Sunday, October 24, 2010

Birthdays, Greek for a Day, and other stuff

October is month of birthdays. We start with mine and move on through the month to the 27th. I have made cakes for each one. Mine was a five layer heart cake that ended up being somewhat lopsided! Rachel let me have a party at her house on Sunday, and we went out to eat on my real birthday, on Wednesday. We ate at my Thai restaurant. I made a second cake that was a party hat, on my actual birthday. Then, the youngest hooper had his second birthday, for which I made Mickey Mouse and a Party Hat. Next on the list was my sister. Her cake was supposed to be in the shape of petals, but you couldn't really see the curves.I made little bumble bees to place all around the 'flower'. They turned out pretty cute. I saw this idea in a magazine, and I wanted to try them: yellow peanut M&M's, tootsie roll, and a clear spice drop.



Amy was next, and I tried to be like the pros on this one and 'cut' the actual shape. I made a four and a zero for her big 40. The four kept falling apart, but it held up long enough to get a good picture. haha It sounds like all the cakes were a flop, but they really turned out okay.
Daddy's birthday was this week, number 89. My niece, Kate, turned 22 on the 27th. She requested a red velvet cake. As a surprise, I made her cake in a Strawberry Shortcake pan. HA! Well, it was the color of Strawberry Shortcake, so.........there ya go! She liked it. There was a lot of detail work on that one. I took the day off on the 26th to be with Daddy and to prepare the big birthday dinner and the cakes. I made Daddy a red velvet cake, also, but I only used white icing. Daddy doesn't like colored icing, so I always leave his plain. We had a double celebration Tuesday night, and we all had a great time.
We have other birthdays this month, too. My cousins Marvin and Mina had their birthdays a day apart, on the 19th and 20th, in two different towns. Mina's is on the same day as my sister in law, Amy's. My young cousin Landon will be 2 on Kate's 22nd birthday. Those two will round out the month.

Also in October, there is a Greek Festival here in Savannah. I like to go just to get some Greek food. I cannot remember the names of all of it, but I like it! This year, I used my cell phone to take some pictures. I usually get there at dark and miss most of the dancing. This year, I got there around 3 and saw some of the dancers. I also went into the Greek Orthodox church and took some pictures.

The Sign



The dancers!





The entrance




The ceiling!




The church




My church does a special series of services in October called "God on Broadway". These services are inspired by the music and themes of famous musicals. This year, we have used South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Big River, and The Music Man. Each service has been very special, and everyone in attendance has been greatly blessed. Next week, we will use Jekyll and Hyde. I am not sure what the service will be like, but I know it will be great. I do know that the choir is singing a song about wearing masks, so I am sure the sermon will be about something like that.
So...there is a list of things that have been going on around here. Lots of stuff is going on at school and elsewhere, but I will leave that for another time. Have a great day!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Lil' Fella

The littlest Hooper had his second birthday this weekend, and it was a fun event. I made two cakes for him: Mickey Mouse and a Party Hat. 3D is awestruck by cakes. He just stares at them and takes them alllll in. He did that with the castle that I made for his big sister, too.






Anyway, the little guy, 3D, alias Lil' Fella, is now TWO! Papa got him a football for his birthday, and that gift was the hit of the day. Lil' Fella did not put it down the rest of the day or night! What a present. Right after he got it, he was supposed to open another present. He very carefully placed the ball right by him. When it rolled off, he got up and slowly and meticulously walked over, picked it up, and put it under his arm...and that is where it stayed! Little Dewey III loves any kind of ball, and he always has one in his hand, but this football was the most special of all. It was so cute to watch him. Then, he "played catch" with a few people, and very carefully watched to make sure that the other person threw it back to him!










As you can see, he held that ball while eating his cake...



while eating ice out of his cup...



and finally as he was saying good bye to everyone from his little chair!!!!



Here are the final pictures of the night...Lil'Fella in his crib making sure his football will be right beside him all night!






Slam dunk, Papa!!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Bali Hai

At my church yesterday, we had the first in a series of church services centered around the theme of Broadway musicals. The series is called "God on Broadway". Yesterday was World Communion Sunday, and the entire service was planned around the play South Pacific. This play was chosen because of the inner running themes of racism and acceptance of those different from ourselves. The musical depicts two different love stories that take place on an island in the South Pacific, during World War II. One story is of a young Marine lieutenant who falls in love with a young Polynesian girl, and the other is of a young Navy nurse who falls in love with a Frenchman who lives on the island. Where does the racism theme come into the story? It is within both of the love stories. The lieutenant is madly in love with the young Polynesian girl, and he enjoys spending time with her, but he cringes at the idea of marrying her. When he later realizes the conflicting feelings within him, he sings a wonderful song called, "You've Got to be Carefully Taught". This song describes the feelings of racism and hate that are not in one's mind initially, as a child, but are placed there by others during one's lifetime. The young nurse exhibits her feelings of racism when she finds out that her Frenchman is a widow, and that his two children were born of a Polynesian woman. The young nurse cannot get past the fact that his children are biracial, and she runs away from the relationship.
Later in the show, the Frenchman and the lieutenant go on a secret mission on another island where they can see the enemy ships coming. In this way, they can help the cause of the United States. Alas, the lieutenant is killed on the mission and does not return to the island. After much sadness and realization of how narrow minded she has been, the nurse goes to the Frenchman's home to help take care of his children. Happily, the Frenchman returns home safely to the arms of his the young nurse and his children. Of course, the young nurse has had time to think about her ugly thoughts of racism, and she is extremely happy to have her Frenchman return to her. Unfortunately, the lieutenant does not return, and the young Polynesian girl is devastated. She must now be married off to some older plantation owner and return to life as usual on the island.
In the sermon for the day, our minister did a wonderful job of bringing in the message from the musical into our everyday lives. He talked about how the song, You've Got to be Carefully Taught, brought up a stir of controversy back in the 1940's, when the musical first came out. Rodgers and Hammerstein were greatly urged to take the song out of the musical. They were told that the show would never be a success with such a theme running through it. The two great musicians left the song in the story, and it is still there today to help teach us how to accept and help each other, rather than reject and tear apart one another.
We opened the service with the song Bali Hai, welcoming everyone to the wonderful island. Of course, that theme was to represent being welcomed into the house of the Lord to feel his wonderful, peaceful presence in our lives.
There is Nothing Like a Dame was sung wonderfully by our men, and they used this song creatively to do our morning announcements! Several guys received "mail", and they read their "letters" to the congregation. Their letters, of course, were our morning announcements, and it was really fun to listen to these guys play it up as though they were reading love letters from home!
The children used their puppet ministry to the song, Happy Talk. The positive message was creatively rendered by these children and they had a lot of fun ministering to us. Another song, Cockeyed Optimist, was presented to us to help remind us all of the importance of taking a positive outlook on life. All of the songs and little scenarios worked together to create a wonderful worship experience, and everyone in attendance was truly blessed. Next week, our service will be around the family in "Fiddler on the Roof". You can join us in the services by going to our church website that I have listed here.

http://asburymemorial.org/

I hope you enjoy the services!