Grandpa

I've started writing this post numerous times, yet I can't seem to find the words to express the emotions that have accompanied the past five days. Mostly because... this is a story in progress. I don't know how things are going to turn out. Fortunately, however, I'm trusting in the God who does. He's brought us this far, and I know He has an incredible plan for everything that's happening.

The day after Thanksgiving, my grandpa (dad's dad) was involved in a freak accident while working on his back deck that left him in critical condition in the trauma ICU at Baptist. He suffered multiple contusions and bleeding in/around his brain, and had emergency surgery on Saturday morning in order to give him a chance of surviving. In addition to the head trauma, he broke six ribs and has multiple fractures in his neck and back. Since being hospitalized, there have been many more scares: his fever shot up to 105.4, he started having seizures as a result of all the trauma, and neurosurgeons debated if he had suffered a stroke after the surgery.

Throughout everything, I have been simply overwhelmed with the love and support from extended family and friends. So many people have visited, brought food, hugged us as we cried in the waiting room, checked in on us each day, offered to help out in any way they can, and most importantly, prayed for our family during this time. I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for such an incredible Christian community. Seriously.

The most amazing thing to me is the fact that most of these people didn't even know what happened. I changed my Facebook status to "praying for Grandpa" and that's all it took for my phone to literally fill up with countless messages from friends reminding me that they're here for me, they love me, they're praying, and they are willing to help out however they can. Not a single person asked about the details of the accident; it didn't matter. All that mattered was that my family was hurting and needed prayers.

And honestly? We still need prayers! The two most damaged areas of grandpa's brain are the areas that control his speech and movement on the right side of his body. We have no way of knowing how badly this has been affected until he wakes up... which could be days or even weeks from now. Until then, all we can do is pray. We are so grateful for the peace that has surrounded our family during this time, and we know that whatever happens, God is in control.

The CT scans show definite improvement -- his brain is well on its way to its original position/shape and the swelling is going down. His fever has been reduced to a much more manageable 100ish. The seizures are easily controlled with medicine, and the neurosurgeons have decided that he has NOT had a stroke. Every day brings another miracle, another blessing.

The Thanksgiving season may be over, but I am still so, so thankful for such a loving and supportive Christian community. I am thankful for answered prayers. I am thankful for a God who has wrapped Himself around our family during this time.

And I am thankful for my grandpa.

Lugumooee

Yeah, it's painfully embarrassing. But no 21st birthday blog post for the one and only Kacey Carlyle would be complete without this blast from the past:

(Kacey's 16th birthday party - Nov. 2005)

We were probably the coolest 16 year olds ever...

My dearest Kacey, I would not be where I am today without you. Thank you for loving me when I'm incredibly difficult, encouraging me when I need it the most, and single-handedly being the bestest friend I've ever had. You are prettier than all the butterflies in the world (please tell me you remember that from 9th grade ELP...) and I thank God every day for blessing my life with a friend like you! I can't wait to celebrate this birthday & many, many more with you. Happy 21st Birthday, Lugum!

(my 16th birthday party - Oct. 2005)

Book Art

So... I made a book?

This semester, my typography class is actually entitled: "Book Art: Text as Image." So far, we've studied (and studied and studied) everything related to serifs & san serifs, counters, ascenders, descenders, stroke, bowl, finials, kerning, ligatures, etc. -- all of the elements of letterforms and type. We've done multiple design projects using typography -- self-portraits & creating our own fonts. In addition, however, we've also studied books as art. So for our most recent project, we had to not only design a book using our typography skills --- we had to hand-make the book!

Every student chose a haiku, and I did mine on "The Old Silent Pond" by Matsuo Basho.

An old silent pond...

A frog jumps into the pond,

Splash! Silence again.

We initially designed the book using Adobe Illustrator:

I printed out all 16 pages and chopped them down to 5''x5'' when Helen & I went to the art warehouse on Tuesday. But today... the real fun began :)

Using my cutting mat, 24'' ruler, & x-acto knife, I cut two 5.25''x5.25'' squares out of black matte board to use for the cover.

