If You're Going to San Francisco...

We're not, but in honor of our upcoming trip to the Asheville area, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite memories of the "San Francisco of the East". 

Shortly after we were married, Dean and I visited Asheville for the first time.  We were immediately taken aback by the beauty of the area and thought it would be a great place to retire to one day (we know we won't really do that... pastors never actually retire).  We had dinner at what is now our favorite restaurant there, Tupelo Honey Cafe.  After dinner, we walked around the downtown square area.  We found ourselves at the park in the center of town and couldn't help but notice about 30 people in the park with various drums, bongos, djembes, and I'm sure loads of other things that I can't identify.  They were all playing them together.  And there were hippie ribbon dancers (they were dressed like hippies, I'm not saying all ribbon dancers are hippies - but, hey, if the shoe fits...), a few kids and old men doing tai chi, and more than a few people smoking joints.  All in this little park area.  There were a number of people gathered around to watch and we asked a couple standing next to us what was going on.  The response was classic:

"They do this every Friday night.  It's just random people who come out to express the rhythm that's in their soul and with that rhythm we all become one."

You can almost see them becoming one! Right before your very eyes!

A second Asheville anecdote:

When Dean was a youth pastor, we took a few of our older high schoolers on a trip to look at colleges.  Along the way, we stayed the night in Ridgecrest and went to Asheville for dinner.  After dinner, we were walking through the downtown, and of course someone had to use the bathroom.  It was freezing so we all went into a bookstore and took a potty break.  We noticed a sign advertising for a local author that would be reading her book, and it happened to be going on right then.  We walked in just as she was getting to the part that read,

"And then I floated up out of my body and began to observe all that was going on around me..."

Ah, Asheville.  I'm excited to gather more stories.

Do you have any great Asheville stories?  Or just weird stories like that?

One

My baby isn't a baby anymore.  I don't know that I would say that Ty's a toddler since he's not actually "toddling" (just crawling very fast), but he's officially a year old.  Friday was his birthday and I took pictures and reminisced about a year ago.  And I must say, May 27, 2011 was a lot easier than May 27, 2010!  There wasn't nearly the drama that we experienced the day of Tommy's birth, but I don't think giving birth is ever a cakewalk.  Anyway, here are some snippets about my little guy:

- He's incredibly happy.  When he wakes up, he likes to sit and play in his crib and when I walk in, he flashes the biggest smile I've ever seen. 

- He has a deep voice for a baby.

- He's not really into reading, but we're getting there.  One of his favorite books is "Moo, Baa, La La La", and he actually laughs out loud while we're reading it. 

- He'll eat just about anything I put in front of him.  Except grilled eggplant.  And plain cottage cheese.

- Although he's not walking yet, Ty is one of the fastest crawlers I've ever seen.

- Like most babies, he doesn't like to be changed and will kick and scream when you lay him down on his changing table, but if I hand him a book, he immediately calms down and usually starts laughing.

- Whenever Dean and Tommy wrestle, Ty is Hornswoggle

- He doesn't (and really never did) take a paci.  He sucks on his index and middle fingers of his left hand. 

- He's left handed... so far.

- His favorite toy is a whiffle ball.

- He loves to cuddle and play with my hair.

- I love him more than I ever imagined I could!!

Graduation

My baby is now a preschool graduate!  Granted, school's not actually out until next Friday, so he'll be in school tomorrow and all next week, but today was Tommy's graduation ceremony.  Complete with caps and gowns, these little guys had a whole program planned.  Of course as they were filing in, my camera battery died and I had to quick change the batteries.  Then as they were leaving, he paused for a quick picture but my camera apparently ran out of memory at that very moment.  So I have no entrance and exit shots.  But here are some adorable ones anyway.

     

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Tommy and I have been talking about planting a garden for some time now.  While we were planting it, Tommy informed me that he has wanted to plant a garden since he was two.  So my friend Lauren came over with some green onions from her garden for us to plant in ours.  I also added basil, tomatoes, and rosemary.  Yes it's tiny and probably not spaced right, but we're both pumped.  And Tommy insisted on making a scarecrow, so that's what that funny looking thing is behind us. 


Tonight at dinner, Tommy asked when we were going to eat our garden.  Maybe he'll start eating more vegetables now!

Advice for Moms of Little Boys

1. Let them get dirty.  The amount of fun they're having is directly proportional to the amount of dirt that is left on their bodies.  But explain that they won't get clean again without soap.

2. Let them play good guys and bad guys.  Buy them armor and swords (plastic, of course!).  Explain that the good guys always win in the end.  It may seem like the bad guys win but make sure they understand that good ultimately triumphs over evil.

3. Let them watch "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" after they understand good vs. evil.  And let them dress up in said armor while they work to defeat the bad guys.  Explain the biblical parallels.  Especially substitutionary atonement.  They can understand it as portrayed in the movie.

Ms. Jean

We have a sweet little neighbor in our adjacent townhouse, affectionately known as Ms. Jean.  She's an 80-something feisty little lady who can't see much and can hear even less.  She gets her hair done every week and always wears jewelry when she sits in her open garage at the little table and chairs set that her daughter got her.  Every day, she and Ms. Barbara, the lady across the street, sit at that little table for what Dean and I call "happy hour".  Ms. Barbara brings her glass of rose wine and Ms. Jean drinks what I have always thought was a Tervis Tumbler of beer.  But I just found out what it really is.  The doctor said she can have two drinks a day so every day she pours herself two shots of Rebel Yell bourbon.  For some  reason,  knowing that makes me chuckle.

Best Dessert Ever

Not only am I excited about their wedding.  Last night after the rehearsal, Teri and I got to take some contraband home.  This cake is my absolute favorite dessert, hands down.  I think it's the combination of different textures of chocolate and a hint of almond.  This seriously makes my day.  Matthew made a few too many for his rehearsal dinner and before we left (I took a little plate with two pieces on it to save for later), Dean handed me an entire cake plate and said "Here.  Take it to the car!  Run!  Now!"  After Teri and I paused for pictures, we both ran out the door before anyone could stop us.

And I had the most delicious breakfast of chocolate cake today.

Ode to Matthew and Rachel

This is a very special day for us Inserras. Our good friends Matthew and Rachel are getting married. Matthew and Dean have gotten incredibly close over the last four and a half years as he has been Dean's right hand man at City Church (formerly The Well) since the very beginning. As he likes to describe his role, Dean draws the picture by casting the vision and Matthew colors in the lines by making it happen. And in this role, they not only share ministry, but we share our lives together. I absolutely adore Matthew. I love his devotion to Christ and his unwavering loyalty to Dean. I love how he loves my children, even when they're not in the best of moods. And I feel so blessed that I can call him friend. We've named our child after him (Ty's middle name is Matthew) and Dean has received the incredible honor of being his best man.

Before he met Rachel, I remember trying to think of a girl that I thought would be good enough for him. It was a very frustrating task, as I could never find anyone. Thankfully, it wasn't up to me. When I first met Rachel I knew right away she would be perfect. Matthew is one of the most loving people I know and I could tell that Rachel would love him just as much. And I've loved getting to know her! I can't wait to keep living our lives with such a special couple.

So here's to the new Mr. and Mrs. Robinson! As Pink says, raise your glass!