12.18.2008

Rejoicing in the day of birth....

Yesterday was my birthday.  I turned 27.  It was a perfect day.  I spent most of the day working, which is not a bad thing at all.  I had love and hugs from 600 kids all day!  Being at a place where you love and are loved, is a great place to be for your birthday.  I have never had a workplace make my birthday so special.  So, I am wholly thankful to God for a place I often call home:Northwest Elementary.  
I also received several wishes from the Facebook culture.  The birthday feature they have REALLY is nice. It's amazing how many people wish you a happy birthday that otherwise would not if it were not for the networking of Facebook.  I am thankful for my Facebook wishes. Oh and I can't forget the other internet love that was sent my way through e-mails and Gail's e-card. I love communicating through e-mail even more than I love communicating through facebook
My phone also rang several times with birthday wishes as well.  Those were mostly from family, the ones who are closet to my heart. The two best things about the invention of telephone are that yesterday it allowed me to have a conversation with my momma, even though she is 6 hours away, and I received my second favorite(my first favorite you will hear about last) birthday wish from my dad over the phone.  He left me a message(I didn't pick up cause I was already at work) on his way to work.  It made me cry. I love my dad and all the birthday traditions of song, flashlight interrogating, and even dancing that he has.  I am his princess, there is no doubt about that. I just miss all the streamer decorations, the sleighs and the cookie cakes and cheesecakes that he would buy for me.  Although I really think it was his excuse to buy those unhealthy treats so HE could eat some too.  I also missed the traditional christmas book from my mom with the notes inside that make my eyes soggy.  She always picked one that was a perfect reflection of something from the year before.  I love birthday traditions, I think they mean more to me than I thought!  
Although I may have never voiced to my husband how special these birthday traditions are, he somehow knew(maybe it's the fact that he would spend the night with John Ryan the nights before my birthday, years before we were even an item). He gave me my favorite birthday wish. Somehow he snuck a flashlight by the bed and as soon as my alarm went off yesterday  he turned to me and shined the flashlight in my face(which if you knew this tradition my dad has you would not perceive this as an annoying wakeup call) and did the traditional interrogation that my dad has always done for me for longer than I can remember.  He also sang the John Seaman Rendition of Happy Birthday  to me.  *sigh* It was wonderful.  Then he graced my office at lunch with flowers and a special poem. I love his poem, and I love when he writes them for me.  I will post the poem at the end. Please read it. And last, he ended the day with a fabulous meal at home at our table.  I would much rather have a swanky meal at home, with just him, over any nice restaurant any day.  Our best memories of rich conversation have come from our dinners at that table.  It's one of my favorite places in the world.  

It was a wonderful day, a memorable day.  I am 27 years old now.  Only 3 years away from 30 and I couldn't be happier.  I have no fear of aging because I come behind parents who have made EVERY season of life seem better than the one before.  Every day is beautiful, no matter how old you are. I hope that this year I don't take one day for granted, but realize EVERY beauty in it, savor each moment, and see every second as an opportunity to reflect the glory of God!

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY IT WAS FOR ME!

Disclaimer about the poem:  For those of you who don't know, I am a school nurse at an Elementary school.  And my days often include volumes of vomit and giving kids clean undies to change into after they have had an accident!

Some Flowers for the Nurse by Tristan Summers

Some flowers for the nurse whose eyes 
Alone will make a fever die
And warm the heart with simple gaze
That tempers coldest winter days
Her work not done, she heals a cough
By taking pain and sorrow off
And putting on a coat of care
(Along with some fresh underwear)
Her patients well, she goes to lunch-
But wait! Now here's that little Munchkin
with the topsy-turvy-tummy
Oh my!!  Lunch does not sound as yummy
Anymore but with some ginger ale
And hugs and  kisses he'll be well
"Now what about that lovesick puppy
I left at home this morning.  Will he 
E'er get o'er this lovebug spell?
What shall I do to make him well?"
And so she goes about her day
Not cognizant of all the ways
Her tender heart and gentle care 
Have ruined this lovesick puppy's fare

Forever :)

Happy Birthday, Nurse Melissa.

