Foggy California Nights

Current location: Hotel Room in Anaheim, California. Across the street from Disney Land.

INSANITY.

No, I'm not here to visit the land of Disney.
Although that would be fun.
I'm here surprising my great friend, Kelsi and watch her play violin at her senior recital. She will be graduating with a BA in Violin Performance from BIOLA this semester.
Your final recital is a big deal. I remember mine. It's an emotional thing. It's nice to have family and friends there.

It kinda sucks though because this is my first time ever in California and it's cloudy and pouring down rain the entire time. It's alright though... I've still had a really great time. Nothing like sitting in a hotel room all day in your PJs, eating pizza and watching Maury.

The weather was ridiculous on the way up here. Since we left Tucson the rain has been coming down heavy and the fog was so thick while driving through the mountains. My friend Logan was driving and it was really hard for him to drive through that stuff because he's from Tucson where it never rains and fog is a mystical thing that has yet to be seen in southern arizona.

This whole "no meat" thing has been kinda hard. Last time I did this I freaked out on a turkey sandwich.
A turkey sandwich.
Of all things.....

Anyway, the recital is tonight and we will be all dolled up so I'm sure there will be photos.

Stay tuned.

But in the meantime, here is an awesome picture of Landon and Emma. This is a favorite family pastime of ours. When you fight with a sibling, you sit on the couch and hold hands. My parents/grandparents did this with us. I find it highly effective and will do this with my children. Unless I just have one child. And in that case, they will hold hands with me.

The hustle and the bustle

Oh, the madness has begun.
This is currently what my dining room table looks like due to Christmas present making. I'll be home in just a little over a week. I'm completely stoked, to say the least.

So I'm absolutely in love with www.etsy.com thanks to Shannon and Kim. It's simply amazing. I've gotten so many gift ideas from this place. Why would I buy their stuff when they tell me how they make it?
Honestly, I'm just cheap. But even if I had money, I think I would make the stuff. I love making Christmas gifts for people. It's way more fun that buying things.
I'm stumped about what to get Jeff(brother) and Brandon(brother-in-law) for Christmas.
They are so difficult.
Well, actually they're easy.
If I wanted to buy them a beanie or a shirt or something... that would be easy.
But if I want to be creative and make them something... ugh... good luck pleasing them.
I'll probably give in and go with a shirt. It's about them anyway right? haha

So the church I work for is planting a second campus on the University of Arizona campus at the end of January. I'm very excited about this. At first I was nervous and had many questions. But that's how I get about things. I have to really process things. I usually do this out loud with my best friend, Kim.
She's the best listener. Really.
Anyway, now I'm really excited about this second campus. The more time I spend down at the university, the more I realize the huge need for a culturally relevant church on campus. There are a couple christian clubs on campus which have about a hundred students that attend their "meetings", but other than that... there is nothing.
Nothing.
and there are what? like 40,000 students there? holy cow.... we've got our work cut out for us.

I am currently very burdened. God is speaking to me and telling me to be bold and to speak truth into people's lives.
My insecurities are really getting in the way. Here's the deal: I'm a verrrrrry opinionated person... as most of you know. And I just really want to be able to separate my opinion from the what God is telling me to tell others. Make sense? So if you want to pray for me, that's how you can do it. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray I become less like Bailey and more like Jesus. That should cover it.

I really miss my dad these days... well every day really. Here's some really cute pictures of him.

This is him with baby Greysen. How sweet is this?

Hahaha. I love this photo. I am such a dork. I'm blaming that really awesome sweatshirt on the fact that it was a gift after my house burned down. Don't judge.
And here is my ultimate favorite. This is my dad and I 19 years ago on Christmas morning. I have no idea what I got that year for Christmas, but I bet you anything I played in that box more than I played with my new presents.

God Made My Fingers and God Made My Toes.

So i'm filling out this paper work for school next semester. It's crazy. Basically, I'm your typical middle-class American college student that makes enough money to not qualify for any grants, but not enough money to actually pay $25,000 to go to school. 

Beautiful.

So about this paperwork. Basically here's what it is. It's called a professional judgement form. Since my Dad has been gone, my Mom's income has dropped drastically. But that doesn't show on my FAFSA. So I have to send in all of this stuff and if it's approved, I may get my school paid for. Which would be awesome. If it isn't approved... well... we'll figure out plan B later. 

Financial Aid has never been an easy-breezy process for me. I think those people were horribly damaged at some point in their life. They aren't good people. 

There's something you should know: I'm currently not eating meat. I've done this before... but it didn't last as long as I had intended. I always thought this would be easier because I only eat chicken, fish and turkey... but those are hard for me to give up. But ya know, Jesus died for me. I can go without meat. So if you have an vegetarian recipes... pass them on over. 

