WONDERFUL EVENING!

A good day turned into a WONDERFUL evening!

I did have to work today.  We had our biggest shoot of the year, and I discovered my "specialty"... Photographers prefer having me pose the younger kids (ages 6 or 7 and under) because of how patient and silly I am with them.  I was bouncing from one photographer to another, posing the little kids :)  It made me feel good when I boss said, "Jess, come over here and pose the little kids!"

One bad thing, though...  I didn't reapply sunscreen.  My forearms are burned, along with my neck and face... but I wore sunglasses today...  and yeah, I look like a reverse raccoon... it isn't pretty!  Though it's funny...

I left work early and managed to get home in time for a shower!  I got to wash the funk off!  So I felt better, minus the sunburn and massive headache I get after being in the sun for too long...  I got to church about 30 mins before call time, and I got to have some quiet time.  Then, at 7:00, we took our place in the chancel, and Mozart's "Requiem" came to life!  IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!  I was on the whole time!  The feeling I had when I nailed the beats and sang the super high notes with ease, was unlike anything I have ever experience while singing.

After the concert, Travis told me that he was so happy to see such joy on my face again.  He told me he was proud of me and my hard work.  The way he looked at me when he told me that made my heart flutter... it's crazy how he can make me react by giving me a look.  He can make my worries dissolve with a smile... I just love him so much!

I LOVE CHOIR!

Decisions

Travis downloaded an app for our ipad that was a piano.  I started messing around with it and attempted to play Fur Elise (sp), which I could play many years ago.  I couldn't seem to get the notes right, and ran upstairs to my piano to find the music.  I found it, as well as a sheet of paper that showed what the notes are on the piano, and began to try and play.  It took 30 minutes of hunting and pecking before I could play the very first score on the page!  (The first line on the sheet music).  It was wonderful to be playing again, even if it was rough, so I made a decision:  I'm going to re-teach myself to play.  I feel like I need another outlet for my emotions, and that is a great way to do it!  Heck, I even found a song I had begun to write!  I STARTED TO WRITE A SONG! haha... I got mad at myself for making it so difficult, but I don't care :)  I may even be able to finish it, once I have my "skills" back ;)

I know I have singing as an outlet, but I'm only in choir twice a week: rehearsal and worship.  I can play the piano everyday, if I so choose, and I choose to.  Plus, I found some old flash cards I used to learn about what symbols in the music means, which has really helped in my singing!  It's a win-win situation!

Speaking of choir, our Spring Concert is tomorrow night!  You all have seen me write about my issues with the Mozart piece, and tomorrow I will be able to share my hard work with others!  I'm excited, but anxious.  I'm more anxious about getting to the church by the call time at 6:15pm EST.  I have to work tomorrow in a town an hour from here, though with the rough weather we are expecting, there is a chance it will be rained out (PLEASE DO RAIN DANCES!).  If we do work, I won't be able to leave until 4:30, which translates to no time for a shower!  Travis and I made a game plan as to how I can make the transition from work to choir easier, and I'm still going to prepare, tonight, for my busy and hectic day tomorrow!

If anyone is interested in coming to the choir concert, it is at 7:00pm at Providence United Methodist Church.  I would love to have people come!  I worked VERY hard to learn the music, and I wanna show it off!  haha

Ok, that's all I have to say, here's hoping I don't have to work tomorrow!

Thoughts

I have no real title for this post, these are just some thoughts I have.

I just got off the phone with a friend of my mother's.  She goes to our church and has been talking to mom throughout the last few months, helping to ease my mom's sadness.  We were talking about my experience on Palm Sunday, my tears during the first service, and the thunderstorms that rolled through that night.  I also told her about the mini-storm that came through the day dad died, as well as the storm we had one night when I was home alone, and close to tears.  The lady told me that it sounded like the storms were Dad's way of showing his presence to me.  They were his way of wrapping his arms around me and telling me he was still with me.  I had never thought about that, though I should have put the pieces together, seeing as how the storms showed up when I was at my saddest.  I do understand that weather systems play a role, but in the past, storms have rolled to the north or south of my part of Charlotte, we rarely get decent storms through here, so when we had some good ones on the nights I was unhappy, that was Daddy, telling me he was ok and he was still with me.  It gives me a lot of comfort, especially since I kept wanting to feel him with me, but never had any experience like that, but in actuality, Daddy was showing me he was there.

I miss my daddy, but I know he's still with me, always.



Aunt Claudia got out of the hospital about a week ago.  She still has clotting in her lung, but they are slowly being dissolved.  I went to see her, last Wednesday, and spent the afternoon with her and my cousins (yes, I am referring to Trav's family as my family.  It's getting confusing to try and differentiate his and my families.).  Erin was in town with baby Aubrey (who will be 5 months on April 25th).  I got to play with Aubrey for a few hours, which was a lot of fun!

