State Qualifier!!!

MY BROTHER IS GOING TO STATE!!!

He got 4th place at Regionals, so he achieved his goal of qualifying for state. We are so excited. This is the first year for the wrestling program, and they had two other boys qualify for state also. My brother has wrestled three years and the two other boys are wrestling for their first year. One of them got 1st at Regionals and the other one got 4th. It's like a story you would see in a movie.

It was such an intense, emotional weekend...for me anyway! I was worn out, and I didn't even have to wrestle! It's hard on the spectators. :)

My brother had a bye the first round, so his first match was in the second round against the #2 seed. Chris did really well! He held his own, and it was obvious they were evenly matched. When it came down to the last 20 seconds of the 3rd round of the match, the other kid was ahead 3-2. I remember thinking "Chris, you cannot lose by one point to the second seed!" and praying like crazy. Suddenly with 17 seconds left on the clock, my brother took the kid down and got back points to win the match 6-3. What a thrill!! He told mom that he was praying; I think all of us were. I was filming and I was so nervous that my hands were shaking while I was trying to hold the camera still.

He got pinned in his second match, but still had one more chance to qualify for state. That match was the next day, so all night I kept waking up and praying that he would win. I suddenly realized that I really wanted my brother to go to state. I had not really thought it was a possibility before now, but he beat the #2 seed at Regionals, so he suddenly has a chance.

I was so nervous as I sat down by the mat to film the match...so much at stake and I was praying hard. He fought hard and smart and as the last seconds ticked away, I looked up at the scoreboard and realized that my brother was winning. That last second seemed like an eternity as we waited for the ref to blow the whistle. My brother won 11-3. We erupted into screams. And I cried.

My brother is going to state.

He lost his final match, but the tension was off because he still got 4th place and the top four finalist advance. Now we are just going to have fun and see what happens.

Way to go, Bro! I'm so proud of you!!

Monster Jam

Warning: this is a long post! If you are not a monster truck fanatic, or a lover of photography, you might not find this post interesting. BUT, if you are intrigued, read on!

I had never been to a monster truck show before, so I had no idea what to expect. I thought I would want to take pictures so I took my camera. I thought it would be loud so I took earplugs. Both of those assumptions were correct. And, it was a lot of fun!

The reason for going was to watch my cousin who drives one of the trucks. He has done it for a few years and I have never had the chance to go to one of his shows. This one was only a couple hours away, so we took a short road trip to see him drive. The world of monster trucks is a big deal. This was a smaller venue, but I was still amazed by all the fans. It was kinda weird seeing people wearing my cousin's truck on their shirt or their head. After the show he had to go sign autographs and pose for pictures. I had never seen him in that element lol! He pretty much stole the show and the crowds loved him.

I went in January and am just now getting around to posting these pictures. So without further ado, I bring you Monster Jam.

The first element of competition was the vertical jump. The trucks were judged on their vertical angle as the jumped the cars. I was totally blown away. This Dog (Monster Mutt) was unbelievable. He took first. My cousin (El Toro Loco) came in right behind him.

Wasn't quite set up for the altitude on that one!

And now, here he is!!

Not bad, huh?

The next competition was speed jumping. The had to jump across the line of cars before their opponents. My cousin beat out the Mutt to win this one.

The arena was really nice. I think it was only a couple years old.

After the drivers won, they would climb out of their trucks and walk out in the center of the arena to talk with the announcer. Then they got to throw merchandise (shirt, monster truck hat, toy monster truck, etc.) up into the stands. Marc has really good "stage presence" and is good with his fans. He would actually climb up in the stands to personally deliver the merch to one of his screaming fans. :)

Here are a couple of his kiddos. They are super cute!

Next up: Donuts!! Not sure how they judged this, but I think they were looking for good execution of tight, continuous donuts. Marc won this one too; at one point he was on two wheels and I have no idea how he managed to get it back on the ground without rolling. Maybe he got good points for that. Here are some of the other competitors:

You can actually see his back tires smoking in this one!!

I didn't get a good picture because the photographer behind this lens is a cousin first and foremost, so I think I gasped and jumped while I was still holding down the shutter button. Maybe you still get the idea. He said he actually did roll his truck the weekend before, so he has a pretty amazing pit crew because they got him up and running again for this show.

Before the last competition, they brought out these bikes. Crazy. But I did have fun with my camera!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Last performance: Freestyle! 60 seconds on the clock to do whatever you want to amaze your fans (really, I think they were judged partly by the crowds reactions). Marc won this one too.

Who let the dogs out???

Check out the air!

I very much enjoyed the show (maybe I'm just weird like the rest of these people). I would definitely go again if I have the chance.

P.S. Marc's "real" life is as a cowboy-rancher. It was fun and interesting to see this other side of him come out!

I did it

Announcement: I made it through the whole work day...all 8 hours!! Barely. It's been two weeks since I've done that. Five weeks since I've put in a 40 hour week. And now I'm too tired to celebrate this small milestone...wanted to just go to bed early, but that didn't work out. I am so swamped right now. And so very tired...Goodnight!

P and DP

Tonight is a popcorn-and-dr.pepper-night. Why? Because I’m celebrating.

Celebrating recovery. Celebrating going to church for the first time in 4 weeks. Celebrating the weather.

