Sunday, February 24, 2013

They're Growing Up So Fast

When I lived in Austin for a couple of years with my sister, I was a nanny for a family that had an 11-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. Welp, now they're 13 and 15 (?!). My how time has flown by. Yesterday morning I was privileged to attend Gaby's bat mitzvah. I've been to one other bat mitzvah, so I sort of  knew what to expect, but it was still a very cool experience. This was the first time I had ever been inside a Jewish temple.

There's a lot of pew (right word?) in this picture
because I was trying to be inconspicuous.
The temple looked a lot like a Christian church, but instead of the cross in the middle of the front, there were the ten commandments and, below that, a sort of alcove which housed the Torah - in this case, a big set of scrolls - which is veiled. [Sidenote: I really like this concept, that the scripture is holy and should be approached with reverence. I think, as a Christian, we tend to be a little too casual with our Bible and what it says.] Also, as I entered, I was handed a Siddur, a Jewish prayer book, comparable to the Christian hymnal.

Before we started, the rabbi said he knew we were a congregation of mixed faiths and assured us that there wasn't anything in the service that we couldn't say and betray our [Christian] faith. Don't mind if I do, Rabbi. We did the "Morning Shabbat" portion of the Siddur. It was a mixture of prayers, chants, congregation participation passages, and songs. I really enjoyed it - it shed a new light on the Old Testament. The portions from the Torah that are not in the Christian Bible were wonderful. They thank God for everything. They thank Him for the ability to discern between dark and light, for the ability to wake up in the morning, for the feeling of our first morning stretch. I love it. Some day I'll get to thank God for more than 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Here's one of my favorite prayers recited:

Praise to you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
Rock of all creation, Righteous One of all generations,
the faithful God whose word is deed, whose every command is just and true.
For the Torah, for the privilege of worship, for the prophets,
and for this Shabbat that You, Adonai our God, have given us
for holiness and rest, for honor and glory: we thank and bless You.
May Your name be blessed for ever by every living being.
Praise to You, Adonai, for the Sabbath and its holiness.

So, the purpose of a bat/bar mitzvah celebration is to welcome a 13-year-old child into the community of Jewish adults and congratulate him/her on accepting the responsibilities of Judaism. In preparation of this, Gaby did a lot of studying and memorizing and learning the prayers, chants and songs. I could tell she had worked really hard on this - she read beautifully. The Rabbi told her that if he ever needed a replacement for a sick day, he would call her. The rest of the service was more focused on Gaby specifically becoming a bat mitzvah. One part of the tradition is for her family to arc around her and give their blessing and encouragement as she recites scripture. Her mom and dad also read prayers for her; her mom's prayer made me cry.

After the sermon there was a luncheon. I got to catch up with Gaby's friend's mom who I really like. We marveled at how fast everyone was growing. Now that I'm a mom, I can really relate. Gaby will be in high school soon, and her brother Ben is already in 10th grade. They were just dorky little kids when I was with them.

Aww man, these pictures make me all sentimental.

In case you were wondering what Russ and Garrett were doing during all of this - Russ had to go to a conference (booo) and Garrett was sick (BOOOOO), so I didn't get to show either of them off. Garrett stayed with Auntie KayLynn, and I think it's safe to say he had a pretty good time!


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Spoiled

Last Thursday, Russ's parents came into town. Their grandparent names are Grandma and Papa, that is until Garrett starts calling them something different. Anywho, the entire time they were here we were SPOILED.  They cooked for us, did dishes for us, babysat for us, bought us dinner, bought Garrett toys and a high chair, and the list goes on and on. It was such a blessing having them here! I don't know what I'm going to do when I'm on my own again?!

Here's a pictorial tour of their visit...

:: Thursday, January 31, 2013 ::
On Thursday, after picking up Grandma and Papa from the airport, we had some play time.
Thursday night, Russ had a dinner for work, so the rest of us stayed home and had enchiladas for dinner. 

:: Friday, February 1, 2013 ::
Friday we ventured out to the local HEB to pick up some snacks and stuff for dinner.

  While we waited for dinner to cook, Garrett played with Papa & Grandma a little more...

...and had some bananas for dinner.
Papa cooked us stuffed shells for dinner! They were delicious, even Garrett thought so.
Garrett refused to go to bed at a reasonable hour that night, so he stayed up and played with Papa and Pup.
:: Saturday, February 2, 2013 ::

Saturday we had to run to Russ's hospital to pick something up, so we took the opportunity to give Grandma a tour.
Proud mama


 The collection of hats that are either retired when folks are finished with chemo, or donated for chemo patients. Russ couldn't remember which. :: The bulletin board of oncology staff.
the San Antonio Military Medical Center chemo infusion room (about 1/4 of it)
The bell that chemo patients get to ring when they are FINISHED with chemo!
Russ's office
Later that afternoon, Grandma and Garrett hung out a little bit more.

