Sakura

As the seasons change, I always want to change 'my favourite season'. In the Fall, as the leaves turn, and I see pumpkins for sale, I think 'Fall is my favourite season'. When it snows, Winter is number one. But then how can you beat those long Summer days? Without fail, though, Spring probably brings me the most delight! There is just nothing like the power of spring. The earth is waking from its winter slumber and God's power, majesty, and creativity are coming to life more and more each day.

My all time favourite 'Spring-Thing' is the Cherry Blossoms. In Japan, the blooming of the Sakura is a highly celebrated event. In the midst of the concrete jungle that is Tokyo, lie beautiful parks FULL of sakura trees. A spring tradition in Japan is to go 'hanami'...'flower viewing'. People come from all over, and will even camp out overnight in order to stake out the perfect place to spread out their tarp for the party the next day.

Fortunately, we can still enjoy the beauty of the sakura in Memphis. Cherry Rd, Memphis, TN is in full bloom right now. While we don't party beneath them - each Memphis Spring, we have taken a little time to wander over there and enjoy their beauty. Jason and I visited there this afternoon with our friend Rachel. Today was the first sunny day in a while so we went over there before Bible study tonight and took a few pictures. I'll post one of the two of us later if Rachel can email the ones she took. I ruined the one from our camera when I tried to enhance it. Opps.

Please enjoy my feeble attempts to capture an awesome part of God's creation. Hope you're feeling a spring in your step these days.

Clinically Normal

You'll be pleased to learn that the results of our recent psychological tests are in....

Jason and I are 'clinically normal'. Sigh of relief! :-)

This past week we spent some time with Dr. Flatt discussing our tests and their results. Of course, we are not without our 'quirks'. :-) And we certainly have areas needing growth. They say the biggest room in anyone's house is the 'room for improvement'. It has been a good learning process. Learning more about ourselves is surely going to be a benefit to us as individuals, to our marriages, and to our team relationships.

We know that our confidence cannot lie in these tests, their results, our relationships, nor our abilities. Praise be to God who continues to refine us. May He receive glory in all we seek to do...in spite of our weaknesses.

Oklahoma Happenings....

We've been to Oklahoma and back again. Oklahoma was wonderful. We were able to spend time with friends and family. It was a pretty tight schedule...arriving in OKC about 2am...almost 3am before we were able to get to sleep. Saturday we spent at Kent and Nancy Hartmans with the Powell family and the Dale Hartman family. The day was spent visiting with them, asking questions, eating, and praising God together. We were blessed by the MKs who were there and were able to visit with Darian and Brenna. As is usual for the Hartmans, they put on a great spread of food...distinctly Aussie....TIM TAMS and pavlova and cups of tea throughout the day. :-) We're really thankful because these families really pulled together to pull this thing off and were very gracious about us descending on them.



Sunday we worshipped at Memorial Rd and visited the Community Class. We enjoyed a great lunch with Doug and Cheryl, and Amanda and Judson. It was so fun to catch up with them and enjoy a leisurely afternoon together. Judson took team pictures for us before the sun went down. Thanks a bunch to him for that....

On Monday, before heading back to Memphis - we enjoyed lunch with Jason's family. It is a rare occassion for us to able to be together with Mom, Dad, and Melissa - as well as Grandma and Regina. The only one missing was Stephen and missed he was. We were so glad it worked out for us to be together. Our trip was a blessing. Thanks so much to our family and friends for a great weekend. And thanks Griffiths....they are great at 'going with the flow' and are great fun to travel with.

Headed for Oklahoma

Tomorrow we will travel to Edmond, Oklahoma. This is a long awaited trip to meet with the Campbelltown, Australia team. 23 years ago, five families moved to Campbelltown, New South Wales to spread the Good News. We are really excited to meet with these families - I know we will learn a lot from their experiences and wisdom.

Of course, we all have to put in a days work before heading west...so we will be traveling until the early hours of the morning. And it will be a quick trip - we will head back this way on Monday.

We're also looking forward to this trip because we will spend some time with Doug and Cheryl Cox. I lived with them in 1995 during my year abroad in Manitoba, Canada. My relationship with them and Jenny and Brian is so dear to me. I am SO thankful that we could have these few years to be a little closer, geographically. We don't get to just 'drop in' on each other - but it is WAY more than I ever anticipated when we said goodbye to each other in December 1995. If I had of known how our lives would cross as they have...I could have saved a few tears! :-)

Missions Resource Network

This week some folks from Missions Resource Network (MRN) in Dallas, were in Memphis to meet with our team. Pictured here is Kendra Griffith, Phil Jackson (MRN), Sam Shewmaker (MRN), Alan Phillips (MRN) and me. Their visit was just what we needed. We're in the process of putting together our mission and vision with more clarity. The whole preparation process we are in the middle of seems so overwhelming at times. These very special people gave us a super dose of encouragement. Thanks guys! I feel re-aligned and focused. Our time of prayer together was uplifting and powerful. We're really thankful for their willingness to go out of their way to spend time with us. And we're thankful - very thankful - because we know that there are others petitioning God on our behalf, along with these. Thank you!

