A Simple Wish

For unto you is born this day, a SAVIOR. Period.

Overlooking Coincidences, Seeing Miracles

I wish I had the time to explain in detail all the amazing miracles, yes, literal miracles, I have witnessed in a week's time.

Last week it had to do with turkeys (262 turkeys to be exact). Yesterday, the rest of the Thanksgiving meal (150 of them). Today a check for $200 to provide a family with Christmas gifts for their kids. I knew immediately who should receive it.

Even though the above mentioned miracles weren't direct provisions for me, they greatly influenced me. I was able to watch God working through His people. Because they were obedient. Because they listened and heard His voice. But I didn't have to wait long for my own personal miracles. Mine came today.

I needed to make a phone call. Didn't want to. It would be uncomfortable. Besides, the person is impossible to reach. I'll just wait to see if I bump into him this weekend. Not ten minutes after having this conversation in my head, HE called ME! We got everything accomplished in a 10 minute healthy conversation. Awesome conversation. Yeah God.

Shortly after that, I checked out our planning website to see who I would be serving alongside of this weekend. I noticed a name of someone who had wronged me and had never asked for reconciliation. As I saw his name I realized that I didn't feel an ounce of negativity towards him. I had no hard feelings and I had totally forgiven him and didn't even realize it. This was an absolute first for me. Totally not in my nature. NOT TEN MINUTES LATER (I'm not making this up!) HE CALLED ME! To apologize for the situation! I was able to tell him what had just happened when I saw his name and that I had NO hard feelings. I told him that he probably had to make this call more for HIS sake than mine. I don't think I've ever experienced such a hands-on picture of grace. What was even more shocking is that it was extended by ME! Because extending grace is certainly not on my resume.

Oh, speaking of resumes, I'm working on mine. For this.

It Was a Sign

Seven years ago I told my Dr, "I can't breathe out of the right side of my nose. At all!"

After saying this repeatedly to previous doctors, this one finally believed me and sent me to an ENT. The ENT couldn't even get his instruments into my nose. A benign tumor had filled every sinus cavity on the right side of my face. Here is the fast forward version of the next seven years...

• Surgery #1, April 2003...didn't get it all
• Surgery #2, July 2003...didn't get it all
• Surgeon says he needs to cut open my face to access it...I say "no, thank you" and "goodbye!"
  
• Surgery #3, October 2003...Hopkins ENT accesses it through my mouth and guts everything in my right cheek.
  
• Annual follow-ups...at the five year mark I'm declared "clear" but still have to have annual check-ups for life.
  
• Check-up, April 2010...recurrence. sigh.
• Switch to a new Hopkins ENT who specializes in the tumor and begin surgery plans.
  

So he's giving me his routine run-down of risks of this surgery and says, "damage to tear duct." I stop him and say, "Could this be why my right eye constantly tears?" He got a strange look on his face and says, "It sounds like it has already been damaged." But I think about the timeline and say, "But my eye was tearing before I even knew I had the tumor." To which he replies, "Then the original tumor probably caused the tear duct damage. We need to find out if your duct is damaged so we can have my ophthalmologist colleague join me during the surgery to repair it."

Fast forward once again:

• See an Oculoplastic surgeon...duct is slightly narrowed
• She opts to do a minor procedure...a silicone tube is inserted in the duct to keep it open.
• If the duct is too narrow and she can't insert the tube...come back for another surgery to go through the bone and perform a drainage bypass.

NO THANK YOU! I've lived with a leaky eye for 15 years what's another 20 or so?

Surgery is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 16th. Merry Christmas to me! Don't judge me if I put up my Christmas decorations next week. That only give me five weeks to enjoy them.

Moral of the story?
If your eye leaks, it may be a sign of an underlying bigger problem that should be address immediately. Whonnu?

Small Town, USA

Things I love about Hampstead...

• Snickerdoodles
• The bypass
• Rita's
• Bulk trash pickup
• Santa on the firetruck
• Mane Street Manor Salon
  
• Roundabouts (yes, I like 'em)
• Being within walking distance
  
• The church bells playing hymns on the hour
• That there's nothing to do here
  

Thanks for the Tag!

I usually hate these "tag" things but I really wanted to blog today and didn't have any idea what to say. Now I don't have to think about it thanks to Lauren! Well, I guess I kinda have to think but these were easy.

1. What is one "little thing" you have to do for yourself occasionally to keep from going insane?
Put away every misplaced item in my house.

2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I have so many I don't know where to begin.

3. Where would be your dream place to live, and why?
Somewhere in a mountainous area that is year round cool but still gets a taste of all four seasons. Not asking for much, huh?

4. What is your favorite movie, and give us a summary of it and an explanation of why it is your favorite.
Ever After: the TRUE story of Cinderella. The score is beautiful, the acting is awesome, the storyline is timeless, the setting is gorgeous.

