One of the joys of blogging has been meeting fellow-bloggers in real life, folks I might never have known without this medium. Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting a woman I've only known by email and blogging, setting up a rendezvous at a Panera Bread close to Oklahoma City. I've corresponded with her, prayed for her, hurt for her, and rejoiced with her, and yesterday I got to share a meal with her. God's blessings come in the sweetest ways...thank you, Susie Dutcher!
(And why didn't we get a picture, huh?)

Labels: Friendship

Thanks to all of you who have read our letters year in and year out since the 80's. We'll still enjoy reading all your news if you're sending letters...and we'll see you on Facebook  :-)

Labels: Friendship, Holidays

Last week while traveling and relaxing, I listened to more of Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, read some more (aloud with The Papa) of Blue Shoes and Happiness, finished Somewhere More Holy by Tony Woodlief and Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, and started Carol Kent's Between a Rock and a Grace Place, a serendipity gift from my bestie. I'd read ANYthing by Carol Kent.

Another Warren computer bit the dust this week. Ugh. So that and a replacement for our second refrigerator are on my list for the next week or so. 

It's 50 degrees in my bedroom right now, and I'm sitting up in bed with a cold Diet Coke. I know, sick.
This year, we will break with our much-loved Thanksgiving traditions for a much-needed breather. Most of us will be going to Fort Worth to celebrate the holiday with our extended families there, including my mother who is getting more fragile with each year. I will cherish the chance to be with her.

This morning's sermon, from John 7:37-39, focused on what it means to come to Christ and drink from His living water. It was very moving to me, one of the best sermons I've ever heard. Made me genuinely sad to hear our pastor say, "In closing...."

("Our God, Our Help in Ages Past", lyrics by Isaac Watts)

Labels: Books, Church, Family, Food, Friendship, Holidays, Political Observation, Vacations

So the wedding week is finally here! By this time next week, CJ and Tony will be Mr. and Mrs. Longenbaugh! There's a lot left to do but it's under as much control as it can be and we're all enjoying the preparations. Lots of sisters make for fun times!

The last sister will arrive, along with her sweet family, on Thursday, at which time our entire family will be present and accounted for. The groom arrives on Wednesday evening, along with his parents...and other extended family and friends will trickle in in the following two days.  

We will, of course, be taking advantage of having all of our tribe in town to get family pictures done--the big group of 29 and then the individual families: Warrens, Russells, Slaughters, Weltys, and LONGENBAUGHS. Look to be inundated on Facebook  ;-)


The Papa got only slightly choked up this morning as he thanked CJ for playing the piano and reminded everyone that this would be her last Sunday with us. *Gulp*


If you ever get married, you must have Cori Kyle as your wedding coordinator. I wasn't sure we'd all be sane by this week, but she's made it pure pleasure...I wake up thanking God for her about three times a week.

In the middle of the the increased pace of last week, my 3-year-old Dell laptop with the nasty Windows Vista entered death throes, and in the same 24 hours I realized my nearly 3-year-old iPhone was also giving up the ghost. So I replaced both in the same day. Rid of Dell forever, I hope, in favor of an HP and Windows 7...and I upgraded my iPhone to a 4 and wish I'd done it a lot sooner.  I didn't want the stress or the expense of making these switches right now, but too much of my life is on these two machines to risk the mega-stress it would be to lose everything. Done.


Tomorrow, the house cleaners come. Do you know how much work it is to get ready for house cleaners? Especially when one person is moving out, other people are moving around, and guests are coming in? I know I'll be delighted to have it done, but it's causing me some stress!

