Just Say No to Glucola

Can I just say I hate the taste of orange glucola...especially the kind that is 100 gram kind. It tastes like corn syrup. I went today for the 3 hour glucola test after my numbers from my one hour test turned out to be elevated. The drink, after fasting for 12+ hours was just plain gross. The poking on an hourly basis I could stand. I'm just hoping that the results of this test turn out ok.

As I was pulling into our back driveway, I could feel my sugar dropping...I began to shake and get really REALLY hot. I knew I needed to eat and drink water so that I could get this stuff out of my system. After eating lunch and getting a little more leveled out, I crashed for 2 hours which I hadn't planned on doing.

I guess I just can't handle my sugar. I'm praying that all will come out fine with this test or it's a modified diet for me. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Top Ten from San Diego - Part II

7. San Diego Zoo - This was something that I'd wanted to do since I watched Captain Kangaroo visit the zoo or at least have clips from the zoo on his show. It was a very large zoo with many animals that you won't see many other places. One of the neatest exhibits was seeing the pandas...I love pandas and seeing the baby ones was a real treat. It's a definite fun day for all ages.


6. The Pacific Ocean - Now I've seen most all of the bodies of water that surround our country. The Atlantic Ocean is one that I have probably seen the most because of where we live. It's pretty especially when you look at the horizon and the sky meets the water. The Pacific Ocean where we were was gorgeous too...especially the cliffs against the water. This picture was taken by the water...when we visited number 5 on my list.

5. La Jolla - This area of San Diego is sometimes referred to as the Beverly Hills of San Diego. It's very pretty...but one of the neatest places is this little beach that originally was supposed to be a children's beach, but a colony of seals had taken over so the beach was unable to be used by children and families. It does make for some interesting seal sightings, though. The females are the darker colored seals and the bull is the one that looks kinda like a pile of sand in font of the other seals. If you have the chance, it's a neat thing to see.

Top 10 From San Diego - Part I

We got back from San Diego Saturday night. It was a wonderful trip filled with sunshine, not too warm whether, pools and relaxation. Here's my top 10 list for things to see while in San Diego...

10. Balboa Park - We didn't get to see a whole lot of the park because most of it was closed when we got their after the zoo...but it is very pretty and filled with museums of all kinds. If you are there, you can see this gorgeous and HUGE fig tree. It looked like one that many people would like to climb, but the fence around it makes that feat kinda difficult.

9. Padres Game - This was a fun night. When we were there the Padres played the Braves (my husband's favorite team) the game was exciting. I think there were 16 strikeouts thrown by the Padres starting pitcher. And the Braves won. I figure that'll make a good trivia question someday.

8. Old Town - Old Town is a pretty neat place in San Diego depicting how the first settlement might have looked. There are several authentic Mexican restaurants that serve GREAT food there. They even make their tortillas by hand there too.

In addition to the great food there is a market area where vendors sell some really cool things from finger puppets to religious ornaments to wrestling masks. It's a definite pick for us. Be sure that you look at the whole park, though, when we first went we missed a good half of it that was really cool.

Because I can only post so many pictures I will do my top ten in phases...look for Part II coming soon.

Wow..It's Been a While

It's seemed like forever since I last posted. Since then we've had another doctor's appointment and everything seems to be going quite well. He's growing, kicking an coming right along.

Yesterday was picture day at soccer...maybe it's just me, but I really like this picture.

Today is Mother's Day...and it's been a really neat one in our home. Jake and Jim made me the cutest train...which they painted themselves...it's a letter train saying Jake heart Mom. It's so cute!! I just love it.

Thank you to the greatest guys in my life and in the world. I love you!!

I knew I was a Red Head!!

Your Hair Should Be Red

Passionate, fiery, and sassy. You're a total smart aleck who's got the biggest personality around.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

When You Least Expect It

Well, I figured it would happen this way. I had been looking around town for a time when I had my camera and I saw Matthew McConaughey. Saturday the film crew wrapped up filming here in Huntington with the annual Green and White game...a spring scrimmage of the MU Thundering Herd.

