Saturday, February 27, 2010

Emergency Room

Yesterday was a pretty slow day.
Plans to babysit Ash fell through, and I forgot about the FFA Movie Night, so I stayed home.

Around 9:00pm, my grandma and grandpa stopped by to say hello and see how Savannah was doing. (On Monday she was diagnosed with Pink Eye)

About 10:00, my grandma helped my mom give her her medicine and get in bed, because she had been comlaining about a stomachache.

Savannah wasn't in bed for 10 minutes when we heard this terryfying shrill and then she just started crying.
Mom went and got her out of bed, and after 15 minutes of crying in pain, mom realized she had a slight fever and was holding on to her right side. Thinking appendicitis, we rushed her to the ER.

We arrived at the hospital about 10:30 and the ER was kind of busy, but not really.
Savannah was called back pretty quick. Mom and grandma went with her, and I sat with grandpa in the waiting room, because there's a 2 visitors policy.

We waited there until 2:00am for my grandma to come out and tell us that they had taken blood, put an IV in and done an xray and that it would be 30 minutes before they knew results. Then she went back to the back and we sat there until 4:00am.

This time it was mom who came to update us. She said they were going to give Savannah four 30 minute sessions of contrast juice so that they could take her for a CatScan to check her appendix. We went for a bite to eat and then it was back to the waiting room.

So, at 6, we went back and checked on the situation. Tired of sitting in the waiting room chairs trying to catch at least a little sleep, we totally ignored the 2 visitors policy.

When we got back there, Savannah had just gotten back from CatScan. We sait there until about 7:00am waiting for the radiologist to call. Finally, after hours of IV fluids, contrast juice, xrays, catscans, and discomfort; my little sister found out that there was no appendicitis and she wasn't going to have surgery.

The doctor on call told us that Savannah has a Urinary Tract Infection and that is what is causing her pain.

He gave her an antibiotic, and finally, at 7:30am, after almost 9 hours in the ER, we were out of there.

Needless to say, this family has been asleep all morning.


Savannah is still asleep, poor thing.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Yes, I'm Alive.. AND I'M GETTING MY BRACES OFF!

I am soo sorry that I have neglected this blog.
I have just been so busy with school work and prom committee and appointments and writing music that I totally ignored my blog.

Ok.
Update.

School Work:
AP US History and Psychology are a lot of writing and organization, and I had to really get caught up after missing days for appointments and such.

Prom Committee:
I am on the prom committee because the Junior class gets that opportunity, and I decided it would be really fun!
I went to our first meeting Wednesday and we picked out a theme called Starlit Paradise from Anderson's Prom 2010 Magazine.
It's light blue and white and silver, and I'm gonna get a blue dress.
I'm hopefully going with a close guy friend and my girls.

Appointments:
I've been to the dentist and othodontist both this week and I worked Monday night.

I now watch two little boys.

My dental hygenist hired me to watch her little boy when I'm not with EJ!

Writing Music:
Beth and I have started to write music together!
She plays guitar and piano and I play piano a little and we are both really good at writing lyrics! So exciting!






I went to the orthodontist today,a nd after nearly 3 years of braces and an oral surgery and a roofplate, I am scheduled for a removal in 8 weeks!

I am so excited!!







I'm off to re-do the blog since Valentine's Day is over for this year!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Babysitting EJ

So my mom has been wanting me to get a job.
I didn't want to wait tables, so I found a local website for paid babysitters and childcare givers and made a profile. On sunday, I got a call from a guy that made it sound like I was going to be assisting his wife in caring for a few children, like one of those home daycare things. He said they'd pay me six dollars an hour to start Monday.

So Monday after school my mom drove me to the address so she could meet Diana, the lady.
When mom left, Diana explained to me that she did not run a home daycare. I had misunderstood her husband, Eric. Basically, they needed a babysitter for their 21 month old only child, EJ. She told me they'd been taking EJ to daycare, but he'd gotten sick there and they didn't like it, so they were trying sitters until they found one that fit EJ.
Monday was my trial run. I took care of EJ with Diana home doing her household chores.
I gave him his snack, his bath, and helped a bit with his dinner. Diana was shocked. She said I was the best sitter they'd had so far. She was amazed at how smoothly EJ's bath time went. I got him out and dressed without a fight or any sort of tantrum, and Diana said it usually took both her and Eric to get him out without splashfest complete with kicking and screaming.
Eric came home about a half hour before I was scheduled to leave. Diana told him how great I was with EJ and they agreed not to let me go! I am officially hired as EJ's babysitter at six dollars an hour and I love it!

