A Sweet Letter

Yesterday in the mail I received 2 surprises. The bad surprise was a ripped open envelope telling me obviously that someone had been in my mail. This irritated me so much ......I mean what loser spends their time going through other people's mail. In that envelope was supposed to be a $10 bottle of medication for Bella. GRR!!! I was so mad. I eventually called the place where I ordered it from and said they'd send me another one for no cost. So at least that turned out okay.

The other surprise was a very good one. A very sweet letter from my sister-in-law Deena. It's amazing when you're living in a new place and you don't receive much mail other than other people's ;) or bills, how good it is to see a pink shoebox card from Hallmark! It was just a kind note telling me she missed me and reminiscing on past fun times, but it meant the world to me.

If you're waiting to say a kind word to someone, or all of the sudden you get a feeling that you should just call someone and tell them, "Hey, I was just thinking about you" or just to tell them that they're loved, don't wait! You have no idea what that person is going through and how your thoughtfulness will impact them....Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Deena for your sweet letter. Love ya lots!

Thoughtless Thursday??!!

Well, I have nothing to blog about, but it happened on the wrong day of the week! It's not Wordless Wednesday: it's Thoughtless Thursday!

Love him, Love "us"

Safely Back Home

I am glad to announce that our girl is back at home. I went to pick her up this morning as soon as they opened and when the nurse brought her out, she was soooo excited to see me, I was worried she'd giver herself a hernia!! She whined for a few minutes after I held her, as if to say, "Mom, do you know what you put me through?" I just held her, trying to juggle paying the receptionist, keeping her in my arms (they're not supposed to walk) and signing papers. I had her bed all set up in the car and when she got in the bed, she rolled around it happily...... When we got home, I put her water in front of her and she drank it vigorously until ALL of it was gone. She must have not drunk at the vet's office very much at all. Now she is happily sleeping in a ball right beside me and the stitches look good. I am so happy to have her back home with us :)

Bella

This morning, bright and early, I had to take Bella into the vet to get fixed. UgghH!! This killed me.....first of all because of not knowing anything about this vet, I just had to take it for granted that they were going to be kind. I know, I'm just admitting it now- I'm a serious dog lover , especially my pooch. All of this morning, while getting ready for the vet , Bella was at my feet knowing something was going to happen. She gets so excited to go for a car ride and when I got her leash out she went crazy with excitement.... I just kept thinking, "O Bella, you have no idea what's coming.." As we pulled into the parking lot and I took her in the door, she was definitely NOT happy. First of all, right inside the door was a Giant Mastiff looking her straight in the face probably thinking, "I wonder if you squeak?" or "how much chewing could I get out of you?" Well, the receptionist came and switched leashes with me, and just took Bella and placed her in this room (probably with dog cages) - Bella reluctantly followed. 

Grant it, this problem is probably my fault because Bella never goes into her cage unless we are gone from the house. We let her sleep with us....so she had a serious reality check, I'm sure. I know that this a common surgery, but nevertheless, she's my baby and I hope everything goes well. She's there overnight and I can pick her up sometime tomorrow.  

Just one of those nights........

Ever have one of those nights where you can't think of anything but sad things? Well, as you might have guessed I'm having one of them tonight. Everything's pretty quiet around here: Chris is sleeping, Bella is sleeping- I'm the only one who seems to not be able to enjoy that luxury. Our college that we attended is starting up tomorrow back in Tennessee and I'm remembering all the fun times there and the different memories that are there....and missing friends that are there. A.K.A  Nikki, Matt, Mike, Justin, Danielle and so many others. I miss you guys!! 

Then my thoughts move on to my home in Ohio.... I miss late-night talks at Joel and Deena's house with mom calling me 3 or 4 times to see if I'm coming home yet ;) (love ya mom!) I miss mom and I's spur-of-the-moment mall trips just so we could get a cup of Gloria Jean's coffee, an Auntie Anne's pretzel and steal some good deals from Christopher and Bank's! I miss my B.F.F. Maggie ( remember that Mag?) and all our weird, but extremely fun times together. And I never thought I'd say this but I even miss the state of Ohio. And that is a HUGE accomplishment....(After 19 years of living in the same house, and everything being the same, I kind of wanted to get out and see new horizons) but as they say, "There's no place like home." Dad, I even miss you saying, "Whatever!" I'm learning the older I get to never take such a great family, like mine, for granted. 

Don't get me wrong, I love where I'm at now and I'm enjoying getting to know my in-laws better. Life changes but the changes are good for us and are exactly what God has designed for us......I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, a great church, a great family (on both sides), great friends and last but not least, a great God! 

I'm sorry if I've just depressed all of you that are reading this but it's nice to be able to write my feelings down and get them out. I don't know- maybe I shouldn't write sentimental blogs at night when I'm tired and my emotions are very vulnerable, but a life can't always be perfect- there will be sad times, and glad times. If we can remember what is what like to go through the  sad times, then when we get to the glad times, we don't take them for granted..........

