this is my feeble attempt to blog or at least an update that people can check whenever they want.
so, where to start? let's review this year, 2008.
it all started in kansas city, where we prepared for my roommate, anna's beautiful wedding in february. like i said it was a gorgeous wedding, and anna and jim lived happily ever after....
i then left for a mission trip to southern sudan with mercy works (mercyworks.org). we worked with harvesters orphanage (hrtn.org) in the province terekeka where they are building their second orphanage/school/clinic at this point. we ran clinics for the village and served however we could.
upon returning, i traveled across the country with my parents, 3 siblings, and niece to kansas city. they were able to meet my friends and see the life i had been living for 3 yrs. we were able to spend time at the international house of prayer there and celebrate easter together. it is always such a joy for me to have my "worlds" meet.
as my family drove off in the van, i began planning my trip out east, and in april i loaded a moving truck and drove back to nj to live. i recruited my sister, amber, to help with the drive, so we were able to spend 3 days together on a road trip. as i returned to nj, i cleaned out a portion of my parents garage to store my stuff until i found a place - where it remains today. i moved into the makeshift playroom/bedroom/former dining room along with my niece alexis. she turned 2 in july and is such a two year old.
in may, my sister, theresa, gave birth to a handsome boy, wyatt. they are in the military in louisianna, and i was able to go down and help out with the transition to home after being in the NICU for a few days. he is so cute, chubby and sweet!
in september i had the opportunity to go to hawaii to visit some dear friends. dorothy and her daughter arden, as well as amy. we swam in the bluest of ocean, climbed the trails to waterfalls, lounged on white, sandy beaches, and just took in all the splendor. it was such an amazing time. dorothy's husband, sam, is in the navy and was out to sea at that time. she was also expecting a baby in october. genavive, who was born without her dad home yet, is beautiful and doing well. on a side note, let me say that there have been 8 beautiful babies born to close friends or family of mine in this year! congratulations to them all...in november, i was in kansas city for my friend bernie's wedding. she and dennis worked hard to have a beautiful day - it was such a special day, celebrating their union. i was so glad to be part of it all. i also got to meet three of the new babies i talked about on that trip, one in kansas city and one in colorado.
throughout the months i have been home, i have been working at the hospital on the maternity floor, helping my parents care for alexis, volunteering some with my church youth program as well as a discipleship program they are running for college aged adults, and visiting friends. i have also been so excited i recent months to be in a relationship with lance. he and i met in sudan where he is a missionary there. he works for harvesters, doing their building projects. there is lots to tell about that, but that is for another time......