I got a few pictures of him, but I'm posting from my phone so they'll be up later on.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Kayla's Party

Last night was my friend, Kayla's, 17th birthday party.

Every year, Kay invites the same 5 people and we all have a blast.

Kayla is autistic, so her parties aren't your average teenaged sleepovers, but they are soo much better.

Since seventh grade, it's been me, Marieke, and Kirsten. Last year, Kay invited some new friends, twins Marah and Heath. Marah and Heath don't spend the night, but they sure do add to the fun when they are there. Plus, Kay's brother, Charles is hilarious!


Last night, I went over around 6.

We played Disney Scene It, ate homemade spaghetti, played Twister, made a human knot, ate cake and ice cream, played I Saw a Bear, watched Kay open her presents, and then Heath and Marah had to go home.

Around 11, we watched the original Nightmare On Elm Street. I screamed like a little girl, and I've even seen it before!

I went to sleep around 4 and woke up at 8. Mom came and got me around lunchtime and I crashed until like 5. I just got up and got a shower and then Tabby showed up for a surprise sleepover tonight. We're headed to iHOP and I have three essays to do for AP US History by Monday.

Hope everyone is having a weekend as fun as mine!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Farm Show Part 2

So the Farm Show was great!

First, we went to Bojangles for breakfast.

Then it was off to the Farm Show.

That hour ride with a bunch of obnoxious FFA boys and younger girls was a bit annoying, but I toughed it out and it was totally worth it.

Me and Tabetha spent most of the day together.
Ross tagged along a bit at the beginning, but then he caught up with a few of his friends. We texted my dad while we were there, and he thought it was just great that the three of us were having some nice cousinly family time.

Most of the exhibits were tractors, and we saw one that had a tire as tall as Tabby!

We stopped at one booth that had some mission farmers talk to us about God and we got brightly colored yardsticks with those rawhide bracelets on the end with the colored beads that represent the message of Christ.

Mine is orange.

One booth gave us a plant that we can plant and let grow so I'm gonna plant mine by Diesel.


I learned about Cow Dogs.
Apparently, they are dogs that herd cows.
Like sheep dogs.
Interesting.


On the way home we stopped at a shopping center in Garner and Tabby and I had Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch.
Ross went into a sporting goods store and bought a turkey call.
Poor Tabetha.


We made it back to school just in time for the bell to ring!
It worked out great.





They are calling for more winter weather this weekend.
I hope they are wrong!

Farm Show Part 1

Back to school yesterday went well.

No pictures, because I forgot my camera.

Today I'm going with our chapter of the FFA to the NC Farm Show at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh.

Part 2 later about how it went!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I'm a totally weird kid...

I've been complaining cuz school was out..

Like almost EVERY other kid I know, besides Beth, would be totally overjoyed.


Oh, well.
I like being different.


School tomorrow.
And I'm jazzed!


The next two teacher workdays are student go days now... HOORAY...
NOT...


Pictures of Beth and I taking part in life outside our houses tomorrow?


Goodnight.

School... Except Not..

So I'm home again on yet another snow day with snow that just isn't fit for playing in.

So far, we're on a two hour delay tomorrow, but who know how long that'll last.

I hope there's school tomorrow..
I'm so bored!!!


Snow Snow Go Away
Come Again Some Other Day...

Monday, February 1, 2010

Why, You Ask, Am I on the Computer AGAIN?!?

BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO DO!!!


Dear Beth,
THANK YOU SO MUCH
for sitting on the computer and IM chatting with me so I don't die of boredom.
Love,
Stormy




We found out a little bit ago that tomorrow is another snow day.
We (my best friend Beth and I) are not looking forward to yet another day cooped inside with our lovely little siblings and we can't even take them out to play because it's like snice and not exactly snow.


