"We are only special because we belong to God"

As I sat with my grammy this morning on the couch of her home, she shared with me this wonderful quote. She told me the story of how when she left the hospital on Friday, one of the nurses wanted to walk her out even though it was against the hospital policy. The nurse told my grandma that she was special...something that many people believe about my grandma. Anyways, my grandma looked at the nurse and said, "I am only special because I belong to God." One of the many selfless things my grandma told me.

Sitting on the couch and looking at her just brought tears to my eyes. We began talking about prayer and she said that when she was in the hospital it was so difficult to pray because people were always in and out of her room. Finally, now that she has been home, she has been able to resume her daily meditation. She shared with me that when she is finished praying, she feels a sense of peace and a readiness to go home to God. I asked her if that is what she wanted...to be home in Heaven instead of experiencing the chronic pain and suffering. She told me that sometimes she wants to be home with God but that he continues to keep her around for a reason and that there are still so many people she feels like she can help. 27 years after her first stroke, chronic/daily pain, a brain hemorrhage and surgery in which she experienced near death, yet she still wants to help others and make a difference...

I also asked her if she is ever upset with God because of all the suffering she has had to endure. She is the LAST person who should deserve this to happen simply because she is one of God's angels here on earth. My grandma of course believes that it is not God who causes suffering and that he is responsible for the healing...and that she thanks him every day for blessing her with more time here on earth. Wow.

Love and Blessings: according to Grammy this is what life is all about. Loving everyone around us and being thankful for all the blessings in our life. Life is about being connected to God and being connected to others. Besides God, my grandma's relationships with people are the most important thing in her life. She has touched so many lives by simply showing each and every person unconditional love. My grandma has been a blessing in my life and many others. There is no doubt that she is the most special and amazing role model in my life. The world definitely needs more people like her. Having her home is such a miracle and blessing and I hope to live each day in her honor but most importantly, God's honor.

PRAISE!

Tomorrow I am flying home to Tumwater...

I am celebrating my grandma's homecoming with my family!

After seven weeks in the hospital, she finally gets to come home!

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers...

God worked a miracle :)

Back home to Life Center

Sunday morning started off just right with a nice 2 hour hike on Beacon Hill. Yesterday I had a craving for hiking so I had my mind set on waking up early and getting some trails in before church. Just my luck I woke up to pouring rain but decided I would still set off on the adventure. Getting drenched as well worth it though and I enjoyed being out of the city a big in the silence of nature. Maybe I will make this an every Sunday routine!?

With all the weekends spent back in Tumwater, I have not been to Life Center since July 25th. And boy have I missed it! Never have I felt so connected to a church! So it is safe to say that I was absolutely in Heaven this morning when I finally made it to a service. I was lucky enough to go with Jimmy this morning and meet up with Phil when we got there. As usual we sat in the 3rd row so we could be up close! The worship was amazing and I felt like I could not focus on anything other than praising and worshiping God. The song that reached me most this morning was, "Nothing But The Blood of Jesus"...What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. No matter how many times I mess up and sin, I know that God will forgive me -- just one of the few things that makes him amazing.

In this chaotic period of my life, it was appropriate that Joe's sermon was on Balancing Work, Family, Self and God. While technically I am not working, I consider Graduate School my full time job. Joe referenced Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other Gods before me" to explain that work may be worship, but we cannot worship our work. He explained that when work because the most important thing in our life, that is idolatry. Secondly, he taught that we are to "Love our families, but not more than God". This seems like a difficult concept to agree with but says that our family cannot be our God. If we love God more, then we will love our family better. The third point he made was to "Take care of yourself but don't be selfish". We are responsible for taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually but we can't get wrapped up in it or it will become selfishness. Lastly, Joe said to LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT...and there are not buts. Living a balanced life means putting God first. If we let Jesus lead, our life will be more abundant.

