ho hum...

I've read a lot and have a lot to say, but alas, I have grown weary of blogging. Maybe I'll pick it up when I retire. Thanks to all my readers......

Another Wet Homecoming

In 2002, I changed jobs, moving from the junior high to the high school. In our school district, each teacher has one extracurricular activity. At the junior high, I co-sponsored the Beta Club, which is not a whole lot of trouble at the junior high level. I knew that whatever I did at the high school level would be more trouble and effort on my part than any junior high activity.
But I had no idea that homecoming was run out of the library until I took the job! That first year, I had a couple of people to help me. Things went about as well as could be expected for my first time to do it. It was the first week in October; floats were done; dresses and tuxes were rented; I felt ready and pleased that it was coming off so well for my first time to be in charge. Then it happened. A hurricane blew in. The superintendent came over to the library and met with the maids, the principal, and me on Wednesday. He had been monitoring the weather closely, and the storm was supposed to hit Thursday night and be bad all weekend. He had decided to move the homecoming festivities to Thursday. The parade would be Thursday afternoon at 1:00 instead of 1:30, and the court would be held in the coliseum before the game. The opposing team had agreed to come over and play on Thursday night.

Frantic phone calls to moms were made; hair appointments had to be changed; tuxes had to be picked up. We were all in a tizzy, but it all worked out. The girl that Russell was dating at the time was a senior maid, so I had to call him to come home from MS State on Thursday so that he could see her in the court. The parade went off without a hitch, and just as it was ending, the rain started. Obviously, the superintendent had made the right decision about the time of the parade. By the time we arrived at the coliseum for the court at 6:00, the rain was a steady downpour. We had the court, and it was great. I was really pleased at how well it went, especially with the last minute change and no practice. When it was over, David and I left for home, and Russell stayed for the game with his girlfriend. Less than an hour after we got home, Russell came in soaking wet; the storm got so bad that the game was called, which never happens in high school football. So that was my initiation into the world of being in charge of homecoming.

Fast forward to 2009. It has been raining for 17 days. The weather on Friday has looked fairly promising, but we are all not banking on anything. At practice on Friday morning, the first thing that I did was to tell the girls not to wear heels--I could just see shoes sinking in the wet turf and staying there. The second thing that I did was to tell the girls and dads the two back-up plans. Back up plan number one is to hold the court in the gym IF the parade IS rained out. If the parade is rained out, the coliseum is full of floats. Back up plan number two is to hold the court in the coliseum IF the parade IS NOT rained out. If the parade goes on as scheduled, the coliseum is empty and there is plenty of room for the court.

Then Katy and I lined them up on the field for practice. She had the maids, and I had the little girls who were helping with the crown and flowers. I had asked the maintenance crew to put a board over the low spot in the field for the little girls to walk over when they were handing out flowers. By the time we had walked back and forth over it a few times, it had sunk and was covered in mud. I had rolled up my jeans and worn my beach flip flops (hey, I'm no dummy when it comes to practice). At one point, I took a step and my flip flop stayed in the mud. I finished the practice in my bare feet. I found out later that this happened to a couple of maids as well, and one girl got mud up her back after her flip flop flew off. When practice was over, Katy and I were covered in mud up to right below our knees. I called the school to let them know that we were going home to change before we returned to school.

When I returned to school, I talked with the Mr. C., the principal, about the field conditions and told him that there was no way that we could have the court on the field even if the sun came out right then and there was no rain at all. He had already been thinking about that, and went over to check out the field for himself and talk to the superintendent, Dr. M. He could just see mad mamas showing up at his office when dresses and tuxes were ruined. A lot of our girls rent their dresses, so they would get charged big time if they bring them back caked in mud. When he came back from talking to Dr. M., Mr. C. said that Dr. M. wanted to go to the field himself. A little later, Mr. C. got a call requesting our presence at the field. We jumped in Mr. C.'s truck and drove over.

By the way, do you remember that I had already changed clothes? I had the foresight to put on capris, so I was not worried about them getting muddy; I just took off my flip flops (my nice Yellow Box ones this time--not ones I wanted to get muddy) and walked out to the field with my two bosses in my bare feet. Dr. M.'s idea was to put down gravel and plywood on the section between the bleachers and the fence and hold the court there. He did not want to go to the coliseum or gym if at all possible. We talked it through and decided how to carry it off. By this time it is fairly evident that the rain is holding off and the parade will go on. So Dr. M. said that we would hold the court on the plywood-covered section in front of the bleachers and in the coliseum if the weather is inclement. I rushed back to school to tell the girls.

It was a little stressful to get the girls together, first of all. Some of them are cheerleaders and were getting ready for the pep rally. Some of them are in the band and were at rehearsal. But we finally did get them all in the library, and Katy, Jennie, and I talked to them and explained how it would all work. After they left, Jennie and I then started talking out how to handle the little girls giving out the flowers and crown and decided to meet at the field after the parade to work that out.

I always skip the pep rally and go to the parade a little early. I feel like I need to be there while floats are lining up. At some point during that time, Dr. M. came over and told me that the court would definitely be in the coliseum. The people who had the gravel did not think that the trucks would get down there without getting stuck. So as the girls arrived at the parade about 1:00, I told them the THIRD change of plans since 8:00 that morning. The weather was very "iffy;" there was a threatening-looking cloud, and the wind kicked up a little bit. But I guess hundreds of people were praying; the rain held off, and the parade went on.

Katy and I went out to the coliseum after the parade and talked through how it would go. She stayed out there to set up ferns while I went back to school. When Jennie arrived at the school later, she and I talked through how to have the little girls do their flowers and crown roles.

The girls and dads all arrived on time; the band sat in the stands and played; the little girls were precious. It all went off without a hitch, despite the many hitches earlier in the day. Another homecoming is under my belt, and I am so glad this one is over and on the record books!

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Books and holidays go hand in hand

Well, this weekend we went to Clarkco State Park, one of our favorite places to go, even though the fishing isn't good there. I did not book the reservations until May, so the cabin that we usually get was booked. I had to go to a slightly higher one that slept 6 people, but it was more secluded than the other one and bigger, so we did like it. We did have some rain, a bad thunderstorm for about 2 hours on Sat. morning and another slow, steady rain for a long time Sunday morning and into the afternoon. We did some napping and a lot of reading. We always read when we travel; we just read even more this time because of the rain. We grilled out, and I tried two new dishes, grilled vegetables with olive oil that the kids brought from France, and something called a Big Smoky burger. It was seasoned with onion, garlic, grill seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Both were excellent, and we will try them again! Below is a brief summary of what I read.

Prep--It was a little racy in some parts for my library, but a really good study of one mid western teenager's four years in an elite boarding school. Lee does not fit in at her boarding school in Massachusetts, Ault. While not poor, she is not wealthy and has never been around the type of wealth she sees at Ault, a place where she (and others like her) are too ashamed to admit that they are scholarship students. She makes friends in sort of an afterthought fashion, and admires a boy up until her senior year, when he finally begins to pay attention to her. Although Lee grows and progresses during her four years, she also never really leaves the character of someone on the outside looking in. I read somewhere that the movie rights have been purchased of this book; I will certainly see it if it comes out.

How to Build a House--This is another one that I read about in School Librarian Workshop as a highly recommended book for young adults. Harper, trying to get over the breakup of her parents' marriage, spends a summer in TN with a volunteer group that is helping out a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado. In the process of her physical labor, Harper comes to a new understanding of herself and her father. This was a good book, although a little deep for some of my readers.

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys--When Megan's career army parents get transferred to South Korea right before her junior year, she does not want to go. Her parents allow her to stay with their old friends the McGowans, parents of seven boys. Megan learns to deal with a new school, new home, new "brothers," and new friends while desperately trying to be her own person and make a place for herself. She closes each chapter with a desperate text message to her best friend back in Texas, which calls her guide to the McGowan Boys. Although a very funny book, there is a lot of very serious stuff going on, and Megan grows up a lot by the end of the book. I highly recommend to my high school readers.

Bloomberg Place series--I finished the third one of these this weekend, and they are all great. Readers of my blog know how much I love Melody Carlson. She takes flawed, imperfect characters and makes them "real" to the reader and shows how everyone is forgiven. Lelani is dealing with her parents who have taken custody of her illegitimate baby Emma and preparing for a court battle that she does not want, and Kendall is coming to grips with her poor financial management and the impending birth of her baby, a product of a one-night stand. Anna and Megan provide moral support for both women, and at least one of the four friends gets a marriage proposal. A great series showing how God takes bad situations and uses them to make people better than they were before.

As you can see, I had a great time reading this weekend and really enjoyed myself!

