In need of prayer

Today, immediately after church, I was informed that my best friend up through Jr High School was killed in a car accident. Mallori Whisenhunt Harper was thrown from her car after it flipped on hwy 174 between pell city and odenville. Her 2 young children (bailey-2yrs and harris-3yrs) were in the car with her. Bailey came away with minor cuts after escaping from her seat and crawling into a nearby yard. Harris is currently in the ICU with multiple injuries. Among his injuries are bruised and swollen eyes, a punctured lung, and shattered leg bones.
Mallori was the oldest of 4 kids. Her siblings are Blaine, Andrew, and Abby. She was living at home with them her mom, kim, and her stepdad, kevin, and her two kids. Mallori just turned 22 years old last week.
Praise the Lord that her 2 babies are ok but the whole situation is a mess. There are so many things for which I would covet your prayers.
1. Mallori was in the middle of a divorce and custody battle. For this you could pray that Mallori's mother would receive custody of the children since the children's father's job requires him to be gone weeks at a time.
2. Pray that the custody battle would not get ugly.
3. Pray for rest for the family as they grieve. Grieving is so exhausting but it is so hard to turn your mind off and actually rest.
4. Pray that the family would find strength in God and know that they can make it through this trying time. It definitely will not be of their own strength. Words cannot describe how it feels to look back on the hardest experience of your life and realize that God was and is powerful enough to bring you through it.
5. Pray for peace for the family--that they won't blame themselves for anything and that they will be able to slowly move forward without dwelling on the accident and what they could have done differently.
6. This last request is a little selfish, but pray for me. Pray that God would use me to be a comfort to this family. Also pray that God would grant me peace as this situation brings back a lot of memories from the loss of Rachael and as I mourn the loss of my friend Mallori.
Thank you for your prayers!

Family

The family is still crazy as always. Here's our christmas update:

1. Jordan is senior and is considering attending a local community college, Jefferson state, for 2 years while living at home then transferring to another school after he finishes his core classes.

2. Corey is 13 and taller than me. He is playing soccer and football at Moody Junior High and enjoying attending public school.

3. Katrina is also enjoying attending public school and is struggling to figure out who she is and what she stands for. She will turn 16 in about a week but is grounded for the rest of her high school life, so she may never drive a car until she goes to college.

4. Sarah is 11. She has a heart for children (excluding her siblings of course) and enjoys babysitting. She is taking piano lessons and her teacher recently found her a beginner's piano book of the Jonas Brother's sheet music--which she loves.

5. Annika is 9 years old and very difficult to describe. She definitely dances to the beat of her own drum--literally. The boys her age love her because she is basically one of them. When someone called her a "tomboy" she responded by saying, "I'm not a tomboy! I'm a tomgirl--half boy and half girl."
6. Mom is continuing to work on designing her children's heirloom clothing patterns. She recently had a photo shoot for some of her patterns to be displayed in next year's christmas edition of Sew Beautiful.

7. Dad is keeping busy with work and his large list of things to do at home. We recently added an addition onto the house for a new den. We started this addition before the turn in the economy and were planning on paying for it by cashing stocks. Dad is stressed over finances both with paying for this addition and thinking about all the kids going to college, thus he is thankful that jordan is considering living at home and going to a community college for a few years.

Picture Updates are a lot easier

Me and my buddy, Cathy, with Santa at the Best Buddies Christmas party at the Farmhouse frat house after my last day of class. :)
Sunday through thursday, I was at Lagniappe helping with the RUF blitz build. We built a 4 bedroom house in a matter of days despite the rain, mud, and fog. The dots on the picture above is all the moisture in the air--not rain, just fog.

Thursday I left Lagniappe and returned to Birmingham to attend a couple of wedding showers for my friend Ruth Ann. Here she is at her lingerie shower looking at her underwear mobile.

I also attended a bridesmaid's tea for another one of my friends whose wedding I am in in May but I don't have any pictures yet from that.

Time Saving Tips

I had a long, tiring day yesterday while writing a paper for finals and trying to get things done for Best Buddies and Friends For Life. I also spend a good chunk of time every day listening to messages and returning phone calls. The one thing that made my day yesterday was...are you ready for this?...discovering how to text in the shower!
I'm a genius! Granted, this probably won't save that much time but it is pretty fantastic. I wonder if I could use the same method to return phone calls while in the shower. Ok--that's kinda weird, but I could listen to messages.
All I did was slid my opened flip phone into a plastic baggie, sealed it closed, and viola! You are now ready to text or listen to messages in the shower!

