A Flocking Good Time
One of my favorite pictures from the first fundraiser I did with my youth: a flamingo up close
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Graduation presents
Some of my youth are graduating high school this year. I want to get them something small but meaningful. Have any suggestions?
My First Easter as a church worker
This past Easter was my first Easter as a church worker. It certainly was a busy day. We had 3 worship services at St. Luke (8 am, 9:30 am and 11 am) and they seemed to almost run right into each other. As soon as one service was done, we literally had only a few minutes to turn around and get ready for the next service. We had a little drama as well. Normally, we have some sort of multimedia for our worship services. This generally is powerpoint and had the words for the hymns as well as the readings and other things like that. Well, for some reason the powerpoint that was made for the worship services at 8 am and 11 am just wouldn't work. It wouldn't run on the CUP that we have in the worship space it would run on another laptop that we have in the building. We couldn't figure out how to hook up the laptop to the system that we already have in place and we couldn't fix the powerpoint so that it could be used. We just had to go without.
It was such a buzz of activity that I've never seen before. It was crazy how quickly everything happened on Sunday. When the 11 am worship service was over, I felt like I could finally breathe. It took the rest of the day and a few shrimp to come down off my worship high. I actually might still be on a worship high but I don't know. I can't tell.
Happy belated Easter everyone! I hope you got to spend time with your family or with those whom you consider family!
It was such a buzz of activity that I've never seen before. It was crazy how quickly everything happened on Sunday. When the 11 am worship service was over, I felt like I could finally breathe. It took the rest of the day and a few shrimp to come down off my worship high. I actually might still be on a worship high but I don't know. I can't tell.
Happy belated Easter everyone! I hope you got to spend time with your family or with those whom you consider family!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Ross' first Easter
This is Ross' first Easter and in this picture is his first Easter bone. Tomorrow, I'll write about my first Easter as a church worker.
Until then: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Excitement unlike before
There's a real excitement for me this year as Easter approaches tomorrow morning. I'm not really sure what it is or why I haven't felt this excitement about Easter before. It's almost like Christmas as a little kid only on steroids dressed as Richard Simmons. It's bold. It's right in your face. It's honestly making me giddy. If I had to guess, I would say that this excitement is stemming from having my own youth this year.
Easter is so exciting this year! He is almost risen!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday
This is a the finale from the Broadway revival of Godspell. This particular presentation of Christ's passion as always given me chillls. I hope you enjoy it on this Good Friday.
Godspell 2000 Broadway cast - Finale
Godspell 2000 Broadway cast - Finale
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Full Moon effect?
So, today is Maundy Thursday.....I'm thinking that this is roughly the time when church workers start to go a little crazy or start acting silly. At least that's what I think the case is for us at St. Luke. Allow me to give you an example. This morning in the office, Becky and I were having a hard time getting out words that we normally have no trouble with. This landed us in a giggle fit. For some reason, we couldn't get out the words packing tape.....I don't know why that was so tough but it was!
So, I'm wondering if the business of Holy Week plus the crazy weather we've been having has led us to what teachers refer to as the Full Moon Effect. This is when students act a little different (most of the time being silly and hard to focus) right around the time of a full moon. Is this what's happening to us?
So, I'm wondering if the business of Holy Week plus the crazy weather we've been having has led us to what teachers refer to as the Full Moon Effect. This is when students act a little different (most of the time being silly and hard to focus) right around the time of a full moon. Is this what's happening to us?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tornado, tornado go away
So... last night, my area was under a tornado watch....then a tornado warning. As a girl from up North, tornadoes still strike fear into my heart. However, I've gotten better with them since I moved here in September. Before I would just freak out at a watch. Now, I'm calmer during a watch and start to prepare just in case it turns into a warning. Generally, my bathroom gets turned into a bunker with everything that I could possibly need or would be really upset about if it got destroyed. However, last night freaked me out.