We are grateful to have so many friends and family involved in helping with the festivities this week: Hollie Carnahan baking the cakes; Candace, Cheyenne, and Celeste Sabo doing the flowers; Julie Cohoon and Nicole LaSalle playing violin and viola; Jack Warren playing guitar and singing; Geoff Lupton on sound and lighting; Shane Kyle on photography (and his wife Cori Kyle telling us all what to do!); Danny (Lewis) King on videography; Teresa Fehrenbach making the (four!) flower girls' dresses; Garfield Green working with landscaping; Brandon and Blair Blair, Dirk and Aubrey Russell, and Christine LaSalle helping house family and friends; Steven Navarro, Hayden Fletcher, and Chris White helping our boys with parking cars; Dave Slaughter and Josh Russell for myriad building and outdoor tasks; Gloria Gonzales, giving her day to do hair; Cristen Gauthier, Cheyenne Sabo, Hannah Cisarik, and Courtney King assisting Cori and being available for errands and various last-minute tasks; Lehua Kamakawiwoole crafting the programs; Beth Warren and Cristen Gauthier on photo displays, lanyards, and guest book creations; Lyric Murphy (from afar) providing decor materials for the pergola; Dirk Russell performing the ceremony and Bill Warren assisting; and dozens of friends loaning us tables ice chests, etc. I'm sure I've left some folks off and I'm sure others will be pitching in to help at the last moment to make Saturday a day to remember. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

UPDATE: See, I DID leave someone out--Penny Pitamber, addressing the wedding invitations. HUGE load off our shoulders! Thank you, Penny  :-)


This morning in my quick scan of blogs on my reader, God was pleased to pierce me with His word in the form of an ancient prayer:

O my God,
let me, with thanksgiving,
remember, and confess unto you
your mercies on me.

Let my bones be soaked with your love,
and let them say unto you,
Who is like you, O Lord?

You have broken my chains in pieces.
I will offer unto you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
And how you have broken them, I will declare;
and all who worship you, when they hear this, will say:
Blessed is the Lord in heaven and in earth!
Great and wonderful is his name!

Augustine of Hippo, via Tim Challies

I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

(CHORUS)
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

(CHORUS 2)
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life its name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?

~Allison Rogers and Jennifer Simmons for Addison Road 

...and all morning, all day today, all I hear are the words, "What do I know of Holy?"

I hope your week is as joyful as ours promises to be!

Labels: Devotional, Family, Friendship, Music, Weddings

Granny is on Day 3 of her visit with Lyric in southern California. So far we've watched three movies, walked and bought fruit and veggies at the Monrovia Street Fair, literally right outside her front door in Old Town Monrovia, cooked a wonderful meal with said produce, spent a morning at a Pee Wee scrimmage football game, visited with several other family members including sweet four-week old Asher, and gotten a little bit of work done.

And for the record, Lyric has one of the most gorgeous and elegant apartments I've ever seen. I feel very pampered.

If you want to see a fairly short, feel-good flick, get "Babies." Adorable.

This part of California can get pretty warm this time of year, though not as predictably as south Texas. But a ten-degree break is a welcome one. I'm hoping for an even bigger margin next weekend in northern California before I return to the furnace.

The Wedding is fast approaching! We're at 7 weeks and counting, with still a lot left to do but plenty of time to get it all done. It's going to be very memorable :-)

What is it with the olive craze, anyway? Accidentally getting one of those things in my mouth is just a step away in desirability from accidentally drinking a fly in my iced tea, but there seems to be a whole new industry springing up trying to convince people that they're edible! I think olives are meant to have the oil pressed out of them and that's it.

On Tuesday, Nathan raised his hand and swore in to the Texas Air National Guard. He's waiting to find out when his date to report will be. Glad he'll be serving his country while finishing his degree.

Granny's House is full of teens and young adults these days...it's a good thing we currently have some grandkids living with us to keep the average age down for a while or I'd be feeling much older!

One of the late teen/young adults in our house is Shelley, who wrote this extraordinary little piece for her blog yesterday: Waiting on the world to change

And we just THOUGHT our lives would be free of Blago after this week.

From the files of "What Not to Wear"...I'm thankful I wasn't flying that day.

Just a reminder: if you haven't yet registered to vote, or you don't know when and where you can vote on November 2, please don't let this sneak up on you and deprive you of your chance to make your voice heard this year. Ten weeks to fire Congress!

