New Year's Eve FLASHBACK!

No, it isn't Friday yet, but we can enjoy a good flashback in the middle of the week every once in a while, can't we?!

Let's share our most vivid memories of New Year's Eves past!

I'll be glad to share mine first (Robin you know what's coming!)

The first one that comes to mind is the New Year's Robin and I spent with our then boyfriends (her now husband, my now ex-boyfriend) at a friend's house. Actually it wasn't a house, it was an apartment over a funeral home, if you wanna really know.

Anyway, we got quite messed up on Mint Vodka. We were dirty dancing with a friend of our men, and he pretty much was running to get away from us....can we say uninhibited?!

My man actually had the flu and spent the entire night in a bedroom sleeping. Every once in a while I took my drunk self in there and talked to him, and made the mistake of sleeping in the room with him that night, cause I ended up catching his flu!

The most vivid memory of that night? Take chair shots! The last one I took, Robin decided my chaser would be poured into my mouth from a 2 liter bottle...you can imagine what happened. Coke ALLLL down the front of me!

Now, I can't talk about New Year's Eve without mentioning the NEXT New Year's Eve, the one I spent in Salzburg, Austria with Emory & Henry's Concert Choir! We sang in the streets and rang in the new year by the Danube! We took pictures and Heather and I cried at the realization that we were getting ready to graduate from college and move into the real world! Having gone through a difficult breakup over the year that was ending (yes, with the boy who was sick in bed when last I mentioned him) and scratching my way out of a deep hole of depression, I also cried asking others if surely this next year would be better!

OK, now it is your turn! Share your favorite New Year's stories with us! After you've written your post, come here and share with us so we can come read your story!

Happy New Year, ya'll, and here's to a fantastic 2009!

Wordless Wednesday--cousins

My kids and my sisters' kids on Christmas Day!

What's going on?

How are ya'll? We're doing well! We're enjoying a week off without many obligations. Right now, Chris is playing Morrowind and the boys are watching. I just took a nice bath and listened to a podcast from Bible Study Podcasts. I learned something interesting: before a lamb could be sacrificed in the temple in Biblical times, it had to be washed in fresh clean water. So when Jesus was obedient to the Lord wanting him to be the sacrifical Lamb of God for our sins, He also had to be washed in clean water. Isn't that what his baptism was, as our own personal baptisms cleanse us to be a new creation in Christ?! I thought that was really neat!

The particular podcast I heard tonight was one from a while back that I had saved on my iTunes. It was focused on Romans 5:19.

We had a wonderful Christmas! I hope that you did as well! We got spoiled rotten by family members and enjoyed time spent with our families. I hate that we didn't get to spend more time with Chris' cousins and such as his Mamaw's, but that is part of the problem with us gathering on Christmas Day there. We need to also get to my family's gathering, so we don't get to spend as much time with them. Hopefully Chris' mom and aunts are going to put their feet down and insist that we get together on another day at Mamaw's. I'm hoping since Christmas will be on a Friday it will be easier to gather people next year.

We don't have any specific plans for the rest of the week. I love it! And for those who might be wondering, it looks as though the funding for my school is going to work out! It isn't a done deal yet, but from what I've heard from my financial aid contact, it is pretty much a matter of filing the proper paperwork and notifying the right people. She also thinks she might be able to get me some money retroactive for the fall! I'm so thankful that the Lord is seeing me through this! He is SO good, and all I had to do for Him to help was to ask! If it had not been on His timetable, it would have been okay, but I'm much happier finishing my cohort that I've started!

So what plans do you have this week? Any big plans for New Year's Eve? I'll have a special flashback memory time on Wednesday, so be sure to check back (especially you, Robin....yes, be sore afraid!)

I'm late! Just realized it's Friday!

<img alt="http://christis-blahblahblog.blogspot.com" src="http://tinyurl.com/5zzwl8"/>

I had to share this song today cause my boys LOVE it! Because it was included in Horton Hears a Who, my boys have become familiar with it and LOVE to sing along to it in the car, and usually ask to hear it on every trip! Yesterday I dubbed it our family anthem! LOL

So without further adieu, I present Can't Fight This Feeling!



OR if you want to watch it from Horton, click here!

What about you? Any song come to mind during your Christmas festivities?? Come share the story with us!

Heavenly Peace....

