Why isn't life a musical?

Just saw Hairspray! I was once again reminded of how happy I am when I see a great musical! Chelsea and I had a girls evening. We went out to eat and then went to see a movie and even though Chelsea had seen Hairspray already, she told me she would happily see it again! Now I know why!!! LOVE IT!

So here is a list of some of my favorite muscials....

1. Les Miserables
2. Phantom of the Opera
3. Sound of Music
4. Hairspray
5. Grease
6. High School Musical--yes, I love this! I sing it all the time and on August 17th. I will be sitting in my living room watching High School Musical 2!

Oh saw a preview for the movie called "Becoming Jane". It is about Jane Austen!!! I love her novels!!!


I still need to see the current Harry Potter; Live Free, Die Hard; Bourne Ultimatum; and Ocean's 13. So many movies, so little time and money. But none of them will make me as happy as a good ole song and dance!

What are your favorite musicals?

Give me your best!

Ok, I have read two books this summer. I don't get time to read during the school year, so I soak it up during the summer. I started and finished book #2 today. So I need another book...preferably one I can find in the local library. So I need suggestions. I want to read something light, romantic, funny, a good mystery. Nothing sad, depressing or real life(unless it meets the qualifications of the above mentioned qualities). I am trying to escape for a while! I don't want to watch t.v. I don't want to read anything job/church related right now. I am burnt out.

So please please please give me your suggestions! I will add them to the post and hopefully others can enjoy them too! Now, I haven't read Harry Potter #5, 6 or 7 but I don't know that I really want to either....it doesn't matter, I know how each one ends anyway.

So here is my list so far--

1. "Before I wake", by Dee Henderson
2. "The fourth Traveling Pants book" by Ann Brashares

Suggestions
1. Confessions of a Shopoholic--Shayna
2. Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair--Tanya
3. "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" and "The Masque of the Black Tulip" by Lauren Willig.--Jacque
4. "The Book of Jane" by May Vanderbilt and Anne Dayton.--jacque
5. "Legends" by Robert Littel--Mike
6. Life is So Good By Richard Glaubman,George Dawson --Dave

Some of my other favorites are Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers the story of Judah set in teh gold rush era. Also by her is the series of books about the 5 women in the lineage of Christ! LOVE them! They are quick reads! Happy reading! I am treating myself to a mani/pedi today but I am going to stop by the library first for a book!



WOW! Now I am excited to see what you all have to say!

finally the end of the trip....

when last we meet....we talked about san fran. So here's the rest of the story....

We headed for Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park. Again--God must of had such fun with those GINORMOUS trees!!!









We got to drive thru the auto log. It is a giant sequoia tree that has fallen over and you can drive a mini van thru it! There are no words to describe how big these trees are!

We headed off for our final 2 days in Vegas. We were tired of being in the car, tired of walking, and it was freakin' hot!!! We saw a magic show! They were filming it and Brian, Lisa and I got to be a part of the show! We started to walk around Vegas but it was so hot and we were so tired that we jsut went back to hang out poolside at the hotel. Vegas is called sin city for a reason! We had to ahve all the boys walk with their hands in their pockets so they wouldn't be handed stripper cards and there were stipper cards all over the ground, so thye had to walk looking up! :) Everywhere you went you had to go thru a smoke filled casino. The lights, the smells, the sounds....it is sensory overload!

We ended our trip at the Bellagio hotel/casino (made infamous from Ocean's 11) they have a fountain show that runs every 15 min. The fountains move to the time of music. The song that we were there for was Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American". It was a PERFECT ending! Here we had seen some of the best that America has to offer and we were so proud to be American's. My friend Lisa and I sang loudly and with pride!



We were happy to fly home! We all had such an amazing time! The vacation was perfect!

not suitable for children?

Why you ask...well apparently for my use of death (8x) and hell (3x)....oh well! :)

Thanks Leann for the site!

I left my heart in San Francisco...

Well not really.....being in San Fran was an experience in itself. The reason why? It was beginning of Gay Pride weekend!!!! My kids have seen things that they have never seen before! If you know what I mean!!!
Before I continue on....

Here is the answer to the gas question.

Now we were blessed to be able to see the Golden Gate Bridge every day that we were there. San Fran is not a hot place....we all wore long pants and brought a jacket with us. The first night we ate in the restaurant called "John's Grill". That is the setting for the famous book/movie, The Maltese Falcon. I have to be honest...I have heard of it but never read it or seen the movie.

We went to Chinatown and down a sketchy alley to see 2 old Chinese women making fortune cookies! They charged us .50 to take their picture!!! We got some free fortune cookies.

