Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas in Houston

This year, we were unable to visit family for Christmas. It was just the 3 of us. We had a wonderful, blessed holiday & really enjoyed our time together. Here are lots of pictures of our days together. Hope your holidays were as blessed as ours were!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

2009 Christmas Letter & Pictures

We hope that 2009 has been a blessed year for yall. 2009 has been a year of surprises & adventures for us.

Russell & C.C. completed their Master of Divinity degrees at Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas, in August. Graduation was December 12, but they were unable to attend because of finances & the long distance that would have had to be traveled.

C.C. was to have done her Clinical Pastoral Education residency in Lubbock, Texas, after graduation, but a last minute change at the hospital there really threw things up into the air. After a mad search to find another hospital that still had an opening, C.C. applied for, was accepted at, & began her residency as a hospital chaplain at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas. She works around 60-70 hours a week both at St. Luke’s as well as at Texas Children’s Hospital. Although the long hours have been a huge adjustment, she honestly loves her job & ministry. The quote that says, “Find a job you love & you'll never work a day in your life” is definitely true for her.

The move to Houston has been a difficult one for Russell. We never imagined that the job market in Houston would be as bad as it is. After a sixteen week search for a job, Russell was finally hired by St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Sugar Land, Texas, to work in their food service area. He still intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Theology in order to teach at the college or seminary level in the future. Current schools of interest are in Texas and Colorado. In the mean time, he is praying about doing a year of Clinical Pastoral Education.

Damaris Mikaelia turned 10 this year. Do we honestly have a daughter in the double digits? It seems like just yesterday when she was born! Damaris is doing well in the 5th grade at Dulles Elementary School. Her favorite subject by far is music. She auditioned for & was accepted into the 5th grade choir which keeps her very busy. She really enjoyed the Colonial Days study that all 5th graders participate in & was thrilled to participate in the program where they performed colonial dances & songs. We’re including a picture of her dressed in her colonial clothing. She is almost as tall as her Momma & is already trying to “borrow” her shoes!

Unfortunately, finances & our new location (& the distance) will prevent us from being with any family for the Christmas holiday. If you’re ever in the Houston area though, come by and visit us. We’d love to see each and every one of you. We pray that 2010 will bring happiness, joy, grace, & peace to you & your family!
Russell, C.C., & Damaris Almon



Friday, December 18, 2009

Damaris' Colonial Days Celebration

Each year, the 5th graders at Damaris' school have a Colonial Days celebration. They spend several weeks learning about colonial times as well as learning dances from that time period. This is their performance from last Thursday, 12/10. She is wearing a pink dress in the videos.


2009 December 10 - Damaris Colonial Days 1 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.


2009 - Damaris' Colonial Days Celebration 2 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.


2009 - Damaris' Colonial Days Celebration 3 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.



Saturday, December 12, 2009

Graduation!

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My wonderful chaplaincy friends threw me an impromptu graduation yesterday at work since I couldn't attend the actual ceremony.

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Our great friend Toby also went by the Alumni Wall & took this picture to send to us since we couldn't be there to see it ourselves.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

We're Graduating

media-A865AD61.png logsdon2
We have strived for and accomplished
an important goal in our lives
of which we are very proud.
We,
Russell Lane Almon
and
Christie Cherie "C.C." (Wolfe) Almon,
are pleased to announce
our Graduation from
Hardin-Simmons University / Logsdon Seminary
on the twelfth of December
two thousand and nine
with our Master of Divinity degrees.
We would like to thank the faculty,
along with our family and friends
for all the support they have given us.
Sadly, we will be unable to attend the graduation ceremony,
but we will be celebrating with our fellow graduates in spirit.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Lola's 1st Birthday

I thought I had blogged about this a while back, but I must have dreamed it. LOL! Lola turned 1 back in September, but it was a couple of weeks later before she had her party. Here are some pics as well as a couple of videos. The first video is absolutely hysterical as she eats the cake.