5. What is one thing you would like to change about yourself? Not about how you look... something about who you are.
That I'd be less self-centered. This has been on my mind a lot lately.

Things I Did Because Mama Did 'Em

We all know that we model our parents and "learn" how to do life by their example. But over the last few years I've realized that some things I do have no logic to them. I simply do them because my mom did them that way. Allow me to explain...

1) Storing cooking oil under the kitchen sink with the cleaning supplies
For many years I did the same. Until one day I made the logical choice to store my oil with baking supplies. It just made more sense. I'm going to give my mother the benefit of the doubt and claim that she stored it under the sink because it's a tall bottle and won't fit in most cabinets. This past year, I helped my sister move and had to smile when I discovered her oil next to her 409.

2) Storing pancake syrup in the refrigerator
Now for this one, I have to admit I did the same until my sister-in-law pointed out the oddity to me. "Why does your mom put the syrup in the fridge? It doesn't have to be refrigerated and it just makes the pancakes cold." Hmmm...good point (as I snuck home and removed my syrup from the fridge).

3) Leave the cleaning sponge on the edge of the tub
Now this is actually not a bad idea. The sponge is handy and ready to use at any time. But I found that is just stays slimy from soap running into it and it collects hair. And then there was the time my 3 yr old nephew was taking a bath and I found him sucking on the sponge. Ewwwwww!

Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks

“How do we tumble down a hill? A foot placed incautiously on an unsteady rock or loosened turf, an ankle twisted or a knee buckled, and all of a sudden we are gone, our body lost to our own control until we find ourselves sprawled in indignity at the bottom. So it seems apt indeed to speak of the Fall. For sin, too, must always start with but a single misstep, and suddenly we are hurtling toward some uncertain stopping point. All that is sure in the descent is that we will arrive sullied and bruised and unable to regain our former place without hard effort.”

Things I Can Do From the Couch

• smell the Fall air
• make phone calls
• pay bills
• pray
• computer tasks
• read
• take pills
  
• worship
• write grocery lists
• facebook
• shop online
• watch TV
• obsess over indoor and outdoor projects that need accomplished
• type with one hand (with tea in the other)
• drink tea (while typing with the other hand)
  
• sleep
  
• think encouraging thoughts
• think discouraging thoughts
• lead group Bible study
• bird watch
• smell my Fall scented candles
  
• text
  
• plan menus
• email
• hear my neighbor screaming at her 2yo
• watch the leaves fall
• visit with friends
• play games on my phone
• watch dust build up
• talk to doctors
  
• listen to sermons online
  
• trace and cut scrapbooking paper (for women's retreat)
• listen to acorns fall on my neighbor's deck
• update and organize phone apps
• think about Christmas
• view pics and videos of Maks and Teo!!!
  

Rubies of Wisdom

In her book, "A Lifetime of Wisdom," Joni Eareckson Tada shares lessons she has learned about pain and suffering. She calls these lessons "rubies of wisdom" based on Job 28:18, "The price of wisdom is beyond rubies." They were so meaningful to me that I wanted to document them so I can refer to them often. Scattered among the "rubies" below are other great truths from the book.

Ruby #1: "Your imagination about God - especially in the midst of tragedy - isn't reliable. We must run to the true portrait He gives us in His Word."


Ruby #2: "If you find yourself in a confining situation, it is God who has confined you. He is the One who has surrounded you and hemmed you in."

"Paul wasn't fixated on his chains, he was focused on his Savior."

Ruby #3: "Just knowing He's with me give me peace, hope, and comfort. I may be confined, but I am not cramped. I have freedom to move when there is no freedom to move. I have breathing room when I'm about to suffocate. I stand in a wide, spacious place when I'm impaled by a thorny, encircling hedge of pain."

Ruby #4: "When nothing seems to be happening, when loneliness settles over your spirit, when pain and grief and anxiety conspire to push you to the edge of despair, remember God's mighty deeds in your life. Remember His kindness, His special, tailor-made graces that fell out of the sky like a gentle spring rain."

Ruby #5: "There is no more important moment in your life than this one."

"If our enemy can keep us occupied with our past or with our future, we lose the grace, blessings, and opportunities in the NOW. And when you lose the present, in a sense you lose everything. Why? Because now is all we have."

"To live with your 'thorn' uncomplainingly - that is, sweet, patient and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak - is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace." J.I. Packer

Ruby #6: "As we wrap out hands around a problem and in faith press on, strive, and stand firm, divine energy surges through us. We experience the fullness of His grace."

"When I speak of a person growing in grace, I mean simply this - that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive and his spiritual-mindedness more marked." Bishop J.C. Ryle

Ruby #7: "My enforced stillness has led me into a deeper firsthand knowledge of God through prayer.

Ruby #8: "We don't wait to live. We have to keep living while we're waiting. Wait patiently and eagerly. But in the meantime get busy with what you know to be your responsibilities."

