Top Five Signs I am Getting OLD(er)

This past weekend at camp I got some reminders that I am getting older. Here are a few:

1. The fact that I am as old as one of my camper's mom. I became aware of that as she stated, "My mom always says she's old. She's 28." Thanks for that.

2. I was SO excited that my assignment with the younger girls cabin meant a 930 bedtime. Unfortunately, no one told the girls that bedtime actually meant time to go to sleep.

3. The bruises that I have on the back of my leg courtesy of my time on the see-saw.

4. The fact that I was the only one actually interested in resting during rest time. The girls had tons of energy to keep running around the cabin, but I actually wanted to rest!

5. Every camp there is a new popular dance that I have never heard of before. In May, it was the "Stanky Leg." This time, it was the "Hoedown Throwdown." I searched for it on YouTube when I got home, and found out that it is a Hannah Montana song. Who knew? Well, apparently all of the kids/teenagers at camp did. You should check it out. You know, so you can stay hip and stuff... Except that I don't think anyone uses the word "hip" anymore in that context.

Yeah, I am getting old...

Life is a Highway...

The Rascal Flatts version of that song played on the radio on my way home from NC today, and now it's stuck in my head. It is kind of appropriate, though, since life has been a busy highway lately, and isn't going to calm down right away. In case you haven't been able to keep up, here's what's been going on:

On the 11th, I left for a quick trip to Peru. A few pictures can be found here. As always, it was a good time spent joining with the WMF community in ministry down there. I love those friends!

I got back on the 19th, worked on the 20th and 21st, and then spent the better part of the 22nd through the 24th sick in my bed. The views from there can be found here.

I worked on the 25th, and then had a day to kind of rest and catch up before heading off to Camp Courage this weekend. While I can't say much about it or post any pictures in this arena, I will say that it was both great fun and completely exhausting as I chased around the 6-9 year-olds. I will sleep well tonight, that's for sure! I will also say that one of the highlights was getting to play around on the crazy new high ropes course that they built at the camp. Here's the proof that I got up there and gave it a shot:

the harness is so flattering, i know...

I actually have a full week at work this week and next before heading out of town again on the 10th. More about that later...

I must admit that I have let all of this busy-ness lately catch up with me a bit. I have not taken much time to slow down and spend time with the Lord. I haven't taken much time to listen for His voice. Even when I was sick and forced to slow down, I didn't take advantage of that time to pursue the Lord and see what He might have been trying to speak into me. I want to change that in the coming weeks. Even though life is not going to slow down, I need to be intentional about slowing down and spending time with the Lord. I need to listen to Him. Especially in the coming weeks, as I will probably be making some pretty significant life decisions. I want and need for His voice to guide my steps. I welcome your prayers that I would be faithful to more earnestly pursue Him and listen for His voice in my life.

Life is a highway...

(Yep, it's still stuck in there.)

Creativity Strikes

It may be better to say "craftiness strikes." I am not all that creative. I have to steal borrow ideas from other people, but once I am given an idea, I love to start creating. Unfortunately, this tends to happen at random hours of the night, or when I am supposed to be doing other things.

Exhibit A: It is after midnight. I am supposed to be leaving for camp somewhere around 530ish in the morning. I haven't packed. My house is a mess. An even bigger mess now that mass quantities of scrapbook paper and old magazines are strewn all over my room. So, I guess I should go get started on those things. And, I should probably go to bed at some point, too...

This is a coaster made out of old magazine pages (idea courtesy of Monica Ghali. She is a creative genius. Because of her, I am totally going to make a loom out of an old piece of wood and some yarn and make an awesome scarf. Like I said, she's a genius.)

daybook - august 26th

outside my window. . .
it's sunny outside, though I have yet to venture out and enjoy it...

I am listening to. . .
the hum of the ceiling fan on high above me in my room. i have been trying to use the AC sparingly this summer.

I am thinking. . .
that i am just about ready for the snot to cease its constant flow out of my nose. it's been almost a week already...

I am thankful. . .
for so many things in my life - an amazing family, a great job, my health (i'll take a runny nose any day compared to the things so many others have to endure) - i have much to be thankful for!

from the kitchen. . .
things are lacking in this department lately. i haven't been to the grocery since before i went to peru, which means that the options are very limited...

I am wearing. . .
Soffee shorts (from the high school days) and a white t-shirt. i am clearly not yet ready to face the day. (yes, i do realize that it is mid-afternoon.)

I am hoping. . .
that i am all better by tomorrow, because i am headed up to NC for camp courage in the morning!

I am creating. . .
i think i am going to try to make some coasters out of old magazines today. i was inspired by monica's many creative ideas...

I am praying. . .
for someone to come and buy my house!

around the house. . .
there are signs that i have spent much of the last few days in my bed. i did manage to pick up the large pile of tissues from the floor, though.