Mmmm

After cleaning out my fridge to leave for Thanksgiving break, the mere contents of my fridge now consist of 2 beers, a bottle of wine, and a bag of carrots. Ahh...the college life. :)

Update in pictures

When your paperwork gets higher than your morning coffee, it is time to quit and carve a pumpkin!

Do you think we look alike?

I had to dress like the 80s for school on Thursday So I continued the theme through my other halloween festivities. Above is me with some Buddies and the Best Buddies halloween party and below I am with my roomies at our party. And yes, those are leopard print tights that I found in the regular section of Target--not the halloween section. Now that's scary!

Police on halloween

Well, it just wouldn't be halloween if something eventful didn't happen. I just finished giving my statement to Auburn Police for our lovely neighbor banging on our door at 3:30 in the morning for about 30 minutes.

At About 3:30, I woke up to someone banging on our door and decided to ignore it since all the roommates were home and I figured someone was probably just too trashed to remember where they lived. A few minutes later someone starts to pound again then walk off. By now, I am just pissed. One of my roommates is up and looks through the peep hole to check to see if anyone is out there but doesn't see anyone. And another one of my roommates is awake because her dog is barking at the little felon.

After a few more times of him pounding on our door and my bedroom wall, a roommate and I decide to call the police. It just doesn't sound like your typical lost drunk. He has been pounding on other people's doors too and he doesn't stick around at all after knocking, just moves on to the next one.

By now, 2 of my 3 roommates are sitting in the kitchen with me waiting for the police to arrive. The police arrived a few minutes before 4 am and apprehended the dude. They spend some time doing drunk tests which are kinda pointless because he is beyond wasted. Then they ask one of my roommates to identify him--she saw him out of our peep hole as he stumbled up to pound on our door the last time. Eventually, they charged him with something (attempted something or other).

The police officer said that people have been knocking on others' doors and if no one answers after a while, they assume that no one is there and kick the door in to rob the place. They think this is what he was doing but said that he had another excuse. Do you want to know what our friendly neighbor's excuse for scaring us half to death was?!... "He wanted to ask one of us out!" Hah! You are guaranteed success with that method mister. I'm shocked you're still single.

And after all of this, my roommate Ann is still out like a rock! She hasn't budged through the pounding on the door, the dog barking, police coming in to take my statement, or the 3 of us sitting in our living room talking. It must be nice to be a heavy sleeper.
Now that it is 5:30 am, I'm going to sleep--praising the Lord that we are all still alive and that tomorrow is Saturday. :)

Peace and Joy

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverence; perseverence, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5


I am constantly guilty of focusing on all of the things that are going wrong in my life or obstacles that I am faced with. It is so easy to forget that I have been shown grace and that I am forgiven. I do not have to earn grace, it has been GIVEN to me. It was not free by any means, but God sacrificed his only Son to give me grace. I can't imagine what they would be like! To watch your son be beaten and spit upon. Despised and rejected. And all this for people who were created in his image to worship him but then doubted and are constantly sinning against him and looking for satisfaction in everything but God. For me!

Thank you God for reminding me of the greatness of my sins and of your grace!

Blagh!

I feel like every time I open my mouth to speak that I am throwing up words. I have so much on my mind and feel like sometimes nothing comes out (dry heaves) and sometimes everything comes out (you-know-what).
Things I am thinking about:
1. Which Buddies to mail another application.
2. Email college students to pair them with a Buddy.
3. Get paperwork from everyone so I can mail it to regionals
4. Call everyone back that left me a message today
5. Email everyone who emailed me today
6. Fill out and mail my adsentee ballot application
7. Mute the debate!--I can't take all this politics, confrontation, and arguing.
8. Pack everything I need for practicum tomorrow (notes, snack, caffeinated drink)
9. Set alarm- 5:30 am
10. Read the book about copyright laws for class thursday.
11. Did I turn in my project that was due today?
12. Fix lesson plans from last week
13. email practicum supervisor my self-evaluations, intervention plans and lesson plans from last week
14. write next week's intervention plans, lesson plans, etc
15. am I going to go to UNO for grad school
16. where will I work?
17. where will I live?
18. where will i go to church?
19. how am i going to pay for it?!
20. Stop thinking!!
I am now going to finish my glass of wine while I listen to the rain and fall asleep-- I'm pooped out!
"God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!"

