It's time to bring back the family blog. I've been in a Facebook stupor for too long. Down with Facebook, Hello Blogger!!
Our life the last 9 months, in no particular order:
1) Brandon GRADUATED from med school!! AND passed his state board exams!!! Then he took a fabulous job working at Midland Children's as a staff physcial therapist. Blessings in every area of his life!!
2) The boys are growing like weeds. Braylon is 7 going on 17 and Blaine is 5. Both are healthy and well.
3) I can officially announce this now that I've given my boss the courtesy first: I've decided to leave the world of probation and try on a new career - Teaching. I start my certification program next week and am really looking forward to it.
4) Brandon and I continue to stay active at church. Busy in ministry and BLESSED.
Well, that's about the short of it. God is good all the time!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Turn Around, Don't Drown
Those are words of advice I've come to accept as the gospel truth over the last 4 days. For anyone living under a rock or not on Facebook, or both, let me recount my nightmarish experience.
On my 33rd birthday - last Friday - there came a monsoon of epic proportions. The weather man said to expect bad thunder showers with possible flash flooding. I went to work as usual that day not expecting any interesting turn of events to occur.
At lunchtime, I ran a few errands with a co-worker friend of mine. By the time we returned back to work in the van, the rains were coming down hard and we had to maneuver ourselves back into the building. We were both soaked. I knew then it was going to be bad going home, but tried to put it out of my mind.
At around 1:45 p.m. all the employees in my building were directed to the bottom floor due to a tornado sighting in Midland County. I'm still unsure of the credibility of that claim, but nevertheless, we obeyed. We returned to our desks around 2:05 p.m. and worked as usual. All workers in my immediate area and I would take turns peering out the window to see how black the sky was or how big the hail looked. Ironically now, I remember thinking how I didn't mind hail damage in my old van.
At 3:30 p.m. the director of the building walked through the halls announcing that he had made a decision to close the building due to inclement weather. In fact, he noted that his weather source said there was another storm coming and that everyone needed to vacate the building within 10 minutes. Truth be told, I had one thing only on my mind by that point: Get to Braylon who was at a school 5 minutes away. I knew I couldn't get across town to get Blaine quickly, but at least I would have one of them with me. Brandon was supposed to get both of them, but I knew that he had not left the house yet by 3:30 p.m.
With my focus on my son and not necessarily on safety issues, I left the building in a hurry. I was going to take the 'road more traveled' but the line was not moving as quickly as I wanted it to move. Here is where mistake #1 occurred: I turned off the high road and headed for the 'road less traveled.' I knew the back ways pretty well because I take them fairly often. The first intersection was too flooded. So I went to the next, then the next: By the time I could see dry land I was far off the beaten path and in about a foot of water. I had only to get through one more intersection before I clearly saw a safe path in front of me.....
I pulled up to that last stop sign so that I could get out of the mess I had tangled myself up in. Right when I hit the brake, the nose of the van went down - And more down. The water started rolling in the van and my first response was to roll down my window about 12 inches. I could see water everywhere around me and that's when I realized; This intersection goes really low. I dialed 911 and got an operator right away. I was able to stay calm for several seconds. It wasn't until I was drifting away from the intersection, swept away in the flooding that I started to panic. I was unable to see what cross road I was on and the 911 operator was getting irritated.
After I had turned 180 degrees in the van and drifted about 30 yards away, my help was provided. I told the 911 operator I saw a City of Midland Water and Waste Management Truck coming towards me and they disconnected the call. The two COM men were most helpful; Pulling me from my van window into their truck window. They drove me out of the mess and onto dry land. I knew they had to be available to help others so I did not ask them to drive me anywhere.
From there I walked to a nearby elementary school. They were most helpful in letting me seek refuge from the rain and wind. I'm sure I looked pretty pitiful up to my belly in soaking water and drenched from above with pelting rain, too. I soon learned that AT&T had put restrictions on all non-emergency phone calls in the area due to the storm. After a lot of texting and coordinating, my parents came to rescue me and Braylon; my in-laws rescued Blaine from his school and Brandon stayed at home and out of the mess (after I sent a nearby friend to deliver the message).
I have learned a valuable lesson: If you're safe - Stay safe. The kids were never in danger at their schools. We just put ourselves into danger trying to earn our own peace of mind. Hindsight tells me if I had just refused to leave work and stayed until 5 or 6 p.m. I would have been much better off.
