I put the time for this post at the actual time I was born: 4:41 p.m. As the clock turned, I was doing two things I adore: talking with deep, wise, and wonderful women while drinking a pot of tea!
It doesn't get any better than this.
This is my final post to the "Fifty Celebrations to Fifty" blog. It was a wonderful year of joy and laughter with family and friends. I am thankful to God for His wonderful gifts!
See below for a reverse chronological look at my big day!
What a way to end my special day: Teala brought me dinner and we had a late night walk in the hot, sultry night with Tucker! Teala and I are like "Mutt and Jeff" with a 14 inch difference in our statures but hearts beating very close together!
We stayed in the Agatha Christie Room of the Sylvia Beach Hotel. I have always wanted to stay there. So, I booked this room in January, and we got it on our calendars. It was a very special time. This was taken on Debbie's actual 50th birthday. Happy Birthday lifelong friend!
This is the first night of our stay at the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, OR. We planned this months in advance, and it was perfect. We went to dinner at the Table of Contents Restaurant downstairs. It was lovely.
This was supposed to be a 50th birthday cruise for our whole high school class, but everyone dropped out except Beth (Elizabeth), me, and our husbands! LOL!
Here is the whole celebration set: ESHS 50th Birthday Cruise
Lisa and I love High School Musical. So, we had to see Zac in 17 Again!
This was Michael's last state test. Marguerite has been testing him since he was in the 1st grade. This is Michael and Paul's milestone today, but it is also mine. So, I am counting it in my celebrations!!!!
This is my early 50th birthday present; an Amazon Kindle 2!!!!!
Spoke at our service. Celebrating God's Amazing Grace in my life!
04/12/09
I try to see Ester once or twice a month. They are little celebrations of talkingabout God and His word and work in our lives. She is 93 years young!
I love the little celebrations with my family just as much as the big ones. Paul and I have had tea times on and off for years. He is a teenager now and doesn't want his picture taken for our times. LOL!
Kim came to New Life in Jesus in October and gave me the honor of baptizing her!
02/22/09
Terri White used to tell me, "Pray for a selfless man, Carol" when I was single, and God answered my prayer over and above what I would have ever hoped or dreamed for in a husband.
I celebrate my dear husband's 47th birthday. He is kind, gentle, funny, conversational, intellectually stimulating, loves God, loves me, loves our children, and is, oh so, handsome (not to mention TALL!).
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival asked if they could publish one of my pictures! That is reason for celebration!
This was a highlight of the whole year. Julie and I spent four glorious days at the Oregon coast, and the weather was perfect! Julie and I have known each other for twelve years now since we met on the Sonlight Forums Boards! Since then, we have continued an online relationship and met in groups many times over the years. We talked, walked, cried, ate, and had a phenomenal time.
Here is the entire celebration: Julie Comes to Oregon!
I love my oldest boy who is kind, gentle, teachable, faithful, and diligent.
Kim and Rachel are two of my favorite people. Talking with them is real and rich. They love God, their husbands, their families, and their friends. This is celebrating Rachel's 40th birthday at the tea room.
We met each other when I led a Precept Bible Study called "Marriage without Regrets" in 2000. They went on to lead a Precept Bible Study to others. They are dear women and friends.
21st Century style! I blog my time in God's Word everyday and share it with others through the Bible Book Club. My quiet time with the Lord is a celebration every day!
I get away from the hustle and bustle and celebrate solace in the Benton County Public Library Reading Room. It is one of my favorite places to get away and read. I have spent entire days here just reading my Bible or a good book.
Not everyone can celebrate a mother and dad who loved them and loved each other until "death do them part." What a rich example of love I had in my life until I lost my dad in 1985 and mom in 2007. I wear their rings every day to remind me of them and their incredibly happy and FUN union. The single stone is my mom's engagement ring. The multi-stone is a compilation of half the diamonds my dad received in his "year" pins for employment at Rockwell International.
I am celebrating you today, Mom and Dad. Thank you for being in my life.
Life is full of the little celebrations along the way, and I always do a happy dance when I have finished a good classic. I have always wanted to read George Eliot, but I thought that Middlemarch would be too much with my other classical reading goals, but Silas Marner was just right! It gave me a sense of her wonderful style, but it wasn't such a big time commitment. I love it and gave it a ten at book club!
Ginny and Lorraine took me out for an amazing Alf's Hamburger! They have been my mentors since 1997 when I asked to meet with them before I went to Malaysia. We started meeting again after I came back, and I am so grateful and celebrate their input into my life!
