Yay!Saturday, March 6, 2010
A little update now and then...
The week of February 22nd ended up being absolutely wonderful. Tuesday we flew from Stl to Pdx to come up for a friend's wedding. We spent seven great days seeing old friends, preparing a bride, and visiting family members. There were many fun stories and highlights from that week including (but not limited to) seeing the improved health of a favorite Eggert, seeing the liver girls, the dinner at red robin where two times our party elbowed the waiter in the crotch accidentally, making bachelorette plans, singing in the lobby of the church for two hours, discussions in hotel rooms, a surprise of me meeting the rest of the party of Starbucks, a BEAUTIFUL wedding and seeing my expecting sister-inlaw (Davis side). It was wonderful, beautiful and insightful.
This week has been a week of readjustment, grieving, and growing. I spoke with a dear friend Serena last night and she reminded me of something I had seemingly forgotten sometimes we need to go back to the basics. The basics meaning get out your Bible, turn to a devotional and start praying. I put a quick tab on my internet explorer for a Charles Spurgeon devotional (www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/morningandevening). If you like old language, deep thoughts, and new insights into small passages then check him out.
Sometimes being a DCE at a church has its struggles, one I have found is doing the work without the director of the author. Sometimes it seems as though I just work. Nothing will inspire me it has simply become another day to finish. Thank you Serena for reminding me of the hope that I have within me. That this jewel of love still exists with me. I love you.
Go.
This week has been a week of readjustment, grieving, and growing. I spoke with a dear friend Serena last night and she reminded me of something I had seemingly forgotten sometimes we need to go back to the basics. The basics meaning get out your Bible, turn to a devotional and start praying. I put a quick tab on my internet explorer for a Charles Spurgeon devotional (www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/morningandevening). If you like old language, deep thoughts, and new insights into small passages then check him out.
Sometimes being a DCE at a church has its struggles, one I have found is doing the work without the director of the author. Sometimes it seems as though I just work. Nothing will inspire me it has simply become another day to finish. Thank you Serena for reminding me of the hope that I have within me. That this jewel of love still exists with me. I love you.
Go.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
When we see God
I was thinking today about when we first will see God.
I had always imagined the moment as me running up to see a long lost friend whom I had only been able to communicate with through letters or something. Yet today as I reflect on this sentiment again I sadly don't think that will be my original feeling.
I think when we finally will see God we will have a feeling of shame. What did we spend all those years on earth doing? Why in the world did we spend so much time watching TV? What was it that really consumed us here on earth - was it the mission of loving those most in distress? Was it giving all our money to the poor? Was it being kind to those who spit on us and forgiving our enemies - truly, totally, forgiving them? Did I give all I had to the cause I claimed to follow so 'religiously'? Looking at these questions - are they too high, too unreasonable? Although I can't say yes to any of these questions - no I don't think they are unreasonable.
I think we forget that our faith, the religion following the life of Jesus Christ of Israel is radical and not cozy. It is not something that we can participate in half-time. It is like swimming, when you get in the water you are completely surrounded, although sometimes I feel like I am the one clinging to the edges with my water wings, hoping that the experience will soon be over and yet the next day claiming that yes I am indeed an experienced swimmer. When will I dare to be surrounded, completely surrounded by Christ.
Being kind to those who spit on us
Loving those MOST in distress
Giving ALL our money to the poor
Forgiving our enemies COMPLETELY. These are not standards I can profess to adhere to.
I had always imagined the moment as me running up to see a long lost friend whom I had only been able to communicate with through letters or something. Yet today as I reflect on this sentiment again I sadly don't think that will be my original feeling.
I think when we finally will see God we will have a feeling of shame. What did we spend all those years on earth doing? Why in the world did we spend so much time watching TV? What was it that really consumed us here on earth - was it the mission of loving those most in distress? Was it giving all our money to the poor? Was it being kind to those who spit on us and forgiving our enemies - truly, totally, forgiving them? Did I give all I had to the cause I claimed to follow so 'religiously'? Looking at these questions - are they too high, too unreasonable? Although I can't say yes to any of these questions - no I don't think they are unreasonable.
