Oh my goodness- I'm sure some of you are still checking our little website here. :) Things have been quite busy. I'll try to highlight a few things over the last two months.
1. I am a Master of Divinity! I graduated on May 5 from Haggard School of Theology. The ceremony was very nice--well planned and wonderfully accessible! The night before graduation there was a smaller "hooding" ceremony with just the theology students and professors. It was very meaningful and they gave me a standing ovation. :) I wasn't sure if it was really for me, but Aaron assured me it was. Getting my robe on was tricky! We actually ended up cutting the back out of the robe and tucking the rest around me. It worked! A couple of professors walked by as we were hacking up my robe, but they didn't say anything. :)
2. Aaron has 2 more days of school!!! He has had such a difficult year. But in spite of the challenges, his groups performed very well. In May, he took his advanced band to a larger regional festival in San Diego where they scored a superior rating in the competition. He was very proud of his students and I was very proud of him! A couple of weeks ago, he was presented with a beautiful plaque recognizing his committment and dedication to his students in spite of the difficult personal circumstances the past couple of years. It was very special. The parents also gave us a gift certificate to a travel agency so we could go on a vacation! We were so surprised! We are very blessed to be part of such a great school district. I could not even begin to describe the incredible support we have received from the Riverside/Gage community.
3. My dad is hopefully finishing up his final round of chemotherapy tomorrow! The tumor has shrunk significantly and an MRI will determine where to go from here. Please keep him in your prayers. Even as the cancer seems to be diminishing there are still significant pre-existing health conditions that make life challenging for him. He was finally able to get a wheelchair and van to make him much more mobile!
4. My brother Dustin had a pretty crazy couple of months. He had some medical conditions that put him on light-duty for a couple of weeks in Iraq. During that time one of the platoons from his company hit a roadside bomb and one of the soldiers was killed. So that has been pretty difficult. Dustin's physical health is fine now. Just pray for the emotional and mental health of the soldiers.
5. My dear friend Amy is still in the hospital in Las Vegas. She has been there for over a year! Her health is very fragile--she's still on a ventilator. It's very sad and VERY frustrating to know how much insurance or lack of insurance affects the quality of healthcare in our country. If Amy had received the proper care in the beginning, she would be so much better. It's not fair. Please pray that she would be transferred soon to a hospital in California so she can at least be closer to her family.
6. Aaron and I are leaving on Thursday for our big summer adventure. We are driving to Colorado (yuck) for a wedding this weekend. From there we journey to Chicagoland to spent some time with our friends and family (Aaron's)--and then we head to Omaha, NE to spend time with my family. On our way back to CA we are stopping in Vegas to see Amy. We will be gone for almost 4 weeks! We are excited to get in our van and hit the road! Hopefully we will get to see many of you on our journey! Pray for safety as we drive.
Well- that's it for now. Please drop a comment! We love hearing from all of you. I'll try to write again before another two months goes by!
Many blessings to you all-
Kari.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
URGENT PRAYER NEEDED FOR AMY
Dear friends--
Please look at Amy's website for the latest update: www.freewebs.com/labagnara
Amy's health is not good. The pneumonia is completely destroying her lungs. She's on total life support. The family is completely exhausted. Amy has a 10 year old daughter.
Please please pray for a miracle.
Please look at Amy's website for the latest update: www.freewebs.com/labagnara
Amy's health is not good. The pneumonia is completely destroying her lungs. She's on total life support. The family is completely exhausted. Amy has a 10 year old daughter.
Please please pray for a miracle.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Hummingbirds, Lizards and other things
Thank you all for continually checking our blog. Time goes so fast-I can't believe it's been over a month since I last updated.
Well the weather is not as warm as it was a month ago-although it is still very nice. Our little container garden that Aaron faithfully works on is beautiful. We have several trees-including a lime tree!-that are five or 6 feet tall. We have two beautiful flowering vines and two hydrangeas that are blooming bright pink and a purpley-blue. We also have a hummingbird feeder that is drained every day by these hungry little birds. They are so fun to watch. Sometimes when I sit out there, they will land just inches from me. Aaron was actually able to touch one the other day. But I don't think this bird was doing very well; we haven't seen him for a few days. We also have lizards that love the warm stucco of our patio walls. I think the hummingbirds feel threatened by them as they dive bomb their heads whenever they come around! Tulip and Edi, our cats, sit at the door all the time and watch what happens on the other side of the screen just out of their reach. I think it must be torture for them!
I don't think that before I got hurt I would really have taken the time to watch hummingbirds and lizards! Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting my time when I find myself just staring at them and laughing at them. But there's something very peaceful about taking the time to watch God's creation-even if it's only on our apartment patio.
As of last night, April 17, 2007 at 9 p.m. Pacific standard Time, I have completed all the requirements for my Masters of Divinity! I was very excited and relieved to finally be done. Graduation is the first weekend of May. Even though this is a big accomplishment for me, it feels so anti-climatic in light of everything that has happened. I originally planned on graduating in December 2005. Then our accident happened. I then planned on graduating in December 2006. Then we lost our dear Bryan. Now that I'm graduating in May, my parents are not able to come because of my dad's health. So in a sense, I don't really care about the ceremony. I suppose I will go, but mostly I'm glad I don't have to worry about doing homework anymore.