Off to get another cup of coffee. Next week I'll greet you from northern California, where I'll rendezvous with The Papa for some more days of refreshment and visiting with friends. Have a lovely week!

Labels: Family, Food, Friendship, Fun, Political Action, Theater of the Absurd, Weddings

It's sad saying goodbye to the Olympics. They've been a pleasant companion to me the past two weeks. Not that boredom is ever a problem for me, even in these months. I can find things to complain about on bad days, but boredom is never one of them. Still, the Olympics filled the afternoons and evenings with a completely different element and I will miss them...

But just about the time I am bidding the Olympics farewell, I get a little care package from Lyric with one of my recent favorite movies, The Time Traveler's Wife. I don't watch many movies more than once (Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music would be about the only exceptions), but this one was such a delight that I will be watching it again soon. As in tomorrow night. She also sent a CD that I'm listening to tonight: The Canadian Tenors. Divine harmonies.

In the month that I've been home from the hospital but still confined to my room, I've been getting a stream of flowers at the rate of one arrangement a week. They come from friends all over the country and have brightened my days more than anyone knows. But it took me about three weeks to figure out that the regularity with which they were arriving smacked of some kind of benevolent orchestration. I'm not asking any questions, I'm just enjoying the color, aroma, and kindness these bouquets represent. Thank you so much to all of you who have blessed me this way!

While I have my own thoughts about who "won" and who "lost" in Thursday's health care kabuki theater, it seems the country and the pundits are rather divided on its success. Nevertheless, I don't think it got us any closer to the Dems' goal of Health Care Reform Destruction than we were on Wednesday. So have we dodged a bullet? Or will something be pulled out of a hat at the last minute to give Madame Speaker her slim majority? If I were inclined to bet, I'd be putting my money on her. And that's not a good thing.

When I'm tempted to complain about our medical insurance, I sometimes forget how much our Tricare has been worth to us in the past eight years. The bill for my 23 days of hospitalization in December/January arrived: $420. That's the total...nothing else for doctors, tests, drugs, anything. Since '02 I've had over a dozen surgeries on my hips, legs, and other places, and our contribution has been a pittance compared to what I've received. Yes, military care can be exasperating at times, but the benefits gained from The Papa's years of service turned out to be much more valuable than we ever dreamed they'd be. Thank God for His provision.

Another blessing...Dave and Kristen (our second-oldest daughter) and their children have "moved in" with us during The Papa's latest trip to Hawaii. Because I currently need a lot of care, it's so helpful to have extra hands, cooks, drivers, nurses, etc. around. Plus the fact that they're just plain good company :-) And it's good to hear the foot-patter of the elves once again. Thanks so very much, Slaughters...

It's okay for Michelle Obama to tell us all what to eat and how much to exercise, but Barack is still sneaking out the back door for a smoke.

I haven't gotten all the way through The Help yet...but it's one of those rare pieces of fiction that I'd don't want to ever be over. So I'm listening...slo-o-o-owly.

As you enter this month that is said to come "in like a lion and out like a lamb," I hope you'll enjoy the crocuses and tulips coming up through the last of the snow. As for us here in the unfrozen south, we'll be watching for the first bluebonnets. Happy March!

Labels: Books, Family, Friendship, Health, Political Observation, TV

We've had a great week with family and friends, a great day today in worship, and a lovely Sunday afternoon to begin a new week...

The week began with a visit from my inlaws. They drove down from Ft. Worth on Monday and stayed until Thursday, joining in many of our regular activities and then throwing in some of their own, like a birthday card (complete with money) for ALL of the kids and grandkids--no matter when their birthdays are!