Saving What Remains

Elli, whose story I wrote about in an earlier blog (I Have Lived a Thousand Years), is now a grown woman with a husband, family, and Ph.D. living in the U.S. In 1980, her mom calls her from Jerusalem to tell her that there will soon be a dam built on a part of the Danube and, as a result, the old Jewish cemetery will be flooded. She cannot stand the thought of her parents' bodies washing out into the Danube and tells Elli that she must go to Czechoslovakia and bring the bodies to Jerusalem for reburial. Elli agrees, despite the fact that she is listed as an enemy of the state, and if caught in a communist country, could go to prison for 20 or more years.

What ensues is a story that is unbelievably fascinating. I never dreamed that I would get into this book as much as I did. Elli and her husband Len begin making the proper arrangements to go to Czechoslovakia, which include certain passports, which could give her identity away to the wrong people. Going behind the Iron Curtain in and of itself is quite frightening, and I found myself holding my breath until they got to Bratislava without raising any suspicion. Then the red tape begins. Permits are acquired with some difficulty, but with the warning that they can be revoked at any time. After getting the permits, they find out that the laws require that exhumed bodies be sealed in zinc containers. This revelation leads them to hunt for zinc to purchase that will seal the inexpensive child size coffins that they have ready. They find out that zinc is virtually impossible to purchase in a Communist country, and they settle for tin painted to look like zinc.

They also start the almost impossible search for the Jewish cemetery, now grown up into a jungle. Once they find it, they then have the extremely difficult task of finding the correct graves. Once found, they still have to employ grave diggers, a hearse with driver, and get more permits. During the days and weeks that they are there, Elli also continually runs into people that she knew as a child, goes to her old family home, and even, almost impossibly, tries to keep a kosher diet for Len and herself. The places and people often bring up both bad memories of the Holocaust as well as good memories of pre-war times.

This book is a multi-layered tale of Elli coming to grips with her past and preserving her Jewish heritage. The danger and intrigue involved in what should be an almost simple task was very involving, and, believe it or not, kept me reading as much as I would a good detective novel.

Although I can't see the teenagers who use my library "getting" this book, I liked it very much and recommend it to adult readers who find this period interesting.

wedding gifts, Wendell, and Paris

Russell and his wife (love the sound of that) came yesterday for a while. They went up to the two stores here and took care of gift cards, returns, and credits. They ended up with six each of the two sizes of casual glasses and will have about 6 place settings of their flatware. I will probably get them a couple of more place settings for Christmas if they don't have 8 by then. They did end up getting the accessory set that has the serving pieces, so I was glad about that. Those she will use all the time. I know that some gifts will still be trickling in for awhile. She ended up getting a good bit of the Peter's Pottery accessory pieces that she liked as well as some of the extra glasses that he wanted, some pilsners (I think that's right) and some red wine glasses. They seemed pleased and now have to go to Columbus to do the same. She has something like 17 gift cards for her formal crystal there, and she said that she will use some of those for credit for other things. Callie had only wanted the goblets and the champagne flutes in that, so she said that she will do 8 each and use the rest as credit. She did end up getting all of her formal china in Columbus, so she was glad about that.

Wendell had surgery almost 2 weeks ago for an intestinal blockage. What did he eat, you ask? A super ball! The vet thinks that it slid down when he ate something else, and he could not throw it up. So it sat in his stomach long enough to get kind of smooth, then it ended up blocking the passage from the stomach to the intestine. He was in the hospital for a couple of days, and has been home now for a while, but highly restricted. He was on one can of prescription dog food a day and limited water. He was also house bound, and still is a little bit. Yesterday was his first day to eat his regular food, and Callie said that he just gobbled it down without stopping to breathe practically. Russell even gave him a bite of steak yesterday after lunch. I didn't think that was wise, but it did not seem to bother him. He has a lot of energy and you can tell that he is ready to go outside and play. Monday will be his first unrestricted day after they visit the vet.

Then we went over to Mama and Daddy's and Carol Anne and David drove up just as we were getting there. So we all got to see the Paris pictures. He had them on the laptop, and they told about them as they went through the slide show. They were really beautiful, and I am just so happy that it all went well and they had such a good time. Russell said that they liked Notre Dame the best, and they even attended mass there. They had a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from their rooftop garden, and they loved watching it light up at night. But as for actually going to the Eiffel Tower, they said that it wasn't really worth it. It took about half the day and it was extremely crowded with tourists. Callie said that it was so high up that you couldn't really tell anything. They were also impressed with the bridges over the Seinne; they were all different and very impressive. Napoleon had built most of them. They also had photographs of the Arches de Triumph and Versailles. They said that the palace of Versailles was not that impressive until they went outside. The grounds were absolutely gorgeous. They had taken several pictures of the gardens, the orange trees, and so forth. They liked the Louvre, but not as much as they had thought they would, mainly because it was just too big. There was just no way to see it all, so they hit the highlights, like the Mona Lisa and the Wedding at Cana, and so on. The Mona Lisa was not impressive, but the Wedding at Cana was. They had also talked to us a lot during lunch about the wonderful food and markets. We loved hearing it all, and I'm sure there will be more to hear in the future.

For now, we are glad they are home and beginning their lives together.

Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska

I read about John Green, a young adult author, and decided to try some of his books. I wrote about An Abundance of Katherines earlier this summer. I just finished Paper Towns, and although I read Looking for Alaska a while back, just realized that I did not write about it.

Quentin is about to graduate from high school when his old friend and neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, shows up at his window in the middle of the night. She has a long list of pranks that need to be done before daylight and needs his help. From shaving off one eyebrow of his arch nemesis to breaking into Sea World, "Q" helps Margo execute her perfectly planned schemes, ending up on the top of a building looking out over the lighted city. Margo comments that she is tired of "paper towns."

When Margo does not show up for school the next day, no one is surprised due to the fact that she has been know to take off for several days at a time. But as graduation looms nearer, Margo does not return, and the FBI talks to Q, he gets more and more concerned. Determined to try to find her, he searches her room for clues and begins with a much-highlighted copy of Leaves of Grass. Afraid that she has committed suicide or maybe even met a worse fate, Q and his friends start deciphering the clues that they believe Margo has left for them. What follows is a delightful, yet tension-filled search for Margo, including breaking into abandoned buildings, following trails to failed subdivisions, and finally a road trip to New York, searching for a "Paper Town."

Miles has moved to Birmingham, AL, to a boarding school, where he is promptly hazed, taped with duct tape, dropped in a pond, and left to drown. When Miles gets himself out of this predicament, his new friends Chip, his roommate, and Alaska, the girl that everyone falls in love with, immediately swear revenge. What follows is a delightful story of boarding school pranks and continual "getting even." Over the course of the semester, Miles and Chip get closer to Alaska and gradually learn the depths of her unhappiness. In a surprise twist in the plot, Miles and Chip are left on their own looking for Alaska.

I am now a John Green fan, and I highly recommend Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska for both adults and older teens.

The Fairlawn series

How does a single mom cope with divorce, depression, and looming destitution? Run a funeral home, of course!

Jen has been job hunting endlessly since her divorce and is gradually watching her bank balance go down and her bills go up with no luck on the job front. When she gets an unexpected windfall from a long-forgotten dead relative, she packs up the kids and her mother and goes to Florida to check out her inheritance. Hoping to find a lovely historical home that she can convert into a profitable bed and breakfast, Jen instead finds a dilapidated money pit which operates a struggling funeral home out of the first floor.

True to Angela Hunt's style, the Fairlawn books are sprinkled with humor (a customer who wants to be alive at her own funeral, for example), but bring about good messages about family, funerals, and faith. Jen's journey from single mother who desperately wants to win back her ex-husband into the confident Christian businesswoman who realizes that the man she loves has been right under her nose all along will keep you reading these wonderful books.

Jen takes a faith journey not only in operating Fairlawn, but also in taking in long-lost family members, tackling a new career, and dealing with deaths that are far too close to home. I highly recommend this series for any fan of Angela Hunt or other similar Christian fiction authors.

The Reception

We were among the last to arrive at the reception because of pictures, and we also had to take the bride and groom in our car. I was really glad that we got to do that.

We dropped the kids off at the bottom of the hill, and they took a golf cart up to the house. Then we went and parked, walked to the driveway, and took a golf cart up to the reception. Their driveway is on a steep, twisty hill, so they had drivers in golf carts taking the guests up to the reception. I thought that was a good idea.

The band was playing when we arrived, and people had already started eating. The wedding cake was in the dining room, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The icing looked like flower petals, and the bridesmaids' bouquets surrounded it. The groom's cake was on a sideboard in the living room, and it was decorated with things from the forest--ferns, mushrooms, squirrels, and so on--to symbolize camping in the woods, I guess. It was Italian cream, which Russell had requested. The bride and groom cut both cakes, and I tried to get some good pictures, but I don't think they turned out so well.

