This video is from a Pregnancy Resource Center down in L.A. that I've become friends with. Back in October, some coworkeder and I visited, the Watts area of L.A. to see how they run their mobile unit. Their director, the guy on the video, has been so helpful in assisting us in getting our mobile unit ready. Very soon, our own mobile unit will be out in the rural areas around us! If you want to see a great video that shows what really goes on in a mobile ultrasound unit, watch this video! Its pretty freakin' cool. Can you see why I love my job?

I think that one of the most beautiful gifts God has given us on this earth is the gift of music. Music speaks to my heart in ways that regular words without a melody can. I keep hearing about this song "I Will Carry You" by Selah. All along, I've thought it was a different song that what it really is, so I didn't bother to listen to it or look up the words. Tonight, after reading a friend's blog, I decided, "Ok, what is this song?!"

So January seems like "deep clean" month in bloggy land. I wish I could say I had the time and determination to get in and really deep clean stuff, but all I really have is the desire to do it. Not the energy, time or real interest. ha! BUT, I have started a list of deep cleaning things that I want to do! That's a start right?! So here's a peek at just some of the things I want/need to really tackle around the house, more so than just our daily or weekly cleaning stuff....

I am blessed to have the greatest best friend a girl could have. Words cannot adequately express the level to which my best friend, Tracy, means the world to me. I've written many times about my friends from "Aardvark." Aardvark is not a city (hehe), but a place where a handful of us once worked. We actually worked for Tracy and her husband, Jim, who owned the store. Well, we all grew up, and eventually Tracy & Jim moved on to new business ventures, but our friendship has remained and deepend through the years. Tracy and I are pretty much cut from the same cloth... two peas in a pod... what laffy is to taffy... sisters from another... um... mister? Anyways, you get the picture. :-) We're BFFs... we love almost all the same stuff..... Britney, karaoke, Dexter, award show season, 90210, rag mags, old timey photos, jello shots & drag shows and everything that is VEGAS. We hate a lot of the same stuff too... roller coasters, gross movies, camping and hotels without room service. The only things we don't agree on are Michael Jackson, Elton John, sushi and Steven Tyler. I'd say we're a pretty good fit.

I follow quite a few adoption blogs, and so many of them have been commenting on the tragic conditions in Haiti. Just before the earthquake, there were numerous children waiting to be adopted... waiting to be welcomed into their forever families. With the earthquake, things have undoubtedly become more complicated and delays in getting these children home keep piling up. My heart breaks for the adoptive families, for the children who are so close to knowing the love of two parents consistently, and especially for the hundreds and thousands of children who are just newly orphaned because of the tragedy. Its easy to get fed-up and angry at all the red tape that is preventing children from being adopted in the midst of such tragedy. Its easy to think that we have a good solution for finding homes for these children. When I think of children just waiting to be adopted, needing love, needing a home, shelter, support and stability, it is hard to understand all the waiting and paperwork and background checks and interviews that are involved. I read on someone's blog that the typical length of a single adoption in Haiti takes 4-5 years. Can you believe that?

And now the country is going to be facing a new epidemic of orphans. As frustrating as the red tape and the exhaustive process, I am appreciative of those who are truly trying to protect the best interest of these children. As I'm sure you've seen on the news, people in Haiti have had to resort to mass graves in order to keep diseases at bay. Hundreds of bodies are dumped into countless holes as graves. All nameless. No documentation of who is who, where they were found... nothing. No identification. Its just the reality of having to live among the dead in the midst of such a disaster. But no identification means a lack of closure for thousands... children who were separated from their parents during the quake have no idea if their parent is alive or dead. No word of relatives who may have survived. So how is anyone in Haiti to really know which child is indeed a new orphan, and which child has parents looking for him or her? As much as it breaks my heart to think of all the children who have lost their mother or father, it breaks my heart just as much at the thought of us Americans sweeping in to evacuate all the kids who don't know where their parents are. Because the truth is, there are still thousands who have yet to be reunited. That is just one of the reasons for the delay, but in my mind, it is actually worth the waiting, the background checks, the seeking out, etc.

