52 Ancestor Weeks, Week 10 How Did Grandma and Grandpa Meet?

When the Hero and I first began asking questions of Mom E about her family, a basic question was asked, "How did your grandparents meet?"  We knew he lived in the northern part of Alabama and she lived in the Southeast corner of Alabama.
Her answer began with the giggle. " Well", she said, "grandma said she was hiding behind the fence when grandpa came up to apply for the job as a hired hand on her grandpa's farm." Grandma said, "He was as pretty as a picture."  Saying these words triggered another giggle from Mom. She thought that statement was the greatest expression ever.
I do not have any pictures of Henry Crawford Reynolds or Martha Ann Maloura Wells when they are young.  I hope one day some may appear. In order to compensate for this, I used Mom's picture which was of her squatting on the porch, since she looked a lot like Martha. Then I found a cowboy picture and created my own mental scene of Martha hiding behind the fence and watching the farmhand ride up to apply for a job.  At the bottom is a picture of Henry and Martha late in life. Guess he held his magic for her all those years. Wonder if she still thought he was as pretty as a picture. ;-)
(hope you enjoy my visual)

Sentimental Sunday The Hero as a New Father

I talked about the Hero being a Super Hero last week.  Well, his desire to protect the world carried over to his adult life.

He said when our first child was born that his life changed in the instant he saw her. 
I went to the hospital thinking I would go back home.  He went knowing we would come back with a baby.  He was distraught when they would not allow him back in the labor rooms.  Oh my it was the dark ages of Houston medicine.  He wrote a poem it will be a little later when I get it up.
I have told my story before (click here and it will take you there).
He was fond of telling everyone that He got to see our daughter and hold her first.  That she was the most beautiful child in the whole world.
He instantly became her protector.  'Grrrrr' said the dog to the approaching invader.  What are you doing on MY territory.  Yep, pretty much that was him. 
We went to a restaurant when she was about a month old.  She being sensitive to noise (oh my was she) started screaming when the waiter dropped some dishes.  I was trying quiet her and eat because we were traveling and on a tight time schedule.  A kind lady came up offering to hold her while we ate.  You would have thought she had said, "Here let me TAKE her".  The hero grabbed her out of my arms and said "We are just fine", and off he went to the car with her in his protective arms, leaving me apologizing to the lady for his reaction.
There are other stories around this child and the hero, but that will be for another time.  Suffice it to say his connection was strong.

Sharing a Slice of Life Prompt 2 A Hero Story

Texasblu prompted us to write about a hero that has in some way touched your life.
I write weekly about the man who was and is my greatest hero.  He brought so much to my life you all will be hearing stories forever.  LOL
I will address someone else that touched my life and my entire family's lives for this post.
It is a post on religious beliefs, as that is the core of our family.

Most of us have something that occurs that changes the the course of our lives.  For my family it was an act of courage and love of ones' fellow man that set the course for what our family would be.

The Hero was agnostic when he was a young man.  He had all sorts of excuses why God might not be.
He dated those that did not believe in God and he associated with those that blatantly taught the opposite of God's teachings.
It was after one of these dates that he walked into the Student center at the University of Houston in Houston.  When he walked in, he saw from words written on the blackboard that the prior meeting must have been a bible study group.  He started making fun of the scriptures written on the blackboard to impress the young lady he was with.  One young lady who was leaving the prior meeting spoke up.  [He decided that she had to study the scriptures because she surely wouldn't be able to get a date.  (bad attitude)]  She had the courage to face his ridicule and challenge him with "Don't you believe in God?"  He flippantly said, "I don't know, He might be or He might not be. He has never talked to me."  She responded with, "If I gave you a book, would you read it?"  He said sure, took the book, noted that it was called The Book of Mormon and walked off.
Years later he would say, when I asked if we could consider a church to raise our children in so they would learn of Christ, "one church I would like to look in to is the Mormon Church."  He had read the first pages and decided it had merit.
If that young lady had not had the courage to speak up, the family I have today might not have been.  She is my unnamed hero.  Christ is an important part of our lives and the Hero would attribute his finding faith in Christ to an unknown young lady he could never say thank you to. 

My thankfulness for missionaries goes all the way back to the Mayflower Days when my ancestor William Bradford listened to the missionaries and he sought a better way to worship God.
There are millions of missionaries in almost every faith or religion you can think of that shares their faith with someone and brings about a life changing experience for them.  I am thankful for those who have the courage to say would you like to know about something that could change your life....These are my gentle Heroes.