I think we forget that our faith, the religion following the life of Jesus Christ of Israel is radical and not cozy. It is not something that we can participate in half-time. It is like swimming, when you get in the water you are completely surrounded, although sometimes I feel like I am the one clinging to the edges with my water wings, hoping that the experience will soon be over and yet the next day claiming that yes I am indeed an experienced swimmer. When will I dare to be surrounded, completely surrounded by Christ.
Being kind to those who spit on us
Loving those MOST in distress
Giving ALL our money to the poor
Forgiving our enemies COMPLETELY. These are not standards I can profess to adhere to.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Isaiah 25
O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigner's stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquest of aged wine --
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
:1-8
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigner's stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquest of aged wine --
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
:1-8
Monday, January 25, 2010
Remembering and Remembering
But you are a shield around me, O Lord;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
Psalm 3:3-6
I have been thinking a lot today about a lot of different things.
Today is a thinking day and a rememberence day.
Not specifically to one person (with the exception God - but then again he is three... I guess that counts him out too) but to ideas and concepts and times and places.
Tolerance. What a word. It is thought to mean so many different things and implies so many different things (Did I just say the same thing twice).
According to Dictionary.com the definitions for this word are as follows...
1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint
4. the act or capacity of enduring; endurance: My tolerance of noise is limited.
The definitions continue in relation to Machinery and Medicine but for our purposes this is what we are sticking with.
We, meaning Matthew and I, were thinking about the world and how the world refuses to stop hating others and yet certain sectors continue to try and attain perfection on earth. Perhaps I am not being as clear as I can be - we try and become perfect and yet perfection is unattainable.
Back to Tolerance. I was speaking with some high schoolers and they said that they disliked the tolerance movement (don't get your feathers too ruffled yet). These kids - apart from all being from educated homes (parents with college degrees) are all from a wide variety of schools (differing in economic prosperity), have a very wide variety of political opinions, and agree on fews things except that one of the kids looks like frodo. They said of the Tolerance movement that instead of promoting and embracing the differences that in their schools the tolerance movement was making everyone look the same and no one was allowed to talk about the differences. They seemed to find that the rule was, "you MUST tolerate all people... or else". To make quite an outrageous statement in fact we musn't tolerate all people - we have the right in this country to hate... In fact I believe it is in our very nature to hate... This is why Christianity is needed... because humanity is first and foremost bad... yes there exists good charity in the world and yes there exists love... but the first lesson we teach children is how to share... So back to the original subject - are we simply trying to impose perfection onto a imperfect race (the human race) - and although as Christians we are indeed simply trying and failing to be good in a bad world why is everyone else - and is the tolerance movement actually helping or building up barriers when kids feel as though their uniqueness is being taken away - I would like thoughts from all aspects of the spectrum (although in the spirit of... well.. tolerance I would ask the comments to be respectful)...
I should clarify that I do actually think the original principles of tolerance are good - embracing differences - especially in reference to the third definition of tolerance listed above - I am simply wondering if we have skewed (what a horrible way to spell it) the definition in favor of implementation.
On a brighter side - life is beautiful - and this world is beautiful - if this world is currently marred by sin think of how beautiful the mountains will be when perfected.
Also I want you to know that Matthew and I are doing fine here in St. Louis - my job at the church is working out wonderfully and I am doing what I love - spending time with youth and the sun just started shining - Matthew is in his groove with the classes he is taking here and we are very greatful for Joshua and Kirk who came with us. My beautiful friend Maria is getting married in just about one month and both Matthew and I will be flying back for that occasion and are getting really excited!
To end I have created a Top 10 list of things I love in St. Louis
10. Ted Drewwes Custard (sort of like ice cream except better)
9. More snow than the NW Coast
8. having my own house
7. wild bunnies are everyone
6. there are lots of free things to do (Art Museum, Zoo - mom, History Museum, etc.)
