Looking back at 2010, I'd really like to just post the happy things that happened, but they're so intertwined with the sad things that happened, that it wouldn't make sense to post the good without the bad.
So I'll do a quick wrap-up of 2010 (with links to blog posts and/or pictures), and then post some New Years resolutions.
January - Jason was laid off and then we got a surprise of a positive pregnancy test, after 2 years of trying. However, four days later we miscarried; what an emotional roller-coaster. The encouraging thing was that we finally got a positive pregnancy test!
February - Jason ended up going back to his old job for a few weeks and the extra money was very welcomed. We celebrated 2 years of marriage in Pittsburgh at a wonderful little Bed & Breakfast. Right before we went on our trip we found out we were pregnant again!
March - Then Jason got a 2-week assignment with the Census Bureau. After his project was over, they failed to find more work from him, so we started budgeting around his unemployment. About 9 weeks along in the pregnancy we found out we had lost the baby. It was an emotional time with Easter right around the corner.
April - The recovery from the loss of the baby took some time and we started thinking about going to Honduras with our church in June. (My 5th trip, Jason's 2nd.) Also, my work put me on a project that took me to Cincinnati 3-4 days a week for several months. I hated being away from Jason, but the extra money was welcomed.
May - We started fund raising for Honduras (mostly cakes and Jason doing odd jobs). We also went to visit Mom & Gary at the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina over Memorial Day weekend. They were volunteering at the Cradle of Forestry for 13 weeks. We tented on their RV site and survived 3 days of rain.
June - With more than enough money raised (a miracle!) we had a great week in Honduras. We got another surprise right before we went - another positive pregnancy test. We prayed about it and talked to the doctor and he gave us the go-ahead to go on the trip. However, all the blood tests showed levels that were too low and when we got back from the trip we went in for an ultrasound and our worst fears were confirmed, we were going to lose the pregnancy. However we got another shock - I was pregnant with twins!
July - This was a turning point in our lives. I turned 38 in July and decided that I needed to make some changes. We weren't going to try to get pregnant again for awhile but I thought maybe we could try to increase our chances by losing weight. We started Take Shape For Life (using the Medifast diet plan) with the hopes of losing 40 pounds each.
August - Things were definitely starting to turn around for us. Our weight loss was well underway, we were making plans to redo our kitchen (and stay in Dayton for another 3 years at least). We also started helping with a new Vineyard church plant in Huber Heights, Crossroads Church. Also, Jason decided to go back to school to get his BSN (Nursing) and then get his masters to be a nurse practitioner.
September - I decided to take a couple of classes I had always wanted to take: voice lessons, and clown classes! The voice lessons at Sinclair came to about $12/lesson (if you want info on this, let me know) and the volunteer clown classes were through Kettering Medical Center. There was sadness at the end of the month - we had to put my precious kitty, Kinzie, to sleep. I had a wonderful 14 years with her and still miss her. We also traveled to Seattle to visit my brother and his wife. (The trip ended badly with me making the decision to not contact my brother again for awhile.)
October - We had a wonderful little addition to our family, Izzy. She's a rescue dog that is probably part dachshund and part... rat terrier? She's been a great addition to our family (though the cats may disagree). We also started wrapping up our weight loss. At the end of our 4 months on the diet, Jason lost 45 pounds and I lost 40 pounds!
November - I graduated from Kettering Medical Center's Clown School! I'm only volunteering at this point but I'm hopeful to start doing some professional gigs and joining a clown alley. Thanksgiving was a wonderful time with my dad, step-mom and that side of the family, and then we traveled to Kentucky to do Thanksgiving with Jason's family.
December - Jason decided to have abdominoplasty after losing 260 pounds over 5 years. He had a long recovery with a lot of pain but he's almost done with the process and only has to deal with swelling at this point. Much of December was preparing for Christmas celebrations and helping Jason. We were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with Jason's family and then travel to Florida to stay with Mom and Gary for the rest of the week.
I'm now finishing up this blog preparing to bring in the new year watching a Hallmark movie with Mom and Gary while Jason is packing (or maybe sleeping) in our room. We leave in the morning and start a new adventure called 2011.
Plans for 2011:
Jason starts nursing assistant classes on Monday. These run for 3 weeks and then he'll get his certification and hopefully quickly find a job. He's also taking two other classes while he prepares to start his BSN at Wright State in the fall. I'm so excited for this direction he's taking!
It's sorta difficult making resolutions for the new year when what I'm really hoping for is to get pregnant again. I'd love to lose another 10-15 pounds, but getting pregnant means gaining weight, not losing it. I'd also like to run a 5k but this isn't really recommended during the first trimester. (Or the last too I guess.) I just have to take these things one day at a time and not put off what needs to be done today.
So here are my New Years Resolutions:
1) I want to blog at least once a week, and hopefully more often.
2) I want to start doing yoga to become more flexible and tone my muscles.
3) I want to do a study of the life of Jesus and how the four gospels are intertwined. (Something I've been wanting to do for awhile.)
4) I want to finish my sitting room/guest room. This requires a futon mattress and getting the room organized. (I'm already overwhelmed.)
5) I want to do coffee with all my girl friends who I don't see as often as I'd like to. (Please contact me and let me know when you'd like to do coffee.) ;)
I have 19 minutes left in 2010, and 37 minutes left on my battery on my laptop. However my brain is starting to check out and the resolutions running around in my head are getting more and more ridiculous. It's time to sign off and finish packing. More blogging tomorrow perhaps. Hopefully. :)
Happy New Year!! May this next year be the best yet.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Reliving an awesome concert
** Note these are unauthorized videos from the concert last night. ** (I feel I have to post that since there was a warning on the door that photos and videos from the concert last night were not authorized. For this reason, I'll post the videos here, instead of facebook or youtube - where they'd probably be removed.)
I went to the Make a Difference Tour last night with a friend, Cindy Biggs. Josh Gray opened, Toby Mac and his band, Diverse City came on next, then Michael W. Smith and Mac Powell (from Third Day) sang from a stage in the middle of the floor. Toby Mac and Max Lucado joined them. After this Third Day performed, followed by a World Vision intermission and then Michael W. Smith finished things up with Max Lucado closing everything out with all the artists singing at the end. It. Was. Awesome. :)
Anyway, here are a few of my favorite videos I captured last night. (My apologies that they're so short, they seem so much longer when you have your arms above your head trying to hold really still.)
I went to the Make a Difference Tour last night with a friend, Cindy Biggs. Josh Gray opened, Toby Mac and his band, Diverse City came on next, then Michael W. Smith and Mac Powell (from Third Day) sang from a stage in the middle of the floor. Toby Mac and Max Lucado joined them. After this Third Day performed, followed by a World Vision intermission and then Michael W. Smith finished things up with Max Lucado closing everything out with all the artists singing at the end. It. Was. Awesome. :)
Anyway, here are a few of my favorite videos I captured last night. (My apologies that they're so short, they seem so much longer when you have your arms above your head trying to hold really still.)
Jason Gray getting one of his songs set up.