Oh thank Heaven for power and books.



Sleep well an keep warm!

Bold Blogging- A Story of Tested Courage to Share God with a Non-Believer.

So, I've been wanting to join in on Bold Blogging.

Bold Blogging is hosted by one of my favorite blogs, Kingdom Twindom +1.

I've been having a little bit of trouble joining in, because I felt like my opinion of Bold would be too different from an adult's.

After e-mailing Mrs. Sarah about it, I have decided to join in anyway.


My first topic will be God.

I know that what I'm about to write about is sometimes hard for adults too, so I want every reader to know, its through a teenager's eyes.




As a teenager, it's sometimes really a test of my faith just to go to school.


I have a friend who doesn't believe in God.



She's a wonderful friend.
Trustworthy, caring, otherwise awesome..


The two things she lacks are God and respect.


Through this school year, her lack of belief has caused a tremendous growth in my faith.



Sometimes, in class discussions, at lunch, walking the halls.. she'll make comments such as "if your God is so great, why..", "why would I believe in an un-loving, un-caring God", "if God loves us all, why do some of us go to Hell", or even the always stinging cuss word I don't even want to type.
At the beginning of the year, I felt afraid to call her out or verbally disagree with her when she made a rude or sarcastic comment about God. I had trouble answering her questions for fear that she wouldn't want to be my friend anymore.

I saw that our other mutual friends were having trouble with this too.

I talked to my youth pastor about it, and he told me to show my faith without fear and to disagree with her and answer her questions the best way I could and without seeming rude about it.

I read blog posts about God.

I searched Bible verses.

I continued to talk to Pastor Jared.


It was still hard to correct her, and to disagree, but it suddenly became much easier to answer my friend's questions.

"if your God is so great, why..",

Followed by the 'why' here would come things like global warming, hunger, poverty, and other overall 'bad' things.

The next time I heard that one from her, I said, God is great. He gave us the power to choose. Man has made and continues to make decisions that are wrong for our planet, our animals, our kind. It is OUR fault, not God's.



"why would I believe in an un-loving, un-caring God",

Well, oh un-believing friend, why would you think God wasn't loving and caring?

"He sends some of us to Hell, He allows us to destroy the planet, He allows war, etc.."

Once again, dear friend of mine, it is not God, it is us. We make our own choices. We choose to fight instead of talk. We choose to pollute the air and kill our ozone layer. We choose to sin without repentance. We choose to not believe in God, our creator. (Oh yeah, that one took guts, but I said it, and I was proud)




"if God loves us all, why do some of us go to Hell",

That one, dear friend is hard for me too.

"but I thought you knew everything about this God you love so much"

No, I definitely do not. I love God. I trust God. I let God lead. I ask God for forgiveness. I do not know all there is to know about Him.

My opinion on your question about Hell is going to sound quite the same as the answers I have given to your other questions.

I believe that Hell is not a sentence from God, but one that those who go there give themselves.

Humans make their own choices. You decide where you spend eternity. It isn't predestination. The Calvinists were wrong.



Over the course of this school year, answering her questions has become so easy. I even have the strength and courage now to ask her nicely to be respectful when she makes rude and sarcastice comments or uses that disgusting cuss word that shouldn't be in anyone's vocabulary for use at all.


Through answering her questions, I've had to do some research on my Creator. I have learned so much more about Him.

Despite my efforts, my friend still does not believe. I will continue to share God with her in every given opportunity and I hope that she will believe soon and ask Him into her heart.

My faith wasn't tested in this story.
My faith is strong.
What was tested was my courage to share God.
I am proud to have gained this courage. (I hope to be more humble about this and other things, but I'll save that post for later).
Many teens and even adults are afraid to share their faith with non-believers.
It's hard.
She's called me stupid, she's said my beleiving is a waste of time, she's laughed at me.
Others who don't believe have called God my 'imaginary friend'.

Comments like this make it that much harder to make my faith public, to share the story of God, to share His love.


I learned in church that a believer is wonderful, but a believer who shows others the light is amazing.