11.25.2008

My preferred method of transportation



So I would be happy if I used a bike like this (I would ride everywhere perfectly dressed as she is too) to get me down the road to the local produce market, the park, or the nearest cozy coffee shop(that of course would serve a perfect cup of hot chai).  

Dream with me will you?


Check out my favorite fashion blog and his glorious photos of fellow city cyclists.


11.22.2008

To end my crazy day of India posting...

I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! For those of you who don't know.  Tristan and I are going back to India. And this time we are leading the LT team ourselves!  What a humbling privilege. I am anxious to go back. Anxious to see the people, hear the sounds, see the colors, eat the food, and even smell the smells! 

M...the reason why we went to India!

If you haven't heard M's story ....you need to! I can't really tell it on here but I so wish I could.  It is an amazing story of God's power and how "Jesus is genius."  Here is Cort at M's.  M's mom is helping her put on the Sari the M sewed for her. Cort, you are gorgeous..just the way you are!



What's that?  Oh...now you have to put on M's mom's Sari Cort!!!

Oh wait...now we all have to put their Sari's on...oh no..and let them put pink make-up all over our face!  WOW.  These were people of Peace and this was a precious night!
M, Tris, and M's uncle.  M's uncle didn't like us too much, but M did as you can tell by his smile.  He loved us,  and he loves and follows Someone now.  If for nothing else I can't wait to go back to India just to see M...and his family!

LT 2008-4th of July


I LOVED our team that God knit together and EVERY SINGLE person that was on it! Our team was in India for 4th of July.  Our team spent the night at a friends enjoying each other and eating fabulous food.  The picture below is of everyone ooogling over Joeli right before she eats her FIRST EVER bites of food(yummy rice cereal).  I love this baby girl with all my heart and I know that she will be a women like the prophet Joel who she was named after. 
This is Lauren making a crazy face.  You gotta love this girl!  She is half French, speaks French, loves French culture, is an Elementary school teacher, is a crazy rock climber, has gorgeous curly locks, never accepts the status quo, has a brilliant mind and  genuinely loves people and Jesus. Tristan and I LOVE Lauren!
Chris and Yohanna came to India from Germany.  They are two of the most genuine people I have ever met.

Kathy, there are no words to describe her.  No matter who you are you will LOVE her! We did!

This is me and Court showing off our Mendi(Henna tats).  Courtney, she is my sister, and a soul mate forever. I will always love this woman, and will be inspired by her forever. I need to call her, I miss her!

Family and Friends




beauty


Beautiful women and children in a special school being started in the slums.  This is true beauty!




Father God, you have shed your tears for Mother India....


Here are a few more pictures to end my postings on India.  This First picture is of Lauren, Tristan and I at an HC we attended and led while in Mumbai(Bombay).  This was a night of genuine worship, sincere  fellowship, delicious food, and enjoyment of hilarious personalities! What great joy.  Lauren, Tris and I were often in groups to lead HC's...I think the three of us made a great team.  We would trade off jobs with each other and work on developing our different gifts.  One of us would bring the word, one or two of us would share a testimony, and then one of us would keep the flow of things or lead worship.  It was challenging to plan a whole evening quickly, and we never knew when we might be leading an HC so we always had to be prepared wherever we went.



This second picture is interesting because it says first class, and if you would have ridden in first class and never seen that sign you would have never known you were in First Class.  The trains in Mumbai are crazy full in the other classes, people are all kids of squished together. Funny thing is we thought First class was crowded as we stood squished by people in every direction, with no room to move.   But, when we saw the other classes they were some how even worse.  People were basically on top of each other.  Indian's know how to utilize space, an they don't have personal space bubbles......I love them!  There seems to be an unending supply of things to learn from our Eastern friends!
         
                                         Tristan and I with Hailey and Gail....The HPU peeps!


                                                       Cool carved tree we found.....
I will never forget the women here and their breathtaking faith....

