bob

meet bob.

bob is my papa.

bob is a farmer.

bob has been married to my beautiful nanny for 51 1/2 years. they have four children. they also have nine grandkids, and a grandkid-in-law.

bob is super hip.

but right now he is hip-less.

literally.

a few complications have led to removing a hip for awhile to fight an infection.

it has been hard to know that he is going through so much right now and i feel so far away. he is seriously one of my favorite people on the planet!

with a few other things going on in life, it is hard to balance it all and keep the right focus.

here are a few words from one of my favorite songs by jj heller(your hands):

"when my world is shaking,

heaven stands.

when my heart is breaking,

i never leave your hands."

i know that i am in His hands and He feels my pain and hurt.

in the mean time, i will trust.

sports

i.love.sports.

'nuff said.

i guess i am a little picky when it comes to sports. oh and by the way, i rarely play them. i just like to watch and be a good fan.

on my vacation last week, i went to a spring training baseball game for the cardinals. loved it.

this very moment i am watching the basketball national championship game between butler & u.conn (go bulter!).

here is the order of my favorite sports:

1. mlb

2. college football

3. college basketball

4. nfl

with these three being my favorite, that means i have a sport for every season. it works out nicely.

i learned last week on my vacation (i am not sure how it took me 27 years to figure this one out...but i guess it is better to learn sooner rather than later!) that a good way to bond with my dad...is over sports. right now we talk about a coach for missouri basketball. or cardinal baseball players. or how the old QB for missouri is going pro.

go team. squad up.

cousins

something humorous happened to my aunt the other day involving the youngest in our family.

i thought i would brighten your day and share it with you.

"riley has had fever for the last two days and was supposedly lying in my bed watching a movie. i go in to check on him to discover that he has lipstick, powder and eyeshadow all over his face and he looks me square in the eye and says, 'mom, i have NOT been in your make-up drawer.' "

seriously? who can get mad with this stud?

he sure does brighten our days and provides us with lots of laughs.

the stomach bug, a funeral and christmas

this past week has been anything but normal.

i started the week off with the stomach bug. trust me: stay far, far away from this lil' bug. it is anything but a lil' bug. i was down for the count for about 48 hours.

after those 48 hours, i was off to the visitation and funeral of my MeMa. it was good to be with family during this time and to reflect on MeMa's life and to hear the stories of her from long ago.

i got to spend a lot of time with this toothless little boy the past few days and at christmas. he.is.hyper. but how could you not love him.

pump it up...

it's been awhile. my bad.

since the last post, i got older. another year older to be exact. hard to believe that i am now 20+7. and some how i still don't feel settled in life.

anyways, here are some pictures from this past week.

this is my friend chen and it is her first fall in america. so she got to experience pumpkin carving!!!

this was mine. his name was seymour.

and this picture. my heart still hurts a bit. my family drove 5 1/2 hours each way to see our precious and ferocious tigers play the huskers. let's just say the huskers showed them who's boss. it was still a great time with mom, pop, and the bro even if the tigers didn't pull off a victory!

and this would be my halloween costume! i am a fitness junkie! i've got the towel for the dripping sweat, the weights, the bike, and my number for the chicago marathon. who's ready to work out?!

a few of my favorite things...

...about columbia!

1. i love seeing the town show up for home football games! the tailgating, the spirit, the black and gold...and the football.

2. hot air balloons! i am not sure why columbia has been a popular town for them, but they are! a few years ago, my brother and i had the opportunity to jump in one and take off across columbia! it was so fun! here is a picture of our balloon...if you look really close you can see us in the basket!
3. downtown. this area has been spruced up a lot since moving to here several(and i mean several!) years ago! but i enjoy meeting friends downtown for a meal or for coffee.

4. my family and friends that are here. i would not have been able to say that about 22 months ago. the Lord has provided for me while being here in giving me the support and community that i need. especially after what i had just come out of from being in poland. He knew what i needed in being here.

my week in pictures

let me just say, it hasn't been my best week. i felt really defeated in a particular area in my life for most of the week. it was eating me alive and i was becoming really bitter and angry. i was not allowing the Lord to be victorious in my life. several people came along side me to encourage me and talk me through it. i am so very thankful for people like that in my life.

the candy bouquet came from mom and pop as a way of encouraging me and trying to make me sweet again...and not a bitter young woman.

the second picture happened today. yep, clyde(my car) took a hit to the face. he has a black eye on his front bumper. a little parking lot mishap. luckily that is the only damage to me or him.

and this is me being crafty. i found this place mat and i LOVED it, but i only found one...and i needed four. i still could not pass this up. so i framed it! yep, i just stuck it in a frame and it looks great in my room!
i am feeling much better in regards to this certain area of life. it has taken a lot of running to the Lord, praying, and reading the Word with a cup of hot tea.

this is the passage that i have been clinging too this week: lamentations 3:1-24. just talking about how this prophet(i don't think we know who it is. maybe jeremiah. correct me if i am wrong.) has gone through a lot and is just feeling beaten up. but he remembers and experiences God's faithfulness.

these are the verses that jump out to me the most:

21 But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope;

22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness

24 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul,

'therefore I will hope in him.'

i will cling to these verses. and run to Him.

we are family...

so my cousin recently pulled these pictures out. i have no clue how or why he had them, but they have inspired me to give you a preview of my life. this is my mom's side of the family.

The Wommack's

aunt carri's wedding. i think 1992.

christmas 2000?? 2001??

summer 2009.

i promise...

