Thank You, Thank you!

Hey All!

My surgery went really well. Thank you so much for your prayers and emails and comments. I can't tell you how grateful I am. I still can't believe that God gave me such amazing, wonderful, and encouraging friends to live my life with. My surgery ended up starting at about a quarter till 8. I was actually able to walk into the operating room, which was pretty cool. Most of the time they put you out first and then take you back. Anyways, I woke up at about 10:30. I think it's pretty funny how the second you open your eyes they are asking you questions. I got asked "On a scale of 0 to 10, how much pain are you in?" about five times in the first ten minutes. They even asked me what size shirt I wanted as a souvenir. I ended up getting a large because I wasn't awake enough to tell them what size I was! I got home at about 11:30. I had an ice pack wrapped around my knee for the first two days. I was able to take that off and so now all I have on it is a big Ace bandage. I get to take that off tomorrow. I am very curious to see how my knee looks. I have a HUGE bruise down the side of my calf so I can't imagine how bruised my knee is. The first day I was on intense pain medicine. For the next two days I was only on Advil and Tylenol. Now I am on no pain meds at all. That makes me very happy. God is so good!
Thanks again for your prayers! :)

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the day! I will be going in to surgery in the morning at 7:15. We have to be there at 6, though. And that means that we have to leave the house at 5:30... *ugh* Honestly though, I am looking forward to it. Just the fact that I will not be in pain from this bone fragment makes me very happy. God has given me the peace that passes all understanding. All of you have been so encouraging to me. Thank you so much.

I have had some songs on my mind for a little while that have seemed to be written for me... (The little Grooveshark thing will play the songs.)

Praise You In This Storm- Casting Crowns


I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth



Voice Of Truth- Casting Crowns


Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. 'Boy, you'll never win!'
"You'll never win"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a Sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again "boy, you'll never win!
"You'll never win"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth


I Will Rise- Chris Tomlin


There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say, "it is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God, fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

And I hear the voice of many angels sing, "worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart, "worthy is the Lamb"

Tag, your it...

Pick Your Artist: Barlow Girl

Are you male or female: "Clothes"

Describe yourself: "Average Girl"

How do you feel about yourself: "Never Alone"

Describe where you currently live: "5 Minutes of Fame"

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: "Go, Tell It On the Mountains"

Your best friend is: "My God's Enough"

Your favorite color is: "Grey"

You know that: "Never Alone"

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: "Superstar"

What is life to you: "Everyday Life"

What is the best advice you have to give: "Surrender"

If you could change your name, what would it be: "Angelic Proclamation"

Your favorite treat is: "Sweet Revenge"

Elisabeth... your it. All you have to do is pick an artist, and use the names of the songs to answer this things... Anyone else who wants to do this can.

PS some of the things I put on here are not true. If I ever did have my own TV show it would not be called Superstar. My favorite treat is not Sweet Revenge... (actually, it's donuts...) :)

Phantom of the Opera!!!

So, yesterday we went to the Music Hall and saw 'The Phantom of the Opera'!! It was sooo cool. As most of you know, whenever I see or hear someone with an amazing voice, I get very excited. So, as you can imagine, I was very happy. It was very well done. *sigh* I love musicals...



*ahem*
In other news, we are doing some remodeling in our house. My dad is putting in hardwood floors!! Yay!!

This is our living room. (everything echos in there now that the carpet is ripped out)

And here is the dining room (from the perspective of the back door.)

Here's the last of 'em!

Everyone was primping before the show... primping each other that is...

Brian and Tommy or Opochankano and John Smith fighting...

Me and my beautiful friend Janice

Me and Christian (the contrast in our coloring is amazing... Make-up is great.)

Tommy aka John Smith (without the beard) and the settler men...

Aaron aka Admiral Newport

Me (or the back of me anyways) and Rebekah aka Meemioquisp

Settler women and Sarah aka Pocahontas

Some of the settler women

a lot of people asked to see the back of my hair so, here

Rebekah/Meemioquisp (isn't her costume amazing?!)

Christian aka Pocatootie and the other Native warriors

Director Kim and the cast

Mom doing Christian's make-up

what He did, He did for me

Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, 'tis He, 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected prophet,
David's Son, yet David's Lord;
By His Son, God now has spoken
Tis the true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear him groaning,
Was there ever grief like his?
Friends thro' fear his cause disowning,
Foes insulting his distress;
Many hands were raised to wound him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
'tis the Word, the Lord's Anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ's the Rock of our salvation,
His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on him their hope have built.
~Fernado Ortega


Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?



Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not

1 John 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

X-Rays

Okay, so my computer doesn't have a virus. Here are some pictures of an X-ray that I got today.
This is the original. If you look, you can see the bone fragment...

Here is a close up of the same picture. I have circled the fragment.


Some of you may not know, but I have JRA, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and possibly Lupus. Also, recently a small bone fragment broke off and is now floating around in the joint space behind my left knee. Lately it has been hurting quite a bit.
Today at the doctor, I was telling them about how these past couple of months have been kind of hard because of my knee hurting so bad. So my doctor immediately said, "Well we need to take care of that then." Yep, I am going to be going into surgery. It will be either the 22nd or 24th of this month. It will take a bit for me to recover, but honestly, I am kind of excited about it. It will be nice not to be in constant pain. The doctor who will be doing the surgery is great. She said that she will take pictures during the surgery and give them to me. That will be pretty cool. I might even put them on here...

UGH!

Hey All...

So... My computer is being weird and might have a virus. So, obviously, we can't use it very much right now. Unfortunately, that means that I won't be able to post the rest of my pictures until we get this fixed... *sigh*

Pocahontas Pictures Part 2

Here are some more from my good friend Sarah who played the part of Pocahontas. I realize that these are coming in groups of three but oh well. (I still don't have
the ones from my camera yet...)

We all got to dress up Sarah...
(I have a neck like an Egyptian! Sorry... Inside joke... I just have a long neck...)

These pictures are from our photo shoot right after the afternoon showing on Friday...
Left to Right...
Me, Janice, Jessica H., Marisa H., Sarah, Jessica W., Cassie, Marissa M., and Laura

Here are all of the settler women and children...
Top row...
Laura, Marisa H., Janice, Jessica H.
Bottom row...
Me, Marissa M., Erica, Camella, Brianna, Lynae, Jessica W., and Cassie...


More will come later...

Pocahontas Pictures Part 1

Here are some pictures that a friend of mine, Cassie, took. I haven't gotten all of my pictures back yet so this is not all of them. More will come later...

Cassie and Me


Us settler women together to get Pocahontas all dressed up...


Cassie and Me... again...