Sooooooo.....

Yeah, I need to blog...again...so, what to say. I'm having a hard time remembering what all has happened since last time I blogged, perhaps I should check my facebook status' of late...Oh, yes.

Ok, we had a great Welcome Party for Dorcas Sunday after church (photos in album to right). She couldn't stop smiling! ...The Nichols grandparents stayed through till Tuesday and then Debby had to do some quick last minute book editing Grandma Davis before she finally sent it off to 24hourBooks quick before Fred left for the airport Wednesday morning. Oh, and Dad left with Fred, had a great short trip and came back last Saturday while Fred remained and met Frank Perish for a conference they are doing over there now (the building is so packed out they had to close registration, it's going so well!)...Marie-Louise, also got back from Honduras last Saturday but Tim didn't bring her back from Ohio till Sunday. We planned and succesfully pulled off a rather large surprise welcome home party for her too (pics, also, to the right) since she arrived at our house about an hour after we got back from church. I thought Deb did rather good at inviting people and I at organizing the decorations; it turned out really nice and bigger then we first thought, too! And, of course, Weesy was surprised and loved it! ...And, in the middle of all that, I managed to kill the printer as it ran out of ink! So much for trying to get the women's conference brochures out by the first of the month! I did manage to get about 50 suitable brochures printed to hand out at church and our Jubilee Celebration Monday, so at least a bit of the word is out now. Otherwise, I'm waiting for the new Magenta catridge to arrive in the mail. Any day now. Any day!

Oh, and off on a side note, I don't know if any of y'all have seen my sister's funky blogs lately but I can't help but laugh. That's about what I'd be blogging half the time when I'm to busy to process my going-ons enough to write about it! Of course it also reminds me of my late nights, board to death, with a fried brain from school nights too; except I used to try out new, other-worldy, or just plain funky, hair-do's instead (think Star Wars and Princess Leia or Padme, but worse?!). Oddly, however, I still have those pictures on my computer. Maybe I'll post them for y'alls amusement sometime!

And, before I forget. This week and weekend are really busy too. Tim & Emily have been around for a few days, leaving tomorrow though. Bill is spackling and helping fix the entry way and hallway and stairway for the next few days, as well as make sure Weesy & Dorcas get a ride to and from school. M-L and Dorcas, like I just said, have started school. Meanwhile Deb, Deb's mom, and Cathy left for a nice vacation/tour of DC this morning and won't be back till Monday. Dad, of course, will get here sometime tomorrow, I would think. And my sister Alissa is finally coming for a weekend to visit, albeit a short weekend as she only gets here Saturday and has to head back to school Sundays; but maybe we can finally watch a couple those movies I've been wanting to see with her (like Thr3e and Hannah Montana: The Movie--yes, I have weird taste!). Of course, we also have to do some shoping which she hasn't been able to do as the school is way to remote -- oh, poor, deprieved Eliminites/Limains!

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!)

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!

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.