The day they left, we were honored with a visit from brand-new friends that we've previously known only through their blogs. Fletch and Kendra stayed in San Antonio through the weekend and worshiped with us this morning. They're now on their way home, but we have a feeling we'll be seeing them again soon. (And if you wonder why her blog is called Preschoolers and Peace, here's a clue from our afternoon together:)


So we're one step closer to being forced to write a yearly check to pay for all those people who can't afford or don't want to buy health care insurance. Early next year it will be universal internet access. And after that, Red Lobster access for all. It's clear, friends, that the entitlement mentality NEVER ends. Once we get universal health care, there will be something else that not everyone can afford but feels entitled to, and that will be the next public crusade. The camel's nose, along with his forelegs, are already in the tent. The goal is to make sure that we even out all the differences between what people can afford by increasing the already long list of universal rights. Ugh. Sometimes I'm glad that I'm already 55, but I cringe at the world we're leaving our grandkids.

We've had pouring rain today. I love rainy days. And Mondays. They don't get me down.

And despite the complainings of some members of my family, I like changing back from Daylight Savings Time to REAL time. The earlier light in the morning helps me get going!

The Ft. Hood massacre this week was intensely sobering to me. Part of it is the geographical closeness to us (in fact the gunman is now in the same hospital here in San Antonio where I receive a lot of my treatment); part of it is the frightening element of having murders like this committed by a uniformed officer of the U.S. military; there's the compound tragedy of a pregnant woman and her unborn child dying; and there's that increasing sense of needing to look over my shoulder and wonder who's next.

CJ needs to stop with the homemade bagels. Oh wow. Something new to put cream cheese on.

It was another morning experiencing the richness of hymns in our worship. Each week some verse of some hymn speaks loudly to me or some circumstance in my life. I leave you with these words from the last verse of "O Worship the King"...



I'd stay, but the bagels are calling. Have a great week!

Labels: Family, Food, Friendship, Music, News, ObamaNation

Our stay-cation is coming to an end. Lyric heads home tomorrow and I will TRY to discipline myself back into a routine containing more than naps and movies and Sonic and long talks. This year we're not starting school full time until after Labor Day, but I need to get myself in gear before I expect my kids to do the same. I had big plans for their summer--regular math and music theory and typing--and it all pretty much went down the you-know-what when I broke my leg. They haven't complained, of course, but we do need to find some equilibrium again. Did I mention, though, that these quiet days have fed my soul?

I'd like to say that physical therapy is still going well, and really all I can say is that it's still going. It often feels that I take one step forward, two steps back. In truth I'm sure it's more like two steps forward and one back, because overall I am getting stronger and slightly more stable. I just want to know where to sign up for the course that teaches me how to banish fear--of crowds, of walking, of falling...

Guy Fieri makes me smile.

Three of the kids start back to college (here in town) tomorrow. Which necessarily means that our checking account is sitting near empty. No, not tuition, BOOKS. There must be a special place reserved in the underworld for the publishers of college textbooks. Really.

Please, go shop at Whole Foods. Just go.

I have to be slightly pleased that current polls have both leading Republicans beating Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada next year. Oh, that would be just too delicious.

Yep, I'm hooked on HGTV's Design Star. I admit it. That's part of how we'll be spending our evening...

And now, I need to dig into my Sonic supper...an almost-guilty pleasure :-)

Labels: Food, Friendship, Fun, Homeschooling, Sundays, TV

I'm baaaaaack!

Our little spa getaway was everything I'd hoped for and a nice end to the summer. Massages, pedicures, a few good movies (DO see The Kite Runner!), a hot tub, a pool overlooking the Guadalupe River with a view of the horses on the other side...well, it provided not only a relaxing couple of days but also enough memories to sustain me through these next months of routine!

A few photos...

Labels: Friendship, Fun, Vacations

It's been a fun and varied weekend. Well actually, I suppose any house with twelve people living in it is bound to have some variety, but this weekend was especially so. Set-building for the musical, a tea party, a trip to a water park, homemade cookies and other treats, cleaning, reorganizing, movies, work, job-hunting, potty-training (ok, that's our grandson, but it was happening at our house!) and who knows what else...at least it's never boring.

