Rain Rain Go Away

So I'm not sure what the weather is like in the rest of the country but we have had NOTHING but rain for the past 5 days. Not only am I SICK of it raining but the city is starting to show the affects of the rain. It took me over an hour and a half to get home tonight because all the roads were flooded! It is one of the most frustrating feelings to not know how you will make it home. AND it is a scary feeling to be driving down dark back roads and not know if there will be water ahead in your lane! So yes I'm over the rain. I'm over the flooding. And while we are at it I'm over wet shoes/socks! :)

Please be praying for all those in this area whose houses are getting water damage from this rain. Pray for those who have gotten stranded out on the road somewhere. Pray that this water goes to an area that needs it and leaves us alone!

Neptune Festival

Last weekend was the annual Neptune Festival here in Virginia Beach. It is a weekend of volleyball, food, concerts, sand sculpting and other fun things! We went down to it on Friday night to look at some of the sand sculptors and have dinner. I was AMAZED by some of the creations. Impressed and envious are only two of the feelings I had while we walked amongst the art work. The sculptors truly are amazing artists. I can't even begin to know how they create the things they do OUT OF SAND....most 4 years olds can create sand castles (the most basic sand creation) better than I can! I've included pictures of a few of my favorites. After admiring the sand sculptors we had dinner outside on the boardwalk near one of the concerts and watched as day light shifted into night and then a brilliant orange moon made is climb into the sky. It was a great evening!

Homemade Ice Cream in a bag

So we get our milk delivered. That's right a "milkman" comes every Monday morning at 4 a.m. and leaves milk (in a cooler) on the front porch. The milk comes in half gallon glass bottles from a local farm. We have a reoccurring order each week of 3 half gallon 1% milk. Normally, we go through all that in a weeks time. However, for whatever reason this past week we only drank half of that and had quite a bit of milk left. I meant to call yesterday to have them cut back our order but I forgot so this morning, like clock work, 3 half gallons appeared at our doorstep. Sooo we have a significant amount (2 1/2 gallons to be exact) of milk to use up this week. So tonight we had potato soup for dinner and then I made the girls some home made ice cream in a bag for dessert. If you've never made ice cream in a bag you should definitely try it! It is delicious and tastes just like real homemade ice cream.

What you'll need

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup milk or half & half
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons rock salt or sea salt
• 1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
• 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
• Ice cubes

How to make it:

1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
3. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
4. Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
5. Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!

My Sister

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ----Marion C. Garretty

Clayton

2 years ago yesterday was my beautiful little nephews 2nd birthday. It is hard for me to believe that he could possibly be 2 already. Time flies! I happen to think my nephew is absolutely perfect! He is handsome and smart and just ....well.....perfect! :)

He is obsessed with tractors right now. While I was home a few weeks ago I was able to take him to the Morgan County fair with me to watch my friend Coz participate in the tractor pull. Coz even took the time to carry Clayton around and sit him up on practically every tractor there! Clayton was SOOO excited!

Clayton is also getting way more vocal these days. In true Lauer fashion he is already a football fan. When we watch games he'll go running around the house yelling "Go Buckeyes"(which sounds more like Buppeyes) or "Bengals Go!"

He really just is great. I adore being his aunt. I'm so lucky to even get to play a small part in his life. Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Hurricane news

Thank you all for your prayers! The tropical storm is no longer a warning and is now only an advisory. It's been raining there off and on all last night and this morning but it was nothing like they had originally anticipated. Praise the Lord! However, Please continue to pray for the country and its people as the rains of the past few months have devastated many families already.

Tropical Storm Matthew

Matthew Expected in Honduras

September 24th, 2010 · No Comments

Hondurans are busy preparing for Tropical Storm Matthew, nailing wood over windows, stocking up on provisions, and sandbagging flood prone areas.

Tropical Storm Matthew’s winds have increased to 50 miles (85 kilometers) an hour from 45 mph earlier today, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has reported. A hurricane warning is in place from Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua to Limon, Honduras, including the offshore islands of Guanaja, Utila, Roatan, and the outlying keys (cays). Winds of 74 mph are expected within 36 hours.

Please pray for Honduras. They have already had way too much rain these past few weeks. This storm could devastate the country even more. Pray for the people who are going to be affected by rain, mudslides, and wind damage. I may not live there anymore but that country and its people definitely still own my heart.

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm15/projectedpath_large.html

Scripture

These scriptures hit my heart today

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

-Matthew 5:14

"In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is, destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal."

-John 12:25

Doubting Ashley

John 20:24 "Now Thomas one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.' A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands, Reach out your hand and put it into my side, Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"

I recently read this passage and it really stuck with me. If you are like me you are more like Thomas than you want to admit. We are ok with believing in Jesus but we want some kind of sign or miracle. We want/need Him to PROVE himself to us.

