Since leaving my IT job and taking on my new career as a personal chef, my hands have turned against me. I have very bad carpal tunnel in both hands. I went to my doctor; he sent me to physical therapy. After 2 weeks of PT, my hands got a little better, but not enough to get rid of the 24/7 numbness. Then I was sent off for nerve testing. Ok, if you have never had a nerve test conducted, you have missed out! It was like the neurologist was taking a live electrical cord and sticking it to my arm. I was lying on the table wondering how in the world they could learn anything from electrocuting my arms! It was very painful, yet very enlightening. The tests proved that I have carpal tunnel of a 70 year old farmer. I was like, "WHAT?" But I am a 39 year old chef....how can it be that bad. The Doctor said she had not seen it this bad in years. I asked for a prize...I mean, I should get something for this!
In short, I have surgery in a week on my right hand and then 2 weeks later on the left. I will be unable to use each hand for 3 weeks. Yes, a chef with no hands....should be very interesting!
Russ
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
A Tribute To Hazel Anderson (Nunny as we called her)
Robbie's Grandmother (Nunny) died this past Friday (Dec 29, 2006). She was 97, but most importantly, she was a believer in Christ. She died in her sleep.
On Thursday, the day before her death, I had the privilege of spending the day with her in her hospital room. It was just the two of us most of the day. We prayed, sang, held hands and we even watched some Star Trek DVDs together. Around 3pm that last day, she began to groan in pain. I began talking and praying with her. She opened her eyes and looked straight at me for more than 20 minutes. I have no idea if she knew who I was. I was trying to comfort her and also talk with her one more time. I had her drinking water from a spoon, trying to moisten her very dry mouth. She continued to moan and I knew she needed something to take away the pain, but I also knew the meds would put her to sleep. I asked nurse Linda to give her a dose of morphine. Within 30 minutes, she was back to sleep. It was the last time I got to see her eyes; to talk one on one with her. I thank God for that precious 20 minutes. You see, I may not have been her grandson by blood, but to me, she was just as much my Grandmother as anyone elses.
She spent many holidays with me, even spending the night at my house last Christmas. I got to hear many of her recertations (stories) and most of all, I got to see her love for Christ!
Nunny, thank you for allowing me the privilege of knowing you for 13 years. I will miss your humor, your recertations, your political prowess and your faithful to our God. You were a blessing to me and my family and I praise God that I will get to see you again! I love you!
Russ
On Thursday, the day before her death, I had the privilege of spending the day with her in her hospital room. It was just the two of us most of the day. We prayed, sang, held hands and we even watched some Star Trek DVDs together. Around 3pm that last day, she began to groan in pain. I began talking and praying with her. She opened her eyes and looked straight at me for more than 20 minutes. I have no idea if she knew who I was. I was trying to comfort her and also talk with her one more time. I had her drinking water from a spoon, trying to moisten her very dry mouth. She continued to moan and I knew she needed something to take away the pain, but I also knew the meds would put her to sleep. I asked nurse Linda to give her a dose of morphine. Within 30 minutes, she was back to sleep. It was the last time I got to see her eyes; to talk one on one with her. I thank God for that precious 20 minutes. You see, I may not have been her grandson by blood, but to me, she was just as much my Grandmother as anyone elses.
She spent many holidays with me, even spending the night at my house last Christmas. I got to hear many of her recertations (stories) and most of all, I got to see her love for Christ!
Nunny, thank you for allowing me the privilege of knowing you for 13 years. I will miss your humor, your recertations, your political prowess and your faithful to our God. You were a blessing to me and my family and I praise God that I will get to see you again! I love you!
Russ
Monday, December 25, 2006
Wonderful Time with Family
Robbie and I have the privilege each year of spending Christmas with our families. And again, this year has proven to be awesome! We had an awesome time spending Christmas eve with my family* in NE Arkansas. It was fun eating Italian food (non-traditional Christmas Dinner) and playing dominoes! I don't think my Grandmother approved of the non-traditional dinner, but she ate it anyway. Thanks Grandma for indulging us!
We got up at 4:45am Christmas morning to travel to central Arkansas to be with Robbie's family. We drove in heavy rain and 45 mph winds. That was a blast and with our 2 cats in the car....it was a hoot!
We just finished exchanging gifts with Robbie's* family and we are now getting ready for lunch. It has been a fabulous time and I look forward to the rest of the day.
