Lack of Wisdom

Sometimes I just don't understand.

God, please help me to understand and to see your ways and your workings in our lives. Amen.

In the Heat of the Day

We have one. It's in the wall in the living room and does a lovely job cooling our entire home. But for some reason I'm stubborn. There's a part of me that feels like we shouldn't have to turn it on in May - especially since it's supposed to be back in the 70s Saturday AND weather.com says it'll stay in the 70s through next weekend. However, my stubbornness is affecting my work getting done around here ...
It's too hot right now to sew. There's a breeze in the living room, but not in the kitchen where I have to set up the sewing machine. I have a fan going in the bedroom and one in the living room, as well as the central fan - but it's still 88 degrees in here. And neither myself nor my wonderful husband are lacking in the "extra body padding" area - we're overweight ... it makes the heat that much hotter ...

Oh to turn on the air or leave it off? ... Thoughts?

***UPDATE***
At 9 pm last night it was still 87 degrees in our front room (where there are windows on two sides and the fan/ac. We decided that we'd turn it on just long enough to cool the house so that we'd sleep. It was nice. It was off again this morning and I had the windows all open. If only we had ceiling fans - then perhaps it would still be off ... but alas - it's back on. Oh well ... it'll be nice next week and we can have fresh air once again.

72/775

That's hours and miles ...




So last weekend was yet another in our marathon of spring/summer weekends. We started out Friday evening stopping in Ada for Kappa Phi's Degree of the Rose. Then we headed to Marion, IN to hang out with Dave and Abby Burden. Marion is about forty minutes or so south-west of Fort Wayne. Tyler had fraternity business with Dave, who took over Tyler's job in the fraternity (secretary) at the last Conclave. Abby and I had a really nice time visiting too. They've been working on remodeling their house and, while they feel like they still have so much to do, it looks great and their hard work is evident. We slept in Marion on Friday night.

Saturday afternoon we took off for New Philadelphia, OH, 5 hours from Marion. We stayed with Garry and Deidra Lute that night. I felt so bad that we got there so late ... but it was good to see them. We hadn't seen them since last August at their wedding. We stayed up and chatted for a while. Deidra gave us the grand tour of their new house - which they are also remodeling. She bought it sight unseen by Garry just a couple of weeks before their wedding. They've finished ripping out the lathe and plaster walls in the entry and have re-drywalled and are waiting to paint. They still have a lot of work to do - but their house will be beautiful when they finish. The old woodwork alone is gorgeous.

Sunday morning we went to church in Urichsville with Deidra and her family. It was really good to see Mom and Dad Dudgeon again, as well as her little sister Diana. We then took off and headed for Wintersville/Steubenville, OH - an hour further east than New Philly. My step-mom's mom died on Thursday night and we wanted to go out for the showing at the funeral home. I know it meant a lot to Dad, Syl, and my siblings to see us there. Dad was shocked ... but, like we said, there's nowhere that's too far to travel for family. It was good that we went. I just wish that we could have stayed for the funeral on Monday - but that wasn't practical, we needed to work on Monday. So we left the funeral home around 3 and headed towards Columbus. Why?, you ask. Because at that point in the weekend, we'd rather make the 3 hour drive to my mom's house than the 5 hour drive back to ours. And it was Mother's Day ... couldn't hurt to see as many of our moms as we could. So we had dinner in Columbus with mom and stayed there Sunday night.

Monday morning we went to mom's school and Tyler taught her fifth graders some cool things about math. We started that tradition while he was in grad school and we've just kept it going. Mom usually takes the math enrichment kids, so they just eat up everything that Tyler talks about. She had a bright group again this year ... I was impressed with the way they followed and asked intelligent questions. I also haven't missed a year of my life without getting to mom's room at least once a school-year. The visual on her kids just makes her stories so much better! We left around noon and headed straight to school to pick up Sophie. So, by the time we got home from our Monday evening church meeting, we'd been not home for 72 hours and put 775 miles on the car. While it was a good weekend - I certainly wouldn't recommend that much travel in three days time. :P

Chocolate Chips

Today is National Chocolate Chip Day! How exciting! Celebrate today with cookies ... or just eat them by the handful ...

