Caroline Friday's Blog, page 865

Rachel's birthday!

Our Rachie is now 17 years old! Can't believe how time flies! She certainly is growing up into a nice, sweet young lady!

Good-bye to Dodga

 I never thought this would happen to the Friday family, but on July 3, 2014, we said goodbye to the cutest, sweetest, funniest, most loving and blessed dog ever!
Dodga was 10 years old and lived life to the full as an alpha male with all his maleness intact. He never wandered nor roamed nor got into too much trouble, and truly was a remarkably well-trained dog. He never chewed up anything and occasionally used my white dining room rug as a toilet!  But I always forgave him!
He even ministered unconditional love to wounded, hurting hearts by staring into one's soul what those big brown eyes of his. Here you can see him acting up by modeling for a dog script I wrote.
There will never be another like him! I do pray there is a doggy heaven, and he is enjoying life there. Bill and I laid hands on him when he was a pup and blessed him in the name of Jesus, and that blessing came to pass. I just wish it had lasted a little longer!
RIP dear friend and sweet boy! You will be sorely missed!

Monthly Movie Review - Delivery Man

 Once again, Vince Vaughn stole my heart with his latest flick, Delivery Man. Several years ago, I publicly confessed I had never been a fan of his until he won me over in The Dilemma. I am convinced he is a genius of an actor who has more than comedy up his acting sleeve. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in character dramas as he matures—just a prediction. And in addition to his acting chops, he is a great screenwriter (The Internship).
Delivery Man is another one of those movies that I breezed past on the Redbox list, thinking it was nothing but banal froth. The subject matter is a little dicey for Christians, but it does make for an interesting storyline. Basically, it is about a down-and-out delivery man, David (Vaughn), who works for his father’s NY deli, struggling to pay off his debts to the local loan shark. He can’t seem to do anything right, including deliver the deli meat on time or fulfill his commitment to his pregnant girlfriend, Emma (Cobie Smulders), who is convinced he will make a horrible father. Just when things can’t seem to get any worse, David is visited by a representative from a sperm bank who informs him that his generous donations years ago were inadvertently used to father over five hundred children! And as can only happen in Hollywood, 150 of those children wish to legally set aside a confidentiality agreement to discover his identity. Wow! Call that a crisis!
At first, David shuns the idea of being found out but eventually warms to the idea of discovering who his “kids” are. This is where the hilarity begins. Ignoring the warnings from his attorney friend, Brett (Chris Pratt), David gives in to the temptation to peek inside a mysterious manila envelope that reveals the identity of his biological children. As is every father’s dream, the first kid is an NBA basketball star which sends David and Brett straight to a basketball game to cheer on his son. Thinking this new found fatherhood might be fun, David pulls out another sheet from the envelope and discovers that life as a parent isn’t always as glorious as basking in the glow of a celebrity child. Some of the children are hooked on drugs, some struggling to jump start a career, some struggling with bullying and abandonment, and others just wanting to be loved.
Soon, David papers his living room wall with the identities of all of his kids and sets out to be a father to them. Shirking his responsibilities at the deli and time with Emma, he spends all of his free time playing a superhero father-figure. For example, he rescues one daughter from a drug overdose, stands in for a son’s coffee shop shift so that he can attend an acting audition, encourages another son who is a street musician struggling to make ends meet—and my favorite—attends his nerd son’s boring tour guides of historical sites. Oh, and one more—loves on a lonely son who lives in an institution due to mental and physical challenges. While Emma and his family are convinced David is an irresponsible loser, these 150 young people are being blessed with the loving kindness of stranger who they do not realize is their biological father.
The drama increases when the kids come together and launch a high-profile court hearing to pressure the sperm bank to reveal David’s true identity. David employs Brett as his attorney who vows to help keep his name a secret, referring to him as “Starbuck.” But by then, David’s love for his kids has taken hold of his heart, and he can’t resist being a part of their lives. He surreptitiously attends one of their group meetings and has to do some serious Vince Vaughn tap dancing to explain how and why he knows so many of them. Nobody puts two and two together until a conversation between David and Brett is overheard by one of the sons, and the cat is out of the bag. From this point on, David does his best to keep his identity a secret for as long as possible, which only makes him appear more irresponsible to Emma and his family. The story builds to a climax between the loan sharks demanding their money, the world discovering the true identity of Starbuck, and Emma giving birth to their baby. It was all very well done!
** SPOILER ALERT **
There were a couple of very tender scenes I’d like to mention. First, there was a very heart-felt conversation between Emma and David early on in the pregnancy, where he convinces her to NOT have an abortion. Even though they got pregnant out of wedlock, a great case was made to bask in the joy of life with a child instead of succumbing to the fear of being a bad parent. Also, there was a nice dinner table scene where Emma learns from David’s family that he is a hopeless romantic, and then finally a very touching scene with his father toward the end of the movie. In this scene, David learns that his dad used his life savings to pay off the loan sharks and his dad learns that David is actually Starbuck. It was very moving—repentance and forgiveness on both sides and an acknowledgement from David’s father that everywhere David goes, people love him. A real clincher of a scene! Isn’t that the most wonderful thing any of us would want for our children – that wherever they go in life, they touch the lives of others with love and they in turn are loved?

Even though Delivery Manis a secular film, it does a very good job of showing (not preaching) the importance of being a present and loving father despite the impracticality of such a notion. And it effectively advocates and promotes marriage and family. While the setting and circumstances are somewhat far-fetched and messy, they are more true to life and relatable to the world than the squeaky clean stories that are common in Christian films. I was very impressed and applaud the filmmakers for an excellent movie! Make sure you see this one and share it with others!

