Just One More

This was on Sunday while we were enjoying the nice weather (though the wind was strong enough to knock you down)! I heard it was going to rain all week, so I have been taking Simon outside every chance we get, expecting in advance for us to have cabin fever. But, it's still dry and it's Tuesday night...where is the rain?

I guess the rain clouds are waiting for our GFA picnic on Thursday! Oh, so much to look forward to on Thursday. GFA picnic. We're signed up to bring chips and SALSA. Hot, I think, so I'll have to use both jalapenos (see previous post.)

Also, on Thursday, I hear that SARAH is flying in! I'm not sure when exactly (hint, hint) but hopefully she'll let us know soon. 10 days of sharing our everyday life with Sarah. I am so glad she is coming. I really have been needing some extra help around here...cleaning, cooking, ironing, folding, dusting, vacuuming, shoveling, raking, gardening, etc. :) :) :)

And Friday-Saturday is Acquire the Fire and we have 10 girls staying here Friday night.

Um, Friday is Nancy's birthday, so I know I'll be a little sad, but mostly just prayerful for her.

I asked Matt if is was okay if some girls came over next Thursday to watch the new Pride and Prejudice and he said, "What is it with girls and Pride and Prejudice? That's all I hear. Pride and Prejudice. Have you seen the new Pride and Prejudice? Do you want to play the Pride and Prejudice board game?" I wonder if he is being funny about the board game or if it is something I should ask for for Mother's Day........

Life Is Good

I made salsa this week! My first attempt. Better than store-bought, though it couldn't be as tasty as those who grill their own tomatoes and such. It is my compromise. I got the recipe from Larna Humble; the Humbles are family friends of ours that we have been able to know over the years as they have done the music at HILLTOP camp. They've also been kind enough to be our cross-county 'bed and breakfast' on several occasions. We stayed with them recently and I left with some good recipes and some fun hospitality tips.
Yum, this is called "Larna's Salsa"

1 bunch green onions, cut up coarsely
1/8 to 1/4 purple onion, sliced in thick pieces
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes (use fresh in summer)
1 (10 oz) can Rotel (Mexican w/cilantro & lime juice)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3/4 to 1 teaspoon cumin (she prefers 3/4 tsp.)
1 teaspoon cilantro, dried or 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder (she prefers fresh)
1 1/2 to 2 jalapeno peppers, fresh, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (no substitutes)

Mix all ingredients together, in a food processor, with onions, garlic, and peppers on the bottom and add Rotel last. Pulse for 30 seconds, or until desired consistency.

The Trip Begins

PTL for our minivan! It really was an answer to prayer! You can ask us how sometime, if you want! Our van is packed full--lots of Simon stuff, lots of support trip stuff. To the right you can see the ultimate missionary baggage: a display table.

One night we were driving and I was talking to Kellie H. on the phone. Matt pulled over to reposition our display table, as it kept moving around. I told Kellie that Matt was repositioning a table. She said, "Oh, your display table!" I didn't even know it was called a display table until then! I think I played it off, like I knew. Ah, but now she reads this and I am exposed for the new missionary that I am! In all seriousness, Kellie said those two words 'display table' with such familiarity and normalcy that it was memorable as such.

This is the 1st of 10 blog posts from our trip. You are FOREWARNED, yet ENCOURAGED to read on.

Former Homestead

Out by the marina where we used to live. We stopped by on our way out of town on 30. Matt is sporting some sunglasses we found in our van. If they're yours, let us know and we'll return them!

We had an adventure before we left. Well, with last month's hot water heater 'exploding' experience, we decided to turn off our water before we left town. Heads up, this is always a good idea. My grandparents in SC had their downstairs partially flooded once when they were gone for a few days to the beach. Some waterhose on the washing machine malfunctioned. Matt's parents had a similar experience with a hot water heater once that left behind some damage. We were blessed in that I was home, but still a lot of damage can happen in 20 minutes. We had 2 inches in the garage and 1 inch in our front room. It was funny (in retrospect) to see Matt pulling up at the front of our hose and kind of panicking when he saw water coming out our front door. He kept running around saying, 'where do you turn the water off?'