Thank you God for allowing us to have awesome families, but more than that, thank you for your Son, Jesus!
*In actual terms, we do not have separate families. We are all one big family (my family and Robbie's family). I have 2 sets of parents and so does Robbie. I made the distinction here for your reading benefit only!
Russ
We got up at 4:45am Christmas morning to travel to central Arkansas to be with Robbie's family. We drove in heavy rain and 45 mph winds. That was a blast and with our 2 cats in the car....it was a hoot!
We just finished exchanging gifts with Robbie's* family and we are now getting ready for lunch. It has been a fabulous time and I look forward to the rest of the day.
Thank you God for allowing us to have awesome families, but more than that, thank you for your Son, Jesus!
*In actual terms, we do not have separate families. We are all one big family (my family and Robbie's family). I have 2 sets of parents and so does Robbie. I made the distinction here for your reading benefit only!
Russ
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Annual Christmas with "The Gang"
Robbie and I have the privilege of having true, very close friends we call "The Gang." Each Christmas, "The Gang" gets together for food, fun and gift giving. This year's event was the best one yet. We had great food, great fellowship and gift giving and a total blast watching the kids open and play with their gifts! We are blessed by these dearest friends; our inner circle. We praise God for their devotion, friendship and love. May our relationships stand the test of time and may we always call each other friend! We love you Freemans, Stotts, Skelleys, Paynes & Hawkins!
Russ & Robbie
Russ & Robbie
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Don't Cheapen The Art of Gift Giving!
Every day you see people buzzing around with a million places to go and a million things to do. When you ask someone how they are doing, you get the standard answer, "I am tired" or "I am overwhelmed" or "I am sooooo busy!" It is rather ridiculous how busy we are! We never have to worry about the Bible verse that says, "an idle mind is the Devil's workshop."
In this overly busy society, we look for ways to make our lives easier; ways to lighten our busy schedule. We are a society of convenience seekers!
I was confronted by convenience seekers recently. They asked Robbie and me to make gift giving convenient; easier. Robbie and I protested the idea; yet we were over-ruled by the majority. It was a sad day for both of us. How in the world could we cheapen gift giving by making it easy and convenient? Especially our own family!
I will be the first to say that I am unable to give a gift to everyone! I can not buy a gift for everyone person I know or every friend that I have. I fully understand that gift giving can be very expensive when there are many gifts to give. And there is also the time factor. Some people don't have a lot of time to shop.
BUT....Who ever said that the act of giving a gift is supposed to be easy and convenient? If we strive to make it easy and convenient, then we stop giving gifts and engaged in the act of swapping tangible goods!
Some of the most memorable gifts I have received were ones that cost very little. Some were even home-made! It wasn't the gift itself I remember the most. It was the person I remember; how they gave me something cool when they had very little to give. That is amazing!
I implore each and every one of us to examine why and how we give gifts. We make time for and spend our money on things that are important to us. All you have to do is look at our bank accounts to know where our priorities are. Lets make gift giving special this year!
Russ
In this overly busy society, we look for ways to make our lives easier; ways to lighten our busy schedule. We are a society of convenience seekers!
I was confronted by convenience seekers recently. They asked Robbie and me to make gift giving convenient; easier. Robbie and I protested the idea; yet we were over-ruled by the majority. It was a sad day for both of us. How in the world could we cheapen gift giving by making it easy and convenient? Especially our own family!
I will be the first to say that I am unable to give a gift to everyone! I can not buy a gift for everyone person I know or every friend that I have. I fully understand that gift giving can be very expensive when there are many gifts to give. And there is also the time factor. Some people don't have a lot of time to shop.
BUT....Who ever said that the act of giving a gift is supposed to be easy and convenient? If we strive to make it easy and convenient, then we stop giving gifts and engaged in the act of swapping tangible goods!
Some of the most memorable gifts I have received were ones that cost very little. Some were even home-made! It wasn't the gift itself I remember the most. It was the person I remember; how they gave me something cool when they had very little to give. That is amazing!
I implore each and every one of us to examine why and how we give gifts. We make time for and spend our money on things that are important to us. All you have to do is look at our bank accounts to know where our priorities are. Lets make gift giving special this year!
Russ
Friday, November 24, 2006
Awesome Thanksgiving Celebration!
