Good Friday morning!
RANDOMNESS #1 - Well, one of the BIG milestones of being a Senior is now in the scrapbooks. Literally.
Roxie had her Senior Portraits taken Wednesday...
And it was no little feat, I tell you.
First of all, The Chick looked amazing.
Hair and make-up were done for the special occasion.
We went to three different locations for the actual shoot.
Cornerstone Ranch was our first stop, and Roxie had her picture taken beneath the cross on the Ranch and walking down one of the long, shady, woodsy roads.
So pretty.
Then, we went to the High School Gym to take some basketball shots before we headed to Oneonta to the photography studio of Southern Exposures for head shots.
Is it just me, or do I sound like I know exactly what I'm talking about?
Yeah.
I thought so.
Head shots...
With a wind machine...
And perfect lighting.
I totally know what I'm talking about!
My main job throughout the photo shoot was "hair maintenance," "emotional support" and "snake spotter."
Those may sound like made-up job titles, but believe me, if I had not had a brush and spray in my back pocket...
Or if I had been unable to reassure everyone that the shine on the forehead/nose area was minimal...
Or if I had actually SPOTTED A DEADLY SNAKE while we were being photographed at the Ranch...
Well, let's just say things could have ended badly, People.
Very, very badly.
I have to check the "rules," but I think I can post some of the Senior pics the first of next week.
For your sake, I hope so.
The "getting ready for Senior Pics" pics are not nearly as satisfying as the "ACTUAL Senior Pics taken with a real wind machine" pics.
Believe me.
RANDOMNESS #2 - Roxie's Guatemala - I've added a few more photos and words from Roxie's Guatemala trip today.
Roxie continues to talk about many things regarding her trip to Guatemala, but I would have to say the babies may have had the biggest impact on her heart.
She still talks of how (whenever any of the mission team walked into the nursery) the babies reached for them.
They wanted to be held.
And they never wanted to be put down.
It broke Roxie's heart (as well as the other team members) when they had to leave and pry their tiny arms and legs from around their necks and waists to put them back into their beds.
This was why after a long day of travel and ministry to other parts of El Tambor, Roxie and others would head back to the hospital to hold the babies for just a little while longer.
Fun fact for you... Roxie loves the elderly.
The older the person, the more likely Roxie is to squeal, "How cute is he/she?"
As a person in Roxie's life who is growing older by the second, this is one of her sweeter qualities. I know deep down, the older I get, the cuter I will become in Roxie's eyes.
Just between you and me, that is very comforting.
When the mission team arrived in Guatemala, they were treated to a Fiesta Night...
And the night before the mission team left Guatemala, they were treated to another Fiesta Night.
One of the words Roxie has used again and again in describing the people of Guatemala has been "joyful."
She had never seen such poverty up close and personal, and yet she will tell you, "They have so little, but they are the most joyful people. Their faces just light up."
One of my favorite stories she has told is about a young man who is bedridden. She went to specifically meet and talk with him, but he was sleeping when she arrived. She waited quietly until he woke up, and she said, "Before his eyes even opened, while he was still asleep, he started smiling. That is how he wakes up. With a smile on his face."
There is more, of course.
I think there will always be more.
I'll share a few more pics and words next week.
Blog Linkage
1. Go to www.missionalmotherhood.com to learn all about starting your own prayer journal.
Be sure to watch the video at the end of the post.
Be ready to be inspired!
I'm going to Walmart tonight and buy all the supplies I need to create this Prayer Journal... and my kiddos are 23, 22, 20 and 17.
While I have prayed for them, over them and with them, I have never done so in such an intentional manner, and I want to start TODAY!
It's never too late!
2. Go to "a little bit of me" under My Blog List and read today's post entitled "Photo Friday - Easy Summer Shots."
Very good, practical information!
Way Back When...
The following two sections were first posted in July of 2009.
Part Two - "Having Something Removed"
Right before I was put under, the doctor said something that I probably should have questioned, but did not. (I'm notorious for not asking questions... always hoping it will just go away.) He said, "This could be a little tricky. It's very close to a salivary gland."
If I had been a question-asker, which we've already determined I am not, I guess I would have asked, "Does that mean I'll either be a 'spitter' or a 'dry mouth' if the tricky thing doesn't work out well?" Read on for the final result.
I awoke with Mikie beside me and my tongue feeling four sizes bigger than when the procedure had started. My first blurry thought was I was having a reaction to the anesthesia, and I tried to tell someone but I was impossible to understand. "This is worse than I imagined," I thought.
"I can't understand you, Belinda. You have a lot of gauze in your mouth," Mike said. Well, that mystery was solved. So I sat quietly with my mouthful of gauze and listened to the post-operative instructions.
I heard words and phrases as I continued to go in and out of consciousness... or maybe I was just bored... or maybe it was too much like a meeting and I just totally zoned out. "Loritab." "Suture." "Don't brush teeth for 24 hours." (Yuck! I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that one.) "Loritab." "Don't chew." "Don't spit." (Eating doesn't sound like it's going to be part of my day!) "Loritab."
