Special People

This week, I have been touched by 3 very sweet and thoughtful people that I am so thankful for to have in my life. It's crazy how this has all happened in the same week...like they all planned to be extra nice to me this week... but the funny thing is, these 3 people don't know each other at all. Thats just how they all are. So others-centered, giving, and thoughtful. So, I just feet the need to write a post to publicly thank these 3 women (In the order these things happened this week).

First meet Whitney:She is a great friend from middle/high school. We actually lost touch while in college, but rekindled our friendship at the end of college and we were both in each others weddings. Since then, we have gotten even closer than before. Her and her husband live in Decatur, but Ben and I see them almost every 2 or 3 weeks.. if not less. They drive to Birmingham to visit with us often, and we see them almost everytime we go to Decatur. This past week, I've been staying in Decatur with my parents because Ben has been out of town. Whitney and I decided to go to dinner one night. Her birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and this was the first time I had seen her since, so I of course took her present along. At the end of dinner, Whitney picked up the check and demanded that she would pay for mine. I of course put up a fight, attempted to give our waiter my card, threatened her, but Whitney wouldn't take no for an answer. So there we were, celebrating HER birthday, and she pays for MY meal.

Next meet my grandmother, Mama Frankie.
She really is one of the SWEETEST women I know. It is evident through everything she says and does that she is a believer in Christ. She is just someone that when you are around her, you just feel at ease. She loves her family more than anything and really puts forth every effort to make sure that we all know that. She is one of those that is CONSTANTLY serving others. For example, if you are at her house and you say you are hungry..she will drop everything she is doing to cook a meal just for you. Anyway, so when I got home from dinner with Whitney, my mom told me that while she and my grandmother had been out shopping that day, Mama Frankie had decided to buy me a maternity dress/shirt. I have been struggling lately because my belly is literally blooming over night right now, and I have had NOTHING to wear. Some of my normal clothes still fit, but are uncomfortable. I do have some maternity clothes that I like, but I've been wearing the same thing OVER and OVER so I've been getting tired of them. I've been shopping for clothes, but have had no luck, so I've been getting frustrated. I was SO thrilled to have my grandmother surprise me with the CUTEST shirt ever, it fit perfect, and it looked my age (I'm finding most maternity clothes look like old women's clothing). I was so happy and so thankful.

Lastly, meet my friend Erin.
Erin and her husband went to college with Ben. I had met them a couple of times over the years, but we didn't really start a friendship until this past May when Ben and Wesley were in a friends wedding in Orlando. Erin and I hung out the whole time while the guys participated in the wedding festivities. Little did we know, we all lived literally one street over from each other in Birmingham. We started hanging out almost every night after that, and have all gotten to be great friends. Now, we live just a few houses down from each other and continue to hang out frequently. Though we have only known each other for about 7 ot 8 months, I feel like I've known her my whole life. Anyway, last night after bible study I went to spend the night at her house since Ben is still out of town. When we walked in her house, she said "I have some surprises for you." She then pulls out 3, yes THREE, shirts that she had bought for me, for no reason, other than she just thought I would like them and they would fit my ever growing belly. I was stunned. The shirts were seriously all perfect. I love them! I can't wait to wear them this weekend now!

So there you have it, all of that happened in this one week. What did I do to have such wonderful friends and family? I truly am so blessed. Now, don't get me wrong... there are SEVERAL other family members and friends in my life that I am truly thankful for and literally couldn't live without. I just wanted to take the time to acknowledge these three right now because these things all happened so closely to each other. It's like they all knew what I was needing. So thank you Whitney, Mama Frankie, and Erin. Now, I guess its my turn to pay it forward. I've got a lot to live up to!