Church Spire!

Change

Today, the walls and structure of the sanctuary here at the church came crashing down.

Have a Cow

I walked over to Karen's office as I was posting next week's schedule, and one of the regular stops on that trek is through her office. I took my animal crackers with me, for I was hungry and needed that last minute sugar rush to get me through the last hour of the day.

I knew immediately upon entrance to her office that she was frustrated about something. Offered to help if she needed it, though there really wasn't much she said I could do. She did start to vent because of her frustrations and in an effort to cheer her up, I set my crackers down, pulled the first one out to hand to her, and immediately put it right back because I'd noticed it's head had been broken off. So I grabbed the next one, which I only recognized because of the udders.

"Here, have a cow."

It was only then did I realize what I had said.

We then spent about 5 minutes going back and forth, amidst bouts of hysterical laughter --

"You planned that, didn't you? You really do want me to have a cow over this!"

"No, honestly, I swear, that didn't even cross my mind."

Maybe you had to be there. It was really funny none-the-less.

Quiet

I've been rather quiet lately. I think I have good reason to.

Within the last three weeks, the following has happened here at the church:

-- Jollie announced her retirement.
-- Bill and Alene announced that they were leaving to start another church.
-- Jean passed away.
-- Karen had an MRI done that revealed a herniated disc she'd had for the past two+ months.
-- Michelle's dad passed away.
-- Bill P. fell and broke his nose, hand and busted up several fingers.
-- Brenda's brother-in-law, who has been ill for quite some time, took a turn for the worse and is on the verge of passing away.

Death, loss and pain sometimes seem to swallow up everything around them. And I remain quiet.

It's at times like these when I really don't feel like talking about what's going on because there really is nothing to be said.

So, I'll just continue to be quiet.

Hopefully, I will feel like talking more soon.

Death Can Be So Inconvenient.

You try to live and love - it comes and interrupts.

This has been a week of sorrow and hardship in my life. My dear friend, coworker and 'grandmother' passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve. She lived a full life, and was a blessing to so many, more than she probably knew. We celebrated her life Friday evening in a memorial service, and it was a comfort to have so many people together sharing their memories of such a wonderful woman of God.

The return to work on Wednesday to find Michelle at her desk was hard. Answering all of the phone calls and having to be the one to break the news to so many people over and over again was hard. Planning for an entirely different funeral that took place on Thursday and then for her service on Friday was hard.

My prayers right now lie with Michelle - she has taken on so much responsibility at such short notice. And the week has not been easy for her, and so consequently for us as well - her father fell and hit his head on Wednesday, and after a lot of hardship and pain, passed away Friday evening as well due to complications from a brain hemmorage.

There is so much pain and sadness and shock running through so many of the people I know and love very dearly, and at this point, all I am coming back to is - why? Why Jean? Why Michelle? Why us? Why now?

I know that there is a much bigger picture that I can't see, and I know that it will be so beautiful when I finally do see it. And I know that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord, and that from what I know of Him, that must be very good. But that doesn't lessen the pain or the confusion or the sadness I'm feeling right now.

It does, however, give me reason to hope, and reason to go on.

STOMP

I'm going to see STOMP tonight with my family. They're in Wilmington this weekend, playing at the Dupont Theater, and I'm so excited to be going!

The other major highlight of my up-and-coming weekend is that I get to look forward to the first of five consecutive Mondays off from work. Yay for unused vacation days! (That, however, is no guarantee that I'll actually get to rest on said day-off. I already have a list a mile long of things that need to get accomplished because it's officially Christmas time. Wish me luck in getting things done!)

A Day in the Life

Today's list:

- Send out SG emails 3:09 p.m.
- Advent Wreath details 11:21 a.m.
- YML article edit 11:59 a.m.
- Baby dedication roses 9:24 a.m.
- Newcomer dinner booklet 10:18 a.m.
- Staples errand 11:43 a.m.
- Labels for phone directories 2:23 p.m.
- Phone directories for NCD 2:42 p.m.
- Redo Women's Tea Article 1:08 p.m.
- Student Section 12:45 p.m.
- Journey article redo 12:20 p.m.
- Proof MN 1:35 p.m.
- Proof PP 1:28 p.m.
- Proof WG 3:43 p.m.
- Run MN 750 2:08 p.m.
- Run PP 750 3:13 p.m.
- Run WG 750
- Fold MN 3:24 p.m.
- Fold PP 3:52 p.m.
- Fold WG
- Check Web email 4:15 p.m.
- Server Check 4:21 p.m.
- Backups
- CE Posters
- Tea Posters Redo
- Meet w/ Sam 2:52 p.m.
- Remove Prayer Guides from Web 1:43 p.m.
- Redo Article on web for cantata
- Copy & post next week's schedule 4:42 p.m.
- Conference Room schedule 4:44 p.m.
- Email JF & JD re: worship 5:01 p.m.

