My nephew...everybody!!!

Presenting Gage Edwin Duffey...my sweet baby nephew!!!  5lbs 10ozs.  18 and 3/4 inches long.  The Guilbert family is expanding rapidly!  LOVE IT!!!!!  

He's just fine...thank you Lord!!!!

I am proud to announce the birth of my nephew Gage Edwin Duffey...it was going to be Grayer (Michawn, you didn't dream it up...I told you that)  LOL.  He weighs 5lbs 10ozs and is 18 and 3/4 in. long.  He's perfect (daddy Graham's exact words) :-)   My daddy said he heard him crying and his lungs sound really strong!  I haven't seen him yet but the say he's got really big pouty red lips and he's really fuzzy!!!  LOL  I will post pictures as soon as I get some!  Thank you all for praying! 

OH...I almost forgot...my amazing sister-in-law set up a webcam so from 3:40 am to 10 am I got to "be there" with my baby sister in the hospital room!  I love Jessica because she understands me so well and knows that by buying a $100 camera, she would make my entire lifetime.  She had to go through a crap load of annoying steps to get it set up so it was no easy task.  But she did it because she loves me and knows that I would do the same for her.  Thank you sister...you are my favorite friend...you love me just the way I am and you work to understand me and you will never know what that means to me!  

I'll keep you posted!

Update on Breanne

I just talked to my daddy and he updated me on what's going on with Bre.  She is now dilated to 4cm and they are trying to slow her labor.  At 4cm they no long take the steps to stop labor all together...they just prolong it as much as possible.  The Dr. said that it would be great if she could wait until tomorrow night to have him but said we will probably see him tonight.  Bre is doing good...she's not stressed at all and is just trying to get comfortable.  She's having contractions about 4 minutes apart...not too strong but still...never had a contraction before but I hear they are no joke!  The Dr. also said that Gage should be fine.  There is very little chance that he will have to be transported to Little Rock and that worst case scenario is that he will need some help breathing.  But he could come out and be totally fine without any need for  oxygen or anything at all.  THAT is what we're praying for.  I know that the Lord has his tiny little lungs and his tiny little body in his great big hands.  I am dealing with not being there okay...don't know what will happen when I actually miss everything but for now...I've got it together.  ;-)

that's all I know but I'll keep updating the blog.  

Need a favor...

Okay...those of you who don't know the story of my sister and Garrison...I will fill you in later.  Those who do know the story...

Please pray for Breanne today.  She has gone into labor.  She's 35 weeks...it would be fine for her to have him now.  But the Dr. wants her to keep him another week.  They have admitted her into the hospital.  They gave her steroids for Gage's lungs and are trying to stop the contractions as I write this.  I know that 35 weeks seems like she's in the clear but it brings back the nightmares of when Garrison was in the nicu and the fears and worries that are still soooo real to us...especially Bre.  Soooo...if you could just pray for peace and comfort for Bre.  Her pain is very minimal at the moment...she really can't feel the contractions...her stomach just gets hard.  She is almost dilated to a 2.  I am also out of town until July 5th so I will most likely miss his birth and I am trying not to let it bother me too bad but it does.  I really wanted to be there so if she could keep him until I get home that would be awesome!  I appreciate your prayers and will keep you posted on them both!  

The Shack

You know...I love my job but I hate the airport somedays!  I hate to start out my post like that but that's what I feel right at this very moment and so it's just what came out first.  Sorry...

Now...on to what I wanted to write about.  

I read a book straight through.  Well, almost...not in one day but over the course of a few days.  I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!  It's called The Shack...by William P. Young.  AMAZING!  Did I mention that I loved it?!?!?!  :-)  Friends told me about it when I was in Nashville last week...I got it on my way home in the airport bookstore.

It's great...go get it and read it.  I know some people have an issue with the book and the way God is presented but I thought it was beautiful and made tons of sense.  I don't want to give too much away but I just want to put it out there.  You don't have to go get the book and read it but you'll be missing out.  It's great...it's fiction...it's beautiful.  And because of this book I have grown to love the Lord even more than before.  It will awaken a longing for Him and for Home. 