Merry Christmas, all! I pray that you are filled with HIS Heavenly Peace today...no matter what your circumstances, that you be filled with the Peace that Passeth All Understanding. That is my Christmas wish for each of you, my blogger friends! We have had a lovely day, and it isn't over yet! We spent last evening with Chris' parents, his aunt and cousin, and his brother and family. We had a nice visit, then attended our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service as a family for the first time! We'd never let the boys stay up for it, but they did wonderfully last night! It was so special to spend it with them, showing them how Jesus is the first and foremost reason that we celebrate Christmas.

This morning, we looked at Santa's lovely offerings and opened gifts for our immediate family! We then began preparing food for our visits of the day. We went to Chris' Mamaw's for a few hours and got to see some of the family before coming back home to prepare food for my family gathering. (This was a bone of contention for us: one aunt insisted that we all go to Mamaw's on the actual Christmas Day, where the rest of us would rather do it another day. Chris was very irritated and we vowed to be sure to see Mamaw and not worry about if we saw anyone else!)

Now Chris is fixing the dishes that family members have requested that he make and we will soon leave for my sister's house, where we'll enjoy dinner together and open presents!

In other good news, my nephew Ked was named Kicker to the local newspaper Elite Team!! We are thrilled!! He has at least a couple of colleges looking at him!

I pray that you have had a relaxing and peaceful day and that your celebration of Him continues in the coming days!!

Well, here I go!

I'm filling out the FAFSA as I type, which is my first step toward getting this grant! Talked to someone in financial aid today and other than submitting this, I'm gonna kind of be on hold until Jan. 5, which is understandable. Please continue to pray that this all falls in place!

Oh, and my superintendent is going to reimburse me for the class last semester and one for this semester, so this helps out....just gotta secure the funds to pay for 'em in the first place!

Off to fill out paperwork and then wrap presents!

Blessings through this blog!!

A friend of mine commented on my last post and I think she may have pointed me toward the answer to the school money problem!! PLEASE pray that she has! All the schools except one qualify as serving a large number of low-income students, and if I am looking to go back to school in an area that the federal government considers high need (which Reading Specialist is on the list), and I promise to teach it full-time for at least 4 years, they'll pay for my degree!!

PLEASE join me in praying that this can be worked out, and that the college will work with me to get this money ASAP!! I'm calling both the college and my Superintendent tomorrow to see what they think!!

PLEASE, please, pray!! Oh, please, Lord, let this be Your answer and Your will!!!!

Whoa, what was that?! The rug being pulled out from under me??

Um, yeah. Seems like the budget cuts in Virginia hit me and and took away my dream of getting my Master's to be a Reading Specialist.

I just got off the phone with my college and then with the Superintendent's Secretary, who had to confirm what the college had told me, that because of budget cuts, he could reimburse me for the classes but couldn't pay for them outright. And we don't have that kind of money, heck we're paying more each month than Chris brings in extra to pay for his schooling.

I just feel like the walls caved in on me. And wouldn't you know, this happens when all the funding for the year has dried up to get my classes paid for any other way. It would have been nice for someone to actually let me know this instead of me figuring it out for myself right before Christmas!

He (the supt.) said for me to call on Monday but I'm sure he is going to tell me the same thing. It isn't his fault that the state has cut funding 3.5 million dollars. But it sure hurts like the dickens, like my heart has broken!

It ran through my mind a minute ago that when God closes one door, He opens another, but I just can't see it clearly right now and I feel like the rug and lots of hope has been pulled out from under me.

Please pray for my peace, cause I sure don't feel it right now. I don't want this to be happening.

(I copied and pasted from my fave message boards cause I didn't have the heart to type it all out again.)

Flashback Friday--Carol of the Bells

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This song reminds me of two different periods of my life....high school and college! We sang this in my high school chorus, and then also the winter that we toured in Austria and Hungary in my college's Concert Choir. It even reminds me of my sorority little sister, who was very enthusiastically singing her part one day during practice and kept singing when we had stopped....hence her pledge name of "Ding"! All good memories, but we still didn't sing it nearly as well as these Celtic women! Check 'em out!



What about you? Do you have a Christmas memory to share today?? Please join in!