Then everyone just ate and visited and listened to music. Callie threw the bouquet, and Kaci caught it. Callie and I jokingly told Kaci that was cheating since she already knew that she was the one getting married next.

Later in the evening, the band took a break. Of course, Timothy and Trey being who they are, they were up on stage in a second. Tyler and Jay joined them. Then they all started chanting "Russell, Russell," until he joined them as well. So with Timothy and Tyler on guitar, Trey on keyboards, Jay on drums, and Russell and Timothy singing lead, they sang several numbers. It was priceless, and I will always treasure that in my heart. I have informally christened the group "Russell and the Groomsmen." After about three numbers, Russell had to leave to change, but Timothy and the others kept on playing.

The couple ran from the house to the golf cart in a wave of sparklers. It was really nice. A car drove them back to Oxford to Russell's house--now Russell and Callie's house. The next day Russell called to say that they were in Atlanta, and they spent the night at a bed and breakfast there. They planned to leave Atlanta on Monday afternoon so that they could fly at night. They wanted to fly at night not only to sleep, but also to arrive in Paris in the daylight and be a little easier to find their apartment.

They called Tuesday morning--it was afternoon there--to say that they were there safely and in their apartment in Paris with a rooftop garden view of the Eiffel Tower. Except for one email, we did not hear from them again until they were back in Atlanta Wednesday afternoon. They drove on in to Oxford Wednesday night and were absolutely exhausted. We are anxious to sit down and visit with them as soon as we can.

So now I have a daughter-in-law. I really like the sound of that.

30 years--who knew?

We thought that it was very fitting that we would celebrate 30 years of marriage soon after our son got married. He married on Aug. 1, and our anniversary was on Aug. 11. Of course, we had no money because of the wedding expenses, so gifts were not an option. This fact bothered David a whole lot more than it bothered me.

David took our change jar and cashed it in. We had enough to buy gas and a nice meal, with a little left over. We chose Macaroni Grill. We had been there before, but it had been quite a few years.

David got pork chops with a balsamic glaze, broccoli, and risotto, and I got the trio--a sample of chicken Parmesan (THE BEST), lasagna, and chicken cannelloni. It was all delicious. We did not tell our waiter until the end of the meal that it was our 30th anniversary. He brought me a flower (I think it was a gladiola or something like it) and David a chocolate cake dessert. We had it the next day, and it was really rich and delicious.

Overall, it was a wonderful 30th anniversary, and I love David more than I did way back then.

The Wedding -continued-

Jamie came to our hotel room at 3:00 to do my make up. David had showered and put on the basic parts of his tux before she got there, since we had to be at the church at 4:00. She did a really good job with my makeup, and she wanted me to go with her to Alicia's room after. Jamie was hanging out with Alicia until time to go to the wedding. Anyway, I did, and Alicia approved, and I met most of my family out in the hall. It was good to see them, but I did not have time to visit. All of my aunts and uncles came, which I knew, but I did not know that my cousin Pam and her husband Tally and that my cousin Chris and his wife Lisa and their two boys were coming. It was such a nice surprise.

David and I finished dressing, and when we stepped onto the elevator, we saw Dana who said that it was pouring out. Because of that, I went out front so that David could pick me up under the covered drive instead of exiting out the back to the car like we had been doing. We ended up right behind the shuttle as it was leaving the hotel with the grooms persons.

When we got to the church, the rain had let up considerably. The rest of the time until the service, I just sort of hung out. I got a few pictures before the service, and I especially enjoyed being with the grooms persons as they were waiting to be called for pictures. There was a piano in the room in which they were waiting, and they sang everything from "Blessed Assurance" to "Freebird."

Then I got to my appointed place (the back pew) at 6:50, just as Ron had instructed me to. I had requested that Russell escort me to my seat, and he did. That meant more to me than I can express. The ceremony was really nice. I liked the fact that it was not long and drawn out with a lot of extra music, readers, and so on. Kevin and Juli were scheduled to sing "Make me a Channel of Thy Peace," but Kevin had just finished the first week of band camp and had lost his voice, like he usually does. So Warren filled in, and all three of them ended up singing, Kevin chiming in when he could. It really meant a lot me that Warren sang, since David and I really feel like we had a hand in raising him. I can't believe he is a junior this year!

Callie looked absolutely beautiful, and Russell was so happy and in love. David beamed throughout the ceremony; you could tell that he loved being best man. I guess one of the best parts of the service was little Martha. She came down the aisle with her little flower ring in her hair and carrying her flower ball with her pretty smocked dress on, and she was barefoot. You could hear a ripple go through the congregation as people realized it when she walked by. She pretty much stole the show. I hate that I did not get a picture of that.

The string quartet played "The Ashokan Farewell," and then it was over! David escorted me out, and then we had to stick around for some pictures. Russell and Callie rode over with us to the reception, with a brief stop at the hotel for something Russell needed for going away; I think it was some luggage or something.

I really can't name one thing above any of the rest that I liked; the whole service was really moving and special. I liked that Chris charged all of the families to support the couple. I liked the fact that the music was lovely and moving without being too much of it. I liked Martha the bare-footed flower girl. I liked the fact that my son escorted me to my seat and that my husband escorted me out. I'll always treasure that memory.

I'll pick up with the reception later.

The Wedding -again-

On Saturday, Mama and I went to the bridesmaids' luncheon, while David, Daddy, and Russell attended the groom's brunch. The luncheon was at the home of one of the bridesmaids on College Street, near the W. We were offered mimosas or champagne, but Mama and I both took just plain orange juice. I was driving, but my real reason for not drinking was that I did not want to have anything at all fuzzy about the day. Then we had cold tomato bisque in the living room in demitasse cups; it was o.k., but I was not that crazy about it.

We all went into the dining room, and one of the hostesses said the blessing. It came from the Book of Common Prayer, and it talked about getting married and having a common life. It was really sweet. Then we went through the buffet line and had chicken pie, a cold rice salad, snow peas, rolls, and sweet rolls. It was all delicious. Later we were served rainbow sherbet in silver compotes with a sugar cookie. It was all just wonderful. Being the dish nut that I am, I loved all the old china that was used, as well as the silver and crystal.

The bride and her attendants were seated in the dining room, and the rest of us were seated in the sun room. There was plenty of room, and it was all very nice. My mother and I really did not know anyone and did not have a lot to say to participate in the conversation, especially when they all started talking Ole Miss football. Who cares about that?

While we were there, the groom and his attendants were at Wesley UMC at the brunch. Alicia, Juli, Jamie, and Mary Al were the hostesses. They had borrowed old photos from me of Russell and used them in the table settings. Mary Al had taken snapshots and made place mats. It was really a cute idea. Of course, with Mary Al, Alicia, and Juli cooking, there was lots of good food. I know that they had breakfast casserole, cheese grits, fresh fruit, and mini muffins; I'm not sure what else. Of course, everyone ate and ate.

In addition to the groom's attendants, those attending were both grandfathers, Uncle Steve, Chris, Kevin, and Warren. Darrell had been invited, and he came in late and brought the whole family. So it was a really big event.

Juli was in charge of games. They played a wild game of fruit basket turnover. The Whitakers arrived late during the game, and you can tell from the pictures when they came in because little Martha is added to the circle. David said that she had a good time and basically just went from one chair to the one right next to it the whole time.

At one point in the pictures you can see Timothy in the circle on the phone. Matt started his residency at Vanderbilt and ended up not being able to be in the wedding. Timothy called him and Matt told a story which Timothy relayed to everyone. He told about the time when they were in high school and went to Dare to Lead at Camp Lake Stephens. Russell got stung by some yellow jackets and broke out in hives. They all enjoyed that story and it meant a lot to Russell to hear from Matt on that day.

Later, Russell told the group what each of the hostesses meant to him. He went around and talked about each one of them a little bit. When he got to Mary Al, he started crying and could not finish. David said that it was really sweet.

Overall, the groom's brunch was a huge success, and I think that they all really enjoyed it. Juli said that the church was the perfect place to have it because they are all so familiar with cooking in the church kitchen and there was so much room for all the guests to spread out. After the brunch, Chris went back with Mr. Casteel to their house and visited most of the afternoon. Some of the other church members dropped by, and David's mom said that Chris really enjoyed it.

By the time that we all got back to the hotel after all of these get-togethers, we did not have a lot of time until we had to be at the church at 4:00. Jamie and I talked on the phone, and she set up 3:00 as the time to come by the hotel and do my make up. David need to put his feet up, and we did get a little bit of rest in before we started preparing for the evening festivities.

I really will blog about the wedding next!

