Eliana Noah

Last Saturday, I attended a memorial service for a co-worker's stillborn baby. Amanda and I used to tutor together at HLC quite a bit, and she and her husband, Charlie, lived in our apartment complex until last month. It had been a while since I had seen her though, and I was shocked to hear she had been pregnant. I was heartbroken to hear such sad news about such sweet, godly people.

It was an honor to be present at the service. Two other co-workers and I went together. Although we were several rows back and to the right, I could see Amanda during the service. I watched her whole-heartedly sing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "It Is Well With My Soul" with the rest of us. And after her husband and father-in-law spoke, I watched her sing "You Are God Alone" and "Blessed Be Your Name"; it was obvious she meant every word, even though her pain is real and great and deep.

After the first two songs, two members of the youth group read Isaiah 55:8-11 and Lamentations 3:22-24. (Charlie is the church's youth pastor.) Charlie made his way up to speak next. Even though they were about halfway through the pregnancy, their baby was not developing on schedule, and they never got to find out if they were having a boy or a girl. Charlie explained this when he explained the name they had chosen: Eliana, a girl's name, and Noah, a boy's name. Eliana means "He has answered our prayer" in Hebrew, and Noah means "comfort". What a testimony that name is! Although God did not "answer their prayer" in the way they had hoped, God still answered. In His infinite wisdom and perfect plan, He knew what He was doing when he formed Eliana Noah. He knew what He was doing when He took Eliana Noah home. And in knowing that, Amanda and Charlie are comforted.

Charlie also read a letter he had written to their baby. He spoke of all the things he wanted to teach her if she had been a girl and of all things he would have taught him if he were a boy. He also spoke of what he would have taught his child either way. He wanted to teach him/her about the goodness of our Lord, and how great He is, and how He is near to us in the good times and the hard times, and how God created everything, and how He had sent his son to die for our sins. He wanted to teach his child how he/she could depend on God for anything and everything.

Instead, Eliana Noah has reminded Charlie and Amanda of these truths because Eliana Noah knows God in a way we cannot...in a way we can only hope for...until we are there, too.

House #4 Might Be A Winner...

So, the house I mentioned in the previous post didn't work out. But..."we know that for those who love God all things work together for good" (Romans 8:28). I know that's the case here! House #4 is cheaper, is in a better neighborhood, and has a pool! I will post pictures as soon as I can. If everything goes well, we should close on the 30th and take possession on the 31st. We probably won't move very much that weekend, though, because my dad and his girlfriend will be in town, and Megan and her life group are helping another member move.

Since we didn't get the other house, I will have to amend my list of "25 Things To Do Before I Turn 26". I guess I'll do that later...

Summer is Slipping Away...

Good grief, people, it's practically mid-July!!! Why do I feel as though I have had no summer?! Look, I know all you non-teachers out there are probably thinking, "What the heck? You've had 4 weeks of vacation already! What are you complaining about?" To that I just have to say that most non-teachers just have NO IDEA what all goes into being a teacher, bless your little hearts. I need all of the paid vacation time I can get! Plus, I'm teaching a completely different grade this year, so I basically have to start over with all of my planning. GAH! So...because I don't want to face the inevitable...I am putting off these new lesson plans for as long as possible. To do that, I need summer to slow down!!!

In totally unrelated news, we are having house problems. The beautiful, perfect house that all of us roomies are in love with is not appraising for enough $$$. Thanks to a new law that went into effect May 1st, we may not get this house. FYI, we were supposed to close this coming Monday. For now, closing has been tentatively rescheduled for the 20th. Please be in prayer that everything works out the way it is supposed to. I'm really not in the mood to attempt to buy a FOURTH house. :/

Bahamas 2009!

I am just barely making the cut for my post-per-week challenge! Thankfully, I had decided to do one post per calendar week and not every 7 days...

