These are a few of my favorite things...

From India anyway. As promised, here are some of the things I loved about India (with pictures too).

1) The few trash cans I did see said "Use Me" on the front of them, which I especially liked...better than "Thank you" or "trash".

2) Pastor Ackshay. We got to visit his church and Keith actually spoke. He's an amazing man of God who appreciates our prayers more than anything else.
3) Amazing sites...Taj Mahal, Fort Agra, all the architecture, etc.

4) My team was amazing. I am so thankful for this team. We all got along splendidly and enjoyed our time together. I miss being with them everyday now.

5) Random wildlife (that wasn't pooing in the street where I walked). It was very cool to see monkeys and camels...but the monkeys are very intimidating as well. Very aggressive and territorial. We were told not to look them in the eye.


6) Chocolate Banana Pancakes and Open Hand restaurant. The pancake became a staple of my diet. Open Hand is a free trade business where we could go to relax and find some real rest. It was a great atmosphere and seemed quieter than anywhere else (even the hotel room).
7) Henna tattoos...very fun. These girls were some helpers at the pink house and they did a fantastic job with the henna. Apparently it's just something you learn over there.8) Of course the kids...they are amazing. Here are a few of my favorite pics.
This is Keith and Mahima. She's about 2 and was just about a precious as they get. I loved throwing her up in the air and hearing her laugh.


This is Betsy with Bown, Rahul, and Sunjai at the care center. Bown is 4 and Rahul is 5. They were so sweet and were so happy to be with us.
This is Sonny. Words cannot express how precious he is to me and Keith. Last year he told Keith he wanted to come back with him and sing and dance at our wedding. When Keith told him he didn't have a plane ticket for him, he said he would be ok and ride on the wings. I'm thankful to have met Sonny this year, especially as he prayed for us before we left.

Please say prayers for these people. They are so needed.

Back from Beyond

It's been a week since we've been back from India. It's was an amazing trip and also very hard to put into words. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to go, but I'm more thankful to be home. Some things I'm grateful for:
1) traffic laws...India's traffic is madness...complete bedlam...You basically are playing chicken with every other thing (b/c there's cars, trucks, bicycles, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, mopeds, motorcycles, pedestrians, cows...) on the road. It's especially terrifying at night when all you see are headlights coming at you.
2) stoplights...I never thought I would be thankful for stoplights, but after you live through their traffic circles, you praise God that at least most people in America stop when there is a red light in front of them.
3) my bed...I love my bed. I love the fact that there are springs and more than 2 inches of foam between me and a piece of plywood.
4) food...I love food. I love greasy food. I love meat. I love things not made in curry. Everything still sounds and tastes amazing...even Hamburger Helper.
5) English...I learned very few words in Hindi and I still butchered the language with the southern accent attached to it. But to be able to understand everyone in the room (for the most part) is very nice.
6) trash cans...it's good to know that we don't believe plastic will automatically go back to "mother earth" and that there is an appropriate place for trash and it's not on the ground.
7) fences...I'm so glad that livestock doesn't run free here. I'm happy to not have to dodge the cow patties whenever I walk anywhere.
8) clean air...between smog, curry, feces, etc. the air is so clean here. I'm not afraid to take a deep breath.
9) education...As much as people complain about going to school, we still value education and expect everyone to get a little.

I'll post more later about the things I loved from over there. There are pictures posted on facebook if anyone is interested in them. We're also talking about our experience at church this Sunday at 6 if you want to hear that.

Let's all applaud David Letterman's fornication

I'm sure you've heard about David Letterman's acts of indiscretion this weekend. He announced Thursday night on his show about how he was being blackmailed for money. As I listened to the clip on the radio, I heard the audience applauding as he joked about fornicating with co-workers. Is this really an act we should be applauding? How far down this immoral spiral have we gone that someone admitting to cheating on his girlfriend/wife is applauded? It makes me sad. I'm not surprised by his previous behavior or even the fact that he's openly discussing it on his show. But a group of people listened to him and in essence said "right on, Dave...you keep hittin' dat". (So they turned a little ghetto during this speech.) I know we're an immoral culture, but I wish we, as a whole, could still have some standards.

So tired of driving....

This is an odd statement for me to make since I generally don't mind being in my car that much. I mean, I lived in Boone for a year and worked an hour away. And now I live 25 minutes from work. I went to a graduate school for 3 years that is over an hour away. I dated a boy who lived an hour and half away from me. This kinda time does add up, but it was never so bad that I just wanted to pitch a fit. So when I say I'm tired of driving, I'm almost to the point of wanting to cry. I think on a normal day, I wouldn't be so annoyed with it, but this morning I got to drive to work twice.

That's right...twice.

I actually got to work a little early. I got to my office and there's a call from Keith telling me he thinks he left his car keys in my car last night. Sure enough, there they were. So I drive them back to him and then back to work. No biggie...it happens. It's not the end of the world and I've done much worse.
Now in addition to the normal driving, which has slowed down quite a bit since the wedding, we've been going to Greensboro every other week or so for mission trip meetings. We knew we'd be committing a lot for this b/c we are the outsiders now, but it's getting old. Then today I get a call from our team leader. She can't mail our passports off for our visas because I haven't signed my passport. AARRGGGGHHHH! So now I'm driving 45 minutes to meet up with her tomorrow to sign my stinkin' passport so we can get visas. Granted, she's meeting me halfway, but still, another hour and half in the car when I could be in my glorious house. I think I'm more annoyed with myself b/c I didn't sign the passport and I believe it's been pointed out to me before.

I'll get over my little whiny spell here in a minute.
*breath*
Ok, so it's not that bad. It's all good.

Random

Just some random fodder for Wednesday.

1) My new favorite websites to check on a daily basis:
peopleofwalmart.com *note, this is not always a kid-friendly site
www.passiveaggressivenotes.com *probably not this one either
www.thereifixedit.com
2) My windshield got a crack in it Sunday night and now as grown to over a foot long. I'm waiting for the glass people to call me to fix it.
3) I got shots for India last week and tomorrow I get my prescriptions for Typhoid, Malaria, and my anti-nausea meds. Some of the Malaria meds cause very intense, crazy dreams...like I need my already intense, crazy dreams intensified.
4) I've been told that football season starts this weekend. Welcome back Sunday afternoon naps!
5) And just so you can be in the know, this week is National Suicide Prevention Week. Just say no.

Those Crazy Lutherans

Apparently the Lutheran church has decided that marriage is some legal mumbo-jumbo that doesn't matter anymore because they've declared that sex is allowable in relationships that are based on "social trust." So as long as you're in a "committed" and "loving" relationship, go ahead and get it on. I'm at a loss for words.
Here's the article, you read it and see what you think.

My Twilight Issues

I guess my issues aren't so much with the first book, or any of the books for that matter. My issues are with Bella. I'm trying desperately to finish the final book (mostly so I can FINALLY read Amanda's blog entry), but this book is taking forever. But I digress...Bella is a moron. She is a whiny, self-involved, bratty, short-sighted teenager. First, she doesn't want to marry her vampire soul mate b/c she's 18 and marriage at a young age is bad. I would have focused on the whole eternity that you would be with him as opposed to the opinions of others. Perhaps the focus is all wrong anyway since she's becoming a vampire, which is so much more accepted than marriage apparently. Then, she manages to spawn a half-vampire child and then discovers the joys of motherhood (which isn't given as much drama as the whole marriage thing). But my biggest beef with the girl-wonder is her complete lack of insight. She automatically jumps to the worst conclusion and stops there. She doesn't consider any other possibilities which are much closer to the truth. It drives me insane. The books are ok, but I like Harry Potter a whole lot more.