a truly amazing race

One of my bestfriends, Elizabeth Scaife (pictured above), left at the beginning of the summer to become a part of a ministry called the World Race. It functions much like the show on primetime called the "Amazing Race" but instead of beating each other to a goal destination they spend 4-6 weeks in each country ministering to the people there. Right now, her team is in Swaziland, South Africa. They will continue on to so many exotic and yet hurting regions. She has always had a heart for missions and, appropriately, a talent for foreign languages. Prior to this adventure, she spent more than a year in New Orleans organizing teams to help bring native folks get back on their feet after Katrina. I love this girl. We've been apart of each others lives since elementary school. She is gone for a year and she is the second friend that is leaving this summer for long term missions. (The others are the Slawsons and can be seen on their link at the top right called 'Siberian Grits'). I admire their calling but am sad that they aren't close to home for awhile. I am going to add Elizabeth's new website for the world race.

Elizabeth, if you are reading this: I pray for you often! Love you!

cora's first bath

This poor thing hates taking baths. She whined her little heart out as we bathed her and David thought it was SO funny that he wanted to remember it with pictures. After her bath, the ONLY way she would be comforted was wrapped in a towel and held like a baby. She continued to whine (which sounded so much like a human cry--it was hilarious. Enjoy the pics!

PS. Can you tell we are proud parents? We've taken SO many pictures of her. We're smitten. Thanks for humoring me.

PSS. I wrote this when she was about 3lbs...now she is almost 20lbs. :)

puppy love

The new addition to our family is chocolate lab appropriately named Cora Godiva Hogue. When we brought her home she was 5 wks old and a precious lil' thing. She pulled at all my motherly heartstrings. She pulled at David's first, who didn't originally want a big dog. But when she came out from under his parents' house and walked right up to him as if they were old friends, David fell in love right there. And well...anyone who knows me knows that I was an easy sell. We took her home and had a taste of babyhood. She kept us up, tired us out, and yet we couldn't help but love her. I was surprised to learn how much of a softy I became and how much David became the primary disciplinarian. Have I become a pushover? Perhaps. Another revealing facet of myself that was uncovered-or at least made more clear-is that the burden of being responsible for caring for someone or something is overwhelming for me. I think that is why marriage scared me so much--it is a big deal. I know enough of how fallen and selfish I am that I could potentially destroy even the best of relationships. I got over it with marriage, especially as time went by and David and I worked through our conflict and remained close. I got over it with Cora after I realized that she would eventually not wake up 3x/night and need constant attention (as an aside, I don't do well without sleep!). I assume I will eventually be ok with babies too, but that I will have an initial response of burden, fear, and helplessness. My friend, Rachael, tells me that she felt that with her two children too, but that the love you feel far outweighs the overwhelming sense of responsibility. I assume that all mothers and fathers feel it to some degree. It is such a discipline to surrender these fears to the Lord whose promised to care for us. He's promised to care for the generations of those who love Him. We can't protect our loved ones from everything. We are without this power but we are united with One who does. Praise the Lord.

MIA

That's me...missing in action. I am sorry (to the few who may be wondering) that I haven't been posting. The reason is I am internet deprived. We thought we were going to get the internet. So, I was going to put off posting until we got the net....and then post to my heart's delight. However, we did some pricing and realized that the internet is expensive. So, here I am feeling overwhelmed and a slave to my blog. So quickly, too. I have about 5 posts planned in my head but don't have the pictures with me to post. So, I just thought I would post about my dilemma. When I am behind on something (bills, emails, prayers, friends) I just procrastinate in bringing it up-to-date. The task seems more and more daunting while putting it off seems more and more attractive. I learned at some point that chronic procrastinators are, in fact, perfectionists. I buy that notion. I have seen it in friends and roommates and certainly in myself. I am awed by those, husband included, that work to get things done immediately. I don't have that kind of drive (in other words, I have a lazy streak) but with that comes parts of me that fear the uncomfortableness of catching up. This is VERY true of people. Dear friends of mine, who I haven't seen in awhile and I want to be connected with, I put off contacting because it seems like so much work to catch up on each other's lives. It feels like such a feeble, feeble attempt. I walk away longing for regularity in those friendships where it seems impossible (because, afterall, each of us has to eat, sleep, and bathe). I feel so richly blessed to have the incredible friends that I do. And I love that when we do get together it is usually such a great time.
All that to say, that is why I haven't posted lately. I will recap: Parts of me procrastinate, are lazy, dislike getting a taste of connection with friends without the completion, are perfectionistic, and love my friends. I will make an effort to post more frequently.

Moe is gone...woe to me

David and I have mourned the loss of one of our dear friends, Moe. Moe fed us great food at great prices. If you don't know what I speak of, it is the restaurant where you can build your own burrito, nachos, tacos, or quesadillas. It is much like Subway but for the mexican gourmet lover. Out of nowhere, the two locations we had in Jackson closed--I mean--no warning...NOTHING! I felt abandoned and betrayed. I should have seen it coming when they announced that they were under new management and ownership. Since their sad parting I have missed and longed for a burrito that can stand upright. Taco Bell just doesn't cut it.

