The BEST Christmas Present Part One: 911

Before I tell you about this incredible, make-my-jaw-drop-to-the-floor gift, I have to share a couple stories so you'll appreciate the enormity of what is about to be the gift that will make history.

It was the fall of 2003 and Randy and I were living in a small one-bedroom apartment in Boston.  It was a cold, rainy Saturday making it the perfect opportunity for me to make some homemade soup.  I threw a couple of chicken breasts in a pot of boiling water then quickly forgot about them as I began getting ready to go to church for a broadcast of General Conference.
We drove to the church (about 10 minutes away) and had been there for about half an hour when I suddenly gripped Randy's arm in horror.
"I forgot to turn off the stove!" I whispered.
He quickly got up from the pew saying, "I'll take care of it," and left before I could tell him how quickly he needed to hurry.  Randy slowly drove back home in the pouring rain, thinking he just needed to turn off the oven and didn't realize how dire the circumstances were until he pulled up to our apartment building and saw it surrounded by the entire Medford Fire Department.  The building had been evacuated and all our neighbors, mostly elderly, were standing out in the rain.  Randy ran into our apartment to find several firemen squished in our tiny kitchen, some sitting on the couch, and another sitting on our bed looking at wedding pictures.
The pot of chicken was no longer recognizable as the pot had melted in on itself into a black gooey mess, but luckily hadn't caught fire.  A neighbor had heard our smoke alarm going off and when no one answered our door, called 911.
The fire chief gave Randy a stern lecture about leaving the stove on and reprimanded him for storing our cookbooks next to the stove.  "Feel how warm these are!  They could have gone up in flames at any moment!"
Randy humbly apologized to everyone and quickly escorted the firemen out.  The neighbors were given the all-clear to come inside and made sure Randy knew how upset they were to be evacuated.  "You'll hear from my lawyer!"  one guy said.
The combination of smoke and the smell of burnt chicken made the entire building smell for days and days.   Randy quickly opened all our windows, borrowed fans from friends, and bought every type of air freshener available.
Meanwhile, I was pacing the hall at the church and calling the apartment every few minutes.  Randy never answered the phone (we didn't have a cell phone back then) and I had convinced myself I had burned down the building.  Finally, almost 2 hours later, Randy came back to get me.  I was so sure I had burned down the building, since that could be the only logical reason for his long absence and failure to answer the phone, that I could hardly think straight.
I apologized profusely and cried from embarrassment and relief.  As part of my punishment for nearly burning down the apartment, I never bought a new pot to replace the old one until four years later, which brings us to Part II.

Stay tuned.

Yes, this is a true story.