I can be your hero baby..

It's been a long time since someone has asked me who my heroes are. This morning at church, the pastor posed that question. And to be honest, I didn't really know what I would say if someone asked me to name my heroes.

Isn't it sad that almost 100% of children, when asked who their hero is, name a celebrity or sports star? What about their parents, or the other wonderful people in the world who get no credit for what they're doing for humanity. Most celebrities make a big "splash", but make no real difference. They would rather BE served, than to actually serve others.

Today I learned two things:
1) Real heroes stand alone for what is right.
2) Real heroes make sacrifices for others.


And I got to thinking, when's the last time I did either one of those? What have I stood alone for? What have I done that would even qualify me for hero status?

And secondly, I know that I make sacrifices. But when it comes right down to it, most of those sacrifices are for me. I believe most people only make sacrifices for themselves. They might work an 80 hour week, but it's usually for career growth (for themselves) or for financial gain.

I think that as adults, we decide who we want to become. We can't blame who we are on past mistakes or the way we were raised. Every morning you choose to be the person you are. I'm glad I heard this message today and I think everyone can learn a little bit from it. What I learned is that I need to be a hero for someone else. I have the mental and physical resources, so why not?

So I decided today to join my church in sponsoring a child as part of WorldVision. It's $35 a month, but I figured if I cut out buying one lunch out a week, that'll easily pay for it. If you're searching for something to do that's completely selfless and inspiring, visit the worldvision website at http://www.worldvision.org/. There are SO many children that need sponsors.

It's also a legitimate humanitarian effort. Anthony Evans, an AMAZING Christian artist, who visits our church to sing with our worship team every couple months, became a part of this mission three years ago after a ton of research. He also went to visit the child he sponsored over in Zimbabwe and told the story during the service. It was completely inspiring :) Check out his music at http://www.anthony-evans.com/.

Stay tuned for an update once I get all the information from WorldVision.


"It's not the size of the sacrifice that matters. What matters is the heart that you put into it."

Countdown to Vegas!

24 days until...


- getting a much needed break from grad school & clinic

- explaining to the passengers on the plane next to us why Allie's head is between her legs during take-off

- waking up at 5am to go find Allie at the roulette tables

- keeping Kristina from getting married before she leaves Vegas

- having a midget leprechaun serve us green beer on St. Patricks Day

- finally getting to see Hoover Dam & maybe the Grand Canyon

- crossing off a few more places in my "1000 places to see before you die" book

- having my whole family together all in the same place :)

Very excited!!

Happy Valentine's Day...

"Inside and Out: Each of us is physically unique..."

Yesterday I went to see the Bodies exhibit in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. I planned on going when the exhibit was in Miami but never seemed to get around to it – so when the exhibit re-emerged down at Riverfront, I made sure to go.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect – but having a genuine appreciation for the human body and science, I was excited for the opportunity to see anatomy on its finest and most accurate display.

One of the exhibits that struck me the most was a human body with every single artery and vein preserved - no bones, ligaments, skin, nothing - just vessels. Apparently, the bodies are put into some kind of chemical that dissolves everything except the veins and arteries. The time and effort it must have taken the people who preserve the bodies (preservationists?) is inconceivable. I surely don’t have that kind of patience, so I give kudos to whoever put that one together!

The only part of the whole exhibit that bothered me a little bit was a human body that was just skin - no bones, muscles, or anything...just skin. I don't know why that creeped me out the most, but oh well. Michelle warned me ahead of time that after the exhibit I probably wouldn't want to eat meat for awhile. But Amy, Diane and I ate some chicken nachos at Ugly Tuna right after and it didn't seem to bother any of us.


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On another note, I went to Benihana's for the first time on Friday night for Diane's birthday. It was reallllly fun and we had an awesome time! Here's a pic of our group and one of the food!

Great Minds Think Alike...

Well, at least my mind anyway...

So...I decided to create a blog site, and little did I realize - I had actually started a blog last year in January. So here's my blog page, started over a year ago, with my second posting :) I think I put the initial posting up just so my page wasn't totally blank. But now after re-reading it, I decided to keep it because it's a great piece of writing - and oh so true!

I've been quite the "blog stalker" lately and I find myself reading complete strangers blogs and finding humor and insight in many of them. So I decided with all that's been going on in my life and what will occur over the next few years, I should probably try to keep track of it somehow.

Now let's clear something up - I have no TIME to write blogs. But it's actually kind of fun and I think it'll be a great way to keep my friends and family up on all my latest shenanigans. As if facebook & myspace weren't enough, let's add another way to know my every move!

For the few of you who haven't seen a picture of the new puppy yet - here she is. Her name is Rylee, she's 9 months old, and absolutely the love of my life.

All in all, I hope whoever reads this blog enjoys my postings.

Oh, one final thought: If Hillary wins the presidency, I'm moving out of the country. No, seriously...

Good night :)