For the full story, go here.
Showing posts with label Stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stories. Show all posts
2.11.2011
Five Years Ago
Five years ago today I asked my favorite girl a simple question. She gave a simple answer. I'm so glad the answer was "yes!" Our lives are much more complicated, busy and draining, but I'm thankful to be living life alongside Amy Frances Gilmore.
For the full story, go here.
For the full story, go here.
6.09.2009
The Ankle
It's been a eight days, so I figure I'd post quickly about my ankle. Yep, that's it over there. Well, that's it last Monday, June 1, a couple hours after I sprained it playing basketball. Here's how it happened:
On Mondays and Thursdays this summer, we have early morning basketball gatherings in our gym at Village Bible Church starting at 6:30am. As we were playing last Monday, I got a rebound underneath the basket. Because I was almost directly underneath the hoop, I took a dribble out and jumped up for a shot.
I made the shot, but I hardly noticed that because when I landed my left ankle rolled (inversion is the technical term. You learn a lot from injuries!) and I and at least one other person heard a loud POP!
As you can imagine, I immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain and trying not scream, cry or whimper. About a minute later two guys helped me up and carried/dragged me to the pew that runs along the side of the gym wall. I laid down and elevated the ankle. Someone got a baggy of ice from the kitchen and I began to ice it. The teams began to play again and about an hour later, I limped very slowly to the car after locking everything up.
The picture above is a few minutes after I took my shoe off, allowing the ankle to swell up.
Today my ankle is much smaller but still swollen. I went to the doctor a week ago today and the X-rays came back negative so I have still never broken a bone in my body, praise the Lord! However, several people have told me that sometimes a severe sprain like this takes longer to heal because of all the "soft tissue" damage. We'll see. The bruising that began on Tuesday and especially Wednesday is still around. I guess the blood find natural "gutters" in the body and so all around the base of my foot there is a purple "stain." It has even spread to my three smallest toes, coloring them a nice shade of purple. I have been icing and elevating and using a nifty boot from a friend at church who broke the growth plate in his ankle last year. The boot has been very helpful, as it allows me to get as close to fully functional as possible.
We leave tomorrow for New England, so we'll see how my ankle does at 30,000 feet. I also plan on bringing the Ace bandage and an ankle brace for the trip. Someone mentioned that Satan may be trying to discourage me from all the youth activities we have planned for the summer. Because I believe that God is sovereign over even Satan, I have looked at this as an opportunity to be reminded of my frailty and vanity. It is humbling to hobble around on crutches. It requires patience to take much longer to get places and to do even the easiest things. Whatever the reason, to God be the glory.
Click on the huge ankle above to see some updated pictures!
12.09.2008
Just One Of Those Days
[Disclaimer: To most who know me, this post will not shock anyone. However, in order to keep up the drama, I will explain things as though they are completely unbelievable!]
Yesterday was just a weird day, the kind you have every once in a while and hope you don't have another like it for a long time.
It started out normally. I woke up, read my Bible and prayed. Then, I got my running clothes on went jogging. Ate breakfast, showered and got dressed. I found my to-do list for the day that I had crafted the night before and reviewed all 12 things to make sure I knew what I needed to do first.
One of those errands involved stopping in at church. On Mondays, our church is locked up and usually no one's there. The same was true yesterday, so I hopped the locked gate blocking people from parking in our lot. Then I unlocked the outer gate that protects the entrance to the gym, the sanctuary and the offices. I did what I needed to do inside and locked everything up inside. As I went to close the outer gate, I walked through and yanked on the gate handle . . . which promptly came off in my hand!
"Fantastic," I thought. I spent the next five or six minutes trying to fix the thing, but given my obvious mechanical prowess (wink, wink for the uninformed), that failed. So I called Pastor Ron and asked him what to do. He told me to put the handle in his dad's box (his dad is the maintenance guy) and it would get dealt with today. So I did and then I left to do some more errands.
Finishing those, I headed home to do the dishes, laundry and the massive amount of homework that I had/have. Now, usually when I'm in my car, I have my IPod plugged into the car's stereo system to listen to some of the 14 days of songs, Bible or sermons that I have on there. Because our car was broken into in October 2007, I now take the radio/CD/IPod faceplate out every time I park the car. Since I had my arms full of groceries and books, I figured I'd come back down and do that after I'd dropped things off in the apartment.
When I got to our door, I put my stuff down on our little balcony table so I could get the keys out of my pocket. Only the keys weren't there. I went back down to the car knowing what I was going to see.
"Yep, there's my keys in the ignition."
I hadn't left the engine running, but the key was turned so that the radio/CD/IPod could still play. And yes, the doors were all locked. I thought about calling AAA to come open it, but I decided to head back up to the apartment. Once there, I figured I could get the screen off of our bedroom window and climb in there. The only problem with that is that we live on the second story and our bedroom window opens to about a twelve foot drop to the ground. Of course, that just made it all the more fun to try to break into my own apartment!
I climbed over the railing, easily detached the screen, opened the window all the way, awkwardly shoved the vertical blinds out of the way, got a good toe hold and jumped onto the sill and then jumped over our nightstand into our bedroom. Well, at least now I had the apartment opened. I decided to forego AAA and just call Amy. It was almost lunch time so it worked out great that she could come home immediately. After I hung up with Amy I opened one of our windows that opens. However, I opened it too high and it came crashing down! A piece of plastic flew off from the side of the window. It was a piece of the larger contraption that involves a metal cable and and spring to keep the window at whatever height we want it at.
Of course, now I had broken the window dealie-thingie. So I called the office and asked if they could send a maintenance man to fix the window. They said they would but I was curious and using a pair of pliers I rigged it so that the window would still work.
Amy came home, unlocked the car and then we got to spend lunch together. After that, my day went fairly normal, as I did laundry, dishes and a lot of reading and Greek work.
Wow, what a crazy day.
Yesterday was just a weird day, the kind you have every once in a while and hope you don't have another like it for a long time.
It started out normally. I woke up, read my Bible and prayed. Then, I got my running clothes on went jogging. Ate breakfast, showered and got dressed. I found my to-do list for the day that I had crafted the night before and reviewed all 12 things to make sure I knew what I needed to do first.
One of those errands involved stopping in at church. On Mondays, our church is locked up and usually no one's there. The same was true yesterday, so I hopped the locked gate blocking people from parking in our lot. Then I unlocked the outer gate that protects the entrance to the gym, the sanctuary and the offices. I did what I needed to do inside and locked everything up inside. As I went to close the outer gate, I walked through and yanked on the gate handle . . . which promptly came off in my hand!
"Fantastic," I thought. I spent the next five or six minutes trying to fix the thing, but given my obvious mechanical prowess (wink, wink for the uninformed), that failed. So I called Pastor Ron and asked him what to do. He told me to put the handle in his dad's box (his dad is the maintenance guy) and it would get dealt with today. So I did and then I left to do some more errands.
Finishing those, I headed home to do the dishes, laundry and the massive amount of homework that I had/have. Now, usually when I'm in my car, I have my IPod plugged into the car's stereo system to listen to some of the 14 days of songs, Bible or sermons that I have on there. Because our car was broken into in October 2007, I now take the radio/CD/IPod faceplate out every time I park the car. Since I had my arms full of groceries and books, I figured I'd come back down and do that after I'd dropped things off in the apartment.
When I got to our door, I put my stuff down on our little balcony table so I could get the keys out of my pocket. Only the keys weren't there. I went back down to the car knowing what I was going to see.
"Yep, there's my keys in the ignition."
I hadn't left the engine running, but the key was turned so that the radio/CD/IPod could still play. And yes, the doors were all locked. I thought about calling AAA to come open it, but I decided to head back up to the apartment. Once there, I figured I could get the screen off of our bedroom window and climb in there. The only problem with that is that we live on the second story and our bedroom window opens to about a twelve foot drop to the ground. Of course, that just made it all the more fun to try to break into my own apartment!
I climbed over the railing, easily detached the screen, opened the window all the way, awkwardly shoved the vertical blinds out of the way, got a good toe hold and jumped onto the sill and then jumped over our nightstand into our bedroom. Well, at least now I had the apartment opened. I decided to forego AAA and just call Amy. It was almost lunch time so it worked out great that she could come home immediately. After I hung up with Amy I opened one of our windows that opens. However, I opened it too high and it came crashing down! A piece of plastic flew off from the side of the window. It was a piece of the larger contraption that involves a metal cable and and spring to keep the window at whatever height we want it at.
Of course, now I had broken the window dealie-thingie. So I called the office and asked if they could send a maintenance man to fix the window. They said they would but I was curious and using a pair of pliers I rigged it so that the window would still work.
Amy came home, unlocked the car and then we got to spend lunch together. After that, my day went fairly normal, as I did laundry, dishes and a lot of reading and Greek work.
Wow, what a crazy day.
