Saturday With My Sisters~ My CRHP Sisters

“A sister is God’s way of proving He doesn’t want us to walk alone.”

~ Unknown

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This afternoon, I spent a few hours with my CRHP 28 sisters. (CRHP stands for Christ Renews His Parish) These are the ladies from St. Gabriel the Archangel Church that I met at our women’s retreat a couple of years ago. It was a beautiful, powerful, and spiritual weekend with total strangers who became sisters. After our two day retreat, we spent the next six months meeting once a week to plan the retreat for the next group of ladies of CRHP 29. Another wonderful enlightening weekend.

Our group was asked to prepare and provide lunch for the CRHP 33 ladies today. Other groups volunteer to come to provide other meals for the weekend. It was so nice to visit with some of these “sisters” that I don’t get to see too often, maybe a hello or a hug before Sunday Mass, or sometimes just when serving these meals.

Even Father Don stopped by for lunch and a visit.

Here’s a couple of photos of my sweet sisters from other gatherings. We are truly blessed.

Like our biological sisters, we may not see each other often, but we are still true sisters in our hearts.

This is a perfect quote.

Sunday Sermon and CRHP Sisters Singin’ Karaoke

“We hang out, we help one another, we tell one another our worst fears and biggest secrets, and then just like real sisters, we listen and don’t judge.”

– Adriana Trigiani

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The early morning was overcast with helpful clouds, but by 10am, we went from tolerable to oppressive. Welcome to Texas. This morning, greeting before Mass with Jerry and Mary, we gave out a LOT of hugs. It was a huggy kinda morning.

Today’s Gospel according to Luke was about the birth of John the Baptist. Everyone thought that Elizabeth would name her baby Zechariah, after his father. There was no John in the family. All were surprised when even his father wrote on a tablet, “John is his name.” Then the father spoke, his tongue freed, and everyone knew this would be a special blessed child, and they wondered…

“What, then, will this child be?”

For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

The child grew and became strong in spirit,

and he was in the desert until the day

of his manifestation to Israel.

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My take on it… John the Baptist was destined to be a special child and blessing to the world. But, you know what? Don’t we all wonder when we have children, what “this child will be?” Each and every child brought into this world should be given a special name of honor, and be a special blessing. One of my favorite quotes is, “Your perception is your reality.” You are what you believe you are. Perhaps if everyone believed they were special from the start, a gift from God, and was put on this earth to be great, loving and a blessing, then maybe it would be a much better world.

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After church, I made some brownies to take over to our CRHP 28 Sisters luncheon hosted by our sister, Theresa. These lovely ladies and I have shared so much in the past year or so since we first met at our St. Gabriel’s women’s retreat. We try to get together every month or so. Theresa was kind enough to invite us to her home for food, fun and…yes, karaoke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAiYFqyleI4

Sisters that sing together, cling together.

Friday Focus:) Unsung Heroes and Big Sisters

“Sister. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she’s the reason you wish you were an only child.” ― Barbara Alpert

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Yesterday, I wrote my “Open Letter to God” story. I thanked Him for all my blessings and friends and family. I had pictures and quotes, but one person was not mentioned individually, and that was my sister, JoAnn. I saved that for today.

JoAnn is only two years older than me, but has made it her lifelong quest to be my protector, confidante, advocate, sparring partner, worst critic, police patrol, and best friend.

My sister Jo doesn’t like to take pictures, so I don’t have many. She doesn’t like to be in the spot light, but she does so much for others, rarely being thanked or acknowledged. Being sisters, sometimes we fight like cats and dogs. Other times we cry together. Having been the baby of the family, I wouldn’t say I was spoiled, because we didn’t have a lot growing up, but I did get away with quite a bit because I was so darn cute and loveable. (Just my opinion.)

I’m sure she’ll admit that she tends to boss me around and tell me what I should do, but mostly because she wants only the best for me, and she hates to see me get hurt or taken advantage of. If you ever need someone to have your back, JoAnn is the person you’d want there. But, you’d never want to be on her “SH– LIST.”

My sister Jo does a lot for her community and is very active in the city of Elgin. She’s always behind the scenes, helping promote others, donating a lot of time and a lot of money to local charities, and very rarely is recognized for her efforts. I know what she does, and I admire her very much, even if I don’t tell her often enough. So, I’m telling her now. You are my unsung hero.

“JoAnn, you held my hand before I could walk. You held my hand when I was going through hell, and we cried together. We may fight like cats and dogs, and you drive me nuts, and I make you  crazy, but one thing remains constant. You’ve always been there for me, and I’ll always be there for you, and…I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!”

I’m the cute curly one on the left, and JoAnn is on the far right. Our oldest sister Donna is in the middle. Sisters! This is how I remember us.

Saturday:Special Sisters and Such

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James
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Sisters are a special blessing. Growing up, sisters are like friends that sleep over and don’t have to go home before dark. You play school, store, and restaurant, not to mention Monopoly marathons. Well, sometimes it’s like that, sometimes not. But, I remember those things.

If you weren’t blessed with actual blood line sisters, your best friends can become sisters. I’ve been blessed with both. I can’t even count all the wonderful women who have come into my life and I can consider a sister. I would do anything for them and they would do the same.

I had a few “sisters” over last night to see my new house and have a few snacks. I called it “Chocolate and Cheap Wine.” I served my infamous chocolate ice cream Black Russians, brownies, cheap wine, and snacks.

After everyone went home, I just piled the dishes in the sink to soak. This afternoon. Liz and Mandy insisted on coming over to help me clean up and eat up a few left overs. No Black Russians though, it was only noon. Darn!

I love my sisters!!!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom: Your Comfort Zone

“When you stay in your comfort zone and don’t venture out, you don’t get anywhere or experience anything new.” ( or something to that effect.)
~ JoAnn Armenta
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Yes, JoAnn, I quoted you today. JoAnn is my sister, a couple years older and wiser, and full of words of wisdom. I often tell her, “You’re full of it!” Just kidding.

This evening, I was telling her that I had been invited to join a small neighborhood book club, and I wasn’t sure if I should should join. I know all the ladies and I adore them, but, my problem is, I’m not much of a reader. Hmmm…? You are probably wondering how I ever hope to be a world famous novelist and author if I don’t like to read. Good question. Here’s the answer…I won’t!

When Jo mentioned that she regrets staying in her comfort zone and not venturing out, I immediately thought, first of all, that’s a great quote and I’m going to steal it, then I realized that I do the same thing.

After I hung up the phone, I replied to the email that invited me to join the book club with a resounding, “Yes, I’d be honored.” Now, I have to go find the book, “Beautiful Ruins,” by Jess Walter. My library has it on disks, but 11 disks! I’m one of those people that can’t listen to audio books because I can’t sit still, so twelve hours of someone talking at me ain’t gonna work.

So, if you’ve read the book already, let me know if you liked it. (Also, if I could borrow it. Ha, ha!) And, if you didn’t like it, just keep that to yourself. I’m easily desuaded. Thanks!