I don't know where to begin...YIKES!

So, how are ya'? It's been quite a while, huh? And, no doubt, lots has happened in your lives, 'cause it sure has in mine! Yeah, buddy...

The last post said, "Wedding No. 3!" and yes, it was absolutely beautiful to see my baby marry her Mr. Right. They are so good together...but it wasn't the end of the weddings for the year!!

Wedding No. #4!...took place in Thousand Oaks, California, on December 21st, 2011, on:
                             1. Vernal Equinox - longest night of the year.
                             2. Hannukah - last night.
                             3. OUR 36th Wedding Anniversary!
with our son remarrying (actually giving vows and such after the civil ceremony on the bow of the boat in Alaska, remember?) the raven love of his life, with ALL of the families in attendance! What a joyful time we all had together!! North Carolina meets California, with some Alaska and Washington state thrown in for good measure...and even some Connecticut to season things.

All of us: Mike and I, Kellan and Rob (newly pregnant! shhh...next part of the story.) with Missy Aubrey, AND Kiera and Jason...got to fly out to LA and join the rest of the family just before Christmas last year. The ceremony was wonderful, led by the chaplin of daughter-in-law's father's firehouse, the setting beautiful, a former resort on a lake in Agoura Hills, the weather remarkable, sunny and warm, and the reception was the most fun ever had at such an event.  We were joined by Chris's best friend from High School and partner in "crime"(?) as teenagers, Aaron and his wife, who stood in as his best man. All brothers and sisters on both sides with husbands, were the attendants, with Aubrey as flower girl, along with two cousin junior bridesmaids. We could not have felt more like a wonderfully blended family if it were even possible.

As I write this down, I am again humbled at the incredible things God did orchestrating and organizing this trip and its events. With one exception, which turned out to be the most astounding miracle of all, the whole trip went off without a blip...except on our way to the LAX airport as we were going home. Too many GPS readers in my car, it was night, and I had only driven to the airport once in our rental. And nerves...did I mention that?? My biggest fear a having a rental car in LA was having to drive it!!! Which, of course, I had to...on the way home...back to the airport. We left in plenty of time (and with plenty of tears, I might add.) to get there ahead of schedule, but the schedule did not include getting lost and going through THE trashiest part of Hollywood and also going around our arms to get to our elbows to come a directly opposite direction into LAX...with a very few minutes to: return the rental car, hop a bus to the airport, actually check in and reach our gate AND get on the plane. Only God...but we made it and left our hearts in LA, not San Francisco.

Christmas was very unique last year, to say the least.  And looking back at New Year's was a thrill of our hearts, to see so much happen in our children's lives. Chris married his lovely Jessica - TWICE! Kellan and Rob ended the year expecting a new addition (it's coming ;o+).  And Kiera and Jason, celebrating their wedding together, with an outdoor party for family and friends!

And as summer approached, Kellan and Rob prepared for the arrival of a son - Brantley Caden Vernon! He arrived August 10th, a robust 9 lbs and some, and has been growing like a weed since. What a precious big sister Aubrey is and a helper to mom. ;o) One of those helping times was one that you first panic and then smile. Mommy had jumped in the shower for the "two minute" shower, with instructions to "just sit with brother and watch TV." Brother, by the way, was in his car seat strapped in. After the 'mommy shower,' Kellan comes out to find no Aubrey and no brother Brantley. What could she have done in such a short time? Dragged brother, carseat and all, into her room so she could read him a book, while they waited.;o)
But Brantley's biggest deal was this past Christmas, 2012.  Kellan and Rob's church had a very unique Christmas program, which Kellan choreographed entirely. The biggest hit of the program was Brantley, as the baby Jesus!  He was perfectly quiet and seemed to enjoy the music and lights, even after four productions of the program. Where do you go from here?

School has been different somewhat this year. Still a lot of work and this year has added the opportunity to be involved in our school's foreign exchange program. I have a dozen or so students from China as art students. We are making our way with pictures and slow explanations and they are a joy to have. Not sure how much longer God will allow me to stay, but this year has been a remarkable one.

So, there you are...caught up, sorta'. I just hit the highlights of the big events, as I look back and see the additions to my tapestry of life...I am a blessed mom!

Wedding No. 3 !!!

I cannot adequately describe the parental rush when realizing that all three of my children are married now! Let it be here stated and known that...I AM NOT THAT OLD! Well, not as old as I feel at the realization that my kids are husband and wives!!

Two weeks ago, on a day that promised rain, rain, and more rain, we celebrated the joy of not only seeing, our 'precious little one' - the meaning of Kiera's name - join hands and hearts with the man of her dreams, but we saw God hold back the rain and give us a truly beautiful garden wedding and reception!

I have had the joy of planning with both of my daughters their special day! And both daughters chose outdoor garden weddings...each testing mom's trust in our local weathermen to the limit. The first beautiful wedding was in late June and in the late afternoon. We were blessed with a refreshing breeze to help the bridal party and attendees survive their formal attire in the heat! This latest wedding, while I decorated (and prayed) through falling rain, by the time the actual ceremony began, the rain had stopped, everything dried off, and the cool reminder of the rain was all that remained.

We are blessed beyond anything we could have ever asked for with the spouses our kids have chosen. I love and respect my young men who cherish my daughters, and treasure my beautiful daughters, from whom I have so much to learn. I feel like, in a way, our job is done, and anything from here on is blessing heaped upon blessing. Yes, I know very well that the job isn't done and mom is always mom (and she needs remind herself [often!] that her opinion now weighs less than ever before and it might even be best if not offered!) and that the position lasts until an earthly transition.

BUT! I can here state that this parenting thing has some of the highest highs and rarely, thank God, deep lows, but the rewards are incalculable!!

Friend for Beauty

My friend, Diane, has a new business and a new blogspot! Her
business is Esthetics by Caris and her blogspot is BeautybyCaris!

I have had the wonderful opportunity to be her client and have been having signature facials and an organic face lift procedure with her for the last two months. My skin looks the best it ever has in my 'mature' (gag!) years...and doesn't really believe it belongs to me, who never has taken much care before now! I sooo look forward to my times with her and the way my skin looks!

Diane carries the Emenince Organic Beauty products line. These are the products she uses on me and they are great. Funny, I always comment on how good I smell, as well as how great my skin feels. All the products are natural based botanicals and work on all skin types. Oh, and they are non allergic!

We have talked a lot about how skin care really shouldn't be an optional thing I come for, "every once in a while" like my pedicure or a massage. She has me convinced! I guess I'm gonna' have to get better at French manipedi polishing!

Summer 2011

Wish I could say these are recent, but, alas, they are not. While we have plans ahead to visit a similar setting, we are biding our time at the homefront, with brief trips here and there.

My first "there", was to G'ville and in particular, to one Missy Aubrey! Mom and Dad were celebrating their anniversary with a surprise trip (to Mom) to the beach and a wonderful time just the two of them. Aubs and I held down the homefront, and had a great time reading books
and watching her video favs. I am so well versed in Cars and Toy Story 2 that I could quote you lines! ;o) Oh, and Aunt Kiera's fav - Nemo!! "Touch the...." well, you know!

After arriving home from being with Aubrey, my youngest and her significant other helped me build muscles, as we emptied brother's storage unit into our garage. Hmmm...that was a detour on our ''trip" this summer...but at least we are all under one roof, ah, garage, finally. Now, if we can just figure out what needs to be saved and shipped to AK, and what is junk that needs a new home, we will have reached the goal. Any suggestions as to how to ship a motorcycle and a small shed-full inexpensively, I'm open.

And then there is the time I will spend "away" in research and revision of my lessons for next year. With my school going through 're-accreditation' soon, we are refining and updating info for each of our curriculums. That's an enormous amount of work school wide and a pretty substantial amount for me personally. I need to update yearly lessons for 12 classes that I teach. I will be 'triping' to computerland in between trips elsewhere! And, that's not including the research and planning I do, to provide new and motivating projects for the new school year!
But I have a plan..."Calgon, take me away!" ;o)

This summer, we have taken on a new restoration project - us! Mike and I are reading and trying to assimilate info from the book "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, and it is going to be another trip! Ha, ha... To summarize, this is a radical but very healthy lifestyle recommendation and, while we are not ready to go completely radical, we are trying to adjust according to what we find reasonable to two old stodgies! It's a lot of raw fruit and veggies and cutting down on _____ - fill in the blank, as to what else is left in the traditional American diet. He is a cardiologist/nutritionist with substantial research into the results provided by returning to the eating habits of life before processed foods and the upside down food pyramid established by our own "trustworthy" USDA. While I am a total proponent of this thinking, I will have trouble giving up dark chocolate for anybody!!! Isn't it good for you? Antioxidants???? ;o(

I had mentioned in the "Miracle" blog about info concerning my brother, and speaking of miracles, he has certainly experienced one, as well.

Many years ago...(starts like a good story, doesn't it? It is...), when I was in high school, and he was newly out of the Army, life wasn't falling into place for my brother. In fact, it went south, he thought, with the news that a young lady he "knew" was having his child. (Bear with me now...) Our parents were very strict disciplinarians, so this was a crisis. And, the young lady's folks weren't at all happy, and well they shouldn't have been! He would tell you now, if he were relating this, that this was definitely not at all, a shining moment for him - to deny his responsibility to this young woman and his child. But, here is the miracle...three months ago, a new chapter began in his life. God brought his daughter into his life...many years have passed, but the most wonderful part of this miracle, is that it happened - now! God brought about the circumstances at just the right time in both of their lives and what joy and forgiveness invades their relationship! It's never "too late" with God...