11.07.2008

I am a bad blogger

So after we spent 10 days in Dehli we trained to the North east of India and then drove about an hour in a car from the 60's up winding, steep, mountains driving through the clouds and stopping a long the way for people who were having bowel issues!  But it was so worth it when we reached our destination up in the foot hills of the Himalayas! After being in Delhi, one of the most populous cities in the world, it was bliss to be in the mountains!! Here are a few pics of what we saw.


We worked amongst a UPG that does lots of farming in the mountains.  In the pic above you can kind of see the farming terrain. It's beautiful.



 

Like I said...we were in the clouds....amazing!

There were monkeys like these everywhere

  More to come on what we did there....

10.13.2008

Just two

I just have these two more pics from our first 10 days in Dehli.  Then hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post on Mousorri! I have a few more videos but Tristan has to show me how to compress them before they are postable!  What would I ever do without that man?  That is a thought I rather not have!
In this picture I am holding up a piece of paper 
that Lauren used to tell some AMAZINGLY well 
prepared Bible stories.  She is a elementary 
school teacher and was GREAT at teaching kids.
We were at an orphanage in this picture.  One thing 
I remember about this place was how much food they fed us. 
  They gave us some amazing stew, dal, and rice and then shortly after lunch they gave us Samosas(which are delicious, but really rich 
and huge) and Chai. All so yummy, but would have been a lot more enjoyable on an empty tummy and on a day that wasn't 110 degrees!


This is a picture we took of ourselves while riding 
a pedal rickshaw. Notice hoe HUGE my noes ring is.  
This was before I was able to get a small one. 
 Although, compared to most of the nose rings 
the women wear mine was small. WOW!  

10.12.2008

That didn't hurt!

So here is another part of the story of our Journey in India.  I did something customary in Indian culture for every woman: I got my nose pierced! Here Courtney, Myself and Kathy are in a beauty parlor about to embark on the adventure together.  I think we were all excited, but also very nervous.  Kathy went first, and she said it was painful so I was really nervous.....but then I went and it didn't hurt a bit for me....so I think Cort was not sure what to expect!!! Everybody is different when it comes to these things. Ladies, I am so happy to have shared this memory with you!  These two pictures are of us waiting with anticipation and the video is the actual event.  It's quite entertaining!  




                                            

10.06.2008

Warm friends and coffee...

Here are some more pictures from India. These are all still in Dehli during the first 10 days of the trip.  These pictures are full of warm memories for us that we will never forget!



Me drinking somthing really yummy that Cort recomended.
This picture(and the next) was supose to got at the bottom of this post...but it went up here instead and I couldn't figure out how to move it.  
      Cort and I goofing off with coffee in our veins

M, a few of her girls and I at M's home for girls....I LOVED this place and these girls


Tristan on campus at Dehli University with Awar and some students there


Tristan and a student at Dehli University....Tristan was the first American he had ever seen in person

The Tali Plate...our favorite dish at Nirula's(Indian Fast Food Place)

Tristan, Cort and I had some free time and we found a coffee    shop to relax in.....we had a wonderful time here getting to know Courtney

9.29.2008

and the journey continues...

             here are a few more photographs

our team(minus Lauren, Mark, C,L, and J) out for a meal at CP...CP is           where all the bombings recently(2 weeks ago) took pace in Dehli.  The       Father really protected us because we were at CP ALL the time.

The streets of of Dehli

Walking together in a Market

     Sometimes the drainage systems aren't the best

Tristan at the Taj......I was back in the bathroom in Dehli with the big D!!
Fun Times!!!!

9.28.2008

my computer is back...

which means more updates and posts again.  we are working on getting all the photos back on, so those(the photos) may come slowly. we are so thankful for how God provided ways for my computer to come back to life, it is my networking hub that i love to use to help re-connect the body of Christ. 
 here is the beginning of our journey to India.  

About to board at DFW.
Finally there after 36 hours of travel
Our precious welcome team!
  Chad, Leslie, and Joeli. We praise God that connected us with this family.

more moments to come, so please come along for the journey......