The Lady Fair

In Loving Memory

2007-10-04T21:51:00.001-05:00

Calvin Ray Claycomb
November 1, 1928 - September 28, 2007

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'
'Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?'
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
-1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Look What They Give Us In Nursing School.

2007-09-08T20:28:00.000-05:00

Anyone want a shot?

Ok, so we haven't practiced those yet, but we're getting there.

This week we're working on basic patient care return demonstrations. I feel like I'm in CNA class all over again. There's nothing better than laying in bed while a group of people are standing around you, practicing range of motion, turning you, positioning you, "diapering" you, putting you on a bedpan, helping you from the bed to the wheelchair, etc. We have to practice on each other and check each other off. I've gotten to know several of my fellow student nurses very well through this. :o) It's been such a fun week.

I can't wait to do wound care on real people. Dummies' wounds aren't very exciting. I can't wait to do my very first wound debridement. Clinicals start in 2 weeks!
I love nursing school.

I have a job now. I start on Friday. Since my CNA license is for the state of Illinois, I can't work as one here in Kansas. I have to take the exam here first, which I've applied to take. The thing is, I probably won't get it until November because of the long pending process.
By that time, I will have almost completed first semester and can start applying for a Nurse Tech position in a hospital. I don't know if it's really worth applying as a CNA, but I'm doing it anyway. In the meantime I'll be working 1 or 2 days a week(depending on my school load) as a Ward Aid in a nursing/rehab center. I'll pretty much just be doing odd jobs, like filing, stocking nursing supplies, etc. But it's something and much better than working around food in a restaurant or something. Blegh.

Week 3: complete.

Little Faith.

2007-09-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

Well, tomorrow begins week 3 of nursing school.

This week has been a trying week for me. I've had the biggest load of homework and I've been sick. I can't remember the last time I've been that sick. I had a fever 2 nights and my body ached for 3 days. I was on antipyretics(aka tylenol and motrin) and they didn't work. I felt so terrible those 2 nights, I seriously prayed that God would either help me feel better or let me die. Well, He did help me feel better. I went to school each of the following mornings. I just felt tired and achy, but not feverish.
Anyway, that put me behind on my homework and that stressed me out even more. And I missed home and my family and my friends.

But I'm better now. This weekend has been kind of boring. I'm tired of reading and studying. I've been trying to follow Lizzie's instructions and take breaks and make some time for myself so I don't become a psychostudyholic. She said reading my Bible doesn't count, I have to do something else. So I watched Mansfield Park with Grandma on Saturday night. That's one of my favorite movies and Grandma really enjoyed it, too. Yesterday after church, I finished the book I started reading last month. Sad, I know. Today I baked cookies and went out for lunch with my cousin Candace.

Other than that, my life is currently a boring, sad existence consisting mostly of school and homework. I have to say though, I'm looking forward to starting again tomorrow.

Here's a cool story.

I'm on a tight budget. I have some money for future tuition payments, gas to get to and from school and church, and some extra in case of an emergency. Not much for anything else.
I've made some commitments to financially support some ministries. I also have a sponsor child. Well, as time passes and my bank account is getting smaller, and I don't have a job, I was starting to worry. I didn't think I was going to have money to support my ministries.

Then, at church last Sunday, the message happened to be on giving. I was reminded that tithing and giving to support the Church(in the bigger sense-the body of believers) was a spiritual realm. We ask God how much he wants us to give, then we trust him, even if we don't know how we're going to get by. And we're not just giving to give. We don't plant seeds not expecting anything to grow from them. We don't give to God not expecting Him to use it for His glory.

He read this verse, Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it."

Ouch. Of course I felt convicted. I wasn't trusting God to provide for me, much less for these ministries. So I prayed. And started writing checks. It's gut wrenching to write checks and not know where you're going to get the money to pay for everything. Gulp. But I'm not going to worry-I'm trusting God.

Then today I was checking my balance. I was suddenly $500+ richer. What?! Well, apparently, my previous place of employment paid me some vacation hours a couple weeks late. I thought they had given it to me already. Is that cool, or what?

I think God is trying to show me that He's way bigger than I give Him credit for sometimes. He's pretty amazing.

Randomness

2007-08-26T16:06:00.000-05:00

Well, I've done it. I've officially completed my first week of nursing school. It's been a great week.

Back in July, I was tagged by Lizzie to make a list random facts about myself. I never really got around to it, being as I thought I didn't have enough time(Ha! Not enough time?! What a joke! Nursing classes really make you appreciate time!). After all, I was charged and found guilty with reckless abandonment.
Anyway, I've been racking my brain trying to think of strange facts about me that not too many people know. So here they finally are.

Strange and Random fact #7: I'm addicted to chapstick. I have to have something on my lips at all times or else I think they're drying up. I can't focus or fall asleep if my lips feel unmoisturized.

Strange and Random fact #6: I like to dress people. As a CNA, it's part of my job to make sure my resident's appearances are nice and tidy. So when that kid walking down the street has his pants hanging down to his knees, boxers unashamedly bared for all to see, I want to go up to him, pull up his pants, tighten his belt, and send him on his way. And when someone's button is undone or their collar is turned, I have to resist the urge to fix it for them.

Strange and Random fact #5: I can hold a conversation with someone over voice mail. One of my friends and I don't actually have to talk to eachother in real time. Sometimes we're both busy, and when one of us is free to talk on the phone, the other one is not. So, we'll leave huge, long, sometimes-in-parts(ok, so she's the one who mostly leaves 3 messages with an ongoing story, not me...)on eachother's voice mail.

