Where it all started...

I have talked about where my love for Africa and desire to serve there began and I cannot believe I found this picture in the art room cleanup.

I was 5 years old the summer these three young men from Africa cam and stayed with my family for a couple of days (I don't really remember how long they were there but long enough that they changed my life.) I remember them talking about what life was like for them, each from a different part of Africa (I don't even remember which countries they came from.) One of them talked about the monkeys bothering them on their way to school and I was hooked. I HAD to go to Africa.

As I got a little older I believed that I was going to be a missionary in Africa and deal with the monkeys every day myself. That thought was deeply embedded in me and I have to say I was a little confused when I met Jay and was clear I HAD to marry him... What about Africa? I didn't talk about it much but it was there.

This is one of the things I love about God. In my little mind, being a missionary in Africa was a life commitment... you lived there forever. So marrying Jay meant no Africa for me. BUt God is not limited by small thought process... And now, all these years later I am just 6 weeks away from a second short term mission to Africa. I cannot believe all that God has had in store for me. And it all started when I met these three young men from Africa all those years ago. AMEN!

Not far from the apple tree...

You know that old saying... Well here is the tree my daughter's apple fell from. As I was beginning to clear out a lot of stuff from my art room I found an envelope with a lot of old photographs. From the looks of this one you can see that somewhere along the way I was a natural at scrapbooking, even if my cropping was poorly done.

Now I am sure my tongue is sticking out in response to the beer my dad is putting in front of my face but there it is nonetheless. Now you can see why my mom must be enjoying watching my life with Shelby.

And yes, that is a "The Lodge" T-shirt... my favorite store in the world in the 70's, how I miss their shirts and carpenter pants.

A mother's curse come true... sort of

You know you hear it, I think every mom at one times at least wants to say it, my mom certainly did say it and it did come true..."May you have a daughter just like you!" I hope my mom is able to see my Shelby and enjoy the creative photograph faces and laugh about payback. The thing of it is though, I don't mind the faces. I kind of like to make them along with my daughter. Sorry mom- the curse fizzled and lost its power. I am sure there were a few more that stand a chance of coming true and having the desired result.

Shelby's Junior Prom

I know, I know, how many posts can I create about how my kids are growing up? If they bore you just scroll on by because here is just one more. Friday night Shelby went to her Junior Prom. I cannot wrap my brain around that fact. You would think I would be prepared by now.. we have been doing the college tour thing and all that but somehow this hit me. It hit me hard right in between Thursday's nail tip appointment and Friday's hair and makeup appointment, add to that seeing her all dolled up in a hot red gown and I was just about ready for CPR. But she looked so beautiful and happy. I love this kid. I love that she had an amazing time dancing the night away. I loved hearing her and her friend chatting away about the prom on the ride home and all that went on. Now all I have to do is gear myself up for the Senior Prom next year

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Passover Seder

Last weekend we all went to Jay's sister, Maxine's very first Passover Seder. For the past couple of years she has been exploring her Jewish heritage and earlier this year she had a celebration at her temple in the city to fully embrace her Judaism. So it was natural for her to invite her family to come and participate in this celebration that has gone on since God led Moses to lead the Jews out of slavery in Egypt. 

I absolutely love Seders. I love the tradition of it, the idea that, all over the world, members of this faith are sitting down and remembering what God did for their ancestors all those years ago. I love hearing the prayers in Hebrew and the reciting of the plagues that befell Egypt.

Now I am sure that in Jesus' time they did not have plagues in a box but I kind of liked the throwing of the plagues around the table... who was hit with a boil? Who was hit with a frog? What would the ancient members of the tribe of Israel think of the modern day take on some of the tradition- I think they would have loved it. However it is done, this is a time of remembering and tradition. Oh yeah, and of Matzoh balls

Max had the table set beautifully for the arrival of her guests

I know this is not the best of pictures but I love it. Here everyone is reciting the plagues, remembering the suffering of the Egyptians. We are called to dip a finger into the wine and place it on our plates, once for each plague.

The Passover Plate has items to remind the celebrants of different elements of their time in Egypt. Each has an important part in the Seder.

While I am not Jewish, my Lord was and I feel connected to Him as we celebrate Passover and I was thankful for the opportunity to celebrate it with Jay's family.

Next year in Israel!!

It is officially Spring!

I know for the rest of the area people know its Spring by the flowers blooming, the trees are budding and the noses are sneezing. But for me it is only officially Spring when Pongo and Perdita show up in our pond. For those who did not read least year's blog entries, P&P are a pair of ducks that seem to use our pond as a resting spot in the mornings for around 2 weeks for the past few Springs. Well, they showed up at the end of last week but stayed for only a short visit, we only spotted them for 2 days and they seem to be off again, maybe they have a pressing engagement at their real home base. No matter what the reason for their short stay they were here and it is SPRING!!!!