So, learn from us, turn off your water before you leave for vacation and know how to turn off the water supply to your house. (Matt ended up turning off the supply to the hot water heater. We now know that we would have to turn off the water in front of our house by the street. But you need a special 'key' and something like a wrench to turn it with. We now have a key/turner all in one from Home Depot. LEARN FROM US!

Oh, our adventure included Matt getting REALLY dirty from turning off the water when we were leaving. He had to go back and turn on the water so he could clean up. And then turn it off again.

Oh, the plumber told us to always turn off the breaker to the hot water heater BEFORE you turn off the water supply. Otherwise, you might have your hot water heater heating when there is no water in it and that is REALLY a bad idea for some reason or another!

Simon Sleeps Across Arkansas

When I look at this pix, I can't help put want to go and wake Simon up from his nap so I can hold him!

Yesterday, about 15 min. before we needed to leave for church, I heard Simon screaming in the kitchen where he was eating breakfast with his daddy. He had fallen out of a chair and the chair had fallen on his big toe. (What is it with Simon and toe injuries?) I won't include too many details for those who are squemish, but it was really hard to see Simon in so much pain. That would hurt an adult, much worse a child. We had lots of bleeding and we still don't know if he'll keep the nail. We didn't make it to church. I held Simon as Matt used an ice pack to help with the swelling. Our gauze came in handy once again. Simon can't wear shoes because it would hurt his toe. Maybe tomorrow we'll try shoes. I don't know if they'll fit with all that gauze we're using.

We wanted to go to church and see Baby Alex dedicated! We have been able to visit with Kelly, Corey, Alex, and with our grandparents from Cartersville this weekend. It is so nice to have family gatherings.

We went by the pharmacy yesterday to get neosporin. The pharmacist showed us a new product: Neosporin with Pain Reliever (numbing) agent! Awesome. Perfect for this particular need.

Informal College Reunion

College friends. The one you don't recognize (if you are old school Bryan College) is with Melissa. Thumbs up, for him, as he has good taste in company (Melissa and Simon, his playmate!) It was SO NICE to chat, visit, and see everyone! We were also able to share about the ministry that we are involved with at Gospel for Asia and that is so much a part of who we are now.

I think we need to plan a reunion each time we get to go to Ringgold! Not pictured is David R. and Alan W. Evan came after everyone had left. But we had a good visit with him til about midnight when he drove home. The next day, he drove up to Cartersville and we got to see him again! There is a pix of Evan (who looks like Andrew N. now) and Simon.

Seeing everyone made me miss those I couldn't see (Kellie, Nikki, Maza...)

Park

You are now reading the 5th of 10 blog posts from our trip.

Matt's mom, Sandy, was telling me about a friend of her's who has a son who is really into Tommy Trains. The child is approximately 3 years old. Apparently, he recently got some sort of Tommy Train set for a gift and literally threw up in excitement when he saw it. He also couldn't sleep that night for fear it wouldn't be there when he woke up.

Well, Simon doesn't know about Tommy Trains yet. But he was SO EXCITED a couple of days ago when I opened a big, multipack of toilet paper for him to put on the closet shelf. I had saved this 'chore' for him, knowing he likes to put each roll on a shelf. Also, we're trying to make 'helping' a normal part of life so that when he is old enough to really help he hopefully won't be too surprised! Well, I made a good choice, because he just shrieked with excitement, clapped his hands, and pranced around on his little feet. I hope he gets this excited about taking out the garbage when he's big enough!

We had a fire the other night--one of those duraflame logs. Very domestic, I know. Simon kept bringing Matt dead leaves from our ivy plant to add to the fire. It was funny watching both of 'my boys' just kneeling at the fire and staring. Matt kept sending Simon on errands to pick up those leaves. Then, after Simon went to bed, Matt was looking for more stuff to burn. I had a magazine out for recycling. Yep, you guessed it. Burned to a crisp. Then, our large stack of things to be shredded suddenly became fuel to heat our home. I was a little worried, because our family photo albums are kept right next to the fireplace. Luckily, Matt didn't resort to using those as fuel!