Wordless Wednesday--Coffee Pas de Deux

I'm so amazed by her flexibility!! I know I'm biased, but isn't she beautiful?? (This is my 16 year old niece Katie, by the way!)

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

So do the doctor visits EVER end??

I came home from work yesterday with some pain again on my right side. After about an hour of it still hurting, Chris insisted that I go to the after hours clinic here in town. So they ran more tests and this time, it came back that I had blood in my urine. The doctor that saw me last night believes that I'm having kidney stones. Today they called to schedule a renal CT scan for next Monday. I also have a dentist appointment that same day, so I guess I'll get it all over at once!

Is it just that everyone is busy or does my content stink lately?! I hope it is business!! hee hee

Hopefully it will slow down later in the week when school is finished!

How are your Christmas preparations going? I'm slowly getting there. The tree is UP and we hope to decorate it tonight or tomorrow. I'm working on Christmas cards, and will start wrapping tonight. Most of the shopping is done, if not all. Now if I can keep from spending all our money on co-pays for doctor visits, I'll be happy!!

Christmas Questions!

Saw this on another blog and thought it looked fun!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I'm all about wrapping paper! Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite parts of Christmas!


2. Real tree or Artificial? - Artificial, but I do love a real one!


3. When do you put up the tree?It varies. Ours is up but not decorated. Hoping to do that tomorrow evening!


4. When do you take the tree down?I like to leave it up through Epiphany, January 6.

5. Do you like eggnog?yes


6. Favorite gift received as a child?Probably my Mandy and Jenny dolls!


7. Hardest person to buy for?Either my sister-in-law, or my oldest nephews!


8. Easiest person to buy for? The boys, or my niece Katie!


9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, my parents bought us a nice one for our anniversary several years ago!


10. Mail or email Christmas cards?mail


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? - Hmmmm, can't really think of one!


12. Favorite for Christmas dinner?One eaten with family.


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? - Sometimes in Sept. or October.


14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? - I don't think so.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?Pumpkin Roll, candies, ham....lots of things!


16. Lights on the tree? Our tree came with lights installed. They're all white!


17. Favorite Christmas song? That's a hard one...there are very few I don't love! "Angels We Have Heard on High", "Strange Way to Save the World", "Breath of Heaven", "Tennessee Christmas", "Little Town"...


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Usually just have to travel within the county!


19. Angel on the tree top or a star? - Angel


20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? With my husband's family, we open on Christmas Eve. At our own home and with my family, on Christmas Day!

Then Sings My Soul Saturday--Strange Way to Save the World

This is one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs! It gives words to thoughts we often have, about why did God choose THIS way? It really makes Mary and Joseph seem more real to me as well. Hope that you enjoy it!




I've been emotional yesterday and today....very sentimental. I think part of it is knowing that my coworker, fellow church member, and friend Debbie is in Texas being scanned again to see if there is any way her cancer is operable. I am praying for them constantly! Debbie has such faith and has touched so many lives. It is evident every time I log on to her Caring Bridge journal and more and more people are commenting on how they're praying for her.

Then I just found out that one of my best friends (and the mother of Isaac's best friend) and coworkers is expecting a baby! I'm THRILLED for her, but know that she doesn't have an easy time with pregnancy. In fact, they lost their last baby to miscarriage. I'm praying for them with every breath as well! Their entire family is just so precious to me, and it brings tears to my eyes to know what they've been through already, and to know the miracle that L. is carrying!

Their daughter is in first grade, and yesterday just looking at her brought tears to my eyes! We were practicing for a little program we're doing next week, and we're singing a rendition of "Away in a Manger." I also started thinking about how blessed I am to be teaching in the Bible Belt where no one will be offended or think twice about us singing about Baby Jesus, and then looking out at this sea of faces of our precious students, and I just teared up! Of course, they all looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head! I told 'em that I wasn't upset, that it was a happy cry! I told 'em they did so well, that I cried! That made 'em happy again and they ran off to report that to their teachers.

Then last night I went to watch my beautiful and talented niece dance. Oh, what a joy! I just wept watching her....she is just so graceful and holds herself just so, with even her hand placement perfect! Here she is dancing a principal role in a full-length ballet at 16!! Her beauty and elegance just brings tears to my eyes again. It isn't just me....we'll hear strangers comment about how she is so good that your eyes are just drawn to her.