What a yummy day!

A Mish Mash of Info ...

- 38. That's the total number of pounds I've lost in the last year. Woo Hoo! :) That's major progress towards my 100 pounds lost goal. And, I'm right on track. I figured that it would take me about 2 and a half years to really make the life changes necessary to keep up with this forever.

- JESUS! Oh so much to say ... So the video in the previous post is short, sweet, to the point, and HILARIOUS!!!!!! It was a total accidental find. And a laugh we totally needed. Tyler and I were reading some things online about this movement. Intrigued to find several holes in his "platform" ... we searched on YouTube. And found this ...

Wow ... holy cow dude ... people can really twist stuff huh? I won't post it here, but the piece that's done by the Today Show was informative too. And Tyler and I sat and watched in amazement. Slowly, we realized that there's a reason God isn't smiting US. He's too busy watching out for the real loonies out there ... So I'm really interested to hear what you may or may not have to say about the Growing in Grace movement/religion ...

- So we're 1 week into a 7 week crazy land. Yes, that statement was confusing ... allow me to clarify. Last weekend was the first of the out-of-town crazy booked weekends. Tyler had an Aflac state meeting in Dayton on Friday. His meeting went well. While he was busy meeting the new state coordinator, I spent the afternoon with Jenette and her two lovely children. Poor Ethan was still not 100%, but he's still a good kid. Little Kara (11 weeks old now :)), is soooooooooo adorable. She's such a sweet little baby! So Tyler's meeting only went 4 hours instead of 5, whew! I went back up to Dayton to pick him up and we returned to Jenette and Aaron's house. (As a side note here, they live in a subdivision. Not one of the newer ones where every home looks exactly the same, but a subdivision none-the-less. I did not get lost going in and out of their neighborhood different ways than the directions that Google gave me. I also didn't have trouble following the directions in the first place - except for not being able to find the street that Jenette forgot to mention was necessary to get to her house in the first place :P. Haha! Tyler gets lost in there every time. YES! I am better at not getting lost!) They ordered a pizza for dindin ... killer pizza ... Fox's. It was yummy. Having time to hang out was fun. Saturday, we went to a baby shower. It was way cool. Josh and Ann had their shower at a park and did a cook out. It was a family affair too. Everyone just kind of mingled and played with each other's kids, it was super nice. Tyler and I talked on the way home, and it was exactly the kind of shower we'd like to have someday. We were planning on coming home Saturday afternoon, but we were totally exhausted. So we stayed another night. Jenette and Aaron left to run some errands and left us with the kids. Tyler played with Ethan on his Star Wars game. I think they had fun ... Ethan sure seemed to. I sat with Kara while she slept. Then she woke up and the little stinker was starving but refused to take her bottle. Oh well ... the fight that she put up refusing the bottle just gave me more quiet time while she was eating. She's such a happy baby! Tyler was really sweet to take some time with her too. He's really good with kids. He'll be a good dad someday. Aaron made enchiladas for dinner and margaritas. They were killer good. We mostly just hung out. But truth be told, we needed that relaxed social time. We don't often get that. We left Sunday morning around 9. Which was great because it gave me time to crash before I left at 2:30 for a bridal shower in Ada. It was really good to see the girls that were there. Yay for weddings! Tyler and I are really looking forward to this one. One of many this summer ... Then last night I had a jewelry party to attend. Another fun one. I needed that social time too.