Sooooo, please take this lesson from me; Turn Around, Don't Drown!!!
On my 33rd birthday - last Friday - there came a monsoon of epic proportions. The weather man said to expect bad thunder showers with possible flash flooding. I went to work as usual that day not expecting any interesting turn of events to occur.
At lunchtime, I ran a few errands with a co-worker friend of mine. By the time we returned back to work in the van, the rains were coming down hard and we had to maneuver ourselves back into the building. We were both soaked. I knew then it was going to be bad going home, but tried to put it out of my mind.
At around 1:45 p.m. all the employees in my building were directed to the bottom floor due to a tornado sighting in Midland County. I'm still unsure of the credibility of that claim, but nevertheless, we obeyed. We returned to our desks around 2:05 p.m. and worked as usual. All workers in my immediate area and I would take turns peering out the window to see how black the sky was or how big the hail looked. Ironically now, I remember thinking how I didn't mind hail damage in my old van.
At 3:30 p.m. the director of the building walked through the halls announcing that he had made a decision to close the building due to inclement weather. In fact, he noted that his weather source said there was another storm coming and that everyone needed to vacate the building within 10 minutes. Truth be told, I had one thing only on my mind by that point: Get to Braylon who was at a school 5 minutes away. I knew I couldn't get across town to get Blaine quickly, but at least I would have one of them with me. Brandon was supposed to get both of them, but I knew that he had not left the house yet by 3:30 p.m.
With my focus on my son and not necessarily on safety issues, I left the building in a hurry. I was going to take the 'road more traveled' but the line was not moving as quickly as I wanted it to move. Here is where mistake #1 occurred: I turned off the high road and headed for the 'road less traveled.' I knew the back ways pretty well because I take them fairly often. The first intersection was too flooded. So I went to the next, then the next: By the time I could see dry land I was far off the beaten path and in about a foot of water. I had only to get through one more intersection before I clearly saw a safe path in front of me.....
I pulled up to that last stop sign so that I could get out of the mess I had tangled myself up in. Right when I hit the brake, the nose of the van went down - And more down. The water started rolling in the van and my first response was to roll down my window about 12 inches. I could see water everywhere around me and that's when I realized; This intersection goes really low. I dialed 911 and got an operator right away. I was able to stay calm for several seconds. It wasn't until I was drifting away from the intersection, swept away in the flooding that I started to panic. I was unable to see what cross road I was on and the 911 operator was getting irritated.
After I had turned 180 degrees in the van and drifted about 30 yards away, my help was provided. I told the 911 operator I saw a City of Midland Water and Waste Management Truck coming towards me and they disconnected the call. The two COM men were most helpful; Pulling me from my van window into their truck window. They drove me out of the mess and onto dry land. I knew they had to be available to help others so I did not ask them to drive me anywhere.
From there I walked to a nearby elementary school. They were most helpful in letting me seek refuge from the rain and wind. I'm sure I looked pretty pitiful up to my belly in soaking water and drenched from above with pelting rain, too. I soon learned that AT&T had put restrictions on all non-emergency phone calls in the area due to the storm. After a lot of texting and coordinating, my parents came to rescue me and Braylon; my in-laws rescued Blaine from his school and Brandon stayed at home and out of the mess (after I sent a nearby friend to deliver the message).
I have learned a valuable lesson: If you're safe - Stay safe. The kids were never in danger at their schools. We just put ourselves into danger trying to earn our own peace of mind. Hindsight tells me if I had just refused to leave work and stayed until 5 or 6 p.m. I would have been much better off.
Sooooo, please take this lesson from me; Turn Around, Don't Drown!!!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Random Acts
Of Kindness.....
I don't know why God keeps blessing us with sweet, thoughtful friends, but I guess He knows we need all the help we can get in this world!
You know who you are and you know what you did!! (And so does God, incidentally!)
I pray I'm a great friend in return, not just to those who have personally blessed me, but to everyone God puts in my path.
I don't know why God keeps blessing us with sweet, thoughtful friends, but I guess He knows we need all the help we can get in this world!
You know who you are and you know what you did!! (And so does God, incidentally!)
