My brother was asked to be a pall-bearer for Crissa. He was so much closer to her than anyone in our family, since he and her father were best friends growing up. I just sat and cried last night when I thought of my baby brother carrying the tiny casket of the little girl we all held in our arms as a baby. It's still just so mind-numbing.
Here is the latest from our local news on Crissa (link available if you click on the title of this post):
The parents of an 11-year-old girl who died after being pulled out of Lake Hartwell on Memorial Day said that their daughter did know how to swim.
The girl’s parents said that Crissa Powell must have panicked when she couldn’t feel the bottom of the lake after she jumped off a dock.
She was under water for about 10 minutes before witnesses were able to locate her and pull her out.
Two medical students performed CPR to keep the girl alive until she could be taken to the hospital, but she was taken off life support on Tuesday evening and died.
Her parents, Crystal and Nye Powell said that they kept a lock of their daughter's hair and a card with her handprints on it.
Crystal Powell said that she was with her daughter when she died.
"They moved her over in the bed a little bit so that I could get in with her and tell her goodbye. I waited there with her for a while," Crystal Powell said.
The Powells also thanked the witnesses who tried to save their daughter.
Crissa Powell was a fifth-grader at Berea Elementary School in Greenville County. She turned 11 earlier this month.
The school announced plans to plant a tree on school grounds in her honor.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Update
Crissa's battle for life has ended.She was determined to be brain-dead, and her parents made the heart-wrenching decision to pull the plug this afternoon.
Not long after I wrote earlier today, Crissa went to be with the Lord.
Please continue to keep her family in your prayers. They are all completely devastated.
My brother went to see her today. It must have been right before.
It's hard to imagine that the little girl I once held as a baby has passed away before any of us. 11 years is not long enough on this earth.
Note: Pic is of Crissa (in the purple) and her sister a couple of Halloween's ago.
post-weekend
I got my NordicTrack today... in all its fragmented glory. Every possible piece is separate from each other. Wow...this is going to be an ordeal just to put it together. I hope it only needs a Phillips head (just kidding - I do have more tools than that)!
We have our first Furman Lakeside band rehearsal tonight. I'm excited to have a semi-obligatory ensemble to play in during the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the band I play in year-round. It's just nice to not HAVE to go unless I want to. Concerts in the summer are done in a week, with no further obligation unless you want to do the next one. The year-round concerts require a month or more of rehearsal attendance to be able to play.
Since we were off yesterday, I've been trying to play catch-up again today. I think our sales department is making up for it too LOL.
Oh, I finally bought a little half-gigabyte flash drive for work. I can stop emailing important documents to myself and just save them on that instead. I swear I've heard them called "jump drives" before too. That's what I went looking for when I went shopping. Maybe not!
No new news on Crissa. Things are, thankfully, no worse, but sadly, no better. Please continue to keep praying for her. She needs all she can get.
We have our first Furman Lakeside band rehearsal tonight. I'm excited to have a semi-obligatory ensemble to play in during the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the band I play in year-round. It's just nice to not HAVE to go unless I want to. Concerts in the summer are done in a week, with no further obligation unless you want to do the next one. The year-round concerts require a month or more of rehearsal attendance to be able to play.
Since we were off yesterday, I've been trying to play catch-up again today. I think our sales department is making up for it too LOL.
Oh, I finally bought a little half-gigabyte flash drive for work. I can stop emailing important documents to myself and just save them on that instead. I swear I've heard them called "jump drives" before too. That's what I went looking for when I went shopping. Maybe not!
No new news on Crissa. Things are, thankfully, no worse, but sadly, no better. Please continue to keep praying for her. She needs all she can get.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Prayers needed
A little friend of mine was in an accident today. The whole situation has actually made the news, too.
Our childhood friend's (mine and my brother) oldest daughter (only 11 years young) was rescued from a local lake earlier today. She was climbing up a pier ladder and either jumped or was knocked off. No one is really sure, but she cannot swim, and she's a very obedient little girl, and she wouldn't have done something she wasn't supposed to do. The other girl with her turned for a moment, turned back, and she was gone. She immediately started screaming for help, but she was not found for around 5 or more minutes, only 9 feet from where she fell in.
Some people nearby were nurses-in-training, and performing CPR until EMS arrived. They said she was blue and had so faint a pulse that EMS couldn't even shock her. Brain damage has already been mentioned and partly confirmed. That is, if she even pulls through.
