The Hair Cut

Yesterday I went to get my hair cut and on a total whim, I decided to get something different...
Here are the results...

The Front.....

Another front view...

The side view, I tried to blur part of it out...

The Top....

I really like it!!!

My friend, Nikie

What do you say to a friend whose sister is dying??

That is the question of the day. My dear dear friend, Nikie, called me today. Her sister, who is 27, suffered a massive stroke on Tuesday. It is a rare, but very serious, stroke that affects the middle of your brain. The drs. are unable to do surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain, because of where it's located.

Apparantley, she had been experiencing some headaches and nausea. They thought she was pregnant, but had gone to the drs, and they found nothing. Tuesday, her husband came home, and found her completely unresponsive. They rushed her to the hospital, and after extensive testing, found she had suffered this stroke. Nikie said, barring a miracle, they do not expect her to live but a few days. She is awake, but completely and totally unaware of her surroundings, or who anyone is.

I can't imagine what that is like. Going through our miscarriage was one of the toughest things we have ever done as a couple, but watching your 27 yr old daughter dying from a stroke has to be infinitely worse. I feel so helpless. I want so badly to be there for Nikie, to do something to help her, but I know I can't. I know the best thing I can do is get down on my knees and pray. All I could say was I'm sorry, which seems so ridiculously inapprpriate for what is happening, but I didn't know what else to say.

I am grateful to a BIG God who loves us and cares for us, and has a plan so much greater than we know. I repeat that to myself everyday and I know Nikie knows that as well...but it doesn't make it any easier at times like this... I know Nikie and her family can at least rest in God's love and peace, which makes me feel a little better.

It makes you stop and be thankful a bit more for family. I have a sister, 1 sister, 1 sibling, who also happens to be my very very very bestest friend in the world. I can't imagine losing her. So, to my sister, I LOVE YOU, very much!!!

Take a moment today, pray for Nikie and her family, and let those around you know how much they mean to you....

spring

spring has gone away.....

I thought it was coming, what happened??? its cold and yucky here today, and yesterday there were bunches of schools closed... and what's up with the "lack of salt" shortage in this state. We can't order enough salt for the winter, so now we drive around on sheets of ice? grrrr....

I'm feeling grumpy today.. even though spring seems far away, spring at one point meant having a baby... a beautiful baby. And now... I can't help but stop and wonder what spring will mean for us now? Spring means the growth of new life, new beginnings, new starts, flowers, fresh air, open windows, picnics, lakes, camping, and i wanted it so badly to also mean a baby....just feeling sad, thinking about how differently my life would have been right now. I would have been almost 30 weeks along now.....it just amazes me how much your life can change in an instant. I don't think I'll ever forget that moment when the dr. told us the news.....
Do you know that my due date was the day before Mother's Day(another spring thing)???
The DAY before... enough said....

I'm trying to continue to trust and look forward and know that God has a plan for us, but sometimes it seems so distant, so far away..... kind of like spring....but it will come, just as faithfully as the seasons change.... unfortunately, having a family isn't quite that predictable, but it will happen.. someday.....

one of those days...

So today has been interesting. All day long I've felt like I'm lunging for the finish line and just can't quite get there. I felt like i've been behind since I got out of bed.
It all started when I found out we had people coming over tonight to our house. I found out late last night. So, this morning, I went into clean mode. I was cleaning up everything and then had to teach a lesson this morning.

Right before the lesson a director I play for called and wanted to set some stuff up. I was on the phone to her when my student arrived. I hustled them in, trying to keep them quiet and was talking with the director. She ended up accidentally hanging up on me. So, i was telling my students what was up and the phone rang. It was my mom just calling to chat. I told her I couldn't. The director called back and we got all of that figured out....WHEW... it was fine just crazy.

