All Things New

So it has been way long since I've written on this thing. Oh well. Life has been way to crazy.

Well, I think I am entering into a season of newness. Let me tell you about the exciting new things God is doing in my life!

New Job!
As most of you know, I have just started a new job. I am so blessed to be at the school I am at doing the job I am doing. My principal and co-workers are simply wonderful and have been so supportive and encouraging. My kids come Monday (3 precious little boys!) My to do list is about 10 miles long and makes my head spin, but I am so excited for this year. I realize it is going to be hard, that I will be tired and not every day is going to be great, but nonetheless I take great joy in knowing that is exactly where God wants me at this point in my life and nothing really gets more exciting than that.

New House!
I am moving out of my parents' house next week (I think - It is still up in the air). A girl in my Sunday School class bought a house earlier this summer and has asked me to move in with her and has offered me an unbeatable deal on rent and bills. It will be closer to work, closer to church and closer into Houston where all my friends live. I haven't had roomates in a year, so I am so excited to get to live iwth girls again. Ella is excited because she will have a HUGE backyard and a cat friend to play with.

New Role!
I can't say a whole lot on this topic because nothing is official quite yet, but over the next month, I will probably be transitioning into a new leadership role in my Sunday School class. It involves an area of ministry that I am way passionate about and have wanted to do for several years now. I feel completely inadequate for it but am so honored and blessed to get the chance to do it. I'll let you know more when everything is official.

New Bridesmaid!
My sweet friend Mina got engaged a couple of weeks ago and has honored me with the request of being one of her three bridesmaids. So excited! She is kind of on the fast track to the wedding as she is getting married in January so tomorrow I get to go to eat lunch with her and the other bridesmaids and get measured for our dresses. They are going to be a rich blue/turquoise color which I think is gorgeous and I am way excited because we get to pick our own style of dress. This makes me very happy because as pretty as strapless dresses are, I am very uncomfortable in them, so I will get to wear some kind of spaghetti strap/sleeveless dress and not be so concerned about how my dress is fitting or falling down. Yay!

New Boy!
Haha...joking. You got excited there for a second, didn't ya'? Believe me, no one will be more excited than me the day I get to write about a boy and it isn't a joke. :0)


Okay, that is it for today. I am going to shower and then go out to dinner with mi padres for Mexican food and margaritas! Yum! Be praying for me on Monday as my kids come on Monday. I am way nervous.

Love you and God bless!

Random Ramblings

I love to write on my blog. But life gets in the way of that love. That's okay. Life is crazy and overwhelming and a little frustrating right now but nonetheless, very blessed. Anyways, here's some random things I have to share.

• A friend of my dad's found this article in the Chronicle earlier this week: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/5918603.html I really just love the land of my birth and all it's quirks and idiosyncrasies. The things they come up with there never cease to amaze me.

• This girl named Jemma Leech (she is from Wales - how cool is that?!?!) is in my dance class this week. She's brilliant. Like think Stephen Hawking. Here's a link to an article about her and some of her brilliant writing: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5658069.html I feel really stupid next to her! Sad thing is that since I teach dance/movement, her involvement in my class is fairly limited at best. Anyways, this kid is amazing and I'm pretty sure she will be famous one day.

• A hurricane named Edouard (weird name for a Texas hurricane/tropical storm) is on its way to Houston tomorrow morning. My mom made me go to the store with her and grab insane amounts of water, canned goods and other non-perishables. I think everyone is getting all worked up, but oh well - I don't have to go to work tomorrow because of it! I'm trying to decide what to do with my day tomorrow besides sleep. Maybe a good post about an awesome conversation I had last week with some friends from church. I think you will like it.

• Real work starts in a week! So nervous but soooooo excited!

Hope this finds you well! God bless!

Interesting tid bit...

So I opened up my email this afternoon to read about this news:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5905981.html

Very interesting. I'll be interested in seeing where it all goes from here.

And don't read the comments. People say HORRIBLE and untrue things about my beloved BU. It may not be perfect or even the best, but I loved it. And I think it is silly when people critcize things they know absolutely 0 about. I guess some people feel like they are entitled to an opinion about everything.

Anyways, just thought I'd share.

4 seconds of fame

So you know how they say that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame? Well I am four seconds into that. So I have 14 minutes and 56 seconds left.