Hmmm. Maybe it was just me, but the word that kept coming up again and again seemed to be "Loritab." Which also meant, if taken correctly, I wouldn't necessarily care if I ate or brushed my teeth for 24 hours.
We made it home, removed my gauze and I had a nice warm bowl of... oatmeal. I hadn't necessarily heard that, but obviously oatmeal was going to be the food for the day. When I awoke from a much needed nap an hour later, Mikie checked my vitals... Well, actually he kind of patted me on top of my head and left Austin, Josh and Roxie in charge of their invalid mother. Josh quickly brought me another bowl of oatmeal.
I wondered when I would be needing my first Loritab. A little later, and the answer to the question was made known to me. Another nap. Another bowl of oatmeal. I think you can see how the rest of my day went.
At one point, Roxie came in and asked to see under my tongue. "Hmmm. It looks like only one stitch," she observed.
"Well, it is just one stitch, but it was obviously a very, very deep incision."
"I wonder why they thought you even needed just one little stitch there. It seems like a waste," she again observed.
Okay. That was enough of Miss Roxie until time for another Loritab.
Four more bowls of oatmeal and one Loritab later, and I was ready for bed. One more "Mikie-check" of my vitals (Code for ONE MORE PAT ON THE HEAD), and I was out for the count.
I awoke the next morning refreshed... and oh, so ready to brush my teeth. Simple pleasures, folks. Simple pleasures. And for those of you wondering, as of today, I am not a "dry mouth" OR a "spitter." My doctor obviously did well with the "tricky part."
I am supposed to have my one and only stitch removed this coming Thursday, but after careful investigation yesterday afternoon, I discovered my one and only stitch had removed itself. I'm going to see if my doctor will consider a "telephone appointment."
If not, I will drive to and from downtown Birmingham, cheerfully (NOT) pay a $30 co-pay and a $5 parking deck fee for a face-to-face consultation which I imagine will result in the doctor warning, "Next time, be sure the cap is on the end of the Sharpie before you put it in your mouth." (I can hardly wait!)
Girls' Night Out - Cookbook Party
I haven't hosted this one yet, but I'm putting it in writing and planning on doing so before the end of 2009. To be honest, girls rarely need a "theme" for a Girls' Night Out. However, sometimes it is fun to plan something a little different.
NOTE - I still haven't hosted this party and it is July 2014. I need to get busy!
For this little party, you will need to ask each girl to bring a new copy of one of their favorite paperback cookbooks OR cooking magazines. (Set a limit of $5 to $10.)
The only other requirement for this occasion would be for each person to prepare a recipe from the cookbook or magazine. (This, of course, will be the food for the evening.) If you ask six people, I would make sure two people make a main dish, two people make side dishes or salads, and two people make desserts. For example, you don't want five desserts and one meatloaf... or maybe you do.
Each cookbook or magazine should be wrapped in gift wrap and put in the middle of the table. After you have eaten, put every one's name in a bowl and draw out one name at a time. As each name is drawn, that girl gets to pick one of the wrapped cookbooks. This isn't like Dirty Santa... what you pick is what you get unless you already own the cookbook. In that case, you would need to ask for a trade. Hopefully, there would be several offers for said trade. (To avoid a problem with people NOT trading, only ask nice girls to your Cookbook Party!)
Finish the night with coffee and lots and lots of girl talk. Go ahead and plan a Girls' Night Out very, very soon. Don't put it off. You need it just as much as the other women you'll be inviting!
Weekend Happenings
1. This Friday evening, all three of my kids are doing something enjoyable with people they enjoy... so I'm not going to complain. I'm thinking Mikie and I might share a barbecue baked potato and watch a couple of episodes of Duck Dynasty together before people begin returning home.
We're crazy and wild that way.
2. Saturday is an "everybody do your own thing day," and poor Mikie will probably be going to Whole Foods with me to purchase some Daniel Plan food... which technically isn't "his own thing" but a lot of times he gets stuck doing what I want to do.
Thus, the "poor Mikie" status.
3. Sunday, we'll be going to church and eating lunch. I'm helping host a tea for a sweet young friend, so that will be very, very fun.
Plus, there will be cake and presents and I get to take the pictures.
Yep. It's going to be a lot of fun.
4. We'll also be getting ready for a beach trip this weekend. We will be leaving at different times during the next few days, but we will eventually all be at the beach together at some point in time.
And there will be seven of us total...
And a great time will be had by all...
If I calm down and just "go with the flow."
I've been warned by two out of three of my biological children. (Any and all other children involved in the trip who haven't warned me are hereby declared "MY FAVORITES.")
I hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend. I'll be posting all sorts of useful "stuff" the first of the week, so be sure to visit Tuesday morning.
Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
