Last Saturday

I've started giving violin lessons! Got a call a few weeks ago from Ed who owns Cassell's Music on Maclay in San Fernando (Where they filmed Wayne's World). The violin teacher he had was leaving and he needed someone to take over the lessons. I got to thinking it would be an extremely great experience for me, so I told him I would be willing to do it! He knows I have no prior teaching experience, but he goes to PBC and hears me play and he's been so great and so encouraging about the whole thing. So, I currently teach on Saturday mornings from 9-1. Half hour private lessons. All the students are beginners, which is great for me. Already I have stories of cuteness to share and it's only been 2 weeks.

The youngest student is 5. His name is Steve. His violin is this [spread hands about 10 or 11 inches apart] big. His mom was talking to me and she said they asked Steve about me and he told them he really liked me. She said he normally cries when he gets a substitute teacher at school because he normally doesn't like new teachers and gets uncomfortable, so it's kind of a big deal that he likes me and is comfortable with me. That made me happy.

There is a 9 year old boy, named Calvin, very cute. He sat down and just chattered away. I had to keep interrupting him to get him to play his violin. He told me that he had been playing for a reeeeeeeeeeeealllly really long time.... 9 weeks. I thought that was funny.

I'm really enjoying this work. If a student can't make it to his/her lesson then I just hang around the store.

Last Saturday was awesome because the drummer from Billy Joel was there.
Liberty Devitto.



He was the drummer of the band for 30 years. He had his drums all set up in the shop and was giving a clinic to the kids in the area. He was out promoting a band camp thing.. (I now forget the title of it) where the kids show up.. get some instruction and then are put together into a band so that they can learn to play with other musicians. They learn to keep up, they learn to play appropriately and such things like that. It's a cool idea.


Liberty was lots of fun. Made me laugh a lot. I tried recording some of his playing with my cell phone, so I got like 15 seconds recorded but I don't know how to transfer it from cell phone to blog. He was a very enjoyable drummer. He says he became a drummer so he "could get chicks." He said "in High School he was not athletic, and to top it off he wore glasses.. so how were girls ever supposed to notice him. Well one night he was watching TV and The Beatles were on and the cameras showed the audience and he saw girls standing on their chairs and crying over these 'not so good looking fellas' and thats when he knew he was gonna be a musician."


Long story short. I like Cassell's. It's where I got my very first violin all fixed up so I could learn how to play it and it is where I got my current violin and now I get to be around and learn from and experience great people.

hummers

i dont like driving behind hummers... because they ALWAYS drive way under the speed limit. They are this macho .. extremely powerful car.. yet can only manage to go 40 in a 50 zone...

Blood

This morning I headed over to Masters to donate my blood. I arrived and filled out my paperwork and read through the pages of info. The computers had gone down that morning so they were forced to do everything manually so it took a lot of extra time.

Eventually I was called in and they pricked my finger and asked me a lot more questions.. then I was led over to my little reclining area. Let me just say that the needle hurt! The stinging from it didn't go away the whole time it was in there. Normally you get stuck and that's the end.. you dont think about it any more.. but it stayed stinging until the end. I rolled that little red ball back and forth and back and forth.. and when my bag was full they finished things off and had me lay there. After a few minutes they told me if I was feeling ok I could go sit in the front and drink some juice.

So I got some grape juice and next thing I know I was about ready to pass out. My eyes were seeing black and stars. Two of the nurses came over and were like, "Are you ok?" and I started to say "No" and at the same time they were like, "You're not ok, You're not ok. Lay down. Lay down!" So I did and they put really cold compresses on my neck and forehead and made me cough and keep coughing until they got a paper bag rolled down so that they could hold that over my mouth for me to breathe in and out of. I never fully passed out, but it was really close.. when I had laid at the front of the bus for a bit longer they said they wanted me to move back to one of the beds until I felt better. So I moved back and they put fresh compresses on me. After a bit they gave me water and pretzels to eat and I had to sit up and wait for like 15 minutes until I wasn't lightheaded any longer. It was CRAZY!

**Update - I just got up from writing this post, and took the cotton and tape off my arm. It's been a few hours and the hole was still bleeding a bit so I walked upstairs to get a bandaid from my mom and just about passed out again. It went all black and I hobbled over to and felt for my moms bed and plopped down on it.