Strange and Random fact #4:I'm 21 years old and I sleep with a teddy bear. But it's nice to know that other 20+ yr. olds who do as well.

Strange and Random fact #3:I brush my teeth with hot hot water or else I don't think they're clean.

Strange and Random fact #2: I don't think anything goes better with ice cream than a side of onion rings. Yum.

Strange and Random fact #1: I use an anti-wrinkle cream. One day I was reading this skin typing book that my mom got from the library. You answer the questions and it tells you what type of skin you have and what products to use and how to take care of it. Well, it told me my skin will be wrinkle prone and if I'm young, I should start using an anti-wrinkle cream to help prevent my face from ending up looking like a prune(not exactly in those words...). I'm thinking, what?! But it's true, I went out and bought an anti-wrinkle cream and use it on my eyes. It's actually a great moisturizer. And my friends won't be laughing 30 years from now when I have nice smooth, smooth wrinkle free skin and they're trying to iron out their crow's feet. :oP

Studyholic

2007-08-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

This is me. I'm working on the ridiculous amounts of reading homework that NR 105:Nursing Process 1 entails. That and studying for my first test, which is on Monday. Eeek! Really, though, I'm not too worried about it.

So far, I'm enjoying the class. The instructors are all very nice and great lecturers. They give us frequent breaks to help us get through our 4-41/2 hour classes. I can't wait until clinicals! Those will be fun.

Catheter, anyone?
What! No one wants to volunteer to let me practice on them?! Aw. What party poopers.

I went to my new church's small group on Tuesday, which was great. It's at a coffee house run by a really nice Christian family. Owning it is a great witnessing opportunity for them. The small group time was pretty much all prayer and worship. Amazing. These people are clearly passionate about Christ. It's exciting.

The Saga Continues...

2007-08-16T12:48:00.001-05:00

I don't think Monday can come fast enough. I cannot wait to get started. I've even began my first reading assignment that we need to have read before Tuesday's lecture. Yeah, I'm nuts.
Wednesday night was orientation. It was put on by nursing students, which was really helpful. They told us what to expect, what to focus on, what not to worry about, everything they wished that they knew before they started.

And you should see their labs. Amazing is an understatement. They have these human patient simulators on which you can practice bp's, iv's, catheterizations, pulse and resp, the list goes on. There are rooms set up to look like they're from different units in the hospital, each with their own equipment and human simulator. Unfortunately, we won't be in that lab very often first semester. We'll be learning the basics first. I'm glad I have CNA experience, though. They'll be teaching us patient care skills at first, which I know how to do already.

The instructors seem really nice too. We met two of them on Wednesday, and we'll meet the rest on Monday. They seem very personable and happy to teach.

I'm so excited!

Whew!

2007-08-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

I'm finally done unpacking. It's a strange feeling, though. This room was a guest room where I've stayed many times before. But I always leave and go back to my own home, to my own room. This time, I'm not going home in a week or two, this room is mine for the next two years. It will be an adjustment.

I have a very nice view of the backyard.

I'm loving the closet! I have room for all my clothes. Sweet.

I'm so happy to be finished...

Moving In.

2007-08-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

Moving in = chaos.
Oh, boy...

Saying goodbye.

2007-08-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

My last day at work was a sad day. They had a little party for Katie and I, who are both starting nursing school this semester. I don't have pictures from that, but it was really nice. All of our residents came.

Afterwards, some of my coworkers/friends and I went out to eat. We had a great time together. It's exciting to move on in life, but sad to leave everything and everyone you love.

Bye, Fairview!!

Katie and I love Karen. She's our Assisted Living Team Leader/boss/nurse/second mom/teacher, etc.

Fairview friends.

The Saga of a Nursing Student

2007-07-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

◦The cost of tuition: a TON of $$$

◦The cost of 6 used textbooks: a lot of $$

◦The cost of having to finalize plans: quite a bit of stress

◦The cost of moving to your grandparent's house in a far away state and leaving your friends and family behind: rivers of tears.

◦The thrill of going to nursing school:

Priceless.

Guilty As Charged

2007-06-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

So I've been charged with reckless abandonment against my poor lonesome neglected blog.
It's true.
I'm guilty.
I don't even know if anyone looks at this anymore, except for one or two lone faithful fans(*cough*). So, for their sake, I will update my blog...

...soon.

And the saga continues.

Happy (belated?) Birthday, Ryan!

2007-03-30T09:46:00.000-05:00

Woah. Time Flies when you're having fun.
Here are some (old) pictures from Ryan's 20th birthday.

He can hardly wait to open his presents.

This is becoming a Ryan signature look.

Ryan got a lot of nice presents, but this, of course, is the one that has to go on my blog.

Th 5 of us kids. Look how much we've grown! :oP

"That's my dinner!?"

"Oooh!!!"

We had to keep ourselves amused until we got our table.

Ryan and I danced the rest of the night away at the Willowbrook Ballroom. We love swing dancing!

Liberty Day

2007-03-13T21:40:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from Liberty Day that came so soon. :oP If you want to see pictures of the convention and program parts of the weekend, you can see them at the website, Here. We were sitting kind of far back and with the stage lighting, so mine didn't turn out that great. But here are pictures from my favorite part of the night, the dancing. :o)

Vroom Vroom!!

2007-02-23T11:15:00.000-06:00

The past few weeks have been busy. We checked out the Chicago Auto and Motorcycle shows, both of which were awesome. There were so many amazing things to see. Both shows were loads of fun.

