Ah, yes, the engagement party - it was just wonderful... it was just precious ... Son did a great job of keeping every detail a secret. What a great surprise it was to Molly!!
It all started when Son bought the ring ... what a beautiful ring. He prayed about it, gave it to the Lord to provide, he spent his inheritance on it. Molly will be proud to wear it. Then when son realized that he wanted his parents there, we started with a plan. About two weeks ago, Molly's mom and I started working on the party. We found the place, talked about the food, she ordered some surprises for the couple, sent out the invites, talked with her friends and we both prayed for no rain. Son took care of what he wanted to do, ordered some flowers, did laundry, and prayed for no rain. He had a plan; we were to tell her that we were to leave a day early (Friday am) due to his father's health and that would open the conversations for him to ask her out on a date since they had no plans. It didn't happen quite like that - while playing cards with them on Thursday pm, we told her we were leaving early, I called her Mom and explained it to her, and then it was up to Shawn. When Shawn ask her on the date, she said no - that she had rather go home to see her Dad, that he was not going to be in town for Easter, and that she wanted to see him. Shawn tried to talk her out of it, but she would not hear of it, so about half way thru the game he went to the bathroom and called her Mom, that things were not going so well and they needed to find a new plan. Molly's mom came up with a plan to kept Molly in town - her Dad may have to go back to the rig because of a problem, and that her sister and friend was coming to town and they could have dinner in the French quarter. Later the sister told Molly that they were running late and to go ahead and go out with Shawn and they would met up later. And the party begins ... so many lies ... but we do confess and get forgiveness later.
It was a big surprise for Molly - Son picked her up and took her to City Park - he already had a friend and her sister hiding, ready for picture taking and filming - he got her some beautiful flowers and a special note was tucked inside, he got down on his knee and asked her, they hugged and walked off into the sunset ... what a beautiful picture it was. He took her blindfolded to Cary Hall on campus where we had the party set up. He marched her in and we, along with about 20 friends waited, and as he took off the scarf we called out surprise!! and she was, so surprised ... and delighted ... it was a great time had by all. We talked, ate, and talked, ate until about 9:30 or so, then we gathered everything up and we went to the hotel and they, along with a number of their friends, went out to talk some more ... we found the hotel with very little help, (yea!) and was in bed by about 11 pm. Husband was so tired, he was out like a light and was asleep in no time.
Some of our thoughts: Molly's sister had to go thru 3 tornadoes to get to the party ... she barely had time to change clothes before the party. Shawn had to use plan B to ask Molly to marry him, it was too windy for plan A. Angie and Haley got here in time for the party... Haley got here the night before (11 pm) and Angie got here Friday at noon - it made the party so fun with a few people we knew. Husband and I got the chance to spend the morning doing a few things we wanted to do. Stayed a few nights at the Guest House ... very nice ... ate breakfast at the Soul Food ... interesting place ... was around the cornor from our hotel. I made the spinach dip; it was great. Molly's mom was great - so well planned ... just wished she would allowed me to do more.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
My Son is in Love .... with Molly
He met Molly back in Jan of 2010. They had a long distance relationship until August of 2010, when he decided to test the waters and move to New Orleans to be with her. Wow, what a decision that was, I drove down with him, he found a place to share with a friend and just rented a bedroom from him. Molly is so nice, so sweet, so in love with my son. She has been to our house several times to visit and now my son is on her turf. I have strange feeling about this, but the more I see them together, the more comfortable I am with them as a couple. Does that make sense?
Out of the blue, my son calls and wanted to know if it was OK for him to marry Molly, did we have any objections - lands no we said. And the plans begins. Molly's parents were in town for a day and we met up for lunch at the Elephant Bar. They are just as nice as she is and they seem to love my son. Wow, what a aha moment. We are planning to offer the money that we inherited from my grandmother to him for the ring. Molly's mom has offered her diamond in her ring for Molly's ring. Isn't that just the sweetest thing? I'm not sure how I feel about that but I think the gesture was nice, real nice.
