Once a Procrastinator...

About an hour ago I was reminded why it's not a good idea to procrastinate on important things...and then why it's even worse to be late.

Wait, let me back up.

So about a month ago I found out that I was going to be going on a short term mission trip to Brazil with Watermark. I could not be more excited! I can't wait to get out of the concrete jungle of Dallas and head to the Amazon Jungle to share the love of Christ with the people there. I'm still not fully sure what we're going to be doing while we're there, so details will have to come later. I'm sure my friends who have already been could share more details than I know right now...but that's not the point. At our first meeting we were asked to do two things. One was to start support raising, and the other was to fill out an online application by three days ago. Oops. I started support raising...I just forgot about the application.

Now come back to today, New Years Eve. About an hour ago I got a phone call from one of the people leading the trip asking me if I could do my application asap...you know, end of the tax year for donors and such. Sure! Of course I can do that, since it was supposed to be done 3 days ago. And really, how long can it take? Oh no. It can take a long time when you're missing important information...like your passport...your blood type...what else did I forget? I have to tell you that I haven't seen my passport in three years since I moved to Dallas from College Station. Not to mention that I've also moved since then. After frantic searching and turning my house upside down, I finally found my passport hidden in my Tahoe. Why was it there you might ask? Clearly I might need to skip the country at a moments notice. Of course my options are limited to Canada and Mexico since my planned method of escape was apparently my car.

*Note to self: Important government documents should not be kept in places like your car...you might lose them!

Don't worry, the application has been submitted and I am still allowed on the trip as far as I know. It's just missing small details like my testimony and my blood type. Oh well. I can do that before we leave.

Failed Baking Attempt # What?

It is with great sadness that my friend Laura and I are mourning what could easily be called a miserable baking failure. Tonight, in an effort to do something creative and memorable, we decided to bake a pie. In our minds this pie was going to be a chocolaty masterpiece that people from far and wide would come to sample in all of its glory. Ahh, the delectable goodness they would call it. It was going to be a pie worthy of praise. Yes, it was going to be that good. But how did it turn out? While I would rather not talk about it, "delectable goodness" isn't quite the right wording to describe these pies...chocolate soup with crust might be more appropriate. A miserable failure. So sad. Actually, I'm not giving us enough credit. To be fair, the pie tasted excellent...the presentation was terrible. I've decided to stick with frozen pies and slice & bake cookies. I don't think Proverbs 31 says anything about having to bake with excellence.

Here are some pictures of the baking fun.

Pie anyone?

Adventures in the Swamplands - Day 5

Dear Louisiana,

It is with deep regret that we write you this letter. Believe us when we say that this isn't how we wanted it to end. We love you but we aren't in love with you. It's not you, it's us...but we're just not feeling it. You're not the state you used to be and we've found another. We just can't take your 90% humidity or the soft water that makes our hair flat. We can't handle the perpetual feeling of being full...and yet still wanting more. We just don't feel like this is where the Lord wants us and we're going back to Texas. I think we're at a point where you love us more than we love you. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think it's time to move on. Texas has stolen our hearts in a way that we could never explain. We miss the food...the traffic in Dallas and San Antonio. We miss hearing "howdy!" everywhere we go. With much joy in our hearts Louisiana, we're saying goodbye. We know you may never love again, but wait until Mardi Gras, you'll find someone new.

A Swamp Reunited,

Laura and Michael

Adventures in the Swamplands - Day 4

Merry Christmas dear friends!

As we sit here in the cold of our hotel room and shiver, we can't help but ponder our Christmas day. The day began with my brother and I realizing we hadn't wrapped any Christmas presents yet. Oops. But it's okay, we took it all in stride. My brother went to go get breakfast downstairs and I decided to take a shower and get pretty for the day. Now that's creative problem solving at its best. I mean really CREATIVE problem solving. We realized that our procrastination hadn't worked when our dad knocked on the door to pick us up, and his gift was still sitting on the bed. Panic stricken, I threw my brother's coat over my dad's Christmas present...which ironically was a coat. No, it was not a technicolor dream coat...just plain old ordinary black. I mean electrifying black. Haven't you heard black is the new black? The rouse worked like a charm bracelet (which incidentally is what we got our mom). My dad thought I was out of my mind when I told him to look for his gift under the jacket...oh well, at least he still loves me. Thus began our Christmas morning.