Here is the hope in this story. David and I had a divine appointment on Friday. We were trying to decide where to eat and I said that I wanted Moe's. But we couldn't so we went to the new location of Roly Poly (a wrap place--but fyi, burritos can kick a wrap's butt) but the restaurant was not open yet. We had to find another place and I suggested we eat somewhere we haven't before so we tried (drum roll, please) Taco Del Mar!!! Which David tells me means "Taco of the Sea". I fear that they would try to serve me a taco with a smelly, scaly fish inside it. However, to my great joy they served similar butt-kicking burritos! Too bad the name of the place is misleading--apparantly it is referring to all the surfing/beach paraphrenalia on the walls. Welcome to Jackson, Taco Del Mar, you are my new friend!

no more pencils, no more books...

no more David's dirty looks (just kidding, love). David and I are gearing up for a summer o' fun. Not exactly sure of what "fun" will entail but we are looking forward to it all the same. We are also about to make some big purchases like a puppy, a bed (or sofabed-not sure yet), and perhaps a vacation. Each of these items, I might add, are way more expensive than I think they ought to be. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for good deals.

Other than the purchases, David will be writing his bestseller (you can do it, babe) and I'll be being crafty as I learn to sew curtains, and scrapbooking, and maybe writing some stuff myself.

By the way, scrapbooking has become my favorite new hobby. I am sure this sounds as if I am old and lonely. I'm neither! I love that scrapbooking requires creativity yet it is also something I can get immediate gratification with. Like mowing the lawn, I get to see the fruits of my labor right away. I wish other things in life were so easy to love....if anyone has any ideas on how to make doing dishes gratifying, let me know.

Oh, one last thing, I'm sure that in our "fun" plans we will be coming to a town near you. So, we hope to see you. Also, come see us. We would love it.

ode to twin lakes

Here I am again, at Twin Lakes. David is here too. We are working here this weekend, as we do one weekend every month. I started working here as a host two and a half years ago. I realized that after I started a full time job in therapy that I still needed a little more income and Jenny, my sweet friend from RTS, introduced me to this opportunity. It was a perfect fit. I got to be outside using my hands while the rest of the month I worked in an office. It paid just the amount I needed. The people I met on the job are irreplaceable. I can't explain it except to say that these people are my kind of people. There is an instantaneous comfort and camaraderie that I experience when I cross the gates. It's been a faithful job that produced faithful friends that I truly enjoy. I'm proud of this place. I want family and friends to see what a special and beautiful place this is (consider that an invite! and yes, it is as beautiful as it looks in the pictures).

About one and a half years ago, I met the man I was going to marry. Outside the very building, I'm sitting in (the main office). I was sitting on the front porch swing enjoying the last bit of warm weather in November when David walked on the porch and we introduced ourselves. That was the first day we worked together at Twin Lakes. We talked several hours that day and just as I was about to go home, he asked me out. I went home wondering, "did I just get asked out?"and "has that finally happened?"

I love twin lakes. I hope our children become a part of this place. I hope that through the years they make the great friends that I know David has through the 5 yrs he worked at sumer camp This is where he found his niche and came out of his shell, among such loving people. When we started dating, everyone here knew about it--it was definitely like living in a fishbowl. What I loved was that I could tell how beloved he was here. People saw him grow up and just doted and respected him. A very good thing for me to see. Everyone was so supportive and excited--which was contagious.

I admit it is harder to work here as a married couple. But we are loathe to quit because of the loyalty we have to this organization and to the people that we would not regularly see, otherwise.

Spring is here and my nose is runnin'

I LOVE SPRING! There are lots of reasons to love it: Christ defeating the grave, flowers, weather that is not painfully cold or suffocatingly hot, the promise of summer vacation, spring break, my birthday--do you see what i mean?! However, with every joy there is a burden and my burden has been my allergies. They've knocked me off my feet this past couple weeks. If I could scream at my body and say, "STOP IT!!" i would. But, in response, my body would just give me a bladder infection or somethin'. It just doesn't mind me like it used to! I don't have fever anymore, but my sinuses are producing enough yucky stuff to fill the bathtub.

David has been sympathetic except for when he thought that my misery should be commemorated in pictures. Here are the pictures he took of me in my (self-imposed) pitiful state. Also, I've included a picture of david and i at millsaps college campus when the azaleas were in bloom....just to show that i'm not throwing a complete pity party. I hope ya'll are enjoying the great weather!!

a birthday well-spent

What do you do when the world is at your fingertips as it is on my birthday? The only logical thing, of course, is to buy a bunch of junk food, pull the couch close to the t.v. and play video games all day long. This idea started when I told him that I used to always tell myself that i would rent a game system for the weekend and play to my hearts content. When you've spent a lot of time with guy cousins who were infinitely better at these games than you are AND you are outnumbered 7 to 1 than you don't get many turns and the turns themselves aren't very long (didn't take long for me to die). I have to say, though, that i was a bit disappointed that i would have to share with David who turned out to be good with video games. So, I had to wait...again. But, I did get my fill when he took a nap. :)

The experience led David and I to consider whether we should invest in a game system. It was a moment of weakness we both agree because our stronger sides know that we will be enticed and wooed by the video games and in a month we will have turned into a couple of overweight, jobless, pale people who only move to reach for the soda or pizza or the cup we'll pee in. So, for now we will settle for the occassional day of video game bliss. I'll post pictures soon!

two babies born 9 months after our wedding--coincidence...i think not!

Congratulations to Troy and Erin who welcome a beautiful and perfect baby Jack (above). Baby Jack is born to a born momma.

Also,

Way to go, Askews for bringing 'Norah' into the world. She's precious. This is #2 baby for Lauren and Chuck, so Charlie has someone to play with in a few years. I tried to post a picture but i am having technical difficulties with the pictures i received. But trust me...she's pretty!