9.25.2007
Magic Mountain
Saturday was my first trip to Magic Mountain. I know I went to college for four years just down the street from said theme park, but I was also a poor college student. So, it was my first time and it was so much fun! We met at church at 7 am and organized the caravan for the trip, leaving around 8:00. After the nearly 3 hour car ride up there, making our way through 2 major construction SIG alerts on the 5 freeway, we arrived at Magic Mountain at 10:45. I think we finally got in the park around 11:15. Despite my dislike of rush hour traffic, I was thankful for the nap on the way up! Once we arrived, bought tickets and organized groups, my group headed over to Revolution (at least I think that's the name of it). We waited in line for a while in the pouring rain and then the ride was shut down when we were about 25 feet from the front of the line. Bummer. We waited for a little while, thinking it'd be better to stay more dry and wait for the ride to re-open so we could be first... especially because most of the other rides were closed. Then we finally left for The Riddler's Revenge and the rain cleared up! The best part about standing in that line was finding a soggy $20 bill on the ground :-D After that was lunch and more rides. We went on Goldrusher, Scream, Colossus (I didn't go on this one), Goliath, Revolution, X.... and maybe some more... I really don't remember since the day was pretty crazy. But it was fun! And I think X is pretty much the most amazing roller coaster I've ever been on :-D Check out the pictures from our rainy day at Magic Mountain, if you feel so inclined, and have a lovely Tuesday!
9.07.2007
Don't Get Cavities
Yesterday was phase one of a crown on my number 14 tooth (at least I think that's what they were saying). It's my second molar on the top left side of my mouth. For those of you who are familiar with my love of needles, I was more than a little nervous about all the Novocaine shots. In light of that, my dentist was made very aware of the fact that he must keep the needles out of my line of vision, which he did very well. It went something like this "Alright, Amy, close your eyes now..." Then I'd shut my eyes tight and open my mouth imagining I was in New England walking in the snow. I was even singing "I'll be Home for Christmas" in my head.
All in all, I had two long shots of Novocaine on the outer gums to numb the two major nerves that are connected to the tooth. Then I had several (I didn't count because I was trying to transport myself by singing the aforementioned song) smaller shots on the inner gums by the tooth just before he shaved the inside of the tooth. The shaving of my tooth was not a big deal, aside from the smell and little bits of silver flying all over the place. They took an impression, made a temporary crown for me, glued it on and sent me on my way. I'll go back on the 24th after work to get the real crown.
There was only one point at which I was concentrating on anything and everything to get myself not to puke, but I was thankfully already lying down. Leaving the dentist, I was shaky and still feeling a bit ill and traumatized so I was glad Happy was there to drive me home. Once the Novocaine wore off, the throbbing started and now my jaw is pretty sore on the left side of my mouth. But, I slept great and can talk without a problem, so answering the phones today is just like normal. I figure it probably would have saved me a bunch of hassle (not to mention a bunch of money) if I hadn't gotten a cavity in the first place. So that's the wisdom I have to share from this experience: Don't get cavities.
All in all, I had two long shots of Novocaine on the outer gums to numb the two major nerves that are connected to the tooth. Then I had several (I didn't count because I was trying to transport myself by singing the aforementioned song) smaller shots on the inner gums by the tooth just before he shaved the inside of the tooth. The shaving of my tooth was not a big deal, aside from the smell and little bits of silver flying all over the place. They took an impression, made a temporary crown for me, glued it on and sent me on my way. I'll go back on the 24th after work to get the real crown.
There was only one point at which I was concentrating on anything and everything to get myself not to puke, but I was thankfully already lying down. Leaving the dentist, I was shaky and still feeling a bit ill and traumatized so I was glad Happy was there to drive me home. Once the Novocaine wore off, the throbbing started and now my jaw is pretty sore on the left side of my mouth. But, I slept great and can talk without a problem, so answering the phones today is just like normal. I figure it probably would have saved me a bunch of hassle (not to mention a bunch of money) if I hadn't gotten a cavity in the first place. So that's the wisdom I have to share from this experience: Don't get cavities.
8.02.2007
Bernal Update (Part III)
First things first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY/ANDREW!!!!! That's right, today is Happy's 23rd birthday. And I won't see him until tonight at Jake & Amber's rehearsal dinner in Santa Clarita. So, send him an email or give him a call to say happy birthday!
Alright, now I can move on to the Bernal Update. Friday was an early morning breakfast with Raul & Christina and then we went with Raul in a cab to the school. We arrived sooner than everyone else since Raul had to get to work before we were supposed to meet the group that morning. It was a good opportunity for Happy & me to spend quality time with the Lord, which we did before everyone else showed up a bit later. The plan for Friday was about the same as Thursday. The some of our team went to the park to play with the kids while the rest of the team stayed at the school to work. I went to the park to play with the kindergarteners again and we had so much fun! One thing I found a little more challenging with the younger kids was communication. Five year olds are difficult enough to understand when you are speaking the same language! But, it was a good opportunity to practice what little Spanish I knew (and remembered while I was there). I did a LOT of "Como se dice...?" and pointing at objects. That means "How do you say....?" I told Daniel that I have a brother named Daniel who is 11 years old and he seemed to think that was cool. We spent the day walking around nearly the entire park, which was HUGE. We played on a playground for a while, swinging, carrying the kids across the monkeybars and cheering as they went down the slide. Then we walked around a large lake and ended up giving the boys (Friday only Daniel, Elias and Eliseo were there) piggyback rides for a large portion of that time. Joelle, Brian and I had the help of two women from the church. I'm still not completely sure who they were related to, but the boys listened to them well, which made things a LOT easier for us. We stayed at the park until lunch time and escaped into the cars just in time to miss the pouring rain. After lunch at the school, everyone got back to work on painting and cleaning. Our goal was to paint several rooms before the prayer meeting that night and by God's grace and some serious hustling, we were able to do that! The prayer meeting was a rich time of fellowship across a language barrier. The pastor asked people to share prayer requests and offered a few himself, but in between each request he would choose someone to stand up and pray at that moment for the request. He even asked a few from our group to pray out loud. Nathan and Bekah, from our team, shared their testimonies, we sang some songs in Spanish and then the whole team got up front and sang a couple songs in English. Afterwards we had a huge potluck dinner. Raul & Christina took the opportunity to use a translator to tell us how much they loved having us in their home and how we were loved and how much it was a blessing for their children to see a young married couple living for the Lord. I was nearly in tears when they shared all that with us. Christina seemed to have more of an outgoing personality and giggled a lot, but she had such a kind smile and was so sincere in all they shared with us. Raul was more of the quiet type, but he too had a kind smile that you could tell was one of love for his brothers & sisters in Christ. That night at their apartment we again attempted communication with our Spanish-English dictionaries (another late evening) before going to bed.
Saturday morning was like Friday, we got up early and said goodbye to Christina so we could take a cab with Raul to the school. We already felt incredibly blessed by them and so thankful that Andrew & I were able to stay together; but they went even further and gave us a key chain from when Mexico won the World Cup. It was actually a coin that Raul had fashioned into a key chain. We learned that he is a mechanic and does welding for cars (at least that's what we understood). They also gave us a picture frame, which he had made, held up by two figures made of car pistons. After hauling all our stuff down to the cab and shoving it in the trunk and back seat, we squeezed in and headed over to the school. We said goodbye to Raul, had breakfast, loaded up the bus and went to the marketplace for some shopping before our flight back to California. After about an hour of shopping we got back on the bus to brave the Mexico City traffic to the airport. Marcos & Aubrey, the couple who runs the school with the help of several others, gave us money for lunch at the airport and then we said goodbye to them too. They gave Andrew & me a little painting of Mexico as a thank you, which was very kind of them. Every time I see it I think of them now and am reminded to pray for their school. We got on the plane with only minor mishaps (one of the guys left his passport on the bus, but Marcos was able to call the bus driver, who graciously drove back with it). We arrived in LAX around 7 pm and after a debriefing at the church with the team, Andrew & I got home close to 9 pm.
Side note: We each got a salad from Jack-in-the-Box on our way home and both got food poisoning from it. That night Andrew was throwing up and I had a high fever. We stayed home from church on Sunday (we were pretty upset about that!) resting off the food poisoning. I went to work on Monday with a slight fever that went away completely about halfway through the day. Andrew stayed home, but also began feeling better around the same time as me. Tuesday we both went to work and then went back to LAX to fly to the Bay Area (near San Francisco, for those who aren't familiar with the California lingo) for the Gilmore Fourth of July reunion/celebration. It was a lot of fun, but I was starting to get a cold which got worse just as we got on our plane on Thursday from the Bay Area to Hawaii for our first anniversary trip. But that's all I'll say about Hawaii for now.
The final part of the Bernal series will be coming probably next week (since we'll hardly be home for the next four days). It was requested that I share some reflections on the week in Mexico, which I am very excited to do. Thank you for reading all about this and for all your prayers before and during the trip. We saw the Lord work in SO many ways and I'm looking forward to sharing more about that in my next post. Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!