Toby Mac and Diverse City singing "I'm For You"
Toby Mac singing "Gone"
(one of my favorites of his)
Michael W. Smith, Toby Mac and Mac Powell singing
"Be In The Light" (by Charlie Peacock)
Third Day singing "Gone"
"Be In The Light" (by Charlie Peacock)
Third Day singing "Gone"
(different "Gone" from Toby Mac video above) ;)
Michael W. Smith singing "Mighty to Save"
Michael W. Smith, Toby Mac, Mac Powell, and Jason Gray
singing "City On Our Knees" and then the
end of "God Of This City" (by Chris Tomlin)
Michael W. Smith singing "Mighty to Save"
Michael W. Smith, Toby Mac, Mac Powell, and Jason Gray
singing "City On Our Knees" and then the
end of "God Of This City" (by Chris Tomlin)
Monday, October 25, 2010
The thing under my nose...
aka "it's not a booger," aka "the unfortunate-looking pimple thing."
No, I don't know what it is yet. Friends who have seen it think it's a hematoma or something. The doctor at the Urgent Care in Beavercreek had no idea what it is and told me I should see a dermatologist and that it should be biopsied. So I have an appointment Friday at 9:00 am. I'll update my blog after I hear what this "thing" is.
So here's photos of this thing... (my apologies for the extreme close-up shots and the goofy looking faces)
I realize that in a couple of weeks it'll be gone and completely forgotten about. At least I hope so. Though it's embarrassing now, once it's gone I doubt anyone will ever think about it again. I just have to get through a few more days with this icky thing below my nose.
No, I don't know what it is yet. Friends who have seen it think it's a hematoma or something. The doctor at the Urgent Care in Beavercreek had no idea what it is and told me I should see a dermatologist and that it should be biopsied. So I have an appointment Friday at 9:00 am. I'll update my blog after I hear what this "thing" is.
So here's photos of this thing... (my apologies for the extreme close-up shots and the goofy looking faces)
 |
| 10/7 - just a small red bump under my nose |
 |
| 10/13 - a bit bigger, it's starts bleeding after I sneeze or wipe my nose |
 |
| 10/16 - Larger and regularly getting on my nerves. |
 |
| 10/16 - It wouldn't stop bleeding after an hour and a half, so went to Urgent Care and had it cauterized. It turned black, including the area next to it. This is when friends suggested I tell people "it's not a booger." |
 |
| 10/22 - black area has fallen off and now it just looks like an unfortunate pimple under my nose. |
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| 10/26 - the bump has gotten larger and the top part has scabbed over I guess. It's just disgusting and embarrassing. Really hoping the dermatologist can get rid of it once and for all! |
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Losing It
Back in July I decided I was fed up with how much weight I've gained over the past few years and frustrated that I couldn't stop gaining weight, no matter what I did. I started running last summer and after a sprained ankle (from wearing strappy high-heeled sandals, NOT running), I only continued to run once in awhile. So I'd say I was running 2-3 times a month. I tried reducing the amount of food I ate, eating smaller portions. I also started only eating half of some of my splurge foods - donuts, cookies, etc. I don't drink sugar pop and do a lot of walking just by nature of where I work and where I park. I followed a lot of these "rules" and didn't shed a pound - in fact, gained a few pounds. Very frustrating!
Haven't we heard that if you decrease what you eat and increase your activity level that the weight would come off? That formula works, I guess, but when you're only reducing 200 calories and burning an extra 200 calories and you're taking in 3,000-4,000 calories, you're still NOT going to lose weight. I had the right idea, but not enough effort. I think a lot of us fall into this category.
3,000-4,000 calories a day? You betcha. I could list all the articles that show that if you eat out, most meals are around 1,000, if not more. Tasty - yes. Fresh foods - yes. Drenched in butter, creamy sauces, or fried - yes. And there's those calories that you weren't expecting. I'm not just talking about ice cream and cake, I'm talking about your vegetables and lean meats! Yes you're getting your nutrition but getting so much more.
So Jason and I decided to try Take Shape For Life (TSFL) which uses the Medifast food. We had to sign up with TSFL and then order our Medifast food. The food costs about $300/person/month. This might seem a lot but our food spending each month was at least $800 between groceries and eating out. It hasn't exactly saved us money, but we're definitely not spending any money on fast food or empty calories any more.
A friend from Ohio University is a TSFL Health Coach and got us going and followed-up regularly to make sure we were doing okay. With this diet you go down to 800-1,000 calories per day. At first we were a little grumpy and craving everything we couldn't eat anymore and we had some energy loss and headaches. But after a day or two the headaches were gone and the positive attitude started to kick in. Each Monday we'd get on the scale and each Monday we had lost weight. It took discipline to stay on the diet and not cheat when we were out with friends, but it got easier every week.
After a few weeks we weren't craving pizza and cheeseburgers anymore. In fact, the idea of fried food seems disgusting now and I worry about what it would do to my digestive system after not eating it for so long. I worry about not getting enough nutrition or over-eating if we filled up on empty calories. We've notice that family and friends eat healthier around us and we've heard "your food looks better than mine" a few times. We learned that there ARE healthy choices at almost every restaurant, you just have to know how to find them. (We didn't know how to before.)
I must say that we discovered the most difficult food to eat healthy when eating out is vegetables. If you get a salad, trying to get a low-fat, low-calorie dressing is near impossible. We went to a Subway in another city and they didn't have any "diet" dressings at all. We couldn't believe it. So we would try to choose broccoli, green beans or asparagus, but we'd have to ask how they're prepared and served. With butter or a creamy sauce a lot of times. A few places said they're steamed or cooked in olive oil, thankfully. It seemed easier to get grilled chicken and then eat a vegetable when we got home.
So now we've been on the TSFL program for three months. I've lost 32 pounds and Jason has lost 40 pounds. We've back to the weights we were before we met. (My wedding dress would be too big at this point.) ;)
I've had friends ask what our secret is. Of course we could tell you that our secret is the Take Shape For Life program. Though I've had friends lose 40+ pounds without signing up for TSFL, Weight Watchers or any of the others. What's the secret? I'll tell you what I think...
- Pick a plan and stick with it. Don't just think "I'll eat less" or "I'll walk more." That's not a weight loss plan. Do research and find a plan with structure and accountability that works for you.
- NO CHEATING! If you cheat, you go back to day 1 and start all over again. And if you do cheat, pick yourself up and don't give up!
- Drink lots of water! The weeks that I'd lose only a pound were the weeks where I didn't drink enough water.
- Don't give up if you haven't lost the weight you were hoping for after the first few weeks. Stick with it! (This is where I failed so many times in the past. I had a lot of success with TSFL after the first couple of weeks, so I finally found a plan I wasn't going to give up on.)
Lastly I have to thank Jason for doing this diet with me. Without him being part of this I would never have stuck with the diet. I appreciate all the cooking he's done and Medifast meal preparations. I appreciate his willingness to try new recipes and doctor the Medifast meals into something I would prefer to eat. Thank you hon, I love you. :)
Monday, October 4, 2010
How texting ruins relationships...