We've had a lot of this weather the past couple of weeks. Each time it seems to be worse than the time before. This time, the storm was so bad that I lost power for about two and a half hours. That was the first time that I lost power in my apartment.......and the first time that happens, it scares you. Not only did I have to find candles in my apartment to be able to see where Ross was but there was this annoying beeping that was driving Ross nuts! I thought it was the smoke detector but......it wasn't. It was the security system that's in my apartment. So, I decided that I'd continue to check the weather via my phone and when the coast was clear that I'd relocate to the church. I've been told that the church would most likely have power if I lost power. I got everything together that I could need to crash at the church for the night and loaded it into Ella. Then it dawned on me that Ella was in my garage.......and the power was out......how was I going to get her out so I could drive her to the church? Apparently, there's a rope you can pull on your garage door that will detach it from the motor so you can open it yourself. I got the garage door open and walked back into my apartment to get Ross when......the power came back on!!!! All that work for nothing! I unloaded Ella and crashed on the couch. I thought I was done and that I could finally rest......and the power went off again causing my security system to start beeping again. By this point, I'd had it. It was almost 1 am and I wasn't about to move. When I had the TV on while I had power, they said that the main part of the storm was past us.....translation in my mind: You can go to bed. You'll be fine. I dug out my ipod, dragged Ross into my bedroom, lit another candle so I could see where I was going, and went to bed. Normally, I would care about Ross not being crated during the night. Last night, I didn't care. If he chewed something up, he chewed something up. I was too tired to care. Once in bed, I tried really hard to listen to my ipod and make the beeping sound go away and it worked for a little bit.....until I heard voices.....This meant one of two things:
1. I had gone crazy and I was hearing voices in my head.
2. My power came back and that the voices were really coming from my TV in the living room.
I turned over and looked at the cable box in my bedroom to discover that the power had indeed come back on! I got up, fixed the TV in my bedroom, went and turned off the TV in the living room, and crawled right back in bed. I was finally able to fall asleep around 2 am.
I know that I'll get better at dealing with this kind of weather the longer that I live here. It just takes some getting used to. Each time this kind of weather rolls around, I do better than I did the time before. However, I have the sneaking suspicion that I'll still freak out when this kind of weather comes in......Like I tell all of my members: You're reaction to snow is my reaction to tornadoes. You get scared by any amount of snow fall and decide to hunker down in your houses for days after making a run to the grocery store for the essentials. I will most likely have a scared reaction to tornadoes by begin extremely cautious and living in my bathroom for several hours.
It is what it is......Thank you, Lord, for keeping all of us safe last night and bringing us to a new day today. Amen.
We've had a lot of this weather the past couple of weeks. Each time it seems to be worse than the time before. This time, the storm was so bad that I lost power for about two and a half hours. That was the first time that I lost power in my apartment.......and the first time that happens, it scares you. Not only did I have to find candles in my apartment to be able to see where Ross was but there was this annoying beeping that was driving Ross nuts! I thought it was the smoke detector but......it wasn't. It was the security system that's in my apartment. So, I decided that I'd continue to check the weather via my phone and when the coast was clear that I'd relocate to the church. I've been told that the church would most likely have power if I lost power. I got everything together that I could need to crash at the church for the night and loaded it into Ella. Then it dawned on me that Ella was in my garage.......and the power was out......how was I going to get her out so I could drive her to the church? Apparently, there's a rope you can pull on your garage door that will detach it from the motor so you can open it yourself. I got the garage door open and walked back into my apartment to get Ross when......the power came back on!!!! All that work for nothing! I unloaded Ella and crashed on the couch. I thought I was done and that I could finally rest......and the power went off again causing my security system to start beeping again. By this point, I'd had it. It was almost 1 am and I wasn't about to move. When I had the TV on while I had power, they said that the main part of the storm was past us.....translation in my mind: You can go to bed. You'll be fine. I dug out my ipod, dragged Ross into my bedroom, lit another candle so I could see where I was going, and went to bed. Normally, I would care about Ross not being crated during the night. Last night, I didn't care. If he chewed something up, he chewed something up. I was too tired to care. Once in bed, I tried really hard to listen to my ipod and make the beeping sound go away and it worked for a little bit.....until I heard voices.....This meant one of two things:
1. I had gone crazy and I was hearing voices in my head.
2. My power came back and that the voices were really coming from my TV in the living room.
I turned over and looked at the cable box in my bedroom to discover that the power had indeed come back on! I got up, fixed the TV in my bedroom, went and turned off the TV in the living room, and crawled right back in bed. I was finally able to fall asleep around 2 am.
I know that I'll get better at dealing with this kind of weather the longer that I live here. It just takes some getting used to. Each time this kind of weather rolls around, I do better than I did the time before. However, I have the sneaking suspicion that I'll still freak out when this kind of weather comes in......Like I tell all of my members: You're reaction to snow is my reaction to tornadoes. You get scared by any amount of snow fall and decide to hunker down in your houses for days after making a run to the grocery store for the essentials. I will most likely have a scared reaction to tornadoes by begin extremely cautious and living in my bathroom for several hours.
