BOY HOWDY, DID IT RAIN ON BRAT!!

Yes, it rained on Brat......like a wedding SHOWER!

And, I went to it.

You wouldn't think driving five hours to the Ft. Worth area

would be that big of a deal for me.

But, you must remember that I am an old woman.

A very, very old woman, and that I made a huge mistake

in my drive north....I drove up I-35.

For you that know me, you know that I.DO.NOT.DRIVE.ON.THE.INTERSTATE.

I found myself 'talking' to the other drivers, using gestures (nothing nasty), and shaking my head most of the time.

It's the semi's.

Oh, yeah, S-E-M-I.'s.

You know the one's I'm talking about...

"Breaker....Breaker....

I'm going to pass you

now that we're approaching a hill"

"Breaker....Breaker....

This is Black Roots; can girls play?"

And, you (that'd be ME) average 40 mph a-l-l-l-l-l-l-l

the way to Euless, Texas.

Oh, my gosh, I wanted to smack someone.

(And, if you drive a semi, love someone that drives a semi, and this offends you,

just play Pass Another Semi on a Hill - you'll feel vindicated)

Okay, enough about me for a moment.

.....The shower for Brat was delightful.

The food looked amazing.

The house was beautiful.

And, it was apparent that all had a fabulous time.

This is the sign that greeted us as we walked up

to the house. When I saw it, I KNEW we were

going to have some fun!

These lovely girls met me at the door.

That's Brat, second from the left - isn't she pretty?

Oh, yeah, here I am trying out some layers

in Photoshop Elements 9 that I've just purchased.

This was an experiment and took me an entire

day, therefore, it's included.

This is a picture of the fruit that was served.

It tasted better than it looks.

THIS is a really good cupcake. Oh, my.





The room was filled with friends, family and

sorority sisters of Brat's.

Will's mom (on the right) came from Ohio

(I know) and though I didn't get but a minute

to talk to her, I hope to get to know her better

at the wedding. Brat says she's delightful.

(Just like my DIL says about me)

"Oh!!" I think Brat just opened

something that really excited

Hostess Heather!





                                                    

It's embarrassing how bad my memory is -

at the shower I introduced myself to the

same woman twice. Yeah.

But, for some reason, I remember who is in

this picture with Will's mom -

it's Jessica (in the middle)

(oh, dear, it could be "Jamie" now that

I'm writing it. SEE?? It's so embarrassing:)

and Will's aunt.

TaDah!!

                                         Now, for gift opening and, though,

I'm really not a selfish person,

I just really want to share the card

and gifts I gave her.

WELL??? It's my blog.

(Oh, hush, I'm just being sarcastic.) 

                                                  Okay, after 45minutes  of trying to get this to right justify, 

I give up and wouldn't ya know,

it right justifies. I can honestly say that I

hate blogger. The envelope I made is above.

This is the back of the envelope.     

                

The card. I loved being back in my studio!

All eyes were on Brat as she opened all of her wonderful gifts!

Brat's shower really did give me the excuse

I needed to clear off a 4" square of work space to make a wall hanging for her and Will.

It wasn't on her registry so I knew I'd surprise her!
This will be so handy on those

away games on the bus.



There's always that one gift

at every shower.....

This also wasn't on her registry,

this canister set, and Brat

was so excited to receive it.

If I could just remember who gifted it.



























Bed Bath and Beyond was a
very successful registry store.
Brat received so many great
gifts from that store.







Isn't this so cool?

I wonder if she'll give it to me

for my birthday?

 

I want to introduce you to an amazing

young lady - Jackie. She was one of

Brat's best friends (and remains so)

in college and was in a horrific

automobile accident that left her

in a coma for a very long time.

She came out of her coma and Brat

and everyone that loved her were

overjoyed! No one knows if she

knows who you are when you talk to

her, but after meeting this amazing

young woman, I know that she does.

Jackie is an honorary bridesmaid in

Brat's wedding and I think that's very

special, just like Jackie.

Y'all know what retail therapy is, right?

After two days in a row on I-35

(I didn't mean to take I-35 home, I just somehow ended up

on it. True story.)

I decided I needed some.

I stopped at my favorite shop in

Llano, Texas, and spent $75.00.

I picked up some wonderful things.

Unfortunately, it didn't help.

*sigh*

But, you know what did make me smile

after two days on I-35?? Coming home to

all of this mail. It's all donations, monetary

and art supplies, for kids that need our

love and something to take their minds

off of their problems - hopefully in JOPLIN.

My other 'little girl', Skyler, and I are 

planning a "mission" trip the first part of

July - God's plan and we're so excited!

And, btw?? I'm still smiling.

And, though it's not my usual sign-off,

I LOVE YOU, BRAT

                MOM2                                      

one more thing - if the pictures aren't spaced correctly with their text, I apologize, but I'm not re-opening this post. it's 8:45 P.M. and I'm pooped! I hope you've enjoyed reading about Brat's lovely shower.

Good Night! lol

OKAY, I PEEKED..................DID I MENTION THAT I HATE BLOGGER??

I NEED SOMEONE TO SMACK.

"Oh, Franki-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e"

A MISSION TRIP TO JOPLIN?? ARE YOU TEASING ME, GOD??

I know God doesn't tease

but, these last couple of months

have been a merry go round,

so for just a moment I cocked my head...

I have spent hours trying to find a woman's
shelter that would allow Skyler
 and myself to come in and

teach some art project
for a couple of days.

Everywhere I turned I was turned down
because we didn't have the
criminal background checks.

I totally understood where
they were coming from

but, it was very frustrating.
(Misunderstanding God IS
frustrating, isn't it!!)

So, I sat back and waited for God to show me

where he wanted us to go.

JOPLIN.

JOPLIN, MISSOURI.

Well, I did't ignore him,

so I called Skyler

and told her the change of plans.

She was excited about going to Joplin

and helping the people that live there

and have found themselves

smack in the middle of Hell.

I was excited, too.

We can be very effective in Joplin.

There is so much to do.

And, even though God changed "our" plans,

we feel we're still able to help

the children.

We are going to hit every

Big Lots, Dollar General store and

the other dollar stores

and I am going to buy every

coloring book and crayola product

I can find.

In our hotel at night

we are going to stamp lunch sacks

with precious stamps

and fill the sacks with

the loot I am able to gather!

We're going to fill hundreds of sacks

(that's my hope)

and find the Salvation Army when

we get there because I've heard that

they are keeping the kids

during the day while their parents

work on putting their lives back together.

Isn't this just the best thing??

God is so good. He knew all along

where he wanted us and we're thrilled

to follow his lead!!

Do you still want to help?

You can send checks or

coloring books, construction paper,

glue sticks, kids scissors,
glitter sticks

and crayola products.

Your help would be such a blessing
And, remember, we're leaving
June 24th!

And, if you've already sent me

tags, don't worry about them being used.

You know what else God have let

me know??

He wants me to volunteer at the

woman's shelter here, in Kerr County.

I can do general work

and I'm hopeful that I can teach

art projects to give the women

a break from worrying about their future.

Isn't that just the best??

I love God!!

So, if you want to help with

our mission trip, send donations to me at:

Jan Vermillion-Thomason

5720 Hwy. 27

Center Point, Texas 78010

Can't help with donations??

We need lots of prayer and that

would be a huge gift.

Thank you, God bless you,
and I think you

are absolutely wonderful!

         Jan