Of course, being there brings back memories and thoughts of her friend Caitlyn who passed away 3 years ago. She was a dancer too. There are pictures of her in the program, and her parents are always there. I looked at my sister after Katie (my niece) danced last night and said,"I know Caitlyn is so proud of her!" and Suzy nodded with tears in her eyes. God has a precious dancing angel with Him, and I know Caitlyn was jumping up and down and applauding Katie's performance last night!

OK, so I made this much longer than I meant to, but that is what sentimentality does to a gal!

May you have a blessed weekend, my friends!

Followup doctor appt.

I went to see a doctor in my regular practice today. It took forever! Basically she decided that since I hadn't had any more pain that if I started having another bad time that, we'd have a plan of action. If I can tell it isn't an IBS situation, then I'm to come get a (Sorry, TMI!) stool collection kit and see if there is anything going on intestinally to be causing this.

See I had another situation very similar to this 2 years ago, and it was inconclusive then as well! So I really don't want to have to go through all this for a third time, ya know?

I'm fine with them not sending me for more tests, etc. yet. Tests cost money! At least if it starts up again now I have something I can take for pain while trying to figure out what the deal is.

Thanks for reading if you did! Honestly, I'm always worried that people are gonna think I'm some kind of hypochondriac or exaggerating....Chris can vouch for the fact that I'm not. Looking back, he was really upset the other day. He paced the floor like a caged animal! He's afraid that it is attacks of my appendix and that eventually it is gonna have to come out, and he may be right. But even while I was in the ER, I was telling him,"I'm sorry honey, I promise I'm not making this up!" and he was reassuring me that he KNEW that I was in lots of pain! I'd much rather go through childbirth again than to deal with that kind of pain!

Well, I'm soon off to get ready for the Nutcracker! Have a great weekend, all!

Flashback Friday--Funky, Funky Christmas

<img alt="http://christis-blahblahblog.blogspot.com" src="http://tinyurl.com/5zzwl8"/>

Ah, those were the days! I wasn't nearly as New Kids crazy as some of my friends, but I did go see them in concert one time! I must say it WAS a good concert! It was general admission, so we stood in line for hours just to get in the door...thankfully I had a friend who bought my ticket for me, cause I wasn't gonna be in line overnight to BUY the tickets like many were!

I remember that my dance class, as the oldest, performed a dance to this song for our dance studio's Christmas party! Oh, weren't we cool...there I was with my big 80s hair, big 80s glasses cause apparently one of my contacts was ripped, my red sweatpants, white Reebok high-tops, and handmade Christmas sweatshirt! Can you not just FEEL the coolness that was me?! My good friend Julie and I even sat on Santa's lap to have our pic made together, we were THAT cool! To live in such a stress free time again!!

Speaking of dance studios, tomorrow my niece will be dancing the part of the Snow Queen in the Intercity Ballet's production of The Nutcracker! I'm so stinkin' proud of her! On Saturday night she'll be performing as an Arabian dancer. I'm amazed at the way that girl can bend herself! I'll try my best to actually remember my camera tomorrow to get some shots of her!

So here ya go, I know you probably skipped ahead to get to this cause you couldn't WAIT while I went on about stuff.....NKOTB!!



What about you? Do you have any fun Christmas memories you'd like to share? C'mon and join in the fun!

FIRST Wild Card Tour: Your Best Life Begins Each Morning

It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his/her book's FIRST chapter!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Joel Osteen

and the book:

Your Best Life Begins Each Morning

FaithWords (December 10, 2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joel Osteen is the pastor of the largest church in America with one of the most diverse congregations and over 30,000 members attending every week. He has quickly become a leading voice in a new generation of inspirational leaders and pastors. Under his leadership, Lakewood Church has grown in every area of ministry, more than quadrupling in size in the past five years. In the summer of 2005, the church moved into Houston’s 17,000-seat Compaq Arena and become the new Lakewood International Center. Joel and his wife Victoria live in Houston with their two children.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $ 13.99
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (December 10, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446545090
ISBN-13: 978-0446545099

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

YOUR Best Life BEGINS EACH MORNING


Devotions to Start Every New Day of the Year


JOEL OSTEEN



Introduction


The key to living your best life starts with how you approach every new morning, because today is the only day you have. You can’t do anything about the past, and you don’t know what the future holds. But when you wake up in the morning, you can make up your mind to do your best to enjoy your day. You’re not going to allow what does or doesn’t happen to steal your joy and keep you from God’s abundant life.