The next day we went to Alcatraz and I have to tell you that was very cool! We took the audio tour and it was EXCELLENT!!! We met a real live ex-inmate. He wrote a book and he was signing the books! Too cool!!! It is about his life and how he got to Alcatraz and then how he gave his life over to God! He was missing fingers!!! eeekkk!




Anyone know what famous row of houses this is from....hint....major sitcom of the 90's on ABC on Friday nights....."Whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paper boy and evening t.v.?......"

We took a trolley car to Pier 39 and ate at the outdoor markets there. We saw the sealions of Pier 39. We drove down Lombard street...America's most narrow and crooked street! I have a picture on a cd but I can't get it to turn right side up.....
Then we headed to the Pacific ocean! Our kids had never seen, felt, or tasted the Pacific Ocean. It was the end of June and only 60 degrees that day! There was some wading into the ocean but no swimming! It was very windy too.....you don't swim in Northern California....too cold!!!

I don't know about you but I think I can sum up the last 2 destinations of our trip in one blog...so tomorrow is Sequoia and Las Vegas!

Happiness is Death Valley in your rear view mirror!

I am just kidding about the title of this blog. Death Valley has it's own beauty and wonder. One of the most fascinating things about this trip is that we have seen so much of God's imagination and creativity!

We have met people who are VASTLY different that us. I mean one girl we met in Death Valley, grew up in Utah (a.k.a. she is mormon) and left that life to come and live in Death Valley. There is a story there and if I was a bolder person, I would have asked her more questions. But she choose to leave and live in a trailer with her boyfriend in literally the middle of nowhere!!! People don't just do that for no reason!

For a group of Americans going to see America, we Americans were few and far between!!! LOTS of Asians and Europeans! But almost no Americans...weird huh?!

So we left Death Valley (below sea level) and headed to Yosemite (10k feet above sea level). Once we hit Tioga Pass and headed up....the view was well amazing doesn't do it justice. I just wanted to get out of the car and sing "I stand in Awe of you" or "Great is our God"....I was overcome with emtion at the beauty that this part of our country holds! Pictures don't even do this justice. If I haven't already said it, I will now....God must of had a GREAT time creating all of this! I don't know who could look on all of what we have seen and think that it happened by chance.

Once in Yosemite, we unpacked and ate good food. The next day we headed to the Merced River and rafted 3 miles down the river among THE most beautiful scenery, you have ever seen! The water was FRIGGED!!!! Seeing as that water comes off the snow pack...it was cold!!!!! We saw beautiful birds and HUGE fish! The water was crystal clear! After that we hiked to waterfalls. The kids had a BLAST hiking up the rocks to the waterfalls!!!

The Picture at the heading of the blog is a picture taken of the 4 of us in Yosemite, outside the Awahnee Hotel. It is a beautiful hotel...reminds me a lot of the main hotel building at Mountain Lake!
Yosemite is the home of the famous El Capitan and Half Dome! They are just ONE GIGUNTA rock formation! There was this group of elderly people who were hiking to the top of half dome! Yeah we all felt like fat slobs when we heard that! Lisa got to see a bear eating behind a tree. Other than that we saw no real wild life BUT in all the "dons jons" in the park there are warning signs that the area is bear habitat and to be careful! We never saw a bear.

At this point we are 1/2 way thru with our trip! We have San Fran, Sequoia and Vegas to go!

Day 3--Hit the Road Jack

After our day of fun in the Grand Canyon, we got up early and headed to the golden archs for a quick breakfast. We had a long day of car riding ahead of us! We were quite shocked to see that our breakfast cost us $45!!! That is until we saw the sign that said "Our prices are high due to the fact that we pay for the housing and utilities for our employees". I guess good help is hard to get in the middle of nowhere! So they bribe them with a paid apt. and utilities!

We were on our way to Death Valley!As we got close, the temperature started arisin'!

We got out at the scenic spots to see the beauty that is the desert! It was so hot that the moisture was being sucked otu of you and your skin started to immediately peel! It was very windy but it was a very hot wind! We all had water bottles in coolers with ice but they were HOT within just a few minutes!

We entered the National Park and headed for Badwater--it is 282 feet BELOW sea level! It is also the hottest place in the USA.
Yes, my fellow bloggers, that says 122! We couldn't keep up iwth the temp gauge and it did read 124 for a few minutes! One of our party asked if we were in hell and Jay said "No but you can see it from here!" We, the parents, thought we would take the moment for an object lesson and talk ot the kids about hell...."If you think this is hot, then make sure you have your life right with God...." Just kidding! But it would have made a GREAT object lesson!!!
This is the sign they have on the side of the mountain at the lowest point in America, to show you were sea level actual is!

