Catching Up

Here's what's been happening with the Kornegays this month:

IRL Race. Chris and I celebrated the end of school in style...at least in a way that I really enjoyed. We decided at the last minute to go to the Texas Motor Speedway for the Indy Racing League race on June 7. What a blast! I had a great time, and Chris indulged me the whole night. We got to the track early, shopped in the souvenir stands, rented our scanners, got some junk food, and found our seats. IRL races in Texas aren't well attended, so we scored some awesome seats on the front stretch not far past the start/finish line. It was a great HOT night for racing, and we enjoyed ourselves. I called Karen from the track and told her that we have to consider the whole race weekend next year. She loves all things NASCAR, including the truck series. The trucks run on Friday night and the IRL guys run on Saturday night the first weekend in June. It would be great fun for us to go together.




Nat is home! Nat and Brandon got back from Greece on June 1o, although technically it was June 11 when they actually returned to Texas. They had a great trip, saw wonderful sights, and visited many locations where the apostle Paul worked, preached, and was jailed. They took hundreds of pictures and had great stories to tell. The toughest part of their trip was when they returned to the US. They landed in Washington, DC on time, but they were six hours late leaving DC. They got to DFW after at 1:00 AM on the 11th instead of 7:00 PM on the 10th. By the time we found out that their flight was delayed, we were already more than half-way to Dallas. We passed the time with Nick, Angela, and Ethan at Cabarras, Southlake Town Square, and finally at their house. Needless to say, we all slept pretty late the next morning since we didn't get home until around 4 AM. Brandon stayed until the 12th, so we had time to see all of their pictures and hear their stories. I'm so glad she had this opportunity. It was a great experience for her. Here's one of my favorite pictures of Nat and Brandon from the trip. They were in a beautiful place called Meteora. She leaves for Alaska for her next big adventure on Thursday.

Certification!! I am officially certified as a principal!!! Scary, isn't it? I got my official certificate in the mail last week. I can't wait to get it framed and hang it in my office. Who knows when I'll use it as an administrator, but I'm quite proud of myself for accomplishing it. I met a goal I set for myself several years ago, so I'm thrilled to have it.

Job Search. Nick has taken a job in Florence ISD as the band director. WOO HOO!! He reports to work tomorrow (July 1), and Angela and Ethan will join him as soon as they get an apartment secured. He's excited about it, but he's also a bit nervous about it. I know he'll do a great job. We'll just have to make sure we make lots of trips to Florence to see them. I have several friends who have children in the Austin area, so I'll just have to get together with them to make a road trip to see the kids. Just what I needed - another excuse to go to Austin!!

50th Birthday. Everyone was here to help me celebrate my 50th birthday last weekend. We kept Ethan while Nick and Angela went to a wedding in Little Rock, and they were back in time for us to celebrate together. Natalie got a great cake, lots of candles (though she didn't use 50 on the cake), and ice cream; Nick and Angela gave me lots of old people gifts (Depends, Fixodent, and prune juice); and I got lots of funny cards from family and friends. The best part about my birthday was spending it with my family. I really didn't want anything else.

If you've held on this long, you're up to date with the Kornegays. It's been quite a month, hasn't it?

30 Years?!?

Yep, that's right. Chris and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary today. My, where has the time gone? When we talked about it this morning, we couldn't quite wrap our minds around the concept of 30 years. It seems like we've always been together, but just the thought of 30 years is mind-blowing.

One word I'd use to describe our relationship is commitment. Through thick and thin, good times and bad, we're committed to each other. He's my best friend...the person I want to wake up with every day of my life...the person who truly accepts me as I am. I'm a much better person because of Chris, and I honestly can't imagine a day without him.

I saw "Sex and the City" last night, and I discovered what a romantic Ludwig von Beethoven was. One night, Carrie read love letters to Big, and she read an excerpt from "Immortal Beloved," letters Beethoven wrote to his love. The third letter was quoted most in the movie. Of course I looked up the letters as soon as I got home. I guess the romantic way the lines were used and thinking about our anniversary today really made them stick with me. Here are some quotes that made me think of Chris and our marriage:

Can our love endure except through sacrifices, through not demanding everything from one another

Remain my true, my only treasure, my all as I am yours

Is not our love truly a heavenly structure, and also as firm as the vault of heaven?