5. being walking distance from the Sem and my job
4. Target has a Starbucks (yes this is number 4 on my list - and I can say I come from the birthplace of Starbucks and people think thats cool)
3. Being branded as a complete hippy liberal
3b. things here are cheaper (ex. gas and food)(please don't read into that statement)
2. I can't put a number two - it's too close to the top to be anything random
1. Being with Matthew (I know it's cheesy)
Much Love from me and THE FATHER
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
Psalm 3:3-6
I have been thinking a lot today about a lot of different things.
Today is a thinking day and a rememberence day.
Not specifically to one person (with the exception God - but then again he is three... I guess that counts him out too) but to ideas and concepts and times and places.
Tolerance. What a word. It is thought to mean so many different things and implies so many different things (Did I just say the same thing twice).
According to Dictionary.com the definitions for this word are as follows...
1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint
4. the act or capacity of enduring; endurance: My tolerance of noise is limited.
The definitions continue in relation to Machinery and Medicine but for our purposes this is what we are sticking with.
We, meaning Matthew and I, were thinking about the world and how the world refuses to stop hating others and yet certain sectors continue to try and attain perfection on earth. Perhaps I am not being as clear as I can be - we try and become perfect and yet perfection is unattainable.
Back to Tolerance. I was speaking with some high schoolers and they said that they disliked the tolerance movement (don't get your feathers too ruffled yet). These kids - apart from all being from educated homes (parents with college degrees) are all from a wide variety of schools (differing in economic prosperity), have a very wide variety of political opinions, and agree on fews things except that one of the kids looks like frodo. They said of the Tolerance movement that instead of promoting and embracing the differences that in their schools the tolerance movement was making everyone look the same and no one was allowed to talk about the differences. They seemed to find that the rule was, "you MUST tolerate all people... or else". To make quite an outrageous statement in fact we musn't tolerate all people - we have the right in this country to hate... In fact I believe it is in our very nature to hate... This is why Christianity is needed... because humanity is first and foremost bad... yes there exists good charity in the world and yes there exists love... but the first lesson we teach children is how to share... So back to the original subject - are we simply trying to impose perfection onto a imperfect race (the human race) - and although as Christians we are indeed simply trying and failing to be good in a bad world why is everyone else - and is the tolerance movement actually helping or building up barriers when kids feel as though their uniqueness is being taken away - I would like thoughts from all aspects of the spectrum (although in the spirit of... well.. tolerance I would ask the comments to be respectful)...
I should clarify that I do actually think the original principles of tolerance are good - embracing differences - especially in reference to the third definition of tolerance listed above - I am simply wondering if we have skewed (what a horrible way to spell it) the definition in favor of implementation.
On a brighter side - life is beautiful - and this world is beautiful - if this world is currently marred by sin think of how beautiful the mountains will be when perfected.
Also I want you to know that Matthew and I are doing fine here in St. Louis - my job at the church is working out wonderfully and I am doing what I love - spending time with youth and the sun just started shining - Matthew is in his groove with the classes he is taking here and we are very greatful for Joshua and Kirk who came with us. My beautiful friend Maria is getting married in just about one month and both Matthew and I will be flying back for that occasion and are getting really excited!
To end I have created a Top 10 list of things I love in St. Louis
10. Ted Drewwes Custard (sort of like ice cream except better)
9. More snow than the NW Coast
8. having my own house
7. wild bunnies are everyone
6. there are lots of free things to do (Art Museum, Zoo - mom, History Museum, etc.)
5. being walking distance from the Sem and my job
4. Target has a Starbucks (yes this is number 4 on my list - and I can say I come from the birthplace of Starbucks and people think thats cool)
3. Being branded as a complete hippy liberal
3b. things here are cheaper (ex. gas and food)(please don't read into that statement)
2. I can't put a number two - it's too close to the top to be anything random
1. Being with Matthew (I know it's cheesy)
Much Love from me and THE FATHER
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The Christmas Spirit
Today is my last day in the great Pacific Northwest. I am sitting in a big comfy chair at my in-laws house (no not the really big comfy chair) watching the rain washing away the snow. Overall this break has been the rest, relaxation and jubilation that I needed!
