Odds and Ends

Some an instrument,

Some a brush,

But me?

Just about anything will do!

(I was paid $20 bucks to "decorate!" I am going into the wrong profession)

Another birthday occurred among the office staff this week. Her gift from me? A money plant! I fold paper and money to create flowers and wala (sp?)

A random pic of Kelly with the biggest chip in the bag. Seriously I did not zoom in!

Yeeppiii! I can post pictures now. Get ready. Here they come!

Remember my job in Michigan? Well, I worked a couple of weeks in Cincinnati for them and one week in Michigan. Bless their hearts, the house they were going to buy was taking longer than they thought so they were living in a hotel. I ended up going back to Cinci and then to my parents home and getting another job at a staffing agency. To the left is a picture of Lauren, the youngest charge. I know she looks adorable, but she was certainly a hand full. She kept telling me she didn't like me because I put her in timeout too much, but her dad called this morning and said she was really missing me. She needs a time0ut for lying to me! lol

My new job title is Administrative Assistant at Pro Resources Staffing. It has been a long standing joke in the library at school that when I answer the phone my voice inflection changes. Apparently I act sweeter than I am. hehe So a few summers ago I needed a job, but no one would hire me for just the summer. I finally thought of applying at a temp agency. When I talked to them on the phone they fell for my "voice trick" and hired me directly to work for them as the front desk receptionist. To make a long story short...I am working there again. I love it.

I have found a new talent. Several months ago almost a year maybe a friend's brother was killed. I couldn't afford a flower arrangement and I didn't think he would really want flowers. So I thought, Hey, he loves Reese cups...let's make a "flower" arrangement with them. So that is how it got started. Yesterday my new talent was put to use again when we celebrated a co-worker's b-day.

Below is the birthday girl! Brandy takes care of all the unemployment and workman's comp. claims in our office. Last Sunday was her b-day, but we were so busy that we had to put off her celebration until yesterday. The little nerd (meant in the nicest way possible) is leaving for bigger and better things soon. We will miss her. :(

Meet Ginger and Emma. They were adopted by my brother and sister-in-law a few weeks ago. Both are female so we call them The Ladies. What makes me laugh is that when talking to the crazy things Justin and Kelly refer to themselves as Mom and Dad, my parents are Grandma and Grandpa. So that makes me Aunt Jo! Well, guys meet my two furry twin nieces. Weird.

Just because I am proud of this fact....I wrote this blog backwards. When I tried to upload a picture it kept placing it above instead of below the other pics so I decided to post the one I wanted last first. Aww, who cares?! I was too excited that I could finally post pictures.

Martyr's Song

Martyr's Song

Sing O son of Zion

Shout O child of mine

Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind

For you are finally home

I’ve been waiting to dance with you

In fields full of colors you’ve never seen

I’ve been waiting to show you beauty

You never dreamed that’s always been in you

I’ve been waiting to see you tremble as you’re embraced

By a world saturated with my love

I’ve been waiting for the day when at last I get to say

My child you are finally home

Sing O son of Zion

Shout O child of mine

Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind

For you are finally home

I’ve been waiting to watch you realize

What all your longing was for

I’ve been waiting to show you the thread of grace

That ran through all your pain

I’ve been waiting to let you drink the water of which

Your greatest joy on earth was just a taste

I’ve been waiting for the day when at last I get to say

My child you are finally home

Sing O son of Zion

Shout O child of mine

Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind

Sing O daughter of Zion

Cry out O child of mine

Dance with all the strength that you can find

For you are finally home

Every tear you cried dried in the palm of my hand

Every lonely hour was by my side

Every loved one lost, every river crossed

Every moment, every hour was pointing to this day

Longing for this day…

Written by Todd Agnew

'nough said.

Jo's Jolting Journey

Well, dear friends, I am considering a name change. Not my personal name, but the name of my blog. Speaking of a change in name directs my thoughts to the change of ones name when one is married. This in turn makes me think about dating which again causes me to ponder the "relationship status" option on the illustrious Facebook site.