The Wedding

I really don't know where to start blogging about the wedding. It all went wonderfully, and I enjoyed it, but I'm so glad that it is over. I'll start with Friday. We got up early and went to the beauty shop. After Judy put my color on, she cut David's hair. He trimmed his beard when he got home, so we both had a new "do." Then we packed the car, which took a little while, even though we had packed most of the bags the night before. We had a couple of errands to run in town, then on to Columbus.

In Columbus, we stopped at The House of Tux first. David and Russell both had to try on their tuxes, and David needed a slightly different coat. After the House of Tux, we went on to David's parents' while Russell and Callie went to run a couple of errands for her mom. After that, they were to go to the Ultimate Frisbee game they had organized for whichever friends were already in town. David and I stopped briefly at Dirt Cheap, and found nice gift bags for wine for 23 cents. We bought several since Russell said that he had gotten the groomsmen wine as gifts. When we told Russell later that we had bought them, he was really glad. We visited with Mr. and Mrs. Casteel briefly, then I called the Holiday Inn to see if we could check in early. They said that it was no problem, so we called Russell to tell him. He was glad that he could check in early, but still had some errands to run. Our original plan had been to spend some time with him after the game, but we ended up riding around with him doing errands so that we could spend some time with just him. We did not mind, and we did find a few minutes after checking in to give him some cash for his birthday to use for the honeymoon.

During the errand-running, Russell told me that Callie did want me to come to the rehearsal, contrary to our previous plan for me to go straight to the dinner location, so that I could be there as soon as the first guests started arriving. I did not mind, but by then, I had several things to do and did not like being rushed. I called Cindy and Carol Anne and told them their instructions about telling people to find their table numbers so that they would know where to sit. Somewhere in the rush we remembered that we had not set up the sound system, and David called Becky about it. She did not mind and said she would do it.

So we made it to the rehearsal about two minutes after 5:00, and David, Russell, Chris, Heather, Trey, and I were basically the only ones there until almost 5:15. Finally everyone started coming in. We're sort of standing and sitting around visiting waiting for the rehearsal to start, when in walks Ron Locke, of all people. What a surprise! He is on staff at First UMC and part of his duties include directing weddings. I had literally not seen him in 25 years since we were in grad. school at MSU.

He was awesome! He was very well-organized and well-spoken. He gave the kids a good speech about being on time, not drinking, and so on. He was short and to the point, and I think it did the trick. Even with his running a little late, he was so well-organized that the rehearsal was over by 6:30 and the dinner was not scheduled until 7:00! We were pleasantly shocked. David and I went straight on over to the W, and Carol Anne and David were just getting there. We went in, and the place was gorgeous! I was extremely pleased, to say the least, at how it all turned out.

A little bit later, people started to arrive, and everyone was very complimentary about the look of everything. About 7:00 we were ready, but alas, Steve and Cindy were nowhere in sight! Finally, they came in, just as Becky was asking if the minister who was saying the blessing had gotten there yet!

That afternoon, Russell had told us that he wanted me to welcome everyone, Mr. Flowers to make the first toast, and David to have the last toast and a benediction. So I welcomed everyone and then turned the blessing over to Steve. Then we lined up and got food and ate and ate and ate. I have posted the menu below.

All the toasts were wonderful, both fun and serious. David's toast was very sweet and touching, and his eyes were quite moist, as were mine. After the benediction, David brought Becky and crew out, and we gave them a standing ovation. Then everyone left, and David and I went back to the hotel and collapsed. I'll write more later.

Menu

appetizer tray of cheeses, fruit, and olives

organic salad bar

choice of:

prime rib chicken Huntington eggplant Parmesan

green beans

potatoes with fixings

rolls

tiramasu with chocolate sauce

sweet tea spring water lemonade

mock champagne for toasting

My words after welcoming everyone: "Memorial Day weekend of 2005, we were camping at Grenada Lake. We knew that Russell had just finished a hard week of staff training, and we asked him to come over and join us when he could. Those of you who know Russell, know that he does not turn down a steak dinner! In the course of our asking him about that summer's staff, he mentioned that there was a girl with curly hair that he might ask out. 'But I guess I'll wait until the end of summer since I'm kind of like her boss.' A long pause. 'Or maybe not.' Three and one-half years later, last fall, he told us of his plan to propose to her while they were at Sewanne for homecoming. He told us then that on that first date back in the summer of 2005, that he knew then that she was the ONE." Everyone went "AWWWW" when I finished, so I knew my speech had been successful and that it was all true. Russell said later that he had forgotten about that and seemed glad that I told the story.

The Countdown

Well, this time next week it will all be over..that's right, "the wedding," or as we say in the South, "tha-weddin." On Friday I drove a car load of gifts to Oxford--no exaggeration there; everyone has been so sweet and generous. I took my friend Alicia with me. Wow, I could not believe Russell's house! I did not know it until after the fact, but Callie had stayed there last weekend while Russell was at the bachelor party and put things to right. The house was clean and relatively uncluttered, but the biggest difference was the decorating. You can tell that it is no longer a place for a man and his dog. There are throw pillows, lamps, sofa covers, wedding gifts placed decoratively in the right places (Did I mention that I love the copper bowl? It's on the coffee table in the study; looks great!), old pieces of furniture painted bright white, empty spaces filled with attractive pieces of furniture, and even an attractive old spread to be turned into a bed for Wendell. This is what the house has needed--a woman's touch and a woman to tell Russell what to do. The screened porch had actually been pressure washed and the porch furniture hosed off and out in the sun to dry. The raised beds were producing wonderfully, and everything was so attractive.

It was good to see Russell. He had been to the barber shop and the dentist, and he's lost the little roll he was carrying around the middle. He looked so good. Russell had time to ride us around the camp on the golf cart. Alicia had not seen the new landscaping around the chapel, tree houses, or zip line. She seemed to really enjoy the tour and was most impressed with the tree houses.

We had a good visit and ended with lunch at Volta, always a good choice.

I faxed David's tux measurements in to House of Tux last week, and that was really the last thing on my to-do list until I start packing on Thursday. A friend from church who details cars to earn a little extra money is coming Thursday afternoon so that the car will be clean for the weekend since I have no idea who all we will be giving rides to. I'm sure that I will be driving the two grandmothers with me to the bridesmaid's luncheon, if nothing else.

Becky, the caterer, lost her mother a week ago Thursday and had to leave for Illinois the next day. She was gone almost a week, which put our final meeting about the last-minute details off until she got back. We met briefly Friday, Saturday, and today, and everything is squared away and I feel really good about it all. David and I have finished making the markers with the table numbers on them, and she will arrange them all decoratively at the dinner. People will come in and see what table they are sitting at, but they can sit anywhere at that table. I liked that idea a lot, and the table markers become part of a decorative centerpiece.

Becky had one glitch in the menu; she could not get the prime rib from the first source that we had requested. She did get it from the next guy, and we were very happy with that. She actually got it from the same place where we get our ribs, pork tenderloin, and turkey breast, so we know it will be great even though we have never actually had his beef.

Friday morning David and I will go for hair appts., then finish packing. When the bank opens, we will go cash a check; we are surprising Russell with some cash for the honeymoon. His birthday is Thursday, so we are giving it to him for his birthday. He thinks that we are going to give him about $200, and we are really excited that we have been saving and will give him about 4 times that much. It's been really hard to do with the expense of the rehearsal, but it's been something that David really wanted to do. He has never forgotten his dad giving him some cash right before we left for our honeymoon, and it's been important to him to do this for Russell.

I'll address the expense of being the groom's parents in another post. Don't want to do a "downer" right now.

So, a few more days.....

The Carter House Girls

I bought this series of books because, as regular blog readers know, I love Melody Carlson. This is another one of her great teen series. The premise is that Mrs. Carter, a retired fashion model, has six teen girls, one of them her grandaughter, live in her house and she prepares them for a life of modeling. The books deal with the girls getting to know each other, dating, school, sports, and the many, many other things in a teenagers' life. At the beginning of the series, only one girl is a Christian, but by the end of the sixth book, three of the six have turned their lives over to the Lord. Throughout the books, the girls are dealing with typical teenage problems such as alcoholism, anorexia, drugs, and so on. These books are far from preachy, which I like, but do make it clear that all of these things can be dealt with easier if they lean on God. I have read six of these books, and I am not sure how many more of them there are, but I am anxious to read the whole series and have them in the library. I believe that the girls will enjoy this series just like they have enjoyed Carlson's True Colors series.

Pre-wedding parties

This weekend was really good. Saturday night a few friends threw a "Lawn & Garden" party for Russell and Callie. We enjoyed finger foods, lemonade, and good conversation. They got some cute gifts, among them a stepping stone, bird feeder, decorative hose holder with hose, and BBQ things. It was a good idea and successful party.