So, back to people coming over. I had decided on 2 desserts to make. Both very easy, and no stove involved because I didn't have time for it. I went to the store to get some ingredients. I ran into 2 people I knew so that prolonged my trip, which was fine.
I got home, was going to make Dessert #1 blueberry creamcheese dessert. I went to use my mixer, and some crazy thing happened and it wouldn't work. I was getting really upset. I love my mixer, and just got it for christmas! So, I decided to soak the attachment thing in water and work on the dessert #2 peanut butter rice krispys. I made the rice krispy part. So far so good. Then i went to melt chocolate for the top. It wasn't working, so i decided to microwave it. Meanwhile, I got the mixer working again and decided to start Dessert #1. I was working away on both things and suddenly I hear the smoke alarm going off. I turn around and low and behold the microwave is billowing with smoke! I had caught the chocolate on fire!!! I was climbing around trying to get up to the smoke alarm got it turned off. Got the chocolate out of the microwave, burned my hand, slightly. And in all the commotion... somehow half of dessert #1 ended up on the floor!!!!!

So... I'm quitting for the day! No desserts tonight.... My kitchen looks like a tornado came through ... it's just been one of those days....

can you feel it? spring is coming...

Can I just say that I LOVE that it is 7 am and I can open the shades because it's that light outside and, yesterday I bummed around town without a coat on, just a fleece, and the sun was shining! : ) HOORAY..I can feel it.. spring is in the air.....

Also, yesterday we got to chance to see some really great friends from college that we haven't seen in probably 2 1\2 years! They called us randomly as they were in town, and it just worked out that we could have lunch together! They were good friends, and in fact, the guy actually set Mike and I up in college.... thanks, Gallagher! : )

retake

Okay, this is a different picture of us because I decided I needed to redeem myself after the last one! : ) Ahhhh.. MUCH better! Oh, and for the record this is in Honduras, not where we live! : )

Sister

A shout out to my sister...
















I love you very much, and just wish so much of the best for you and Brian!!!!! : ) We're praying for you as you begin this journey together.

This is a fun picture of us, we look ridiculous, but we were having tons of fun! Okay, maybe not fun, I look awful, and April looks great! The story of our lives! ; ) That was on my birthday back in October. We went to frankenmuth together!

LOVE YOU SIS!

Camp, Birthdays, and a Lunar Eclipse

Not to much to report on around here.. but I'll give you the highlights.

Last weekend, Mike and I were able to head up to northern michigan to a place that is near and dear to my heart.... Camp Barakel. If you're interested their website is http://www.campbarakel.org/ Anyway, this is a camp I grew up attending and have been blessed by in more ways than I can tell you. Since we've been married, Mike and I have been able to head to camp a few weekends in the winter to help with the music for chapels. So, last weekend, we trucked off to camp. It's about a 4 hour drive. We enjoyed a weekend full of snow and fun. We spent Saturday reconnecting with some good friends from college, which was just incredibly nice. We also did some snowshoeing, which was... interesting... to say the least! We had a relaxing weekend, which we both needed after a very hectic week. Coming home was a different story!! They got hammered with ice and we could ice skated on the roads they were so terrible. It took us over 5 hours to get home, and we were never so happy. In fact, we were going to stay at Mike's parents for a while, but because of the weather, we were unable to do so. The reason we were going to stop was because.....


Mike's birthday was on Monday and he had the day off, as did I. He turned 27, and I like to remind him that that is getting rather close to 30! : ) He doesn't like that though! : )We slept in, and enjoyed the day together. Since the miscarriage, Mike has wanted a ring to wear to remember the baby by and for different reasons, this has yet to happen. The plan was to get the ring for his birthday. And, as plans sometimes do, they changed. He just wasn't ready for it yet, so instead we ordered a pizza, rented a movie and stayed home for the day, which was nice.


Wednesday evening was a lunar eclipse! Did anyone see it?? It was one of those moments in life where I was reminded of why I fell in love with Mike. Ya know, those things you do when you're dating, but not when you're married?? On a total whim, we decided to watch it. We first went outside to watch it and promptly froze, so then we came inside, realized we could see it from inside on of our rooms, curled up on the couch with popcorn, some wine, and each other, and had a REALLY nice time. Mike found some Debussy via YouTube and we just enjoyed the night together. We talked for quite a long time and really enjoyed our evening. I loved it!!!!! We talked a lot about our future, about kids, about our miscarriage. And after all of that, Mike said, I think I'm ready to get the ring. So.... we haven't gotten it yet, but hopefully soon, we will!I guess, that's about it....

when Mike get his ring, I'll post a pic of that, as well as of my necklace that I have to remember the baby by.