This past weekend Jason and I flew out to Seattle to visit my brother and sister-in-law. We stayed in a hotel and got a rental car, so we wouldn't have to be dependent on D&J (brother and sis-in-law). Saturday evening my brother picked Jason and I up from downtown to go see a sunset, one of the things I really wanted to do while there. Afterwards D was taking us back downtown to drop us off and we asked him to stop at a Wendy's so we could go to the bathroom. We offered to get him something (thinking a Coke or a frosty) and he asked us to get him a meal - and he waited in the car.
While inside the following texts were sent to me:
D: She didn't stop talking
D: Jason hasn't said 3 sentences
(I figured out he thought he was sending the texts to Jenn - maybe answering a question she asked?)
C: You dork I'm buying your dinner.
D. Oh ;)
I got back in the car and he tried to laugh it off. I was angry (I've been an emotional mess for the last week so a lot of raw emotions were right there at the surface and I just couldn't let it go.) I chewed him out for bad-mouthing me to his wife, and also for saying *I* didn't stop talking. He asked me one question (about what we did) and while trying to answer him he kept cutting me off and telling me useless trivial facts about buildings I don't really care about.
Jason was sitting in the back and if you know Jason, he's not usually one to join a conversation unless he has knowledge that no one else does. So I told him that was the pot calling the kettle black. I then reminded him that we could have used our free airline ticket and 3 free hotel nights anywhere in the country and we chose to use them to visit him. But by then I was wondering why I bothered. He said nothing. No apology, no defense, just dropped us off downtown. I thanked him for taking us to the sunset, said goodbye and slammed the door.
(I hate to say it but it messed up the rest of the evening and ruined mine and Jason's date night.)
The next day we were supposed to go shopping with them and then dinner, but I had such little sleep by then that I had no patience to real deal with anything. In fact, I just wanted to get the first flight out of Seattle and head home. So Jason and I went shopping by ourselves. Here's the texts that followed. I believe they'll tell the rest of the story. (And for the record, these are ALL the texts back and forth, I have not deleted or changed any of the exchange. D is the brother, J is the sis-in-law, and C is me. Jason was not part of this exchange.)
J: Are we going to see you before you leave, or shall we cancel the dinner reservations?
C (to J): Cancel the reservation.
D: Consider dinner canceled. Bye
D: We need the nice measuring cup and measuring spoon back before you guys leave tonight. Where do we meet you?
J: Please return my kitchen things to me. I need those back. The Tb is from the set that my parents got me.
C (to D): You can pick them up at the hotel after 9 tonight. Jason will bring it out to you. I won't bother you an Jenn any further.
J: btw, do u feel even a tiny bit bad about pitching in only $20 toward our $143 trip Fri?
(They asked us if they could take us on a road trip. We had no idea it was 2 hours from Seattle or how much it would cost, but they did. And for the record, we contributed more than $40 and didn't even include food.)
C (to J): You want me to feel bad? I wanted to go downtown Friday and do things on our list. If we would have known how expensive it was we would never have gone. Btw Jason gave David what he could.
J: You're a class act.
J: Didn't see u pinching pennies abt going to fancy restaurants. (We went to one seafood restaurant because we wanted local seafood. The other restaurant we ate at was a pub style and not "fancy.")
C (to D): Shuttle is taking us to the airport. Your stuff is in a white bag at the front desk.
D: Thank you, Jenn got 'em from her dad, so these means a lot. While I do value your opinions and thoughts, I hoped to hear Jason's also in a 4 way conversation.
(Still not sure what this means. Jason sat up with D both Thursday & Friday. I finally got a chance to talk to my brother Saturday and this is when he says he wants Jason's opinion in a 4 way conversation - when there were only 3 of us in the car.)
C (to D): You married a mean controlling woman and you'll end up just like Nick. Don't expect to hear from me again.
(J's mom's husband who is now a widower and quite a mess without his wife. Yes, this was harsh, but if I got to say one last thing to my brother - this is it. He defends his wife to the end, but his family knows he became a completely different person after he married her. And most of us don't talk to him anymore because of it.)
J: Thanks for the visit and for blocking us from yr FB. The favor has been returned. Look up Narcissistic Personality Disorder when u can and discover why u cannot sustain REAL relationships And also why counseling will never work for u. U have a good man with a lot of kindness and patience. Hope this one works out and tht u don't crush his soul too.
(I didn't block them from facebook, I kept them as friends but just prevented them from being able to post on my page. Also, FYI... previous husband remarried months after our divorce was final - to the woman he and I agreed he should have been with from the beginning. Yeah, I really "crushed his soul.")
J: BTW next time u want to talk at GREAT length abt your myriad upcoming pregnancy plans, make sure the listener hasn't JUST HAD TO HAVE A HYSTERECTOMY, you pathologically insensitive twit.
(Her hysterectomy was last year and they never tried to have children. Also, the pregnancy plans were about coming out to see them - which they begged me to do. Oh, and I also got chewed out by my brother when they weren't one of the first to know I was pregnant. And btw, I had had 2 miscarriages at that point and didn't see telling people if there wasn't much hope of getting past the 1st trimester.)
Some family members suspect that J has been trying to alienate D from his family. I'd say if that was her goal, she's done a great job. As if the physical distance wasn't enough (it was her idea to move to Seattle, she's from PA), there's now a pretty hefty emotional distance too. Sadly enough David complained about not having any friends in Seattle. They've been out there 8 years and he has no friends. This just breaks my heart. I made suggestions on how they could find meet people and hopefully make friends, however my suggestions were probably offensive to J and she informed me that it just doesn't work that way out there in Seattle.
If D loses his one last friend, J, I really don't know what he would do. He's burned too many bridges with family for him to return as the prodigal son. I have no idea what to do at this point or how to feel. I just know I need to stay away from them, physically and emotionally.
While inside the following texts were sent to me:
D: She didn't stop talking
D: Jason hasn't said 3 sentences
(I figured out he thought he was sending the texts to Jenn - maybe answering a question she asked?)
C: You dork I'm buying your dinner.
D. Oh ;)
I got back in the car and he tried to laugh it off. I was angry (I've been an emotional mess for the last week so a lot of raw emotions were right there at the surface and I just couldn't let it go.) I chewed him out for bad-mouthing me to his wife, and also for saying *I* didn't stop talking. He asked me one question (about what we did) and while trying to answer him he kept cutting me off and telling me useless trivial facts about buildings I don't really care about.
Jason was sitting in the back and if you know Jason, he's not usually one to join a conversation unless he has knowledge that no one else does. So I told him that was the pot calling the kettle black. I then reminded him that we could have used our free airline ticket and 3 free hotel nights anywhere in the country and we chose to use them to visit him. But by then I was wondering why I bothered. He said nothing. No apology, no defense, just dropped us off downtown. I thanked him for taking us to the sunset, said goodbye and slammed the door.
(I hate to say it but it messed up the rest of the evening and ruined mine and Jason's date night.)
The next day we were supposed to go shopping with them and then dinner, but I had such little sleep by then that I had no patience to real deal with anything. In fact, I just wanted to get the first flight out of Seattle and head home. So Jason and I went shopping by ourselves. Here's the texts that followed. I believe they'll tell the rest of the story. (And for the record, these are ALL the texts back and forth, I have not deleted or changed any of the exchange. D is the brother, J is the sis-in-law, and C is me. Jason was not part of this exchange.)