Sunday afternoon was the reception at the church. It was really well attended and we had a good time. It was good for Russell to see some people that he had not seen in a long time. Of course, he really enjoyed introducing his tall, pretty bride to everyone. The food was really good, and I took a plate of cake home for David. Due to his colonoscopy on Monday, he was unable to eat at the party. Believe me, he made short work of the cake Monday afternoon after we got home, and his colonoscopy was a success--eat more fiber and come back in five years.

Saturday afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Flowers came a little early, and we visited a little while. The kids opened the gifts that had come in at the stores here, and we enjoyed watching them. They got some really nice things. Several of the casual glasses that they had picked out, a basket, pitchers, trivet, decorative fluted copper bowl (I personally loved that one), candle, and bunches of other stuff. It was so overwhelming to see how generous everyone was.

Mama gave Callie the set of dishes that she had for them on Sunday--an 8 place set with a few serving pieces of an old set inherited from my great aunt in Texas. Sunday afternoon when they left, they were in two cars and it's a good thing. Between all of the gifts, the three boxes of china, the luggage, and Wendell, they were loaded down. I'm not sure how they will fit it all in the house.

We had a good weekend and enjoyed both parties.

"The Wedding" continued

Rehearsal dinner--I almost had a heart attack when Russell and Callie wanted to change some of the names on the guest list AFTER I had started mailing out invitations. But we worked it all out, and the replies are coming in. About half have come in, and I'm worried that the other half won't make it by July 5. I may have to start calling folks.

My dress--I had my dress in the last post, and have since found shoes and a bag. Mama got a dress, and so did Mrs. Casteel. So we are all set.

Prenuptial parties--A casual party with the young people is planned for July 11. Apparently it has changed from cookout to finger foods, which is fine. The kids will just enjoy being together. The reception at the church is July 12. Russell is anxious for his church family to meet Callie.

Sickness--David and I have been in and out of the doctor. He has a colonoscopy scheduled for July 13. I've had a terrible ear infection and am only now feeling a little better. Hope we are healthy for the wedding! It's terrible to age....

Groomsmen--Matt cannot be in the wedding. His residency at Vanderbilt starts July 1, and he cannot get off. Russell is fine with it; he hates Matt won't be there, but is understanding. He won't replace him and will leave his name on the program.

More updates as they come!!!

An Abundance of Katherines

John Green is a young adult author who has written several novels. I read about him in a library magazine and ordered a couple of them. An Abundance of Katherines is about Colin, a child prodigy who has just finished high school and has a bright future ahead of him at college, and his friend Hassan, who, while intelligent, has no plans to go to college and is content to stay home and watch t.v. all day. Although he knows several languages and reads several hundred pages a day (remembering everything that he reads), Colin is not gifted in the girlfriend area. All of his girlfriends have been named Katherine, and all of them have dumped him. In order to get over his broken heart and have him ready to begin college in the fall, Colin's parents allow him and Hassan to take a road trip. They leave their urban Chicago home and end up in Gutshot, Tennessee--and so the adventure begins.

What ensues is Colin eventually finding himself and figuring out his Katherine theorem (yes, he his graphing his relationships), but he and Hassan manage to have some great adventures in the meantime. What I liked best about this story is the humor. I have been accused of having a dry wit myself, and this book is full of it. Putting two Chicago boys, one Jew and one Arab, into the deep South is funny in and of itself, without the addition of a pretty girl, her redneck boyfriend, a factory that only makes tampon strings, and a hog hunt. I'm not sure if the kids that I serve in my library will like this book as much as I did, but I thought that it was great, and I will recommend it to them.

The Upstairs Room

In my quest to have more Holocaust survivor accounts in the library, I found The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss. Johanna and her sister Sini live in rural Holland and after the German invasion, their father finds a place for them to hide. They first stay with a couple, the Hannicks, who have been known to house Jews. After a few months, it is determined that they are no longer safe there, and Mr. Hannick finds them a new place. They go to a farmhouse where they live with a Johan and Dientje and Johan's mother Opoe. Johan is very nervous about taking the girls, and Mr Hannick promises to return for them in two weeks. The two weeks stretch into two years and seven months, when the war is finally over. The girls reunite with their sister Rachel and eventually their father, as well.

This book is not extremely well-written, but it is an interesting account of how they lived mainly confined to one room. The story of these girls is not as dramatic as some Holocaust survivor stories, but just as important, nonetheless. It shows the goodness of the Dutch people who risked their lives to house Jews. A number of the Dutch in the vicinity of Johanna's home were hiding illegal Jews. It also takes the reader back to a time when regular, ordinary people were in constant fear for their lives and had to watch every movement they made, no matter how small. Opening curtains, moving a chair, asking for a book to read--all could create suspicion. It is hard for us modern-day readers to relate to how these people, both the hiders and those hidden, had to live.

This is a good book for students and a way to show them how some Jews were hidden during the Holocaust.

Dangerous Depths

Dangerous Depths is the last of the Aloha Reef series, and it involves Leia, a medical student who is interested in the history and artifacts of Hawaii. She is interested in Bane, but refuses to marry him due to a secret worry that she has, and Bane has his own secret that he is keeping from her. Like the first two books in this series, the suspense has several layers, involving buried treasures, murder, ancient artifacts, and underwater volcanoes. There are several surprise turns as the reader tries to figure out who the actual "bad guy" is.

I have been familiar with Colleen Coble for a long time, and this is the first series of hers that I have read that I found had real substance. I see her with a promising career, and I am glad to see how far she has come since writing novellas for Barbour Publishing. I recommend these books to anyone who enjoys Christian novels of suspense, action, and mystery.

Jon minus Kate

When I started this blog, I wrote that Jon and Kate Plus 8 is one of my favorite things. I loved seeing the day to day lives of the Gosselins, whether it be potty training, dentist visits, or cooking at home with Mom. Over the past few months, it seems that the show has gotten away from what made it endearing; now the large brood is taking trips to Colorado, Hawaii, and so on. They are buying expensive things, whether it be a new house, golf clubs, camping equipment, or whatever. For a while it seemed that almost every show involved them having to buy something in order to do something! To top it all off, they have now become huge celebrities, which involves one or both parents traveling and being away from the kids, and apparently no one is handling this new-found fame very well.

So now the marriage is over. Is anyone really surprised? A part of me really wishes that they could get some counseling and work it out, but it seems unrealistic that they can do that in the public eye, and neither seems ready to give up the show.

My personal feeling is that, divorce or not, this show has run its course. The sextuplets will be in school full time in the fall, and the daily life will just not be as interesting to film. The shows will probably have to revolve around these trips and spending money; sorry, that it just not REALITY for most people. Monday's episode involved getting 4 playhouses from Maine to the tune of almost $2500 each (I looked it up on the Internet)--this is not reality, people! I miss the days when we saw Kate grocery shopping and trying to budget her money. Pretty safe to say, we'll never see that again!

I do admire that they say that the multi-million dollar home is for the kids, and that they will trade out living there. When it's Jon's weekend, he will stay in the house and Kate will disappear. Great idea! But will it work? What about when one or both parents remarry?

I read this morning that the show is shutting down until August while the family regroups and TLC decides how to handle this new wrinkle. TLC, wake up! Cancel it already! Let this family grieve the loss of the parents' marriage in private and become a "normal" family again--or at least as normal as possible, given the circumstances.

"The Wedding" continued

My dress: I had thought of wearing a pretty beaded top that Jenny loaned me with a long black skirt, but Callie said that she would rather me not wear black. So David and I went to Dillard's this weekend and got a long chocolate brown skirt and a gold top with some beads at the waist and sheer sleeves. I like it and feel a HUGE relief that I have now gotten something. I plan to purchase a gold beaded bag and some brown dress sandals.

Bridal registry: The happy couple finally made it here this weekend to register at the local stores. They also have an online registry at Belk. I enjoyed watching them pick out some things and am so glad that they finally got that done.


Prenuptial parties: My friends are giving a casual cookout on 7/11. We will invite a few of the young crowd that are still around and hopefully just have a good, relaxing time. The church ladies are giving a reception on 7/12. It will be a good opportunity for Russell to introduce Callie to his church family. We are looking forward to these parties.

Rehearsal dinner: Russell and Callie finalized the rehearsal dinner guest and address list while they were here, and yesterday I talked to Melissa about the invitations. She is working on them today.

So that's where we are for now! In a mere two months from today, they'll be in Paris and I'll be broke!

