Category Archives: Life

A day in the life of Laurie

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So someone told me that I needed to blog more and I said, well if I don’t have much to say what do you want me to blog about. Her response–your life…what you do each day. So Amanda, here you go–you asked for it.
Monday 11-19-07
I woke up at 5:00 am when the alarm went off–well, I actually got out of bed at 5:18am then I took a shower and got ready for work. I ate some breakfast while Presley spent some time doing her business outside in the backyard. Around 6:10 I left for work and drove all the way to Dallas. Just kidding, it’s not that bad of a drive. I arrived to work around 6:45 and got started calibrating all our machines and printing out our schedule sheet for the day. The day wasn’t too bad, it was busy in the morning but not at all in the afternoon. About 2:30 I left the wonderful world of Children’s Medical Center and went to the Carrell Clinic for physical therapy on my shoulder with Rosanne. She gave me some exercises and stretches to do that will help with my shoulder and hopefully I won’t have to go back because it can get pretty expensive–especially when you’re already paying 3 hospital bills. After PT I left and drove back home to Red Oak. I got home and aired up mine and Jonathan’s bike tires and looked at my brakes because they have been sticking. But by the time we were ready to ride it was dark so that didn’t happen. I started chopping up the veggies for dinner and once Jonathan got home we started cooking dinner. We made a veggie dish–well what was supposed to be a egg, veggie Quiche I think, it was okay but I’d be completely fine never eating it again. After we ate dinner and cleaned the dishes (about 6:30) I made Jonathan pick between two colors to paint the dinning room. I think that was too much stress and if it were up to him we would keep white walls everywhere. I told him the walls are getting painted either way so you can either give me your input with color and tell me if you don’t like one or I’ll just pick. Fair enough, right? Well we finally picked a color so we got in the car and drove to Home Depot. On the way we took some food to Richard and Ambers for Richard to take one of his students for a Thanksgiving dinner and we ended up staying there for a while just talking. So after we got the paint I figured well it’s too late to start painting tonight so we went to Marble Slab and got some frozen yogurt–and it was good! Then we came home and I taped off the edges of the trim on the wall and I’m all ready to start painting. That was my day–very exciting I know. Today is going to be just as exciting as yesterday–except when I get home today I’ll start painting and then at 6:30 go to our small group and have some great mexican food and play some games. We normally do a bible study but with thanksgiving this week we decided to take a break.

Painting the kitchen

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Friday night Jonathan and I started painting the kitchen…I’m lucky I finally got him to do it! For some reason he doesn’t want to paint anything….he’s afraid to put holes in the wall because “they are permanent” and I guess he’s afraid of permanency? So he’s scared to paint a kitchen for fear he won’t like it but he married me for the REST OF HIS LIFE –hummmm odd ball! Anyway we finally wrapped it up and it’s all finished. Below are the before and after pictures. Well I forgot to get a before picture so it’s just one we took before we moved in.

kitcken
painted kitchen

Relaxing

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The other day someone asked what I did to relax. Most people say read a book, watch TV or soak in a tub…well for most people that would work but not for me. I’ get bored doing all that and not relaxed. My mind just wonders to all the things that need to be done or I want to do and that’s not relaxing. So while most are reading a book to relax, I’m out doing something in the yard or painting–not on a canvas–you must be joking, but a room. So this weekend hopefully I’ll be able get atleast our kitchen painted. Now I just need to get Jonathan on board–I don’t expect him to paint, I don’t mind doing it all. He’s got a CWF show Saturday night anyway so while he’s donig that, I can relax while painting the kitchen. I think I’ve picked out a color but not quite sure yet. I’m thinking sage green, oh it’s gonna look good! I’ll post pictures when I get a chance.

it’s the small things!

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I’m sure you’ve heard people say before that it’s the small things in life that matter. Well, it is true–at least for me anyway. It’s not only the small things but going back to your memories and fun times–those are what matter to me. For the first couple of years I worked at Children’s a couple of my friends and I would sometimes go down to the cafeteria about 5:00 pm and have a piece of cake for our break….this was just a way to get away from everything, our work day, crazy children and nurses. Then Children’s began to grow and our days at work got too hectic to carry on this tradition. Anywho, Monday was kind of slow for us so two of my coworkers and I decided to go over to the hospital and get a piece of cake for a break! And it was ohhh so good! It brought back memories of the way it used to be and I miss it. Maybe we can have more of those days but in the mean time I’ll take all the little ones I can get. So ya, it’s the little things like a small piece of lemon cake from a hospital cafeteria (which is pretty good I might add) that make life worth it.

Halloween

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Halloween, the day little kids get dressed up as a princess or cowboy and go trick or treating. Well atleast that’s what it used to be about…I remember when we were kids there would tons of kids out in the neighborhood trick or treating–mainly little kids and not as many teenagers. Last night I was looking around the neighborhood and there weren’t too many kids out, or atleast not as many as there used to be….it was more teenagers just in regular clothes…if you don’t have a costume you don’t get candy–that’s my rule. But then again I have to pass out candy to have a rule i guess–owell. I don’t know what it is, but over the last couple of years I have learned to dislike Halloween and basically just ignore it all together. But, Jonathan won’t let me and I have a feeling that he won’t let me keep my kids from trick or teating. Now there is no harm in dressing up, I’m all about that–as long as it’s fun, cowboy, princess, lady bug, whatever–but no ugly, scary costumes. My parents have a Fall Harvest Festival the weekend before Halloween and I’m all about thigns like that–my kids can do that all they want but not the whole Halloween thing. Call me crazy, I just don’t like it. Any thoughts on this??

