scraps of randomness

first of all, on the litter box front, we have had no "clean ups on aisle four" all week long! (knock on wood.) my mom said to check and make sure grace wasn't finding somewhere else, but i think i just found the right combination of number of litter boxes, style, and mix of clay/feline pine litters. let's hope that it holds!

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lynn sent me this photo (blackberry photo, so it's grainy--apologies) of one of my beach portraits from a few weeks ago in a fabulous 20" by 30" size over her mom's mantle. there's just something about seeing my photos all blown up and on display that makes me happy :)

i get the same feeling when i enter the avery house. i've been wanting to do a portfolio book to show to potential clients, but haven't gotten around to it. maybe that'll be a project for the next week or so.

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i've calculated up my potential hours spent at church this coming sunday and am thinking it'll probably be around ten hours (like working a full shift for God!)

8-12: praise band practice, first service, second service (i'm singing at both, justin doing A/V)

3-4: first rehearsal for the holiday program (by the way, LOVE that they're starting this early. i'm hoping we won't be quite as rushed there at the end like last year.)

4-6: "sunday on the lawn" that our small group is running. tag football, ultimate frisbee, kickball, etc. open to the public and should be a lot of fun! i'll leave early and go on over to...

5-8: the kick-off of six78, our new middle-school program. i'll be probably staying with them for the full time rather than going on down to our...

6-8: small group meeting.

either way, i'm at church until atleast 8, and realistically, 9.

and honestly, i'm excited about it. i love being involved in lots of different programs and facets of the church. i've missed my youth group meetings, our small group has grown so much closer during the struggles we've faced recently, and being a part of the worship ministry is just amazing.

so, if you're looking for me on sunday, you'll find me here. and if you really want to figure out why i'm so excited about it, come on over at 9 am or 10:30 am! wear your jeans and your t-shirts. we'd love to have you :)

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and finally, tomorrow is eight years since--well, since everything changed. someone asked tonight on facebook, "where were you?"

i was just a couple of weeks into my freshman year at ecu. my first major psych test was schedule for that morning, and i was going to get up and study at the library before my 10 am (maybe it was 11...don't remember for sure) class. i remember getting ready and about to head out to the library when someone knocked on my door and asked if i was watching the news. we watched the planes crash, the towers begin to fall down, and studious freshman that i was, i still went to the library to "study"--but ended up watching the news in one of the meeting rooms up front where it was playing.

we still had that exam. (and i did well. psych 1000 was a piece of cake.)

the next fews days were spent "processing," a term i know now but was only beginning to comprehend at that point. there were candlelight vigils, seminar discussions, college ministry meetings that had us asking questions and searching for answers, and (somewhat selfishly) the realization that my weekend flight to florida (where my high school sweetheart was attending college) was not going to happen.

and slowly, life returned to normal. a new normal. increased security, coded colors of safety, flags on every front porch. walking past an armed guard as i finally made that trip to florida in october. i still remember, similarly, leaving early from my evening sociology class that following march to watch president bush declare war on iraq and begin bombing that night.

but in the same way that i'm sure the generations before us won't forget where they were when JFK was assassinated, when MLK Jr. was shot, when the challenger exploded, when princess diana died, when columbine and waco occurred (okay, i remember those last few) it was a moment that defined us. particularly my class, the freshman class who left home and entered the "real world" only to have the world become more real, more cruel, more harsh that we ever expected it to.

as a kid who grew up in a military town with many friends who are military families, i support our troops and the fact that they put their lives on the line for us and our freedoms daily. and i want them to come back home safely.

i remember the lives of those that were lost on 9/11. the passengers, the new york residents, the first responders. i pray for their families and the memories that they deal with every day, but especially tomorrow.

where were you?