Fun Friday

When Jimmy and I first got married he was teaching second grade. He instituted something called "Fun Friday" which just meant that the students got to play board games and such at the end of the school day on Fridays. He would come home from school and announce, "It's Fun Friday! Let's call someone to hang out!" As a newlywed, I often got my feelings hurt. I would say, "Why can't you just hang out with me?" To which he would respond, "It's my Fun Friday, I get to decide what we do!" (Now, he just likes to say, "I do what I want when I want!") This is the Jimmy I get frustrated with and love all in one moment.

Often we would call our friends the Mitchells and for some reason, though we often called other people, they are the only ones whom we shared the joke with and always said (and still do), "It's Fun Friday!" which is code for, "What are you doing tonight, do you want to hang out?"

WELL, this past Friday was the best Fun Friday we've had in a long time because Carey, mommy of the Mitchells, had her twin boys. I'm sure Carey didn't really feel like partying since she was recovering from a C-section, BUT I still thought it was cool that the boys came on a Friday. Owen Benjamin and Wyatt Jude were 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 6 lbs. 12 oz. respectively, and do not seem to be identical. (There was a chance.) I have always said I wanted twins, although after I had a couple kids I was over it. But I have still lived vicariously through Carey and feel blessed to know someone who had twins since I wasn't blessed with them myself.
I was riding in the car with Jackson and Libby and said, "Maybe we can go to the hospital today and see the babies!" And then I yelled, "The babies! The babies! The babies!" Because there is a Dora the Explorer episode where her mom has twins and she jumps around the screen yelling that. After I yelled that Libby yells from the back seat, "Los Bebes!" (Dora often repeats things in Spanish.) I love it when my kids make a joke, it is fun to have a look into their sense of humor. We went to see the babies and they were cute and fun and I couldn't resist holding them both at the same time.

It is refreshing to be near a family who did not plan to have two babies, yet welcomed the challenges and strains they are sure to evoke. In light of the times we are living in, I felt privileged to be close to such a celebration of life, even the unexpected event of two babies instead of one. I am scared to think that there are those who believe it is in their best interest to terminate a pregnancy. New life is not a consequence, but a reward. Given freely by a God of grace and mercy. Welcome to the world Owen and Wyatt!