There's nothing else like time with my mom

Here I am with Panda and Lucy (who we had to lock up when we ate because they got ferocious sense we were cooking bacon in their domain). Let me know if these are the things you had to worry about over your Christmas break...

Here is THE breakfast of Champions!! And this is my beloved mother adding paper to the fire.

Spending time with my mom is like being on a constant adventure! I often think to myself, "nobody I know is doing this right now." Let's take December 26, 2010 for example. We wake up to no electricity, which was a rude awakening considering her house only has space heaters and tends to be on the chilly side. So, no electricity added quite a twist to the climate. Her reaction was to jump back in bed and stay warm. Meanwhile, I had bacon on the brain and thought we should eat. So naturally... we get bundled up, clean the snow out of the fire pit in the back yard, and begin to make a fire. A slow process, mind you.

Here I am putting on a pair of her boots! Lots of layers!!!

Oh... did you think that was it? Well you are truly mistaken. You see, I ended up going to work with my mom at 3pm. I spent approximately 8 hours in this vacant room at an assisted living facility. Yes, I almost lost my mind. Luckily I had books to read, one of which I completed! Oh, and I managed to catch a mouse. I heard a shuffling noise and figured my mom was sliding a note under the door to mess with me, but sure enough it was a lil field mouse. Well I needed some activity in my life... so I chased it and caught it with my bare hands. NOT... it actually climbed into the trash can, so I just closed the bag up and took it to the nurse at the front desk... who called Security. Yuup, that mouse is getting locked up for breaking and entering!

If you'll notice, I didn't have many options, just a wheelchair, a desk, and a mattress. There was a bed in the other room but I didn't want to mess with that! The lighting was horrible, I kept rolling around trying to find the greatest amount of light so I wouldn't stress my eyes.

Here's the kicker, we got home around 11:30pm and went to sleep with NO ELECTRICITY. I thought I was gonna burst with anger, being that cold will make you angry! Plus I knew we could have gone back to her work and slept on that mattress and that bed :-)

PS, I cannot figure out for the life of me how to get the pictures with the correct words... I just wasted 30 minutes of my life trying to change it, in vain!

Real world, baby!

ok, so things are changing and I am hanging on for dear life. My emotions have been a lil raw(well, super raw) lately... I think it has something to do with my sobriety/ sold out to Jesus Birthday coming up. January 21st will mark 5 years that I have been alive in Christ and victorious over addictions- all Glory to God.

On the other hand, there is a ton of transition in and all around my life. For example- It's my second semester at ECU as a campus minister, but first ever Spring semester. My bossman, Nick Jones and his wife have recently taken on being the National Directors of Every Nation Campus Ministries, so Blake has rised up to be the director of Victory Campus Ministries. Nick and Heather will have their 3rd child in the next couple of weeks, a baby girl! Blake and Michelle are having a baby girl in several months, while Alan and Melissa will have a baby boy in several months. This matters because we are a small and tight nit team.

Our Pastor explained how this season of pressure and change is going to be like the transition that occurs in child birth. We're essentially going from the comfort of the womb... through the birth canal (OUCH!!!), to the REAL world! When he said that it's going to be "rocky", Laura noticed that the muscle near my temple began to twitch and pulsate. That was in direct correlation to my thoughts of, "OH, I tought I was experienceing ROCKY... if this isn't rocky..."

Speaking of babies, my brother is getting ready to have a second son and I am very excited for his family. Super excited to meet my new nephew!

And one of my great friends from college is pregnant which is far beyond exciting! It's an awesome testimony of God and His goodness, I'll share one day if she gives me permission! I cannot wait to meet her little baby, or possibly twins! hee hee