Garden of Friends

I have spent a large part of today processing last night.

During the months of June, July and August our church holds a once a month Salad Supper for the Women's Ministry.  This is a fun night to get together with other ladies, have a bite to eat, and listen to another woman share about the work that God has done in her life.

This was something I had participated in while attending our church in Fort Worth, Texas. 

When we moved and started attending the church here in North Carolina I knew I wanted to continue the tradition. This is the fourth summer of Salad Suppers at our little round church.

In January I began to pray about who God would have me invite to speak at the Salad Suppers this year. 

It wasn't long after I met TheCarPoolQueen that I began to get a feeling that I needed to ask her to come speak. 

I was nervous about asking her, We had only just met, and although I had read her blog and knew she had a story to share, I didn't know any of the details. But in March, I asked if she'd come tell us her story.

She graciously accepted.

I felt confidant that this was the right thing, but I didn't realize that I was about to witness an answer to prayer in a way that only God can orchestrate. 

Susan did speak last night. She talked about her faith in God in a lesson she entitled: Truth Taught Through Triplet Trials.

I can only say that I wish you had been there as she encouraged us to trust God when it seems that all is lost. To obey Him not only in our actions, but also in our heart. To remember that the desert places in life are not just about us, but about others who might walk the same road in the days to come.  She challenged us to cling to God while in the desert so our experience can someday be used as an encouragement, a deep glass of water to those walking thirsty in a desert of their own.

She didn't sugar coat the things God has used in her life that are hard, but she glorified God in the hard things.

It was just a very good night; in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of it.

Yesterday I read  the 13 verse of chapter eight in the Song of Solomon, and as I thought of the ladies in attendance last night, and as I shared Susan's story with The Mister last night, and again with a friend today, the verse came back to my mind: 

Your companions are fortunate to hear your voice. 

Song of Solmon 8:13 (NLT)

Indeed, we truly are.

Learning Through Laughter and Leisure

I am not a big fan of bathroom humor. 

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not a stick-in-the mud, I enjoy a good joke. I just don't really see anything funny about bodily functions that are better left in the privacy of ones powder room.

However, having preteens in the house, the bathroom humor is often hard to ignore. Although I must say, they are very sensitive to my anti-bathroom-humor ways.

So it was yesterday when the kids asked me to read to them at lunch. We don't do this every day, or even very often, but they asked and I for once, decided to set aside the To-Do List of my day and sat to eat/read with them.

We've slowly been making our way through this bible. It was laying on the counter so I grabbed it. I opened it to where the bookmark was stuffed and read, Chapter 14, Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18 & 19.

This is the story of Abraham who is pleading with God to spare the wicked cities for the good people who may live there.

I had finished my lunch and was anticipating what I needed to get done in the afternoon and in all honesty I wasn't really paying attention to what I was reading out loud. I sort of stumbled on the verbiage, but after about three minutes I began to read this paragraph:

The Lord answered Abraham, "If I find fifty good people in Sodom, then I will spare the whole city for thier sake." Abraham knew there were not fifty people who trusted God in wicked Sodom. He said, "Behold, now, I have taken it upon me to speak unto the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Perhaps there will be five less than fifty righteous....."

This is when The Girl quizzically, gingerly, interrupted, did you just say butt dust?

What??

Butt dust. Did Abraham just say he was butt dust and ashes?

I couldn't figure out what she was saying until I went back and re-read the paragraph. 

Sure enough. I looked up to see the kids trying their best to remain reverent, after all we were reading the Word of God. 

But y'all, it was more than I could handle and I started laughing that belly aching, tear staining uncontrollable laugh that continued on for quite awhile. I diligently tried to read some more, but it was over. I was done and wasn't sure I'd be able to stop laughing. 

The kids laughter didn't help at all. The more they laughed the more I laughed. By the time we stopped we were out of breath and ready to rest.

No. I'm not a fan of bathroom humor, but I am a fan of lighthearted moments shared with my family. I know that I often miss them because I am so intent on getting something done; focused on crossing another To-Do off the list. 

I'm glad that I took the time yesterday to laugh. To make a memory that will forever go down in the La Vida household history. 

And in the future, when we need a laugh in times of hardship, two word will be all it takes to lighten up the mood, and remind of us of our ties within the family:

Butt dust. 

And The Winner Is...

Last week was fun for me! 

I know you are just dying to know who won but I thought I might give you the links to the posts I had pulled my questions from. 

My favorite flavor m&m: Yellow

My favorite NASCAR car: Tampax

My favorite heating blanket: Cookie (having trouble finding this one myself, but that's the answer!)

The tradition I tried to do on my own: Tamale Making. And here was was the fruit of that endeavor. They were terrible, way too salty.

Last but not least the elusive "Action Hero" link. I think I may have led some of you astray! The Mister informed me that Mami, Dora the Explorers mother, is in fact, NOT an action hero. He said action figures are more like people who save others in the face of danger.

I agree. What is more dangerous than parenting a preschooler? Especially if said preschooler is a bilingual traveler who talks to monkeys and backpacks. I'm just sayin'. 

Anywho, the person who answered all the answers correctly was Lauren H.! 

Congrats Lauren! You have won an apron and a pound of my favorite coffee! Email me and let me know your address....I am pretty sure I know who you are, but email me anyway!  ;)

The consolation prize goes to Adrienne for guessing that I was Mrs. Incredible...cuz really that would be fun.

We sort of have the same haircut!

So Adrienne, send me your addy and I'll get some surprise sent to you speedy-quick!

Thanks y'all for playing! It was fun!

(Raising my new blue coffee mug with my initials on it)

Here's to the next four years!

They Say Its My (Blog) Birthday...

....(So around here) It's Your Blog Birthday Too!!

