Wedding video

Lee and I made a video to show during our reception of us growing up through the years and eventually finding our way to each other. I'm going to put this video up here. Enjoy!

Starting A New Life

About 2 weeks ago, Lee and I got married. We had a wonderful ceremony in Chambersburg, Pa with our family and friends. We had many friends and family participate in the wedding. Lee's dad was his Best Man. My Maid of Honor was my closest friend from my time in Memphis, Brittany. The readers were close friends of mine from college. One was Megan, whom I affectionately refer to as my Jesus Buddy and the other was my suitemate from my senior year of college, BJ. We had two little boys at the Guest Book. Both were named David. One David is our "nephew" and the other David is our Godson.

My Maid of Honor, Brittany, and my suitie from college, BJ, helped me get dressed.One more kiss for Dad and I was down the aisle to marry Lee.

Dad walked me down the aisle like he had done this before. I'm so proud of him. He didn't cry at all before walking me down the aisle and that's a good thing because he kept me from crying. 

 I meet Lee at the altar and also met the woman who married us, Pastor Tara, there. Tara is a very special person to Lee and me. This wedding wouldn't have happened without her. See, Tara is married to a man named Jeremy. Jeremy and Lee were roommates is college. Tara is that pastor at the church I went to during college. It's because of the friendship that I made with Tara and Jeremy continuing his friendship with Lee that Lee and I met. There isn't any other way that we would have met.

Looking back on our wedding day, the thing that Lee and I remember the most is feeling like the only people in the room were Tara, Lee, and me. It was so intimate and personable. It was wonderful to have someone who knows both of us so well unite us in marriage.

This is the first picture of us as husband and wife. It's also our first kiss as husband and wife. I love this picture! From here, Lee and I presented our parents with roses in hopes of showing them how much we love them and care about them.

Then we were back down the aisle! I can't tell you how much joy I was filled with as I got to walk out holding my husband's hand.


From here, we took a lot of pictures. I'm going to show them in order here and try to put captions on them.

Our wedding rings

Our families seeing us kiss. My father-in-law didn't want to look. 

Brittany and I having a good time taking a bunch of pictures for the wedding.

This is a very special picture to me. I have 3 important Davids in my life. The David in the suit is my older brother, David. The little boy doing his best Jay Leno impression is my "nephew" David. The other little boy is my Godson, David. I'm almost positive that I will never get all 3 of them together again so I just had to have a picture with all of my Davids.

Cutting the cake.

This is 4 generations of my mom's side of the family. It's really cool that I had 4 generations of my family at my wedding.

The picture above and the picture to the right were taken outside Riddle Hall. This is where it all started for Lee and me. We have some wonderful memories in that building!

We went to my college after the reception to take pictures. I loved taking this picture. I've never seen another bride in a tree for her wedding pictures.

The color for the wedding was purple. I got my shoes dyed to match Brittany's dress and Lee wore these awesome socks. Who would have known that I would marry a man that loves purple just like me?

We had a wonderful wedding day! Lee and I are settling into married life now. 

Soon, we'll be heading out on our honeymoon.

So far, there hasn't been a day that's gone by without me getting all excited to the point of jumping up and down giggling about actually marrying my best friend in the world. I'm so happy to be married to Lee. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him and watch the turns that our lives will take together.

All photography done by Kimberly Paulson

There will always be firsts

Yesterday, I discovered that I will be having yet another first within this line of work called youth ministry. I will get to experience a funeral here at St. Luke. Sadly, it's not for one of the older members. It's for one of my own.

One of my youth was shot and passed away Sunday night. She was hanging out with a friend of her's when the friend checked to see if a pistol was loaded when she was shot and killed. According to her parents, she didn't feel any pain. She was 17 years old and was just starting her senior year of high school. I never had the pleasure of meeting her but I did have the pleasure of meeting her mother. If she was anything like her mother, she will be greatly missed.

I ask that you lift up the Galbraith family as well as the St. Luke family as we grieve this young woman's passing. This has awakened all of us to really take every day with loved ones as something precious and special.

Thank you for your prayers, love and support as we deal with this shocking and sad event.

A Day At The Beach

I was very blessed with the chance to get away this past weekend to spend some time with Lee. For the first time since I was 15, I got to go to the beach. Lee took me to a beautiful beach that's pictured above called Atlantic Beach. This particular beach is in eastern North Carolina. The weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot. It wasn't too cold. If you got a little too hot, you went into the water to cool down. When you got to cold, you got out of the water and laid out on the beach to improve your tan.

