Gotta luv rollerblades!

Alright so I'm sitting here at almost midnight eating dinner (bowl of cereal) b/c I was determined to go to my Jamaica meeting. Why? you ask... did the meeting go that late? No, I had to go to radiology for an x-ray, but I didn't want to go till after the mission trip meeting. Why do you need an xray? ...you may ask. Well, I decided to take one hard fall on my rollerblades. I split my chin open - which my doc stitched up before heading to the Jamaica meeting. I also had him check out my elbow/arm b/c it hurt to do just about anything w/ it. But, it only hurts when I move it in certain positions - o/w I'm fine... He said it warranted an xray, but that I could get the xray after the meeting. I was not going to tell him that the meeting was half way down to K-zoo and lasted till 8p. So off I went w/ JB and Beth. We had a good time! They kept making me laugh which was SO hard to do as I have bruised much of my right rib cage. My knee is swollen and bruised pretty good as well. So this is me venting my aches and pains while I eat my bowl of cereal for dinner. You know, when you hurt yourself, eating is the last thing you want to do. But I could tell my blood sugar was in the toilet... so eating at midnight is the answer :)

So my xray showed a right radial fracture in the elbow area. Fortunately for "big people" (aka adults) they don't have to cast it. I just have to immobilize it for a month in a sling and I can still work b/c the babies I care for fortunately don't weigh too much! Plus w/ no cast, I will still be able to care for them b/c I can scrub up to my elbows, etc... for infection control! Hooray! God works out all things for the good of those that love Him and obey His commands. Unfortunately, I won't be playing softball this summer as planned, but on the flip side, my arm should be healed by the time I leave for Jamaica! Yea!!!

Never a dull moment in my life!

Mark Schultz Bikes Across America

Please consider supporting my friend, Mark Schultz, as he bikes across America to raise money for the James Fund, a ministry that supports widows and orphans (see the video on the upper left hand corner). He plans to bike across America from CA to NY starting May 6 thru early July. You can track his progress as he is going to wear a GPS system as he bikes! www.markacrossamerica.org/


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Go Mark! You have my prayers and support!

Jamaica, McFlurries, 2.72

Believe it or not, all those topics listed in the title are all related. We had our second team meeting for Jamaica last night. For those of you who don't know, I'm headed to Jamaica on a mission trip w/ WaYfm. We leave in June for 10 days to serve the poorest of the poor in Jamaica and we have meetings once a week as a team to prepare and bond. The second meeting went better than the first as we all had met at least once before and were much more comfortable with each other. We also broke into smaller groups and got to know each other even more and had some good girl bonding time. We are really starting to bond as a team. After the first meeting, I was kind of feeling a little lost b/c I didn't feel like I had a defined place on this team. That is d/t to the fact that there was going to be a medical part to this trip, but since I am the only nurse going on this trip, it makes it very hard to do anything medical. Usually they have a medical part of the trip, but no other nurses or docs signed up to go this year. But you know, God is good. He has a plan and I can already see it slowly unfolding. He is bringing me out of my comfort zone and slowly drawing me into this team. I have to say, it is so fun to watch God work before my very eyes. He never ceases to amaze me!

Bethany and I had a really good time last night - we are just getting to know each other as we are carpooling together for Jamaica. Last week when we headed down for our meeting (halfway b/t K-zoo and GR), John Balyo, George Moss, Bethany and I carpooled. But... this week, John and George are down in Nashville for GMA, so it was just Bethany and me traveling down for our meeting. We had so much fun bonding and getting to know each other better (she's 14 y/o and also Chris Lemke's daughter). She came over to my house after school, went grocery shopping w/ me, then she did her homework while I cleaned my disastrous looking home as I had not been home to clean since last week Friday, and then I made hamburgers on my George Foreman for her and I to relish. We then proceeded to head down to the church w/ Newsboys blaring thru my sunroof. After the meeting we HAD to stop for ice cream. Tried to get it from an ice cream shop but of course it was cash only. So we went to plan B and got McFlurries - my first one ever! I ordered the Reese's one and of course they were out. So I had the Hershey's Take 5 and that was AWESOME! I'm so glad they were out of Reese's so I had to try the Take 5! After we started digging into our McFlurries, I saw that there was one gas station that hadn't jacked it's gas prices up to 2.95/gallon yet, so we stopped and filled up. That was a God-send, b/c just as we finished filling up, they raised the price from 2.72/gallon to 2.95/gallon. Yeah, total God-send. I'm so grateful, b/c I needed to fill up and had already decided that I was going to wait till either: a) gas prices came down or b) I didn't have a choice. Fortunately, God provided plan c! God is good! He always provides for His children! Then we eventually made our way back to Beth's house - via an indirect route for sure, but we made it!

KJ-52 concert

Check out my pics of the concert posted on WaYfm's website... WaYfm's KJ-52 Concert

Hanging w/ KJ (me and Darci w/ Jonah -aka, KJ)

Me and the guys! (George and John)

Macs rock!