My husband and I drove to New Orleans to help plan their engagement party. Son has got the ring on order and since we are going to be in town, he wanted to pop the question and surprise her with a party. Susan (Molly's mom, and my new best friend) was on board with it from day one. She called me a few times with ideas; she didn't like mine. She did like that I suggest the foyer when Molly goes to college as a place of interest. Come to find out she did like the idea, so we start the plans. At first she wanted to do a tailgating party at a park, but the park would not let us use electricity after 7 pm so that was out of the question. So to the seminary we will go.
She took care of sending out invitations ( ! )
ordered special M&Ms (some said Molly and Son, April 15, 2011, and other had a small picture of them - way too cute!);
then she ordered 6 bottles of Jones soda (she was a bit surprise that I had not heard of it - she thought everyone knew of that brand of soda - she had their picture on one side and on the other a message from them and us - not so sure that was necessary - cute that is for sure!);
suggestion a food place to order the sandwiches items;
ordered the cake (from a friend's 17 years old daughter - it turned out to be 4 tiers high - beautiful and fun);
order a picnic basket to put some engagement items in;
rented some purple scarfs for the table and silver trays for the food;
brought the tea and water decanter. Now that was what I knew about.
the scarf the my son was to blindfold her was monogramed;
that the picnic basket was monogramed;
that she changed her mind on the small tables (so we did not use the small tableclothes that I bought).
On the table we had: a flower arrangement
a four tier cake
hoagies, cut in 1/2" slices
pinwheels
Spinach dip w/crackers and melba toast chips
Captain Roneys dip
pasta salad
chicken salad sandwich bites
fresh strawberries and dip
quiche
two decantors; with tea and lemon flavored water.
It was a nice spread, real nice, and she had everything under control. Everything. She did not need my help. I tried several times with helping put out the food, but I could tell she wanted to do it, so I let her. Now to the party ...
Out of the blue, my son calls and wanted to know if it was OK for him to marry Molly, did we have any objections - lands no we said. And the plans begins. Molly's parents were in town for a day and we met up for lunch at the Elephant Bar. They are just as nice as she is and they seem to love my son. Wow, what a aha moment. We are planning to offer the money that we inherited from my grandmother to him for the ring. Molly's mom has offered her diamond in her ring for Molly's ring. Isn't that just the sweetest thing? I'm not sure how I feel about that but I think the gesture was nice, real nice.
My husband and I drove to New Orleans to help plan their engagement party. Son has got the ring on order and since we are going to be in town, he wanted to pop the question and surprise her with a party. Susan (Molly's mom, and my new best friend) was on board with it from day one. She called me a few times with ideas; she didn't like mine. She did like that I suggest the foyer when Molly goes to college as a place of interest. Come to find out she did like the idea, so we start the plans. At first she wanted to do a tailgating party at a park, but the park would not let us use electricity after 7 pm so that was out of the question. So to the seminary we will go.
She took care of sending out invitations ( ! )
ordered special M&Ms (some said Molly and Son, April 15, 2011, and other had a small picture of them - way too cute!);
then she ordered 6 bottles of Jones soda (she was a bit surprise that I had not heard of it - she thought everyone knew of that brand of soda - she had their picture on one side and on the other a message from them and us - not so sure that was necessary - cute that is for sure!);
suggestion a food place to order the sandwiches items;
ordered the cake (from a friend's 17 years old daughter - it turned out to be 4 tiers high - beautiful and fun);
order a picnic basket to put some engagement items in;
rented some purple scarfs for the table and silver trays for the food;
brought the tea and water decanter. Now that was what I knew about.
What I didn't know was:
the scarf the my son was to blindfold her was monogramed;
that the picnic basket was monogramed;
that she changed her mind on the small tables (so we did not use the small tableclothes that I bought).
On the table we had: a flower arrangement
a four tier cake
hoagies, cut in 1/2" slices
pinwheels
Spinach dip w/crackers and melba toast chips
Captain Roneys dip
pasta salad
chicken salad sandwich bites
fresh strawberries and dip
quiche
two decantors; with tea and lemon flavored water.
