This morning I stopped by Brooklyn's school (she was with her daddy last night) to get her books, notebooks, etc. so she wouldn't have so much to carry this afternoon. Today was her last day of school. I hugged her goodbye. Then I realized it was the last hug I would receive from my Elementary child. When I saw her again tonight she would be a middle schooler.
Today in school they made a circle and each person took a turn in the middle while receiving "shout outs" meaning they were bragged on for something they had done during the year. They also had a moving up ceremony with just her class. She really enjoyed it.
They also have been working on final words also. Basically this is each person writing a sentence or two (or more) about each person. This is something we will treasure in our house and it will go in a special place.
I'm so glad they don't do Awards Day at her school. There were always 2-3 children that received the bulk of the awards. Yes, it is nice to be honored, but I loved the way they did it at her school today. All participated, all were accepted and all were revered.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Queen of Asheville (or at least the Mall)
About a month ago I wrote an essay for a Mother's Day Contest on WOXL. I thought it would be cool if mom won.
Tuesday night, Tammy called to tell me that my mom won. She sent me the details. She won lunch with Tammy & her mom (and with the other winners), a $200 gift certificate to the Mall, a hair & makeup makeover and a gift bag. And, she needed to get a cheering section there to root for her as the most extreme makeover and she could win an even bigger prize.
So, she called her friends and many of them showed up. It was great. Thank you to her friends that came.
Guess what, she beat the other five moms and won the Grand Prize. You would have thought she was queen of Asheville!
In her mind she probably was. I could have never spent that much money on her and she wouldn't have allowed the hair cut, etc. (She even took her wig off!) My dad used to buy her frying pans for presents. As I got older I would try to get him to buy better things and occasionally he did (a locket from Kmart).
I'm glad we got to spend that time together and I'm glad she won. She had her 15 minutes of fame and she enjoyed every minute of it. And she looked cool in that outfit!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Bistro 1896 for Brunch
This morning we thought about trying Carmel's again since we had such a great experience; however, there are so many restaurants downtown so we decided to try something new or something we haven't frequented recently. So we thought Bistro 1896.
We had such a great experience there about 8 years ago when we were dating that we were sure it would again be a pleasant experience.
Our waitress Chrissy was wonderful. I asked her what she recommended and she bubbled with exuberance over several dishes that we were considering. So my husband got the Southern Comfort (baked cheese grits with scrambled eggs, cajun shrimp, and fried green tomatoes.) I got the Salmon Benedict with a side of fruit.
About 25 minutes into our wait my husband noticed that only two tables in the whole restaurant had food. Food started arriving at about the 30 minute mark. The couple beside us had ordered the same thing. The lady immediately told the waitress that her food was cold and it was returned for warming.
Tables outside were being served and several of them received the Southern Comfort dish while this lady continued to eat and her husband finished his "warm" breakfast. She finally got up and went to the kitchen and asked for her meal. Which was returned with rubbery shrimp.
So when my husband got his he discovered that his food was also cold. I took a bite and he was right. Stone cold. Mine, however, was delicious. The sad thing was the waitress took his plate and returned it from the microwave just a minute or two later. The shrimp shells still on his plate.
She took the price of the meal off our bill, but it ruined the whole experience. With so many good brunch restaurants in Asheville you must have an up to par breakfast or people will not return. I guess they count on tourists.
I hope they were just having an off morning, but slow service and cold food make my decision for a brunch restaurant in the future much easier.
We had such a great experience there about 8 years ago when we were dating that we were sure it would again be a pleasant experience.
Our waitress Chrissy was wonderful. I asked her what she recommended and she bubbled with exuberance over several dishes that we were considering. So my husband got the Southern Comfort (baked cheese grits with scrambled eggs, cajun shrimp, and fried green tomatoes.) I got the Salmon Benedict with a side of fruit.
About 25 minutes into our wait my husband noticed that only two tables in the whole restaurant had food. Food started arriving at about the 30 minute mark. The couple beside us had ordered the same thing. The lady immediately told the waitress that her food was cold and it was returned for warming.
Tables outside were being served and several of them received the Southern Comfort dish while this lady continued to eat and her husband finished his "warm" breakfast. She finally got up and went to the kitchen and asked for her meal. Which was returned with rubbery shrimp.
So when my husband got his he discovered that his food was also cold. I took a bite and he was right. Stone cold. Mine, however, was delicious. The sad thing was the waitress took his plate and returned it from the microwave just a minute or two later. The shrimp shells still on his plate.
She took the price of the meal off our bill, but it ruined the whole experience. With so many good brunch restaurants in Asheville you must have an up to par breakfast or people will not return. I guess they count on tourists.
I hope they were just having an off morning, but slow service and cold food make my decision for a brunch restaurant in the future much easier.
Forgiveness
Wow, I think this morning I attended the best service I ever have. I started with funny announcements (Kevin got beat by a girl in a poker game!) then was ushered in with a great worship set. Jenny does a great job of changing up the songs.
