Periodically I get politically motivated emails. Not too many, because I've requested that they not be sent to me, but once in a while one will come through. I received one the other day that spoke about the state of our economy, the state of our world, and then it proceeded to bash our president for the job he's doing/not doing for the american people. The sender added their two cents and then went on to say that we need to leave a better legacy for our children.
I don't speak of politics much, maybe because I feel like most people who want to discuss them really don't want to discuss them, they want to argue their point. That's fine if you're someone who enjoys getting into that kind of debate, but I'm not. I believe we're all entitled to our opinion, and blessed beyond belief that we live in a country where we get to express our beliefs without being beheaded!
At any rate, the following was my response to this email. And while there's certainly more to how I feel about the legacy I leave to my children, I felt this was all I needed to say...
"I think the greatest legacy we can leave for our children is the ability to be optimistic, grateful and joyful. To realize the importance of living in the now, knowing that tomorrow is not promised and to leave the judging to the powers that be (and by this, I don't mean earthly powers). We need to teach them to be open, willing to listen, to seek the positive in ALL situations and to always check in with their hearts before making choices about anything, not just politics. They need to learn how NOT to buy into the many frenzies the media likes to cause in regards to the state of our country (and everything else they like to bait us with), and most importantly to have faith in people. We humans are nothing if not resilient, and life is much too precious to allow yourself to bask in the negative."
Hope you have a wonderful day, the weather out there is absolutely glorious!
xo,
Carrie
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Blessings in Disguise
I went to my girlfriend's fortieth birthday party last Saturday. This party had been in planning mode for several months and my girlfriend did much of the planning/organizing herself. Friends of hers had offered their home, a beautiful spot that had that renovated old farmhouse kind of feel to it. Next to the house was a long dirt road that led to a huge open field which is where the party was to take place. A live band was booked so alot of time and energy went into making sure they would have power, which they did, thanks to my husband and a few others.
I arrived early with my husband so I could help with the set up process while he played with electricity. There were a few others there helping, as well as my girlfriend herself. We have a big party every October with live music so I understand completely how vital those last couple of hours are before the guests start arriving. I love that time right before the party starts, when you've got a cold drink in your hand, the final touches are being put into place, and you're able to look around and see how all of your hard work has come together... before everything gets trashed!
The set up process on Saturday was more work than most parties I've assisted with as there were alot of trips back and forth from the house, up the dirt road, to the field, down the dirt road and back to the house! It was a hot, muggy day with showers forecasted for some time that evening but everyone was just hoping for the best. Mother Nature is going to do what she wants, when she wants, and that's all there is to that!
The party got started slowly but surely as people trickled in. The band arrived and took what seemed like a very long time to set up (almost two hours). Eventually the big open field didn't seem so open any more as more people arrived, placing their chairs and various belongings on the grass. The caterer arrived as scheduled and food began to be put out on the waiting tables. A few more trips up and down the dirt road as the food in the kitchen was added to what the caterer brought. Let's see...pulled pork, barbequed chicken, beef tips, macaroni and cheese, pasta, salad, cole slaw, potato salad (and more potato salad!), black bean salad, rolls, corn bread and probably something I've forgotten...YUM! Dinner was served!
Everyone was settled, people were eating and drinking and the music began to play. It was official, my girlfriend's celebration was under way! As I looked around at all the smiling faces I felt like the many hours she had spent thinking and stressing and planning and executing, had paid off and I knew she must have been filled with happiness and a sense of pride at that moment, knowing that it all came together so perfectly.
People finished eating and the band was now in full swing. The dancing had begun and the beer was flowing. As I sat chatting with some neighbors I felt a raindrop. No big deal I thought, just a passing shower. A few more, then a few more. No big deal, people are still dancing and noone's going to melt. Then it started to come down a bit harder. Not enough rain to end the party but people were now seeking shelter under the tents which housed the food, or in the wooden gazebo that stood on the grounds, putting on raincoats and holding umbrellas. That's how it went for a bit and then the skies opened up. The band stopped playing and several of us started treking down the dirt path food in hand... Oh crap! Time to move the party indoors.
Some people left, but little by little the kitchen started filling up with bodies. Womens hair-dos, now lay flat and dripping water down the sides of their faces. Soggy desserts were being placed on the kitchen table and the tell tale sign of a rainstorm, muddy footprints, led from the kitchen door across the floor into various rooms of the house. One thing stayed the same though, well maybe two - smiles were still planted on everyone's face, including the birthday girls, and the beer was still flowing!
Pretty soon people had found a place to plant themselves. Whether the kitchen, the play room with their kids, the living room or the outdoor porch, which was protected from the rain by an overhang, everyone seemed settled and happy. Yay! I thought, party...one, rain...zero! Shortly after the move inside I noticed the members of the band were still there. They had decided to set up on the porch and play an acoustic set or two.