It is what it is......Thank you, Lord, for keeping all of us safe last night and bringing us to a new day today. Amen.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Easter Weekend
So some of you have heard the song "Friday" by Rebecca Black if you wanted to or not. Well....a couple of weeks ago, I came across a parody of it for Easter. A church that has several locations in the Chicago area made this video with one of their youth and it's awesome. Click on the link below and enjoy!
Sunday parody of "Friday"
Sunday parody of "Friday"
Monday, April 18, 2011
All Glory, Laud and Honor
Ever since I can remember, each Palm Sunday at church was marked with the song "All Glory, Laud, and Honor". We'd march around the worship space singing all the verses holding our palm branches. I love hearing this song on Palm Sunday so much that I would get up early in college and go to the traditional service at 8:30 am and go to my regular service at 11 am just to make sure I got to hear it. So, for today's posting, as Holy Week begins, I'm posting the lyrics to "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" to pay tribute to one of my favorite hymns of all time as well as remind us all of the suffering that is yet to come.
All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Text: Theodulph of Orleans, 760-821 and John Mason Neale, 1818-1866
Music: Melchior Teschner, 1584-1635
Refrain:
All glory laud and honor to you redeemer, king,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring
You are the kind of Israel and David's royal Son
Now in the Lord's name coming, our King and Blesses One
Refrain
The company of angels are praising you on high;
Creation and all mortals in chorus make reply
Refrain
The mulitide of pilgrims with palms before you went;
Our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present.
Refrain
To you, before your passion, they sang their hymns of praise.
To you, now high exalted, our melody we raise.
Refrain
Their praises you accepted; accept the prayer we bring,
Great author of all goodness, O good and gracious King.
Refrain
All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Text: Theodulph of Orleans, 760-821 and John Mason Neale, 1818-1866
Music: Melchior Teschner, 1584-1635
Refrain:
All glory laud and honor to you redeemer, king,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring
You are the kind of Israel and David's royal Son
Now in the Lord's name coming, our King and Blesses One
Refrain
The company of angels are praising you on high;
Creation and all mortals in chorus make reply
Refrain
The mulitide of pilgrims with palms before you went;
Our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present.
Refrain
To you, before your passion, they sang their hymns of praise.
To you, now high exalted, our melody we raise.
Refrain
Their praises you accepted; accept the prayer we bring,
Great author of all goodness, O good and gracious King.
Refrain
One of these things just doesn't belong here
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Night out
Tonight I had a night out on the town. My friend Mark and I went to the roller derby. We had a lot of fun!!!!!!!!! Too bad the fun had to stop!!! Thank you Mark for a fun night!!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Funny how time changes things
I've had wedding on the brain all day today. I started thinking about the song Dad and I would dance to for the father daughter dance at the reception. First, I looked up a song called Ballerina Girl. I thought for years that this particular song would be it. After listening to it and reading the lyrics, I didn't think that it would be right. It would be a song that would be better for Lee than it would be for Dad.
Then I started thinking about other songs. A friend of mine who's getting married in August thought she might use the song Butterfly Kisses. I remember the song and remembered that it was very sweet. See, that song came out when I was like 8. I haven't heard it in a long time. I listened to it tonight. I cried listening to it and I don't mean just shedding a few tears. I was sobbing listening to this song. Who knew that time could radically change my perception of a song?
So, Dad, I found our song for my wedding.....whenever it may be. I hope you like it.
Then I started thinking about other songs. A friend of mine who's getting married in August thought she might use the song Butterfly Kisses. I remember the song and remembered that it was very sweet. See, that song came out when I was like 8. I haven't heard it in a long time. I listened to it tonight. I cried listening to it and I don't mean just shedding a few tears. I was sobbing listening to this song. Who knew that time could radically change my perception of a song?
So, Dad, I found our song for my wedding.....whenever it may be. I hope you like it.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Just because.......
As a warning for this posting, I'm slightly venting about something that's been bothering me for a long time now.......
As many of you know, I'm engaged. Many of you also know that due to the way that the cards fell, that Lee and I haven't set a wedding date. Every time someone finds out that I'm engaged the first question I get is "When are you getting married?" or "Have you set a date yet?". Once I explain our situation, the mood of the person who asked instantly changes. All the excitement completely vanishes and I end up with some kind of sympathy because I can't plan my wedding right now.