It was so wonderful being at the beach. The only bad thing that came out of that was my very very foolish mistake of taking my ipod down to the water with me the last time I stuck my feet in the water. I was being my creative little self.....listening to music and kinda dancing in the sand and waves. I must have made the wrong move and dropped my ipod into the ocean. I quickly scooped it back up and it was still working when I laid it out on my blanket to dry. Sadly, That was a short lived glimmer of hope. My ipod died sometime between Friday and this morning when I tried to use it on my flight back to Memphis. (If anyone has any idea of how to bring my ipod back to life, please let me know. I'd love to have it back to functioning again.)

I really need to have more days at the beach more often. I love the beach. It's so freeing and I felt at peace for the first time in a couple of months just standing there letting the water just rush over my feet when it felt like it and just soaking in all the beauty (and people watching) that I could while I remained nameless except to one person on that beach. It was wonderful. I really need to make an effort to go to the beach more often.

Hiding in plane sight

When you move, you generally get a new address. That was the case for me when I moved here to being my work with St. Luke. As I began to settle in, I had to give out my address to a few different people and companies in order to establish myself as a resident here. Somehow, my address never made it into the church directory. I believe that's because I'm not a member of St. Luke. However, there's something satisfying and sad about that.

It's sad that no one has my address because I can't get awesome mail. For example, my youth can't send me their graduation announcements because they just don't have my address. One of them got creative and sent me his announcement via the church office. My other youth just asked me for my address since she couldn't find it anywhere.

It's also sad because Google doesn't even have my address. You can't go to Google maps, punch in my address, and find out where I live or get directions to my apartment. That makes it really difficult for people who are coming to visit me. I have to give them my complex's address and directions to my apartment after they're on the complex grounds.

The reason why it's satisfying is because no one can find me. I can't have my youth just drive to my apartment in the middle of the night, stick a bunch a flamingos in my every so tiny lawn, and drive away. I feel like I'm hiding in plane sight that way too. It's almost like I have control over who knows where I live. There can't be any surprise visitors. I almost have the convenience of living in a gated community without actually having a gate and code to allow people in.

Maybe, it's wrong of me to think of my lack of address disbursement as something to be proud of. It's almost a security blanket for me.  Oh well.......

Friends!!!!!!!!

As I said in the posting before this, my friends Suzanne and Aliyah came up for a visit. This was the first time that I've gotten to see them and just hang out with them since my graduation from Wilson almost a year ago. I was very excited to have them here and for them to meet Ross. They are also the first friends of mine to come visit me in Memphis (Yes, my parents and Lee have been to visit.....but they're different than college friends.).

First, I have to tell you all about Aliyah's love and reaction to Ross. I really think that Aliyah fell in love with Ross as soon as she met him.....cone of shame and all! She loved running him in the street (when no cars were coming of course!) and just spoiling him with all her attention. Hearing the story of Aliyah trying to crate Ross before going out to see a movie was priceless. She tried to trick Ross into going into his crate....being all sweet and playful to do so. I later showed her how to crate him and not have any problems.  Suzanne also enjoyed Ross because of his little quirkes. Suzanne did make the comment that Ross is the perfect dog for me......because he's basically me in dog form and well.....a boy! They got to see Ross without his cone of shame and how much cutter he is without the cone. I think that both of them loved Ross just a little bit more once he was allowed to loose the cone.

We did a lot of things together while they were here. Suzanne and Aliyah made me dinner Monday night which was just wonderful! Who knew that eggs, spinach, and pasta would make a wonderful dish! It was also a very nice change of pace to not have to worry about what to make for dinner.....or figure out if I had the engery to make what I was actually hungry for.  We took a trip to the Memphis Zoo on Tuesday to show Aliyah what a "real" zoo is like. For those of you who don't know Aliyah, Aliyah grew up in Trindad and is convinced that the zoo she went to growing up wasn't a real zoo. She thinks that the guniea pig exhibit was used to feed the snake exhibit. She'd also never seen a polar bear in person.....or any bear for that matter. I will put the pictures from the Memphis Zoo up when I get them from Aliyah and do an entire posting about my first trip to the Memphis Zoo. There's a lot to be said about that visit. They also came to St. Luke last night to meet some of my members and be a part of the Confirmation class. It was awesome, wonderful, and slightly scarey to have that happen. It literally was my past merging with my present and forseeable future. That's a huge deal! If that doesn't go well, then you're kinda left at a loss as to where to go from there. In my case, it was wonderful merger and something that I'll remember for many years to come.