▫ I've started volunteering at the Crisis Pregnancy Center by my house. I just started and it's been great so far. I think it's a really good fit for me. I love working with little kids, old people, and girls around my age. :o) I'm just helping right now until I get the hang of things, but soon I'll be involved with counseling, pregnancy tests, and the different learning programs. I'm really excited. It's a really great ministry.

▫ I'm praying about going on the missions trip to the Philippines and Japan in August. I know if it's God's will for me to go, He'll line it up perfectly with nursing school(if it exists for me by then, that is). If not, there will be other summers.

▫ Pray for me March 10 because that's the day for my TEAS exam for nursing school at JJC. I have an advantage because I've taken it for Butler already so I know what it's like. I have to say that I've never been so excited to take a comprehensive exam before in my life. Yay for the TEAS exam!!!

▫ Last night Heather and I went to see The King and I at Drury Lane. It was great. I loved it.

▫ Tonight begins Liberty Day Weekend. I'm so excited! Stay tuned for Liberty Day pictures!

_________________________________
Funny story:

I was at Circuit City before meeting 2 of my coworkers at TGI Fridays yesterday. I was just looking around at some of the DVDs. This guy who works there was following me around, asking me if I'm finding everything ok every time I move. He walked around my general vicinity, looking over the aisles, trying to look inconspicuous, but he was NOT. Then I really wondered if they had a musicals section because most places do.When I set out to hunt it down, he asked me again so I told him yes, I'm looking to see if there's a musicals section. He said no, they were spread out but he could help me find them. I told him I want Meet Me In St. Louis. He goes and looks it up and says sorry, but they didn't have it. Ok, that's fine. Thanks.
"You know...", he begins. I'm thinking he's about to offer to order it like most places would. But no, instead:
"Would it be a gift for someone or is it for you?"
"It's for myself"
"Ok...because...I actually have it at home, if you want me to make you a copy..."
What?!?! I just looked at him, completely shocked. A circuit city employee is offering to burn me an illegal copy of a DVD that they could order at their store?! What is wrong with this guy? I just told him no, that's ok.
But wait, it gets better. He started trying to make small talk and was asking me all these questions. Then he proceeds to tell me that he has a degree in massage therapy. That's nice. I was ready to check out and of course when I started walking to the counters, he says "I can take you over there!!!" Eeek. I started thinking maybe I should find someone else, but I followed him over to the counter. I bought my things and as I was leaving, do you know what he said?!
"You know...."
(oh no)
"...I have my business card on me if you're interested in a massage!"

First I snorted. I couldn't believe he just said that. Then I burst out laughing. I told him I didn't think so, took my bag, and walked out. I laughed the entire walk out the door, all the way to my car, and the entire drive to TGI Fridays. Then I laughed some more with Katie and Karen when I told them.
What a pervert!!! Yeah, I'm sure he would have just loved that. What kind of service rep offers their customers illegal copies of DVDs and massages! How gross. If I wasn't laughing so hard, I would have vomited all over his counter.

Goodness.
_________________________________

Randy is a little too enthusiatic about driving the ATV. Ahhhh!!!!

Biker Babes.

Look at my sweet ride!

This car was pretty amazing. If only they didn't haul me off when I tried to drive away in it... :oP

Look at how big this truck is! Dan looks inebriated by its grandness.

Rob and Dan go for a ride on the Dodge track.

Getting harnessed up to climb the wall.

Can you believe I almost missed the button?! I lost my balance and my grip when I reached for it and barely made it. How tragic.

What a beauty.

Audis are pretty cool.

Mmmmmm.

Yay for ice cream!

Aaron and I hanging out re-living my adventures at 1 in the morning.

Look at my new 'do.

Something To Chew On

2007-02-05T20:28:00.000-06:00

The pastor of the church we visited on Sunday talked about how so many people put conditions on Jesus. "Ok, God. If you're really there, if you really love me, then prove it and do this (fill in the blank)." Or we put God in a box and let him just become big enough to make him relevant to our lives. But who are we to do that?

If we choose to reject Jesus, or even acknowledge him but not let him reign in our life, we will not just stop looking. We have an ache in our life, in our heart, that we long to fill. So we will look. To people, to things, to even ideals of our own selves. We will search and long and live for those things, but we will never find fulfillment. We will look forever until we look to Jesus. He created that ache in us to draw us to Himself. But we still choose to look away.

It's funny how even as believers, we are constantly straying and looking away from Christ to other things. I know for me, it's a constant battle. I'm always finding myself wanting and trying to control my own life to reach a desired outcome. And every time I find myself disillusioned. God is constantly thwarting my plans. It's like he shines a flashlight on my heart and shows me what's really going on. He reveals to me the insecurity, the fear, the pain, anything in my heart that I hang onto that is only hurting me. And even though it's a constant, painful struggle, he always gives me the strength and courage to give those things up. It's terrifying sometimes, to give up my will, even if its unhealthy for me. I want to hang onto it because it's something tangable, something I can control. It's natural for us to want to control. But when I'm trying to control my own life, I'm not free.

I've learned that the only time that I can be truly happy, completely free to enjoy my life and experience the fullness of God's love and grace to me is when I have given everything that I want up.

I can't lose sight of God's promise of future grace to me(an eternity with Him in heaven) or forget what He has done for me in the past(die for my sins).
I have to remember how he's loved me when I've felt dejected, how he's shown me mercy when I have done the 'unforgivable', how he's given me peace when my life was in chaos, how he's given me strength when I thought I would never make it through. I can't let myself forget those times. That is God's proven love and faithfulness to me. He has never let me down and he promises to continue to be faithful in the future, right up until the day that He comes again.

That's the only time when you can truly be free. When you surrender your desires to him. Yes, it's terrifying. But at the same time it's exciting just knowing that God loves me and He's in control.

