Goin' To Greece and Stuff

OH.MY.GOSH, I'm leaving for Greece in 5 days!!

It has been FOREVER since I have put up a blog, but honestly I have been living la vida loca...(what else is new?) This season has found me working full time at American Idol, singing over at Harry Potter, teaching SINGS workshops for Disney, and singing in my friend Joshua's new community choir. It makes me tired to even type that all out. Let me catch you up on a few details.

The opportunity to go to Greece came up earlier this year when Tiffany let me know that her class goes every summer and she could bring someone. She is in graduate school at Palm Beach Atlantic studying to be a Christian Counselor. While we are there she will be taking a class the first week that will go towards her degree. We will be staying in Athens, but will have the opportunity to see some other parts of the country as well. There is so much Biblical history there and I cannot wait to see places like Corinth and possibly Patmos. This is a trip of a lifetime and I could not be more excited about it! We will be gone for 16 days and the break from routine will be SO nice. I am going to try and keep a traveling photo blog going while we are gone so check back next week for an update.

Did I mention that I'm excited??!!

I do want to give a shout out to my fabulous mom as she starts a new chapter and retires this year from teaching. I was not able to be there for her party, but I wanted her to know that I was with her in spirit. She is so great with the kids and I know her students and fellow teachers are going to miss her very much. Congratulations, mom on making a difference in so many young lives.

I also wanted to give a shout out to my little brother who isn't so little anymore. He is graduating from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago in less than 2 weeks with his masters degree in health systems management. I so wanted to be there when he graduated, but I will be in Greece at that time. He also has already started a job as the operations manager for the section of vascular surgery at the University of Chicago. Here is a pic of my cute brother.

I am so proud of you Eric! I love that you are my brother.

Also, I could not leave you without showing off my beautiful nieces. They are growing so fast and are so much fun to be around! Now they are both walking....

Again, I will be trying to keep pictures and updates of my travels here over the next 2 weeks.

I covet your prayers for Tiffany and I over the next few weeks. Oh, and by the way, we are going to be moving across town at the end of August. We wouldn't mind some prayers for that as well. At least life is NEVER dull around here. :)

Here's to living life to the fullest!

REAL

Good Evening! It's late and I'm cold, yes I said cold, but I just couldn't sleep without getting some thoughts out of my head. Do you ever have times where there is such a jumbled array of thoughts shooting around in your brain, that you just know you have to let them out or they will explode? Yeah? Me too....

I have had some recent events in my life that have caused me to stop and think again about what I REALLY believe. I mean, when push comes to shove, am I REALLY willing to give up everything and follow the One who saved me from myself? And when I say the word everything, I mean just that...

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."

I don't know about you but, more times than not, I don't want to do this! I don't want to give up things that make me feel good. Am I alone here? Seriously, I have lost things for the sake of my faith and, I have to say, it hurts. Don't misunderstand me, I am not having a pity party here. I guess I just needed to say this out loud and have someone else say, "I get it." Loss hurts. Period. Even if it's for my good.

I would think that most people who do not know Him would probably think that it's a crazy thing to deny yourself. Life is all about happiness and instant gratification in our culture and sometimes I just want to jump on this bandwagon. I hate that this is true. Lately, I am totally into quoting people who are smarter than me because they somehow say what I'm thinking, only much prettier. =) Donald Miller says, "The problem with Christian belief-I mean REAL Christian belief, the belief that there is a God and a devil and a heaven and a hell-is that it is not a fashionable thing to believe." Nope. Not popular, especially where I'm living, and not easy.

This last quote pretty much helps me to come to terms with why I am usually dissatisfied. I am content in my circumstances, but not satisfied. How about you?

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. -C.S. Lewis

I just wish I could make everyone see that we were ALL made for another world. Not just some of us, ALL of us. I think this is where most of my tears come from these days. When people walk around and don't know their Daddy, their REAL Daddy, this makes my heart sad. Believing this changes everything!

Well, I feel better now that I've gotten that out of my head. I wish I was a more eloquent writer, but perhaps I will improve as time goes on. I hope you are enjoying your December.