What have I been doing? Well... Last Tuesday, let's see that would be the 22nd, I flew into Seattle from St. Louis to surprise my mom. My mother thought I was going to be flying into Portland on the 26th and my family managed to keep quite a tight lip about the real time. I was driven from the airport home by my brother. My dad opened the front door, my mom looks up at me from her computer, looks back down, realizes who she is seeing, looks back up and starts yelling out of excitement. "What is wrong, why are you here?" Well merry Christmas mom!! Apparently after the fact she said her first thoughts were, "Did someone die? Something must be terribly wrong!" So we laughed about it as we moved my bags into my old room.
Matthew came up later that day (he flew into Portland the day before - Monday - into PDX) and we spent three lovely days with my family and friends. Christmas morning my brothers, Mel, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and a friend of Christopher's all gathered around with Matthew and I to celebrate Christmas (oh and Watson too). Of course there were lots of fun things given and received - I got some great clothes, a coast guard nutcracker, a new raincoat, a new computer power cord from Christopher and lots of love. I was reminded that Christmas isn't really about the presents, well at least now that I am out of elementary school, but it is about family and Jesus setting the ultimate example of love for us. Not a love that judges, excludes or refuses, but one that gives after being refused, judged and excluded - an interesting principle that I have forgotten these last few months. Its nice to be reminded.
So later Christmas day we made the trek down to Cornelius to Matthew's Parent's house. We were welcomed with open arms by Mike, Liz, Katie, and Steph and Robbie. It was great again to see them after such a long time. We opened up presents after dinner and had a wonderful end of Christmas with them.
Saturday Liz, Katie, Steph and I attacked the mall at 8am, ready to search and find those precious sales, while waiting for Katie in the dressing room :) . Sunday we went to church and spoke with the congregation that has been supporting us for so long. Also saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie - thought it was a good mixture of seeming superstitious and also explaining the superstition away - a good demonstration of a more spiritual superstitious culture which we have not seen in America for quite some time (which has both pros and cons - just to clarify).
Monday started grumpily and turned glorious - how is that for an introduction?! I was supposed to meet with my best friends aka the liver girls but unfortunately one's car broke down, one got really sick, and two I couldn't get a hold of. I mean I have been looking forward to seeing them so much - since I hadn't seen them since mid-august. So i guess I could wait one more day - right? Well Matthew and I - both grumpy and unpleasant travelled to CU to drop some papers off for Matthews dad and we decided to drop by the Eggerts house (the Eggerts provided marriage counseling for Matthew and I, and John Eggert married us). We were able to speak with both John and Jeanette over a quaint cup of tea. Please remember John in your prayers as he suffers from lack of energy and the doctors not being able to figure it out. Overall it was so good to sit down and discuss St. Louis and life with these dear friends and mentors.
Tuesday the sun started getting a little brighter (metaphorically of course) Kristine, Maria and I met for brunch and simply talked. It was so refreshing to once more be in company of these beautiful, intelligent and motivated women. We quickly went to Target and then back to Kristine's house (where Maria and I both lived at different points) our eventual goal was to head back to the Warmbier's house where we would be celebrating Matthew's birthday with a number of friends. While we were at Kristine's house it started snowing wonderfully large flakes. We left Kristine's house about 10 minutes later to start our journey towards Hillsboro when we hit traffic - with the snowfall, rush hour, and Portland drivers (who incidentally all have seemingly allergic reactions to snowfall) the normal 45 minute journey ended up taking over 2 hours. By the point the snow was building up and Kristine and Maria decided they would spend the night rather than trying to get home through the snow ridden roads in the dark. Because of the snowfall (I am telling you - Western Washington and Oregon residents are terrified of snow) Many people couldn't come make it to the party but we had a good time with my parents, Matthew's parents, Kristine, maria and Alicia.