A little peek into life in the special ed classroom

1. Today we had a funeral for the month of September. (It had to die so October could take its place)
2. Apparently the word salt is sounded out as "slut".
3. One of the student's parents had a birthday this week and turned 104.

My favorite commercial

I often have my TV on in the background while I am answering emails or doing homework and I stumbled upon this amazing commercial. It provided me with many giggles the rest of the night as I would randomly think about the commercial while finishing homework. Enjoy!

Update from Lagniappe

I got this email from Curt Moore, a pastor at Lagniappe church in Bay St Louis, MS, as an update on how things are in the Bay so far:

Dear Friends,
Since Lagniappe was closed to volunteers most of the staff were out of town when Gustav came through today. My wife and I remained in Guflport while Jean Larroux stayed north of Kiln, MS for quick access back to the Bay. The following is a report issued from Governor Barbour has been edited to only include information pertinent only to the Lagniappe parrish residents of Bay St. Louis and Waveland:

Governor Barbour just reported, with limited access, the effects of Gustav. 10 foot tidal surge in Waveland. Several hundred homes damaged in Waveland. Curfew in effect 6pm-6am.

MNA's Disaster Response secured accommodations for coastal residents at First Presbyterian Church's retreat center, Twin Lakes where approximately 30 PCA families evacuated. All Lagniappe staff, families, and members are safe. Since many area residents sustained flood damage in Waveland, Lagniappe will be opening it's bunkhouses to families in need of shelter, and will also open it's kitchen to begin serving meals as soon as possible. Highway 603 was flooded today, but is expected to reopen by midmorning on Tuesday.

Please pray for travel mercies for all those returning home as well as Lagniappe staff who have been asked to return to facilitate disaster response at Lagniappe.Will report more tomorrow. You may also check out our blog for continued updates at www.lagniappechurch.blogspot.com
Curt Moore

Pray for the Bay

Hurricane Gustav is currently a category 3 storm but could be a category 4 or 5 by the time it hits land on Monday. Parts of Lousiana and Mississippi, including Lagniappe, are under a mandatory evacuation issued by the state. My heart is heavy and tears well up in my eyes as I pray for these people who have recently lost family, friends, homes, and possessions from Hurricane Katrina. Here is a little blurb from the Lagniappe church blog that gives you a picture of the atmosphere in Bay St Louis, MS as people contemplate the effects Gustav may have:

"There is a heaviness in the air here. The sentiment that I have heard over and over again is, 'I just can't do this again...' I find myself nodding in agreement. For tonight Bay St. Louis is peaceful. There is a band at the Mockingbird and I saw a clarinet player just playing to himself on Main Street this afternoon. This town has a soul that is resilient, but she is tired and weary. I know how she feels."
Lagniappe has asked that you pray the turths of Psalm 107: 23-32 as Hurricane Gustav approaches.

Psalm 107:23-32 (NIV)
"23 Others went out on the sea in ships;they were merchants on the mighty waters. 24 They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. 26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. 27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end. 28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. 31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. 32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders."

I read this verse while watching the news and just heard that the winds have gone down 5mph and that the wind shear (winds that work against the hurricane) may keep the hurricane from gaining strength and becoming a category 4 hurricane. Cry out to the Lord! He is powerful and can still the storm to a whisper!

It has been a while

So...a lot has happened since my last post but then again..nothing really has happened. One friday night while I was home, I was talking to my dad about grad school and taking the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). I decided to sign up to take it on that Monday. I didn't study and yet managed to make an 1100. I guess this is a decent grade but I don't know what the graduate schools that I am interested in are looking for. Currently, my favorite choice for grad school is the University of New Orleans. Supposedly they have a really good early intervention program because they work with a local hospital and they have good funding. Also, I would only be an hour away from Lagniappe. :)
I have now been in school for a week. I am already overwhelmed but am trying to believe the gospel. It is taking a lot to get Best Buddies going for the year. Best Buddies has been taking up more time and effort than school. We have over 60 Buddies with intellectual disabilities then their College Buddies and extra students who do not have their own buddy.Managing 130+ people is a little overwhelming at times.
I'm enjoying my classes so far. I am taking history of social welfare, severe disabilities curriculum, educational media, and practicum. I am learning a lot of interesting things like how to make my own web page, different issues that have affected social welfare laws, and strategies to use when working with children with severe disabilities. It is awesome to be excited about school and I hope it continues through the semester!

