Surviving the storm (Pt 2 of 3)

THE HURRICANE/THE FLOOD
(Here is an article about Hurricane Emily)

July 2005- We were staying in Monterrey, Mexico as summer staff for Back 2 Back ministries. We lived in a little room behind a house. When I say little, I would say smaller than our living room and we all lived there and had a little fridge and microwave in it. It was very "quaint".:)

About a week before the hurricane was to make landfall, we started getting prepared. We were at the bottom of the mountain so the water just pours down. The staff was very on top of things and they had talked to every staff member and every teenage on their land about what to do.

B and I moved all of our stuff on top of our beds and as high as we could get them. There were shelves in a storage room and so we put the stuff there.

We decided not to sleep in our humble abode in fear that we might get trapped in by the flooding so stayed in a room at the house of the Back 2 Back missionaries.

In the middle of the night, Beth came in and showed us that there was water all over the floor in our room. We woke up and realized their entire house had water in it. They lived sort of at the bottom of the hill. The flooding water had oil in it (picked up from who knows where). Their furniture/rugs were being destroyed by the minute so they were trying to pick everything up off the ground.

We were able to walk outside and just see what looked like a river going through their yard. We could not get to where we were staying due to the rushing water. The people in the house next to us had part of their house washed away. I will never forget the lady screaming as water poured through her house and broke her fence.

The next day everyone around us was without power. For some reason, most of the Back 2 Back facility had power. The staff made as much food as they could and we walked around door to door handing out food. Merrick (who was 5 at the time) and Ethan (who was 3) handed out candy to the kids we saw. All the families were so appreciative of the hot meal that was delivered to them. It was a nice bright point to the entire experience.

When we finally made it back to our room, we could see the line on the wall of where the water had been. They had tile floors in there so really the only thing that needed cleaning was the walls so they wouldn't mold.

I don't ever want to be in a hurricane again- but I do know that was such a huge bonding experience for all of us in Monterrey at the time.

A little later

Have some posts we are working on but just haven't gotten around to writing (they are all in my head) so we'll be posting a little later today.

THANKS FOR READING!

Saving Money on Insurance

Photo courtesy of MylifeUSA

Random entry but something that has been on my mind! You all know I'm passionate about being frugal, right? Well, I've been reading a lot about people checking on their insurance rates and comparing them with other companies. I have been meaning to do this for a while. Last month I took the plunge and ended up getting quotes from several companies.

We have decided to switch our auto/home insurance to a different company. For the same coverage, we saved 50% on auto and about $400/yr on home! That comes out to about $90 a month saved. Can you believe that? I would recommend checking your quotes each year to make sure you are getting the best price for your family. Make sure and have your current policy right by you so you can make sure you are getting the same coverage. Even though it's cheaper, you don't want to lose out on the better options. I only wish I hadn't waited so long!!

(originally posted on my bargain blog, Christi's 2 Cents, in July 2008)

We're not home, but please come back and see us, ya'll!

We are in beautiful Arkansas visiting family. It doesn't feel that far from home until I realize it takes about 20 minutes to get "to town".

Let me tell you what just happened. I took Lincoln, our new puppy out so he could take care of some business before bed. The lights were not on outside but there was some light from the house shining out the windows.

We walked out and Lincoln was acting a little skiddish (which isn't a new thing-he's a bit of a chicken). I noticed something on the ground and told him it was fine. I thought it was a lawn tool or something.

I finally walked over there to show him everything was ok and the thing GOT UP AND RAN AWAY! It was a beaver! Sitting right there in front of me. I'm so glad he didn't bite me with his chompers! I'm also glad it wasn't a skunk or I might have gotten sprayed. Lincoln "chased" him into the woods slowly and then ran back feeling all heroic but let me tell you, we are not in Edmond anymore. We are in the woods!

So- taking a break from city life will be good for us. We will be back to posting after the Holiday. Have a great,safe Labor day! (and remember- if you see something crouching down in your backyard, either run away or turn on a light to see what it is because it might just jump out and scare the living daylights out of you!)