I'm so thankful for their visit. For the first time in a while, I felt free. Allow me to explain. Suzanne and Aliyah knew me before I became (for lack of better term) a youth pastor. They know my back story. They remember certain events in my life that shaped me into who I am today. I don't have to watch what I say around them because they know where I'm coming from. I can make references to past events and they get it. Without knowing all of that, I can't make the same references and share as much as I can with them. Also, I don't have to be filtered with them. I don't have to watch my words with Suzanne and Aliyah because my words are representing St. Luke. My words are represnting me and my journey. Since I haven't made as many friends here yet as I would like to have by now, I'm constantly the youth pastor. I meet new people via my members and I'm introduced as Karen the youth pastor.While there isn't anything wrong with that, there's more to me than just being a youth pastor. I'm a twenty something too. It was wonderful not to be the youth pastor and to just be Karen......and have the title of youth pastor be my job and not my identity.

I'm very anxious to have Suzanne and Aliyah back. I'm so thankful for their visit and a chance to share my life here with some of my closest friends from college.

The Suzanne!

So.......as most of my members know, my friends Suzanne and Aliyah have come to visit. We've done a lot since their arrival on Sunday afternoon. This is one of the funniest pictures that's been taken during their visit. I already miss them and they haven't even been gone for a hour yet.

You must come back very soon, Suzanne and Aliyah, because I really enjoy having you here and reminding me of my Wilson days. I love you both very VERY much and can't wait until our next get together!

The Ross Report

It all started on Tuesday last week. Ross was having some digestive issues. He'd constantly have to go to the bathroom and didn't have much of an appetite. He'd be bad one day and the next day he's be fine. That was until Thursday. Thursday, the flood gates opened. He couldn't keep anything down. This prompted a trip to the vet to find out what was going on with Ross. After the vet examed Ross, she decided that she wanted to take some x rays to make sure that there wasn't anything in Ross' stomach that wasn't suppose to be there. After a few x rays and me getting very nervous, she came back and told me that there was something in there and that Ross needed to have surgery the next morning.  I was to take him home with me that night and not give him anything.....no food and no water. He needed to be back the next morning by 7:30 so they could have him on the operating table at 8 am sharp.

After staying up all night to watch the Royal Wedding with my friend, Jodi, I drove Ross to the vet and was meet there by my other friend and member, Ruth. I asked her to come with me when I dropped him off because I knew that it would be too hard on me to do it alone. I did all of the paperwork that needed to be done and took off Ross' colar because they asked me to. I felt really bad about taking his colar home with me but I knew that I would feel a little better having a piece of him with me at home.  I said my goodbyes to Ross and they took him back to prep him for surgery.

To my surprise, they brought Ross out to see me while trying on his cone that he'd have to wear for the next two weeks. They updated me telling me that they repeated the x ray from the day before and there was still something in there. Ross still needed surgery.

They took Ross back again and I went home. I couldn't sit in the vet's office all day waiting to hear something. That would just be too hard on me. Just as I walked in the door of my apartment, my cell phone rang. It was the vet. She said that after looking at that morning's x ray that whatever was in Ross' stomach had moved. She suggested shooting him up with dye and taking x rays for the next several hours to see if there would be a chance for whatever this thing was to pass on it's own. I agreed thinking that that was a much better option that cutting Ross open.

Around noon, I got another phone call from the vet. The dye just sat in Ross' stomach for hours and didn't really move. She said the he needed surgery. I gave her permission to operate on Ross. She told me that I would get a phone call when he was out of surgery and awake. That phone call came around 2:30 Friday afternoon. She said that there wasn't anything in there and that his intestines weren't acting the way that they should have been acting. She said that sometimes they have to open dogs up to "let the evil spirits out" and that the dogs would be fine after that. The vet went on to say that I could come out and see him around 4:30 but I should call first to make sure she was around so she could explain everything to me when I got there.

 Ross was happy to see me when I got there. He looked really confused as to what was going on.....as you can tell by the picture above.

 This is the only picture of his incision that I could get. It's pretty big for a dog like him but at least it took care of what needed to be taken care of. The vet, after kindly letting me take these pictures, showed me the x rays they took before hand and told me about the kind of care that Ross would need once he came home. I asked all the questions that I could think of so I could be as informed as possible. The one question I did ask was what could have caused all of this. She said that she definately thinks that he ate something that he shouldn't have. Whatever it was called all of his digestive system to play the evacuation game in hopes of getting it out. That did the trick but his body didn't know when to stop. This caused his stomach and intestines to become irritated as well as inflamed causing them to basically stop working. Providing he had a good night that night and a good morning, he'd be allowed to come home the next day.

