We bought our plane tickets this week! Michelle (aka Fife) found us an incredible deal! Both our tickets to Istanbul were under $1200! It was kinda weird buying one way tickets, but I'm super excited. So we are leaving Houston on January 22 and will arrive in Iraq on January 25th. We will get to spend a day in Istanbul and might get to catch up with some friends, so that should be fun! It is a pretty big relief to have a departure date and see and end in sight to the 'preparation phase' of getting ready to go. We're really going!
This week of global celebration at our church has been a really wonderful time of affirmation and opportunity to share about what is going on in Iraq. It has been great to see Jeremy and Michelle and I'm so thankful to all of the families and individuals at our church who have been such incredible advocates for us! So...62 days until we leave. Jeff quit his job last week and Friday is my last day at my job, so we will be traveling a lot and get to spend some good time with family before we leave. I had my sad week a couple weeks ago and now I'm just ready and really excited! I'm dreading the good byes as I know those will be REALLY sad, but I feel an extreme sense of peace and joy for what is ahead.
11.20.2008
11.16.2008
A Great few days!
We had a fabulous time in Salado and are ready to dive into all the events of this week. Here are some pics of our time:
Here's the B&B we stayed at. I highly recommend it, I think the only thing we might do different is stay in the cottage next time (which isn't attached to the house). There were some crazy drunk ladies that came in late one night singing 'The Hills are Alive' and other Sound of Music Tunes...which under other circumstances I might have enjoyed.
This was our room. Isn't it adorable? It had a little old fashioned stove and a big claw foot bathtub, and a cute little porch with rocking chairs it was awesome!
We had dinner at the Stagecoach Inn the first night and it was great! They had orange roughy which I haven't had in YEARS, but it was something my grandma used to make before she got sick and it tasted just like how she used to make it!
Jeff bought the new Monopoly World Edition before we left and so we played a few times. It was pretty fun, or at least the second time around when I totally tore Jeff up it was fun =) Jeff really enjoyed being the banker!
Friday, we went to Mother Neff State Park and did some hiking and sight seeing. The park wasn't nearly as big as I thought it would be, but it was still really fun and relaxing. Pictures not included, the one where Jeff almost drove his truck into the river and got stuck on the bank, and the one of the park ranger leaf blowing....that's right, he was leaf blowing in a state park.
Then Saturday we came back just in time for Jeff to grill at Woodway's college tailgate and we got to meet up with some friends at Common Grounds while the game was going on.
Now, we are about to go to the zoo with our Sunday school class and then grill out at Cameron Park afterwards. It has been a WONDERFUL few days and we're pumped for Global Celebration at Woodway this week! It was great to speak to Sunday School classes today and to see Jeremy who is back from Iraq for this week!
Here's the B&B we stayed at. I highly recommend it, I think the only thing we might do different is stay in the cottage next time (which isn't attached to the house). There were some crazy drunk ladies that came in late one night singing 'The Hills are Alive' and other Sound of Music Tunes...which under other circumstances I might have enjoyed.
This was our room. Isn't it adorable? It had a little old fashioned stove and a big claw foot bathtub, and a cute little porch with rocking chairs it was awesome!
We had dinner at the Stagecoach Inn the first night and it was great! They had orange roughy which I haven't had in YEARS, but it was something my grandma used to make before she got sick and it tasted just like how she used to make it!
Jeff bought the new Monopoly World Edition before we left and so we played a few times. It was pretty fun, or at least the second time around when I totally tore Jeff up it was fun =) Jeff really enjoyed being the banker!
Friday, we went to Mother Neff State Park and did some hiking and sight seeing. The park wasn't nearly as big as I thought it would be, but it was still really fun and relaxing. Pictures not included, the one where Jeff almost drove his truck into the river and got stuck on the bank, and the one of the park ranger leaf blowing....that's right, he was leaf blowing in a state park.
Then Saturday we came back just in time for Jeff to grill at Woodway's college tailgate and we got to meet up with some friends at Common Grounds while the game was going on.
Now, we are about to go to the zoo with our Sunday school class and then grill out at Cameron Park afterwards. It has been a WONDERFUL few days and we're pumped for Global Celebration at Woodway this week! It was great to speak to Sunday School classes today and to see Jeremy who is back from Iraq for this week!
