Puzzled... ??? and Learning That My Name Is Getting Out There Outside The Y

so tonight while I was busy working doing my job one of my co-worker Reed's Mom comes in and finds me and ask what my name is and says Reed talks about you all the time and says he works with you sometimes and then says, i think he works tonight doesn't he and i said yes he does because i was told he works tonight when i came in. I'll be honest I wasn't sure what to think or do with that, I've never had that happen before. I teased him and told him that whatever he said, IT BETTER BE GOOD! HAHAHA!

I also got a lot of members really complimenting me tonight which is always a GREAT THING! something both my boss Cory and I love to hear!

I called Cory tonight and told him what all was going on but mainly just told him about Reed and he just laughed and said, well good! that's good! he couldn't stop laughing he could barely talk! lol! he got a kick out of Reed and his mom! he thought that was soooo funny! Of course I was laughing too when I called because I wasn't sure what to think of that.

of course, I will say this, it's definitely a good thing that my name is getting out there outside of the ymca. that's going to do me major favors down the road. I'm glad people are learning my name and finding out who I am. I look at it this way, before long everybody is going to know who I am and know about my hard work. 

this probably won't be the last time I hear someone outside The YMCA is talking about me.

HARD WORK TRULY PAYS OFF!!!! YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!

ALL THINGS YMCA LIFE UPDATE & LIFE UPDATE!

Lastnight, I just met Aeriel who use to work in the nursery at the reservoir ymca. Boy did i hear some stories! Her story sounds just like mine. She shares my story! She told all about being the only one that would clean up over there in child care and she told me all about staying sick while working with the kids. Absolutely cracks me up! Glad to know im not alone in having gotten sick while working with the kids. She knew cory before she started working there isn't that funny!


Always good to meet a new face and someone who shares your story!
Look forward to sharing many more stories in the future when i go in the chinese restaurant to eat or pick up an order to go!

I am so blown away by all of the doors that have been opened to me since I came on to work at The YMCA. There are constantly new doors opening to me, the first door that opened to me was becoming a new employee trainer, the 2nd door that opened to me was working in child care, the 3rd door that opened to me was recieving such a high and huge honor of getting to be photographed for the up coming phamplet for my aunt Lou Ellen's work and getting to do the up coming video promo and interview with my bosses & the 4th door that opened to me was getting to Join the team of people who take turns once a month cleaning up the church and helping get ready for sunday morning service all because of what i do at the ymca, the 5th door that opened to me was  my church offering me the opportunity to work in kid life on sunday mornings.  and now the opportunity to meet and get to know Aeriel who use to work at the nursery that shares my story. I'm seriously about ready to cry again, im so over whelmed!

these are not the only doors that have opened to me, there have been so many others, like for example, when i found out that my transfer over to reservoir ymca wasn't just about me  but it was also about finding and meeting Julia and helping her find the church home she had been looking for and now thanks to me and the timing of my transfer and finding and meeting her, she's now on the sound team at church and wants to play the bass guitar on sunday mornings in Chrissy's place. I never thought one person like myself could become responsible for things like that and have such huge expectations. and also being apart of helping someone at  church apply and try to get on to work in our child care at reservoir ymca, there have just been so many doors that have opened to me.

I never could have imagined any of this that is happening to me! I'm reminded of Mr.Mark Kelly and what he always said in chapel,  in the word's of Mr.Mark Kelly - GOD IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME! NO MATTER WHAT!

I promise you, they are going to keep making me cry! but that's a happy cry! that's a, I'M SPEECHLESS CRY! they are soooo good at bringing me to tears! 


this is why i am just so happy these days and just feel so loved, i just feel like everyone around me at work and church keeps wrapping me in love and it feels amazing! i never had any of this before the ymca or the exchange so thats why i just don't know what to do with myself! I now get members walking by me every night patting me on the back and saying hey how are you and thanks for all you do and that's such a great feeling!

 

the timing of me meeting Aeriel tonight is perfect & crazy! because i have the promo video and interview photo session for the phamplet coming up where i will get to tell my story of how this came about  me ending up at the ymca and i get to talk about my ymca journey and my journey to the ymca  and just basically tell my success story and basically get to talk about where i came from and all that and how all of this came about, so it's really neat to have someone who shares my story because that's going to help with my promo coming up because i will be able to talk about that as well.  


Oh and Sunday right after church, my pastor Bryant stops me on the way out the door, just to brag on me and says, i gotta tell you, you do a fantastic job, i know we have others who help out but you do a great job and i know i make a mess up here during the week, i really appriciate you! You know you are doing something right when the preacher is bragging! HAHAHAHA! 



let me tell you, he hit me at just the right time though because my heart was just breaking for my sweet and very dear friend Heather Jones and her mom Mrs.Laura Jones in the loss of Allison, I still can't believe it. heather and Allison and I not only went to pds together but we grew up in church together at oakhurst baptist church and we took dance together from Mrs.Katie Ray, we all played softball together too. so this is just very sad and devastating. sweet Allison is the 2nd one in two months, I knew Taylor Joubert as well from Dance at Mrs.Katie Ray's but the loss of Allison affected me more than anything because Heather & Allison and I were so close. We stayed in touch after they left and moved to Georgia, we actually wrote letters even though this crazy little thing called the internet and email exsisted we still chose to actually write letters and send pictures. We have really gotten away from our letter writing though since this crazy thing called Facebook came along. i recieved I think it was 9:00pm. I was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say. 

 anyway, i just wanted to give ya'll an update on all things ymca life and just a life update and tell ya'll all about what's been going on in my world lately!