Don’t start your day off by feeling guilty about yesterday or recalling all the mistakes you made. Rather, when you make mistakes, simply ask God for forgiveness and then move on, confident that the moment you ask, God forgives you. You are ready for a great present and a bright future. Get up every morning and receive God’s love and mercy and the power of His Word for your life.


Start your day with God by saying, “Father, I thank You that this is going to be a great day. I thank You that I have discipline, self-control; that I make good decisions. I may not have done all that I could have yesterday, but that day’s gone. I’m going to get up and do better today.” These devotions are written to inspire ardent love and worship to God. While they are not meant to replace your personal time with God, it is my desire that the readings will be keys you can use to unlock doors leading a fuller life. I hope they will be a springboard to help you draw nearer to God and to help you overcome the obstacles that might keep you from living your best life now.


Your life can be transformed and renewed as you allow God’s Word to refresh and to reshape your thinking, speaking, and daily activities. Allow the Scriptures to speak to you. Be still and listen to what God is saying to you. No matter where you are or what challenges you face, you can start to enjoy your life right now!



J ANUARY 1


For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you

not see it? I will make a pathway

through the wilderness. I will create

rivers in the dry wasteland.

ISAIAH 43:19


Unpack Your Dreams


W HAT DO YOU WANT TO DO with your life?

If you could write your best life story this morning, what would it say? Is your first reaction to see and describe yourself in terms of past experiences or present limitations, more in terms of losing or just surviving rather than fulfilling your dreams?


If you’ve packed away your dreams, dare to unpack them today and ask God to rekindle them in your heart and mind. It’s time to enlarge your vision.

He wants to pour out His far and beyond favor on you (see Ephesians 2:7). He wants to do big things and new things in your life.


J ANUARY 2


“For I know the plans I have for you,”

declares the Lord, “plans to prosper

you and not to harm you, plans to

give you hope and a future.”

JEREMIAH 29:11


We Serve a Great God


Y OU MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED adversity or trials in your past. Perhaps you’ve had more than your share of setbacks and heartaches. But today is a brand-new day. It is time to stretch your faith and pursue the excellence that God has placed in your heart. It is time to break out of the “barely get by” mentality, to become the best you can be, not merely average or ordinary, for the rest of your life.


We serve the Most High God, and His dream for your life is so much bigger and better than you can even imagine. Never settle for a small view of God. Start thinking as God thinks. Think big. Think increase. Think abundance. Think more than enough!


J ANUARY 3


What, then, shall we say in response

to this? If God is for us, who can be

against us? He who did not spare his

own Son, but gave him up for us all—

how will he not also, along with him,

graciously give us all things?

ROMANS 8:31–32



With God on Your Side


GOD IS CONSTANTLY trying to plant new seeds in your heart. He’s trying to fill you with so much hope and expectancy that the seed will grow and bring forth a tremendous harvest. Never allow negative thinking to keep you from God’s best. If you will get in agreement with God, this can be the greatest time of your life.

With God on your side, you cannot possibly lose. He can make a way when it looks as though there is none. He can open doors that no one can shut. He can cause you to be at the right place, at the right time. He can supernaturally turn your dreams into reality.


J ANUARY 4


For therein is the righteousness of God

revealed from faith to faith: as it is

written, The just shall live by faith.

ROMANS 1:17


Stretch Your Faith


PERHAPS WE HAVE A GOAL to break a bad habit, to lose some weight, or to pay off our credit cards. At first, we’re so excited and we go after it! But over time, we get lazy; we get complacent. Maybe we see a little improvement, but then we get comfortable right where we are. Where we are may not be a bad place, but we know it’s not where we’re supposed to be. We’re not stretching our faith. We’re not pursuing the excellence that God has placed in our hearts.

Maybe you’ve been coasting lately, thinking that perhaps you’ve reached your limits. You’re not stretching your faith. You aren’t believing for an increase.

No, don’t stop halfway; go on up to the top of your mountain. Believe God for more.


J ANUARY 5


By faith Abraham, when called

to go to a place he would later

receive as his inheritance, obeyed

and went, even though he did not

know where he was going.