Beautiful Rachel!

Beautiful cheer photos - looking forward to Senior Year!

Competition Cheer Pics

We took our traditional sundress picture of the competition squad this morning and they turned out beautiful, as always! The girls love to show off their red, white, and blue sundresses! They look lovely!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

She's 20 years old today!! Can't believe it! She's such a blessing!!

Graduation!

He did it! Graduated with honors from Walton High, the top high school in the state of Georgia! Very proud! Now off to FSU - first stop London through their first year abroad program. Awesome times!

Walton Varsity Cheer

Already getting ready for another fun season!
Varsity Seniors 2014-2015 Varsity Football Squad 2014 Competition Squad 2014

Graduation Party

We had a nice time at the Kelly house celebrating Braxton, Sam, and Ryan graduating from Walton High. 

Movie Review - The Guilt Trip

For the past several months, I kept stumbling across this little film while perusing the Netflix comedy category, looking for nice, family friendly romcoms. I was convinced a Seth Rogen/Barbra Streisand duo would be nothing short of the typical Hollywood raunch fare that my Christian sensibilities can’t stomach, but was I wrong! The Guilt Trip is a wonderful, warm-hearted, funny film that made me laugh and cry the whole way through. After watching, I posted a quick comment on Facebook and received numerous responses from women my age (mostly moms of teenage sons) who loved it as well. I have put it on my “buy” list to include in my favorite movie stash.
For those of us who have grown sons, a story of a single mom/son road trip has the potential to touch our hearts based on the subject matter alone. However, most of us realize that such a scenario in real life would mean things are very desperate, indeed. I can’t imagine my eighteen-year-old son ever wanting to take a week-long excursion in a small economy car with me in a million years, but as a mama, I think it might be fun!
The same is true for Barbra Streisand’s character, Joyce Brewster. A frugal widow who lives for her only son, Andrew (Seth Rogen), Joyce jumps at the chance to accompany him on a cross country trip to help promote his environmentally friendly cleaning product called Scioclean. With a strange name, poor packaging, and an even poorer sales pitch, Andrew has had zero success in marketing his invention and needs a miracle before his last dollar runs out. Before he embarks on one last sales trip, he makes a quick stop home, only to discover a secret from his mother’s past. Apparently, she had been in love with another man before marrying Andrew’s father. As expected, Andrew is shocked and a little disturbed that his mother named him after this old boyfriend but becomes intrigued when an Internet search reveals he is a successful advertising mogul for a large ad agency in San Francisco. A plan is hatched to capitalize on this fortuitous stroke of luck, and with some subtle maneuvering, Andrew convinces Joyce to join him all the way to the final sales meeting which will end in– you guessed it – the Bay area. Not knowing his ulterior motives, Joyce delights in the idea that her darling son genuinely wants to spend quality time with her.
At first, the movie is a tad slow, and the humor is more Streisand being the stereotypical, over-protective and over-indulgent Jewish mother. I laughed at some of the mom jokes, like her zany books on tape, refilling used plastic water bottles from the tap, and dangling her special purse hook from tables—all of which would mortify my kids if they witnessed me do such things. Like most mothers, Joyce tries to be supportive and encouraging when Andrew’s sales efforts fall flat, but her constructive suggestions backfire and only creative division and strife. About half-way through the movie, they have a big blow up and things get very interesting. Andrew has to rescue her from a group of drunk men in a hotel bar who don’t know the word “no.”
The drama and sweetness of Andrew taking a punch to the nose in an effort to protect his mama’s honor is followed by one of the most hilarious scene in the film, and it takes place in a Texas steakhouse, of all places. Being a Southerner, I was ignorant of the fact that there are many such restaurants in the longhorn state that offer a free dinner and tee shirt to those who can scarf up a 50 ounce steak with all the fixings and keep it down. Again, being the frugal parent, Joyce volunteers and sets out to finish off a loaded baked potato, salad, and big ole whopper of a steak in one sitting. It may not sound funny reading this, but trust me when I say that Streisand’s kooky mannerisms and feminine sensibilities are classic comedy fare, reminding me of some of her best movies like, What’s Up Doc?, The Way We Were, and A Star is Born. Just love me some Barbra!

** SPOILER ALERT **
There are more tender scenes and plenty of laughs, but the ending is what cinched it for me. Andrews goes from being a boring, narrow-minded salesman, to a bold, out-of-the box marketer who (with the help of his dear mother) finds an ingenious way to sell his special cleaner. Joyce, on the other hand, goes from being a devoted mom who lives only for her son, to a newly enlightened woman who decides to give romance with a handsome Texan a chance. As for the old boyfriend in San Francisco, I won’t give anything away, other than to say that there is a nice surprise waiting in the storyline. Great screenwriting that brought a tear to my eye!
But the best scene of all is at the end, in the airport, as they are about to say good-bye. Joyce’s final words to Andrew struck me straight in the core of my heart. As she so aptly concludes, had she ended up with the San Francisco boyfriend, she would’ve never had Andrew, and Andrew is all that matters. She tells him that life for her has always been about him – that he is the love of her life. Oh, what a clincher! Doesn’t the mother in you wanna bawl? Well, I sure did. 

Who can begin to explain the unfathomable love a mother has for her son? How will our children ever understand that what may seem like a sacrifice for their happiness isn't really a sacrifice at all--it is just the natural part pf being a loving parent. This movie captures that wonderful truth beautifully! Sacrifice because of love is the inherent truth of the Gospel message. Let's make sure we pass it on!