Yes, I know all this, but sometimes it's good to hear it again and it's especially helpful to hear it in a new, fresh sort of way.

"Yet I call this to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
-Lamentations 3:21-23

Baby It's Cold Outside!!

2007-02-04T23:39:00.000-06:00

While most people go to Super Bowl parties, I go to Anti-Super Bowl Parties. They're great fun. They mostly consist of Aaron, Heather, and I kicking Rob's, Dan's, and Randy's butts in the computer game 'Call of Duty'. Yes, it's very tragic for them(we're crying a river for you guys!), but hey, what can I say? We can't help being good. And I'm sorry the Bears lost. Even though I didn't watch the game, I did wear my Bears scarf.

With the weather taunting us with subzero temperatures, we've been doing our best to keep warm. Kara has played a major role in keeping us toasty by making sure we're keeping up with a healthy tea intake. A nice hot cup of tea is not only good for you, but it also warms you up. Except what she serves are more like tea shots...

Today Ryan and I visited a church in Chicago. It was so great to see something a little different. It was very very culturally diverse and their passion for worship was amazing. I loved it.
It was also fun to walk around in the ridiculously cold weather. And I haven't ridden on the CTA since I was little. It was interesting to say the least. I felt pretty dumb trying to stick my card in the little feeder. For the life of me, I could *not* get that thing in. How hard can it be to stick a stupid card in the slot?! Apparently I have not been fortunate to have been blessed with that skill. "No, it has to go in the other way. No, flip it over...yea-no! Wrong way! Upside down, hun!!" Oh, boy...

Gerilyn, Ryan, and I on the bus.

On the way home. There was hardly any traffic. It was football time!

Baby, it's cold outside!!!

My Life As We Know It

2007-01-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am still alive. I haven't dropped off the face of the planet, I've just found better things to do with my time. So for my avid(ok, so they may be few, but at least they're avid!!) readers, I shall post an update.

**I got a digital camera for Christmas. Some people might tell you that was a big mistake. "You mean you actually let Aubrie get a camera?!" Yes, I did. It's beautiful. And it's mine. I have a picture fetish. It was bad enough with my parents camera. Now I have my own. I can whip it out and take pictures any time I want. This also means that when I'm bored, I take it out and snap picture after picture of myself displaying a vast array of looks(and this one's 'magnum'... and this is 'blue steel'...). It's great fun. Lizzie says I have *too* much fun. :oP

**I dyed my hair pink last month. We had a white elephant party and someone brought magenta hair color. Feeling spontaneous, a few girls and I decided to put pink streaks in our hair. So we did. It took a while for me to get used to it, but it really grew on me. I got tons of complements. Everyone either liked it or was lying because only 2 people told me they didn't care for it. Even my residents liked it. Sadly, after a month, it started growing out and I decided to get rid of it. I waited until I got my new drivers license picture taken before I took it out. So when I'm 25, I'll look at it and say one of two things: either "Ahh. Those were the good old days..." or, "What the heck was I thinking!?!?!?!?"
I used a hair color removal kit to take it out. Let's just say...it was an interesting experience. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

**I'm now in One to One Discipleship. The woman I'm taking it with is great. Tonight was our first meeting and I had such a great time. I'm excited to see what I'll learn through it.

**My mom got me a snake for Christmas. Only it's not real. It's a remote controlled one. It's still pretty cool, though. One day I'll get a real Ball Python. I've decided a greek name would be cool. Something like Desma or Thaddeus or Pantheras.

**I'm waiting to hear if I get into nursing school in the Fall or not. Pray that I do. I'm at the point where I'm not thinking or worrying about it, I know that God knows, so I don't have to worry. And I'm ready and willing to go to Kansas if I get in there. I don't know what I would do if I get into both- I'd have to pray about that. Right now, I don't really care where I go, I just want to get it over with and move on with my life.

**Frugal Muse is my new favorite store. I've heard about it(it's a used bookstore) for such a long time and I've never went. I finally went last month. Let me tell you, it's pretty amazing. I went yesterday to see if they have any new DVD's that I like, and I came out with this brand new, still in the box ESV embossed leather Bible, the same exact one I was planning to get in a few weeks at Borders. Only this one was $14. Aaron can tell you how elated I was. Frugal Muse is great.

**I've been working like crazy lately. To the point of getting overtime almost every week. One of my coworkers has been sick(or at least that's what she's telling us...again.) for almost 3 weeks now. And before that, my other coworker was on vacation for 2 weeks. So that means I've been living at work. It's not a terrible thing, I'm just not really used to working really long hours. Like working a 15 hour day, going home at 9, going to bed and starting over again the next morning at 6:30. It kind of wears you out. I'll be happy when she comes back.

I'll update more later...

I love my sister!

This is my snake. He's pretty cool. If you ever want to play with him, just come right on over.

This look is called "Blue Steel".

I call this one "Magnum".

My signature look, "Ferrari".

Like I said. Aubrie + digital camera= a dangerous combination. :o)

Did You Know That Pink Hair Is Cool?

2007-01-22T22:14:00.000-06:00

Well, it is.

Oliver was the lucky winner of the magenta hair dye, but he's no fun. We couldn't talk him into letting us color his hair. So we had fun without him. :oP

Pink hair is way cool.

Happy Birthday, Heather!

2007-01-22T21:46:00.000-06:00

Heather had a costume party for her 24th birthday. It was lots of fun. It's a good excuse to wear your costumes. :o)

Look! Lizzie is now complete with her new dress!

Happy Birthday, Heather!! *sniff* My best friend is getting old... :oP

Look at all the presents!