2009 - September 28 - Lola's 1st Birthday Party - Part 1 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.



2009 - September 28 - Lola's 1st Birthday Party - Part 2 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Damaris' Choir Performs

Last Thursday, Damaris' choir performed at the 4th grade holiday program along with the 3rd & 4th grade choirs. Here are a couple of pictures as well as a couple of videos.



2009 - November 19 - Damaris' Choir - Part 1 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.



2009 - November 19 - Damaris' Choir - Part 2 from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Bragging on Damaris

Damaris got her test results from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills that she took last month at school. I won't go into the breakdown of all the scores, but here is some overview of it. For reading, she is functioning at a 8.7 grade level. For language, she is functioning at the highest level, 13+ grade level. For math, she is functioning on a 7.0 grade level. Her core total for reading, language, and math is 9.6 grade level. For social studies, she is functioning at a 7.9 grade level. For science, she is functioning at a 8.1 grade level. Her core total means that she scored higher than 98 percent of 5th grade students nationally. The only area they suggest she really needs to work on is math computation. She scored at a 5.2 grade level, but her concepts & estimation & problem solving and data interpretation in the math area were in the 7th & 8th grade level.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Damaris at Fort Bend International Festival & Birthday Shopping

Damaris' choir sang at the Fort Bend International Festival this morning.


2009 - November 7 - Damaris' Choir at Fort Bend International Festival from C.C. Almon on Vimeo.


Afterwards, we took her to spend some of her birthday money. She got a new bedding set (she has decided she doesn't like Hannah Montana anymore), a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of flats, & a new bag for school.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Update on Foot Injury

I was so upset when I got home last night, I didn't even post an update on my foot injury. I saw a specialist yesterday. He determined that I don't have a stress fracture, but instead a very bad case of Peroneal Tendonitis. He put me on steroids for 6 days. Then I will take another prescription to continue decreasing the swelling. I have to keep wearing the walking boot for another month. He also prescribed custom made inserts for my shoes which insurance will not cover. In addition, & this is the part that just about killed me, after 5 minutes with me, he told me that he questioned my ability to be a hospital chaplain since I have to do so much walking. He said this will be an ongoing condition & that I should reconsider my career path. I got back to work & one of my supervisor's asked how the appointment went & I just burst into tears. I have such wonderful work colleagues, one of whom reminded me that we have a disabilities act in this country & even if it means doing visits in a wheelchair or on a motorized scooter, I could still be a hospital chaplain. Anyway, the expense of these inserts is really weighing on me. We are struggling financially because Russ hasn't found a job yet & we've been in for 9.5 weeks. It's not for lack of looking. The job market here is just really bad. You can read more about Russ' thoughts & this process on his blog at http://desperatetheologian.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/urgent-prayer-needed/. Please continue to hold us up in prayers. We see small blessings everyday & we're hanging out, but by a little thread that weakens everyday.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Happy 10th Birthday Damaris!

16061P 10th Birthday
10 Years Ago today, Damaris Mikaelia was born. I cannot believe she is 10 years old today. It seems that just yesterday she was a baby & now she is into the double-digits. :-) Happy Birthday Damaris! I love you princess girl!


Sunday, September 20, 2009

Happy Anniversary!

happy_anniversary_pink_roses_with_raindrops
12 years ago today, I married the love of my life. It seems like just yesterday we were walking down the aisle. We blinked & it's been 12 years. I am so thankful for the blessing you are in my life Russ. I love you! Happy Anniversary!


Saturday, September 19, 2009

My Personality

I took an amazing personality assessment a couple of days ago that tracks your personality across 45 traits. I was so in awe of how well I think it pegged me that I knew I wanted to blog about it. I'm just now getting the chance though.