Alright, now I can move on to the Bernal Update. Friday was an early morning breakfast with Raul & Christina and then we went with Raul in a cab to the school. We arrived sooner than everyone else since Raul had to get to work before we were supposed to meet the group that morning. It was a good opportunity for Happy & me to spend quality time with the Lord, which we did before everyone else showed up a bit later. The plan for Friday was about the same as Thursday. The some of our team went to the park to play with the kids while the rest of the team stayed at the school to work. I went to the park to play with the kindergarteners again and we had so much fun! One thing I found a little more challenging with the younger kids was communication. Five year olds are difficult enough to understand when you are speaking the same language! But, it was a good opportunity to practice what little Spanish I knew (and remembered while I was there). I did a LOT of "Como se dice...?" and pointing at objects. That means "How do you say....?" I told Daniel that I have a brother named Daniel who is 11 years old and he seemed to think that was cool. We spent the day walking around nearly the entire park, which was HUGE. We played on a playground for a while, swinging, carrying the kids across the monkeybars and cheering as they went down the slide. Then we walked around a large lake and ended up giving the boys (Friday only Daniel, Elias and Eliseo were there) piggyback rides for a large portion of that time. Joelle, Brian and I had the help of two women from the church. I'm still not completely sure who they were related to, but the boys listened to them well, which made things a LOT easier for us. We stayed at the park until lunch time and escaped into the cars just in time to miss the pouring rain. After lunch at the school, everyone got back to work on painting and cleaning. Our goal was to paint several rooms before the prayer meeting that night and by God's grace and some serious hustling, we were able to do that! The prayer meeting was a rich time of fellowship across a language barrier. The pastor asked people to share prayer requests and offered a few himself, but in between each request he would choose someone to stand up and pray at that moment for the request. He even asked a few from our group to pray out loud. Nathan and Bekah, from our team, shared their testimonies, we sang some songs in Spanish and then the whole team got up front and sang a couple songs in English. Afterwards we had a huge potluck dinner. Raul & Christina took the opportunity to use a translator to tell us how much they loved having us in their home and how we were loved and how much it was a blessing for their children to see a young married couple living for the Lord. I was nearly in tears when they shared all that with us. Christina seemed to have more of an outgoing personality and giggled a lot, but she had such a kind smile and was so sincere in all they shared with us. Raul was more of the quiet type, but he too had a kind smile that you could tell was one of love for his brothers & sisters in Christ. That night at their apartment we again attempted communication with our Spanish-English dictionaries (another late evening) before going to bed.
Saturday morning was like Friday, we got up early and said goodbye to Christina so we could take a cab with Raul to the school. We already felt incredibly blessed by them and so thankful that Andrew & I were able to stay together; but they went even further and gave us a key chain from when Mexico won the World Cup. It was actually a coin that Raul had fashioned into a key chain. We learned that he is a mechanic and does welding for cars (at least that's what we understood). They also gave us a picture frame, which he had made, held up by two figures made of car pistons. After hauling all our stuff down to the cab and shoving it in the trunk and back seat, we squeezed in and headed over to the school. We said goodbye to Raul, had breakfast, loaded up the bus and went to the marketplace for some shopping before our flight back to California. After about an hour of shopping we got back on the bus to brave the Mexico City traffic to the airport. Marcos & Aubrey, the couple who runs the school with the help of several others, gave us money for lunch at the airport and then we said goodbye to them too. They gave Andrew & me a little painting of Mexico as a thank you, which was very kind of them. Every time I see it I think of them now and am reminded to pray for their school. We got on the plane with only minor mishaps (one of the guys left his passport on the bus, but Marcos was able to call the bus driver, who graciously drove back with it). We arrived in LAX around 7 pm and after a debriefing at the church with the team, Andrew & I got home close to 9 pm.
Side note: We each got a salad from Jack-in-the-Box on our way home and both got food poisoning from it. That night Andrew was throwing up and I had a high fever. We stayed home from church on Sunday (we were pretty upset about that!) resting off the food poisoning. I went to work on Monday with a slight fever that went away completely about halfway through the day. Andrew stayed home, but also began feeling better around the same time as me. Tuesday we both went to work and then went back to LAX to fly to the Bay Area (near San Francisco, for those who aren't familiar with the California lingo) for the Gilmore Fourth of July reunion/celebration. It was a lot of fun, but I was starting to get a cold which got worse just as we got on our plane on Thursday from the Bay Area to Hawaii for our first anniversary trip. But that's all I'll say about Hawaii for now.
The final part of the Bernal series will be coming probably next week (since we'll hardly be home for the next four days). It was requested that I share some reflections on the week in Mexico, which I am very excited to do. Thank you for reading all about this and for all your prayers before and during the trip. We saw the Lord work in SO many ways and I'm looking forward to sharing more about that in my next post. Have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!
7.31.2007
Bernal Update (Part II)
Update to Back to Mexico (Part I):
I forgot some important details about the soccer tournament on Sunday (since I now have my journal). Apparently the mayor of Bernal started this soccer tournament but wanted someone to run it. Several months before that Richard and Gadiel had expressed an interest in starting their own soccer tournament and the mayor had said no because he didn't like the church. By the time the mayor wanted to start up a different soccer tournament and Richard & Gadiel expressed interest in running it, the mayor said it would be alright. While we were helping at the tournament the mayor showed up to watch! Ron was able to talk to the mayor who was so excited to have our group there that he invited us back again and offered his house for the team to stay in!!! It was quite encouraging for us, as you can imagine, to hear how the Lord had changed the mayor's heart.
Now on to the second installment of the Bernal Update. Wednesday, June 27th, the whole team went to Gadiel's house to pour his concrete roof. After nearly 8 hours of sleep the night before, I was feeling a little more rested but still pretty tired. I think everyone was feeling the same way because Ron challenged us to be bouncing golf balls and sink drains (This was part of a series that week of "Tales from the Garage." He had already challenged us to be nails, used by God as we were meant to be used; floodlights, allowing our light to shine without holding back; and penguins, encouraging one another and guarding against sarcasm). Our goal for the day was to get our energy from the Lord and let things drain off us, even if something bothered us. I clearly saw the Lord use that message to get the students (and me!) focused and working hard. Several times throughout the day students could be found taking a short break to pray for strength. Pouring the roof consisted of serious work. We had a cement mixer (thankfully) which mixed one bag of cement with two buckets (5 gal. each) of water, one bucket of sand and one bucket of gravel (our pictures include at least one of the cement mixer). Then the cement would be tipped out onto the ground where men would shovel cement into more 5 gal. buckets and our group (along with some neighborhood kids and church members) carried the buckets about 20 feet to an assembly line standing on a ramp to the roof. The carriers would hand their bucket off to the assembly line and the line of 3-4 people passed the bucket up to be handed off to the guys on the roof who carried buckets to the pourers. The pourers... poured the buckets... obviously... and sent the empty buckets back to another line which handed empty buckets to the guys bringing the cement from the mixer to the assembly line. Occasionally the buckets would begin to collect cement at the bottom and need to be rinsed out, so we had people doing that too. Then you had the groups of people who shoveled gravel and sand and carried water to the cement mixer. Now this may or may not sound like a huge job, but we figured at the end of the day (we were there from about 10 am to 3 or 4 pm) that the group carried approximately 12 tons of cement up to Gadiel's roof. It was an amazing testimony of God's grace that we finished in one day!
Well, Wednesday was longer than that. After Gadiel's, a small group of guys along with Joelle and I, went to meet some Bernal guys for a basketball tournament. Joelle and I walked around looking for kids to play with (jump rope and catch with a playground ball) while the guys played basketball. (The rest of the team went door-to-door again and I heard that at least five people prayed to accept Christ!) We walked up and down a few streets asking kids if they wanted to play and none did so we went back to the court. Eventually a few kids showed up and pretty soon we had about 7-8 kids. We played for a while, but had to get back to Enrique & Yolanda's house for the Mexico vs. Brazil soccer game. Part of our door-to-door visits consisted of inviting people to watch the game on a projector outside of Enrique & Yolanda's house. For those of you who don't know, fútbol is SERIOUS in Mexico. When there is a game on, everyone is watching it! Unfortunately, it started to pour while we were playing with the kids so it turned out that everyone was inside Enrique & Yolanda's when we got there. But, we were able to invite the kids to come with us and their families. We ended up bringing three kids with us when we left the basketball court. Once we arrived at Enrique & Yolanda's we found out that the mayor was going to turn on this musical lighted fountain in honor of the visiting Americans! Hopefully I'll get the videos of that up soon. It was quite amazing and it's expensive to run so it was a huge honor from the mayor. Again, what a blessing to see the Lord working in his heart! As you can probably guess, it was another late night.