Oh, continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved... ever thine, ever mine, ever ours

Enjoy these pictures of our wonderful day 30 short years ago. I hope the next 30 are as great as the first 30.

Greece, anyone?

Natalie is on another fantastic trip. She's in Greece for the travel component of a class she took in the spring - Acts and the Pauline Epistles. She and Brandon are with a group of 12 on a 12-day tour called The Journeys and Letters of Paul. They're touring several places Paul visited as well as many other important historical locations. They have to journal while they're gone as part of the course requirement. What a way to start the summer!

Nat and Brandon were both RAs during the May term at ETBU which didn't end until Thursday, May 29. After closing down the dorms late Thursday night, they got to Paris around 1 AM Friday morning. We unloaded their cars and tried to get some rest before leaving Paris at 6:30 AM for the airport. I felt so bad for them - they were exhausted before they started their trip. We made it to DFW airport just in time for them to meet their group at the ticket counter. Their plane left Dallas at 11:30 AM on Friday, and they arrived in Athens at 2:00 PM on Saturday.

We've heard from them a couple of times via email. They have to pay by the minute to use the Internet at the hotels, so they're not taking much time to communicate. That's fine with us; it's great to hear from them, but I don't want them feeling that they have to contact us. I'd rather they spend their time and money enjoying themselves. I tend to take a "no news is good news" approach to overseas travel. Nat's trip to Zambia in 2005 taught us that. This is Brandon's first trip out of the country, and he's been the one sending the email. He's so sweet...both messages have included statements about how safe they are. Just what parents need to read.

This wonderful adventure ends on June 10. They'll return to DFW at 7:30 PM. We're planning to drive over after lunch on Tuesday to spend some time with Nick, Angela, and Ethan before we meet Nat and Brandon at the airport. I have no doubt that they'll spend most of the day Wednesday sleeping and getting back on our schedule. Brandon will probably have to leave on Thursday. I know his parents will be anxious to see him back on US soil.

I've been the typical librarian-nerdy mom for this trip. I bought a map of Greece, and I highlighted all of their stops. I needed to "see" where they were. I also checked a book out of our church library on Greece that has lots of pictures so that I can kind of virtually visit Greece with them. Of course I've looked at all kinds of websites on Greece as well. Another really cool thing Nat sent before she left was a list of the hotels they'll stay in complete with web sites. That's an even more specific way for us to trace Nat's travels. Don't forget the world clock on the cell phone. Mine is set to Athens, so I can see what time it is in Greece. Oh, the wonders of modern technology! It truly does make the world seem much smaller.

I'm anxious to see the souvenirs they bring home. One special souvenir I hope they get is a beautiful picture of themselves to use as an engagement picture for the newspaper. Other than that, I'll be happy with a magnet or bookmark.

Arkansas Brass

Chris started a blog for his quintet last weekend. Check out what's going on with the Arkansas Brass!

Graduation Day

Mother's Day couldn't have been any better. We were in Arlington for Nick's graduation from the University of Texas at Arlington. We're so incredibly proud of him - especially for his perseverence to complete his degree in music education. Now for the fun part - finding that first job!

The weekend was great. Natalie and Brandon got to Paris on Thursday and took care of some wedding stuff on Friday morning before going to Frisco. They shopped at Sam Moon and Stonebriar and the surrounding shopping centers until Nick met them to drop off Ethan. Nick and Angela had a some things to do Friday night and Saturday night, so we volunteered to keep Ethan for them. Nat and Brandon did well driving home with Ethan...or should I say that Ethan did well in the car with them. Anyway, they made it in safe and sound. It certainly got fun around here pretty quick!

Nat and I took Ethan to the Paris Art Fair on Saturday morning. What fun! His first order of business was the inflatables. He climbed almost to the top of the big slide before the older kids crowded him which scared him. Aunt Natalie to the rescue! She climbed the ladder and took Ethan down a couple of times. He loved it. Next was the bounce house. We were sure Ethan would have a big time, but when a well-meaning dad latched the "door," Ethan got scared and wanted out. No problem...there was still lots to do. He rode in a buggy pulled by a miniature horse, shot basketballs, picked up ducks, ate a corn dog, and picked out prizes. We also took in some of the art and exhibits in the Civic Center. We had a great time.

Graduation day arrived and we were eager to get to Arlington to see Nick and Angela. My mom met us here and rode with us. Daddy and Evelyn spent the night in Dallas, so they met us in Arlington. Nick found us in front of Texas Hall and gave us our tickets. We got in and got everyone upstairs to the balcony so that we'd have a bird's-eye view of the stage. Besides, Ethan could roam around without distracting too many people. Nick was all smiles as he and his classmates processed onto the stage. The preliminaries were pretty short, so we didn't have to wait long for Nick to walk across the stage. We clapped and yelled and made sure that Nick could hear how proud we were of him. Chris did a great job capturing Nick's walk across the stage on the camera.

After the ceremony, the whole gang met in the courtyard for pictures and then went to a great Mexican restaurant for dinner. Soon we parted ways - Nick, Angela, and Ethan went to Bedford; Natalie and Brandon went to Marshall; Daddy and Evelyn went to Texarkana; Angela's mom Diane went to Cedar Hill; Chris, Mother and I went to Paris. It was a long day, but it was wonderful.

Here are a couple of pictures of the day. We'll get to do this again next May when Natalie graduates. We can't wait!!

Miss ETBU

Natalie was a contestant in the Miss ETBU pageant this past weekend. Yep, that's what I said. Our Natalie...in a beauty pageant. She was wonderful. She represented Student Foundation, one of the many organizations she's involved in.

The competition included interview with the judging panel on Saturday morning, and then evening gown, talent, and on-stage interview Saturday night. She wore her two favorite prom dresses - the gorgeous black sequined dress for the runway portions and the blue shorter dress for the talent portion. She looked beautiful and did a super job on her clarinet solo and in all of the on-stage competitions. Even though Natalie was definitely the winner in our eyes, she didn't get the crown on stage. Here's the article from the Marshall newspaper.

We celebrated the evening with Nat and Brandon at IHOP, the college students' favorite late-night hang out. We are so proud of Natalie for participating and jumping out there and doing something unexpected.

The pictures of her on stage didn't turn out so well, but I hope you can see how great she looked.

Hospital time again???

What a week! This was one of those weeks that reminded me that I am NOT in charge of my life.

Just after lunch on Tuesday I began to have pain in my abdomen. I left school thinking that going home to my potty would make things better. Two hours later with no relief from the pain, Chris took me to the ER. I continued to writhe in pain until we saw the first doc around 5. Thank God for Demerol! Two x-rays and one CT scan later, the diagnosis is obstructed bowel. The second doc ordered the CT scan which confirmed the diagnosis; doc #1 was certain I was coming down with stomach flu. Anyway, the next thing I know, I have an NG tube, an IV, and a room on the 5th floor. (This is the Reader's Digest version of the story; I didn't get to the room until midnight.) The best guess is that the obstruction was caused by scar tissue left from a surgery almost 15 years ago. Who would have thought that it would cause problems so many years later.

Wednesday was a miserable day. The tube and the general yuk involved with it were awful. The pain was gone, and the tube did its job of clearing the obstruction. Obviously, I couldn't have any food or even water until the tube came out. The tube finally was removed Thursday morning, but I still needed IV antibiotics and other meds until Friday morning. I finally got to come home late Friday morning. Sleeping in my bed last night was heavenly!

Chris has been a prince. He felt so helpless on Tuesday, but he got help for me as quickly as he could, let me squeeze his hand just like I did when Nick was born, packed a bag for me by following my drug-induced instructions, called my absence in for me, and even called my professor to let him know that I wouldn't make it to class Wednesday night. He got supper for me from Magel's last night, and today he made breakfast and went to the grocery store and fixed the light in the kitchen. What a guy! He truly is the best husband in the whole world.

I haven't ventured far from the sofa and my easy chair all day today. I was hoping for more energy by now, but it's just not here yet. I plan to try to get out and do as much as I can tomorrow so that I can get back to work on Monday.

So...what can I do to prevent a recurrence of this experience? Eat healthy foods, drink lots of water, watch how I eat and how much I eat, and keep everything moving.

The bottom line, though, is that we never know what's around the next corner. It doesn't matter if it's a sudden health problem or an accident or an unexpected blessing. God is totally in control, and He uses every experience we have to teach us something either about Him or about ourselves. The best we can do is acknowledge His sovereignty and thank Him for getting us through. This experience has certainly taught me that I can't ever take my health for granted and that I have to slow down and take much better care of myself.