Lawrence Family Weblog

Nanny Lou on her 96th birthday last year.

My Nanny Lou passed away this morning.  My mom was by her side and was able to comfort her as she took her last breath.  She’s at rest and in a much happier place now.

Sometimes God is very “in your face” and sometimes, like today, he does the small things that not only amaze me but that helped comfort me.  Last night I read the Facebook status of a high school friend.   Her grandmother was in hospice care and I sent her a quick note telling her that she was in my thoughts.  In the process, it got me thinking about Nanny Lou, and praying  for her as well.  While Nanny Lou has been on my thoughts almost every day, I have to admit that I probably would not have been thinking about her last night if it were not for my friend’s Facebook status.  This morning, both of our grandmothers went on to heaven.  I am so glad that I was able to stop and pray for my grandmother last night.   Last night she told my mom “I want to go home”.  Today, she is there.  Praise God.

Last night I had a craving for Chinese food, so I swung by Three Colors Asian Kitchen.  Caleb loves their fried potstickers/dumplings and I love the house fried rice.

Well, today I have a whole new craving that will be much harder to satiate.  Carmine’s Home Made Devil Crab and Steak Milanesa are so tasty, but unfortunately the restaurant is in Tampa.  That’s a bit of a drive for dinner.  Thinking about all this good food (notice I said good, not healthy) is going to be bad for my diet.

Tim and Lorie stopped by this past weekend and as always they were both an amazing help.  Tim got the walls and ceilings ready for paint and helped move the playground to what I hope is the final position.  Lorie helped Heather with several things as well.

I’ve lost some weight recently and while it isn’t much, I love watching the scale go down.  Heck, I love that the scale (digital) actually registers my weight instead of an error code like it used to.  So my overall goal is to loose 100 pounds, and I’ve dropped somewhere around 15 since my last visit to the doctor’s office.  My short term goal is the 30 pound mark.  The best inspiration is to look at my photos in the gallery and know that the change is going to be visually apparent soon.

When Heather and I decided on a new church, I promised myself I wouldn’t dive in with both feet. You see, in the past I would try to get involved in as much as I could possibly handle, and would (of course) be warmly welcomed to help. In the end, I burnt out on most things and didn’t follow through like I should.

At our new church, I’ve hung back a bit to see what I would really enjoy doing and where I can be the most use. I’ve purposely stayed away from the soundboard, and I’ve just started getting involved in the video group. We record the sermons and also put together videos to show during the service. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

As part of the process, we’re putting the videos online. Here’s a test video I wanted to try out. Not sure if we’re going to use this service, but we’ll be doing something like this:

I never imagined a job would keep me so busy, but this new one has. I’ve been working a few extra hours every week so far, and from day one it felt like I was playing catchup because there were so many projects that were waiting for me when I arrived. It’s been a great job so far because of the challenges and the new experiences. The drive time to Stone Mountain is just a few minutes more than to Midtown which was surprising.

I haven’t kept in touch with the guys at NCG like I thought I would. From the moment I get into the office to the moment I leave, there isn’t much time to think of anything outside the office. I decided to pop into my blog this morning because I needed a couple minutes to get my thoughts in order before I dive back into my “to do” list. Maybe I’ll drop an email to the NCG folks as well.

Let’s see… last weekend Devon helped me out BIG TIME and we picked up a big playground for Caleb and hope to get it up and installed this coming weekend. We had to disassemble it at the previous owner’s house and fit it into the Budget rental van. It took all 16′ of the van to get the whole thing in since we didn’t break it down completely, only small enough to fit into the van.

Oh, I updated this site, but I haven’t moved the photo gallery over yet. Till I do, you can still view it here:

http://lawrence.n2focus.net/gallery

I’ll keep trying to get into the routine of posting here. Y’all come back now, ya hear!

So I woke up right before 5 o’clock this morning. Partly because I was worried about being late the first day at my new job… but also because I felt well rested and ready to get moving.

Since I had the extra time, I was able to sort through my boxes of office stuff and consolidate what I want to take to the office today. I also had time to read a devotional online. I happened to go to the Upper Room website and this one phrase helped me so much today:

“…my needs will be provided for if I trust God and leave my anxieties and burdens with God. Just then, my fears were swept away, and my heart was filled with hope and gratitude as I left home for work.”

I’ve had my own anxieties starting a new job, and this perspective was just what I needed this morning.

Today will be my last day at NCG Architects. It feels weird leaving a place I’ve worked for the past 5 years. Some of the best friendships I have right now are with people from NCG. I complained from time to time, but in the end… NCG is a great company and it really does feel like a family there.

So, this weekend I was fairly productive. I got the taxes done, a new dishwasher installed, and a few other small items completed. I also got to spend some time talking with a few online friends and catching up with them. On Sunday afternoon, Heather (check out her new blog) went over to Jennifer’s for her knitting group and Caleb and I got to hang out at the house. We played trains and cars and ran around the house chasing each other. It was a blast to just play. It was also VERY tiring. Caleb just keeps going full steam until we make him lay down for nap time, and then he’s out like a light.

Heather and my sister Chris have gotten together and planned a day trip for the kids up in Chattanooga. We’re all going to go and ride on Thomas the train. It should be great for the kids. Chris went last year and said that her two kids loved it. Caleb has been very funny about his trains lately. He loves to play with the trains, building the tracks and breaking them apart. He also likes to watch real trains go down the track, but he doesn’t like to watch the Thomas TV show anymore. *shrug*

That’s it for now, but I hope to post here more often in the future.

My grandmother went into the hospital yesterday, but by what my sister tells me, it’s nothing to get panicked over yet. Of course I’m worried, but I’m remaining calm.

On a less important note, I’ve got a hole in my kitchen ceiling due to a leaking shower. Nothing to get panicked over, but another expense and another job to do.

I’m not sure if I’m in denial or if I’ve got a ‘peace that surpasses all understanding’… but with how negative many things feel right now, I’m still in a fairly good mood. I’m actually looking to the future with expectancy and am excited to see what God has in store for me this year. Does that sound nutty? It kinda FEELS nutty

Oh, on a very positive note, Caleb and Heather are doing great. Heather has taken up knitting and is getting involved with several groups at Cumberland Community Church which seems to really be making her happy (and a touch hectic as you’d expect from a mother of a 2.5 year old who already has a busy schedule). Caleb is just growing up right before our eyes. Each day he surprises me with something new, and for some reason each day I’m surprised at just how amazing he is. Yesterday when I got home we played trains, hit balls around the house with our golf clubs, wrote on the marker board, took pictures with his camera, and played ‘Joe and Steve’ (mom wore the Blue’s Clues ears). Getting home from work is such a joy when Heather and Caleb are waiting for me.

I’ve setup a link on my Facebook account that posts my most recent blog posts.  It’s a pretty cool setup and I hope it helps link my friends and family to this site.

Things have been a bit crazy for me the past week or so.  I’m working longer hours and have been having to really WORK a lot more than what I typically do.  It’s been rewarding, but my procrastination gene keeps kicking in.

So, we’ve been kinda getting ready for Christmas. I’ve been a bit of a Scrooge by having to work extra hours so my Christmas to-do list isn’t finished yet. It seems that the servers all decided to take THEIR vacation early and I’ve had hard drives failing all over! Heather has been baking and decorating and wrapping like crazy. Next year I’ll have an extra week’s vacation and I’m thinking about taking the entire end of December off to de-stress and escape to some town with no mall

Nathan and Joyce come into town at the end of the week. We’re also going to have Mark and Ruth here, so it will be a full house. Maybe I’ll have the lights in the windows by then!