I made the news here in Houston the other day! Well not me really, but the place I am working at this summer. One of our local news stations has this thing called Education Station and goes around featuring different places and stories around Houston that relate to education. Anyways, I just wanted to share the video with you so you can see me in all my glory...haha

Hint: I am at the very end of the story teaching hula dancing to 5 little girls and a lot of teenage volunteers. Yeah. My famous moment was me hula dancing. Nice. That's how I always saw it happening.

http://www.click2houston.com/education/16843911/detail.html

Enjoy!

PRAY!

So, I was working on a recap of Houston Project, but this post simply couldn't wait any longer.

This is a picture of my friend, Jenni, and I (pardon the attractive helmets - we were about to go horseback riding in the mountains of Colorado). Some of you may know her and some of you may not. She and I went to Baylor together, were in KXA together and then when I moved to Denton, she lived about 5 minutes away from me with her parents so we became close during the time I lived in Denton.

Anyways, this girl is way precious. I mean just a sweet, gentle spirit, who speaks truth into the lives of others and is about as authentic and genuine as they come. Unfortunately, after I moved last year, her and I have not really spoken as she has a crazy work schedule and I can sometimes be horrible at keeping in touch.

Moving on. I got the saddest phone call yesterday from a friend of both of ours from Baylor. Jenni has 2 brothers and 1 sister, all of whom she is very very close to. Her oldest brother, Jason, who would have been 26 yesterday, was killed in a horrible horrible wreck in DFW on Friday afternoon. (Here's a link to the news report/tribute on it: http://cbs11tv.com/local/jason.powell.remembered.2.770336.html)

Not only were his parents and siblings left behind, but his precious wife (who I had the privilege of meeting both of them once last year) and their 5 month old baby boy.

Yeah.

I don't even have any more words to write. It is so tragic. And this is not the first time I have watched someone lose an older brother to a horrible car wreck. If you remember, my roomate from sophomore and junior years at college lost her brother to a car wreck. And this is not the first time this year that I have watched a friend lose a loved one. My heart just aches for Jenni and all of these people in an indescribable way. And it hurts so much knowing I can do nothing for them.

Anyways, just be praying for their family that they would feel the peace and love and comfort that only comes from Christ. They are all Christians and love Jesus passionately. Pray that there are people there to love on them, hold them up and speak truth to them even in their darkest hours.

Anyways, just wanted to put that out there. Thanks!

Painting Pictures of Egypt

Painting Pictures of Egypt
by Sarah Groves

I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this

CHORUS:
I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

BRIDGE:
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?


So I usually don't like putting song lyrics up here. But this was sung for us last night at church at our wonderful Pastor's request because it directly applies (and is actually inspired by) what we are talking about in church now as we walk through Exodus.

I can't even begin to explain to you how much this song is about my life and where I've been and where I'm going. And the faulty mindset that this song so aptly describes about God moving us. I'm not much of a crier most of the time, but as this song was sung for us last night, my eyes just filled with tears because I knew I have been exactly where those Israelites were in their thought patterns. I think I might have sobbed had I not been holding it together because I wasn't able to sit by my girlfriends last night and was sitting next to a really cute guy (I know him, but not super well - certainly not well enough to sob in front of).

Anyways, just wanted to share how the Lord spoke to my heart as of late. Here's a link to the youtube video of this song...I promise it won't be a waste of your time to listen to it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSXciv06218&feature=related

Remembering the Lettuce Wrap

Today, my mom and I decided to eat lunch at Chili's. Her and I are both attempting to lose weight with Weight Watchers and although Chili's might not seem like a good place to go for losing weight, it has salads that we both like and fit in our diet plans. My salad happens to be lettuce wraps and I have been eating them for years. Well when I opened my menu (even though I know what I am going to get, I still like to look at the menu...weird, I know), I couldn't find my beloved lettuce wraps anywhere.

When our waitress came up, I asked her where the lettuce wraps were. She told me that they are taking them off the menus! The horror! However, she said it was a recent change and that they might still have the ingredients to make them if I wanted them. They did, so today, I enjoyed my very last lettuce wraps.