***"Ahhumm." Clearing her throat she stepped up on her soapbox.

What is the purpose of this option? It makes my laugh wholeheartedly. Say you begin your Facebook page with the declaration that you are single. A few weeks into the new school year you meet your "one true love." Time to change your status. All is well for several weeks (some make it months) then the relationship status is on the proverbial rocks. So now "It's complicated?" This particular status, in my personal opinion, serves a dual purpose..."I want to date, but he/she won't date me." So at best "it's complicated" advertises that a relationship is struggling and reader should wait patiently for an update. If couples counseling (well intended friends determined to give well meaning relationship advice) works well status update is "in a relationship." If not "single" is the best option. Let's not forget that all of this is publically displayed for your "friends" on the Facebook home page. Then you have to deal with all your friends inquiring about why you are now "single." How stressful!

Now let me say that I am not, by any means, demeaning those who choose to utilize this option. You are simply stronger than I am, which is why I chose to remove that option from my profile. When I removed it the feed on the home page stated "Kimberly is no longer single." For all of my friends that are inquiring...wait patiently.

The explanation of a name change will have to wait. This post is getting too long.

I'm Glad that I Made It!

This title for this blog was inspired by a song title. Many times I have come through a crazy situation and then expressed myself by blaring Brooklyn Tab singing it as loud as my speakers and the Dean of Women would allow! I currently do not have a the song on my MP3, but if I did I would dance around the hotel with it at a volume higher than the recommended decibels. It has not, by any means, been a bad day. I have simply conquered the unknown and navigated through many unforeseen occurrences. Bet you're ready to hear (read) the story, huh?

Well, to inform the uninformed. After my last post I received two job offers. First, Sears Portrait Studio in the mall. Second, a nanny position that involved a summer relocation to Michigan. The benefits of this opportunity far out way the slight inconvenience of being on call 24/7. I accepted the latter offer. One of the perks is traveling. As it stands now I will spend most of my summer (what is left of it) traveling all over the country. One of my charges is a GOOD tennis player. She is ten and ranks 2nd in the Midwest, for her age bracket and like 19th in the nation. The tournament are everywhere and so I travel along to keep the younger charge occupied and the mother organized. Charge number two has ADD and then some :) She is seven. By the end of today I engaged her in a ten minute "quiet time" some I would have half a chance to catch my breath! She is a blast to hang out with and whether or not the munchkin would admit it, I know she has fun, too. I am rejoicing in the end of today because it was my first official full day. I have babysat for a couple hours for the past few weeks and helped as much as I was asked, but today was the day. I drove all the way to Kalamazoo, MI with a GPS system for the first time (Ever tried it? After I got the hang of it, it was great, but at first...I preferred Mapquest and a printer!), entertained a very hyper seven year old for hours without a TV, and gave several firm commands to our two canine traveling companions, Cutie Pie and Honey Bunnie! Over all, it has been a very fulfilling day.

Change of subject: "Peace that passeth all understanding." Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on a situation and realized throughout the whole ordeal you weren't worried? For the first time, probably in my life, I have been able to rest in God and just realized it. I don't know how to explain it, hence the "peace that passeth all understanding," but I know when it started and I know why. I know that I haven't conquered everything in my Christian walk, but this one thing I know "my Redeemer is faithful and true."

Ok, I think I am done.

On my list of things to do...

Find a job.
Find a job.
Find a job. Had one. Lost it. (Long involved story.)
Post resume on online nanny service.
Respond to email inquiring about an interview.
Set up the interview-Friday night-7pm
Find the house where the interview is to take place.
Enter duplex.
Find the mother of two children sitting in recliner.
Make small talk to aid in good first impression.
Inquire about her health.
Ignore the complaint of really bad headache.
Proceed with interview.
Note pertinent information in notebook.
Observe interviewer drop pen, clench hands.
Update health status.
Note comment about numbing hands.
Listen carefully to given info. about meds and allergies of son.
Observe interviewer clutching chest.
Stay calm.
Inquire about chest pains.
Suggest a trip to the ER.
Call cousin to help.
Stop talking to cousin.
Ask interviewer to respond.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
Hang up on cousin.
Stay calm.
Call 911.
Talk to rude operator.
Calm children.
Watch EMT's take now conscious interviewer.
Attempt to give three year epileptic his meds.
Note syringes.
Call trusted friend with medical experience-no answer.
Call another trusted friend with medical experience-no answer.
Call another trusted, smart friend with no medical experience.
Hang up on friend to answer call from trusted friend number one.
Get advice.
Give meds.
Stay calm.
Contact S's father.
Answer call from S.
Note that the Dr. thinks it was a mild heart attack.
Watch Jonah-VeggieTales with children.
Wait for S's sister to arrive.
Take a deep breath.
BLOG!!!!

