Saturday, August 22

Funeral...

Apparently a local Sheriff or someone of great value in the police force recently died in our area. I'm sitting here right now, and as I pen this, there is a loud roar outside our house. Of all the streets they could have picked, they decided to block ours of and allow the procession down our street. We got cop cars from all over the area -- like a mini parade -- rolling down our street mixed with a few civilian cars and one random firetruck. The roar, however, comes from the air. I grew up hearing those things every-now-and-then, but today there are two hovering over our street. Helicopters. I saw one close-up once as a child, but this is my first time to hear the roar until I've a headache and see them just hover for so long...

Ah, the procession has just finished and now the helicopters are flying away. What an event. Feel sorry for the family, but it's still pretty cool to watch. On our street, too, no less, not the main street!

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Oh, and for anyone wondering about the rest of my day. It's been great thus far. Got up and went to Wal-mart to get the professional photos I had taken there, and to order my mother the one she wanted as her birthday present -- don't worry, it's no surprise to her, so I'm not ruining anything by blogging about it...

Also, I met Dorcas Thursday and then we went for a movie night at the church with Marie-Louise; had a great time. Fred & Deb took both girls out to OH to drop Marie-Louise off for her missions trip with the Ingole-family-group and then they took Dorcas shopping at Gabe's on the way back to pick up another pair of jeans (and to figure out her size better, maybe). She's more like a 1x (not the 2x we'd previously guessed) and her paints are about a 16; supposedly she's a little taller then my friend Emily, too, she had to stoop to hug her! How cool is that? But they are about the same build. Anyway, everyone got back from that event at about 2am this morning...

Oh, and Marie-Louise called this morning during their layover in TX to say she's doing great and having fun with the team...!

Oh, and my Nichols Grandparents are on their way here for a short weekend; they want to meet Dorcas, and tomorrow attend the church diner we're having that will both welcome her and shower her with gifts (Dorcas doesn't know about that last part; she's already in shock about how many options Gabe's has, wait till she owns a loot of clothing and other such items herself!)

Thursday, August 20

Guest...Family

This week has been rather busy for Fred & Debby. Besides Sunday, they only had Monday and originally hoped to have today in town. Monday Deb, her mom, Rosalee & I went to see Julie & Julia. It wasn't as good as I thought it'd be -- it was slow, not bad, just long -- but Debby loved it; guess it helps if you used to watch Julia Child on TV doing her cooking show, because part of the reason Deb loved it so much was how well Meryl Streep portrayed Julia. Then Tuesday morning Fred, Deb, & Weesy left to head to NYC; they didn't hurry but took a hotel room half-way there and then went to the airport about 7pm yesterday. Originally they hoped to drive straight back last night, but I guess it just turned out to be too long of day and they took another hotel room half-way back. Sometime this afternoon -- like in the next hour -- they should be pulling into the driveway.

Then tomorrow they start it all over again, but this time heading out our friend's the Ingole's in Ohio. There they will stay the night and help take people to the Pittsburg airport where Marie-Louise and several friends/family of the Ingole's are leaving for another two-week missions trip to Honduras -- it'll be the first one Weesy go on without her family, so she's excited about that! Then Fred & Deb will come back home and we'll start the next week all together.

So, that may not be very exciting news -- we always seem to have a busy life -- but it isn't for their schedule I initially wished to share. It's for whom they are picking up and whom I'm excited to meet in about an hour! Yes, I'm sure at least some of y'all heard about us trying to help a girl from Africa -- the child of an African couple Fred & Debby call friends and have connections with while in Africa -- come as a student here. Well the US embassy finally OKd her, she got her visa, and is now on her way to Olean with Fred, Deb, & Weesy. She'll live with us and go to school with Weesy at the small local Christian school. Dorcas is her name. She speaks almost no English but is familiar with French -- thankfully Fred, Deb, & Weesy know a good deal of French, I'm gonna be the one who has a hard time communicating with her! She's tall, broad shoulder -- or so I've heard -- built like my friend Emily.

Anyway, I'm just looking forward to meeting her in the next hour! A little nervous, maybe even anxious about how this is all going to work out in the next couple years, but still excited! I'll try and let y'all know how it goes...meanwhile if you find any clothing, especially winter things, in about a size 1x, size 16 pants, or a shoe size 11, and you feel led to give it away/pass it along, feel free to send them this way!

Friday, August 14

Back from VA!

Sweet! I had a great time!
So I didn't get much more then one chapter red in Ted Dekker's Black, and really only sat out just to sit in the sun a couple different times, but so what?!

We met Chris & Tina Saturday for a birthday get-together.
Then went to the house we'd be staying at till Wednesday morning and unpacked our bags (they have an awesome house, with three extra bed rooms and a beautiful yard! Not to mention the other usual rooms in a house, all super-sized! Nice!)