I then cut several pieces of newsprint paper into 5'' strips, and using an accordion fold, I folded the strips into 5'' sections.

I glued the pages that I printed out last week onto the newsprint...

...and then glued the strips of newsprint together.

Lastly, I glued the pieces of black matte board to the newsprint.

Tada! My first book :)

(Sorry, I typically do make my bed...)

Soon after I began, I found myself resenting the girl in my class who chose to make her book only five pages long. But... it actually ended up not being that bad! I have two more book projects due before the end of the semester, so I'm sure I'll be posting them in the upcoming weeks.

We Gather Together

You know the one childhood story that seems to get told over and over, no matter how ridficulously embarrassing it is?

Yeah.

I was a pilgrim at our church's Thanksgiving pageant when I was three years old. Mind you, I was an incredibly cute pilgrim, and if this photo was the only evidence of my acting/singing debut, all would be well. Unfortunately, however, baby Katherine was sick on the night of the pageant, so mom had to stay home with her. Since she wasn't able to come see me, she dressed me up in my costume & videoed me singing "We Gather Together."

If I had known then that every boyfriend/potential boyfriend would see this video on their first visit to my house, I may have attempted to sing on key (or in a key, for that matter). Sadly, that was not the case. With my intense Southern accent, I proudly sang every word, and let me tell you -- there are some hard phrases in that song! "The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing / Let thy congregation escape tribulation." Um, what? If that wasn't enough, I also was completely unable to stand still as a child, so I rocked back and forth throughout the entire thing... until I came to a word that was really difficult & momentarily froze as I thought really hard. Then it was back to the singing and swaying.

After I finished, mom asked me what I was dressed as, and I proudly replied "a peelgrum" with my country twang. *Sigh*

Of course we sing the song in our church around Thanksgiving every year, and I avoid eye contact with the entire pew, as I know they will begin bobbing back and forth or emphasizing "the wicked opWESSing." It's the one story that gets told constantly, regardless of the time of year. However, it gets told even more than normal around Thanksgiving, and I have no doubts that the video will be shown sometime this week after I go home for break. Greeeaaat... :)

Happy Thanksgiving week!

So It Begins...

Can we please make a note of two very beautiful things?

Absolute Duke domination & the first UNC upset of the year... all in the same night. *Sigh* And it's only November. This is going to be a glorious season.

Rifle Expert

Pretty soon, this shiny little marksmanship badge on my desk is going to be replaced...

...with this one.

Yep, Zach's been on the rifle range all week & officially scored high enough to earn the "expert" badge -- the best ranking there is! So basically, he can shoot a M16 & accurately hit a target anywhere from 30 yards to 1/3 of a mile away. No big deal... :)

Um, big deal, actually. He's spent the entire week sleeping in the squad bay & waking up at 3:45AM while it's still 30-some degrees outside, and I know he's worked really hard for this. As always, I'm so proud of him. He never ceases to amaze me.

Being Happy

Smith Art Warehouse

Helen & I are both riding the struggle bus this week, so we've teamed up to motivate each other. Last night, we effectively spent an hour ordering Chinese food, made a trip to the Coffeehouse, and had another sleepover... so we decided tonight would be much more productive :)

We met at the art studio at 5:30 so I could work for two hours on my typography project and then moved into the drawing/painting studio so Helen could work on her project. I brought my camera along to capture just a slight glimpse of my life at the art warehouse every day.

Typography exhibit on the first floor :)

More typography project exhibits

Graphic Design & Media Lab :)

Creepin' on Laura's drawer in the drawing studio.

Painting studio / Drawing studio

Helen's project in progress

There were other people working inside the artslab while we were in there, so I didn't take any pictures of the beautiful studio where I live every day. No worries. Helen & I are getting our act together. We'll be back. & in the meantime, we're off to the Coffeehouse & getting ready to have another sleepover. We've had enough productivity for one day.