FINALLY- off to bed..............

My Free Piano

So indeed we did end up getting the piano and it is safely moved into the house. It is a very, very old piano, but surprisingly in pretty good condition. I'm going to have to have a tuner come to look at it and tell me everything that needs to be done, but once it is totally restored it will be beautiful! I'm so happy to have my own piano now...

P.S. I'm still looking for a piano bench though :)

FREE??!!

I'm sure all of you know by now that I LOVE the piano and have wanted a piano for a long, long, time, but simply could not afford it...

Well, today a good friend called me from church and told me that she had seen an ad in the paper for a piano in good condition, beautiful cherry wood, and the best part- FREE!!! I called the number in the paper and a sweet little old lady answered the phone and she said the only problem with it was that it needed to be tuned. Now, if that truly is the only problem then I've got myself a pretty good deal. She said that she had several people coming to look at- one one on Thursday and the rest on the weekend. I told her that I really was interested and asked if I could come tonight after Chris gets off work and she replied, "Well, I guess the early bird gets the worm!" 

SO....I really, really, really hope this works out. I have wanted and prayed for a piano for so long and I hope this is it! I'll post later after we go look at it to let you all know how it goes....

A Riddle

Okay.....try to figure this one out:

1. There is a man found dead in a phone booth with slit wrists; there are broken holes on either side of the phone booth with broken glass and the phone is left dangling from the hook. Also, the trunk of the man's car outside of the phone booth is filled with guns, tackle, and fishing gear.
   

 WHAT HAPPENED TO MAKE THIS MAN DIE?

    

My day...

It's been a quite a day.......quite a day. My eye indeed feels better. Besides some redness, and slight sensitivity to light everything feels normal, so I probably just scratched the eyeball a little and it will slowly heal itself. It is amazing the small things that you take so much for granted until you have to live without it, and let me tell ya- living without being able to open your eye is NO fun - nope- no fun at all. Yesterday I tried to nurse my eye all day, keeping all of the lights out in my house all day and not stepping a foot outside. I did other things like keep a wet rag over my eye and put eyedrops in it frequently. I had already scheduled a recording last night at our church to record piano playing and singing, so I did everything possible to be able to do that. Well, I made it to the recording and went ahead and played a few songs with low lighting and everything worked out just fine. We were at the church until a little after midnight last night and were very exhausted when we got up this morning, so I can't really say the day ever had a chance of being a good day......

Ever met a person that all they can talk about is negative things and something is ALWAYS wrong, but yet they have all the solutions for everyone else's problems?? Well, I had the pleasure of dealing with such a person this afternoon for a few hours and let me tell ya for sure, there's nothing that'll make your day better than someone loading a ton of more problems on your back that you really could've lived without having. Well, anyway...it's not the end of the world but it's just amazing that whenever one thing happens bad in a day, EVERYTHING has to happen bad in the day. 

There were more aggravating things like Bella repeatedly getting in the trash , tripping and falling on my beloved backside, and the husband unexpectedly working overtime....

Oh Well....things could always be worse right?? Hopefully church tonight will help me  :) I am looking forward to our first class tonight with our teens!

P.S. While I am typing this, the dog has just accidentally fallen off the back of the couch and landed in between the window and the couch. I guess a tragedy always needs the comic relief!

Suggestions?? Someone? Anyone?!

Has anyone ever fallen asleep with their contacts in??????? Well, needless to say I did last night. I have done this before accidentally and it never affected me like this but let me tell ya, this time I feel MISERABLE. Last night, I started reading and fell asleep only to awake at around 2 in the morning with a terrible burning itching sensation in my eyeball. I got my contacts out as fast as I could even though trying to get them out was like trying to pull a strong suction cup off of a dry surface. After I got the contacts out, ,my eye was still burning sooo bad but I thought if I could get back to sleep, that it would be better in the morning. Boy, was I wrong! My eye felt so horrible this morning that I could not even open it....I just laid in bed while Chris was getting ready for work and continued to try to open it. Throughout the morning, I tried putting a wet cloth on my eyes, making myself cry, and blinking profusely so as to get my tear ducts working just for a little relief! I then called Chris, and had him pick up some Visine eye drops on his way home for lunch. I'm waiting to see if those work, but the directions on the bottle say only use 4 times daily, and I'm not feeling a difference yet. I am sick of this burning- I kind of would like to just rip my eye out. I'm wondering now if I should just get some plain ol' saline solution and just flood my eye until I can get some moisture back in it. If anyone would like to suggest anything, I'm open for it! 

A Thought for the Night

Well guys, I haven't written in a while because- well, honestly nothing has happened that has been worth writing about :).