Black Sands

This is the second book in the Aloha Reef series, and I liked it better than the first one. Mano, a peripheral character in Distant Echoes, becomes a central character in Black Sands, and we are introduced to Annie, a vulcanologist. Annie's sister has gone missing, her mortgage is past due and she hasn't told her domineering father, and a volcano is on the verge of erupting. Throw in a casino developer who is less-than-savory, a boss who has a secret past, and a brother who comes back from the dead, and you have quite a story! Annie has to confront her fears that threaten her career and learn to turn everything over to God. In the course of trying to find her sister and help her brother who is being framed for murder, Annie realizes that she is in love with Mano. Can she overcome her shyness to tell him how she really feels? Can Annie save her sister from being sacrificed at the volcano on the pretext of an ancient religion? Can she stand up to her dominant father? Did Annie's mother actually commit suicide, or was it a murder made to look like a suicide? Yes, all of these plot lines are wound together to a great conclusion that involves a dangerous lava flow and some wild dolphins. This was a great suspense novel, and I highly recommend it.

Healing Waters

All I can say is "Wow!" What a deep, multi-layered, complex story! I can certainly see why it got the Women of Faith Novel of the Year award.

Lucia and Sonia are sisters, but are not much alike. Sonia is, and always has been, the "perfect" sister; her appearance, her family, and her career are envied by many. Lucia, the overweight sister who has a less than enviable family, has always been in Sonia's shadow. Then a crisis happens. Sonia is severely disfigured in a suspicious plane crash, and Lucia is called on to help out not only with Sonia, but also with Bethany, Sonia's six-year-old child. After Lucia moves in, she begins to realize that all is not what it seems in Sonia's household. Trying to manage Sonia's and Bethany's lives while trying to rebuild her marriage to Chip at the same time takes quite a toll on Lucia's on emotional well-being. Enter Dr. Sullivan Crisp. He helps Lucia to look deeply into herself while trying to pick up the pieces of his own life at the same time.

Add to this story a persistent FBI agent who is investigating the plane crash, a physical therapist who tries to help Sonia and at the same time befriend Lucia, Sonia and Lucia's alcoholic father, and Chip's drug problems, and Healing Waters becomes quite a story. As I said about Healing Stones, Healing Waters is like peeling an onion; there is layer after layer to this story and the reader will constantly be surprised at the many twists and turns. A dramatic kidnapping and a revelation about Crisp's late wife bring this story to its astounding conclusion.

This book is a must-read and I cannot recommend it enough!

more about "The Wedding"

Rooms: I reserved 7 rooms today at the Holiday Inn in Columbus. Whew!! One more thing off my list, and it had really been bugging me. I got a king for David and me, and 6 doubles for the groom and wedding party. I am only paying for the king and Russell's room. The rest of the people are responsible for paying for their own rooms. I got a good rate, and if they reserve saying "Casteel wedding party," they will get that rate. Otherwise, they pay full price.

I also asked the salesperson if it was a problem if I needed more rooms that these, and she said that it is not. So I think I will send out an email to family members and ask if any of them need rooms. If so, I will call her back and have her add a couple of more rooms to my block.

The rooms will go to his groomspersons as follows: Trey and Heather (groomspersons who are married), Tim and Mary Bruce (groomsman and wife), Matt and Jennifer (groomsman and wife), Jay and Tyler (single groomsguys), and Dana (single groomsgirl). Then he will have a room, and we will have a room. I just don't want to stay at David's mom and dad's during this stressful time. I will be way too nervous, and their house is small with only 1 full bath. David and I decided a long time ago that we would rent a room and let the other Casteel brothers stay with their parents.

So, one more item to cross off the list, and what a big one it was!

Healing Stones

I had read some Christian teen fiction by Nancy Rue a few years back (Nama High series, if you're interested), and was drawn to Healing Stones as an adult book by the same author in collaboration with Christian psychologist Stephen Arterburn. Since the last series that I read by a favorite Christian author in collaboration with a Christian psychologist was so wonderful (Redemption by Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley), I naturally wanted to read this one. Another big appeal to me was that the second book of this series, Healing Waters, won the 2009 Women of Faith fiction novel of the year award; consequently, I want to read it, but refuse to read the second one before the first.

Back to the subject--Healing Stones. What an awesome book! I cannot say enough good about it. Demitria is a theology professor at a small Christian college. She is married to Rick, a fireman, and has two teenage children, Christopher and Jayne. A drastic mistake on Demitria's part costs her both her job and her family, and she spends most of the remainder of the book trying to make these two things right. However, this is a multi-layered novel. It seems that more than meets the eye is going on with the college administration, the board, and the financial backers of the school than just Demetria's mistake. Rick is still suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome after being a hero at the Word Trade Center in 9/11, and his problems in his job and marriage are continuing all these years later. Demitria's Christian counselor, Sullivan Crisp, also has his own baggage, and his guidance of Demitria also mirrors his own journey toward healing and accepting God's forgiveness.

This is one of the best Christian fiction books that I have read in a very long time. Not only does Demitria have a journey to take to accept God's forgiveness, but also do Rick, Sullivan, and many other of the book's characters. This book is truly like peeling an onion, layer after layer after layer. I can't wait to read Healing Waters!!

More about "The Wedding"

Time and Place: Saturday, August 1, at First United Methodist in Columbus, 7:00p.m. Reception will follow at the home of the bride's parents. It is going to be a large, lavish affair, with 8 attendants, lots of music, and lots of scripture reading-an Old Testament, Psalm, Gospel, and Epistle lesson, just like in a worship service. Of course, Russell wants it to be a worship service, and it will be. They would like to have communion as well, but are still up in the air about that. Chris (Russell's mentor through the candidacy program will marry them) does not necessarily think it's a great idea with a large crowd. It just becomes quite cumbersome and loses some of the meaning. They are still thinking about it, and, as mother of the groom, I keep telling everyone that I operate on a need-to-know basis, and I don't need to know that yet!

Rehearsal dinner: I have the rehearsal dinner finalized. It will be at Thad Cochran Hall on the MUW campus. The room is just lovely, and big enough for the wedding party, which was the most important requirement for me to book a place. Normally, when a W venue is rented, the college food service is required. However, since the food service is closed for the summer, I was allowed to choose my own caterer!! Woo-hoo!! I can't put in to words how much that eased the burden of the dinner. I called my friend Becky here, and she and I drove to Columbus one afternoon. She was very impressive and professional with the lady we had to book with at the W, and she was very open to everything that Russell wanted. We are having a lavish meal, with a choice of prime rib, chicken Huntington, or eggplant Parmesan (Russell had requested one veg. dish for his vegetarian friends). Also, a potato station, organic salad bar, green beans, rolls, and tiramasu with a flavored coffee station for dessert. Alcohol is not allowed on the W campus, so we will toast with mock champagne. This saves me money, and the important thing is the toasting, not the alcohol.

"Engagement Celebration:" Last weekend, we attended a cocktail party given by Callie's parents' friends in Columbus. Overwhelmed is a mild way to put it. It was just lovely; quite lavish, and I do hope that Callie's family and friends know that this type of social event is quite out of our league.

Kaci's wedding: Kaci and Kyle got engaged over spring break and last week set their wedding date for Nov. 7. She is planning a much simpler affair than the Flowers-Casteel nuptials. But Carol Anne is going to call Becky about possibly catering the reception after I have been singing her praises. Kaci and Kyle live in Brandon and they will marry at Crossgates United Methodist, where they apparently attend quite regularly. David has always considered Kaci his little girl, and I hope he will hold up all right for the wedding! So all of Mama's grandchildren will be getting married in 2009! I told Carol Anne that I could not believe that she and I were planning weddings in the same year! P.S. I don't mean to sound like Mama has only two grandchildren; she actually has two birth grandchildren and two grandsons added to our family when Carol Anne married David a few years ago. Justin is married with a baby boy, and Carol Anne has given me some good advice on being mother of the groom. Rhyne is a single assistant football coach in south Mississippi.

Distant Echoes

Distant Echoes is set in Hawaii near a military base which is testing secret missiles. Kaia is a native Hawaiian who is also a marine biologist. Her current project is to train dolphins to interact with sounds. When the security at the base is breached and Kaia loses a friend, handsome naval officer Jesse comes to Kaia and asks for help with patrolling the waters using her dolphins. The mystery of unraveling the person behind the security breach becomes only one of the many story lines. We find out that Jesse feels responsible for his first wife's death and has never gotten over it and that Kaia has never gotten over the desertion of her mother when she was a child. The involvement of Kaia's brother in something sinister, the attempted kidnapping of Jesse's niece, and the strange new woman who comes to town all add to the suspense of this story. This was a good mystery, and I enjoyed the many plot lines that were continually unraveled.