Here is a visual representation of my top 10 traits:
top10

Here are descriptions of my top 10 traits:

Friendly
You would rather hang out with others than spend time alone, and you'd far rather be doing something with your friends than just sitting around. You're happy in a crowded room, club, stadium, or auditorium. You're not a private person who is ill at ease in a group; you don't view excessive socializing as a waste of time.

Warm
You have a genuine interest in other people. You're a natural host, and are always thinking about how you can increase the happiness of those around you. When friends have problems or are in trouble, you're usually the first person they turn to for aid and comfort. Scoring high on the "warm" trait suggests that you are among those who enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about charitable work, helping others, and making the world a better place. You don't always say exactly what you're thinking; you don't like the idea of causing anyone pain because of your criticism.

Understanding
You are willing to take the time to find out what's going on with other people, especially if they're in distress. You're a good listener, you don't criticize, and you offer unbiased, respectful, honest advice when it's requested. With a high score on the "understanding" trait, it is likely that you are enthusiastic about charitable work, helping others, and making the world a better place. You don't feel the need to impose your standards on others or say things that, even though true, cause pain.

Tender
You are gentle with others, both physically and emotionally. You are careful not to upset people and go out of your way to find the nicest way to say something. You naturally focus on the fact that the world is full of wonderful people, places, and things. More often than not, people with a high score on the "tender" trait enjoy spending time with children, love romantic movies, and are enthusiastic about making the world a better place. You don't think of yourself as tough-minded or gruff, nor do you need to be seen as some kind of objective source of truth and rationality.

Empathetic
You are in touch with your own feelings, which helps put you in touch with the feelings of others. You don't buy the logic that your happiness comes ahead of everyone else's because unless you're happy you're incapable of making anyone else happy.

Conscientious
You feel it's important to work according to a plan and finish every task, to do things correctly and thoroughly. You are not the kind of person who abandons a project before finishing it, or slacks off when you've lost interest.

Passionate
You are in touch with your emotions, and sometimes you react before you think. The good news: you don't tamp down your feelings. The bad news: you sometimes say or do things that you later wish you could take back. You do not live your life on an even keel; you do not go for long periods without experiencing some mood swings.

Sympathetic
You have a knack for knowing what's going on in the hearts and minds of those around you, without their having to tell you explicitly. People tend to turn to you with their problems because they know you care, and that you will likely offer good advice and a helping hand. You do not feel that people with sad stories are just looking for attention, or have brought their problems upon themselves.

Assertive
You behave in a confident and forceful manner, take charge of the situation, raise your hand in class, stand up for what you think is right, and lead others. Among those who have a high score on the "assertive" trait, many have jobs in which they are valued for their organizational skills as well as their talent for supervising others. You are not interested in fading into the woodwork, leaving everything to fate, taking more time than necessary to accomplish a task, or avoiding confrontation.

Outspoken
You like to talk. Luckily, you always have something to say, you tell a good story, and people generally enjoy listening to you. It's no wonder that you're often the center of attention. You don't tend to keep your thoughts to yourself, and you don't feel you're imposing on others when you share your thoughts and opinions with them.

Here is a visual representation of all my traits:
alltraits

Here is a visual representation of my factors:
factors

You can take this amazing assessment at Psych Central. If you take it, let me know so we can compare results.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