Chris and I have just arrived home after a late night at a friends house. On the way home, Chris and I started talking about all the things that have happened since we were married in December, and I started thinking to myself how much my life has changed even in the last few years! Now, I imagined a lot of things since childhood but NEVER did I imagine that I'd be in Kansas- in a city I had never even heard of- and helping in a small country church. As I think of this, I look back on all of the ways God prepared me to be what I am today. Every little issue I faced as a pastor's kid (which by the way- even though not always appreciated- was the best childhood I could have imagined) , and every problem that I have run into has not been in vain. True, I am not very old, but the more steps I take in life, and the more I grow as a Christian, the little things like- taking piano, going to a Christian school, having parents in the ministry, and having siblings and grandparents that lived far away for most of my childhood- every bit of it has helped me to cope with where the Lord has me now. I am so excited to be here, with my husband doing exactly what the Lord has planned for us right now. I don't know what adventures lie ahead, but I know whatever they are that the Lord is preparing us right now for whatever he has planned for us in the future. I get so excited thinking about all the promises God has given his children and how He will lead us every step of the way!

Do I miss my family? More than anyone can possibly know. Do I run into hard things to deal with and wonder whether moving here was a good idea? Absolutely. But then I just think about all the ways that God led us here, all the ways he has blessed since we've been here, and all the things He has in store for us while we are here; and then suddenly, I have overwhelming peace that I am exactly where God wants me and doing exactly what God wants me to be doing. And that my friends is the perfect recipe for happiness and a good night's sleep........
God is so good.

The Importance of TODAY!

I just wanted to share a little story that my grandma once shared with me......

"Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there our dreams will come true, and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

"When we reach the station, that will be it!" we cry.
"when I'm 18"
"when I buy a new 450sl Mercedes-Benz!"
"when I put the last kid through college"
"when I have paid off the mortgage!"
"when I get a promotion."
"when I reach the age of retirement,I shall live happily ever after!"

Sooner or later we realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us. "Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough."- Robert Hastings

This is such a good thought because we all are guilty of this. I know when I was in school, I just couldn't wait until I graduated, then when I graduated I couldn't wait to get to college. When in college, next thing was to get married, and now that I'm married there are many things that I'm anticipating. But, it is so important that we realize we never get the day we have right now back. This can be depressing for some, but to me it is a great opportunity to take every minute I have with Chris, with my church, and with our family and enjoy every minute of it. The Lord tells us to "number our days" and with His help I hope to do just that! 

The false Court Summons

Here I am, on my couch enjoying a little downtime on this Sunday afternoon. I am trying to choose what to write about and out of all the things that have happened in the last couple of day- I think I've decided......

Thursday afternoon, I was home by myself when I heard my screen door open quickly and then shut. Well, sometimes my imagination can take off in a million different directions until just a slight noise becomes a door opening or a creak or something about to jump out and get me!! Silly I know, but I HATE being home by myself, and usually I have the radio on or music playing to cover up all the random noises that a house makes that aren't usually noticeable until you're by yourself. Well, I stood on the stairs with Bella, deciding if I should open up the door or not. I thought it was really weird that whoever it was didn't knock or ring the doorbell. Well, after a few minutes I decided that I was going to overcome my overactive imagination and go look out the window. Sure enough, I saw nothing - only a piece of paper in between the screen door and the door. I grabbed the paper expecting a notification of an upcoming event or a subscription to something but when I looked my eyes zeroed in on the words, "Summons, Defendant, and 13th Judicial District Court." 

Okay- pause here for a moment if you please. Mind you, I had been in this town no more than a week and I was receiving a court summons??! Okay back to the story......

 

As I started reading this paper as fast as my eyes could go.....I realized that whoever this summons was for , they owed around 500 dollars to Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital. At this point I knew it wasn't for me, so I called the phone number on the back of the paper which connected me to a very skeptical woman. I proceeded to tell the woman my name, address and the situation. I asked her what I could do to get this summons into the hands of the RIGHT person. She asked me several questions, including "Have you ever known this person?" or "Are you sure he doesn't live there?" By about the ninth or tenth question , I told her, "Look lady, I have no idea how to make you believe this but I'm not the guy you want nor have I ever heard of the guy you want." She then told me, " Well, we hardly ever get addresses wrong." After that, I asked her if there was someone else I could talk to and she told me to call the sheriff's department, and I thought to myself- "O boy, here we go again." She said if I didn't call them and inform them of this, then the day of the court hearing if the guy didn't show up, they'd show up at this address looking for him. Well, I didn't want that confusion so I just called the sheriff's department, told them about it and thankfully they were a WHOLE lot more understanding than the other lady.  They did ask me some questions, and assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that everything would be taken care of. 

 Needless to say, I've never gotten a court summons before but I guess there's a first time for everything. I guess I'd rather have the first time be when the summons isn't for me! :)