Transition...Segway...Cut to....

The next four hours of the day included a traditional Christmas lunch, soon to be followed by hours of reading "Breaking Dawn" for myself and who knows what my brother was doing. With midafternoon came lots of family we've never actually met before. Single tear. Drip. Two of the newly found family members are psychiatrists from California. Now that adds fun to a semi-dysfunctional family gathering. It's amazing what you can find whenever you look under a rock. The conclusion of the family fun brought a photo session that felt much like the paparazzi were after us. I guess this is what happens when you're the next generation of a family and they haven't seen each other in years. The exciting part was when our younger cousin kept trying to dodge each picture. It was like he was a native american afraid that his soul was going to be captured by the camera.

Fast forward...Move on...Come to the present....

And again here we sit in our hotel room. Fighting over what we're going to write on the blog for tonight. Wondering who left the air on in the room all day to make it so cold (confession: it was me but I still blame my brother).

A Swamp Divided,

Laura and Michael

Adventures in the Swamplands - Day 3

Well friends, we've made it to Christmas Eve in Louisiana. So far we haven't been eaten by alligators or been swept away by a hurricane. Right now my brother and I are sitting in our hotel room watching a movie from our past...our far past....going back to age 4 would be a more accurate description of how far back. It's definitely a classic and one I'm sure we've all seen and remember with fond memories. That's right kids, we're watching "The Cat in the Hat." Why you might be asking yourself? Well, I'm not really sure why this is our movie of choice for the evening, but I'm sure we'll soon be moving to 24 hours of a Christmas Story soon.

Tonight we've decided to reminisce on the Fitzsimmons Family Christmas traditions...mainly because, with great disappointment, most of them were not fulfilled this evening. Now the traditions we speak of are not ALL normal family traditions. In fact, you might even call them weird...but we'll work up to those. Our first tradition that was broken this year was the lack of gumbo for dinner. Gumbo is like a staple in our family...especially on Christmas Eve in Louisiana. We have also failed to fulfill our tradition of watching 24 hours of a Christmas Story on TBS. Okay, Michael has never seen a Christmas Story, but it's another essential for me and my dad. However, we do have 22 more hours to make this one happen and I'm determined to make Michael watch it even if I have to tape his eyelids open. I'm not even sure why this has become a tradition for my dad and I. We don't really even like the movie...so 24 hours of it, that's just too much!

Now this brings us to our final broken tradition of the year. I feel confident that there will be a hole in my heart because of this one. It is something I have come to depend on over the years. You could almost say we depend on it like we depend on air and water. It's a necessity. And that necessity has fondly become known as frequent trips to Walmart the night of Christmas Eve. Why Walmart and not Target you ask? Welcome to Covington, Louisiana...there is no Target...no mall...nothing. Just Walmart. Ironic isn't it? The only excuse to escape from our family is to hang out with everyone else's family. Of course, if I can't go to Walmart, how am I going to find tape for Michael's eyelids? Oh well, there is always next year.

A Swamp Still Divided,

Laura and Michael

Adventures in the Swamplands - Day 2

Dear Traveler's Log,

No wait, that's lame. It sounds too much like a diary and diaries are for my seventh grade girls.

