A Fallen Soldier

I found out today that Tony Cardinal, who graduated with my brother, died in Iraq on Christmas day, only eleven days before he was supposed to come home to see his wife, who I graduated with, and two kids, one of whom he never saw. Amber, his wife lost her father, grandfather, and uncle in a car accident when we were in middle school. And now she has lost her husband. Tony was only twenty.

Hearing about this really hurt today. My stepbrother was in Iraq and came safely home to three children and a wife. Why did Tony die and not Brian? And how much more loss can Amber take? As far as I know, she does not know the love of Jesus. Knowing the facts of what she is going through, and being completely unable to begin to grasp the emotions she must be feeling, I wish I could make her pain stop. I know that God is in control, but simply knowing that doesnt take away the hurt she is feeling.

Too busy to enjoy Christmas

Yesterday for Christmas, Tony and I woke up at seven and drove to my mom's to open "santa gifts" with my sister. Around ten we went to his mom's to open gifts with his sister (where Tony had an asthma attack), and left at eleven. However, we did not go home to enjoy a peaceful Christmas with each other. No. We drove to Durand. A normally two and a half hour drive turned three because of an accident on the other side of the highway. We spent the afternoon with his dad and stepmom and her family. We left there around five thirty to come home. And while it wasn't snowing in Muskegon, it was in Durand. And there is nothing that stresses me out more than driving at night in the snow (except going to the mall three days before Christmas). And we arrived home around nine thirty. Again, quite a bit longer than two and a half hours. By the time we got home I was ready for bed, especially considering I had to be up at five thirty in the morning in order to be to work on time. No, this is not my idea of an enjoyable Christmas. And while I enjoy (to some level) spending time with our family, I would much rather stay at home with my much more enjoyable husband and have them come to us. Maybe next year we will be able to.

Fifty Dollars

So far, I have enjoyed working at Target, and about a week ago I was asked to stay on as a permanent team member. Which was a blessing because we really can use the extra income, and they are only keeping around ten of the thirty nine seasonal members.

And then today I was having a rough day. I had a headache that kept distracting me from what I was doing and I could tell the guests were getting very impatient with me. But I just kept doing my best. And with about a half hour left on my shift I was ringing up the purchase of our guest and as they were getting their money to pay they handed me a piece of paper and said congratulations. I was like "What?"As it turned out, she was a mystery shopper and I got a fifty dollar target gift card because I asked her if she wanted to open a Target Red Card. I was shocked. I know its not like I won the lottery, but it is the closest I will ever get. And it sure did feel good.

My new blog.

I have been using livejournal for a while, but I have decided to switch to blogspot. This is my first post on my blog.