I think I probably won't donate blood again, unless absolutely necessary. Because it's no good to still be nearly fainting hours after the procedure.**

I'm Gonna Give Blood

For the first time ever I will be giving blood. If you don't know who I am talking about when I say Logan Waldeck.. then look through my previous posts until you find the ones I've written about her.

Her family set up a blood drive and platelet check over at Masters next Tuesday and today I registered and made my appointment for 10:40am. It's supposed to take an hour. I don't even know what blood type I am, but I dreamed a few weeks ago that I am B+ ..

Any tips? I hear to drink water because it helps the blood drain out faster? Is that true?

Interview

So tomorrow, Wednesday, I have a job interview at Mercury Insurance. Position of Office Adjustor. I've heard a lot of good things about working for Mercury. If I get the job the training is for 7 weeks in Brea. I hear the hotel they put you up in is nice. I think this could be really good for me, so if you think of me... say a prayer. The interview is at 12pm and is supposed to be an hour and a half.

Choir

So, I am joining the PBC Choir. Lots of people have mentioned that I should join. I always hesitate because I'm not a very good singer. I prefer to sing melody, but can never reach the notes, so I will have to be an alto which isn't as easy. But I just kept saying no. There is a fantastic family who have been coming to PBC since November. Two of them, Monique and Brandon sing in the choir and when we have hung out they have mentioned that I should come. I told them I adore choirs, love listening to them, but can't sing. They said to come anyway. I told them I love choirs so much I've even thought of getting a T-shirt that says Choirs Rock on it. I mentioned that the day I got that T-shirt would be the day I would join choir.

A couple weeks went by. One night I had a dream. I dreamed that Aaron (the worship pastor at PBC) was sitting at the piano and I was having my voice tested for the choir. Not auditioning.. voice testing. Aaron kept playing the low A on the piano over and over and having me sing it. He was testing to see if my voice really was "that low." So he played the A and had me sing it sounding like "a as in ball" and then he had me sing it "oo as in snooze" "e as in helmet" etc. It was the same note a bunch of different ways.. not a bunch of different notes the same way. Finally he said, "Yep. I guess you really are a tenor." And I walked up the risers to take my seat in the tenor section.

I thought that dream was hilarious so I told Aaron about it.. gave him a laugh, then I called Monique to tell her about the dream. She said well the reason you had the dream is because we made you the shirt and you are getting it tonight, so now you have to join the choir.

Here's my shirt:

I'm keeping good on my deal. I'm actually really looking forward to it. I know it will be a lot of fun. The word is out on us O-neders.

For my choir listening enjoyment, my two favorites are:

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir- located in Brooklyn New York. The story behind this choir is amazing and they have such awesome music.

and

Mwangaza- This choir captures my heart. They have amazing harmonies and such energetic music.

Ring

It's been troublesome to me what to do about my wedding ring and such. I'm used to wearing a ring on my ring finger now, but as we know, I can't wear my wedding ring. But my finger just looked naked with nothing on it.

I originally took my ring in to a jeweler to have the wedding band removed from the engagement ring so that I could still have the engagement ring to wear as something pretty on my right hand. When we had the wedding band soddered on to the engagement ring though, the jeweler cut into the setting on the engagement ring. It offered more support to the stones and in the long run was gonna be much better for the wear and tear on the ring. It was such a great decision at the time since I would be wearing that ring for life. Now it turned into a big problem. I went to 5 or 6 different jewelers to see what could be done, half said it was not possible to fix the setting and would have to be reset, others said it would be possible but would cost on average $350.

Then a couple weeks ago my mom came downstairs with a ring. My Aunt Liz had sent it home from New York with my mom 6 months ago and my mom had forgotten to give it to me all that time. I truly believe that it was no mistake that she forgot to give it to me, because I got it on a day and at such a moment where it meant a whole whole lot to me to have such a gift. This ring was my great grandma's and I believe was in the family even before it belonged to her. What is amazing though, is that it is a different kind of ring, it has a colored stone like I love. It's in the shape of a flower which I love. And I have really fat fingers, so to me it was even more amazing that the ring fit perfectly on my ring finger.

Wicked

I also saw Wicked last night at the Pantages. SO awesome.