Maid Meredith.

Ryan was attempting to dress up as Dan, but it didn't quite turn out. He went as a geek instead.

"Heh. Cool costume party. Heh."

How did we know that Elaine would come looking as if she just flew in from Africa?

It looks like the Geek is trying to educate the military men.

What is going on...?

"Where has all the rum gone?"

You should know better than to make friends with a pirate.

An Arabian knight and his lady.

Fixing the hijabs.

Hoops skirts are very fashionable.

Olivia likes to hide in them.

Super soccer woman.

Maid Meredith has such a servant's heart.

You can tell when it's getting late. Everything is suddenly funny.

Definitely time for bed.

A photo documentary of my hair color removal experience.

2007-01-22T21:10:00.000-06:00

I liked my pink hair. It was pretty sweet.

I was very sad to have to say goodbye.

I even cried.

Goodbye, pink hair.

What's with all these warnings? What do you mean it could make all your hair fall out or make your feet turn hairy like a Hobbit's or your lips turn orange?! What kind of stuff is this!

Here it goes.

.
.
.
.
.
Several minutes later:

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!! Oh No!! What happened?!

Look what it did!!! It did *not* take out the pink, it only make the pink lighter and brighter and bleached the roots blonde.

This was not what I had in mind.
.
.
.
Backup plan: Color over it.

Attempt #2.

Much better.

Now it even looks a little red.

So that is the end of my experience.

Lessons learned:
1.Pink hair is cool. 2. It was worth the trouble.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2006-11-23T21:28:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is now over, but the question still remains. What are you thankful for?

God has taught me so much in the past month. He's taught me how to surrender what I want so I can completely yield myself to Him and let Him shape me into the woman He planned for me to be. He showed me that one of his greatest mercies to me, even though it may be severe, was to save me from myself.
One of my favorite songs from The Turning, "Out Of My Hands" says it perfectly:

Everything I held is out of my hands
Everything you bless is not what I’d planned
Not what I’d seen, not what I’d dreamed

And all the things I held
Were dragging my heart so far down
And the things I’d dreamed were nothing,
Nothing as they’d seemed
And then I question you And doubt you as the God I know
But all over again, you saved me from myself

He's teaching me how to give up everything else I put my hope in, so I can hope in the only One who can wholly fulfill my needs and desires. The One who gave it all away so that I can have complete joy, joy that lasts. The One who knows every corner of my heart, because He created it. He loves me and wants all of my heart.

God showed me that even in the midst of pain, if I seek Him, He fills my heart with an unsurpassable, unexplainable joy. He wants me to surrender my will and trust His. He loves me, and I am in love with Him like never before.
And I am truly happy.

My 21 balloons!

The birthday girls.

My birthday party had the coolest decorations, including crepe paper hung randomly without order and hanging man balloons. It was the boys' idea... :o)

I wonder, if you kiss a lizard will he turn into a prince? Maybe a really big prince...?

Grandpa meets ipod.

Ipod must be good. It plays Glenn Miller. Ahhhh...

Mall of America

2006-10-19T15:50:00.000-05:00

Heather and I went to Minnesota last weekend to visit the Mall of America. We had a blast. It was quite an adventure, traveling to a far away place by ourselves, and wandering through the streets of Minneapolis and Bloomington. Mall of America was amazing. Talk about huge. I've never seen so many stores in one place in my life. We had a great time shopping, walking, eating icecream, talking, etc, all the while trying to take pictures of ourselves(that was interesting...) to document our trip. It was all very thrilling. :o)

Sitting in Union Station waiting for our bus.

It's the Megabus!!

The beginning of our adventure.

Icecream at the mall.

Trying on dresses at the mall. This picture has been cropped for the wellbeing of my readers. How scandalous. :oP

Walking 4 miles to the nearest store for cold medicine and snacks.

We were feeling just a little tired on the train ride back home. :o)

A Day At The Faire

2006-08-16T19:50:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a perfect day for a trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire. It was such a blast. Heather and I decided to make costumes at the last minute. It made the weekend a little crazy, but it was worth it. Walking around in costume is so much fun. There were so many interesting shops with everything you can think of. All I can say is that I'm glad I left my debit card in the car. :o)

A Grand Get Together

2006-07-04T18:37:00.000-05:00

For my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, my family went to Ohio to see them. Mom, Nate, and Kara went on Tuesday, Dad, Aaron, and I went Friday after work, and Ryan flew in from Las Vegas on a business trip(What a tough life...another story. :oP) Friday night. A little hectic, but we all got there. Saturday morning, we(my family, including Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Ray) drove down to spend the day in Holmes County's Amish Country. My great Aunt and Uncle met us at the restaurant. Then it was time for shopping. It was so much fun.
We headed home Sunday afternoon, in 2 cars. And surprise, surprise. My car broke down. Again. We got it to an exit and waited 2 hours for the tow truck. It was a good thing it was nice outside. But we made it home safe and sound. What a great weekend!

Ryan comes back from Vegas, and...yeah.

I know you're getting jealous of the hat.

Too cool.

Eating lunch at "Der Dutchman"

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Family picture.

We visited Heini's, the ultimate cheese shop. We went down the rows and sampled every cheese they had. Even all the different kinds of cream cheese fudge. Yum!

Now I've seen everything.

The frosting on the cake. It's pretty comical, really. :o)

Up to no good...

Someone lost a couple of teeth while they were gone.