I'm "babysitting" at my friend/boss's house because he is in the emergency room. 

Around 7 AM tomorrow morning he will be appendix-less.

Here's what I walked into this evening:

I about peed my pants. This is the weirdest dog on the planet. 

shh... don't tell Bill. He's very partial.

And here is what is in their front lawn:

This is much funnier in person. Up close you can tell that it's pewter or whatever. But from the inside of your car it looks like a black Jesus. 

It wasn't expected at all. 

It's late and I'm bored. We don't have television at our home so when I'm at Billy and Ami's.... I binge. It's bad. 

I just watched 2 hours of Dawson's Creek.(I'm pretty sure I've never seen a full episode of that show until now.)

ugh... I must go to bed. I'm going to go lay down with this guy.

So many thoughts...

I haven't blogged in a week and a half. That's ridiculous. I don't even know what to write about because there is so much....
I'll manage.

Today we had two baptisms at CEC. It was awesome. We dunked them in our hot tub at my house. It was so much fun. I love my friends.

So God is teaching me a lot right now and it's super overwhelming. But in a good way.... know what I mean?
I want so bad to be a person of humility. and integrity. and justice.
Ya know, I pray for these things all the time but boy... apparently God is aware of the fact that I'm a "hands-on" type of learner because I am in the middle of situations where I'm constantly challenged with exuding the things of which I pray for.
It's rough.

Thanksgiving was good. It's always different spending holidays away from family... especially because my family is so tight.

So, many of you know this, but my sister recently got a breast reduction. Things went awesomely. here's an lovely picture of her drugged self just out of surgery.
She's going to love me for this:
bah.

So I went to Costco today. If you don't know what this is, it's basically a west coast Sam's but bigger and "better".
Or worse.
Depending on how you look at it.
I tell ya what, I was disgusted there today.(dont get me wrong... I had a ton of fun because I love my friends and they make me laugh really hard.)
But my heart was broken.

It was crammed packed with people shopping for ridiculous amounts of crap. At one point in time, I voiced my opinion rather loudly and got a few bad looks from a couple ladies around me.
shrug. Whatever.
I looked at my friend Billy and said, "I feel so American. Look at this place. It's disgusting. People are starving all over the world and we are surrounded by all this stuff. We can get whatever we want whenever we want it."
I was quickly sooshed because people around me didn't like what I had to say.

Get this:

An estimated 923 million people in the world go hungry.

In developing countries nearly 16 million children die every year from preventable and treatable causes. Sixty percent of these deaths are from hunger and malnutrition.

In the United States, 11.7 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the U.S. are living with hunger or are at risk of hunger.

sad.

I want so bad to be more like Jesus and less like Bailey. Careful. When you start praying for these things, it's a hurtful process. You have to become very vulnerable.

Good luck.

Moms, Thanksgiving and Tacky Sweats.

Thanksgiving! I love this time of year. sigh...
Cold weather. Football. Eating things you only eat on Thanksgiving. Spending all day with your family. Watching my Mom freak out in the morning because she always is overwhelmed with how much food she has to make. Seeing how many people we can cram into Aunt Janet's house. Feeling awkward every time Uncle Allen makes us stand in a circle and name something we're thankful for. oh the joys....

Thanksgiving feels different in Tucson though. I'm just so use to being with the 1 million people in our family and watching all the little rugrats run around. I'll get use to it, I'm sure.
We're having a "Thanksgiving-for-people-who-don't-have-families-Thanksgiving". Basically there will be about 12 single twenty-somethings gathering together for yummy food, flag football and lots of laughing.
I have really cool friends.
Here's proof.

We went up to Mount Lemmon last night and all wore very colorful tacky outfits.
It's suppose to snow up there tonight, so we figured last night would be our final chance to drive up there in our little Hondas without chains and 4-wheel drive.
It was so much fun. We told creepy ghost stories and watched people make out in their cars.
yuck.

Here's a picture of my cute mom and I while she was in Tucson for her 50th birthday.
Obviously, we're at the Grand Canyon.
They aren't tricking you. It really is Grand.
Here's another cute picture of her. I had such a good time with her while she was here.
I'm wearing the same shirt in both of these pictures.
Same shirt.
Different days.

I love that woman. Hug her tomorrow. It's going to be a rough day for her.

Pink Mohawks and Words of Wisdom

Here's Greysen.
He is, by far, the cutest 5 year old on the face of this planet.
He is such a cheese ball.
I love his "mohawk". When he was three I colored his mohawk pink--- his favorite color at the time.
Nikki thought it was hilarious, but Brandon did not.
go figure.
Now he is all boy. When you ask him he favorite colors he will tell you "black, brown, gray, blue and sometimes red".
But don't let him fool you. This kid is a hardcore momma's boy. He snuggles with Nikki every night.
She loves it though. Since he is the last baby, she secretly doesn't want him to grow up.
I don't blame her. Look at him.

