Brotherly Love

This week was Spring Break in our neck of the woods. Cole spent the week hanging out with Gran in Auburn. Most days he got to spend several hours with Trevor and Colton. I think it was fun for them all to play with each other on different turf. The way I hear it, Colton demanded that Cole be at his house by the time he got home from school each day. I think Gran delivered! Gran told me that one morning as Cole was saying grace over his breakfast he thanked God for his time with Gran and thanked God for getting to spend time with his brothers.

When you combine families, you never know how the kids are going to get along. We are so blessed that ours really act like brothers. They argue and get tired of each other as most siblings do, but at the same time they are so loving to each other. When they are together, a quiet house becomes very noisy. But I wouldn't trade the noise of brotherly love for anything.

All for one and one for all
My brother and my friend
What fun we have
The time we share
Brothers 'til the end.
~Author Unknown

Janet's Lessons to a Cynic

By nature, I am a cynic. Webster defines a cynic as "one who denies the sincerity of people's motives and actions." Yep, that's pretty much me. I've never seen this as a bad trait or one in which I needed to work on until this week. This week, God spoke to me about this trait through a woman named Janet.

Janet has been without a job for about 6 months and is in the process of losing her home. She was referred to my office to complete some paperwork for financial help. I don't normally handle cases such as Janet. As a matter of fact, I gladly refer these cases elsewhere. Not only do I not want to be involved, I am not trained to minister in that area. I don't buy their stories, I don't trust their motives...you get the picture. The last time I was involved in trying to help someone, my tires were slashed. I'm a little bitter.

Janet is at the end of her rope financially. Little by little she is losing everything. I mean everything. We sat and talked for over an hour and I was taken back by how her heart was overflowing with love for her Savior. She is losing everything, yet she trusts in Him. She is not sure how she will feed her family tomorrow, yet she is confident God will provide. She is listening and watching for what He would have her to learn. She is obediently walking down the path that he has placed before her.

Janet's visit had a profound impact on me. It has taken me a while to be able to process all that God has spoken to me through Janet. Even as I write I am processing. I would like to think that he placed us in the same path so I could help her. In reality, He sent her for me. He used Janet to teach me that I have much, but my faith is often small. She has little, yet she is rich in Him. I really felt like I was speaking to Jesus when I was talking to Janet. I saw Him in her eyes and I am still overwhelmed by it all. To think that I was dreading having to meet with her, to think how skeptical I was...I am ashamed. I could have very easily sent her away. Would I have been rejecting Him?

Thank you Lord for sending Janet to break my prideful spirit. Thank you for loving me even when my faith is small. Thank you for Janet. You know every need that she has and you have promised that you will provide. Provide for Janet today oh Lord.

We Are Family

A big thanks to Aunt Les and Uncle Norm for hosting the Berger family reunion. It was a blast! We headed up to the farm on Saturday and were greeted by at least 50 members of the Berger family. The day was sunny and hot, but full of laughter and love. I know I promised pictures, and I did take my camera. I even took my camera out of the car. Unfortunately, the camera sat in the bag while I spent the whole day running my mouth. That is probably why Brian will not agree to let me buy a Nikon D80. It would be better for the money to sit in the checking account rather than in a camera bag!

As I mentioned before, my dad has 8 siblings. All were in attendance at the reunion as well as most of their families. It really is an interesting dynamic. My grandparents had 5 children, then took a break for a while and had the last three. So, some of my cousins are the same age as my children! Pretty freaky! When I was growing up, we spent many weekends at my grandparent's farm along with the cousins that are my age. Other than not living in the same house, we pretty much grew up as siblings. Unfortunately, we have all scattered and don't have many opportunities to see each other. So I particularly enjoyed this weekend because I got to catch up with Sissy and Norm. Our three "young" aunts were in attendance. I am sure as children we drove them crazy. They were teenagers when we were kids. We liked to brush their hair, play in their rooms and hang out with their friends. As a matter of fact, I think Melissa, Amber and I were flower girls in their weddings. I really looked up to them. Now that we are all grown up we are more equals than pests. It was fun to share our journey.

My dad gave a brief history of the Berger family. It made me wish I had talked to Nanny more about her family. There are lots of stories I need to write down so that Katie and Cole can look back and appreciate from whence they came. In fact, my next post will be about my grandparent's love story. (I just have to verify some facts before completing the post.) My dad's cousins were also in attendance. I can't tell you who they were. I just heard a lot of..."the last time I saw you, you were two years old!" We had some awesome Southern BBQ and lots of good conversation. It really was a great day.

Perhaps the highlight of the day (besides catching up with my cousins) was the fact that my family knows how to have fun. After lunch, they broke out the music. There was the electric slide, the Macarena and much more. Most of the "performers" were over 50 or under 15. It was a good laugh. When they brought out the hula hoops for the hula hoop competition....we made our escape. I could not take a chance that I would be posted on Youtube!

Sweet Home Alabama!

Life has been very busy and very WET in the Tuck household this week. I can't remember a time ever that it has rained, and rained and rained. It started last week and hasn't stopped. Brian and I purchased some plants at Callaway Garden's plant sale last Friday and they are still sitting on my front porch. We need the rain oh so bad, but I am ready to start digging and getting my yard ready for Spring.

We've had a nice break from sports this week due to the rain. I say we have had a nice break, but I am sure the coaches haven't. Katie's team is trying to prepare for Regionals, but you can only play golf outside. I imagine we will be catching up on Spring Break. Another note on the golf front...after a pow-wow with Katie's former golf coach, we have agreed to take part in the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour. Be on the lookout for the next Annika Sorenstom (sorry if I mispelled Brian!). It will keep us on the road this summer, but will help Katie get to the next level of reaching her dream. Fun times ahead! Be on the lookout for Katie in a city near you!

Thanks to my dad and Brian, I am venturing out a little and planning on making my love for cooking a business. More on that later. I can tell you I have been baking all week and we are all going to be butterballs before I fine tune my repertoire!

This weekend we are headed to Auburn to catch one of Colton's baseball games/visit with the Tucks and then on to Alex City for the Berger/Cole reunion. My dad has a huge family since he is 1 of 8 children. I am very excited for everyone to meet Brian and to catch up with all my kissing cousins! We haven't all been together since my grandmother died in 2005 and even then, we missed out on the northern folks. I'll post pictures next week. Not only will it be great seeing family, but it is always a blessing to be able to return to Sweet Home Alabama. It truly is God's country!