(Photo provided by Kansas Dept of Parks and Wildlife)

Perspective

This has been a summer of downers here in the Donaldson house. Kind of a pick-yourself-back-up-off-the-ground and keep going kind of season. Not trying to be too dramatic because I know we all have things that bring us down. It just seems like we are trying to roll with the punches and they keep coming.

We have experienced lots of loss. With close friends moving away, extended family issues, health issues, friends experiencing loss, friends experiencing some crisis'...it's been a bit heavy. The good thing is we know God is with us. We have never questioned that. I have been feeling like He wants me to rely on Him and not on those around me. He wanted me to be in need of Him. He wanted us to be "out of control" so He can come back in take the control that He deserves.

Sometimes I want to say "OK God, I get it!". But do I??

How long will it take for me to learn to TRUST in Him (completely) and I'm talking about total trust with my family, my kids!, our finances, our friends, our health, .....everything! When will I look back and realize that even though I have felt a bit "beat up", I have no bruising or cuts whatsoever. In fact- he is healing us as I type this. There might be scars-but the pain is lessening thanks to Him. Besides-scars are a good reminder of lessons learned.

So- I might be rambling a bit but I just wanted to say that I will always be able to get back up because of the faithful Father and friend I have in my life. Now that's just cool.

Okie words?

Just for fun....Are these Okie or do people say these everywhere?

The Okie Accent is largely characterized by a twang which is the pronunciation of a word with elongated vowels and adding of extra syllables to increase the length of the sound of the words which serve to create a drawl. i.e., the word "get" would be stretched out in a complex but subtle pronunciation of "gee-ut-ah", someone unfamiliar with the dialect or not listening closely would hear simply "git". (photo courtesy of Fotosearch)

• Konked- meaning sleeping hard ( I just wrote that to a friend and thought it sounded funny)
• Little smokies-Describing the little weiners wrapped in a crescent roll or biscuit
• Warsh-meaning wash (this one is a pet peeve of mine)
• Walmarts - "I went down to Walmarts and gots me a deal." (another pet peeve)
• Howdy- a friendly gesture
• Ya'll- meaning "you all".
• Fridee- meaning Friday.
• Look-sie- meaning, let me take a look.
• Coke- meaning any kind of soda :) Wanna go get a coke?
• Fixin- getting ready to

I could probably think of more but I'm sure that's enough to keep you going. We had some friends move here from California and we were telling them that people around here don't actually talk with an Okie accent like in the movies. We pulled up to a drive thru and the man said "Howdy, how can I help ya?" We were busted!

I'm proud to be an Oklahoman- this is my home, but it's fun to laugh about our unique culture. Where do you live? What are some unique phrases you hear often?

Friday Update

Not too much to share today. For now, I will introduce you to 2 new team members on the Internet Campus!!

Meet the new Administrator: Amber Smart

and

Community Online Organizer: Tony Steward

Of course we miss The Blanchards, but are looking forward to the new dynamics on the team as well.

It's August 1st so we get to officially start talking FOOTBALL (Woo Hoo!!). Love the FALL time of year :) (Although it will be HOT here for the next month or so)

What's new in your life? Plans for the weekend?

Friday follow-up #5

Here's our week in a nutshell...

• The boys are finishing up swim lessons today. They LOVED taking them at Pelican Bay. I highly recommend it if your kids can't swim (or even if they can, but need a little refining)
• I am starting to pack today for our trip next week. I'm already getting little butterflies in my tummy from knowing I will miss the boys. I know it will be a blast but I sure will miss my little buddies!
• We got a little 2 1/2 ft deep pool (about 12 feet wide). The boys are in heaven! They played "Marco Polo" the other night in that thing. It was so cute. They didn't care that they were bumping into each other :)
• This weekend, our church (along with about 1500 other churches), is taking up a special "offering" during ONE PRAYER, to start about 500 churches in several countries. Very exciting. If you want to read more about it, check this out.
• The boys are participating in the library reading program where they get prizes each time they read 8 books. Wish they had that stuff for adults! I've been reading a LOT lately:)

What have you been up to this summer? What are your weekend plans? Is your church participating in ONE PRAYER? Do you like to read? Do you know how to swim? :)

Out of your element?