Despite the predictions from our wonderful weathermen that the snow would have disappeared by the morning it dawned clear with snow crystals still decorating the scenery. Kristine, Maria, Matthew and I traveled into town to meet the one remaining elusive liver girl that I had yet to see - Courtney. Meeting at Starbucks like old times and then having lunch at BJ's was like an infusion of warmth to my heart. Parting out of exhaustion and prior engagements we departed tired and comforted to spend the rest of the day watching movies and just relaxing (while Matthew was nursing a runny nose).
Today promises once again to be full of heart and love. Serena is finally able to make the journey to Portland where Kristine, Courtney and I will be able to meet with her. Talk about full of love! this Christmas has allowed me to think, has reminded me that life is much more than me, and enabled me to be with family. New Years Resolutions -I don't need them - but Christ has offered a pretty good guideline on how to live already - feed the poor - take care of orphans and widows in distress - love your neighbors as you love yourself - love God above all... that is what I need.
What have I been doing? Well... Last Tuesday, let's see that would be the 22nd, I flew into Seattle from St. Louis to surprise my mom. My mother thought I was going to be flying into Portland on the 26th and my family managed to keep quite a tight lip about the real time. I was driven from the airport home by my brother. My dad opened the front door, my mom looks up at me from her computer, looks back down, realizes who she is seeing, looks back up and starts yelling out of excitement. "What is wrong, why are you here?" Well merry Christmas mom!! Apparently after the fact she said her first thoughts were, "Did someone die? Something must be terribly wrong!" So we laughed about it as we moved my bags into my old room.
Matthew came up later that day (he flew into Portland the day before - Monday - into PDX) and we spent three lovely days with my family and friends. Christmas morning my brothers, Mel, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and a friend of Christopher's all gathered around with Matthew and I to celebrate Christmas (oh and Watson too). Of course there were lots of fun things given and received - I got some great clothes, a coast guard nutcracker, a new raincoat, a new computer power cord from Christopher and lots of love. I was reminded that Christmas isn't really about the presents, well at least now that I am out of elementary school, but it is about family and Jesus setting the ultimate example of love for us. Not a love that judges, excludes or refuses, but one that gives after being refused, judged and excluded - an interesting principle that I have forgotten these last few months. Its nice to be reminded.
So later Christmas day we made the trek down to Cornelius to Matthew's Parent's house. We were welcomed with open arms by Mike, Liz, Katie, and Steph and Robbie. It was great again to see them after such a long time. We opened up presents after dinner and had a wonderful end of Christmas with them.
Saturday Liz, Katie, Steph and I attacked the mall at 8am, ready to search and find those precious sales, while waiting for Katie in the dressing room :) . Sunday we went to church and spoke with the congregation that has been supporting us for so long. Also saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie - thought it was a good mixture of seeming superstitious and also explaining the superstition away - a good demonstration of a more spiritual superstitious culture which we have not seen in America for quite some time (which has both pros and cons - just to clarify).
Monday started grumpily and turned glorious - how is that for an introduction?! I was supposed to meet with my best friends aka the liver girls but unfortunately one's car broke down, one got really sick, and two I couldn't get a hold of. I mean I have been looking forward to seeing them so much - since I hadn't seen them since mid-august. So i guess I could wait one more day - right? Well Matthew and I - both grumpy and unpleasant travelled to CU to drop some papers off for Matthews dad and we decided to drop by the Eggerts house (the Eggerts provided marriage counseling for Matthew and I, and John Eggert married us). We were able to speak with both John and Jeanette over a quaint cup of tea. Please remember John in your prayers as he suffers from lack of energy and the doctors not being able to figure it out. Overall it was so good to sit down and discuss St. Louis and life with these dear friends and mentors.