Well, here we are in day two of our Louisiana adventure. I think today could be summarized by alligator wrestling and Louisiana cuisine. And by alligator wrestling, I don't actually mean alligator wrestling. That was meant more to draw you into what we actually have to say. Sucker! This morning was game time for Michael and I. It was officially time to see the entire crazy family all in the same moment. Don't underestimate our small family. Families are like scorpions, the smaller ones just have a more concentrated dose of crazy. They can be especially overwhelming when they come at you all at once. It's pure insanity I tell you. Technically our day started around 1:30 today at lunch. There was a lot of sleeping done on our part to say the least....and again, by "our" I mean my part. When you're in Louisiana it's all about the food. I'm not one for loving seafood but I have come to embrace the po-boy. I don't mean to overemphasize the power of the po-boy to tempt one into gluttony, but the family filled up at lunch, ordered one for the road and by dinner time someone had stolen Michael's half eaten sandwich. Yeah, it's that good. So there we are, the family sitting around the table, basking in the cajuny goodness that was about to come when the oddest thing happened. I've spent the last week drooling like one of Pavlov's dogs at the thought of a seafood po-boy, particularly a crawfish po-boy. The waitress came around the corner, asked for my order and I said "I'll have a barbeque sandwich please." WHAT? Who said that? It sounded like me and I felt the words roll off my tongue, but why would I do that? I drive past Railhead BBQ twice a week, but I fly 600+ miles to get BBQ roast beef in New Orleans. That's like my brother, a self proclaimed San Antonian flying to Beijing for traditional Tex-Mex fair. Ludicrous.

As you can see, this was a pretty big deal to me. After lunch we made our way back to my cousins' house and I somehow got roped into doing manual labor...aka painting. What? Since when does Christmas vacation involve painting a house? It was supposed to be a project for my brother and I, but my brother disappeared right as I started painting and didn't show up back in the house until after my dad dropped me off at the hotel. Nice. Thanks and Gig'em Michael. Love you too bro. And here we are, back at the hotel making pizza rolls in the microwave and eating them straight out of the box. Oh look, we're back to cuisine. See, in Louisiana, it really is all about the food.

A Swamp Divided,

Laura and Michael

Adventures in the Swamplands - Day 1

Once again it's Christmas, the time of family festivities in Louisiana....oy vay! In honor of the next five days, my brother and I have decided to document our family fun for your reading pleasure. It's sure to be a staggering work of heartbreaking genius. Well, at least it should be mildly entertaining...maybe. No promises. Anyway, our excursion was underway at precisely 20:34 military time when my brother and I were reunited at the Louis Armstrong International Airport. Can't you just hear the saxophone...wait, is that Bill playing? It's good to see he's keeping himself busy during the down economy. Anyway, we're still in the airport and the adventure has already begun. We go to the baggage claim and head to the only conveyor belt with people. Now see if you can follow our logic: a plane lands and five minutes later everyone in sight is gathered around a single luggage return...that must be where the luggage is going, right? Not so my friend. My brother looks around and informs me that NONE of the people were on the flight. That's crazy talk. But I decided to indulge his delusional fantasies of flying with other people. Oy! So, we walk up and down the baggage claim...several times actually. Still no fellow passengers that my apparently Alzheimer's ridden brother recognizes. Without a word, Michael suddenly storms out of the baggage claim area and charges through the rental car kiosks into an undecorated hallway that looks like it should have an "employees only" sign at the entrance. All the while, I'm trailing behind trying to figure out which demon has possessed my brother. We FINALLY reach the light at the end of the tunnel/hallway and emerge in a "secret" baggage claim. AHH Success! I guess my brother isn't delusional, Alzheimer's ridden or demon possessed after all. What a relief, especially on the last one. I left my holy water at the house. I mean we weren't all boy scouts and I needed space for my yachting shoes.

I must confess that the rest of the night was a bit of a let down after that adventure. Although we did have dinner at a Northern Italian restaurant and I swear it was run by the Corleone Family. Anywho, that's all for tonight. But no worries, there's more to come tomorrow!

A Swamp Divided,

Laura and Michael

Adventures of the Traveling Microwave

So our microwave is dead, but don't worry we got another one. It's very pretty and new. We'll probably show it some love tonight during dinner...and then again tomorrow and the next day. But with this new microwave sitting very nicely in our kitchen, that leaves a melted one sitting on our kitchen table. Now what do you do with a melted microwave? This question has left Kristie and I stumped this evening. You can't just throw it away...it's too big to fit in the trash can. The third week of every month the garbage man comes around and picks up tree branches and leaves from the curb, but a microwave doesn't exactly fall into the category of foliage. This leaves one other, and possibly very entertaining, option. We could leave it on the curb and hope someone comes by to "reuse" it. Maybe they won't notice that it's melted at the bottom and the door won't shut. They'll get the microwave home, notice that said microwave is dead, put it on their curb, and then the cycle continues. Thus we have our traveling microwave making its way around Dallas. We have a dream of it traveling around the world, but I guess we'll never know. Good luck dear microwave.