A precious young lady, former student at our school, just posted this wonderful insight on her page, and it was so profound I wanted to share it here, along with my response to her.

"Ever notice how we like absolutes and extremes? Sometimes we take hurtful,
uncomfortable, shameful, guilty, awkward moments and let them color the
experience, until there is no good left. We find it easier to just pick up and
move on that way, not realizing that we are not leaving that negative time
behind us; we take with us the ability to make it the "worst waste of time"
or the "worst few years" of our lives. [...or the ability to choose otherwise...
my comment ;o) Hindsight is 20/20.] We need to recognize that we will
have many moments of wanting to throw in the towel, but God works all
these things out for those who love Him..." Tracy A.

I wrote back:

"This is profound. And so very, very true. But, the God of the Universe takes
those "negatives" and, as only He can, makes them the rich, dark colors that
color our lives in ways that could not have been otherwise. His tapestry of
our lives is ever changing and always in progress...."

Living a Miracle...

Welcome back, if you are reading this! This is a great journal entry for a return to blogging...don't know the cause of my not being able to write for the past year, but it wasn't because of a lack of excitement in my life! I'll start recent and go back later...and, oh, by the way, it's kinda' long. ;o)

I have had the opportunity to experience what I understand to be a miracle (the outside the conceived normal, "an extraordinary occurrence that surpasses all known human powers or natural forces and is ascribed to the Divine or supernatural causes, i.e. to God" - thank you, Mr. Webster), several times in my lifetime. My father's return to full health and long life after a kidney removal when I was a kid, his quadruple by-pass and healing later; my brother's healing after mugging injuries and later appointment to the President's Honor Guard in Washington, DC, instead the Army's Infantry assigned to Vietnam, and his later restoration to the family after a very long, self-imposed separation (more about this later...;o); my sister's loss and subsequent acceptance of the death of her first child to a car accident, and her excitement at the later birth of two daughters after this loss; my mother's continual steadfast wisdom and faith when experiencing these and many more events of life that would break a lesser woman; my own tests of trust with a diagnosis of sterility and the later birth sequentially of three perfectly beautiful children, and the continued provision and protection of our little family, in spite of nominal incomes form both parents...these are just a few standouts and vivid memories of miracles from my past.

But, the miracles that you live "in the moment," are few. I have been humbled to experience several of those, as well. The sterility diagnosis reversal mentioned above, immediate healing from a severe reaction to a vaccination to travel abroad - a prayer from my husband, provision of money from totally unexpected sources at just the right time...they are indeed humbling, when you realize the undeserved Grace that has been extended to you.

But, this blog is about a recent weekend that was another of those moments in time, in the day to day, that will forever be an "in the moment" miracle. This miracle began with a recognition of impossibility, as do most circumstances that precipitate miracles.

"Only one week to go. Juan says we should go to the wedding. What do you think?" I began to cry (not my usual reaction to questions of inquiry, by the way) as I read the Facebook note. There was no way that I could even think of attending my son, Chris, and her daughter, Jess's civil wedding ceremony in Alaska. No, let me rephrase that...NO WAY!!! and that was the reason for my tide of tears. I politely and resolutely answered the note with, "If Juan has told you to go, GO!, for both of us. You have my blessing." And, not to be put off so lightly, Jess's mom, Penni, writes back, "What's keeping you? Time, money...?" "Both, sadly. We are not allowed to take time off in May because of needed time to complete the school year. And, we simply cannot afford a spontaneous hit to our finances like this, " was my blunt answer. "Ask your superintendent anyway. Maybe he'll let you, " she says in her determination. Imagine my shock when that request came back in the affirmative!!! I could have Friday off for the trip. The miracle is beginning...

I call her excitedly to share the news and we begin to look for airline tickets...she has insisted that they have skymiles that have to be used by June 1st, and Juan, Jess's dad wants her to use them for me. (Wow, I am overwhelmed...speechless.) We, of course, must find just the right option - not only to get me to Alaska, but to get me back in time for school Monday morning. We actually found one that just fit and that done, we laughed at the ridiculousness of our plans, but we so anticipated our adventure. I am totally humbled by their generosity. The miracle continues...

The flight plan put us each arriving in Anchorage within an hour and a half of each other, but, as my plane got a tailwind and hers was a little slower, we landed within five minutes of each other at almost side by side gates at the airport - her from Los Angeles, and me from Chicago! Come on...how can things like that JUST HAPPEN??? We began our adventure arm in arm heading toward a surprise visit to our kids on the most special day of their lives!!!

After a quick lunch (dinner for me), we decided, at Penni's suggestion, to surprise Chris first, at his office. I turned the corner to meet him as he was about to leave for the day! Talk about timing! He grinned and said, "Well! Hi, mom!" Mr. Military isn't given to random outbursts of emotion, so I took that welcome as his best 'WOW! You're really here!' response. After hugging me, he realized Penni was there, as well, and hugged his soon-to-be new mom, too! He and I spent a couple of quiet hours as the afternoon progressed. Penni went home with her brother, Corey, who had, with son, Joey, come to pick us up at the airport, and had yet to surprise Jess with her arrival. A contrived plan to get Jess to their house was hastily planned and Jess subsequently gave the shriek and tears to her mom's presence when surprised! We all dined together and went separate ways, to rest for the big day (what rest that could be had, with all the adrenaline pumping and the lovely light that remains at night in Alaska!).

Saturday began with a car trip to Whittier, the harbor housing the catamaran on which the ceremony would take place. We arrived and boarded the 'Cat-a-Tude', owned and operated by Cap'n John, friend of Corey and family, from taekwondo, which was our transportation to a glacial destination wedding of a lifetime. Eighteen souls on board, we left the harbor and headed out to Prince William Sound, in particular the Blackstone Bay, and the Boar Glacier. And, oh, we had a very sweet canine seadog...a Labradoodle, on board, as well. Cap'n John said she occasionally slips overboard, and even with her own life preserver, she drops like a rock, so we were all tense, as she pranced around the deck.

After a peaceful two hour cruise out, we began to see large chunks of glacial ice in the water and concern began that we would not be able to get all the way to the glacier. Our expert captain maneuvered easily around the ice fields and got us as close as he felt comfortable, with the reminder that "10% above means 40% below." We stopped at his determination and all gathered on the deck for the ceremony to begin. With kids up on the flybridge and adults on the deck, we celebrated the transition of our own children from singles to the beginning of a new extension of each of our families. What a beautiful setting for a beautiful transition of life, and importantly, Penni and I are there!!! The miracle continues....

Jess's aunt Jen was the marriage officiant, having been given the authority by the state of Alaska for the day, and she made every second of her presentation poignant and as serious as the situation required. (The second picture above is the background we saw, as the kids said their vows to each other! ) The ring ceremony brought special memory for me, as Chris used Jess's engagement ring with my mom's diamond and Jess used my dad's ruby ring that he left Chris after he passed away. And with Jen's pronouncement of "you may kiss your bride...ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Minguez!" Cap'n John brought out champagne and sparkling apple cider and we all toasted the new couple with chunks of glacier ice in our cups!! Only in Alaska... ;o)

Aunt Jen was not only the officiant, but was the 'hostess with the mostest' by having Chris and Jess's favorite cupcakes along for the 'reception' and they shared bites of Kaluah chocolate and lemon cupcakes together. The trip back in was delightfully shorter and we stopped briefly across the harbor at a rookery of local birds that numbered in the thousands. At the foot of the cliffs, on an outcropping of rocks beside a stunning waterfall coming off the mountain with melting snow runoff, a bald eagle enjoyed a repast of one unfortunate former member of the rookery. We continued back in to the harbor past the Diamond Princess Cruise Line, a ship that dwarfed every boat in the harbor, and then we began the reverse of our trip.

After dropping the newlyweds off at their dinner destination on the way home, we went on further to the resort where Penni had secured the honeymoon suite, to the most beautiful ski resort in Alaska. It did not disappoint! We left there, heading back in to Anchorage and a quick bite of dinner, before hopping back on the planes and heading for home. (FYI...the first picture above is from our trip back to Anchorage that evening.)

The plane ride home was not as long as it seemed on paper, as I left Anchorage just after midnight Saturday. My first stop was Seattle three hours later at 5:00am Seattle time, and 25 minutes later, we began the three and a half hour trip to Houston. Arrival at 12:00 noon Houston time and an hour stop there, we began the last leg of the journey back to Raleigh with a two and a half hour trip, to bring me home at 5:00pm Sunday afternoon! Not bad for a weekend trip to the top of the world and back!

Living the miracle...many, many times during my two-day adventure, was I reminded that I was smack dab in the middle of a big hug from ABBA, just because He knew how much I wanted to be there to witness my young prince take his princess to wed. And, just as obvious to me, was that He gave me that hug through one friend, Juan, and his precious wife, Penni. If that isn't LOVE, GRACE, and MERCY...I don't know what is.

Thank you, forever thank you, Juan, for your generous persistence, and letting my 'sistah mothah' and I have such a memorable surprise adventure together. The things you do for your children...;o) Joyfully.

Appears to be working...PTL! Next up, the weekend of a lifetime!!

Having difficulties...

This is a test, AGAIN, to see if my site is working. I have been blocked from posting and I want to know why.

One thing I discovered is that a church somewhere has the 'every other possible' title of Rivertree taken and perhaps is hoping to get this one, too.

I hope not. This site has been a precious journal of our lives for the past four years. Hope to keep it that way.