While we wait...

I'm sitting here on my couch doing nothing while men pack, haul and load all my belongings. I have lifted zero fingers. But, its also SUPER awkward to be doing nothing.

BUT, while I wait....I have wonderful news! Tina is going home today! And she ate some meatloaf yesterday!!!! And while she has a long road of recovery to go she is doing really well. Thank you all for your continued prayers for Tina. The Lord hears.

surprise parties and other things about leaving

So, its really starting to hit home that I'm leaving. Maybe because its happening in a week. Maybe its because the movers are coming tomorrow. Maybe its because all the things that I had to look forward/things to do before Brett got back are slowly getting checked off the list.

Maybe its all those things.

Anyway, its all very bitter sweet this leaving thing. But, we'll just focus on the "sweet" part. Like the surprise "goodbye" party that some of my totally awesome friends threw me yesterday. And, boy howdy, I was surprised!

You see, Tabitha came into town under the "guise" of wanting to see me one last time and wanting to go the Tuesday night bible study ( the first part was true)....and Bethany came down from Seattle on a Tuesday ( not her normal routine) under the guise of seeing Tabitha...and then we all showed up at Bible Study, and the lights were off as I walked into the room...which SHOULD have been a good clue. But, lucky for everyone my mind has NOT been as sharp as a tack lately....and so I was very surprised when the lights came on and all my friends were there... And I was actually quite moved ( and may or may not have shed a few tears) that people were willing to give up either their normal Tuesday evening or their normal Tuesday Bible Study routine to do a little partying on my behalf.

Amy and Tabitha ( with Brett's help) had come up with a party game "Abtly" (private joke there) entitled "How well do you know Abigail?" ( Lindsay won-I guess living with me for 5 months gave her an edge.) and all of my favorite foods were served ( aka. it was a junk food fest that would put any other party in a choke hold and until it cried uncle.), plus there were really sweet presents handmade by the Navigator Girls that were absolutely wonderful...and it was lovely. I cannot wait to get some of the pictures.

All in all, I can hardly write about it all because its kinda overwhelming that people would be so sweet - and plus it just makes me think how many people I'm going to miss horribly!

Last week had me doubting if anything about this past year had been productive at all. Had I grown as a person? Had I made a difference anywhere? Was this really it? And while I can only trust ( because there really isn't any other choice) that my time here is complete and that God is ready to take me on to different things. I am at least hoping to leave my time here in Washington with the feelings I had last night. Feelings of great joy as I looked around the room at people who loved each other, cared for each other, were committed to serving their community, serving each other and above all serving God.... in some way I felt like what is the equivalent of what my Papa use to feel when he'd express how happy he was to know that my mom, my sister and I were all safely tucked in our beds-because he knew where we were. I will be sad to leave Washington and living my day to day life with the people here-but I leave them knowing "where they are"...and knowing they will all carry on caring for one another and growing and experiencing all that life has to offer together. ( Because, ultimately its the people that I worry about-will people love each other like *I* have loved them? The answer is: Hopefully even better!)

So, tomorrow, the movers come. More specifically the packers and the movers. Honestly I am kind of curious to see just HOW they are going to pack up everything AND move it onto a truck ALL in one day.

This should be interesting...

Tina update #1

Well, friends, thank you for your prayers and concern for Tina-I know she will appreciate knowing she is being lifted up by the saints!

Here are the details/prayer requests I've collected today from those who have seen her.

-She is still in a lot of pain, especially since they have begun lancing ( i.e. scrapping) some of her wounds. Pray that she would have relief and strength. ( these wounds still cover about 80-90 % of her body!)

-Her veins are collapsing and therefore making it difficult to put her I.V. and other medication in, draw blood for tests etc. They are hoping they will not have to put in a port ( is that the right word, medical friends?)

-Because of the legions in her mouth she hasn't eaten much of anything for almost four days. This is bad since her body needs the nutrients. Pray that she will be able to get down more sustenance.

-They are checking things like liver function at the moment to make sure that her organs are holding up under the pressure of this illness. Keep praying they stay strong!

-Tina's eyes are continuing to bother her. Please pray that her eye-sight would not be effected long term.

