It's One Of Those Days

Sometimes a little post on Facebook or a 140 character tweet just isn't enough.
Not enough to say all that is on my mind or in my heart.
Today is one of those days... May 4, 2014.

Today, I want to celebrate the birthday and life of our son-in-law.... K.G.

I want to tell the world (or at least my family and friends) how thankful I am for Mr. Good.

Let me start with how I met him.

It was a cold February morning in 2008.
My niece Christen and I were supposed to be road tripping it to D.C.
There was a snow storm heading our way.
I did NOT want to get out of bed.
I remember laying there hoping that Christen would call and say we shouldn't go.
My phone never rang.
Turns out she was hoping I would call her as well.





Didn't happen, and we found ourselves driving in the snow to volunteer for a Passion Conference that weekend... not understanding at the time how this trip would change the course of our Shock Family forever!

We met Kevin Good and his friends that day.
We were impressed with him from the start.
He was one cool kid.

Kevin and I were on "trash duty" together.
I somehow thought his name was Andy.
Called him "Andy" several times before he politely let me know his name was Kevin.
Oops!

I watched him serve that weekend.
"Trash duty" isn't the most pleasant job.
We talked about God...
A whole lot.
I could see he loved Jesus.
Again... one cool kid.

So naturally, at the end of the conference...
I told him he needed to meet my daughter :).
side note: he was 22 and a teacher in Indianapolis.

The conversation went something like this:
Me: "You need to meet my daughter."
Kevin: "How old is your daughter?"
Me: "Ummm.... 17."
Kevin: "Ummm... I don't think so."

We exchanged e-mails and over the next couple of months, KG spent a good amount of time getting to know our family.  And I spent a good amount of time sharing his e-mails with Alyssa ;).

In April,  he came to visit us in Columbus.
side note: Alyssa had just turned 18 :).
I think everyone knew what I was up to that weekend.
And no one really minded.
How fun is that?

Let's just say that by the end of his time in Columbus, these two kids knew I was on to something.
We all knew.

K.G. called Kevin (my husband Kevin).
Another side note: 2 Kevin's in the family can get quite confusing.
He asked him if he could date our daughter.
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Seven weeks later they were engaged.
Crazy.
Everyone thought we were crazy.
Somehow though...
We knew.
Kev and Kev (haha) spent time praying and seeking God together in those weeks.
And believed that this whole thing was orchestrated by Him.

Alyssa was smitten.
It was sweet.
Her faith in what God was doing was pretty astounding.
She loved the kid.
She loved his whole family.
We did too.

They were married 7 months later.

I watched as my husband performed the wedding ceremony.
I watched as K.G. choked back the tears watching his bride walk down the aisle.
I watched as our daughter kissed a man for the first time ever.
I watched as they held each other on the dance floor.
I watched as she smiled... and couldn't stop smiling that entire evening.
I watched that day... Seriously excited about what God had in store for them in their lives --





Flash forward 6 years.

I now have a front row seat to watch our son-in-law...

Love our daughter and point to her Jesus.
Bring 2 precious little girls into the world.
Love them and point them to Jesus.
Become quite a leader in their church family.
Start a successful business.
Help us start She Has A Name.
Play a mean game of basketball.
Soccer too.
Be such a great friend and big brother to Drew and Lance.
Alayna too :).
Respect Kevin and me.
Honor his father and mother.
Give so very generously.
Open his home to so many.
Teach our family about Haiti.
And help us all get there.

I can tell you right now...
He doesn't like me making much of him on this blog.
He is that kind of a kid.
Like that about him too!

But, do you know what I like most about Andy???

He is just a real good friend!

Happy Birthday Kevin...
We love you!!!