Friday Confessions

Last night, I cried.  It was an accumulation of things.  First, it finally became clear that I have so little control over things that I am able to do.  Without going into too much detail, this involves my husband, and while I'm not angry with him, I'm disappointed at some realizations I came to.

Second, I'm worried my son isn't going to go to college.  His grades and GPA are good, but his testing scores aren't great, making college less appealing for him because he doesn't think he can get in.  He can go to junior college and save me a lot of money, but now he thinks he doesn't want to go to college at all - that he wants to learn a trade instead.  There is nothing wrong with learning a trade, but I would like for him to get a degree as well.  It just makes you safer in any job you have if you have a degree.  Please pray that he will make good decisions about his education and will even get accepted at junior college.  They are upping their standards right along with everyone else.

Did you hear that the SAT is going to change back to the way it used to be?  I wish they had changed it already, because I feel strongly that both of my kids would have done well had their test been designed the way it was when I took it, and getting into the college they want wouldn't be an issue.

Third, my daughter is going off to college in five months.  She will be six hours away (one way trip), so she won't get to come home much.  I am going to miss her so much.  I know it's part of growing up, and all of those other "logical" things we say about children leaving home, but my heart is going to have a difficult time.  She has so much going on this summer, too, that I won't see her much.  She is going on a trip with her grandmother and brother, summer youth leadership training, college orientation, welcome week, and a ten day mission trip to a village in Jamaica. (I wrote about that here.)http://www.forgetfulone.com/2014/03/church-mission-trip.html I'm so proud of her, but gosh!  What am I going to do?

All of these things have made me melancholy the last couple of days.  Thanks for reading.  Are you confessing this week?

Church Mission Trip

My daughter has made a commitment to the Lord to attend a mission trip sponsored by our church, New Beginnings.  Some of our youth (and chaperones) will be travelling to Catadupa, Jamaica to build homes, clean community areas, and share the love of God by ministering to the villagers.  It is a very expensive trip, not to mention the other concerns I had before agreeing to let her go, and we need help raising money for our youth to be able to go.

If you find it in your heart to give, please click on this link and you will be taken to a page where you can donate.  No amount is too small.  We also ask for your prayers for our youth and the chaperones as well as the villagers whose lives they will impact.  If you would like to know more about the trip, information can be found here.  Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Progress!

Losing weight is so difficult, as everyone knows.  I checked my progress today, and I have lost 8 pounds since the beginning of the year.  I'm pleased.

Wordless (almost) Wednesday

Real or not?

Lyndon Baines Johnson animatronic.  Here he is giving a speech at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum.
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Valentine Weekend

It all started with this little box of chocolates that a student gave me.  What a great Valentine weekend! Yes, I said weekend! We started Thursday (one day early) with a nice dinner. We always go to our nice dinner on the 13th because restaurants are so crowded on the 14th. We had a great meal at a local Italian place called Franca's, no waiting, very private, and delicious food.

I received a dozen roses and an adorable card from my husband.  Traditionally, we go to Whataburger on Valentine’s Day. This started a couple of years ago. I have no idea why! This year, we broke tradition and went to Jason’s Deli instead (for several reasons)

The fun continued Saturday. We drove to Austin, about 3 ½ hours from here). Our first stop was the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. Unfortunately, nothing was blooming, but we did get to walk some of the nature trails. We stopped at a pizza bistro for a snack then checked in to our hotel.

Saturday evening, we took the Metrorail downtown. We ate a delicious Tex-Mex dinner at Julio’s then walked up and down Sixth Street. Bars lining up both sides of the street for blocks, food trucks, human statues, and so forth.

We stopped at The Driskill hotel for cocktails. Very upscale compared to the little hole-in-the-wall places on Sixth Street. Some trivia I learned after we left … The Driskill is the most haunted hotel in Texas, possibly in the U.S. It is said Colonel Driskill’s ghost walks the hotel and is fond of cigar smoke. There is a little girl who likes to bounce her ball. She hangs out on the stairs or in the second floor bathroom (I was in there!). There are many other stories, but I’ll let you look at the link if you’re interested.

Sunday morning, my husband bought us some breakfast tacos and let me sleep in. How sweet! Then we went to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library at UT. It’s not just a library but a museum with historical information, interactive exhibits, animatronics, recreations of the oval office and Ladybird’s office as well as authentic artifacts from LBJ’s Presidency including his 5,100 pound limousine. It was most enjoyable!

On the way home, we made up for skipping our Valentine’s Day tradition by stopping at Whataburger. What a great weekend!   Hope yours was fabulous, too!