Ruby #9: "God hasn't promised me happy endings to every life situation, but He has assured me of greater faith. And that's the best ending, anyway."

Ruby #10: "When God denies your dearest desires, get ready to open up your heart even wider, for He will become that desire Himself."

Ruby #11: "What He has taken back in one currency He has given back - a million to one - in the currency of heaven."

Ruby #12: "It isn't thinking about a Place that will lift your heart and make your sorrow easier to bear. It's a Person."

Ruby #13: "God deals with His children as He wills."


Ruby #14: "A faithful response to affliction and hardship and pain accrues a weight of glory."

Ruby #15: "Why does God allow some of His deeply loved sons and daughters to go through trials of body and spirit? Because if they receive that suffering with faith and joy, that supernatural "chemical reaction" (suffering = joy) will supercharge the message of His Son's love."

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Wow...what a productive blog day! THREE fellow bloggers updated in one day. That's unheard of! So I felt the pressure and decided I should, too.

There.

(Sorry, I don't have a...son turning 20, a 3yr old with a bottomless stomach, or a 2yr old who looks like Elvis)

The List...

• bald on top
• crammed in the back seat of a car with multiple Jr Highers
• left in the woods on a flatbed trailer
  
• shopping for something bizarre with Willie Lieberman (don't remember what it was)
  
• Jayden Fullen fighting against her timeout
• a six foot bald eagle
  
• mini monkey-like people crawling out of a giant red velvet bag while I was rolling it in a grocery cart

...just a few of the things I've dreamt about in the last few days.

No, I don't eat before bed.

Maybe

Was hoping for a productive vacation but I've really been dragging. So glad I don't have to be back to work until Monday. Didn't get out of bed until 11am today and it was 1pm before I even had the energy to start getting anything done. Maybe I need to put coffee back into my morning routine.

I've been on a weird cooking spree. Freezer is full of ready meals. Never cleaned up so many cooking messes and ran my dishwasher so many times in two days. Maybe a kind of a nesting phase getting ready for the upcoming crazy, busy two weeks.

The weather has been great for riding but I've had no desire to. Maybe tomorrow.

My hip joint inflammation has returned. Maybe if I had been doing those PT exercises I wouldn't be in pain again.

I've been wanting to work on my "word for 2010" but have had no interest in picking up a book. Maybe by the fire tonight.

My grass is knee high, the weed wacker is sitting on the sidewalk. Maybe I'll do it when it's cooler.

Really need to go pick up my iron script before 4pm today. That's a must, not a maybe.

Exciting Vacation

I am spending my last four days of vacation at home trying to catch-up on personal stuff and to prepare for surgery which is three weeks from today. Had a very slow start this morning because I wasn't feeling great. But meds kicked in and I finally got moving. Today's accomplishments were...

• cleaned out closet to find clothes to donate
• cleaned inside of car
• opened and sorted through vacation mail
  
• called in prescriptions
• picked up labwork script
• got labs completed
• stopped at eye Dr to select new glasses and clarify contact confusion
  
• ran through Target for a few necessities
• completed major grocery shopping
  
• cooked up a storm: shrimp pasta salad, winter barley, chicken pot pie, egg salad, English muffin bread
• blogged! (Happy, Lauren???!!!)
• ...and am about to take a nap. I ran out of iron a week ago (thanks to stupid Dr's office) and I'm starting to feel the effects. Ten hour nights and naps are back. grrr.
  

Tonight's agenda:

• Inception
• Watch the meteor shower

And thanks to new DVR(!!), I can watch the Raven's game tomorrow.

Happy vacation to me!

A Year Later!

A year ago my daddy left for Afghanistan. We were very sad.


Yesterday he returned home safe and sound!


I'm showing him how cool his hat is...

Spending the Holiday...

I have a very busy week ahead so I knew today would be my only opportunity to be productive. And BOY HAS IT BEEN!

• cleaned every inch of the bathroom
• four loads of laundry, ironed and put away
• bed stripped, washed, remade (I hate that job)
  
• dry and wet mopped all hard floors
• vacuumed carpets
• shampooed carpet stains
  
• washed some windows (I can see!)
• attacked STUFF: put away stuff, cleaned stuff, donated stuff, filed stuff, trashed stuff, organized stuff, dusted stuff
  
• cleaned kitchen: oven, fridge, 2 loads in dishwasher, and more stuff
  
• scrubbed window fan
• watered flowers
  
• cooked for the week

It's a very, very good thing I'm still feeling okay. Last night I had a 10 hr night of sleep which isn't supposed to happen anymore but I'm thankful it fueled me for the day.

TWO IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1) This cleaner, plus a cheap Walmart window squeegee, made the window washing a breeze! I bought this at Bed Bath and Beyond years ago and LOVE it. They still carry it. WORTH the $5.














2) I'm a great aunt again! Matteo Medini entered the world today! 9:49am, 8lbs 2 oz, 21 inches. Born to my niece, Shari. She was induced Friday and finally had a c-section this morning. Whew! Talk about a looooong weekend! Ain't he adorable?
















