The Invasion of the Swine Flu!

We came as the swine flu today at work and surprised my boss!

Here are the pink piggies!

Rosemary and I came in retro! She's a hippie and I'm wearing my Aunt Anne's dress from 1976!


Happy Halloween!

Shake Your Groove Thing!

Today was a busy and stressful day for us, so it was fun to go to our church's Trunk or Treat! We had a 70's theme with our friends and danced to great 70's music!

Here's my whole groovy outfit!

If you didn't figure it out, they are from the Village People! Wes is the biker, Jason the cowboy, and Taylor the construction worker. What macho men!

Groovy girls! Tiffany, me, and Rachel!

Our friend's 3 year old son Cole loved dancing with us! Shake your booty!

Restful Weekend!

This Saturday was the first time we've been home at night in 3 weeks! Though we loved the things we've done the past few weekends, it was nice to just be home! In the afternoon, we went to a BBQ for one of Jason's co workers who just got married, so we did get outside a bit!

Friday, we watched "Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past" with our life group. It actually had a good point of realizing the ways you are self protective and pushing others away first so that they don't hurt you. But, when you do that, you miss out on experiencing true love since you never let anyone get close to you.

Today, Jason went fishing with his dad and Lee, while I worked in nursery and then helped make chili for our church's soup kitchen next week. We had dinner with my friends from college, Bill and Carrie, as they were on their way back home and had to come through Hickory. It was great to see them!

Work was draining for me this week, especially since a big group of mine decided to change carriers at the last minute, meaning they won't have their ID cards by the 1st. It creates much unnecessary stress for me. Jason had a pretty easy work week, no major disasters yet! Hopefully, it will stay that way!

Wii Fun!

While I babysat at St Lukes on Tuesday night, Jason went and bought a Wii. He's been talking about if for some time. I tried to get him one last Christmas, but he said no. He wanted to wait until the cost went down. I have to admit, it is really neat! Jason wore himself out boxing on Thursday, but he won every round!







We were suppose to go camping this weekend with some friends from our TNT bible study, but due to the cold and wet weather, we cancelled. We were a bit disappointed, but it was probably the best thing. It would have been miserable and no fun.


Instead, we got to go to life group on Friday, to a wedding on Saturday and eat at Cody Creek, and relax on Sunday, finally watching the Panthers win again! It was pretty today, but cold. We should have gone outside for awhile, but we had such a long day yesterday going up to the Mt. Airy area for the wedding and getting back late, we were just tired!


Now, I'm watching Jason play alittle more Wii before we go to bed!

Miracles in Process

"God's greatest miracles happen after the pain of uncertainty and disappointment."

At our wedding, we wrote this at the end of our testimony story, relating the struggles of our lives when we were single to the story of Jarius in Mark 5: 21-43.

Personally, this one is my favorite miracles (other than the resurrection). Here's a bit of history of how I came to relate to this story.

My sophomore year of college, the Intervarsity girls bible study discussed the miracles of Jesus. One of them was the story of the bleeding woman, who touches Jesus' clothes and is instantly healed.

I found myself relating to her. Who hasn't felt like an outcast at some point in their lives?

It also struck me that Jesus tells her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you...." It's the only time Jesus calls a woman "daughter", and I wondered why.

Why not the woman at the well, or Mary? What makes this unnamed outcast, who doesn't even have the confidence to ask Jesus directly to heal her, special?

I prayed over this for a few months...I couldn't figure it out! One day, God revealed it to me: Her identity completely changed with her healing.

She had been bleeding for 12 years, which made her unclean, which made her unable to be around anyone. No one smiled at her, no one was her best friend; she was completely alone.

Jesus couldn't let her just go unnoticed anymore.

For social reasons, people needed to know she was different now, and I think Jesus had to acknowledge her need for emotional healing too: she needed to know she was important.

She was no longer the same as before. She went from an outcast to a daughter in less than a second! It's just like when we come to know Christ!

For the longest time, I focused on the bleeding woman. Then, one day I read it again and saw a new story: Jarius.

There's a completely different point of view seeing the story from Jarius' side.

This man is a synagogue ruler and his kid is really sick, enough for him to come to Jesus and beg him to go to his house to heal his daughter. Jesus agrees.

As they walk with this huge crowd around them, all of a sudden Jesus starts asking who touched him. It's a silly enough question that the disciples state the obvious: Jesus, you're in a crowd. There's a bunch of people touching you.

Then, this woman comes, and tells that she touched Jesus' clothes and was healed instantly.

I wonder what Jarius was thinking as he watched this conversation happening: He asked Jesus first. Doesn't Jesus know his daughter is dying? Why did Jesus stop to talk to this woman?

As Jesus finishes his conversation, Jarius' friends tell him his daughter has died. "Why bother the teacher anymore?" they say.

Jarius has to feel heartbroken. He probably asked every doctor for help and Jesus was his last chance. Now, it's gone and he'll have to face his wife and his friends with this disappointment. I wonder if he also felt a bit forgotten.

But Jesus says something that I'm sure was confusing for Jarius to hear, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." And they continue towards Jarius' house.

