Party Bus Party Bus!!!

Party Bus!Me, Caty, and Cathy in our limo

Chelsyi and I in the party bus

So you may be wondering what I'm doing talking about a party bus. Let's take it from the beginning.

On Saturday morning (too early in the morning, actually) Anna, Chelsyi, and I all left for Ft. Myers to get our hair done. I totally forgot to stop and get Anna something to eat, so the poor thing was starving the entire time. We stopped at Kohl's to get Chelsyi's mothers day gift and then went on to The Rock. After becoming beautiful (haha) we left and came home. We hung out, ate quiche, and then left to get our make-up done! Anna looked like a mafia wife (her own description..only because of her red lipstick), and I looked like a rock-star (I let Cat have free reign and well..there was electric blue liner extending out like Cleopatra...it was awesome). We all came back, got dressed, and then the real fun started...

Our limo was late, and called to let us know that our air conditioning was not working. Bummer. We rode in a very hot limo to Alva...where we were moved to the PARTY BUS! This is a bus for about 40+ people and there were only 9 of us. We took lots of pictures, played with the strobe lights, explored the bathroom, had races down the bus, and lounged out in the seats. The bus took us to the Melting Pot where we ate waaaay too much food. We made french fries, ate lots of delicious food, and had tons and tons of chocolate. It was amazing.

We left the Melting Pot in our limo (they fixed the air conditioning) and went on to Prom. Prom was fun...we didn't dance much but I still had a great time. We came home in the limo and went immediately to bed. We were really tired...

I'll leave some pictures from the evening. I may put up more later..but these are all that I have for now.

I remembered!

The name of my 'condition' is neurological syncope. Here's some information if you're interested.

Syncope is a term used to describe the loss of consciousness from temporary disruption of cerebral oxygenation. This is typically due to the interruption of blood flow to the brain, and the loss of consciousness usually lasts for less than 30 seconds. In lay terms, fainting is the equivalent descriptive term.

So I had another doctor's appointment today and we went over my blood-work. Everything 'medically speaking only...haha' is normal. My cholesterol is a bit high, but nothing to be worried about. My doctor just wants me to be careful and eat lots of vegetables. Considering that I enjoy eating vegetables I don't think that's much of a problem.

Moving on...prom is this weekend! Anna, Chelsyi and I have hair appointments in the morning on Saturday, then Anna and I are getting our make-up done, and then we are all going to meet at my house to leave! We have a limo, and are going to eat at the Melting Pot. It should be a fun (and rather expensive) evening. Yay for senior memories.

Anna-good luck on the AP Exam! If I don't talk to you sooner, know that I'm praying for all of your classes' nerves and successes. You'll all do great!

Emo-continue having a blast on your trip to Texas. I have no idea where you'll be tonight, but I know you'll have fun!

Oh..wanna know something funny? I think I spelled valedictorian wrong for the newspaper. The valedictorian spells valedictorian wrong. Classic.

Brit

Quick Update...

I'm waiting to leave for my appointment with the eye doctor here in a few minutes and figured I would quickly update on a few things.

On Friday I had a weird sensation that I was going to pass out while I was watching "Iron Man". That was not the first time I had felt it (though it was the strongest), and it continued over the weekend, so I went to the doctor this morning. I've already forgotten what he thinks it is, but simply put: at times my blood pressure will quickly drop and my nerves will have to overcompensate to pump the blood through my body; causing me to be dizzy and disoriented. There is some special name for it, but as I said...I've already forgotten. The solution to this problem? Eat more salt, drink lots of water, and well..it'll get better before I'm older. Oh joy.

He's not quite sure that's all it is, so I had bloodwork done, and am seeing a cardiologist for tests next Friday. Bloodwork was fun (ha!). I was very nervous because this was my first time having it done, and the women who took me back couldn't find a vein! She stuck me about 4 times in my right arm, finally gave up, went to my left arm, and then called in a different nurse. The other nurse tried my right arm as well (to no avail), but finally found a good vein in my left one. Needless to say I left the lab looking like I had lost a battle. :)

It wasn't all that bad..and (surprise, surprise) I survived. Thanks for all the prayers that have gone out for me! I'll come back later and write more about the 'condition' when I remember what it's called.

-Brit

Whirlwind

Casey Ryan O'Ferrell

Life has certainly been a whirlwind for me since I last wrote. I suppose I'll start with what happened on April 20, 2008. My mom recieved a phone call at 9:15 AM saying that my little 11 year-old cousin Casey had died in his sleep. This was absolutely the last thing I was expecting to hear about as I was getting ready to go to church. He was perfectly healthy, and no one was aware of any pre-existing condition.

My mom immediately left the house to take my Aunt Linda and Uncle Tommy (Casey's grandparents) along with my Mema up to Gainsville to get with the family. My dad and I packed and left soon after. Turns out Casey had bleeding in his brain (the cause is unknown) and died peacefully in his sleep around 3 or 4 in the morning. It's likely that no one could have seen that on a brain scan and there was absolutely nothing anyone could have done (even if he had been at a hospital) to save him.