Smokey Joe's Cafe

I saw Steph perform in Smokey Joe's Cafe Saturday afternoon. Somewhere around 30 of her family and friends showed up at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center to watch her show. She is so skilled and so fantastic. She sang and dance with so much spark!

This was one of Stephanie's roles:

The Shimmy Girl -

Ladies and Gentlemen she shook fringe off of her dress. = )

One of my favorite songs was Keep on Rollin.' There is a version of it here but it was better than this (although these guys harmonies are tight). Listen to it.. it's catchy.

Engrish

I want all of these shirts.




Only because I am a woman.

In honor of Aunt Liz.

This is my favorite.

My next favorite.

Check out www.engrish.com next time you are bored and you will laugh out loud.

Baby Clara

My friends Anna and Dwight had their baby yesterday afternoon. Well.. Anna HAD the baby..

Clara Louise Goetz

Born 1:23 pm

9lb 12oz - That's the kind of thing that happens when you are 12 days past your due date.

20 3/4"

Go to Anna's myspace page or to her blog and wish her Congratulations.

grossness

Today I spent the day with my dad. I love my dad. There is a rather large area on the side of our house that my dad has wanted to level out and put down pavers on. The leading story behind all of this is that the sideyard has to be finished before we can get another dog. I desperately want a dog at this house so I've volunteered to help my dad do the yardwork so we can get the place finished so that I can partake in the sweet enjoyment of having a dog again.

Today has been the first day that schedules, weather and health have allowed for dad and I to go to work over there. We were making great progress but were deterred by rats... 10 of them. Yes, 10.

The old dog house is in the corner of our backyard. We've known before that rats go under the doghouse, in fact, in the past I lifted the dog house up one afternoon when the dog wouldn't stop sniffing at and trying to get under it. A rat came running out which the dog grabbed and I ran into the house screaming.

Today was the same song 10th verse. We were moving some things so we could rake up some leaves and then disperse some dirt that we had removed from the side of the house. In the process of raking, Dad lifted up the dog house and a rat came running out. Dad's initial reaction was to stomp on it, it stunned the rat but it kept running so I grabbed a bucket and landed it over the rat then I ran inside screaming. When Dad had killed that rat I came back out because he had seen another rat under the dog house. It got away. We chased it but it was able to shimmy under the gate and run out front somewhere. So we went back to the dog house to get rid of the rat nest. Slid the doghouse completely forward to see all that was underneath it and there in the pile of leaves were 8 little teeny rat babies. They were so new their mouths were still opening to feed, they had no hair and their eyes were still closed. They were so innocent. I held the bucket for dad while he shoveled them in. Set the bucket down and ran inside screaming.

It was quite the detour in the day. We eventually made it back to leveling the gravel in the side yard and getting the border put down for the pavers. But all day long all we could think about were the 10 rats that had shared the backyard with us. SO gross.

Logan's Memorial Service

3/6/07 Here are the details for the service: It will be Saturday, March 10th at 11:00am. It will be held in the gymnasium of The Master's College. The address is 21726 Placerita Cyn. Rd. Newhall, 91321. There will be a reception following the service.

Read About and then Pray About Logan Waldeck.

Visit Logan's Website. The Waldeck Family has attended PBC for the past 5 or 6 years (I think, though I don't know for sure).



This is the latest update on the website written by Logan's Mom last night:

I'm pretty sure you all know most of what is going on with Logan. The short story is that she had to have an emergency craniotomy to relieve significant bleeding in her brain. She was totally fine Friday morning and it started with a headache, and then eventually led her to where she is now. She had a spontaneous bleed which is a result of her Aplastic Anemia. Her platelets were 3 previous to the surgery, but they gave her platelets quickly before the surgery, and she is doing well considering all she went through. She is stable now, all day on Sat. she was pretty sedated due to moriphine, and they hope to take out the breathing tube tomorrow. She pretty much is already breathing on her own anyways. As she slowly comes out of it, we will get a better idea of her brain function. The doctor's are really optimistic, but they do feel she will probably need to have some physical therapy to help her. The biggest concern is that we have to keep her platelets up to avoid having her brain bleed any more. Since it all started she has received 3 bags of platelets, and they are trying a few other medications to help with platelets. So she has to get through this, and then will still need a bone marrow transplant. We do not have a match as of now, please pray that we find one sooner then later. She is a fighter, she is not responding to us, but definitely does not like it when the nurses fiddle with her and her tubes. I'm exhausted because I couldn't get much sleep last night, plus it was all a little overwhelming for this mom, but we are doing o.k. We have had an amazing support group from so many people, it is such a blessing. God is definitely so faithful and good all the time! Daniel and I know she is His child on loan to us, and we are blessed to be her parents. We will write the next day or so. Cindy P.S. I have two pictures of what she looked like as of Sat. night in the pictures section

As of Saturday Night the prognosis was good, Logan's health was stable. This morning at church it was announced that this morning the Dr.'s told Logan's family there was very minimal brain activity and that they were moving her into a private room so that her family could begin to say their goodbyes. Placerita spent the morning in prayer for this family and their baby girl. If you feel so inclined or are touched enough by the situation and the pain it brings then please lift up your own prayers as well.

This post very much goes along with the song I posted about yesterday. Listen to it.

**Little Logan passed away later this afternoon. Placerita had a service of singing praise and saying prayers and in the midst of it Pastor Dave received a call that Logan went home to be with the Lord. Please remember this family in your prayers.**

Held

These are some of the song lyrics to a song titled Held sung by Natalie Grant. I cut out the second verse of the song and also posted the lyrics in non-song format because I want them read for what they express and to me that's easiest when it flows like normal reading rather than chopped up into little lines of poetry.

This song has been a comfort to me and offered great perspective to me on situations in life. We look towards many dreams and great things in life, sometimes they come so close and we get to hold that dream and experience that dream for a bit of time, but then that dream gets taken away. We can pray and pray for a certain outcome but if the Lord wills a different outcome we will still be guarded, guided and comforted -held-through that time of sorrowful letting go. We are not promised an easy life, but like the song says: Hope is born of suffering. In that hope we watch and we wait for our Savior.

Held

Two months is too little. They let him go. They had no sudden healing. To think that providence would take a child from his mother while she prays is appalling. Who told us we'd be rescued? What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares? We're asking why this happens to us who have died to live? It's unfair. This is what it means to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive. This is what it is to be loved. And to know that the promise was when everything fell we'd be held. If hope is born of suffering. If this is only the beginning. Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

You can hear this song in its entirety on my myspace page.

Remind Me

Remind me to take my camera with me when I go and do things so that I can post more frequently. I've done some fun things this week, but without pictures blogs are boring.

And 3 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

I've been thinking about goals and little things I would like to do one day, just because they are something I love or something I am interested in. So I thought rather than trying to file them in my brain or write them on a piece of paper that I'll quickly lose.. I'll just start compiling a list here and add to it as things come to mind.

1. I want to go to a major outdoor flea market. I've read in magazines about ones that span an acre and I think that would be so much fun. Take a day and a wagon or backpack and set off to find amazing things and amazing deals. Such fun!

2. I want to go back to Israel. I would even love to go under the same leadership as before. So, next time Halstead is leading a trip ... maaaybe I will try and be on it. It was so much fun, such an experience, such a time of enjoyment and peace and so wonderful to be walking where Christ walked. It was beautiful and that first trip will always impact my life, so a second one would be awesome too. I didn't give my all on that first trip, I had reservations that I wish now I didn't have and going once has caused me to study and know my Bible in a different way, so imagine going back now and building off of what I have so far.

3. I want to write a song. Or collaboratively write a song. That question people ask, "If you could have any talent, what would it be?" My answer would be, "To be able to write songs." I love music and I love worship. I think in this past year I probably could have pulled some great songs out if I were able to write them, but I just don't have that knack. A lady at church, Marie Clark, is starting to disciple me. She plays guitar, piano and sings and writes her own songs. She said we could write some songs together because there are so many times she thinks, "Oh, if only I had a violin for this part." She might change her mind when she finds out I have no talent in this area, or maybe her skill and creativity will be absorbed into me and I will finally achieve being able to write a song.

The Other 3 Unique Things About Me:

4. I wash my face with baking soda.
5. I LOVE old western romance books. Janette Oke is my favorite. I've read her books since childhood so I hold them near and dear to my heart.
6. I broke my nose playing Scrabble.