After our few hours of driving around Death Valley, we headed to our "resort". Panamint Springs Resort to be exact. Let me just say that I don't what we were thinking because this place was an hour and 1/2 from ANY town!!! It was 10 tiny shacks with a bigger shack in the front that was the office and restaurant! They didn't have a/c, instead they had swamp coolers!!! That doesn't really count as any kind of coolant! There were road runners all over the place....and bats! When Alex sat on the bed...it touched the floor!!! We had a window in the bathroom with no curtain over it! Yes it was a see-thru window! But I don't knokw what I was worried about....I mean the trailers that the owners lived in was right behind our window! They only get mail like once a month!!! There is NO mail service there... they have to go into town! And no, there was no t.v., no clock, no phone...I mean who needs that stuff when you are in HELL!!!

I do have to say that they people and the food were GREAT! They really were! But we were so glad that we were staying only one night!!! The only gas station for another hour and 1/2 was right next door....guess how much the gas was....anyone care to guess?!! I will let you know the answer tomorrow!

Day 2--Grand Canyon

Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon late on day one. We headed off to bed and got up the next day to conquer the Grand Canyon. It was Father's Day and we had a little time crunch because we had reservations at the El Tovar Lodge for Father's Day dinner!

We took the shuttle bus along the south rim of the Grand Canyon and what we saw was amazing! At times it almost didn't look real! It seemed hard to believe that people just "stumbled" upon this marvel!




We finished eating just in time for sunset! It was breathtaking!

Day 1-Serleykin family vacation

We landed in Vegas, it was 110 degrees! We got our rental vans (2007 Chrylser Town and country) with only 262 miles on them and headed to the Grand Canyon but first stopped at Hoover Dam!



The kids are in 2 places at once! One foot in Arizona and one foot in Nevada!





The men!

Since this is the 2nd vacation (the Disney Cruise was our 1st) our 3 families have taken together, we proudly blended our names/families and called ourselves the Serleykins! (Sergio,Bosley, Watkins)That is how we addressed each other on our walkie talkies and when we were on public transportation, we called the kids "little Serleykins" to make sure they got off when need be!

We arrived later that night in the Grand Canyon and it was 55 degrees! That is a drop of 55degrees!!! We found on this trip a part of God's world that we had never seen before AND satellite radio!!! We thanked God for his handiwork AND satellite radio. Let me tell you now, we were in some REMOTE areas! Like nothing for hours from where we were!

Tomorrow--Grand Canyon

We're baaack

The vacay was EXCELLENT! Everything about the 10 days was perfection!!!! The new picture you see now at the top of the screen is a family photo taken at the Awahnee Hotel in Yosemite. If anyone knows how to maek the picture smaller....I would appreciate the heads up. Right now you get to see us up close and personal, until I figure out how to change it!

Pictures to come soon! I am jet lagged by spending 10 days on California time! We got back home at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.

We are busy getting Chelsea ready for her mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

And we get the G's for the weekend so that James and Ramona can take one last trip before baby R comes on July 16th!

Got Alex new shoes for the trip....he was wearing an 11.5 and now he has 13!!!! He stands at about 5'11. He wears a 30 inch waist pant with a 31 inseam.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have pictures.

p.s.--the insurance caved and paid for the appropriate meds for Jay! Patience IS a virtue!

update

jay has no markers of cancer in either the colon or esophagus! he needs to be on the heavy duty meds to repair his esophagus and then be scoped again in 8 weeks. alex will need to be scoped by the age of 20 because their is such a strong hereditary gene and occurance of cancer on the sergio side...hint, hint Chris---go to the drs!


the insurance still doesn't want to pay for the appropriate meds! So we will see who will win the fight! i love love love the drs. treating jay! they are all about keeping him healthy with the right kind of meds! i hate hate hate the blue cross/blue sheild....they are cheap skates!

I didn't know how to title this one....

Jay has an appointment tomorrow with his gastroenterologist about course of treatments and next steps!

Alex made 1st chair trombone in the highest middle school band for next year!!!! We are so proud of him! He has worked so hard for it and his private tutor is just beaming with joy for him!

Chelsea is cruising along and aceing her finals!As of Wed. at 8:30 p.m. now has her own vehicle! Dont' be hatin'--it is almost 10 yrs. old with 180k miles on it!