I want to be amazing.


Many people will say that religion is private. At the church I go to, we disagree. We believe that God is definitely something that needs to be shared. We believe in taking out faith out of the church and sharing it and inviting others in. That's what this story is about.





The point I have attempted to make in this post is that the Courage to share the love of God is tested very much by Peer Pressure and Temptation. As a teen and a Christian, it's a test of strength and trust in God to make my faith public and be fearless about it. Over this school year, I have learned to be able to do so and know that anyone who disagrees or who doesn't understand just needs my guidance as a child of God, and not necessarily my friendship. I have also learned that those I guide are my friends, and hopefully will one day see me as a friend to them.



I am learning to be a fruitcake. (please watch Louie Giglio's Fruitcakes and Ice Cream. It's worth your time, I promise.)

I am learning to be a desciple.




This post may not seem very bold to adult's who are confident and strong in their love and faith in God, but the story I shared here took a lot of guts for me. Guts to answer her questions. Guts to correct her. Guts to tell this story here with the knowledge she might read it. Guts to share how much I stillhave to learn about God.

this post isn't very organized, in fact it's all over the place, but i feel that I have done what I set out to do when I decided to type it.


So for me, this is bold.
And I can only hope to get even bolder in the future.



Blog Awards.

Ok, so I am going to give a few awards today.
However, my education on HTML is failing me today, and so I'm going to have to give them in this post.
If anyone would like to give these awards to bloggers you feel are deserving, please do.
Those that I am awarding will be commented when this post is complete to come here and retrieve their awards.


The first award is the You Don't Say?! Awesome Commenter Award.



Congratulations to:

Emily at Emily's Adventures http://eacraft.blogspot.com/

Sarah at Kingdom Twindom +1 http://www.kingdomtwindom.com/

Olga at Twinspirational Runner http://twinspirationalrunner.blogspot.com/

Give this award is to those people whose comments have meant THE WORLD to you. It takes time to visit a blog and leave a comment. Take an opportunity to say “thank you” to each and every one who leaves a comment on your blog. Also used to recognize special bloggers whose comments make a great impact on you.

Thank You so much for taking the time to comment my blog, your comments mean the world to me, you are all such great inspirations and friends.



The next award is the Beautiful Heart Award



Congratulations to:

Sarah at Kingdom Twindom +1 http://www.kingdomtwindom.com/

Ellyn at Profoundly Seth and Co. http://www.profoundlyseth.com/

Give to those bloggers who uplift you with their positive words and spirit. Also give to bloggers who put their hearts, mind and soul into their blogs and give us a glimpse into their worlds. They are positive and may not realize it, but are leading by example. They inspire with their words, educate and inform. They entertain and uplift with their humor. They are welcoming, helpful and friendly and no one is a stranger, whether you've commented once or a million times. They are ever so wise and giving. Most of all, they have Beautiful Hearts.

Thanks so much for your guidance and friendship and for letting all us readers into your lives every time you post.



The next award is the Bloggers Best Friend Award



Congratulations to:

Emily at Emily's Adventures http://eacraft.blogspot.com/

The “A Blogger’s Best Friend Award” shall be given to your most loyal blog readers. Thus, the award should be given to a follower of yours who takes the time to comment regularly on many of your posts. In addition his or her blog should be creative, funny and always entertaining.

Thanks Emily for reading, commenting, and being such a great blog friend. Also, I think it's awesome how close we live to eachother!




The final award I'll give today is the I Love Your Blog Award



Congratulations To:

Emily at Emily's Adventures http://eacraft.blogspot.com/

Sarah at Kingdom Twindom +1 http://www.kingdomtwindom.com/

Ellyn at Profoundly Seth and Co. http://www.profoundlyseth.com/

Leslie at Lambert's Lately http://www.lambertslately.com/

Erin at It's All About Alex http://alexandramaryschuler.blogspot.com/

Mary Kate at Our Journey http://michaelandmarykate.blogspot.com/

Your blogs are the ones I read first, before I even post.
I love the designs, the pictures, the style of writing, the way you share your life.
I love your blogs!!

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