Anywho, as promised, I updated my last post with pictures from the wedding and am back today to blog about my family's trip to the Bahamas. My mother, my Aunt Tina, my cousin Deandra, and I drove to Memphis EARLY in the morning on Monday, June 22, to begin our adventure. We got to the airport a little after 4 AM. We were SO tired. We changed planes in Miami, and then headed to Nassau. We had a fun taxi driver named Stanley on the way to the hotel. Unfortunately, his van was not so fun! It QUIT on the huge bridge between Nassau and Paradise Island! We were literally stuck at the top of the bridge. He finally called a friend to come help, but as soon as he hung up, the van cranked! We didn't have any more trouble with it, either! LOL. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived and got setup in the hotel, so we just kind of chilled that night. Mom went to bed way early, but Aunt Tina and Deandra and I went swimming. It was very relaxing after a long day of travel!

On Tuesday, we were up-and-at-'em fairly early. Our hotel (Comfort Suites on Paradise Island) had free breakfast. Yum! Also, the CS is the only hotel on the island that is partnered with the Atlantis resort. Basically, we saved $$$ but still got to use all of the private, resort-only amenities of the Atlantis. Awesome. Here is a little taste of the Atlantis resort:

On Wednesday, we spent more time at Atlantis's water park, Aquaventure, and the beach. Aunt Tina and Deandra have always wanted to swim/play with dolphins. Fortunately for them, the Atlantis offered it on site. I doubt many of you know this, but when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the dolphins that were rescued from Gulfport, MS, went to live at the Atlantis. Michelle was the last dolphin rescued during the ordeal, and she was the one my aunt and cousin got to swim with! Mom and I tagged along as the camera crew, so here are some fun pics from their awesome experience!

We also went out to eat on this little vacation. My mother and I planned to split an appetizer sampler thing for our meal because it had several different things on it that we both liked, plus a Bahamian favorite, conch fritters. Now, this was my 3rd trip to the Bahamas, and I had successfully eaten fried conch during trip #2; however, I had never experienced the conch "fritter". Hmmm...

Basically, we had no idea which item on our plate was the conch fritter! I had tried fried conch once before, remember, so I just assumed the fritters were the fried items on my plate. Mom proceeds to try them. "This tastes like chicken," she says. "But chicken tenders weren't on this sampler," I reply. We argue back and forth about this for about 5 minutes until I ask the poor people at the table next to us if I can borrow their menu to check. I was right; no chicken tenders on this plate! It turns out they were just a bonus (I suppose), and the conch fritters were the small hush puppy-looking items on the plate. I blame all of this confusion on Mom's fruity drink!

Thursday morning we took a ferry boat to Nassau, so we could shop for souvenirs at the straw market and touristy places. Here's a nifty little collage of that side trip:

We went back to Paradise Island around 2:00 or 3:00 that afternoon, so we decided to go back to the Atlantis. Unfortunately, while we were there Aunt Tina had a wardrobe malfunction! The plastic clasp on the back of her bikini top broke! We searched high and low and asked all around for a safety pin, all to no avail. Finally, I played Mrs. MacGuyver and repaired it with a Tootsie Pop and the wristband from a waterproof camera. I must say I'm very proud of my handiwork; she was able to wear it the rest of the day and the next day! In fact, my wardrobe fix is still in place!

We spent Friday morning enjoying a few more hours at Atlantis, then we went back to the CS to shower and dress for the trip home. We had a really fun taxi driver who took us on the scenic route back to the airport. Everything was so beautiful. It began raining not long after we arrived at the airport, and our plane to Miami was delayed about 45 minutes due to weather. Once we got to Miami, we were further delayed due to maintenance problems with the plane. We arrived in Memphis around midnight, I think. Thankfully, my ever-energetic Aunt Tina volunteered to drive home! Mom and I finally made it to bed around 3 AM on Saturday!

All in all, we had a great trip, and I'm so thankful that I was able to go back to the Bahamas. It's definitely a trip worth saving up for!

This post took like 5 hours to do, so it might be a few days before the next one!!! ;)

Wedding #6 - Updated with Pictures!

No, not my 6th wedding! (I'm still working on #1 in that department.) It was my 6th time to be a bridesmaid. My good friend (and former roommate) Meagan married Jon (I don't know him well enough to call him Jonathan...ask Kerry) Koch yesterday at 6:00. Everyone was beautiful/handsome, and everything went well. :) The reception was outside at Meagan's parents' house. The garden and tents and barn were BEAUTIFUL, but boy, was it hot!!! It was great fun, though. Once the sun went down, and everyone had eaten, we all moved to the barn for some dancing. The DJ was scheduled to play until 11:00, but the police showed up around 10:30. Apparently, a neighbor thought the festivities were too loud. The DJ turned the music down one or two notches and kept right on going! Deanna came, too, and she took lots of pictures! The first picture below is from the rehearsal, and then the collage below that is from the reception.