Some of the theology is kind of whacked out but if you read it with an open mind it will bless you!  I'll post more after a few weeks...I want to give you a chance to read it first!  

Love,

A.

Nashville Day 1

I just wanted to update you on the apartment search.  It's really overwhelming.  I have never lived by myself before and it's kinda scary!  So far I don't know what I'm gonna do...where I will end up living but it turns out that I'm a little bit limited because of availability.  That's okay with me though because it will give me less options and make my life a little easier.

Today was a really good day though.  I had lunch with some friends.  One of my friends has been in Nashville for about 11 years and has done a lot of session work with lots of producers and has a ton of connections.  She was so sweet to want to hook me up with a lot of them.

  Anyway...she was like..."I'm calling everybody I know and telling them you're here."  Everybody meaning the people that make things happen...make music...produce and write some of the greatest songs in Christian music and some of the up and coming ones that are just fun to work with because it's really laid back and chilled.  Which leads me to the next thing that happened.  As we leave a guy walks out behind me that knows my friend Anthony and they're talking while Melinda and I are talking.  Right before we leave the guy tells me that he lost 70 pounds listening to one of Kirk's songs and Anthony had told him that I sang for him.  So...He tells me how much the song means to him and we talk for a minute.  Then I mention that I have to hit the road and start looking for a place to live.  He was like..."are you moving here?"...I say..."Yes, on Monday." and then he was like..."I am always using singers.  Give me your number!"  Wow!  Oh, did I mention that he wrote a little song called "How Great Is Our God"??????  What????  

I had dinner last night with friends.  I had dinner tonight with friends.  I have had a great time!  I'm not a very social person...I have to really push myself to go out and do things.  But I had a lot of fun and I'm so looking forward to whatever it is that God has for me here.

Victory!

The hunt for Mr. mouse is over.  He no longer lives in the apartment...he now lives in mouse heaven!  I'm so glad.  Now, I can walk into the apartment boldly and without fear.  LOL...can I be any more dramatic??  

I'm in Nashville tonight.  I leave tomorrow for Newark, NJ.  We have a show there tomorrow night and then it's back to Nashville and the search for an apartment begins.  I am super excited about living here.  I'm scared but I know this is where God wants me right now so I'm good.  I am praying that I find the place He has already set aside for me.  I am looking on Monday and Tuesday so if you could keep me in your prayers those two days I would greatly appreciate it!  I don't want to pay a ridiculous amount but I do want to have a safe place with plenty of room for me and my things.  I have a lot of stuff!  

Today was a really hard day.  I had to attend the funeral of an amazing man whose life was cut way too short.  We have know this family for many many years and they have been amazing friends to my family.  Harold Johns went to be with Jesus on Monday morning after battling cancer for the last several months.  His death was sudden...they fully expected him to recover and win the fight.  He and his wife Freddie had one of the most amazing and powerful marriages I have ever seen.  They spent almost 40 years together and loved each other deeply.  They also have three boys...Randy, Russell, and Ryan.  I am so proud of the way they spoke about and remembered their father and husband today.  Our family sang...the whole family...minus mom who was sick.  It was so hard to see the pain they feel and will feel for many years to come.  But one thing Harold left us with that will last for generations to come is an powerful legacy.  He left three men that will impact the world just as much or more than he did.  All three are men of high standards and excellent character.   I am extremely proud of them!  Please pray for the Johns family as well the next few weeks.  I can't even wrap my mind around the pain that losing my dad would bring.  And if you don't tell the people that matter to you how much they mean to you...how much you love and value them...please tell them!  Because life can be taken so suddenly.  