- Upcoming events: Trip to Marion this coming weekend. STE business. Then another jewelry meeting Monday, and a new group starting up at church. Next weekend my mom is coming up. We're going to take Gramma out for lunch for mother's day ... yeah ... late, but the only time we could fit in in. The weekend after that is Memorial day weekend and we have a family function. Then, the first two weekends in June we have weddings. I keep thinking that we already have plans for the third weekend in June, but I can't remember what ... oh well ...

- So this was way longer than I expected. I need to get moving again on laundry. Today is rug washing day. I also need to find some lunch ... and I have to pick up Sophie at 3 today. Later ...

JESUS!

3:30 Brain

Yeah ... I've been bad ... sorry about that. Truth be told, I've been going through some stuff and just haven't felt like posting about it ... However, my lack of motivation leaves my loyal reader (Is there more than one of you? :P) with nothing to read. Bummer for you ...

So it's 3:30 in the morning and I'm up. This is the second night in a row for this awful sleep pattern. Last night I was up sick at this time ... tonight ... well - let's just say that not only am I up sick, I had quite the dream that I just couldn't shake.

So ... what's going on? ... Well ... We're working on getting the office in order for what Tyler thinks will work best for him and Aflac. It's an absolute mess right now ... but it will get there. What is done and where it will be is nice. And we've both been really good about just getting rid of stuff we don't need and/or use. I've been on a real kick of "get rid of what we don't need/use ... get it out of our house" recently ... I must say that I know this isn't completely unfounded ... I just don't know the full extent of what's causing it yet.

DOC called. My second pair of glasses is in. I can't go down there to get them this week. I can't go this weekend. I can't go next week. I can't go next weekend. You know what? ... I pretty much can't get away from Findlay (except for all of the stuff that's already booked) for quite a while. So mom's going to pick them up and mail them to me. I have been blessed ... truly. Mom is an absolutely incredible woman. She's more than I could have ever wished for or imagined a mom should/could be. Don't get me wrong ... she's not on a pedestal or anything ... we've had our rough times. But we're where we are now in our relationship because of the way she's been willing to redefine it over time. We most certainly don't look like what I think most mother/daughter teams look like. And I think that we're closer than most ... which can be a problem at times (for everyone ... sorry sweetie ... I know). Mom and I are more friends than parent and child. But I know I can still call and talk to my mommy if I need/want to. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

We're going to be crazy busy for a while. We have a baby shower and a bridal shower this weekend. I'm skipping small group on Thursday to have dinner with my Big Sis (who hasn't been in state since our wedding almost 3 years ago). Usually I wouldn't skip ... but it's been 3 years since I've had a chance to spend time with her. And she graduated a year before I did ... so it's really been almost 4 years since we've had good quality time together. Next week I have a meeting every night. We're headed to another STE meeting next weekend. Then we start in on the wedding marathon of the summer. I know I'm looking forward to it. It's just harder when we have to go go go ...

I do have some more to say ... but I'm tired. I've finally cooled down and finished my water. Hopefully I've seen enough HGTV to clear my head tonight. Sorry about the long time between and then the length of the post. I'll try to be better ...

Changes

So Mom came up last week. She was here Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I must admit that the visit was nice. We all went to a Sedar meal on Thursday night. I miss regularly attending. It was nice. Friday, Mom wanted to buy some new pants for school. So we hauled up to Toledo to a mall. It was nice to spend the day with Mom and Tyler. She found some great pants and a couple of skirts to wear to school. She's still on the hunt for shoes though. I found a really flattering sun dress. The zipper was broken though. So we got it for a big discount. I have already changed the zipper out for a new one ... I just need to sew the hook and eye back on the top. I was hoping to wear it this coming weekend ... but we'll see. Maybe Friday night. Tyler got a couple of dress shirts and a new tie. All three of us found new spring jackets ... like nicer than a windbreaker ones. I really dig mine.

Thursday wasn't a fabulous day for me. My new job laid me off. Grr. Just until business picks up though. I think that the boss thinks that's going to be a lot sooner than I think it is. Oh well. I am still nannying after school. I do really enjoy that.