...i haven't fallen off the face of the blog-world.

i have been super busy with life and work. being an adult really takes it out of me! whew!

thanksgiving was great. it was so nice to be with family again this year. it was a great time for me to think back to this past year and just reflect on all that has gone on. i am so thankful and it all comes from the Lord.

so this past weekend, my family went to the Kansas-Missouri Boarder Showdown. and with a lot of work, the Tigers brought the showdown! it was a beautiful day and a great game. GO TIGERS!

mom and i at the game.

walking..

...yes indeed i'm walking.

okay. i didn't personally walk(another reason why work cuts into my social life) but carrie(my aunt with cancer) got her crew together and started walking and raising support for cancer awareness...and a cure.

anyways here are some shots of the walk. carri is on the left and joe(her hubby) is on the right holding the banner.

and here is my grandma and carri.
it really bummed me out that i couldn't be there, but i am sure there will be more!

carri, you are loved!

run, lance, run

so here is the brother. running. and running some more. in the rain nonetheless. this is about the 7 mile marker.

here is mom and dad. in the rain. in the cold. cheering lance on.

(the sign reads, 'go lance'.)

(i think dad's eyes are closed. please forgive him.)

and then here is the champ! he did it!
he made the half marathon in 1 hour and 50 minutes.(in case you didn't know, the half marathon is 13.1 miles.)

not too shabby if you ask me.

and did i mention that it was raining? because it was!

way to go lance!

this day in history

9-11. what a day to remember and never forgotten. i remember the buzz going around school between 1st and 2nd hour and once i got to 2nd hour my teacher turned on the t.v. so we could watch what was going on. the class was children's theater. and we watched the 2nd plane fly into the tower. surreal. and i remember the next several days just being glued to the t.v. and soaking up every word that was being said. it was such a shocking day. it is still shocking to think about it.

9-11. today would have been our dog's 13th birthday. i know he was just a dog but i still miss him after putting him to sleep a few months ago.

9-11. today is my parents 27th wedding anniversary. that is pretty special if you ask me! they are pretty great people!

nifty fifty

well i am not exactly sure when the story began. but it was official starting on august 28th, 1959. that was the day that my grandparents were married. here are a few pictures from back then.

and this past sunday we were able to celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss with them by having a reception for them. it was such a great day!

here they are pictured with my great-grandma(my grandpa's mother) who is 93(i believe)!

it was amazing to see all the people that showed up and expressed their excitement for the 50 years. there were so many people that came and just neat to think that my grandparents had some impact on all of their lives in one way or another.
nanny and papa should be boarding a cruise ship any moment and getting ready to set sail for alaska!

in other news while my grandparents are gone, my aunt(their daughter) starts chemo tomorrow. if you think about it, please pray for her.

post vacation syndrome

yes, i am struggling from post-vacation-syndrome. it is a common issue among those that go on vacation and have returned and are back to working 40 hours a week. and the only cure...is MORE vacation!

i don't see the beach in my near future though.

so i will tell you a story of my vacation. i went parasailing!

(this is not me. i don't have any pictures of me doing this.)

it was also fun because we got my grandparents to go as well! i am not sure it was their favorite thing, but they can now say they have done it!

vacation part II

so many pictures were taken of the family this past week. and some of them turned out better than others but i will share a few of them with you!

Christmas card picture anyone?

The reason of the trip. My grandparents with the family.

i am sure this is the 20th picture of the whole group. one person was not cooperating. i will give you a hint: the little guy next to me was in one of his 'moods'!

it was turtle season so here is where they thought a momma turtle came and laid her eggs. but while we were there the turtle police came and found out that there were no eggs there. the momma turtle tricked them!

vacation

so i'm back. but i could be a beach bum for the rest of my life. watch out for me out there on the beach and if you know of any jobs that would allow me to be the beach bum, let me know!

the beautiful beach!

this was our base camp for the week

this was our condo with the view of the beach

these are my beautiful cousins. we are the only girls so we have to stick together!

i was sure to be at the beach majority of the week! it was beautiful!

it was such a great trip to be with family and celebrate the grandparents 50 years together!

stay tuned for more pictures to come!

vacation

so saturday i am leaving on vacation.

am i excited???

YOU BET!

this vacation could not come at a better time. we(all my family and aunts/uncles/cousins and g-parents) are headed out to celebrate the g-parents 50th anniversary.

and we are going to the beach. the last time i was on a beach was along the baltic sea and kind of chilly. so i am looking forward to warmth!

he makes all things good

so this month has been a little rough. just a lot of heavy stuff going on in the lives of my family and friends. one of the people that has had a harder go at it would be my aunt carri. normally when i see my aunt she asks me "why aren't you on a date?" or "when are you going to get yourself a boyfriend?" or "do i need to go bar hopping with you to pick up a boy?". so needless to say, when i am around her i am fully aware of my single life!(but thanks for the encouragement carri!)

but i am sure these days carri has bigger fish to fry than worrying if her niece will ever get married. she has come down with a case of the cancer.

i believe that it was the doctor that told her "you have cancer, but cancer doesn't have you." and that is so true. so we are going to fight this.

many question as to why or how? or why God?

and without hope(Jesus), we don't know the answer. but there is a reason.

this song sticks out to me(by Caedmon's Call). as He makes all things good. whether we 'think' or 'feel' that things are good or bad. there is a reason.(by the way there is no video with this song...just the song. enjoy!)

carri, the Lord is with you through all of this.

psalm 16:8 "I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for is is right beside me."