Trav's mom's foot is doing better.  She can get around easier, though she still uses one crutch for support.  Our cousin, Britt, however, jumped off of a truck bed a couple of weeks ago (something he did very often), landed wrong, and fractured his foot in 6 places.  He is having surgery, today, to repair everything.  His surgery is in a hospital in north Charlotte.  I'm hoping to be able to go see him at some point, but the next few days are going to be busy for me, and I doubt I can get there before Friday.


Mom and some friends went to our beach house, yesterday.  It sounded like they were having fun, when Travis got a text, last night, that read, "we're on our 4th bottle of wine!  YEOWZA!"  *insert giggles here*  I hope they aren't hungover today! haha

I'm still babysitting like crazy, and I LOVE IT!  Job hunt is going ok.  I'm beginning to look in other areas, besides childcare, for work.  I just really need a job!

That's all I have to say for now :)

Family Pains!

Man, I feel so bad for Trav's family!  Before I explain, I'm going to give y'all a little family tree, so the explanation will go smoother:

The majority of the family lives in a little town about an hour, south, of here, except for Trav's mom, who lives an hour to the north.  Claudia's hospital is in the town south of us.
Grandma Bessie is mother to:
Peggy, Beth, and Claudia.
Peggy is mom to Travis (my man), Toby (married to Kelley and has two kids), and Kevin (engaged to Susan)
Claudia has three kids:  Erin (married with a baby daughter, lives out of state), Britt, and Scott
Beth is wheelchair bound, and takes care of Grandma Bessie, who is also bedridden/wheelchair bound

Keep up with that, it's important!

His mom has a broken foot (though she's doing much better, and isn't in as much pain), his Aunt Claudia has been in the hospital for a few days with blood clots in her lungs (3 in the right, 2 in the left) and left knee.  Erin has been in town, staying with her mom during the day, taking care of Claudia's house at night.  She and I have been talking through it all, because Daddy was in the same situation a while back, and I know what it's like to watch a loved one deal with this.  Erin had to go home, today, so Trav and I are going to drive to the hospital that Claudia is staying, so we can spend some time with her.

Ok, quick timeline.

Peggy broke her foot a couple of weeks ago.  At the same time, Claudia had to have knee surgery to repair some tears.  Less than a week ago, Claudia began to have trouble breathing, and it was discovered she had blood clots in her lungs.  Erin drove in from two states away.  Britt has now shattered his foot, and Scott is busy with work.  I have opted to go to the southern town, after Claudia is released, for a few days, to help out and make her recovery a little easier.

That, actually, covers most of it!  I know I'm forgetting something, but I see it's 2:00am, and I have to get up early!  I'll keep y"all updated on Aunt Claudia!

Good night... or morning....

Good Weekend

It was a very good weekend!  I made it through the Good Friday service with flying colors, thanks to all of the support I had from choir members, my mom and Travis, fellow church members, my Minister, my Associate Minister, and the Children's Minister.  I didn't even have a single clue how loved I really was until Friday night.  I had hugs and words of assurance from so many people!  It made my heart smile.  I was prepared for the service too!  I had my Daddy's necklace, Nonnie's wedding band, a hanky that Mom gave me a while ago, and the earrings Travis gave me for Christmas (two hearts under an umbrella to signify the shelter of our love... corny, but super sweet and amazing!).  I was so focused on not crying, that I never cracked a tear!  I did get choked up a bit before the service began, because of the insane amount of support I had, but that was it.

Saturday night I went to Trav's brother's house for dinner with his family, Trav's mom, Trav, and my mom.  Trav's mom made dinner, which was very good!  We did an egg hunt for Trav's niece and nephew, which was a lot of fun.  I took a good bit of pictures and a couple of videos, I'll try and get them posted sometime tomorrow.

Today was wonderful, as well.  I sang at both services, and there were a lot of people I grew up with at the church who came into town for Easter.  I got to see old friends... and the look on their faces when they saw me in the choir was priceless!  I didn't think I'd get upset at the services, today, but I prepared myself anyway, just to be on the safe side.  I didn't want to be blind-sided by tears again, and I got through both services just fine!

I came home and cut Trav's hair... I'll post up before and after pics when I get them loaded... it's highly amusing, to say the least, though not nearly as bad as my first attempt......

Tomorrow is our three year anniversery!  It's crazy to think that Travis and I have been together for so long!  He has been my rock, and I am thankful, every single day, that I have him in my life.  I love you, Monkey!

More Pics!!!!!!!!!

Here are some more picture that were taken of me and Travis a couple of weeks ago. They are the photographer's faves.  This is her blog, and I gotta tell you, she did a wonderful job of making us look GOOD!  Enjoy!

http://erinlhubbs.blogspot.com/2010/04/travis-and-jess.html