No Stitching Sunday

Even though I had planned to stitch and didn’t get a single stitch done . . in fact, I had planned to finish No Bees and that, of course, didn’t happen, but it was a wonderful day.

Last night Chad and I were talking on the phone and he said Nicole needed something from the mall and they were thinking about coming to Joplin today . . did Vince want Chad to come help him work in the storage units. Vince will never turn down Chad’s help so they came over this morning. The mall doesn’t open til noon on Sunday so we all sat downstairs and entertained Oscar and Cooper. Chad and Addie love dogs! Nicole does too but I think she was happy to let Chad and Addie spend time with Oscar and Cooper. I was so proud of Oscar. He wasn’t snippy, he played hard and was well mannered. Sometimes he seems a bit snippy with them at first if he hasn’t seen them in a while. Cooper is always a dream pup . . the same with strangers as he is with us. He was apprehensive at first – he wanted to play but was a bit afraid of them but his desire to play outweighed his fear of “strangers”.

Chad and Vince headed off to the storage units. Nicole and Addie talked me into going to the mall with them. They promised they were going to ONE store so I agreed. We ended up going to two stores but I know had I not been with them, they would have shopped in way more stores.

We ran by the storage units on the way home and told the guys we were starving. They said they would be home in half an hour and we’d go eat. They got home, and we went to eat at Cane’s, which is Addie’s favorite place to eat in Joplin.

We came home and they stayed a couple more hours and then left. I love spending time with them. Addie is growing up so quickly. She’s fun to spend time with, she’s funny but, oh, that pre-teen attitude. We were leaving Cane’s, Addie’s phone rang, she walked ahead of us while having her conversation. We got in the car and Chad said “Who was on the phone?” In a “I haven’t quite learned how far to push my dad” voice, she looked at him and said “Tarzan!” Chad said “Are you Jane?” I was biting my tongue to keep from laughing. I later told Chad . . every time you get a smart answer from her, remember that it’s payback time! Chad entertained us with a few stories of things he did in high school. He’s been out of high school almost 20 years and his stories still make me break out in a sweat!

Chad brought a saw to show us. I think he said this saw is from around 1870 and had a broken handle so he made the new handle this week. He used local Osage Orange wood that the had cut.

Isn’t that pretty? He loves working on things like that.

Even after having worked for over three hours in the heat and humidity inside a storage unit, Chad still looks happy. I’m guessing that many of you who have been with me since his high school days are as thankful as I am to see what a great young man he’s grown up to be.

When they left, I said to Vince . . I wish we lived next door to them! Vince said “If we did, Chad would move!” Probably, but I’d be happy to get to see them every day! I’d even be happy to look out the window and see them . . I don’t even have to go to their house! 🙂

But, I’m thankful and grateful for however much time I do get to spend with them.