Saturday morning came and I was very excited to go get Ross. I hadn't heard from the vet so I knew that he had a good night. Once I arrived at the vet's, I recieved all of the food that Ross is suppose to eat for about the next week, medication for him to take several times a day, and directions for the care that he'd need so I wouldn't forget. Once I asked all the questions that I needed to and made sure that I understood everything, it was time to take Ross home!

Ross walked right into my apartment like he never left. He did his standard exploring and began to adjust to life in my apartment wearing the cone of shame. He wanted one thing and one thing only.....to eat.

So that's exactly what he did. I've never seen Ross eat so fast! I knew that he had to have been feeling better because of how quickly he ate his food.

For the rest of that night, we continued to follow the vet's orders including giving Ross the medication that he needed. However, one of the medications didn't sit right with him. Apparently, one of the antibodics that they gave Ross has a side effect of vomiting. This is one of the things that the vet told me to look out for because that might mean that there's something else wrong. I quickly called the vet's office and got the beeper number for the vet on call. The vet on call happened to be the same vet that operated on Ross the day before. I told her what was going on. She explained the side effect of that particular antibodic and told me not to give it to him anymore but that I should continue with the rest of the medication just like she perscribed.

Ross had a steller day yesterday including weathering another bout of severe weather for our area. He's always the calm one in a tornado warning.

Today, Ross is being a good little church dog. With all of the care that he'll need with feeding in the new few days, he's come into the office with me so I can make sure he gets what he needs while I work. He walks to my doof where I have a baby gate up so greet the members and people that walk by. He's also sat in my lap a few times and just stared out the window at the rain. He's also rested next to my desk almost as if he's keeping watch over me when it's really the other way around. We've also reached the last major hurdle to Ross' recovery. As of this morning, I can now confidently say that everything is back in working order. It's a huge relief for me!

Needless to say, Ross is on the mends. I'm so thankful that he's feeling better and couldn't be happier to see him acting like himself again!

Never thought I'd see the day

This news has made it all across the world by now.  The US killed and captured the body of Osama Bin Laden. That name became one burned into my mind as a 13 year old girl because of September 11, 2001. That was the day that the US changed forever. Pretty much from that day on, the US wanted to capture or kill Bin Laden for ordering the attacks on our country. I have two very different frames of mind about this long awaited goal.

On 9/11....I remember exactly where I was when I found out about it. I was in 8th grade at Northgate Middle/Senior High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. I was in my third period class computer class standing next to the printer waiting for a project of mine to print. Then, my principal came over the loud speaker announcing that our country was under attack. He didn't say where or any more details than that. I remember looking up at the clock to see what time it was........I can't remember now for the life of me what time it actually was. I knew though that I would always remember that while looking at that clock that the world that I lived in would completely change.  I later came to find out that New York was hit as well as the Pentagon and that a plane went down not too far away from Pittsburgh. My main concern was for my brother. At the time, my brother was a sophomore in college. He went to school in New Jersey and on any day could have taken the half a hour train ride to New York City. I had no idea if he was in the city that day or not. Since I didn't have a cell phone then, I couldn't find out if he was alright. I had to wait until I got home from school that day to find out that he was fine. He would later tell us how he could hear the towers of the World Trade Center fall about 10 seconds after he saw them fall on TV. For that reason....as well as several others, I wanted our soldiers to find this man and bring him to justice. Now that we have killed him, I feel a sense of relief because we don't have to worry about his man ordering anymore death in our direction.

On the other hand, I'm sad to find out that he had to go in that manner. He was a child of God just as much as I am. Whether he did good things or bad things in his life, doesn't change that he was a beloved child of God. For this reason, I'm sad to see one of the children of God passing in a violent way.

I know that there are many that are glad to hear that Bin Laden is gone. I know that this will be a topic of conversation for days, weeks, and years to come. I also know that there are people who are being like Doubting Thomas right now.....just waiting to see the proof that he's actually gone. We will all have that proof eventually. I also know that I will always remember what I was doing and where I was, just as I remember from 9/11, when I heard the news that Osama Bin Laden was dead. I had just walked back into my bedroom where the TV had been left on from storm coverage earlier in the day to see the breaking news box on the bottom of the screen announcing that Bin Laden was dead. That was roughly 13 hours ago......and the first thought I remember coming through my mind was that I never thought I'd see the day where we'd actually get him. I honestly thought that he would die of old age before we'd get him.....but now I can tell my children and grandchildren (I've told Ross but he doesn't seem to care.) that I remember the day that the US caught and killed Osama Bin Laden......the man that changed the world into the world that we currently live in.

