3rd Term Outreach

My first weekend back was our 3rd term outreach opportunity. I took half of my class back to Cure, the children's hospital within walking distance of the school. This time there were a few more patients and a few less students. And, as you can see from the pictures, stickers were the object of choice. The kids really enjoyed them! Well, most of them . . . a couple were scared . . . but my students did an excellent job, again, of being sweet and friendly. Not an easy task with the language barrier and other physical limitations of the patients.

Shower Power

So, I have some GREAT friends.

And by "great," I mean . . . God-given blessings. Sacrificial. Pray-ers. Supporters. The kind who will call your mom after you get engaged and freak out with her on the phone, since you all can't be together. And mail you care packages. Drive across states to see you. FLY across states to see you! Wonderful girls. Mentors. Lovelies.

I spent 2 days in Charlotte at the end of my whirlwind trip around America. It was such wonderful time visiting friends and my old school AND they planned a shower for me, so I got to see even MORE friends! So, here's are the pictures:

white flowers, with brown accents, just like the wedding, thanks to Kerry's thoughtful planning!

a quiz, based on how well you read my blog . . . obviously some are more stalkerish than others. :) (and i love you for it!)

cake balls! seriously, amazing . . . made by kelly keller

girls from second south, my wing at Taylor! 2 from Indiana, 1 from Michigan, and 1 from Tennesse! Plus a new Charlotte transplant and an old Charlotte transplant.

erica-themed food: CHOCOLATE. :)

the old charlotte roommies!

and the whole gang. 85% taylor, i'd say. :) and that's saying something!

So. I love you all. SO MUCH. It was SO good to see you all!

South Carolina

So, a few weeks ago, I was here . . .

in Beaufort, South Carolina with my parents doing some WEDDING PLANNING. Crazy times, let me tell you. But between florists and caterers and bakers and candlestick makers, it was nice to be hanging out with the parents and grandparents and checking things off the list! And of course eating at Dockside, the Port Royal classic, perched next to the shrimp docks:

Just trying to pump you up for fun times in September.

Here they are- Mom and Dad, planners, financial backers, and troopers . . . and my friend Meg. She is unfortunately moving to Bolivia this summer to teach the natives (or expatriate business kids/MKs at NICS) and won't be around for the blessed event but was such a rock star that she drove to Beaufort to accompany us on florist/church visits and we had wonderful quality time at Dataw and driving back up to Charlotte getting more car honks than ever before in my life . . .

Understandable, though.

photoshop. finally.

I would love to learn how to use photoshop.

But so far, every experience has left me frustrated and feeling helpless, because I have absolutely NO IDEA what I'm doing. Opening a picture in photoshop reminds me of eighth grade french class - I feel so lost . . .

Until today. Finally, high speed internet capabilities meant I was able to finally use a blog I'd been following and download some action sets and go to town on a few pictures. Granted, nothing fancy, just clicking some buttons and letting these sets do the work . . . but I'm starting to understand the principals of photoshop. I'm a bit embarrassed to put these up, amateur as they may be . . . but hey, here goes nothing. And it's about time I put something up from the great state of Oklahoma!

Matt let Elyse drive his car the other day. In a parking lot. It was a tiny bit scary, but I have no place to complain/judge. I'm still a horrible driver.

We took a little trip to the Murrah building memorial.

At the site is this awesome tree that survived the bombing.

and this can fondly be referred to as the "cheeseball editing tool." This is why you should never put photoshop in the hands of anyone short of a professtional. It's the dark rim that really did me in.

Except here, I did it again.

We went to a real Oklahoma experience - Eischen's fried chicken out in Okarchee. Miles of driving that sometimes led us astray on to red dirt roads (see below), complete with storm clouds and fields of waving wheat. So I had to stop for some pictures. Eischen's is hilarious, by the way - you can ONLY order fried chicken and fried okra. No plates, just some layers of wax paper to throw your greasey food on. The floor is oddly slippery and it attracts the most interesting clientelle . . .

Ok, so that's it. I'm off to bed now, althought I think I could stay up and learn how to edit all night long. The pressure is on, time is running low for opportunities to use high speed internet. Kijabe approaches.

and now, meet moose

One of the first things I learned about Matt was that he was the VERY proud owner of an English Bulldog, Moose. And now it would seem that I will be gaining an instant family with little Moose-boy as our son. I was nervous to meet him and gain his love . . . but after a few days he started to follow me around the house a bit and sit outside my door. He got very sad when we packed to leave. Behold, the Moose.

meet the parents

(and the brother and sister-in-law and nephew and aunts and uncles and great-aunts and friends and puppy)

Our first stop in the US was the famed Murray, KY, Matt's hometown. I really like Murray, and how they know everyone everywhere they go, and Matt's friends are great, and the trees are budding and spring is here! I have really loved spending time with Matt's family and getting to know this important part of his life. Besides spending time with his mom and dad in Murray, we met family in Glasgow, KY and Nashville, TN. I also got to spend time with my TU friend Kerry who drove to meet us in Nashville. We had a great time talking a mile-a-minute, catching up on the last nine months and looking at . . . wedding dresses! We spent the night with Matt's brother and sister-in-law and adorable nephew. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of any of these moments . . . but I do have some from Murray:

Matt's mother presenting us with our wonderful goodie-filled Easter basket!

spring time. american gothic style.

And I had a special visit from Jenny! She flew home to Cinci from Charlotte for spring break and then tackled the 5 hours to meet us in Murray. Jenny is headed to RVA this summer to teach English. Hooray! I'm so excited for her! (check our her blog!)

back there . . .

oh my goodness.
i just uploaded these pictures in literally TWO SECONDS.
that can only mean one thing . . . i'm back in AMERICA. (aaaahhh. . .)

These pictures are from our way out of Kijabe to the airport. It was Matt's last trip to Nairobi for who-knows-how-long, as he'll be staying here and starting his residency in June. It was the typical trip, crammed in a mini-van, surrounded by luggage, huffing exhaust . . . but also a beautiful afternoon, impressive clouds and a view of the valley. I never get sick of that view!

if you click on this picture, you can see that the crater on longonot is smokin'.
good news - they tell me the rains are on their way!