White Rock Marathon

My friend Dessa ran in the White Rock Marathon, as well as our friend Paul. Dessa was the final leg of a relay, so she ran 6 miles, while Paul ran the whole 26.2! Not wanting them to have all the fun a few of us drove over to Dallas to cheer them on. It was a insanely windy day, to the point that twice when I tried to take a step I got pushed back even further! But it was a fun day and they did awesome!

This is Paul as he prepares to cross the finish line!

"Go Paul!"

Dessa was so fast we never even saw her cross! Ha!
So here we are just after she finished.

Here we are again, but now Kasey has joined us!
And yes, Dessa is that short!

Friends of Paul:
Cody, Paul, Saddler, Thomas, and Aaron
My first time to meet Thomas and Aaron.

Wacky Tacky Christmas Party!

No it's not Santa and her elf! It's Arwen and Kresta!

Kasey and her hairy man Cody!

Matt and Jamie forgot to tell me this is an open mouth picture!

Jamie leads the way, Rebekah wore ugly pants, then it's me,

followed by Arwen and then there is April.

Our resident German friend, Esther,

learning how to celebrate Christmas--American Style!


The Wacky Tacky Christmas Party is all about celebrating the ugly sweaters of Christmas! I didn't want to waste time looking for one, so I just made mine! It had jingle bells on it and every time I walked it jingled all the way!

Yes! That is mistle toe on Dessa's head!

Cody, Paul, and Katy demostrating their own version of
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Speak No Evil!

Enjole (En-ja-lay) and Kasey, who for some reason is wearing an 80's prom dress!

Paul ran out of yarn!

And so did Saddler! (yes that is his name)

Lexus Girl!

My famous "Thank you for calling Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth,

how may I direct your call" smile!

There were five Christmas trees throughout the store and

I don't know how many poinsettas. (However you spell that!)

The Paperkite

Leah has found her Studmuffin!
Never seen a cuter River Otter!

Monday found me leaving Cairo, NE for Lebanon, IL. Lebanon is 25 miles east of St. Louis, MO and the home of cousin Leah. It was a little out of the way, but how often does a girl get to hang out with her cousin Leah! So back on I-80, I head east to I-29 taking a shortcut through Nebraska City that led me into Iowa. Once I found I-29, I crossed into Missouri and stopped for lunch in St. Joesph. An hour later I was zooming in and out lanes in Kansas City, MO and on my way to St. Louis, which of course I managed to hit at Rush Hour. Yea me! Traffic wasn't really all that bad, as long as I stayed in the middle lane and followed the signs. However this plan only works if you're following the right signs! I somehow missed that I was suppose to find I-64 to get to Lebanon and stayed on I-70 instead, except that I wasn't even on I-70, I was on I-55! Don't ask me, I don't have a clue how I did it either! I fortunately realized my mistake before I got to far and was able to turn around without wasting too much high dollar gas!

Tuesday morning I awoke from a blissful sleep in a beautiful house built in 1897. Newly remodeled, yet still filled with it's "turn of the century" charm. Later that morning, I would find myself on the way to a place I had never been, but always wanted to go--the Zoo! St. Louis is one of the only remaining free Zoo's in America--yea St. Louis--you rock! So anyway, Leah was kind of enough to take me to the Zoo and teach me all the things I didn't know about the animals. I had so much fun, very much like all the little kids who were there for their first time too! I saw ant-eaters, elephants, bears, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, lions, penguins, camels, and so many more animals. But my favorite of the day, believe it or not, was the paperkite butterfly. So beautiful, so elegant, and so delicate. This little insect left me standing in awe of the creativity of our God. He could have made all butterflies just alike, but He didn't. He decided to go colorful instead. Even a little crazy! Different sizes, different colors, different purposes. All designed to bring Him glory. And then just because I know He delights in delighting His children, I got to see a paperkite butterfly move for the very first time after having shed it's cocoon. And once again I was left standing in awe of the greatness of our God