I think I'm starting to grow up a bit! I'm starting to realize things that I enjoy and don't enjoy, as well as things I am good at and not so good at.

Recently, I have been put in situations where I am leading where I just don't feel comfortable. It's a stretch for me. You know how you do things that come natural and easy? Well, that's where I like to be. Not that I want life to be easy, but I want to function in areas where God has gifted me. I want to be challenged for a season, but I shouldn't stay there- it's just NOT natural.

Let me give you an example. I love to love on people. I do that through hospitality. Hospitality can be shown in many different ways. My way is trying to make people feel relaxed and comfortable. There are times when I am not "trying" at all and people will tell me that I made them feel "welcome" or comfortable. It's something that just comes natural.

Then, put me in a situation where I am out of my element and I crumble. I begin to look inward, get insecure, get nervous...it becomes something that I think I can do but really can't. I take it all in my own power rather than letting God work through me. I am learning to say no in these situations because it's OK to not be good at everything! I would rather do a few things well, than do several things mediocre.

What are your natural gifts? What makes you "out of your element"? Tell us about a situation where you have succeeded or a situation where you bombed.

Friday follow-up #4

We have been a little sporadic on the blog lately. Posts might not be as consistent due to summer but hopefully we will get our groove going:)

• One Prayer starts this weekend. There are about 1350 churches taking part and about 800,000 people. It's inspiring to be a part of this history making series!

• The boys start swim lessons Monday- looking forward to it. Our local swimming pool had a great deal ($30 for 2 weeks of lessons for 1 hour a day).
  

• Speaking of the boys- they were jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath it today (always a favorite around here). I caught them spitting and then trying to make their spit fly up in the air as they jumped. Then, they crawled underneath the trampoline (after the spit had dissolved of course) and pretended like they were in a rain-forest. Boys will be boys. I love it when they don't know I am listening:)

• I'm not getting into facebook at all. I seriously don't know what the fascination with it is. I keep getting requests from people and just keep ignoring them. If I don't log in for a day or two, I have like 60 requests for things (such as movie quizzes and flower patches). Am I missing something? I will probably stay on it to keep connected with people but am not digging it like I thought I would.
  

• Nothing else happening around here. We are still just catching up from the trip and having house guests.
  

What's going on at your place? What random comments can you share with us today? How are you? Weekend plans? As ALWAYS- thank you for continuing to read! We appreciate you so much!!

LOST

How many of you are LOST fans? Or should I say LOST fanatics? This is one show Brandon and I watch religiously.

So- we finally saw the Season finale online on Monday night and we have so many questions! The more they answer, the more they give.We miss Charlie! We loved seeing the Desmond/Penny reunion ( at least there was one moment of non-turmoil!)

What are your thoughts on LOST? Any theories? Why is John Locke now "Jeremy"? Where did the Island go? Did Michael and Jin die in the blast? So many questions....so little time! (Oh wait- we have PLENTY of time because LOST won't return until the Spring!- BOO)

Falling behind and catching up

Hey friends....sorry we have not been posting much lately. Let me catch you up on what's been happening around here. We will be away from the computer for the next few days as well on a mission trip but will be back refreshed and ready on Monday!

• Today in about 2 hours, I am driving to the airport to pick up 3 of my online life group ladies and they are staying with me tonight and tomorrow.
  

• Tomorrow, I am dropping off the boys with my parents and B and I (and my life group ladies) are going on a micro-mission with our church. We are working on a boys home for kids with incarcerated parents. We will be doing some cleaning up, minor repairs, and just getting the place ready for summer. (I'm sure we will post all about that next week!) There are several other Internet Campus attenders coming to the mission as well.
  

• Then Sunday, we return for Lifestock which is an annual event at Lifechurch.tv. It is held at a local amusement park. We all wear Lifestock shirts and it's so fun to feel like Lifechurch.tv has invaded the place! In the evening, there is a concert and HUGE baptism. I remember just sitting and crying a couple of years ago while watching the baptisms. I am still in awe that we get to be a part of such a move of God!