11.12.2008
Getting Away
It is a lot of work getting ready to move overseas, there are a thousand little details to think of and make sure that all the loose ends are tied up stateside so that we can be gone for X years and everything will be taken care of. Not to mention trying to make sure that we have everything we will need in Iraq is purchased and shipped before we leave. The great news is that Jeff & I just reached the 80% mark of our funding which is our magic number for buying plane tickets and choosing a departure date. So, within in the next couple weeks we should have a one way ticket (unless a round trip is cheaper)! It has been so humbling to see the provision of the Lord. Thursday is Jeff's last day of work and next Friday is mine. We had to put in our notices when we were at 60% of what we needed even though we didn't want to quit until we had reached 80%. Now here we are just a few days away from Jeff's last day and we hit our 80%! God has been so faithful throughout this whole process and I've experienced in a whole new way that His grace really is enough for whatever He calls us to do.
So, we decided that before we kick it into high gear with Woodway's Global Celebration next week, that we needed to get away for a little while and just spend some quality time together not talking about fundraising, or stuff we need to get, or our huge list of stuff to get done. So, tomorrow night we are heading to Salado to stay at a Bed and Breakfast for a couple nights. I've always wanted to do this and we found this place that looks so cute!
We are also going to go to Mother Neff state park and go hiking and hang out by the lake, do some reading and just relax! I'm super excited about this much needed getaway before we dive into our last 2 months stateside!
So, if you think about it this weekend, please pray for our time together that we would be rejuvenated and that we would come back ready to dive into our final weeks here! Also, please be praying with us for that last 30% ... our personal goal is to be at 110% of our funding before we leave in January.
So, we decided that before we kick it into high gear with Woodway's Global Celebration next week, that we needed to get away for a little while and just spend some quality time together not talking about fundraising, or stuff we need to get, or our huge list of stuff to get done. So, tomorrow night we are heading to Salado to stay at a Bed and Breakfast for a couple nights. I've always wanted to do this and we found this place that looks so cute!
We are also going to go to Mother Neff state park and go hiking and hang out by the lake, do some reading and just relax! I'm super excited about this much needed getaway before we dive into our last 2 months stateside!
So, if you think about it this weekend, please pray for our time together that we would be rejuvenated and that we would come back ready to dive into our final weeks here! Also, please be praying with us for that last 30% ... our personal goal is to be at 110% of our funding before we leave in January.
11.10.2008
What you really want for Christmas
Christmas is - at its historical heart - the celebration of a life;
namely, the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Mary.
But even in its contemporary form, Christmas is a celebration of life and living; for even those that do not celebrate Jesus at Christmas do celebrate the memories and warmth of family, the assurance of another year successfully completed, and the hopefulness of a year ahead.
There is no gift greater than the gift of life.
All the decorations, the songs, and the gift-giving are meant to say one thing: “Life is worth living and it’s great living it with you!”
This season, share that message in a meaningful way with your loved ones and with Iraqi families on the other side of the world. With an inherent emptiness to so many of the gifts we reach for at Christmastime, this Gift of the Heart is assuredly one of the most impact-making gifts you can give this year, providing hope, real medical relief, and peace to mothers, fathers, and their children waiting in Iraq for a spot on the coveted Surgery List.
All Gifts of the Heart funds will cover medical, travel, and hospitality expenses for an Iraqi child and mother.
Give Life!
When you make a donation in honor of someone you will receive this "In your honor" gift certificate. You will also receive a:
- Softcover coffee table book of Preemptive Love Art commissioned and culled from Kurdish artists supporting PLC in Iraq
- Free PLC 3X4" vinyl stickers
- Free "Buy Shoes. Save Lives." campaign bracelet.
So, click on over here and give the gift of life this year.
11.07.2008
Change
There are few things in life more certain than change, you'd think I'd be more accustomed to it. I feel like my life has been in a semi constant state of transition for about 3 years and I guess I just assumed there would be a point where it would stop. But the more I think about it the more I imagine that everyone probably feels this way - that things are constantly changing, whether it is your family, job, the economy, the president...things are always changing. I've considered myself to be pretty flexible and easily adaptable, but now I'm not sure that is true.
I guess I'm feeling like I'm standing on this precipice of change and I know that things will never be the same. Our departure overseas is rapidly approaching and while it has been coming for a long time, I am just now feeling the weight of this decision. Well, that might be a little too dramatic, I guess what I mean is I'm just now feeling the intensity of the change looming all around us (was that less dramatic?). I guess it just feels really dramatic right now and even though I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else than where we are going, I'm feeling pretty sad right now.
