Marble Slab Creamery

Taylor (My girl) [L] and Kayla [R] her laughing partner in crime!

Reading Travis Cottrell's blog today reminded me of a particularly funny experience I had with my daughters at the local Marble Slab!

It was my youngest daughter's sweet sixteen - and long story short, since my son died the year my older daughter turned sweet sixteen we did not have a party - so, in lieu of a big sweet party, I took my girls and one of my younger daughter's friends to the Pink Impact women's conference on Friday. The conference offers a special time for college and career age girls as well as youth age girls to hear a special message from the key speaker and there is an age appropriate party for each group. The conference was very rich and great fun. We decided to stop by Marble Slab Creamery for a Birthday treat.

Now, laughter in and of itself can be contagious, but when you get my youngest daughter together with this specific friend it becomes a side-splitting, roll-in-the-floor kind of infectious experience. I knew we might be in for a case of the giggles since we had been discussing the subject of Lisa Bevere's talk. (If any of you have seen Lisa on Life Today, you know she has a story that seems to be a bit colorful but is simply her dealing honestly with a sexual issue that plagues many women in secrecy.) I was telling my daughters that I was kind of worried when she dropped the M- word, and wondered how my friend would feel about me taking her daughter to a conference that eluded to that topic. Well, hearing their former Sunday school teacher a Godly Mother drop the M- word in that conversation just sent the girls over the edge. They fell out of the car in the parking lot of the ice cream parlor and hurried in trying to quell their fit of giggles and regain their composure. To no avail, I might add.

Inside, I discovered the giggles were hic-cupping and snorting along in classic teenage fashion as the girls tried to order ice cream. The two boys behind the counter were seemingly amused by the fits of laughter breaking out before their eyes, but the girls sitting in the front of the little ice cream shop were clearly not enjoying the raucous display. The guys kept looking from these girls to me, and I was desparately trying to keep a straight face as I ordered my strawberry banana concoction - the big dipper, of course. I shrugged as I paid for our sweet, luscious ice cream and said, "This is what happens when I take them to church." The guys eyes grew wide and the laughing began to subside as they asked, "What church?"

I told them we attended Gateway in Southlake and they said, "Well, that must be some church."

I nodded in agreement and smiled wide. I turned to join my girls at a table off to the side only to find the minute they saw my face again that the laughter would begin in double time fashion. They could barely eat. I finally managed to quit laughing long enough to ask, "Are you still thinking about what I said in the car?" All three girls burst out in a fit of snorts, squeaks, hic-cups and giggles. They were holding their sides and nodding their heads rigourously about the time the girls at the front of the store got so frustrated they spilled their drinks all over the boy sitting with them. Glares and looks that could drop the fiercest warrior at 30 paces began to be cast our way as my girls came up for air and then fell back into the sea of amusement that seemed to be carrying us along. It was too much. They finally finished their ice cream and I hustled them out to the car to make the hysterical ride home. It was the most fun we'd had since I accidently sat through three green lights at an intersection in the middle of town because they had me laughing so hard.

Blessings to all in the New Year!