Here's to REAL change!

Nikki

Blessed With Work

Ok, I'm just gonna admit that I SUCK AT BLOGGING!! There, I said it and I feel so much better now. ;) I am sitting here humbled and thankful for what God has been doing in my life the past few months. Since April, I have been working at the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I have been full time since August and I am loving every minute of it! Here I am on the job.


As you can see, as far as Disney uniforms go, I am pretty lucky!

My other new job is singing in the Frog Choir at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I am singing in a quartet as the soprano from Slytherin. I know, I know.... nobody really wants to be a Slytherin, but if you read the end of the book, it's really not so bad. I usually have to pinch myself that I get paid to sing! God, You really know how to bless this girl. Here I am in my HOTT (literally and fashionably speaking) costume. Yes, I am wearing a wool vest and YES this is in Florida.... and NO, it's not a mole, it's a microphone. =)

And last, but certainly not least, today was my first shadow day for learning to be a Disney Sings Workshop Clinician. I told you God was blessing me abundantly! I took my kids from Hillgrove to this particular workshop the last year that I taught there and LOVED it! My first teaching day is December 18th... prayers are welcome for sure!

I have SO much more to share, but I refuse to put up a loooooonnng blog. I have just been so busy with work, you didn't hear that from me a year ago, that I have had little down time lately.

I hope that this finds you and yours healthy and content in wherever God has you.

His way is the best way....I am learning that more and more each day!

Much love to you....

Encore Presents...... Dream Our Dreams!!

My oh my, how time flies! I cannot believe it has been so long since my last post, but life has been BUSY!! I like that I have been busy because it makes me feel like I am finally making Orlando home. The end of June marked 1 year down here in Orlando. I really do not know how a year went by so quickly, but God has been faithful and even deeper healing has happened. The master physician has been hard at work and it makes me grateful that I am not the one with the scalpel in my hand!

One of the best things that has happened this year has been my new job at Disney. I am a Casting Director at the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios and I'm loving it! I am the first person to listen to a guest sing and then put them through to the Producer if they are a strong singer. The Producer then puts that guest in one of our seven shows of the day if they like them enough....very much like going to "Hollywood" on the real American Idol show. More importantly, I get work with some of the best people and have already made some heart connecting friends. Everyday is different and I get to meet people from all over the world!

Being a Disney Cast Member also allowed me to be a part of the Encore Choir. Encore is an organization made up of Disney Cast Members and their families. We were almost 500 people strong including orchestra, dancers, actors, and production/tech team. We rehearsed from May to August and just had our 4 shows this past weekend. All proceeds from the show went to the Make a Wish Foundation. I had the honor of helping lead the female sectionals a few times and also getting to be a part of a quintet singing "Human Again" from Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. I got to play the french maid Babette. How fun! Here are some pictures from this amazing experience.

Here are many of my friends who work at Idol with me!


I love Joshua Vickery!

Me and our show director Clay Price. He is the best!

My "Human Again" Quintet. Love these folks!


More of my new friends.

It was many long nights and hard work, but the show was amazing! I am now in Chicago visiting my family and getting some much needed r & r. I get back to Orlando late on Friday and get to start full time hours at American Idol on Sunday. Thank you God for providing and allowing me to have so much fun in the process.

Until next time,

Nikki

May was a Marvelous Month!

Can you believe that it's June already!?? I remember the years of being a teacher and longing for the month of June to come. Summer with all its endless possibilities and adventures would call to me in the grey coldness of February and I would start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This year has been different in so many ways and not having a real "summer break" is one of those differences. Not to mention, February in Florida is a wonderful time of the year and the summer months are the ones that I do not long for. Humidity is NOT my friend!

Last month I was able to go home to Chicago to visit with the family and be a part of my niece Paige's Baptism. She is so munchable and I miss her when I'm not with her. I did get to take some pictures of the angel in her Christening dress that my Auntie Chrissy made for her. My aunt is so talented and so willing to make us the most beautiful and meaningful things. We are most thankful that she shares her talent with us.