Tyler had a couple of really great productive meetings on Thursday. Things are really starting to move for him. That's so encouraging to see.

This coming weekend is Conclave. We went down to Ada last night for Brotherhood so that Tyler could answer any questions or concerns they might have. I was surprised that they had almost 2 hours worth of business that involved us being there ... and they kept going after we left. It was really good that we went though. I know Tyler feels that way. I know that it was good that he was there to field some of the questions and concerns that the brothers had.

So we're in Indy this weekend. We still don't know what time we'll get there. I know we were both hoping for sooner rather than later ... but it looks like he might have to go to some Aflac training thing in Delphos in the afternoon. We're both really looking forward to the weekend. We're having dinner with JT on Friday night. He and Tyler were in the same pledge class. He's the alumni delegate for E. It will be good. I'm sure there'll be plenty more changes for me to share after Conclave ...

In the meantime ... I have a TON of work to do and errands to run before Friday morning.

Heels and Hopes ... Both High

So I wear heels to work now. That's pretty different than the tennis shoes I wore to school to work, to clean to work, and to nanny to work. My feet hurt today. They don't want me to put them back in heels ... but yet ... heels I must.
Yep. You read that right. I have a professional job. I'm back to working bridals. There's a really well established business in Tiffin that just expanded to Findlay. They took over the old I DO! building out by Olive garden. The owner is super nice. I really enjoy working with her and for her. She did a wonderful job remodeling the space too. It looks like how I think a bridal shop should look too. There's only one downside that I've spotted ... For now, until she can justify hiring more people, it's just going to be the two of us working. She doesn't want to be left alone in the evenings. So for a while ... I'll be late to our evening activities. Bummer ... but Tyler and I talked about it. I don't want to give up the shot at a full-time job because I have no short-term flexibility with my schedule. I am so tired of having to split myself 2, 3, even 4 or 5 ways just to make not enough money to even make a dent in helping with the bills. Yesterday, I made more money than I do in a full week of nannying. I just don't want to loose that earning potential - especially while Tyler's still getting his feet under him.
So ... the long and short of it ... I'm happy about the job. I'm not thrilled about the hours - but I know that they're just short-term. So this is a good thing. Okay ... I have to leave for work in about 2 hours. I should get busy around here. I find that I'm just not motivated to do housework when I don't get home till 8:30. Imagine that. :P

Second Chances ...

Okay ... so I have an interview tonight at 5. I'll post more about it afterwards ... I'm still kinda superstitious about sharing too soon. Let's just say that this could be a very good thing.

In the meantime I'm washing windows and doors, cleaning the bathroom, and cleaning up my mess in the kitchen from sewing world.

Now ... what to wear ... hmm ...

Switchfoot and Switch Plates

I find myself in a bit of a reflective mood today. And here is what I find myself reflecting upon (it's by Switchfoot) ...

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over

This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes

This is your life are you who you want to be
This is your life are you who you want to be, yeah

This is your life, are you who you want to be, who you want to be yeah
This is your life, are you who you want to be (who you want to be)
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

And you had everything to lose

For those who aren't Switchfoot fans it's called This is Your Life. I loved this song. Mandy played it at JZ's funeral. I couldn't listen to it for a while. I can again ... and that makes me happy ... but that is beside the point and neither here nor there. The real reason I've been thinking about it lies here: Am I living like I want to live? For the most part - yes. I am happily married. I love taking care of my husband and our home. I enjoy one of my jobs ... I tolerate the other one :P. Tyler and I have wonderful friends. We enjoy our jOURney church. We are blessed. And yet there's a part of me wondering what it is that's not quite right. I find quite the call here to really live like today is it. I wonder how our lives and world would change if everyone honored today for what it is truly worth. Hmm ...

(And now, because I'm not so sure that deep reflection is working for me today ...)