I think of her little face and cannot imagine it being blue. It's almost unreal.
I was ok until I saw her school picture pop up on TV when I turned to the news earlier. Then I just cried.
The last time I saw them all was on Halloween. I even got a cute picture of the girls I had always planned to copy and send over to their mom and dad.
Lauren, my niece, is 11 also. I can't imagine that happening to her.
She's just too young.
Please put Chrissa in your prayers tonight.
Our childhood friend's (mine and my brother) oldest daughter (only 11 years young) was rescued from a local lake earlier today. She was climbing up a pier ladder and either jumped or was knocked off. No one is really sure, but she cannot swim, and she's a very obedient little girl, and she wouldn't have done something she wasn't supposed to do. The other girl with her turned for a moment, turned back, and she was gone. She immediately started screaming for help, but she was not found for around 5 or more minutes, only 9 feet from where she fell in.
Some people nearby were nurses-in-training, and performing CPR until EMS arrived. They said she was blue and had so faint a pulse that EMS couldn't even shock her. Brain damage has already been mentioned and partly confirmed. That is, if she even pulls through.
I think of her little face and cannot imagine it being blue. It's almost unreal.
I was ok until I saw her school picture pop up on TV when I turned to the news earlier. Then I just cried.
The last time I saw them all was on Halloween. I even got a cute picture of the girls I had always planned to copy and send over to their mom and dad.
Lauren, my niece, is 11 also. I can't imagine that happening to her.
She's just too young.
Please put Chrissa in your prayers tonight.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Aww
I'm so mean - I haven't posted in 16 days. My fault! Yeah, I've been busy... who hasn't?
Supposedly, if the tracking is correct, my new NordicTrack will be in my living room by the end of the week. Yay!
Work is going fine. Normal work status. :)
Concert band is wrapping up this week, well, practice at least. We have one more concert in a couple of weeks. I have Furman University Lakeside band rehearsals starting next week. We only have five concerts, and the rehearsals are in the same week as the concerts, so it's not a huge commitment. Plus, Josh is FINALLY getting a car of his own again, so I won't have to worry about whether I have a ride somewhere. -happy sigh-
I'm listening to not-so-calm music on my pod. I think I'm going to switch LOL. Not impressed with angry rock today. This is not normal!
Ahh - now our accounting system is down at work. Not cool. Makes my job harder. :( This kind of blows the "i'm not working today" plan out of the water.
Supposedly, if the tracking is correct, my new NordicTrack will be in my living room by the end of the week. Yay!
Work is going fine. Normal work status. :)
Concert band is wrapping up this week, well, practice at least. We have one more concert in a couple of weeks. I have Furman University Lakeside band rehearsals starting next week. We only have five concerts, and the rehearsals are in the same week as the concerts, so it's not a huge commitment. Plus, Josh is FINALLY getting a car of his own again, so I won't have to worry about whether I have a ride somewhere. -happy sigh-
I'm listening to not-so-calm music on my pod. I think I'm going to switch LOL. Not impressed with angry rock today. This is not normal!
Ahh - now our accounting system is down at work. Not cool. Makes my job harder. :( This kind of blows the "i'm not working today" plan out of the water.
Band Funding
Nice news - I just heard that funding for our local music programs has been increased by our school board. Considering that for a long time, the funding has been cut, it's a wonderful change.
I'm glad to see that the board is aware of how important arts (of all types) are in our schools.
Yay!
I'm glad to see that the board is aware of how important arts (of all types) are in our schools.
Yay!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Quiz 4
Ok, I wouldn't make fun of anyone's pet, but the comedian part is pretty accurate.
Take the What Type of Friend Are You? quiz.
Take the What Type of Friend Are You? quiz.
Quiz 3
Well, there wasn't a pic for band geek. This was as close to that as possible. LOL - Oh yeah, and I don't want to kill anyone.
Take the What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz.
Take the What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz.
Weekend Wrap-up
Picture is of my Mom walking my niece.
I had another concert this past Friday night. It went pretty well. Most of our pieces sounded better in the auditorium we were in that night (a high school auditorium) vs. our normal concert hall (a college auditorium). At least schools get the good ones, though. Kids need to hear how music is supposed to sound without carpet and bland walls absorbing or bouncing their sound all over the hall.