I am reading. . .
nothing at the moment, but i did read three whole books lately! i read The Sunflower on the plane on the way to peru, a book about the lost boys of sudan while i was in peru, and To Kill a Mockingbird since i have been home. that's pretty impressive for me!

one of my favorite things. . .
christmas time. i was finishing the winter holiday assignments for work last night, and it made me start thinking about the holidays. i can't wait until that time of year again!

a few plans for the rest of the week. . .
camp courage until sunday!

a picture thought I am sharing...

banana milk and a good book in lima - it doesn't get much better!

Wordless Wednesday: Lima

The View from Here:

Where is here, you ask?

The place that I have been for the last two days.

Here.

In my [sick]bed.

This is the view:

All the essentials: TP for the never-ending nose-blowing, thermometer (I did have a fever, and that rarely happens), empty cups once full of nasty tasting vitamin stuff, Benadryl tablets, and an empty mug once full of ice cream (good for the sore throat)

Ummm...yeah, I know that's gross, but the trash was too far away

At least I have Season 3 of SYTYCD to keep me company...

Here's hoping I feel better by tomorrow...

Approximately 24 hours later and...

I'm home!

After arriving at the airport around 915 or so last night, I am now sitting in the comfort of my living room and about to head to bed...

More about the airport thing later...

Waaahhhh!

It's my last day in Lima and that's how I feel about it. :-(

I fly out early in the morning tomorrow and then it's back to work on Thursday! I have a feeling that 445am alarm is not going to be fun...

I'm off to get ready and head to a girls Bible study this morning! Hope that you are having a fabulous day wherever you are, too!

P.S.

Did I mention that I awoke in the middle of the night last night to a small earthquake??

Well, I did. Nothing major, but enough to shake the things in the room and wake me up.

That doesn't happen very often in Georgia...

Mmmm...

So far today, I have enjoyed:

clavo y canela tea (clove and cinnamon),

platano con leche (banana milk),

sandwich de pollo (chicken sandwich, peruvian style with lettuce, tomato, mayo (also peruvian style, which is with a hint of lime), crema de aji (a spicy pepper sauce), and potato sticks),

and fresh pineapple juice.

Yummy.  My stomach is happy to be back here in Lima.

La enfermeria no es un juego.

I saw a sign today in Lima that said just that.

The translation?

Nursing is not a game.

No, it's not actually. Thanks for the announcement.

There are lots of funny signs in Lima. I will have to try to take a picture of a few. Like the ones with a large mug shot of some random person with their eyes blacked out with a rectangle telling everyone that they, too, will be arrested if they sell drugs in Pueblo Libre. Don't do it.

I am having fun here, as always. After I arrived at a ridiculous time in the morning yesterday, I had some chai at the airport Starbucks before being picked up by Brian, one of the WMF field directors here. We chatted for a while before he dropped me off at Linsey's house (another WMF staffer), where I am staying. We chatted for a while and then I took a nap before getting up in time to walk with Brian and Rachel to pick up their adorable 3 year old daughter Natalia from preschool. That girl is so stinkin' cute! She led us the whole way home while pulling her little rolling backback. So cute. Later, I helped Linsey make some yummy soup for dinner and we spent the evening with the Langleys, Natalia, and their other precious all-grown-up 9-year old Isabel. It was a great first day! Today, we headed to the ministry center for staff worship time this morning. It was great to get to see the ministry center that the staff here has long prayed for. The upstairs portion where the offices are located is complete and it looks awesome! The downstairs main building is still under construction. Please pray for needed funding to be able to complete necessary renovations on this portion of the building, which will be used for so many different ministry opportunities! After worship we headed out to the home of a sweet friend of the community who just recently had a new baby boy. I spent most of the visit holding that sweet baby and praying that the Lord has great things in store for his life. You can pray for this sweet friend, her new son, and her two precious little girls. Praise the Lord that they are not living on the street, but life is still difficult in a small one-room home with limited resources and lots of little mouths to feed. This evening has been a relaxing time of hanging out at the house with Linsey and taking an opportunity to do a little pleasure reading (albeit a sad story of the Lost boys of Sudan). It's been nice!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Things on my List of Things to Pack for PERU:

(that is, if I actually made lists of things to pack...which I typically don't. But, we can pretend. And my dad can tell me later that if I had made such a list, I wouldn't have forgotten that thing that I am sure to forget.)

(BTW - I am going to Peru today! Did I mention that?!?)

1. Winter clothes. Yes, friends, Peru is in the Southern hemisphere and therefore has opposite seasons from the US. So, I will be leaving the 90 degree Georgia summer and heading to the 60-ish degree Lima winter. And no, I am not sad about it. I am looking forward to cooler weather! Especially since I am currently sitting upstairs in my room above the garage where I don't always run the air conditioner (it's separate than the rest of the house) and it is a stifling 96 degrees right now. Now, whether I am looking forward to the cold that I am likely going to have from the rapid change of seasons when I get back home, I'm not so sure...