Aren't we gorgeous?! :) Kerry's wedding was Wedding #1 two summers ago. I'm so honored to have been a part of both Ellis girls' weddings. Now if I can just find a way to participate in Ben's wedding, I'll be 3 for 3.

My mom, my aunt, my cousin, and I are flying to the Bahamas tomorrow. Please pray for us as we travel...it has been a while since I've flown over the ocean. ;) Next week's post will undoubtedly cover the tales of the trip. See you then!

PS- If you have my cell number, please DO NOT text me until Saturday. International texting fees are not pretty; call me if you need to chat. Love y'all.

25 Things To Do Before I Turn 26

Yes, I'm blogging two days in a row. Don't we love summer vacation?! Anyway, on to the list! I need to get moving since I only have 8.5 months to do these 25 things!!!

1. Buy a house (Officially closed on 8/4/2009)
2. Take a surfing lesson
3. Take a snowboarding lesson
4. Invite friends over for a backyard BBQ (8/11)
5. Visit Melissa in Kansas (9/11-9/13)
6. Visit Meagan in Oklahoma
7. Create an Etsy shop (7/8 - TheBlankCanvas)
8. Post one blog entry a week (6/16, 6/21, 7/4, 7/11, 7/16, 7/22, 7/24, 8/4, 8/11...) Okay, I have not done very well on this one, but I counted it out, and I need 37 total entries starting with this post and ending on my birthday to average out to one per week. I am going to try to make that happen instead.
   
9. Walk around my new neighborhood at least 3 times a week
10. Go to San Antonio
11. Spend New Year's at Disney World with Megan H., Deanna, and (maybe) Daniella! No $$$ = not gonna happen :(
    
12. Convince Megan H. to start a blog (7/2 - YAY!)
13. Go to another one of Grace's soccer games
14. Make a teaching scrapbook for the last 3 years
15. Paint more canvases
16. Harass Deanna until she takes a photography class
17. Buy myself a Moissonite ring (maybe for my 26th birthday?)
18. Dance at Lisa's wedding (Lisa, are you reading this?! LOL.)
19. Get into the next membership class at The Village
20. Figure out the possibilities of starting a home group at our house - I don't really feel called to do this one anymore. I will pray about it and see if that changes between now and March 1st.
    
21. Make something to thank Sharon, the best department head EVER
22. Have another yard sale
23. Learn a ballroom dance (I know...we watch too much "Dancing with the Stars")
24. Work at Sonic (Yes, I am serious. I have wanted to do this since high school.)
25. Go to the Dallas Aquarium

Alrighty, there you go. I will attempt to come back and cross these off as I do them. Fun times!

School's Out!

So, another school year has come and gone. Sad, but also exciting because...it's SUMMER VACATION, people! Well, for some of us it is. :) What have I been doing with all of my free time? Buying a house and reading blogs. I'll post some house pictures later. All I have are pictures from the realtor, though. We can't move in until July 19th. Who wants to come help us paint and move furniture? Oh, no one? That's what I figured. ;)

Anywho, on to the blogs. First, I stumbled across the Nesting Place blog. She is a craftsy-decorator type person. I love it. While reading her blog, I found June's blogs. In 2007, June and her husband, Marvin, (not their real names) decided they would not spend money for a whole year (besides paying for the absolute necessities). I spent three days reading through the entire year. She's hilarious. You can check it out at Bye, Bye, Buy! In 2008, June decided she would blog about her eating habits while she tried to eat healthier. My eyes are tired, so I haven't read all of the 2008 blog, but you can read it at Bye, Bye, Pie! The names crack me up. I don't know if she has a theme for 2009 or not. I've just been reading new entries as they appear on Bye, Bye, Pie! Deanna makes fun of me for laughing out loud while reading June's blog. Oh, well. It's worth it.

Peace out, people. I've got to go get fitted for a bridesmaid's dress.