I kind of put myself in a pickle, though. Well, no one else knew, but I did. We played with the high school kids and one of them was asking all of us what kind of flutes we all have. She came to me (I have the oldest and most generic flute out of everyone, as I am not as concerned with having a good flute as I am with my piccolo), and I told her it was my "bad one," when actually, it's my only one. I have had it since 11th grade (15 years). It needs some work, but it has a beautiful upper and middle register. The lower register, though, needs some serious work. However, I betrayed my good old flute and told them I had another. I'd love to have another one, but this one is just fine, and I'd rather have a Burkhart piccolo, as you well know by know if you've read any of my music posts. Oh well. Next time, I just might admit that this is my only flute LOL. Shame on me today.
Hubby was at work, so Danielle came over and we went to OTB for Cinco de Mayo (NOT the Mexican Independence Day, by the way... look it up if you don't believe me). No, I'm not Mexican, but neither was ANYONE else there except a waitress and a bartender. We got a drink right away since a bartender was walking around getting orders, but we waited for a table for over an hour. We went up three times to see how far up the list we'd moved. We ended up finishing our drinks and getting our food to go b/c they kept upping the time on us. So, we took our food home and watched Buffy reruns! We still had a great time. Forgot to bring my camera. Dangit.
Oh, I bought a NordicTrack last week. I don't think I have covered that here yet. It's a little expensive, but it pays for itself by the time I add up all the monthly fitness club fees I have had to waste over the past year with only having one family car. Besides, I will be able to work out much more by having something so handy. Even if I can only work out a small amount at a time, I will still build up more time faster since I can keep coming back to it any time of the day I want. Wear myself out for five minutes, take a rest, do some laundry, drink some H20, come back and work it out again. It makes so much more sense than to wear myself out for ten minutes at the club, try to do some weights while still worn out from the cardio, then give up and go home, not getting another chance at it later. Besides, whatever I have spent on exercise equipment is pocket change if it means I will be healthier.
I had another concert this past Friday night. It went pretty well. Most of our pieces sounded better in the auditorium we were in that night (a high school auditorium) vs. our normal concert hall (a college auditorium). At least schools get the good ones, though. Kids need to hear how music is supposed to sound without carpet and bland walls absorbing or bouncing their sound all over the hall.
I kind of put myself in a pickle, though. Well, no one else knew, but I did. We played with the high school kids and one of them was asking all of us what kind of flutes we all have. She came to me (I have the oldest and most generic flute out of everyone, as I am not as concerned with having a good flute as I am with my piccolo), and I told her it was my "bad one," when actually, it's my only one. I have had it since 11th grade (15 years). It needs some work, but it has a beautiful upper and middle register. The lower register, though, needs some serious work. However, I betrayed my good old flute and told them I had another. I'd love to have another one, but this one is just fine, and I'd rather have a Burkhart piccolo, as you well know by know if you've read any of my music posts. Oh well. Next time, I just might admit that this is my only flute LOL. Shame on me today.
Hubby was at work, so Danielle came over and we went to OTB for Cinco de Mayo (NOT the Mexican Independence Day, by the way... look it up if you don't believe me). No, I'm not Mexican, but neither was ANYONE else there except a waitress and a bartender. We got a drink right away since a bartender was walking around getting orders, but we waited for a table for over an hour. We went up three times to see how far up the list we'd moved. We ended up finishing our drinks and getting our food to go b/c they kept upping the time on us. So, we took our food home and watched Buffy reruns! We still had a great time. Forgot to bring my camera. Dangit.
Oh, I bought a NordicTrack last week. I don't think I have covered that here yet. It's a little expensive, but it pays for itself by the time I add up all the monthly fitness club fees I have had to waste over the past year with only having one family car. Besides, I will be able to work out much more by having something so handy. Even if I can only work out a small amount at a time, I will still build up more time faster since I can keep coming back to it any time of the day I want. Wear myself out for five minutes, take a rest, do some laundry, drink some H20, come back and work it out again. It makes so much more sense than to wear myself out for ten minutes at the club, try to do some weights while still worn out from the cardio, then give up and go home, not getting another chance at it later. Besides, whatever I have spent on exercise equipment is pocket change if it means I will be healthier.
That's all for now. I have to iron clothes for tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Mouse
Ok, I just love this. Sad, though...
MOUSE TRAP
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
What food might this contain? The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:
There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me."" I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.
"Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital , and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.
So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
REMEMBER,
EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY;
OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.
MOUSE TRAP
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
What food might this contain? The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:
There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me."" I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.
"Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital , and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.
So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
REMEMBER,
EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY;
OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.
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