On Wednesday my sweet cousin and best friend from California will arrive for a twelve-day visit. It's her vacation from work, and getting this far away is about the only way we can keep her days off from becoming just another work day. During Lyric's time here, she and I will get away for a girls' fun trip to a Hawaiian/Texas-themed bed and breakfast in the Hill Country, where we will be deliciously stranded for two days of reading, sleeping, watching movies, and ordering room service. We THINK we can handle it :-)

And then...when that's over I will have to admit that summer is over despite how short it seemed. We'll get down to business with school, jobs, meal plans and chore charts...in short, to routine. It's something I think I don't like until I've been without it for three months; at some point I begin to long for the predictability of the days and the welcome rest of the nights. But since I don't remember half of this summer it doesn't feel like I'm ready for it to be over!

I haven't read nearly as much this summer as you'd think I would with so little else to do. But I am still savoring John Piper's The Pleasures of God. It's one to read slowly...

For six weeks now, Anne and family have been with us and we're still having a great time. No jobs have come through for them yet, so we don't know how much longer the situation will last, but we're enjoying every day. Sure, things are crowded with twelve people in one house, but life has been surprisingly smooth and the only casualty so far has been one dishwasher :-)

It's fun to have a 12-year-old who still loves to build with Legos.

I'm not one for much reality television, but I do enjoy the "Next Food Network Star" and HGTV's "Design Star"...maybe because they're pretty clean and don't involve fake romances and break-ups LOL. I was tickled to see Melissa D'Arabian win the Food Network Star competition and look forward to seeing her show. Nobody yet beats Guy Fieri in this category but we'll see what Melissa can do. And I'll have to admit I'll enjoy Design Star much more when most of the men guys are eliminated (though the two girls they kicked off were pretty bad).

I'll be back, hopefully later today, with pics from the fancy tea party that my kids and I threw for my three youngest granddaughters on Friday. It's funny how quickly a fancy dress, china teacups and bonbons can create genuine princesses!

Happy Sunday!

Labels: Books, Family, Friendship, Summer, Sundays, TV

Living life almost exclusively from a recliner for a few weeks is a good way to gain perspective on a lot of things. In the past few years I've not been particularly active anyway, so it's not like I came to a dead stop from a full run, but it has enforced a certain amount of inactivity even though I'm technically "ambulatory." I don't enjoy asking folks to wait on me for the simplest things...but I have learned to appreciate aspects of the stillness and the time to think, read, process, and plan. Three more weeks of non weight-bearing and I'll begin to integrate into a more normal life again. In the meantime, I am attempting to squeeze all I can out of this unexpected sequestration...

Annie, Caleb, Erin, and Judah are on their way! If everything goes according to plan, they will roll in here some time Tuesday night to begin our summer of fun :-)

I've finally gotten a clear enough head (depending on the hour) to start thinking about rearranging our room so it doesn't once again become, quite literally, my downfall. The traffic patterns and the bedding and other features of the room are not conducive to avoiding falls, so painful as it is, I'm giving up some of the things I love to make sure I can walk, which I love even more. I'm pretty helpless to do much about it myself, so everything right now depends on ordering other people around, also not my favorite thing to do (though several of my kids would dispute this). Moving right now is out of the question, so we have to find ways to make this place work... (And thanks to Lyric for prodding me into making some of these hard decisions!)

Can I just say right now that if I start trying to pay several of you a couple hundred thousand dollars a month to sit in my room and give me large doses of prescription painkillers, just say no? Hearing about the dangerous cocktails that have killed so many celebrities and recognizing the names of the drugs from the little pharmacy at my side WORRIES ME! I'll be so glad to get back to the place where my pain can be controlled with Motrin!

Congrats to friends Kelly and Tami on the start of their new business, South Texas Technology Solutions. We've had to rely on Kelly's Solutions many times and are so glad to see that he'll be making a living doing what he truly loves! Go Kelly!