Let the games begin!

I decided to throw a party in our pool house to celebrate the olympic opening ceremony. We invited the Boykins, Morgans, and Mary Morton to come celebrate with us. Annika and Sarah made olympic rings out of paper plates and torches out of construction paper and cellophane. Our menu was a chinese theme including: fried rice, stir fry with dog (tastes like pork), PF chang's lettuce wraps, fortune cookies, and Dissident's death by chocolate for dessert. Annika and Sarah helped me make a playlist for our party and one of their favorite songs on the playlist was the Chariots of Fire theme song. We were playing the song when Griff and Annika decided they were going to play soccer in slow motion. (If you haven't seen Chariots of Fire...Casey....then you probably won't get the video. Go out and rent it now!)

We also held our own olympic pool games (water wrestling, water polo, synchronized swimming, and synchronized diving). Cobi, Tanner, Eli, and Corey were our synchronized diving winners.

Six flags is invaded!

I finished my summer classes and now have about a week and a half until fall classes start. Woo Hoo! I met the family in Atlanta to use up our return passes to six flags before they expire. As we were walking into the park, we ran into our old friends from Community, the Griffith's. It was so fun seeing them and how big their kids are now. It made me feel so old to see these kids that I used to babysit that are now almost as tall as me. Wow! Here are some of our pictures from the park:




Thursday, was Katrina and Corey's first day at public school. They were so excited and said they had a good first day. I got to take them and my other brothers (the Boykins) to school in the minivan. Corey seemed to know a lot of the kids in his classes and Katrina had fun meeting new people. One of her friends said she looked a little lost but Katrina looks lost at home too so that is nothing new. :)
Below (left to right): Tanner, Yates, Cobi, Corey, Katrina, Seth

The special education department at Auburn is mourning with a dear friend, advisor, and professor Kelly Brumbeloe who recently lost her husband to a rare form of cancer. Her husband, Sam, began having health problems in Septmeber 2007. His health declined rapidly in January 2008 and he lost around 30 lbs by March 2008 when he was admitted into the hospital for about a week. They ran a number of tests to figure out what was causing his pain and declined health. They finally ran an MRI of his brain and found a mass. Sam was sent to UAB to see more specialists who could determine whether the mass was a vascular malformation or a tumor. Sam spent about a month at UAB and had numerous tests and scans run throughout his stay. Sam returned home in June but continued to get worse so he went back to UAB for 1o days then after more tests, returned home with a hospital bed, wheelchair, and home nurse. The doctors said that there wasn't a definite answer but that they thought it was PNET (a rare cancer) but it was definitely cancer and definitely malignant. By this time, Sam had lost close to 70 lbs. They started radiation but didn't see much improvement. This last Wednesday, Sam was moved to a residential hospice facility here in Auburn where he passed away this Friday. Sam and Kelly have 2 young children together (a 4 year old boy and a 1? year old girl).

Please pray for this wife and mother as she grieves the loss of her spouse and father of her children. Pray that God will wrap his his arms around her and comfort her as she continues through life with her children. Pray for their children, that they will be able to remember their dad and the good times they got to spend with him. Pray that they will grow up with a close relationship to their heavenly Father.

Hebrews 13:5- "...God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

I had tears running down my cheeks, soaking my shirt as I listened to this boy remind me of the gospel. It is neat to see how God speaks to us in unexpected ways.

Twenty-one!

My 21st birthday was this past Monday. I didn't get to do much celebrating since I was at the Best Buddies Leadership conference in Indiana and in a plane for most of the day; so me and my roomies made plans to go celebrate in Atlanta this Friday. Although, while I was in Indiana, some of the girls I met there, found a birthday banner and candles, made a makeshift cake out of pieces of banana, and sang to me at midnight. They were so sweet!