J: Are we going to see you before you leave, or shall we cancel the dinner reservations?
C (to J): Cancel the reservation.
D: Consider dinner canceled. Bye
D: We need the nice measuring cup and measuring spoon back before you guys leave tonight. Where do we meet you?
J: Please return my kitchen things to me. I need those back. The Tb is from the set that my parents got me.
C (to D): You can pick them up at the hotel after 9 tonight. Jason will bring it out to you. I won't bother you an Jenn any further.
J: btw, do u feel even a tiny bit bad about pitching in only $20 toward our $143 trip Fri?
(They asked us if they could take us on a road trip. We had no idea it was 2 hours from Seattle or how much it would cost, but they did. And for the record, we contributed more than $40 and didn't even include food.)
C (to J): You want me to feel bad? I wanted to go downtown Friday and do things on our list. If we would have known how expensive it was we would never have gone. Btw Jason gave David what he could.
J: You're a class act.
J: Didn't see u pinching pennies abt going to fancy restaurants. (We went to one seafood restaurant because we wanted local seafood. The other restaurant we ate at was a pub style and not "fancy.")
C (to D): Shuttle is taking us to the airport. Your stuff is in a white bag at the front desk.
D: Thank you, Jenn got 'em from her dad, so these means a lot. While I do value your opinions and thoughts, I hoped to hear Jason's also in a 4 way conversation.
(Still not sure what this means. Jason sat up with D both Thursday & Friday. I finally got a chance to talk to my brother Saturday and this is when he says he wants Jason's opinion in a 4 way conversation - when there were only 3 of us in the car.)
C (to D): You married a mean controlling woman and you'll end up just like Nick. Don't expect to hear from me again.
(J's mom's husband who is now a widower and quite a mess without his wife. Yes, this was harsh, but if I got to say one last thing to my brother - this is it. He defends his wife to the end, but his family knows he became a completely different person after he married her. And most of us don't talk to him anymore because of it.)
J: Thanks for the visit and for blocking us from yr FB. The favor has been returned. Look up Narcissistic Personality Disorder when u can and discover why u cannot sustain REAL relationships And also why counseling will never work for u. U have a good man with a lot of kindness and patience. Hope this one works out and tht u don't crush his soul too.
(I didn't block them from facebook, I kept them as friends but just prevented them from being able to post on my page. Also, FYI... previous husband remarried months after our divorce was final - to the woman he and I agreed he should have been with from the beginning. Yeah, I really "crushed his soul.")
J: BTW next time u want to talk at GREAT length abt your myriad upcoming pregnancy plans, make sure the listener hasn't JUST HAD TO HAVE A HYSTERECTOMY, you pathologically insensitive twit.
(Her hysterectomy was last year and they never tried to have children. Also, the pregnancy plans were about coming out to see them - which they begged me to do. Oh, and I also got chewed out by my brother when they weren't one of the first to know I was pregnant. And btw, I had had 2 miscarriages at that point and didn't see telling people if there wasn't much hope of getting past the 1st trimester.)
Some family members suspect that J has been trying to alienate D from his family. I'd say if that was her goal, she's done a great job. As if the physical distance wasn't enough (it was her idea to move to Seattle, she's from PA), there's now a pretty hefty emotional distance too. Sadly enough David complained about not having any friends in Seattle. They've been out there 8 years and he has no friends. This just breaks my heart. I made suggestions on how they could find meet people and hopefully make friends, however my suggestions were probably offensive to J and she informed me that it just doesn't work that way out there in Seattle.
If D loses his one last friend, J, I really don't know what he would do. He's burned too many bridges with family for him to return as the prodigal son. I have no idea what to do at this point or how to feel. I just know I need to stay away from them, physically and emotionally.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Kitchen Remodel
It's about time we remodeled the kitchen. We've been waiting years to do this and we're finally in a position where it financially makes sense to do this. We've got the plans (courtesy of my step-dad, dated 8/24/06) and I've been working on the Ikea kitchen planner. We're also hitting Home Depot and getting prices there. We're getting a really good idea of what we want and what the final project will look like.
I thought I'd list the frustrations with our kitchen, but really, pictures will tell the story so much better.
Here's our counter space:
Yeah, that's it. If you just did dishes and then fix something to eat, your entire counterspace is now taken. We often use the stove to set things or the edge of the sink.
Also notice that the cabinets are so low that very little fits under them:
Ever knock over a bottle of wine when trying to open your cabinet door? Thank God it wasn't open.
The other problem with things not fitting under the cabinets is that when you try to use them, you either have to keep putting them away or create space on other surfaces. So the toaster and the coffee maker are on top of the microwave (which is on a microwave cart). And the Kitchenaid Mixer and knife block are on top of a butcher block kitchen cart. There are extension cords everywhere so that everything can be plugged in. This not only looks cluttered, it's probably also a fire hazard.
Which leads me to another complaint. If you do have anything "too tall" on your countertop, you have to set it by the wall so that you can get the cabinet doors open. But obviously they can't be opened all the way.
Please note in the last picture the dings in the cabinet doors - from hitting all the objects set on counters.
Other ugliness in the kitchen includes the brown carpet (brown when clean, brown when dirty), the lack of storage, and the plaster walls cracking behind the cabinets that are built right onto the walls. Makes me a bit nervous.
We plan on taking down the wall with the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. (The wall to the right of the blender.) This will open up the kitchen quite a bit and create more usable space for cooking, baking, and eating.
In the picture above, it's not the wall with the arch-shaped opening, but the one beyond that with the door frame. (Photo taken by our realtor when we had the house for sale last year. Obviously we decided to stay a bit longer.)
Here's the Ikea layout - so far. I'm a bit frustrated with the software, so there's a few things I gave up on and will tweak when we're back at the store.
Here's one of our inspirations - the cabinets are the same as the ones we want to get. (Knobs are different though.)
I'll post updates as we go. We still need to go to Home Depot, decide on what we want, find a renter for Jason's house/cabin in Kentucky, measure the kitchen again, go to Ikea to place the order, have a professional come out and measure again for the countertops, tear up all the carpet in the house, take down all the cabinets in the kitchen, the tear down the plaster wall between the kitchen & dining room... THEN we'll get around to putting together the new kitchen. :)
I thought I'd list the frustrations with our kitchen, but really, pictures will tell the story so much better.
Here's our counter space:
Yeah, that's it. If you just did dishes and then fix something to eat, your entire counterspace is now taken. We often use the stove to set things or the edge of the sink.
Also notice that the cabinets are so low that very little fits under them:
Ever knock over a bottle of wine when trying to open your cabinet door? Thank God it wasn't open.
The other problem with things not fitting under the cabinets is that when you try to use them, you either have to keep putting them away or create space on other surfaces. So the toaster and the coffee maker are on top of the microwave (which is on a microwave cart). And the Kitchenaid Mixer and knife block are on top of a butcher block kitchen cart. There are extension cords everywhere so that everything can be plugged in. This not only looks cluttered, it's probably also a fire hazard.
Which leads me to another complaint. If you do have anything "too tall" on your countertop, you have to set it by the wall so that you can get the cabinet doors open. But obviously they can't be opened all the way.
Please note in the last picture the dings in the cabinet doors - from hitting all the objects set on counters.
Other ugliness in the kitchen includes the brown carpet (brown when clean, brown when dirty), the lack of storage, and the plaster walls cracking behind the cabinets that are built right onto the walls. Makes me a bit nervous.
We plan on taking down the wall with the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. (The wall to the right of the blender.) This will open up the kitchen quite a bit and create more usable space for cooking, baking, and eating.
In the picture above, it's not the wall with the arch-shaped opening, but the one beyond that with the door frame. (Photo taken by our realtor when we had the house for sale last year. Obviously we decided to stay a bit longer.)
Here's the Ikea layout - so far. I'm a bit frustrated with the software, so there's a few things I gave up on and will tweak when we're back at the store.
Here's one of our inspirations - the cabinets are the same as the ones we want to get. (Knobs are different though.)
I'll post updates as we go. We still need to go to Home Depot, decide on what we want, find a renter for Jason's house/cabin in Kentucky, measure the kitchen again, go to Ikea to place the order, have a professional come out and measure again for the countertops, tear up all the carpet in the house, take down all the cabinets in the kitchen, the tear down the plaster wall between the kitchen & dining room... THEN we'll get around to putting together the new kitchen. :)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Cabin for Rent (and also for sale)
Jason's cabin has been on the market for almost 3 years now and though many have been interested, no one has made a reasonable offer. Most people want it for a vacation home, but with the economy those people just can't finance it right now.
So we've decided to offer the cabin for rent. We haven't decided on a monthly rate yet, but it needs to be close to our mortgage payment. We'll definitely negotiate though; we really want someone living in the cabin.
Here's all the information you would ever want about our unique cabin:
http://cordwoodcabin.shutterfly.com/
If you could imagine yourself living here, please let us know! Thank you! :)
So we've decided to offer the cabin for rent. We haven't decided on a monthly rate yet, but it needs to be close to our mortgage payment. We'll definitely negotiate though; we really want someone living in the cabin.
Here's all the information you would ever want about our unique cabin:
http://cordwoodcabin.shutterfly.com/
If you could imagine yourself living here, please let us know! Thank you! :)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Transforming the Guest Bedroom into a Study
Our house is too small. Actually it's a great size for us and 3 cats, however, all our furniture seems too big for the space we have.
We have a guest room which had a Queen sized bed, vanity, cedar chest, night stand and a small wire shelving unit (small baker's rack) in it. It was all really squished in there and the room wasn't being used. Maybe (MAYBE) once a year someone would stay overnight in there. I decided I wanted to move some furniture around and make it into a study/sitting room. It would be a cat-free area where my allergic friends could hang out. And the sunshine in there is just wonderful all day - it's on the south-east corner of the house.
So we took the queen sized bed and put it down in the basement - in storage. We moved an old antique table (my grandmother's dining room table with leaves that fold down), a wood bookshelf, and a lazy boy in there. I then bought queen sized futon from Craig's list and stuffed it in there. I wanted a queen sized bed in there so that my taller family would have plenty of leg room on the bed. (My feet hang off the end of a full sized bed, and my mom & brother, who live out of town, are both taller than me.)
However, we've come upon a glitch. Turns out the queen sized futon is wider than the queen sized bed - giving us even less room than what we had before when the bed is pulled out. So in order to use that as a sleeping room, we'd have to move the lazy boy into the living room and probably get rid of my grandmother's table and the cedar chest all together.
So I'm stuck. Keep the queen sized futon and just move furniture around when friends stay overnight? Or sell the futon on craigslist (we'll get at least what we paid for it) and buy a smaller full-sized futon that will fit with more furniture. I'd rather have queen sized, since all our sheets are queen sized, but that room just seems to be too small for a queen sized anything. However, we won't be in this house forever and then will I regret not keeping the queen sized futon? Also, what if we end up having a baby, that futon will have to go elsewhere. The finished attic is huge and would accommodate a queen sized futon very well.
Btw, taking it to the cabin isn't really an option. If we ever find a truck big enough we'll take the queen sized bed downstairs out to the cabin and hope that one doesn't get stolen too. I'd also like to take my grandmother's dining room table out to the cabin, but I really don't want to risk having that one stolen like most of the furniture that we left there a year ago.
So what do you think? Live for now and get rid of the queen sized futon and get a full-sized one? Or make do with what we have and keep the queen sized futon - and just move most of the furniture in there into storage?
Edit - we have a queen sized hide-a-bed in the living room. I forgot to mention this.
We have a guest room which had a Queen sized bed, vanity, cedar chest, night stand and a small wire shelving unit (small baker's rack) in it. It was all really squished in there and the room wasn't being used. Maybe (MAYBE) once a year someone would stay overnight in there. I decided I wanted to move some furniture around and make it into a study/sitting room. It would be a cat-free area where my allergic friends could hang out. And the sunshine in there is just wonderful all day - it's on the south-east corner of the house.
So we took the queen sized bed and put it down in the basement - in storage. We moved an old antique table (my grandmother's dining room table with leaves that fold down), a wood bookshelf, and a lazy boy in there. I then bought queen sized futon from Craig's list and stuffed it in there. I wanted a queen sized bed in there so that my taller family would have plenty of leg room on the bed. (My feet hang off the end of a full sized bed, and my mom & brother, who live out of town, are both taller than me.)
However, we've come upon a glitch. Turns out the queen sized futon is wider than the queen sized bed - giving us even less room than what we had before when the bed is pulled out. So in order to use that as a sleeping room, we'd have to move the lazy boy into the living room and probably get rid of my grandmother's table and the cedar chest all together.
So I'm stuck. Keep the queen sized futon and just move furniture around when friends stay overnight? Or sell the futon on craigslist (we'll get at least what we paid for it) and buy a smaller full-sized futon that will fit with more furniture. I'd rather have queen sized, since all our sheets are queen sized, but that room just seems to be too small for a queen sized anything. However, we won't be in this house forever and then will I regret not keeping the queen sized futon? Also, what if we end up having a baby, that futon will have to go elsewhere. The finished attic is huge and would accommodate a queen sized futon very well.
Btw, taking it to the cabin isn't really an option. If we ever find a truck big enough we'll take the queen sized bed downstairs out to the cabin and hope that one doesn't get stolen too. I'd also like to take my grandmother's dining room table out to the cabin, but I really don't want to risk having that one stolen like most of the furniture that we left there a year ago.
So what do you think? Live for now and get rid of the queen sized futon and get a full-sized one? Or make do with what we have and keep the queen sized futon - and just move most of the furniture in there into storage?
Edit - we have a queen sized hide-a-bed in the living room. I forgot to mention this.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Memories from Honduras
There are a few moments from our week in Honduras that keep going over and over in my mind. I thought I'd put them here to hold on them - and to share them with you.
First, every person's mission trip experience is different. Each of us have stories about what touched us and what we thought of the trip. Even if we were all in the same spot seeing the same thing, we all have different stories about how God spoke to us in that experience. (I'm saying this because I've heard people say "were you on the same trip with _________??? They didn't mention that at all!")