I pray I'm a great friend in return, not just to those who have personally blessed me, but to everyone God puts in my path.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Movie Review
Movie: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Rated: PG
Starring: I'm sorry I really have no idea who the teen actors are, although I should
The story is a coming of age journey that one teenager encounters when he finds out that he is the son of one of the prominent Greek gods. In order to restore his father's name and prevent a war breaking out between the gods, Percy Jackson must journey to Hades and back again in search for the stolen lightening bolt. He finds a lot of help amidst many foes along the way.
Becky's Rating: A
Ok, truth be told, I really enjoyed this movie. It was relatively clean (a few minor curse words and no suggestive material). However, I MUST say that I feel this movie was really PUSHING the PG rating. We took both boys and Braylon was sitting on the edge of his seat with worried looks in a few places - And he's the OLDER of the two. I simply had to cover Blaine's eyes about 5 or 6 times because I was sure we were scarring him for life. It's been 10 days since we saw the film and he's yet to have nightmares, but only by the grace of God, because it was too scary for him in my book. The story was well developed and the adventure moved along smoothly. It was entertaining for children as well as parents. Of course, let me make one brief mention that the movie does center around FICTIONAL gods. I don't find it to benefit anyone for Christians to rally against this film for the sake that it deals with idols or false gods. It's a work of fiction and any parent can easily explain this to a child before or after the movie, which is what we did.
Bottom Line: An excellent choice - For families with kids 7 and up!!
Rated: PG
Starring: I'm sorry I really have no idea who the teen actors are, although I should
The story is a coming of age journey that one teenager encounters when he finds out that he is the son of one of the prominent Greek gods. In order to restore his father's name and prevent a war breaking out between the gods, Percy Jackson must journey to Hades and back again in search for the stolen lightening bolt. He finds a lot of help amidst many foes along the way.
Becky's Rating: A
Ok, truth be told, I really enjoyed this movie. It was relatively clean (a few minor curse words and no suggestive material). However, I MUST say that I feel this movie was really PUSHING the PG rating. We took both boys and Braylon was sitting on the edge of his seat with worried looks in a few places - And he's the OLDER of the two. I simply had to cover Blaine's eyes about 5 or 6 times because I was sure we were scarring him for life. It's been 10 days since we saw the film and he's yet to have nightmares, but only by the grace of God, because it was too scary for him in my book. The story was well developed and the adventure moved along smoothly. It was entertaining for children as well as parents. Of course, let me make one brief mention that the movie does center around FICTIONAL gods. I don't find it to benefit anyone for Christians to rally against this film for the sake that it deals with idols or false gods. It's a work of fiction and any parent can easily explain this to a child before or after the movie, which is what we did.
Bottom Line: An excellent choice - For families with kids 7 and up!!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Silver Lining in Prayer
You know its going to be a long prayer when it starts off with "Dear God, Chapter 1." At that point you just have to take the ride with your imaginative 4 year old and realize that some days are just like that.
My favorite part in Blaine's prayers is that usually at the end it goes something like this, "And thank you for the bad guys, the evil people and all the enemies and even for Braylon." This came after having two separate conversations, 1) telling Blaine we pray for our enemies and those who persecute us and 2) reminding Blaine not to intentionally leave out his brother in his prayer after he prays for every one else he can think of. Don't think we've let it slip by us his particular placement of his brother in his prayers. The little stinker.
Bottom line, however, is that we take the time to pray with the boys. It's their time to say whatever is on their hearts to God. And the cool part is the silver lining for us parents...We get the blessing of hearing them talk to God, but we also usually get a chuckle out of it, too. I can't help but to think that God does too, sometimes.
My favorite part in Blaine's prayers is that usually at the end it goes something like this, "And thank you for the bad guys, the evil people and all the enemies and even for Braylon." This came after having two separate conversations, 1) telling Blaine we pray for our enemies and those who persecute us and 2) reminding Blaine not to intentionally leave out his brother in his prayer after he prays for every one else he can think of. Don't think we've let it slip by us his particular placement of his brother in his prayers. The little stinker.
Bottom line, however, is that we take the time to pray with the boys. It's their time to say whatever is on their hearts to God. And the cool part is the silver lining for us parents...We get the blessing of hearing them talk to God, but we also usually get a chuckle out of it, too. I can't help but to think that God does too, sometimes.