This year's game had a twist. Not only was the film crew going to be there doing arial shots and taping the crowd chanting "We Are Marshall" but it was a reunion of the 1996 championship team which includes among others Chad Pennington and Randy Moss. They were hoping to have 10,000 fan show up for the big game and 17,000+ were in attendance.

Another twist was that not only was the crew from the movie there but the cast was there as well. In fact, Matthew came out with the team when they walked through the crowd. I was looking around for Chad, Randy and any other familiar faces and didn't notice Matthew with Coach Snyder until Jim said, "Hey, there's Matthew."

Luckily I have my husband to help me find the sexiest man alive. Below is a picture he snapped of Matthew looking at the camera. He was only about 5 feet away from us and I had no clue.

When you least expect it...

We Found Out!!

Last week we got the news but with Holy Week and all of its activities we haven't had time to announce the good news. On Maundy Thursday we had our "big" ultrasound. I had asked the baby if he/she would behave and let us know if they were a boy or a girl. And the baby did more than cooperate.

It's a boy...we were made sure of that several times. From all indications and measurements he is right where he should be in size and development. The ultrasound tech looked at all of his little bones and his organs and found them as far as she could tell to be growing just fine.

He's an active little one...almost turning somersaults. He looked at the screen a few times and then held up his fist. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and support during this time...we are so excited!!

More Pictures from We Are Marshall

More pictures...


And one of Jake

Star Gazing

I must say that I've been excited about what's happening in Huntington over this past week. Over thirty five years ago this town and Marshall University experienced a great loss. While coming back from a football game at East Carolina, most all of the team and most all of the coaching staff was killed when their plane crashed just outside of town.

Last year the movie from Ashes to Glory retold all about what happened that fateful night and the years to follow. Hollywood caught that idea and have decided to make it into a movie right now called, We Are Marshall.

Among the actors in this film are Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, January Jones, David Strathairn, Kate Mara among others. It has been pretty wild around town. There is even a website devoted to sitings of Matthew McConaughey.

Anyway, this is the second day of filming...they are doing a lot of the filming here in town especially on the MU campus and around town on Fourth Avenue among the buildings that haven't changed. We were coming back from Jake's first soccer practice of the year and trying to figure out what to have for dinner. We decided to choose Chili Willi's (Jake loves their "orange dip") but when we got close we saw that the roads were blocked. I spotted a lighting semi and said, "They're shooting at the bus station. We are going to Chili Willi's." (The restaurant is across the street from the bus station.)

We had to park over a block away because of the road blocks, but were lucky enough to get a table by the window so we could watch the action. Soon we saw that the scene would be shot in front of the bus station and Matthew Fox and January Jones would be the key actors. We watched the scene over and over again as they tweeked and tweeked it. It was pretty cool. Above and below are a couple of pictures (small as they are...they were taken with my camera phone and it shrunk them) from that scene. I can't wait to see the movie and hopefully see this scene.

Not What We Expected

This wasn't exactly what we had in mind when we started our service on Thursday nights. Common Grounds was going to be a way for us to reach out to college students at Marshall. But it has developed into an outreach to those who are on the street and those who are seeking to get their lives back after being on the street. It has turned from a way to minister to students away from home into a viable and effective way to minister to those who have no real home.

This Lent we have been doing a series called Journey to the Cross...first person reflections on Jesus' journey to the cross. As the worship team sat down to dinner before the service started, one of our regular attendees, S, came over and sat with us a while. He has been coming since the service first started and has brought a lot of people to worship with him too. He's been on the street and now lives with friends near the church.

He talked about how wonderful the service has been for him and looking around pointed out how many people who are starting out on their own are coming to the service. He said that he knew the service was going to be successful because we hadn't run him off. We started talking about how sometimes the welcome isn't so sincere when someone looks, dresses or seems different. With tears in his eyes he thanked everyone around the table for welcoming him and his friends into the church.