Now this might seem like a silly thing to blog about, but you have to know that if you have ever dieted and eaten out, you know that it is hard to find things beside dry grilled chicken that fit within your diet plan. Lettuce wraps were one of those non-threatening, guilt free items that I truly enjoyed and didn't feel like I was eating diet food when I ate them. And they were at one of my favorite restaurants. But apparently, not enough people shared my love for them and the lettuce was going bad, therefore making Chili's lose money.

And I like to blog about silly random things, so this fit in perfectly. Join with me as we say adios to the lettuce wraps!

And a more serious post is on it's way...not sure what it will be about, but I have a lot of thoughts swimming around in my head, so one of those thoughts will eventually make its way onto the pages of my blog.

God bless!

Your Thoughts Please...

I love to blog stalk. Not gonna lie. I love to read about lives I know little or nothing about. I came across this blog. This girl recently got married, but has sensitivity for those of us who are still waiting for a God-fearing man to walk into our lives and sweep us off our feet. I found this quote on her blog today in a post:

“Why do we pray for women who want to have children, but can’t or haven’t yet, to have open wombs. But for women who want to be married, we pray that they would be content in their singleness. Why don’t we pray that God would bring them a man of God and start their family?”

It was actually a quote from a friend of hers, but she was relaying the conversation.

What are y'alls thoughts? I'm not sure how I feel about it. I want to agree with it because as most of you know, getting married is a deep desire of my heart. Just like those women who are having difficulty conceiving have a deep desire in their heart to have children and be a mother.

So why do we ask the single women to be content in their singlehood but don't ask the married but childless women to be content in their station as life as well? Isn't that somewhat of a double standard?

However, shouldn't we be praying for peace and contenment wherever we are at, no matter the pain we sometimes feel in any of those situations? They are different kinds of hurts, but hurts all the same. I don't know. Since I've never experienced the inability to conceive or lost a baby to a miscarriage, disease or whatever the case may be, I can't really comment on it. But I can comment on the singlehood. It hurts sometimes. Sometimes, the hurt is more than sometimes - it is a lot of the time. It depends on the day.

Anyways. Let me know what you think. Some of you are married and aren't thinking about children. Some of you are married and have children or will very soon. Some of you are in my exact position. I really do want to hear your thoughts.

God bless!

Everybody Dance Now!

Hello all! My new job and various activities outside of work have kept me so busy that I just simply have not had the time to visit blog land to update.

For those that don't know, I have spent the past week and a half teaching dance/creative movement/physical fitness at a nonprofit organization that exposes children with disabilities to performing and visual arts. Whoever thought I had the credentials for this job must have been crazy because I spend most of my days wondering how I got this job and why they pay me to do it. I don't feel like I know what I am doing but I am slowly learning. Too bad I only have 4 more weeks of camp to get it right. I'll probably get it right the last week. Anyways.

So yeah. I definitely can tell I was meant to be an elementary teacher. All (well, let's be honest - some/most) of the activities I plan work great with my younger classes (I have 4). They get into it and I am able to fill the whole hour of class without too many lapses in time with nothing to do except go crazy and run around my smallish dance room. However, my older classes (ages 12-19) look at me as if I am crazy half the time and just stare at me. What on earth am I going to do with them? All they want to do is play volleyball. And that is definitely not what I am being paid for. I tried Little Sally Walker with them today and they stared at me like I had asked them to run around naked. Big time failure. So anyone have any ideas? Seriously. I feel like I am dying in that class. And not only that - the girl who this organization was started for is a volunteer in my class and reports to all my bosses what is happening and which teachers she likes and does not like and what she thinks they should be doing (she is 15 and somewhat thinks she runs the place - sweet girl, just kind of a big head). Today she told our Artistic Director that she should fire the music teacher (who is great IMO) who has been teaching at the organization faithfully for like 6 or 7 years. Geesh.

Anyways, enough about work. I must sleep now and pray that tomorrow is not as big of a failure as today was (every class went fairly poorly). Outside of work, I have just been getting ready for my real job that starts in August, doing church stuff, trying to have a social life before it ends in August and my real job consumes me and just hanging out with the family.

Next post should be more interesting. Seriously, if you have any ideas for any of my age groups (I have classes from ages 5 all the way up to 19), please please please comment. I've done a lot so far but don't want to get in a rut just doing the same things over and over (especially because a lot of the kids are repeats).

God bless!

Personal Training

You know, I used to think that personal training was only for wealthy suburban women who had way too much time on their hands and were overly invested in their looks and appearances.

However, my skepticism has slowly faded and I now have joined the ranks of those who have a personal trainer.

I have several reasons that I decided to do this. One, I really just needed the accountability and focus that personal training provides. Yes, I could have found this in a friend or something, but all my friends live in other areas of town and it would be fairly difficult to coordinate schedules, work out places and times. I work out with my dad a lot, but he is really really fit and motivated to be so, so it is hard to compare to him when you lack the same zeal for working out that he has. Also, his schedule and my schedule often clash, so being consistent would be hard.

I really just feel that doing this now is a wise investment for my future. The older I get, the harder it will become to get back in shape, so why not set a good pattern and develop positive lifestyle habits early on? They will teach me how to safely and effectively exercise my body and muscles and I can take those recommendations and such with me and carry them even after my period of personal training is over. Also, if I take care of myself, I will be healthy for my future husband, children and so forth so that I can care for them and give to them the best I can. I don't want to take away from them because I am bogged down with health problems that I could have prevented by a healthy lifestyle and good choices.

Also, honestly, I want to lose some weight (15-20 lbs.) and look good. I know that is silly and somewhat vain, but seriously, what girl doesn't want to look her best? I have the rest of my life to be chunky, so if it is attainable to look decent now, why not try? I probably will be curvy/a little plump later in life because every woman in my family is and struggles to no avail with a sluggish metabolism.

So there you have it. Personal training is hard for me and sometimes just flat out miserable, but I keep reminding myself how good it is for my body and of all the reasons I listed above.

I also know I am not the only girl doing this. Several girls in my Bible study class are doing this as well and several more have expressed interest. So at least I am in good company.

God bless!

The Post with ADD

Since I have been not so diligent in my posting lately, I now present you with a post about a million things that is all over the place. So hang in there...

Marjie's Engagement (and everyone else in the world)
My sweet cousin got engaged. Her Australian fiance (hot accent!) proposed to her on an island in Honduras while on a trip with friends. How great is that!?! Anyways, so excited and I will have my dancing shoes ready for next May! (Don't worry, Paul - she told me it would the end of May, so I should be able to come to your wedding!)

Summer Job
So, I don't know if I mentioned it before, but God blessed me with a really amazing summer job. It is at this local non profit organization that provides performing and visual arts education to children with disabilities, illnesses and who are economically disadvantaged. Every summer, they run 6 weeks of day camp (2 weeks in June, 3 weeks in July and 1 week in August). I originally applied just to be a teacher's aide in their dance/creative movement class, but they shocked me when they asked me to be the actual teaching artist in there! So I get to make up all the dances, activities, etc. for all these sweet kids that are so dear to my heart. I also didn't expect to make much money at all since it is an npo, but I asked my salary after being hired and I had to ask them to repeat it when they told me - $25.00 per hour! Holy moly. That's almost as much as I will be making teaching full time next year. I am a little overwhelmed and feeling inadequate for this position, but am super excited and have really been getting into my lesson planning - I already have 2 weeks done!

Missions
I desparately wanted to go on a missions trip this summer. I was certain that was what God wanted out of me. But, as usual, His ways are bigger and greater than my ways (PTL for that - amen!) and I have just felt this really strong "NO" being spoken to my heart for this summer. I was very disappointed. I wanted to go to Cuba. I wanted to go to Kenya. However, as soon as I made a movement towards one or the other, I just felt this deeply unsettling feeling in my hear that I couldn't shake. So I said no. Interestingly enough, as soon as I did that, God dropped an unexpected but exciting opportunity in my lap. Every year, my church does this 5 day project at different sites around the city, partnering with local churches located in poorer neighborhoods and helping them to connect with the neighborhood and minister to those living there. Well, I ended up being asked to be the VBS coordinator for our site. VBS is the thing that everything else that is going on centers around, as I understand it (that's what they told me anyways). So yeah. Again, overwhelmed and feeling inadequate, but am so so so excited about this opportunity! So even though I don't get to serve overseas, I get to serve in my own city to people who are in desparate situations and desparately need the love of Jesus in their lives. I think I underestimate the importance and neccessity of stateside missions, so I think in my trying to serve and teach these precious little ones, they will teach me even more.

