Lazy Day

Still haven't forgotten about blogging. My life has just been too boring to really post much lately. I did homework this morning and talked to Kinz and Bianca most of the evening. Been a pretty good day, all-in-all :)

Updates

This week has been a roller coaster to say the least.

First of all, I want to update you on some of the prayers I was asking for earlier in the week. The Amber and Yazzie situation is in full swing. As it is now public record, I can say that Amber has filed for divorce. They had a custody hearing and the judge decided Amber gets her a week and Jack gets her a week. I won't go into logistics, but for the time being that is how it is going to be. Continue to pray for this situation in whatever way you feel is needed (I know people have different views on divorce). Specifically pray that no matter what happens, Amber and Jack keep their focus on Yazzie and on being the best parents they can be for her.

Secondly, as I was praying for tornado victims and those who are missing, three individuals were brought to my attention...Will Norton (who I mentioned in a previous post), Skyuler Logsdon and Ryan Hamil. Will (18) and Skyuler (15-months) were both victims of the Joplin tornado; Ryan (3) lived in Piedmont, Okla. It is with a heavy heart that I bring the sorrowful news that none of these boys have survived. However, I am saying that it is a blessing they were actually found because now the families can have some sort of peace. Ryan's younger brother Cole (15-months) was also killed in the tornado on Tuesday night. Ryan's pregnant mother and 5-year-old sister are still in the hospital, no word on their condition at this time. So continue to pray for all of these families as they are recovering from the tornado, as well as preparing to bury these boys.

Now some semi-good news. Little Kate McRae I also spoke about started chemo this week. They were afraid that her white blood cell count and her platelet count would not be up enough for her to start chemo this week. HOWEVER, not only were they high enough, but they returned to completely normal! How cool is that? She has only had some minor fatigue and abdominal pain with this round. God is so good! If you want to check out Kate's blog (as written by her mom, Holly), go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate and continue to pray for this family.

Thursday night I went to Fayetteville to see Lauren and we went to The Band Perry concert and froze our butts off because we didn't take jackets with us (yeah, we're smart like that). Words can't express how much I love TBP! This was my second time to see them live and I fell even more in love with them!

Then I got up yesterday morning and got to get my hair cut. I was excited because it's been 5 months since I last had it cut and that kinda disgusts me. I try to go at least every two months because my hair grows so fast.

I went shopping today and got a few new things for my closet. I bought Caiden some Plum Organics baby food to try out, so I'm kinda excited about that. Anyway, that's the gist of my last couple of days. Kinda boring.

Can't Back Down

I'm not giving up on the blogging, it's actually been on my mind since I got up yesterday morning. If you're paying attention, you already know I didn't blog yesterday. It took all I had to get most of my homework done before I left for Fayetteville and I was rushing around all day. By the time I got home, it was around 1:30 and I did more homework until 3:30. I was up at 8:30 this morning to go get my hair cut, then I came home and took a nap. Now I'm doing more homework. Trying to finish for the week so I can clean and write tomorrow. I live the life of a rock star, right? Excuse me while I roll my eyes at that last comment.

Anyway, I can't back down, but when you juggle too much, you occasionally have to drop something for a moment before you pick it back up :)

Whirlwind

Wow...the last 24 hours have been a whirlwind to say the least.

Shortly after posting that last blog, the storms began to fire up in central Oklahoma. Terrorizing Chickasha, Washington, El Reno, Piedmont and many more before the sun even went down. You may have seen video of the tornado tearing that semi truck into shreds. It was crazy.

I had planned on doing homework most of the night, but was quickly captivated by the storm chaser video on my TV. Hours went by and I knew we had nothing to do, but wait. They had been warning us since Sunday that all the elements were there for a tornado of "Tuscaloosa or Joplin magnitude." All I could think of was what would my house look like once it was reduced to a pile of rubble. That's something most of us couldn't even fathom. So finally the storms started moving into our area sometime around 9 or 9:30. We were put under a tornado warning, but things were looking okay, like it was going to go south of us, so I wasn't panicking. Then I noticed on the radar the storm shifted, I might have started to panic at this point. I heard the wind pick up and the rain coming down pretty hard. I went to the living room to tell Gammy to see if our neighbors were going to the cellar and about that time, the sirens in town started to go off and the phone rang. It was our neighbor, frantic and telling us to get up there now. So I grabbed the tote bag I had got together of things we might need, I grabbed Sawyer and started out the door. This time, Da-dad decided to stay home. Great, right? I guess he thinks he's lived on this world long enough and if it's his time to go, he's going to go whether he's in a cellar or our house. So I didn't argue, told him I loved him and took off to the car.

By the time we got to the Baileys (with mom, dad and the kids), it was raining even harder and there were 4 extra adults and 5 extra kids in the cellar than the night before, so needless to say, we were a little crowded. So we waited out the storm and when we got home, the kitchen was flooded and we had no electricity. I got in bed around 1:30, by this time there was no wind, no rain, no thunder, no lightning, nothing. I remember waking up to pull the covers over me, probably after the electricity came back on, but other than that I slept until a little before 10.

