Heaven is for Real

This weekend was an amazing break from the parenting world. Carl and I attended the wedding of a dear friend (the other Carl) in a beautiful and romantic setting. We spent Friday morning at Phipp's Conservatory (the orchids and butterfly garden were gorgeous!) followed be a quick and efficient wedding rehearsal at Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh. That evening the rehearsal dinner was relaxed and fun...we stayed at a hotel with a pool...hoping to have a little quiet time to just relax. Too bad the family of 5 (with three rowdy boys) were also trying out the pool at 9:45pm...so off to bed we went! I was hoping to sleep in, but for some reason, the hotel decided 8:00am on a Saturday was the perfect time to mow the grass!

We arrived at the next hotel (the Omni William Penn) in time to get settled and dressed for the wedding. Carl visited with the groom for a while, and then everyone headed to the chapel to get as many photographs as possible pre-wedding. The ceremony was amazing and beautiful and romantic...it is such a delight to attend a wedding where you can literally feel the love between the bride and groom. I was so happy to see two wonderful people so happy together.

Following the ceremony was an extravagant and perfectly planned reception at the Duquesne Club. Cocktails were in the patio space with passed hors devours...delicious! After cocktail hour we were ushered upstairs to a beautiful ballroom. There were 4 courses to our meal, all served in grand style. The food was amazing, the atmosphere delightful...it was just all so romantic with flowers and candles and music...Carl and I had an amazing time...as a couple! I missed Savannah dearly, but it was so nice to be away from the every day stress of cats, puppy, and toddler. When we got home, within the hour I could tell my blood pressure had raised a notch...it's just part of every day life.

Yesterday I began my official "summer hours" at work. I work from home three days a week. I love this. I get time to work in the outdoors on a laptop, see Savannah, and I save on the gas money to Fairmont. It was really nice after being away from Savannah all weekend.

I also have begun (and finished) reading a book called "Heaven is for Real". If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. A wonderfully kind reader of my blog recommended it to me, and I loved every page. It's about a young boy who survived a near death experience, and then described (over several years) all the things he saw when he was in Heaven. The small child (not quite 4 at the time of surgery) even described meeting his sister in Heaven...the child that his mother had miscarried at 2 months along. The little boy had not known of his mother's loss...but yet he met his sister and hugged her. As the boy put it, "God adopted her"...and that gives me hope. It is quite possible that two little angels wait for Carl and I in Heaven.

What really startled me about the book was something Savannah said. She was eating at the table, and I was reading next to her (but not aloud). I was just reading to pass the time while she ate her meal. (She can be such a slow eater sometimes!!) I had just read a few pages where the small boy describes what Jesus looks like. The boy describes the clothes being worn, the crown, and how amazingly pretty Jesus's eyes were. The boy said the eyes were the thing that stood out so much to him - that you could see the love in them. So I read that part, and of course kept on reading. Now during this time of Savannah eating and me reading, she would occasionally say "mommy, mommy!" and I would ask what she needed, attend to her, and then go back to reading. Well, a few pages after this description of Jesus, Savannah said "Mommy, Mommy!" and I asked her what she needed. She looked at me and said "Pretty eyes!"...I didn't know what to think. I certainly hadn't talked to her about eyes any time recently.....but here she was, saying the exact phrase from the book.

Do I believe it was Jesus speaking through my child, putting something in her heart for her to share? It is quite possible. Some doubters might say it was an eerie coincidence. But I don't. I know God is working in my life...I don't know where He will lead me, but I do know that over the past year I have struggled through a lot...but I've grown a lot and become to appreciate things more. I am blessed...and I hope to be able to raise more children...but if I don't, I know I'm doing well teaching Savannah to trust in God.

So a few extra tidbits...I planted some mint in a pot on my back deck last night...it reminds me SO much of my granny! Also, I made some cookies based on a recipe from my granddaddy:

1 box of cake mix, any flavor (I used funfetti, but let your imagine run wild!)
1 egg
2 1/4 cups Cool Whip (almost a whole 8 oz container)

Mix up and spoon cookies onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees from 13-17 minutes, or until golden on top.

Delicious!!