Hawk Nelson

Last Sunday I took Shelby  and her friend to a mega-church in PA to see a Hawk Nelson concert. For those who don't remember, Hawk Nelson is the group we saw at the Revolve Tour last Fall and Shelby decided she will be marrying the guitar player, Daniel. This concert was part of their Green T-shirt tour and of course we got the shirts and were able to get in early for better seats. The concert was great, we all loved it and I had fun taking pictures. I was bummed I didn't get chosen to get up on stage and help with the kazoo song but I guess I can understand why they would have chosen the three girls with a big "Pick Us for the Kazoo Song" sign- Next time I am going to be prepared (maybe a sign with  some LED lights.) The only drag about the whole thing is that it was 2 hours from home and when the concert was over I was the driver>
The girls who horned in on my kazoo moment
my future son in law

Tartan Day Parade

I love people who are willing to go and try new things whenever. Last week my friend, Alyse, invited me to go to the Tartan Day Parade in NY. She had read a blurb about it in an airline magazine and thought I just might be crazy enough to enjoy something like this. She was right. I had no idea that I would love it. I have not been the biggest fan of bag pipes. I have no Scottish connection (unless you count being an avid reader of Hamish Macbeth mysteries.) And still, I thought this was an amazing event. I loved that no one seemed to know that the parade was going to happen. People were curious about the barricades and the police standing guard but when we got there, just before the parade was due to start there was plenty of front line viewing spaces. And then you heard the bag pipes. Now up until this time I think for the most part I have only heard them played indoors (at funerals.) I do not think that is the best way to hear them. Out in the streets of NY, the bag pipes sounded great! I loved the music. I loved the plaids. I loved the kilts. I loved the guys in kilts (JK Jay... it just sounded good.) Alyse and I had so much fun photographing the parade from the starting band to the last tartan clad stragglers. And once again I experienced the excitement of an event in NYC, where everyone seems to be just from one big happy neighborhood. Now I want to start checking out all the "what's happening this weekend" sites to find more of these unique celebrations to experience.

About the Passage of Time

I mentioned in my last post that Jay and I can hardly believe our kids are getting so grown up since it feels like we have not changed (read aged) at all. That said tomorrow will be a bit of a milestone day for Jay... he hits 50!! I cannot believe how great 50 looks on him. I personally thin he is better looking than when I met him. 

SO, what do you do when you hit 50? If you are Jay you finally get a car you have been dreaming of forever.... a 1967 Corvette coupe (I think that is the name of it- you can tell, I am not that much of a car person) Now he didn't set out to get this car as a birthday gift, it just sort of ended up showing up on the weekend of his 50th birthday. It leaves me at a loss on what to get him cause how do you compete with a classic? I guess he will just have to settle for a dinner of chicken cutlets, mashed potatoes and corn from a can (This may not sound like much to you but this is Jay's favorite meal and I usually refuse to serve corn and potatoes at the same meal and I NEVER serve corn from a can.) Oh, I did make his favorite coconut icebox cake that is doing whatever it is supposed to be doing in the fridge as we "speak."

So do you want to see his new "Baby"?

Happy Birthday Jay- YSAF, YSAH, YRTMO

Where has the time gone?

Well its happened.... Shelby has reached an age where we really need to start considering college. Jay and I can see that she has grown up but cannot figure out how that has happened as we are just kids ourselves but none-the-less(I'll be posting tomorrow on what the reality of this is), Shelby needs to figure out where she wants to apply. Last week I took her on the first of our college tours. We visited Concordia, in Westchester County, NY. This is a small school, read very small school, but seems to take good care of their students. Shelby likes that it is a Lutheran School although they are not of a mind to ordain women pastors. That's OK this is just for her undergraduate degree anyway.

So we can mark our first college visit as complete, only 375 more to go....NOT!!

APRIL FOOLS!!!

And I fell for it LOL

NOt to be undone

April 1, 2008
Skin City
FamousFlakes

The Cult of Celebrity has its prayer books (Us Weekly), rites (Red Carpet), miracles (Alec Baldwin’s career), and disciples (Perez).

All that’s missing are the sacred relics.

Behold FamousFlakes, a pop-up biotique offering beautifully packaged vials of your favorite celeb’s skin and hair.

Founder Charles Remarque acquires the goods through a vast network of hotel housekeepers, aestheticians, surgeons, and a few celebrities themselves. Microdot arrays confirm genetic authenticity (and everything comes with a certificate of proof).

There are hundreds to choose from: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mike Bloomberg, Courtney Love. James Frey devotees can get a Billion Little Pieces in a vacuum-sealed cruet (Remarque swears it’s real); Bono voluntarily exfoliated himself and markets the slough under the Product (Red) line. Parker Posey and Chloë Sevigny are in the works.

Remarque will even bottle your flakes for a fee.

After all, skin sells.

For more information, go to famousflakesnyc.com. By appointment.

SO TAKE THAT DC!!

Daily Candy- unbelievable

I subscribe to Daily Candy for NY and also for DC (so that I can have great ideas of things to do when I visit my sister and nieces) What follows is today's candy.... I guess in this world today, ANYTHING goes! I just cannot believe there is a market for this and then I find myself thinking, what scandal would I want to experience? Maybe I want to play the part of Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to JFK...I wonder if they could give me MM's shape and voice? Now that would be amazing!!

Daily Candy- unbelievable

April 1, 2008
Tryst and Shout
Scandal-Us Events

For every hallowed monument to greatness in Washington, there’s an equally notable — if slightly less glorious — tribute to scandal. Though there are no plaques to commemorate them, these corners, offices, and rooms are just as important to the city’s history.

And now these infamous sites are getting their moment to shine.

Using props, sets, and a well-connected network of hotel employees and Hill staffers, Scandal-Us will recreate your favorite tawdry D.C. episode. From booking a particular room at the Mayflower to recreating a break-in at The Watergate, the team will work to help you and up to seven friends experience the legendary moments that make this city tick.

Whether your evening requires a troop of federal agents or a certain blue dress, Scandal-Us has what it takes to shock and awe.

Just think of it as our nation’s crapital.

For more information, go to scandal-us.com.