My Testimony

I recently turned in an application at The Master's College and for part of the application they ask you to share your testimony. Since I took the time to write it all out I figured I would just post it here too.

My Testimony:

I was born and raised in a Christian home. My parents have been believers since their childhoods and my grandparents are saved and many of my great grandparents were saved as well. Based off of that, I have grown up with a strong Christian heritage.

My family attended Grace Community Church through my entire childhood. When I was very young I would pray every single night that Jesus would come into my heart so that I could go to heaven. As years went by things began to click and I made sense of the fact that I was a sinner and due to my sins I would go to hell when I died. I also understood that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and that if I would go to Him for forgiveness I could be saved from the certainty of hell and go to heaven when I died.

On my 7th birthday I was in tears when my mom came in my room to tuck me in bed for the night. I told her I was going to go hell and she helped me pray to ask Jesus into my heart.

When I was 14 and in 9th grade my family moved to Valencia, California. At that time we also began attending Placerita Baptist Church. I was involved in the youth group, a weekly Bible Study, and a Sunday School teacher for the 2’s and 3’s. When I was 17 I was baptized.

Growing up at 2 great churches I always saw the importance of developing my relationship with Christ. I loved the Lord and trusted Him and continued to pursue Him, but was always off and on with that pursuit. When I was about 17 or 18 I truly began to see how much of a box I was keeping God in. I began to see how HUGE He is and just how much He is capable of doing/accomplishing. I began to see the importance of prayer. Prayer that lets you know the Lord, prayer that lets you praise the Lord, prayer that lets you petition the Lord. From the age of 17 until now I can say that I have grown much in the Lord. I trust Him fully and completely.

When I was 22 I married a man named Kevin. We grew up together at PBC. We were involved in music ministry together and had a great and solid friendship. We planned on growing together in the Lord, being involved with music/worship at whatever church we would find ourselves at (Kevin is in the military), having an open home for people to know and experience the love of Christ, and planned to raise a godly family. Being a linguist Kevin even expressed desire to learn other languages and help to translate the Bible where it hasn’t yet been. Unfortunately, three months into our marriage Kevin turned his back on his Savior completely. Due to his full rejection of Christ, Kevin also rejected me and 16 months after our wedding Kevin filed for divorce.

The year I spent married to an unbelieving husband did more for my spiritual growth then any of the 22 previous years combined. I learned that Kevin had voided me of his protection so when I felt fear or vulnerable I had to trust the Lord for my protection. I learned that I will never doubt God or His existence or perfection or His Word due to the fact that through all the suffering I was still able to love my husband and pray and weep for him and that is only due to the grace of my Lord being put into my life. I learned that there were extreme parallels in my marriage and to Christ’s relationship with the world. Christ knows what it is to love and sacrifice and be rejected. The pain I had in knowing what Kevin was choosing was pain I had for one person, Christ has that pain for the world. I learned that the church is vital for support, counsel, wisdom, strength, help, encouragement and protection. I learned how much I cherish my family and friends and church. I drew relief in the fact that though my world was spinning and barely functioning I could fully depend on a God who promises to never change. I learned that I will hang onto Christ with every shred of my existence and when someone I am committed to and whom I wholeheartedly love tells me I am a fool because of it, I will love Christ even more.

I am now working on getting life back in order. I’m adjusting to being back in Santa Clarita again. I’m getting involved at Placerita again. I play the violin every Sunday night in the worship band. I am meeting new people and establishing relationships with them. I am so thankful for the elders and for Pastor Scott at Placerita. They have been a backbone of truth and encouragement to me during this time. They are supportive of me as I step forward with life. I trust the Lord in His purposes and what He wishes to accomplish and I am looking towards the future to see what His plans are for me.

Thrift Shopping

Last Thursday, Susan Coudsy and I went to Ventura to pay a visit to the thrift stores there.

I got a pair of brand new Lucky Brand jeans for $7.95.

But my most awesome purchase of the day was this fabulous vintage green below the knee coat! It came with a belt and this coat is so feminine and sooo cute! I LOVE it!! It was only $4.95. I am so thrilled!