Drop off

I know I haven't been writing for the past few days. There has been a lot of things going on with Ross. I'll write a full post soon about what has all taken place.

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!

Thankful

I will be thankful when tornado season is over.............whenever that may be.

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!

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!

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

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?

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.

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"

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

One of these things just doesn't belong here

So.....this is one of my youth.....in my car......He's well over 6 ft.......and I'm 5'5........He's got a lot of leg to him.....And I don't......I don't think that he fits very well behind my steering wheel. Maybe.....just maybe.....he shouldn't drive my Ella.......even though he's not old enough to drive.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Where

If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world and money wasn't a factor, where would you go and why?

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.

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!

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.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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!

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.

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.

A flocking good time

This is what I get for flamingoing my co teacher for Confirmation.

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?

Too bad it's not on the air anymore

Since I moved to Memphis, I've picked up a few new shows. There's one that's currently on the air (The Big Bang Theory). Then there is or show that isn't in production anymore. That show would be Reba. The content of that show just speaks to me for some reason. Reba, the main character, has some of the best lines and her daughter, Kira, has the best zingers ever! 

I always feel so uplifted when I'm done watching that show. Maybe it's the idea that I get to "be" a part of these characters' lives or that it's a total departure from how my life is. Either way, I really should look into getting those seasons on DVD.

Is this pushing it?

I was listening to my favorite morning show on the way in this morning and heard about this doll that has sparked a lot of controversy. Below is the entire article.

Breastfeeding doll with strap on breast for girls sparks controversy today

Roz Zurko, Hartford Pop Culture Examiner
Posted: 03/26/2011 10:18 PM

A breastfeeding doll that comes with fake strap on breasts for your little girl is a toy that many parents are not comfortable with for their kids. This breastfeeding doll is in the news today because it is so controversial, according to Fox News Connecticut.

This breastfeeding doll from Berjuan Toys comes with a top that contains fake breasts. It resembles a bathing suit top for your little girl to put on. It has a flower painted around each nipple for the child to guide the breastfeeding doll to her nipples. The doll makes a sucking sound as it breastfeeds.

"The creation of this breastfeeding doll is to teach little girls how to breast feed a baby and learn about the special bond between a mother and child," according to Berjuan Toys website.

Berjuan Toys calls the doll, “healthy fun” and says that a girl is never too young to learn the healthy message of breastfeeding. Don’t girls have plenty of time to learn about the bonding that breast feeding provides when they get older?

On Fox News, the women on at the news desk were uncomfortable about giving the breast feeding doll to their little girls and thought the breastfeeding doll was a bit over the edge.

The manufacturer of the breastfeeding dolls is in Spain and the dolls have been available online for a few years. They sell for about 100 dollars.
Reference: Connecticut Fox News - Hartford, Berjuan Toys
March 26, 2011

First, I don't know about you but I wouldn't spend $100 on a doll that does that for my daughter. If my daughter really wanted to pretend to breastfeed one of her dolls, she's more than welcome to do so without the strap on breasts.

Second, can't this damage a child in the future? Not all women are able to breastfeed their children or have the desire to. Yes, I understand that it can promote breastfeeding later in life but I just feel like this toy is pushing it a little bit. It reminds me of a toy that was marketed specifically to little girls a couple of years ago that had a complete house including washer and dryer for the little girls to play with.

Maybe I'm a little too sensitive about gender roles. What do you think? Would you buy this for your daughter or granddaughter? Better yet, would you buy this for your son or grandson?

Bring It All Back

I've been in a notable funk since Lee left last week. Yesterday, in an attempt to pull myself out of that funk, I was thinking about all the different songs that I either danced to growing up or got suck in my head from watching people perform their dance to that song. The song that came to mind right away was a song call "Bring It All Back" by S Club 7. It's a really catchy song that can get stuck in your head pretty easily. It's the chorus that is really resonating with me right now and I'm not totally sure why. The chorus goes a little something like this:

Don't Stop
Never give up
Hold your head high
And reach the top
Let the world see what you've got
Bring it all back to you
Dream of falling in love
Anything you've been thinking of
When the world seems to get to tough
Bring it all back to you

For some reason, this is really inspiring today. It's a take charge and don't let anyone get in your way attitude. I just have one problem with it. I can't bring it all back to me. That's just going to put more pressure on me than I really want honestly. What about bringing it all back to God? He's big enough to take any of my problems. Scripture tells us that we should cast our burdens onto Jesus anyways.