On to the switch plates part of the title. It's spring. That means spring cleaning. I LOVE this time of year. I LOVE that I have the luxury of spending a large chunk of time cleaning our home and making it sparkle. Don't get me wrong. I do clean on a regular (read "weekly") basis. There's just something different about this time of year. The kitchen is gorgeous. I am so thrilled to have the inside of our appliances clean. (Yeah ... I know ... it's the simple - well dorky - things that please me.) The cupboards are clean ... inside and out. The bathroom is just as clean. Today's mission is: you guessed it - switch plates. No one ever thinks to clean where our dirty little fingers leave marks. Also on the list today - the insides of our washer and dryer need washed out, the furniture needs vacuumed, and the shower needs scrubbed down again (Tyler ran mop water for the floors in the bathtub after I cleaned it the first time ... oh well ... today's cleaning should be easier.), and I'm thinking that will probably be it in the time I have for today. Tomorrow I'll have more time.

And on a bit of a side note here: I don't understand why people freak out at the thought of sending your child to a friend's house when that friend has the chicken pox. That's what mom did to me ... I survived. Seriously - better to expose your child and get it out of the way when he's between like 4 and 9 than have him in college and ridiculously sick. Seriously people.

Okay ... on to switch plates ... :P

Yes. In my last post I promised that I would comment on the whole Jesus tomb thing on Discovery. And I will ... I haven't had time to re-watch the show so that I'm not just making smart comments and laughing here ... and so be patient. It will come.

In the meantime - jOURney discussion was really good this past week. We talked about the Good Samaritan and Mary and Martha. So here's what I got ... (yes, I shared some of this - but not all on Sunday) Sometimes we want to do it all. We want to be the Samaritan. But sometimes we can't do it all. No matter what we want ... so what we can do is something. And we shouldn't belittle what we can do. At times we need to sit at Jesus' feet, because that is what is most crucial at that time. We don't have to have a perfect home or a seven course meal prepared for our guests ... we just need to sit with them - and be. Here's the real lesson for me. I far too often get caught up in my to-do lists and forget to just be with the people in my life. I am blessed that the people in my life are still there when I remember to look up from the chore list. And I realize that. But where does the balance lie? The chores need to be done. I'm only able to do those chores and other things on my lists at certain times of the day. I still need to be able to sleep at night. So where is the balance? Where is the time that it's permissible for me to work on checking off the things on those lists? I don't know that answer yet. The times that I think it's okay ... well ...

So speaking of my lists ... I have made serious progress recently. The ironing was all finished before I went to bed last night. The laundry is finished. I need to wash the rugs in the house. I'll do that while I'm washing the floors this afternoon. I'm behind on Chrysalis work. I know that I am. But Tyler's been really busy with work and fraternity stuff on the computer. I always feel bad when I need to be on the computer and he's busy. But I need a serious chunck of time ... and I'm just not home that much when he's gone. I must say that I miss my laptop. I miss the days when it was still working. Ahh well ...

Okay ... off to school. Hopefully there won't be any petty cat fights between the monitors today. (You'd think that adults could conduct themselves as such, but apparently not.) Then quick hour home for lunch, washing floors and rugs, and paying bills. Pick up Sophie, run her to dance, stop at Curves for half an hour, dinner, and Bible discussion group. Wow ... it sure looks like I'll be busy today ... oh well. That's how I like it.

(Andrea or Ryan - I'm almost finished with your alterations. I need to stop and pick up some thread for your dressy pants - I didn't have anything that would work. Hopefully I can bring your clothing back to you tonight. :))

Thoughts and a Song

The thoughts shall follow at a later date and time. Tyler and I watched the Jesus tomb documentary on Discovery last night ... I would like to comment on that ... but my brain is just not there right now. In the meantime I'd like to share with you the lyrics to a song that is playing in my head right now - My Savior My God:


I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is,
My God He's always gonna be...

My Savior loves my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is,
My God He's always gonna be...