Maybe it's just me........but just because we don't have a wedding date doesn't mean that we're not excited about spending the rest of our lives together. We just have to wait for all of the traditional things that happen after you get engaged until we get some things figured out. It's a horrible feeling to have someone feel sorry for you because you don't have a wedding date right then and there. There are worse things in the world to feel sorry about. There are children dying everyday from hunger and disease. That's something to have sympathy about.
Also, just because I don't have a wedding date doesn't mean that I don't want to talk about anything that had to do the engagement. We're still excited about getting married and for the future that we have together. For me, I'd love it if my members would ask to see my ring and ask how Lee proposed. I love telling that story. It's a lot fun to tell our engagement story. I also know that asking a woman about her engagement ring is something that makes her light up. I've asked women about their engagement rings in the past and I just love to see the smile that comes across their faces. Her ring means something very special to her. Don't be afraid to ask about it! You just might make a woman's day......well, you'd make my day.
Thank you for reading my soap box posting. I'll get off my soap box now and continue on with my day.
As many of you know, I'm engaged. Many of you also know that due to the way that the cards fell, that Lee and I haven't set a wedding date. Every time someone finds out that I'm engaged the first question I get is "When are you getting married?" or "Have you set a date yet?". Once I explain our situation, the mood of the person who asked instantly changes. All the excitement completely vanishes and I end up with some kind of sympathy because I can't plan my wedding right now.
Maybe it's just me........but just because we don't have a wedding date doesn't mean that we're not excited about spending the rest of our lives together. We just have to wait for all of the traditional things that happen after you get engaged until we get some things figured out. It's a horrible feeling to have someone feel sorry for you because you don't have a wedding date right then and there. There are worse things in the world to feel sorry about. There are children dying everyday from hunger and disease. That's something to have sympathy about.
Also, just because I don't have a wedding date doesn't mean that I don't want to talk about anything that had to do the engagement. We're still excited about getting married and for the future that we have together. For me, I'd love it if my members would ask to see my ring and ask how Lee proposed. I love telling that story. It's a lot fun to tell our engagement story. I also know that asking a woman about her engagement ring is something that makes her light up. I've asked women about their engagement rings in the past and I just love to see the smile that comes across their faces. Her ring means something very special to her. Don't be afraid to ask about it! You just might make a woman's day......well, you'd make my day.
Thank you for reading my soap box posting. I'll get off my soap box now and continue on with my day.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Frustration
I'm currently very frustrated with a few things that are going on. I'm not going to say anything more than that. I'm going to ask for your prayers to help end my frustration.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Soul Surfer
On Sunday, I took my youth to see the new movie Soul Surfer. For those of you who haven't heard about this movie, it's about Bethany Hamilton. That's the girl that was attacked by a shark in 2003 while surfing causing her to lose her arm.
First, this was an awesome movie! The movie makers did a wonderful job with portraying everything that this teenager and her family went through after the shark attack. They didn't skip any of the horrible details of the actual attack or anything like that. We saw the shark actually come up and attack Bethany. We saw the panic in the eyes of her friends and coach that were present. Bethany's struggle to surf again was so apparent! The movie makers also did a wonderful job casting and writing the role of the youth pastor, Sarah. (Of course, that's the role that I would pay a lot of attention to and watch with the most critical eye.) Carrie Underwood did a wonderful job playing the youth pastor and answering the tough questions that I know that I'll have to answer at some point from my youth. The answers to those tough questions weren't answers that would make any person feel all warm and fuzzy when all was said and done. They were honest and true answers.......answers that I would most likely give my youth in that kind of situation. (Who knew that my job could be so glamorous? haha.)
When the movie was over, we left the theatre and I started to ask my youth how they liked it. A few said that they cried a few times. A few others said that they're favorite part of the movie was the shark attack. Then they asked me if I cried. I told them no. The reason why I didn't cry is because of Bethany's reaction to everything that happened is exactly what a youth pastor would hope for. Carrie Underwood displayed the same reaction that I would have; that proud parent who is watching someone grow and use a horrible situation for something good. I don't want to give away too much of the movie but I think that any youth pastor would agree with me after seeing the movie.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone! This was the first movie that I'd seen in theatres in about 18 months. It was totally worth paying the money to see in the theatre! Go see it!