Anyways, this song has now become my new ringtone to remind me to hold my head up just a little bit higher than before.

Before I leave you, I have to share something I heard on Jay Leno last night. He had Russell Brand and Lorraine Nicholson on the show. Lorraine was talking about her new movie Soul Surfer and that she actually had to learn how to surf for the movie. Russell then chimes in .....and I quote "I've been surfing. It's hard..........You don't stand on the sea. It's not natural. Jesus only did it once." I laughed really hard hearing that. I don't know why I thought it was so funny but it was to me.

Only Boy Who Could Ever Reach Me Was The Son Of A Preacher Man

35 years ago yesterday, the picture above was taken. It was 1976. That was my parents wedding day. My parents got married at the church where my grandfather was a pastor and my mom had been worshiping for several years. My grandfather and Mom's Uncle Eugen married them. I've looked through the pictures of my parents wedding day several times. The picture that always gets me is the one of my mom sitting on my gramp's lap crying. I'm not sure why she was crying but the thing that I remember most about that picture is how big my gramps was smiling. It went from ear to ear. He was glowing almost like it was his wedding day. I remember that smile because that's the same smile I got from him whenever I would come visit. There's also been a picture of my parents on their wedding day hanging in my living room ever since I can remember. At first, I didn't know it was them because you couldn't see all of Mom's face and Dad has this look on his face like he's got something up his sleeve. 

The world has changed a lot since my parents wedding day. A lot has happened in those 35 years for my parents as well.

Two very big things that came out of my parents marriage are my brother and me. I say we were big things because we weren't exactly small when we were born weighing in at 8 and almost 10 pounds respectively. My brother is the first born and he was born in 1981. I was second and I was born in 1988. My parents decided before either one of us were born that they didn't want to know what we would be until we were born. They felt like it would ruin the surprise when we were actually born. Since then, they've watched us grow up, graduate from high school and college, and start out in the real world. For my brother, they've also watched him graduate from seminary with 2 degrees, get married, and ordained. They'll see me get married one day....but that's a topic for another time.

My dad was in the military when my parents got married. He was in the Army Reserves. He'd go away for a weekend a month and for 2 weeks sometime during the year for training. One day before my 3rd birthday, my dad was activated for the first Desert Storm. This ment that my dad had to leave my brother and as well was my mom to go serve our country. We're very blessed that he never left the states but we were without him for longer than we liked. I can vaguely remember driving to Washington DC with my mom and brother to visit my dad. My dad retired from the military when I was 7 and has been able to be with us since.

They've also had their fair share of loss as well as hard times. My dad has had both of his parents pass away during their marriage. Mom has also lost her father. They have been the people that have taken charge of these situations and did what they could with them in order for it all to work out. They led the charge of cleaning out my grandparents' house after Grandma and Sweetie Pie (Dad's parents) passed away and did the same for cleaning out Gram and Gramps' house, condo, and room in an assisted living facility. Dad has lost his job a couple of times too. Going from 2 incomes to 1 while you have children in college is really difficult. They figured out a way for it to all work out in the end though.

I have a wonderful example of marriage before me because of my parents. I know that I will be truly blessed to have a marriage that goes for as long as their's has with Lee when that time comes.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! You are the example of For Better or For Worse, For Richer or For Poorer, and In Sickness and In Health.  I love you.

35 Years Later

Today is my parents' 35th wedding anniversary.  I have lots to say about this huge occasion including posting a picture of my parents. Sadly, my phone isn't the place for me to say everything that I want to. Come back tomorrow for my celebration of my parents' union.

It's true

It's true what they say. Silence is deafing. Sometimes,  silence is wonderful.  For me the past few days, silence has been painfully quiet.

And again

Today, I still have nothing nice today or that I can openly share.  Please continue to lift me up in prayer and ask God to grant me what I really need right now.

If you don't have anything nice to say

For years growing up, I would hear adults in my life tell me that if I didn't have anything nice to say that I shouldn't say anything at all. Due to a horrible evening last night, I've decided to have a short blog today with nothing of great substance because I have nothing nice to say. There are a lot of things floating around in my mind that do not need to be vented here. It would not be appropriate for me to do so in this particular form.

I will ask that you pray for me and this particular place in my life. I'm not going into detail as to what I want prayers for because.....well....that's a little too much personal info to put out in the world right now. I need to be in a better frame of mind and I apparently can't do that on my own right now.