First Week is Over

First week went well. It was physically & emotionally exhausting though. So much information in not so many hours. There is so many things we have to learn about how the hospital operates, how to chart our patient visits, how to answer pager calls, how to do on-calls, how to respond if you get more than one pager call at a time, etc., etc. The two hospitals are so large that we're all still trying to figure out our way around. We've done tours of both hospitals, but it will take some time to get it all down. The most difficult for me has been the NICU. It has been a blessing to be able to take time to decompress & debrief when we face those difficulties. There are 5 other residents besides me, 3 men, 2 women. It seems like it will be a good group. We're all getting along well & enjoying getting to know each other as well as the other chaplains & staff in the office. I'm off work until Tuesday (we get 6 holidays a year as well as about 3 weeks of vacation time & about a week of sick time; we can't start using that time off though until after 90 days). I'll have my first official 24 hour on call by myself a week from tomorrow. There is a sleep room with a shower that we can utilize during our on calls. Some days we'll have time to use it & some days we won't. The bus ride isn't bad. It takes me about 10 minutes to walk to & from the transit center to the hospital. The bus ride is about 45 to 50 minutes. I take my ipod on which I've downloaded various audiobooks I download from the library for free to listen too during the ride. Sometimes the bus is not so crowded & I can do some knitting. The hospital let us know this week that they will pay for my bus fare for the entire year which is a blessing. Russ is still looking for a job. He hasn't had much success so far. Please keep praying about this.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Quick Update About My 1st Day

Today went well. It was all orientation stuff (and probably will be the same the rest of the week). There are 5 other residents besides me - 3 men & 2 women. I think it will be a good group. Two former missionaries & three people coming from other careers into chaplaincy. Very neat! A huge praise is that the hospital will be paying all my bus fare for the entire year!!!! Praise God!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Damaris is a 5th Grader!

I've been trying to get these posted for a week now & finally am getting it done today. Damaris had her first day of 5th grade last Monday. Please pray for her as she adjusts to a larger school & a larger class than what she experienced in Abilene. Please pray that God will bring some special friends into her life.
D
D2

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Finally Settling In

We finally have our own internet, it was just installed today (we've been "borrowing" from a neighbor who had an unsecured network, thanks unknown neighbor! but we had to sit in a certain place in the apartment to get it to work & it was just too hard to try to blog, thus my absence from blogging). So I thought I'd take some time to update yall on what's been going on with us.

We're getting settled in here in Houston, actually Stafford if you want to be picky about it.

Damaris started 5th grade yesterday. Pray for her as she adjusts. She's struggling with making friends in this new, larger school. There are 27 kids in her class. She does like her teachers & came home excited today to audition for the 5th grade choir in a few weeks. Russ takes her to school in the mornings & she rides the bus home in the afternoons even though her school is directly across the street from our apartment. They do not have a crossing guard like we thought they would, but the bus picks her up & drops her off within just a few minutes of school being out, so it's not bad at all.

Russ interviewed for a job at Sear's today. They said they would have offered him a job on the spot if he had more open availability to work. The problem is that I have to be on call several times a month & someone needs to be at home with Damaris. Russ did tell them he would have some availability that he could let them know about once I get my monthly schedule. They said they would look at the schedule & get back to him. He's put out several other applications but has gotten no other call backs so far, most likely because of his limited availability. Please pray that god would provide a good job for him that works with the hours he is available.

And me, I start work a week from today. I'll be riding the bus to work. Thought it was going to be pretty expensive (but less expensive than gas & parking), but found out yesterday that it will only cost about $50 a month. Much better! I'll have to spend about 10 minutes more a day on the bus but the monetary savings is so worth it. I'm really excited, yet nervous, to get started at the hospital. It's going to be a very intense year, but I know it will be a great learning experience for me.

As for our apartment, it's finally unpacked. If you follow me on Twitter, you know some about the fiasco. Our apartment was supposed to be ready for us to move in on Friday morning. We got here & signed the lease only to be told the apartment wouldn't be ready until 2pm because they weren't done cleaning the carpet. We came back at 2pm & were told they decided to replace the carpet & would be done in 15 minutes. We got the keys & came up to the apartment to be told that it would be another 3 hours before the carpet was done. We had a limited window of availability for most of the people who were helping us unload. So we ended up unloading onto the 3rd floor landing, did I forget to mention our apartment is on the 3rd floor? what were we thinking????, & then moved everything in once the carpet guys were done. We headed back to get the 2nd load of stuff & it started raining. Not just raining, but a downpour, sheets of rain coming down. Most of our help had to leave. We finally finished around 11pm. It was crazy! Then Uhaul had the audacity to call at 7:30 the next morning asking us to bring the truck back early. Ugh! The apartment complex is cutting about 25% off of our September rent because of the inconvenience they caused. We got most of the unpacking done on Saturday & Sunday (after we slept in super late Sunday morning). Russ & I finished up yesterday morning. It was such a relief to be done.

I'm adjusting my sleep & wake-up schedule to get ready for the super early hours I'll have starting next week. It's been nice though to have free time during the day the last couple of days. I've been doing lots of knitting while listening to an audio book as well as working on scanning some more pictures so I can save them as digital files. It's been fun to look through lots of old pictures.

Well, I've been working on this post for over an hour now because I keep getting distracted watching Ace of Cakes. It's almost time to put Damaris to bed, so I'd better close for now. Please keep us in your prayers, especially the requests mentioned above & for me as I adjust to this new schedule.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Hello Houston!

We made it safely to Houston yesterday afternoon. We unloaded the extremely full Uhaul truck into our sweet friends garage. They are so wonderful to allow the three of us to move into their full household of 6 people while we wait a week for our apartment to be ready. The plan is to reload a Uhaul truck on Friday and move the 2ish miles down the road to our apartment. The real struggle is going to be getting everything up the three, yes 3!, flights of stairs to our apartment. I have to go to deal with some of the human resources stuff for my new job tomorrow morning & then we need to get Damaris enrolled in school tomorrow as well. Russ also plans to start looking for a job in the next couple of days.

One huge change that we're adjusting to is the humidity. We're used to the dry heat, so it's a big deal for us to deal with all this humidity. After we finished unloading the Uhaul yesterday, we were all soaking wet from the sweat which was a new experience. LOL!

Another thing that has kind of cracked me up is looking at the weather radar map on my Weatherbug. We've never lived anywhere where when you bring up the radar map, you see the blue of water on the screen. I hope we can take Damaris to visit the ocean soon.

OK, it's after 10:30pm & we have a busy day tomorrow. Need to get adjusted to a new sleep schedule, but it's hard when you just want to stay up after the kiddos are in bed & catch up with friends. Thanks for the prayers & words of support & encouragement as we continue on this journey. Good night friends!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

I'm Done!

graduationcaps
I am done with my Master of Divinity degree. Wrote my last paper yesterday, submitted it, and I am through! 128 days until graduation! Now to finish packing this house and get ready to move in 8 days and 22 hours!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Our Next Step in the Journey

Update - Just got the phone call in the last few minutes that the situation with our credit report has been cleared up & we are approved to move into the apartment in Houston (Stafford actually). We will load the truck a week from Friday & move on Saturday the 15th. Thanks for your prayers!

Original Post - August 2, 2009 @ 10:51AM
Several people have asked for details about what's going on with us, so I'm writing this as a blog entry, but will most likely also share it via email with those who might not read my blog.

We went to Houston over the last few days. I interviewed at St. Luke's Hospital as was offered a position as a first year chaplain resident for September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010. I will formally accept via a letter tomorrow, but I verbally accepted when they offered me the position.

We did find an apartment that will work for us. It is across the street from Damaris' school & within 2 miles of the park & ride station from which I can ride the Metro bus to & from work. There is a bit of a snag though. Something that should have been removed from our credit report years ago did not get removed by all 3 credit report agencies. We did not find this out until after 5:00 on Friday night. I will be making phone calls first thing in the morning to try to resolve this.

    Please specifically pray that when I make the phone calls in the morning, this negative item will be able to be immediately removed so that we can have a place to live. Otherwise, we are not sure what we will do for a place to live.


The current plan is to load up the moving truck on Friday, August 14th & drive to Houston on Saturday, August 15th.

Thank you for all the prayers, support, & encouragement as we've been struggling through what we needed to do. I appreciate each of you so much!

