My First Mission Trip

I am leaving on Monday for my very first mission trip! I am very excited and nervous and I go out to serve the Lord in an area I have never been before. About 10 people from our little church in Westminster are flying out to New Orleans, Louisiana to serve with Samaritan's Purse rebuilding homes in the 9th ward (one of the most severely affected area of Hurricane Katrina). Now I get a bit nervous when I have to speak verbally about the Lord as I don't know my scripture very well and I fear I might not have to right words to say, but I am truly excited that I can serve the Lord with my hands. This is something that I don't have any problems doing. Growing up I was always the one that had to go outside and help my dad with the hard work and so this is something that will also remind me of my father while I serve my Heavenly Father.

As the day of departure approaches I am getting more and more excited to have this experience and help those people that need the help and please my Father. We return on Saturday the 28th and I will be posting a follow up of my trip with hopefully a few pictures of my experience! :)

The New Goal...

Okay, so I wasn't going to say anything until I had some really good news to report, but I decided if I started documenting on my blog from the near beginning I might actually hold myself a little more accountable than if I waited until I had hit a big milestone. And Jackie has practically told everyone around here already anyway soooo...

I joined weight watchers last week and had my first weigh in today. Week 1 weight loss- 3.2 pounds! It is a start and from what I hear, a decent first week. My overall goal is 50 pounds, so I am on my way!

I have to tell you right now that I won't be posting any week 2 results because as of next Monday I will be in New Orleans on a mission trip with our church! We are going to serve through Samaritans Purse to help rebuild houses for 1 week. I am so excited this is my first mission trip ever and I can't wait to go and help people! I have heard so many neat stories about experiences people have had and I am just so excited! :)

We Said Goodbye to Jonah...

Some of you might already know this information, but I decided I was finally ready to put it down on paper. On December 15, 2008 we had to make a decision to put down Jonah. He developed a cold and was not fighting it off like the other kitties were, so we took him into the vet. They gave him medication, but he just seemed to be getting worse. Our vet suggested we take him into the critical care unit and so we did, only to find out that he had an enlarged heart, 1 non working kindney, and a small stone in his bladder that could cause a blockage if not taken out. This was all on top of the fact that he had a really bad cold. The vets suggested we get him through his cold and then have surgery to remove the bladder stone and dead kidney. Then we would start him on medication for his heart and see how things went. They didn't think that he would make it more than a couple years even after all this, so we were very saddened by the news. They gave him some fluids and told us to feed him baby food through a syringe so he could get the nutrients he needed since he refused to eat. A couple days later he would still not eat and seemed to be getting worse so we took him back in and they administered some more fluids and put him in an oxygen tank to try and clear out his sinuses. We took him home only to take him back the next day to have them put a feeding tube in since he was not eating anything. We left him there intending to be back in a few hours to pick him up, but the vet called us saying they redid his blood work and he was in full renal failure. At this point there was nothing they could do for him because they could not put him under with his vitals like this. He was in pain and uncomfortable and they explained that he would not make it much longer being in full renal failure. After many tears Jackie and I decided it would be best to let him go and take away the pain. I really believe this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do and I have had a few hard things to go through in my life. Jonah was only 3 and a half years old.

His buddy, Hannah, has not been the same since then. Ever since we brought her and her sister home almost 2 years ago, Hannah has been inseperable from Jonah. She was lost without him and would cry for him all the time. Even though it has been a few months now, just writing this has brought it all to the surface again. I know he is in a better place, but we definitely miss him very much! Goodbye Jonah