I pray that I'll be "back to normal" tomorrow.

Dangerous Curves

I went for a drive this morning to Shelby Forest. It's a state park that's about a half hour from the church. I drove out there to see if there were any options available for my youth who want to take a camping trip next month. It was a disappointment because there was no one there when I got there and basically my drive out there had become pointless. Then I remembered the signs, just like the one above, on the way in. Now, being a girl from Pittsburgh, I was expecting some really steep hills that my car would really have to struggle to get up. However, they weren't very steep at all. Sections of the road reminded me of my neighborhood in Pittsburgh with all the trees and the curves of the road. What made the roads dangerous though was the hairpin turns and the road falling away due to erosion.

That got me thinking about dangerous curves.....and how many ways those two words can be taken. ~Dangerous curves could mean literally just that. There are some curves out there that are really dangerous because they're very tight and some are even blind making navigating those turns even harder.

~Dangerous curves could be used to describe the consequences of a decision. In most cases, it's a bad decision that leads to another bad decision that leads to another bad decisions......see where I'm going with this. In other cases, it could be that one hasty decision leads to another and you can end up spiraling out of control with all of those decisions not knowing how you got there in the first place. Now, that doesn't mean that the hasty decisions were bad. It just means that sometimes things move really fast and you have to make decisions quickly. Once the dust settles from all that decision making, you can be left wondering how on earth you got to where you are.

Is life full of dangerous curves? Oh yes. The trick is knowing how to navigate those curves......or knowing someone who can guide you through those curves.

One Correct Translation

Because I'm still not mentally all together......I'm going old school. I'm posting a paper that I wrote my sophomore year of college. My Religion in America class would have to write dialogue papers about the different assigned readings. This particular paper is about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints early writings about there only being one correct translation. The text that I'm writing about is at the top of the paper. If you'd like to know what specific book it comes from, please email me and I'll give you all the information about the book.  Take some time to read my thoughts and see if you agree with my former adviser's grading of this paper.

One Correct Translation

“We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to the word of God” (Griffith, 165)

            The idea of one correct translation of the Bible was something that struck me as odd. While the quote is from the Articles of Faith for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it made me wonder about all the languages that the Bible has been translated into. It also made me think about how many different translations of the Bible there is for the English language alone. Is any one set translation better than another?

            Joseph Smith might have written this statement down to be an article of faith for one simple reason. Smith could have wanted his followers to use the translation that he was using so they would come to the same understandings and conclusions from the Bible that he was. It is not flawed logic to be honest.  This idea would help grow the religious movement that Smith created. Smith would also have many people who would back him up if he was to be questioned about his faith. These people would also be able to give their testimony about their findings in Smith’s teachings. There was also the risk that if one of his followers used a different translation that the follower might read something that would go against Smith’s teachings. This might cause Smith to loose followers of the religious movement that he created. It is also easier to have one translation so a group of individuals does not have to guess if their translation is saying the same thing as the person sitting next to them.

            I can not imagine having a belief that states that I have to have a particular translation of my holy writings. The approved translation might not the translation that speaks to me to most. How would not having a translation of my holy writings be able to speak to me help me become a stronger person in my faith? I would not be able to grow in my faith. The words would just be something to read. They would not sink into my heart and soul. Now, if I was raised with only that particular version of the holy writings and understood them, there would not be a problem. It is all about your tradition and what you feel comfortable with.

            While I understand what I think to be Smith’s logic behind stating there should be one correct translation, I believe it is flawed. What might work for one person will not always work for the person next to them. Each person has to experience God in the way that they are the most comfortable with. If a person grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then this would not be a problem for them. For me, it would be a problem.  I get a better understand of God from each different version of the Bible that I read. It is the only way I know how to become stronger in my faith.  It all comes down to what translation is the best for you.

Too hard

Today, thinking of something very thought prevoking is very hard to do. Having to be up early to make sure that Lee got to the airport on time and having to say goodbye to him not knowing when I'll get to see him again is making today difficult. Instead of a posting where I complain about my situation, I'm posting my favorite picture of Lee and me as well as the lyrics to our song. It's entitled "You Picked Me" by A Fine Frenzy. Please forgive this time of weakness for me and pray for Lee's safe flight home.



