I wanted to make something special for Joann, something that Pastor Jim could hold close to him after the friends went home and he was left alone.  I came up with a casket cover that will double as a prayer shawl for our loving Pastor, who is already the one who blesses the knitted and crocheted prayer shawls that one of our women’s ministry team makes.

Unfortunately, Joann didn’t have a casket, so Pr. Jim asked me to drape the quilted prayer shawl over a table in the narthex of our church, and put Joann’s photos on top of it.  I received a number of compliments from attendees of the funeral, the nicest being one from another of our other Pastor’s, who said he’d take one, too.  I told him I’d like a little more time to prepare for his and he said he’d be happy to take it now – he’d just hang onto it until it was needed when he passed away.  He said he loved that “quilty” look and feel of such a piece, and would treasure it always.  Guess I’d better get one made for him, and quick, since he’s the pastor who’s confirming our daughter at the end of April!

Our family, and a lot of others, have lost a loved one.  She’s not a relative, and really not a personal friend – as she’s suffered through a year or so of dementia.  But, our family loved her nonetheless.  My husband has formed a strong relationship with her husband, Pastor Stone, above and beyond their Friday Bible Study sessions at our church.  They had moved away to an assisted living facility and hated it, so we helped them move back and I made a week’s worth of meals for them to heat-n-eat, as well as stocked their cabinets with groceries upon their return to their home in town.

I even invited them to our Easter celebration last week at church, and they were looking forward to it.  We had them out at Thanksgiving and they were so elated to finally have a family event – Mrs. Stone was a nun for 26 years and her husband, a Pastor, for double that time.  And it was their wedding anniversary, so it made the date all the more special.

Mrs. Stone had a brain hemmorage Monday, on her 79th birthday.  She was in a coma by Monday night.  This morning, my husband went to sit with Pr. Stone in the hospital.  He visited with the doctor and we knew, at that time, that Mrs. Stone was moving to her final destination.  

 

Pr. Stone saw her CAT scan, and knew that her time here on earth was coming to a close.  Her brain was indescribable and illegible – full of blood to the point that there was no gray matter left – just blood.

My kids were upset, one even to the point of sobbing.  My husband was, too, after Pr. Jim called him and talked to him just before our Lenten service last night.  We shall hold each other and comfort each other as the days pass.

Please pray with me that Pastor Stone is able to eventually find comfort that his precious love is now in the hands of God our Father, that he finds help for himself, as he’s nearly disabled and needs someone to watch over him and that the rest of us can grieve and offer up prayers of peace for all affected by Mrs. Stone’s passing.

I always feel like my virtual pal Donna when I write about a hotel; but I think it’s necessary to share the good, the bad and the ugly with others about overnight accomodations when a family of six is on an adventure.  We opted not to take the camper, as it’s been sitting idle for the better part of two years, and it was less expensive and time-consuming to hit a hotel than to try to fit repair work into our schedules prior to spring break.

I knew we needed a suite or two connecting rooms, for our family of six, so I started looking at the hotel chains that we’d previously found success with to reserve a room for our family.  The first place didn’t have anything available, within a 100 mile radius of Waco, TX.  I really thought, at that point, we were doomed because I’d waited so long to make reservations. 

The second place was a brand new Holiday Inn & Suites, and although we had one MISERABLE experience with this chain in the past, I was willing to give it a shot because it was new, and because they had what I wanted – a suite that would sleep 7 comfortably AND free wifi.  Luckily, I was not only able to reserve a suite for us, I also got them to get off of the rack rate and give me the discounted rate that I found on the Internet!  Research is ever-so important in these economic times!

My kids?  All they cared about was that there were THREE 27″ flat-screen televisions in the room – AND an indoor swimming pool! 

Upon our arrival, the room was PERFECT.  It had three separate areas – a king-sized bed in one, two queen-sized beds in the other and a living room area with a wet bar (including fridge, so we could just eat out for 1 meal a day) and microwave.  And for my husband, the all-important coffee pot!  Had they asked me about design, I would have suggested two bathrooms instead of one (I can’t imagine living in a house with this many people and just one bathroom) – but, we survived that part – whew!

Unfortunately, the housekeeping sucked.  After our first sleep, NO ONE cleaned our room.  We weren’t going to get excited about the beds not being made – but, the pile of WET TOWELS from 4 kids swimming (2 pool towels each) and 6 people showering (me with 2 towels) made for one huge pile of wet, potentially-mildewing towels that needed immediate attention in the humidity of Texas.  The interesting thing was that our room was RIGHT NEXT to the housekeeping storage room – but, after 5 pm, they didn’t have a single housekeeping person on-staff to help the front desk manager.  huh?  JD took matters into his own hands and just picked up the pile of wet towels and dumped them on the ground, in front of the housekeeping door – then went to the front desk and replenished our bath towels and wash cloths.

But, by the second day, the front desk knew that we were not pleased, so we were sure that the room would get the attention it needed.  As we were leaving for our daily tourist adventures, JD stopped at the room where the housekeeping lady was working, and told her point blank that we were leaving and that our room needed service.  Besides another evening/morning of wet towels, the trash cans were overflowing with our paper plates from our eat-in snacker dinner.  She assured us she’d do our room next.

All seemed fine on our return to the room – until I went to use the bathroom.  She had taken the not-quite-finished roll of toilet paper with her and left not just an empty hanger, but no extra rolls of tissue!  ARGH.  The situation was quickly remedied by the front desk, and we made ourselves at home.

All-in-all, the price was right (less than we’ve paid in the past, for two connecting rooms) and the television and swimming pool made the kids happy.  This mom can remain calm about the rest – because if the kids are pleased, then I’ll be darned if I’ll rain on that parade!