Tuesday the sun started getting a little brighter (metaphorically of course) Kristine, Maria and I met for brunch and simply talked. It was so refreshing to once more be in company of these beautiful, intelligent and motivated women. We quickly went to Target and then back to Kristine's house (where Maria and I both lived at different points) our eventual goal was to head back to the Warmbier's house where we would be celebrating Matthew's birthday with a number of friends. While we were at Kristine's house it started snowing wonderfully large flakes. We left Kristine's house about 10 minutes later to start our journey towards Hillsboro when we hit traffic - with the snowfall, rush hour, and Portland drivers (who incidentally all have seemingly allergic reactions to snowfall) the normal 45 minute journey ended up taking over 2 hours. By the point the snow was building up and Kristine and Maria decided they would spend the night rather than trying to get home through the snow ridden roads in the dark. Because of the snowfall (I am telling you - Western Washington and Oregon residents are terrified of snow) Many people couldn't come make it to the party but we had a good time with my parents, Matthew's parents, Kristine, maria and Alicia.
Despite the predictions from our wonderful weathermen that the snow would have disappeared by the morning it dawned clear with snow crystals still decorating the scenery. Kristine, Maria, Matthew and I traveled into town to meet the one remaining elusive liver girl that I had yet to see - Courtney. Meeting at Starbucks like old times and then having lunch at BJ's was like an infusion of warmth to my heart. Parting out of exhaustion and prior engagements we departed tired and comforted to spend the rest of the day watching movies and just relaxing (while Matthew was nursing a runny nose).
Today promises once again to be full of heart and love. Serena is finally able to make the journey to Portland where Kristine, Courtney and I will be able to meet with her. Talk about full of love! this Christmas has allowed me to think, has reminded me that life is much more than me, and enabled me to be with family. New Years Resolutions -I don't need them - but Christ has offered a pretty good guideline on how to live already - feed the poor - take care of orphans and widows in distress - love your neighbors as you love yourself - love God above all... that is what I need.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving and Beyond
This blog post is dedicated to Becca the faithful follower...
Well although it is now Wednesday December 2nd (goodness - december already?) and I am sure there are many wonderful things I should blog about this glorious day - I am going to backtrack a little bit.
Thanksgiving was a wonderful time of food and friends. We spent the evening at our friend's Justin and Jessica's apartment where we had a delicious meal, interesting conversation and played a great game of Quiddler. Justin is currently a first year at the Seminary with Matthew and Jessica teaches at a Montessori school in St. Louis.
The next morning Jess and I hit the stores! Well that is at 8:30 in the morning with coffee in our hand (chai for me). Our first stop Target was surprisingly not busy, well not as busy as we expected. We picked up a few items (ha! like I would disclose the presents we bought online) then headed to Walmart a little ways down the road. Walmart was a step up on the ladder of busyness but nothing we couldn't handle. We then returned back to Target and picked something else we had had our eyes on and got in the car.
The real shopping started after leaving Target for the second time. We drove to the mall in West County (fact about St. Louis - because there are 'minimalls' just about everywhere there isn't one central place to go shopping that has everything) where we found all of West County waiting for a parking space - we waited the traditional black friday amount for a parking spot (about 20 minutes) and crammed ourselves into the black hole of people. After smelling every Yankee Candle, going completely through Macy's about three times, and calming down a woman who was about to explode if they didn't honor the sale prices we decided it was time to take a hike. We stopped at Noodles and co., had a nice lunch and finished the day at 3pm with a quick peek at Michaels and Kohls. Needless to say I was worn out, once I got home I zonked out (actual definition: 1. stupified by or as if by alcohol or drugs, 2. exhausted or asleep --- I will take the latter) for about two hours.
Friday Matthew and I had a relaxing day - we went to Soulard's Market - met Jess and Justin there and continued on to do nothing! The weekend and pretty much up until now we have been recovering from break.
Matthew started classes on Monday a great relief to him (not that I am so mean) to have some structure back in his life. He is only taking 12 credits this semester which is lighter than last semester and still less homework than his final semester at Concordia. His favorite class is with Dr. Burreson currently learning about different styles of worship.
My job is going splendidly so far. I am moving offices hopefully next week - which means this week I get to paint it! I am hoping for a light blue - but we will see.
We are really looking forward to coming home for Christmas only a few more short weeks and we will be home!
This is an old photo - the first time Matthew and I did something together - with Courtney of course!Much Love -and congratulations to Courtney and Kirk-
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