Our Story: My Side

First off... I haven't blogged in 7 months... I'm ridiculously behind but this is too much to let slip by and not write out, not journal, not document... so I'm doing it... and I hope to catch up on the blog somewhat in the coming weeks or months or whenever I get back into the blog world...

So... thank you Katie for your inspiration that I need to write out my side to the story...

As there are 2 sides to this story... You can read the other side here.

Katie's writing style is a million times better than mine by the way so my side of the story isn't going to have 2 parts... it'll have 1, don't know how long, lengthy and eloquently written it'll be, but it'll get the point across...

The point: Our God is amazing and is beyond anything I could possibly even begin to describe in words the AWE, LOVE, GRATITUDE, THANKSGIVING and straight up OVERWHELMING sense of protection that was felt and has been hovering, flooding and invading me over the last 24 hours.

Katie (my amazingly talented photographer and close close friend), myself, Tyler and Landon all took a drive up to Oak Glen on Tuesday to have Ty's 3 year pictures and Landon's pictures taken. It was a crazy, hot, 100 degree October day in the desert but the temperatures had dropped to an amazing 76 degrees by the time we got up to Oak Glen. It was beautiful and feeling like fall, as the desert isn't quite there yet and we began taking pictures. Tyler was being his normal 3 yr old self, being wonderful and cooperative one second, a complete ham the next, and throwing a fit being defiant the next. Landon was happy... always happy. He's amazingly content. Was all smiles in his adorable hat my friend Crissy had just crocheted for him special for this photo shoot. We'd been taking pictures for about 45 minutes and Katie had one last spot she wanted to go. She'd just been there with her family the weekend before and said there was a great spot for pictures... back past a looooooooooong dirt rode by the apple orchards, past the corn fields and into a foresty area with big, beautiful trees we don't have here in the desert... We hiked up forever it seemed like to get there. I was carrying Landon part of the way and his 15 pounds got heavy... so Katie took him and I then picked up Ty to carry him part of the way cause he was getting tired. It was a looooong walk (quarter mile maybe... maybe further?) but we finally got there and I now know why she wanted to go back there... it was amazing. We made our way to these huge tree stumps of a couple of trees that had been cut down. Looked perfect for a "boys boy" picture... rugged... earthy... Tyler...



So he sits on the stump, I'm holding Landon in my arms, watching Katie take pictures, and I feel a sting on my right arm... Then 2 seconds later I feel a sting on my left arm... By the time I look to my left arm to see what's going on, my entire shoulder and arm are COVERED in bees... I don't remember even saying this to Katie but apparently all I could say was "They're all over me! They're all over me!" Katie runs over to me, grabs Landon out of my arms and starts running back down the path, to the loooooooong dirt rode. Tyler had ran after Katie and by the time he gets to me he's screaming and I look down to see my boys little jeans COVERED in bees. I was thankfully wearing a cardigan and was able to throw it off of me, taking a swarm of bees with it. I'm freaking out, screaming Katie's name, not knowing what to do. This is all happening in a matter of seconds... shear terror and fear of something absolutely terrible happening. I picked up my 35 pound 3 year old and began running as fast as I possibly could... I ran... I screamed... and I prayed the most desperate prayer of my life during what felt like a mile sprint back down to the main road. As I'm running I'm continuing to feel the bees stinging me... my back, then my leg, my scalp, my stomach. In the meantime Tyler's hysterically screaming at the top of his lungs and there are still bees all over his jeans. I stopped about halfway down the dirt road to pull off his jeans but his shoes wouldn't let me... so they just went down to his ankles and I picked him up and continued running.

We got to the main road... the swarm was gone. Katie and Landon were there. Katie was covered in bee stings... I was covered in bee stings... my boys however... were nearly untouched. Tyler has 1 sting on his leg and 1 on his back. Landon has 1 on his back. I can't even begin to describe and put into words on a blog the absolute awe that I feel toward our God right now. Like I seriously can't even get over it... It is an absolute miracle. It's tangible. We saw it minutes after all of this happened. I saw it last night as I put a little benedryl gel on their couple of stings before tucking them into bed. I saw it this morning when I was able to get my happy kids up and ready for Mom2Mom at church this morning like nothing ever happened. Other than a rough, toss and turn, nights sleep for both Ty and I, today was just like any other day, except for the basketcase'ness of myself and the flood of emotions of thankfulness and awe I've been dwelling in all day...

"But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry to Him reached His ears." - Psalm 18:6

So... that's my side. I know Katie has a different side, a different view... She has different images and sounds that she can't get out of her head than I do. I am forever grateful for Katie and her taking Landon from my arms, as I was being attacked, running as fast as she could, when I didn't know what to do, knowing that I would follow her.

It was an experience I'll never forget and will always be a constant reminder to me of our amazing God and how He truly does love our children more than we do, more than we ever can... He protected them from something that could have gone so bad.

Our God...

He is amazing.

I stand in awe.

I can't get over it.

I never want to get over it.