Detour Ahead

We made a slight detour as we drove 'home' to Ringgold one afternoon.

We actually took the advice of SO MANY roadside signs beckoning us to SEE RUBY FALLS. Well, we didn't have time nor the desire to see it, but we wanted to have our pix made right outside it. Yes, this place does exist; it's not a Southern legend. I've never been there; I think Matt has. Everyone says its not worth the money, that it's just a cave with 'waterfalls' on which they shine a red flourescent light. I don't know if that's true.

Pix on the Left: Yes, the Basket Queen outside a Basket Shed--my true castle. I am a basket case.

Pix on the Right: Matt and Amy prove that Ruby Falls does exist. I am married to the best man on earth! Hopefully, others married feel the same way (not about Matt...but you get my point.)

Display Table Active

This is taken Sunday evening during the last event of Woodland Park's Mission's Conference. The speakers were Rob and Barbara Cline with HCJB radio. We had the chance throughout the weekend to get to know other missionaries--both foreign and stateside.
Our support trip was a blessing in many ways. Thanks to everyone who gets our newsletter and was praying for us.
That morning in Sunday school, we shared in the college/career class. That was really a good group to share with--attentive and open to being challenged (70ish in attendance). Matt shared his testimony and how the Lord called us to missions, I shared about how they could be involved in reaching the unreached now through active prayer and involvement, and then Matt ended with a powerpoint that had pix from here of the office and pix from the field. We had several copies of Revoltion in World Missions, but they were all gone after Sunday School, as were the Road to Reality brochures and info. on IT internships. Many of the young adults came by the display table that night to chat. Some had already started reading the book!
Funny story: Most display tables have 'free' stuff of some sort that they hand out...mostly just brochures and the like. At one point in the evening, a sweet girl came up to me and inquired if our pens were 'free.' We had 4 pens being used to fill out cards to receive the free book. Smiling, I had to tell her that all we had were free books. At least she didn't ask for the laptop!

FREESTYLE JUMPING

This is Matt jumping.
Do you see the brick landing in the lower left corner?
From what I understand, there was once a wood deck over there until Matt broke it with his body and his skateboard in an unplanned landing.
From freestyle skating to freestyle jumping.
The truly hilarious thing, though, is FREESTYLE WALKING.
You'd have to see it to believe it.

Almost a Family Photo

Cracker Barrell Pros:
The store!
Complimentary gift wrapping.
Blueberry Pancakes.
Coffee.
Audio books available to rent and return to any Cracker Barrell
About the pix: Matt's mom is taking picture.
In pix: Papa, Uncle Owie (that's how Simon says it), us

Voyage Ends

These pictures were taken during the last 30 minutes of our trip.
About the pix...
Simon was either out of it or seriously faking something. We were cracking up at him the last 30 min. or so of the 15 hour trip! He was so mellow. We noticed on the trip that he sometimes preferred having a blanket over his seat all the way to the seat in front of him. He would go 'in and out' at will. It was so funny. I would peek in on him and he would just be sitting there, completely mellow. Just chilling like his daddy or his papa or his uncle owie.

I included the pix so you could see the different stages of alertness.

The return trip home was an adventure. Although we drove the whole trek in one day (compared to two days on the way there as we had stopped midway to visit overnite with the Humble family), it was so much easier! The secret was preparation--leaving at 3 a.m. Texas time so that Simon could sleep some of the van hours away. That sort of worked. Stopping for breakfast at Chick-fil-A and letting Simon play on the playground versus getting drive thru. Lunch was Subway to go and then finding a park to eat/play in. That made all the difference. Plus, we weren't stingy with letting him watch videos. At one point, on the return trip, he watched 3 of his movies in a row. (They are only 30 min. each.) Also, we think giving him fresh fruit instead of Teddy Grahams helped his mood. He also liked having a fresh supply of new books to look at.