Georgia Reunion

One of our trips in December was to Atlanta, Georgia. There we visited the Howard family, and reconnected with my friend from Australia, Kuan-Chou. Kuan Chou and I were school captains (school Presidents) together at Redlands College. We both became Christians in our senior year of high school through studies with Mr. Howard. Kuan Chou is now a dentist and has his own practise in the Redlands where we grew up. During our highschool and university years, we played Monopoly together. Most people think that Monopoly is a low key, slow and drawn out game. But not when we play. We play hard and I hate to say it, but it almost gets ugly! Jason says it ALWAYS gets ugly, and thinks the safest place to be is jail.

Unfortunately, these days, Monopoly together only happens about once every two years. But we make it worth it. And every year, the inside jokes get funnier and stories of games of old get a little more twisted (in particular about how I do not trade fairly...surely not!) Good memories, though! We're thinking of developing a t-shirt to commemorate the event. The 2006 winner of the Howard-Kao-Whaley Monopoly Championship, in Atlanta, GA was....Mr KC KAO.


Te (Mr Howard) has made an awesome zip line going from their back balcony to a tree fort. I can't imagine how he got all this rigged up...but Jason and I both rode the zip line several times.
Here are some pics of Jason and I on the zip line...

Once you hit the end you have to use this scramble net to get up to the fort - unharness yourself and then climb down. Even more of a thrill than the zip line is a swing he made. It is much more exhilerating...but our camera battery died on us.

Te was my track and field coach and PE teacher...I thought my days of having my physical abilities tested were over. It seems they're not....but it was actually a lot of fun to swing between the trees and get that adrenalin pumping. :-)

The 'old' and the 'new'

....Here's a pic from Christmas 2003. I know...we're a little behind. This was Christmas in Austin, Texas. Here is Jason's entire family, complete with my sister, Melissa, all the way from Australia. Since then, we're grown by one with the arrival of Cade Southern - son of Brian and Heather.



Meet Cade Southern. Born in Denver, Colorado - July 2005. He's a cutie.

Time

I sometimes feel like life is just going too fast. Jason and I somehow manage to do one thing consistently well....'busyness'. We're very good at 'being busy'. The days seem to be turning into weeks, then months, then years - quicker than ever before! 2006 marks the beginning of our 4th year in Memphis. We are running the home stretch of our time in Memphis - or at least of Jason's time at HUGSR - and the feelings are very mixed.

This week I went to the Outback Steakhouse. I worked there for about 3 months when we first moved here. What a blast from the past that was. I felt a mixture of emotions...the smell of this place took me clearly back to my days of waiting tables. When I started there, I didn't know a thing about waiting tables. But I learned fast! I have both good memories and bad memories from my days at the Outback. My jeans still bear a scar from a fall in the kitchen. And thanks to the Outback, I am still addicted to sweet iced tea...how very un-Australian. The irony! The store manager remembered me when I ate there the other night. Let's assume she remembers only good things about me. :-)

So my visit there this week was just a loud reminder that time flies. It feels like three years in Memphis have literally slipped through my fingers. It makes me want to savor every day we have left here...and for all I know we could spend the rest of our time in the US, right here in Memphis.

In the meantime - there is a lot to do. For now - Jason will continue to study, I will continue to work. Together, with our team, we will continue to make steps towards the mission field. I just hope that in the midst of all the 'must dos', that we will remember to enjoy life as we know it right now. You might want to help remind me...

Snow Days

I seem to be getting more snow days than the teachers around here. I am not complaining by any means. We got a little ice over the weekend and I got Saturday off! Jason is in Abilene so I have been home alone and chillin' out (literally!) He's having a great time - catching up with some great friends from the past! I wish I were there for that. More news and maybe pics when he gets home with the computer!

Formatting

Now I know how to retrieve pics and post them to our blog! But, as you can see, I am lacking some formatting skills. I seem to have trouble getting the pics just where I want them. But look how far we've come...so I have confidence we'll get it all taken care of.

And for the credits...our thanks again to the Campbells...Greens...and my patient husband!

January events

After returning from PA, we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary - here we are on that night. Four years ago, I would not have believed you if you'd told me we would be where we are today. But we're thankful to be here. And thankful that God has been with us and goes before us.

While visiting our friends in Pennsylvania, we were able to visit the crash site of 9/11's flight 93. This is the flight which crashed into a field - it seems after the hijackers realized that the passengers were able to overcome them. It was a surreal feeling to be right there. Plans for a permanent memorial are underway.