I also got a smaller jacket that is sort of plaid for $1.95, a pair of hot pink with green, orange and white polka-dots fleece jammie bottoms, a hooded sweatshirt from University of San Fran, an adorable purse, and my parents each asked for one specific item.. my mom wanted me to find her a cute beige jacket.. which I found for $1.95, and my dad wanted me to find him Michael Crichton's Timeline hardcover book which I found for $4.95. I was so proud of myself because they each asked for one specific thing and I was able to find them exactly what they wanted.

The jeans and the coat were the best purchases though.

3 of 6 Unique Things

1. I hate infestation, or anything that looks like infestation, or extremely magnified things where it looks like infestation. Like a magnified cell and its all bumpy or ridgy.. Even a month ago I was out for a walk with some friends and we passed this grass that was a weird grass and all lumpy and rolly and it was continuous for the entire lawn and it was so sick.

2. I have always been prone to bronchitis. Every year for my parents anniversary they would go away and Jeremy and I would stay at Grandma and Grandpa's and every year I had bronchitis. Every year we would have a neighborhood yard sale and we would make notes on the notebook we kept track of sales in of the weather and what had gone on and every year it was recorded, "Erin has bronchitis." I cannot get wet (go swimming or into the jacuzzi) or get too worked up so that I sweat when it is cold outside otherwise I will get bronchitis. And we had a huge backyard and every so often my dad would borrow a rototiller and rototill the back and I always loved to run around and play in the fresh soft moist dirt and every time it gave me bronchitis.

3. My first job, working at Full Bloom/Rooms n Blooms was given to me because of a phone call from an angel. That is a story in itself worthy of a blog sometime.

and one more

This is a picture of the Coudsy Family so you will know who it is I talk about and hang out with so much:

Justin, Ben, Mikayla, Dannai with closed eyes, Susan and Kelly.

Pieces

So last night I was browsing through the channels because there wasn't really anything on TV and I came across PBS and was immediately humored by what was on.. A Tribute to Folk Music. That's right.. A Mighty Wind totally came to mind. It was old folk groups reuniting and performing their hits. It was called This Land is Your Land.

In other parts of life, I am babysitting the Coudsy twins. Tonight and tomorrow is the PBC Elders and Wives retreat. We had a Sunday night band pizza and movie night tonight so I brought the girls with me. There is gonna be another guitar player joining the band. We had fun. We all brought our favorite pizza toppings so we could have exactly what we liked. What I thought was interesting was that out of 9 people who came, nobody brought pepperoni. Guess it's not a favorite in our group.

There is a possibility that (the girls and) I might be going to Ventura tomorrow with Shay and Bethany to go to the thrift stores there. They are awesome.. Shay and Bethany and the thrift stores just in case you were wondering which thing 'awesome' was to be applied to. The thrift stores have awesome names like The Retarded Children's Thrift Store or The Battered Women's Thrift Store, or The Spayed and Neutered Pets Thrift Store.

I'm playing offeratory with Steph and Zane on Sunday morning. And big news, Zane is gonna teach me how to crochet so that I can make myself a beanie. I'm excited. Huger news, Steph got cast in Smokey Joe's Cafe. She rocks. There was a larger turnout of men at the audition so they haven't narrowed down yet for the part Zane auditioned for. So we are all praying that Zane will get the part, that way he and Steph can work together rather then trying to find and manage separate roles.

Nancy tagged me to write 6 unique things about myself. I've been thinking but haven't come up with much.. I have two that I've thought of but for one.. I'm seriously trying to figure out how to put it into words.

"Dinnylann"

Went to the happiest place on Earth today and let me tell you.. it was a happy happy day. Steph and Zane's friend is in the Aladdin production at California Adventure so she got us in for free. We had a hopper pass so were able to go between parks. Being a rainy, cold, January, Wednesday.. the parks were EMPTY. The longest line we stood in was 15 minutes for Autotopia. The rest of the rides, we literally walked onto. Space Mountain? 5 minutes. Indiana Jones? 5 minutes. Pirates? Walked on. California Screamin'? Walked on. It was so much fun. We laughed our heads off.

This is not from today, this is from last weekend, but it's a cute picture of Steph and Zane.

And free of charge.. just in case you didn't know:

Strange?

Last week it snowed... Today it was 80 degrees..