Here is me and my beautiful godchild. I am so in love with this little girl.



Here is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. Her dad really knows how to make her laugh! Precious.



Lastly, every baby needs a keepsake photo of them eating. I had such a blast watching Andrea feed Paige. The little monkey just loves her rice cereal.


The rest of the month just flew by and I got to do a few other fun things. First of all, I started training at Disney and now I am ready and dangerous. =) My first day flying solo was today and I had a great day! I am just so thankful for this opportunity.

Earlier this month I was also able to take pictures at my sister Laura's dance banquet. She has decided to leave teaching to raise Maya and seek other career options. I am so proud of her and was honored that she asked me to take the pictures. Here is a shot of Maya from the banquet. Don't you just LOVE the little curl on top of her head!!

Here is a pic of Luke and Laura. Now you can see why Maya is so dang adorable!



Well, that is just some of the events that happened this month. I am hoping to blog in the next couple of days about what is really going on in life.

Much love to all of you!

xoxo

The Magical Day

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to put up a VERY quick blog about my latest happenings. Things down here in sunny Orlando have started to heat up....and not just with the weather. =)

I was starting to get a little nervous about how I was going to pay the bills once the school year ended. I started a job of taking pictures of newborns at a few of the local hospitals here, but soon learned that this was NOT going to pay the bills. Not to mention, trying to take pictures of newborn babies who are crying while making next to nothing is NOT my idea of a good time.

So I knew, like most things, that God needed to show up and show up FAST! About a month ago, I finally got an interview to work at Disney's American Idol Experience at Hollywood Studios. I would be one of the initial judges for the show that says "yes" or "no" to "Hollywood." Anyway, 3 weeks went by and I had figured that I didn't get the job. Then at 5p.m. Friday 2 weeks ago, exactly 3 weeks after my interview, I GOT THE JOB!!!! So, from now on I am officially a Disney employee!

I still covet your prayers for more work this summer and for more community down here. On Saturday I'm off to Chicago for Paige's baptism. I am her godmother and I cannot wait to be with my family. More pictures to come when I return.

xoxo

The Visitors

Ok, so I'm not the BEST blogger in the world......but I'm trying!
To say that it's been busy the last month would be QUITE the understatement. My dad came into town at the beginning of March and then my brother Eric came to visit on his spring break. I am so proud of my brother and all that he is pursuing in his life. He is getting his master's degree from Rush in Chicago and is going into medical management. He got the internship this summer at Rush which is a very prestigious honor. We had such a great time while he was here. One day we went ocean kayaking and, let me tell you, what a workout! I have to say, the blisters were worth it. Here is Laura, Eric, and me after our 2 hours on the water. Eric is holding an orange because we found a bunch of oranges in the water because we were near some orange groves. The smell was awesome! One of the many perks of living in Florida.


Another day we went to the beach and the weather was incredible. Here is Maya on her first visit to the beach. All that sun seemed to make Maya SO SLEEPY.

My mom came to visit and it overlapped a few days of my brother being here. We all got to be together as Maya was dedicated to the Lord. Here are a few pictures of that special day. We all got to eat at Outback afterwards and it's was delicious. Thanks mom for the great lunch!

After my brother left, Andrea, Scott and Paige came for a week visit. My niece Paige is now 4 months old and she is getting so big! She is beautiful and I was able to get some great pictures of her. This is one of my favorites of her. She may have Scott's coloring, but she has Andrea's facial expressions for sure!

We all got to spend Easter together this year, which was so nice. I wanted to get some family pics for my sisters to have. Here is the beautiful Guerra Family.

And here is the awesome Detering Family. Look at Maya....she cracks me up. Too cute!


This blog was really just to catch you all up with pictures from my last month of visitors. I will certainly write again soon about what is really going on with me. I did start a new job last week taking pictures of newborns at a hospital. I will let you know how that is going when I have more to say about it. For now, let me leave you with some fun photos of my favorite nieces.

Paige

Maya

Cousins

Until next time!