Can you believe I'm already able to check off a few things?? lol
Create "cheat sheets" for camp while I am gone
Laundry
Pack the 2 of us--I got the kids packed AND to my parents house!!
Elijah's birthday party is today
Go to the bank
Dye my hair
Yay!! There is light at the end of the tunnel-----and we're down to 2 days!!
Wow---we leave in 3 days! That's crazy!! Not even sure where to start.
My cousin passed away early Tuesday morning. My 2nd cousin---55 years and no definate word on happened. She went into the hospital last week and every test they ran was coming back negative. There just didn't seem to be a reason for what was happening...and then early Tues. she died. While mortality is something I've always been okay with accepting....I mean I know we are all going to die sometime---when it comes so unexpectedly, so suddenly it just floors you. The funeral is Friday and I'm thankful that we will be around to go before leaving. My heart is just aching for her kids and her mother. My dad and aunts and uncles who remember a funny, goofy girl they played with growing up and partied with as young adults...I knew her to be a riot---always laughing and cracking jokes but she had a lot of hard times in her life and many sad things happening...I think I'm a little numb really.
Leaving has me both excited and yet a little worried about how everything is going to run while we're gone. Believe me, I am certainly not prideful enough to think that life won't go on without us...lol...there's just so much with our kids and my job especially that makes wonder a little how it is all going to fall into place. I have off today and tomorrow---still some work to do to be prepared to leave, but nothing I have to be at church for. My head was swimming yesterday as I was trying to remember each little detail in hopes that there would be no big glitches while I am gone. I have to remember that life is short and no day is promised to us so to worry about that which I have no control is a total waste of energy.
What can I control other than my own actions and reactions? Everything else--I have no control over. If while I am gone a problem arises---I won't be there to handle, so why worry or stress over how others handle it? It's very nice to know that I'll be missed and that they need me, but there's also a lot of pressure in that because then a lot rides on me as well. As for the kids, there's just so much that I feel a little bad for my parents to have to swallow all of that, but again, they are happy to do it and haven't made us feel that it's a chore at all. So I go released.
Here's my to do list:
Finish lists for camp week 4 and 5
Change voicemail at work
Create "cheat sheets" for camp while I am gone
Laundry
Pack the 6 of us (I did start that today at least)
Clean (I hate coming home to a dirty house)
Give Chloe a good bath and grooming (my friend Roberta is taking her for us)
Elijah's birthday party is today
Funeral is tomorrow
Marlon's family is having dinner for us tomorrow before we go
Go to Walmart to buy a bunch of stuff Brother Bob needs
Try and stop by the Teen MOPS picnic on Sat.
Take Isaiah to Spano's on Sat.
Cry a little I'm sure...lol
Take Chloe to Roberta's on Sat. night
Double check the calendar and contact info. I gave my parents for the kids
Go to the bank
Dye my hair
um...ok, based on that list, of which I am sure I am missing something, I better get off this computer and get to work!!! Much love to each of you---I'll be back!
Yes I am still here....Michelle you are right, I am crazy busy...lol!! I'm not sure if I'll make it out to Mukwonago next week, but I really am going to try--it's exciting for this church plant because there's been a lot of people in that area praying about it for a while and it's finally coming to fruition.
My schedule is quite crazy actually until we leave for the Philippines. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what we've been up to since getting back.
Last week I was able to take a little time off from work which was wonderful. I actually still did a lot of what I needed to--I just did it from home on my laptop. The 4th we watched the parade and then cooked out at my Grandma's. Last 4th of July there. Then we went to swim at my parent's and watch the fireworks from their backyard. It's cool because we can see like 5 or 6 fireworks displays from their yard. Thursday I worked and the kids hung out at my parent's house. The weekend was spent getting the house back in order from being gone--swimming at my parents house and going to church. On Sunday I spoke at our church during 3rd service at "Iced Expresso" a special ministry starting between the 20 Something Ministry and Woman's Ministry. It's a really cool effort to combine young 20 something women with "older" (and that is totally relative because at 36 I am older!!) seasoned women as mentors or teachers. I spoke on our identity in Christ and it seemed to go well. I felt very comfortable and enjoy teaching/speaking so that was good.
This week was back in full swing at camp. Marlon is crazy busy this week with meetings, an interview, curriculum writing at school (he teaches one day a week at a school in Milw) Izzy had soccer practise on Monday, Jordyn went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter last night, I had a Teen MOPS meeting tonight, I have worship rehearsal tomorrow, Jordyn goes to her dad's on Friday until the 20th, Izzy has a game on Sat. morning, Marlon speaks at his grandfather's church on Sunday, I'm onstage all weekend...Sunday we may have to go to a prison...wow. Writing it all down it seems totally mental that our life would look like that. No wonder I don't have any laundry done!! lol
Next week continues to be full, but much of it is getting ready for our next mission trip. We will be gone from the 22nd until Aug. 2 doing prison ministry there. I am so excited, but I am a little nervous for the longggggggggg flight.
I am maintaining. I really don't like being in a maintaining place because I feel somewhat disengaged from life. I can only become surface involved in order to maintain my sanity, my focus and keeping on task. I've been praying basically non-stop all day, but have been neglecting my bible time. I've studied---for the talk I did, for speaking I may do in the Philippines...but I haven't just been in my own personal study. Marlon and I have been talking about starting a couple's small group. I think for many years we just had so much...issues, stresses, personal things to work on...that a couples small group just wasn't a good choice. We both feel like we are ready to be accountable as a couple---to have a group of couples that we confide in, share with, pray for...when we get back from the Philippines we are going to look into this. The main thing is that it will need to be people we know we can be open, honest and free with.
One exciting decision we've made is that for our tenth anniversary in Jan. we are going to go on a cruise. We've never been on one and we never had a honeymoon so it will be a great treat and blessing all around.
Anyway---it's getting late and I've finally let my mind unwind enough to lay down so I'd better get some sleep!
PEACE
Well, we're back home after quite an eventful trip. Our van started sounding odd about an hour or so after leaving Biloxi....to make a long story short, we were blessed to find a mechanic that was open on Saturdays AND Sundays-that was willing to fix out van (wheel bearing) AND blessed to have friends that chipped in and paid for the expense of fixing our van. Amazing.
Thought I'd share some more photos....
Here's the room we stayed in.
Here's some of my group during worship time.
Marlon teaches the kids how the game they played relates to the lesson of being a team player for Christ and always putting forth your full effort in life.
These are just a few of the pictures that show the intense state of destruction that Biloxi was left in after Katrina hit. The bottom is a FEMA trailor that someone is living in on their property. Many people have not yet begun the clean up of their property, much less the rebuilding. Slowly, one house at a time, Biloxi has begun to rebuild.
Getting late. More later. Happy 4th everyone!