2. Flip flops. Have I mentioned that I wear flip flops in all seasons? Well, I do.

3. Yummy treats for my friends. Because there are just some things that are hard to find down there. Like chocolate chips. And brownie mix. And peanut butter. And that's what visitors are for, after all!

4. Travel size toiletries. Because they are just so cute! Just forget the fact that the price per ounce makes them very impractical, because they are cute!

5. My passport. Because I can't get there without it, and maybe since I am writing it down right now I will remember to get it out of the car! (Don't ask why it's in the car, because I am pretty sure that I don't have a great explanation...)

6. My camera. Even though I usually don't take all that many pictures while I am there, I will make a special effort just for you, my blog friends.

7. Tennis shoes. Because even though I am a flip-flop kind of girl, downtown Lima at night has lots of things that you'd just rather not get on your feet.

8. Bible and journal. I am looking forward to hearing from the Lord while I am there. The Lord tends to use time away from my regular routine to speak into my life, and I am praying that He does just that during my time in Lima.

9. Erin's Marmot bag. It makes the best carry-on/purse! Even though it is not that big, it holds so much stuff! It is also a great bag for walking around Lima, complete with places to hold my water bottle. (Erin - if you are reading this, I am sorry that I still have your bag, and I hope that you don't mind too much that I am putting it to good use once again! I promise to get it back to you some day!)

10. That thing that I am going to forget. In hopes that if it is on the list I won't actually forget it!

Hope that you guys have a great week while I am gone!

Mood Swings...

Well, I guess it would really be swings of emotions, not really moods. It's funny how life ebbs and flows, sending waves of emotions to go along with the events.

Yesterday, one of my most precious patients (remember this picture) got to go home from the hospital after her bone marrow transplant. After over a month of being held hostage in our BMT unit, she was able to reunite with her sister and brothers and go home. I am hopeful that the new cells she received from her brother will be her cure from cancer forever. That's exciting.

But then, I found out this morning that this sweet little one lost her fight with leukemia yesterday. She, too, received a bone marrow transplant, but her leukemia made its way back into her little body and took over. Yesterday, as we celebrated with one family, this sweet family was mourning.

Again, I am brought to a place of longing for Jesus to come and restore this broken world to the way that it was intended to be. What a sweet day that will be. I can't wait.

Until then, I will keep praying for healing for my little friends, believing that the God is indeed able to heal. And I will continue to pray for peace and understanding when my friends are not healed in this life, believing that God's ways are higher than my own understanding, and that a day of restoration will indeed come. I can't wait.

Whew!

This week was a long one!

It's funny how exhausting it is to add one extra day to the work schedule! I mean, most people work five days a week after all. But, there's something about leaving the house before 6am and getting home after 9pm that is particularly exhausting. Pair that with IV pumps that won't stop beeping, kids that won't stop pooping (poor thing), drugs precipitating out of solution while infusing, parents that need paintbrushes (for themselves), and not being able to find anything when you need it, and it was a REALLY long week! (Nevermind that those things were just one day...) As much as I love my job, I am thankful that the week is over!

Until tomorrow anyway, when I go back...

But, it's OK when the first day of the work week is also the last day of the work week, like it will be tomorrow. That is because I am headed to Peru on Tuesday! I am so excited to get to see my Peru friends again :-)

I am also excited that Janine won So You Think You Can Dance this week! Because there's always time for SYTYCD parties with fun friends, even in the midst of a crazy week.

Time for sleep?? That's another question. That's what Saturday mornings are for. Unless of course you are so tired that you sleep through all [three] of your alarms and find your way to a couple of extra hours of sleep on a Thursday morning...

Oops.

Not Me! Monday

In honor of MckMama's Stellan being discharged from the hospital today, I thought I would bring Not Me! Monday back to my blog. This is something that originated on her blog where you can freely confess all those things that you definitely didn't do throughout the week. Like:

Last week I certainly didn't destroy my house looking for something that I thought I needed to have for a class that I was taking at work. I mean, I am certainly organized enough to be able to find an important document! I have no need to make my house look like this:

or this...

and certainly not this...

(Nevermind the fact that after my hours of effort no one ever even asked to see said document. I am not bitter at all. Nope, not me!)

While working a 16 hour night shift on Saturday night (volunteering for which could be a NotMe and never again post of its own...), I definitely did not eat enough chocolate covered espresso beans to make myself tachycardic and jittery. I would never do that...

While sitting indian style with rolled up sweat pants in August (who does that??) as I write this post, my arms are definitely not rubbing up against legs that should've long ago been shaven. I mean, I would never be remiss in shaving my legs on a regular basis. Nope, not me!

What about you? Anything you are dying to get off of your chest? Go ahead! Your secret's safe here!