Carl's Thoughtful Gifts

He was a geologist and a scientist his whole life and a very left-brained kind of thinker. But as he got older, he became very affectionate and very very sentimental. In his last three years of life he was extremely that way.

Adrienne and Polly Ann Welder

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Between my sister and I, I think we each missed one Christmas in all the years we were together as a family. So, you know, Christmas has always been a big deal for us. We are always together. I just wanted to honor his death in some way and honor his memory at Christmas this year. Even though he was not there physically, I know that he was there spiritually.

Both my sister and my mother love jewelry—it really was my immediate thought in terms of a gift to them. And I think it’s something that they will always be able to wear, and when they do they can think of him.
 
My mother actually wrote me a thank you card for the gift and said she would be ‘hard-pressed to wear anything else’ after receiving the necklace!

You know, there were tears and lots of hugs and love. It really was such a sweet and emotional reaction. Later in the night, my sister unveiled her gift to my mother, a brand-new stereo system with a record player on it. We ended up spending the rest of the night listening to my dad’s old albums on it and just talking about his life. There were tears, laughs, and a lot of memories but I am glad that we were able to get through it together. It was very special.

I guess the word would be: “lesson”. A real life lesson.

The experience taught me so much about myself and how lucky I had been to be born from parents that had instilled in me the faith, values and discipline that would help me through the saddest and scariest season of my life. Parents that loved me to the point of sending me to safety to another country knowing well that their chances of escaping themselves from the island were very slim. Most important, I also learned, at that young age, the value of freedom, something that many people take for granted. 

I learned that God was truly my rock and my companion and that, feeling Him at my side, I was stronger than I could have ever imagined. That I grew up and matured in the time it takes an airplane to fly from Cuba to Miami. That I (a sheltered and pampered teenager) was able to hold a full-time job and save money, while at the same time still continue my education. That I was extremely grateful that my new-found country was full of generous people and opportunities that allowed me to heal and dream again.

Why Snow In Havana?

Red Magnolia Theatre Company Founders, Paula Shreve (lft) and Michele Taylor Johnson

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There would be no Red Magnolia Theatre Company if it weren't for Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias. I lived in North Carolina many years ago, and while there I played Shelby in Minerva Production's Steel Magnolias in Wilmington, NC. Minerva was an all-female theatre company and my experience with them and that show was so profound it stuck with me, almost twenty years later.  I was sitting at my desk one day, thinking about that show, and decided to see if Minerva Productions was still around.  I found their website and emailed them on a whim, trying to find the contact for Anne O'Shea, the founder of Minerva and also "my M'Lynn" in our production of Steel. She was so excited to reconnect and began giving me advice if I really wanted to start a female theatre company.

I chose the name Red Magnolia as tribute to Steel Magnolias, Minerva Productions, and the "Red" for my hometown of Baton Rouge, the "Red Stick." Also, because I found this quote on the web: Known to be one of the oldest flowering plants, the magnolia represents beauty, strength, and endurance in ever changing times

Our second show will be the one of my heart, Steel Magnolias.  Full circle.  Even crazier, it will be performed on Theatre Baton Rouge's second stage, right where my husband proposed to me and where I met him. 
 
And this will make you go whoa....Jeff (my husband) is from Natchitoches, Louisiana.  He grew up in the actual town "Shelby" (Susan Harling, the playwrights sister) lived, where the movie was filmed, and was himself an extra in the film. He even auditioned for the role of one of Shelby's brothers. It is one of his favorite films. 
 
It seems so many aspects of my life are tied to that play and film.  I would have loved for it to have been our debut production, but we did not have the budget at the time, and we wanted to make sure we did it right.

Steel Magnolias Cast Members, Elizabeth Mathews (lft) and C. Jaye Miller as M'Lynn and Shelby

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Nephrite Jade

Burmese Jade

Graphic Feldspar Jasper

African Green Opal

I am a teacher at Saint Joseph’s Academy and my wife is the principal, so we are both very involved in the school. We were celebrating our 150th anniversary this year. We had some key people, including the chair of the committee, who help put all of the events on and some other people who had just been such a key part of the celebration and had given themselves to a degree that you cannot pay.

I wanted to give a gift, but I did not want to just give something that I could purchase anywhere. I had the idea to give something handmade. I have watched you make jewelry forever, so that was my first idea of something to give.  Additionally, I was fortunate to go a step further and help work on some custom pieces myself. 
 
At school, I created a mold of the school’s shield, which was the main focus of the jewelry. Then we worked together to make sure I was doing everything right and the jewelry would look good.

I think it just being centered around this celebration. This is how I really came to know these people. SJA is a vocation to me. My wife has been there for 23 years, I have been there for 8 years. It is special to us. The shield is the logo of the school so to incorporate that into the jewelry is something I was really excited about doing.

I was absolutely thrilled. I couldn’t wait to give them to my friends and my wife. My wife did not know that I was making a ring for her. She actually did not know that I was making a ring at all, I just told her that I was making cuff links, so she was surprised.