We leave Sat. for 10 days...we fly to Vegas, then drive to Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite National Park, San Fran, Sequoia National Park and then back to Vegas!

See ya when we get back!

A pair of bad genes

The Sergio Family has had a little reality hit them in the face over the past week. As some of you may know, Jay's dad passed away in 2004 at the age of 58. Jay's grandfather on his father's side had passed away at the age of 60. They both died of cancer. So since Jay's dad died, I have been trying to get him to go to the dr. and get some tests run because, well, the cancer gene in the male Sergio's seems to be a strong one. Now mind you, Jay has NOT been feeling bad at all but nonetheless, I want him to go and get these tests run--a baseline if you will for the future tests. Several years ago Jay had precancerous skin removed and he goes back often to continue to check out that nothing is growing that shouldn't be.

We got the name of a GREAT gastrointerologist (sp?) and set up the appointments and Jay finally went! He was well..."roto-rooted" from both ends and samples and tests were run. When Jay had the upper endoscopy done and he woke up from his wonderful oblivion, the dr. looked at him and said "Have you been feeling ok?" "No heartburn?" "No acid reflux?"--Jay answered "No". The dr then informed Jay that his esophagus looks like someone has taken razor blades to it.....it is just waiting for the cancer to form.

He's 38!!!! No symptoms! It's all in the genes. So now we are fighting with our insurance to pay for the level 4 medication that he needs to repair his esophagus, so that cancer does not form. Jay got very angry the other day with them and said...which is cheaper? Paying for the meds I need to repair my esophagus or curing my cancer?

Can you believe that they are fighting to have to pay for it? They wnat him to be on a med that is not so strong....um, they are not drs. they pay for the diagnosis!

So we were just cruising along in life, thinking everything is great and hunky dory. Not a care in the world! Then WHAM! Reality hits.

So people...I strongly encourage you to go get those tests done. I am going in July for all the womanly stuff...I know--TMI!! But this has convinced me! Man! being almost 40 is rough!

Jay is now trying to convince his brother to do the same. I have told my kids that they will get the same tests done when they are in their 20's before they are off our insurance. You just can't be too careful.

Ramblings

New floor is in! I LOVE IT!!!! We laid Pergo Naturals in the shade of heartwood oak! It looks like a cottage floor! Rustic looking--perfect for me! Alex learned how to use Jay's power mitre saw! Now he is wanting us to do all kinds of home improvement projects becuase he can saw! We created a monster!!! So Jay and Alex sawed and hammered and grunted and scratched while Chelsea nad I measured and laid the floor and made sure we had the perfect 1/4 inch perimeter. Now it is up to Jay and Alex to lay the quarter round and the trim!

I have a lot I could say about cindy Sheehan--the vrey vocal woman about the war in Iraq since her son died--but I won't. I feel awful for her. I feel awful for her family. Everything about that situation is just sad.

If there is one thing I have learned over the last 6 months, it is that you can't judge becuase you ahve nto walked in their shoes. I knwo what I think I would have done if I were in that situation but truth is I don't really know what I would do.

Rosie and Elizabeth--again, I won't say much but I feel very sorry for Rosie. I don't think She is a happy woman. She seems very angry. I used to LOVE Rosie's show when she had her own talk show. Then it got pretty negative and she got negative. I just feel sad that she is wasting so much life being angry. Life's too short.

What not to wear--new favorite show! Getting good tips--love, love, love that they pick people with all kinds of bodies types. So now when I shop, I am an informed customer--can't afford $5000 wardrobe--me and Eddie Bauer outlet are bff's though!

Look up!

it's been a while....we are laying a new floor this weekend in our dining room. I ahve never done that before...so we will see how it goes!

last night we had another meeting to discuss draft 3 of our mission, vision and value statements. It was exciting! People are taking real ownership! I was pleasantly surprised by several people last night!

I feel like we are moving forward--a little bit at a time. Just as long as we are moving FORWARD!

Chelsea has her permanent license now. We are gearing up for our vacation in June. There are many exciting things happening at church and with our Fairfax family!

Our good friends and Student minister had their first child last Sat. Cade Arthur Bedard is, well, perfect!

We have prayed for him iwth his parents for 4 years and he is here!! God is good--ALL the time!

Sigh--things are looking up!

Reoccuring thought

While our church is trying to find itself. We have had a consultant, who does this professionally for churches, come in once a month and talk to about 50 of us who make up a cross section of the church.

Every month, this thought keeps coming up. "Why did God set up the church?"

You see as a church and maybe even a society, I feel that we have lost the idea of why God originally set up the church. All I keep hearing from members is, "I want...." or "I don't like...."

When did we ever get the idea that coming to church on Sunday morning has to do with what I like or want? That is such a culture infused ideaology.

Our culture is about me. What I like. What makes me feel good. I hear people say over and over again. I want a church that meets my needs. Can I tell you how unbiblical that statement is?!!!

I am currently reading a wonderful book called "Confessions of a Pastor". I have only read 3 chapters but I LOVE IT!!!! He says everything that I am afraid to! He ahs a whole section dedicated to Christians who want to have church for themselves. Christians have fallen into the belief that it is "their" church.When in fact it is God's church.

So maybe we/I need to start praying "God help me change my attitude about your church and my role in it" When did we start thinking that church was for us? We are the church and WE are here for the world. A world that is lost.

I think that this attitudeis one of the things that angers me most about Christians.
What do you think?

Beautiful

I have been feeling sad since last Friday. I was a little weepy on Friday. I couldn't figure it out. I was crying at songs and t.v. shows. Yes, I was being a little hormonal BUT I am not usually weepy.

Then it hit me--Tuesday (may 8th) would have been Sarah's birthday. I can't believe how much I still miss her. Some days the sadness seems to be so thick. I know it is not what she would have wanted me to do. But I see 2 of her children everyday. Daily reminders of the life that was Sarah Bergquist. Beautiful.

Reflections

Wednesday night we had a wonderful little service to help each other deal with our fears and grief. Bruce relayed the story of Jesus calming the storm in relation to where God is during a crisis.

When he started, I thought...where is he going with this? Bruce talked about how the storm was raging around them while they were in the boat. The disciples were freaking out! They went into the boat and woke him up and asked him if he cared what was happening.

Can you imagine? Asking the Lord God almighty if he cares? I thought of course he cares!--but then it hit me....not everyone thinks like me. God has made us all different and to have different questions is ok.

Then I thought about significant things that Chelsea will remember from her teenagehood....

*9/11/01
*a year later we had a sniper loose and wrecking havoc in our area.
*from that our kids now have regularly scheduled lockdowns and terrorist drills, like we used to have fire drills.
*we now have a family emergency plan...which needs to be revised now that Chelsea can drive.
*at our church we lost a vital member and close friend this past dec.
*2 dec's before that Jay's father died.

She has experienced more sorrow and heartache in her 16 years than I had. How will that change who she is?

Our family alone has had a major event happen every year since the fall of 1999. This has just been our family.

So I can see how people would think "does God care?"

What I have learned from all the above crap that has happened is....

Yes, he does care. Just like he told the disciples....he controls the wind and waves. He has promised us an amazing afterlife but we have to claim him in this life inorder to get that after life.

Many opportunities have been laid before me to profess my faith and beliefs, as a believer...i am commanded to share it. I will confess that until 2001, I didn't do it. I am trying much harder now. I have started to pray to invited God into my life in that way.

So-- yes, Virginia, there is a God and he loves you and wants a relationship with you.

In rememberance and a challenge

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. the Fairfax Church of Christ invites you to be a part of the prayer service to honor and remember those who have been affected by the horrific events at VA Tech.







I know this has been extremely difficult of alot of you. I challenge those of you who believe in God to share boldly your faith with others. This is a time that has been laid before us by the evil one and I challenge you to take this and use it for the good that we KNOW Jesus brings us. People are listening and asking questions. YOU don't have the answers to the questions, just show them God. He has them.

From what I understand, the families at VA Tech have declared Friday, April 20th Orange and Maroon Effect day. Wear your orange and maroon!

Listen to our Hearts

As the news poors out of Blacksburg, the tragedy is hitting even closer to home. Teens in our youth group, friends of my daughters, are reeling from finding out that friends they played on high school teams with are gone. Our Youth intern from last year attends Tech. The RA killed was an RA that she worked with for 3 years. One of the students is her fiancee's best friend, he was shot 4 times. The last I heard, he is in critical but stable condition.

It is just so sad that our teens are having to deal with this. It seems so unfair that the reality of man's sin is thrust upon them and crammed down their throats.

They are choking on vomit that this world is regurgitating. I just wonder, when will enough be enough?

The only thing I know what to do is, just tell them that this isn't God's will. Man has a choice and man's choices have consequences. Often those choices fall out on others.

But God is a great God! He is saddened by this tragedy too. God wants you to know that He is here for you. Just as you are, He accepts you. You don't have to have the perfect words to say to Him. So maybe you don't need to speak. Just cry, be angry, be sad.

He listens to our hearts.