Yeah, if you want to come and see me this week and you go past a Long John Silver's on your way, I love the crab cakes. My appetite has been the pits since my accident and I'm wracking my brain trying to think of things to eat that sound good. True, my activity level is low and I don't need a lot of food, but getting even a few bites down each day is a challenge.

Since we won't be taking an out-of-town vacation this year as planned, we just bought 24 season passes to Fiesta Texas (Six Flags). The Papa has bought a little splash pool for the kids, and together with the trampoline and the grill, we should make good use of the deck. Also planning some little crafts to do with the grandkids and a tea party with the littlest girls, as well as a night or two with all 27 of us camping out here at Granny's House. We might take a short trip to north Texas to see extended family and include a zoo or botanical gardens trip while there, but mostly we'll be enjoying each other very close to home.

Hug each other close and try not to take for granted the gift of...walking :-)

Labels: Family, Food, Friendship, Fun, Health, Homemaking, Vacations

During the past three weeks, I have received such remarkable care...from my knight-in-shining armor who still thinks of me as his bride...from my extraordinary children, each of whose unique skills and character traits have been a special blessing during this time...from my best friend who has indulged me with flowers, snacks, cards, decorating books, and middle of the night IM's when I couldn't sleep...from my loving circle of friends in San Antonio who have supplied us with scrumptious meals and everything else we've needed since my fall...from a faraway friend who sends bits of exotic teas.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was a care package I received yesterday from some new friends I've never even met in person. We are readers of each other's blogs and we've carried on a bit of email and f-mail correspondence and a phone call or two, but that's it. This little box contained a lovely CD set, some fun homemade body butters and soaps, but the most fun of all was the T-shirt in the box, proving that these friends really do pay attention:

If you need to ask, you haven't been reading my blog long enough ;-)

Thank you SO much to Kendra and Lisa and their families, for the new friendships and the thoughtfulness.

(And if you think you've spotted Galt, do let me know.)

Labels: Books, Friendship

One of the highlights of my year for the past decade has been the WholeHearted Mother Conference...and this year our San Antonio group is the biggest it's ever been--over thirty of us (including three wonderful young women who've come to help us watch babies) just checked into the Las Colinas Marriott in Irving, Texas, for a fun and inspirational weekend of worship, teaching, fellowship, and good food. You can see in my right-hand sidebar who's with us...next year, you should come too!

WholeHeart Ministries

Labels: Friendship, Fun, WholeHearted Mother

For lack of any other forum in which to do this, I want to say a sincere and somewhat teary-eyed


to the person or persons who gave a generous, unexplained, and anonymous gift to one of my girls this week. While we don't know whom or why, we treasure your thoughts for her and your expression of love and tangible care.

Labels: Friendship

We have had a beautiful day of friends and family and food and fun and fellowship. I'm too tired to even think of captions for the random snapshots I got with my phone during the day, so I'm just putting them up as is and out of order. Thanks to all of you who shared the day with us--we're thankful for you!











And....my hands-down favorite shot of the day has to be The Papa sharing a special moment with a special niece:

Hope your Thanksgiving left a sweet taste in your mouth as well...

Labels: Family, Food, Friendship, Fun, Holidays

Wonder if there's a single week when more cooking is done in this country than Thanksgiving week? I spent the day yesterday cleaning my oven and my pantry, and tomorrow morning I will clean out the refrigerators in preparation for the big grocery shop in the afternoon. And then for 72 hours, with short breaks for sleeping, I will be cooking non-stop until our Thursday afternoon meal. Every year on the day after Thanksgiving I think, "I hope it's ten years before I ever have to do that again!" And then eleven months later I can hardly wait to start over. This year is no exception...I'm chomping at the bit!

We've had a sweet reunion today, one that will continue this week, with our friends Lolo and Dina and their four precious kids. God is so good to allow us to cross paths again and enjoy each other's company, catching up on more than a decade of changes in our lives.

It's gotten to be a real riot around here on Sunday nights. Seems as if most college papers must be due on Monday. Enough said.

It's a sad day when a young man can't share his faith on his college campus. But Ryan Dozier can't, at least not on M-W-F. And not without permission.

