Thursday, August 30, 2007

Relief

It's back up...

I feel better now.

I know you were worried...I could visualize you all on your knees travailing for me. Well, it was a nice halucination, anyway.

Glad I got my fix.

TISNF

I'm trying to check blogs before I go to bed. I'm right in the middle of them, and all of a sudden I can't get onto anyone's blogs!!! It lets me go to my dashboard and create a new post, but I can't get my fix!!!

What's an addict to do?

This is so not fair.

Dinner and a Movie

It was actually a movie and then dinner...but, oh well.

We had a couple of gift cards that we had been saving, so this afternoon we went to a matinee (The Nanny Diaries), then to Chili's for dinner. It was nice! I love gift cards!!!

At the movie

Dan and his Diet Coke with Lime

Me...at an angle (thanks, Dan!)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Prayer Request Update

Thank you all for praying for my co-worker's sister, Daisy, in China. I got an update from her today. Daisy is doing well. Evidently, it just appears to be a random theft, not an act of the government against her or her organization. My co-worker said that if it had been the government, there would have been red flags when she went to apply for a replacement passport; and everything there went fine.

She lives on the second or third story of her building, and the intruder got in through the window, so she had bars put on the outside of her apartment windows. She said that the murder rate is extremely low, but the thefts are very high, so it really isn't that unusual to have a break-in, even where she is in her building. It's just very unnerving to be in a foreign country doing something for the Lord in a country that is so against Him.

Thank you for your prayers!!!

A Little Not-So-Secret Secret

One of my favorite times of the day is checking blogs.
You all make me smile.
You all make me cry.
You all make me think.
You all make me think I'm not so crazy after all.
Well, three out of four ain't bad! :)

Love you, my blogging family!!!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Strangely Peaceful

What a week this has been!

Monday-Funeral...nuf said.

Tuesday-Went with my dad to the nursing home to see my Pa. I ended up crying when we left because I didn't expect it to be that hard! I told my dad after we left that I just kept wanting to hear him talk...his mannerisms, his phrasing, his raspy voice...it didn't matter to me that nothing he said made sense or applied to us. He was still there, talking to me even if he didn't know me.

Something is wrong with Rosie...she didn't seem like herself.

Came home and had coffee with some really great people.

Wednesday-Dan lost his job. After initially talking with his boss Saturday after we found out Granny had passed away, Dan had called Sunday and left a message of when the funeral was going to be and when he'd be back. They said they never got the message. He was fired for job abandonment. There are no words...

Rosie is still not well. She has to be in my lap and just lays there. She keeps yelping sparadically. I think she may be having seizures.

Thursday-I am awakened to the continuous, painful yelping of Rosie at 5:17 AM. She finally calmed down a few minutes later. We prayed for her (seriously). This happened a couple more times. Dan took her to the vet later on this morning. Evidently, her shoulder is broken and arthritis has set in. They gave her pain medicine that should help. We have to take her back next week.

I went back to work today. It went well.

To sum it all up: Not the greatest week I've ever had, but I know the Lord is in control, and somehow I feel.....

Strangely Peaceful.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Family Pictures

While my time at home wasn't fun, by any means, we were able to catch up with my dad's side of the family. Here are some pictures. To give you a quick rundown: Colene is my dad's sister, Roscoe is my dad's brother, and Stacy is my sister.
We made it home last night. The funeral was Monday. It went pretty smoothly, although my Pa wasn't able to be there. It was going to be such a long day, the siblings decided to bring him to the family visitation and not bring him to the funeral. That was for the best, really. He did not ever say anything to let us know he understood what was going on. He did not recongnize us as his family. That was hard.
Harder still was trying to honor my Granny by singing at her funeral....don't know what I was thinking.
Tomorrow it's back to work...


Saturday, August 18, 2007

I'm Sad

My Granny passed away this morning.

She's happier now. She is not in pain. She is meeting Jesus face to face. She is seeing her mom, dad, and brother once again, as well as a host of other family members and friends.

Happy for her...sad for me. Sad for us. Sad for my dad and his brother and sister. Sad for my Pa, though I'm not sure if he realizes what's going on.

I'm not sure about the details. I have a feeling the funeral will be Tuesday, but I'll probably know for sure later today or tomorrow.

That's all for now.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Prayer Request

Okay, prayer warriors, here's one for you...

One of the girls I work with asked me today to keep her sister in my prayers. She is in China working with a ministry called Voice of the Martyrs. She is taking Chinese classes as well as teaching English classes, but her ultimate goal is winning souls for the Lord. She works at a little coffee shop across the street from where she lives and takes her laptop to work with her everyday. Everything for her work and personal business was on her laptop. Well, her apartment was broken into and her laptop as well as her passport were stolen. Her laptop is about 10 years old, so it's not going to have a very good street value. Her concern is that they are onto her and what she's doing, and now they have her passport, which could cause major trouble.

So, if you would, join with me in prayer for her. Her name is Daisy.

Thanks.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

I Have to Share this Story....

Okay, I just read kdp's last blog about "They're never too old to be rocked" and it reminded me of something that happened this week. Here goes...