I think I'm gonna crash tonight. No more STUFF. Well, except for maybe a movie.

Just Another Sunday Evening

So I'm supposed to be off my feet, right?

• water flowers
• fill kitchen sink to clean a large item
• go to basement to get computer
• hear water running
• find it pouring down laundry room wall and onto storage shelves
  
• run upstairs and check sink
• run downstairs and unplugged cable/modem/power strip which are filling with water
• turn off water main
• water doesn't stop
• examine the wall to find the cause
• go to neighbor's to ask her if she has a leak
• wait for her to check her basement
• YES! four inches of water in her basement!
  
• relieved it isn't mine
• frustrated it isn't mine!
• plea for help on facebook (thankful for my phone cuz I have no internet!)
  
• grab towels, fan, trash bags
  
• call my mom and she laughs
• help arrives with shop vac
  
• begin removing and sorting through boxes and boxes of soaked supplies
  
• shop vac, garbage, dehumidifier, wet towels in washer
  
• all cleaned up with cable and modem revived at 11pm!!

Monday morning:

• empty dehumidifier
• call friend to haul away the garbage and mow my lawn
  
• re-run washer cuz I forgot to put towels in the dryer at midnight
• run to Walmart with a helpful friend to get tubs
• repack supplies and restock shelves
• crash on the couch
  

Last week I looked at that area of the laundry room and told myself, "I really needed to go through all that and clean it out." Thanks so much, Dale/Jodie Binkley, Marc Held and Cassie Fritz!

Good grief...those towels are STILL in the washer.

Delinquent Blogger

A friend recently asked, "May I have your blog address? My computer crashed and I lost all my saved info and I always enjoyed staying up on what's happening with you by reading your blog." UH OH! PRESSURE! I quickly admitted to her that I don't blog much anymore but she still wanted my info. I know blogging is "so yesterday" but I'm not one to be "hip" anyway. I'm always about 2 years behind the lastest trend. Yesterday there was a discussion amongst coworkers how facebook is so old school and twitter is IT. Yeah, well...I'm not on twitter. And I honestly don't ever plan to be.

Besides, blogging is for ME not for anyone out there. I don't care if nobody reads ME. It's my diary of sorts. A way to archive ME. So maybe it will only mean something to someone when I'm gone.

Okay...done with the disclaimer. All that to say, I've been offline for awhile...due to the topic of my last post. Since the anemia discovery, I've been inundated with doctors appointments, stabbed with needles eight times, paid a boatload of copays (I don't even want to add them up), spent two days in the hospital, been buried in insurance paperwork, and laid in bed for a week doing absolutely nothing. And I must say, of everything on that list, the last item was the strangest of all. I literally laid around with zero capacity. Couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't read, couldn't pray, couldn't even think. It was the strangest feeling laying around, without pain, but completely helpless. I was even too tired to get bored. I was too tired to even feel any emotion. One would think with all that time on my hands, my mind would race. Nope...it was useless, too. At one point in the hospital I said to friends, "I just want to go to sleep and never wake up."

Well, I "woke up" on Sunday night. What a change! I knew I had turned the corner when I was HUNGRY. Like, really hungry. And I wanted to eat anything. I went back to work this week but every day has been a chore. I get tired very quickly. It is very frustrating to not be able to function at capacity. I struggle with: guilt for not doing enough; selfcenteredness because the enemy tells me that I'm suffering "alone"; impatience because it is a slow process; anger because health issues have been piling one on top of the other and I just can't seem to get a break.

Midst all the chaos of the last two weeks, I had a scheduled procedure that was just "routine." It was the one medical appt in the last month that I didn't give a second thought to because it was just to be a normal annual thing. It ended up being anything but. A few days ago I was told I have to return this week for further testing because of "findings." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Once again I face a new medical issue with more doctors, more copays, more insurance forms, more anxiety and more decisions. I never imagined I would be handling three major health conditions at once.

So a few days ago I decided to post scripture as my facebook status every morning. Instead of posting something about ME, which usually ends up just being self-absorbed, I decided I needed to focus on God's truths. And boy, has that helped! In just a few short verses I've been reminded of God's presence, strength, deliverance, help, peace and care for me. I am certainly not alone and none of this is a surprise to Him.

But if I'm going to be totally honest, sometimes I still really do just want to go to sleep and not wake up.

Anemia Sucks

(sorry...I never use that word)

Walk up five steps...gotta lie down
Go get the mail...gotta lie down
Take a shower...gotta lie down
Get dressed...gotta lie down
Water flowers...(you get the picture)
Load the dishwasher...
Walk to my car...
Move bike to the basement...
Walk to my neighbors...
Etc etc etc

Can't do the slightest physical activity without my heart racing and my head spinning.

I keep thinking "tomorrow the iron will kick in."
"Tomorrow" please come quickly!!!