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone! What is left for me are awesome memories. I had the privilege of having my family and Robbie's family together to celebrate the holiday. We had a wonderful time enjoying food, each other's company and thanking God for all of His blessings! Thank you Dad & Mom Rickett for opening up your home to us! Thank you Dad, Mom Rhodes & Grandma for visiting us in our home! We love you all!
Russ
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Adoption Update
Many of you have asked about the progress of our adoption. We have no new news at this time. We are still awaiting a match to a prospective birth mother.
New baby furniture is the only new thing we have to report! We will continue to wait on God's leadership in our lives!
Russ
New baby furniture is the only new thing we have to report! We will continue to wait on God's leadership in our lives!
Russ
A Final farewell to my former employer
Since my departure from my former employer some two weeks ago, I have been working as a consultant; helping the new IT Manager get settled into his new position. Being a consultant has two advantages; one it helps me fill the financial void left from resigning and it gives the new IT Manager a boost in the learning curve of a new company.
In this case, I am very grateful for BEI allowing me to be a consultant. I hope I have been helpful! I also wish the new IT Manager the best as he works to fill the huge gaps in administration & management experience.
To my former employer; thanks for a great 5 years. It was an honor and privilege to be your IT Manager. As I begin a new journey in my life, I will always look back to you and have wonderful and fond memories.
I wish you all the best! It is my hope and prayer that the excellence we brought to the IT group will continue and that your company will continue to prosper through the assistance of an awesome computer network!
Thank you!
Russ
In this case, I am very grateful for BEI allowing me to be a consultant. I hope I have been helpful! I also wish the new IT Manager the best as he works to fill the huge gaps in administration & management experience.
To my former employer; thanks for a great 5 years. It was an honor and privilege to be your IT Manager. As I begin a new journey in my life, I will always look back to you and have wonderful and fond memories.
I wish you all the best! It is my hope and prayer that the excellence we brought to the IT group will continue and that your company will continue to prosper through the assistance of an awesome computer network!
Thank you!
Russ
Saturday, October 28, 2006
And the purchase of baby stuff begins....
Today, Robbie and I purchased baby furniture. This is our first purchase for our new baby. We bought a crib and dresser. Despite the fact that we shelled out some dough, it really has not sunk in that we will be parents very soon. This is all so crazy. We are going to be parents!!! Are we ready? Are we really doing this? What in the world were we thinking?
Ok, it's all good! LOL
Russ
Ok, it's all good! LOL
Russ
Friday, October 27, 2006
Here goes the awesome leap of faith!
Today is my last official day at my Information Technology job. As you know I am leaving my job to pursue my new Personal Chef business.
Anytime you pursue God and His will for your life, there is always a crisis of belief; a leap of faith. I knew when I set out on this journey of becoming a personal chef and a father that there would be a leap of faith; a point when I would have to jump, not knowing where I would land and completely depending on God to take care of me as I fly off the cliff.
Well that day has come. I do not have enough clients to fill the financial void of quitting my job, yet, I have too many clients to keep a full time job. Therefore, I have come to my crisis of belief; will I trust God and jump, or will I trust in my own abilities and work this out myself...staying on what seems the safe path.
Well, I am ready to jump and blow through this crisis of belief! In about 15 minutes, I will be jumping off the cliff and trusting God completely as I fly over the edge!
Thank you God for this opportunity; for the privilege of serving you and being loved by you! You are more amazing that my little brain can comprehend. May my life glorify you and you only! Thank you for this cliff and for the honor of jumping! I love you sooooo much!
Russ
Anytime you pursue God and His will for your life, there is always a crisis of belief; a leap of faith. I knew when I set out on this journey of becoming a personal chef and a father that there would be a leap of faith; a point when I would have to jump, not knowing where I would land and completely depending on God to take care of me as I fly off the cliff.
Well that day has come. I do not have enough clients to fill the financial void of quitting my job, yet, I have too many clients to keep a full time job. Therefore, I have come to my crisis of belief; will I trust God and jump, or will I trust in my own abilities and work this out myself...staying on what seems the safe path.
Well, I am ready to jump and blow through this crisis of belief! In about 15 minutes, I will be jumping off the cliff and trusting God completely as I fly over the edge!
Thank you God for this opportunity; for the privilege of serving you and being loved by you! You are more amazing that my little brain can comprehend. May my life glorify you and you only! Thank you for this cliff and for the honor of jumping! I love you sooooo much!
Russ