S has a point...so often we talk about wanting to be welcoming to those who are different...we look to Jesus as the example for love and acceptance. But in the midst of that sometimes we allow culture and other things to get in the way...and the welcoming becomes more restricted.

I thank God that I have had the opportunity to meet these folks that otherwise would most likely have blended into the background. Some folks are easy to ignore/disregard, but this service has brought them into the forefront and made them more visible. Their stories are interesting...amazing even.

Some have been homeless for quite sometime...some live on the riverfront...others have been abused and have sought safety....still others have been maimed by their lives on the street. But one thing stands out for each and every one of them...they are bringing others into the church to experience a warm meal and potentially a worship service. We have new people each and every service...all because they are inviting others.

It wasn't what we had expected, but God had a different idea. Thank you God for thinking outside the box...thank you God for guiding us to those you wish us to reach.

Great End to a Rough Week

This week started out a little melancholy, but ended up rather well. On Wednesday, Jake went to be screened for Kindergarten. He had to have his hearing, sight and speech checked. And he did wonderfully. Everything checked out to be really good. I think now, other than orientation (if they have that) and buying school supplies, we are all ready for him to start kindergarten. I think Jake is really excited about school. 'Course the experiences he has with his new school are the school carnival (cool...they must play games for candy and prizes all the time) and the registration (they let you put puzzles together and eat cookies). I don't know what he'll think when things are just a little different.

Friday was a WONDERFUL day too. We had another doctor's appointment to check and see how the little one is doing. And this time, Jake got to come along. The doctor was GREAT...this was the first time we had met her...and I have decided that she is the one that I want to deliver this little one. Jim said she was the closest to the doctor that delivered our other bundle of joy five years ago. That doctor had left because of the high cost of medical insurance. She was great. I think this "new" doctor will be like her...she took a lot of time with us...recalled when she had been to the church and remembered me coming over and talking to her the first time she visited. It's not that I don't like the other doctors in the practice, but they're men and I like a woman who has gone through some of the same stuff that I have.

Anyhoo...after meeting her for the first (well, I guess second time) we talked about some of my fears and had everything checked out. Last time I tested positive for protein so I was very nervous. But this time all was good. I've been having problems with an allergy attack which turned into a cold so she told me what all I could take (I'd been just drinking a lot of water and that's about it). Then she got out the doppler and we got to hear the heartbeat. She was really good with Jake and asked him to come closer if he wanted. Everything sounded so good. Next she measured me and I am right where I ought to be at this time.

All of my anxiety went out the window with her great bedside manner. Next time, in three weeks, we're to have our ultrasound to see what this little one is. Jake has said for the longest time he thinks it's a girl, but Friday he said it was a boy. We'll see in April.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during this past week...they mean a lot!!

First Day of Spring Comes with Mixed Feelings

Tomorrow's the first day of Spring. Usually I am excited about this because of the colors of the flowers and the approaching of Summer. It's also my elementary school friend Jill's birthday. But this year the first day of Spring comes with some sadness. Maybe it wouldn't stand out so much if it wasn't Jill's birthday I don't know. But tomorrow was to be the due date of the baby we lost in August.

I am excited because in the midst of loss, God has provided new life. (Kinda like an Easter story, huh?) When we went through the valley one of our doctors reminded us that through everything God wants the best for us. She told us her experience and that she would not have her daughter if she'd have carried her baby to term. At the time those seemed to be empty words because they were said on top of my broken heart.

But now I am beginning to understand what she meant. It's hard sometimes to be brave in the midst of everything and act like all is good...everything is fine. But God doesn't ask us to be brave 24/7...God asks that we keep the faith. God deeply loves us and wants the best for us.

I remember when I was in the midst of grief and heartache...I let God know that I didn't think that what was going on was fair and I didn't really know what I was supposed to do with this. I heard these words, "I know what it's like to lose a child...I watched my son as he gave up his life." Perhaps it is a resurrection lesson that can be learned here. I still struggle with the whole ordeal, but each day gets a little easier. Through hope and faith each day I know that things will get better.