He makes this silly face where he grins and squints his eyes.
Here ya go.
He is so funny. In appearance, he is a boy version of Emma, but wants so much to be just like his big brother, Landon.
It many ways he and Landon are polar opposites. Landon loathes being dirty or messy and Grey is the kid who colors his entire body in blue magic marker.
Love it.
I love being an aunt because I get to laugh at those moments and take photos, but as a mom you have to put them in time out.

On a different note, I've whipped out the 'ol opera lately. For the past few days its been non-stop Gioachino Rossini, Andrea Bocelli, Vinvenzo Bellini, Sarah Brightman, Giacomo Puccini and Luciano Pavarotti. I loooove it. Opera does something special to my soul.
I tried falling asleep to it last night.
That didn't work.
I thought it would be peaceful. Nope. I was wrong. All I can do is listen and evaluate every note. The tone, dynamics, emotion... everything.
I'll think I'll stick to Sufjan Stevens when it comes to falling asleep.

I've been really broken lately for people around me.
For instance, I have a very close friend that struggles with homosexuality. In his heart of hearts he wants nothing more than to bless God and walk in His ways. But he also has a desire for a soul mate. Someone to come home to at the end of the day. Someone to think about while he's a work. Someone to dress up nice for.
I don't blame him.
But his prayer is for him to be able to love without sinning. For God to answer this prayer, one of two things would have to happen. Either Truth would have to change(which won't happen) or my friend's desire for a man would have to change into a desire for a woman. He has been praying for the past 10 years for God to change his desires. I believe God can do this. But my friend has lost hope and has come to terms with the fact that his life will, most likely, be spent alone.
I don't understand why things like this happen.
I was talking to Kim the other day about a completely different subject, but I believe the same principle applies: I'm convinced that God isn't always concerned with our comfort and that He'll do whatever it takes to make His name known.
I know, that sounds heartless... which is unlike me.
But, I believe, the testimony of my friend's life will change lives. If he chooses to say, "I don't understand why I have the desires I have, but I choose God's ways over mine. I will choose a life of abstinence because I want to bless God and make His name known." people will be changed.

Pray for my friend. It's been a difficult week. He is struggling. I want so bad to snap my fingers and change him. I want so bad to have the magic words that will make him feel all better. But I don't. I listen, pray and cry. That's what I can do. God has given me wisdom. Pray that I access it.

This, That, and the Other.

I love productive days.
Today I headed up to the church and my co-staffer(and roommate), Julia, and I gave it a complete facelift. We cleaned and organized the back storage room. We labeled things... ah... I love labels. And my favorite job at all: I set up a donation booth for the village of Mata Ortiz, Mexico.

Mata Ortiz is a very poor village in Mexico and our church is giving clothes, toys, hygiene products and the liking to them for Christmas.
I am so excited about this.
We talk so much at CityEdge about being like Jesus and it's so enjoyable to watch people give.
The coolest(and the most intimidating) part about planting a church is you have the responsibility of planting the DNA of your church.
My best friend, Kim, said it perfectly: It's kinda like raising a kid. If you cuss around your kid, your kid will cuss. Monkey see, monkey do.

Exactly.

But if you are excited about giving to the people who need it the most, your church will be excited about giving to those who need it most. My church feels burdened for the people of Mata Ortiz. And I love that. It is the coolest thing to watch people grow in their love for Christ and become more like Him.
I love my job.
Here are three brothers from the village. In about a month they will have new clothes and soccer balls. Get ready.
I whipped out the 'ol scrapbooking stuff today. It's been too long. I seriously haven't scrapbooked since... hmm... May?
Ridiculous.
I'm going to do an album about my Dad. I want my children to know him. It kills me sometimes when I think about my future children not having a Grumpy.

Sorry, that was kinda sad.
It happens.
This is my best friend Kim.
And this is the best city in the world.
I love her.
and I love Lisbon.
I was going to put up the funniest picture ever of her... but she would get mad at me.
She makes me laugh so hard.
.......
.............
...............
bah... I can't resist.I love my life.

Emma DeLaney Jones

I just talked to my best friend, Kim, on the phone for 5 hours.
I miss her so much.
I convinced her to be irresponsible tomorrow and skip work.
She flirted with the idea... and I'm pretty sure she will be giving in.
I guess time will tell....


This section of the blog will be dedicated to my 10 year old niece, Emma.

This picture was taken by my sister at El Tequila earlier this week.

