Thanksgiving 2006: Part 2

We spent Tuesday through Sunday in Abilene, Texas, celebrating Thanksgiving with Jason's family. It was a great time and great food. This year we fried the turkey for the first time...delicious!!! I love Thanksgiving! Our friend Justin mentioned on his blog that TG was his favorite because it is the least commercialised holiday....i.e: no gift giving. I wholeheartedly agree.

We caught up with some friends, too, while in Abilene. Steven and Wendy Gist came by with their three little ones...Matthew (almost 3) and Anne-Marie and Andrew (four month old twins). We were Mito AETS together in Japan. We always enjoy catching up with them and caught a sneak peak into life with three little ones. Whoa!!!!

We also visited with some Aussies. Damien and Miranda who are students at ACU invited us over for dinner. Chris and Michelle Malan were also there...they are students at OCU. We had a blast. It has been a long time (other than actually being in Australia), since I was able to hang out with Aussies. We laughed a lot and it was fun to share stories from home and stories about being Aussies in the US. It was nice to just be Australian and not worry about word selections or pronunciation....although between the 6 of us, you'd have to say we have quite a mixed dialect now!!! Jason and Damien were roommates for about a year in Australia so I had heard a lot of stories...so it was nice for me to meet these guys for myself. I really enjoyed our time together...thanks to the Lawries and Malans for their hospitality and new friendship.

Now we are in Greenville, Texas visiting Jason Green. Today is the last leaf of our journey. We are about six hours from Memphis if all goes smoothly (it didn't last night....major traffic delays!). We are both excited to get back home to Memphis. But I thought it would be appropriate to bring Thanksgiving to a close with a short list of things that have made me thankful this year:

- our families, of course. They continue to show us love and support even though they know our plans will mean we will be separated geographically in a year or so.
- our teammates: Shawn, Kendra, Darian & Brenna Griffith, Jon, Sara, Nina & Jack Grizzle. They love us even though they have seen the best AND worst of us on both sides of this world! Great friends, great ministry partners. We love you.
- four years in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a great place to call home. Memphis means HUGSR, friendships, community, Bland Sundays, just-like-family friends, four seasons, sweet tea, southern drawls...
- my job...what more could I have hoped for? My job has provided for us and allowed us to travel through the Caribbean and the US - to places I would never dreamed of going.
- God's peace. I feel it even though we will be in the face of transitions. He has brought us to this point in our lives...I have peace He will be guiding us here and beyond. I am reminded of the steadfast love of the Lord...His new mercies...His great faithfulness. So I will say 'The Lord is my portion. I will trust in Him'.

Thanksgiving 2006: Part 1

We arrived in Oklahoma City before 2am Sunday morning. We were so glad to make it...the drive was long because we had stayed up until almost 3am on Saturday morning. We had a good time visiting with the Griffiths until about 2am...but it made for an rough Saturday trying to work and be ready to travel. Thankfully we were driving, not flying, so we didn't have to pack as 'carefully' and we can even bring along the dirty laundry. :)
We enjoyed Sunday worship at Memorial Road church of Christ. For whatever reason, we always feel like we've come home when we are in Oklahoma City. We really enjoy catching up with Jason's college friends and professors and with our new and mutual friends, too.
After some more visiting today and tonight, we will head to Abilene, Texas to be with Jason's family for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to a relaxing time and good food.

What's New?

A month ago we were headed for tropical paradise. Memphis, is far from 'tropical' in November...but nonetheless beautiful. I never get tired of fall...I am always awed by the brilliant colours. I will miss the warm summer days, warm evening walks and relaxing & reading on the Harding swing on campus. But what a way to herald the winter!


In other news, we are just weeks away from Jason being through with his degree requirements. He plans to take a couple more classes in the Spring of 07, just for good measure! (we'll be hanging out in Memphis waiting on graduation until May anyway). I have just 5 more Saturdays to work...yes, I am counting. I have loved my work schedule, but I will also enjoy the new era of being off on Saturdays. We're also babysitting this cute little boy. Joshua is almost 11 months old. We love taking care of him...is he not the cutest kid around? (and smart, too! He's already discussing Theological Hermeneutics with Jason on Wednesdays while I'm at work!)


Jason is gearing up for the Memphis St Jude Half Marathon on December 2nd. I'm up for the 5km this year. It's a little discouraging to think back on my highschool days when 1/2 marathons were 'easy', and now running a 5k is big deal. Not to be discouraged though, I just want to get to the point where I can run a good 5k without it being a big deal. It helps to have a gym on campus now that the cooler weather is here.

We'll head to Texas in 2 weeks for Thanksgiving. I scored big on days off over TG which will make for a comfortable road trip. We're looking forward to it!