That's when Jeannie called to ask me to babysit Caiden. I was tired, but not gonna say no. He's been cranky because he's teething so bad. He did go to the doctor yesterday and he weighs 17.5 pounds. His ears have healed (thank God) and he's perfectly healthy. He does have a cough, but I think it's just allergies, the pediatrician didn't seem to be worried about it.

So that's been my day, I'm absolutely exhausted, but going to do some homework tonight and tomorrow before I leave to go spend the evening with Lauren at The Band Perry concert.

So I gotta go and get some homework done :)

Storms

Well, last night after blogging, I took a shower and was being lazy until it was time to go to bed when the phone rang. It was about 10, so I knew it was urgent. Gam answered it and a few minutes later, she came into my room and said it was our neighbor saying that there was a tornado on the ground in Whitefield (less than 20 miles away) and it was headed our way, so we needed to come to their house to get in their cellar. Her husband is a firefighter, so he has his scanner and dispatch had called for Stigler and Keota to sound their sirens. So it was pouring down rain, I grabbed Sawyer, and me, Gam and Da-dad jumped in the van and went down to Mom and Dad's. We frantically got shoes on the kids and got them in the van. When we got out, I grabbed Lulu from her car seat and took off running with Riley right behind me. The second we stepped into the cellar, Lulu let out a wail and started bawling, when Jaxie got in there, he did the same. Eventually we got them calmed down and they were running amok as much as they could in a small cellar.

I do have to say that our neighbors are brave souls for inviting our family of 8 (plus Sawyer) into their cellar. We ended up spending about an hour up there and didn't get blown away.

More storms are in the forecast for tonight. So pray that if it does get too bad, we will have enough time to make it to our neighbor's house before it hits (it takes us about 15 minutes to get everyone ready, out the door, in the van and up to the neighbor's). We realize our possessions can be replaced, but lives cannot. We are going to try to be a little more prepared tonight because last night, they weren't even talking about the weather on the news. We only knew about it because our neighbor is a firefighter. Anyway, the storms have already started in Western Oklahoma, please pray that they will dematerialize before they have a chance to cause any destruction.

Also, Kinz's cousin, Allie's friend, Will Norton is missing following the Joplin tornado. He was on an ER roster in Joplin and supposedly transferred to another hospital alive. However, no one knows where he is at this point. If you have any leads, please e-mail findwillnorton@gmail.com or call 757-751-WILL (9455).


Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. -Joshua 1:9

Lots of Need

Well today has been far from easy, yet I won't complain because I know many, many people who are worse off than I am. I have spent most of my day talking to God in that informal prayer kind of way. You know...when you have something on your mind all day long and you're constantly asking God to intervene without actually sitting down, bowing your head and praying in that traditional way. Of course I do that too, but if I would have done that every time I talked to God today, nothing would have gotten done.

First of all, Joplin. This town has been literally turned upside down. There's not a whole lot I can do right now, but pray. And I know some will say "the damage has been done, praying isn't going to help." Well, you can believe what you want and I will believe what I want. What I believe is that fervent prayers will help bring peace to those affected...the ones who lost their homes or a loved one. I am also praying for the state of mine of the medical personnel, search and rescue teams and such as they are searching for the missing. They need to be able to do what they do and be on top of their game at a time like this. There are a lot of storms rolling through Oklahoma right now, and have been all day. They're headed for Joplin...when it's raining, search and rescue can continue with their efforts, but when it is lightning, that becomes a hazard and they have to cease their search. So pray that by the time they get to Joplin, the storms weaken. Pray that the numbers of the missing go down without the death toll rising. I know there are many more things we need to pray for, if you can think of anything, post it.

Another thing is a precious little girl I have been introduced to in the last few months. Her name is Kate and she is 7. She has a type of brain cancer and she's been fighting it for over 2 years now, I believe. She's starting chemo tomorrow, so prayers are definitely needed. Her mom posts quite a few more specific prayer requests on their blog...http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

My friend Amber and her daughter, Yazzie need prayers right now. I am not going to post anything more than that, because it's kind of a tense situation and I do not feel comfortable (nor is it my place to say so publicly). Just keep them in your prayers.

Also, my sweet Caiden. They're talking of putting tubes in his ears because he's had so many ear infections. Pray that this changes so he won't have to deal with tubes or ear infections. He goes to the doctor tomorrow and he's been super cranky today, didn't want me to put him down all day. So we are fearing the worst.

I know there is so much more need in the world right now, but I would be here all night if I posted every prayer request. If you have one, don't hesitate to post it. I have enabled anonymous posts, so you don't have to sign up or login to blogspot to comment. Just make sure you leave a name if you post anonymously :)

I'm doing great otherwise, I have no personal prayer requests at the moment, but I do need bedtime to get here ASAP.

On a Roll

Check it out, third day in a row of blogging. Go me!

Jeannie ended up getting home early last night, but we stayed up and talked for awhile since Caiden was still snoozing and got home about 11:40. It was around 2 when I finally got in bed though.