I felt right back at home at LifeCenter and am so blessed to have a church I feel so connected to. The rest of Sunday was nice and relaxing as well. I had lunch with Jimmy and then took him to the airport for his first MedSchool interview. I came home and spent the afternoon doing homework, catching up on the phone, staining chairs, watching FRIENDS and cleaning with Ebay. I am looking forward to two days @ Willard with the 2nd graders and then 3 days of classes @ Whitworth!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. GOD IS LOVE :)))

Weekend in Spokane

It has been almost 6 weeks since I have spent a weekend in Spokane. It felt a little strange not to be packing up my car or suitcase to drive or fly to the westside. As much as I miss my family and wish I could have seen them and my grandma, it was a little refreshing stay around town. I guess I didn't have much of a choice since I had to take the last of the West E (hopefully). Therefore, Friday night after a long day at school, Eric (an MIT friend) and I camped out at the Service Station till 10 pm, cramming in some studying! Saturday morning I set 3 alarm clocks for 6:00, 6:15 and 6:30 am. This was to avoid the slight possibility of me sleeping in an hour and showing up late to the test...Anyways, the test went well, I hope!

Saturday was spent doing some good ole' garage saling. Ebay and I scored 2 chairs for our new dining room table and I purchased two collector item Olympia Beer glasses. I still don't know why they were for sale and why they only cost 25 cents! After hitting up most of Spokane, we treated ourselves to Subway and successfully watched a whole disk of One Tree Hill. The whole day we were anticipating the arrival of Team Baylis (Tom and Linda). They finally arrived at about 5:30...and a couple hours later we rolled into Outback Steakhouse for a lovely meal. Not surprisingly, we made quite the scene. After getting kicked out for being too loud (just kidding), we stopped at Albertsons for a nice bottle of Bella Wine. Then Ebay and I accompanied Jimmy to his hour long shopping trip at Winco and ended the night watching Ratatouille.

Sunday was just as wonderful! I made a batch of bran muffins in the morning (my new, weekend routine), attended a wedding, hiked around Riverside State Park and even saw two porcupines, watched the OC...and of course...did HOMEWORK!

While I missed Tumwater...it was very nice getting to spend a weekend in Spokane.

Simple, Weekly Update

Tuesday: In-service day @ Willard, more classroom preparation for the first day of school, Social Studies Night Class, Didiers with Ebay and then trip to Walmart, home at 10 pm!

Wednesday: In-serive day @ Willard, Starbucks to use WI-FI, Taste of Thai with Emily and Ebay, watched Emily pack, prepare for first day, last night sleeping with Emily :(

Thursday: Emotional goodbye with Em, FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, Princess Day, Service Station with Ebay, wine and dessert with Ebay, Walmart Trip, 4 episodes of the O.C, sleep!

Friday: School day, nap with Ebay after watching 50 First Dates, Taste of Thai...again, rent the Back-UP plan and buy ice-cream, watched the Back-UP Plan with Ebay and ate ice cream, packed, bed, sleep!

Saturday: Early morning flight to SeaTac, home to TumH20, visit with Grammy all day, dinner with the fam, some O.C watching, watched the Back-UP plan with Liana, sleep time!

Sunday: Early morning homework, coffee with Jackie :), helped mom at school, visit with Grammy :))), Ande and Claire arrived in TumH20, chilled at the house, drove around Tumwater, Downtown Oly for Harbor Days, THAI Pavilion for dinner, walk around Tumwater Falls, met Jackie and Starbucks (again), back to the house, Ande and Claire left, Jackie and Analisa pillow talk, back to visit and say goodnight to grammy, hung out with Steven Paul Cable, home, sleep time!

Monday: Bran Muffins, visit grammy for last time this weekend, back to SeaTac, back to Spokane, reunited with Ebay, Winco trip, back to R apartment, home and sleep!

A wonderful first week of school (and so proud of Ebay and Claire for their first weeks too!), a great visit home, busy busy busy but lots and lots of love :)

Family is the greatest!