Second Round Picks

OK...I was 19 out of 32 for my picks in the first round...which amounts to abou 59%. So here are my picks for the next round.

Duke vs. G. Washington - Duke

Texas A&M vs. LSU - LSU

WVU vs. Northwestern State - WVU

NC State vs. Texas - NC State

Memphis vs. Bucknell - Memphis

Pitt vs. Bradley - Bradley

Indiana vs. Gonzaga - Indiana

Alabama vs. UCLA - UCLA

UConn vs. Kentucky - UConn

Washington vs. Illinois - Illinois

G. Mason vs. UNC - UNC

Wich. vs. Tennessee - Tennessee

Villanova vs. AZ - Villanova

Montana vs. B.C. - B.C.

UW Mill. vs. Florida - UW Mill.

Georgetown vs. OSU - OSU

Mad, Mad I Tell You

Well, March Madness has officially started. I sometimes miss my teaching days when March Madness was a bigger than life event...everyone, the faculty, staff and students would have their grids keeping them up to date and talking about the big upsets that happen along the way.

OK, so here are my picks for the first round...some are a little unorthodox, but for a few I have explanations...here it goes...

Duke vs. Southern U. - Duke

G.Washington vs. NC Wilmington - NC

Syracuse vs. Texas A&M - Syracuse

LSU vs. Iona - LSU

WVU vs. Southern ILL. - WVU ---Go Mountaineers!!

Iowa vs. N'western St. - Iowa

California vs. NC State - NC State (time difference goes against CA)

Texas vs. Penn - Texas

Memphis vs. Oral Roberts - Memphis

Arkansas vs. Bucknell - Arkansas

Pittsburgh vs. Kent State - Kent State (don't like Pittsburgh)

Kansas vs. Bradley - Kansas

Indiana vs. San Deigo State - GO HOOSIERS!!

Gonzaga vs. Xavier - Gonzaga even though I really like Xavier too...our high school coach when there

Marquette vs. Alabama - Marquette

UCLA vs. Belmont - UCLA

UConn vs. Albany - UConn

Kentucky vs. UAB - UAB - I don't like Kentucky

Washington vs. Utah State - Washington

Illinois vs Air Force - Ill.

Michigan State vs. George Mason - Michigan State - that's for my friend Steve

North Carolina vs. Murray St. - UNC

Wichita St. vs. Seton Hall - Seaton Hall - they looked pretty good

Tennessee vs. Winthrop - Tennessee - one of my favorite states

Villanova vs. Monmouth - Villanova

Arizona vs. Wisconsin - Wisconsin

Nevada vs. Montana - Nevada

Boston College vs. Pacific - B.C

Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin Milwaukee - Wisconsin

Florida vs. South Alabama - Florida

Georgetown vs. Northern Iowa - Georgetown - always liked them

OSU vs. Davidson - as much as I hate to do this - OSU

I'm just very sad my Michigan Wolverines didn't get into this tournament...better luck next year guys.

Thank You for Sharing Your Faith

When I first started at the church I began to attend the Tuesday morning prayer group. It was then that I first met Art, the leader of the group. He would teach a Bible study and then lead the group in prayer. He had such a quiet, holy way about him...something that I've only seen a few times in my life.

Art really reminded me of another saint in my life named Dale. Dale was my high school Sunday school teacher. He knew the Bible better than anyone I have ever met. He was such a kind and gentle soul.

Both of these men displayed God's love and God's presence throughout their lives. They showed me what it means to have a close relationship with our creator. And I thank God that I got to know them.

When I was in seminary, one of my favorite professors, Sister AnnMarie talked about those people that you meet who just have God oozing out their pores. They are so steeped in Scripture, prayer and a deep relationship with God, you can see God all around them. Dale and Art are two such men.