I don't know how people go thru life without Jesus.  I don't know how people cope with the everyday,  much less the death of a loved one, without the love of the Father.  It would almost be impossible to handle without the hope of heaven.  Thank you, LORD, that in death we are victorious.  Harold could have fully recovered from cancer.  He could have shared his story of healing and given every ounce of glory to the King of Kings...and he would have.  But God decided that He couldn't live another day without his warrior...his son...his prize.  So Harold received the ultimate healing...as so many of our loved ones have...and now sits at the feet of Jesus.  Now if that's not Victory...I don't know what is!

 

The welcome committee

Why am I up at 4am you ask???  Well, let me tell you.  I am mortified to even share this information but it is absolutely worth sharing!

A MOUSE...a mouse. 

 I have been staying with Heith and Jessica since I got home from Brazil.  I have been helping out with Harper and doing things to help Jessica with the house before they put it on the market.  Tonight was my first night back in the apartment.  It's a really cool apartment above the barn at my parents house.  My dad, Heith, and Granddaddy built it all by themselves.  Well, for the most part it is free of any four legged friends.  Not tonight...not my first night back.  I had a welcome committee.  YUCK!  I heard a noise...laid there kind of paralized.  You know what I'm talking about, right???  The I don't know if I really heard anything so let me lay here as still as possible and make sure it wasn't my imagination thing.  I did that until I got up the courage to turn on the light.  

I see him...he's rummaging around in the kitchen.  I was freaking out!  Why I am scared of this stupid little thing...I don't even know...but I am. I just watch for a few minutes...in disbelief.  I see a can of insect repellant that I had no place for when I had unpacked my bags earlier in the night and I grab it.  What in the world is that gonna do?  I don't know other than give me courage to walk over and try to...i don't know...catch him???  Idiot!  :-)  He runs away.  I'm lying.  He walked.  I was too scared to do anything so I let him.  He went into the bathroom, I think.  I went in after him after standing there...paralized again.  No sign of him.  I kicked and stomped around to let him know that I was a very big presence that he should be really scared of and never come back...shot off a little bug spray just to warn him.  I really am an idiot!!!  Ha.  I tried to sleep with the kitchen light on for a few minutes.  NOPE!  I packed up my stuff and drove up to the house.  

So...first thing tomorrow morning I'm going to do what any brave woman would do.  I'm going to have daddy go up there and kick some mouse butt all over that apartment...because there's no way in you know where that I'll be going back up there to sleep until he is gone!  

Goodnight! 

Harper...styled by daddy!

Read the post before this one but
I also wanted to show you this...

Jessica, Karen (Jessica's mom), and I went to get pedicures this afternoon.  We left Harper with Heith.  Came back to the house...Heith met us at the door with Harper dressed like this.  He said..."She was bored so we played dress up!"  Really he meant...I was bored so we played dress up.  Either way...It was the cutest thing ever!  I love seeing my brother be a daddy!  Notice the bracelets and boots...two things he's been wanting her to wear since she was born.  I got the bracelets in South Africa...boots in Amsterdam.  She's an international baby!!!  

The story...

Okay, so I didn't get to tell the story last night but I wanted to tell it before it was pointless!  LOL.  We had a family get together last night for Breanne's birthday and I was exhausted when I got home.

Rewind to Wednesday night around 8:30pm...I was leaving NorthPark mall after having no luck whatsoever with gifts for my sisters or a battery for my computer.  I went over to Mockingbird Station to see what Urban Outfitters had then got on the road headed to Texarkana.  I noticed immediately that my battery light was flashing on and off...almost like when I would hit a bump it would come on and go off...thought it was a short or something.  I called daddy and told him...he was worried and wanted me to call him every 30 minutes to check in.  I did that all the way to Mt. Vernon.  I was about 2 miles from Mt. Pleasant...20 minutes out of Mt. Vernon (last phone call to dad) when my cruise control just shut off and the driving lights inside the car dimmed.  This was about 11:30pm.  I knew this couldn't be a good sign...Ha...so I called daddy again.  He was ready to come and get me. 

