What an awesome day it turned out to be!

On the way to choir rehearsal I gave my mom a call to let her know that the "other" Hahm's were moving to Milwaukee, as James accepted his Call to Wisconsin Lutheran High School. This information came through facebook, which I attempted to explain to Mom. Since it was too complicated for over the phone, she is going to ask Alayna to show her on the weekend. I also told Mom about the schoolmates who have reached out to me through facebook already and about Jami going to Las Vegas to reconnect with her classmates for their 40th birthdays. Cool!

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She asked me how my neck, shoulder, and other aches were after the massage and I told her I felt better because Carol said such nice things to me. Mom said she would say nice things to me too so I would feel better, and proceeded to tell me how sweet I am and that she loved me.....I love you, too, Mom!

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Last night at Bible study Leanne was telling me about recently looking through a book of velum quotes that Caroline had in her scrapbook supplies and found one that made her think of me. That is sweet enough, but then she told me what it said: "You make God smile". Wow! Those are mighty big shoes to fill. Today, during my massage treatment, Carol again brought up how much she admires me and my friendships with people. The woman at the registration desk thanked me for referring 10 people to Carol since October of 2007, either my friends or my family, technically they fall into both categories! You are welcome! Carol described me as being the kind of person who, like a boat with a motor, propels through the water, leaving a wake. I have no idea, according to Carol, how my "wake" affects or rubs off on other people. I got quite choked up when she said that because this is not the first time she has offered me such high praise.

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I just LOVE it that the Lord has seen fit to incorporate such wonderful people into my life, now more than ever, and that my friends are able to get to know each other and interact, like Kathy B. and Dee did this past weekend. Dee, Julia, and I spent about an hour this afternoon looking up passages both in the Bible and using the on-line reference I introduced them to, biblegateway.com. This past week I had a great gathering of friends around my table to enjoy comfort foods and company with Linda. All those attending gave rave reviews and are looking forward to the next time. "'Til we meet again...."

Back already!

Jen picked me up at about 7:30 and off we went downtown to Baptist Heart Center. We allowed extra time for the normally heavier traffic but until we got to I-10, it was smooth sailing. Where I-10 merges with I-95 there was a bottleneck but we could remain calm as we had nearly a half hour before her appointment. More like 45 minutes which allowed for the missing of our turn and doing a go-around to get into the parking garage, etc. Once we found the registration desk and got all the info put into the computer, we sat for only a few moments before being called in----20 minutes early!!! We were prepared to sit there and wait our turn since we arrived so far ahead but in we went!

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The test went well and quickly, with the staff being most kind and gracious. I did help Jen get her shirt and bra off and the gown on, and then reversed the process afterward. It was helpful for me to be there with Jen because it was a complicated task with her limited arm movement, it was better to have extra hands. They said the results might be available already today so now we simply wait to hear what the cardiologist has to say. The techs don't say anything about what they see, liability issues and all that stuff.

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Coming back was a breeze and we arrived at Grumpy's in no time at all. Rather than having breakfast, I ordered the meat loaf from the special menu and was sorely disappointed! It was not nearly as good as the meatloaf Sandy made for our comfort foods dinner last week. Might even have been a frozen or pre-packaged entree, but the potatoes and green beans were yummy. And the dinner roll----oh, my goodness! I made arrangements to pick up a half dozen homemade dinner rolls tomorrow morning before I head to Victory for Bible study. Cannot wait!

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So, now I am just waiting until it is time for my massage appointment and the rest of the day is mine to "marinate", what Carol, the massage therapist, says to do after her treatment. I can do that easily and eagerly!

Okay, I'm back!

Sorry for missing a day of posting on Tuesday! I have no good excuse other than getting caught up on my desk stuff, writing e-mails and tarrying on Facebook instead. I read Lisa's blog, Suzanne's blog, Jami's blog, and lovely e-mail from Judy R. who is back from Mexico. E-mails were flying forth and back regarding our upcoming event at church when the LES Team from Synod is coming to give us their informed opinion as to whether or not we should consider adding grades to our preschool. This has been a labor-intensive project and now the final "intensive" item on the agenda is whether we have a pot luck or a cooked on-site meal on Sunday!!! No detail is too insignificant to be addressed by Janet and me! We are without a Fellowship Elder at church due to a shortage of men willing to serve so things have to be taken on by individuals or teams to have them happen. No matter what, we will have lunch one way or another that Sunday, even if we have to order pizzas!

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I am going to ride along with my friend, Jennifer, to a medical appointment downtown this morning. She is concerned about getting the gown on and off, and might need my assistance with that, plus offer moral support. I can do that. She already declared that at some point she is going to need breakfast or lunch so I am prepared for that as well. This afternoon I am going to see my dear friend, Carol, for a therapeutic massage. My neck, shoulders, upper arms, and lower back are just giving me a fit (can she fix fits???) so I made the decision to go have a treatment. Some of my church friends were talking about the chiropractor Monday, simply swearing by the benefits of that, and even Carol goes for an adjustment touch-up periodically. I am concerned it is a racket but if these ladies have benefited from their visits with the chiro, it may be the next step for me, too.

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Saturday's brunch was wildly successful in many ways, including the goal of getting new, fresh faces and names on board to Chair various projects the Ladies' Group has lined up for the year. The five or six of us who actually show up for the meetings can hardly be expected to do all these service projects and we wanted to throw in some more things not necessarily service oriented, such as a Women's Health Fair. Believe it if you will, I had originally signed-up for the Health Fair (now stop laughing! Stop it!!) but as I told the assembled group Saturday, I would be glad to surrender Chairing that event if someone else wanted it! Sure enough, that afternoon, a young mom from the congregation who is in a nursing program offered to tackle this project and relieved me of duty! Now it might be taken seriously! Others have signed on to Chair or simply participate which is exactly what we were hoping for. My one friend she would head up a program to gather product coupons which can be sent to the servicemen, for use in their commissaries. No attention is paid to expiration dates which makes this a wonderful help to those trying to support their families on soldier's pay. But, this lady made it clear, "I am NOT joining the Ladies' Group!" Alright then....

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It is nearly time for my ride to arrive and I can hear sirens blaring from the streets.....yep, let's hit the road, sister!