Mom's Health
Many have asked for an update on her, so here it is. She is actually doing pretty well. She went to see one of her doctors yesterday and he told her that he never would have guessed that she had been through what she had been through by the way she looked and stuff. Anyways, when she was discharged from the hospital, she was put on home oxgen for 24 hours a day. Which meant we tugged around oxygen tanks anytime we went out and the machine was always running when we were at home (however, it actually kind of has a calming sound - like a fan would - it helped my dad sleep!). On Monday, she went to the pulmonologist and he told her that she could be oxygen free! Yay! So things are looking up. She will have weekly appointments and blood tests for about the next 6 months, but that isn't that bad. So thanks for your prayers - they were definitely felt in a difficult and scary situation. Just pray that she starts and continues to take better care of herself than she has been in the past few years.

Ella
Ella is doing well. Yesterday, she ate 5 peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and part of a peanut butter cake. I think she was miffed that I had been gone all day and not playing with her. That is the only time she counter surfs - that stuff had been sitting up there for a week untouched by her. She is very excited about a new addition to the family soon. My parents are adopting a golden retriever very soon. His name is Lance (after Berkman and Armstrong - two family favorites). He is currently staying at his foster parents' home because he is undergoing heartworm treatment (which requires much rest and quietness - not possible when living with Ella!) and will be having his "surgery" on Friday. Poor guy. Anyways, he should be here in about 2-3 weeks, so Ella is very excited to have a friend again! I think she misses Gibson a lot.


Okay, I think I have tortured you enough for today. I will update again and try to get the Japan pictures up eventually. Sorry for the delay. Love you all! God bless!

Breaking the Ice

A few nights ago at Bible study, we had an ice breaker question sort of thing. We have one every time, but I really liked this one. I like ice breaker questions in general, but this was one I thought would translate well to a blog post. Here's the question(s):

What has changed about you in the past year?
What has not changed about you in the past year?
What would you like to see change in you in the next year?

I had some answers that night but had to keep it pretty short since everyone in the room had to answer. But lucky you gets to read more of my thoughts on here. Yay.

What has changed about you in the past year?
- I live in Houston now. I lived in Denton a year ago.
- I was still in grad school a year ago and now I am finished.
- I did not want to be a special ed teacher last year, and now I can't wait to start!
- I had glasses I hated and hardly wore and now I have glasses I like and wear regularly.
- I went to The Village Church and loved it but was not involved. Now I go to HFBC and love it and am getting very involved.
- I lived with Lauren and Ashley last year. Now I live with my parents.
- I did not spend regular time in the Word and now I am doing pretty well at that.

What has not changed about you in the past year?
- I still have the same natural, untreated hair that I have always had.
- I still love kids with special needs.
- I still have a passion for missions and for women's ministry.
- I still have my sweet girl Ella!
- I weigh about the same.
- I still love wearing skirts this time of year - not only is it much cooler, but I feel pretty and feminine.
- I am still single - however, I am much more okay with it now than I was a year ago.
- I still love to travel.

What would you like to see change in you in the next year?
- An ever increasing passion for and intimacy with the Lord.
- An opportunity to go on an overseas missions trip - China maybe?
- Lose about 20 pounds (I signed up for personal training today! More on my decision to do that in another post)
- Investing time in one or two things at church/in the community.
- Develop even deeper and Godly relationships with those around.
- This may be to hopeful, but go on a date!?!? Hehe...we shall see.
- More balance in my life.
- Finishing a century bike ride (100 miles - right now my tops is about 60, I think).


Anyways, there is much more I could put on here, but I will leave you with a very applicable verse. God bless!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ~Hebrews 13:8~

Isn't it great that while we are changing, our sweet Jesus does not?

Today, we have a guest blogger!

Well, I figured you might enjoy hearing from someone other than me for once. So, today, we have a very special guest blogger. Get excited!

Today's very special guest blogger is....

ELLA!

Yes, it is my sweet pup (and I do realize this makes me slightly crazy). She is going to tell you about her afternoon at the Bark Park! (thanks Ash, Gibson and Riley for telling us about it!)

-------------------------------------------------------

Hello, friends (both furry and not). In case you haven't heard my mama talk about me incessantly, my name is Ella and I am the princess. I am very cute and just the sweetest thing you will ever meet. And perfect in every way. I am also very humble.

Anyways, on Sunday, my mama and grandpa took me to the best place ever - the Bark Park! It was like Disney World for dogs. I got to run around this great place off my leash, not listen to my mom when she wanted me to do something and meet lots of other doggie friends. I have some pictures to share with you to show about my fun afternoon.

Enjoying some swimming time. I normally don't swim, but since it was hot, I got in a few times. But I didn't dare get my head or the top of my back or tail wet.

Enjoying some time in the trees watching the other dogs, sniffing and being off the leash!

Playing with new friends in the mud! I love mud. My mom does not. Something about it getting all in my white fur. Eh.

So that was my fabulous day! I hope my mama takes me again really soon!

----------------------------------------------------

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little treat. She is precious. I love her. As if you haven't heard me say that enough.

Anyways, I have a bunch of topics to write about that will be coming soon. Some of those include bikinis, Esther, the early church, my summer job, Japan pictures (probably the next post), anniversaries, singlehood and other various topics. Hope you are doing well!

God bless!

PS - Sorry the alignment of pics is off. I have a really hard time with the formatting of this thing!

What a week...

Well, in the best news yet, my mom came home on Friday afternoon! She came home with her very own oxygen tank too because her oxygen saturation levels were not quite where they wanted them (hers were reading about 85% and they want them at least at 92%). But otherwise, she is doing pretty well. We even took her out for thai food on Friday night so she could have a decent meal (although, surprisingly, the hospital food wasn't too intolerable). I actually have been gone the past 24 hours on a women's retreat for my Sunday school class, but she says she is feeling good and my mom and dad even had a couple outings yesterday with oxygen tank in tow. The next few weeks and months will involve much follow up with doctors, blood tests and what not, but things are looking good. :0)

I am exhausted from everything this week! I was supposed to go to church and lunch this morning (our evening class and service got cancelled this weekend because of Memorial Day) with some friends and am supposed to go to a volleyball/movie/cookout tomorrow with friends, but I may just stay close to home and enjoy some time with the Lord and some quietness. I've been running nonstop since last Tuesday, so I think some time out is necessary.

Anyways, hope y'all are doing well. Love you and God bless!

News that is Bueno!

Well, the doc came and talked to my mom this morning and gave her some good news! There is some level in her blood that has to be between 2.0 and 3.0 and right now it is sitting at 1.7. So, they expect it to get there tomorrow or the next day. And when that happens, she gets to go home! Yay! They also told her, that the dangerous part had passed and things are on the upside now.

A couple things to pray for though. One is that she would take good care of herself with the treatment regimen they are giving her and with other medical issues that she already had before all of this. Also, they found a nodule on her thyroid and in a while (like a few months), she will have to have it biopsied to see if it is malignant (cancerous). However, if thyroid cancer is caught early enough, it is one of the "better" ones to get because it is one of the easiest to treat. Lastly, she has to do an outpatient sleep study to see if she has sleep apnea (where she stops breathing intermittently at night). If she does in fact have it (which she probably does), she will have to wear a CPAP machine (oxygen mask) at night and she is kind of scared of it as she is claustrophobic. So just pray for those things that they would be resolved and treatments would go well.

Thanks friends! Love you all!

Regular Room!

So, right after I updated yesterday, they moved my mom to a regular room. Very good news! I moved down there with her and it is a pretty good set up they have there. It's a double room, but her roomie doesn't seem to bad. She has a TV, which is an improvement over no entertainment whatsoever in the ICU. She also can order food when she gets hungry at meal times and has a small list to choose from rather than being surprised every time. Also, I get full reception on my cell phone in her new room so I will be able to answer and make calls from there.

Thank you so much to those of you who have called, left messages, facebooked, etc. with your encouraging words and prayers. I haven't had a chance to respond to everyone, but am trying. Anyways, I'll keep you posted on the latest. Love you!

Update

Hey sweet friends! Here is just a quick update on my mom.

She is doing okay and in good spirits. She is still in ICU, but maybe today or tomorrow might be able to move to a regular room. Last night, they took her off the face mask for oxygen and put her on a nasal cannula (the tube under the nose) which means improvement because it is a little less oxygen than she needed before. They have been running various tests (blood, echocardiogram, thyroid sonogram, etc.) on her all day. Otherwise, she has just been talking to us, sleeping and whatnot. She loves her nurses. So far she has had two male nurses - Noel and Jimmy - and has been pleased with both of them.

Anyways, I must get off the computer because it is a public one. Keep on praying. Love you!

PS - I need to decide if I want to go to Kenya in July on a missions trip and need to decide by Friday. Just pray that I will be able to discern God's will in this quickly. Thanks!

The past 24 hours...

....have been difficult to say the least.

I planned on my next post being fun pictures of Japan.

But it is not so.

Today, I spent the day at the hospital.

I'm fine. My precious mama is not.

Here's the scoop: So, the past few days, she has kind of been short of breath. However, she has had a cold and cough the past few weeks and we just kinda figured that it was part of it. So, she went to our family doctor yesterday afternoon after my brother left to go work at camp. The doctor said her lungs were clear, so set up an appointment with a cardiologist and for a chest xray for this morning.

As my mom was getting ready this morning (I was taking her), she was really short of breath and light headed, so much so that she couldn't really make it from her bathroom to her recliner in our living room. She decided that maybe going to the ER was a better option. So she called my dad at work to come home so we could all go together. When my dad got home, we were helping her stand up and she completely passed out and collapsed on us, not breathing or anything. So I grabbed my phone and made a frantic call to 911. Meanwhile, she came to, but just barely. The EMT arrived and put her on oxygen (which made things a little better) and checked her out and took her off to the hosptial (which is conveniently 5 minutes from our new house).

When we got there, they immediately started running tests, took a chest xray, took a CT scan and did some other stuff (it was a whirlwhind...I don't remember). After a while the results were in.

Pulmonary embolism. (it's hyperlinked to wikipedia)

So basically what that means, is tons of blood clots all throughout all regions of her lungs. Yeah...she could have died had we left it much longer. It is that serious.

So, because there were no ICU beds in the SL hospital, they transported her to the main hospital in the Med Center to the Surgical ICU there so they could watch her ever so closely.

She is there now, resting (not so comfortably because of all the stuff they have her attached to), but in good spirits given the situation. My dad and I have been with her all day besides lunch and dinner breaks and are taking turns tomorrow hanging out with her (and will continue to do so until she is discharged).

So, I guess all I am asking is to please pray. I have a lot of jumbled and mixed thoughts and feelings but am too drained to type it out. You can call if you want (it really doesn't hassle me at all), but I may not be able to answer because my phone is supposed to be off while in the ICU and I get horrible reception at the hospital. I will check my phone for any messages (text or voice) throughout the day.

So thanks sweet friends. God bless.

Things I Learned in Japan

*How to count to six:

1 = ichi

2 = knee

3 = sun

4 = see

5 = go

6 = rock

*The difference between temples and shrines. Shrines are Shinto. Temples are Buddhist. Most Japanese are both Shinto and Buddhist. All Shinto shrines are open to the public. Only a few large Buddhist temples are open to the public. There are over 700 temples and shrines in Kyoto alone.

*It is not polite to blow your nose during a meal. But it is polite to slurp your soup and noodles and you are corrected if you fail to do so.

*The most polite way to bow is at 33 degrees. If you made a mistake, 45 degrees. If you were really bad, 90 degrees. And there are certain rules about the number and type of bows you do that is complicated and only Japanese people know. So therefore, an American can just do a polite nod and Japanese people find this acceptable and know that Americans don't know about bowing.

* There are many more things I learned and wanted to share, but can't remember now. If I remember, I will share!

3rd Day in Japan!