The music began, suddenly the porch was overflowing with people and the rain drenched air filled with the sound of voices. Out on that huge field, people had settled into visiting with groups they felt comfortable with, but here, not only were the different groups of people mingling, they were combining their voices in a good old fashioned sing-along!
The rain continued for hours and so did the music and the singing. It was honestly the best time I've had at a party in ages. It reminded me of what my household sounded like as a kid growing up. All of our family parties at some point or another turned into a sing-along, accomanied by an instrument or two, and there's really nothing that brings me the same kind of warm feeling as the intimate sound of voices coming together in such a joyful way.
So the next time life is raining down on you in buckets, whether literally or figuratively, look for the hidden blessings because more often than not, they arrive in disguise.
xo,
Carrie
I arrived early with my husband so I could help with the set up process while he played with electricity. There were a few others there helping, as well as my girlfriend herself. We have a big party every October with live music so I understand completely how vital those last couple of hours are before the guests start arriving. I love that time right before the party starts, when you've got a cold drink in your hand, the final touches are being put into place, and you're able to look around and see how all of your hard work has come together... before everything gets trashed!
The set up process on Saturday was more work than most parties I've assisted with as there were alot of trips back and forth from the house, up the dirt road, to the field, down the dirt road and back to the house! It was a hot, muggy day with showers forecasted for some time that evening but everyone was just hoping for the best. Mother Nature is going to do what she wants, when she wants, and that's all there is to that!
The party got started slowly but surely as people trickled in. The band arrived and took what seemed like a very long time to set up (almost two hours). Eventually the big open field didn't seem so open any more as more people arrived, placing their chairs and various belongings on the grass. The caterer arrived as scheduled and food began to be put out on the waiting tables. A few more trips up and down the dirt road as the food in the kitchen was added to what the caterer brought. Let's see...pulled pork, barbequed chicken, beef tips, macaroni and cheese, pasta, salad, cole slaw, potato salad (and more potato salad!), black bean salad, rolls, corn bread and probably something I've forgotten...YUM! Dinner was served!
Everyone was settled, people were eating and drinking and the music began to play. It was official, my girlfriend's celebration was under way! As I looked around at all the smiling faces I felt like the many hours she had spent thinking and stressing and planning and executing, had paid off and I knew she must have been filled with happiness and a sense of pride at that moment, knowing that it all came together so perfectly.
People finished eating and the band was now in full swing. The dancing had begun and the beer was flowing. As I sat chatting with some neighbors I felt a raindrop. No big deal I thought, just a passing shower. A few more, then a few more. No big deal, people are still dancing and noone's going to melt. Then it started to come down a bit harder. Not enough rain to end the party but people were now seeking shelter under the tents which housed the food, or in the wooden gazebo that stood on the grounds, putting on raincoats and holding umbrellas. That's how it went for a bit and then the skies opened up. The band stopped playing and several of us started treking down the dirt path food in hand... Oh crap! Time to move the party indoors.
Some people left, but little by little the kitchen started filling up with bodies. Womens hair-dos, now lay flat and dripping water down the sides of their faces. Soggy desserts were being placed on the kitchen table and the tell tale sign of a rainstorm, muddy footprints, led from the kitchen door across the floor into various rooms of the house. One thing stayed the same though, well maybe two - smiles were still planted on everyone's face, including the birthday girls, and the beer was still flowing!
Pretty soon people had found a place to plant themselves. Whether the kitchen, the play room with their kids, the living room or the outdoor porch, which was protected from the rain by an overhang, everyone seemed settled and happy. Yay! I thought, party...one, rain...zero! Shortly after the move inside I noticed the members of the band were still there. They had decided to set up on the porch and play an acoustic set or two.
The music began, suddenly the porch was overflowing with people and the rain drenched air filled with the sound of voices. Out on that huge field, people had settled into visiting with groups they felt comfortable with, but here, not only were the different groups of people mingling, they were combining their voices in a good old fashioned sing-along!
The rain continued for hours and so did the music and the singing. It was honestly the best time I've had at a party in ages. It reminded me of what my household sounded like as a kid growing up. All of our family parties at some point or another turned into a sing-along, accomanied by an instrument or two, and there's really nothing that brings me the same kind of warm feeling as the intimate sound of voices coming together in such a joyful way.
So the next time life is raining down on you in buckets, whether literally or figuratively, look for the hidden blessings because more often than not, they arrive in disguise.
xo,
Carrie
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Heaven is for Real
I'm not a big book reader, even magazines I tend to skim through to the parts that look interesting to me and avoid the rest. Reading is something I want to do more of, and tell myself I should do more of, especially since I believe it helps your mind to stay sharp as you age.