Thursday morning was the earliest morning as we met for breakfast at 7:15 so we could pack up the bus and leave by 8:30 or 9 am to drive to Mexico City. We arrived around 12:30 pm at a small Christian school (with 10 students this year and 20, I think, already registered for the fall!) and a group of us went to a park to play with some of their students (four were between 5 and 6 and the rest were junior high-high school aged). I played with the kindergarteners (twins Elias & Eliseo, Samuel and Daniel) with three others from our team. We came back to the school (which is also where the church meets) for a 2 pm lunch, which was wonderful, and then began working on the school. Some cleaned the massive tarps that protect the outdoor patio area where we all ate meals and met for church (later); some helped wash & prepare the walls for painting; some organized a whole room filled with donated books; and others began painting. All that was done until about 8:30 or 9 pm when we met our host families and went to their houses for dinner. Happy and I were incredibly blessed to be together! We were expecting to be apart the whole week so this was wonderful! We stayed with Raul & Christina who have three kids (ages 20, 18 and 16), but only the youngest still lives with them in their apartment. We had dinner together and tried to communicate (both couples with a Spanish-English dictionary in hand) for a little while before they brought us upstairs to show us around. They gave up their room for us and we still aren't sure where they slept! Downstairs there was a small eating area that connected with a tiny "living room" area. The kitchen was attached, although we couldn't see in there because there was a curtain in the doorway. Some creaky boards served as stairs up to the second floor which had two small bedrooms, another room where Christina did her sewing (she's a seamstress) and a bathroom. We were completely blown away by their hospitality and love as we stayed there!
I think I shall end here since most of our readers would need to read this in more than one sitting :-) The third update will be later this week so keep checking for it. Hopefully I'll be able to add some videos as well, but we'll see if the computer decides to cooperate (since it hasn't been lately). Thank you for reading all of this and have a wonderful Tuesday!
I forgot some important details about the soccer tournament on Sunday (since I now have my journal). Apparently the mayor of Bernal started this soccer tournament but wanted someone to run it. Several months before that Richard and Gadiel had expressed an interest in starting their own soccer tournament and the mayor had said no because he didn't like the church. By the time the mayor wanted to start up a different soccer tournament and Richard & Gadiel expressed interest in running it, the mayor said it would be alright. While we were helping at the tournament the mayor showed up to watch! Ron was able to talk to the mayor who was so excited to have our group there that he invited us back again and offered his house for the team to stay in!!! It was quite encouraging for us, as you can imagine, to hear how the Lord had changed the mayor's heart.
Now on to the second installment of the Bernal Update. Wednesday, June 27th, the whole team went to Gadiel's house to pour his concrete roof. After nearly 8 hours of sleep the night before, I was feeling a little more rested but still pretty tired. I think everyone was feeling the same way because Ron challenged us to be bouncing golf balls and sink drains (This was part of a series that week of "Tales from the Garage." He had already challenged us to be nails, used by God as we were meant to be used; floodlights, allowing our light to shine without holding back; and penguins, encouraging one another and guarding against sarcasm). Our goal for the day was to get our energy from the Lord and let things drain off us, even if something bothered us. I clearly saw the Lord use that message to get the students (and me!) focused and working hard. Several times throughout the day students could be found taking a short break to pray for strength. Pouring the roof consisted of serious work. We had a cement mixer (thankfully) which mixed one bag of cement with two buckets (5 gal. each) of water, one bucket of sand and one bucket of gravel (our pictures include at least one of the cement mixer). Then the cement would be tipped out onto the ground where men would shovel cement into more 5 gal. buckets and our group (along with some neighborhood kids and church members) carried the buckets about 20 feet to an assembly line standing on a ramp to the roof. The carriers would hand their bucket off to the assembly line and the line of 3-4 people passed the bucket up to be handed off to the guys on the roof who carried buckets to the pourers. The pourers... poured the buckets... obviously... and sent the empty buckets back to another line which handed empty buckets to the guys bringing the cement from the mixer to the assembly line. Occasionally the buckets would begin to collect cement at the bottom and need to be rinsed out, so we had people doing that too. Then you had the groups of people who shoveled gravel and sand and carried water to the cement mixer. Now this may or may not sound like a huge job, but we figured at the end of the day (we were there from about 10 am to 3 or 4 pm) that the group carried approximately 12 tons of cement up to Gadiel's roof. It was an amazing testimony of God's grace that we finished in one day!
Well, Wednesday was longer than that. After Gadiel's, a small group of guys along with Joelle and I, went to meet some Bernal guys for a basketball tournament. Joelle and I walked around looking for kids to play with (jump rope and catch with a playground ball) while the guys played basketball. (The rest of the team went door-to-door again and I heard that at least five people prayed to accept Christ!) We walked up and down a few streets asking kids if they wanted to play and none did so we went back to the court. Eventually a few kids showed up and pretty soon we had about 7-8 kids. We played for a while, but had to get back to Enrique & Yolanda's house for the Mexico vs. Brazil soccer game. Part of our door-to-door visits consisted of inviting people to watch the game on a projector outside of Enrique & Yolanda's house. For those of you who don't know, fútbol is SERIOUS in Mexico. When there is a game on, everyone is watching it! Unfortunately, it started to pour while we were playing with the kids so it turned out that everyone was inside Enrique & Yolanda's when we got there. But, we were able to invite the kids to come with us and their families. We ended up bringing three kids with us when we left the basketball court. Once we arrived at Enrique & Yolanda's we found out that the mayor was going to turn on this musical lighted fountain in honor of the visiting Americans! Hopefully I'll get the videos of that up soon. It was quite amazing and it's expensive to run so it was a huge honor from the mayor. Again, what a blessing to see the Lord working in his heart! As you can probably guess, it was another late night.
Thursday morning was the earliest morning as we met for breakfast at 7:15 so we could pack up the bus and leave by 8:30 or 9 am to drive to Mexico City. We arrived around 12:30 pm at a small Christian school (with 10 students this year and 20, I think, already registered for the fall!) and a group of us went to a park to play with some of their students (four were between 5 and 6 and the rest were junior high-high school aged). I played with the kindergarteners (twins Elias & Eliseo, Samuel and Daniel) with three others from our team. We came back to the school (which is also where the church meets) for a 2 pm lunch, which was wonderful, and then began working on the school. Some cleaned the massive tarps that protect the outdoor patio area where we all ate meals and met for church (later); some helped wash & prepare the walls for painting; some organized a whole room filled with donated books; and others began painting. All that was done until about 8:30 or 9 pm when we met our host families and went to their houses for dinner. Happy and I were incredibly blessed to be together! We were expecting to be apart the whole week so this was wonderful! We stayed with Raul & Christina who have three kids (ages 20, 18 and 16), but only the youngest still lives with them in their apartment. We had dinner together and tried to communicate (both couples with a Spanish-English dictionary in hand) for a little while before they brought us upstairs to show us around. They gave up their room for us and we still aren't sure where they slept! Downstairs there was a small eating area that connected with a tiny "living room" area. The kitchen was attached, although we couldn't see in there because there was a curtain in the doorway. Some creaky boards served as stairs up to the second floor which had two small bedrooms, another room where Christina did her sewing (she's a seamstress) and a bathroom. We were completely blown away by their hospitality and love as we stayed there!
I think I shall end here since most of our readers would need to read this in more than one sitting :-) The third update will be later this week so keep checking for it. Hopefully I'll be able to add some videos as well, but we'll see if the computer decides to cooperate (since it hasn't been lately). Thank you for reading all of this and have a wonderful Tuesday!
7.25.2007
Back to Mexico (Part I)
I'm sorry it's been so long that we haven't updated you on our trip to Mexico! This post is an attempt to cover the basics of the trip because obviously I could write MUCH more. I think most of our readers know how long-winded I can be.
I was planning to bring my journal to help me get the chronology correct, but I forgot it so this is my attempt to remember as much as possible with only our pictures to guide me. That said, we began our trip to Bernal, Mexico on Saturday, June 23rd at 5:30 am at Village Bible Church. Joelle successfully handed off all "Items to go to Mexico" to the team. Some people had an extra checked bag while others added smaller items to their own suitcases. After a challenge/reminder from Ron of why we were going, we prayed and left for LAX around 7 am for our 10 am flight. Getting through the airport with a group of 25 was a bit of a challenge, but we all made it safely to our gate (despite the fact that the departure gate changed when we were nearly all checked in and about half the group was at the wrong gate). Happy & I were able to sit together, which was nice, and we also were served lunch--a HUGE blessing since we didn't have time to get food and were all quite hungry.
We arrived in Mexico City around 3:30 pm (I think), got our bags, and loaded up the bus for our 4 hour drive to Bernal. After getting gas, we were on the road around 4:30 pm and arrived in Bernal around 8:30 or 9 pm. Everyone was really hungry and some were feeling carsick from the long, bumpy bus ride. We had an authentic Mexican dinner of tortas (at least I think that's what they were), got our housing assignments, unpacked a bit and went to bed. I stayed at the house where we ate all our meals (owned by Enrique--who insisted on being called Juancho for some unknown reason--and Yolanda) with 6 other girls, split up in two rooms. Happy stayed with two other guys at the house of our missionaries Richard and Starla. The rest of the team was split up into three other homes. All the people who housed us were part of the church that Richard and Starla planted.
