since we've been back from africa, it's been a flurry of activity. it feels like every moment is scheduled, and we keep adding on to never ending lists.
david and i now know that we are going to be teaching in south korea this fall. everything is finally signed, sealed, and delivered. our visas, our plane tickets, our suitcases all purchased and itching to be used. landing back in des moines was the most bittersweet feeling... such a relief to be on familiar soil and such a joy to see my dad and the cowgers, grinning wide at the baggage claim... but i felt a twinge of faltering confidence as i realized i'd be soon saying goodbye to the same people, at the same airport.
here's the breakdown of our days, worth remembering when we're far from home:
friday and saturday: saw sari and elliot in cedar falls! it was so much fun interacting with little E, and it's amazing how much he's grown in such a short while. we spent a lot of time centered around him, watching him explore and smile and shrug. took lots of pictures and enjoyed relaxing on the deck by the river.
saturday: saw kali and andy at their lovely new home in wdm. they're such incredible cooks and hosts - they made some awesome bruchetta and a delicious "meatlog". it was so great to reconnect w/them and others. their little asher is so mellow and content, as i held him he tried to eat every bead on my necklace for a good half hour. i'm so glad they're back in dsm, but so sad to be leaving right as they get back.
sunday: talked at Z about our colorado trip, and made the big announcement that we're leaving. everyone was pretty encouraging, thankfully. that evening, had girl's group at my place w/dana, mary, and tracy. always good discussion and vulnerability. i love these girls lots, and have been so grateful to have them in my life.
monday: huh. don't know what we did on monday...... ohhh wait. i do. we did our last "grill-out monday" and had yummy salmon while watching the finale of the bachelorette. we knew it would probably be our last opportunity to veg out like that for a long while. drank our "savannah dry ciders" from SA too.
tuesday: lunch w/brent, kari, and the kids at gusto pizza. delish! man, i love b & k, and i so love their kids too. it's so fun how they've become such good friends over the years. brent is like a brother to me, and i love how he and david act like middle schoolers around each other. they're a fantastic couple that we admire so much. we're gonna do our best to keep in touch w/them.
tuesday evening: ate dinner up at carlie and tony's house in ankeny. their kids micah and evitt are another couple of our faves. evitt was buddying up next to david and it was so adorable. micah had a dance party in the middle of the room for awhile to entertain us. they're such fun. jesse driver came to dinner too... and thus ensued the most i've laughed in a looooong time. gosh, he is such a fantastic, deadpan story-teller. he says the most shocking things with a straight face. he told a story about a rat in his toilet, and david was crying from laugh so hard. i wish we'd had more time to get to spend w/carlie and tony. just this summer we've started to discover what good friends they are.
wednesday: a good AM meeting w/brent and denise. in the afternoon, brent and i took some kids to a park for afternoon activities and carousel rides, then got some ice cream. it was a beautiful, summer afternoon. i took sophie up on the playground and another girl was calling her my daughter and i couldn't help thinking how fun it would be to actually be a mom, taking my kids to the playground. i know, i know, i probably see motherhood through rose-tinted glasses at the moment, but i can't wait to experience it someday.
wednesday evening: dinner at my parents, with the keller's over. it was great to reconnect with them and reminisce and relive africa. my mom made some good chicken lasagna, and we sat outside as the cicadas roared in the nearby trees. it's the most comfortable feeling in the world to sit with my family and take it all in. my dad being goofy, all hyped-up about his new blog that he's started, mom being the perfect hostess, jenalee talking about her internship - it all fills me with such sweet love. all the more knowing that i won't get to experience it for a year. if anything, i will come home so appreciative.
thursday: david's 28th birthday! he went to the IMAX harry potter movie earlier in the day w/amelia. that night, we met up w/a revolving door of friends over at wellman's pub in wdm. i think at one time or another we had jenalee, abby, anu, ryan galloway, ryan and lyndsay solomon, zach and ben anderson, seth, eric, myself and david all around a big table. later in the night, the sports switched over to cranked-up music videos, so we decided to call it a night.
friday: i had an eye appointment to finally get some new specs. in the afternoon we swung by zion to make sure our SA video would work. at 6, i met up at mary, tracy, and emily's house to determine whether or not we should go camping. it had been our original plan, but it had also been raining all day. we decided to nix the camping and instead went out to eat at open seasame (one of my faves). we met up with dana, anu, and mallory down there and i ate hummus to my heart's content. there was a belly dancer swirling around in that tiny little dive space, dancing and waving her scarves, which cracked us all up. afterwards, we stopped by to visit zach at 8/7, then we went over to raccoon river to play pool, which was also a rather funny endeavor considering anu is the only one who can play. tracy and i teamed up and won one, lost one. mary and dana were decently good, but anu and emily were certainly the best. we drank some delicious vanilla cream ale, which tasted like a mix between beer and cream soda. mmm.
saturday: farmer's market in the AM, hung w/anu and ryan for a bit. got my last pupusa, and it was delicious as always. david and i also go some homemade maple bacon ice cream which was oddly tasty. we savored the dogs, children, and fashion statements that can be found at the market as long as we could, and headed home around 12:30. once home, we forced ourselves to do some serious packing. around 4 we went for a run together. it was sweltering hot, but we made it about 3 miles. then david went to see his buddy josh while elizabeth and i met up over at pf changs for dinner. it was so great to catch up with her. it's good to hear all about how things are going at her church and in her life. we always have such good discussions. we then headed over to old navy and jordan creek where we were momentarily sucked in by all the trendy clothes.
now here i sit, anticipating another full day tomorrow. it's good to be so busy here before we depart... it helps me not to get so freaked out about what the heck is next. the change, the transition, the in-between is the stuff that drives me crazy. sometimes i catch myself thinking "what are we doing??" but i need to remember we feel called to do this. we feel like it is the best next step for us. we trust. and we believe that offering up a good story will bring a smile.
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