Yes living dying let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring
That He who lives to be my king
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is,
My God He's always gonna be...

My Savior loves my Savior lives
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was, my God He is,
My God He's always gonna be...

Crazy

So that last post was kinda cryptic. Sorry about that. I really have been going crazy around here though.

So I've recently started a new medication ... and my body isn't crazy about it. It's been a whole week since I've been to work. I hadn't been to work all that consistantly before that either (still getting over that grr flu). Last Friday was the last day that I really felt okay. Not great ... but okay. I have been trapped in the house and on the couch since Sunday afternoon. I am however making progress. While I'm not working today (a large part of that being that I NEED to be at the Chrysalis board meeting tonight), I am capable of sitting up. That's progress. Even last night, I couldn't sit up for more than 5 minutes. Today, I've been sitting up for a good hour now.

And now on to other topics.

Holy cow the fog was nuts yesterday. There was a good chunk of the morning that you couldn't see my car parked in the driveway from our kitchen window ... which is no more than 20 feet away. CRAZY! They tried to run schools on a 2-hour delay yesterday, but then ended up cancelling all together. I can't blame them. It was near impossible to see down to the end of our street (about a half of a mile) until afternoon ... even then, the fog didn't really clear till 2 ish and then was back in full force around 6. Major crazy. Tyler kept me posted on the state of the fog every time I spoke with him yesterday.

More in the crazy weather realm ... today's wind is nuts! I seriously just felt the house move. Seriously.

So Tyler's in Cincy today. This is his last training down there for a while. I know he's tired of driving down there all the time. I'm sure tired of him driving like this. He'll be home tonight. That's a good thing. At least it's not an all day deal this time ... just an afternoon.

And now I will go lay down ... I have reached my limit of sitting up time. Just one more thing ...

Welcome to the world Kara Diane Aldridge! Congrats Jenette and Aaron!

And Now ... A Song ...

I am slowly going crazy ...
1 ...
2 ...
3 ...
4 ...
5 ...
6 ...
Switch!
Crazy going slowly am I ...
6 ...
5 ...
4 ...
3 ...
2 ...
1 ...
Switch!

I hate when I don't know what's going on ... and I'm not talking about in the world ... I'm talking about in myself. This whole emotional crap is stupid. I don't understand what my problem is. Grr ...
And the worst part of it all ... It's upsetting my relationship with Tyler. We're fine. But thanks to stupid head ol' me things are tense and rough. And it's all because I can't answer what the heck my probem is ...

stupid ...

It's a B-E-A-U-Tiful Day

And not because of the blizzard-esque conditions outside of my window ... and not just because there's a snow day and I still get paid for working today ... but the real reason ....

It's officially baseball season!

And that makes me a VERY happy girl. Pitchers and catchers report today ... ahh ... as of noon today ... it's a beautiful thing. And at noon tomorrow they report to the Cubs training camps ... ahh ... then my team will officially be in season ... The Indians report later this week ...

It's the most wonderful time ... of the year ...

The "S"s of my Life

... and there are three ...

1. It's SNOWING. It's pretty. I'm a sucker for snow. Although there's a part of me that admits I'm only enjoying it as much as I am because I don't have to go out in it. Why you ask? Don't you have jobs to go to today? ... why yes ... but ...

2. I'm SICK. I was sick like this at the start of the year. Twice in January. Seriously ... what's up with me? ... Fevers twice in the same month? I'm feeling a little better right now, but I was up almost all night ... grr ... I hate when I'm up all night. Do you realize how much NOTHING is on in the middle of the night? Seriously - from 3-5 am I had nothing to watch. And I just wasn't in the infomercial mood last night. Being up all night leads to ...

3. I'm SLEEPY. But I can't sleep. I hate that restlessness that comes with sickness and the inability to sleep ... ahh well ... this can't last too much longer. I don't have time to be sleepy or sick. And so I shall will my healing processes into hyperspeed and I'll be able to work tomorrow. I can just tell it. I shall will myself better and then will be able to go to Cincy on Saturday for STEBowl. I just know it.

