Six Flags

So yesterday was our big day out to Six Flags. It was a little sad because Keisha ended up not being able to come...but the three of us still headed out for a day of FUN and FUN we found!! Nina picked Patti and I up and after filling the cooler with our snacks (of which there was PLENTY) and saying a prayer over our day together we were on the road by 9:15!!

The first picture of the day! We decided to start out with a smaller ride, as Nina put it...to get our tummies and bodies ready for the bigger ones that would come later!

Don't Patti and Nina make a wonderful royal couple? They are sooooo regal!!

What day of fun is complete without a self-taken group shot? We all laughed and commented on how short Nina looks in this picture!

At about three we headed to the car for our lunches. It felt soooo good to get our socks and shoes off! I laughed at how ill prepared I came. I said that if I had packed for the day for my family....I would have had extra clothes for everyone, hand sanitizer, bug spray, a water mister, band aids....but packing for myself? NONE OF THAT!

After lunch we headed back in to the park to finish off our day. We saw the singing and dancing show. It always amazes me that had I been able to start in April I could have been in that. I auditioned wayyyy back the winter of my senior year. It was a really good show and had some great dancing. We also went on Superman, the Viper, Ragin Cajun (again), Raging Rapids (again). The Demon was closed for maintenance so that was too bad, but otherwise we really got to go on all of the rides that we wanted to.

I think the best part of the day was just the commaderie that we had. We laughed so hard, acted silly, talked about serious things, shared parts of our stories...it was an amazing day with amazing friends that I will cherish for years to come!!

A little more Six Flags...

So we had some fun photo ops...lol


George Jetson and I strike a pose!

The Superman ride was almost a lil much for me...lol....almost!

Nina and I

Patti and I

Our soaked "after" picture from the Roaring Rapids (I think that's the name) Let's just say I wasn't thinking very much when I wore a white t-shirt to Six Flags and then went on water rides...lol!!

More Six Flags...

The many faces of my girl Nina...lol

Gotta love her!!!

I've Been Tagged!!! 6 Random Things

Hey everyone---so my lovely She Speaks friend, Dana tagged me. So after reading my 6 random things....hop on over to her blog, Filled with Laughter to see her answers! For those of you I am tagging, please follow the rules listed below. Incidentally, here's who I'm tagging:
Amy
Jess
Ali
Sarah

These are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (This is only a game)
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up

And here are my six random things in no particular order....

1. I LOVE reality TV. lol...So You Think You Can Dance, Big Brother, Run's House, Little People Big World, Survivor, Project Runway. I do think it's my nosy nature and love of people that just makes me so interested in watching other people's lives...lol!

2. I love to play in the rain with my kids. We have major water fights at the end of our driveway on really rainy days...splashing and running through it...it's a blast!

3. I have a wall in my dining room full of pictures...but my goal is to have pictures covering the whole ENTIRE wall. I love pictures!!!

4. I am the world's biggest procrastinator. I am always running late, finishing projects late, putting things off...it's a horrible thing sometimes. It is better than it used to be but part of me just knows that it's how I am now and I try to compensate for it. Like if I have to get up at 7...I set the alarm for 6:30 so that I know I will be out of bed by 7...lol

5. I crave physical attention and touch and it's super hard because I am married to a man who really does not like physical attention and touch at all. Just being honest.

6. I love each of my kids more than I can even fully put into words. I would lay down my life for any of them and am so excited and can't wait to see them grow and change into adults!! I love how each one of them is so extremely different and a total individual. They are each so beautiful with so much to offer the world and it is a pure blessing to be their mom!

So there you go. Six random, unrelated, off the top of my head things about me :)

Girl's Day Out!

I am soooo excited!! Today I am going with my friends--Nina, Patti and Keisha--to Six Flags for the day. I don't know if my old body can handle it though!! I pulled a muscle in my back on Saturday and it's really not any better. I'm glad that I took tomorrow off too because I think I'm going to need a day to recuperate...lol.

I plan to take a bunch of pictures as I think this day will be one for the history books!!!

Talk to you later :)

Jubilee Sunday

Today I was a part of a panel for Iced Expresso

The topic...Friends with Benefits: Caution! You may get burned! It went really well. There were 4 of us & the audience were women in ages from 20s to 50s. The concept of this ministry is "older" women befriending & mentoring younger women. The topics deal with real life issues & ways to rely on God to get us through them. I think because of everything that I did...the choices I made...there are certain things I can speak about in a way thats different. I used to be afraid that my testimony would be too wild. Then I saw how God used that to reach people who thought they had messed up so much that God wouldn't want them. Now as Christian woman & with me being so open about struggles, temptations, mistakes...I see how God is able to use that too, especially with younger Christian women who might be having the same kind of stresses. I can't be anyone but me & there is no point to pretend.