People always ask me what do I plan on doing now. I really don't plan on doing anything much differently except try to become more involved in church. We don't plan on moving, and I have no big career plans. We are content where we are and still trying to figure out a few things.
My dad's health is not very good. He just completed his third round of chemotherapy. He has not showed much improvement. Please continue to pray for him and my mom as they struggle through this. Aaron and I and John and Cyndi (my sister and brother-in-law) plan on going to Omaha this summer.
My brother, Dustin, is still in Iraq. We know very little about his situation there and unfortunately do not hear from him very much. But we always think that 'no news is good news'. Please continue to pray for his safety and also his spirits as I'm sure it can be very discouraging and lonely. Also pray for his children, Colton-10, Sierra-7 and Savannah-5 as they are without their dad for so long. I know he misses them terriblyand I'm sure they miss him too.
Aaron is still plugging through his last eight weeks of school. This has been a very challenging year for Aaron. Pray for his strength to finish well.
Aaron's brothers, Dan and Rick and Rick's wife Desiree, are planning on going to Rwanda this summer! Rick and Desiree were able to go last summer as well. Please pray for their safety and fund-raising efforts. This is a mission trip through their church. Rick and Desiree have a refugee foundation that reunites war refugees with their families. Many of the refugee families are from Africa, so being able to go to Africa is very important and special to them. If any of you are interested in their refugee foundation they have a web site: www.trafonline.com -- there is also a link on their web site for Bryan House. This is a plan to buy a house, in Bryan's name and memory, to house refugees.
Also many of you have asked about my new caretaker. Her name is Anna-she has been with me almost 3 months. She is doing a fantastic job! It was difficult to see Sarah go-but I am thankful that we were able to get such a great replacement.
I guess that's it for now-please pray for our families as we persevere through so much loss and illness. Thank you everyone for loving and supporting us! We could never do this alone.
Love, Kari
Well the weather is not as warm as it was a month ago-although it is still very nice. Our little container garden that Aaron faithfully works on is beautiful. We have several trees-including a lime tree!-that are five or 6 feet tall. We have two beautiful flowering vines and two hydrangeas that are blooming bright pink and a purpley-blue. We also have a hummingbird feeder that is drained every day by these hungry little birds. They are so fun to watch. Sometimes when I sit out there, they will land just inches from me. Aaron was actually able to touch one the other day. But I don't think this bird was doing very well; we haven't seen him for a few days. We also have lizards that love the warm stucco of our patio walls. I think the hummingbirds feel threatened by them as they dive bomb their heads whenever they come around! Tulip and Edi, our cats, sit at the door all the time and watch what happens on the other side of the screen just out of their reach. I think it must be torture for them!
I don't think that before I got hurt I would really have taken the time to watch hummingbirds and lizards! Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting my time when I find myself just staring at them and laughing at them. But there's something very peaceful about taking the time to watch God's creation-even if it's only on our apartment patio.
As of last night, April 17, 2007 at 9 p.m. Pacific standard Time, I have completed all the requirements for my Masters of Divinity! I was very excited and relieved to finally be done. Graduation is the first weekend of May. Even though this is a big accomplishment for me, it feels so anti-climatic in light of everything that has happened. I originally planned on graduating in December 2005. Then our accident happened. I then planned on graduating in December 2006. Then we lost our dear Bryan. Now that I'm graduating in May, my parents are not able to come because of my dad's health. So in a sense, I don't really care about the ceremony. I suppose I will go, but mostly I'm glad I don't have to worry about doing homework anymore.
People always ask me what do I plan on doing now. I really don't plan on doing anything much differently except try to become more involved in church. We don't plan on moving, and I have no big career plans. We are content where we are and still trying to figure out a few things.
My dad's health is not very good. He just completed his third round of chemotherapy. He has not showed much improvement. Please continue to pray for him and my mom as they struggle through this. Aaron and I and John and Cyndi (my sister and brother-in-law) plan on going to Omaha this summer.
My brother, Dustin, is still in Iraq. We know very little about his situation there and unfortunately do not hear from him very much. But we always think that 'no news is good news'. Please continue to pray for his safety and also his spirits as I'm sure it can be very discouraging and lonely. Also pray for his children, Colton-10, Sierra-7 and Savannah-5 as they are without their dad for so long. I know he misses them terriblyand I'm sure they miss him too.
Aaron is still plugging through his last eight weeks of school. This has been a very challenging year for Aaron. Pray for his strength to finish well.
Aaron's brothers, Dan and Rick and Rick's wife Desiree, are planning on going to Rwanda this summer! Rick and Desiree were able to go last summer as well. Please pray for their safety and fund-raising efforts. This is a mission trip through their church. Rick and Desiree have a refugee foundation that reunites war refugees with their families. Many of the refugee families are from Africa, so being able to go to Africa is very important and special to them. If any of you are interested in their refugee foundation they have a web site: www.trafonline.com -- there is also a link on their web site for Bryan House. This is a plan to buy a house, in Bryan's name and memory, to house refugees.
Also many of you have asked about my new caretaker. Her name is Anna-she has been with me almost 3 months. She is doing a fantastic job! It was difficult to see Sarah go-but I am thankful that we were able to get such a great replacement.
I guess that's it for now-please pray for our families as we persevere through so much loss and illness. Thank you everyone for loving and supporting us! We could never do this alone.
Love, Kari
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