Singing in the rain

Ooh I love rainy days. I like to sit on the couch and watch Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds fall in love to perfectly harmonized and choreographed song and dance. Buuuuuuttt.....today I'm at the clinic. Seeing conjunctivitis and "fever."

yippee.

Last night we sat down at the dinner table and wrote letters to our Compassion sponsored children. Palanisamy (India) has grown so much since we first sponsored him 4 years ago! We love receiving letters from him from all the way around the world. He asked in his most recent letter that we'd pray for his final year exams that took place in April. Samson (Kenya) writes to us in English which is a real treat! He's Maasi, which was explained to me by a formerly sponsored child from Kenya as a noble people who hunt respectfully and care for the land. There's also Mukantwari (Rwanda) who suffered from a seizure the day I left for Haiti in January. No more news on her recent health. Elshadai (Tanzania) is our latest sponsored child, and besides having a strong name, his father is a church worker.

Ilder Geovanny is the newest addition to our Compassion family. Although we don't financially support him (he has a financial sponsor elsewhere), we write him letters. Ilder is one of the many children who doesn't receive letters from his sponsor. The 1:1 sponsorship through Compassion is part of what makes it so special. There is a higher drop out rate from the program by kids who aren't written to at least twice a year. They also have a 40% lower success rate in school.

If you'd like to become a correspondent to a Compassion child, you can use the "contact us" link on their website to be assigned. You can use this link to get there and to sponsor a child! (You may have to copy paste...)

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=101087



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Barbra Freaking Streisand

She's basically the bomb. Don't believe me? Go listen to "Just Leave Everything To Me" from Hello Dolly. Geez Louise.





2.) Apple iOS 4, thank you.

3.) If you haven't bought Refuge yet from Amazon, do it today. See the link on the right. Do it.

4.) I finished Anthony Rapp's autobiography "Without You." Skip it. (For the Sad Sack reading this that doesn't know who AR is - ever heard of RENT? Dazed and Confused? I thought so!)

5.) Savy Health Tip of the week: don't share antibiotics with friends! When your NP or doctor writes you a prescription for antibiotics, take the full amount EVEN IF YOU FEEL BETTER after a couple of days. Not finishing a full course of antibiotics and/or sharing them leads to drug resistant bacteria in your body. That means the next time you take the antibiotic it won't work! MRSA originates here!

Moving on....


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Warrior Dads (and non-dads) Abound

First things first, Happy Father's Day to all the warrior dads out there taking a stand for the integrity of their homes, and to those who are fighting to regain integrity in a once broken home! Thank you for all you do to restore hope in our present and future. Here's a little photo story the Star Telegram did on our church Sunday - Viking Warrior Day!

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/20/2278884/warrior-dads.html

Here's a few fun shots of my own...

Prepping for battle....wait, is that Gene Simmons??









What's a little coffee between fellow warriors?




Battle is tough in skirts...EXCUSE ME....I meant KILTS




Does this pattern make me look fat guys? (Wait, is that Gene Simmons again?)




Warrior dad....




Our very own knight faced, cape wearing, guitar shredding Bourassity




Jeffery "the buffallo war tribe king" Gordon. (thanks Robdog for the laugh)




Warrior Dads of all ages!! (mom and grandpa of TOM's and Aviator Nation)




My own warrior dad - James "the wise Obi-Wan Kanobi" Reeves





Well what else is there? Nothing.

256.5h in 8 weeks to go.

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Happy Is What Happens

I made it back. The return journey to reality is never enjoyable. But it's always necessary. In my last blog "A Little Bit Wicked," I mentioned the emotional tumult of a musical. The swelling of harmonies. The attention to detail. Even when it's not perfect. And it most rarely is.

I spent 3 hours last night in another reality. In the land of Oz. It's odd to think about, really. It's like dropping eaves (as Samwise Gamgee would say) on people's personal lives. Their hopes. Their dreams. You share their hurt in the darkest hour and run with them in their highest day. As Glinda (the "Ga" is silent) says, "Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true...."

But even in that moment, you share with her the sting of rejection. There's a tinge of grieving her lost dream, her lost love. You watch the visions of her future as it changes in front of her. Oddly, that's what Broadway is for me every time. (I cried twice before we even sat down for our pre-show dinner.) I love it. Last night, in only 3 hours, I danced at the Oz Dust Ballroom, had girl time in the dorm at Shiz University, spent one short day at the Emerald City, and defied gravity with a magic broom in hand. And then it was over. Back. To. Reality.

Pain is inevitable. At least discomfort is. Of course, we were never promised a comfortable journey, were we? Don't be fooled America. God does "have a plan for your life." But the plan was in Jesus. Not in our comfort. "Take up your cross and follow me," doesn't sound too concerned with our comfort. I saw this idea lived out in Haiti.

Joy. Perseverance. Determination. Love. Family.

Jesus.

Comfort was no where to be found. Yet life was moving on. With energy, and with hope.

I'll sign off with the end of Thank Goodness. Bravo to Chandra Lee Schwartz. Best performance of this song I've seen....

That's why I couldn't be happier

No, I couldn't be happier

Though it is, I admit

The tiniest bit

Unlike I anticipated

But I couldn't be happier

Simply couldn't be happier

Well - not "simply":

'Cause getting your dreams

It's strange, but it seems

A little - well - complicated

There's a kind of a sort of : cost

There's a couple of things get: lost

There are bridges you cross

You didn't know you crossed

Until you've crossed

And if that joy, that thrill

Doesn't thrill you like you think it will

Still -

With this perfect finale

The cheers and ballyhoo

Who

Wouldn't be happier?

So I couldn't be happier

Because happy is what happens

When all your dreams come true

Well, isn't it?

Happy is what happens

When your dreams come true!

"Broadway rhythm it's got me...."

"....everybody dance!!" (Singing In The Rain! Come on people, get with the program!!!)

Did you watch the Tony's last night? No? That's ok, you didn't miss much. Very unimpressed this year. Of course, after last year's opening number when the company from Hair dominated the stage (and audience), how could it be any better? Let's start with the top, shall we?

The kiss between Kristin Chenowith and Sean Hayes. Hi-lar-i-ous!! Dang. I watched it like 3 times.

Scarlett wins for Best performance by a Film

actress in a Play. EEEHHH - try again. That was

just wrong. She was ok at best. Liev :: great. Jessica Hect :: great. Scarlett :: obviously a first timer on stage. It was great to see her live (even though we didn't hit if off after the performance and become best friends like I always thought we would....she wasn't real friendly......), but she didn't deserve a Tony. Shoulda gone to Jessica.

Sound. Seriously?? There is absolutely no need for all the sound problems! These people are professionals. But still, on MULTIPLE occasions the actors were singing....and no sound....wow.

Jonathan Groff and Lea Michelle. Besties. Need I say more? Don't rain on my parade.

Katie Finneran's acceptance speech for Promises, Promises was adorable....borrowing Kristin Chenowith's eyelashes?! I want some!!

Ok, that's it. Broadway, I love you, but I need more from you this next year. Give us some more stop your heart, make you fly, want to laugh and cry and sing for joy moments. More Aida. More Wicked. More Next to Normal. We NEED it!!!

In all honesty, it's in those moments that I feel the creativity of God in the deepest parts of my gut. The rise and swell of the harmonies. The depth and intensity of the colors. The tiniest attention to detail. All things the Great Creator can be rightly accused of. And Praise the Lord for it!

A Little Bit Wicked

I love when the mail comes. Now that school work is finally complete, and the "only" other commitment I have (besides the usual) is getting my practicum hours done, I've picked up reading again. All the time. I have caught myself wanting to leave dinner early or stop a movie in the middle so I can get back to my book. Today the mail brought me my next great read: A Little Bit Wicked by the great Kristin Chenoweth. Thank you Amazon. Good timing too. I'm seeing Wicked (minus her and the other great - Idina) on Wednesday at the all-too-horrid Fair Park. Eh, I'll slum it for the sake of hearing Defying Gravity live from 25+ feet in the air and watching a perfectly costumed company fill the stage as they sing about their short day in the Emerald City.

The last book I finished was one of my favorites probably ever - right next to the Scarlett Letter and the Mark of the Lion Series. Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers. I had no idea where it was heading and was rightly surprised and enthralled. (SPOILER ALERT: the main character's daugther gets sick with pneumonia and is taken care of by a nurse....she starts her path to becoming a nurse right before the start of WWII)

Right now I'm reading Without You by Anthony Rapp. Autobiographies are generally my favorites. I recommend Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball. Read it twice. And the one by Mickey Mantel...although I can't think of what it's called. Did I even spell his last name right? How imbarassing...

In light of many clinical hours completed and many more to come....I leave you with todays Savy Health Tip: don't stop taking your daily medications because they've fixed you. For example, if you're an asthmatic, don't stop taking your daily controller medication because you haven't had a bad attack lately (the controller has kept you from a bad attack); if you've got high blood pressure, don't stop taking your medication because they've been normal (the medication has kept you from having high BP); if you're depressed, don't stop taking your medication because you have felt well (the medication is helping you not feel down).... on top of preventing all those primary maladies, they're also preventing much worse things like lung remodeling, kidney failure, suicide....so in my best commercial voice I say.....please, discuss with your doctor or nurse practitioner before making any changes to your medications.

Oh no. I'm blogging.

I have to say it, I've always thought the blogging stuff was stupid. And probably still do. I mean, who gives a rip what I'm doing or thinking or saying (or not saying) anyway? After all, I don't really care to get on the computer, look up someone I don't know, and read all about who cut them off on the highway and what revelation they had afterwards. So why should anyone else?

Seriously. Who cares. (Yes, that was really meant as a statement and not a question.)

So why am I doing it then......goooooood question.....I'm not sure I know really why. But here's a list I've started so far, in no particular order:

1. I often get in trouble for speaking my mind to people, so I'll try spitting it out into the abyss of bloggers world

2. Maybe I'll get a kid or 98 sponsored through Compassion International with my stories and pictures and letters from my own 4 sponsored kids and 1 correspondent. There really is a great big world out there people don't know about (and in all reality don't want to)

3. I liked the fuschia background that was available. It is, after all, the greatest color in existence

Although I love art and photography and all that other stuff that goes hand in hand with the blogging world, this isn't your blog for all that. (And seriously, couldn't "they" have come up with a prettier word than blog? It sounds like smog or bog. And those aren't pretty.)

So who am I? In short, I'm a wife, a daughter, a student, a worship teacher/leader at Celebration Fellowship church, a pediatric trauma and neurosurgery ICU nurse, a Compassion Advocate, and a broadway star (in my head). Yes, yes, I'm also busy. I love things that sparkle, have vibrant color (even blood), musicals on film and stage, traveling, and my dog Roxie.

I guess that about sums it up then.