Now I'm just relaxing, watching Marlon do his origami & feeling rested & happy. Hope you all had nice weekends too!!

Just a good day....

Lisa, Jessie & Autumn enjoying our staff dinner for camp.


Sweet Christie, excited to have her first strawberry daquiri (yes, it was non-alcoholic...lol)



Our group :)



Sarah & I



Just thought I'd share a few pictures from our staff dinner last week.


Today was such a nice day. You may remember me blogging about a community cook out we were having at Frame Park this afternoon. Our family (minus Jordyn who was working and hangin' out with her friend) all worked really hard together. We headed to church and loaded up the cargo van with all of the food, games, tent, etc at about 9:45. Then it was off to the park to set up. I got so excited when at 11:30 a couple of people already started showing up! (it didn't start until 1pm) By 12:45 the grills were fired up and a group of about 50 people had showed up. In all, I figure about 300 people came. We served food, had music, sno cones, face painting, kickball, games and crafts for the little ones....many had heard about the picnic from the flyers, Salvation Army, the Women's Center, James Place....but many just stopped by because they heard the music, smelled the food....just as we wanted. So many great conversations...so many smiles...so many people eating their only meal for the day. In fact, some of my 3rd cousins came and I was able to talk to them...meet their kids. At 4 we started packing up and with all that was left---we sent a ton home with many of the attenders. One of the sweetest moments for me was seeing this man I always see around town....a homeless man who is often garbage diving...sitting under a tree with a full plate of food, two sodas, and a huge smile!! I mostly face painted, did games with the little ones and walked around praying and mingling.

I think my favorite part of the day though was later when my friend, Patti and I went for a walk around the river. Jaden came to play with the boys and we got to have a really great talk & get to know each other better. Jaden & Izzy are on the same team and we've become fast friends, but haven't really had a lot of just girl talk time. So that was a fun time. On Tuesday, she, my friend Nina and Keisha (a woman from church who I also know from Heyer school with the kids) are all going to Six Flags. I can't wait!

Content. In every and any situation. Today was a gift and so easy to be content.

Still here.

You may be wonderin' where have I been and what is up?? It's been a longggg time since I've gone a week without posting. It was quite a weekend and I found out some really sad news on Monday that just had me really contemplative the last few days.

Last Friday Edie, Steph and I took the staff from Camp Zoom out for dinner. It was a really fun time just getting to know them in a non work way. We went to Jose's. It's kind of our spot...lol.

The weekend was spent with a tournament for Izzy with baseball. I actually stayed home on Saturday and did some cleaning, walked and then went in for the later game. Sunday Marlon spoke at his grandfather's church for Men's Day so I was at the game all morning. We swam in the afternoon and then walked. We're starting up a little mini weight loss challenge with just my immediate family (parents, sister, brother in law and our good, good friend Katie) and I'm so excited because Marlon is going to join us this time! He's already doing so well!!

Monday I found out that my friend from work miscarried. Upon finding out about the miscarriage and going to the dr to make sure--she found out they were twins. My heart just aches for her because she and her husband were so excited to be pregnant again (they have a 5 yr. old) and she is just a great mom. Also on Monday, we found out that our dear friend and co-worker JJ's wife lost her battle with cancer in the wee morning hours on Sunday.

I want to share something JJ wrote on her carepages blog from the cancer center to give you a little glimpse of the amazing witness that he and Lori were to all of us....


29 July 20, 2008 at 01:25 PM CDT
I had just finished reading the latest updates on the Care Pages to Lori from my laptop while she closed her eyes and listened. After reading the touching message on the message board from our son Johnny, I told her, “See you are a Proverbs 31 woman.” She just smiled and quietly said no.
At 7:45 the doctor who earlier had requested 2 ultrasounds politely knocked and entered our room, set down and gave us the results. Lori’s liver was beginning to shut down, what was happening was irreversible. We asked what will happen next, he answered as kindly as he could. The toxins in the liver were depriving the blood of its platelets, the unprocessed bile would get into the brain and cause confusion in speech and thinking processes, and it would only be a matter of time before she would lapse into a coma or her heart would simply stop beating from the toxin build up. Neither one of us shed any tears at the news and Lori thanked him politely for as much as she understood. Before leaving he suggested that we should plan to return to family and loved ones no later than Tuesday. Lori and I had always talked about this eventuality. We never lost faith in God’s ability to heal, but we knew that God is sovereign and we don’t know his plans. We saw this time in our lives as a path that God had put us on.