They were floored. I presented to them right before the gala began and they were very touched. I received a lot of secondhand stories of people who were telling me about seeing them and loved it.

Oh absolutely. The older we get, the more similar our tastes become but yes, we borrow each other’s jewelry all the time. In fact she was just fussing at me yesterday because I still have her pearls that I borrowed!

I guess it really signifies everything about our relationship. To me, it shows the comfort level we have with each other. I do feel like a little bit of her is with me when I’m wearing her jewelry.

Probably our relationship. She really is my best friend. My mom is the person I talk to every morning when I am bringing the kids to school and usually in the afternoon. I guess because it was just us two for so long, we have a unique connection.
 
Another favorite thing about my mom is that she is the person that everyone relies on. She is the middle sister in her family and takes care of her own mother. My mom is kind of the person that holds the family together. She is the true matriarch.

Happy Mother’s Day to my rock, best friend, and best Pippy. I love you Mom!

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Tom: Once she got it, she wore it over when we visited them and the girls couldn’t stop admiring it. That gave her the idea at that time to ask if we could come up with something.

Tom: Oh I think they were thrilled! They love their Shoo Shoo and their Shoo Shoo loves them, so they were excited. Shelia loves her grandbabies and I certainly feel that the feeling is mutual. You know, we live far away, we are kinda long-distance grandparents, so we look for the opportunity to get together and do something they will like as much as we can.

Tom: She has dedicated her life to loving, supporting, and guiding her children through life from the time they were born and now in adulthood. She continues that dedication with the next generation as a most beloved “Shoo-Shoo”. I couldn’t be more blessed and thankful for her as wife, mom, and grandmother.

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The Girls in the Dressing Room

We had been talking about it for a while. So he tells me one day, hey, I need you to show up at Magpies (the one downtown) at 8:00 dressed to impress.

Magpie…8:00, dressed to impress….got it! He wasn’t scheduled to come in to town so I thought maybe he has a gift waiting for me? Maybe this is a “we met here, anniversary, surprise date? I don’t know what’s going on. So I show up and he’s waiting there for me.

We had breakfast and I asked him, what are we doing today?  And he said, I really don’t know what we’re doing today. We sit there and had coffee and breakfast and another coffee.

It started with the color.  I had the blue wedding dress already. My love language is gifts so I like gifting people things and wanted to get my bridesmaids earrings that matched the color scheme.

My mother has sacrificed so much for my education and putting up with my tears of loneliness. I really wanted her to have something nice. And I wanted Rick's Mom to feel special and have something nice as well.

I had been looking for months for a blue that I really liked.  And then I saw a child’s bracelet at your stand and I thought oh my gosh that is the perfect blue! And I loved your style. It matched the theme and everything about it was perfect. The color, the style and that’s why I ended up going in the handmade direction. It was unique. I mean you’re not going to find another set of earrings like that.

Amy:
I have a necklace that my mom gave me. The necklace is important to me because my mom gave it to me for my first communion and it’s a locket with a picture of mom. I wear it to have my mom always close to my heart.

Catherine:
I have a ring that I wear everyday, and my mom actually has a matching one. A few years ago, we were on a trip to Italy and on one of the last days we went to the Vatican. There's a gift shop there and anything you buy you can get blessed by the Pope. Every pope designs a line of jewelry and other items to be sold at this store; one of Pope Francis's line is a beautiful rosary ring. It's a ring with 10 notches so you can pray the 10 Hail Mary's from the rosary, and it also has a Tau, which is a favorite symbol of Pope Francis. It also has the word "Humilis" inscribed on the inside, which is Latin for "humble" or "humility." It's my favorite piece of jewelry partly because it's something that my mom and I share, and I think of her every time I see it. It also is one of my favorite reminders of faithfulness holding on to faith and humility no matter what life throws at me.

Best Selling Graduation Gifts

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Elena:
When I was growing up, everyone I knew graduated from 8th grade.  It was a rite of passage.  It was a pretty big deal.  It typically involved a mass, certificates of completion were granted and awards were handed out.  Most followed it with a lunch or dinner with family and friends.  All the 8th graders dressed up in their best dresses for the girls and coat and tie for the boys.  The ‘graduate’ was showered with gifts and money to commemorate the occasion.  In short, it was a big deal for the ‘graduating’ 8th graders before they embarked on their high school career.
 
My youngest child, Amy, is about to ‘graduate’ from 8th grade.  While our school doesn’t do the elaborate ‘graduations’ that I grew up with, I find myself filled with many emotions as I think about her starting high school.  After raising 5 children, I can see the light at the end of the child rearing tunnel.  This is definitely a good thing, but it’s also bittersweet for me when I think about closing this chapter of my life.  
 
When I think about Amy, so often I think about what a sweet and happy little girl she has always been.  For Amy, every day has always been ‘the best day ever!’  When she was a very little girl,  she had some speech/language and developmental delays, but she was still the happiest little girl I’d ever seen. She was always smiling her big beautiful smile.  She is still always smiling (save for a few teenagery moments!).  In addition to those delays, Amy was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that affects her muscle control.