Yay for Easter! Early early yesterday morning, Kelly and I got up and got ready for the day. We had to leave the apartment by 7 in order to get to BJ's by 8. He wanted to get to church really early for the 9:30 traditional service. Church of course was splendid! The music was so beautiful...there was even a touch of the drama thang, and you KNOW I'm always up for that!

After the service, we chatted with the fam for a bit. (Jack, Debra and Lauren came...which made BJ really happy. You could see it all over his face.) Since BJ was playing in the orchestra, he was also going to play in the 11 o'clock traditional, and meet Kelly and I at the contemporary service halfway through. We ended up not doing that, though. I think I've done that once or twice before and went to both complete services, but not yesterday.

After church we went back to the house for a bit before heading to Maw Maw and Papa Tom's house. Spent time with the Searcy side of the family before heading to Nana's to visit with the Nave side. We stayed for awhile and watched the last reel of "Jesus of Nazareth" on the history channel. I grew up watching that movie twice a year, but BJ had never seen any of it.

After Nana's we went back to the house again and did random nothingness for a long time. Amy, Jason, Kasi, and Gracie came to visit after awhile, and Jack had a lot of fun video taping them being adorable! Kelly got sleepy, so we tried to keep the noise down so she could nap. BJ and I went into his room to do our devotions. After that, we spent a few hours just laying there, holding each other, and talking. Not all of the subject matter was perfect, but being with him was. I could lay in his arms forever. It's the best feeling in the world. It feel so safe. WONDERFUL.

We started telling stories after that. And so now I will share one of those stories with you! I really enjoyed this story. It's a good one. Ahem! Read on!


Once upon a time, there was a little boy. All he wanted was a bike. Everyone else had a bike. He wanted one too! He thought he would never get a bike. One day, an older friend of his gave him some great news.

She told him "I think I have the perfect bike for you. This bike hasn't been used all that much, and you've never really had one before. I wouldn't steer you wrong. I think you'd really like it!"

He was intrigued. He agreed to try the bike. When he saw it, it didn't seem like it was the bike he had always dreamed of, but at that point...he was just SO excited at the prospect of actually having a bike, that he would take what he could get.

He took the bike on a test run. It seemed to veer to the left a bit, which wasn't where he was trying to go. He shrugged it off, deciding that he could look beyond it. He liked the bike! It took him where he wanted to go! He was just so happy to have any bike at all.

He learned to love that bike. At first he wasn't sure he could, but he managed to somehow. The first six months he had that bike, he had a blast! He had fun with his bike. He grew confident with his bike, and thought about trying a couple bike tricks. He had never had a bike, so he didn't really know what he was doing, but he was fascinated by the ramps, and the jumps...and when he tried, it seemed like the bike knew what to do! But one too many times, he landed the wrong way on the seat, and he didn't really like the bike jumps anymore. He felt like the only thing he really accomplished was getting dirty. He decided he didn't like all the bruises he was getting from falling off, so it was determined that maybe being a hip cool bike stunt professional was not for him.

After awhile he started getting tired of the bike. Everything started to bother him. The rusty chain, the awful color, the dented tire rim, the crooked seat. The bell didn't work. It made a screeching grinding noise all the time that made his whole body tense. Something had to be done! He decided not to ride the bike for awhile. Instead he wanted to concentrate on fixing it up. The bike still worked, and he still wanted a bike. He didn't feel like it was fair to give up on the bike yet.

He gave up riding the bike for awhile, and conentrated on trying to make it the bike he had always wanted. He bought the bike a brand new bell. He gave it a new coat of paint. He fixed the tire rim. He stood back every once in awhile and admired his work. When it looked more like the bike he wanted, he'd take it out and ride awhile. It wasn't long before the seat would tilt, the paint would chip...and all the old problems would show through again.

He put more and more money, time and effort into the maintenance of the bike, but things just kept going wrong. He began getting so frustrated with the stupid bike! This wasn't what he had dreamed of! This wasn't what he had wanted at all! This wasn't his dream bike, and no repairs could ever change that! He started to really not like the bike. Everything would drive him crazy. Sometimes when he rode it to get where he needed to go, he would imagine another bike. He felt really bad, but still enjoyed coming up with different scenarios in his head. Nothing he added to his bike could make it into the bike he wanted. That made him feel terrible, but he still held on. He couldn't abandon the bike.

One day, he was riding his bike, trying to find little things about it that he liked. He listened to the bell, that even though it was new, started sounding just as bad as the old one. The bike tire seemed to be bent, going every which way but the right one. He started peddaling harder, hoping that would straighten it out. It only seemed to get worse! He could feel the anger building up. All of a sudden, the stupid rusty chain snapped, and he was thrown violently from the bike. That was it! He had had it! He was so angry. He kicked the bike to the side of the road, and left it there. He was done!

A few days later, he went back and found the bike. It was still there. All he could see was the rust, the chipped paint, the wobbly seat, the bent tire rim, that stupid bell. He did what he had to do. Everyone knew the bike was his, and if someone else had found it lying there, he could have gotten in trouble. He dragged the bike to the junk yard, and said his final goodbyes. For some reason, saying goodbye made him happy. No more junk bucket bike! Since the chain had broke, he couldn't ride it. He had nothing left to give the bike. It wasn't his anymore...and that made him happy!

He went a long time without ever having another bike. For awhile he thought he would never have another one. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Quite awhile later, he saw another bike in a store window. It seemed so far away, so unattainable. After awhile, he realized just how badly he wanted that bike. That beautiful bike was the ONE and ONLY bike he had ever really wanted. He knew it was perfect for him. He was too scared to go for it. Everyone around him knew how badly he wanted that bike.

One day, he went outside and there it was in his driveway! It had a tag on it, and his name was written right there. He couldn't believe it! How could he be so lucky? So blessed? He was so happy. The bike was so shiny and new. Nothing like the rust bucket. He hopped right on, and the ride was so smooth! It was marvelous!

His mom gave him a beautiful shiny bell for the bike that had been hers when she was a little girl. It looked perfect on the bike. The bike of his dreams! He was happier than he never knew possible. There was no way he would EVER leave that bike at the junkyard!

And then the little boy and his dream bike lived happily ever after! --THE END!




SEE? Great story! And a great Easter. I love you, BJ! More later!

Me