Don't Panic

Looking at my to-do list for the upcoming week, I can't help but wonder how I'm going to possibly survive. On top of my typical homework load (which is fairly insane at Duke), I have a Spanish exam, typography project, digital imaging project, and a chemistry report within 72 hours of each other. My Program II major proposal which I've spent literally a year on is due Friday. I'm on-call all night Tuesday & Thursday, and working at the Coffeehouse until 2AM on Wednesday. I'm waking up at 5AM on Saturday to drive to Virginia for the second Pilgrimage training/planning session. AND Zach has rifle range testing all week, which means he's out in the field and we have zero communication.

    I simply want to cry.

 

And honestly, I might. Let's be serious: my ratio of crying days to non-crying days this semester is currently 47:1. But for now, I'm taking it one day at a time. And since I completely gave up on studying for Spanish since I can't understand any of the notes anyway, I whipped out these little pretties. Nothing like a little art/design + devotional time to put everything in perspective.

  5 weeks 'til the semester is completely over. Let the madness begin :)  

Veterans Day

First things first. Yesterday was the 235th Marine Corps Birthday. This picture was from the 234th Birthday Ball last November. We didn't get to go to the ball this year since Zach just recently switched units. And we won't go to the ball next year, either, since Zach will be in Afghanistan. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to birthday #237. But, this isn't about me.

This isn't about me.

It's something I have to remind myself of occasionally, but for Zach... it's how he lives his life every single day. It's not about him. If it was about him, I somehow doubt he would wake up at 5AM (0500) every morning. I doubt he would have weeks where he works 18 hour days and gets permanent blisters from his boots. He definitely wouldn't spend hours rolling sleeves and field daying and LTI'ing and PT'ing and every other acronym'ing imaginable.

But it's not about him.

He's the most selfless and hard-working individual I know, and he has been ever since the day I met him. He never complains about all of the junk he has to deal with. He's never in the spotlight. Yet every day, he pours his heart into whatever task he is assigned.

Because it's not about him.

He sacrifices more than I could ever imagine. He is used to being apart from the people he cares about the most. He has accepted orders to a new unit, knowing that a ten month deployment is rapidly approaching.

Because it's not about him.

Every day, Zach's duty as a United States Marine comes first because he recognizes that it's not about him. It's about a commitment to Corps and country. It's about an oath he took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It's about a life currently spent in service to protect our nation.

So today, it is about him.

It's about him and so many others, past and present, who have selflessly given so much for our freedom.

"We often take for granted

the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

So thank a military member today. Better yet, thank mine... because I'm pretty convinced he's one of the best there is ;)

LCpl Jones, I am so blessed to date my best friend and my hero. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of the sacrifices you make. You truly are an incredible man of God & an incredible Marine, and it is an honor to support you in all that you do. Semper Fi, precious boy. I love you forever!

Happy Veterans Day!

Snail Mail & Packages

Guess what came in the mail today?

My post-it notes from Etsy :) Oh my goodness, are they not adorable?? Um, yeah. I signed up for the Etsy email of the day a long time ago, and every day I use every ounce of self-control I have to not purchase at least twelve new items. But these precious sticky notes were too much -- I couldn't resist. They finally arrived all the way from South Korea and I almost don't want to use them because they're just so cute and pretty.

(PS. This is a picture off the website. My cuticles are so much better than that...)

AND... I got TWO letters in the mail: one from Blake & one from Hannah :)

Don't get me wrong -- I absolutely love my handwriting! But if I could trade for a month or so, I would trade with Hannah. Her handwriting is gorgeousss and her letter is so long and pretty to look at. Haha. Not to mention that she is always so sweet and encouraging in her notes, PLUS she decorated the outside of the card herself & it's super cute. Perfect.

Blake is currently at Parris Island, the same place Zach was 21 months ago, and will graduate as a United States Marine in three weeks! It's SO weird to go to my mailbox and pull out that Marine Corps envelope -- instant flashbacks to my freshman year of college. This time, however, I made it back to my room before opening the letter, as opposed to the dozens of times I sat in the windowsill in the basement of the post office :) Blake is doing really well -- he's in the running to be the Iron Man of his platoon, which is a really big deal, and may even get promoted to PFC before he graduates. And even though he's hundreds of miles away and going through SO much, the majority of the four page letter was written to encourage me. Wow. He made a boot print on the outside of the envelope and put a clear piece of packaging tape over it so it wouldn't smudge or get messed up. I thought it was funny!