All along the way there would be flowers on either side of the path. We saw these “flowers” in the many cards and words of encouragement and prayers that were said on our behalf as we proceeded obediently trusting the Lord every step of the way. We had always left open the fact that God might eventually bring us to a fork in the road, and that he would take her home first.
Our trust in our Lord Jesus Christ was sure and our faith unshakable. The news from the doctor while unwelcome was not devastating. There were areas where we could be thankful. Thankful that the care rotation (that was planned weeks ago) worked out that I was here instead of my 16-year-old daughter when the doctor came in. Thankful that I got to share her birthday with her. Thankful that Lori’s family, who had planned a family reunion a year ago on this weekend, were all together in Indiana and could support each other when they got the news. Thankful for our children who had to pull together and mature literally overnight as their mom and dad had to leave town. Thankful that we were led to the Cancer Treatment Center with its excellent staff and these Care Pages so not only Lori and I, but all her family and friends, could be blessed by reading the scriptures, comments and prayers that were posted. Thankful for all the meals that had been prepared and delivered to our home during those early days of the diagnosis when our family was in a state of shock.
Saturday evening around 6:00 P.M, I packed a rented vehicle with all our belongings we had brought to the center and then Lori and I headed off to her family reunion in Kokomo. About 8 hours into the trip, we decided to listen to a praise and worship CD that a staff worker had given us before we departed. The words of the songs were perfect and were just what we needed to hear. It was now about 2:30 a.m. I noticed that Lori’s hand had become cool, and I pulled over on the side of the highway. She wasn’t breathing, and I felt no pulse. I called 911, and did CPR until the ambulance arrived. They were unable to restore her breathing or a pulse. In the meantime, my sister in-law Sheri, who is a chief nurse executive(who I had been in contact with over my cell phone)drove down with my two brother-in-laws Mike and Robert over 200 miles in the early morning hours to southern Illinois to be with me. The last minutes of Lori’s life were peaceful as she fell asleep in the Lord's hands, serenaded by praise music. We started off heading for one type of family reunion, but God chose to bring Lori home to his family reunion. Blessings to all.


This evening is the funeral and we are expecting quite a crowd. Lori served here in different ministries for a long time, JJ has worked here over 20 years, they have 5 children...

I've struggled this week. I've been much closer to other people in my life dying...but for some reason this one is hitting me hard. I'm sure it's partly that she was a great mom, she and her children served in Chldren's Ministry, JJ and Marlon are friends...but it's also hard to make sense of God's ways. Like as a Christian woman I know this. Yes. His ways are not our ways. It's not ours to know. He is soveriegn. I trust in that and it is what keeps me from being angry at Lori's death. But...to have a family so rooted in Him, such servants, so devoted to each other have to experience this anguish and loss....

It's just a hard week.

What do you think?

At what age do you stop waiting up for your child to come home? Is almost 17 too old? What if you know she is at the midnight showing of Dark Knight with her aunt...lol. I just can't bring myself to lock the door and go upstairs... I settled down hours ago to go to bed and yet here I sit, scanning the stations, checking out the web, twiddling my thumbs waiting to make sure she gets in ok.

At what age again? lol

Oh the boys...

There is something so precious about a Grandpa and his grandsons. Caught these great pics last time we all hung out at the pool together.

My daddy taking a break from playing with the boys...lol. I forget he's 59 sometimes!! He's like the energizer bunny....he's keeps going and going and going and going and going....

One special acrobatic feat each time we swim is the tube jump. The boys take turns jumping into the tube and great screams of joy emerge when they nail it!

Tyree (still clinging to that green tube you see...but getting brave and jumpin in!), my dad, Isaiah and Israel jump in together to see how much water they can send out the sides of the pool!!

Isaiah

Izzy nails his somersault!

I so love watching the boys with my dad. I know because he had two girls...sometimes their shenanigans are a little much for him. I think he can handle the smart mouth girls better than the wild, rambunctious boys sometimes...lol...but there's nothing like seeing him beam over his grandsons!!