YEAH!!!

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My best friend, Jen, got engaged this weekend to her boyfriend, Jed. Jed took her to their family ranch Saturday morning and proposed there. Her parents had flown in the night before from Arizona so her sister picked them up from the airport and suprised Jen Saturday. Jonathan and I were on our way to Jed’s parents house Saturday night to see the happy couple and celebrate with them when Jonathan’s truck started making a very loud rattling and grinding noise. Keep in mind we just had the transmission rebuilt about 3 weeks ago. We ended taking the truck to his parents house in Mesquite so he and his dad could look at it. Well to make a long story short we had the truck towed from Mesquite to south of Waxahachie Sunday afternoon and is curently waiting fo the mechanic to look at it. Then we will probably turn around and sell it so we can get a newer truck with less mechanical trouble. Anyway to make a very long story short, we were unable to go see Jen, Jed and Jen’s parents. I felt horrible, I could care less about the truck at that point, I just wanted to share this time with my best friend. It was probably one of the happiest days of her life and I couldn’t be there at all and share the joy with her. I am so happy for them and wish them all the best–I love you guys!

Children’s

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Okay I have to vent for a minute–Children’s ceases to amaze me! It’s beyond me as to why they spend money on the things they do and not on the things they need to. There are so many things that need to be fixed or bought for our clinic but they won’t fix them, instead they spend money on uneccessary things. We have a door going into our lab that slams shut and could seriously harm a kid–the mechanism on the door needs to be replaced but it’s been a month and they still haven’t fixed it. We need more equipment to test our kiddos but we won’t be seeing that anytime soon. We need chairs for our lab, soap dispensers and things like that….but instead what does Children’s spend money on? Within the last year or two they have spent money putting flat screen plasma TV’s in the skybridge that employees walk on–why, I don’t know! No one looks at them, they just see them and say “that could have been a computer on our unit that we need” or heaven forbid give a bonus or small raise to the nurses or RT’s. But the latest and most annoying useless money spent was on a sign outside our lab. The sign we had was perfectly fine…it said “Pulmonary Laboratory” and the sign they replaced today now says “Pulmonary Lab”! Do you see a need to change the sign. The guy who was changing them just laughed as we asked him why they did it…he said “Got me, they’ve probably spent thousands of dollars with all the dumb signs they are changing.” You never know what you’re gonna get when you work for Children’s!

Angels

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Now stay with me on this one–it may be a lot of rambling and not so much sense. I was on my way to work this morning and just started thinking about guardian angels. I know a lot of people don’t believe in angels, but I for one do belive in them. Now you can argue whether or not each individual person has their own guardian angel or God just sends one for us at the times when we need one I don’t know. I tend to believe the last one. The early church understood that each person had their own special angel, but I don’t think that’s what most people believe today.
So my question is this, when we have our guardian angel, whether it’s ours through life or at that moment, when Christ calls us home does the angel just sit there with their hands tied behind their back and cry because we’re dying and there is nothing they can do? Or are they rejoicing because another child is coming home? When a child is dying and Christ said it’s their time, there isn’t anything the guardian angel can do because God has called this child home, so are they just sitting there with their hands tied, crying or rejoicing? But at the same time, my thoughts are the angel is comforting the child and their family during this time. Those are just a few ramblings and my thoughts for the morning drive. Any thoughts–and I could be way off on the subject!

Psalm 91:11-12
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Exodus 23:20
“See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.”

Masks

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I wrote the post that is below back some time last year about how we wear masks to cover up who we really are. Yesterday Brian spoke on masks and how if we wear masks we truly can not experience God-Likeness because we aren’t true to ourselves or others. We put on a mask to cover up who we are, maybe something we’ve done or are ashamed of. I know in the past I have worn masks, trying to not let people in and get to know me. Over the last couple of years, I have slowly taken those masks off and thrown them away, I’ve learned that this is who I am and who God created me to be, so why should I cover it up and hide it. I’m comfortable with how God made me and who he created me to be. I listen to this song by Casting Crowns and it just makes me think of exactly what Brian was talking about yesterday. We need to take the masks off so we can be more Christ like and become closer to those we come in contact with, at church, work, school or wherever it may be.

From November 2006:
Stained Glass Masquerade
by: Casting Crowns

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the heart again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

I was listening to this song today on the way to work and I always sing along with it but never really listened to the lyrics. It’s a powerful message and all too real. I don’t know about you, but there are many times that I’ve felt like this, just wanting to hide how I feel and putting on a good face for everyone. Putting on this act is just what the song says a “masquerade”, you put on a mask to cover your true feelings and in doing that you never really let anyone in. On the flip side, we are so used to people asking how we are out of a basic courtesy but not truly meaning it so we just say “good” and both go on our way…this has taught us to keep our feelings inside and hide them. We think to ourselves, “They don’t want to actually know how we feel, so why tell them. We might scare them off.” For me, it’s not that, okay maybe sometimes, but mainly its just the fact that I don’t want to burden anyone. But that’s why we have family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. They are there for us no matter what and let us know we can be ourself and take off the mask. Are you the type of friend whose friends know they don’t need to wear a mask around you? I think I am and I hope my friends know they don’t need any kind of mask around me, ever! We need to get off the stage, put up the masks and just be ourselves.