My mom and I stayed up with the family and took care of the kids most of the week. We left on Tuesday to come home so I could go to school for Wednesday, and then left once again on Thursday to go the viewing. I totally appreciate the prayers that went out for me and my family. I was honestly hesistant about seeing Casey at the viewing, because I always wanted to remember him just like I had last seen him. As we were walking into the funeral home, an awesome peace came around me as I walked up to see Casey. I immediately became completely secure and peaceful about the fact that Casey is in heaven. It was great to have God's peace within me so that I could be there for the rest of my family. God always amazes me with his faithfulness, and did not dissapoint as many good things actually came out of this tragedy:

1. I got the know my cousins, Lauren and Amanda a whole lot better

2. God strengthened my dependence on Him

3. John (Casey's dad) has dealt with this surprisingly well and is letting this strengthn His walk with Christ

4. It brought lots of broken families together

5. I got to see my cousin Justin and talk to him about some of the life choices he's making

After the funeral on Friday, my dad took me to Grad Bash at Universal Studios in Orlando. It was a blast, and I may write more about that later. After a long night there, we came home at about 5:00 the the next morning only to pack and get ready to leave on Sunday for FBLA States. I had fun, won a $500 scholarship, and made some friends, but I am so glad to be home.

Cathy, Forrest (from Hello Goodbye, Me, and Anner)

I'll hopefully be home more to update this thing so I don't always have a super gigantic entry to do as I did this time. Oh, and one more announcement:

Wavorly, Nevertheless, Ruth, and Article One are coming to Carlson Memorial United Methodist Church in LaBelle, FL on June 16th! Be looking out for more details soon!

-Brit

18 already?

Attention ladies and gentlemen:

Anna Martinson is now 18. An adult. Eligible to vote, buy cigarettes, sign papers, and well...that's about it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNA!

2nd grade feels like only yesterday. Where has the time gone? Ha, now I'm done being sentimental and reminiscent.

However, I do hope you have a fabulous birthday. But of course you will...you'll be having dinner with the 'other two'.

OK, so bye bye, bye bons, and happy birthday.

See you tonight!

Brit

Speechless...but I guess I can type

Settling.

Expect a very frustrated blog here in a few days..or maybe even today if I feel up to it.

Bleh.

I know, I know, it's late

So...I will now write about the incredible show that took place on March 30, 2008 here at Carlson. The Cross the Line Tour!

Unlike last time when I wrote about Jubilation Jam, I honestly don't think I remember much from the actual day of the concert. Some things I DO remember doing are:

1. Finding Brandon (Superchic[k]) some EIGHT ft. tables for his merch.
2. Helping Brandon/Scott discover that the tour's rider doesn't ask for eight ft. tables, and that may be the reason why no one ever provided eight foot tables.
3. Unloading merchandise with Melissa from Superchic[k], and her reaction to our fancy cart that had four wheels. (Later on, I heard them talking about how they'd 'accidentally' mix ours up with their cart that had a lame wheel)
4. Lunch: sitting down for ten minutes with Matt from Superchic[k] to have lunch (and all the methodist men who thought they were so cool to sit with a member of Superchic[k]...priceless), seeing the drummer from Disciple come out in one of our choir robes and started exclaimly loudly that he loved the quesadillas (they had had deli sandwhiches for the entire week before that...oh and they caught this all on video; I have no idea who's camera it was)
5. Getting really nervous after seeing Lauren, the lovely lighting lady, outside the building crying because five lights were burned out. (Thankfully it wasn't our fault and I think everything was fine once they got it figured out). To add to the nervousness, Scott (the tour manager) was looking for Cody and I.
6. The incredible transformation of our sanctuary. I seriously didn't recognize the place. Backdrops+cool lights=amazing!!

As for the night of the show, we actually got to stand behind a panel seperating the backstage area from the public area to watch most of every show. I unfortunately only got to see about five minutes of Starlit Platoon's show, but for what I did hear, they sounded great. Britt Nicole rocked out, KJ-52 made me laugh..a lot, Disciple rocked our faces off (and maybe Anna's socks too), and *trumpet music*, Superchic[k] was AMAZING! I may be partial since they are one of my favorite bands, but their show absolutely rocked. The message they have to bring to LaBelle fits so incredibly well with exactly what we need to hear. It was also cool to watch their show knowing a little bit about each of their personalities. It made their show even more incredibly amazing. So, here are some of my favorite moments from the actual show (and maybe a few after):
1. Britt Nicole knocking over her water bottle, and then just throwing it out over a sweaty audience.
2. Anna's face when Disciple came on.
3. Being with Superchic[k] right before they went on. It was fun to see how they act before a big performance. (I'll try to steal Emily's video for this one).
4. KJ-52 telling me that he couldn't sign my letter of recommendation because it was a big lie after (come to find out) he lied to the entire audience saying that he graduated from LaBelle! It was pretty hilarious.
5. Britt Nicole and Suzanna. They had a very 'sweet' moment, and that't really all I can say to try and explain it.
6. Superchic[k] playing Hero at the end of the show (when they had not done that on any other show thus far...and that being the theme song for LaBelle)
7. How amazing it was to see over 400 youth from LaBelle join together to celebrate Christ!!

There was probably a lot more that I should have written about, but I'll leave it at this for now. I hope my summary full of rampant parentheses was fun to read, because the day was certainly one I will never forget! Thank you to everyone that helped...you are all amazing. Thank you to God, because none of this would be possible had you not been in it every step of the way.

Brit