Far too often I walk through life questioning Jesus' presence. I'll go to make a decision and BEG Him to show me what to do yet when His answer comes I doubt whether it is truly from Him or not. I demand big flashy answers......yet I know perfectly well that I serve a God who speaks just as often in a still small voice as He does in neon lights. So why oh why do I give way to my feelings of doubt. Why is it so hard for me to simply believe without seeing???

I pray that I can become one of those blessed people Jesus talks about who truly can believe without seeing. I challenge each of you to do the same.

A new look on Matthew 25:35

One of my friends posted this quote a few weeks ago. I liked it so much that I promptly got online and purchased the book: The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns.

For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved. (RESV - Richard E. Stearns Version)

What a powerful quote. That passage (Matthew 25:35) has always been one of my favorite passages in the bible. However, Richard Stearn presents it in a completely new and powerful way. Maybe its just me but it resonates deep into those selfish and self-centered places of my heart. I think if we are being honest with ourselves and each other we have to admit that these words were written to each of us personally.

I hope that these words reach you today in the way that they have reached me.

Grandma Oyer

At the beginning of this month I had the pleasure of going home to Ohio to spend a week with my Grandmother. My parents were going out of town on vacation and needed someone to care for my grandmother. My grandma suffers from severe dementia. She has been living with my parents for the past 6 months or so since she hasn't been able to care for herself.

For the past couple of years my grandmother has started forgetting more and more of her past. On the rare occasions that she does remember my name she forgets the details of my life. For example, she tends to ask where my husband is (I tend to tell her I have NO idea where he is but if she finds him to let me know!). However, there are random moments during one of her "good days" when she'll make a certain face or say something that is very much like her old self. It is in those moments that I glimpse the grandma I knew from my childhood.

During my week with my grandma there were moments when she would reach out to hold my hand or pat my face. I'm not convinced she knew my name but I believe she found my face to be familiar and that she meant those touches to be full of tenderness and love. I believe that with those touches she was trying to portray the words that her brain/tongue no longer allow her to express. I will cherish those moments forever.

My only regret is that I didn't take the time to really get to know my grandmother before she got sick. She lived out of the state for most of my childhood and by the time she moved back I was older and busy with my own teenage life. My grandmother (and grandfather) spent several years as a missionary in Honduras. By the time that I moved to Honduras my grandmothers mind was too far gone for her to be able to recall and retell the stories from her time there. I will never get a chance to hear her stories. All I have is a couple of photo albums that she put together with minimal subtitles and headings.

So yes those 7 days at home with my Grandmother were precious to me....I just regret that they didn't happen sooner. Remember to take time with those you love and savor the me time you have with them.

25 for 25

So, today is my birthday! I'm now 25. For those of you who know me well you'll know that I don't really like celebrating my birthday and I certainly don't like being a year older! So in honor of this years birthday one of my best friends suggested I create a list of 25 things to do while I'm 25. The list is supposed to help ensure that this year could quite possibly be one of the best years of my life. If nothing else the list is meant to help me see my 25th year as a positive occurrence.

Sooo... Below is a list of things that I want to complete/accomplish/try in my 25th year. Thank you to everyone who made a suggestion for what I should do. I loved ALL of the suggestions. However, do to time, money, or other reasons some of those suggestions just couldn't make the cut.

Some of the items are weird, some of them will be difficult, some will take alot of time, but all of them are things that I have never done, but will do in the coming year. As the year progresses, i'll document each item on the list as I "check" them off with photos and maybe a little writing. At this point, I'm not exactly sure how all of these are going to work out and what the details might be, but working on the list will make 25 a heck of an adventure either way. Here goes, in no particular order..

1. Skydive

2. Spend an entire day from open to close in Starbucks

3. Ice Skate Outside

4. Read 5 of the "classics"

5. Donate Bone Marrow

6. Go to the OSU vs. Michigan game

7. Attempt the Buffalo Wild Wings Challenge

8. Run a Half Marathon

9. Go Skinny Dipping

10. Get a Tattoo

11. Road Trip over 600 miles

12. Zip Line

13. Get Dreads OR donate my hair to Locks for Love

14. Visit NYC in the fall (and go Karaoke-ing with Jessica)

15. Read the entire bible in a year

16. Blog every day for a year

17. Go crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay

18. Watch ALL of the AFI top 100 movies

19. Visit a convent/monastery

20. Try every DQ blizzard

21. Create a Family story book

22. Go on a cruise

23. Send 52 letters

24. Ride a cart-bike at the beach

25. Try a food I've never had before