It was a nice spread, real nice, and she had everything under control. Everything. She did not need my help. I tried several times with helping put out the food, but I could tell she wanted to do it, so I let her. Now to the party ...
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
I'm Back ...
Can't believe that it has been so long since I have posted anything. My how time flies!! That is so true. So much has happened ... so much that I feel myself suddenly wanting to write about it.
About how sick my husband has been since October ...
About how my son recently got engaged ...
About how my self esteem is low ...
About how my life is changing and I don't want it to ...
Can I change it? No.
Do I want to change it? Yes and No
So now I will start writing and maybe I can make some sense of everything going on around me.
First: Back in October 2010, my husband was so sickly - I took him to the hospital one Sunday morning, I will always remember the date, October 10, and after a few days of testing, the doctors say that he has NASH - liver failure. My heart dropped. How can this be? How can someone who does not drink, have such a disease? How can someone who lives a good life - who loves God and his family get such a disease? And will my heart stop racing? Just how can this be? I am still asking myself these questions. And I pray - alot.
In November (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving), my husband was referred to a new Doctor - and when we drove up to keep our appointment, again my heart dropped, the building said Transplant Unit. Who was this doctor? We were almost afraid to look at each other, my heart stopped beating ... we spent two hours with this doctor, he was very informative, he was very scary, he was very abrupt. I start to sweat. Fear clutches my heart in a big way. The doctor said to be careful of germs - even a cold will put him in the hospital over night. Be real careful he says, he repeated it twice.
We were both shocked, angry, and emotional. We were so quiet on the way home, what was there to say? I think we both just needed some time to digest what he had to say. I felt that I needed to be alone. Totally alone to pray - for my husband and for me - is that crazy? I have to be strong, for both of us. It is going to be a long journey, and I know that I need Jesus to walk with us - now more than ever. Our journey has been made by many before us - but a scary journey for us is about to start. This doctor gave him a prescription that was $1449. - our part was $100.00 - wow that is a lot of money.
Our son was home for Thanksgiving, I was glad for the distraction. But I tried to talk to him about how sick his Dad was, and all I did was cry. I feel that I must be falling apart. My husband was so sick, I am afraid, I am almost sick. I just wanted to sit and cry - I didn't know what to say, I just felt I needed to be alone. And all these friends and family are here for the holiday and I'm not in the holiday mood. But ... I help with the cooking, decorations, and I smile, I smile again... and my heart is numb. To this day I have no idea what was said. I just sat and enjoyed the moment.
My diet is shot - all I want to do is eat - I have to sit on my hands to not eat - I know now that I have to be strong - and I have to be careful about our diet - not just for my health but for my husband's also. He has to be careful of salt and no process meat. Now our life has changed, our life has changed forever. And that is a long time.
I heard from my little sister during my husband's hospital stay. Haven't actually talked with her on the phone in a couple of years - it was good to hear from her. I wish we were closer - but something happened when my Mom died, I guess I said something wrong, I'm not sure, but grief has a way of making you crazy - I'm sure it was me, I am always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But whatever happened, I wish we would make peace - I love her, and I guess that is why it hurts so much. For awhile I cried about not hearing from her, she would not answer
my calls or my emails. Now she will answer my emails but this was the first call that I have had from her. Why is it that it takes a death, a crisis, for someone to care? Little sister and I were so close at one time, even took a cruise together, now it is as if I am not alive. It hurts, it hurts alot, but what can I do - how do you repair a broken relationship? It was as if I lost not only my Mom but a little sister also. My heart is still sore from that hurt, but it is broken now that my husband is so sick. Why does it always have to be about her?
We went back to the doctor in January - and the doctor explained a bit more about this liver problem. And the numbers are bad. His meld score is 13 - you are put on the transplant list at a score of 15. And my heart dropped ... again. I still asked the same questions, how can this be? But I also know that our faith is strong. We have to believe that ... and we do believe that. I am so thankful that we are both Christians, so thankful ...