-This whole ordeal is obviously creating a heavy financial strain for Tina, and many of her friends are concerned about her financial situation. Play that the Lord would provide. ( and if you would like to donate a gift to Tina please let me know and I'll pass you on to Jamie who is taking care of that aspect.)

-Also continue to pray for Wes as he juggles school and trying to be by Tina's side that he would be strengthened and encouraged.

-And above all we continue to pray for complete healing for Tina's body and that this whole situation would be a testimony of our Lord Jesus who knows all and hears all prayers.

Once again, thanks to all those who are praying. It is truly encouraging that the Lord is with TIna!

When things look particularly dark...

I like to write.

So, tonight, when I could not sleep for my prayers were keeping me awake, I decided to write this little update for all the other praying saints out there. ( I've had a lot of friends ask me for more details, so for those of you who don't know this dear friend, excuse my diversion from usual topics). I hope you will join in prayers whether you know this dear friend or not!

This past week, my friend Tina had a sever allergic reaction to some very basic antibiotic medication that she'd been taking for several weeks. The allergic reaction was, at first, treated with your basic steroid shots-but things only got worse. By Friday morning she had a very high fever and was covered from head to toe with a rash that could be equated to 3rd degree burns ( in my humble non-medical opinion). I took her to our local ER where she was quickly seen ( by ER standards) and after a few hours diagnosed with Steven Johnson's Syndrome...I'll pause so you can google that.

And yes. It's pretty serious. While at first the doctor's reactions where pretty dire and I think we were all ( Tina, Wes and I) pretty scared, the third doctor to see her ( he was some sort of infectious diseases guy) was incredibly confident and said she'd be out of the hospital on Monday. And, now looking back on that, while the doctor was obviously a bit off on his projection, he did provide Tina with a bit of hope that she DEFINITELY needed. It has been understandable hard to keep her spirits up throughout this ordeal.

I, unfortunately did not spend much time with Tina today, she had some other wonderful friends looking out for her ( as well as the ever present Wes) and so I don't know as much about the details of today's events. However when I did see her, her lesions were progressing just like I've seen serious burns progress ( aka. blistering, but her tongue ( which has been particularly swollen and covered in wounds yesterday) was looking a little better... but Tina is obviously dealing with a lot of pain and fear. This evening Wes called to say that the doctors had decided to move Tina to a different hospital that has a burn unit... Where they will hopefully be better equipped to help Tina's body fight infection and ultimately be healed of this reaction.

Hopefully I didn't get too many facts wrong in this little report. Even though a doctor at the hospital DID mistake me for a nursing student ( they just assumed because Tina is, I think.)...I told them that, no, I wasn't a nursing student-just a good wikipedia user...

Tonight as I pray for Tina I have been praying for special help for her organs as they fight extra hard while her body is in so much distress...and for her eyes-they have been bothering her quite a bit ( and, who knew?! This particular illness affects the eyes particularly!) ...and ultimately I am praying for protection of this sweet Life. Tina is already an incredible testimony of Jesus Christ to those who know and love her and now I am praying for the testimony of this horrible ordeal that she is having to go through! May the Lord truly use it to glorify His Name through the healing of her body!

things that go missing

I did NOT know that when I got married I was going to turn into my father.

But, it happened. Well, not COMPLETELY because my sister called dibs on that a long time ago...but some things about my father sneaked on over into my genes as well, but before I talk about me...let me take you back to the one time we moved as a kid.*

My sister and I were given this giant garfield tent as a present one Christmas...and it was awesome. Basically the tent part was Garfield's body and then the most awesomest part of the tent was there was a giant blow up Garfield head-basically the size of a beanbag chair that attached to the front. The tent was sorta freaky in an 80s kinda way...but...
I loved that giant head. I would lounge on it reading my books, I'd lounge on it while playing "house"...pretty much it was the greatest place to lounge ever. And when you got tired of lounging, what better thing to toss up in the air?! That's right! a Garfield head!
And then, the fateful day came when we moved, and all the boxes had been unpacked and...the head "mysteriously" disappeared.

Now, I'm sure my parents thought-"Geez, its basically a glorified pool toy, the child will not miss it! And even if she does she won't remember it for long!"