Sunday morning (June 24th) we had breakfast and began setting up for church on the front lawn of Enrique & Yolanda's house. The new sound system that the team brought from the U.S. was set up and used for the first time. With minor glitches and getting used to how it works, the system worked great. The service was a wonderful time of fellowship, as we sang in English & Spanish and we were able to listen to Gadiel (he & his wife Marta assist Richard & Starla a GREAT deal) preach in Spanish and then hear his message translated to English. After church, we prepared some skits (which we never ended up performing) because we were going to go watch and help at a soccer (fútbol) tournament that afternoon. We had a little free time in between though and many of us got ice cream in town :-) The tournament was lots of fun and nearly everyone ended up playing, even me!
Monday began with an 8:30 am breakfast at Enrique & Yolanda's house and then we split up into two groups. Most of us, including me, went to Richard & Starla's house to help with construction there; while about 8 or 9 others went with Gadiel to prepare his new house for it's roof. Happy went with Gadiel. I spent the day grouting the tile in Richard & Starla's new house with Stephen, Stacia and Nathan. We didn't finish before lunch, which was our goal, so several people went back to complete the task once they'd eaten. I didn't return since I had raw fingers, but joined the rest of the team visiting door-to-door to share the gospel and invite people to a social at the new church (the church will be the second floor of Richard & Starla's new house) that night. We split into groups of 3-6 and had several of the kids from church come with the team to help translate. My group was me and 4 guys and we spoke to people at 4 different houses. At one house Ron shared the gospel with an older woman while her daughter (we think) listened behind her. The older woman politely listened, but wasn't really interested in accepting Jesus as her Lord & Savior. Her daughter, however, jumped at the opportunity and prayed out loud right there! Ron & I shed some tears of joy as we walked away. What a blessing to witness the start of a new life lived for the Lord! When everyone met back up again at the church for a social that night, we heard that several groups had people pray to accept Christ that day. The social was filled with songs in English & Spanish, a couple testimonies (mine & Enrique's), games, food and lots of fun.
Tuesday after breakfast we hiked up la Peña. The real top of the mountain is not easily accessible, but a small group of us attempted to climb up after we'd reached the "top" that most climbers stop at. I joined a bunch of guys and, after climbing for a while, we realized that it was unwise to go any higher without ropes so we turned around. Still, it was pretty amazing. I turned around at one point to look out over God's creation and quickly realized that it wasn't the best thing for me to do at that moment. Apparently I have a slight fear of heights :-) After a little time to shop at the base of la Peña, we got back on the bus and returned to the house for a later lunch. I think we had some down time in between lunch and the volleyball tournament scheduled for that evening, but I don't really remember (and I don't have pictures of anything in between la Peña and the volleyball tournament). We spent the night playing/watching volleyball in the pouring rain which came about halfway through the first game and lasted maybe an hour or two. Needless to say, once the sun set, many of the wet people were pretty cold, but it was definitely a fun memory and provided opportunity for our guys to invite some of the Bernal guys to a basketball game the next evening. Plus, many of those watching the game were able to meet some of the Mexicans and help open doors for Richard & Starla. Another late dinner and we were all off to bed. I heard everyone slept pretty well on the trip--imagine that!
This is where I'll end for now. The second (and perhaps third) part of the Mexico trip will be coming soon, especially since I have now caught up with the invoices that had piled up at work while I was gone! It really is one of the most satisfying feelings to move the invoices off my desk because they're DONE. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
I was planning to bring my journal to help me get the chronology correct, but I forgot it so this is my attempt to remember as much as possible with only our pictures to guide me. That said, we began our trip to Bernal, Mexico on Saturday, June 23rd at 5:30 am at Village Bible Church. Joelle successfully handed off all "Items to go to Mexico" to the team. Some people had an extra checked bag while others added smaller items to their own suitcases. After a challenge/reminder from Ron of why we were going, we prayed and left for LAX around 7 am for our 10 am flight. Getting through the airport with a group of 25 was a bit of a challenge, but we all made it safely to our gate (despite the fact that the departure gate changed when we were nearly all checked in and about half the group was at the wrong gate). Happy & I were able to sit together, which was nice, and we also were served lunch--a HUGE blessing since we didn't have time to get food and were all quite hungry.
We arrived in Mexico City around 3:30 pm (I think), got our bags, and loaded up the bus for our 4 hour drive to Bernal. After getting gas, we were on the road around 4:30 pm and arrived in Bernal around 8:30 or 9 pm. Everyone was really hungry and some were feeling carsick from the long, bumpy bus ride. We had an authentic Mexican dinner of tortas (at least I think that's what they were), got our housing assignments, unpacked a bit and went to bed. I stayed at the house where we ate all our meals (owned by Enrique--who insisted on being called Juancho for some unknown reason--and Yolanda) with 6 other girls, split up in two rooms. Happy stayed with two other guys at the house of our missionaries Richard and Starla. The rest of the team was split up into three other homes. All the people who housed us were part of the church that Richard and Starla planted.
Sunday morning (June 24th) we had breakfast and began setting up for church on the front lawn of Enrique & Yolanda's house. The new sound system that the team brought from the U.S. was set up and used for the first time. With minor glitches and getting used to how it works, the system worked great. The service was a wonderful time of fellowship, as we sang in English & Spanish and we were able to listen to Gadiel (he & his wife Marta assist Richard & Starla a GREAT deal) preach in Spanish and then hear his message translated to English. After church, we prepared some skits (which we never ended up performing) because we were going to go watch and help at a soccer (fútbol) tournament that afternoon. We had a little free time in between though and many of us got ice cream in town :-) The tournament was lots of fun and nearly everyone ended up playing, even me!
Monday began with an 8:30 am breakfast at Enrique & Yolanda's house and then we split up into two groups. Most of us, including me, went to Richard & Starla's house to help with construction there; while about 8 or 9 others went with Gadiel to prepare his new house for it's roof. Happy went with Gadiel. I spent the day grouting the tile in Richard & Starla's new house with Stephen, Stacia and Nathan. We didn't finish before lunch, which was our goal, so several people went back to complete the task once they'd eaten. I didn't return since I had raw fingers, but joined the rest of the team visiting door-to-door to share the gospel and invite people to a social at the new church (the church will be the second floor of Richard & Starla's new house) that night. We split into groups of 3-6 and had several of the kids from church come with the team to help translate. My group was me and 4 guys and we spoke to people at 4 different houses. At one house Ron shared the gospel with an older woman while her daughter (we think) listened behind her. The older woman politely listened, but wasn't really interested in accepting Jesus as her Lord & Savior. Her daughter, however, jumped at the opportunity and prayed out loud right there! Ron & I shed some tears of joy as we walked away. What a blessing to witness the start of a new life lived for the Lord! When everyone met back up again at the church for a social that night, we heard that several groups had people pray to accept Christ that day. The social was filled with songs in English & Spanish, a couple testimonies (mine & Enrique's), games, food and lots of fun.
Tuesday after breakfast we hiked up la Peña. The real top of the mountain is not easily accessible, but a small group of us attempted to climb up after we'd reached the "top" that most climbers stop at. I joined a bunch of guys and, after climbing for a while, we realized that it was unwise to go any higher without ropes so we turned around. Still, it was pretty amazing. I turned around at one point to look out over God's creation and quickly realized that it wasn't the best thing for me to do at that moment. Apparently I have a slight fear of heights :-) After a little time to shop at the base of la Peña, we got back on the bus and returned to the house for a later lunch. I think we had some down time in between lunch and the volleyball tournament scheduled for that evening, but I don't really remember (and I don't have pictures of anything in between la Peña and the volleyball tournament). We spent the night playing/watching volleyball in the pouring rain which came about halfway through the first game and lasted maybe an hour or two. Needless to say, once the sun set, many of the wet people were pretty cold, but it was definitely a fun memory and provided opportunity for our guys to invite some of the Bernal guys to a basketball game the next evening. Plus, many of those watching the game were able to meet some of the Mexicans and help open doors for Richard & Starla. Another late dinner and we were all off to bed. I heard everyone slept pretty well on the trip--imagine that!
This is where I'll end for now. The second (and perhaps third) part of the Mexico trip will be coming soon, especially since I have now caught up with the invoices that had piled up at work while I was gone! It really is one of the most satisfying feelings to move the invoices off my desk because they're DONE. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
6.14.2007
Some guy at Disneyland :-)
As promised, here is the video of Kobe Bryant at Disneyland. You can see his wife walking ahead of him once they turn the corner. She's pushing a stroller. I didn't notice her until I watched the video later. Then again, I didn't even know that Kobe was married.... I'm so on top of things like that.
I've also added pictures to our web albums from our day at Disneyland and our afternoon at the beach on Sunday with some of the couples from our young married Sunday school class. Oh, and there will be more videos on the sidebar as Happy tried to get out of the hole he was buried in. Quite hilarious.
p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!