The third and final day in Kyoto was another thrilling one. I wasn't sure what I was going to do that day because there was no accompanying persons tour scheduled and although Japan is very very safe, the language barrier can be a problem if you are lost and need help. However, at breakfast we saw my Canadian friend and Korean friend and they invited me to spend the day with them. They were planning on going on this really cool walking tour of Kyoto (apparently it has been fairly popular - like on the Discovery Channel and stuff) and it only cost 2000 yen ($20). So we took off and found our tour guide (named Johnnie Hillwalker). He's this cute little Japanese man that has been doing this same five hour walking tour for 47 years. Seriously...47 years! He moved to Kyoto right after getting married because he wanted to be a tour guide and has been doing it every since. Anyways, on the tour we walked all through town seeing different shrines and temples, different artisan parts of town and other neat things around the city. I didn't know this, but Kyoto is the handicraft center of Japan. If you have a fan from Japan (like the real hand painted ones) it came from Kyoto. A lot of pottery comes from there too. And other various crafts. And the craftsmen all living in these towns live and work in their houses and their families have been doing it for 17 generations. And all the potters live in one part of town, all the fan makers in another, all the tatami mat (the mats on the floors in their houses) makers in another and so on. It is very very cool. I even got to see and take pictures of the craftsmen making these crafts. After walking through all the crafts parts of town, we went to this really good sushi makers place and got to try a piece of inari sushi (vegetarian). Oh my I have never had such good sushi. And ours was simple - the flavored rice with tofu wrapped around it and lightly fried. Delicious! After the sushi, we went to a Japanese pastry maker's shop (one of the best in Japan) and tried a pastry and some tea (of course...nothing can be eaten without tea in Japan). We also went by the pottery painter's house and watched him paint and then outside, there was racks of pottery on sale that you could buy that they actually painted. I bought a really pretty bowl with purple flowers on it.



After the really long tour, we caught a taxi back to the hotel. My dad wanted to do some stuff so I freshened up and we headed off (on foot...so much walking in Japan). We went to the handicraft center again and got all the gifts/souvenirs we planned on. I got a really pretty miako (geisha) doll. We got my brother this really cool puzzle box that can only be opened a certain way and its like a logic puzzle. We got my mom a musical kokechi doll. Kokechi dolls are really pretty wooden painted dolls. And Audrey, I got you a couple of prints there...I'll get them to you soon. After the shopping (we got it all done in an hour...record timining!), we headed over to this part of town called the Philosopher's Walk. It's just this pretty stretch along the canal that has lots of trees (it is especially popular when cherry blossoms are blooming in March and April) and there are little restaurants and shops all along the way. It kind of reminded me of the River Walk in San Antonio but more quiet and peaceful. None of the shops or restaurants were opened because it was 5:00, so I wished we had gone earlier, but oh well. It was still peaceful. By that point, I had had my fill of walking (8 hours....ouch!) so we trekked back to the hotel. Since I hadn't eaten lunch that day, I was starving.

We decided to leave the hotel for dinnner, but stay pretty close by. So we got a list of suggested restaurants from the concierge but really just kind of looked at restaurants as we went by. We ended up at this really cute little restaurant (they are all really cute and little in Japan) and we chose it because it had english translations on the menu. This place, you also took off your shoes and sat on the floor to eat. Very authentic. In Japan, some of the restaurants have pictures or wax replicas of their food outside the restaurant so you just point to what you want (without really knowing what you are getting) and not much is in English. However, you do find some with english translations, so that way you kind of have an idea of what you will be putting in your belly. My dad and I both ordered Tempura Soba (buckwheat noodles in broth with some tempura shrimp). So yummy. I would love to eat Japanese noodles for my whole life. The bowl was huge but so good to my hungry belly. We also talked to this older couple from Denver who were on a month long tour of Asia and they were really funny. People from Colorado are always interesting. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and packed up. I am proud to say that this is maybe the best packing job I have ever done thus far. After the disastrous packing job I did for Boston, I didn't want to make that mistake again. Not only did everything fit in my suitcase that I brought, but I was able to pack all of our souvenirs (including one fairly large box) and all my clothes and shut the suitcase without struggle or having to sit on it. Nice. I was very pleased with myself :0) Then it was time to sleep. Yay!

The next morning, we ate breakfast and checked out. So sad to leave! We boarded our flight and there was the same male flight attendant we had had on the way there. He was so loud and obnoxious and gave everyone random nicknames. Ugh. It was a long flight with him being our flight attendant. But otherwise it was okay and I just read almost the entire 13 hours (this is why I don't read constantly because once I start, it is very hard for me to stop and I can swallow up hours and hours just reading). The rest of the trip was uneventful and we made it back to Houston!