HA! The jokes on you, parents! Here I am nearing 26 years old...and YES I am still thinking about that Garfield head. Which is pitiful, but whatever. This is not about me....its about my Papa. Because, Papa was totally the one to throw away the Garfield head, and while at the time I was pretty upset ( lets not lie, I'm still a little upset), I can now ABSOLUTELY identify with my father. Since I have now moved more times than I care to remember I have become a religious throw-awayer. In fact, when we moved from Washington to Kansas I made so many trips to the dumpster I had to start doing it late at night so people wouldn't see... but it wasn't enough! Only a few short months later when we were leaving Kansas, Brett would pass the trash bins on the way in the front door at night, and take things back OUT of the bins-in short, rescuing our few belongings from a fate of death.
Oh. Yes. He. Did.

Of course, he was smart enough to NOT tell me about this until much later, when he was safe and sound in Afghanistan.
Here is a reinactment of that conversation:

Brett: Did you keep my * fill in blank with Brett item* when you moved?

Abigail: Of COURSE I did!

Brett: Are you sure you didn't throw it away?!

Abigail: What do you TAKE ME FOR!?


Brett: Well, you DID throw it away!

Abigail: NO I DIDN'T! I resent the implication!

Brett: Well, then WHY did I have to dig it out of the garbage when we were in Kansas?!?

Abigail: WHAT?!? You went through the garbage?! Don't you trust me at all?

....

But, anyways, the point is, sadly, ...when it comes time for moving I cannot be trusted. I go into Moving Blackouts and EVERYTHING MUST GO. I start to despise things that I normally absolutely love. Like books. And shoes. ( don't worry, I haven't thrown either away just yet.) but I like to think that aside from the throwing away problem ( which I totally have control of, by the way) its mostly about me staying perfectly organized and neat and tidy...and above all I like to know where EVERY SINGLE THING WE OWN IS.
This is my control issues rearing their ugly head. Did you notice? I didn't until I wrote that sentence, but wow.
Anywho.
So, when Brett and I did our last two moves I began the process of organizing ( and, yes, throwing away) but ultimately I would always run out of time, or I would have to get Brett's help and therefore the job would never quite be complete...and so with each passing move I've gotten closer to ful-lon domination of our belongings...but never quite there.
( do you think I'm TOTALLY crazy, yet?!?)

So, this time around there was less for me to go through, and most of the things that I had to go through were boxes left over from the Washington Move #1, that had just never been unpacked. ( which is a SURE SIGN that their contents needed to be thrown away, right? Riiiiight?!?)...and so I came upon a box today that had the following helpful information written on the top:

"Bedside Table"

Now, obviously, this box did not contain a bedside table, since, it was the size of a shoe box...and it was ALSO obvious that this was not one of the boxes that *I* had packed because all of MY boxes where numbered. ( and then there was a corresponding numbered list on my computer that had all the items in said box listed....)
Wow. CRAZY MUCH!?!

So, yeah, back to this story about the box labeled "bedside table". It could only be deduced that this was the contents of Brett's bedside table. So of course, it was ONLY logical that in lay the following items:

His very special pocket watch that his mother gave him.
His pipes.
The receipt from our honeymoon hotel bills ( whoa.)
The receipt from my wedding ring ( which I've been trying to find for a while).
A receipt for some groceries.
three dried up markers
two note pads.
A button/pin with a picture of a spaceship on it.
All the letters that I wrote him in Ranger School before we started dating ( HAZZAAAAH!!! I've been trying to find these for AGES!) that were neatly put into the zipper container for his Scuba lessons that he took in 2007.
A gum wrapper.
A half used up eye drop container.

So, to sum up. I never thought that *I* was going to be the one in my marriage to throw things away...and yet, SOMEONE has to throw that gum wrapper away!


*That's right, I only moved once! Of course, once I reached the age of 18 I started moving like crazy and since then I haven't been in one place for more than a year. SAD!

Side effects may include...

So, I guess that explains why I was all weepy last night....I was getting sick. And oddly enough fevers have always made me cry.
( or is that really so odd? I mean, come on, they are awful!)

Anyway, today I've spent pretty much ALL DAY in bed watching TV on Hulu.com
And while life is continuing to look bleak because of sickness I bring you a list of things I'm grateful for, anyway:

1. The Army movers. I mean, sure, its possible they will break things and loose things and I reserve the right to complain about it later...but right now I am SO GRATEFUL that I am not having to pack at right this minute.