March Madness
Thinking of changing the name of my blog to Monthly Dose of Hamilton. Would be more fitting.....
March is upon us...In reading my last entry, there really haven't been any more updates since then. Our bedroom is 90% done - We only lack putting up the crown molding to be done. It looks really nice. It's a sea foam blue with browns and greens. Sounds a little different, but it looks really pretty.
Brandon is off for Spring Break this week and the boys will have theirs next week. The last 2 years the weeks have been off from each other, preventing us from traveling. We hope to still take a weekend trip next weekend to get away...Boy could I use a weekend trip!
That's about it...Livin la vida loca!!!
March is upon us...In reading my last entry, there really haven't been any more updates since then. Our bedroom is 90% done - We only lack putting up the crown molding to be done. It looks really nice. It's a sea foam blue with browns and greens. Sounds a little different, but it looks really pretty.
Brandon is off for Spring Break this week and the boys will have theirs next week. The last 2 years the weeks have been off from each other, preventing us from traveling. We hope to still take a weekend trip next weekend to get away...Boy could I use a weekend trip!
That's about it...Livin la vida loca!!!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
February Update
I have good reasons for not being a good blogger lately (other than my nasty Facebook addiction). Blaine had tonsillectomy/adonoidectomy on 1/29/10. When Braylon had the surgery done in 2006, let me tell you, he bounced back extremely quickly. Like, as in, he was completely fine by the next week and I don't recall him missing much school at all. Not the case with Blaine. Noooooo.... He seemed just fine the same day of his surgery, when I suppose he still had the strong hospital meds running through his veins. But by the next day, it was a losing battle. I have never seen a kid who is usually so active, so dead to the world. He was a limp noodle on the sofa for 3 solid days. By Sunday night, we were excited because he got off the sofa to go pick up a toy and come back and sit down. Nearly needless to say, it took 2 full weeks of recovery before we could stop giving him meds and before he didn't wake up at night screaming in pain (which would only aggravate the pain). That first week was exhausting with around the clock medicine dosing and comforting...Thankfully he is back to himself and back to school with a clean bill of health. So far, no strep!
On February 5 we also learned that Brandon's grandmother passed away here in Midland. They had moved her to inpatient hospice the day prior and she didn't make it even their projected 4-7 days after moving. Her life was a beautiful one and I am so grateful to have known her and been a part of her family. She treated me like I was her own granddaughter and I never felt like I wasn't. We attended her funeral here in town on February 9th. Brandon was a pall-bearer. I had the privilege of playing 'Victory in Jesus' for her service. It was a nice memorial to her.
And here we find ourselves leaning toward the end of February. I'm finally getting around to some home projects I've needed to tend to for some time. (Thank you IRS refund check!!) We are redecorating our bedroom first since the boys rooms are nearly done. I also worked on some finishing touches on Blaine's this week and Braylon's will be done very soon as well. That will just leave 1 room to do - the current junk/utility room. Probably won't get to do much with that, but I can at least make it look a little nicer than it does presently. It seems like there is always a room that collects junk more than other rooms do....And since we don't have a garage, there you go!
That brings us up to date....Work is good, the kids are healthy, Brandon has 63 days of school left before walking the graduation stage. Life is good.
On February 5 we also learned that Brandon's grandmother passed away here in Midland. They had moved her to inpatient hospice the day prior and she didn't make it even their projected 4-7 days after moving. Her life was a beautiful one and I am so grateful to have known her and been a part of her family. She treated me like I was her own granddaughter and I never felt like I wasn't. We attended her funeral here in town on February 9th. Brandon was a pall-bearer. I had the privilege of playing 'Victory in Jesus' for her service. It was a nice memorial to her.
And here we find ourselves leaning toward the end of February. I'm finally getting around to some home projects I've needed to tend to for some time. (Thank you IRS refund check!!) We are redecorating our bedroom first since the boys rooms are nearly done. I also worked on some finishing touches on Blaine's this week and Braylon's will be done very soon as well. That will just leave 1 room to do - the current junk/utility room. Probably won't get to do much with that, but I can at least make it look a little nicer than it does presently. It seems like there is always a room that collects junk more than other rooms do....And since we don't have a garage, there you go!
That brings us up to date....Work is good, the kids are healthy, Brandon has 63 days of school left before walking the graduation stage. Life is good.
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