It's going to be a great weekend! 

I was unable to get on the computer yesterday for your fifth and final question. So today I am going to give you a hint, but the question is a two-parter.

Here's the question: Growing up we had a family tradition. Over the years this tradition has NEVER happened without a certain story being told: What is that tradition? Why did I decided to try that tradition on my own?

And the other questions this week were:

What is my favorite flavor m&m?

What is the name of my fave winter heating blanket?

What is my favorite NASCAR car?

Who is my look alike action figure?

Now, if you have had trouble finding the answers to these questions, that's OK! There will still be a consolation prize for those who can make up answers that will make us all laugh.

(But for those of you who found this blog under the R-rated Google search words, you are automatically disqualified. I will not post comments that are inappropriate. Just bein' clear.)

For those of you who know the answer to all six questions (and those who will try to guess), give me your answers in the comments below. I will keep the comments open until 3pm (EST) Monday, July 13. I will then randomly choose a winner for the prize.

Wanna know what you're going to win? Well, you are going to win a La Vida Dulce original apron of your choice, and a pound of the coffee that the H-E-B People say is "close" to the original coffee called La Vida Dulce, the coffee this blog was named after. 

Consolation Prize? Well, that will be a surprise....I'll have to see what I've got around here, but it would be worth commenting because I like to give nice gifts, I'm just sayin'.

Also, you may see that things around here are looking a little different. Jo-Lynne of Musings of a Housewife and DCRDesign, did the green and burgundy design a little over a year ago. She had just started her business and I was one of her first clients. I've loved the work Jo-Lynne did!

This year, Jackie from Our Moments Our Memories opened her blog design business, Memories by Design. I have read Jackie's blog for over a year now and I really wanted to support her new endeavor, as I had Jo-Lynne's when she was a new designer. 

So that's what I did. 

By the time this posts, my new "look" may be visible. I am so pleased with the new design, and Jackie is just great to work with! If you have the desire to get some bloggy style, go check out her design site. (If the new design isn't up yet, please come back soon to check it out!)

I have got to get to swimming Championships this morning, and i'll be there all day. can't wait to get home and see who's dropped by the party!

Disclaimer: Since the choice of apron will be of your choosing, it will not be ready until the first week of September (I am about to be on vacation for a month). You do not have to a blog to win. But you do have to have a valid email address. 

Party Like Its 1999

Y'all, really. Sometimes life is just neat.

This week has been one fun event after the other. 

On Tuesday my cousin Emily and her sweet family came to stay for one night, and it was just fun to have them over. 

It was surreal to see The Girl playing with the baby and realizing that when Emily was born, I was exactly The Girls age. 

Now, here we are... old enough to travel alone, and own homes, and have babies...and what's more, getting the opportunity to share our lives with each other.  Its precious.

Then, last night while I sat in the cool summer breeze with The CarpoolQueen and Whimzie, sipping latte's and receiving sweet Tweets from our Blogger Gals around the country, I just felt happy.

This meeting marked the third time I have had the opportunity to meet someone I have "known" through this blog.

At one moment I was listening to Whimzie's soft southern drawl, and I was overwhelmed with how sweet life can be. 

I am about to say something that may sound like a back-handed compliment: Whimzie is exactly how she sounds on the blog, only better. 

Meeting her in person was a privilege because it completed an already beautifully painted picture. She's wonderful on the blog, but it cannot hold a candle to meeting her "for real". 

I loved hearing about her life, some past and some present. But what was really fun was watching CPQ and Whimz interact with each other, tell stories on each other, and laugh at each other. They've lived some life together and its made them strong women, and abiding friends. 

I was sad that the evening went so quickly. I hope we get to hang out again soon.

However, the party goes on and on here at the La Vida house!  I didn't have the opportunity to post yesterday, so I will give you two question today. An easy question, and a more challenging question:

Easy: What is my favorite NASCAR car?

Hard: Who is my look-alike action figure? (you'll have to go way back in the archives for this one)

Remember, don't answer the question today! Wait until Saturday (July 12th) to give me all five answers to be entered into the Giveaway!

La Vida Dulce!

The Party Is Just Starting

My day is completely crazy today, what with the memorial service and all....

Just kidding. I refuse to play a part in that debacle.

I have enough craziness in life.

Anyway, I am going to be away from the computer today, but I know you are just DYING to know what the La Vida Dulce Birthday Giveaway question is for today. So here you go:

What is the name of my favorite winter (heating) blanket?

Have a great day!

Happy Monday!

Oh the loveliness of holiday weekends! I just hated to see it end.

But here I am on this Monday-ist of Monday mornings.

The good news is that this week is chock full of fun things to come! There will be out of town guests, and dinner with bloggy friends, and a production of the Wizard of Oz (we'll find out which part The Girl gets to play this afternoon). There will be doctors appointments and swim championships, and all the little things in between.

But the Best News of All?

I'm celebrating my Bloggy Birthday this week! 

Next Saturday I will be celebrating 4 years of bloggy success. 

Each day I will be asking a La Vida Dulce trivia question. 

On Saturday, July 12, I will give you a chance to give me the answers to those five questions. You can post the answers to my comments on Saturday and those with five correct answers will be put in a drawing for an original La Vida Dulce Giveaway!

Mondays Question: What is the CoffeeGals favorite flavor m&m? 

(Hint: If you are relatively new to La Vida Dulce you may need to do a search. The search box is up there at the left hand corner...the answer is in one of my Random Polls.)

Remember, don't answer the question today! Wait until Saturday to give me all five answers to be entered into the Giveaway!

However, I don't want you to walk away with having the opportunity to comment...I started this blog to keep up with friends I had moved away from. If you blog, why did you start?

Happy Monday!