Prayer

Life is hard. It seems like every time you turn around you hear constant bad news. Sometimes it's a tragedy, an un expectant divorce, or someone you know thats just down on their luck. Prayer requests in church seem to grow and grow. I always tell people "I'll pray for you!" I really do but do I do it enough? No. I'll always mention it every day that I pray but I feel ashamed that I don't do it more. Is it because my life is so consumed with pointless things that fill my time? It shouldn't but it does. It's my struggle. The TV, radio, internet, are some of the few things that really take over me. Not even all of it is from technology either. Time management is my own enemy. I've always believed and witnessed to the power of prayer but my laziness is getting in the way of praying without ceasing. I need to get in the habit of being still and living a quite life of listening and talking to the Almighty. At the bottom of this post are two people that really need some prayers lifted up right now. I've made it my mission to pray without ceasing for these two people. I don't know one of them but her story just broke my heart and I cannot stop thinking about her and her family. The second one I know fairly well but I just haven't gotten a chance to meet her yet.

If you are a prayer warrior, please please send some request up to the Big Man!

http://lesliejoyevans.blogspot.com/

http://www.emmajanae.blogspot.com/

Danny and Annie

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

My Granddaddy

This is my Granddaddy, and he passed away last Wednesday. I miss him so much already! It's been an exhausting couple of weeks. About 3 weeks ago he got pneumonia and my Grandmother took him to the hospital in Altus. Well about immediately overnight he took a turn for the worst and by 7 am they decided to air flight him up to Baptist Hospital. That was on a Friday, and by Saturday they had put a tube down into his lungs to basically do all the breathing. His infection was pretty bad and the doctor said their was a 40% chance that he would die. On that Friday he also said that even when they put the right amount of medicine in him, he'll get worse the next two days before he could get better. He was in the hospital for 14 days in ICU. It was an extreme roller coaster ride for the family. One day it would be really good news and immediately the next it would be really bad news. I saw around 4 other people die in Icu. There is about 17 of us so we would dominate a whole waiting room but sometimes other families would share a room with us and we would share the updates on each of our loved ones. One family's dad was dying from liver cancer. They were all there just to be by his side before he went. If you know my Grandmother than it's safe to say that she can be compared to Mrs. Clause. She's just so light hearted and always is laughing. There were several older black ladies whose father was in ICU who became my Grandmothers guardian angel. During the last couple of days when we knew he wouldn't make it they would just give my Grandmother the biggest pep talks and would just sooth her soul. About 3 days before he died, the doctor decided to put him in a rotoprone bed.
This crazy looking machine slowly rotates you around so your infection can move around and not settle. Apparently the fluid in your lungs can harden like cement if you don't keep moving. That Sunday we were so excited that maybe there was a chance. We also knew it was a last resort but surly God had sent us an answer, a hope! My parents only live about 45 minutes away so my poor dad would get up every morning and get my grandmother over to the hospital when ICU opened. It's cool because when you have a loved one in ICU you can call all hours of the night/ day and just give the nurse a password and she'll tell you how he's doing. Also being in the hospital for days and days will emotionally drain you, even just sitting there! Anyhoo, everyone decided to sleep in on Monday and get some rest and get caught up on work. My grandmother called over about 3 times to check in on him and every time he was doing fine. That day was my parents 30th anniversary so my brother and I were going to stay at the hospital with my grandmother while my parents went out on a date. I knew my parents were on their way to the hospital about 5ish so I decided to go on up there. I went into ICU and he was still on the rotoprone bed. While in the bed he is knocked out and has a paralytic so he has no idea we are there. Our favorite nurse came up to me and asked me if I had talked to my grandmother that day. I said yes, about 3 times actually. I knew their was something wrong by the tone in her voice. She then said, we'll actually he's getting worse." What?! I thought this was suppose to help him? She said I know, but his vitals are bad and both lungs are about full now. There is nothing we can do. About that time I ran out of ICU and saw my brother getting off the elevator. I checked my phone and already had two missed calls from my parents so I knew that they already knew. I found the family and everyone was in tears. It's hard seeing your dad so sad. They decided to keep him in the bed until Tuesday morning. They asked us if we wanted him to be moved off the bed and back in his normal bed. We all said yes, but knew that their was a huge chance he wouldn't make it from the move. Everytime he was on his back his oxygen would shoot down below the 70's. Apparently that is a really bad number. The last day on the rotoprone bed they were only able to keep him on his side basically because it got so bad. The whole family came up, minus my little cousins, and we all waiting in the hall outside of ICU. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life. Sure enough when they moved him his vitals were actually better than on the rotoprone bed and he was doing good! Praise God! We all knew he was going to go but I think God was giving us some more time with him. All day Tuesday we hung up there just being with him. It's funny because in ICU they have strict rules. Only 2 people at a time in a room and there were specific hours during the day and night that nobody could be in there. Those last couple of days the nurses let our family do whatever we wanted. They even put more chairs in his room for us as well! Usually they make the family go home at 10:30 when Icu closes for the night so the family can get some sleep, but they let my grandmother stay up there with him. They rolled in a nice recliner chair and she put it right next to his bed and held his hand all night long. She said about 3 in the morning the nurse came in to do some things and my grandmother saw a tear run down his cheek. She figured it was just probably something from his eye since he's had so many bad eye problems but it still broke her heart. She knew she couldn't keep him here and suffering any more. Wednesday morning my brother and dad got up there because we all figured he might hang on for another day at least since he's such a fighter. They decided to get him off his blood pressure medicine and they lowered his oxygen so he could go on his own. About 9:45 Wednesday, August the 4th he passed away. My dad said he went very peacefully and that's what we had been praying for! I got the call and rushed up there to meet my dad, brother, and grandmother in the waiting room. The nurses cleaned him up and then said we could go back in. I don't know what I was thinking but the second I walking in the room he looked like a completely different person. It was almost haunting. I didn't realize how quickly you loose your color right after you die. It was so hard for me to see that. It wasn't until I saw him in the casket looking much more like himself that I got some peace about it all. We stayed up there for a couple hours until the whole family arrived. We decided on the funeral date and then everyone packed up to head down to Tipton. We decided to get there late so nobody could try to come over and visit. By Thursday and Friday tons of people had come by and the phone rang off the hook. It was exhausting! I know people want to show their love and support, but wait and visit after the funeral when the person's family has left and they are lonely. My grandmother kept putting on her happy, jolly front but I knew she would soon wear down. The funeral was beautiful and I felt so honored to have been his granddaughter. We all stayed until Sunday night and my aunt has been with her this whole week. We will be heading down there a lot for these next couple of months to be with her. When I woke up on Monday it really hit me that he was gone. I can go on with my daily routines but when I have down time or I am not distracted I'll just feel the heart break inside of me and get this pain in my stomach. I can't even imagine what my aunts and dad are going through, much less my grandmother! Death is a hard thing to understand but it really gives me comfort knowing where he is and that we will all see him soon!

