Carnival Sunday Surgery

Well, I had wanted to share pictures from our Carnival from June 2nd. But somehow I managed to go through the entire carnival without taking a picture. Mmmm, so sorry. It did go well and we had over 600 people in church that day. It was a beautiful day! Sunny and hot. :) 

I do have a couple pictures actually from Carnival Sunday, though they have nothing to do with the Carnival. It seems Jordan was racing his brother the night before down their long, dirt driveway.... on tricycles. Yes, tricycles. Dumb mistake if you ask me. Anyways, he was well on his way to beating his older brother when he bit the dust. The cleaning job they had done on his scraped up knee was pitiful. So, I offered to clean it for him. He agreed, though halfway though pretty sure he changed his mind. :) 

I'll spare you the up close and personal pictures of his knee. Let's just say it was the worst scraped knee I've ever seen. Lots of dirt and even shredded skin. But I got it cleaned up with a bit of help from Ryan. It hurt during the cleaning (and scrubbing) :/ but he said it felt better afterwards. 

So, that was my excitement on Carnival Sunday. At least it wasn't an actual Carnival injury.....  One of those is enough for a lifetime. :/ 

getting started

surgery at the kitchen sink ;) 

10 Year Anniversary

Sometimes I get asked  - "Where do you want to be in 10 years?" 

Many times I don't know what to answer... but today I want to thank God for the past ten years! 

Yesterday was an anniversary in my life. Not many people realize that it is or why the 18th of May is a significant date to me. It is one of those events that I didn't ask for, or even want, but looking back I can be thankful for God working in my life during a rough time. 

One of the things my church does for our bus kids and community is hold an annual Kids Carnival every year. The entire event is free and we use it to invite kids to ride our buses and families to church. Ten years ago, I was helping prepare for that big day. The Sunday morning church service was in progress and there were many of us out in the back parking lot doing last minute things before the onslaught of kids. 

Course I was helping with food - my favorite area. :) Elephant ears were on the menu that year. I was frying away, trying to get a surplus ready, so the line wouldn't be a mile long when the service was over. I placed another ear in the oil, turned and next I remember is hearing someone scream. A loud, blood-curdling scream. Took me a few seconds to realize that the noise was coming for my own throat. 

So started a long day. Bits and pieces of the day are still vivid in my mind and others I can barely remember. I was carted off to the emergency room. The nurse asked ridiculous questions while I just focused on breathing - the pain was so intense it took my breath away.

Ok, so long story short. I had 1st, 2nd and 3rd burns on my ankles. About two weeks later I had to have skin graft surgery and was in the hospital for eight days. That was a fun summer using a wheelchair, walker and crutches. Now that's such a part of my life story. God uses our past to prepare us for our future. I still don't know exactly why the Lord allowed that in my life, but my life is not my own anyways. Whatever God allows in my life is okay with me.

after returning from the ER - my white face almost matches the clown's. :)