The Connections Just got WILD TONIGHT!

OMG! Ya'll are NOT! going to believe this! Tonight while I was at bible study, I found out someone in my bible study group from church The Exchange in pearl,Ms Deborah Wilson Douglas was telling me about how she know's Heather Jay Laura Rasbury Jones  & Mr.Kevin Jones, she said I was going to tell you, the girl you were talking about, I know her, well I know Kevin & Laura. I'm related to them. she & one of the other ladies from our church were talking and she said that sounds like the girl Tara she was talking about. She said, I got a phone call saying make sure you tell Debbie Kevin's daughter passed away.  when she heard that it sounded just like the girl I was talking about she came to my facebook page and looked at some of my post and saw the picture I had of Heather & Allison and said that's Kevin's daughter OH MY GOODNESS.

I was completely taken by suprise tonight when I found out. God has been showing me so many signs as to why I belong as The Exchange since I became apart of the exchange since end of July 2012 - August 2012 I think.  I have become apart of an amazing Life Group bible study group, they were there for me as i searched and searched for a job until I found my job at The YMCA. just this past April I found a long lost friend of ours from clarksdale from pds & oakhurst Christina Hill - known as Chrissy at The Exchange, we are both so grown up and didn't put it together who each other was because her married name is Sanders. so we didn't realize who each other was. one of my life group leaders Shawn Stackhouse became a big part of bringing us together, because shawn knows Mr.Tim Horn who was taking over in Pastor Claud's place when he left and I later posted a picture from the annual and then Chrissy saw it and asked if my first grade teacher was Mrs.Stroud and I said yes and then i pulled out the pds annual again and realized Chrissy Sanders is Christina Hill. So God has been surrounding me with pds and clarksdale people at The Exchange since I first Joined a Life Group. 

Sunday one of the girls at Church Michelle Wood Vincent told me her mom knows someone in Clarksdale and works with the depart of Social Services  which also blew my mind and I was like who is your mom ? clarksdale is one of those small towns where everybody knows everybody.

I'm so excited to connect with all of these people and have so many connections from home all around me. God has just been blowing my mind with all of the connections lately. One thing I know for sure God has an amazing plan as to why hes bringing me and all of these people together.

Baby Shower Fun With The Exchange

Hey,

We went to a Baby Shower this afternoon for someone from my church family, Candace Chapman, and So Funny Story! going to Heather & Bryant's House for the baby shower, the maps gps app on my phone took us to pearl and then took us back to airport road and then took us to the interstate to I-20 and then back to pearl over by the old building Kids Rock and then finally took us to the first street Napoleon ave we were suppose to turn on to get to heather & bryant's House, needless to say, it made it us late! it took us around the world before it actually got us there! lol!

Anyway, Here Are Pictures from The Baby Shower Today!

Candace ask me to take pictures for her at the shower! That was fun! This is now the 2nd time my church has requested that I take pictures. 

I am so blessed to have the exchange in my life! they have opened doors for me in ways I cant explain that has not only been an amazing blessing for me but has also blessed the exchange & the ymca as well. They are continuing to open doors for me with my photography.

I couldn't ask for a better church family. God has placed me in a church family who wants to help me and open doors for me and push me the way buddy did. I have such a wonderful church family! 

I am forever greatful to them for not letting me Put the camera down for too long. I have been so busy And distracted with my ymca job that I haven't had time To think about my photography stuff I was really Wanting to persue for the longest time. God just had a different Plan for me for a little while but I have a feeling I will have more Opportunities in the future through my church! 

I really have some amazing people in my life! I don't honestly know where I would be without them Or what I would do without them! My world and my life went from upside down for two years To back on track and doing better than I ever have and 300 times Better than I could have ever dreamed Or imaged.

Monkey See Monkey Do at The Y

OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!!
PAULA PAULA PAULA!!!!!!
I think she's trying to turn me in to her! LOL! or turn me in to them!

I learned one thing about her tonight! Paula is Monkey See Monkey Do! She's been around Cory waaay too long!

I was telling Paula about a friend of mine wanting to join and about how I had to ask Cory exactly what our prices are lastnight. She said im suprised he knows because he's never here... He don't know nothin. He probably turned around and ask Jara.

She told me to tell him she said that. And he said, well she's wrong I'm a pretty smart fella.

And I told him how every time I have to ask him something about where something is or what he wants me to do or whatever and she says, you can't ask him. He don't know nothing.

He said, Ha. Every time she works the desk and I go up there she disappears with the phone ringing.

You know what they say about people living in glass houses, they ought not throw the first stone.

She's like my older sister. But that doesn't mean I can't pick on her.

TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I was talking to Trace about this later on and he said it's all True! Everything Paula said and what cory said about her disappearing with the phone ringing. She said she does it to give him something to do because he don't have anything better to do. Trace said that's true too!

He said that's what happens when you get to be the big boss, you come and go as you please but that's okay, one day i will reach that status. He said cory will probably only come in for a minute tomorrow and thats's okay too. He also said teasing each other and playing around with each other makes it fun to work up here.

He is so right because it has made a huge difference in my life! I feel like God did a 360 on my life and put me in the hands of people who love me for me. I love that I dont have to worry about stuff all the time and I can be myself and have fun and be silly!