I've also added pictures to our web albums from our day at Disneyland and our afternoon at the beach on Sunday with some of the couples from our young married Sunday school class. Oh, and there will be more videos on the sidebar as Happy tried to get out of the hole he was buried in. Quite hilarious.
p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!
6.07.2007
My Birthday Celebration Extraordinaire!
My wonderful husband did an excellent job on my 24th birthday! I've added the pictures to our web albums, for those who are interested. I was told I couldn't come in the apartment until 5:15 so I sat in the car for a few minutes when I got home. When I came upstairs there was a sign on the door that said "Wecome to Amy's 24th Birthday Celebration Extraordinaire! Please come on in!" So, I did.
There was Happy, in the kitchen, dressed as my waiter and cooking our spaghetti dinner as "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman played in the background. He had emailed his mom to get her recipe for meat sauce and had that simmering as he was cooking the spaghetti. However, when I walked in, he had a large pot nearly filled with water on a small burner with the noodles already in the water (which had not yet boiled). I asked if the water had boiled yet and he said, "No, that's not what the instructions said to do." Perplexed, I pulled out the instructions which read "Bring 4 quarts of water to a rapid boil" as the first step. I read it out loud and he explained that he thought that meant it wouldn't take that long for it to come to a boil... Like.... it would boil in hardly any time at all. After a long, hard laugh, we removed the noodles, moved the water to a larger burner and covered the pot. From then on, things went pretty smoothly.
As we waited for the water to boil, I opened my present--a craft organizer! I had mentioned that I wanted to get one of these a while back and Happy remembered this. There is a compartment for paper which Happy filled with some Hawaiian-designed papers and stickers for me to use for our Hawaii anniversary trip in July! It was wrapped in some lovely sports-themed wrapping paper (from Happy's birthday in August), and placed on our coffee table.
Dessert was strawberry shortcake (YUM)! Happy pulled out the shortcakes (bought pre-made from the grocery store) and the container of whole strawberries and the Cool Whip. Holding up the strawberries, he said "I'm probably supposed to do something with these, huh?" So he held up the strawberry and pointed the knife at it in a position that inspired me to offer to cut up the strawberries for our shortcakes. They were delicious and I even got to blow out a candle. Below is the video of that.
After dinner, Happy cleaned up and we got ready for Bible study where they sang Happy Birthday to me (for the fourth time yesterday), had cupcakes (made by Emily) and gave several cards with kind words and a gift card to Olive Garden! Emily also gave me a scrapbook with a palm tree on it for our trip to Hawaii :-) Apparently she and Happy had been conspiring for a couple weeks! Oh, and of course my sister sent me some beautiful yellow flowers at work :-) I got phone calls and e-cards and cards in the mail and even a letter from my brother in boot camp! I had a great birthday! Thank you to everyone for making me feel so loved!
There was Happy, in the kitchen, dressed as my waiter and cooking our spaghetti dinner as "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman played in the background. He had emailed his mom to get her recipe for meat sauce and had that simmering as he was cooking the spaghetti. However, when I walked in, he had a large pot nearly filled with water on a small burner with the noodles already in the water (which had not yet boiled). I asked if the water had boiled yet and he said, "No, that's not what the instructions said to do." Perplexed, I pulled out the instructions which read "Bring 4 quarts of water to a rapid boil" as the first step. I read it out loud and he explained that he thought that meant it wouldn't take that long for it to come to a boil... Like.... it would boil in hardly any time at all. After a long, hard laugh, we removed the noodles, moved the water to a larger burner and covered the pot. From then on, things went pretty smoothly.
As we waited for the water to boil, I opened my present--a craft organizer! I had mentioned that I wanted to get one of these a while back and Happy remembered this. There is a compartment for paper which Happy filled with some Hawaiian-designed papers and stickers for me to use for our Hawaii anniversary trip in July! It was wrapped in some lovely sports-themed wrapping paper (from Happy's birthday in August), and placed on our coffee table.
Dessert was strawberry shortcake (YUM)! Happy pulled out the shortcakes (bought pre-made from the grocery store) and the container of whole strawberries and the Cool Whip. Holding up the strawberries, he said "I'm probably supposed to do something with these, huh?" So he held up the strawberry and pointed the knife at it in a position that inspired me to offer to cut up the strawberries for our shortcakes. They were delicious and I even got to blow out a candle. Below is the video of that.
After dinner, Happy cleaned up and we got ready for Bible study where they sang Happy Birthday to me (for the fourth time yesterday), had cupcakes (made by Emily) and gave several cards with kind words and a gift card to Olive Garden! Emily also gave me a scrapbook with a palm tree on it for our trip to Hawaii :-) Apparently she and Happy had been conspiring for a couple weeks! Oh, and of course my sister sent me some beautiful yellow flowers at work :-) I got phone calls and e-cards and cards in the mail and even a letter from my brother in boot camp! I had a great birthday! Thank you to everyone for making me feel so loved!
3.28.2007
Crash!
Oops. I crashed my bike on Monday. I was almost home, just cruising along on the sidewalk a few hundred yards from the apartment complex. Bushes border the park that is across the street from our apartment and I drifted my left handle (and therefore hand) into the bushes. Immediately I veered left toward the bushes, so I yanked the handlebars right . . .
Right into a telephone pole. It happened so fast I didn't even have time to brake. The front tire smashed into the pole and back end of the bike flew up into the air above my head. Both my feet hit the ground as I tried to keep myself from falling over sideways. I gained control of the bike after the second big bounce, discreetly (yeah right!) glanced around to see if anyone close had seen it and then checked the front tire to see if any air was leaking. Nope. So I got back on the bike and rode home. Besides my wounded pride I was perfectly fine. I noticed a brown spot on my knee from the telephone pole so I guess I hit my knee on it, but I don't remember hitting it!
I thought the bike was fine until I got on it to go to work on Tuesday. The bike's balance seemed off and it just felt different. A very cursory glance at the frame revealed nothing. At work, I was reminded that Bryan Speer - the Athletic Director and basketball coach at LCS, - is a pretty knowledgeable bike guy. He showed me where I had cracked the frame and how off-kilter the handlebars and forks are.
So, I must apologize to my dad, who gave me his old bike to use. Now I broke it. I've kept riding it to work, hoping that the bike doesn't fall apart while I'm riding it. I took a look at Bryan Speer's old mountain bike that he's willing to sell me. I'm going to take the bike in to a shop Bryan recommended to me next week after Amy and I return from camping. If it can be fixed for a reasonable price, then I'll get it fixed. I hope I don't have to buy a new bike, but it's my transportation, so we'll see how God works things out and then I'll make a decision.
Right into a telephone pole. It happened so fast I didn't even have time to brake. The front tire smashed into the pole and back end of the bike flew up into the air above my head. Both my feet hit the ground as I tried to keep myself from falling over sideways. I gained control of the bike after the second big bounce, discreetly (yeah right!) glanced around to see if anyone close had seen it and then checked the front tire to see if any air was leaking. Nope. So I got back on the bike and rode home. Besides my wounded pride I was perfectly fine. I noticed a brown spot on my knee from the telephone pole so I guess I hit my knee on it, but I don't remember hitting it!
I thought the bike was fine until I got on it to go to work on Tuesday. The bike's balance seemed off and it just felt different. A very cursory glance at the frame revealed nothing. At work, I was reminded that Bryan Speer - the Athletic Director and basketball coach at LCS, - is a pretty knowledgeable bike guy. He showed me where I had cracked the frame and how off-kilter the handlebars and forks are.
So, I must apologize to my dad, who gave me his old bike to use. Now I broke it. I've kept riding it to work, hoping that the bike doesn't fall apart while I'm riding it. I took a look at Bryan Speer's old mountain bike that he's willing to sell me. I'm going to take the bike in to a shop Bryan recommended to me next week after Amy and I return from camping. If it can be fixed for a reasonable price, then I'll get it fixed. I hope I don't have to buy a new bike, but it's my transportation, so we'll see how God works things out and then I'll make a decision.
3.27.2007
Friends at work
We've had a couple visitors this morning at work. 
Someone decided it would be good to feed them early this morning and they've been here ever since. They are hanging out very close to the front door so that whoever comes in or out has to be sure not to let them in the office. Unfortunately they don't seem to be too intimidated by people. Right now they are napping in the shade. A little while ago they were drinking water from the bottom of the planter outside. I figure they'll only last so long before they want water and food. Then again, if someone keeps feeding them, why would they leave? 
Someone decided it would be good to feed them early this morning and they've been here ever since. They are hanging out very close to the front door so that whoever comes in or out has to be sure not to let them in the office. Unfortunately they don't seem to be too intimidated by people. Right now they are napping in the shade. A little while ago they were drinking water from the bottom of the planter outside. I figure they'll only last so long before they want water and food. Then again, if someone keeps feeding them, why would they leave? 2.05.2007
A Sad 100th Post
Well, this is post number 100 for our blog. Unfortunately, it's going to be a sad one. Saturday morning found Amy and I in a church membership meeting at Village Bible Church. My phone was on silent for obvious reasons so I didn't notice that my brother Trevor had called a few times shortly before noon. The meeting ended at noon and Amy and I stopped at Big Lots to get some canned fruit. I noticed I had a voicemail from Trev, so I listened to it.