Second, when you've gone multiple times, you start to expect certain things. However this year some of the things I was assuming to be a certain way turned out completely different - in an incredibly wonderful way. I love it when that happens, it's like you're experiencing your first time there again.
The first night was probably my worst night in Honduras, ever. I was dehydrated and with a thunderstorm coming in, I ended up with a horrible headache. The four of us ladies from the Vineyard shared a small room the Casa de Esther that night. I had stayed in that house before, but it was hot and muggy that night and we were in a small room with 2 beds and a bunk bed. Due to drinking so much water, I asked if someone else could take the top bunk. (With me being the youngest of the 4, I figured I'd get voted to be up there.) Gratefully Joyanna offered to be on the top bunk and I took the lower bunk near the window. Kathy and Darleen were across from us. Kathy had brought a small fan which we put in front of the window so thankfully we had a little bit of air flow.
After getting up three times I checked my clock and it was only 2am. My head felt like it was going to explode and I struggled to not start crying. Crying would make my sinuses worse which would just feed the headache. My Tylenol was in the bottom of my empty water bottle, with my other prescription bottles on top. The problem was that the 2 prescription bottles had gotten wedged in the water bottle.
(Please don't ask why I put them in there. It was taking up space in my bag and it was empty. I couldn't find anything else small, so I put all my pill bottles in there. Never again.)
All the shaking and shuffling of bottles wouldn't release any of them. And there was my Tylenol stuck at the bottom. Once again I was fighting back tears. About the time I was considering taking the bottle outside and bashing it with a rock, Kathy woke up. (I'm sure it was all the pills being shaken but she said it wasn't.)
I explained the situation to Kathy and she gave it a try. After much shaking and poking she got no further than I had. Unfortunately I think we woke up Darleen and Joyanna about then. (We were starting to giggle a bit about the stupid water bottle.)
I thankfully had a brain storm and took the top off the one bottle that wasn't child proof. I was then able to pull that bottle out and get the others out. Success!! By then Darleen and Joyanna were up and we were all chatting.
They suggested I turn around so that my feet were by the window and my head closer to the door. They were right, this helped with the air flow. I had also (thankfully) bought a travel pillow in the airport and using this I could elevate my head, which helps when I have a headache. Also, the donut shape of the pillow helped relieve the ache in the back of my head.
Then the best part, we all started giggling about silly stuff. I was afraid we woke up the girls in the next room but they swear we didn't. Around 2:30 am we finally got settled down and I was able to fall asleep. Really asleep. I woke up 4 hours later feeling rested, and without a headache. I was so grateful for those wise, wonderful, silly women. Laughter with girl friends definitely relieves stress and helps change your mood. Thank you Kathy, Joyanna, and Darleen. Love you so much!
These kids in the village, Valle de Angeles, just grabbed my heart. There was something about them that will stay with me for a long time. When I left I realized I may not see them again and it just broke my heart. I continue to pray for them and hope to see them again someday.
First, every person's mission trip experience is different. Each of us have stories about what touched us and what we thought of the trip. Even if we were all in the same spot seeing the same thing, we all have different stories about how God spoke to us in that experience. (I'm saying this because I've heard people say "were you on the same trip with _________??? They didn't mention that at all!")
Second, when you've gone multiple times, you start to expect certain things. However this year some of the things I was assuming to be a certain way turned out completely different - in an incredibly wonderful way. I love it when that happens, it's like you're experiencing your first time there again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(photo courtesy of Darleen)
After getting up three times I checked my clock and it was only 2am. My head felt like it was going to explode and I struggled to not start crying. Crying would make my sinuses worse which would just feed the headache. My Tylenol was in the bottom of my empty water bottle, with my other prescription bottles on top. The problem was that the 2 prescription bottles had gotten wedged in the water bottle.
(Please don't ask why I put them in there. It was taking up space in my bag and it was empty. I couldn't find anything else small, so I put all my pill bottles in there. Never again.)
All the shaking and shuffling of bottles wouldn't release any of them. And there was my Tylenol stuck at the bottom. Once again I was fighting back tears. About the time I was considering taking the bottle outside and bashing it with a rock, Kathy woke up. (I'm sure it was all the pills being shaken but she said it wasn't.)
I explained the situation to Kathy and she gave it a try. After much shaking and poking she got no further than I had. Unfortunately I think we woke up Darleen and Joyanna about then. (We were starting to giggle a bit about the stupid water bottle.)
I thankfully had a brain storm and took the top off the one bottle that wasn't child proof. I was then able to pull that bottle out and get the others out. Success!! By then Darleen and Joyanna were up and we were all chatting.
They suggested I turn around so that my feet were by the window and my head closer to the door. They were right, this helped with the air flow. I had also (thankfully) bought a travel pillow in the airport and using this I could elevate my head, which helps when I have a headache. Also, the donut shape of the pillow helped relieve the ache in the back of my head.
Then the best part, we all started giggling about silly stuff. I was afraid we woke up the girls in the next room but they swear we didn't. Around 2:30 am we finally got settled down and I was able to fall asleep. Really asleep. I woke up 4 hours later feeling rested, and without a headache. I was so grateful for those wise, wonderful, silly women. Laughter with girl friends definitely relieves stress and helps change your mood. Thank you Kathy, Joyanna, and Darleen. Love you so much!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I had no idea that taking a camera on a mission trip would be an outreach tool. There's always a group of kids that hang around our work site and watch us. They love having their picture taken and then looking at the photo. This would probably go on for hours if I didn't quickly tire of it. I just worry about all those little fingers all over my camera, sometimes yanking it back and forth, putting finger prints on the lens. So I've learned when to call it quits before they start getting too grabby.
One day on the work site I was taking pictures of the kids (and they were trying to be gangster, too funny). One of the kids, Kaylie Paola, asked if she could take a picture of me. I had my camera on a lanyard around my neck, so I let her turn the camera around at me and snap my picture.
You can see Kaylie (and my camera) in the reflection of my sunglasses. :) I'm also making that face because she's pulling on the lanyard which is around my neck... you understand.
Later her cousin, Alexander, asked to take some pictures with my camera, and I let him. Kaylie unclicked the lanyard (which made my heart stop for a moment), I put the strap around Alexander's wrist, and he took off to take pictures. The pictures were great and will be the subject of another blog post. :)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Thursday night was the fiesta! We made 700 meals and then showed the Jesus film (in Spanish). There were some challenges which included starting late (Honduran time), the electricity in the village going out several times, the DVD skipping, and a storm threatening to hit at the end of the movie. However, we made it to the end of the movie and prayed for people when it was over.
There were a lot of children who came up for prayer. The interpreter asked what they needed prayer for and they just smiled and stood there. I think they were just curious as to what was going on, so I started praying for some of the girls that were standing near me. I prayed for a few of the other kids and then they started asking for their photos to be taken. (At this time I was carrying the church's video camera and my little camera was around my neck. I just screamed "CAMERA GIRL.")
After taking a couple of pictures of the kids, they started saying "con usted, con usted." With me? This surprised me at first, the kids have never asked for ME to be in the pictures with them. So I sat down on a step and had the kids gather in around me and tried to take a few pictures by holding my camera out.