It's Here

Yep, I have finally entered in the wonderful world called adulthood.

1. I just got a Sam's Club membership.

2. The only magazines that I am interested in are Better Homes & Garden, and Real Simple.

3. I am paying for majority of my bills (minus the car insurance-thanks Dad).

4. I spend more time shopping for flowers and plants than clothing or even groceries!

5. I've finally accepted that I can't see my best friends on a daily basis. Also that now we have to set a date and time to see each other unlike the good 'ol days where we could just always drop in or do things spur of the moment.

6. I get excited when my house is clean.

7. I love to wake up early enough to brew me a cup of joe and watch The Today Show.

8. I have hard core puppy fever. You know how women have this with wanting a baby but I'm this way with wanting a dog!

9. I'm in to couponing (is that even a word) and saving money.

10. Ending the day with a good home cooked meal and watching the news.

Wow, I sound pretty boring! Hopefully before I have children I can redeem myself by visiting cool places and having interesting hobbies. I guess I better start saving! What's your best advice for a post college age kid like me?

Chance to Win a Silhouette

Have you ever heard of a Cricket machine? Well a Silhouette looks a lot less complicated and simple! Enter here for a chance to win one!!!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This may come as a shock to you (not really) but I'm a loyal Disney World fan. When I lived there I never once went to Universal Studios. Also, to clear things up, Universal Studios is NOT a part of Walt Disney World. Anyhoo, I knew it would be fun but why spend 70 bucks when you could go to Disney World for free. When we had a day off, my friends and I would pile up in the car and drive as far away from Orlando as we could and get to the beach for some r&r. One month we went about every week. I've just never had the urge or desire to go to Universal, until now. I'm not a die hard Harry Potter Fan but I really do want to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It looks incredible! Disney has some competition for sure but I'm hoping the new Fantasyland will be just as amazing here in a couple years. This article was really interesting reading about what it was like opening day of the Wizarding World.

The Day I've Been Waiting For!!

Ok, so this is when my true nerd comes out, but I am extremely excited about Toy Story 3 coming out tonight! Yes, I will be that Pixar/Disney freak standing in line at midnight to see it. 2 years ago we were at Disney World in the Art of Animation Studio and came across this poster.
I am a huge fan of the Toy Story movies so I got giddy when I saw this! So here it is, the night I've been waiting for since 2009! What are your top 3 Pixar movies?

Pass on this video PLEASE!!!!!!