A Nebraska Sunday

Ever wondered what there is do in Nebraska?
Well, I still wonder, but at least for this day, I found there is plenty to do. The day began with a drive into Grand Island, NE for some Sunday morning worship. It was "Honor the Graduates day", so Go Graduates! After church, we found our way to Applebee's, where I enjoyed my first semi-real meal in what seemed days! After Applebee's, Audrey had a mission team meeting, so I took a nap. Such a good nap. A very very good nap. When Audrey finally emerged from her meeting we headed over to the Putt-Putt place for some mini-golf. It was quite an intense game, mostly because I couldn't seem to keep my ball out of the air! Let's just say I got plenty of exercise running to hole 9 to retrieve my ball after shooting from hole 3!! Lots of laughs! After mini-golf, we went to a few stores and then to this awesome place called HyVees. It's a grocery store that's also sorta of restaurant. I went to one place and got chinese food and then over to another and got some fruit. Audrey went for the salad bar. From HyVee's we drove 20 miles to Cairo, NE, the actual place where Audrey lives for the moment. We finished the night with watching 27 dresses on my laptop and then finally turning in for a good night's sleep.

Nothing but Corn, Baby!

I woke up in Casper, WY ready for another day of driving. Today wasn't just any day, it was a special day. I was going to Nebraska, the Cornhusker State and also the home state of my good friend Audrey. It just so happens that Audrey was driving in from Colorado Springs, CO that day and so we made plans to meet up somewhere along the Interstate. Unfortunately that never happened. I left a little early and ended up being 4 hours ahead of her! So I drove on to Kearney, NE and had some dinner at Old Chicago and then headed over to a movie across the street. After the movie I found a hotel with a free Internet link up and checked my email. And then just before 10pm, Audrey drove in from her long trip. We then made our way down rural highway 10 past the tiny town of Minden, until we reached the "Farm". And once again we would find ourselves in the same place, at the same time, under the same big sky.

Montana No More

Today I said goodbye to Montana. It has been a great home and saying goodbye has been bittersweet. When I moved to Montana seven years ago, there was no way I could have known the blessings and the challenges awaiting me. I am however grateful for both, for they have made me who I am today. I am amazed when I think back to the 23 year old girl who thought she knew it all, but in reality hadn't even began to grasp the greatness of our God. As He often does, I first saw His greatness in the beauty of His creation. In the purple moutain majesty that occurs during a late summer sunset. In the fall as it showed it's splendor in the orange, yellow, and red leaves that acted as a canopy for the students along the roads leading to the University. In waking up to the first snow covered ground of the season. So white. So pure. So joyful. In the spring as winter gave way to snow capped mountains that would steal your breath your away. But not even these can compare to the greatness He showed me in the people He gave me along the way. The people who have shaped my life, who have taught me, who have loved me, who have walked me and who have waited with me. Those I worked with, those I encountered in a store or on campus, those I worshipped with, and those who took me not only into their homes, but into their hearts. These are the ones God used to teach me about His greatness. The greatness of His mercy, His grace, His truth, His love, His Son Jesus Christ. I am free. I am delivered. And God used Montana to give me that understanding. And so the leave is bittersweet. I go where He sends me and in that knowledge I find the joy that overcomes the sadness. I journey on now to a new land, to a new place, where I know so many more blessings and challenges await. For now though, I just take rest under the shelter of a Holiday Inn Express in Casper, Wyoming and thank my God for where He had brought me and for where He is taking me. He truly is a Great God!

These are my Montana ladies! Mary, Nelda, and Stella (aka BeniLu). I met Nelda 5 years ago and she introduced me to the BeniLu and Mary. She also introduced me to Katherine Avina, (the top picture) who would have normally been in the picture with us, but as of April 24, 2008 she is dancing with Jesus in Heaven. Go Katherine! Do a little diddy for me! Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy a little piece of heaven on earth with a giant slice of Mud Pie!

Tabby

In the pictures below you will see some pictures from the Winter Special Olympics that I got to help out with earlier this week. And this little girl is Tabitha, the reason I helped. She is just a little bundle of 2 year old joy! I met her through work and she makes me smile everytime I see her!

Special Olympics

I got to help out with the Special Olympics on Wednesday, January 30th and we had a blast! I was given the special assignment of parterning with #99, akaTyler, who was in the Snowshoe Race and Won! Yeah Tyler! And if you take notice, when we went to have our picture taken I took a step only to find that the snow was up to my hip in the particular spot! The second picture is me trying to get out of the hole! Tyler didn't fall through because he had snowshoes on--guess those things really do work!

This picture is just for Keri! I finally got one of myself on here! And one of my Mamaw Cain too! Aren't we just the most gorgeous women you've ever seen!