I met up with my friend, Angela, at General Council. I saw her on Thursday, then she was going to sit with us at the service that evening. Angela and her husband have three children, the youngest being about six weeks old. Their older two did not make the trip with them, but she did have the baby, who is precious, by the way. Her name is Kaeli. They also have a hearbeat for missions, so Todd went to the adult service, and Angela went to the youth service. Her brother is the DYD in West Texas, and all the DYD's were carrying various flags. She wanted to get a picture of Chris with his flag, so I offered to hold Kaeli for her while she went. Everything was fine, no problems, then Angela came back and the preaching began.

She thought she should probably go ahead and go feed her so that she would be done by the time the commissioning began, so she'd be able to take more pictures. She left, then came back in plenty of time. Kaeli was in her stroller, happy as a clam, no problems, so Angela went to take pictures as the commissioning began.

We were sitting on the aisle with the stoller at the end by the stairs. When they began asking kids to come down to the front if they wanted to be campus missionaries, the response was unbelievable. Kids just streamed down from everywhere, which was great and all, but as they came down, the stroller kept getting bumped and shaken, and all that. So, I proceded to get Kaeli out of the stoller to hold her, since I could not move the stoller without blocking the aisle.

She was okay for about a minute, then she started crying.

Then it got louder.

And louder.

By this time, most of the kids were already past, so I put her back in the stroller. She was okay for about five minutes, then she started getting fussy again. So I started rolling the stroller back and forth. She calmed down for another five minutes, then began getting fussy again. During this time, my phone went dead, so I couldn't call Angela. I thought, okay, maybe if I walk around with her it will get better.

I got her out of the stoller again and began walking around. Patting, bouncing, patting, bouncing, talking in an extremely calm, low voice, although I was anything but calm inside, patting, bouncing. She's crying louder. People are staring. I start walking a little faster, patting, bouncing, pleading the poor child to calm down. Okay, now she's screaming, and of course, it's when they start praying. Now people are really staring.

Talking, patting, bouncing. "We're gonna find your mama, Kaeli, we are. Everything's fine as soon as we find your mama."

And fast, because now she's starting to suck on her hand, and there's nothing I can do about THAT!

And screaming.

I just bend my head down and put my mouth close to her head, holding her snug, and say,"Kaeli, I'm gonna find your mama, it's okay, baby."

Five seconds later she is fast asleep. Whew!

So, I'm walking back to our seats and all the people that were staring at me with scowls on their faces are now smiling at me with tilted heads saying, "Awww...."

Jerks.

Angela came back, and it turns out Kaeli had a dirty diaper...oops! Missed that one!

So, that was my baby experience for the week. Just thought I'd share.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Wow

It is sad to think that this is our last night in Indianapolis. We have had an absolute blast this week and have gotten to visit with several friends that we look forward to seeing every year with Fine Arts. In some ways, I will be sad to go home, but I am excited about getting back into the blogging groove!

The Lord is doing some incredible things in our lives...(no baby yet, but I know it's on the way soon!)...there are some things that will be happening that I will probably blog about soon, but until then I can't say much about it except for the fact that I'm expecting great things to happen!

Once again this year, North Texas had a great showing at National Fine Arts Festival. I think we came home with seven awards of merit. I think that's right; I'll have to go back and look to be sure. This is my favorite time of the year. I love it.

Well, I better go. It is late, and there are people waiting in line here in the business center to use the computers. Our hotel is the same as DeLana's in that it is $10 a day to have internet access in the rooms. That stinks...

Love Yáll...we'll see you soon!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Vacation...Second Time Around

I am posting from our hotel in Indianapolis!

We got here this afternoon around 2:30 PM. It was a great trip, despite the fact we had to be at the airport by 5:00 AM....yuck!

But, we are here, and having fun so far. Right now is the relaxing time. We have our evaluators' meeting tomorrow night, then Wednesday, bright and early, we begin evaluating. It's a blast. We look forward to this every year!

Well, I better go. I'll try to post again sometime this week, but I'm not sure how much free time we will have after Wednesday...

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Control

And, no, I'm not talking about the old Janet Jackson song.

I'm talking about this thing I've been holding on so tightly to for so long.

Control over how things "look" or "seem" or "appear to be."

Control over what people would "think" if I did this or that.

Control over what "they" would say if I actually did what I felt the Lord leading me to do.

Control over my life, my family, my job.

Why do I hold on so tightly when none of it is mine to begin with?

I feel my grip loosening, but when will I let go completely? I catch glimpses of what the Lord can do when I fully trust in Him. I feel Him ever so gently drawing me out of this place I've become so comfortable in, but when I feel the gentle nudging to do something, when will I be able to immediately stand up and say, "Yes, I'll go!" without first wondering how it will all take place, or what will so-and-so think, or where will the funds come from, or how will we live, or any of the other million questions that make me hesitate?

HHHEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!

Random Question

Have you ever tried to type a blog with a dog-child lying in between you and the laptop because she won't let you out of her sight for fear you'll pack your bags, take her to the "hotel" (aka vet), and be gone for 10 days?

All I can say is that there's not much room anyway between me and the laptop, and my arms will only stretch so far. Either the dog-child has to move or I'll blog another time.

Sorry, Rosie...