I mean it isn't that life is perfect right now and I want to freeze it and make time stay like this, it is just more an acknowledgment that things will never be the same. When I came back from Turkey every summer and after living there for 6 months, I was different each time and it was a hard adjustment for me to be back in America. I know I will change and while part of me is eager and excited about that I'm also scared. Living in Iraq and doing the work we will be doing is going to change me and I know I can never live the same way again or look at the world the same way after I have experienced that... and it kind of scares me. I know that Jeff will change and be changed by our time there. I know our marriage will change and we will learn totally different ways of relating to each other. And those things scare me, but I think what makes me the most sad is thinking about how all of you will change.
Every time when we come home I know that we will see a little bit of it, but probably won't be able to really see it until we are back for a while. I'm sad about the weddings that I will miss (yours especially, fife), the birthdays I will miss and how this is our last Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend with our families for a while. I'm sad about the babies that will be born and will grow up and I won't get to watch it first hand. I'm sad about not being able to talk to my close friends and family that I talk to weekly. I'm worried that people will forget about us and that we won't be able to be close to the people we are close to now. I'm just feeling sad about the inevitable change that will happen and scared about what it will be like.
I know we are headed in the right direction, and I don't doubt for a second that God will fulfill his promise to repay a thousandfold (or is it a hundred?) all that we have given up for him and that He is SO worth it! But, I guess this is just me counting the cost and I think it is okay to feel sad and grieve the loss of these things, otherwise it would just be that much harder when the reality hits. I just wanted to be honest about where I am right now and what it feels like to get ready to move overseas.
I guess I'm feeling like I'm standing on this precipice of change and I know that things will never be the same. Our departure overseas is rapidly approaching and while it has been coming for a long time, I am just now feeling the weight of this decision. Well, that might be a little too dramatic, I guess what I mean is I'm just now feeling the intensity of the change looming all around us (was that less dramatic?). I guess it just feels really dramatic right now and even though I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else than where we are going, I'm feeling pretty sad right now.
I mean it isn't that life is perfect right now and I want to freeze it and make time stay like this, it is just more an acknowledgment that things will never be the same. When I came back from Turkey every summer and after living there for 6 months, I was different each time and it was a hard adjustment for me to be back in America. I know I will change and while part of me is eager and excited about that I'm also scared. Living in Iraq and doing the work we will be doing is going to change me and I know I can never live the same way again or look at the world the same way after I have experienced that... and it kind of scares me. I know that Jeff will change and be changed by our time there. I know our marriage will change and we will learn totally different ways of relating to each other. And those things scare me, but I think what makes me the most sad is thinking about how all of you will change.
Every time when we come home I know that we will see a little bit of it, but probably won't be able to really see it until we are back for a while. I'm sad about the weddings that I will miss (yours especially, fife), the birthdays I will miss and how this is our last Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend with our families for a while. I'm sad about the babies that will be born and will grow up and I won't get to watch it first hand. I'm sad about not being able to talk to my close friends and family that I talk to weekly. I'm worried that people will forget about us and that we won't be able to be close to the people we are close to now. I'm just feeling sad about the inevitable change that will happen and scared about what it will be like.
I know we are headed in the right direction, and I don't doubt for a second that God will fulfill his promise to repay a thousandfold (or is it a hundred?) all that we have given up for him and that He is SO worth it! But, I guess this is just me counting the cost and I think it is okay to feel sad and grieve the loss of these things, otherwise it would just be that much harder when the reality hits. I just wanted to be honest about where I am right now and what it feels like to get ready to move overseas.
Pictures of late
Sorry for the posting freeze, I didn't even try to get on board with the whole Nablopomo (National blog posting month) thing - I don't stand a chance. But here are some pictures of the last couple weeks.
These are flowers Jeff got me that bloomed just in time for our 10 monthiversary!
aren't they lovely?
This is from the Art.Music.Justice tour I wrote about a few posts ago. From right to left that's Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Sara Groves, and Brandon Heath.
This is the lovely Morgan Family at the Baylor 2008 Homecoming Bonfire
Nothing like a big fire to make you feel all warm and toasty inside...and out.
These are flowers Jeff got me that bloomed just in time for our 10 monthiversary!
aren't they lovely?
This is from the Art.Music.Justice tour I wrote about a few posts ago. From right to left that's Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Sara Groves, and Brandon Heath.
This is the lovely Morgan Family at the Baylor 2008 Homecoming Bonfire
Nothing like a big fire to make you feel all warm and toasty inside...and out.
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