• Monday, my online friends fly home and we get back to schedule :(
  

• Also- yesterday we had our 2nd home study meeting. Things are progressing more quickly than we had originally thought. There is a possibility that we will get to go to the July "DHS adoption party" where the kids awaiting adoption and the prospective adoptive parents get to meet and hang out in a casual setting. We are anxiously awaiting this adoption. Got a *little* nervous yesterday when I realized we have NO baby stuff and we might be getting a little one. I know God will provide for us! Be looking for us to have a shower this fall...hee hee. We are thinking this will occur before the end of the year! Our family could be growing in just a few short months! Please join us in prayer about this exciting and life-changing transition :) We will keep you posted for sure as you are on this journey with us!

THANK YOU so much for reading! It means so much that people out there care about us and that we have unique relationships with all of you:)

Friday follow-up #3

Is it Friday again? Crazy how fast the week goes!....

• We are planning on going to see "Narnia: Prince Caspian" tomorrow with the boys on our AMC gift card. Can't wait. This is one movie the boys have been anticipating more than us. UPDATE: We saw it on Saturday and all LOVED it! It was a great family day:)
  
• B and I shot some video footage yesterday (compliments of Mr. Kevin Ely) to be shown in week 2 of Fanatic at church. Brandon is so used to the camera that it's like second nature. I, on the other hand, get silly and giggly when I'm nervous. Fortunately, Kevin is a great editor!
• Bought the boys new swimsuits yesterday- yah! They only have 6 more days of school- I absolutely LOVE summertime. This is a time of year I truly am thankful that I get to stay home with my boys and enjoy every day of the summer.
• Brandon is addicted to "Planet Earth". We rented the DVDs from the local library and they really are spectacular. Have you seen any of it?
  
• Our anniversary is next week, I'll have to post more about that later.
• We have a mission trip at the end of the month that I will be posting about as well.

What are you up to? Read any good books lately? Seen any good movies you'd like to recommend? (pretty sure you know by now we are movie junkies).

Friday follow-up

Hello Friends! Can you believe we are in the month of May? Our boys have their official last day of school on the 27th (couldn't they have just had us stop on Friday instead of one day after Memorial day??). We can't wait for SUMMER!

We just got the boys signed up for swim lessons. They have been looking forward to this for several months. Ethan actually was "waitlisted" so is it wrong to pray that some kid drops out? He's #2 on the list and needs the lessons more than Merrick who is taking the intermediate class!

Week 4 of adoption training. We are almost finished! We have enjoyed the classes immensely but do miss Saturdays with the family :) It's going to be quite a process (but not as extensive as International).

Someone gave us a TV yesterday! We were so giddy last night watching LOST! It's a much better quality TV than our previous one. It's amazing how much a difference 5 inches of screen makes :) We were thanking God for providing for us on even the stuff we want and not just the stuff we need. It is hard accepting things that people give to you though, isn't it?

We are starting to get college graduation announcements in the mail.....wish our "youth kids" didn't ever have to grow up!

God's been shaking us up a bit lately- yes we have big hearts and want to do so much for the glory of God, but are finding that even though we want to do things (but don't do them), it's not the same. The intention is great, but the action would be even better.Just realizing that we can't do it all and aren't supposed to.. Do you struggle with this at all? Wanting to do too much and then ending up not doing anything really? Most posts coming up on that! Still kind of processing through it...

Lots going on but we like it like that! So- what's been going on with you and your family lately? Any weekend plans? Any thoughts on the stuff I mentioned above?

THANKS FOR READING!!

Random #2

We have had a ton going on. Here's our Friday update (which seems to be a regular thing around here now).

My sister is getting married tonight. The boys are the ring-bearers, Brandon is performing the ceremony and I am the matron of Honor. We are very excited! I will have to post some pics on here for you to see :)

I went to get a spray on tan today for the first time. Spent $20, took about 2 minutes, and I def. look tanner tonight. I think I likey.

We watched "Dan in real life" the other night (LOVED it!) and we also watched "Cloverfield" (LIKED it) Have you seen those? What did you think?. Seen any good movies lately??

We have our 3rd week of adoption training this Saturday. We are learning a lot about ourselves through this process (which is a god thing). Just a few more weeks and we can check the training part off of the list! yah! Are you working on completing something on your list?

