Our crew spent the day yesterday helping prepare for the local pregnancy help center banquet. This is an annual fundraising event for the center who helps women who are in an unexpected pregnancy situation. It is not a welfare program...but what I like to call a hand up program designed to help families reach their potential through love and compassion and learning...not just about parenting but how to be a better person. The small staff...from director on down...are amazing and caring people who I have come to love over the years we have lived in East Texas. I will miss them terribly...as will our entire family. We never had to use their services (we have been blessed while living here) but instead were able to help in our small way to help others through their center.
Each year we have given our day to help them decorate and set tables for this event. We LOVE doing this...it is just a fun day with great people. There are times when I watch the boys working this event and wonder why our house is not spotless! LOL! No... really...they do such a great job...and work together with the center staff...I love to see my boys in action...a proud Momma moment! One of my favorite parts of the day is to come back after we complete the decorating and see it all come together with candles lit and see the sparkle! It is quite breath-taking to know we had a part of the set up! After all, it is often the ambiance that helps set up the effort to raise the money needed to keep the center going another year! It is in that moment that I see that the efforts of all our strengths came together to make it all happen.
It is also interesting that when walking in this morning I thought about it being our last year to help as we move on to San Antonio. However, by the end of the day, the boys were all asking if we could find a way to come back and help next year. Who knows...maybe we could do that after all...who says moving means we cannot continue to help the organization we love so much!
We especially loved getting Zaira ready for the event also. We went to the store in the afternoon and bought her first pair of jeans and cowgirl boots! She was not sure at first but got used to the idea after a little walk around the room. I think she might just be a country girl! LOL!
As for the actual event...well it was an amazing evening!
We started off hearing about the ministry and the blessings of helping not just women but men to reach parenting success. Then about the way grants helped to continue efforts in faith-based initiatives...and then hear about the success of the new ultrasound equipment (half purchased by local funds and remainder donated by Knights of Columbus program). We even heard about the blessing of seeing a set of twins that were saved by the view on this new ultrasound! Praise God for these blessings and more shared last night! Then we had the joy of the guest speaker.
I have been coming to this event for years...love all the speakers who have come in the past...but this year was the best EVER!!!! We were blessed with an evening of humor from Anita Renfro! She is true to form...the woman who is not afraid of saying what we are all thinking! She was so funny and can sing also! I had to take dear Zaira to the back of the room so she would not disturb the others around us with her squealing but it turned out for the best....as Zaira danced herself right to sleep...she literally fell asleep toward the end of the night...in the middle of one of Anita's fast paced songs!
The best part of her talk was that she took the time to make it personal. Maybe a little too personal for some of us...but so funny! She joked about our HUGE balloon decorations hanging from the ceiling...and one our sweet guests...Rachel was teased so kindly because she was a twenty something who could fit into skinny jeans. I spoke to Paula later to see if it was planned...it was not but it could not have been a better situation...as it must have made Rachel...a new mom...feel good knowing that she was envied for her size by Anita! By the way, Anita has nothing to worry about as she looks great in her 'average size jeans'! I love that she ended with a serious song after all our laughter it was good to bring it all back home to share a mother's love for her child...which is what the center is all about...and then the 'Raised You Right' song.
The only bad part of being in the back of the room was not being able to sit with my dinner guests. I would have really enjoyed talking more with Julie (hopefully taking over pro-life activities in East Texas), Vicky and Bill, Steve, and Cynthia. I hope Sean and Henry were able to be good hosts for me!
To make the evening even better...the meal served was great! A little Polynesian flare for our East Texas banquet...a great choice for a fun evening. Zaira especially loved the chocolate cobbler...she tried to lick the bowl clean! She loves chocolate! LOL! If only the tea were a little sweeter! <WINK> [SIDE NOTE: If you wondered about the song she skipped...click on the link...we really missed out with this one!]
Although we could have gone home at the end of the night with all the other guests, we stayed for the long haul...we first met with Anita. She is true to herself and gave time to everyone who wanted to talk to her. The boys were happy to wait their turn so they could tell her how funny she was and how much she spoke of their mom (yikes...do I really say all those things! YEP!!!!) We enjoyed hearing about Anita's love for tamales and the joy she gave to others in the audience.
Then we helped clean up all the decorations...ending with those massive balloons on the ceiling! I know this sounds crazy but it is just as much fun cleaning up after this event as it is setting up! The center staff and volunteers are just that much fun! Have I mentioned that we love these ladies?!?!!? We really do!
Just when we thought we could not have anymore fun for the evening! We were getting into the van and Henry yells, "STOP!!!!!! I need the camera!" He jumped out and took a picture of the building lights and the statue all lit up. THEN...got back in and said he wished we had the tripod so he could get a picture of the moon. LOW AND BEHOLD...we had packed it in the van to go back to San Antonio...and he was able to get an AMAZING moon picture! A fun way to end the evening...we were so wound up that we stayed awake a little longer into the evening and then crashed!
WHAT A GREAT DAY! And so fun to end our official time in East Texas this way! We head back to San Antonio tomorrow! Today we finish packing and cleaning! So, I end with a bitter sweet farewell to Paula and all the ladies...Who knows maybe we will be able to come back next year...so we will not say good-bye just yet! And of course we can always stay in touch! God bless!
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