Can The Papa come home yet? Please?

Okay, I've given in. Usually I say no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. THAT'S been real effective. (Really effective for you fellow grammar buffs.)

Grandma Barbara's annual homemade Christmas candies have arrived. Hoo boy, we are all OD'ing on chocolate, groaning and reaching for the next kind....

My latest book: Cry the Beloved Country. Halfway through, I describe it as...poignant. Apartheid literature is not easy to read.

Lyrics from this morning's service, my favorite verse from one of my favorite hymns...


~~"The Church's One Foundation," lyrics by Samuel J. Stone, 1839-1900

Tonight as I write this, I pray for all who read...that you will experience a week of gratitude for the blessings of our mighty and loving God and a new awareness of His tender care for His children. Happy Thanksgiving week!

Labels: Books, Friendship, Holidays, Music, The Papa, Theater of the Absurd

The past three days have been a nice interlude between Hawaii and my regularly scheduled life back at Granny's House.

In fact, there was a very special reason for my stopover in California. My cousin, who also happens to be my best friend, has been with her marketing agency for ten years. It's the largest agency in the world serving and raising funds excusively for nonprofit organizations...and she's just been promoted to vice president. Being "up close" enough in seven of the past ten years to see how hard she works and how brilliant she is, I'm not surprised that her value is recognized in this tangible way, but nevertheless it's a delightful development and one that makes me prouder than I have any right to be.

So it was an honor to be treated to a very special dinner last night celebrating not just Lyric's promotion but her incredible journey to this point after three decades in the business. As she says often, it's not a journey she would have chosen, but God has allowed her to work in a field that brings her tremendous satisfaction and has blessed her with remarkable success. So that deserves a great dinner, don't you think?

We were able to share the evening at The Melting Pot overlooking Old Town Pasadena and enjoying some of the most scrumptious food I've ever eaten, accompanied by good wine and a fabulous view...if we hadn't also planned a football game for the evening we could have stayed for hours and hours. Instead, we have lovely memories of a night honoring my dear friend.

Thank you, Lyric, for your work, your life, your friendship, and your place in my family. I celebrate you!

Labels: Family, Friendship, Fun

I am perched in a comfy spot at Lyric's...we've cooked a good part of the day (well, yes, and eaten a bit as well) and now we're just savoring the cool evening air, watching TV and enjoying our short visit. It helps me to stay here on the way back from Hawaii (I've done this twice before) as I don't have to get used to all the hours of the time difference at once. Okay, that's a convenient excuse...I'm here because I want to be :-)

To those who wondered, I didn't get a single Christmas card addressed but I did make some headway in holiday planning and Christmas shopping. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment with The Papa, and when he was at work I was either in the shops or in the sand. Who wanted to be in the hotel room addressing envelopes? It's okay. Just having them WITH me made me feel productive.

I will head home on Saturday to several kids that I'm missing! And the next morning The Papa will return as well and we'll be together again for a few days before his next trip. The holidays will seem a little fragmented this year because of his travels (can you believe they're making him go BACK to Hawaii a week after he gets home?) but at least I have a house full of kids and often grandkids to keep things festive and happily stitched together while he's gone.

All right. I'm back to resting from vacation :-)

Labels: Family, Friendship, Fun, The Papa

For us tomato lovers, this week's news about the dangers of salmonella in tomatoes and the resulting disappearance of most tomatoes from the grocery store has been a shock...so I was delighted for a very welcome gift from a dear friend yesterday: seven lovely home-grown tomatoes from her garden! You can be sure I will be thinking how to get the most advantage out of each one!

Florida tomato industry "in complete collapse"

Labels: Food, Friendship, News

All right, all right, I won't duplicate all the pictures on all our blogs, but if you love me you'll go check out the most funnest pics of the year. And be sure to click on the photos to enlarge and see the faces!

You're my trampoline

Labels: Family, Friendship, Fun, Kids, Memories