Mexico

In the middle of December I flew into Texas to be in two of my good friends wedding. Ednita is Mexican but grew up in Texas, and Hector also is Mexican and grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. Since Ednita is a US citizen, they had to have a ceremony in both the US and in Mexico. I enjoyed having the privilege of being in a Mexican wedding. I also enjoyed seeing some old friends from GBS and also meeting relatives and friends of Ednita and Hector. I have a ton of pictures from my trip, too many to put on here. However, I would like to share a few. There are some that have a story behind the picture, which helps to explain them.


This was at Ednita's house for the civil ceremony.


Kristen and I


Five of the seven bridesmaids


The totally awesome car Ednita and Hector rode in.


Ednita just as she got to the church...she was so beautiful


Josh and Cesar before the wedding. Josh played his cello and Cesar was the usher.


Gabriel and Cesar


Me after the ceremony. We were bored while they were taking family pictures.


Kristen and Jenny showing me how to pose with a "natural" look


Kristen and Joy. Joy was one of the maids-of-honor


Iglesia Evangelica Misionera Mexicana


Hector's parents


Jenny, Cesar and I. They are twins in case you couldn't tell.


The bride and groom and me


Jihae, one of the bridesmaids


Chen and I at the reception.


Jorge, the guy I walked with


Josue...another one of the groomsmen. He's a lot of fun!


It was our last night in Texas, Cesar and Josh decided to put this snake skin in Jenny's luggage. You should have heard her scream when she opened the suitcase up to get her boots out.


Right before Josh took them to the bus station


Josh took me back into Mexico to do some shopping...I found this in one of the stores....


....and this at a side walk vendor....made me laugh.

Finals Week!

Finals week. The two times a year when I ask myself why I feel this need to put myself through such misery. I guess in the end, when I am finished and have the degree I'm striving for, it will be totally worth it. Worth all the nights filled with little sleep and too much caffeine.
I was talking to my friend Josh the other night and telling him how I needed to start writing my research paper. I think I was complaining about how much work it was going to be. At the same time, I was blog hopping when I came across this a song. It is totally true and could not have come at a more perfect time.

It goes to the tune of Jingle Bells.

College life, college life,
Grinds your health away.
Finals, tests, all without rest,
And reading that’s due today.
College life, college life,
Makes you quite a sight,
Oh, what fun it is to write
That term paper tonight!


I thought it was very appropriate.

Thanks Isaac for sharing that with everyone!

BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday

Thanksgiving evening some of my friends came over to stay the night so that we could all go shopping Friday morning. We all decided that since none of us had any certain thing we wanted and that we were all basically going for the fun of it, that we would not leave the house until 5am. Rather than 4am. I stayed up entirely too late talking and only got like an hour and a half of sleep. We all jumped into a cold car at 5 am and headed to Greenwood where our first stop was Wal-Mart. We didn't get to see any fights or false accusations because of how late we got there. I was able to get my nieces checked off of my Christmas list which was nice. I had a lot of fun and I believe everyone else did as well.



Rebekah, Daniel, and I at wal-mart


Jocilyn, Tiffany, and I at the mall!


The getting in wasn't so bad....it was trying to get them out!


Rebekah talked Daniel into playing this nice pink guitar.


This is Rebekah...she is the Hello Kitty Queen.