Last night was my celebration with the roomies in Atlanta. We left Auburn around 5pm and arrived home around 2:30 am; it was a blast! The night started out at the Atlanta Aquarium for live music and drinks. Then we headed to a cute little restaurant called Murphy's and a jazz club dowtown next to the Foxe theater called Churchill Grounds. It was so nice to hang out with my roomates and get away from school.

Its ok that I'm not ok

Yesterday was one of those days where everything seems to build up to the point where you have 2 choices. 1) you can have a meltdown and become depressed or 2) you hand it all over to God and say "your will be done". Being the broken sinner that I am, I opted for choice #1. It felt like the world was against me and I could do nothing right; I was drowning and nothing could save me. Sometimes it is good to have a little cry but I dwelled on everything that was wrong and on things that I could not change. My advisor is moody and it is a rare occasion that she is in a good mood, thus making my life miserable; I can't fix a broken relationship; I am trying so hard to make a difference and there are so many obstacles holding me back. Why can't life be easy?! My thought was, "God, I am trying to do good and show your love...help me out here!". I felt like I had a right to get the easy path out.

Today, God has pushed me to the point of having no other choice than to hand it over to him. It is amazing the peace he has given me. I was reading from My Utmost for His Highest for July 22. The topic for the day is Sanctification. Some of the verses they reference are the following:

Matthew 10:34 (NIV)

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

Luke 14:26 (NIV)

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple"

1 Corinthians 1:27-30 (NIV)

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption."


I read the first 2 verses and I was like, you've got me there God. I am miserable and can't see the purpose in all of this. Now what? Then I got to the 3rd verse...duh...it is in my weaknesses that he is made strong. I need to hand it over to him because I can't do it on my own. I know all these things but why is it so easy to forget and so hard to do? He has freed me from myself and my works! I am His and can rest in Christ and his holiness! Thank you God for reminding me of your glory and power.

Family

This is my family! Ok, so mom and dad aren't that old, but you get the picture. I love them dearly and have come to appreciate them more and more over the past few years. It is fun watching my siblings turn into real people. They are growing up and forming plans and goals for their future. I love bragging about them and telling my friends how weird my brothers and sisters are!

Often I am asked "how many brothers and sisters do you have?". This is probably one of the hardest questions for me to answer. The struggle is 1) do I take the easy way out and say "5" or 2) do I risk it and say "6". (Risk probably isn't the appropriate word but because I am not eloquent with words it will have to do.) There is always the chance that even if I do respond "6" they will not ask "what are the ages?". If they do ask, I can sometimes get away with saying "I am the oldest and the youngest is 9 and everyone is about 2 years apart". It usually is not hard for me to talk about Rachael but it is the response that I get when I tell people that she was killed in a car accident that is hard. It creates an awkward situation for all. They don't know how to respond and I don't know how to ease their discomfort.

Anyways, this is all on my mind today because I miss her. I go home and am jealous of the close relationships that my siblings at home are able to build because they live together. I had that once...Rachael and I would lay in our bunk beds at night and talk about everything. She would complain about girls at school that got on her nerves and the drama that surrounds them and I would do the same. Then we would talk about our latest crushes and how dumb boys were. Not to say that everything was perfect because we had tough times too. This may sound silly, but I even miss fighting with her about her getting into my stuff or never cleaning the room. She was so stubborn and most of the time I just wanted to yell at her but she was my best friend.

All this to say, it is bittersweet to see my siblings become closer. My favorite thing is to see Jordan looking out for Katrina. Putting it mildly, Katrina is very naive about how boys think and what her actions say to guys. Recently, mom was telling me about some boy that kept calling the house late at night to talk to katrina. Katrina claims they are just friends but she talks to him at all hours of the night. I have tried explaining to her that that is not what friends do and mom has talked to her too, but it was awesome to hear Jordan say that this guy better stop calling or else. He has also told her how she doesn't need to be talking to guys on myspace and facebook that she does not know. It is neat to hear him look out for her because it is a different Jordan than when I was living at home.

Sarah is a spit fire. She won't take anything from anyone, especially if you are related to her. She is a snuggler and loving when she wants to be, and she has seemingly unlimited patience when caring for other people's children.

