OH!

Here. For those who follow me on here.

I've switched blogs. Blogger is kind of annoying to me.
http://rachelann86.wordpress.com/

Warning: Childish Post Ahead

I feel like a breast cancer survivor or like I've climbed Mount Everest or some other monumental thing has occurred to me. Because, I and 6 other people in the car with me, have survived the flatulence of Anthony! It was monstrous/horrid/disgusting. On the way back from Ohio, the 8 of us Chicago folk, crowded in the Gliori van, suffered smells like no other. Except for Anthony, who probably wasn't all that affected by his smells. I don't know what happened, or what he ate, or what the problem could have stemmed from! But my goodness gracious, I can't even describe to you the smells we endured. And frequently, too! The "incidents" must have happened at least 20 times on the ride home. Possibly more. Every time, we would shriek in pain and agony and roll down the windows and stick our heads out as far as they could go just to breath in the clean air. ANYTHING! At one point I didn't roll down the window fast enough, and so I screamed and Matt frantically clawed at the window until it came down. It was a matter of life or death, I kid you not. In the words of Megan, "I wish I could say we were kidding about how dramatically we're reacting, but we're NOT!!!" We were simultaneously laughing and crying from the ridiculousness of it all. When we got back to BTP, Matt jumped out of the van and pumped his fists in the air, and screamed, "We made it!" while I hugged him for a long time with joy that we were still alive. In the car ride home, we smelled skunk and started to groan...but then...we sniffed alternately...and sighed. We both said, "This is nothing compared to what we just went through!" It was almost like cotton candy in comparison.
This post is written in all seriousness, and mostly for posterity, because....the Lord works in mysterious ways. In the wake of all of this, I have some hilarious good/painful memories with my dear friends.

Drinking Tea...

Pondering the greater meaning of life....
that is, what food to get when I go grocery shopping tomorrow. Just kidding. I mean, I am going grocery shopping. But I'm not pondering that as in the sense that it is of enormous import in my life. Although, grocery shopping has become suddenly very important to me. First of all, because I'm a wife now I guess. And I have to get food for my man or he will wither away...
Secondly, I've been trying to establish (and stick to, as much as possible) some sort of healthy diet for us. I don't want to be one of those losers that buys everything pre-made, and crappified. Sorry, no offense to people that do that. I just want to sort of get back the diet I had growing up as a kid...and Matt had too. Getting fresh/organic type stuff as much as possible, and cooking as much as I can. As opposed to all the pre-made, 100 million ingredient foods. I mean, we used to make our own bread at home all the time. We never bought store bought bread! Dad even bought a wheat grinder and bags of wheat berries, and we'd grind the wheat to make flour to put in the bread. I secretly (or not so?) want to be all artsy/crafty/homemakery as a wife and mother someday....but, because of being in this stupid dental hygiene program full-time...part of that will have to wait. I really do like dental hygiene. I just cannot wait to be rid of this schoolish slavery...my life revolves around school.
Well! A whole post on something I didn't even know I was wanting to write!
Matt is looking over my shoulder, and it's creepin me out, man. I was gonna write something funny about him, but he's watching, and anyway, it would probably be along the lines of a 4th grade joke.
This weekend is Jayce's wedding, and next week is Thanksgiving break! Hallelujah!

Haha, I posted exactly a month ago! How clever am I to match it up that well. Actually, I didn't even pay attention....

Things I am Enjoying

Since last post was kind of...well....melancholy....

I love fall. I adore it. It's basically one of my favourite seasons. I love every season, for specific purposes, but fall especially makes me happy. Here are some fall things that I am really enjoying right now. And some not so fall things, but just some things I like! =)

I'm definitely making these someday soon....

Credit: http://bluebicicletta.wordpress.com/
Credit: http://bluebicicletta.wordpress.com/



































Matt and I are going to get some pumpkins to carve....can you believe it...he's never done it before!

Sunday morning, and we're not at Meeting.

It just feels so weird to not be there. Especially when it's a tea-meeting day (I'm not going to lie!). But we aren't there because Matt doesn't feel well. And honestly, we are both getting rather worried. His seizures are happening more and more, just about every week, sometimes more than once a week. It's scary. I don't know what triggered this sudden massive amount of seizures. He went for years with having them every 3, 4, 6 months.....and then suddenly within the past year or two they've really picked up. And then within the past 6 months especially. If one wanted to make a joke, one could say it was due to the fact that he was going to ask me to marry him, and then did marry me. But I hardly feel like joking around right now, and that wouldn't make much sense anyway.
This week he has been having weird little "episodes" in his head. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like mini-seizures without a lot of crazy stuff going on. At least, not outwardly. Inwardly, when he's tried to describe it to me, he starts thinking all these weird thoughts and really similar thoughts? That's how he described it. And he feels sort of weird-dizzy/fuzzy and puts his head in his hands for a moment. But he doesn't fall, he doesn't seize, he doesn't lose full consciousness. And they only last for like half a minute. He had 4 of them yesterday, but didn't actually have a "for real" seizure. When I say for real, I guess I just mean his usual grand mal seizures. Part of me is thinking, are these the seizures he's going to have now? Because these are better than his other ones! He doesn't fall, and he can do stuff afterwards. Sort of. He feels weird afterwards. But then part of me is thinking, "Lord, why this many? What's going on? Is he deteriorating? Is there a tumor in his brain? WHAT'S GOING ON?!?" I'm scared, and we've tried everything, and I wish I had answers.
We have an appointment on Thursday for him to see his epileptologist, mostly to ask questions about whether we should go ahead with brain surgery. Not that I even know much about it, or how it will be paid for. But I know it will be taken care of, the Lord always provides for us. I'm just seeking Him about whether we should do this....maybe you can too? We've literally tried everything else, it feels like.
I hate watching Matt go through stuff that I can't do anything about. I can't help him, I can't take it away. It kills me to know that. And I know I can pray, and that's doing something. But oh, how I wish I could physically move and make it go away with some method or other.

Heaven

"Heaven, heaven....waiting there for me..."
I love that song sung by Hayley Westenra. If I had to pick a singing voice, I'd pick that one.

Matt and I were talking about heaven tonight. When I was little, the thought of heaven actually scared me to death. I remember very well mom explaining how we wouldn't be anything like we are now, and would live in heaven for eternity- in other words, forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.....I thought she was joking at first. You mean we won't come back here on earth? There won't be "time" there? What does forever and ever feel like? It scared me! This faceless unknown that was so mystical and ethereal. I knew nothing but earth. This is all I've ever known. How could we not live here still?
But now...thinking about it now....heaven will be amazing, and I'm actually quite excited. We will be perfect, sinless creatures. There won't be any pain. He will wipe all tears from our eyes. It will be beautiful and all about Him. It will be forever, with Him, so it doesn't matter if I don't know what it will be like. There's nothing to fear because it will be perfection. The childish fear of the unknown that I used to have has left, and in it's place is nothing but curiosity and....a complete feeling of utter worthlessness and joy to think that God will let me live with Him forever. I don't deserve it at all. How amazing is that? It makes me think, what are we doing for Him here, when we will be there, in that perfection, for always? We're pretty sorry creatures. But oh, He is a gracious God!