I made it to the first Mt. Pleasant exit and pulled up to this gas station that I stop at sometimes on the way home from Dallas...noticed that behind it on the hill is a Comfort Inn.  I just decided my car would be better off in a hotel parking lot rather than a gas station so I pulled into the parking lot.  Tried to call dad...no service!   Crap!  Soooo...I walk down the hill and try to find a place with service.  The parking lot of the gas station has service so I call daddy.  He has been trying to call me and is now worried.  Brennan (little brother...16)...also worried...I think it's cute that he would worry about his big sister!  ;-)  Dad runs through the thoughts he's had since I've talked to him last, which might have been like 10 minutes...15 tops.  It's amazing how slowly time goes by in times like these...I know you can relate to that.  It seemed like an eternity.  Anyway...He decided that because gas is so expensive I should stay at the Comfort Inn for the night and get my car fixed in Mt. Pleasant.  He would have had to drive to Mt. Pleasant (about an hour and fifteen minutes)...drive back home...drive back to Mt. Pleasant the next day to get my car and back home again.  Way too much driving resulting in an enormous amount of money on gas!  Gas IS almost $4 a gallon...WOW!!!  So, needless to say, the hotel route was the cheaper way out.  Perfect...I'll just go get a room.  Well, the ONLY room left in the Comfort Inn was the King Jacuzzi Suite...this is a MOTEL we're talking about...not a HOTEL.  I know everyone knows the difference but just in case, let me break it down for you.  Motel = door opens from the outside.  Hotel = door opens from the inside.  The guy at the front desk...sweet little guy...he tells me that the room is $89.99 but he'll let me have it for $79.99 since it's the only room left.  I told him my "situation" and he said "let me see if I can get a better rate."  Nope...he came back with the same quote of $79.99.  "Okay...I'll take it!"  Go to my car...get a few things for overnight...a few clothes and my bathroom stuff.  If you know me well you know that was about two bags and a suitcase full of stuff!  I can't help it...10 years of packing and I still can't pack light.  

Open the door to my sweet suite :-) and this is what I saw!  Hahahahahahaha....I felt a little uncomfortable.  It was semi-trashy.  I mean...you would just put the jacuzzi out in the room like that?!?!?!?!  

I took full advantage of the jacuzzi...sat in it and watched John and Kate plus 8...LOVE that show!  I don't want 6 at a time but I've prayed for twins for as long as I can remember.  I tried to get the free wireless to work in the room...never worked.  I just went to sleep.  I was so tired...I slept straight through the night...woke up around 8 but went back to bed because I had every intention of getting my $79.99 worth out of that room.  I left a little after checkout...11am...and went down to the little mechanic right next to the hotel.  See how the Lord works????  Everything I needed...place to park...place to sleep...place to get my car going...right there together!  I got them to charge my battery enough to make it home so I could go to our regular mechanic.  

I felt like I should be on TV...like one of those sitcoms that is filmed like a documentary...like the office or arrested development.  It was so funny.  The garage was owned by a hispanic man...very nice...didn't speak the best english but we understood one another.  He told me it would take about 20 to 30 minutes to charge the battery so I went to the gas station to get some lunch.  When I tell you that everything was fried in that little gas station...I mean EVERYTHING...even the corn on the cob.  It felt like I was at the fair.  They had corn dogs so I got one.  I sat down at a table...ate my corndog.  

The hispanic mechanic charged me $10 and told me not to run the radio, air conditioner, or lights and sent me on my way to Texarkana.  I made it!  I prayed that I would and I did.  I also prayed that the night before but God had other plans for me.  I love that I got my dad's laid back personality because not one second of the experience bothered me.  I really kind of had a good time by myself in Mt. Pleasant...in my $79.99 jacuzzi suite with my raggedy broke down car and my useless iphone.  

My car...well...it needed several things done to it.  My bill...$631.02...which I was very unhappy about...that is until a friend of mine reminded me that it's much better than a car payment...something I haven't had for a while now.  

So...there's my story.  I don't know what God was doing but I know that He is always doing something and I'm grateful that He loves me enough to slow me down if it means that He wants to keep me from harm or teach me a lesson or just give me a reason to trust Him more.  

