Revival

I have not written in a long time. I figured it might be time to fire up the old blog again. Even if just for myself.

Waiting patiently for this day to come....

You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
- Psalm 30:11-12

Ice cream aisle

There is a lockbox on my door now.


I will post MLS listing on Tuesday. My house looks great and my faithful brother-in-law helped put the finishing touches on the place.


Thank you kid sister for making today bearable. It sucked - except for the Olive Garden and the pedicure. Thanks Hill.


Please, pray for a quick sale. I know it's selfish, but I absolutely believe in miracles and I need one here.

House update...

Today I spent back and forth from home to storage unit. Slowly but surely it's getting done. I realize that I'm worn out after about two trips up/down the stairs and it doesn't help that it's 87 degrees!

Tomorrow will work on the bedroom - take my cat to my parent's house and figure out what to do with this white dresser I have...I want to throw it in the trash...which I may end up doing.

My wise friend Adair told me that when my space is cleaner and more organized, I'll feel better. I think she's right, but getting there is part of the problem.

Right now, I'm watching Mary Carillo eating her way through China. Man..do I have stories of that! She's at the hot pot restaurant where I tried **many** interesting things. I miss China. Now..it's my favorite...Beach Volleyball!

Today is a birthday...I wonder for who?

What a fun weekend. Thanks to my friends and family for providing such a fun week..and weekend. The older I get the longer I like to celebrate. I guess it's that I need to forget that in one more year...I'm really old. It's pretty much over for me after that.

15 years ago today...the most beautiful baby boy was born. His red hair was a big surprise to all of us. My dad was so excited that he locked his keys in the car! We celebrated my 24th birthday in the hospital with a red velvet cake made by a dear friend.

He was (and still is) so incredibly life-changing for me..not so much in what I do..but HOW I do it. It is so important for me that he love Jesus more than anything...and love his family. The blessing in my life today is that he does both of those things, very well. He is kind, loving, friendly to all people, and he loves Jesus. That is the best birthday gift that our loving heavenly father could ever give me. I am so lucky to share this day with him and so thankful to the Lord for him and that he loves me...and wants to hang out with his "silly old aunt."

I love you boy. More than you will ever know!!
Your palla.

A very exciting month ahead

A few highlights of the month of August...

- 8.2.08 The Blue Angels! INTERMITTENT CLOSURES!
- 8.3.08 Working an event at Mo with the kid sis & BFF
- 8.5.08 Duke's & X Files with Diane
- 8.7.08 Dinner with the UW Girls at Spaghetti Factory!
- 8.8.08 The Olympics start
- 8.8.08 First Seahawk Pre-season game at Minnesota
- 8.9.08 Emerald Downs Saturday...come one come all! We'll be upstairs in the suites
- 8.10.08 15 years ago today...my BEST Birthday present of all was born!!!
- 8.14.08 Family Camp...still deciding
- 8.25.08 The first African American in history will accept a major party nomination for president of the United States.
- 8.28.08 The best mom in the world was born 64 years ago

These are only a few highlights of a very busy month. Should be fun!

Story Corps

To those who listen to NPR, you know that Story Corps is a conglomeration of people's stories that they are collecting. Then, these voiced vignettes will be stored in the Library of Congress kind of like a time capsule, to be heard for later generations. Story Corps portable recording units have been around Seattle and are routinely making their way around the country.

NPR broadcasts Story Corps usually everyday around 7:30 am and again throughout the day. These stories are from regular people talking about moments in their lives that were meaningful. It is a true testament to the fact that we are all apart of the human race - and we each have our own singular moments that help shape us and make us into the people we are and will be. Today's story was from a 70 year old man who contracted polio at age 8. He remembers being in the hospital for months and coming home with restrictive braces on his legs. My grandpa had polio and I remember his gimpy legs vividly. Anyway, this young boy was dotted on by his mother, who never made him get out of bed or do anything for himself.

One day, his mother went out to lunch with a girlfriend (at the prompting of her husband, the boy's step-father) and the step-father came in and picked up the boy by the scruff of the neck and moved him to the living room - which had been cleared of furniture. The step-father dropped the boy on the ground and said "walk". The boy hated him for doing this and was afraid to get up but was more afraid of his step-father. Anyway, the boy crawled and made it across the room. The step-father said "Good job! You can do this!"

They never told the boy's mother and each week would convince her to leave the house so he could practice with his step-dad. The man telling the story said he loved his step-father for making him work so hard and encouraging him to get up and walk.

These are the kind of stories told - some sad, some very difficult, some happy. They are stories of humanity and lives lived. I encourage anyone to check them out here

What would your story be?