I like to believe that the majority of the world is really good at heart. THat those traveling to Haiti are indeed there to rescue and give aid to those who are in distress. But the reality of our fallen world is that not everyone is good at heart. I just read this article about sex trafficing and the way it increases when natural disasters occur.... I had never thought of this before. I really would encourage you to go READ THIS ARTICLE. It breaks my heart. It makes me want to jump on a plane right now to go protect those little ones. It enfuriates me. It honestly makes me shake with anger. I don't know what the logistical answer is in restoring Haiti, restoring families, restoring health and most of all, hope. God is ultimately in control, and I am just praying that he will place people in power who are able to recognize the increased threat to the children and women of Haiti. And as frustrating as it is to know that there is so much red tape that seems to be preventing GOOD from happening, I have to remember that the regulations are also preventing a mass of BAD from happening, too. This article enlightened me to a new way to pray, a specific area to lift before our father, and I pray that you will join me in lifting that up as well.

One other thought... I caught the tail end of Oprah's show yesterday, all about Haiti. One of the guys she had on there said at the very close of the show, "Haiti doesn't need any more photo ops. Haiti needs people to go get their hands dirty helping. So put down your camera and get out of the way or help." (I'm kinda paraphrasing, but you get the jist.) I couldn't agree more. We know its bad. The people are hurting. So why is it that so many reporters can get into the worst spots, but health workers and aid trucks can't?


1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
Psalm 46:1-3

We had another International Food Night with the Corrao's tonight! This time, it was Tommy and Shiny's turn. (We switch back and forth) Rahab is interning with our church this semster, so she and Shiny made some authentic Kenyan food! I'd never had it before but it was so good!! We had ugali, chipatis, stew (not sure what its called) and cabbage... oh. my. goodness. Just look at the yummy healthy deliciousness that filled my plate:

For Award shows!

Don't you miss me, C?

I've had a crazy hectic week at work, and will be working nearly all weekend getting ready for a class I'm teaching Monday. 9th grade. High school. PUBLIC high school. Topic? Sex ed. Excited? TOTALLY. Scared? Heck yes. It's been, oh... 3 years since I've taught a sex ed class AND I'm teaching a whole new curriculum. That I wrote. Yikes. Talk about pressure. Good (or bad) news is, most the kids won't care. I just hope they remember SOMETHING!

I was at work late tonight, and feeling really pregnant today so I thought I'd take a picture and share. :-) Yesterday, I totally didn't feel or look pregnant at all. So I was happy when I woke up and my belly was tight. Luckily, these pants still fit though. :-) As I was driving home tonight, I cranked up some Garth Brooks and told Whitney about her 'roots'... how her mamma is just a country girl from Oklahoma who love Garth and Reba and would totally take her to Vegas to see Garth's new concert if I could travel. (We still plan on doing that this year... maybe! hopefully!) I told her how I love tornado season and the wide-open, hay-filled green fields that line I-44. I told her how much she would love stopping for donuts at QuikTrip every Sunday morning (and Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday evening, and... well... anytime we were close to a QT!). I told her how much fun snow is and how cute she'd be all bundled up in a snow suit. I told her about the cows Gran and DeDad used to raise and how much fun I had as a little girl during calving season, naming every single new calf that was born. I told her how cute she'd look in little cowgirl boots and how I'm sure she'd love country music as much as I do. However, I also made sure to tell her that as much as I do love Oklahoma, the real "OSU" would always have to be THE Ohio State University and we never, ever say "Boomer Sooner" in our house. Or wear Texas orange. She was moving the whole drive home. And it was wonderful.

This past weekend at church, Matt Proctor, president of both Sean and I's alma mater (Ozark Christian College) preached a wonderful sermon on the power of a praying church. He reminded us that God delights in answering our prayers. God just loves it when we ask for something in His name and He fulfills it. And I truly believe that there is no prayer He loves to answer more than the prayers for lost souls to come to Him. Matt's message this weekend really challenged me... what are my prayers about? How big are my prayers? Are my prayers concerned with the 'bigger picture' or just the 'here and now'?

So I'm starting a new endeavor this year... I am joining in on the 365 Project. I've created a new blog (I know, really? Another one?) that will chronicle every day of our life this year with one photograph. I'm really looking forward to doing this... I think it will be challenging and fun, but most of all, I think it will be a great way to record the events of our life in 2010. In the end, when I am finished, I will print off the entire blog and have a book of our whole year!

New Post on Whitney's Blog...

I also did a "2008 in Pictures" (<---- CLICK THERE) and it was fun to look back on ... so I thought I'd do it again for 2009! Here it goes: