My Week in New Orleans

When you think of spending a week in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, God isn't the first thing that probably comes to you mind.  I just got home from spending a week with 500+ youth ministry workers and volunteers in New Orleans.  The week is called the Extravaganza...and that it was.  Spending time worshiping God and celebrating the youth I serve is a fulfilling experience.  Whenever I get back from these type of events it takes me a few days to recover.  The days are long and the nights are short, your mind and heart are filled to the brim with emotion and information. We heard different pastors speak on various topics related to youth ministry and pop culture.  We worshiped with different styles of music, which is always my favorite part.

Overall, my favorite part of the week is getting to spend time with my youth worker friends.  We share ideas and happenings, within our groups as well as learn from what others are doing.  We also discuss struggles and how to overcome our own weaknesses to be better at our ministry.

A topic that came up was feeling inadequate from clergy.  There is a stigma that if you are not clergy than you are not taking seriously or have any "rights" as far as doing ministry or there are thing you just can't do because you aren't ordained.  This brings me back to when I was 15.  To make a long story short I went to a Servant camp in Key West.  One night we visited the Metropolitan Community Church and listened to the pastor explain that he was a homosexual and his ministry revolved around that.  At the time I didn't really understand what homosexuality was but knew the Bible said it was wrong.  I was curious and raised my hand to ask a question.  I asked something along the lines of, "How can you preach the word of God if you are living in a way that the Bible says is wrong?"  I meant nothing disrespectful by my question, I was just curious and had an eagerness to learn and understand.  The Lutheran pastor that was their walked over the the row I was standing in and said, "It also says in the Bible that women should not speak out in church!"  I don't remember anything else he said because I was humiliated.  Now the thought is, because I am not clergy I can't be respected as a youth worker.  I struggle with this more out of the frustration of other people and not with my own thoughts and beliefs.  I believe that we are all called to share the Good News. Regardless of gender, race, economic standing, past or present we are all called to love and serve the Lord.  It is not my place to decide who is able to speak the Good News, it is just my place to speak the Good News and share God's love.  Yes in the Lutheran Church their are rules and traditions that state I can not do certain things, and that is OK and understandable. 

One of the most important things I tell my youth is that they need to question their faith, in order for them to understand what exactly it is they believe.  You can't know the ins and outs of your faith if you are just taking what someone tells you and thinking that is the answer. Don't be afraid to ask questions and explore your faith.  If something doesn't sound right figure out why.  And above all, God doesn't look at age so even though you are a teen you are still called to spread God's love.

White Collar

I know I'm about 3 years behind on this show but....OMG!!!! This show is amazing.  My husband and I recently broke down and subscribed to netflix.  We are big fans of the USA drama Suits so figured we would give this show a try and started with season 1.  It ended up that for about 2 weeks we watched 3-4 episodes a night because it was amazing.  Not to mention Matt Bomer is VERY Beefy!!!!
We finally caught up to the current season and loving every minute of it.  Good job USA!!!

I'm back

It has been a long few months so I have posted.  First off we didn't have a computer for awhile but that has changed since receiving a new macbook pro for Christmas!  Here is what has been happening in our life.

I met a wonderful new friend through Mary Kay and her name is Emily.  She introduced me to my new obgyn and I am so thankful for her.  My new doctor is amazing and I couldn't be happier.

Over the summer i started having testing done to find out what the deal with my body is.  I had lots of blood work done to check hormone levels, thyroid, sugar etc. Everything, of course came back normal.  My regular doctor sent me to have an ultrasound done just to check things out.  They found I had a cyst on my right ovary and told me to visit my OBGYN.

I finally was able to meet my new doctor...Dr Kelly Hamel...love her!!!  She wanted to do an ultrasound in 4 weeks to check the size of the cyst but didn't seem concerned.  In the mean time she sent my husband to have his count checked.

Flash forward to my followup ultrasound...she told me the cyst was smaller and that everything looked perfect.  Husband's count were a little low but not horrible and she said if he did another test those results could come back normal.  with all of that being said she decided to put us on Clomid.

She gave me 3 rounds of clomid.  If they don't work she will look at bumping me up to the next level of Clomid.  We are currently on round 2 of Clomid.

The side effects of clomid are supposedly pretty brutal, but I have been lucky...or not...and haven't dealt with too many.  On the first round I had dizzy spells throughout the month that only lasted a few seconds.  I also felt tired and had dry mouth.  A few intense headaches, I normally never have headaches, and ovulation pain.  This month I haven't had any of the dizzy spells but have had some hot flashes, and frequent intense headaches.   We are very hopeful that clomid will help us have our take home baby.

On another note my sister in law had a miscarriage about 6 weeks ago.  They found out it was a girl and she had a genetic disorder that would have made her sterile and no neck...I can't remember what it is called.  They decided to name her Annalise.  My mother in law has been asking us to name our baby and since my sister in law did Matt and I decided to name our baby.  We don't know if our baby was a boy or a girl but I knew in my heart she was a girl.  We have named our angel baby Zoey.  Zoey was a top name of ours but because of the meaning we thought it was fitting to name our angel Zoey which means life.

Well this was the short version of the past few months and now that I have a new computer my intention is to keep up with the blog more often.

Miscarriage

A few weeks ago a very good friend of my had a miscarriage.  My heart just breaks for her and her husband.  Miscarriage is ugly, horrible and just really sucks! No one should ever have to go through it.

It has been 18 months since my miscarriage and my heart still hurts.  I have become more at peace with what has happened, but it still hurts.

I pray for my friends that are newly suffering that God may heal their hearts.  I pray for all of the women that suffering from loosing babies and never getting their take home baby.

Matt and I are still trying to have a baby...we still are NOT pregnant!  I'm mad because I want to be pregnant and have my own baby.  Getting pregnant and having a baby is supposed to be easy.

We have been talking about adoption but fear it won't fill that void for having our own child.  Questions creep into our minds about loving the baby like it were our own.  What if someone thinks we wouldn't make good parents? 

This is an unfair life challenge that so many women face. 

Fill a mini Compact Day

This is by far the best deal of the Christmas sale.  Let me help you fill a compact.

This is the mini compact.  It is fabulous because it is small enough to fit into a pocket or purse.  This compact is yours FREE today only from my website.

What goes in a mini compact?
 6 eye colors or 3 eye colors and blush or bronzer

Bronzer or highlighting powder

(compact shown is our regular compact and is not part of this day's deal)

Or one of our sheer mineral or cream to powder foundations

Don't forget to add your brushes or sponge to go along with what you are putting in your compact which is stored under your colors.

By taking part in this deal you save $16!!!!!
Remember this deal is only good today until 11:59pm...don't miss out
www.marykay.com/kristenhitchcock



   

Summer Camp

I love Summer Camp!!!  I worked at one for 5 summers and loved every minute of up.  I am still very involved with outdoor ministry by serving on the Program Advisory Board for Lutheran outdoor ministries of Florida.

Today I'm taking 8 of my high school youth to Arden, NC to attend Lutherock.  I attended this camp for 2 summers when I was in middle school, and it was there that I really found out who God is to me.  I decided to become a camp counselor because of my experience and I've been involved in camps ever sense.  I truly believe that my experience at Lutherock is why I am a youth director today.

Christmas in July Sale

Right now I'm having a Christmas in July Sale on my  Mary Kay Website.  There are some amazing deals that only last for one day.
Each sale item is good on the date listed from 12:00am-11:59pm.  You must place your order that day.  Each order you place during the sale will get you entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate good on your next mary kay purchase.
At check out please select the option to send me so I can total it with your sale price.

For the 12 days of Christmas (in July) you can find some awesome Mary Kay deals only from me. Each day there is a different sale. If you would like to purchase something on that sale day, make sure you do it before the day is over.

July 14 50% off any fragrance or eau de toilte
July 15 buy the Mary Kay sunscreen and get the lip protector for free
July 16 1/2 off satin hands or satin lips set
July 17 fill a mini compact with the colors and brushes of your choice and get the mini compact for free
July 18 buy one get one 50% off any mascara
July 19 25% off all time wise products
July 20 BOGO on all lip liners and eye liners
July 21 10% off MKmen products
July 22 25% off microdermabrasion
July 23 15% off your entire order
July24 buy one get one 50% off eye makeup remover
July 25 25% off firming eye cream, age fighting eye cream, and eye revitalizer.

Shipping is free for orders over $50.  Under $50, shipping is $5.
These sale prices are only good through me.
Happy Shopping :-)