Signature of Divine

I believe I have found one of my new favorite songs. New favorite cd might be more accurate. This weekend I downloaded the NeedtoBreathe cd and I'm pretty sure CR would say that I'm addicted to it. I just can't turn it off! There's one song in particular that I love, and I think it's because of something my community group has been doing for the past 30 days. A few weeks ago we decided to start praying through 30 names/characteristics of God. I'm sure by the title of this blog you already figured out the title of the song, but another name for it is "Yahweh." Here are the lyrics, but you should definitely have a listen.

Cathedrals have tried in vainTo show the image of your face.But we are, by your design,The signature of divine.We'll always sing your name.Forever and today.Yahweh, Yahweh...Great is your glory when you go before meOh, we sing...Holy, Holy...Your ways are lovely. So high above me.YahwehThe fortunes of kings and queensAre wasted chasing what we've seen.Cause we are, by your reprieve,The beauty framed by your suffering.We'll always sing your name.Forever and today.Yahweh, Yahweh...Great is your glory when you go before meOh, we sing...Holy, Holy...Your ways are lovely. So high above me.YahwehTake me, and pull me through.Cause I can't move without you.I won't leave you alone, you say.It will be okay.Yahweh, Yahweh...Great is your glory when you go before meOh, we sing...Holy, Holy...Your ways are lovely. So high above me.Yahweh.Yahweh, Yahweh...Great is your glory when you go before meOh, we sing...Holy, Holy...Your ways are lovely. So high above me.YahwehAncient of Days...Yahweh!

They Grow Up So Fast

I think I'm starting to catch a very small glimpse of what parents feel as they see their kids grow up. I know I've mentioned this before, but I have a group of 7th grade girls I've been tracking with since they started the 6th grade and will follow all the way through high school. For the most part I would say the past year and a half has been seeing the girls get to know and trust each other, as well as my co-leader and I. It's definitely a process. Tonight at our Christmas party, I feel like the Lord was doing everything but writing it on the wall as to why these relationships with these girls are so important. It was kind of a fun moment actually, but everything in me was wishing that it wasn't happening the day of our Christmas party. Tonight one of our sweet girls let us know that she currently has her first boyfriend. Aww, so fun but OH DEAR! Being a girl and one of her leaders, I of course had a million questions to ask her about this new boy and what this junior high relationship looks like. Just from what I've seen so far, dating in junior high is FAR different than it was when I was in junior high...much more intense. With this being the first boyfriend experience of the small group, and then also the fact that it was during our Christmas party, I decided to ease my way into the million question interrogation of boy and relationship. I started with the simple fun questions of asking how it happened and then worked my way into the embarrassing questions. I don't think she's happy with me right now for asking all these questions...especially when I quietly asked if they've held hands yet. Let's be honest, this is important stuff to know! Anyway, as I was driving home tonight I was thinking about my past dating experiences. I couldn't help but just thank the Lord for saving me from so much during my junior high and high school years...even college really. Even though during that time frame I would've probably very quickly voiced how frustrated I was by the lack of boyfriend, I can now see how the Lord just saved my heart from so much stuff. That's so much of what I want for my girls! I want for them to be able to look back and see how the Lord protected them and walked them through different life stages like dating. I realized tonight that there's so much that I want to talk to them about and teach them. I know that in the dating and life arena I don't have much wisdom, but I'm so excited about sharing my life with these girls and telling them what the Lord has taught me thus far. I think this small group is in for quite the ride over the next five years and I can't wait!

