Tasty treat

I got up early this morning to watch a little about Hurricane Gustav, and then Daisy and I got bored a little while in. The tragedy of working at camp (for me) is that I can't stop waking up at 6:40 every day now, so I've been getting up early every day, well before mom and dad, and then getting a little bored. So today, I felt like I finally knew where they lived and how to get to Starbucks - so Daisy and I took a ride. We jumped in the car (well, I jumped, and Daisy needed a lift - that happens when you're an old dog, I suppose), and waved to Latisha (the security lady at the gate), and rolled on down the road just about a mile to the hoppin' Starbucks. A cool surprise was that my gift card had a ton of cash left on it from Easter, and so my Vanilla Latte was free. :) And Daisy got a little doggy treat from the girl at the drive-thru window. A fun outing for both!
Now it's time for eggs benedict, a trip to the beach, and a little prayer for the families evacuating to escape Gustav (including Pawpaw and Grandmaw and Uncle Russ).

Two days in to vaca

Vacations are nice...already, we've done a ton and Emma is now on her plane back to Pittsburgh. Last night, we hung out with my Dad's sister and her family, and with Ga, and it was a blast! We played some Cranium and chatted and ate lobster tails, fried fish, and lots of other goodies. It was great!
I'm also writing my postcards home to my small group girls - I'm so excited to meet them. I grabbed a stack of fairly non-descript Florida postcards, and somewhere in that pile I accidently picked up one with a half-dressed man in it. I'm just glad I checked before I wrote and mailed it out! :)
Today, Mom and I will go to the gym and just take the rest of the day in stride!

We made it!

Emma and I made it to Florida. Granted, it's pretty dead right now and gloomy, but the sun has just broken through and the intercoastal waterway is sparkling outside the window. We're planning to hit up the tapas place today, and then hang out this evening.
Yesterday's trip was great, surprisingly. Definitely ordained by God. We arrived at Pittsburgh in plenty of time to enjoy a quick chips and queso at Qdoba, and then jump on the plane to Atlanta. In Atlanta, our flight was listed as being an hour delayed, so we headed down the hall to grap an appetizer and a drink during the three-hour layover. Well, turns out the TV monitors were wrong, and the flight was leaving on time, so we loaded on the plane and headed out to Jax only about 10 minutes behind. Turns out we were one of three flights that hadn't been cancelled to Jacksonville all day - we barely made it. The flights all around us and behind us were cancelled for the evening. It's so good to be here!
Even if the sun doesn't shine on the beach all week, it doesn't matter, because I'm relaxing! It's the best.

A Nice Trip

I'm getting ready to go to Florida! My parents and I ate at this wonderful tapas restaurant last time we were in St. Augustine called "The Tasting Room". It had delightful dishes, from a Smoked Chorizo Platter to Balsamic Manchengo Cheese with Mascerated Cherries to Tres Leches Cake. It was amazing. And so this week, when I go to Florida, and Emma comes along, we will be begging to head back town to St. Augustine and the Tasting room for some delicious tapas.
Also, while I'm in Florida, I will be eating seafood with the Crisps, most likely, and enjoying a nice trip down the Itchetuknee River!

Love

God has used many, many people to show me his love, to remind me how His love works.

When I started attending NCC in Illinois, I got connected to the worship ministry there with a lot of amazing people - Mike, Jen, Ron, Karen, Todd, Laura - it was my first, real, connection with a faith community in college and it changed my life. The drummer, Todd Mitchell passed away last night. I won't presume to know the Mitchells really well, but I remember a few things just from being in that worship team community for a year: Paula and Todd were a great example to me of a loving, Christ-centered marriage; Todd loved his three little guys - Sam, Luke, and Jackson - as much for their mischievous acts as for their adorable smiles; Todd loved to make music, listen to it, explore it, be creative with it; and Todd loved the Lord and others with his whole heart. I learned a lot about the kind of musician I wanted to be from his attitude and approach to music ministry.

I can't begin to imagine how Paula and the boys are feeling, and I'm basically terrible at offering words of comfort, so I won't try. All I know is God is good and present and loves us. Pray lots.

Fourth grade, here I come

Tonight marks the official beginning of my career as a fourth-grade small group leader. And by career, I mean the unpaid, give-of-your-time sort...I think they call them "volunteers". I am looking forward to meeting my co-leaders of the fourth and fifth grade classes. We're using a promiseland curriculum (from WillowCreek Church & Zondervan publishing out in the good old IL).
It will be a totally different undertaking from what I've just come out of...all of the preparations will be done for me, and I am responsible for making a connection with the kids. This will be fun, almost like getting to be a "counselor" for these girls. Pray for me and for the girls that will be coming into my class!

Two more days

Two more days until camp is over! I am sad and happy - but my friends leaving is okay, because they're just a car ride away, and it will surely be nice to have a clean, quiet home for a bit. Although if given the option, I would rather have my house full of wonderful people than empty and neat! Things I'm looking forward to: sleeping, eating good food, visiting my parents, visiting friends, talking to Lindsay, having a pet, painting my room, hanging out with Coop and Suzy and Krista before she leaves, getting started with teaching my small group at church (and meeting my co-leader!). Lots of things.
I'll write more when summer is officially over! :)