Corey is the cutest little freckle faced blonde that I have seen (totally unbiased opinion). He has the whole west coast surfer look going for him. He also has a "girlfriend" and thinks he is so big and bad. I still see him as a little boy but he is growing up faster every day.

Annika is the most tender hearted of them all. She told mom that she was going to stay home when she grows up and take care of mom and dad when they are old. Also, when I asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, she said that she wanted to be a veterinarian and that she couldn't stand to see animals hurting. She is very emotional and can't watch certain movies without crying. I remember watching Charlotte's Webb in the theater with my family and Annika and I looking at each otherwith tears in our eyes after Charlotte had died. Dad laughed at us of course. :)

This is my family. We are broken and in need of God's grace. And I love them!

Life is a whirlwind

The end of the semester is approaching fast, final projects are due, and I have to get ahead of my schoolwork so I can miss a day next week. This Friday I will be flying to Bloomington, Indiana for the Best Buddies Leadership Conference and flying back late monday night (on my birthday!). I love birthdays! They are a great excuse to get together with friends and celebrate! And good friends that I haven't seen or talked to in a while usually call me. It makes me feel loved!

Today I am sitting at Panera "working on projects". I will eventually work on them but I have to get all of my procrastinating out of the way first. This morning I went to a friend's house to help her pick veggies in the garden. I really just watched while she loaded my basket with tomatoes and cucumbers. She is so sweet! I help her by watching 2 of her girls whenever I get a chance and she gives me the best payment of all...fresh veggies and a delicious lunch!

In the blue bowl is a delicious cold salad that she makes for me and I made at home with what she gave me. It is made with an onion, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

In the red bowl is a yummy vegetable soup that I made with some stewed tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and green beans---all given to me from her garden. (and an onion from wal-mart)

Hope you laugh

Here is a look into my morning:
Woke up around 7am got ready, packed my bags for the day, stopped for a much needed cup of coffee, then headed to practicum. Hopped in the car with Elizabeth, another practicum student, and Mrs Lillian (my Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind supervisor who I observe), reminded her that I'm buying her spinners for her silver Buick that her grandkids call a "grandma car", and headed to Alexander City for a home visit.

In order to get the full picture you need some background info....Mrs Lillian is a spunky 77 year old woman working in Early Intervention. She has a big heart for children with disabilities which you can see from her years working in the field and from the 4 children with disabilities that she has adopted. She, as well as other people who work in special education, has the ability to laugh about a lot of the things we see in the field that might scare or shock others.

So, we are on our way to visit a child who I will call Latarious or L for short. L lives out in the projects past Woody Woodpecker Daycare (not kidding- this is the actual name). We are driving down the road and I'm looking around at the houses. As we are passing a little yellow house, I see two old, black ladies in the yard standing at the fence wearing their moo moos and...wait!....does she have a pot on her head?! I do a double take...OMG!...she has a huge white cooking pot on her head! Mrs Lillian! Mrs Lillian! She had a pot on her head! By that time we are too far away for her to see but we have a nice laugh while pulling up to L's house.

L lives with his mom and grandmother, Nelly Mae, who both have intellectual disabilities or as Mrs Lillian puts it--they are definitely retarded. As we pull up, we see Mrs Nelly Mae sitting on the front porch with her purse in lap, teal velvet sweat suite on, and wearing her cheap, black, 70s style wig. By this time our sides are starting to hurt and we are wondering what else we could see today. By the end of our 1 hour session with L, our question was answered. L's cousin, who is going into his senior year in high school and also receives special ed services, rolls up on a bicycle. Nelly Mae asks cousin "did you steal that?". Cousin changes the conversation to video games then asks if he can keep the bike inside their house. He rolls the bike inside then takes off down the street on foot. We look at each other, raise our eyebrows, and get out of town!

Whew! Not all of my mornings are this eventful, but I do get to go into a lot of poverty stricken areas and serve children. It is a eye opening experience. I have always known that I am lucky to have parents that love me and take care of me but these experiences make me realize that not everyone has that. People may not have been taught things that I assume are common knowledge like you are supposed to talk through problems with the people you have a problem with or stealing is not the way to get what you want.
Being able to laugh at the things we see day to day is a necessity because we cannot stop at just feeling sorry for these people or being nervous in our surroundings; we have to be advocates for individuals with disabilities and serve them where it is most convenient for the family.
I love what I do and would not trade it for anything!