I am pleased to inform you that I have accomplished everything on my list of things to do.

The Long Overdue Thought-out Post

As I logged in to post the following profound and thought provoking statements I realized that when I changed my background (forever ago) that I didn't reload any pictures, making this site rather boring and unattractive. For those who care, please accept my most humble apologies.

So I asked myself "What shall I write about today?" It is been quite awhile since I posted anything of great significance so today I thought I needed to blog more than random ramblings. Some of it will be random thoughts, but hey, it's my blog and it is in the description.

Band Tour:
Only one word needed-AWESOME! I was really looking forward to tour anyway, but my expectations were definitely exceeded this year. Even though I attend a Bible college and the people around me are supposed to be focused on the same "stuff" as I am, there is no guarantee. Anyway, I looked at this particular tour as an opportunity to grow and set aside time to regain some perspective. I had specific prayer requests that I brought to God with an open mind that He may not provide the answer in the way that I thought was the best. By day two one of the top requests was answered in a marvelous way. Along with the answered prayer came dishearting news, but in the midst of it all I had a very really peace and calm assurance that I was going to see the other side of the storm. A verse from one of the songs we played kept coming to my mind.

Pardon from sin and a peace that ENDURETH.

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide.

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside.

Great is thy faithfulness.

Great is thy faithfulness.

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed thy hand hath provided.

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

I made it. Another source of great joy was the prayer times we had together. You know how sometimes a group will go to prayer and all you hear is one person and, at least for me, it is hard to concentrate? Not so, my friend, when this band went to prayer we went to prayer. Overall this was a great tour.

(And you thought I was going to keep it to one word. hahaha)

Substituting and Library time:

Every once in a while the academy will call and ask me to sub when they are in a bind. This occurred not too long ago. I was in the first grade, which is not my favorite grade but for a day I don't care. There is a little boy in the class that stole my heart a long time ago. He calls me Ms. Cookie because I passed out cookies for snack time while he was in kindergarten. He always gives me a hug and smiles the biggest smile. His glasses are usually dirty and constantly slipping down his little nose. Anyway, three different times that day I had to repeat directions at least three times before he would obey. Finally, I pulled him aside and asked, "How many times have I had to ask you to obey today?" He hung his little head in shame and replied "At least a hundred!" It was so hard not to smile, but I think he got the point of the question.

I also interact with the academy for story time in the library every Thursday. It was raining a few weeks ago and a little boy was running after I asked them not to, but I assume the sprinkling was really getting to him. He fell. As any good overseer of children would do I asked if he was okay. Rubbing the arm of his leather coat he exclaimed, "Uuuugggghhh! And this is genuine leather, too!"

The Ah,ha! Moment:

Well, like I previously stated along with the answered prayer on tour came bad news. My grandfather had cancer and wouldn't make it through the week. On the way home from watching his father die, my father got REALLY sick and was admitted to the hospital for a bleeding ulcer. This was just the tip of the iceberg when considering my life for the past two years. One thing after another seemed to happen in our family. It has really stressed me out sometimes. After this past week I was feeling very insecure about life and what it had to offer. Change affects everyone, but for me it really throws me for a loop. For some reason it makes me really insecure and I feel like I have to fix the problem. As I was trying to wrap my mind around all the information I have gathered this past week about my family I had these struggles. Can I handle any more? What if the rest of my life is this chaotic? Will I ever feel secure? Then the moment came. The, "ah, ha! I get it!," moment. God doesn't change. I knew that, but I don't think I have ever appreciated it. In all the chaos and turmoil of living. The life changing situations that we as humans have absolutely no control over. God doesn't change. In Him we can rest assured that He will always be the one constant.

In the words of one of our favorite chapel speakers...."Can I get a witness?"