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would post this video of why bottled water is soooo bad for our environment!!! Please do some good today and pass along this video!!

Update

Still studying for my NASM personal training certification. Not going to lie its been brutal!! I kick myself for not listening more in all of my science classes during school. It's probably one of the hardest tests in the industry. I really didn't believe it all until two weekends ago I attended a NASM workshop in Houston for a couple of days. Let me tell you it was worth every bit of my 250 bucks!! It was INCREDIBLE!! For all you people out there studying for your test you MUST go attend the workshop! There was so much hands on and actually learning everything from the book in practical application made so much more sense. It was amazing because since the workshop I've really understood the book so much more and am feeling more and more confident in what I'm learning.

Other news...my lease with my 3 roommates is almost up. I feel bittersweet about it all. I'm for sure going to miss certain things about this house! It's been good to me.

Just bought tickets to Cats the musical. This will be my third time to see it. Ridiculous I know but I cannot help it. It was my first Broadway to see when I was younger and I got hooked. Although its not the best one it's truly one of my favorite and I couldn't resist buying tickets when I found out they were coming to town.

I want to buy tickets to some concert this summer but not sure on which one to pick and if any at all. We've got Michael Buble in Tulsa, Lady Gaga in OKC, and Tim McGraw with Lady Antebellum at the Zoo. All three completely different genres and so I'm scared to have to make a decision. What if I regret it or wish that I had bought tickets to a different concert? I wish someone would make this decision for me!

I miss Disney World. Yes I'm 5 I know.

Lost was wonderful tonight. Tonight was a turning point in the show for me and I feel like I see it in a whole different light now.

What's this craze with the whole coupon thing? I've always watched my parents cut coupons from the Sunday paper growing up but I didn't realize people still did it. I need to learn the secret because I see all these ladies that bought all this wonderful brand named food and only paid like 6 bucks for everything. Someone show me your ways??!?!?!

I went to the Asian market today with Jonathan to get Japanese rice to make our yummy curry and about gagged to death by the horrid smell of fish! It paid off because I bought 6 lbs of edemame and other delicious Asian snacks! I still need to go shower because I feel like I still smell like seafood.

Last night I was on Hulu and decided to watch the new Jamie Oliver Food Revolution. My ultimate career goal in life is to work with obese children by either opening a fitness center for only children or implementing an after school type program in school systems. Either way this show was up my alley! There is a sneak peak episode on Hulu and I highly recommend everyone watching. It's a very eye opening experience. The season officially kicks off this Friday at 7 on ABC. Please watch this and get educated so we can stop this epidemic!

My New Favorite Show

So I've always been a big TV watcher in general but only recently have I started to get into several different shows that are a must see. The Biggest Loser, Lost, and Modern Family. Actually Modern Family and Lost are my absolute favorite but both are in different genres so I can have two number 1 favorites(side note: Arrested Development is my favorite but its not on the air anymore)! If you have not watched Modern Family yet then you MUST!! It's still only on season 1 so you could catch up quickly on Hulu. I personally think it's more funny than The Office. Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm kind of tired of The Office but Modern Family is hilarious!! I am doing you a favor trust me and go watch it!

Olympics 2010

I am seriously extremely sad that the Olympics are over! I am a HUGE Olympic fan of both summer and winter Olympics. Growing up I always acted like I was going to become an Olympic skater or gymnast and would go practice on my trampoline or "skate" in the kitchen in my socks. Every time I see the American's get a medal or watch the opening and closing ceremonies I just get so much pride to be an American! Culturally I just like to learn more about other countries and the roots of those athletes. I am a bit embarrassed to admit how little I knew about Canada. I had this weird mental idea that Canada was this huge country with very few people in it except maybe for those in the big coastal cities. Boy have I learned! It's been so great to learn more about our northern neighbors and watch them finally win some gold medals. Out of all the events this winter my favorite was the freestyle skiing-ladies moguls. Watching all of the special interest stories during the Olympics of different athletes made me pull for them even harder so I got excited when they would place or do good!I felt like these Olympics were pretty emotional at times. Every time I had them on it seemed like I would tear up at something. Even though I am not Canadian when I would hear all of the Canadians sing their national anthem I couldn't help but get goosebumps. Overall this was a great and memorable winter Olympics and I will miss it dearly!
This is my favorite Olympic Athlete!
Hannah Kearney-Ladies Moguls

Happy Birthday J !!!!!

Well I think this is my first blog shout out but I just want to say Happy Birthday Jonathan!!! You are so wonderful and I'm blessed to have you in my life!!!

The Mystery of Answered Prayer

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among men, most richly blessed.

*At the end of the civil war, this prayer was found folded in the pocket of a confederate soldier.