Work It!

I joined a gym yesterday! I am so pumped! The gym is called Health Plus and it is a wonderful program. The first two times you go, they help you set your goals and come up with your own personal workout plan to help you meet those goals. The plan is then programmed into their computer so you can access it and chart your progress. All your settings are programmed into the treadmills, elipticals, and other electronic machines also. There is an indoor and outdoor track, indoor pool with lap lanes, free fruit, water, and towels, shower and locker room, and all classes are free (pilates, cycling, water aerobics, etc). I go Tuesday for my first meeting and am looking forward to setting my goals and having some accountability to the trainers. There are also a couple of girls in my major that go to this gym so maybe we can go together.

I have been riding my bike to class about once a week but it is stinkin' hot. It is about 1 1/2 miles one way (3 miles round trip) and I am red faced and sweating by the time I make it to class. If anyone has seen how red Sarah's face gets after playing soccer that is about how I look. :) Plus it is no fun being that nasty and knowing you can't do anything about it for 4-5 more hours. Enough said, I am looking forward to working out in the air conditioning and having someone to motivate me and keep me accountable.

View from the indoor track looking down on the treadmills.

Computer where you keep up with your fitness plan and your progress.
Indoor Pool. Heated for use in the winter too.

Whew!

I just read a five page article on Innovative Technologies in Autism and wrote a 3 page article review in 2 hours! Go me! It was a total brain fart--I remembered at 12:15 that I had an article review due for my class that starts at 3pm. Oops. My motivation to rush and finish it is that I am now going to get an energy drink so I can make it until 9pm (when my last class of the day lets out) since the maintenance staff came banging on our door at 6:15 this morning making sure we had moved our cars so they could repave our parking lot. Boo Maintenance!

Doubting Thomas

I love the girls in my major! They are all unique and there are different clusters of girls that have more in common, but overall they are amazing! It has been my prayer over the past semester to really develop a love for these girls since I am with them in every class and at practicum and working on projects between all that. God has definitely been at work over the past semester. Although it has been a slow, long, and gruelling process, it is worth it to have such good relationships with the people I spend almost all of my waking moments with.

One of the things that I love most about these girls is that they are all broken like me. They all need to be reminded that God's grace is sufficient enough to fill the void left by never being appreciated or relationships that have left them feeling empty and bitter. I never thought that I would say or even think this but....I am so thankful for the trials that God has allowed me to endure because it has allowed me to connect with these girls in incredible ways. I have been there--experienced loss and heartbreak and abandonment--and God has opened my eyes to say that his plan is so much greater than anything I ever had/have planned for myself and his love for me is greater than all the love any man could give to me.

Thank you God for loving me despite my unbelief. I believe in my head most of the time but not always in my heart. Even when I don't believe, let your grace and love flow through me to those who need to be reminded of your majesty and authority.

I really love the song Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek (listen to it on my playlist) because it describes these feeling of unbelief more eloquently than I ever could. Here are some of the lyrics:
....As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power,
I'm a doubting thomas,I can't keep my promises,
'Cause i don't know what's safe,oh me of little faith
Can I be used to help others find truth....I'm a doubting thomas,
I'll take your promise,Though I know nothin's safe,Oh me of little faith

Free Stuff

So I just wanted to show everyone the free stuff that I got in the mail today. Over the break, between semesters, I signed up for a lot of stuff online and it has been slowly coming in. Today I got some greenie treats for my roommates cat, Tide detergent (great for traveling), always samples, notepad, and perfume samples. Some of the other things I have recieved have been seattle coffee, natural sweetener, and educational comics about the federal reserve and about money for one of my learning centers. Jawan, you should be so proud of me! Yay for being frugal!

The Ultimate price

I was talking to a friend earlier this week and she said something about how sad it is that all these people with intellectual disabilities have more children with intellectual disabilities and continue the vicious cycle that taxpayers have to pay to support. My first thought was yeah, I guess you're right. We are paying for these people who cannot support themselves to have children who cannot support themselves either. Then I thought, wait... isn't that what God did for me??? He paid the ultimate price that I could never pay. He sent his son to die on the cross...for me! And even more...to die for all people who accept God as their savior, even those with intellectual disabilities. Thank you God for loving me enough to send your only son to pay for my sins. Please let your love shine through me to those who may not know the love of Christ.