The Other Side of Darkness

I am a big fan of Melody Carlson, and this book is no exception. Ruth is a woman with some deep-seated problems, like OCD and issues with her mother that make her feel unworthy. These problems make her very vulnerable to Pastor Glenn and his religious zeal. Convinced that she must do constant spiritual warfare and cast out demons, Ruth endangers her finances, her marriage, and finally her own life. The Other Side of Darkness lets the reader in on how seemingly good Christian people can get "sucked in" to the fanatical side of religion. Often I have wondered how and why people could join cults. This book made me see that it is easy for someone who has weaknesses in some areas of his life can be molded and given suggestions until that person completely "buys in" to the wrong teachings. While the book did not necessarily have a "happy" ending, it was realistic and gave the reader hope that Ruth would continue in the right direction. This is a great book, and I highly recommend it.

The Hiding Place, book and movie

I reread The Hiding Place, then rented the movie on my Netflix. I first read the book when I was quite young, maybe junior high, and did not remember a lot about it, so I wanted to reread it before I watched the movie. It was a good book, as I remembered, and what a testament to faith in God! The example that Betsie gave to her sister Corrie throughout their ordeal in prison really stuck out to me in this reading of the book. She constantly found God in everything. One example is when she tells Corrie to thank God for the fleas and lice that they are living with in the barracks. Corrie, who usually does everything that Betsie asks, balks at that, but finally does say the prayer, even though it is half-hearted. After some grueling weeks at hard labor, Betsie gets moved to the knitting room for her work due to her poor health. The knitting room is much less supervised than the other jobs and Betsie is able to read to the other women from their smuggled Bible, have prayer meetings, and share her faith in Christ. Later they find out that the guards do not supervise this room as much because they are staying away from the fleas and lice! Corrie remembers that Betsie told her to thank God in everything and that she did not have enough faith to thank Him for the fleas and lice.

The movie was good also. There were some differences between the book and movie, but nothing too drastic, other than the Katya character. Eileen Heckhart did a wonderful job with that role and, even though it was not very true to the book, it was true to the historical period. I really did not mind that the Katya storyline was added to the movie.

I like the fact that Corrie Ten Boom herself came on after the movie and briefly spoke to the audience. She reminds us that she and Betsie had constantly talked about telling their story when they were released from prison, and that she had kept her promise by writing the book. I did not know until I reread this book (this later edition had a postscript at the end) that Corrie found out in 1953 that her release was a clerical error. One week after her release in 1944 all of the women her age were shot.

I went to hear her speak when I was in high school. I do not remember a lot about what she said--her strong Dutch accent was hard to grasp--but I do remember that I sat there enthralled and would have listened to her all day.

The Hiding Place, along with The Diary of Anne Frank, were the pivotal books that started my lifelong interest in learning more about the Holocaust. I highly recommend this book.

A Mile in my Flip Flops

I enjoy all of Melody Carlson's books, and this one is no exception. Recovering from an unexpected broken engagement, Gretchen hides her sorrow in HGTV and Ben and Jerry's. Realizing that she needs to move on with her life, she purchases a "fixer upper," planning on flipping it for a profit after she uses her knowledge gained from watching tv to remodel it. Gretchen does not take into account that tv knowledge is not the same as practical knowledge. Other stumbling blocks, including her retired contractor father's heart attack and a know-it-all, divorced, albeit handsome, handyman, promise to make Gretchen's flip a flop. When Gretchen reluctantly admits her failings, accepts help, and turns it over to the Lord, she begins to finally see changes in her house--and in her life.

I highly recommend A Mile in my Flip Flops, another winner from MelodyCarlson.

I Have Lived a Thousand Years

This is the story of Elli, thirteen at the time that she and her family are deported to a concentration camp. She and her mother are moved from camp to camp, and at one point her long blond hair saves her. A man who she later learns was the notorious Dr. Mengele touches her braids and tells her that she is sixteen from now on. He sends her and her mother to a work camp. Much later, Ellie finds out that the group that she should have been in (under age 16 with their parents) was sent directly to the gas chambers. Although Elli was in captivity only a little over a year, she feels, in her words, like she has "lived a thousand years." Her year of captivity is heart-wrenching; separation, reuniting, and separation again of family members, starvation and sickness, constant moving from one camp to the next, continual living in death and destruction-all take their toll on Elli. After her release, one towns person guesses that fourteen-year-old Elli is about sixty. But as Elli says in the introduction to her book, she realizes that she much write down her experiences because the generations that remember the Holocaust are dying out rapidly and that it should never be forgotten in the annals of history. Instead the people who lived it must continue to tell their stories. Elli's story was as riveting as it was disturbing. This is a good book for anyone who wants to learn an inside view of the Holocaust.

The Last Exit to Normal

Last year I subscribed to a professional publication called School Librarian's Workshop. It is filled with lots of good things; I won't go into all of that now. What I really have found useful is the book reviews. The reviews are divided by age level, and I have found some really good books there. That is how I found The Last Exit to Normal. Before the story begins, we find out that Ben's father came home and announced that he was gay; Ben's mother flew the coop; Ben's father's friend Edward moved in, and Ben went wild and did terrible things in a three-year rebellion period. When the story opens, Ben's wild period has ended, albeit with a police record, and, desperate to help their son, Ben's dad and "momdad" have moved kit and caboodle back to Edward's hometown of Rough Butte, Montana, to live with Edward's ancient mother, Miss Mae.

While the story is filled with typical city-boy-moves-to-country gaffes and humor, it is also a poignant story of seventeen-year-old Ben's getting to know not only himself, but also his dad and Edward. Under Miss Mae's hawk-like eyes, Ben learns about hard work and the value of money. The humorous episodes, i.e., his first shopping trip to buy Wranglers and a Stetson, his first bird hunting outing, and his first experience of baling hay, are interspersed just enough to lighten the mood and keep the serious stuff from getting too heavy.

And there is some really heavy stuff going on in Rough Butte. Between the redneck neighbor who beats his son and locks him in the closet, the psycho who does not like Ben coming along and dating his former girlfriend and vows to stop it in any way possible, and an overturned tractor which lands on it driver, Ben finds plenty of drama in Rough Butte.

I read this book very quickly because I wanted to know what happened. I enjoyed it a lot, and I know that the kids will also. I highly recommend it not only for teenagers, but also for adults!

Survivors: True Stories of Children of the Holocaust

This book is a compilation of stories of eight different children who survived the Holocaust in different ways, whether it be in hiding, in orphanages, or in concentration camps. In my constant yearning to learn more about the Holocaust, I chose this book because it primarily dealt with children. It is always fascinating to me how the children often seem to be the strongest ones and often survived more than the adults did. I liked book and found the stories interesting. I did find the book a little simplistic to read, and I am not sure what grade level it is written for. However, I will still put it in the library and recommend it to students who want to read about the Holocaust.

Twisted

Since reading Speak a couple of years ago, I am trying to read all of Laurie Halse Anderson's books. She is a very good young adult author and a great addition to the library. Twisted is the story of Tyler, the kid who nobody notices, except to be picked on, until he decides to commit an act of vandalism at his high school.

The story opens toward the end of the summer as Tyler is finishing his community service with the school janitors. The summer of hard work has built up his body, and he now has a physique which gets him noticed. The vandalism has also earned him a new respect with the other kids at school. When school starts, he finds that he especially likes the attention of Bethany, who just happens to be the daughter of Tyler's dad's boss.

Twisted explores not only Tyler's feelings about school and Bethany, but also the complicated and dysfunctional family that Tyler belongs to. After a fateful night with Bethany, Tyler sinks to new despair both at school and at home. I think that kids will like this book and many will be able to relate to Tyler's feelings of inadequacy and yearning to fit in.

Breaking Dawn

I finished the final book in the Twilight series and am now anxiously awaiting the movie. The DVD should be arriving from my Netflix account any day now. I liked the book a lot; Edward and Bella get married and they have a little girl, Reneesme. This storyline takes up the first part of the book.

In the last part of the book, the vampire community is once again at odds with the Cullen clan. It seems that they think that a half human, half vampire being is unpredictable and should not be allowed to live. The Cullens get vampire help from covens all over the globe, as well as assistance from Jacob and the werewolves (real surprise waiting for you there!). Alice finds a surprise witness, and it remains to be seen whether Reneesme can be saved or not.

The tension in Breaking Dawn is enormous, and the reader is constantly surprised around every corner. This book was a great read, and a good conclusion to the series. But is it a conclusion? Meyer left it open to more possible books in the future.

Musings

I can't believe that it's been almost 2 months since I posted! Cursillo took up the whole month of February, and now the Passion Play is promising to take up the entire month of March. Diane showed up on our doorstep one night (a surprise--she usually just calls if she wants to talk). She said, "Well, I just came from a Fine Arts committee meeting."

Immediately I said, "You came to ask me to direct the Passion Play, didn't you?"