These kids in the village, Valle de Angeles, just grabbed my heart. There was something about them that will stay with me for a long time. When I left I realized I may not see them again and it just broke my heart. I continue to pray for them and hope to see them again someday.
Allie, me, Natalie, and Jason
Ruth, me and Allie (photo taken by Natalie)
Look how those girls were hanging on me. Miss them.
By the way, these last three girls (who stuck around until we left) were the first few girls that I prayed for. I hope to see them again. Someday. :)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day we drove to San Pedro Sula and had lunch at Power Chicken. We do this every year. The meal is served family style and we get to try several different kinds of meat and sides with flan for dessert. What doesn't getting eaten gets divided up into to-go containers, which we give away. We drive to a part of the city where the glue boys hang out (they huff glue) and then hand the meals out through a window in the van. The food is usually gone pretty quick and then we head to the Bed & Breakfast for the night.
This time it was different. When we found some of the glue boys they were pouring water over one of them that seemed to have paint all over him. We were confused at first as to what was going on. We weren't sure if they were helping him or making it worse. Jason pointed out some painters nearby that must have thrown the paint on the guy. His friends were trying to help him by pouring water over his head and helping him get the paint out of his eyes.
When they saw that we had food they ran to the van and took the containers. They then ran back to the one with paint all over him and set their food down and continued to help him. This was like a shock through my heart.
Normally they devour the food after only taking a couple of steps away from the van. Sometimes they follow us begging for more food. This time though, their friend was more important than their hunger. I guess you don't have much else when you live on the streets.
There was something about that that just spoke to me. That showed me how different my world is from theirs. Here I'm thinking "look how much love we're showing you by giving you a styrofoam container with food in it." And yet greater love was shown by the friends trying to help each other. I enter their world for just a moment and then I'm gone, forgotten. I can make such a bigger impact on the world I live in on a daily basis - the people I have contact with each day. And yet it seems so much harder to do this at home with the people you know than it is to go on a mission trip.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The last memory that I want to share was our last morning in Honduras at El Meson Bed & Breakfast in San Pedro Sula. The couples got to stay together, so we asked if we could have the bigger bed. (The other couple aren't quite as big as us... so they agreed.) The room we ended up in had a king sized bed and a gorgeous tiled bathroom.
I got my first hot shower that week and finished getting ready with some David Crowder Band playing in the background. I could hear the ladies on the other side of the wall making our breakfast. They keep the windows in the bathrooms open, so you have to keep the door to the bedroom (with the A/C) shut. The rain was falling (the beginning of Hurricane Alex) and it was cool and humid in the bathroom. It's a moment in time that I want to hold onto for awhile. I guess that's what I think it would be like to live down there.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thoughts after 5 days in Honduras.
First, I just posted this on facebook, and I thought I'd repeat it here. To set the tone or something.
"Day 5 in Honduras, day 5 of cold showers. It's an elusive thing here at the hotel and I've given up hoping it's my turn. It's like pool water and feels good after being out in the sun and humidity, so it's not so bad. However, if I see another spider crawl across my bed, I'm going to lose it. (Yes, I have another weird spider bite.)"
I'll live. I just really got eaten up by... somethings the last few days. I'm thinking they're probably fire ants, not mosquitoes. And spiders are also a possibility. I have a weird bite on the back of my arm that is all bubbly. It's crusted over at the moment and sorta looks like poison ivy - which I've never had. We're thinking it might be an allergic reactions to something - maybe even a plant.
It was a rough start at the beginning of the trip. I wasn't feeling so great before we left and my doctor told me to just take it easy and get lots of water. We landed in San Pedro Sula around 1pm on Saturday and the headache hit not too long after. I may have been dehydrated, but with our travels it wasn't going to get any better.
We made it to the Heart to Honduras compound in Canchias right before dinner and we were really the only ones there. Right before we were going to head to the cabins and call it a night, the rain started - and didn't stop for quite awhile! Some of us went outside and saw a few large frogs jumping at the bugs that were flying around under the awning. The medium sized one was about the side of a softball. If it wasn't raining on me, I would have loved to have gotten video of that. Amazing!
The rain made the night very humid and our little room that the 4 of us were in was stuffy. We had the window open but the air wasn't really moving. Thankfully Kathy brought a small fan and offered to share it with us. I didn't fall asleep easily and by 2am I thought my head was going to explode. I was horribly hot and my head hurt so bad - I was almost in tears. I woke Kathy up trying to get some Tylenol and then our talking woke Joyanna and Darleen up. We started goofing around and I ended up laughing so hard. Around 2:30 I fell asleep and slept so soundly the rest of the night. It's amazing what friends and laughing can do for you.
The next day, Sunday, we made our way to Comayagua and went to church that night. The children sang a song for us and passed out postcards that had flowers or hats made out of construction papers. We loved them! Pastor Roberto skipped the sermon, and we ended up going to an er at a local hospital to give out tamales and hot coffee.
In the past month, both Pastor Roberto and another church member, Carmen, have had to go to the er. Sitting there and waiting, they noticed so many hungry and hurting people. They started taking oatmeal to the people waiting and praying for them. So on Sunday we joined them while they served tamales and coffee to the people waiting. Several people asked for prayer, but most of the people just smiled and looked really surprised. The best part is that we were helping them with an outreach. It just really felt like a win.
Sunday was a long day, so Monday was a short day. We worked on the house until 3pm, then headed back to the hotel to relax. We went to the square in Comayagua that evening, but unfortunately the fountain wasn't on. We did go to Baskin Robbins afterwards - always a treat. :)
Tuesday was another long day. We worked on the house until 2pm or so, then loaded as many people as possible into our van and went to a neighboring village where we'll do the fiesta tomorrow night. It started to downpour as we arrived in the village, so we had to wait awhile for it to stop. Then we split up into groups and walked around the village handing out bottles of water and fliers about the fiesta. The village is quite large, which took us awhile to get all the way around. We didn't end up getting back to the hotel until 5:30, which is when we eat dinner. So showers came after dinner - then off to church!
I loved the church service last night. First we did testimonies and (after 5 years, finally) I shared mine. (That's another blog I believe.) It wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. It really just felt like talking to family. Then Darleen shared her testimony and two ladies from the church shared theirs. There was a common theme to our 4 testimonies - healing, from the inside out. Very appropriate since Gregg was sharing the Vineyard 5-step prayer model that evening.
However, before Gregg spoke, the church members asked us to come up one by one and draw a name out of a basket. When Pastor Roberto called the name, they came up with a gift for us. It was so much fun and we felt so loved on! I ended up with a beautiful pot, which was just perfect since I wanted to buy one this year. Jason got a pad of paper and a pen in a wood holder. I really wish I would have gotten pictures of everyone with their gifts - they were just perfect for each person who got the gifts.
After Gregg shared the 5-step prayer model, people came up for prayer and we got to pray for them. It was really just a great time of praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. It was hard to leave last night and I just wanted to hug everyone!
Today we finished the house and have some free time this afternoon and evening. We're planning on just hanging out and maybe playing some card games. It hasn't been a difficult trip, but it has been quite hot and humid out and shade hasn't always been easy to find. (And I sorta missed the back of my right arm while putting on sun block, so it's stinging a bit right now.) I'm thankful for some time to reflect on the week so far.