Under the advice of several close friends and a colleague, I finally made the BIG step of buying a MacBook Pro. I'm a Windows gal... no, wait, WAS a Windows gal. I've converted to Mac. I still have my Windows XP desktop that I will continue to use, but this Macbook Pro is amazing! I've never owned a Mac before, so this is all foreign to me. My friends have been kindly answering my questions as I work thru my "crises" when I can't find something - my first crisis was trying to get AIM up and running! That's a lifeline! lol Life is good now b/c it's working :) Feel free to jump on and say hi to me!

What's fun is discovering everything and once I find it, how much better (and creative) it is than Windows. I feel like a kid in a candy store :) The key is finding it though... and that's what the current challenge is. It makes it all the more fun though b/c everything is in a different spot and is all different. Like learning how to use a computer again ;) But every time I find something I'm used to, it's different looking but in a really cool way. It's all so creative graphically.

MacBook Pro's are known for being very good for graphic design and photography and also very user-friendly, which is perfect for me as this machine will kindly cater to enhancing my photo and graphic editing skills. One other thing that I'm amazed by is the sound quality this machine has - very, VERY good for a laptop. Brandon Heath is currently playing - yeah, it's good sound for sure.

So as I navigate thru this machine, feel free to drop your words of advice in the commments section! I'm looking for all the help I can get... :D

(Oh, and what's really cool is that I'm sitting in my living room hanging out online (vs. my computer room) - so now i can watch tv and hang out online. I feel so spoiled... Nah... ;) )

A Kiss Without Any Shame...

Something Beautiful (Newsboys)
I wanna start it over
I wanna start again
There's a new beginning
One without an end
I feel it inside
Calling out to me

I've heard it in the silence
Seen it on a face
I've felt it in a long hour
Like a sweet embrace
I know this is true
It's calling out to me

It's a voice that whispers my name
It's a kiss without any shame
Something beautiful
Like a song that stirs in my head
Singing love will take us where
Something's beautiful

It's the child on her wedding day
It's the daddy that gives her away
Something Beautiful
When we laugh so hard we cry
Oh the love between you and I
Something beautiful

This song is currently playing in the background as it continues to inspire as I write this. This is the latest single released to radio from the Newsboys. It is currently my favorite song. The lines are so strong and reach deep into my heart and soul.

There are 2 distinct lines that especially speak to me from this song.
The first: It's the child on her wedding day. It's the daddy that gives her away. Something beautiful.

I look forward to the day when my daddy gives me away
On my wedding day, a date that persists to be unknown,
To my future husband, a man who's face persists to be blurred.
I continue to wait on God
To fully reveal this face to me.
Sometimes I think I know his face. Other times I'm not so sure.
The face of the man who stands at the end of the aisle
Persists to be blurred.

The second line: It's a kiss without any shame. Something beautiful.
I believe this line should follow the previous one (and not precede it).
Why do I think that? A kiss without any shame is one that is holy and pure. Set apart solely for my future husband.

My first kiss will be
After we exchange our vows
After we say,
I do.
My first kiss will be
Without any shame.
No baggage. No past.
It will be
holy.
It will be
pure.
It will be
Something Beautiful.

Meat-lovers Menu

Wow, what an Easter! I think I ate enough protein to last me a week. No wait, I think I ate enough meat and malted milk balls to last me a week. We had SO much food, wait, MEAT, today at work. At least 4 hams, 2 pot-roasts and a venice roast! I had meat for brunch, meat for snack, meat for supper. Yeah, that's the most meat I have ever eaten in one day. I think I could have rolled out of work today. But it was SO good! The smell was wafting down the back hall starting at 7am. The crockpots were going and the meat was simmering. It was fabulous. And guess what?! We didn't blow a fuse this time! Normally, we have so many crockpots and George Foremans going that we naturally blow a fuse or two ;). I probably put on 5 pounds today. Gosh, I hope not. Guess I'll be doing 5 miles instead of 3 on the ellipticals tomorrow, and plenty of weight lifting to utilize that protein in body building!

It's Blue... No, Astral :)

Finally just finished painting my computer room. It's blue! A pretty astral blue. That is the official color - Astral. How poetic. Didn't feel poetic when I painted it tho ;). Next up is my living room or bathroom. The bathroom will be lightish-kind of celery-color green and my living room... well, I haven't totally decided yet but two different colors have been floating thru my mind. So, I have an orange bedroom and a blue computer room... eventually a green bathroom, and another bedroom that will possibly be a deepish pink. Yeah, can you tell I like colors? :)

Awestruck Before My Maker...

Ugh... I hurt. Just finished rollerblading over 11 miles... but it was so worth it!

God continues to amaze me. As I was headed west on my blades, I was blading into a gorgeous sunset. And then the next thing I know, there's a small, yet blazing rainbow shining in all its glory. I believe that God set it before me to remind me of His promises that He is in complete control of my life and that He will never cease to amaze me. That I believe but need the constant reminders that He provides at just the right times.


Since I have never rollerbladed this far before, I jumped in my car to clock how far I actually bladed... As I turned around to clock the return trip back home, a gorgeous moon rise shown before me. The moon was huge and so close. It also had a slight orangish/brown hue to it as it sat below the horizon. I was awestruck. I was overwhelmed. Again, God never ceases to amaze me.