She was actually asking David and me to co-direct it with her and Joe, who will give it up in a year or two. The co-directors need to start before Joe "retires" from it. After much prayer and soul-searching, here we are. We're not really concerned about the acting, but the technical details are driving us nuts. We have a lot to learn, and a lot to get done before time. It is the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Easter outdoors on our church grounds. It begins at dark. Pray for all of us involved and that it will be successful.

Cursillo #155 was a big success! David did a great job as head cha cha, and the staff and pilgrims were wonderful. To top it off--a literal "icing on the cake," we had between 3-4 inches of snow that we woke up to Sunday morning, and everyone loved it.

I've not read hardly any in February. I am just starting to pick it back up, and will be posting about a couple of books soon.

So, I'm back, and glad to be here.

Eclipse

Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight series, continuing the love story between Bella and Edward and deepening the attachment that Bella has with Jake. As graduation approaches, Bella is holding Edward to his promise to her to make her a vampire, and he is holding her to her promise to marry him. Neither is wildly excited about keeping their promises to each other, and numerous arguments ensue about both of these issues. Edward also insists on no premarital sex, while Bella wants to go ahead and not wait until marriage; there are more discussions surrounding this issue and one scene in which Bella tries unsuccessfully to seduce Edward. Because sex is one of the "hot buttons" that I look for in teen reads for the library, I am really glad that they hold true to their commitment to wait until marriage but realistically portray how hard it is for them both to do so.

The main story line in this book is the conflict between the "good" vampires and the "bad" vampires who are after both Bella and Edward, mostly Bella. Edward enlists some very unlikely allies to help him, and the climatic battle between the warring sides is much more exciting than the one in book two between the good and evil vampires.

Jake continues to be a major figure is this book, and Bella must finally face her feelings towards him. As book three concluded, I am really looking forward to what will happen with the love triangle of Bella, Edward, and Jake as well as whether or not Bella finally gets her wish to become a vampire.

I like this book and will put it on the shelves for check out.

New Moon

New Moon picks up where Twilight left off: Edward and his family have moved away and Bella is heart broken and depressed. She becomes friends with Jake from the nearby Indian reservation, and as they work on a project of restoring an old motorcycle, their friendship deepens. As she becomes more wrapped up in her friendship with Jake, Bella finally begins to snap out of her depression. Although her heart is still breaking for Edward, she is able to focus on something else. Bella and Jake become close; Jake wants to be more than friends, while Bella is content with friendship only.

But it turns out later that Jake is hiding a dark secret, and Bella feels rejected from him as well as Edward. As the story moves on, Edward and his family come back into the picture, with a climactic journey to Italy to face off with the evil Volturi vampire royal family.

As I said about Twilight (see below), this is a good book that encourages teenagers to read.

Twilight

So many kids are reading this series that I knew that I needed to purchase it for the library. However, given the subject matter, I thought that I need to read it before I put them on check out.

Twilight is the story of Bella, a somewhat typical teenage girl, who falls in love with Edward, a non typical teenage vampire. I like the way Edward's true identity is foreshadowed in the story and wish I had never heard of the books so that I would not have known that she was going to discover that he was a vampire. I like the different characteristics that Meyer gives to vampires, like they are unnaturally strong, can read minds, and scoff at the garlic and mirror superstitions. Also, Edward and his family are "good" vampires who are trying to live peacefully with humans and scorn "bad" vampires who kill humans wantonly.

Twilight is a love story between Bella and Edward and is quite sensual without being sexual in nature. They hold each other close and occasionally kiss, but that is about it. Actually, the kissing part kind of creeps me out, as kissing the "cold, marble lips" of Edward sounds disgusting and how it turns her on is a mystery to me. But the bottom line is, no sex, and that is what I like about a book for teenagers.

The story also has quite a bit of excitement, like trying to escape being killed by the "bad" vampires. Lots of action ensues when Bella begins being pursued by an evil vampire who is out only to suck her blood and Edward and his family try to protect her.

Overall, I did like the book. It is not a book I would choose to read if I were not a high school librarian since it definitely appeals to teenagers and I did get bored at some places. However, this series is getting kids to read, and that alone makes it worthwhile.

Imitation of Life

I had never heard of this movie until Netflix recommended it for me. I rented both the 1934 version (Claudette Colbert) and the 1957 version (Lana Turner). They were both good; I liked the older one a little better. Then, because I got interested in it, I found the book on Amazon and ordered it. Wow, was it good! It was SO much better than either movie, and the Lana Turner version was WAY off the mark.

The book is the story of Bea Pullman from her late teen years (it actually opens at the death of her mother when she is about 16 or 17) until her mid thirties. It is the story of her marriage, her daughter Jessie, and her sudden poverty after an early widowhood. In the early thirties, before women are outside the home much, Bea is forced to be the breadwinner, providing for her invalid father, infant daughter, and herself. Delilah, a widowed black woman with a daughter (Peola) of the same age as Jessie, becomes her cook, nanny, and sitter for her father in exchange for room and board.

Bea's only hope at making a living is to go door to door to businesses selling the maple syrup that her late husband used to do as just a sideline. Eventually, she realizes that she can sell the candies that Delilah makes from the syrup, and later the waffles from Delilah's special recipe. An empire is born. After many years of struggle, Bea becomes quite the entrepreneur and business woman who is the talk of Wall Street. The story continues with the story of Bea's relationship with her daughter, her close friendship and deep respect for Delilah, and her longing for a marriage with a man she loves (Boy, does this story line have a surprise ending if you saw the movie first! I was blown away!).

The second story line of the light-skinned Peola wanting to "pass" and disowning Delilah is a very minor plot line in the book, unlike both movies, where it is the major part of the plot. Yes, it happens and my heart broke for Delilah as I read the book, but the conflict between Peola and Delilah does not even begin for real until almost 200 pages into the book. It is foreshadowed earlier in the book, but it is not in the book from beginning to end, like it is in both movies. You will find yet another surprise ending to this plot line if you saw the movie first.

I highly recommend the book and both movies of Imitation of Life.

Reflections of 2008

Happy New Year! What a wild ride the past few days have been! Mama had chest pains last Saturday, and we went to the ER. Because she was having no more symptoms and her yearly physical was scheduled for Monday, the ER doc sent her home and let her take copies of the EKG and other reports with her to show to the dr. on Monday. On Monday, the dr. scheduled her for a stress test Tuesday morning. I got a call Tuesday morning from the hospital saying that she had chest pains during the stress test and that she would be taken to St. Dom. by ambulance and that I needed to call Daddy. I got him on the cell; he was on the deer stand in Leake County. We all finally got together and made it out to the hospital; she was on a nitro drip and had given her nitro for under the tongue. Our preacher made it out there as well.

When the ambulance showed up, an old friend, Philip, was the driver; we did not know that he had recently gotten his EMT license. He let David ride "shotgun" down there. Daddy wanted to run home and shave and change, and I ran a couple of errands, then we left. When we got there, she had just been wheeled into the heart cath. I was so glad that David had gone on down there since we did not get there in time to see the dr. The doc told him that when she was given the chemical stress test, the chemical actually broke a clot loose. We waited in the ICU waiting room, and Carol Anne and Kaci got there in the mean time. When they called, they said that they had found a blockage and would put in a stent. Later the dr. told us that the LDA (lateral descending artery), called the "widowmaker," was the artery that was blocked. The widowmaker is also one of the three that David's mother had blocked in June and had stents put in. He said that the blockage was the cause of her chest pains on Saturday. He was very complimentary of the hospital in Kosciusko for acting so quickly with the clot buster; he said that it had done its job and that their quick administering it to her had kept the heart from having more damage. She spent the night in the ICU, then got moved to a room yesterday. When we left yesterday afternoon, she had eaten and walked. The dr. will probably let her go today.

So that is how 2008 ended for me. It certainly makes me thankful for my many blessings over the past 12 months--David's successful surgery, our new daughter-in-law-to-be, David's mother's successful heart procedure, and that nothing worse happened to Mama's heart. I plan to read a lot in the new year and enjoy the wedding plans. The Lord is faithful.

(A few hours later) P.S. Mama and Daddy got home today. The dr. told her this morning that she definitely had a heart attack and that if it had not happened like it did, she would not be here. God is good--ALL THE TIME.

The Memory of Old Jack

After reading Jayber Crow, I wanted to read more of Wendell Berry, so I bought several books and started with this one. The book is not very long, but packed with so much. It is told in flashback style with Jack remembering different parts of his life, a different event, person, or memory is each chapter. Several of the characters are also in Jayber Crow and promise to be in some of the future books that I will read. The book ended on a sad note, but paradoxically happy about Jack's long and eventful life. One of Berry's favorite themes, the dying out of the simple American farmer, is in this book as well. I highly recommend it and will take a brief break from reading Berry to read a couple of other things before I get to Hannah Coulter.