First, this was an awesome movie! The movie makers did a wonderful job with portraying everything that this teenager and her family went through after the shark attack. They didn't skip any of the horrible details of the actual attack or anything like that. We saw the shark actually come up and attack Bethany. We saw the panic in the eyes of her friends and coach that were present. Bethany's struggle to surf again was so apparent! The movie makers also did a wonderful job casting and writing the role of the youth pastor, Sarah. (Of course, that's the role that I would pay a lot of attention to and watch with the most critical eye.) Carrie Underwood did a wonderful job playing the youth pastor and answering the tough questions that I know that I'll have to answer at some point from my youth. The answers to those tough questions weren't answers that would make any person feel all warm and fuzzy when all was said and done. They were honest and true answers.......answers that I would most likely give my youth in that kind of situation. (Who knew that my job could be so glamorous? haha.)
When the movie was over, we left the theatre and I started to ask my youth how they liked it. A few said that they cried a few times. A few others said that they're favorite part of the movie was the shark attack. Then they asked me if I cried. I told them no. The reason why I didn't cry is because of Bethany's reaction to everything that happened is exactly what a youth pastor would hope for. Carrie Underwood displayed the same reaction that I would have; that proud parent who is watching someone grow and use a horrible situation for something good. I don't want to give away too much of the movie but I think that any youth pastor would agree with me after seeing the movie.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone! This was the first movie that I'd seen in theatres in about 18 months. It was totally worth paying the money to see in the theatre! Go see it!
Where
If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world and money wasn't a factor, where would you go and why?
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Ever wonder?
Have you ever wondered how something is going to work out? That's currently where I am. I'm in a place were I'm wondering how on earth this is going to work out. I'm very stressed about this situation. Please pray that God will just provide me with an understanding of how everything will turn out.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Pennsylvania
Tonight, I got to spend some time on the phone with my host mom in Pennsylvania. The original plan was to webcam so I could see my nephew. Well, Chandler (my laptop) decided to not allow that. It was great to just laugh with her and talk about the next chance I have to see her.
I got in touch with my PA roots tonight and I couldn't be happier! I now realize how much I miss te people that I left behind in PA. I love you all very much and hope I can see you all when I come back for a visit!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hello again stress
Today, my stress level has returned but has risen to a level that it hasn't been at since I was 17 waiting for my SAT scores to come. Please pray that my stress level will just vanish and that resolution will come.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Super excited!
Today, I was able to finalize some plans for two of my friends from college to come visit next month. My friend Suzanne and my Sophomore Buddy, Aliyah are those friends that are coming to visit. By the time they come visit, it will be almost a year since I've seen them!
Once I figured out that my schedule will accommodate their visit, I got really excited and giddy! See, Suzanne and Aliyah will be the first nonfamily/ not Lee visitors I'll have since starting at St. Luke. I've waited a long time for this and now I only have to wait a little more than a month!
Oh the excitement is so overwhelming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The long awaited details
I'm finally able to give you all the details from Monday. Allow me to break this down:
I woke up late on Monday and I couldn't get it together. It took forever to get out of bed. Watching the news, I found out that there was severe weather possibly leading to tornadoes (which I really REALLY don't do well. Give me 3 feet of snow any day in comparison to a tornado!) heading to my area during the day. That kind of weather just doesn't sit well with me and I started to get nervous about the weather. Then, I got a phone call from the church office. It was the church administrator, Becky, calling with a message from a member. Her daughter was in the hospital having her second child. I told her that I'd be in a little late because I would be going to the hospital to be with my soon to be mother.
I got the address for the hospital, made sure that Ross would be safe in case a tornado did come through my apartment complex, got another call saying that mom was having an emergency c-section because of the baby being in distress, and headed out the door. I went to go get in my car, Ella, to go to the hospital. I got to my garage to find that Ella's dome light been on all night. I have no idea how it got turned on! I knew that my battery was dead but I got into Ella and tried to start her up anyways. I couldn't get Ella started. So I then had the task of figuring out how to get Ella out of my garage so that someone could come jump her. After figuring out that putting Ella in accessory would allow me to put her in reverse and push her out of the garage (Did I mention that I did all of this in heels?). It took me about an hour and several phone calls to get someone to come jump Ella.