Biloxi, Mississippi

2006-06-20T12:22:00.000-05:00

We just got back from an amazing trip to Biloxi. We worked with Samaritan's Purse to help rebuild houses destroyed by Katrina back in August '05. After almost 10 months, you wouldn't believe how much damage there still is. Our project during the week was to work on drywalling a house. It was such a great experience. We had an awesome team. It was hot, sweaty, hard work, but it was so worth it. I had such an amazing time there and I got to know my friends better. It was so amazing to see God work that week.

One thing that I found to be overwhelming was sitting outside early in the morning during my personal devotion time. I could see the ocean in front of me and I was surrounded by devastation. It was everywhere you looked. You couldn't escape it no matter where you went. But I was overwhelmed by His presence. God still revealed his sovereignty and love for his people in the midst of it all. And to see the hearts of the people there drawn to the love of Christ was so moving. They might even knowingly reject Jesus, but they can't help but be drawn to his love.

Here's our team. It's 9:30pm Sunday night and we're all packed up and ready to leave for Biloxi.
(top l-r) Keren, Elaine, Heather, Me, Dena, Rob
(bottom l-r) Pastor John, Dan, Randy

This cemetery was amazing.

At the camp packing up for a day's work.

I was loving the power tools.

Out to eat at a highly recommended Catfish restaurant

That was one small closet.

Here we are on our last day in our almost completely drywalled house.
(clockwise from top left: Elaine, Rob, Dan, Me, Pastor John, Dena, Heather, Randy, and Keren)

"Your Hair's As Red As Carrots!"

2006-06-06T20:12:00.000-05:00

My mom likes red hair. Red hair runs in our family, but none of us have it. When us kids were born, she always hoped that one of us would have red hair. Now she's wishing for some redheaded grandchildren.

For as long as I can remember, every time my mom goes to get her hair colored, she tells us she wants to go red and *this* time she's going to do it. She's come home with red highlights, or almost red with some other color highlights, but never *red*. She called me today to tell me that she finally went red, but I had to see it to believe it. Today, she went *red*. Bold red. Hot red. On fire red. I really like it. :o)

Go mom! I love you! *sizzle*

2006-06-06T20:09:00.000-05:00

By the way, see what some lady did to our mailbox with her car a couple weeks ago? And believe me, it doesn't look half as bad as her car did once she was through...

Danny's 22!

2006-05-11T14:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Dan!

Daffodil Glade

2006-04-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

Last weekend my mom's parents and brother visited us from Ohio. While the boys were out with Uncle Ray, my Grandparents, mom, Kara, and I went to the Morton Arboretum to see Daffodil Glade. Maybe 2pm isn't the greatest time of the day to take pictures, but they still turned out ok. Daffodil Glade is my favorite spring spot. It's beautiful. That picture under the Easter post was taken there a couple of years ago.

Dorky Brothers...

2006-04-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

Two of my brothers think they're so cool. On the contrary; they are dorks. Who might these two dorky brothers of mine be? If you guessed Aaron and Nathan, you just happen to be right. How in the world did you guess?!
It was pretty humorous, really. Just don't tell them I said that. This is actually the second time they've done this to me.

I had just come home from work today and I was getting something off my dresser. I was talking on the phone and glanced at one of my pictures. It was then I realized something was very wrong. That face was *not* Dan's...

This is the first one I saw. It's simply hideous. I'm sure you can imagine how traumatizing this was.

Someone looks excited to see me. My personal favorite.

I'm such a cradle robber. Especially of such a young enforcer of the law like this one.

I have such a sweet, angelic face. You might even confuse me with Queen Amidala.

Where, O Death, Is Your Victory?

2006-04-16T13:30:00.001-05:00

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise God that He has given us a Living Hope!
Happy Easter!

The Fearless Adventurers

2006-04-08T18:34:00.000-05:00

After doing my taxes(finally) and eating lunch, Aubrey and I decided to go for a drive and check out the Crossbow hunting place. It's fenced off, but we were going to walk along the fence in the woods and see if we could see any animals. The only animals we saw were fake ones, full of arrow holes. So we decided to explore the woods. This place was huge. It's quite thrilling, walking through the woods without a clue of where you're going. After getting lost(sort of) we found our way back. We went home to grab Ryan, who joined us and took some video clips of our second adventure. It was a good excuse to act like a couple of dorks.

King of the log.

Tree Huggers.

For the videos clips we took, go here.

True Kat

2006-04-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

Nate got a little creative this weekend. The end result? Her name is True Kat.

Sister Bonding

2006-03-28T17:09:00.000-06:00

I really don't like popcorn. Popcorn is not my thing. Kara, on the other hand, loves popcorn. Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices...
:o)

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2006-03-17T16:38:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday(the 11th) Ryan turned 19. How is everyone getting so old? We had at least a good 15 minutes of fun playing with the trick sparkler candles on his cake.
We(Meredith, Heather, Dan, Ryan and I) had fun the night before going iceskating, "experiencing" Coldstone icecream and randomly deciding to see The Pink Panther afterwards. It was a night on the town pre-birthday bash.

Look at him. Pyro wannabe. :oP

Happy belated birthday, Paroikeo.

Fancy At The Farm

2006-02-21T15:30:00.000-06:00

Saturday was Fancy Work day at Kline Creek Farm. We got to wear our fancy farm dresses and sit in the parlour and work on our fancywork and talk. It was unbelievably cold, so we were more than content to sit inside the house all day.

Heather, Katie, Samantha, Laura, and I were the quintessence of elegant, refined young ladies. Except when we started feeling tired after lunch. Then we decided to go outside in almost subzero temperatures and run laps around the house. Ah. How invigorating.

Heather and I are working hard(yeah right) in the parlour.

Would you care for a cup of tea?