Oh...is it "lie" or "lay"? JEN?

Not my Ordinary Tuesday...

• Emptied my car of firewood (1.5 hours of lugging wood through my clean house)
• Shower
  
• Bank
• Pharmacy
  
• Picked up lab and radiology scripts
• Emissions test (which was a month overdue because I misplaced the original paperwork...$15 fine!)
• Bloodwork completed
  
• Inhaled an apple since the labwork required fasting
• Full service car wash due to firewood and crawling critters in my car (total waste of money!! I could have done better!)
  
• Returns to Lowe's and Kohl's
• Called bank about missing credit card (still haven't found it!)
  
• Panera
  
• Chest x-ray (btw...Advanced Radiology in Westminster has MOVED!)
  

Now I'm ready to start my day.
After I take a nap.

I Got Nothing...

...done today. Nothing.

A bear interrupted our day; running from the front of our property to the woods in the back.
Now, every time a bird flies by my window, I flinch.

I Have No Words

Yes, I work at a church.
Yes, I just overheard this statement...

"The ringbearer's a dog."

Dear Diary

Weekend 180:
Our Student Ministries had a weekend event which included being involved in a service project. Saturday I got to take nine sixth grade girls to my favorite place: NESAP Food Pantry! They worked so hard checking expiration dates, stocking shelves and filling bags for distribution. Not a single complaint and they even asked to come back! It was amazing to watch them in action.

Restored!
Three months ago this happened. After much frustration my house is 95% healed! I spent hours and hours working on it these past two weeks and with the help of some great friends it was completed Friday night. Totally!...cleaned, furniture back in place, supplies away. I can walk through my house without tripping over something. It's been 3 months! I actually woke up this morning wondering what house project I was going to work on then realized I didn't have any! The remaining 5% includes carpet repair and painting the stairwell which two amazing friends are coming to complete this week. And I still have a few things to rehang. I can't explain the relief I feel having my life back.

It's Baaaaack!
In 2003, I was diagnosed with a rare benign sinus tumor which took three surgeries to remove. It is described as "destructive, aggressive, highly recurrent and transitionally malignant."
After seven years of dormancy, mine has lived up to its description. It has returned but fortunately a sample that was removed at an office visit still tested benign. Surgery is pending. Praying that the biopsy of the entire tumor will once again be clear.

A Weekend at LifePoint:
We are in the midst of a sermon series which is tackling some tough topics and this week's content was amazing. I was service host which is no surprise because I inevitably have a tough week leading up to the weekend that I host. However, the enemy did not reign this week. Defeated! Put in his place! I made it through. Well, until the 10:45 service erupted in passionate worship during the final song and I was overwhelmed.

No relief:
Six weeks ago I began having horrible pain in my lower back. Two cortisone shots, two weeks of physical therapy, too many copays and I'm still hurting. Praying for an answer.

There you have it. A little piece of what's been going on with me. What's up with you?

"Overwhelmed"

"Overwhelmed" has been a reoccuring word on my mind in the past few days.

Overwhelmed by the cross.
Overwhelmed by the undeserving free gift of life.
Overwhelmed by the generosity of friends.
Overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done at my house.
Overwhelmed that I get to work at such an amazing place.
Overwhelmed by the heartbreaking pain friends are enduring.
Overwhelmed by the brokenness of this life.
Overwhelmed by the weakness of my body.
Overwhelmed by the sinfulness of this earth.
Overwhelmed by the patience of my Father.

Interesting how one word can be both positive and negative. Provides for quite a roller coaster.

It's A Good Friday

I built a fire this evening and decided to read through the crucifixion story. There really IS indescribable power in the words of the Word. Kinda hard to stay self-absorbed and whiney about my menial problems while reading about the "problems" HE had.

Several years ago I wrote a letter to our children's workers at church in response to a reoccuring complaint I was hearing from them..."My class has already heard this story. Why do we have to keep repeating the stories they already know?" In a nutshell, my response was that I don't ever want to stop being able to learn from a shepherd boy who killed a giant no matter how many times I hear the story.

So tonight I read an old story that I've heard hundreds of times. Literally. Yet, I still learned some news things...

• "And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death; for they feared the people." They were afraid of the PEOPLE! Being driven by fear can never lead anywhere good. Well, except maybe in this case because it led to ULTIMATE good.
  
• "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves." Goes against everything we know about levels, ladders and leadership.
• "And He said to them, 'When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?' So they said, 'Nothing.'” The power of God alone is all we need. Sadly, I don't live that way.
• “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me." Hmmm. There is no record of their reply.
• "That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other." I never realized this.
• "And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'" One of my favorite verses. Proof that salvation is faith alone. The thief had no time to do good works!
  
• "Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two." Another favorite verse. I wonder if there was a priest in the temple at that time. I just might have to find him someday and ask him what he experienced at that moment. I guess he lost his job that day!
• Joseph of Arimathea gave his tomb for Jesus' burial. I wonder if Joseph ended up using the same tomb. Afterall...it was available again!