My first week at Willard Elementary preparing for the start of the school year has been very exciting. However, I thought I would take the opportunity to come back to Tumwater for a few days to spend time with my grandma. She has moved from the hospital to a rehab center which is absolutely amazing progress from where she was 2 weeks ago. Today I am sitting by her bedside watching her take a little afternoon nap. This whole experience has shown me how important family is. Since my grandma's first day in the hospital, different family members have been taking 5 hour shifts spending time with her in her room and making sure there is always someone to keep her company. My grandma has given so much to our family and it is now our turn to be there for her.

Spending all this time with my family has really made me appreciate my mom, dad and sister. My dad and I have had some great quality father-daughter time together. We got to go on a kayaking adventure in the Puget Sound, we ran a 10k race together which I wouldn't have completed without his encouragement and we also enjoyed some hiking in California together. I really enjoy the ability to have these adventures together and I look forward to many more in the future! He pushes me to always be the best that I can be :)

My mom and I have had a great time talking about teaching now that I am beginning in my 2nd grade classroom. It has been so special to share with her all that I have learned. I have always looked up to my mom and the wonderful teacher that she is and I am looking forward to the wonderful support and advice she will be able to offer me this year. Since being home it has been a humbling experience to see how supportive she is to grammy and all the time that she has spent with her by her hospital bed. My mom is a prime example of putting family first...I am so lucky that she is my mom.

It has also been such a blessing to spend more time with Liana. That girl keeps me entertained for sure...whether she is performing the stanky leg or the jerk or discussing plans to be a 'balloon animal maker', she is always bringing a smile to my face. It makes me so happy to watch her blossom into a young adult (now that she is 17) and see all that she is capable of. Liana is a spitfire and she is not afraid to be who she truly is which is a very admirable quality! With everything our family has been through the past couple weeks, it has reminded me that Liana and I will have each other for the rest of our lives. Sisters are truly a blessing and I couldn't ask for a more special and wonderful little sis :)

So while being in Spokane immersed in my busy life as a graduate student...and enjoying weekends with my friends, it is important not to forget what life is about and that family is truly the center of it all.

August 25th 2010....

Four years ago I was making my first official trip over the mountains to Spokane, WA in anticipation for my first year as a college student at Whitworth...


I'll never forget my first day meeting Emily McGrady-Beach, my roommate. Before getting to Whitworth, I stopped at the Francis Starbucks to change my clothes so I looked halfway decent. However, there was Emily in our dorm room wearing a cut off and basketball shorts :) A life-long friendship began that first day...never would I expect that we would have to say goodbye to each other...

Emily and I downtown Spokane during our "Intro to Public Transport" hall activity

Freshman Year, September 2006

Do you girls remember MOCK ROCK and our dance performance...or Yell Off and all the BJ cheers we learned? What about 'wooing?' where we had the chance to scope out all the hott freshman boys! There was also the Fancy Feast, birdy and perch, cutting off our fears in the Chapel...

B2E: Baldwin 2nd East

Well, I am still a Whitworth student however, a Master's student just doesn't have the same feel as an undergrad. I mean, I can no longer attend and take part in Mock Rock or Yell Off....there is no more streaking around campus or moving into dorm rooms...no more meals in Saga or walks in the back forty...Yes, I will still be on Whitworth attending my Master's classes but I will no longer know or recognize everyone I see. Most of all, my best friends will not be walking around campus with me :(



However, there is nothing to do than be excited for the new phase of my life that has begun. I have spent 3 days in my 2nd grade classroom at Willard Elementary helping my mentor teacher get ready for the students to arrive. While I was dreading going back so early, it has actually been quite enjoyable getting back into the groove. Plus, I have been able to do what I love best: setting up a classroom and cutting out lots and lots of laminated things :) There is no doubt that this fall semester is probably going to be the busiest but I am looking forward to a challenge!

hmm....where will I be August 25th, 2014?