Please Pray

Hey, everyone. I have a special prayer request. My friend Charlene's cousin Melissa is getting ready to have a stem cell transplant. She is a 32 yr old with a husband and 3 kids 5 and under. This is very serious. She has been gracefully battling lymphoma. They will be giving her injections that help the cells be easier to remove via the blood. These are her own cells that have not matured yet. She will also be getting treatments to basically wipe out the immune system so that there is less chance of rejection. Then, they will do the transplant. I would ask that people pray for healing and strength for her and her family. Thanks, Jamie

I am publishing a link to a blog that her sister is keeping for her. It has updates and additional information.
www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com This is the website in case the link doesn't work. It is on the right listed as Melissa Update Blog

 
 
 
 

 

 

Are You Kidding Me???!!

O.K. So those of you who know me know that I love boats. I honestly think I could live on one. Naturally then while in warmer weather than Illinois in December, I went on a 3 hour cruise, a 3 hour cruise. (sung to gilligan's island theme) Mom and Dad bought me a ticket for a Dolphin watch and shelling trip. Unfortunately the dolphins weren't in a playing mood and we didn't see any. But, I was on a boat so things were fine by me. We stopped at shell island for 45 minutes or so. Everyone disembarked and went roaming the island. I hadn't paid much attention to the shell part, and didn't bring anything to collect shells in. Then I thought, what in the world would I do with a bunch of little shells? They'd just get put away somewhere, so that didn't bother me. It was Jan. 2nd, and my last day of vacation. It was only 73 degrees that day and cloudy so I decided on jeans, t-shirt, and zip hoodie. It can get a little chilly out on the water. I was fine until I got off the boat. Then, I wanted to go into the water. People wearing flip flops dipped their toes in and decided it was too cold. Are you kidding me, I'm from Illinois. That's late June water. So, I took off socks and shoes and rolled my jeans up to the knees. Out I went with my camera. Then, out a little farther, and a little farther...O.K. I maybe went a little too far for full clothing. I was soaked! Waves were crashing on my legs. I was getting some cool "up close" shots of the water. Everything was great until I looked at my phone to check the time. Oops. Gotta run. Literally. Shoot, now I don't remember where I left my shoes. Running barefoot down the beach of SHELL Island, which is all shells, is not that fun. Finally, I spot my shoes and jump into the boat with everyone staring at my dripping wet denim hiked to my knees. Sorry, I tell them. Went a little too far. They were looking at me like I needed serious therapy! Oh, well. I'll probably never see them again. Who cares that my pale skin was a little too pink and my jeans were wet and I was carrying my socks and shoes and I had sand stuck to my feet? Right? Honestly the only thing said to me was "aren't you freezing?". Are you kidding me? It's 73 and I knew I'd be flying back to 33 or so.

Then, I started talking to one of the crew guys. I think he was afraid I'd jump out or something. He kept telling me to watch my step, it's slick on deck. Are you kidding me? He didn't really like it too much when I leaned out over the boat to shoot a little phone video for the girls at work either. Next thing I know, we're staring at what I thought was maybe a really nice resort. Wrong. Single family homes. 2nd single family homes for vacation only. Are you kidding me?! Then he says that the average yearly tax on these homes is about $35,000!!!!! Are You Kidding Me???!!!..........

Live from Busch Gardens

Um, I got kinda lost in pictureland, and this 1st picture is from my hotel room balcony at sunset. Sorry

Happy New Year

Last week I went to Tampa, FL for a few days. There are several 'interesting' stories from my trip. :) Right now I'm trying to get back into the swing of work and Grandma. So, for right now here's a few pictures. I haven't had time to get to work in Adobe Photoshop yet. So, they're untouched. As you'll see, I loved Cupid the giraffe and the tigers the most. Later, I'll show some pictures of the animals that I don't like....crocs, birds, and anything resembling a reptile or rat!