At 5:05 p.m.
Note 1 - 500 WG's printed, 300 WG's folded. Will finish tomorrow morning
Note 2 - Carry over the following into tomorrow's list:
- Backups
- CE Posters
- Tea Posters Redo
- Redo Article on web for cantata
Note 3 - Food consumption for the day equaled 4 clementines, a blueberry muffin and some cookies. Need to work on better eating habits.
Note 4 - This evening's agenda:
- Drive home in traffic
- Make supper for family
- Crochet blanket for Baby E.
- Play with my nephews
- Help Rae w/ MK
- Sleep

Red-Letter Day

Today, for the first time in I can't even begin to remember how long, there was no traffic at the Concord Pike exit off of I-95 on the way to work this morning during rush hour traffic. Usually, there's a line almost a mile long - a line I usually end up sitting in because 1) everyone else would rush up to the front of the line and then cut people off, and because 2) people coming onto Concord Pike northbound coming from southbound 95 wouldn't follow the yield sign they had but instead try to merge, thus cutting off everyone else who had the right-of-way. To make matters worse, they've been working on construction on that exit for goodness knows how long, trying to widen it up so there's not such a heavy back up on 95 in the mornings.

And the reason for no traffic today? They finally opened up all that construction! Instead of just having one lane now to get off onto Concord Pike, it's been opened up into 3 lanes, with that nasty yield/merge gone! Yay! I'm sure there will still be some sort of traffic though, with people changing lanes to get to their appropriate exits, but I can't tell you how excited it made me this morning. I mean, I was driving past the Del. Ave. exit thinking that I had ten minutes before I was supposed to be at work, and seeing as it would take me at least that amount of time (if not more) to just get off of 95, I should call in and let them know that I'd be a few minutes late. But then I got into the exit lane, and there was absolutely zero traffic, and before I knew it, I was driving through the brand new exit and there was absolutely no hold up.

And the best part? I made it in to work on time. Yay!

White Out!

This has been no end of help to me in my job today! I won't say what it was that I had to white out, but it was used for a rather large mistake on a rather prominent piece of literature that quite a few people will be seeing. It would be easier if I did engage brain once in a while. Thankfully, I get a very good laugh out of it now.

Good, Better, Best

5 Good Things About My Weekend:

1. Kathy got married!
2. An absolutely gorgeous day on Saturday.
3. I received some much needed encouragement on Sunday morning during Sunday school.
4. Getting several nice compliments.
5. The huge stack of mail that had been gracing my desk was finally put to rest in either 1) the trash can, 2) file folders, or 3) my journals, thus clearing off my desk!

5 Better Things About My Weekend:

1. Hanging out with Becky to see the new Jane Austen movie Sunday afternoon.
2. Trip to (the outskirts of) Baltimore with old and dear friends on Saturday night to visit Megan and Jordan.
3. Getting to sleep in on Saturday morning.
4. Seeing my family in NJ.
5. Realizing that pre-season football has already started.

5 Best Things About My Weekend:

1. Spending time with God.
2. Spending time with family.
3. Spending time with friends.
4. Spending time in reflection.
5. Spending time just being.

And, as a bonus --

5 Happy Things About Today:

1. I saw three deer (two bucks, one doe!) this morning while driving in to work, and then once I arrived, a butterfly landed on my car.
2. The office was very quiet today.
3. Chocolate!
4. Being productive.
5. Knowing that I get to share about my Morocco trip tonight with one of my supporters.

A Troublesome Tale

Dear Reader,

I hope, for your sake, that you have not chosen to read about what happened to the author of this excruciatingly painful letter, as you are about to partake in a very unpleasant experience. If you do indeed choose to read, then I advise you to stop what you are doing, turn off the computer and return home for your general safety and well-being. Of all the days you choose to peruse through my blog, today’s entry might be one of the most unpleasant yet.

There are usually many unpleasant things in this world which we generally have no choice but to partake in, such as waking up early, driving in traffic, and getting to the grocery store in time to see that the last half-gallon of your favorite ice cream was just taken away by someone who appeared to have very large and vicious front teeth. Those activities actually seem pleasant when faced with a desperate and tiring search to secure the last Harry Potter book that is still unfinished in its read-through, sunburn, missed airplanes, 2 round trips to Baltimore and back in a weekend, a missing captain and co-pilot, airport security, something smelly, missing booklets, demented printers, sore ankles and dead computers.