HEBREWS 11:8


Step Out of Your Comfort Zone


PEOPLE WHO SEE THEIR DREAMS come to pass are people who have some resolve, some backbone; people who refuse to settle for somewhere along the way. Abraham, one of the Old Testament heroes of faith, obeyed God and followed Him all the way to the Promised Land of abundance in Canaan. Abraham’s father, however, stopped along the way and settled in Haran (see Genesis 11:31), feeling it was good enough but missing out on God’s best.


Don’t fall into a complacency trap. It doesn’t take any more effort to stay filled with faith than it takes to develop a negative attitude. Dare to step out of your comfort zone today. God has so much more in store. Keep pursuing and keep believing.


Copyright © 2008 by Joel Osteen Publishing

A little update on us....been kinda crazy!

Oh, man, girlies (and boys, too...are there any of you out there??) it has been a wild few days around these parts!

Let's start on Friday....Adam woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. I stayed home because Chris is trying to help transition away from one of his two school assignments and needed to be there to work with the other lady, who is known to complicate things! No problem. I went ahead and took him to the doctor cause Adam doesn't usually seem to be ill until he is REALLY sick. The doctor thought it was just a virus that he had but was concerned about a place on the back of his ear, so went ahead and gave us an antibiotic for that (which helped the supposed virus...he's no longer coughing....go figure).

Saturday we were hit with a surprise snow storm! We were supposed to only get flurries, but it was a full blown storm, at least what we Southerners call a storm! Then it froze over night to ice, so we had a bit of a mess on our hands for several days on the mountain roads that don't get sun. These roads also don't get scraped or salted cause they are so rural, it is too cost prohibitive to do so. (Just letting you know so those of you who don't live in the South won't start heckling me for the small amount of snow we got...yeah, I know it is nothing to you, but that isn't the point of the story! SHEESH!)

Anyway, I digress...Sunday morning and evening we did our Christmas cantatas at church, and they went pretty well, except for what I described a few days ago concerning Adam and the video camera.

And then came Monday, where *I* got the loveliness of the stomach bug! Thankfully, school was cancelled because of the snow on Saturday. I finally started taking some Immodium since I couldn't stay out of the bathroom, and that started causing horrible gas pains, or so I thought. After a few hours of that I was feeling much better and even had visions of making it to work on Tuesday. (FYI: for those who aren't teachers, it is more trouble than it is worth to be out of school if at all possible. The kids go wild, they don't learn a lot, and life generally is chaotic for days afterwards. No one's fault, just the way things are.)

I didn't sleep well at all that night, and was up with what I thought were gas pains again around three, and again they started around 5.

I'm cutting and pasting the next part from the parenting message board I frequent. Apologizes if that offends! ;)

I woke up this morning around 5 to horrible pain on my right side. I waited til 6 to wake Chris up, and my parents came over to get the boys ready for school and Chris took me to the hospital. I tell ya ladies, I've never been in so much pain in all my life! Not even childbirth with no drugs!

So what was the cause? Oh, they couldn't find anything, of course! *insert eye roll*

They did bloodwork, urine tests, a CT scan, an ultrasound and came back with nothing. Of course I was there for 5 hours before I was given anything for pain or nausea, and honestly thought I'd have to pass out before they'd see how much pain I was in. I think the only reason I got help when I did was because a nurse whose daughter is in my room saw me and came and took over!

She kept apologizing for having to stick me twice to get the IV in, but compared to the pain I was in, two sticks was NOTHING! She finally gave me some pain something (I am still not totally thinking straight) and Phenagren which knocked me totally out. I'm not positive what was said after that cause I was so exhausted from the pain and gave in to the meds.

Chris was not pleased with my treatment; he went and told them several times that I needed pain meds when I was writhing and sweating from it. They thought that it might be my gall bladder. The pain was on my upper right hand side, and I was nauseous.

I got irritated with the doctor... he came in after we'd been there at least 2.5 hours already and was asking me about what I'd eaten, trying to figure out if it was my gall bladder...but he hadn't read/understood my history very well cause when I explained to him that all I'd had to eat was sprite, toast, and applesauce, he asked WHY in a kind of pointed tone. So I answered back in a kind of smart tone, "Uh, cause I had diarrhea!" Then he had the sense to back off. It just irritates me that I was in that much misery and no one seemed to be caring!