Sunday we went to New Life Church (I think that's it's title) and attended the café-church service in the gymnasium part. Chris played the drums and Tina led the service (the introductions & announcements). Then we went out for lunch, lollygagged around a couple of stores before Chris & Tina had to leave then we went back to the house for a bit. After a bit, we went back tot he church for the Guatamala Missions Team Send-Off Service and then went out with Chris again -- to distract him -- till we went to the house of a friend of Tina's for...guess what? We walked in the door and everyone jumped and screamed! It was a surprise birthday party for Chris, and he never saw it coming! Their friend had made an awesome cake -- think she takes after Deb a bit! LOL -- and we hung out and celebrated for quit a while! It was fun seeing everyone again -- I'd met them before at and during Chris & Tina's wedding related events.

Monday we just hung out mostly at the house. (that's when I got my hot hour in the sun out on the lovely porch out back). I tried getting a hold of a college friend of mine who lives down there, too, but her phone wasn't working (I hadn't tried to get a hold of her before, because ironically she had been up here in NY for the weekend). I think I managed to get a chapter of Black red, while in the sun too, but then decided it might be easier to tan in that hot sun if I just went half-asleep (then I wouldn't notice how hot I was or how hot the black book felt in my arms, either)...Christopher came over after work and then we went to the mall and saw the movie GI: Joe. It wasn't what I expected, but it was deffinately not bad, either.

Thankfully, there is such a thing as facebook and my friend Sooki & I were finally able to connect between that night and Tuesday. So, of course, on Tuesday that's what I did. Fred, Deb, & Weesy met up with Christopher at the mall for his lunch break, meanwhile Sooki met me at the house and we followed Fred to the mall where we proceded to wodnerfully-waste a few hours in a long over-due talk...and whatever else friends do when they get together! The blessed thing about our friendship: no matter how long it's been and how much catching up we've got to do in a little time, it always is not only worth it, but oddly feels like we never really parted! (At least for me). Plus I got to hang out with her delightful little girl, Rianna. I can't say what we talked about, not even sure we ever really ever finished whatever new topic we would intergect and start on, but we had an awesome time! Ate in the food court, from Wendy's, and just walked and talked through the mall till it was time for her to head back home. It was about then that Fred & Deb called me on my cell to see if they should swing by and get me then or wait another hour or two (they were in the area) so I hooked back up with them. Later, in the evening, we hit the beach with Christopher in tow -- he finished work about then -- and had a delightful last day before taking the long drive back home in the morning.

Sadly, my cell phone decided to die in the middle of the night and I didn't think to put it onthe charger before we left for the long drive home. Also, my laptop got packed away the night before. Regardless of my momentary laps of technology for a whole day in the USA -- some reason ti's fine in another country, but here, I'm like "what do I do?" -- I lived just fine and we made it home safely...at like 1am; that's why I waited another day to write.

Wednesday, August 5

For the record...

I'm not my sisters...interesting thought, eh?

Seriously, though, I have a hard time figuring out what to write lately. I know I don't write on here as much as I used to. I haven't written much in more journal, either. I think that's the main problem, when I ran out of things to say here, sometimes I copied stuff from my journal and all those random thoughts, but since all the writing my journal has received in the past few months had been four pages of private prayers and such, there isn't much for the copying either. Oi!

I've tried to figure out where my sisters get their inspiration and how it seems to always flow. Sometimes it seems they are just writing a momentary and fleeting thought, other times it's one of those weird things that I wouldn't think to write about -- like a blister on the toe -- that add a touch of "I'm here...taste my life with me" flair. Maybe I just need to get more weird and random, eh?

Well, regardless, on the bright side. I'm headed to Virginia Beach with Deb, Fred, and Weesy in a couple days so maybe -- if I remember -- I'll get some pictures and have something to write about soon...But mostly, I'm looking forward to the warmth & sun we've been missing here lately. Take a good Ted Dekker book and my laptop and maybe get some writing in if not reading (why has it been so hard for me to dive into a good book lately, anyway? I used to eat them for dinner! After all, they are my inspiration and without a bit of that I'm lacking in writing-my-book-ability too! Oi! what a mess I'm in!)

Ok, enough for now...write again soon...perhaps when I get back from the fun in VA!

Saturday, August 1

25th Anniversary...& Sunshine

Well we had a great day Sunday. Church, followed by a little coffee break with goodies, and then we had Guy & Cheri's 25th Anniversary. It was one of those vow-renewal services set up just like a simple wedding, followed by a cake and reception. And it was formal, so I finally got to wear my banquet dress I picked up at the Philippines in 2006! Check out the photo album over on the right for all the awesome pictures!

Today is a rarity, this summer, and supposedly is 80° outside. It really only felt like it was that hot when the sun wasn't hiding behind the scattered clouds -- the breeze was too cool, me thinks! But being such a beautiful -- and rare -- day, I took one of those lawn chairs with a footrest and stuck it out back in the hot sun and that's where you can find me now! I've brought my laptop too, but the sun is so bright that I'm thinking I'll eventually just set it aside and just lay in the sun. I've been trying not to lose that wonderful tan I got in the Outerbanks (OBX, photo album to right) a couple months ago, but with it as rainy as it has been it's been hard to get outside much this year! Anyway, that's what I'm doing now: enjoying such a wonderful gut day!

After I've been out here for over an hour or so, I'll go inside and get cleaned up; Emily is coming over and we're heading over to another friend's house to eat and fellowship as the Act's disciples seemed to do...Can't wait!