Starbucks Girls



Dee Dee



Friends. They have been the best part of our time in Mississippi. Long before we moved here, we started praying that God would provide friends for us. Good friends. His answers were beyond our expectations--precious lifelong friendships. I also prayed for an accountability partner--a girlfriend that would be a confidant, someone to pray with, who would encourage my relationship with Christ, and help me become a better wife to my husband, who would be willing to ask me the hard questions and let me do all the same for her. As iron sharpens iron, so one sharpens another.And so I prayed.  





Calm Tea and a Chai Tea Latte!



Well, the answer to this prayer turned out to be my next door neighbor :) She and her husband were one of the first couples we met when we moved in, and before too long, she asked me if I wanted to meet together. Every week since then we have had a standing appointment on each other's calendars. Starbucks is always our meeting place. We are regulars. They know we want our drinks "in a mug, for here"...no styrafoam. A real mug really creates a nicer experience; you should try it. Dee Dee sometimes orders me a water. I hate water, but she doesn't care. She knows I need it. She is good for me.

So every week, we sip on our coffee (or tea, as the case may be), talk about our week,  discuss a chapter from whatever book we've been reading together (Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges, Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper, Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, Prodigal God by Tim Keller) share prayer requests, and laugh. Always laugh. Oh how I love this girl.

Gone to Restroom

So I went to visit Karis and the Almys at the hospital the other night. I stayed for about an hour, and when it was time to leave, it was dark outside. The hospital is not in the best neighborhood; I happen to work there, and we are always getting emails about burglaries. I walked quickly to my car and pulled up to the guard shack to pay. When I found a dollar bill in my wallet, I looked up to give it to the parking attendant. Only there was no parking attendant. The guard shack was empty. I noticed a piece of paper stuck to the shack window, so I leaned out to read it: "Gone to Restroom. Be Right Back". What????  You're kidding, right? Am I on candid camera? Can they do this to me? Aren't they supposed to empty their bladders before their shift, avoid excessive liquid intake, and leave only in extreme emergencies after calling for backup? Surely you can't just leave a parking lot full of people trapped behind a wooden gate arm. And yet, gate guard, I think you just did. So what do I do? Sitting here behind this gate while the guard goes pee pee and grabs a coke and maybe takes a smoke break on the tobacco free campus is not an option. We are in Jackson Mississippi. The crime rate is outrageous, it is nighttime, I am a girl, I am by myself, and I don't have a gun. How do I get out of here? Can I make it around the closed gate arm? Oooh, that would be sneaky. I wonder if I will get caught on a security camera. I'm eyeballing it. I think my little car can fit. I hesitate, but only for a second. Here goes....slowly, slowly...don't hit the gate...or the curb....a little further...yep, made it. So maybe I owe the gate guard a dollar, but maybe I don't because he broke the social contract between us when he left me alone to fend for myself in that parking lot. Gone to Restroom. Be Right Back? Leave at your own risk, gate guard. I do not to pause in scary places for potty breaks.

Karis

Our friends, Katie and Trevor Almy, have a little girl, Karis, with a neurological disorder called Krabbe Disease. Karis was born on June 29. 2009 a seemingly healthy baby. When she was about 6 months old, she starting having trouble holding food down, stopped eating, began to experience delays in development and was diagnosed with Krabbe. Now she has a feeding tube, is on daily pain medication, and always has lots of doctor and therapy appointments. God opened a door for the Almys to participate in a study at UNC recently where they found out that Karis doesn't have the typical Krabbe gene mutation responsible for the disease's high infant mortality rate, but she does have fluid on her brain which is unrelated to the Krabbe and could be causing some of Karis's developmental problems. Karis is back in the hospital awaiting brain surgery to insert a shunt for the fluid.  This family's unwavering faith is amazing; through all their pain and suffering, they continue to care for their daughter, acknowledge God's sovereignty, and trust His plan for their lives. Please lift Karis up in prayer at 6:29 whenever you think of her (6/29 is her birthday, so this is a neat way to remember each day). Read more about the Almys at karisalmy.com

Update 09/13/10: Karis was admitted for surgery today, a day earlier than expected due to an opening in the schedule (answer to prayer). Surgery was a success and she is recovering back in her hospital room. Doctors expect she will be able to go home later this week. Praise God! Please continue to pray for a quick recovery.

Football Saturdays

I love Saturdays in the fall. Fall hasn't officially started, I know, and we definitely haven't had fall weather yet here in Mississippi...it's been in the mid-90's most of the week. But there are pumpkins on sale at Walmart, and football season is underway. That means lots of Saturday afternoons for hanging out with friends, making good food, and watching lots of football :)

Today, Jason smoked a pork shoulder that Aunt Wendi sent home with us last week. Sorry piggy. It was delicious. He put real wood chips on the grill and smoked the meat for about five hours. He made Memphis-style coleslaw, and I made home style green beans, homemade mac and cheese, and a berry cobbler. (Easy "One Cup Cobbler": Melt a stick of butter in an 8x8 pan, pour in fresh or frozen fruit (with a few tablespoons of sugar) or fruit pie filling (any kind), pour batter over top made with 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar. Bake @ 350 for 35 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.) Mmmmm.

College football is in the air. Flags are flying and we're showing our spirit. We hung our FSU flag last week (wish I had a picture...we may have to re-create the moment...me still in my dress clothes, barefoot on Jason's shoulders to reach the top of the carport to clothes-pin the flag and then dismounting cheer-style off the back when we were done). The Waitses hung their Auburn flag, and across the way the Brignacs hung up LSU. Jason played the FSU war chant in our car stereo at full blast today before our game started  and we tomahawk chopped in the parking lot. (The war chant is the song that played at our wedding reception as our wedding party entered...I married a true fan...he's lucky I love football).  We've got spirit, yes we do. It has been a fun football Saturday, and next week will be even better if we win!

Labor Day

We went back to Florida for Labor Day weekend. There were a few reasons for the trip: we love to spend time with our family, all of our friends in Mississippi were going out of town, we needed new tags on the car and refused to get them in Mississippi, and you can't beat being in Tallahassee for the first FSU game of the season!

Wendi, Rick, Jason, and me :)

Hallie, Aunt Wendi, Rick, and Jason

Ed and Wendi's party deck

Saturday was the first game since 1975 that Bobby Bowden hasn't coached. It was Jimbo Fisher's first game as head coach. We went to Aunt Wendi's house to watch the game.  Ed and Wendi have one of the best party houses I have ever seen. Their backyard has a pool, a hot tub, and ourdoor sound system, and a....well..."covered deck" just doesn't do it justice. It's like a private sports bar. There is a big screen TV, table and comfy chairs, 3 ceiling fans, coolers full of beverages, and even a Wii. They have a pimped out golfcart, target practice set-up, three dogs, and they raise their own pigs that we like to barbeque...sorry piggies. Those of you who don't consider north Florida part of the south need to come visit Aunt Wendi's. What a great way to spend Labor Day weekend!