Heaven

Carla passed away last night around 7:30pm. I can't help but think how weird it is that someone like her has died. Not that I think anyone is immortal, but just that she was so young, and it was so sudden. Just days ago her and her family are doing fine... making plans for the weekend or watching the olympics or hanging out with friends at home. And today, her husband, Michael is grieving for his wife and facing the reality of being a single father to such a young little girl. It breaks my heart to think about it.

It's times like this that we should be praising God knowing that Carla is home with Him partying in Heaven. But even though we weren't very close, I can't help but be sad. Sad that Carla is gone. That Linen will grow up without her mother. That Michael will watch his daughter grow up without her mother. That Carla's family will not see their daughter/sister/aunt again. I pray that God will continue to teach us why this kind of thing happens. I believe that someone somewhere... even if they never knew her... will meet our Lord because of her death. But I can't help but be sad also.

The great thing is that God has this all planned and it is so much better than we can ever imagine. Our small little brains can't even comprehend what He's got in store and how He is going to use things like Carla's death to His glory. What an amazing God.

I don't know if we recognize people in Heaven. Sometimes it makes me sad to think that I might not know Todd in Heaven. But then I think about how wonderful it will be to sit at His feet. And the best part is that as great as I think it will be... that doesn't even compare to what it will really be like. I mean, the Heaven that our Lord has created is beyond anything we can even come up with in our wildest dreams.

We will miss you Carla. I pray that your family and friends will find that among the sadness that your life was lived for Him and that he will use your death for His glory. I pray that one day your little girl will be able to tell the story of her mom's life and God's glory even in your death. Until then, party it up in Heaven!

Pray for Carla

Please take a second and say a quick prayer for Carla Carnes. Carla and her husband Michael used to go to Radius (our church) and still keep in touch with our body even though they have now moved to North Carolina. They are around the same age as Todd and I. They have a young daughter, Linen, who is under the age of two.

Carla noticed a lump in her stomach and it was discovered that she had an enlarged liver and spleen. She was sent home until more tests could be done but then passed out and was taken to the ER about 2 days ago. Since then she has been admitted and transfered to a hospital in Charlotte. After a series of serious events, including her heart stopping, Carla is now on a ventalator until doctors can figure out what to do next.

Please pray for her healing. Pray that the Dr's can figure out what is wrong and fix it soon. Pray for her husband, Michael, and his strength in leading his family through this tough time. Pray for her family also who are at the hospital.

WE GET IT!

Todd and I don't watch that much TV, but whenever we do, we get so annoyed with the "overdoing" of certain commercials. For instance, for what feels like 10 years now we have been bombarded with the whole DTV change-over thing that doesn't happen until Feb 17, 2009. I really think we've had enough warning considering the commercials are on at least once every 10 minutes, and have been that way for over a year. However, it will be entertaining to hear about all of the people who call the poor TV station to complain that their TV isn't working on February 17th. Todd and I are going to have a big party to celebrate not having to watch any of those silly commercials anymore!

Other annoying commercials that I am sick of (and keep in mind, that we really don't watch a lot of tv, yet we are still annoyed with the little bit we do see):

- The Alltell commercials with the 4 competitor dudes constantly being beat up or thrown out on the road. I really think this series has gone on way too long.
- The "Head On- apply directly to your head" commercials. This is so annoying they even make fun of themselves, yet still seem to air a commercial during every episode of Jeopardy I've ever seen.
- Any commercial that comes on 10 times louder than the program we are watching. I used to work at a TV station and I know they can fix this prior to airing it:)
- Although they are coming up soon and we won't have to worry about it anymore, the Olympic commercials can be a bit much. We get it... they start on 8-8-08!

Feel free to add to my list if you can think of any that I haven't listed! Hopefully this problem will go away on February 17, 2009 when our TV stops working. I really wish they'd warn us when they are going to make big changes like that:)

Random Pictures

The main purpose of this blog is to keep everyone updated and have lots of pictures... and so far, I haven't really put any up. I am still working on getting my digital camera up and running so that I can start putting some recent pictures up. I promise I'll have it ready by December. Until then, here are some random photos for your day:)

Braves V Red Sox Game with Alexis.


Go Gamecocks!


Lilly and her best friend, Shiloh.


I'm flying!


Our Alaskian get-away

Bringing Back The Pack!

So the other day I was looking for something in our storage closet at work. When I say "storage closet" I mean, extremely large room filled with shelves full of junk that we refuse to throw away because we are a non-for-profit organization that thinks it's a waste to throw anything away.



Anyway, I digress. I found a box full of fanny packs in our "closet"! And I started to wonder, what ever happened to the fanny pack? I mean, what a great idea! I could carry my cell phone, wallet, keys and even a small snack and not even use any hands to do it! So I have decided that I am officially bringing back the pack! That's right... next time you see me my growing belly will be sporting a nice black fanny pack. And, if you are jealous... I will provide one to you so that you can join the movement.

The fanny pack... it's not just for dorky tourists anymore!

She's kickin'

I've been feeling the baby move around some lately and Todd has been really wanting to feel it to. Last night, we were watching TV and he had his hand on my belly hoping to catch a kick.. and she gave him a jab. He was really excited and of course wanted to feel it again, but that was all for the night.

Of course, our little show-stealing pup discovered she was not the center of his attention at the time and jumped up on the couch to see what he was so excited about. When she saw that he had his hand on my belly, she sat down between us and put her paw right next to his on my belly. I'm not even lying, our dog thinks she is human and shows us proof daily. So there we were, all three of us, sitting on the couch with our hands (and paw) on my tummy waiting for the baby to kick again. Quite a sight I'm sure!

And we're afraid of having just one...

If this is God's plan for Todd and I, then we have even more proof that He has a sense of humor. We can't even handle the thought of more than one child, much less the thought of 18!

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia (AP) -- A Romanian immigrant has given birth to her 18th child in British Columbia, making her the province's most prolific mother in 20 years.

Proud dad Alexandru Ionce said Saturday that his 44-year-old wife, Livia, gave birth on Tuesday. Their daughter Abigail weighed in at seven pounds, 12 ounces.

"We never planned how many children to have. We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that's the reason we did not stop the life," said Alexandru Ionce.

The couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and now live in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Their 17 other children range in age from 20 months to 23 years old.

Ionce said he did not know if the couple would have more children. The family now has 10 girls and eight boys.

"We would have liked a boy to be even," he said. "We thank God all of them are healthy and happy."

Ionce said the family has received calls from Germany, Romania and England, as well as from media outlets across Canada.