We opted to not go to church this morning because we are usually ready to eat lunch and crash after it's over and we wanted to be alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic (my FCCLA kids know about this one) for Bradford today. So I slept in a little and got ready super early because I was pretty excited, I don't know why. I guess it makes me happy when I get to see General Hospital people (actors or fans). So it was finally time to leave, we got to the expo center a little early and got a good seat. I was excited because it wasn't as packed as the one in Tulsa was that we went to in February. Mama realized before we even left the house that she forgot her earrings. So what does she do? She goes and BUYS a new pair of earrings because heaven forbid she have nakey ears (love you Mama). For those of you who don't know, it was a women's living expo, so there were plenty of places there to buy earrings and just about anything a woman would need. Anyway, she gets the earrings and comes to sit back down. I see that people are starting to line up in the autograph line, so I told Mama that she could stay where we were seated and I would go save us a place in line. So she ends up in the front row taking pictures.

Lots of questions went his way, mostly about GH and such. I asked him about baby names, he said they had some ideas, but nothing picked out for sure. So afterward, Mom came and got in line and we were talking and this lady comes up and says she saw one of my tweets about the event that one of her friends retweeted (people who don't have Twitter, I realize you don't understand this lingo, so disregard it...tell yourself she saw something I said about the event). For those wondering, no, random people coming up to me and saying they saw me on Twitter or Facebook or a message board is no longer weird to me, especially when I'm at things like this. I like meeting new people who are big GH fans like me. She introduced herself (her name's Liz, she's from FtS) and we started talking, she said she's going to FCW with some of the Lante girls (yes, she's a Lante fan, even more of a plus). Long story short, we started following each other on Twitter (okay non-Tweeters, you're just going to have to get used to this lingo because I refer to Twitter A LOT!), so I'm really excited to have someone who lives close to me who is a big fan. That's never happened before, so it's totally awesome.

Anyway, we get up there to meet Bradford. Of course, Mama and I couldn't pass up a trip to Southern Bling to get a bow and onesie for Bradford and Kiera's new little one (in case you didn't know, it's a girl, I wouldn't be buying bows for a boy, I'm not THAT mean). So I gave that to him and warned him it was more of a Kiera thing, but he wanted to open it, so he did and I was surprised at how excited he was. He's going to be such a great dad! So he signed my Port Chuck CD and my book and one of the pre-printed picture the news station has printed up (just because he felt generous, I guess). I told him I was going to FCW and he got all excited about that. Between Bradford and I talking 90-to-nothing, I think Mama got some words in edgewise. She was just excited to be there, she LOVES Bradford. We got a picture and Mama totally makes B and I both look white as ghosts (thanks Mama).

So all-in-all the day was pretty much amazing. Until next time, I'll leave you with a picture of our wonderful day :)


(click the image to make it bigger)

Opposite Awesomeness

So today has been the complete opposite of yesterday. I had to get up and immediately start getting ready to meet my aunt and uncle in Muskogee for lunch to celebrate my aunt's birthday. It was supposed to be a whole family thing, but ended up just being me, Gam and Da-dad going to meet them. So we had lunch and sat and talked for awhile before heading home. Not too bad, right?

Wrong! I got home in enough time to change clothes and let Sawyer out before having to leave to come to Jeannie's to babysit Caiden. He's usually asleep when I get here so I get some down time before I actually have to do any work. Well, today was the day he decided he wanted to see me in the door. He kept me busy for the first two and a half hours I was here. He's getting to that fun stage though so I really didn't mind. And he's so dang cute! He napped about 45 minutes before waking up wanting a bottle. He didn't even finish the bottle before he fell back asleep.

So what am I doing? Nothing, you say? Nope! I'm watching the Thunder game. Couldn't be bored tonight even if I tried! I am exhausted though. I'm hoping Jeannie gets home soon so I can get in bed early.

Look for awesomeness in tomorrow's blog because Mom and I get to see Bradford! Mom's more excited than I am, I think. She loves Bradford!

Oh! Something semi-cool to post in tonight's blog that the Bradford comment reminded me of. Tyler Christopher's (soon-to-be-ex Nikolas on GH) mom lives in the town that Dad is going to work in! And Tyler and Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley from Twilight) were there last weekend for a pow-wow. I'm kinda jealous about that. Yep, my fangirl side is starting to show...sue me.

Oh, and as I was talking to my cousin Nikki this morning, I realized that with Kaitlin studying abroad in Spain this fall, she won't be here for the Taylor Swift concert :( This will be the first time I've gone without her since 2006. It makes me super sad to be going without her.

Okay, I think I've run out if things to say. Back to my basketball game :)

Rainy Days

So here I am, being bored on a Friday evening. All my homework is finished, my friends are busy and I currently have the attention span of a fly (for those keeping score, that's about five seconds). What else is there to do, you ask? Well...I'm currently asking myself the same question. My parents have my car and there is nothing on TV that interests me.

Of course, the obvious answer to the question is...start a blog. And yeah, I'll probably give up in a week or so never post again, but for now, I'm starting a blog!

And now I'm sure you're thinking "well this didn't solve your problem, it took you a total of five minutes to write this blog." Yeah, it did, but now I have to get creative and think of something to post tomorrow and the next day and the day after that and...well, you get the picture.

Maybe I can be interesting enough for you to hang around :)