So after 5 hours there, I had no diagnosis, and the doctor even forgot to prescribe the antibiotics he said I needed! UGH! AND I was so out of it I didn't have the presence of mind to see what the scripts were for that Chris was filling, so he paid for stuff that I'll probably never use. Another frustration!

I slept a ton yesterday and barely even knew I was in the world except for when the boys were so loud they were irritating. I was on my way to Dreamland for the night when Chris yells at me that Isaac is throwing up and he needed help with him.


****WARNING: TMI! IF YOU GET GROSSED OUT, SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!****
Oh. my. I have never smelled something so putrid as what came out of my son last night. I kept retching myself while trying to clean it up. He had sat up in his bed and Chris got him from his bed to the bathroom, but he sat down on the toilet instead of preparing for what was coming from the other end, and it went everywhere. All over the clothes that I hadn't gotten washed since I'd been sick, all over the rug, all over the scale, all over him, and I got it all over me trying to clean up. I could start retching again just thinking about it! I don't usually have a weak stomach, but man...that was horrid!

So that decided it...I was staying home with him again today since Chris had had to miss work yesterday when he needed to be there to transition the incoming teacher again. I have the most wonderful coworkers in the world, in case you didn't know that! They had already gotten homework together and sent it with my students yesterday, and said for me not to think another thing about it, that they'd take care of things today as well. Oh, what a blessed relief that is! It will still be chaos, but it will be less painful since I didn't have to go in and SEE the chaos this morning!

So that gets us to today. Isaac has been the easiest patient to deal with in the world. He's entertained himself and let me rest, only asking periodically for something to eat or drink. That's good cause I'm still not very energetic, probably mostly due to the fact that I've only had 1 meal over 3 days' time.

I have an appointment to see a doctor at my regular physicians' office, but unfortunately not my regular doc, on Friday. This is probably just a formality to have her schedule a more conclusive scan. I know that the pain that I was in is NOT normal, and if that was just gas, then good golly I'll live on a liquid diet for the rest of my life to avoid it! Please pray that they can find a cause and that it doesn't happen again, please!

If you read all this, you deserve some kind of reward! Thank you!

Glorious Impossible

What a beautiful Sunday it is! We have snow on the ground and Jesus in our hearts! We had our Christmas Cantata today, and it went well! Well, we did have a couple of mishaps...one lady started falling down, I think she just got too hot or locked her knees. Then apparently my son got tangled up in the video cord and ended up cutting off the music for a few seconds as my husband and brother in law tried to rescue all the equipment!

But other than that, it was marvelous! We sang this song, which is absolutely beautiful, so I thought I'd share it with you!

Flashback Friday--Tennessee Christmas

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Happy December!! Welcome to the Christmas version of Flashback Friday! I remember hearing this song for the first time....with my sisters, in 7th or 8th grade. Then that Christmas Day, Amy Grant was on The Today Show and we sat around the TV singing along with her. Though I have lived in Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia, I'm a Tennessee fan and a Tennessee girl when I hear this song! And it means what Christmas means to me....home!



What holiday songs do you love? Come share, and don't forget to spread the word!

Busy time of year!

I'm thankful for snow schedules so I can get a tiny bit more sleep! I've had bus duty this week, too, so that is an added hour a day I have to be at work. Our cantata is this weekend, so I've had practice for that for 2 nights, and then my last night of class for the semester was on Tuesday. I'm tired, and it is only gonna keep going, I'm sure!

So just want to update ya as to where I am....around, just busy! I'm sure you are, too!

Curious as a Cat #6

1) What is the most unbelievable thing you have ever witnessed?
I would have to say that it was the experience I had at the Dome Cathedral in Salzburg, Austria. Here is the story!

2) If you could change your identity completely (money no object), what would the new you be like?
I'd be a work at home mom, and have blonde hair. I can't think of other things I'd do differently!

3) What would you do if you saw someone making fun of another person?
Depends on where I was. If I was at work, I'd stop them immediately! Out in public, I don't know...it would depend on the circumstances.

4) If you could go back to the Garden of Eden and talk to Adam and Eve for five minutes, what would you say? DON'T EAT THE APPLE! What was it like to be able to be in full communication with God?

5) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.


It looks to me like a church getting ready for Vacation Bible School!