"Andrew, Gruden got hit by a car."
That was all he said.
For those of you who don't know, Gruden is the family dog. Maybe my mom can help me out here, but I don't remember what year we bought Gruden, but it was when I was in high school. My little brother Trevor had wanted a dog for several years before we finally got Gruden. Trevor named her after then-Oakland Raider coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden was a Black Lab and Australian Shepherd mix. She blended in well with our family because she was always full of energy and enthusiasm. She caused her fair share of problems but we all grew to love her. A few years ago she had a seizure one night and since then, she was on medicine to stop or lessen the severity of the seizures. She continued to have them, so my parents raised the dosage.
On Saturday morning, my dad was in the front yard doing some yard work. He let Gruden into the front yard so she could sniff around. A truck pulling a trailer came down the hill and Gruden decided to chase it. Apparently, the trailer ran Gruden over because my dad heard a "terrible" sound. He saw Gruden get back up and stagger back to the driveway where she collapsed. Dad said that he felt her heart beating but a little later saw her whole body just relax and go limp. Obviously, it was and is hard on my family, especially Trevor. My dad and Trevor took Gruden to the vet and said goodbye for the last time.
Goodbye Gruden. You were a good dog and a fun dog.
"Andrew, Gruden got hit by a car."
That was all he said.
For those of you who don't know, Gruden is the family dog. Maybe my mom can help me out here, but I don't remember what year we bought Gruden, but it was when I was in high school. My little brother Trevor had wanted a dog for several years before we finally got Gruden. Trevor named her after then-Oakland Raider coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden was a Black Lab and Australian Shepherd mix. She blended in well with our family because she was always full of energy and enthusiasm. She caused her fair share of problems but we all grew to love her. A few years ago she had a seizure one night and since then, she was on medicine to stop or lessen the severity of the seizures. She continued to have them, so my parents raised the dosage.
On Saturday morning, my dad was in the front yard doing some yard work. He let Gruden into the front yard so she could sniff around. A truck pulling a trailer came down the hill and Gruden decided to chase it. Apparently, the trailer ran Gruden over because my dad heard a "terrible" sound. He saw Gruden get back up and stagger back to the driveway where she collapsed. Dad said that he felt her heart beating but a little later saw her whole body just relax and go limp. Obviously, it was and is hard on my family, especially Trevor. My dad and Trevor took Gruden to the vet and said goodbye for the last time.
Goodbye Gruden. You were a good dog and a fun dog.
2.01.2007
Corn Muffin Story
Since my mom-in-law mentioned it, I thought I'd quickly share the funny corn muffin story.
So, as we know, it was in fact Happy's first baking experience. Seeing as he is SO amazing, he decided to help me out by making the corn muffins. The corn muffin mix is the Jiffy one that you add water, oil and eggs to. After mixing, he started to fill the muffin pan. Having filled one muffin cup, I glanced over and asked, "Did you spray the pan?"
He said, "What? It doesn't say I'm supposed to do that..."
I responded by picking up the box, pointing and reading "Grease the pan."
"Oh," came the response. Then of course, Happy emptied the muffin cup and cleaned and dried the pan.
Following this, he proceeded to fill four muffin cups before I glanced over and asked, "Um... did you grease the pan?"
"BLAST!" was his reply (or something like that...). So, he cleaned the whole thing again and did this time remember to grease the pan. What a wonderful husband I have! :-)
So, as we know, it was in fact Happy's first baking experience. Seeing as he is SO amazing, he decided to help me out by making the corn muffins. The corn muffin mix is the Jiffy one that you add water, oil and eggs to. After mixing, he started to fill the muffin pan. Having filled one muffin cup, I glanced over and asked, "Did you spray the pan?"
He said, "What? It doesn't say I'm supposed to do that..."
I responded by picking up the box, pointing and reading "Grease the pan."
"Oh," came the response. Then of course, Happy emptied the muffin cup and cleaned and dried the pan.
Following this, he proceeded to fill four muffin cups before I glanced over and asked, "Um... did you grease the pan?"
"BLAST!" was his reply (or something like that...). So, he cleaned the whole thing again and did this time remember to grease the pan. What a wonderful husband I have! :-)
1.25.2007
The Dentist
Just after Christmas Happy and I visited our new dentist. I found out I had two cavities. Bummer. But, I finally made an appointment to go in yesterday at 4:30. Not only did they drill and fill my two cavities, they also sealed 5 of my other molars and they feel weird. Now all that's left is to get one crown on a molar that has a silver filling. I'm sure that will be fun.
Once the dentist came in my little room I told him my "issues" with needles (thinking of the Novacaine) and he told me that for 99% of kids getting fillings, they don't use Novacaine because the drilling really isn't so bad. He gave me the option of using it or not. I opted not to use it. All in all, it really wasn't so bad (even though he did drill four separate times--he'd drill, rinse, then say "Just a little bit more...") and there was only one point where my eye twitched at the pain. For me, it's well worth it to not have the shots.
The last cavity I had filled was a long time ago, but I clearly remember at least 6 shots of Novacaine and still being able to feel the drill just as much as I did yesterday. Then I had a numb mouth for several hours. Yesterday I didn't! As I was leaving they asked if I wanted to have my teeth cleaned right then because one of their appointments didn't show up. Apparently there's new technology to clean teeth (shows how long it's been since I had my teeth professionally cleaned) which uses baking soda and a high powered sprayer. It tasted kind of gross, but it made my teeth whiter :-D Aside from the baking soda dusting on my face afterwards, I liked it much more than the nasty stuff I used to have.
So, even though I asked Happy to meet me at the dentist and drive me home, I could have driven myself home after all! In light of my exciting evening at the dentist (all of it took less than an hour), I thought I'd ask, does anyone else have any memorable dentist experiences to share?
Once the dentist came in my little room I told him my "issues" with needles (thinking of the Novacaine) and he told me that for 99% of kids getting fillings, they don't use Novacaine because the drilling really isn't so bad. He gave me the option of using it or not. I opted not to use it. All in all, it really wasn't so bad (even though he did drill four separate times--he'd drill, rinse, then say "Just a little bit more...") and there was only one point where my eye twitched at the pain. For me, it's well worth it to not have the shots.
The last cavity I had filled was a long time ago, but I clearly remember at least 6 shots of Novacaine and still being able to feel the drill just as much as I did yesterday. Then I had a numb mouth for several hours. Yesterday I didn't! As I was leaving they asked if I wanted to have my teeth cleaned right then because one of their appointments didn't show up. Apparently there's new technology to clean teeth (shows how long it's been since I had my teeth professionally cleaned) which uses baking soda and a high powered sprayer. It tasted kind of gross, but it made my teeth whiter :-D Aside from the baking soda dusting on my face afterwards, I liked it much more than the nasty stuff I used to have.
So, even though I asked Happy to meet me at the dentist and drive me home, I could have driven myself home after all! In light of my exciting evening at the dentist (all of it took less than an hour), I thought I'd ask, does anyone else have any memorable dentist experiences to share?
10.11.2006
My Scratch Test
Happy's summary was quite accurate, but I thought I'd go ahead and explain a little bit of the experience from my perspective.
The whole thing started when I went to our doctor and found out my insurance hadn't completely gone through yet. After a few phone calls and talking with the receptionist in the doctor's office, I learned that the doctor doesn't actually do allergy tests. After leaving work early to find this out I was a bit frustrated and called my boss, Rebecca, to let her know. She then called a bunch of allergists and dermatologists to see if anyone could take me today. Finally she found the one in Long Beach (Dr. Ochsner) and we went, after I picked Happy up to go with me. I thought perhaps I might not be ok to drive home after the scratch test.... Good hunch I'd say.
When we got to the allergist there were a few people in the waiting room, so we just sat and read our books for a while. Once it was my turn, Dr. Ochsner brought me in, looked in my ears ("Nice ears!") and nose ("Not so nice nose...") and then listened to me breathe. He asked if I ever have trouble breathing and I said only a little when I'm around cats for a while. Then he explained to me how the scratch test works. It's actually not a scratch, but a puncture... with a needle. As he pulled out six different bottles, he explained to me that he'd test out six different things I might be allergic to. He drew three red lines on my left forearm and then proceeded to stick me with six different needles and substances--one on each tip of the three red lines.
At this point I should mention that Dr. Ochsner was probably easily in his 60s and an extremely kind and friendly man. He definitely had that grandfatherly way about him and I felt very comfortable with him.