One of the babies was dedicated. I think I know the parents names, but I'm not sure so I won't post on it, but these are the sweetest dedications. I cried and I don't really even know the family.
But the topic this morning and the sermon were thought provoking. Forgiveness. How many times do we forgive? How do we forgive that deep wound? He used the Nooma video by Rob Bell "Luggage" to bring home the point at the end. I think there were many people dealing with this subject and there were many tears. I hope that some people did experience breakthroughs this morning.
I always wonder what about the person that hurts you and hurts you and hurts you. That was even part of the video. Does the abused woman (I'm not referring to myself here) continue to suffer the abuse? Does the child whose parent beats them just continue to forgive without reaching out for help? It was addressed by setting boundaries and those boundaries sometimes mean you won't be around that person. You can forgive them, not dwell on what happened, but that doesn't mean you have to spend time with them or set yourself up for more abuse.
I have some forgiveness to deal with. I'm looking forward to forgiving and moving on.
One of the babies was dedicated. I think I know the parents names, but I'm not sure so I won't post on it, but these are the sweetest dedications. I cried and I don't really even know the family.
But the topic this morning and the sermon were thought provoking. Forgiveness. How many times do we forgive? How do we forgive that deep wound? He used the Nooma video by Rob Bell "Luggage" to bring home the point at the end. I think there were many people dealing with this subject and there were many tears. I hope that some people did experience breakthroughs this morning.
I always wonder what about the person that hurts you and hurts you and hurts you. That was even part of the video. Does the abused woman (I'm not referring to myself here) continue to suffer the abuse? Does the child whose parent beats them just continue to forgive without reaching out for help? It was addressed by setting boundaries and those boundaries sometimes mean you won't be around that person. You can forgive them, not dwell on what happened, but that doesn't mean you have to spend time with them or set yourself up for more abuse.
I have some forgiveness to deal with. I'm looking forward to forgiving and moving on.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Sound
I was sitting at my desk working on deleting old files when I heard a sound coming from one of the rooms close by. I knew the sound. It was very familiar. I don't like to hear that sound because I know what it means.
Grief. It was sobbing. Uncontrollable sobbing.
One of the women I work with lost her mom and Hospice had just called to let her know. She wasn't alone and I knew that. She was quickly surrounded by those who care about her deeply. I had asked about her mom earlier and had told her they serve a great meal on Saturdays at Hospice. Little did I know that 10 minutes later she would find out her mom was no longer here.
I remember hearing that sound and knowing it was me. My dad died on August 8, 2001 (yes, my birthday). He was my hero and when they called me from the hospital to try to get there before my mom I knew what had happened, but they wouldn't tell me over the phone. As soon as I got to the room I heard that noise, that deep sobbing noise. But this time it was coming from a place of familiarity. It was the sound of my cry. Sure, I had cried over the loss of a pet, or family friend. But I had never lost anyone close to me. I was lucky to have my dad with me for 33 years.
It reminds me of the story in the bible where people were paid to weep. I wonder what that sounded like? I can't imagine it was authentic. Do you think paid mourners can authentically grieve? People who weren't touched by the life of the person that has passed away? Jesus asked them to leave the room and then he raised the child from the dead.
Mark 5:37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
I think the mourners were upset. Their job was to mourn and Jesus took away their opportunity. Are you mourning (a lost child, a marriage, a death, etc.) Let Jesus take away the opportunity or heal the hurt. For everything their is a season and there is a season of grief and then there is also a season of JOY!
Grief. It was sobbing. Uncontrollable sobbing.
One of the women I work with lost her mom and Hospice had just called to let her know. She wasn't alone and I knew that. She was quickly surrounded by those who care about her deeply. I had asked about her mom earlier and had told her they serve a great meal on Saturdays at Hospice. Little did I know that 10 minutes later she would find out her mom was no longer here.
I remember hearing that sound and knowing it was me. My dad died on August 8, 2001 (yes, my birthday). He was my hero and when they called me from the hospital to try to get there before my mom I knew what had happened, but they wouldn't tell me over the phone. As soon as I got to the room I heard that noise, that deep sobbing noise. But this time it was coming from a place of familiarity. It was the sound of my cry. Sure, I had cried over the loss of a pet, or family friend. But I had never lost anyone close to me. I was lucky to have my dad with me for 33 years.
It reminds me of the story in the bible where people were paid to weep. I wonder what that sounded like? I can't imagine it was authentic. Do you think paid mourners can authentically grieve? People who weren't touched by the life of the person that has passed away? Jesus asked them to leave the room and then he raised the child from the dead.
Mark 5:37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
I think the mourners were upset. Their job was to mourn and Jesus took away their opportunity. Are you mourning (a lost child, a marriage, a death, etc.) Let Jesus take away the opportunity or heal the hurt. For everything their is a season and there is a season of grief and then there is also a season of JOY!
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