St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon

Jason completed his first half marathon in December, 2005. He trained well and completed in less than two hours! Fellow athletes pictured are Shawn Griffith, Craig & Jeri Ford. Way to go guys!

My Daily Grind...

This is Carlson Wagonlit Travel of Memphis, TN. As you can see my desk is not in the main office. Here is the main office where the rest of our lovely agents work. I do leisure and corporate - and it is for the corporate that I am hiding at a desk behind the glass.

And there was much rejoicing!

Finally...a picture. I know, I know...it is the same picture as our Christmas card...but don't you think the rest of the world needs to see it too? This is way too cool. I might even give up 'Lifetime' for more frequent photo blogging. But...Jason is going to Abilene and taking the computer with him. So there will be a short hiatus. Aren't you so HAPPY for us, though!? Ok...off to post more pics!

Valentine's Day

Jason & Nicole
Happy V-Day. Jason made me an awesome card...I feel extremely loved and adored by him. Anyways...keeping it censored....
I hope y'all have had a good day. We began our day with the completion of our psychological testing. We're done and will spend some time with Dr. Bill Flatt in a few weeks to discuss the 'results'.

Time is flying. Less than one month until we visit OKC, 3 months until we present a class at the Pepperdine Lectures, and less than 5 months until a survey trip! Hold on to your seat - life is fixin' to get real busy!

On Saturday night we celebrated Brenna's 8th birthday. The chosen venue was Texas Roadhouse - a very good choice! Thanks to the Griffiths for a fun night. Brenna is an amazing little girl. She is a lot of fun and has such a sweet and gentle spirit. It is going to be humbling to watch as God will continue to use Brenna and her older brother, Darian, to extend God's love and grace in Australia.

As for the pictures...they say that patience is a virtue!

Help

Jason & Nicole
Thanks, Campbells and Greens for your online support. When I go to post a new entry, though - like I am now...there is only an 'ABC' icon with a check mark. I don't see any other icons to select from this point. Am I in the wrong place?

Snow

Jason & Nicole
'Snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes'...definitely make my list of favourite things. What a good day! The forecast for snow was correct and we have a thick blanket of snow all over the city of Memphis. I don't know why but it makes me giddy! I left work a couple of hours early and it took me more than twice as long to get home...but the Memphis drivers were to be commended....this time! A bunch of us of campus made the hugest snowball I have ever seen...so big that we could no longer roll it. Of course, a few (???) snowballs were also thrown. I love living in a place that experiences seasons (in contrast to seasons of 'warm' and 'hot' and 'hotter' in Brisbane)...There are things I love and appreciate about each season. My love for the seasons began in Japan where they really 'live' the seasons - mostly through food. But when there is snow...'winter' ranks as my number one favourite season. Without snow though - it is a hard choice between spring and fall for me. Perhaps some of you all out there are also enjoying a wintery wonderland! I have pictures to post...someone please teach me how!!!

Reservations

Jason & Nicole
I have some reservations about blogging. I feel reserved because honestly - exciting, earth shattering things just don't happen all that often in our lives. We sure manage to keep busy, our days are fuller than they need to be, we're happy in life and each other...but what exactly do you want to hear about? See, today, all the news I have to tell you is that I have two cavities. And surely this can't bring too much excitement or change to your day! It certainly didn't bring too much excitement to my day! You wouldn't believe the money Jason and I have spent on dental work since living in Memphis! I've had my first ever cavities, I had my wisdom teeth out, and Jason now has precious metal in his mouth. We're thankful though for our Dentist. He is a Christian and we've experienced nothing but kindness and grace from each person in their office. So - thats it for now, readers. I told you it was nothing special! But we're glad you're checking in with us. Leave us a comment - and any advice on dental care - aside from brushing, flossing, brushing, flossing - that we might be missing.

Jason & Nicole

Jason & Nicole
Its been a busy week...and so almost a week has passed since I last blogged...I bet you'd almost given up hope! Good news is that we might have wireless internet in our apartment. Think of the possibilities! I could really get in to blogging and posting pictures then. Right now I must blog at work, the library or a friends home since we don't even have dial-up at home.

Tuesday we both took the MMPI II test, which is over 500 True/False questions. It was not too draining. Our next tests will be on Feb 14th. Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight we're looking forward to spending time with Ben and Monica Thompson - our friends from the Grad school. Saturday is a team meeting and Sunday holds too many activities for being a 'day of rest'! Its all good though. We're blessed through our friends and involvements here in Memphis.

Still no word on the Oath Ceremony - I hope they are not reconsidering my application! I am sure it is not that...I imagine there could be 1000s of pending applications for this area.

Be blessed today!