Family History

Last Saturday, about 30 members of my mom's side of the family got together to celebrate our family history. I know that more would have liked to come but were not able to at this time. We began by enjoying conversation and eating. Then my mom and her siblings shared pictures and stories of their dad. I, like quite a few of my cousins, did not have the opportunity to know my grandpa; he passed away in 1957 when my mom was a little girl of 9. It was great to see pictures and hear stories. I knew a little bit from what my mom has told me before, but it was great to hear my aunts and uncles experiences as well.

Here Uncle Bill shares his stories of his dad and growing up. It looks like he is ready to document the day for future generations as well. Cousin Diane reads memories that my mom typed up.

We also celebrated anniversaries of my parents and aunts & uncles.

Pictured here are: Aunt Lois & Uncle Jim (52 years); Mom & Dad (35 years); Aunt Arlona & Uncle Al (45 years); Uncle Bill & Aunt Gerri (55 years); Uncle Curtis & Aunt Dodie (the newly weds...6 months)

The couples that were married 10 years apart; 35, 45, & 55 years respectively. This is something to be celebrated...especially since marriage longivity is becoming more of an exception these days.

My sister and niece. My niece is learning how to knit. My counsin Jim's daughter. My cousin Dave's son.

His other son. His wife & their youngest son. K has come a long way! We ended the celebration with a hymn sing-a-long accompanied by Diane. It was a wonderful day of rememberance, celebration, and passing on the family legacy.

How many chiropractors does it take to find you a job?

In my case...3. In talking with my mom this weekend, we discovered a series of events that led me to meet the chiropractor who helped me find my job. I used to go to a chiropractor up north who referred me to a chiropractor here in town. That chiropractor hired the chiropractor that refferred me to the job. Now that I probably have you all confused. I attended my orientation today where I sat through countless videos on home healthcare professionals. I'm not sure how much of it I will actually use doing billing and payroll, but it did give me a better understanding of what those out in the field are doing. I offically begin work on Monday.

hiho hiho it's off to work I go!

This morning it was confirmed that I have been hired to work full-time! Thank you to everyone who was praying for me. I will be doing billing and payroll for a home health care business. What is ironic is that out of all the applications that I submitted this is the only job that I didn't have ANY background or experience! In this case it was in who I knew. I would like to send out a HUGE thank you to my chiropractor who told me about the position and highly recommended me. (His friend and former college room-mate, was the one who hired me.) I know that I am capable of learning the job quickly, but am a bit nervous since I have not done that type of work before. I thank God for how He has provided not only this job but in so many other ways over the past several months. The library is closing, so I will continue later.

THANK YOU!

An Evening with 5 Grand Pianos!

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the Grand Piano Extravaganza in Shipshewana. Thank you to my aunt for the ticket! When we walked into the building, my mom commented that (based on the average ages of those in attendance) she was the teenager of the bunch. I added, I must be the infant then. I did see a couple of people younger than me. The night began with each of the 5 grand pianist performing southern gospel music with each of their groups respectively as well as a performance by a comedian. The comedian titled his segment "An 8-Track Guy in an Ipod World". Just before the intermission, all the grand pianists came together and played a song. After intermission, it was all grand pianos! That is what I thought the whole night was going to be and what I enjoyed the most. Here Dino Kartsonakis is on the lead piano with the other four pianists. I remember growing up with his music. The pastor's daughter at the Missionary Church would play them as the offeratory on Sundays. It was fun to hear him play his arrangements.

Stewart Varnado of the Dixie Echoes takes his turn playing for the audience. He tried to be funny. He also played a Southern Gospel song in a Sinatra/Dean Martin style. Jeff Stice of the Triumphant Quartet was one of my favorites of the evening. I loved his style and was amazed at how he could make the keys fly! Josh Singletary of the Tribute Quartet is a fellow red-head. Though I was not familiar with him prior to the concert, a lot of people in the crowd seemed to know him. Kim Collingsworth of the Collingsworth Family really brought the house down with her genuine rendition of "How Great Thou Art". She really radiated an anointing of the Spirit. This was my favorite part of the whole night! After she finished, Dino came to the piano and felt the Spirit leading them to stray away from the schedule of the evening. He then led us into a time of worship. I was amazed at how he could just say to the other pianist to just follow his lead and they were able to play along without it being rehearsed! It was a great time of worship. After a time of worship, the pianists got back on the planned schedule for the evening and played songs together. During the finale, the pianist circled up around the piano bench of the lead piano and kept switching out who was playing during the song. Mom got to meet and get her picture taken with Kim Collingsworth after the concert. I think that Kim is Mom's favorite. We chated with Kim a few minutes and she seemed real genuine and such a sweetheart.

I also got to meet Dino and I got my program signed by him. Prior to Saturday evening, I was only familiar with Dino. I love grand pianos and music; now I have others to listen to!

No more college homecomings...

Monday I found out that the college I attended and then worked at for 8 years is closing at the end of the year. Please be in prayer for the students, faculty, and staff members that will be affected. Now, not only will they have to keep up with their classes, they will also be looking to transfer (students) and new jobs (faculty & staff). I have quite a few different feelings about all of this. I'm not sure how to express them into words.