2. Brett Bear. My stuff bear with the hot water bottle inside of it, is STILL the most ingenious present that Brett has ever given me. Its SO useful! And the next time you're achey and feverish...you'll wish you had a hotwaterbottlebear to snuggle with too!

3. My friends who've been sweet enough to think of me while I've been sicky. And especially Cindy for bringing me a card, soup, EmergenC and cheesecake ( for when I'm feeling better!)...and I'm going to go ahead and be grateful AHEAD OF TIME for Steve who's offered to bring me the fourth season of How I Met Your Mother so I can watch it while I'm all laid up in bed.

Wrap it up

So, this morning I woke up to a latte from Lindsay sitting on my counter and her packing like a mad woman. She got back from her honeymoon yesterday and today she spent pretty much all day getting her remaining stuff out of my apartment and into their new condo.

And I'm sad.

I know I shouldn't be, because, lets be honest both of us are off to better things, specifically husbands. But, that doesn't stop me from missing her for the time being.

And you wanna know how long "time being" equals?! TWO WEEKS!!!! That's right, people TWO WEEKS until the husband is back in the United States and I let out the biggest sigh of relief and happiness in the history of the world.

But, right now, lack of sleep + a cold + the instability of life has left me wanting to cry.

Man Hands

Outside my window

Every morning when I open my blinds I am shocked by the color going on outside. It gets me every time...
I've mentioned that I love autumn, right? Because it's my favorite

Color

Brett sent me flowers yesterday...lovely.

My resume

As many of you know, I write "verses of note" at the front of every new journal when I start them...you know, just to give the journal a little head start.. a running jump into whatever I'm going to write in it-if you will. Anyway, one of the verses I wrote at the beginning of the journal I'm currently using is kinda a little different from the usual:

You yourselves are our letters of recommendation written on our hearts, to be known and read by all." II Cor 3:2

Paul said this to the people of Corinth-and he was basically saying that the impact I had on you, and then the lives that you now live for Christ...THAT is the greatest work I have done in life. And as I think about that, I am really sobered by that kind of priority. I mean, for the most part my goal is just that people "like me". I mean, that's good enough, right?!

But the idea of adding something like, "let me teach you something you didn't know"...or take that further to "let me reveal more of who Christ is to you"...wow...that's a tad harder! After reading this verse again, I was struck by how-one way or another-whether good OR bad-we do impact the lives of those around us, PEOPLE are our resume ( or CV depending on where you live) for life. If I picked up each relationship-friendships, acquaintance, co-worker, employer, schoolmate-and I read them like a book of who *I* am, what would I find out?
What have my priorities been? Have I been working hard to sell Christ all these years, or have I been selling Abigail?

I'm leaving things out...

If you're my facebook friend or Twitter follower ( which you should be!) than you know all about yesterday...through my 140 character rants about United Airlines and Travelocity....and how NO ONE SHOULD USE THERE SERVICES EVER EVER EVER!!! So, I won't go into again...lets just say that when I got home at 1am last night ( 12 hours later than I should have been home..) I have never been SO TIRED.

But, it was all worth it-I had such a great time at Lindsay and Isaac's wedding...mostly because it was a joy to be able to share in their happiness. It has been a cool couple of months leading up to this big day, and I gotta say I've never felt so connected to a wedding before! I've basically been with these two people for the past few months, watching their relationship grow and blossom and it's pretty darn cool to know they have years ahead of them to continue to bring glory to God through their relationship with one another. There is SUCH a difference in couples that are striving to serve one another and above all serve God....there is something about that ultimate goal, that changes everything....it makes the knowledge that there will be challenges and there will be setbacks, totally ok. Its like KNOWING about the "Happily Ever After" before its even started!

Oh, and incidentally, I loaded some pictures on to facebook from my trip to Texas a few weeks ago + pictures from the wedding this weekend, so you should check those out!!

And now...now I'm laying in bed with a triple grande soy latte from starbucks...something I dreamed about for four days in the THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE IOWA, and catching up on my Hulu Queue. Somehow I ended up with zero obligations for this week...so I'm going to try and enjoy it. It's starting to kick in BIG TIME that these are my last few weeks in Washington and that's pretty much blowing my mind- perspective?! Where ARE you!?!