The story goes something like this:
Emma and her friend had to go to the bathroom so Nikki let them. Apparently they were taking forever so Nikki was curious and went in there to check on them.
This is what she found.
This girl is one of the funniest kids I have ever met. She is so bizarre.
For the first 4 years of her life she thought she was a dog. Seriously. She would always crawl around and bark. And if you didn't pet her and say "niiice puppy" she would whine like a horribly neglected 3 day old puppy. It was so weird.

Should I mention that I dropped this child 3 times while under the age of 2?
nah.....

Seriously though. She has a heart the size of Texas. She is brilliantly full of wit and sarcasm...(which often gets her in trouble). She is beautiful. Creative. Hilarious. Caring.

She recently came home with a report card full of A's and one C.
In social studies.
I don't blame her.
She went up to Nikki crying and saying, "I already know... I'm going to be grounded forever. I just hate social studies, mom!"
Nikki told her it was fine and that she doesn't have to be the best at everything she does. As long as she puts everything she can into it, it's fine.
It's a good lesson to be learned.
I was proud of Nikki.
This is Em again.
I can't get enough of her.
She's so beautiful.
In approximately 34 days I will get to see plenty of her.

Ya know, it's really hard being an aunt from three states away. You really miss those kids. It's especially hard on their birthdays. Until I moved to Tucson I was always soooo involved in their daily lives.
I loved it.
Now I see them twice a year. And I have to watch them grow through pictures and listen to how big they are getting over the phone. That's the hardest part about living in Tucson.
For sure.
I can't wait to see the men and women of God they will turn into. I already see it.
I've never seen so much passion in a child as I do in Landon. Or the ample amounts of creativity like I see in Greysen. Or the love and compassion like I see in Payton.
I pray God will use them to change the world.

Home is Where Your Heart is.....

Current location: Coffee Xchange 

I should be working on writing the new LifeGroup material.... yet I find myself blogging. 

oh..... sweet addiction... 

Ya know, I love this place. Not because of the coffee- it sucks actually.

I always get lemonade.

Thank you Lisbon, Portugal for eternally ruining me. 

And now that I think about it, the service here sucks. Well, except for the bald creepy guy that oddly worships me. Really. It's so weird. My roommate, Julia, loves it.

Let me add that Julia is very beautiful. Very. And he wants nothing to do with her. It weird me out... but she loves it.

anyway, I digress....

I love this place for the fact alone that is filled with college students. And random retired professors named Jim. And this homeless man that I adore named John. And this really hot doctor named.... something.... 

I always want to talk to him but he intimidates me. 

I did talk to him once. He accidentally unplugged my computer chord and then plugged it back in and I said, "thanks". 

ha.

I saw August Rush last night. It was really good. If you haven't seen it, you should. 

Julia said, " omg Bailey, you'll love this movie. You'll bawl the whole time. I did."

I didn't cry at all.

When things like this happen I wonder if I have a soul. 

Jim(the retired professor) just stopped by to borrow my computer chord. I love that man.

I'm wearing an OU t-shirt right now and he reminded me for the third time that he graduated from OU.

He left his heart in Oklahoma. 

He moved out here with his ex-wife 30 years ago, but they divorced about 10 years ago. Since then he's always wanted to move back. 

I wonder what is keeping him here.....

Well, I should probably get to work. It's going to be 3 AM before I know it.

Hello Blogger!
This is definitely a step up from wordpress.
I am one of those people that gets bored with the same thing.
You all know that person.
The person who changes their ring tones all the time? You know, the person who is constantly changing their profile picture on facebook? I know... annoying... but that's me. Take it or leave it.
I wonder why I'm like that?

I'm currently sitting on my bed with my roommate and good friend, Julia.
We are both working on our computers. Occasionally we look up at one another and smile.
Is this what married people do?
I think I may have seen one too many romantic comedies--- they're like crack to me.

I went to a concert last night. My friend Logan plays in the band Rockets to London. He also plays in our band at CityEdge.
He did really great.
Every time I say "great" I feel like Mandy Moore's character in Because I Said So.
I love that movie.
I told you they were like crack to me....

I'm really looking forward to the Christmas season. It's starting to get a little chilly here in Tucson. Ya know, like 60 at night.

whoa. Jump back Jack!
60 is cold though when you're use to 110. It's a nice change.

No, but Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. I really miss my sister. And, oddly, my brother-in-law.
If you really know that guy, you understand. He's a riot. If you don't know him, you should. He's brilliantly funny.

I've already received my Christmas presents from my mother. She bought me a really cute dining room table from Pier One. I love it. She also bought me an iPhone.

I love her.

Not because she buys me things. But because she takes care of me. And listens to me. And laughs at me, I think, harder than any other person on this planet. And she taught me what it means to love people. And she taught me how to bend the rules.
She has quite the rebellious streak.
I love that about her.

I'm done here. I think I have found a new love for blogging.