I'm a friggin freegan!

Urban Dictionary defines the term Freegan as "Somebody who abstains from contributing to the economy and salvages society's wasted food and resources rather than purchase more themselves". What makes a freegan different than your typical dumpster diver is they get food from dupsters.

So my roomies and I went dumpster diving again this week and got some pretty good stuff: some curtains, a bookshelf, bed risers, decorative baskets, school supplies...and then we found food. It was the first time any of us had taken food from a dumpster, but all this food was unopened and in at least one or two closed packages. We got things like girl scout cookies, oreos, animal crackers, canned peaches, diet dr pepper's, and more. Everything was recently thrown out because the dumpsters had been emptied earlier that morning and we sanitized everything when we got home, so it wasn't too sketchy. Ah the life a desperate and frugal college student lives.

Welcome to the Madness!

This past Saturday was Auburn's Best Buddies fundraiser called Midnight Madness. We signed up to form/join teams that went around all day saturday on a scavenger hunt. Above is a picture of my team minus 4 buddies that had to go home early. The theme of the hunt was pirates. We had a treasure box to collect some things in and took pictures of ourselves doing other things. The day ended with awards and an after party at a local bar. The fundraiser was such a success; we raised over $12,000 dollars! This money will go toward getting a Best Buddies state office in Alabama. My team didn't win a prize but the best prize of all was to hear the buddies say that even if we don't win it will be ok because they had fun.

Sally walking across the street on her hands and me trying to hold onto her feet and 2 bags.

Our whole team in the boys bathroom. This was one of our first assignments. It was funny beacuse one of our younger buddies covered her eyes as we walked in and kept saying "gross" and "mommy said no".

Blessings

So, this semester has been long and strenuous with all of my projects and my first practicum. Most of the things that have come out of my mouth have been words of complaining, discontent, and frustration. I'm in over my head with all of my projects and Best Buddies events and planning. Some of the extracurricular things I am involved with are Reformed University Fellowship, my church's special needs nursery, Best Buddies, Friends for Life, and the Autism support group.



These past few weeks I have been trying to focus on the blessings that God has placed in my life. Just recently God has blessed me with a new friend. She lost her brother and 3 of his friends in a car accident over spring break. Not only did God provide the time in my busy schedule to meet with her, but he also provided me encouragement through her. The week that I met with her I had 8 projects due and by God's grace I had 7 of them finished the night before we were supposed to meet. When she was sharing about her experience it was neat to hear where she is after her brother's death and see the similarities and differences from what I experienced after losing my sister. She has taken this tragedy and used it to make her life more meaningful. What can she do to ease the pain of the driver that hit the car or her parents or the parents of the other 3 kids? How can she be a better witness to God's goodness? She amazes me by her joyful spirit. Please pray for her family and the other 2 families as they continue to grieve.



Another blessing happened today while I was walking at Town Creek park. I had to escape our apartment because our air conditioner has been broken for a month and it was currently 81 degrees in our apartment. I thought that going for a walk would get me nice and hot so I could come home to a cold shower. Going on a walk would also let me avoid writing lesson plans. Ugh! So I am walking at the park for about 20 minutes and am beginning to get bored because no one was with me and I forgot my ipod. Then, I look up and I see a friend from Moody that goes to Auburn but I haven't seen or talked to in a long time, Elizabeth McFarling. We were able to talk and encourage each other as we walked for over an hour. We didn't talk about anything special but throughout our conversation we were able to remind each other of things that we can be thankful for.

I am WEAK! BUT He is STRONG!

My "nephew"

waiting on a bottle

The rare occasion, Landon awake and alert.

I'm bringing in the new year with one of my best friends, christi hamblin, her husband and the newest edition to their family, Baby Landon. Landon is 2 weeks old and the closest thing I have to a nephew. I'm so glad to be able to catch up with an old friend and enjoy her brand new baby.
Please pray for the Hamblin family and for my cousin as both adjust to life with a baby.
Happy 2008!