A popular book store called Borders is going out of business so I decided to go see if I could find any good deals. As you know, I run a daycare, so I was hoping to stock up on some children's books. As I walked the aisles, I spotted a book that I recognized as one a woman who I went on retreat with last winter was reading at the time, so I picked it up. The title was Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo.
The book is a true story of a little boy named Colton Burpo who came close to death when he suffered a ruptured appendix. He survived, despite the doctor's belief that he would not. And in the months and years to come after his near death experience, he started relaying to his parents where he had been and what he had seen as he lay on the operating table, under sedation, while the surgeon cleaned his abdomen of the poisons that had been leaking into it for five days. The first discovery that something extraordinary had happened to him went like this...
"Sometimes laughter is the only way to process tough times, so as we passed the turnoff, I decided to rib Colton a little. "Hey Colton, if we turn here, we can go back to the hospital," I said. "Do you want to go back to the hospital?" Our preschooler giggled in the dark. "No, Daddy, don't send me! Send Cassie...Cassie can go to the hospital!"
Sitting next to him, his sister laughed. "Nuh-uh! I don't wanna go either!" In the passenger seat, Sonja turned so that she could see our son, whose car seat was parked behind mine. I pictured his blond crew cut and his sky blue eyes shining in the dark. "Do you remember the hospital, Colton?" Sonja said. "Yes, Mommy, I remember," he said. "That's where the angels sang to me." Inside the Expedition, time froze. Sonja and I looked at each other, passing a silent message: Did he just say what I think he said?"
I'm sure there are lots of books out there that depict people's near death experiences, but the fact that this all came from such a young child, for me, makes it all the more fascinating, touching, believable. I read the book in a day and a half and if you, like myself, struggle with doubt when it comes to God and heaven, I would highly recommend this book. I will warn however, that there were a few times when I had to put it down, as it brought me to tears.
I've so desperately wanted to believe that the tears streaming down my Mom's face as she left this earth were tears of joy for the beauty she was entering into rather than tears of sadness for what she was leaving behind. Now I know.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4
xo,
Carrie
A popular book store called Borders is going out of business so I decided to go see if I could find any good deals. As you know, I run a daycare, so I was hoping to stock up on some children's books. As I walked the aisles, I spotted a book that I recognized as one a woman who I went on retreat with last winter was reading at the time, so I picked it up. The title was Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo.
The book is a true story of a little boy named Colton Burpo who came close to death when he suffered a ruptured appendix. He survived, despite the doctor's belief that he would not. And in the months and years to come after his near death experience, he started relaying to his parents where he had been and what he had seen as he lay on the operating table, under sedation, while the surgeon cleaned his abdomen of the poisons that had been leaking into it for five days. The first discovery that something extraordinary had happened to him went like this...
"Sometimes laughter is the only way to process tough times, so as we passed the turnoff, I decided to rib Colton a little. "Hey Colton, if we turn here, we can go back to the hospital," I said. "Do you want to go back to the hospital?" Our preschooler giggled in the dark. "No, Daddy, don't send me! Send Cassie...Cassie can go to the hospital!"
Sitting next to him, his sister laughed. "Nuh-uh! I don't wanna go either!" In the passenger seat, Sonja turned so that she could see our son, whose car seat was parked behind mine. I pictured his blond crew cut and his sky blue eyes shining in the dark. "Do you remember the hospital, Colton?" Sonja said. "Yes, Mommy, I remember," he said. "That's where the angels sang to me." Inside the Expedition, time froze. Sonja and I looked at each other, passing a silent message: Did he just say what I think he said?"
I'm sure there are lots of books out there that depict people's near death experiences, but the fact that this all came from such a young child, for me, makes it all the more fascinating, touching, believable. I read the book in a day and a half and if you, like myself, struggle with doubt when it comes to God and heaven, I would highly recommend this book. I will warn however, that there were a few times when I had to put it down, as it brought me to tears.
I've so desperately wanted to believe that the tears streaming down my Mom's face as she left this earth were tears of joy for the beauty she was entering into rather than tears of sadness for what she was leaving behind. Now I know.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4
xo,
Carrie
Monday, August 1, 2011
Ewwwwwwwwww!!!
Since I've begun on my journey of becoming gluten free and attempting to eat healthier, my home away from home (I'm literally there about five times a week) has become Whole Foods Supermarket. It's made eating this way so much easier and I can honestly say I always love going there as you never know what you'll find in their cases, on the salad bar or on the hot food bar (although the hot food bar is never particularly healthy).
The help is always so friendly at Whole Foods and well, helpful! Honestly, there is not another place I shop where the employees are always so accessible and willing to make sure you are informed and get what you need.