Btw, Jason, Gregg, Joyanna, and several ladies went grocery shopping for the fiesta tomorrow and they haven't come back yet. Dinner is in about an hour, hope they come back soon. (Not that Jason will miss out on a cold shower or anything.)
Tomorrow we'll be preparing food all day for the fiesta tomorrow night. I'm not sure how many they're expecting, but I would assume at least 500, maybe 700? We'll hand out the food and cups of water, and then show the Jesus film, en Espanol (in Spanish). We're starting earlier this time, so hopefully we'll make it to Pizza Hut tomorrow before it closes and get some dinner. (We'd rather give out the food we prepare than eat it ourselves.)
Friday we say goodbye to Comayagua and head to San Pedro Sula where we fly out Saturday morning. Hopefully along our drive to San Pedro, we'll get a chance to meet our Compassion International child. :)
"Day 5 in Honduras, day 5 of cold showers. It's an elusive thing here at the hotel and I've given up hoping it's my turn. It's like pool water and feels good after being out in the sun and humidity, so it's not so bad. However, if I see another spider crawl across my bed, I'm going to lose it. (Yes, I have another weird spider bite.)"
I'll live. I just really got eaten up by... somethings the last few days. I'm thinking they're probably fire ants, not mosquitoes. And spiders are also a possibility. I have a weird bite on the back of my arm that is all bubbly. It's crusted over at the moment and sorta looks like poison ivy - which I've never had. We're thinking it might be an allergic reactions to something - maybe even a plant.
It was a rough start at the beginning of the trip. I wasn't feeling so great before we left and my doctor told me to just take it easy and get lots of water. We landed in San Pedro Sula around 1pm on Saturday and the headache hit not too long after. I may have been dehydrated, but with our travels it wasn't going to get any better.
We made it to the Heart to Honduras compound in Canchias right before dinner and we were really the only ones there. Right before we were going to head to the cabins and call it a night, the rain started - and didn't stop for quite awhile! Some of us went outside and saw a few large frogs jumping at the bugs that were flying around under the awning. The medium sized one was about the side of a softball. If it wasn't raining on me, I would have loved to have gotten video of that. Amazing!
The rain made the night very humid and our little room that the 4 of us were in was stuffy. We had the window open but the air wasn't really moving. Thankfully Kathy brought a small fan and offered to share it with us. I didn't fall asleep easily and by 2am I thought my head was going to explode. I was horribly hot and my head hurt so bad - I was almost in tears. I woke Kathy up trying to get some Tylenol and then our talking woke Joyanna and Darleen up. We started goofing around and I ended up laughing so hard. Around 2:30 I fell asleep and slept so soundly the rest of the night. It's amazing what friends and laughing can do for you.
The next day, Sunday, we made our way to Comayagua and went to church that night. The children sang a song for us and passed out postcards that had flowers or hats made out of construction papers. We loved them! Pastor Roberto skipped the sermon, and we ended up going to an er at a local hospital to give out tamales and hot coffee.
In the past month, both Pastor Roberto and another church member, Carmen, have had to go to the er. Sitting there and waiting, they noticed so many hungry and hurting people. They started taking oatmeal to the people waiting and praying for them. So on Sunday we joined them while they served tamales and coffee to the people waiting. Several people asked for prayer, but most of the people just smiled and looked really surprised. The best part is that we were helping them with an outreach. It just really felt like a win.
Sunday was a long day, so Monday was a short day. We worked on the house until 3pm, then headed back to the hotel to relax. We went to the square in Comayagua that evening, but unfortunately the fountain wasn't on. We did go to Baskin Robbins afterwards - always a treat. :)
Tuesday was another long day. We worked on the house until 2pm or so, then loaded as many people as possible into our van and went to a neighboring village where we'll do the fiesta tomorrow night. It started to downpour as we arrived in the village, so we had to wait awhile for it to stop. Then we split up into groups and walked around the village handing out bottles of water and fliers about the fiesta. The village is quite large, which took us awhile to get all the way around. We didn't end up getting back to the hotel until 5:30, which is when we eat dinner. So showers came after dinner - then off to church!
I loved the church service last night. First we did testimonies and (after 5 years, finally) I shared mine. (That's another blog I believe.) It wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. It really just felt like talking to family. Then Darleen shared her testimony and two ladies from the church shared theirs. There was a common theme to our 4 testimonies - healing, from the inside out. Very appropriate since Gregg was sharing the Vineyard 5-step prayer model that evening.
However, before Gregg spoke, the church members asked us to come up one by one and draw a name out of a basket. When Pastor Roberto called the name, they came up with a gift for us. It was so much fun and we felt so loved on! I ended up with a beautiful pot, which was just perfect since I wanted to buy one this year. Jason got a pad of paper and a pen in a wood holder. I really wish I would have gotten pictures of everyone with their gifts - they were just perfect for each person who got the gifts.
After Gregg shared the 5-step prayer model, people came up for prayer and we got to pray for them. It was really just a great time of praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. It was hard to leave last night and I just wanted to hug everyone!
Today we finished the house and have some free time this afternoon and evening. We're planning on just hanging out and maybe playing some card games. It hasn't been a difficult trip, but it has been quite hot and humid out and shade hasn't always been easy to find. (And I sorta missed the back of my right arm while putting on sun block, so it's stinging a bit right now.) I'm thankful for some time to reflect on the week so far.
Btw, Jason, Gregg, Joyanna, and several ladies went grocery shopping for the fiesta tomorrow and they haven't come back yet. Dinner is in about an hour, hope they come back soon. (Not that Jason will miss out on a cold shower or anything.)
Tomorrow we'll be preparing food all day for the fiesta tomorrow night. I'm not sure how many they're expecting, but I would assume at least 500, maybe 700? We'll hand out the food and cups of water, and then show the Jesus film, en Espanol (in Spanish). We're starting earlier this time, so hopefully we'll make it to Pizza Hut tomorrow before it closes and get some dinner. (We'd rather give out the food we prepare than eat it ourselves.)
Friday we say goodbye to Comayagua and head to San Pedro Sula where we fly out Saturday morning. Hopefully along our drive to San Pedro, we'll get a chance to meet our Compassion International child. :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Ready for another great adventure!
We've only gotten together a couple of times, but we've had a lot of fun each time. I think this is going to be a great group to spend a week with! We have high expectations of God doing great things and we share the excitement. :)
Please be praying for us as we build a house and reach out to the people in the area. We've done so much in our village that we're now helping our sister church reach out to the communities around them. It's been so awesome to see the church and the community grow - and to become part of the church family in El Quebracho, Honduras.
Here's some pictures from July 2008 when we built a house for a family that was about to go homeless. I believe the pictures are self-explanatory, so I'll limit the comments under the pictures.
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:15b
Pastor Roberto and the family that lives in the house.
Please pray for Jason and I as we go on our next great adventure. We've had some additional challenges come up recently that will make the trip a little more difficult. We believe that God has gotten us to this point and He'll get us through! Please pray for strength and wisdom for us - for all of us going on this trip.
Thank you! Dios le bendiga! :)
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