I plugged in the address for the hospital into my GPS (Thanks Mom and Dad) and headed to the hospital. There wasn't much traffic and I made it to the hospital with no problem. I was met outside the hospital by a few of this mother's family and went on inside. It was starting to rain on our way in letting me know that the bad weather was starting to head in. The family and I were met by my boss, Cliff, and headed on up to see the baby in the nursery. He is adorable and super tiny (in comparison to my brother and I). He weighed in at 6 lbs 14 onc 19 inches long. After we saw the baby, we went back downstairs to the main lobby to wait for the new baby's grandpa.
While we waited for grandpa, the bad weather really came in hard. All we could see from the lobby was the rain blowing sideways. Me, being the curious Northerner that I am, went over to the sliding doors with a few other women to get a better look at the rain. One of the women got a little too close to the sensor and the door opened letting all of the wind and rain come rushing into the lobby. According to Cliff, it looked like we were going to get sucked out of the lobby. The wind was so strong that it popped the door so that it couldn't close. Within 15 seconds, some kind of alarm starts going off. No directions were given as to what to do. We all just kinda stood there wondering what to do. Cliff and I, almost like it was programed into our DNA, reached for our smartphones to check the weather. I discovered that we were under a tornado warning and shared this information with the rest of the group.
After standing around in a lobby full of windows during a tornado warning and the baby's grandpa arrived safely, we all decided to head back up to the nursery so that grandpa could see his new grandson. We went to take the elevator and were told that the elevators were out of order. So we decided to walk up to the 6th floor to see the baby (Remember, I'm still in heels and the stairway was full of people). We get over to the nursery and look out the windows across from the nursery to see all kinds of debris on the roof that had blown off in the storm. It turned out that we couldn't see the baby because all of the babies in the nursery were moved to an inner hallway preventing any possible injury to them. Apparently, a few windows had broken in the hospital and they were just being cautious.
About another half hour later (I made it to the hospital around 11 am local time and it was about 12:30 pm local time), we finally got to see the mother! She looked wonderful and was anxious to meet her little boy. Once all the nasty weather had gone through and the elevators started working again, mother and son finally got to meet. It was really sweet to see that first time meeting. Grandma was the first to hold him after mom, then grandpa, followed by his uncle. Then it was my turn! It's really a special thing to hold a child that's less than 6 hours old that isn't your's. That means that you're trusted with that child and that is a great honor. It's things like that level of trust that make my job totally worth it!
I finally left the hospital around 2 pm local time and attempted to make the drive back to the church office. I prayed that Ella would start on the first shot and that there wasn't anything really wrong with her. I also prayed that I was able to travel back to the church office without any major trouble. Outside the hospital, there were tree limbs across some of the roads and some crazy intersections that didn't have power which meant no traffic signals. What took me 20 minutes the following day, took me 40 minutes to travel because of several traffic lights being out and trying to navigate the debris on the roads. I did learn some more back roads because of all of this which is always a plus.
Now, this isn't all horrible drama. It's wonderful and stressful drama. Looking back, I don't think that I would change a thing about that day because I learned so much valuable information. I wouldn't request all of those events to happen in one day again but now I know how to better handle the unexpected!
I woke up late on Monday and I couldn't get it together. It took forever to get out of bed. Watching the news, I found out that there was severe weather possibly leading to tornadoes (which I really REALLY don't do well. Give me 3 feet of snow any day in comparison to a tornado!) heading to my area during the day. That kind of weather just doesn't sit well with me and I started to get nervous about the weather. Then, I got a phone call from the church office. It was the church administrator, Becky, calling with a message from a member. Her daughter was in the hospital having her second child. I told her that I'd be in a little late because I would be going to the hospital to be with my soon to be mother.
I got the address for the hospital, made sure that Ross would be safe in case a tornado did come through my apartment complex, got another call saying that mom was having an emergency c-section because of the baby being in distress, and headed out the door. I went to go get in my car, Ella, to go to the hospital. I got to my garage to find that Ella's dome light been on all night. I have no idea how it got turned on! I knew that my battery was dead but I got into Ella and tried to start her up anyways. I couldn't get Ella started. So I then had the task of figuring out how to get Ella out of my garage so that someone could come jump her. After figuring out that putting Ella in accessory would allow me to put her in reverse and push her out of the garage (Did I mention that I did all of this in heels?). It took me about an hour and several phone calls to get someone to come jump Ella.