Encouragement

Many years ago, God gave the following Scripture to Russ & I. We had just lost our first baby, J.T., to miscarriage & we were lost & floundering, hurting, grieving, just needing to feel Him present with us. He gave us Zephaniah 3:17.

For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With His love, He will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Favorite Kid Photo

Can't share just one photo. Gotta share two :-)

This first one is of my niece Lola. She was not so happy when she went out to dinner a few weeks ago. LOL!


This second one is of Damaris. It was taken over 9 years ago, but it still is my very favoritist picture of her.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Favorite Recipe

I must confess that this recipe is not original to me. My dear friend Rebekah gave me this recipe & it has quickly become a favorite in our house. We've even made 2 crockpots of it for our small group & they loved it too. You can adapt it to your family's tastes & leftovers are pretty yummy too!

Crockpot Pizza

Ingredients
1 box Rotini (spiral noodles)
1 pkg Pizza cheese (buy the already shredded, it's easier)
Pizza sauce (I use 2 jars, but my friend uses 3-4 jars - it’s about the equivalent of a normal size jar of spaghetti sauce)
Pepperoni (we use turkey pepperoni or sometimes Canadian bacon instead)
1 lb Ground beef or Italian sausage (we use ground turkey & I've made my portion of it before with Morningstar Meat Crumbles since I'm eating vegetarian now)
Garlic (optional, we don't use it)
Anything else you would normally put on your favorite pizza (onions, black olives, peppers, etc…)

Preparation
Prepare noodles according to pkg instructions. Saute garlic and then brown ground meat.

Layer in crock-pot: sauce (it keeps the noodles from sticking the bottom), noodles, meat, pepperoni (and any other toppings), cheese, sauce, noodles, meat, toppings, cheese, etc… until all ingredients are gone.

Cook for 30 minutes and then switch to warm until you’re ready to eat. If you cook it too long, the sauce will start to stick to the sides.

Monday, July 20, 2009

HUGE Prayer Request

I wanted to post this yesterday, but my blog has been down & I had to move it to a new webhost, so this is my first change to post since then.

Many of you already know this, but for those who don't, please read the text of the email I sent out yesterday below and pray with us.

Monday, July 13, 2009, 3:05pm: I just got a phone call that my chaplaincy residency program may not exist anymore in the next couple of weeks. Not only is the hospital looking at cutting the program, but also cutting the entire staff of chaplains. We have to move out of our house at the university by August 15th & we have nowhere else to go except to the program in Lubbock. Please say a prayer that the hospital will realize that this is a needed department and that all of the current staff will keep their jobs & all of the residents that are planning to start in August will still have a place to come.

Monday, July 20, 2009, 5:39pm: Thank you for all your emails of prayers, support, & encouragement. Still no word for sure from Lubbock. More questions than answers! However, some good news, after getting the call last Monday, I began contacting other programs to see if any had openings for this fall. Found a couple and sent my application to them. Got a call from St. Luke's in Houston earlier this afternoon & I'll be interviewing with them next Friday, July 31st. Please keep praying. There are so many details to deal with no matter what happens. We just want God's will in all this. Thanks again for your prayers & support!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Three Things You Didn't Know About Me

#1 - I was a cheerleader in 9th grade. Hard to believe, I know. Here's picture proof.


#2 - I LOVE spreadsheets. I keep them for all kinds of things - grocery list, checkbook, weekly meal plan, school stuff, a game I play on Facebook, etc., etc. I especially love when they have all kinds of colors on them & look like a rainbow. LOL!

#3 - Despite evidence to the contrary, I haven't always had short hair. While I love, love, love my short hair, about 15 years ago, I did have long hair. Here's picture proof.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Blog Hop: Favorite Photo


This is my current favorite photo. It was just taken last week. This picture is of my princess girl Damaris and my precious niece Lola. Those curls on Lola's head are a new occurrence. Aren't these two girls just adorable? I love them both so much!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

4th of July

We had a cookout with some friends from church last night. Thought I'd share some pictures I took & one video too.




