Grandma

Well, last week was rough. I found out Sunday morning that my grandma was very sick and in the hospital. After church, I was on the phone with my mom and dad a lot for several hours. They told me that I should fly home b/c it wasn't expected for her to last more than 24 hrs. I ended up getting a ticket for Monday (my birthday). I told them I wanted to talk to her again which I did - I told her to get better because I'd see her on my birthday! Then I told her I love her. She could only gurgle back. At 5pm, dad called and told me she was gone. It happened about 4:15pm. After letting the tears come, I went through all of my photo albums looking for pics of her when she was 20 years younger, healthier, dancing (not in a wheelchair), and with all her beautiful brown hair. That really made me feel better. I flew home after work the next day and did the same thing with mom/dad. Then we made the bulletin for the funeral which took quite a while. The funeral was Thursday. We went to Centralia, IL for the funeral. I saw my cousins and brother and his kids and several of grandma's old friends and my mom's old friends. Then we went to the burial in Chester. It was good to see all of the things she saw when she was growing up and even the house in which she was born! Then the long drive back. What made the whole trip better was spending such quality time with my mom/dad. We watched some movies, cooked together, went to downtown old St. Charles, and an art gallery and shopping. Sadly, I had to come back Sunday evening and then back to work. I miss mom/dad. I think mom is doing okay. Hard to tell sometimes. She'll probably deal with it more privately like I did. I will really miss grandma. My favorite sayings of hers were "Goodness gracious sakes alive! Caught a fish and thought I'd die!" and "Who has more fun than people?" She was so beautiful and smiley and I'll never forget her voice.

Off to a great start!

Well, I'm finally back in the groove! Monday night Bible study was lots of fun - played "nertz" and had pizza/brownies - we'll start our study next week. Tonight was my church's mid-week service - "the Gathering" - soooo good! Yancey talked about not letting our freedoms in Christ be stumbling blocks for others. Instead of stumbling block meaning "offensive" as it often does, he was saying that it means something that causes someone to go back to worshiping something other than Christ. So I definitely took a lot home with me tonight! I've been learning about finding satisfaction and peace in Christ in my Beth Moore Bible study called "Living Free." Providentially, it coincides with the struggles I've been going through - I LOVE when that happens! My morning devotional "Experiencing God" has also been lining up with my life. It's been about finding God's will through prayer and revelation - not just going off and doing whatever you want to do and then asking God to bless it. I also started a prayer journal. Every year, it seems I start gung-ho with new Bible studies and prayer journals and all that - but hopefully this year will be different! A resolution is not just a "well, I'll try this and I know I'll fail, but it's worth a try" statement - it's a firm, unwavering commitment. So if we're going to make resolutions, we need to be "resolute" about them! Good luck with yours!

Enjoy the picture! It's from City Museum in St. Louis, MO with my sister and my nephews. We took them there over Christmas break. Lots of fun!

Fresh Start 2008

Guess it's time for a new blog! I was looking at blogs linked in Facebook and realized I hadn't posted to my blog in a year. The old blog represents for me a chapter in my life that has closed, and a new one has begun. So I thought it was appropriate to start a new blog and I'm hoping that I'll use it more and that it will get more interest. ;) The old one is http://www.thisphotograph.blogspot.com/

There are some photographs on there that I like but don't expect too much. ;)

This photograph was actually taken in April 2007 on my back patio. I love my apartment and my patio. I have 2 hibiscus, 1 hydrangea, a desert rose, and a cactus. I had started an herb garden before Christmas, but I'll have to start over in the spring because the weather was really rough on them.

2007 was a roller coaster year, but overall very positive. One relationship ended and another has begun. I started cycling and I also got my basic SCUBA certification. I learned to tango dance. I saw several ballets with my season subscription and several symphonies. I finished my Renaissance Festival Dress with Liz and went to the Festival twice in November. I went to two back-to-back weddings in June - one in St. Louis, the other in Oklahoma. I went to Phoenix in January. I went to California on my first business trip. Work has been fun - we have a new manager who was promoted from within the team. In June, I went to Kennedy Space Center to see the shuttle launch - it was a fantastic trip! My mom and sister both visited in March on separate occasions and then mom/dad/Amy all came down in August for a trip to San Antonio. I was able to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Spent a lot of time with Keith's boys (my nephews). I feel so distant from my family at times. Too bad NASA is not in St. Louis. But it's difficult because I do love Houston as well. Both cities definitely have their good points.

2008 looks to be a very promising year. I am considering whether to start a Master's program. I have several trips planned - I'd like to go to Seattle, Colorado, Ukraine (mission trip with my church), Cozumel for SCUBA diving, Florida to visit my old friends, St. Louis for holidays, and I'd like to explore Austin this year since I've never been. I have 4 more ballets to see this year and I'll probably subscribe to next season too. Houston Ballet Rocks! Other than that, who knows what the year will bring?