Casualties of Hostessing

The idea of hosting large parties can sometimes stress me out. The largest party I've hosted on my own was for probably about 15 people. Not too bad right? Not much cooking was involved and all I had to do was provide the place. Easy right? Tonight I decided to take another step in the world of hostessing. Some might say I jumped in the deep end too quickly, but when I volunteered my home I thought I was up for the task. What was I thinking? Cooking for 30 people scares me more than anything in the world. The thought of needing everything to be prepared on time and hot for when everyone arrives, AND then ready to eat is just impossible to me. Fortunately for me I have some stellar friends who make it all but impossible for me to screw up. Now fast forward to the party. Everything was ready on time and warm. Lots of compliments were given on certain dishes that were served. Recipes were even asked for by many. Tonight my team decided that they wanted breakfast for dinner and to have a pancake bar. Nothing too complicated there. In terms of the pancakes, I had one griddle for the stove and one of my partners brought his griddle that plugs into an outlet. Sadly the first round of pancakes were burned directly ONTO my griddle, and no I didn't do it. So that left just one griddle...placed right in front of my roommate's microwave. Now fast forward again. As we're cleaning the kitchen I noticed there was something a tad bit wrong with Kristie's microwave. OH SHOOT! Apparently griddles can melt microwaves. Who knew? While Kristie and I have had a good laugh about it, what are we going to do in terms of cooking food? I guess we'll go microwave shopping this weekend...or tomorrow so we don't starve.

Here are some pictures of the damage.

Some Perspective...

Over the past five days I've been a bit surprised by how affected I've been by Displace Me this past weekend. I can't get the stories of the children in Uganda out of my mind...and I don't really want to. In spite of everything I saw in the videos, the one thing that seems to ring true for each of those kids is the joy that they have in spite of everything they're going through. I can't even begin to imagine what life is like in Uganda, but I'm confident I wouldn't make it a week there. Not to mention that I would probably spend every night in tears.

I'm sure the videos I keep posting are getting a little old, but I'm starting to see how important it is for people to be aware of the world around us...not just sweet home United States of America. This is a trailer for one of the stories we watched. It's about a boy named Sunday. I'm pretty sure I cried during the entire video...well, all of the videos actually. I just can't fathom what these kids go through. If I could, I think I would pack up tomorrow and move to Africa to just love on these kids. Maybe one day the Lord will send me there, but for now my part is to help share their stories...and I'm glad to do it.

Retooning the Nativity

We watched this video on Sunday during Wake and I love it! Enjoy!



I think my two favorite parts are when Mary's stomach goes poof and Jesus comes out, and then when the narrator calls the magi a passe.

TOMS Holiday Project...

Blades of Glory

As usual I was running late for work this morning, and while I was getting ready I had Good Morning America on tv. This morning they were doing something in Central Park, but when I walked in my room they were teaching Diane Sawyer how to ice skate. I have to tell you that one of the things I've always wanted to do is go ice skating in Central Park...but then I remembered WAIT, I can't ice skate! How is it that I made it through my entire childhood without learning how to ice skate? My parents took my brother and I to Dallas all the time...mainly to go shopping at the Galleria. Hello! Prime location to learn how to skate! Even my senior year at A&M my discipleship group decided to go ice skating at the rink where the hockey team would practice. That was my first time to go and my skills were less than desirable of course. One of my friends who played hockey ended up pulling me around the rink the entire time. I may have cried a little bit because we were going so fast. Anyway, I've decided to make that my goal for this Christmas season...to learn how to skate! Now I just need volunteers to come with me!

Good Golly, Let's Get Jolly!

Yes, it's true. I took the title from the Pier One commercials. I have to tell you that every time I see it I can't help but laugh out loud. I love it!

As you can probably tell from the picture, Christmas has arrived at what my roommate and I lovingly call our little corner of the institution. Oh yes it's true, Christmas is here on Vistadale! Actually, by looking at the picture you probably can't tell that Christmas has arrived, but I promise that there are cute little wreaths on the windows. I would say that's very Pottery Barn of me. If you drive down the street you'll see that all of my neighbors are starting to follow my lead. Of course they've probably all been doing this for years, but since mine were out first I like to say it was my idea.

