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Congratulations, Janice!

Janice won the Halloween costume contest today at The Vistas. When I 
was visiting Mama tonight, we called Janice to ask about her day, 
Janice told Mama the good news, and Mama actually said, 
"Congratulations, Janice!"   It took us both by surprise! Mama is 
really having an alert day!

The plan is coming together

After a whirlwind past couple of weeks getting Janice moved out of Nursecare of Buckhead and into a group home and putting closure on a few projects at work, it's finally time to think about Charles and me and our first vacation in over a year! Praise God for his beautiful timing!

Tomorrow, Germany and Austria, here we come!

No Rinse Shampoo

Fed up with the way my mother's hair has been looking lately at the nursing home, I decided to take matters into my own hands. On a quest for a "shampoo" of sorts that didn't require water, I ventured to CVS today, and lo and behold on the bottom shelf, there it was: No Rinse Shampoo! A little pricey at about 8 bucks a bottle, it still seemed a bargain. No Rinse was so easy to use. The smell was neutral, and Mama's hair turned out beautifully! I'm going to do her hair more often! We listened to Episcopal hymns while I was styling her and had a good ol' time. The best 8 dollars I've spent in a while!

I'm Green!

About a month ago, at the encouragement of my cosmetologist, I started taking Kyo-Green daily - it's powdered  greens that comes in a bottle and is chock full of healthy stuff from both the land and sea. (Sounds yummy, doesn't it?) Elisabeth has talked about it for a long time and, in fact, about 4 years ago I actually bought a bottle, opened it up and thought it smelled too much like hay to even try it. That bottle ended up in the trash, never tasted! Not sure what spurred me on a month ago, except the enthusiasm of Elisabeth! Upon her advice, I mixed it with cold apple juice. Believe it or not, it's tastes refreshing! (Admittedly, I drink it very fast.)

Kyo-Green claims to increase energy and to provide a full serving of greens in just a couple of spoonfuls. Elisabeth calls it "insurance" since most people (me included) don't eat enough green food. So far, I'm convinced! But, ask me in a couple of months when I'm huffing and puffing through the Atlanta half-marathon!

We laugh at Verizon

A phone that will "kill" the iPhone? Ha!
Verizon Unveils iPhone Rival

Mama's Obituary Picture

Funny thing about obituaries is trying to sum up a person's life in 5 or 6 paragraphs. And then, picking out a picture! Some families choose a picture that shows joyful youth; others show accomplishments. There was a recent obituary in the AJC of a man who collected every unusual musical instrument known to man (or not!), and he was photographed with some of the stranger ones. The obit mentioned that the wife patiently accepted her husband's hobby. "Patiently", maybe, with ear plugs! The obituary writers at the AJC write very interesting stories. They focus on the positive aspects of the everyone's life.

I do know one thing: the first obits that I read every day are the ones with pictures! It helps me get to know the person better.

Well, here we are, thinking about Mama's obituary, although physically she is still very healthy and will probably live another 10 years. Kyle wrote it up and we have a couple of pictures to choose from: these show Mama at the very onset of her dementia, when she still had bright eyes and a smile that would light up a room! Here they are. Which do you like better: The one that shows off her pretty new hairdo?

Or, the one with flowers?

A great book!

I just finished a book that I hated to see end: Relationships: A Mess Worth Making by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp. My sister-in-law Ellen recommended it, and she's a smart cookie about books!

The premise of the book, which is grounded in Christianity with lots of Bible scripture to make the points, is that relationships in life are going to be challenging and that it's the challenging relationships that draw us nearer to God. It's not to say that we should go out and seek difficult friendships or kinships; it's rather that we should embrace the challenges that our loved ones and friends pose to us and realize that God is at work in them for our benefit. The benefits are numerous: 1) we are drawn closer to Him amidst relationship difficulties; 2) we become dependent on Him to get us through; 3) we realize that by showing mercy, forgiveness, kindness, hope in a relationship, we have the opportunity to do to others exactly what God has so lovingly done to us. In a very ironic way, I believe God knew that if all our relationships were hunky-dory, we would probably not see so clearly the need for God to reign in our lives.

The book has so much scripture that you could almost consider it a devotional! Every chapter of the book references several verses from the Bible. There are a lot of verses from the Psalms, the Gospels and the Epistles. Ephesians 4 (Be kind-hearted, compassionate, tender-hearted) is a big one, as is Mark 10 (Jesus came to serve, not to be served) and Psalm 121 (The Lord watches over us). But the one verse that best sums up the book is from Matthew 25:40 - Whatsoever you do unto the least of these my brother, you do unto me.

Some may consider the book dark and gloomy. It was a ray of hope for me, however. Not that I have many difficult relationships at all; in fact I'm very lucky to have so many positive connections in life. My husband, my family and my friends are the best. The book has spurred me on to reach out to people in need and to be more of a compassionate and caring person. It taught me that horizontal relationships on earth are one of God's ways of strengthening our vertical relationship with Him. If the relationships get messy, so be it! We get a chance to draw nearer to God, for in our weaknesses, He is strong!