turkey bowl

It's a Murray tradition. Back in Kijabe, I heard Matt lamenting about how much he missed playing with his last Thanksgiving. I had no idea I'd be privileged enough to participate in the sixth annual Turkey Bowl. I'm told it's a "state of mind," so the fact that it wasn't at Thanksgiving this year didn't take away from the whole experience.

The cold, wet, muddy experience.

No, I'm just bitter because I didn't play very well. There was some ducking when the ball was thrown in my direction, a lot of slipping and sliding through the mud, and not (m)any good plays on my end.

Most of the pictures of me look like this:

(Gee, Matt, your pants are muddy.)

Or this one, where I'm clearly not paying attention to the play.

I think this is a good time to mention that I met Matt while playing flag football at RVA. Good thing I played a little better back then. But he already married me, so no backing out now. :)

But there were some serious moves going down.

After the game, we met for pizza buffet and MVP vote.

triparoundamerica: Murray, KY

After my suspenseful escape from the Oklahoma City blizzard, I arrived in Nashville at the same time as Matt and an hour after his grandfather flew in from Cleveland. Matt's dad picked us up and we headed out to Murray, "yingling all the vay."

The brothers were all together.

Adam, carving the bird

John Eric, singing some sweet tunes

Matt, entertaining our favorite Christmas baby

There he is!

Baby Connor!

Our little Christmas elf.

He gets a lot of attention in this post.

I hope you're ok with that.

(I'm sure you are.)

Santa brought Connor a piano. It was a big hit.

Hi Grandpa. Murray Christmas.

Connor gave his grandparents a blanket with his sweet face on it.

Grandpa and Napoleon, who has given up his place as only child.

Somebody did well this Christmas!

I had some Christmas surprises as well. First, I got this.

Surprise!

Boy, was I ever.

Then, when I opened it and checked my email, there was this picture of our tree back in New York:

A bike of my own!

And guess what, it was Connor's birthday on the 23rd! He's a year old. So we had a party.

Murray Christmas!

triparoundamerica: OKC

Stop #2 was a visit with my family in Oklahoma. Of course the house was a Christmas extravaganza. We enjoyed typical OKC cultural activities, such as Christmas shopping in 60 degree weather, introducing Grandad to atomic salsa at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurante, and looking at the technicolor light shows in neighborhoods nearby.

The girls all got Uggs, to keep our tootsies warm.

Tucker the dog got lots of attention.
He's a little smaller than his nephew, Moose.
Also a little easier to corner for pictures. Babushka Tucky.

Grandad and his girls.

Grandma and Mom opening the traditional Christmas PJs.

Dad directing the present opening.

What can it be?

When I arrived in Oklahoma, I was still trying to recover from the icy blasts of Wheaton weather, so I layered on my scarf, coat, gloves, and boots to brave the outside. Within an hour the temps had climbed to 64 degrees and I was SLIGHTLY overdressed. It was a nice change from below-freezing!

But that all changed. Late Tuesday night the newscasters started to warn us of blizzard-like conditions. I was slightly worried that my 6AM flight out would be delayed by the weather. When we left for the airport, it was raining a bit and I got out just fine. By the time I arrived in Nashville, my mom called with the news that it was snowing! Oklahoma City had its first white Christmas in over 60 years!

And I missed it.

But my family sent me some pictures. They played outside all day.

triparoundamerica: the windy city

I've been doing the Grand American Tour since December 16, when I flew to Chicago to be in Erin's wedding in Wheaton.

I enjoyed the city sights . . .

The snow . . .

But most importantly, the people!

Oh, dear friends.

Carla Stout, my Charlotte mentor and dear friend.
Jenny, who now lives in my old house in Kenya. You can continue to follow the Kijabe news at her blog.

Megan Speicher, now living at 13,000 feet in La Paz.

The Kellers, good friends from Charlotte, and C.S. Lewis enthusiasts. They discovered the Lewis museum at Wheaton College. It was then that I remembered the Lewis pub room in the basement of the Taylor library that I never took advantage of. Oh, the things you miss while you're young . . .

And some new friends! Mrs. Peggy Grow, the great-aunt of my friend Ashley from Kenya, came to the church to meet me before the wedding. She has been reading about my life in Africa and now New York for a few months and I really enjoyed meeting her! While assembling wedding favors with Erin's Aunt Julie, we discovered a common link - my Aunt Patti and Uncle John. Six degrees of separation. I almost believe it.

I also enjoyed seeing my pastor from our church in Charlotte, several Taylor friends, and this puppy.

Up next . . . Oklahoma City and my brush with the blizzard of 09.

there was a wedding last weekend

And it was a joyful affair! Having just come down off the wedding high myself, this special ceremony was even more poignant than usual. My dear friend, marrying the man of her dreams, both of them following the God who so clearly led them together. I have many reasons to say this, many tales to tell, but they aren't my stories to share. Erin and Ben have the blessing of walking into a life together that has been paved by prayers and a mutual desire to serve God. I am so excited to see what that means for them!

Not to mention how wonderful it was to see friends from the far corners of the earth! YAY!


*That just makes me happy.
(We've come a long way!)


Well look who just rolled in from Bolivia! Bienvenido, Megan! She flew straight to Chicago from La Paz the night before the wedding. There may have been tears of reuniting.

Erin's new sister-in-law, Heather, taking a break from behind the camera to steam our dresses.

Mother of the Bride, fluffing the veil.

There she is! Oh, wow.

We got all our pictures out of the way before the wedding. The bride and groom had a special moment "alone" together seeing each other for the first time. And they were alone, except for the videographer and photographer. And the bridesmaids stationed at windows peeking over the balcony.

I love spying!

Ben and Erin were wed at Wheaton College Church. It is a beautiful church, and decorated so sweetly for Christmas. It was stunning. They were stunning. Are you ready for this?

I know.

Here's another one.

wow.
The groom and his mom. A picture of preciousness.

les fleurs. Winterberry bright.

Beautiful wedding. Beautiful reception. And Christmas cheer everywhere. Snow started fluttering during the reception, adding to the already-perfect picture. I'm so glad I could be a part of it.

I'm also glad I could hug these three.
Bolivia, Charlotte, Kenya, Long Island, respectively. It's not every day we see each other.

Megan and Jenny were represented by paper cut outs at my wedding, so it was a TREAT to hug them in the real. We got some real quality time together the next day, but more on that later.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!