I was there last night and there was a woman at the deli counter ordering meats who had not grabbed a carriage and her hands were full of things. This is a mistake I make often, believing that I'm just running in for one or two things but trust me, just grab a carriage when you go there! Anyway, this woman was being what I would describe as slightly difficult. Oh, who am I kidding? She was a big fat pain in the ass! I was getting annoyed just listening to her but the man behind the counter handled her beautifully. He met every one of her unreasonable requests as she stood and complained and then, without being prompted, he asked if he could go get her a cart! The man behind the deli counter left and went and got this woman a cart!!! I'm telling you, the place is amazing and what I would imagine grocery shopping in heaven would be like. :-)
So as I said, I was there last night just picking up a few things after a long day at the beach. I was tired and hungry as the food options at my friend's cottage were not ones I could eat. I got what I needed and as I was going to check out I remembered my son hadn't eaten dinner so I went to the hot food bar and started loading up my container with some mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, two of his favorites, when I saw it. I had to stare long and hard to make absolutely positive.
My heart began to race as I stood there not knowing what to do. Should I scream? No, I should look for someone to tell quietly so as not to start a riot at the hot foods section in this little slice of heaven of mine! To my horror, I was undeniably watching a COCKROACH run back and forth on the metal part behind the food bins. One big cockroach, then suddenly a very tiny one, and another, and another coming out of where one metal piece connects to another. They'd appear, then go back in.
My eyes were darting back and forth between watching them to make sure they weren't going near the food and trying to find an employee to show my discovery to. Seemed like forever but one finally walked by (an employee, not a cockroach). She must have noticed the desperation in my eyes as I put my arm around her and swept her quickly toward the food bar because she looked a little concerned as she asked what she could do for me. I pointed and whispered, "I think you have a problem". She gasped in horror and said, "Oh my GOD, I'll go get someone right away"! I nodded and walked away as I didn't want to witness what was coming next.
I paid for my groceries and drove home feeling a little sick to my stomach with one thought in mind the whole way...Ewwwwwwwwww!!! And it's still there...Ewwwwwwwwww!!! My bubble is burst. There is no heaven on earth and nothing is ever as it appears. Oh well, a gals got to eat though so I will suck it up, realizing that it's probably more common in the food industry than I'd like to believe and I will be at Whole Foods purchasing lunch stuff today. You can bet it won't be from the hot food bar however!
EWWWWWWWWW!!!
xo,
Carrie
The help is always so friendly at Whole Foods and well, helpful! Honestly, there is not another place I shop where the employees are always so accessible and willing to make sure you are informed and get what you need.
I was there last night and there was a woman at the deli counter ordering meats who had not grabbed a carriage and her hands were full of things. This is a mistake I make often, believing that I'm just running in for one or two things but trust me, just grab a carriage when you go there! Anyway, this woman was being what I would describe as slightly difficult. Oh, who am I kidding? She was a big fat pain in the ass! I was getting annoyed just listening to her but the man behind the counter handled her beautifully. He met every one of her unreasonable requests as she stood and complained and then, without being prompted, he asked if he could go get her a cart! The man behind the deli counter left and went and got this woman a cart!!! I'm telling you, the place is amazing and what I would imagine grocery shopping in heaven would be like. :-)
So as I said, I was there last night just picking up a few things after a long day at the beach. I was tired and hungry as the food options at my friend's cottage were not ones I could eat. I got what I needed and as I was going to check out I remembered my son hadn't eaten dinner so I went to the hot food bar and started loading up my container with some mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, two of his favorites, when I saw it. I had to stare long and hard to make absolutely positive.
My heart began to race as I stood there not knowing what to do. Should I scream? No, I should look for someone to tell quietly so as not to start a riot at the hot foods section in this little slice of heaven of mine! To my horror, I was undeniably watching a COCKROACH run back and forth on the metal part behind the food bins. One big cockroach, then suddenly a very tiny one, and another, and another coming out of where one metal piece connects to another. They'd appear, then go back in.
My eyes were darting back and forth between watching them to make sure they weren't going near the food and trying to find an employee to show my discovery to. Seemed like forever but one finally walked by (an employee, not a cockroach). She must have noticed the desperation in my eyes as I put my arm around her and swept her quickly toward the food bar because she looked a little concerned as she asked what she could do for me. I pointed and whispered, "I think you have a problem". She gasped in horror and said, "Oh my GOD, I'll go get someone right away"! I nodded and walked away as I didn't want to witness what was coming next.
I paid for my groceries and drove home feeling a little sick to my stomach with one thought in mind the whole way...Ewwwwwwwwww!!! And it's still there...Ewwwwwwwwww!!! My bubble is burst. There is no heaven on earth and nothing is ever as it appears. Oh well, a gals got to eat though so I will suck it up, realizing that it's probably more common in the food industry than I'd like to believe and I will be at Whole Foods purchasing lunch stuff today. You can bet it won't be from the hot food bar however!
EWWWWWWWWW!!!
xo,
Carrie
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