So I popped popcorn on the stove…the old-fashioned way. ;) I put a good two tablespoons of butter on it and plenty of salt (I know, a heart attack waiting to happen, right??) and grabbed the 2-liters of Dr. Pepper that I’ve been saving for a special occasion. And no, I didn’t eat all of the popcorn or drink all of the DP…not even close…sooo, there’s more for tomorrow night lol.

Sometimes you just gotta find something to celebrate (even if it’s small) and let the fun begin! This was one of those times.

(I won’t even mention that I also had a jam session with some of my fav songs…)

Celebrate something, my friends.

p.s.

I wanted to give a shout-out to my brother!!

He had another wrestling tournament today and I received the news that he walked away as the champion in his weight division in their district. That means he will be going to Regionals next week as the NUMBER ONE SEED in his district!! Way to go, bro!

He was 3-0 today and his record this year is 20-6.

Here is the pic they sent me on my phone...I know it's not very good quality, but doesn't he look like a champ??

This is from a tournament earlier this year. He is so proud of his muscles.

the other side

This morning I could see to the other side. I am almost back to normal. I have had to lay down and rest twice today so far, but I am on the mend. Praise Jesus.

It has been such a difficult time for me. There were many days of frustrations and tears during this long sickness. My body was just not capable of performing normal, daily activities. I think this last week was the hardest emotionally. I was very discouraged and could feel satan’s attacks in my vulnerability. There were many times that I just wanted to throw in the towel. I wanted to quit, run away, and go home to mom and dad where I knew I would be taken care of. I didn’t want to face another day here in this place. The last six months have been very hard and I think that amplified the discouragement I have felt while sick.

I have done a lot of soul searching during the time I spent in bed. I have been working through a lot of stuff with God, but I have also been seeking the reason for my prolonged battle with this flu. I don’t want this hard time to be wasted, so if there is a lesson I am supposed to be learning, then by all means I will learn it!! God has been showing me several things, but I feel like a pivotal moment came when I realized that this was a “Job” test [as in the guy in the Bible]. I realized that satan wanted me to be mad at God. I have to admit that I was very upset at times, but when I realized that I could not let satan get the best of me in this situation, I began quoting Job. “The Lord gives {health} and the Lord takes away {health}. {Even still,} Blessed be the name of the Lord.” As Job did, I still felt the freedom to express my frustrations with God, but I was not cursing Him…I was communicating with Him. That is a very important aspect of the Christian life.

This morning, the birds were singing outside my window, this snow is melting, and it’s a pretty day. It feels like spring is coming. I know this winter season will bring more cold, wintery days, but I am okay with that right now. I know God will get me through those when they come.

Powell Gardens, Summer 2009

Operation Patient Transport

“Influenza B.” the doctor said matter-of-factly, his voice carrying no sympathies. I could tell that he was not a personable doctor when he first walked in the room. I had been lying on the exam table, too sick to sit up, but when he came in the door, I exerted the effort to pull myself into an upright position. “Are you sick?” He had asked. I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic. “Yes” I whispered weakly (I had no voice). He looked down at his clipboard, flipping through the pages. “Well you look good on paper.” I could have puked on him. Every doctor I have ever had has told me that; sometimes I wish I didn’t look good on paper so they would believe me when I tell them I’m miserable! He then checked a few more things and left the room, ordering “Flu test!” as the door closed behind him.

He was kind enough to inform me that I would be feeling miserable for the next 4 or 5 days and there was nothing he could do for me. Personally, I think he got secret pleasure out of that announcement, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my despair – I remained expressionless. He seemed to like to appear dramatic without trying. Really?? This is about the patients, not how good you make yourself look. Those kind of people drive me crazy, but I never let them know that of course. I can play the game too.

Anyway, back to the flu…I’m so glad my Dad was there to take me to the doctor; I don’t know what I would have done. He called in reinforcements (Mom) and the next day, they asked if I would like them to take me home so I could rest better. The traffic on the highway outside my house is so loud I can’t rest well; I had not slept well at all the night before, and the thought of sleeping in a dark, quiet room was a beautiful idea.

Mom gave me her motion sickness medicine and Dad gave me some of his Ambien, and we set off on the 6 hour drive. We made it up here ahead of the snow storm, and I collapsed in bed where I did not move or wake up until morning. And yes, we got snowed in…just like everyone else...

That was a week ago and they brought me back home yesterday, even though I am still not my normal self. Today I went to the doctor again since I have been having stomach pain and am extremely tired; it has been 10 days since I went the first time. They ran a strep and a mono test but both came back negative. Apparently I just have a virus that I have to suffer through. The problem is, I have actually been sick for three weeks now. It’s my fault really. When I first got sick, I didn’t think it was that serious, and went right back to work. I didn’t let myself rest enough (being an overachiever and work-aholic is detrimental to one’s health.) Now I’m paying for it…over a week off work. I went in for a little bit today and then brought stuff home to work on. I will be working part time until I am well enough to go back to 8 hours a day. My house is a disaster, and there is so much personal stuff I have to take care of since I have been out of it for awhile...I have 146 unread emails in my inbox! Ahh!! I would appreciate prayers as I continue to get well and try to get back to a functioning life! It has been a difficult time for me, but God is with me through it all.