Aw. I absolutely love my camp friends, and I absolutely love love loveee snail mail. And if this post has inspired you to write some snail mail of your own and perhaps send it my way, you can click on the "happiness" tab right up there underneath my picture. Do it. I'll write back. And my cards/letters are epic. Promise.

Summit & Sushi

Eeek! For the past two or three weeks, Kacey & I have been planning for me to visit her at work on a Saturday night, and we finally made it happen yesterday :) Before venturing out to Cary, though, Zach and I went to the 6:00 service at the Summit.

We absolutely love getting to go to the Saturday night service together every week, as opposed to last year when I went to the Summit on Sunday mornings and Zach went to First Baptist of Jacksonville. Don't get me wrong -- it was cool to spend our Sunday evenings discussing both services. But it's also really refreshing to attend the same church, hear the same message, and talk about it as different points get brought up throughout the week. Last night's sermon was really meaningful to me, hence why I linked the podcast up above so I can listen again when it's posted this week.

Presently, Zach's at a stage in his life where he's beyond ready to be out of the Marine Corps, and I'm so beyond ready to graduate from Duke (788 days and 552 days, respectively). However, we are constantly reminding ourselves that we are exactly where God intends for us to be right now, and while it may be frustrating to be "in the pasture" as JD keeps referencing, we ultimately know that God is using this time to grow and strengthen and mold us. And although dear ol' dad still snaps at me for doodling during church, I think it's perfectly acceptable when I end up with this on the back of my bulletin as a nice reminder for the months ahead:

At the end of the service, Zach and I discovered that we had been sitting on the same row as Tucker & Cameron (and Cameron's family) the entire time! Tucker, Zach, and I got to spend a few minutes with Cam & the parents before leaving for Domo Sushi, where we met up with Ben, who was visiting from Appalachian, and William. And Kacey, of course. It was a mini-Calvary '08 reunion :)

Before I go any further, let me tell you how nervous I was about taking Zach to a sushi restaurant. He's eats basically anything, but the whole concept of sushi freaks him out beyond belief. It was definitely a new experience for him... and he LOVED it! When we left he was already talking about how we HAVE to go back really soon because it was SO good. He ended up ordering the same thing as William & Tucker, the maynard roll, which had shrimp tempura, avocado, and cream cheese. I played it safe with the yaki udon, which was just thick noodles and pork. Ben got something similar because, "it sounded the most like Kimono's." Haha, we're such wimps. However, now that I've experienced it once, I'm definitely ready to come back & be more adventurous. If you ever get the chance, you should definitely go as well. That blonde waitress is a hottie... ;)

Sadly, nobody's food looked like this, but it screamed "Kacey" so much that I just had to include it.

I brought my camera to Domo, but forgot to take pictures of the evening. Fail. I've gone for so long without a camera that it's taking me forever to get back into the swing of things. All the more reason to do it again, right? And Amy... you come too!

Zach and I did make a little video once we got back to my room to document the night. I had to convince Zach to be in the video with me, and after he finally agreed (he hates videos), we recorded the entire thing and realized that it had messed up & not recorded much of anything at all. So sad. We did a modified take 2, and you can watch part of the compilation :)

PS--I think Zach's under the impression that he didn't actually eat sushi because there was no raw fish involved? Shhh...

Overall, such a wonderful Saturday evening. I was blessed with some wonderful friends in high school who continue to be such a blessing to me today. I'm so glad we still stay in touch and have been hanging out more frequently this semester; I think I've needed that more than I could ever realize. Loveee you guys!

Halfway There...

Oh my goodness -- the week is halfway over! The past few days have been crazy stressful with schoolwork, and while part of me can't believe it's already Wednesday, the other part of me feels like it's been a month since last weekend.