What I learned from a baby.

This afternoon I took care of Baby Dave for all of thirty minutes-in which time we played the "I'll tickle you, you smile at me" game ( we both won), and after about three minutes of that he reached up his arms, I picked him up, he snuggled and then slept for a solid twenty minutes on my living room chair until his mom came back....

And that's when I thought about the life of a baby and just how much they sleep. Its pretty darn awesome ( for them, I hear they don't actually do it when you WANT THEM TO...such as AT NIGHT...but that's for another day). And I'd reeeeeally like to be a baby at the moment.

I got the flu shot yesterday and you would think I'd been injected with the sleep vaccine because I've been tired ever since. Of course, this could also be because I got up in the SIXES today to take Lindsay and Isaac to the airport ( yay! Weddings!!) and it could also be because I'm THINKING about how I'm going to have to get up in the FOURS tomorrow to go to the airport ( yay! weddings!!!)...so sleep is in much shortage right now.

And speaking of....my friend Bethany is taking me to the airport tomorrow. In the Fours.
That's right. She's the BEST FRIEND EVER. ( P.S. I did not ASK HER to take me to the airport. asking to take someone to the airport in the FOURS, is like asking someone to help you move, in August... in Texas... and then having them show up ( to your third floor apartment) and you haven't packed anything yet.**)

And so, seriously, Bethany wins the prize for Friendship. Because she actually OFFERED to take me...I mean, geez. I cannot even think of an Iowa-themed souvenir that could be worthy of such selflessness.....

** I totally made that up...so if for some FREAK COINCIDENCE this turns out to be somehow true....take no offense, but seriously...really?!? You did that to someone?! WOW. Leave me a comment and tell me how your ex-friends reacted!

Cutie

Babysitting is so fun!

Eventually this too shall pass- then we'll party.

So, I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed, and yet there is only one outstanding reason for these feelings:
LOOK WHO'S NOT IN CONTROL!

That's right, this month has "wait and see" written ALL over it and that makes me feel more than uneasy. For instance, I bought plan tickets for Kansas to retrieve my husband ( yay!) and then not two days later those dates changed....to SOONER. Whoa.
And now, now we're just not sure at ALL when he's going to arrive...and of COURSE, I want to see him sooner rather than later, but turns out I have a lot of loose ends to tie up here in Washington and so far I've been taking it pretty slow, so maybe that should change?! My plans should be adjusted?! eh.

And then on top of all that some personal drama has rocked my world over the last day and I feel pretty well deflated. I just want to blink and wake up for the party that comes AFTER all the drama and the work and the hardness that these next few weeks are offering up.

But, I don't think it would be worth it. Its not worth missing out on all the work that goes into life, because the work itself provides a lot of wonderful things that would leave a gapping hole if they were not part of this "experience". I know, though I do not feel it now, that eventually I'll look back on this month and I'll see many good things...after all, its not very often ( unless you're me...and then it happens every year...) that you get to say goodbye to wonderful friends, and look over your time together and see how you've grown, how God has taught, blessed and loved-and its not very often that you get to drive across country ( unless you're me and you did it a year ago) with your best friend and start over in a brand new state. ( unless you're me and you did it twice in the past year)....so really, I should live it up! Because you only live once! And these are...the days of our lives ( Yes, I just said that)....this post just went down hill fast.

Anyway...

This week is going to be a quickie because I'm going to spend part of it in Iowa. I know, Iowa. Who thought I'd ever go THERE on purpose?! HAHAHA! See?! Life IS pretty insane! So, yes, I'm going to Iowa and there I'll spend three fast paced days trying to create the best possible wedding environment ever for the Linds. I'm so sad she'll no longer be living with me, but then again I'm INCREDIBLY excited for her and the new Hubby. Seriously. Weddings. They are the best.

And now I'm going to go...because I'm about to babysit for Amy while she's at a dentist appointment. This means I get to watch cutie Dave for an extending period of time. He is SO Yummy! Maybe I'll take some pictures and post them....you know, as a warm up, for when I have kids and my blog turns into one of those Mommy Blogs! HAHAHAHAHAHA! ( just kidding, it'll still be all about me.)

though you have not seen...

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him, you love him.
Though you do not now see him, you believe in him
and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

I Peter 1:6-8