Death

This past Friday was a very strange day. I worked my clinical rotation in the Johnson County Er from 8-5. Around 4:30, they received a call that an ambulance was bringing in a 43 year old male in cardiac arrest who had been electrocuted. By the time they arrived, it had been almost an hour since the first responder received the call, the man was gray and they were still doing compressions. I didn't know what to think. Having worked in the nursing home, I have had a few of my residents die. But this was different, the man was so young. I was standing there watching, when one of the Paramedics asked if I would like to do some compressions. This was the first time I had done compressions on a real person, and needless to say...I did not last long. Compressions are very strenuous work, I was soon out of breath and asking for a relief. The man had been putting up Christmas lights, he was moving his aluminum ladder when he hit the power line. He smelled very strongly of electrical burn. The Doctor soon pronounced the death and I high-tailed it out of there.
I was doing pretty good until I called my Mother. My parents had went to Columbus Ohio to be with my Aunt whose husband was having emergency surgery for sepsis. When I asked my mom how Tom was doing...she told me that he had died that morning. It was at this point that the tears came. It's one thing when you see an elderly person die...it's probable. My uncle was only 59 and didn't seem "old enough" to die.
Uncle Toms funeral was on Monday. It was a rough funeral...it's just really hard to believe he's gone. My siblings and cousins and I were reminiscing about Uncle Tom. There were basements in both houses that my Aunt and Uncle lived in (that I can remember). Uncle Tom always had a pool table and a bar in those basements. We kids loved to play with the pool table and make up our own games and rules. I do not ever remember a time when we got in trouble for playing with it. We just all knew that we had to take good care of the things when we got them out, and we had to put them back right where we got them from. Uncle Tom was always teasing everyone about how much food they would eat. He would make snide comments like, "boy, do you think you could get some more food on that plate?" or "whoa, are you sure there is still food out there? Or did you take it all"? He always had a grin on his face and a joke to share with everyone.
I guess the one thing that this last week has reminded me of is that you never know when you will die. You just have to be prepared to go whenever it's your time.

Procrastinate

Procrastinate - to put off till another day or time; defer; delay

I admit, at this very moment I am...procrastinating. I'm sitting in the library, on the internet when I should be sitting at a desk reading my wonderful EMT book. I find it very interesting how many things I can find to do while I'm procrastinating. You know...things like checking my e-mail, or my bank account, or finding a drawer that needs to be organized. Currently I am head deep in homework for my EMT class. Dispite that fact, I can never seem to interest myself in plunging into all of that homework. It is much easier to just waste the time away rather than use it wisely.
However, I need to create disipline in my life. So, at this time I will turn to chapter 29 and read about Musculoskeletal Injuries. Yes I will!

Update

Just a little update on Onan. He is doing much better, Thank the Lord! However, he lost a good portion of his face in the shooting. As I understand, he lost one eye, and his lower jaw including part of his tongue. He is still in the hospital.
I would ask that you would please pray for his family. When Onan was shot, he was giving a 27 year old man a ride on his motor cycle. To my understanding, Onan did not know the guy but was simply giving him a ride because he was interested in buying the bike. That man was in some trouble with some other guys. Enough trouble that they decided to shoot the man. Onan happened to be there with him so they shot Onan as well. When Onan was shot, he fell into the ditch where they could no longer see him. When the police came, two hours later, they found the man dead and Onan lying in the ditch. However, once they found Onan, they would not treat him at the hospital until they contacted his mother. So, in all reality, Onan should not have lived through that shooting. All I can think of is that God must have great plans for his future.
Now, the family of the 27 year old think that it is Onans fault that their son was killed. So they have come to the Morales home looking to get revenge. Needless to say, they have not been able to go home. Please pray for their safety and that God would lead them in the right direction. I know that God has everything under His control.

URGENT

PLEASE PRAY

I have a friend named Elmer who is Guatemalan and who lives here in the states. Last summer I was able to travel to Guatemala and meet his family members who were still in Guatemala. Yesterday, I received a phone call saying that Elmer's youngest brother, Onan, had been shot multiple times. He took two shots to his stomach, two to his legs, and shots to his face. He lost one eye, part of his mouth and nose. They are not expecting him to make it. The other boy he was with was killed. Onan is only 16 years old and is not a christian. Onan has been struggling with negative peer pressure and has started to get in with the wrong crowd. They do not know what caused the shooting to take place. They have not let his mother back to see him due to the fact that she has heart problems and his brothers are scared of what will happen to her physically. I took this picture when I was in Guatemala with them last summer. Onan is the third from the left.
Please pray for God's will in this situation. My heart breaks when I think of this family who has been through so much already. I love all of them. I am praying that God will go and comfort each one of them. Please pray for the Moralez family. His mother, brother Omar, and sister in Guatemala. And also for Elmer, Eric, and Giovanni who are all in the states.