There, they see a bunch of people mourning, which had to make Jarius feel even worse. He sees his wife, I'm sure her eyes puffy from crying.

Jesus then goes in the house, to the room where the girl is laying, along with her parents, and James, John, and Peter. He tells her to get up and she does! Jesus raises her from the dead! I think this is the first time Jesus ever raises someone from the dead. The other times are a when he raises a man from the dead during his own funeral procession, Lazarus, and himself.

I think many times in our lives we feel like Jarius as he walks back to his house: surrounded by uncertainty, feeling disappointed, and not quite sure what Jesus is going to do.

It would have been easier if Jesus had just told him, "Don't worry! I'm going to raise your daughter from the dead!"

But, Jesus doesn't work that way. He just says, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." And he ends up doing an amazing miracle!

What I like the most is that Jesus is with Jarius during the time he felt the uncertainty of not knowing what was going to happen. Jesus doesn't leave him. I'd like to think Jarius was somewhat comforted by Jesus' presence in the midst of the hurt. I know I am!

So, great miracles do follow great pain. Would we really appreciate it if a miracle just happened instantly?

(Note: Keep your eyes and heart open. There are miracles in process all around you!)
written 10-17-09

"In the Tunnel"

This week has been rough, but thankfully things have gotten better as the week progressed. I took the medicine for the miscarriage Sunday when we got home from the concert, so that was unpleasant for me. Monday was better (Jason was nice enough to stay home with me because I was nervous of how the medicine would make me feel.) Tuesday, I actually felt fine, but when I went to the doctor, the ultrasound showed some of the sacks were still there.

So, I had to take another round of medicine. Friday, I went back and the midwife was 99% sure I was done. They did some bloodwork to make sure the hormones were down, but I haven't gotten a call yet, so I hope that no news is good news. Wednesday, we did nursery and I did get to work Thursday and Friday, so that was nice!

Friday, we had life group at our house, talking about the move of Jacob and his family to Egypt with Joseph. I did find it interesting that near the end of Jacob's life, he blesses Joseph's sons, but puts the most important blessing on the younger son instead of the older son. Seems to be a theme of Genesis....

Saturday, Linda, Gary, Lee, Will, Mandy, and Aida came up so we could celebrate Linda's birthday. We ate lunch at the Tap Room and went to Octoberfest. Aida rode a few of the rides, which was cute! Then, we headed up to Blowing Rock to eat at Woodlawns and Kilwins for ice cream.

Today, we worked in nursery and I actually was with the babies for awhile. I felt fine about it and enjoyed it. I don't want our miscarriage to affect us to where it's too painful to be around kids, because we enjoy being around them so much.

Tonight we had a dinner party at TNT where we all brought an ingredient for soup and dessert (but could not say what we were bringing). Then, we decided on what to make: minestrone soup and chocolate chip/peanut cookies (which Jason did).

So, this week starts off as normal as it can. I do feel a sort of "loss of innocence" from the miscarriage: that things will never be the same again. I do have my down moments about it (Saturday, I felt a bit depressed, but today was better).

Right now, Jason and I are "in the tunnel", not quite far enough to say we see "light at the end of the tunnel." One of my own phrases that we used in our wedding story has circled back to comfort and convict me: "God's greatest miracles happen after the pain of uncertainty and disappointment." We don't know right now what that miracle will be, but we will wait for it, as God is faithful and good.

U2 concert!

Jason and I were very thankful that despite the sad news that our pregnancy showed no embryo and therefore, I'll have to take medicine today to continue the miscarriage, we were still able to go to the U2 concert in Raleigh that we've been looking forward to since April.

It was completely AWESOME! Videos are below after the pictures.

Here's a picture of us and the set, which is a "spaceship"

Here's some pictures of the band



Bono in his infamous black attire.



The Edge rockin' on his guitar!




I was completely stunned that the third to last song they played is probably my favorite called "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" off the album "Achtung Baby". I don't think it came out as a single since there are so many other good songs on that album (like "One" and "Mysterious Ways") I took a video of the whole song so this is my longest one, but it's worth it!

I had hoped that they would also play "Where the Streets Have No Name". Bono sang the first verse of "Amazing Grace" and then it totally bridged into the lovely melody intro of the song!

My favorite song from "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is "City of Blinding Lights" and I think the effects they did with the screen were the best! Bono and this boy from the audience are running on the 360 degrees circle stage! (to be that kid!)

"Beautiful Day" has a special place for me and Jason since we had the chorus play when we walked into our wedding reception when we were announced.

Another favorite song of mine is "One".

I like to think you could change the chorus to "God works in mysterious ways."

One of the last songs is one of the best: "With or Without You."

Muse was their opening act and I got a video of one of their songs. They were good!

List of songs played: Breathe, Get on Your Boots, Mysterious Ways, Beautiful Day, No Line on the Horizon, Magnificent, Elevation, In A Litttle While, New Year's Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Stuck In A Moment, Unforgettable Fire, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy - Remix, Sunday Bloody Sunday, MLK, Walk On, One, Where The Streets Have No Name, Ultraviolet, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender