My Short Story

I had to write a story for Creative Writing, here is the first chapter...enjoy and tell me what you think! : )

Slowly my eyes opened to be greeted by a blinding bright light and quickly forced shut. I attempted to open them again slowly but yet painfully. Once my eyes found it easier to adjust to the blinding room, I looked around to catch my bearings. I could not find anything I recognized no matter where I looked.
Where am I? My thoughts inquired. Wasn’t I just on my way to take Jenna and everybody to her soccer game? I reasoned that maybe the day was long over but I could not remember any of the game. I could remember driving to the game and when I took a wrong turn, having my wife Callie yelling at me. As I turned the car around, I looked her way. Even though she is calling me obscene names, I cannot help but think of how beautiful she looks with her golden hair dancing in the wind.
Fifteen years of marriage, most of it fighting, and yet bits of it at peace. We came into an agreement that we would wait till our youngest daughter graduated high school until we would divorce. Sometimes, that day seemed like a distant thunderstorm on a lake. Slow to come and hit but yet the rumbles could be heard and seen for miles. Our youngest daughter was fourteen…could we wait four more years of agony. I convinced myself it was four years of turning things around and making the best out of them. However, my wife wanted none of it she reminded me every night that she could not wait till Lizzie graduated. Every time she would utter those painful words, a piece of my heart would fall to the depths of my stomach.
However, all I can remember of the half an hour drive out to Lake Placid Park was Callie yelling at me. I tried to force my head to recollect more, it went horribly blank and would not let me go any further. Focusing on getting my memory to give me more of what happen was interrupted by a female humming coming closer to me. The theme song of jeopardy she hummed as she approached me. Then a sound of more footsteps stopped her.
“How’s he doing?” a male voice inquired.
“He is awake which is a miracle in and of itself.” She, I assumed, was a nurse replied.
I wanted to know what they were talking about, “Miracle that I am awake, what happened to me? I attempted to sit up but could not move. So I opened my mouth and began to talk,
“Excuse me, why am I here? Why is it a-“ I abruptly was interrupted by their conversation.
In a hushed tone, the nurse asked “When should we tell him that his family died in the accident upon impact?”
“Probably later this week when we know he will be coherent enough to take it.” The doctor replied.
“What? There was an accident?” I took a deep breath and nearly screamed as they did not acknowledge my question let alone my existence.
“He’s going to make it, it will be a long and painful recovery though.” With that said, the doctor turned away and left.
The nurse suddenly came into my line of vision. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and her bright green eyes skimmed over me like I was a science experiment. She took a clipboard from one of the machines that continued to beep regularly and jotted a few notes down.
“How are you doing, Mr. Marshall?”
Finally, you are actually talking to me I thought, “I would be much better if I knew why I was here and what happened to my family.”
She turned away and played with a few of the machines hooked up to my bed. When she turned around and made eye contact with me again, she pushed her lips together as contemplating whether or not to tell me.
“Just tell me. I’m sure I can handle it.” I begged. I squinted my eyes to focus them on her name tag, “Rebekah, tell me where my family is.”
She shakes her head, “You poor thing, you have so much to overcome.”

Marvelous Sunday

I love Sundays...which is funny because a year ago I would have told you I dreaded them. I dreaded them only because I viewed my Sundays as all about my circumstances and how I felt. There were times I forced myself out of bed every Sunday morning and prepared to be emotionally kicked in the stomach. If you have no idea what happened to me last year then you really don't get why I would relate church to getting kicked in the stomach. You can ask, if you so desire, I just don't want to spend this blog ranting about things that have unfolded in my life. If you do know and you notice me doing it, please yell at me. It's been a year now, things have gotten resolved, and now we must bury this part of life we all seem to go through.
Anywhoo...my favorite part of church was service. First, along with all the other women in the church probably, I cried during Pastor Bob and Mrs Johnson anniversay special. I love seeing marriages last as the center their love is in Christ. I lost it when Mrs. Johnson cried. I love that couple so much. Before the tear jerker scene...my default best cousin friend got baptized and that was just amazing. I love Katey! : )
Then the sermon....ahhhhhhhh I didn't want him to stop anytime soon. The sermon went much too fast and I could have listened for hours more. Idolatry is really the biggest struggle of my life. I have been fighting it along with God as my help for years. Someday, with God as my help, I will defeat that sin. : )

Forecast for a Busy Weeekend

Let's see....Friday (which is tomorrow) I am working 11:30-6. Then I will drive out to Jeff and Debby Wuttke's house to scrapbook with Debby at our favorite place till about midnight or later. Once we get back to her house we will probably watch a movie with Jeff...maybe, depends how tired we are. If we aren't tired we just may scrapbook the entire night away. Or if sleep is an option, Im sleeping over their house.
I'm sleeping over because my next destination on Saturday is closer to the Wuttkes home then my house is. I will be driving out to Auburn Hills sometime after ten to go pick up my adopted sister Hannah Whetherholt. After her mother helps me with some math honework, Hannah and I will be running out to Great Lakes Crossing (which is not a nature resevoir like my wierd 5th grade mind thought when it first opened up) to go shopping for the day. I may attempt getting some Christmas shopping done and over with before life ends with all the Christmas commercialism. Which is a major reason Iam not looking forward to Christmas. I love Christmas, I really do, but when you work at Hallmark during it, you really have to push yourself to enjoy it. The message, beautiful. Everything else...I think Scrooge put it well "Bahumbug!"
Anywhoo...after shopping with Hannah for the entire day probably, I have to drop her off at like 5 and then take our brother Corey (her real brother, my adopted one) over to our Ignite hang out. Ignite is the 6th grade program (who i am a leader along with five awesome leaders) at church and every month we get them together and do something. Every other month we do a service activity and then on the other month we do a fun activity. This time we are heading over to Joseph Wasil's (one of the leaders) to play Capture the Flag and Flashlight Tag. After that, Corey and I will meet his mother half way somewhere to drop him off.
Sunday is church which is amazing! (I love the fact that week by week, no matter how crazy life is, I have that to look forward too) And then I believe I am leaving church early to go to The Holocaust muesem which makes me happy. I love studying that period in life where the Devil got away with so much. Then when we get back from that, we are having a Roseville celebration at church. Once that is done, I have to come home and study for a math test (gag noise) I wont get to go to bible study :( Which I feel really bad...because my entire weekend I am doing such menial stuff but cant make time for bible study. Tears.
Can I be a nerd for a moment and then I will let you stop reading this? Yes I know I am a nerd I acknowledge that quite proudly. One of the fun games I play, is when I hear classical or soundtracks I try to guess what movie they are from. I am not too bad at this game. I used to play it at hallmark a lot with one of the other girls. However there is this one song I loved listening too and always come close to tears hearing it. It would play every so often and we both knew it was from a movie but neither of us could guess it. It has been a year of guessing and trying to figure it out. Well...tonight I found the song and found where it's from. I am soooo excited! Its from Schlinder List...aha! : ) anywhoo...I am just happy that the year long mystery is solved. : )

***Picture: My adopted siblings, left from right, Elise, Corey, and Hannah. I love them sooo much! When you babysitt the same kids every morning for six months and live with them for five days while their mom is remarried and on her honeymoon, you would love them too! : )

Our Harvest Party

I work at Macomb Christian's day care. and today we had our harvest party. We werent allowed to say the "H" word (halloween). I was the roaming photographer for the three hours of good fun. So I had to get to work around 8:15 this morning and ran around for hours trying to take pictures. I didn't take too many...well that was a lie...only 500 in the matter of three hours. I had to take everyone's potrait picture by a little scene with hay, pumpkins and gords. Out of like eighty children, I only had two give me a problem when going to take theres. They had to choose a gord to pose with. Then I just ran crazy all over the place to cover everyone for pictures. I didn't sit down till about 12:30ish and apparently I shouldn't have sat down at that point. (I kind of got in trouble for sitting down for eating my lunch as I helped all my children with their food troubles. but oh well...) We had a pinta full of candy and all the children got to hit it once, the teachers (and me) and parents got to all hit it. That was soooo funny! The picture is of little Jonah (whos older brother, in the orange shirt, is in the day care) who grabbed the head and thats all he cared about. It was a realllllllyyyy fun day! But I am sooooooooo tired...kind of a physically and emotionally draining day. Alright, I'm somehow going to pick one picture to represent today. : )

A Good Saturday

Today was just a wonderful day! I hung out with my familia I took a million pictures, and the weather was simply wonderful.
It all started around 8:00ish this morning with my mother waking us up with singing the mickey mouse song by converting it into what was happening today. It was hilarious and just started the day off so wonderfully. Then half an hour later, we all hopped into mom's car and drove out to eighteen mile to Sarahs soccer game. Dad and I took a walk, since we were there an hour before the game started, and took pictures. I love my father so much, being able to talk to him was such a blessing. I make fun of him for all the lectures he never seems stop giving. However, I am finding them a treat and wanting more when I spend time with him. Though, he does give the most random ones. I remember when he was driving me to school my sophomore year one day, he told me I should make sure before getting a job that my commute to work is good. I laughed because of all things a father could warn his daughter about, he decides this is the best thing for that day. Then again, his oldest daughter wasn't really into most things other girls were at her age. I mean I was always claiming I wouldnt get involved with any guy until after high school...well just about ten days after high school I found myself invovled with a boy for the first time...but we all know how that panned out. ; )
Anywhoo...then just before the game started Mr Rogers came and joined us. Now, boys and girls before you get to excited thinking the childhood hero resurrected, that is my dad's nickname for our intern Kevin Root. Kevin is a staggering (well to me) 6'2 guy who tends to sport one of three cardigans in blue, red, and brown. I cant see any other guy being allowed to get away with such happy clothing choices. (I say this because he may read this since I read his blog a lot) Anywhoo...he hung out and talked to my dad the entire game. I interjected every once in awhile. It was good to sort of catch up with him and see what his plans are.
After we lost the game (Sarah made an awesome attempt at a goal but missed) our family ditched Kevin (well he walked away first, so maybe he ditched us) and headed over to a Cider Mill. We had sooo much fun. I took oodles and oodles of pictures. We got donuts, fudge (which I havent had any yet...hmm), and the best tasting cider ever. We all then took naps when we got home...so nice!
Then mom and I cracked open the math book and studied. Even though I had a pretty nasty headache, we made it through. We watched the 2nd part of the documentary we've been following and now, here we are. It was such a blessed day. Tomorrow is church and Im looking forward too, especially having a chance to actually sit in on worship time. : )

happiness vs. contentment

My contentment is hinged not on my circumstances, how much money I make, if I have a boyfriend, if all my friends adore me, and or if Im doing well in school and etc. If I allowed these things to bring me my contentment, I constantly would find myself not truly happy because these things are temporal and prone to fail me. These things bring me happiness something that can be washed away in the next tide, but I find my happiness in Christ and that leads to contentment. Christ is NEVER going to fail me or leave me.

Sometimes I lose focus and try to find my contenment in the temporal things and wonder why I am unhappy. Then I realize, ohhhh yeahh I have something so much better to spend my time loving and trying to be like. The amazing thing is too is everytime I come back from losing my way, my Father opens up His arms and takes me back...EVERYTIME! : )