The Superbowl

2006-02-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

We spent Superbowl Sunday at the Aldrin's. We had a lot of fun. It started with a couple of Mom firsts.

Mom loves Dan's tarantulas, especially Precious.

She's now hooked on Dance Dance Revolution.

My parents are the new DDR pros.

Believe me, it was very entertaining.

There was some collaborating over the design of Matt's(aka the Cracajac) new cd cover.

Dan, the brilliant artist.

Randy is such a refined eater.

Most of us didn't really watch the game.

"Come on, Heather! The hummus is goooood!"

"Yum yum! Down it goes!!"

"OK, maybe not..."

These taste better.

There was plenty of nerf gunning. Just don't give it to Randy.

One of the very few non-random pictures we took.

Getting comfortable...um, yeah.

Ryan looks funny upside down.

I wouldn't take him any other way. :o)

Happy Birthday!

2006-01-19T16:14:00.000-06:00

Ok, so yeah, this is sort of late. I've sold my life away to work and school.

This past week has been full of birthdays! On January 14th Heather turned 23. By best friend is becoming an old fart. :oP Not really-it's just fun to say that. We went to this awesome reptile store so she could look at leopard geckos. Her sweet brothers were going to buy her one since Stitch decided to elope. It was the most amazing place I've ever seen. My mom is just lucky I didn't bring home a snake. Heather ended up getting her gecko at Petsmart, but it was still fun to visit. After Algernon got settled in his new home, we played Dance Dance Revolution for probably way too long of a time. What can I say? It's addicting. She had ribs for dinner at Outback and Culver's ice cream cake. And she had the best birthday presents a girl can ask for. *coughMr.Pcough* ;o)

Aaron's birthday was yesterday, the 18th. He's getting so old. And big. *sniff* I got to spend the morning and afternoon of his birthday at work. Mom made chicken enchiladas for dinner and then we had cake and Oberweis chocolate chip cookie dough icecream. It only comes in pints, so Aaron got a whole one to himself. Unfortunately, the first one he got didn't have any cookie dough pieces in it. Oops. Then I had to spend the rest of the night getting culturally diversified in my Soc class. At least Aaron had a great day. Especially since I got him Santa boxers as part of his present. :o)

Ready for house-wifely duties.

Heather knows how to put these away.

This turning 16 year old stuff is a piece of cake.

Can you say yum?

My little (big) brother.

Yes Sir, That's My Danny

2006-01-13T10:51:00.000-06:00

Say goodbye to the Big Man and hello to Ambitech. Dan now has his foot in the door. He's Ambitech's newest drafter.

What a handsome guy!

His cube is looking a little empty, but I love that picture on his desk. :oP

Happy New Year

2006-01-03T18:14:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! This weekend we had the Aldrins, Anthony and Lour, Deena, and Randy over for our New Years Eve party. We had great fun.

Mom and Dad.

How come Sugar looks so sweet and innocent whenever the Aldrins are around??? They can have her.

Aaron looks gi-normous.

Playing with knives.

Oh my.

Too cool.

Kara was very entertaining.

That's my Dan.

Mr. and Mrs. Aldrin.

Randy and Kara had several rounds of arm wrestling.

Look at those muscles!

Josh, Jon, and Nate played games all night long.

Kara takes pride in the fact she tells worse jokes than Dad. Yikes.

What a cute threesome.

"Do you know what Heather said--?"

Anthony and Ryan.

Anthony and Lour have got to be the cutest newlyweds I've ever known.

Deena and Lour.

Poker isn't quite as fun as Maui Maui, but it's pretty close.

Getting all sugared up on the sparkling juice.

Ryan is not drunk. He's just a little high on sugar.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-26T21:14:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas. This year it fell upon a Sunday. We had one combined 10:45 service at church, so you can imagine my joy at the thought of sleeping in. Ha. Yeah right. Everyone wanted to get up at 7 to open their presents. Goodbye extra hour and a half of sleep. After a great service, Mom cooked an awesome dinner and we chilled the rest of the day. 104 year old Mr. Bender joined us from Chicago. It was a little nerve wracking for us, but he really enjoyed himself.
Merry belated Christmas!

Let It Snow

2005-12-16T19:08:00.000-06:00

My brother Aaron is a genius. Some may not appreciate his sense of humor, but he's brilliant. He helped Miss Jen with her desk display for the contest at church. With all the snow we've gotten lately, I guess you can say he was a little inspired. Combine Calvin and Hobbes snowmen with Lord of the Rings and what do you get? One awesome, incredible, amazing, like nothing you've ever seen before award winning office display.

Hallelujah!

2005-12-14T21:47:00.000-06:00

Sunday was our second Messiah performance. Most of the people in the choir are from our church choir, and we were accompanied by the Bolingbrook Orchestra. November through December is one of my favorite times of the year, just because we get to sing The Messiah. :o)

Here's Terry, our director/bass soloist. He has to make his debut here just for putting up with all the alto's shenanigans on Monday nights at choir. Hey, without us, choir would just simply have to be boring.

Afterwards was a party at Keren and Nancy's.

Look! We match...in a weird sort of way. :oP

A Night At The Hub

2005-12-04T19:18:00.000-06:00

This weekend, Ryan, Dan, and I headed down to Mokena, IL to see our friend Matt(aka the Cracajac) rap at The Hub Cafe and Skate. It was put on by a ministry and there were several secular and Christian indie bands performing. Arden, Marty, and Ariel(also his backup vocals) were there to act out one of his songs, "Show Me". It's about two suicidal teens asking God to show Himself to them. They all did an amazing job. P.S. Thanks, Ariel, for the pictures. :o)

The Cracajac.

