Just wanted to tell you...

Well, this weekend another one bit the dust. You see, growing up or at least for a large very important part....there were 6 of us. Some of us came in later and some were there from the very beginning, but there were 6. Six very different, equally amazing girls. Six girls who came from different homes, had different struggles but through it all we had each other. Now pardon me if this gets cheesy, I'm really good at that! I also want you to know that I fully intend on bawling by the end of this post.

Now you might ask why if there are 6 of us, would I put up a picture of 4? The answer is, this movie was our favorite one to watch. We would go over to one person's house on a Friday after school, eat as much junk (Doritos, starbursts,skittles, mtn. dew, pizza and of course cookies freshly baked by Em's dad) as possible and watch this movie over and over. We would switch it up sometimes. There was always Casper with the incredibly dreamy Devon Sawa or as we got older...my personal favorite, Tommy Boy. Through it all, we grew up together. We had the bond of our faith and I know the missions trips, softball teams, dances, classes and times shared crying over lame stuff like boys helped us to grow together and create something truly special.

I saw you all this weekend and the joy my heart felt is unexplainable. Life has thrown each of us a few trials. We have all changed SO much and gone in a lot of different directions. But through all of that...we are still " The 6 Of Us". I love each of you girls SO much and know all of you feel the same. I love when we do get to see each other but it is not often enough. I know that the bond that was created all those years ago is not gone.

I need you to know, I am here for you. I know each of us has A LOT on our plates right now. I want to share in your joys, pains, laughter and anxiousness. I am so thrilled to watch you grow and become. I love being a part of that. I want to make the commitment to each of you...to be there for you, to love you and to pray for you. I mean that. I do not say it without knowing the true commitment it brings. I AM HERE FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT! Oh yeah, and I love you!

One more thing, and this is VERY important....PLEASE PLEASE don't let me turn out like Chrissy!

My thoughts put into words...

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I'm Yours


I'm not my own
I've been carried by YouAll my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok andMake it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm


Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

3 days, 21 hours and 4 minutes!!!!

See you in November!!!!!!!!!!! Except you Jen, I will see you at your wedding, but I can't promise that I won't be wondering what the score is while you are walking down the aisle!

Bubbers turns ONE!!!!

Well, this may not exactly be our best picture ever but it was the only one that I got with the birthday boy. As you can see, he wasn't exactly thrilled about the hat. I can't believe that he is already a year old. Man, how time flies!
As some of you may have heard me state on numerous occasions as it is also one of my favorite quotes listed on facebook, I truly believe that live is too short to not live it with intention. I have uttered those words to myself SO many times over the years that it is unbelievable to me how often I in fact, do quite the opposite. There have been quite a few situations lately in which I have realized how true those words are. Time does fly by and before you know it relationships, goals, hopes, promises....they all fly right on by with it. When we live life just to get by or just to "go through the motions "(thank you Dad for that quote!), we miss out on all that life really is supposed to be.

I just have really been hit hard with how important it is to be genuine and intentional lately. My relationships with my family, friends and God are so much more rewarding when this is the case and I find that life is so much more fulfilling and fun and it sets the groundwork for days and months to come. Just something I have been pondering.

Funny story for you. Well, at least I think it's pretty funny. The other morning one of my co-workers who is in charge of inventory alerted me to the fact that we were missing two full bottles of Xanax XR. Now for those of you who don't know what this drug is I am guessing one of these options might be true about you 1.) You've never seen an episode of ER, Grey's anatomy or House MD 2.) You don't watch a lot of movies 3.) You've never struggled with anxiety or being antsy (highly medical term). Anyways, my coworker was just curious about a couple of things and was not indeed asking me if I had stolen said medications. Later in the day I was walking around the pharmacy like a chicken with my head cut off (as always), laughing and being very sarcastic with my co-workers (as always)...when the pharmacy manager stopped me and asked "Hey Abbie, I was just wondering...what gives you all of your energy and joy? You are just always so happy and energetic and I was wondering what you did to stay that way ALL the time?" I have to tell you guys, the first thing that popped into my head was "Is this a test? Is he quizzing me to see if I admit to taking the Xanax??" I looked at him and in a very thought-out response said "Uh, I don't know. It's just the way I am." I'm pretty sure I am no longer a suspect!

Also, just to let you know. Bubbers is Elijah's nickname given by my mom. I really feel sorry for the poor kid, and am praying that another cooler nickname comes soon as I don't want to be responsible for him having to take Xanax some day.

A funny thing happened...

So, the other day I was sitting at my desk at work....now I know most of you know I do not have a desk job...but last week I did. I must say I do not know how people can sit all day, kudos to you if you can and not want to rip your back apart at the end of the week. Anywho, I was sitting at my desk in our outpatient pharmacy. My job was to intake prescriptions and let patients know how long their wait would be. Now, this is the perfect time to clear something up for those of you who are wondering why it takes so long when you go into the pharmacy. We do not as you may think, take your prescription grab a bottle off of the shelf and "slap a label on it". I can't tell you how many times I have heard this. It does take time to input the prescription, decipher the doctor's writing, bill the insurance, fill the order and have a pharmacist verify that you are indeed getting the antibiotic prescribed and not some sort of hormone pills. Anyways, that is a long story for another day.
I was sitting at my desk typing away when I looked out into the lobby. Our lobby is shared with the transplant clinic which is across the hall. This last week the lobby was full to quite full ALL week. As I looked out at the chairs about 15 feet away from me I saw a man who didn't look too good. His wife was sitting with him and a couple of nurses were asking him questions like "do you know your name?", "what street do you live on?" and "do you find it annoying that I am asking you these questions?"...anyways he was responding and they were giving him some V8 and crackers to try and get some food in his system. Next thing I know, he is completely passed out in his chair, and falling to the floor. There is all of a sudden a plethora of nurses around him with the crash cart and they are all working together to bring him back. I see all of these machines, they are talking to him and one nurse is taking his pulse. They are for the most part calm as I am sure this is a daily occurrence. One nurse starts to poke him in the arm for some reason as if she was going to take blood. A few minutes later the man opens his eyes, looks over at that very nurse and says "what your doing, hurts like hell!". She is turn says "you really scared us there, we're just trying to help you." He says, "I understand that, I just want you to know, what you're doing hurts like hell."
Now, please understand that I do not find it funny that this man has passed out. I feel so much sympathy for what I can't even imagine he has been through or will go through as a result of his transplant. I just love his reaction upon coming to. The nurses I am sure have dealt with some pretty scary situations but I know if I were the one he would have said that to...I would have burst into tears. Sometimes being a nurse can be a thankless job and I just want to say to all of the nurses out there....thank you for what you do, even if it hurts like hell!

That's right!!!

Life's about choices.

Life is about choices. The day in which this picture was taken, I made the wrong choice. You see, after 25 years of being pasty white I know that I have the tendency to burn. Not only the tendency...but the possibility of me burning when the sun is out, is about as likely as the possibility of tomorrow being February 15th. It will happen.

That being said, this was day one on our cruise and I wore a lot of sunscreen from there on out. I had a great time and think cruises are in fact wonderful. I have been home for a week now and Jada is just starting to forgive me for leaving her.

I won't make this post a novel as I usually do. Tomorrow pitchers and catchers report to spring training...and I can't wait to hear about baseball all day...every day!!! Happy Valentine's day to you too. For those of you booing because it is a "Hallmark holiday"...I say boo to you. You can choose not to spend a lot and you can choose to celebrate your love everyday if you want, but I see nothing wrong with a little reminder once yearly to love one another. That is all.