Faith's Rockin' 23rd Birthday

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Faith began planning her 23rd birthday party about 3 months ago! Everyone sort of laughed at that time and tried to tell her she had a ways to go before her birthday. Now, just like that, it's over!  Faith's cake and some of the decorations  She really enjoyed the surprise birthday party we threw for a friend of ours last year at Pizza Ranch, so she decided that's where she wanted her party. When I asked her what she wanted for a theme, she totally surprised me by saying, "Bon Jovi!" (We listen to a lot of Bon Jovi in the van!)  I was all onboard with her Pizza Ranch plan, because that would make things pretty easy for me. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. The only drawback was that we could only get a room that accommodated about 25 people, so this year, we weren't able to invite the whole church and many others. (Faith has a lot of friends!)  The birthday girl!  On the other hand, it worked well to have somewhat of a smaller party as she h...
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Saying Goodbye...Again

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Last month, we had a sad surprise - that Brittnee, a respite care worker who has been with us for a year and a half, was leaving. Once again, it was time to say goodbye to someone who had become like a part of the family. 

It's hard when these respite care girls leave, although it is completely understandable. More often than not, they are college-aged and in serious relationships which lead to engagement and then marriage.

There have been three wonderful girls we have gotten the privilege of knowing through respite care services. And I am continually impressed with their maturity, professionalism and most of all, their great care-taking skills with Faith.

While it is hard for us to see them go, it is great that there is e-mail, Facebook and even Skype so we can keep in touch. With all of today's technology it makes the goodbye seem not so final. So, to our amazing young ladies who we are blessed to know through respite care - we wish you the best in all you do, wherever your journeys take you.

Faith and Brittnee

Comments

  1. Michael De RosaJanuary 4, 2012 at 4:41 AM

    What a lovely post! Saying 'goodbye' is bittersweet because it embraces the joy of building a friendship, while realizing that such a friendship may end one day. Ugh! With almost 30 years as a volunteer in various Nursing Homes, I have said one too many 'goodbyes'. One book that I found helpful in processing all this was 'praying your goodbyes'. I wrote a short post on it and linked it from my site [http://www.passion-4-life.org/praying-our-goodbyes/]. You might be interested in reading it as it seems to echo your sentiments.

    Blessings on your New Year

    Michael

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Faith's Rockin' 23rd Birthday

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Faith began planning her 23rd birthday party about 3 months ago! Everyone sort of laughed at that time and tried to tell her she had a ways to go before her birthday. Now, just like that, it's over!  Faith's cake and some of the decorations  She really enjoyed the surprise birthday party we threw for a friend of ours last year at Pizza Ranch, so she decided that's where she wanted her party. When I asked her what she wanted for a theme, she totally surprised me by saying, "Bon Jovi!" (We listen to a lot of Bon Jovi in the van!)  I was all onboard with her Pizza Ranch plan, because that would make things pretty easy for me. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. The only drawback was that we could only get a room that accommodated about 25 people, so this year, we weren't able to invite the whole church and many others. (Faith has a lot of friends!)  The birthday girl!  On the other hand, it worked well to have somewhat of a smaller party as she h...
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