Until then... we are trudging along, enjoying winter, even when its cold and seems unending. We are thankful that the seasons change, and days continue to come and go, just as faithful as our God is.

Happy Valentines

Happy Valentines Day!

Ah.. today is one of those days of cheesy goodness. While, I tend to detest the commericialism of all the holiday entails, I do however, enjoy the moments we can take to truly and honestly appreciate those people in our lives that we care about so much.

First and foremost, I'm so thankful for our Savior who loved us more deeply than we can ever know, who loved us enough to die for us, now that is a sacrifice. To know that kind of love, can you imagine?

I'm also incredibly thankful for my amazing husband. He is my best friend, and the man that I love immeasurably. I am continually humbled by the kind of love he shows me day in and day out without fail, I love you babe!

Our family and friends have just been amazing as well. These past few months have not been easy on us, and I know we could never have gotten through it all without the support of the people we have in our lives. So to those of you out there... thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

So.. as silly as this holiday is.. I just want to take a moment to say Happy Valentines Day to those whom we love and cherish. Thank you for your gift of friendship.

festivals and location changes

I get so tired of people who do not communicate well.

On Saturday I was scheduled to play for a music festival in a town about 1\2 hour from here. I called on Friday, double checked the schedule and everything was a go. I left Saturday, and my fault, I left too late. I was definitely speeding to get to the school on time. I was just going to make it in time. The warm-up was at 2. I got to the school at 1:58 and called the director to find out where we were at. He answered his phone and said, oh, we're at Leslie. A school 15 minutes or so from where I was. The site changed. Festival is run in 12 minute increments. Her warm-up was at 2, and now I have approximately 12 minutes to get back to Leslie if I'm going to make it in time for her performance slot.

I left in a huff. I've worked for this guy for 4 years, and I've never been that mad at him. I couldn't believe that he wasn't able to take 30 seconds out of his day to call me and tell me something as pertinent as a location change. I drove to Leslie, and was really ticked by the time I got there. His wife met up with me and took me to the room we were in. I told the director that I'd pick my bone with him later, but for now I had a job to do. We didn't even get to rehearse and headed straight to performance.

The girl did horribly. She forgot all of her words, and literally sang the same verse 4 times. We got done with the first song, and the judge said.. take a minute to breathe, it happens to all of us... and then the girl proceeded to blame me for not knowing her words. If she hadn't been so stressed out because her accompanist was in the wrong place, it would have been okay. Nevermind the fact that its their responsibility to let me know that. We finished up and got out of there. The director and his daughter kept making excuses about why I wasn't called and finally his wife said.. ya know guys, we really should have called her.... she was the only apologetic one in the room.

We had another gig to be at back in town. I was just wanted to leave at get away from the director. Well then, they realized they only brought 1 car and needed to stay for the rating. So the director ended up riding in my car back to town. I was not thrilled about that to say the least. He kept talking on the way back and I just ignored him, until he finally said... I'm really sorry, I have no good reason for not calling you... yeah, thats right bucko!!! We were finally back on speaking terms in the end which was good since we had another gig to play for, and in the end, he did pay me some extra money for the trouble, which was really nice of him.

All in all it was a very frustrating day. I'm glad it's over for the moment. I have another festival again this next weekend, so hopefully that one goes a little better.

Peaceful, Beautiful Snow

Snow days, snow days, who doesn't love a snow day?!?!

I have been scheduled to go to a choir festival in Indiana today with one of the schools that I play for. I was supposed to be gone all day. However,earlier this week, the weather guys started predicting a pretty big snow storm. I kind of suspected that we would get a snow day as they were predicting lots of snow. At first I wasn't sure if we'd get it because I woke up at 3 this morning and there was only about 2 inches of snow, but it came with a punch! :) We have probably 6-8 inches right now and they're expecting 4-8 more inches to fall today.
HOORAY FOR SNOW! :)

I love snow, I love how beautiful it makes the world look. I love that just for a few minutes everything looks peaceful, everything looks just right with the world. I love how it blankets the earth, and just for a moment, a few precious moments, the world stops and enjoys the nature around them.