Sunday, June 28, 2009

Talent Show

At church over the last few weeks, the kids have been learning about their talents and gifts. Each parent was asked to share what they believe are their child's gifts. The kids decided to finish off this time of learning by having a talent show. Below are some pictures and a video of Damaris singing. The sweet young lady who has been teaching the kids this past month ended the talent show by giving each of the kids a frame with Saint Theresa's prayer inside (the kids then got to decorate the frames). Here is what the prayer says:
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that
has been given to you....
May you be content knowing you are a child of God....
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.




Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day...


to my husband Russell,


to my dad Gary,


to my brother-in-law J.R.,


and to my father-in-law Turner.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Turning Points

Our friend Scott wrote a very interesting blog entry earlier this week. He's been reading a book called "List Your Self: Listmaking as the Way to Self-Discovery: A Provocative, Probing and Personal Expedition Into Your Mind, Heart, and Soul”. The list he shared in his blog entry is the biggest turning points in his life. I thought I would make my list to share with yall.

The Biggest Turning Points in My Life


  • 1983 - when I made my decision to become a follower of Christ



  • 1997 - when I married the love of my life, Russell



  • 1998 - when our first child, Jordan Taylor, was born into heaven because of miscarriage



  • 1999 - when our princess girl, Damaris, was born



  • 2001 - when our child, Micah Jayden, was born into heaven because of miscarriage; also the year that I finally finished my Bachelor's degree



  • 2003 - when we had our precious girl, Kerioth, live with us for such a short time, we had planned to adopt her, but things did not work out the way we had planned



  • 2004 - when our child, Noah Avrey, was born into heaven because of miscarriage



  • 2005 - when we realized just how much many Christians truly hate and despise other Christians to the point of telling numerous lies about our family & trying to destroy our family



  • 2007 - when we moved to Abilene for Russ to get his M.Div. degree, I had no desire to return to school, but God has other ideas, it was this year that He called me to chaplaincy as a life vocation



  • 2008 - when I was finally able to forgive someone who had hurt me so badly that the situation almost destroyed me



  • 2009 - when our church family here in Abilene affirmed my call to ministry by ordaining me as a minister; still ahead this year is graduating with my Master of Divinity degree & begin my clinical residency as a hospital chaplain


  • What about you? What are your turning points? If you share, let me know here on my blog so I can come read your list.

    Sunday, June 14, 2009

    Bullet Point Sunday

    Another week come and gone. The days are flying by!

    Almost halfway through our 2nd to last class of our M.Div. degrees. 53 days until we're done with school! And 61 days until moving day!

    Speaking of moving day, Damaris and I spent a lot of time in our storage room this week. We finished cleaning it out and organized the stuff left in there. Goodwill came for pickup number 3 this week. Russ got me an inexpensive scanner & I have started scanning in boxes of old pictures we have. Some of them are truly hilarious. Damaris didn't believe me when I told her who some people in the pics were. LOL! You can take a peek at some of the pics I've scanned it at our Picasa site. I'll be adding more as I have time to scan them.

    I tweaked my shoulder and wrist moving boxes this week. Not all that pleasant when I need to be typing papers and such for school. I've had to take a knitting break because the motion of knitting just aggravates my shoulder and wrist more.

    Damaris was invited to participate in a summer reading camp that starts tomorrow. It's just down the street from where we live so that makes it nice. It's 4 mornings a week for 3 weeks. She's really looking forward to it.

    My poor computer Sookie crashed this week. Spent an entire day reformatting it. UGH! Damaris' also needs to be reformatted but I have to replace the DVD drive on it first. A friend is trying to find me a good price on one so I can get that done. It's a good thing I can deal with most of our computer problems.

    Damaris is nudging me to get some stuff done so I'll end this blog post for now. Have a blessed week yall!