Sadly for myself, it is my solemn and sacred duty, as author of this blog, to spend my time in researching said activities, so as to better inform you of the unpleasantness out there that you may one day have to face. But you may favor doing some other solemn or sacred thing, such as searching the world over for that last half-gallon of your favorite ice cream whilst avoiding a painful death from those large and vicious front teeth.

With all due respect,

Cassie

The Flood

Just a few of the images from the aftermath of last week's flood. Happiness.

Why You Kick the Sheep on the Boat?

I was hoping to get rest last night. I was given permission to take the entire day off, but I came in for half-day's work, just so I could get caught up on all my emails. And that was more than enough time at work; by the end, I was ready for sleep. I went home, got myself unpacked, started working on laundry and did manage to get some rest that afternoon. I was all set to begin heading to bed around 8:30. But it was not to be.

We got a call from the church, saying that a pipe had burst similar to what happened last time. This time, the water pouring out was over the Mission's office, the men's bathroom, the back end of the hallway, the Children's office, and the Financial Assistant's office and the workroom. For those who don't know, the Financial Assistant's office is where the servers are kept. There had been talk of the damage being less this time then last time we had a flood here at the church, though I don't know who started that. The last time, there were only two major rooms in the path of the water damage, as well as some through the floor into the hallway below. This time there were twice as many rooms hit, and from the news we heard, it took them at least 10 minutes to get the water turned off, and they're not sure how long it was flooding before then.

Four out of the five members of my family (myself included) hopped into the car and made our way up to help sort things out/stop the water/start assessing the damage, as they were calling for 'all hands on deck.'

We ended up spending a little over 2 hours up at the church, picking our way through the back end of the main hallway, and trying to figure out what happened. Having the electricity off made it that much more interesting. By the end of said 2 hours, we'd managed to get all the fallen ceiling tiles picked up, and some of the major things that had been on the floor up and onto other various desks and counters in the effort of getting them dried out. There wasn't really anything else to do, as by then, the damage control people were out and on site and ready to start their job, which was turning the electricty back on and getting the generators going so we could have as many of those huge air dryers as possible blowing into all the areas that had major water damage.

This morning, we all came in not knowing what sort of state we'd be in today. We have no server, though we do have (sporadic) access to the Internet and our emails, so thankfully some work can get done. But all of our major projects/work are stored on the server. We don't have the ability to retrieve anything, as our back up system can only be accessed from the server (kind of silly, if you ask me), so what we absolutely have to get done, we have to wait on. There is no guarantee that we'll have the server at all this week. We've had someone from the computer company that we use out for most of the day looking at it, assessing the damage, and it (the server) is currently MIA - taken off site so they can get it assessed and/or fixed as quickly as possible.

Needless to say, the last 24 hours have been rather interesting. We didn't get home until around 11:30 and I didn't get to bed until close to midnight. So much for an attempt at getting rest. ;-) Hopefully tonight will be better. But on the good side, I did not wake up as early this morning as I did yesterday (5:45 seems like sleeping late when you wake up at 4:15). Work today has consisted of major clean up and moving things out of the rooms that were damaged into the hallway and up higher so everything can dry out. The hallway looks like a war zone. Everything that can be done on that has been done, and my job now has consisted of attempting to work on the church bulletin - I obviously can not access anything, as it was all on the server, but I am trying to recreate it as best as possible. If it can't be done that way, chances are that we won't have a bulletin this coming Sunday. We'll most likely have at least a hand-out with all the basics on it, but nothing other then that.

I also managed to get pictures on my camera, which I can hopefully get uploaded at some point. Wish us luck!

Oh, and to explain the title: The second week in Morocco, we had a Bible camp, and did skits for the stories that we told. The first day, we told the story of Noah's Ark. Jason played Noah, a few of us were the townspeople who laughed at him, and most of us were animals. We used one of our cars as the ark, and since there were nine of us that needed to get squeezed into the car, one of the girl's volunteered to be put in the trunk. She was the sheep and came on last. She played a sheep very well, not following the rest of the animals on board the ark, so Noah had to come after her, and ended up giving the sheep a good swift kick on its backside to encourage it to get in the ark as the rains were coming. After the story, we all went to our stations, and I was with Jason at the English station that day. During one of the half-hour slots, he had a kid sitting in his lap the entire time that said, "Why you kick the sheep in the boat? Did it bite you?" And that was all the kid said. And all Jason said in response was, "I had to because I needed to get it on the boat before the rains came. No, it didn't bite me." And that went on for an entire half-hour. After that group of kids left, he told me about it, and we had a good time of it, laughing and it became one of the many jokes from that week at camp. And it seemed fitting, considering we've had the flood reincarnate here in the last 24 hours. Besides which, I needed a smile and good laugh.

I miss Morocco.