Ariel sings backup.

Here's Arden and Marty acting out the song "Show Me".

Marty plays an angry suicidal teen.

Arden plays a confused and pregnant girl ready to down a bottle of pills.

Freestyling with Deposition.

The view's pretty good from up here.

Arden's about to catch a fly.

We still wouldn't look like twins even if I did cut off all my hair.

These bands are pretty good.

Marty knows how to strike the 'cool' pose.

Say cheese.

"Sisters...sisters!"

Matt must be a pretty funny guy-Marty looks very entertained.

A Very Musical Murder Mystery

2005-11-21T20:57:00.000-06:00

This last weekend was full of "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940". Aaron played Roger Hopewell, a suave British composer. I am in no way biased, but he was my favorite character. ;o) I loved his smooth accent and British air. These are a few of my favorite quotes.

"Now the script will be filled with distilled truths, clean rings, new spark plugs and all those wonderful things Ken does..."

"Do you believe in chemistry?"

"Divoone, simply divoone!"

"I'm not putting a tutu on for anyone!"

Just Cut Loose

2005-11-05T13:26:00.000-06:00

Heather and I went to get our hair cut this morning. It was an interesting experience. We wanted to try someplace new, so we went to Just Cut Loose. You can imagine how nervous we were, letting people we didn't know put scissors to our hair and hack it all off. But everyone was very nice and our haircuts turned out well. There were no tears, just smiles, so it was definately worth the 40 bucks. Just look at our 'before and afters'. :o)

Two very different hair types: flat and big.

Whoa, who are those knock outs? :oP

Ladies and Gents...

2005-11-03T18:18:00.000-06:00

...Welcome to the "Aaron Funny Show" and here is your host, Aaron Ray Criss!!

Yes, there really was an "Aaron Funny Show", believe it or not. And these beautiful pictures are of Aaron while hosting it. Yes, those truly are his lovely Scooby Doo underpants. Thanks to Aunt Rhonda Jo Bradley for sending these.
And Aaron, you can threaten me with all sorts of blackmail, but I have permission. :oP

A Weekend With LOTR

2005-10-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we drove to Indianapolis, IN to see the Lord of The Rings exhibition at the Indiana State Museum. It was amazing. The disappointing part was they didn't let you take any pictures. You'll just have to see it for yourself. But here we are at TGI Fridays. I'll post some more pictures later.

TGI Fridays...er, Saturday(more pictures)

2005-10-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

Dan's trying his hand at stone masonry.

They let me take a few pictures of Aaron and Heather trying on chainmail, as long as I didn't get any of the exhibit. Doesn't Aaron look like he should have been in LOTR?

I think it's Heatherbird under there.

Heather loves her Evenstar.

So serious(but not really).

Dan looks a little excited about the menu...

"On the phooone, Bernice!"

The Great Outdoors

2005-10-16T17:07:00.000-05:00

We(everyone sans Aaron. He's practicing with his cool drama people) went hiking at a forest preserve after church today. Mom wanted to know why she's not on my blog. It's because she doesn't like to get her picture taken. Dad had to have a photo shoot so here we are.

Aw, what cute kids.

Just a couple of crazy college people.

Ooh, la la. No, Nate. Kisses really aren't that bad. Don't worry. You'll change your mind later. ;o)

Oldie But Goodie

2005-10-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

There's Meredith! Do you remember when this was taken 2 summers ago? We were loading Pastor Brad's office with banana colored balloons. I've never seen so many balloons in my life. We managed to fill up his entire office at least waist deep. We even took his extra suit and made Mr. Banana man out of it. The gift wrapped door was a nice touch as well. Then it was off to Krispy Kreme and then to the Schreiners to do some lawn decorating. Our goal? The lamest TP job ever. That and more bananas. What else would a group of cool Sr. Highers(and their youth leaders) do on a Friday night? Ah, what warm fuzzy memories. :o)

The Other Aubs

2005-10-09T20:51:00.000-05:00

I've known her since I was 12. I figured since she drove all the way down here to fix my car radio that was never broken last Sunday(can you say 'duh'), I should let her make her debut on my blog. That and the fact that I've known her for almost 8 years and this is the first picture that I have of both her and I together... Yes, I know. Very lame.

A Few Of My Favorites

2005-10-01T14:49:00.000-05:00

A couple of my favorite people.

Aren't we cute? :o)

"Me? Eat anyone?! But look! I'm so cuddly!"

My Cute Siblings

2005-10-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

Who is that good looking guy?

It's a...tree...uh...swaying in the wind. Aaron was told this is what they do in acting school. Yeah.

Ladies...let's refrain from writing any more love letters.

Someone looks like she's up to no good.

A Story

2005-10-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

Whoa...what a stud...

Look Who It Is...

2005-09-21T15:52:00.000-05:00

We're famous! This is from the John Reuben, The Wedding, Mainstay, Falling up, and...Matt Gaskins concert last Saturday. Poor Ryan got cut out. All we see of him is the shoulder of one of his signature orange shirts.
We rocked with the Cracker Jack! Woo hoo!

A Snake Called Earnest

2005-09-20T18:11:00.000-05:00

This is the baby garter snake my ain true love caught me. We tried to convince my mom it was like a promise ring...only it's a snake. I have a promise ring until I get married. Why can't I have a cute little promise snake until my mom gets me a ball python as a wedding present? It's so very logical. Mom didn't think so...

A Timber-Lee Sunset

2005-09-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

Ryan is a very good photographer.

Lady Fair

2005-09-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

Who's the fairest of them all...?