Happy Good Friday, everyone! We'll be saying "He is risen" very shortly!

Saga Continues

Last week plumbing got replaced.
Tomorrow the drywalling begins! The messy part.

I'll be leaving for vacation tomorrow evening. That is, if I can drive. Two weeks ago my lower back went out. A cortisone shot helped for a week but today the pain returned with a vengance. My vacation plans are to go to PA to help my sister move and then to VA to help a friend move. I'll be a lot of help since I can't lift a thing. And driving aggravates it so I'm not sure I can tolerate a 3 hr drive to VA.

When I had my neck surgery and everyone sympathized with me, I always replied, "Thanks but I think those who suffer from back pain have it worse." I now wholeheartedly agree with myself.

It's About Time

Remember this? It happened on January 27th. Now almost two months later...PROGRESS IS FINALLY BEING MADE!

All the plumbing in my entire house is being replaced today. Kinda difficult to clean and do yardwork when you don't have water. Next week the drywall should get started. Then the final step will be abusing my friends to work on all the finishes: painting, baseboards, padding/carpet. It would be really nice to have my house back in order before May.

It's Been Surreal

In the summer of 1987, I spent three months student teaching at a MK school in what was then known as Zaire. I wish I had digital pics of my experience there. I'll have to do some scanning and describe one of my favorite memories of that trip in a future post. This is an aerial photo of the campus, Rethy Academy.


Ten years later, during a Civil War, Rethy Academy was taken over by Guerrillas and destroyed. Most of the buildings were torched. But since they were mostly brick, their shells remained. I found this pic of the destruction on facebook. It was taken in 1997 shortly after the takeover. I'm not sure if anything remains now.


In May of 2009, I had the privilege of traveling to North Africa on a vision trip to learn about an incredible work which I'll refer to as VoH. I won't even begin to describe our experience there. It would take volumes. In a word..."indescribable." SomeONE knows the details. Here is our team...


On March 8, 2010, ten months after our visit, VoH was raided by government officials. Twenty non-pat families were expelled from the country and were forced to leave 33 children behind...children these families had raised since birth.


The baby in the picture above is Simo. He has CP. We had a physical therapist on our team, George, who spent time showing Simo's mother, Julie, how to give him therapy. Watching George with Simo was one of the most spiritual things I have ever witnessed. I'm in tears right now just remembering it. George was a kid-magnet. He is seen below with some of his fans. You may recognize the tallest boy from the heart-breaking pic on the VoH website where a father is attempting to explain his departure to two of his sons.


The baby-magnet on our team was Ann. If she could have packed up all those babies in her suitcase, she would. And I don't think her husband would have minded. Even though they already have seven kids of their own!


Bill was the leader of our team and our official photographer. He had his own "magnet" named Hannah. A little Dutch girl who stole his heart and "just happened" to serve him communion during our last hour on site. That's another amazing story for another post. Bill's pics have now increased in value. Of such value to me that, once again, I find myself without words.

This has been a very heart-wrenching week. I think I speak for all four of us. We're stunned, shocked, angry, sorrowful, heart-broken for these families and children. I can't even begin to imagine how these families are dealing. There are no words.

New Experience

Well, guess what I did on Friday. Here's a hint...


Definitely NOT this, but kinda...


By now you know, this...

A dear, sweet friend treated me to a spa day. It was my first time. OH MY!

I've been told...

...I should blog.

Check.

What a Pleasant Surprise!

Not sure why but I decided to go down memory lane and read through some of my old blog posts. I was shocked to discover a comment that I had never read before. It was in response to the second post on my blog which was raving about my new car purchase.

CarMax Chris said... "My name is Chris and I am the social media PR guy at the CarMax home office. Google Alerts notified me of your blog posting mentioning us. I love to read blogs from happy customers! I am glad you had a great experience at one of our stores and I hope you tell your friends to visit CarMax, too."

HA! It's been there for two years and I just noticed. Hmmm...I wonder if CarMax Chris just got google-alerted again! Hi, Chris! Or is it CarMax Carrie now?

Another Crazy Hump Day

I know that everyone already knows this due to facebook. But since I want my blog to be my diary, I need to include this for the record.

It was Wednesday morning. I took a shower and as I was leaving the bathroom, I heard water dripping. It sounded like it was on the stairwell but surely that couldn't be. Must be an echo. I went back into the bathroom to see if I had turned off all the faucets. Yep, no problem. Exited the bathroom again and was sure I heard it in the stairwell. Went downstairs and discovered water dripping from the dining room ceiling. It had run all the way over to the main beam dividing the dining room and living room and was traveling over to the stairwell.

