out a big "ahhhhh." He was so happy!
Excuse me for trying to keep you warm!
And Jim? His lips were blue.
No, seriously...BLUE. I commented on them and he kind of blew me off...like I was o-v-e-r-r-e-a-c-t-i-n-g or something. But then several other people in our group commented on them and he went to the bathroom to look for himself. My mother-in-law asked Holly...our "almost" nurse: "what is that a sign of?" Holly said, "oh...just HYPOTHERMIA."
EEEK!
We had all of our family there for lunch, Jim's parents, and Faith's parents. At the race, Faith's sister and her boyfriend showed up, so we invited them, too. Once we got to the restaurant, Morgan said that her parents might come, and we said, "COME ON!" And then Morgan's brother and sister also came.
It's about to get real up in here.
If you're counting, that's 18 people...for lunch...at a Logan's Roadhouse in Bryant, Arkansas...on a Sunday...after church.
NO PROBLEM, RIGHT?
Ha!
It actually was NO problem for the people at Logan's Roadhouse. Once they got over the shock of 18 people coming in on a Sunday at lunch, they quickly set up a lonnnnnnnnnnng table for all of us, and served us all efficiently.
Like with any large group of people who didn't know each other...it took everyone a while to warm up to the people around them...but they did.
Is it bad to wish that your father-in-law might put on a show like only he could...just to prove that your stories are true?
Instead, he was a perfect gentlemen. RATS.
I looked all the way down the table, and my heart was so full. All of these people...all connected to us by one of our children. God is truly "enlarging our territory," and Jim and I could not feel more thankful and blessed. I reallllly wanted to take a picture of everyone. I asked Holly if she thought it would be okay to ask the waitress to stand at the end of the table and get a picture...and she said, "no." I asked, "is that lame?" She said, "yes."
I didn't ask the waitress and I didn't get a picture...and I regret it.
One of the kids asked, "are you so, so happy?" and I said, "YES!" Because they know that I just love for everyone to be together and get along.
And so if there was ever a sign that I am turning into my mother-in-law...there you have it.
And I couldn't be more proud.
And also...before we could leave the parking lot, Jim's mother had to drive their truck over to where we were parked...and we proceeded to do the unloading-of-the-groceries dance right there in the parking lot. IN THE RAIN.
My mother-in-law passed Logan a 12 pack of Charmin toilet paper. She calls it, "toilet tish-ah." She has a "thing" about toilet tish-ya. She wants us to have plenty of it at all times. In fact, just this week, I had to open another package of Charmin...and realized that I only had 48 rolls in reserve in our master bathroom. That is unheard of for us. We usually have nearly 100 extra rolls, just in this one bathroom.
I TOLD YOU SHE HAS A THING ABOUT TOILET TISH-AH.
Anyway, she reached in the back of her truck, and tried to pass Logan another 12 pack. He laughed and said, "no, Mammaw...that's okay. This is plenty. We are just two people."
And my mother-in-law said, "take two...it might snow."
"See how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in harmony." Psalm 133:1
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