(okay ... I might have more to say - but I'm too tired to try and figure out how to word them with "S"s and I don't really want to break away from my theme right now. I'm out ... )

The Heart of Our Lord

In Luke chapter 7, you'll find the story of a funeral procession for a widow's only son. In that time, women didn't own property or really have the ability to care for themselves. The fact that she was a widow meant that she was relying on her male children to take her in and care for her. This was a funeral for her only son - so she was pretty much out of luck. Being that she was son-less and a widow, she'd probably be forced into begging or prostitution to provide for herself. Being that there was a good chance she didn't own any property, including her home, she would probably find herself homeless. It is a scene of deep sorrow and desperation. Luke 7:13 says, "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."
What a picture of the heart of our Lord. Here we have a real life tangible example of how much our Lord is there for us. Jesus' heart went out to the widow, and his heart goes out to each and every one of us.
I have to say, we've had a rough month. Three people in our world have passed away. While we were not super close to two of them, our hearts still hurt for those left behind. Yes we're still grieving for Z ... and yes, most days are good days and most memories make me happy ... but still ... it's a lot ... Teresa passed and left a husband and three young children. Roger passed and left a wife and three children (23, 18, and 13). Whether the passing was expected or not it's still hard to face ... and it still hurts my heart.
Here, however, I find comfort. For in the lowest moment of this widow's life, Jesus' heart hurt for her and went out to her. So for us, in those moments of desperation and loss - in those times where we can't understand why - how incredibly comforting it is to know that God's heart goes out to meet us there.
Now, being humans and by our nature, we get in the way of God and God's workings. So here I pose a question to you ... How much more comfort and solace could/would we feel if we didn't get in God's way?

29

days till pitchers and catchers report.

I am happy.

Life is good.

Baseball is almost here again.

How I lost the last two weeks ...

Friday morning, January 5, 2007, Tyler and I received an aweful phone call. A very dear friend of ours and his mother were killed in a car accident the night before. He was 25. I'd rather not dwell on it right now ... I will however say that JZ was one of our best friends. In the 6 years we were blessed with his friendship, we were also blessed with a lifetime of memories. I know that we won't loose those, because he will live on in all of our friends and in his widow, Mandy. His memorial service was on Monday the 15th. It was really nice. I think that we all needed it, and I know it was what he would have wanted. Yes, there were tears (a dear friend was ripped from our lives too soon), but they were far outweighed by the laughter that day.

And I'll give you, and myself, a moment to transition .......................

So I should be at work right now. It's Thursday, so I should be at the school working lunch ... however Tyler left for work this morning and took my keys. Of course, he has his keys too. So that leaves me with no keys. So here I am, not working, just chilling ... figured it was past due time for an update.

