random sunday randomness

well, it's sunday evening. janelle is back from her mission trip and i'm washing the pile of clothes rom the mission trip. i have never seen anyone pack the way she does. she had stuff here, there, and yonder in her 2 bags she carried. shoes mixed with t-shirts, tools mixed in with the make up bag. i tell you i don't know how she was able to keep up with anything. i'm definitely going to insist she use that big ol' plastic bag for dirty clothes on this next trip she goes on in august. it'd make it easier to pull everything out w/o accidentally having the can of hair mousse go in the washer.

even with all the mess, i'm so glad to have janelle home. i have really missed her these past 2 weeks. it makes me wonder how i'm going to handle her being away at college. will my heart just pine away for my kid or will i adjust? knowing janelle, she'll come home when they kick her out of the dorms around holiday time b/c she'll be too busy with student ministry or student government or studying or something like that.

she has come back on fire for Jesus. she has decided she would like to be a missionary and has a passion for working in peru. she's made a committment to GOD and is going to work towards being a missionary. since she's gotten back, she has been furiously researching what it takes to train to be a missionary. she even went as far to say she'd consider staying here to go to college to get her basics in and then transfer to one of the christian colleges to finish up. she has a chance at a scholarship at erskine so i'm hoping she'll do what she needs to do to get in the running for it.

needless to say, i'm very proud of her and will support her any way i can.

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this past wednesday, kyle petty and his wife pattie were in town for their annual charity ride to raise money and awareness for the victory junction gang which is a camp for kids with serious medical illnesses and disabilities. these kids wouldn't normally get to attend camp because of their health issues. the pettys built this camp in memory of their son adam who was killed in a racing incident. the camp was something adam wanted to do so they are keeping their son's memory alive in the camp.

what is really cool is in the summer, kids with specific illnesses or disabilities get together with other kids just like them. this past week, pattie petty said there were kids at camp who had been burned or had severe facial deformities. they had stopped by the camp to visit with the kids before heading to augusta. she said it amazed her how quickly the kids had bonded with each other. the week before there were kids there with spina bifida. most of the kids got to ride a horse for the 1st time in their life.

while pattie petty was speaking, i thought how great janelle would be working at that camp. she is a kid magnet. kids who are normally shy or difficult just melt when they are around janelle. i can't remember a kid yet that she's not been able to win over...lol. i mentioned it to her and encouraged her to check it out.

at the end of the program, i was able to get kyle's and pattie's autograph. they are such nice people!! i know a lot of people rag on kyle and his racing, but he is a terrific man. he stood there and signed autographs until no one else was standing and waiting. harry gant was there, too. i didn't get to get his autograph before he left though. he seemed like a nice man too.

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on the knitting front i've just about finished jellyfish by irisg. i'm down to the last 4 rows on the main part of the shrug and getting ready to do the ribbing part. janelle liked what i had knit so far. i'm hoping it will fit her all right. i made the small one b/c she does not have very broad shoulders. i'll post pics on my webshots once i finish it. maybe i can get her to model it so you can see how it looks on a real person.

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my stomach and all has been bothering me this weekend. i had some slight pain in my right side (gallbladder area) this afternoon. yesterday and today i had the flu-like symptoms i've been experiencing on and off. when i got back from running my errands after church, i took a nap and slept about 3 hours. i woke up to the phone ringing and thought it might have been janelle calling. my cell was not on b/c it was not charged up (it's been charging for a while now so it should be ok).

i'm ready to find out what we're going to do about the ol' gallbladder. i have the appt on thursday morning with dr. c to discuss everything. hopefully we can get the show on the road and take care of the gallbladder, hiatal hernia, and messed up knee before this year is over. i can then start fresh and new for next year...lol.

i need to check on the clothes in the wash and find something light to eat for dinner.

kisses....