Here is what's currently getting me through the week:

1. Surprise sticky notes from Zach. Whenever Zach visits, he writes little notes and hides them all over my room while I'm getting ready to go to the Summit or out to dinner, since it takes me exponentially longer to get ready than it takes him. As soon as he leaves, I rush back into my room & find all of them right away. Let's face it. My dorm room is only so big, and we've been dating for nearly two and a half years, so I normally end up figuring out where he's hidden them in less than fifteen seconds. However, we were on the phone earlier this week and he asked me how many I had found since he left the night before. When I told him that I had found all three, he told me there was another one! Needless to say, I tore my room apart trying to find the last sticky note after we hung up, and I don't think I've stopped smiling since. The notes normally say stuff like, "I love you" or "You're beautiful," but it's like he knew I was gonna need a LOT of extra encouragement to survive this week. And he was right! Although my week has been exhausting and stressful, it has been great. Particularly thanks to him & his optimistic attitude; he really is my better half :)

2. Spanish Countdown. I have a billion countdown calendar widgets on my desktop, but none bring me more joy than the "NO MÁS ESPAÑOL" countdown. Forty days from now, I will have taken my last Spanish exam everrr and plan on speaking nothing but English for a very, very long time. My parents have already been warned that the Dean's List just isn't gonna happen this semester thanks to this lovely class, seeing as I'm struggle-bussing to simply pass, and they're beyond okay with that. Thank goodness. Even though Spanish is kicking my butt, seeing forty days on the countdown has made the week bearable. Just like Momma always tells me, "This too shall pass." Pretty sure she stole that from the Bible...

3. Christmas drinks at Starbucks. Um, so apparently it's November? Seriously, how did that happen? I totally missed that one. Laura & I went to Starbucks this morning as per usual, and the peppermint mocha is on the menu! Yes, folks. Ready or not, Christmas is coming. And while I'm not one of those people who starts celebrating Christmas the day after Halloween (Don't justify it. I'm judging you...), I do love some peppermint mocha. Today's was extra wonderful considering I pulled an all-nighter (writing my last ever Spanish paper, grr). Without a doubt, this pretty little red cup is most certainly the only thing that got me through today, and now I'm even more excited about Wednesday morning Starbucks with Laura.

Yay, surviving half the week.

To celebrate, I'm gonna take a five hour nap...

Hello, Glasses

Yep, I'm currently rocking the glasses. One of my contacts started irritating me yesterday morning, so I took them out and put my glasses on. No worries -- my eye felt fine after a couple of hours, but I've just kept them on ever since. Not sure how long I'm gonna keep it up. I'll probably have to switch back to the contacts by Thursday, because showering without being able to see if I'm standing near vomit is terrifying. I'm so blind.

Don't be jealous :)

And on a completely unrelated note -- when did my hair finally grow? It's been stuck at the incredibly awkward medium length forever. I think it's safe to officially say it's long? So excited.

Before the Morning

I don't know if people actually listen to the songs that other people post on their blogs, because I for sure don't. (Sorry.) BUT, I promise this one is good and you should definitely take four minutes to listen to it. You can still open up a new window & everything.

Actually, I'm not going to lie. I wasn't a huge fan the first time I heard "Before the Morning" by Josh Wilson... mostly because I couldn't get over the fact that "feeling" and "coming" totally don't rhyme; I don't care what kind of accent or emphasis you put on it.

However, it came on the radio again this week & I actually paid attention to the lyrics instead of getting caught up in the grammatical structure, and... wow. Needless to say, between this & the songs Kacey's been sending me (loveee you, Kace), I've been SO encouraged through music throughout the past few days.

"Maybe there are things you can't see

And all those things are happening

To bring a better ending..."

"So say a prayer and hold on

'Cause there's good for those who love God.

But life is not a snapshot.

It might take a little time, but you'll see the bigger picture..."

So grateful that regardless of what's going on, I still have a reason to sing. Happy Monday!