Then we headed to Toys 'R' Us to return some things and get...
...a new high chair for Garrett! It's the kind that just straps to a regular kitchen chair (he tried Lucy's at her house and we loved it). He had to try it out with some Cherrios. One almost made it into his mouth.
Papa made Russ's favorite chicken that night with salad and mashed potatoes. Yum.
Papa and Garrett performed some after-dinner music. We followed that up with a lively game of Catch Phrase.
:: Sunday, February 3, 2013 ::
Sunday was a very busy day! Papa and Grandma came with us to Sunday school. Then they went with Russ to the service while I had nursery duty.  Garrett was a very good boy in nursery, he played for a while and then fell asleep in the swing. After church, we went out to lunch with our Sunday school class. Then Garrett and I had a three-hour nap! Sunday night, Russ and I finally got to go see Les Miserables. It was wonderful! Grandma and Papa babysat, and it sounds like the only child who gave them trouble was ... Bernoulli. He went after an opossum in the backyard and could not be coaxed back inside. I'm sure our neighbors love us!

:: Monday, February 4, 2013 ::
Monday was a little more low-key. Grandma, Garrett and I went to the new Trader Joe's to look around. I was very impressed! I expected the prices to be really high, but they were quite reasonable. We came back with many goodies, but my favorite is something I've been craving for some time: chocolate-covered almonds!  Monday evening our neighbors, Sally and Chris, came over for dinner and games. We had gumbo, salad, and "Chocolate Quad" made by Sally. We made it through a few rounds of Bananagrams before Garrett was through with us all, and we called it a night.

:: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 ::
Tuesday we slept late. Russ and Grandma went to see Mission San Jose in the afternoon. Tuesday evening we took some family photos and went to our favorite San Antonio restaurant - Dough. I kind of dreaded taking G to a restaurant, but he did pretty good!

When things got dicey at the restaurant, we whipped out Big Bugs Band on Dad's phone.
After dinner, Grandma and Garrett played a little bit more before he had to go to bed.
:: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 ::
Wednesday morning Garrett, Grandma, and I went to get some breakfast tacos, which were moderately popular. Then we hung out for a while until time to take Grandma and Papa to the airport. :(
Grandma tells Garrett goodbye, and to be good for his parents.
Sad to see them go.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Liebster Award

My sis nominated me for this, and, although it's not so much an award as it is chain blogging, it'll be fun.

The Rules:
Thank the person who nominated you and link your post to their blog.
List 11 facts about yourself then answer the 11 questions given to you.
Create 11 more questions for your 9 nominees, all of whom have 200 or less followers.
Comment on their blogs informing them of their Liebster Award nomination.

11 Facts about Me:
01. I have no tolerance for holey socks. 
02. I am staunchly opposed to blue kitchens, any shade of blue. I think it is most unappetizing.
03. I was not a dog person until I got my dog. And still, I think I'm just a "my-dog-person."
04. I am a tree hugger. I go to ridiculous lengths to recycle and be eco-friendly.
05. I never could've imagined how much I would love Garrett.
06. When I find an article of clothing that I like, I buy 3-4 in different colors.
07. If I had unlimited funds, I would buy some land and build a self-sustaining homestead. 
08. Most every weekday morning, I go to Starbucks and get a tall hot chocolate, non-fat & no whip.
09. I have a strong fear of my teeth breaking, and I dream about it often.
10. Someday I hope to have a completely outfitted wood shop. Maybe I'll even learn to build cabinets? Definitely simple furniture.
11. Too often, I consume copious amounts of sugar and make myself sick.


11 Questions from Julie:
01. What is your favorite part of the day? Night time, usually starting around 8 p.m.
02. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Life
03. Are you named after anyone?
Nope. Mom picked out my first name, and Dad picked out my middle name.
04. What is your dream career? Flipping houses or opening a Home Ec. for grown-ups business
05. Where is your favorite place on earth? My bed
06. What is your least favorite fashion trend right now and why? Leggings as pants. Because, people, they are not pants!
07. Morning person or night owl? Night owl
08. What is your guilty pleasure? Coke
09. Would you like to have lived in any other decade? Nope, I really appreciate modern technology, indoor plumbing, and being equal under the law with men.
10. How did you and your best friend meet? I hate picking best friends ... we'll say she was born into my family. :)
11. What is your most cherished possession? besides my son or my dog? probably my piano.


I'm not doing 11 questions for my nominees because I don't have any nominees - every blogger I follow my sister has already nominated. :)