It would take too long to describe all the details of the hours that followed. In a nutshell:

• a really nice plumber I'd highly recommend; he arrived in an hour
  
• a burst supply line to the toilet
• significant water damage in the dining room and basement
• insurance company
• water damage restoration company
• torn out drywall
• pulled up carpet
• 10 dehumidifiers and fans here through Monday
  
• obnoxiously loud noise from equipment
• hot house
• nails left behind to step on

The rest of Wednesday was surreal. By about 8pm I was over the shock and trying to keep my head up. Today I was able to escape to work but faced a different kind of stress. Before this life-interruption, I was already so behind at work and now I lost another day. Add to that a mild headache all day. Tomorrow I meet the Insurance Adjuster to find out where we go from here.

My house is hot, muggy and noisy. I don't want to be here. To escape I made plans for Friday night and Saturday I'm going to go to work to make up for a lost day.

I am thankful for...

• running water
• a roof over my head on a 21 degree winter night
• health, life and safety
• insurance companies
• people who care about me
• being home when it happened
• Psalm 139

Psalm 139

Committing in front of 1600 people that you are going to read Psalm 139 daily for the next week provides some pretty amazing accountability. However, my closest friends know that I pretty much stick my nose up at accountability. It doesn't affect me at all to have to admit "nope...didn't do it." Maybe I'm so accepting of failure that success isn't a motivator. Don't try to analyze me.

HOWEVER...

...a friend said he was going to commit to reading it also, to which I replied, "I'll check in with you next Sunday to see how you did." And then the shoe dropped..."And I'll ask you," he said. Suddenly things changed.

So far so good. And the really cool thing is I'm not doing it to just check it off the list. Or to impress some friend who's going to find out if I'm a success or a failure in a few days. I really WANT to do it and look forward to it. AND it is really affecting my day. I have it in my email inbox so that I see it everyday.

Hope you are joining the challenge!

What's Up?

My wonderfully relaxing Christmas break seems a lifetime ago. I thought 2010 would be different. Funny how life decides otherwise, huh? Three weeks in and here's what I've been up to...

• WiiFit...love it! Was diligent for 2 weeks but was swamped this past week. Can't wait to get back to it.
• Helping at NESAP food pantry. Can't get enough.
• Haiti Relief: got to help a friend who coordinated an effort through World Vision. Packed supplies going on a cargo plane. Overwhelming. Hard work. Fulfilling. Sad. Amazing, miraculous provisions.
  
• Meetings, meetings, meetings: and again this coming week...Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur nights.
• Got to go home to PA yesterday and today for my parents' birthdays. Cuddled with Maks, watch Casie's hockey game, hung out with Melanie and had lunch with a great friend today.
  
• ServePoint: very busy getting ready and now processing all the participants and getting them plugged into ministry teams. LOVE that!
• Reading: done better than I thought but not as good as I'd like.
• So this is minor but huge: things have been financially tight and I've been looking for ways to cut corners. And to top it off, this week I discovered a mistake in my checking account that I couldn't figure out. So I spent time tonight with a fine tooth comb raking through every detail and resolved it. Feel so much better! Finances are so stressful. It's gonna be another tight month but I love trusting in God.
  
• Haven't been feeling too well. Trying to sort out which Dr to see next to get to the bottom of everything. Nothing new. Just the same old same old.
• Miss my bike, miss my deck, miss the trail. But still want more snow.
  

Confession

I have been blog delinquent. I have been overwhelmingly busy with work and outside commitments these past two weeks. Hope to catch up on personal stuff this weekend (even though I'll be working all day Saturday...ugh!). It's been fun catching up on all your blogs though! I've never been this behind...keep writing, friends!

Please NO!

I have slept 14 of the last 24 hours and am just starting a headache. I can't get sick! I have SO much to do in the next two days!

In Desperate Need of Advice

2007:
I subscribed to the Carroll Co Times for the coupon benefits. It ended up not being worth the cost since most of the coupons were for pet food, baby items and medicine. Not my lifestyle. SO I "CANCELLED" the subscription (sense the frustration yet?).

2008:
Exactly a year later, I started receiving telemarketing calls from CCTimes. "Would you like to renew?" NO. Repeated calls, repeated "NOs!" and finally in the middle of leading my ALG girls I forcefully told them to stop calling me and remove me from the list. They "did." You know where this is going don't you?

2009:
Exactly one year from the anniversary of the anniversary of the cancellation, I started receiving calls again. Every Tues and Wed night for the past SIX weeks I have received the same call. I have asked FOUR reps to not only stop calling but to REMOVE ME so they can never possibly call me again. The last person apologetically promised it would not happen again and if it did to ask for a manager. Exactly a week later, "It" did. I didn't answer the phone...believe me, I recognize the number by now.

What would you do if you knew you were going to receive marketing calls twice a week for the rest of your life because IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE CALL LIST??!!

Can one get sued for causing the hearing loss of someone they've never met before? I own a bright shiny whistle.