A Day with a Princess

Saturday, I spent the day with my princess niece. She wore her tiara and I was her limo driver. Ok, so her limo was a Toyota Camery, but we pretended. Our first stop of the day was at Family Christian Store to see the movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" which came out on video that day. FCS was showing the movie in store.

Our next stop was DeBrand Chocolates. (Thanks to having a gift card, we were able to have alot of fun!) We bought some chocolates to take home and we ordered s'mores to eat there.

My niece showing off the chocolate case.She is really excited and can't wait to toast her marshmellows...all four flavors! Yes we had vanilla, cinnamon (our favorite), chocolate, and berry. Mmmmmmm!One of the berry s'mores.I'm taking a turn at roasting my marshmellow.

We couldn't resist taking this photo. She wasn't really playing since there was a sign saying that the piano is not to be touched. That's ashame to have a beautiful grand piano just sitting there begging to be played and then post a sign on top of it saying you can't!

My niece wanted her picture taken pretending to be a bride.She just joined the Brownies and modeled her clothes for me.

Can you believe that after our huge sugar high in the afternoon that my sister planned a cook-out including s'mores out on their deck that evening! It was fun for one day...but I don't recommend doing it often!

What a great and fun day!

A few of my favorites

I was reading Everyday Miracles' blog and was inspired to do a favorites list too. So, here goes!

My favorite passage of the Bible right now is:My favorite musical artist is Jeremy Camp.My favorite new musical artist is Josh Wilson.My favorite instrument (to attempt to play) is the piano.

I wish I could play more than a few simple songs!As you may already guess by my blog name, my favorite animal is a lamb. Followed closely by the giraffe.I love to curl up in a blanket and watch my favorite movie series over and over!

My favorite of the bunch is Loves Enduring Promise.I'm getting really excited that the air is becoming cool and crisp. My favorite season is Autumn. I love the smells, colors, and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. It seems like it goes by all too quickly!I love nature! I love to go on nature walks. Some of my favorite times traveling have been pulling off on an unplanned stop and walking around viewing this beautiful world that God created.Of course what would summer and autumn be without roating s'mores!?! I love to go on hayrides in the autumn and come back to a campfire to roast s'mores and talk and sing. Speaking of food; not only is spaghetti my favorite food, but I have developed a sauce made from scratch that I have become known for.Lately, I have become a fan of snacking on multigrain saltine crackers. Some people like popcorn...I like saltines!I also love making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and sharing them with others. My favorite fast food restaurant is Chick-Fil-A.However, when I am in California I enjoy eating at In-N-Out Burger.Some of my favorite products are:

Some things I can eat other brands, but with ketchup, I have to have Heinz or I won't eat it!My favorite laundry products:My new favorite tp is:

A day in the life of a concert...

Last Friday, I volunteered with Trinity Communications as the runner for the Matthew West/Josh Wilson concert. This was the first night of their tour...the first concert tour for Josh Wilson. Both of these guys and their band members were really great! Great personalities, demeanor, as well as musicians. I had a blast helping them throughout the day by running errands, serving them lunch and dinner, assisting Josh with setting up his table, etc. If you have a chance to see them in concert near you, I would recommend it highly! The day began at 9:30 with the bus pulling into the church parking lot. The manager and I ran into each other in the hallway both of us looking for the Trinity people. We finally found them and the artist and their crew were directed to breakfast and the showers. The bus driver was taken to the hotel. I spent my morning watching the stage, sound, and lighting go up as well as helping set up the merchandise tables. Once it was almost time for lunch, I set the food out for everyone. After lunch I took the drummer to Sweetwater and Wal-Mart to pick up a few needed things for the concert. Later that afternoon, I took Matthew West's manager to Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby (to get black paper for Josh), Circuit City, Best Buy, and another electronics place trying to find a few more needed items. When we got back, sound check was almost over and it was time for me to set out supper which was already made up. It was a great meal. After supper, I helped out with the Meet & Greet time (more on that later...). When the concert began, I got to go in and see the concert. During the intermission, I helped clean up the supper dishes and put food away. The manager was so greatful for my help, that she gave me Matthew West's newest CD, "I've Got Something to Say". After the concert, they signed autographs until the long line was through! The tear-down crew was still working on taking down the stage and loading it into the trailer when I left a little after 11 p.m. I was going to go pick up the bus driver from the hotel, but someone else said that they would do that since I had already put in a long day. So, I put my new cd into my car and listened to it on my way home.

This is a picture of Matthew West, Me, and Josh Wilson.

This is Josh Wilson opening up the evening. Matthew West introducing his next song...

One of the perks of being a runner is sometimes you get to help out with the meet & greet time. One of the families that got to attend was from my church. The 8-year old boy had previously been in my Sunday School class when he was 4 & 5. He is NOT shy by any means and he is a great singer! While I was chatting with his mom while we waited for Matthew and Josh to come by, all of the sudden we heard her son ask someone if he could go on stage. Yes, Matthew had arrived and this little boy then proved that he knew Matthew's song by heart. Well, as you probably guessed by the picture, Matthew West did indeed invite this little guy up on stage giving him a microphone and allowed him to have his few minutes of fame! I am sure this made his night!

A great day...