So, what else has gone on around here in the last couple of weeks? ... Things with Kayla are going well. She's social and honestly, after having two guys in the house while Nooner was living with us, it's a treat to have two girls. Tyler's training with Aflac this week. He was in Cincy Tuesday and Wednesday. It was really nice to have someone here with me while he was gone Tuesday night. He'll be there Friday and Saturday morning too. It'll be nice to have Kayla here then too.
Things with jOURney are really moving along too. Public launch is this Sunday. Check out the webpage (link on the side of my blog). Kayla's been a real gift in that area too. She's been so willing to just pitch in where ever. She's also been coming along to gatherings on Sundays and Bible discussion on Tuesdays. It's been really good to have an outside perspective. Tuesday night on the way home from Bible disucussion she said something to me that was wonderful to hear ... she said that she feels like she can just be with the people here. These people she's met she feels like she's gotten to know, like she'd acctually want to come back and visit them ... like she's not just here for a month and she hasn't just met them. She feels like they're being real. WOO HOO Y'ALL!!!!! That's what we're going for. We strive so hard to be authentic, but we don't really have anyone new or outside of our little group of friends to tell us how we're doing ... and apparently we're rocking out on the right track. :)
Things with the school are going great. They've been so understanding of me needing a bit of time off to help with whatever I can for Mandy ... they've been so good about letting me not work because my temp job won't let me have days off without swapping them for a Tuesday or Thursday. Kayla and I were talking about this the other night ... we don't know when we started not expecting the best from people. And it bums us out that we don't anymore. It shouldn't be that way, we shouldn't be shocked when someone is sweet and understanding ... but it does ... and that's not cool.
Things with Sophie are going well too. I am so blessed by that family and the time I get to spend there. It's a bit of sanity for me. It also allows me to serve where I know I am needed ... and Becky expressing her appreciation is nice too ... not necessary ... but nice to hear that I am helping out.
Things with the temp assignment are poopy. The woman who's admin I am doesn't seem to know for sure what I'm supposed to be doing for her. She wanted someone to make sales calls, but she's also given me 700 other things to do and track too. I'm doing the sales paperwork, tracking inventory, requisitoning supplies for the crews, tracking that, marketing plans for online sales, cost analysis on those, dealing with some outside side sales for another company, phone calls, tracking and recording $ sales amounts daily and month and year to date, and filling in for the receptionist while she's at lunch. So yesterday, the woman called me into her office and yelled at me for not making enough sales calls. But she's the one who has me following her around and doing a ton of other stuff for 3 hours a day. I'm only supposed to be there from 9-1 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. However, there are very few days that I acctually get to leave at 1. Usually it's more like 1:30. Which is okay ... it just severly shortens my lunch break (I have to leave to get Sophie at 2:15). Yesterday, I left work after 2 and had to go straight to school. The woman had a clear understanding that I cannot stay and work indefinately when I started there. She knew I have an afternoon job and that I have to leave to pick Sophie up at 2:15 at the latest. She understood that I have to leave at 1 on days that I have Sophie. I know she got this. Yesterday, at 1:45 when I reminded her that I really had to go, she gave me yet another huge pile of work that had to be done yesterday. It was after 2:15 when I left yesterday. I had to go straight to school yesterday. I hate having to do that. My head hurt so bad yesterday because I didn't have any food after my breakfast at 8:15 that morning. Why didn't I eat? I wasn't allowed to stop working. grr ... Oh well ... as soon as Tyler starts making money on a regular basis I'm out of there. I am so looking forward to going back to the school five days a week. Then I can pick up more seamstress work and a couple of cleaning jobs maybe. I am however, going crazy there ...
... and holding down three jobs is getting old (and tiring) very fast ...

Okay ... so before I completely wrap this up here I have two more things to say:
1) Cole Wright is home and adjusting well. Please go read about it. It's been so uplifting and such a blessing to keep up on the happenings in the Wright's adoption world. You can read it on Trevor's blog (linked on the side of mine).
2) Ryan and Andrea Clements are two of the coolest people around. Their son Reese is up there too. Monday night they made dinner for the three of us. It was major yummy chicken tacos. So we're sitting there after dinner and the kid is going on and on and so Andrea thought to change his diaper (he's almost 2). But on her way upstairs with him and he says, "Front Poop." Yeah ... front poop ... apparently since he knows the word "poop" he has decided to clarify which poop he's doing - poop or pee ... yeah ... sweetness all around. We laughed and laughed and laughed. It was fabulous! We also watched Cars. Super cute, we hadn't seen it yet. I'd watch it again. Andrea also made carmel popcorn for during the movie. It was perhaps the most amazing thing I had eaten since the chicken tacos a couple of hours earlier. mmm mmm good ...

Okay ... I think that's plenty for now ... sorry it was so long ... I think I'm going to take care of some business/cleaning around the house. I couldn't go to work today ... so I might as well be super productive around here instead.