We go back to the doctor in late May, I pray, I pray that God's will will be done. What I want does not matter anymore, God is big, God knows what the number will be before we even get to the appointment. But it is still scary, very scary stuff.
About how sick my husband has been since October ...
About how my son recently got engaged ...
About how my self esteem is low ...
About how my life is changing and I don't want it to ...
Can I change it? No.
Do I want to change it? Yes and No
So now I will start writing and maybe I can make some sense of everything going on around me.
First: Back in October 2010, my husband was so sickly - I took him to the hospital one Sunday morning, I will always remember the date, October 10, and after a few days of testing, the doctors say that he has NASH - liver failure. My heart dropped. How can this be? How can someone who does not drink, have such a disease? How can someone who lives a good life - who loves God and his family get such a disease? And will my heart stop racing? Just how can this be? I am still asking myself these questions. And I pray - alot.
In November (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving), my husband was referred to a new Doctor - and when we drove up to keep our appointment, again my heart dropped, the building said Transplant Unit. Who was this doctor? We were almost afraid to look at each other, my heart stopped beating ... we spent two hours with this doctor, he was very informative, he was very scary, he was very abrupt. I start to sweat. Fear clutches my heart in a big way. The doctor said to be careful of germs - even a cold will put him in the hospital over night. Be real careful he says, he repeated it twice.
We were both shocked, angry, and emotional. We were so quiet on the way home, what was there to say? I think we both just needed some time to digest what he had to say. I felt that I needed to be alone. Totally alone to pray - for my husband and for me - is that crazy? I have to be strong, for both of us. It is going to be a long journey, and I know that I need Jesus to walk with us - now more than ever. Our journey has been made by many before us - but a scary journey for us is about to start. This doctor gave him a prescription that was $1449. - our part was $100.00 - wow that is a lot of money.
Our son was home for Thanksgiving, I was glad for the distraction. But I tried to talk to him about how sick his Dad was, and all I did was cry. I feel that I must be falling apart. My husband was so sick, I am afraid, I am almost sick. I just wanted to sit and cry - I didn't know what to say, I just felt I needed to be alone. And all these friends and family are here for the holiday and I'm not in the holiday mood. But ... I help with the cooking, decorations, and I smile, I smile again... and my heart is numb. To this day I have no idea what was said. I just sat and enjoyed the moment.
My diet is shot - all I want to do is eat - I have to sit on my hands to not eat - I know now that I have to be strong - and I have to be careful about our diet - not just for my health but for my husband's also. He has to be careful of salt and no process meat. Now our life has changed, our life has changed forever. And that is a long time.
I heard from my little sister during my husband's hospital stay. Haven't actually talked with her on the phone in a couple of years - it was good to hear from her. I wish we were closer - but something happened when my Mom died, I guess I said something wrong, I'm not sure, but grief has a way of making you crazy - I'm sure it was me, I am always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But whatever happened, I wish we would make peace - I love her, and I guess that is why it hurts so much. For awhile I cried about not hearing from her, she would not answer
my calls or my emails. Now she will answer my emails but this was the first call that I have had from her. Why is it that it takes a death, a crisis, for someone to care? Little sister and I were so close at one time, even took a cruise together, now it is as if I am not alive. It hurts, it hurts alot, but what can I do - how do you repair a broken relationship? It was as if I lost not only my Mom but a little sister also. My heart is still sore from that hurt, but it is broken now that my husband is so sick. Why does it always have to be about her?
We went back to the doctor in January - and the doctor explained a bit more about this liver problem. And the numbers are bad. His meld score is 13 - you are put on the transplant list at a score of 15. And my heart dropped ... again. I still asked the same questions, how can this be? But I also know that our faith is strong. We have to believe that ... and we do believe that. I am so thankful that we are both Christians, so thankful ...
We go back to the doctor in late May, I pray, I pray that God's will will be done. What I want does not matter anymore, God is big, God knows what the number will be before we even get to the appointment. But it is still scary, very scary stuff.
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