Winter Ski Trips

When asked what memories I have of Carol in January, the first thing I think of is our ski trips.  Carol hated the cold weather.  But, one of her favorite memories of Vestavia High School was a ski trip with Young Life.  So, she was going to make sure our kids had some great memories--they were going skiing!

We did not have much money, so it was a challenge to pull this off.  What the kids probably did not know was that we had to borrow the gear from a bunch of different people.  It would have been impossible for anyone but Carol to keep track of it.  She had a method of making sure everything we borrowed came back.  Carol would take pictures of everything first and inventory the items. 

All of our pictures of our ski trips start with this:

and end with this:

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, Chester spent 2 weeks in a sewer pipe when we were on a vacation in Florida, he earned first class passage on every vacation since.  That complicated travel and accommodations quite a bit!

Thoughts from Leslie & John Brieck

Carol was such a genuine prayer warrior and faithful friend.  I remember when Zach had his 2 foot surgeries, she emailed or called me more than anyone I can think of to ask how she could be praying for him.  This meant so much to me, and it was obvious that she wasn't just asking to be polite, but she really was going to be praying for him - great comfort to know someone was going before the throne on his behalf.  

What a breath of fresh air she was - never a gossip, always positive and always directing thoughts and conversations toward a Christ like mindset.

Leslie & John Brieck

But, I want the blue scarf!

Carol was a wonderful mother. I liked being around her because I could learn things from her to make me a better mom. I loved seeing how intentional she was with the kids and how much she thought of them. The other day I ran across some emails from her from the time when Audrey, Cameron and Sydney were in the Talent Show together in 5th grade. Carol emailed Mrs. Howard and me about a time when the three girls were practicing and there was some disagreement about who would wear what color scarf.  Audrey had to leave for a piano lesson and Cameron and Sydney were left with the decision. They decided Audrey would have the blue one-the color she wanted.  Carol wrote the following note to me:
 
"Cameron and Sydney had gone out of their way to consider Audrey's preference, even when they had full permission from both Audrey and me to not even think about it. What a beautiful example of Phil. 2:3&4. 'Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.' Your girls are awesome! Whether the girls make the cut for the talent show or not, I think this has been a worthwhile, character-building experience for them. I am so grateful to God that Audrey has their friendship!"
 
Carol was always thinking about bigger things--not just the details of the day and all the things that had to be done, and places the kids needed to be. She was thoughtful about life lessons, about friendships, about encouraging other moms, and about ways to encourage character traits in her children. There are not many moms like that. Carol was a real gem!

Love, Kelly Hall

A First Memory from Sherry Harrell

I first met Carol at Peachtree Corners Baptist Church where Elisabeth attended preschool and kindergarten with Adam.  My first memory is of Carol smiling as I relayed to her how much Elisabeth talked about Adam.  I asked if Adam had older sisters, and Carol said he did.  I told her I was not surprised because I was finding that the boys with older sisters were good friends and, in general, kinder to the girls.  She graciously thanked me for speaking highly of him.  Our friendship began there and then.  And, no matter what, whenever I would run into her, she would always ask me about Elisabeth and I would always ask her about Adam.  She was and is such a sweet person!

Below is a picture of Elisabeth and Adam in the front row dressed up for the Hat Parade their kindergarten year.  Elisabeth was sure to position herself next to her friend, Adam...she still remembers this well, as do Carol and I.

Sherry Harrell

Note from the Yeghnazar's

I am so sad to say that as a relatively new PCS parent, I really did not know Carol as well as I now would have liked. I have heard so much wonderful stuff about her that I feel like I really could have learned a lot from her outlook on life and her Godly example.

That being said, I wanted to share just one simple email interaction that I had with her early on in the school year. I think it just sums up what a special person your wife and Mom was and especially how much she loved her kids and cared for all those kids at PCS. A bit of background: I am the prayer rep. in Audrey's class and had just sent out an email to all parents asking for their prayer requests. This is what your sweet Mom wrote:

Hi, Louise!

Thank you for praying for our class and the school.  You’ve got the most important parent job of the class!

Tomorrow when you are walking by the lockers & classrooms, would you please pray for the protection of the zeal & innocence our children have in Christ?  They are such a special group of kids.  I know that God has great plans for them!!

Thanks!

Carol

I'm sure, just like the rest of us, she wrote this on the run with a busy life and a hectic schedule. However, she clearly lived a life of intentionality knowing that Kingdom work is the most important of all.

God bless you all,

Louise Yeghnazar (Grace's Mom - 7th grade)

With love and prayers from David, Grace, Theo, Hope and Beata also)

Good friends...Good times

Looking through my photo album brought back several happy memories of times spent with Carol in high school and college ( we were room mates freshman year at Furman).  Many of the high school memories are of Young Life Campaigners-a small group of girls, many of whom remain friends today, studying the bible together with our fearless leader, Trudy.  

The picture of us in the bathroom was when the bus broke down on a ski trip to Colorado.  We were out in the middle of no where, but made the most of it, playing games, etc. while we waited hours for another bus.  So after being stuck for so long, when we finally got to a fast food restaurant, some of us wanted to wash our hair in the sink and blow it dry (we were teenage girls after all).  We got in trouble with the YL leaders for this.  

The beach picture is also a YL Campaigners trip.  So many good times during those care-free years.  We were a close knit group because of our shared faith in God.  We also went to the beach our senior year after graduation and stayed in 2 condos with a large group of girls- WITHOUT any adults! Now that I have teenagers myself, I can't believe our parents let this happen!  But, hey, we were such good kids that they trusted us. We had a grand time and nobody got hurt or arrested.  

I also have fond memories of our group of friends dancing on New Year's Eve each year in high school with the Sharbel family at a club.  Mr. Sharbel was a wonderful dancer and taught all of us girls how to dance.  We had several adults that invested in the lives of this group of teenage girls, and I am so thankful for that.  

The picture of people in costumes was on Halloween at Furman.  I can't remember what Carol was supposed to be.  She was a wonderful room mate.  She was a social butterfly and I was very shy, so I relied on her a lot to meet people.  I remember a time when we went on a double date, and when the guys asked us, it wasn't clear who was supposed to be which guy's date.  We spent the whole evening trying to figure out who to sit with in the car, at dinner, etc.  I don't think we ever did figure it out!  Those guys are still friends.  I should ask them.

My mother passed away between my freshman and sophomore year in college, and once again Carol was there for me, helping me make it through that year of school.  I have often thought, as we've kept up with each other over the years and spent time together at Furman homecomings, how proud I am of the wonderful mother/wife/friend Carol turned out to be.  I miss her cute laugh a lot, and will always miss her friendship.  Though we yearn for her to still be here with us, I know she is with her Lord, and nothing can be better than that.

Janet Smith Fowler

A thank you note -- from Kay?

We moved into the Sylvester's neighborhood just before my twins were born. Carol called frequently to check on us and right after the twins were born, she delivered a delicious meal. With her beautifully packaged Chicken Piccata dinner, Carol thoughtfully included a pre-written thank you note that read, 

Dear Carol,

Thank you for the meal. It was delicious!

Love, Kay

She had already addressed and put a stamp on the envelope. She made me promise to send the note and know that the thank you was done. This was one of many ways that Carol blessed me with her humor, wisdom and authenticity.

We all miss her!
Kay Lee