A Few of My Least Favorite Things

(1) My Dyson: I know! Everyone else LOVES theirs! To me it's just another vacuum that has average suction and has a roller brush that gets tightly wrapped with hair. It may be pink but it's still a lemon. Grrrrr!




(2) Shower Caddy: I searched high and wide to find the perfect shower caddy that would fit in my shower. Finally found one that I LOVED (but that wasn't cheap!) and a friend installed it for me. It was perfect! Until a few weeks later when it was covered in rust! Are you kidding me!? It's going in the SHOWER! it's gonna get WET! and it wasn't cheap! Good grief! (oh and it's still installed).



(3) Garden Hoses: I love their use but I hate everything else about them. The tangling, the rolling up, the draining, the cracking, the space they take up, their weight, etc. Uh...yes, both of mine are still outside covered in snow at the moment. Didn't have the energy to fight with them and get them winterized this year. I'm sure they'll be cracked in the spring.



(4) Purex Laundry Sheets: some time ago I was raving about these. Time to recant. They stained my clothes! They left dark marks on fabric. I returned them. Sorry to anyone I recommended them to!



(5) Being Ms. Fix-it: although for the most part I don't mind doing home repairs, there are times I'm very resentful that there isn't a man around the house to deal with the necessary evils. Like last week (ie: see post below containing to-do list). I attacked both of my ceiling fans thinking that if I just oiled them they would stop sounding like jet engines. First one went fine. Second one was just as easy until I went to put the cover back on. Didn't matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it back on. The frustration level sky-rocketed so high that I ended up bursting into tears. Yes, like a spoiled little girl. I found myself lying on the floor next to my vacuum and noticed the brush was full of hair (reread #1 above). I proceeded to clean out the brush which resulted in the vacuum being taken apart. And yes, you know where this is going...couldn't get that cover back on either. Okay, I'll stop now before I get to the swearing part.

Please don't buy this for me.



For the record, both bathroom fans sound like jet engines again. And a lightbulb shattered to pieces and blew a fuse when I hit the switch this weekend. Okay, I'll really stop now.

Working Vacation

RE-POSTED on January 2nd. Almost there!

I'm on vacation but have no plans to go anywhere. I decided to make this a "catch-up" vacation and am planning to stay home and get lots of things checked off my to-do list. I've been creating the list for weeks. Anything from chores to fun things. I was probably a bit over-ambitious on the list but at least I have documented the things I need to get done at some point. Even if it's not completed by January 4th.

So I started accomplishing the list on Saturday thanks to a GREAT friend who spent 4 hrs attacking it with me. And today was meant to be work day #2. At 11am this morning I was ready to begin the list but here it is 2pm and I've only done ONE thing on the list! UGH! So I decided to create this post to motivate me. Here is my TO-DO list which I'm going to cross out as I get tasks accomplished. And I'll probably keep adding to it as the week progresses.

I AM NOW ACCOUNTABLE TO MY BLOGWORLD (all 3 of you!). Let's see if this works.

BOLD = to do
NORMAL = done!

1. Clean bathrooms
2. Take down and store indoor Christmas decor
   
3. Mop kitchen floor
4. Iron
5. Clean car
   
6. Get guest room back in order
7. Redecorate house with everyday decor
8. Organize linen closet
9. Clean out purse
10. Write final 66books post
    
11. Wash new pots and pans (my Christmas gift)
12. Organize bookshelf
13. Clean fridge
14. Make shopping lists and run errands
15. Organize disastrous laundry room
16. Clean freezer
17. Replace furnace filter
18. Set mouse traps
19. Check mouse traps: WHEW!
    
20. Oil bathroom fans that are obnoxiously loud (WORKED! for about five minutes)
    
21. Put away deck decor from the summer
22. Block door drafts
23. Laundry
24. See movie
25. Organize recipes
26. Help friend organize her kitchen
27. Put bike and bike rack away
28. LOTR: Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King
    
29. Submit rebates (missed deadline)
30. Hand sewing
31. Help at NESAP food pantry
32. Call about missing contact lens from contact order
33. Shop for everyday supplies
34. Balance 2009 budget
    
35. Organize 2009 receipts to prepare for taxes
36. Bills, balance checking account, etc (#35-37 took 5 hrs today!)
37. Scrapbook (that will take an entire day)
    
38. Clean out vacuum (sooooo glad that's done)
    
39. Shopping trip to Columbia and Hunt Valley
    
40. Help a friend decorate a Polar Express cake CANCELLED
    
41. Spend a day at the MVA to renew driver's license
42. Do a puzzle
43. Prepare Bible study
44. Create table centerpiece
45. Refill bathroom wallflowers
46. Cover deck furniture
47. Take down outdoor decor
48. Secure wireless (I'm sooo bad!)
49. Set up Wii!!! Wheeeee!
    
50. Read, Read, Read
51. Freezer meals: 2 lasagnas, 2 chicken pot pies, taco soup, winter barley, chicken caruso, egg salad (not for freezer). All in a day's work...