Before he started I told him I really don't like blood. He said I should be fine. After the first shot I said I really don't like needles either. He proceeded to tell me that he used to not like them either, but after so many years and experiencing such wonderful things from needles (i.e. birth), he has sort of gotten over it. "Plus," he said, "it helps to be on the other end of the needle!" I wasn't very amused as he pointed out that there were only four more to go! By the third one I said I wasn't feeling so good and could feel the color draining from my face. He said I could put my head between my knees and it would help. I immediately did so, holding my left arm out of my range of vision as he injected me with the fourth substance. Here my legs started to shake and I began to get dizzy. I kept saying, "I don't feel good... I don't feel good... I don't feel good..." He continued with his countdown "Just two more! You'll be fine!"
The fifth and sixth ones felt like they took forever. I had my eyes closed and was digging my right index fingernail into my right thumb to distract myself from the needle poke. It didn't work. When he finished the sixth one he said, "Alright, you can go back into the waiting room with your husband." I staggered out and collapsed into the first chair, which happened to be two seats away from where Happy was sitting. He gently said, "Come sit next to me..." While I did hear him, I didn't respond because I was concentrating on not vomiting or passing out. After a minute he said, "Ok, I'll just move then..." By then I had put my head down again between my legs and was asking where the bathroom was. Happy got up and glanced around, but it was too late. I puked right there on the carpet of the waiting room. Thankfully there were no other patients waiting there.
Dr. Ochsner, as Happy said, wasn't fazed by my vomit and calmly brought out paper towel after paper towel--wet ones and dry ones, for me and the carpet. Happy cleaned it up and could definitely tell I had eaten strawberry yogurt. Interestingly enough, I felt much better afterwards. Dr. Ochsner said it usually works that way. (I think he knew that and was just helping me to get to the point of vomiting!)
After a few minutes the doctor brought me back in from the waiting room and explained to me the welts that were developing on my arm from the shots. Five of them were ones he thought I'd be allergic to and one was an injection that he knew I wasn't allergic to (as a point of comparison with the others). I got a 100%! I was allergic to all five of the injections, but the most allergic to rye grass, which was like a mini-continent on my forearm. The others were just little islands--dust mite, Chinese oak (I think), and tumbleweed were ones I remember. Tumbleweed was the next largest welt. He then brought us outside to the parking lot to show us what Chinese oak looked like. Soon, we learned about all of the trees in the parking lot, from this knowledgeable doctor. Meanwhile, I'm sneezing every 5 seconds or so and in dire need of a tissue, which is waiting for me back inside the office. When we got back inside, I grabbed several tissues and Dr. Ochsner explained my allergies a bit more.
Apparently my nose is super healthy because it has been working 24 hours a day to deal with all the pollen in the air. That, however, means that I am exhausted all the time because my body keeps trying to fight the pollen. He also explained that I have a slight case of asthma, but if we deal with my nose, the asthma should never be much of a problem. So, he gave me free samples of two different nose sprays (Nasonex and Astelin, for those who are interested) and told me how to spray properly (nose to toes and opposite hands). He did one dose for me and then explained that it could make me feel drowsy, but might not. We went home (Happy drove) and I basically felt like I'd been attacked and was indeed exhausted, but not from the nose spray, as I have since learned. The scratch test wore me out.
So, the next morning (yesterday) I woke up to a swollen and burning hot forearm, along with tingly fingers. I went to work, cried on the way (because I called my mom and started thinking I might need to have my arm amputated or drained with a huge needle), and then called Dr. Ochsner when the office opened. They said I could come back in and he'd take a look at it. I did and he gave me Benadryl and said to put heat on my arm to increase circulation. I then decided to go home for the day and conk out with the Benadryl. Over the last few days I think I've slept more than I've been awake! Last night the swelling moved up to my elbow a bit more and the inside of my elbow is a bit fat. But, the redness has lessened and my arm isn't as burning hot as it was yesterday. Still, it's pretty heavy and tight, and I'm looking forward to it getting back to normal! It's been quite an exciting week for me, but the good news is, the nose sprays are helping a lot--and my arm does not need to be drained with a huge needle or amputated :-) Thank you for all your prayers and concerns!
The whole thing started when I went to our doctor and found out my insurance hadn't completely gone through yet. After a few phone calls and talking with the receptionist in the doctor's office, I learned that the doctor doesn't actually do allergy tests. After leaving work early to find this out I was a bit frustrated and called my boss, Rebecca, to let her know. She then called a bunch of allergists and dermatologists to see if anyone could take me today. Finally she found the one in Long Beach (Dr. Ochsner) and we went, after I picked Happy up to go with me. I thought perhaps I might not be ok to drive home after the scratch test.... Good hunch I'd say.
When we got to the allergist there were a few people in the waiting room, so we just sat and read our books for a while. Once it was my turn, Dr. Ochsner brought me in, looked in my ears ("Nice ears!") and nose ("Not so nice nose...") and then listened to me breathe. He asked if I ever have trouble breathing and I said only a little when I'm around cats for a while. Then he explained to me how the scratch test works. It's actually not a scratch, but a puncture... with a needle. As he pulled out six different bottles, he explained to me that he'd test out six different things I might be allergic to. He drew three red lines on my left forearm and then proceeded to stick me with six different needles and substances--one on each tip of the three red lines.
At this point I should mention that Dr. Ochsner was probably easily in his 60s and an extremely kind and friendly man. He definitely had that grandfatherly way about him and I felt very comfortable with him.
Before he started I told him I really don't like blood. He said I should be fine. After the first shot I said I really don't like needles either. He proceeded to tell me that he used to not like them either, but after so many years and experiencing such wonderful things from needles (i.e. birth), he has sort of gotten over it. "Plus," he said, "it helps to be on the other end of the needle!"
The fifth and sixth ones felt like they took forever. I had my eyes closed and was digging my right index fingernail into my right thumb to distract myself from the needle poke. It didn't work. When he finished the sixth one he said, "Alright, you can go back into the waiting room with your husband." I staggered out and collapsed into the first chair, which happened to be two seats away from where Happy was sitting. He gently said, "Come sit next to me..." While I did hear him, I didn't respond because I was concentrating on not vomiting or passing out. After a minute he said, "Ok, I'll just move then..." By then I had put my head down again between my legs and was asking where the bathroom was. Happy got up and glanced around, but it was too late. I puked right there on the carpet of the waiting room. Thankfully there were no other patients waiting there.
Dr. Ochsner, as Happy said, wasn't fazed by my vomit and calmly brought out paper towel after paper towel--wet ones and dry ones, for me and the carpet. Happy cleaned it up and could definitely tell I had eaten strawberry yogurt. Interestingly enough, I felt much better afterwards. Dr. Ochsner said it usually works that way. (I think he knew that and was just helping me to get to the point of vomiting!)
After a few minutes the doctor brought me back in from the waiting room and explained to me the welts that were developing on my arm from the shots. Five of them were ones he thought I'd be allergic to and one was an injection that he knew I wasn't allergic to (as a point of comparison with the others). I got a 100%! I was allergic to all five of the injections, but the most allergic to rye grass, which was like a mini-continent on my forearm. The others were just little islands--dust mite, Chinese oak (I think), and tumbleweed were ones I remember. Tumbleweed was the next largest welt. He then brought us outside to the parking lot to show us what Chinese oak looked like. Soon, we learned about all of the trees in the parking lot, from this knowledgeable doctor. Meanwhile, I'm sneezing every 5 seconds or so and in dire need of a tissue, which is waiting for me back inside the office. When we got back inside, I grabbed several tissues and Dr. Ochsner explained my allergies a bit more.
Apparently my nose is super healthy because it has been working 24 hours a day to deal with all the pollen in the air. That, however, means that I am exhausted all the time because my body keeps trying to fight the pollen. He also explained that I have a slight case of asthma, but if we deal with my nose, the asthma should never be much of a problem. So, he gave me free samples of two different nose sprays (Nasonex and Astelin, for those who are interested) and told me how to spray properly (nose to toes and opposite hands). He did one dose for me and then explained that it could make me feel drowsy, but might not. We went home (Happy drove) and I basically felt like I'd been attacked and was indeed exhausted, but not from the nose spray, as I have since learned. The scratch test wore me out.
So, the next morning (yesterday) I woke up to a swollen and burning hot forearm, along with tingly fingers. I went to work, cried on the way (because I called my mom and started thinking I might need to have my arm amputated or drained with a huge needle), and then called Dr. Ochsner when the office opened. They said I could come back in and he'd take a look at it. I did and he gave me Benadryl and said to put heat on my arm to increase circulation. I then decided to go home for the day and conk out with the Benadryl. Over the last few days I think I've slept more than I've been awake! Last night the swelling moved up to my elbow a bit more and the inside of my elbow is a bit fat. But, the redness has lessened and my arm isn't as burning hot as it was yesterday. Still, it's pretty heavy and tight, and I'm looking forward to it getting back to normal! It's been quite an exciting week for me, but the good news is, the nose sprays are helping a lot--and my arm does not need to be drained with a huge needle or amputated :-) Thank you for all your prayers and concerns!
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