I've decided that it's not officially Christmas until three things happen. First, you have to start off the season by watching an American Christmas classic, "Elf." Secondly, the Point of Grace Christmas cd has to be playing in my car at all times. And then last, but certainly not least, the house has to be decked out for Christmas. From the outside I think you would be fooled by how much Kristie and I have decorated this year. When you walk inside we only have two nativity scenes out...which our moms sent home with us and we've decided makes us look really holy...and then a poinsettia that my mom bought while she was in town this weekend and told me to keep alive until my work Christmas party on Wednesday. All that to say, it's Christmas and I love it! I must be honest though...the only point to this particular blog posting is to show you how cute my house looks with little wreaths on the windows. So feel free to drive by and admire.

Blinking Orange Lights

Confession. I'm probably not the best in the world at keeping up with when my tahoe needs some type of maintenance done. In college I always depended on my dad to tell when to get my oil changed or to have my tires rotated or whatever else you do with a car to keep it running and in good shape. Well, guess what I discovered today! Under the notecard on my dashboard (I emphasize UNDER so you don't judge me) there's a little box that lights up whenever the gas gets too low and, well currently when I'm out of washer fluid. Normally whenever it lights up with one of those things it usually goes away after I start driving. The past few days the light has stayed on quite a bit longer and today on my way to Hurst I decided to move my notecard. Apparently it also lights up with "Check Engine." Now is that something I should be concerned with or does it just mean that it's time to change my oil? And if it is a big deal, how long can I go with the light flashing without my tahoe exploding or dying on 635? Just curious. I think I'm going to have to agree with one of my old roommates in saying that it's time to get married so my husband can take care of my car for me.

We are Displaced...

This weekend the junior high portion of student ministries at Watermark held what was probably one of the coolest and one of the most stretching events ever. Our event was Displace Me. The purpose was to show the kids just a small glimpse of what children in Uganda go through on a daily basis. If you're not familiar with what's going on in places like Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, check out the Invisible Children website (http://www.invisiblechildren.com/). Basically the goal was to take the kids through some of the things children in Africa and all over the world go through every day.

Throughout the 24 hours we watched videos from Invisible Children showing what the families go through in the displacement camps. The kids also learned about the Lord's Resistance Army and why the families needed to escape in Uganda. The night began with each group or "family" building shacks out of cardboard boxes to represent the huts that people in Africa live in with as many as 16 people needing to sleep in one "hut." I wish I had pictures to show you, but living as one of the displaced means no camera. It also meant no shoes or socks, no pillows or beds, no running water, no bathrooms, and only beans and rice to eat for meals that had to be cooked outside with camping equipment. Of course in the grand scheme of things we had it FAR better than any of the families in Africa do. I must confess that in midst of our 24 hours of being displaced, I found myself complaining that I had to walk down four flights of steps in the cold to use a porta potty outside or having to walk to the end of the Watermark parking lot to get water with the kids in a jug...but in reality, it was nothing in comparison.

This weekend was quite the reality check for many of the kids...and myself included. It's so easy to feel as though the things that are going on are a world away and to have the mentality that there's nothing that I can do...but that's so far from the truth. As we learned this weekend, there are many things that we can do. One being to write our congressmen expressing our concern over what's going on in Uganda. Another thing being to simply donate money. Did you know that with $10 you can buy a net for a child in Africa that will help prevent them from getting malaria? Ten dollars! That's it! Or for $32 per month you can adopt a child through Compassion International and help pay for their schooling, food and clothes. It's amazing how much there is that we can do to get involved and still be in the comfort of our homes.

Here's a video from Advent Conspiracy that you should check out. I tried to make the video pop up on my blog, but I'm just not sure how to do that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU&eurl=http://www.adventconspiracy.org/&feature=player_embedded

Thanksgiving Boredom

In between the eating of lots of turkey and pumpkin pie, playing games with the family, and watching the Aggies, believe it or not there's still time to get bored. Here's a glimpse of what my brother Michael and I do when we get bored.

I love my brother!