Only one more month of school- summertime is calling our name! The boys are doing swim lessons. We are also planning park days, library days and "craft corner" days....can't wait!! What are your plans for the summer?

TGIF! What are your weekend plans? What have you been up to that you'd like to share about?

Random

Hey friends! We will be continuing the "faces of the Internet campus" tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun getting to display some of the personalities of the IC :)

We went to adoption training yesterday. It took a toll on us this week. Lots of heavy issues were discussed on what these kids might have gone through and the losses they experience. Very heartbreaking. I'm sure there will be some blog posts about that at a later time.

Lot's of family stuff going on right now too (like my sister's wedding, a mission trip, etc). Basically stuff to look forward to.

I think B and I decided on Seattle for our getaway. We've never been there and are about to start mapping out places to go. We might even drive on up into Canada. We are super pumped about this trip!!

What's been going on in your lives? We enjoy "connecting" with all of you through our blog. This has been a great outlet for us to explore. Thanks for reading and commenting!!!

Friday fun

Little recap for you:

This past week we had a wedding shower for my sister. It was awesome! Great turnout, lots of fun. Can't believe she's getting married in 2 weeks! We had the boys fitted for tux's yesterday- can't wait to see my little studs in those duds...hee hee.

We met with our DHS worker for basically an intake meeting. We start our training tomorrow. 5 weeks of meetings from 10-5 on Saturdays. We are actually excited about these!

I finally went to the doctor to get some things checked out. I've been having multiple symptoms/pains for almost a year. Had 5 tubes of blood drawn yesterday and peed in a cup (oh joy!). Hopefully, we will find something out. Please be in prayer for me about this:)

Last night, we went to a fundraiser for our dear friend, Becca. She is moving to Mexico for a year to work with orphans and the Back 2 Back ministry. She has been our sitter for 7 years. It's amazing to see God putting people into our lives who will forever leave an impact...Becca is that for us. I'm just trying to remember that we will forever be in touch even though she will not live here (but it's still hard letting go!!)

Have a friends baby shower coming up soon as well! Little busy bee, I am:)

Stay tuned for next week- we are doing something we've never done on this blog!! Have to wait until Monday to see!!!

Another quick one.....

We've been extremely busy this week so the posts have been a little shorter. I've got some in the works though:) Can't wait to tell you about what's coming in a couple of weeks- you don't want to miss reading our blog the week of April 11- 17!!!

For today, let's flip yesterday's question. What would you NOT want to do? Is there anything you are hoping God does NOT call you to? Anything you just don't think you could handle? Anything you dislike or despise? Sometimes I see someone working a job and think "I would not want to be that person right now!". You?

(Not trying to be Debbie downer here, just curious what you are thinking)

Quick question!

Just one question today. Our Pastor asks us frequently, "If you could do anything in the world and money was not a factor, what would you do and why?"

So, what would you do? We will post ours later!

April Fool's Day

Brandon used to call me all the time and act like someone else and I fell for it every time!

During our first year of marriage, we lived in a duplex and they were coming around to do inspections. He called first thing in the morning and acted like the inspection guy and said they were coming right then. I jumped out of bed and ran around trying to get ready while talking to "the guy" on the phone. He had me going for a while but then started laughing and I realized it was my hubby.

A few years later, B was in a band called "Rag tag". They were heading out to a concert. He called me and wasn't planning on fooling me but I didn't recognize his voice. Not sure why. He then proceeded to tell me that he was the guy running the gig Brandon was headed to and that the gig was cancelled. He was saying he couldn't get in touch with Brandon. I was telling him that I would try and stressing because Brandon and his brother were already driving to Tulsa. Again- after several minutes of conversation, he laughed and said "Christi, it's me, Brandon!".

One last time, he called in a foreign accent and totally had me. I can't remember the scenario but I just know that I fell for it. Told you I did every time!

He hasn't done that in a long time. I think he felt sorry for me. Please don't feel led to call me and act like someone else!! Do you fall for things like that? Are you a jokester? Do you treat April Fools Day like any other day? What are some pranks/jokes you have played or had played on you?