One, two, three
Counting out the signs we see

The tall buildings

Fading in the distance

Only dots on a map

Four, five, six

The two of us a perfect fit

You're all mine, all mine
And all I can say

Is you blow me away

Like an apple on a tree

Hiding out behind the leaves

I was difficult to reach

But you picked me

Like a shell upon a beach
Just another pretty piece

I was difficult to see

But you picked me

Yeah you picked me

So softly

Rain against the windows

And the strong coffee

Warming up my fingers

In this fisherman's house

You got me

Searched the sand

And climbed the tree

And brought me back down

And all I can say

Is you blow me away

Like an apple on a tree

Hiding out behind the leaves

I was difficult to reach

But you picked me

Like a shell upon a beach

Just another pretty piece

I was difficult to see

But you picked me

Yeah you picked me

Tomorrow can wait

Lee flys home tomorrow morning. I'm really not ready for him to leave. I get such limited time with him that I take any time that I can get very seriously. I'll fight for my time with him tooth and nail and I don't want to give any of it up ever.

I have a horrible feeling that tomorrow at the airport will be very very hard. I'm really not ready for him to go.

As far as I'm concerned, tomorrow can wait and actually not come.  I just want a little more time with Lee.

Bye, Lee. I'm so glad that you could be here for a little bit. I'll try not to cry a lot when we part tomorrow.

Sweet small wedding

I got to open up the church for a vow renewal this afternoon.  I got to experience something very sweet by pushing play for the music for the wedding.  It was a very small wedding with most likely about 25 people.  I'm glad that I got to be a part of their day. :-)

All that remains

24 shrimp later........

For the love of shrimp

This is how much I love shrimp........I'm waiting a hour and a half to get a table to order shrimp with Lee. Yeah.
...it's that serious.

Am I becoming a Southerner?

I went to a Christian concert at the beginning of the month called WinterJam. It was an awesome concert and I've had a song from David Crowder Band stuck in my head ever since. The lead singer refered to it as a "hoedown" at the concert and was a mashup of "I Saw The Light" and " I'll Fly Away". I love that mashup!!!!!!! I can't get enough of that mashup!!!!!!!!!

Below is a  link to a YouTube video of the mashup. For some reason, I can't embed it into this post. Sadly, it's not from the WinterJam concert in Memphis but it's really good quality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN4Sfw_QlxI&playnext=1&list=PLC0CDC86244C99840

So.....my question is.....because I love this mashup......Am I becoming a Southerner?

Comments are welcome just be kind please!

Dumbfounded by kindness

I went to a member's house for dinner last night. I've been wanting to get to know this particular family more since starting at St. Luke and they've welcomed me into one of the toughest times they've had to go through. I was every tickled and excited that they invited me for dinner. When I asked if there was anything that I could bring for dinner (Mom would be so proud and most likely is after reading that part), I was told to bring whatever I was known for making. Well, I'm not known for making spinach balls (an family favorite in my family) but I made the offer to bring spinach balls. I've loved them since I was a really young. I always asked for them when I was home from college and to have them for my birthday when I was growing up.  So after office hours yesterday, I went home and made spinach balls. Once they were all cooked, I drove to the otherside of Memphis to my member's house.

I walked into the house and the first thing that I smelled was bacon. For most of my friends, they know that the way to my heart is via bacon. I took my spinach balls to the kitchen, played with their oldest son for a little bit, talked with the dad about life and my fiance, and got to hold their youngest son who will be turning 3 months old soon. Then it was time for dinner. When I asked what we were having, the mom looked at me and said that we were having lazy perogies with a Southern twist of bacon. If you know me, you know that I love perogies....either in traditional form or in lazy form. Now, this family grew up in the South. Perogies aren't exactly part of Southern food culture unless you are a transplant from up North. The mom of the family said that she hoped the lazy perogies were like the ones that I'm used to.

I'm fairly certain that I stood in their kitchen with my mouth open for a couple of minutes because of her concern for the taste of the lazy perogies. I was literally dumbfounded by their kindness. It was so sweet of them to take that step to make me feel at home and comfortable. I'm still pretty much speechless about that alone (No comments please).

Then (as if the lazy perogies weren't enough!) they handed me a card that they were going to send to me but didn't have my address to do so. It was a thank you card. I'm not going to say what the card said (honestly, it's too personal and I'd rather keep it between the family and myself). I was so incredable touched. I honestly could have cried.

It's the little things like the kindness of this family that make my job super rewarding. Whether or not they know this, they actually ministered to me last night. I actually felt like I was back at my host family's house with all of the love and laughter that has happening. I will very much remember this kindness for the rest of my life. This family has made a lasting impression that I hope will only get deeper and deeper as time goes on.