I plugged in the address for the hospital into my GPS (Thanks Mom and Dad) and headed to the hospital. There wasn't much traffic and I made it to the hospital with no problem. I was met outside the hospital by a few of this mother's family and went on inside. It was starting to rain on our way in letting me know that the bad weather was starting to head in. The family and I were met by my boss, Cliff, and headed on up to see the baby in the nursery. He is adorable and super tiny (in comparison to my brother and I). He weighed in at 6 lbs 14 onc 19 inches long. After we saw the baby, we went back downstairs to the main lobby to wait for the new baby's grandpa.
While we waited for grandpa, the bad weather really came in hard. All we could see from the lobby was the rain blowing sideways. Me, being the curious Northerner that I am, went over to the sliding doors with a few other women to get a better look at the rain. One of the women got a little too close to the sensor and the door opened letting all of the wind and rain come rushing into the lobby. According to Cliff, it looked like we were going to get sucked out of the lobby. The wind was so strong that it popped the door so that it couldn't close. Within 15 seconds, some kind of alarm starts going off. No directions were given as to what to do. We all just kinda stood there wondering what to do. Cliff and I, almost like it was programed into our DNA, reached for our smartphones to check the weather. I discovered that we were under a tornado warning and shared this information with the rest of the group.
After standing around in a lobby full of windows during a tornado warning and the baby's grandpa arrived safely, we all decided to head back up to the nursery so that grandpa could see his new grandson. We went to take the elevator and were told that the elevators were out of order. So we decided to walk up to the 6th floor to see the baby (Remember, I'm still in heels and the stairway was full of people). We get over to the nursery and look out the windows across from the nursery to see all kinds of debris on the roof that had blown off in the storm. It turned out that we couldn't see the baby because all of the babies in the nursery were moved to an inner hallway preventing any possible injury to them. Apparently, a few windows had broken in the hospital and they were just being cautious.
About another half hour later (I made it to the hospital around 11 am local time and it was about 12:30 pm local time), we finally got to see the mother! She looked wonderful and was anxious to meet her little boy. Once all the nasty weather had gone through and the elevators started working again, mother and son finally got to meet. It was really sweet to see that first time meeting. Grandma was the first to hold him after mom, then grandpa, followed by his uncle. Then it was my turn! It's really a special thing to hold a child that's less than 6 hours old that isn't your's. That means that you're trusted with that child and that is a great honor. It's things like that level of trust that make my job totally worth it!
I finally left the hospital around 2 pm local time and attempted to make the drive back to the church office. I prayed that Ella would start on the first shot and that there wasn't anything really wrong with her. I also prayed that I was able to travel back to the church office without any major trouble. Outside the hospital, there were tree limbs across some of the roads and some crazy intersections that didn't have power which meant no traffic signals. What took me 20 minutes the following day, took me 40 minutes to travel because of several traffic lights being out and trying to navigate the debris on the roads. I did learn some more back roads because of all of this which is always a plus.
Now, this isn't all horrible drama. It's wonderful and stressful drama. Looking back, I don't think that I would change a thing about that day because I learned so much valuable information. I wouldn't request all of those events to happen in one day again but now I know how to better handle the unexpected!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
My apologies
I know I said that I'd fill you all in on my day yesterday with today's posting. I'm very sorry to report that I'm not able to do that tonight. I'm a little busy and angry with another situation that is being blown up to be a much bigger deal than it needs to be. ( If you want more details about this, please message me privately and I'll fill you in.)
Please pray that I'm able to find the time to fill you all in and that there's some resolution to the situation that I mentioned earlier.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Dramatic Day
Today was a very dramatic day. I'll tell everyone about it tomorrow because I need some decompression time before I actually write.
Come back tomorrow for the details of my dramatic day.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
SNL
I've stayed up to watch SNL to watch Sir Elton John as the host. So far, he's pretty funny with his monologue. I'm pretty excited to see what he's going to do.....for as long as I can stay awake for.
I didn't know I could pull that off
My youth have been doing a fundraiser since the end of January for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. We were taking flamingo hits and putting 25 flamingos in member's yard.
Tonight, I drove (all by myself!) to a member's house that's about an hour away to finish up the last few hits. I decided, for some reason, to take all 50 flamingos that the church owns out to this person's house. I was able to put all 50 flamingos in this person's yard........and not get caught!!!!!!!!! I don't understand how I pulled this off.
I had no clue that I was able to pull that off!!!!!!!! Now, my question is.......does this make me a ninja or just have ninja like qualities?
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