Boys & Trains

Hannah and Marshall ended up spending last week at my parents. Last minute I was able to head to Lawrence for Friday night to spend some time with the family. Sharon, David & JT came over as well for a family dinner. I got in some good play time with the boys. They are growing and a delight to be around. JT & Marshall get along well now. JT's much more cautious & gentle where Marshall keeps asking if they can "crash" - trains, cars, whatever they're playing with.
Trying to ensure I keep "favorite aunt" status with both boys :-)

Me & JT - he's 3.

Hannah & Marshall - he's 2.
Trains - it all started at Christmas 2 years ago. My dad got out the Christmas train which needed new batteries. JT was fascinated. And thus the train saga started. Dad bought an electric train and the collection of cars and track has been become a stable in the basement. That's where the boys want to go as soon as they get in "Grandma's house", to "Grandpa's train". I did not realize I would spend so much time putting trains back on the tracks for 2 little boys.
Grandpa & Marshall enjoying an early morning train session.

Marshall & JT busy playing train.

this is what it is...

Well, I promised an update. There's been a lot going on but it doesn't seem that out of the ordinary. I"ve been home for about a month now. It's been nice to have time to settle in and tackle some house & yard projects. And it seems that since August all God's been speaking to me about has been "relationship". That I need to be intentional about building and growing relationships. I have been trying to do that. I've had a lot of opportunities to do that with my friends. And there have been a number of times in the last month where I've run into old friends I haven't seen in awhile. I even attended the Love & Respect conference a few weeks ago - while on marriage relationships, it can be applied to any male-female relationship. My women's biblestudy has been doing a study on women's relationships with each other. There have been lots of social events lately - some informal hanging out with friends, having people over for dinner, and some larger planned activities. Pathways had their annual fall barn dance about 2 weeks ago. It was a lot of fun & there's even a picture of me dancing.

Update

I know I've been neglecting my blog. At first it was nice to just be home after a crazy few months. I have been tackling a few projects around the house & yard. And now work is starting to get busy. I will try to post a few pictures of what I've been up to soon.

Happy Trails...

A travelogue of the last 2 weeks

I've been a bit remiss in keeping up to date with this blog. I hope you'll excuse me but life's been a bit hectic. The 3 weeks between Costa Rica and France have been busy trying to get life caught up, see the family, my roommate's wedding, and prepare for the work trip to France.
To start with - congratulations to Heather & Rob on their nuptials. I was her personal attendant - which basically meant I ran around making sure everything was happening as needed. The wedding went smoothly... (btw, I loved my hairdo - Thanks Heather!)
The day after the wedding I jetted off to Toulouse for 2 weeks for work. That's where I currently am. So here's a little pictoral travelogue of my first week here - the 2nd week won't be as exciting.
Toulouse - the world headquarters of EADS and therefore, Airbus. So that's why I'm here in the southwest of France - training & meetings.
A Cathar cross St. Sernin Basilica L'Olivade in Blagnac - my favorite pizza place in the world The yummy Narcisse pizza - watch out, the olives have pits! Saturday I drove 3 hours east to Nimes. The Romans settled it in 15 B.C. during the reign of Caesar Augustus. The Amphitheatre Romain de Nimes is intact & still used. Maison Carree Tour Magne is in the Jardins de la Fontaine - the oldest Roman monument. I climbed that sucker and let me tell you, the open staircase greatly tested my fear of heights. A statue in the garden. Pont du Gard between Nimes and Avignon on the Gard River dates to 19 B.C. I stopped in Carcassone for dinner on my way home and had cassoulet - a regional speciality. White bean stew with a duck leg and sausage. Perfect on a cool, drizzly night. Carcassone lit up as twilight falls. Seriously, a must see if you ever get to France. Sunday I took 2 of my co-workers and we drove south to Collioure on the Mediterranean Sea down near Spain. A cool little resort town with lots of little shops, beaches, and cafes. Had to park like the locals. Lunch was an "assiette fruits de la mar" (assorted fruits of the sea). I'm not sure what whelks or sea almonds are, but I ate them along with the shrimp, langoustine lobster, oysters. mussels and clams. Then we explored the town. And the 13th century Chateau Royal.

Weekend with the family

I went to Lawrence for the weekend. Got to see my family for the first time in months. It was nice because we were all home for the weekend, minus Jonathan.
Friday night we went to a little carnival near JT’s daycare. You could see the difference in the boys’ personalities. JT is cautious while Marshall dives right in. Hannah probably wants me to point out that it was a mere coincidence that they were dressed alike.
We got in some good play time. Marshall is an adorable little chatter box. JT is growing like a weed – way too fast for my liking. They both had us laughing a lot.
It was a really great weekend for the whole family to be together.

Costa Rica 2008

We're back safe & sound. It was an amazing trip to San Jose, Costa Rica. It was so neat going into a known situation. Everything went really well. I kept waiting for something to go wrong, but it never did. God is good! (BTW, that's the real sunrise as we left Wichita.)

Here's a little summary/testimony I wrote for our church website and a few pictures to share.

This was my 2nd trip to The Abraham Project in San Jose, Costa Rica. It was incredible to say I helped pour that part of the foundation last year and now see that they’re framing the 3rd story. Another team member got to see a children’s home he worked on completed & occupied. We spent the week helping with grunt work – removing nails & staples from donated wood, sorting & moving wood piles. It was necessary work and the project workers were very thankful for our help. There was sharing and encouragement between our team and the Ticos (Costa Ricans). We were told that our fingerprints were forever on their buildings. And we can rejoice that we have helped advance the kingdom work being done at the project.

We participated in a day of feeding ministry through Cristo Para La Ciudad – Transformations. It is always moving to drive to the poorest and unsafe parts of the city and feed the people. You see the conditions they live in and realize for some of them it is the only solid meal they get all week. But Ronald’s heart for the people is to feed them and form relationships in order to transform their lives with Christ.

One day we did a kids’ party at a church that is beginning to learn about children’s ministry. We had games for the kids for about an hour and then gave a short skit and gospel presentation. Half of the 60 kids came forward to receive Christ and the church members will follow up with them. It seemed like we did so little and yet God used it to do so much.

Between all three ministries we worked with, the whole week was about transformation - transforming lives for Christ. God can use our feeble efforts to help advance His work in Costa Rica. And He’ll use the experience to transform each team member for His greater use wherever they live their everyday lives.

Our last day we got to have some fun and went zip-lining through the rain forest canopy near Volcano Poas. It was a blast. And we spent the afternoon at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Via con Dios

Tomorrow we head to Costa Rica for 9 days on a mission trip. It's hard to believe after 6 months of planning that it's here. Please pray for our team. I'll post pictures and stories when we return.