What a night!

I don't have time to tell the whole story...I will later tonight...but I am just getting home from Dallas. It is 2:28pm on Thursday...I left at around 8:30pm last night. I had to spend the night in Mt. Pleasant, Texas at the Comfort Inn room 105...the "Jacuzzi Suite"...only room left...I have a picture...can't wait to share the story!!

Today is my sister's birthday...Happy 21st birthday seester!!!!! I love you!!!!

I'm watching Harper (my 4 month old niece) swing...smiling and talking to the toys hanging from her mobile above her head...THIS is worth the drive and all that I have been through over the last 14 hours!

Almost home...

I'm sitting here in a recliner at my friend Misty's house...trying to work up the desire to drive the distance from Dallas...well, Irving...to Texarkana.  It's dreadful...I don't want to drive it...I'm tired and sleepy...weary from spending the night on an airplane that was very uncomfortable.  But the desire to get to what is waiting on the other end of the drive is what makes me want to do it.  I know it seems like...what's the big deal dummy just get in the car and drive...but there's more to it.  Before I get on the road to make the drive I have several errands to run...take back the horrible pantsuit that I didn't have to wear...thank goodness...you know the one...I posted about it.  I also want to get my sister's bday gifts here because I know that I can get them something really great here that I wouldn't be able to get them in Ttown...shopping sucks in Ttown.  So that's gonna get me on the road kind of late.  Another factor...TRAFFIC...booooooo...I hate traffic in Dallas!  Hate it!!!!!  Another thing...I'm sleepy and don't want to get to a point in the trip that I'm too sleepy to drive...you know how it is.  You have to pull over and sleep and run the risk of a "crazy" coming along and messing with you or whatever the horror stories are...I'm not one to think of those things right away...I'm more of a non-worrier type...but still...it just stinks to have to do that.  Oh and I almost forgot about having to go to the Mac store to get a new battery for my computer because the converter in Africa completely killed mine...this is the second time this has happened...hopefully they won't charge me for this one either.  So....you see my dilemma?????

Anyway...I'm working on seeing God or lessons He could teach me in everything I do or experience...so here's what I came up with sitting in this recliner.  I WANT to get home but I don't want to do what it takes to get there.  This is an amazing thing to me...it could be "just for me" as they say and you may not even relate...who knows...but for me...this is what I do.  I WANT things but don't want to work for them...do what it takes to achieve them...step out on faith and believe for them.  I just sit here and procrastinate and miss out on the "good things"...the rewards at the end.  At the end of my drive today I will have a family waiting on me that is excited about my arrival...a niece that I can't wait to see smile at me after being gone for two weeks straight...I brother who I can play guitar hero with...the warmth of a familiar bed to get a good nights rest in...a sister who's baby bump is probably going to be way bigger than the last time I saw her because she's growing my healthy little nephew in there...a really good friend that almost died giving birth to her third child that I want to tell how much she means to me because I don't know what I would've done if she had not made it!  But...the journey...because I am weary and tired...seems like it will take forever.  We do this with God all the time...put him off because the road seems to be too long and dreadful to actually brave it for what waits for us on the other side.  Same goes for weight loss...don't want to walk...or run...the road I have to to get where I want and need to be.   Oh but if we would just brave the road ahead...what sweet things must be there waiting on us?!?!?!   Won't it be so worth it????  I'm starting to feel whatever is disconnected inside of me connect...not there yet but He's doin somethin...

My point...I am learning...I am sitting in silence and letting the Lord reveal to me the things He wishes....I am listening.  I am getting it...just a small part but I'm getting it.  Doesn't it feel good to see growth...to see the places you are failing or falling behind and God is so gracious enough to show you in really crazy ways...with really crazy analogies...who He is shaping you to be.  I love it...I love Him!

I'll share some with you this week about my trip...Gotta prepare for this road ahead!!!!  

If you haven't yet...read "So You Want To Be Like Christ" by Charles Swindoll....AMAZING book!