Family Fun

This past weekend, I was commissioned as staff with Word Made Flesh (more on that later). My parents drove up to Atlanta and flew with me to Omaha for the service. Pam and Jeremy (my sister and brother-in-law) drove down from Fargo. It has been super fun to have spend some time with my family! My parents and I (and a couple of fun friends) went to a Braves game on Thursday night before we left:


In Omaha, we wandered around downtown and hung out in one of the parks along the river:




On Sunday morning, we all piled into Pam and Jeremy's Jeep and headed up to Fargo. Let's just say that 5 adults in one car for 6 1/2 hours made for an interesting adventure. We did manage to laugh quite a lot along the way, though! Here are Mom and Pam (and my feet) in the back seat:


More family fun to come...

Birthday Extravaganza 2010

I have been too busy being outside and having fun lately to do much blogging. So, I have some catching up to do! Starting with my amazing birthday extravaganza! Last weekend, two friends took me up to the mountains for my birthday, and it was fabulous! We went hiking at a couple of amazing places, enjoyed some glorious weather, ate lots of yummy things, and just enjoyed having fun together. Lauren and AJ went above and beyond planning a fun weekend for me, including researching restaurants in the area (where we had YUMMY pancakes for breakfast) and calling my mom to get the recipe for my favorite cake. I loved it! Thanks again girls for loving me so well!

Pretty waterfalls at Tallulah Gorge

The rule-breaker convincing the rule-follower to break the rules

AJ laughing on the "sit-there" (you might call it a bench)

Me on a rock (clearly)

A place called "Goats on the Roof" (for obvious reasons) that we saw along the road. AJ may have suddenly crossed multiple lanes of traffic in order to stop here. Maybe.

Ice cream. Yummy. Accompanied by an interesting way to eat it while driving... (Don't worry - we were actually still in the parking lot)

I love these girls!

Lauren the photographer

AJ and Lauren in front of the waterfall that we decided NOT to slide down (Don't you think that looks like it could be dangerous?!?)

The obligatory picture of a foot. I like the way that the water looks.

Rainbow Falls - Thanks, God, for creating such beautiful things for us to enjoy!

Looking down from the top of the falls

Where I told her she wasn't allowed to go any closer without breaking Rules #1, 2, and 3

AJ and Lauren enjoying the beauty of Creation

I love this girl!

(Still to come: pictures from Mountain Extravaganza #1 and Dogwood Festival fun!)

The Many Faces of My Friend AJ

I love my friend AJ. And her many faces. I told her that recently, to which she responded that she actually only has one face. Which, I suppose is true. But, that one face has many, many expressions. Like the following (which were pretty much captured in the course of 2 days):

(Pictures posted with the express texted consent of AJ Jordan and will not be sold, reproduced, or otherwise used for exploitation or personal gain.)

I love you, AJ!

Feeling Blessed

Blessed is exactly what I am feeling after this weekend. I spent the last couple of days celebrating my birthday with two of the most amazing friends ever. I am so blessed to have them in my life! They totally overwhelmed me with their love for me and thoughtfulness in planning one of the most fun birthdays ever! More pictures to come, but I just wanted to say Thanks AJ and Lauren! I love you both!

Easter Feast (in photos)

last minute prep

deliciousness!

proof that the boys did join us

Rachel

Lovely ladies! (Shelley, Aimee, and AJ)

Lauren and I

the cake... (not exactly what it was supposed to look like, but still good!)

AJ's "Oops - what happened to the cake?" face

AJ and I (quite close up...)

Easter eggs!

Top Ten Reasons...

...that April is going to be a better month than March:

1. Dare I say that it would be hard not to be??

2. Spring is here! Complete with blue skies, warm weather, and beautiful trees and flowers to enjoy!

3. I am only working a total of 8 shifts in the entire month of April! (Which includes 2 night shifts this weekend, 6 days the next 2 weeks, and then off from April 16-May 3rd!)

4. My birthday comes, along with my friend Lacey's birthday, my best friend Caroline and Mark's anniversary, and my sister Pam and Jeremy's anniversary. So many things to celebrate!

5. I will be commissioned as staff with Word Made Flesh at the end of the month. I am excited about this next step, and am anxious for all the details to come together to finally be able to move down to Peru. I still don't know exactly when that will be, and I welcome your prayers that my house would sell and that the day would come soon!

6. A roadtrip! My parents and I will be driving from here to Omaha for commissioning, and then likely up to Fargo to visit my sister and bro-in-law. I am so excited to get to see them again!

7. Have I mentioned that I have 2 weeks off from work?? Because I do!

8. The opportunity to celebrate Easter and the amazing gift that Jesus gave to us on the cross.

9. Easter dinner with some fun friends who are like family to me.

10. I declare it so!