Both have gone on to be with God, Dale a few years ago and Art this past week. They are missed but the legacy of their faith will continue for years to come through those they touched along life's path. And we have been blessed to know them.

Cat's Out of the Bag

Today during our 11 o'clock worship service, Jim and Jake shared the joy that Jake is going to be a big brother. This has been a wonderful secret we've kept pretty quiet since before Christmas (we found out December 23rd). We wanted to share earlier but I was scared especially after what happened in August.

We told Jake after we had our first ultrasound and heard and saw the baby and his/her heartbeat. The technician took extra time with us to point out everything and how everything seemed to be just fine this time.

We've passed the first trimester hump and now are entering into our 17th week. About 3 weeks or so ago we had our last doctor's appointment and I asked to hear the heartbeat again just for my state of mind. The doctor told us that the baby was in the in between stage and she wasn't sure if she could find it or pick it up, but as long as I didn't freak out she'd try. She tried and on the first try found it right away. Tears filled my eyes as I heard that beautiful sound.

"It's ok to cry that's a wonderful sound." the doctor told me.

Jake is so excited...I'm hoping that all will progress well until late August when we get to meet this little one.

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Last week we took Jake to register for Kindergarten. It was a time where he got to see the school, meet some of the faculty and staff and see what may be his room for next year. He enjoyed putting puzzles together while we filled out the paperwork for his registration.

He's really looking forward to going to school next year. I'm not sure what he's expecting...the two times we've been to the school have been for the school carnival last spring and for the registration. Both events involved food...cookies last week and candy galore at the carnival. I think he thinks that each day will be filled with games, candy and cookies.

Shorty and His Friends

Last Thursday we had an interesting Common Grounds service. Common Grounds is our contemporary service held on Thursday evenings and includes a dinner with it. We thought that the service would help us reach the college students at Marshall, especially because of the meal. God has changed the focus of that service to include the homeless of our community. We have had several homeless people attend our service.

One gentleman has been coming for several weeks now and this Thursday he brought four or five of his friends with him. As they entered the social hall, he turned to his friends and said, "OK everyone, take your hats off...we're in the house of God."

One of his friends in particular caught my attention. He's a small, humble-looking fellow with rosy cheeks and a grey beard. He came in and began talking to one of my friends...she told me his name is Shorty and he lives in a tent by the river.

The group of men went and got themselves something to eat...we don't have a group prayer over the food but we have one later in the service. But Shorty folded his hands and prayed over his food, as did his friends.

There was just something about his good natured, happy self that caught my attention. This is truly what humbling ourselves for prayer must mean.

Thank you Shorty for coming and sharing your faith in such a great way! May God bless and protect you!!

Super Bowl and Souper Bowl

Today is Super Bowl Sunday...and this morning along with countless churches around this nation we celebrated Souper Bowl Sunday. Souper Bowl Sunday is a great tradition started by a youth group to raise money and canned goods, etc. for those in need. It's amazing what a youth group can do when looking for a mission and a purpose to join God in God's work on this earth. All of us can make a difference if we just open our eyes...open our minds...open our hearts and souls to see where God is calling us into action.

May the Super Bowl be a time when we not only tune in to see our favorite team and favorite commercials, but may we seek to do super things in the name of Christ.

Happy Groundhog's Day!!

Happy Groundhog's Day to each and every one of you!! Groundhog's Day is a special one in our household...it holds many memories and fun. Nine years ago tonight, Jim asked me to marry him in the midst of a magical wonderful Wizard of Oz scene that he created in his living room. ('Course I said yes!)

The day has held magic for Jim's Mom too...she called just a little bit ago to wish us a Happy Groundhog's Day.

And, today, good ol' Phil saw his shadow and back in he went. Yea!!! Six more weeks of winter...maybe (fingers crossed) we'll finally get some snow. After all, Tony Cavalier keeps promising a snowier February.

Here's wishing you and yours a very happy Groundhog's Day!