Spo-CAN, Washington

That’s right, I’ve officially been a student at Gonzaga University for 2 years and I’ve been mispronouncing its city name wrong this whole time. That, like how to get a student ID and how to use the on-campus interlibrary loan system, is just one of the things I’ve learned now that I’m at the end of my graduate career. Cheers.

For those of you who are lucky enough not to have my twitter updates going to your phone… let me just tell you, getting here really was half the fun! Our 4am airport shuttle pick up in Durham, our 3 hour delay in Chicago, our missed flight in Seattle, or our no-luggage revelation in Spokane might seem like a nightmare to some of you. Not me. Nope, this is what makes getting up at 3:00am to travel across the country worth it! Not knowing what crazy curve ball will come next, and knowing that I’ll get to write about it later is what memories are made of!

Here are 5 things that have made this trip great:
1. Cinnabon in the Chicago airport. How did I not get a picture of this, my first Cinnabon ever? Regrets. I’m not ashamed to admit it wasn’t as large as reported, either. I could definitely have eaten the whole thing.

2. Hoopfest happening this weekend in Spokane. It’s the largest 3 on 3 b-ball tournament in the world. I’ve heard 7000 teams are entered, and I’ve also heard 15,000. So, it’s probably in the middle somewhere. But, there are make-shift courts and hoops set up literally EVERYWHERE around downtown. I’ve never seen anything like it!

3. A waterfall in the middle of downtown. Seriously, that’s cool.

4.The first night of my class was an art session. I drew pictures and played with real sculpting clay! Who knew grad school was so much fun?!

5.The solar/lunar patterns are very bizarre here; I assume our global position and the time of year has something to do with this, though I’ve not gotten a chance to research it yet. All I know is that at 4:15am it’s light outside, and that the moon is setting at bedtime, rather than rising. Also very cool.

If there were a #6 on that list it would be seeing the look on peoples’ faces when I say I’m from Chapel Hill and work at UNC. There’s apparently some basketball rivalry…? :)

And PS, sorry about all the twitters on travel-day. I broke all my own rules that day!

Revisiting my coastal tendencies...

So I'm reminded today of my love for the ocean, the depth of it, I suppose you could say. Even today, when the sun is mostly covered by clouds, when the wind is blowing, and the water hasn't yet met my 85 degree minimum requirement: I'm still content to be here, blogging from my phone and listening to the waves. More than content, really. (And PS, never felt this way in the mountains.)

Learning to Love

So much about this church planting thing is a learning experience - really, I guess all of it is. But it's the things I didnt know that I needed to learn that continue to surprise me the most. We came with one mission: to LOVE the people of Chapel Hill with the heart of Jesus. I expected that the "figuring out what the heart of Jesus" really means would be the tough part. And probably, it is. But I find myself still learning what it looks like to love - the part I thought would be a no brainer. So, here are a few of the things I've learned lately:

Real love for a friend looks like your heart breaking when theirs is hurt.

Real love looks like taking one extra lap around the block just to spend a little more time walking among the people.

Real love looks like a free night's stay at the Red Roof Inn and a Wendy's Baconator the night before a new job starts.

Real love looks like going over the top, only to find that there isnt really a top at all because love means that there's always more to give.

Real love looks like a red carnation after a hard day at work.

Real love looks like a low-paid summer internship in ministry rather than a posh job at the Gap.

Real love looks like driving 4 hours round trip several times a week to connect with friends who are quickly becoming family.

Real love looks like cancelling a trip to stay by the side of those who need you more.

Real love looks like an invitation to something greater.

Many thanks for the lessons, friends. It is an honor and a pleasure serving with you!

Whatev!

Ok, so maybe it turns out that I'm not so good at this blogging thing. But, I do want to point out that I was Twittering before it was trendy. Just sayin'.

Thanksgiving Traditions, or, lack thereof

The truth is, tradition isn't really something my family is particularly rich in. Growing up, we were just as apt to be found asleep when the New Year's Eve ball dropped as watching it on TV; I'm pretty sure we have always been flexible with when presents are opened for Christmas; and, I distinctly remember eating lasagna or manicotti/stuffed shells on more than one Thanksgiving. Call it non-traditional, call it unorthodox, call it progressive... It's probably all of those.

Now don't get me wrong, I didn't grow up the Adam's Family or anything (well, not completely, anyway)... there were definitely years we did the Turkey and stuffing thing (or, dressing... potato/potahto) plenty of times. We opened Christmas presents on Christmas morning most years (though I once got them ALL taken away from me just moments after opening them... a blog for another day... and will eventually require therapy). And, I can remember staying up to watch the ball drop a few times as a kid...

So I find myself wondering what traditions Justin and I are creating. My mom created something called a Thankful Tree when we were little... a cutsie little thing that starts as a bare trunk taped to a wall, but grows day by day with construction paper leaf cut outs on which you write something you're thankful for to post on the tree. This is one tradition I've held on to, and I even introduced it at the Simmons Thanksgiving Extravaganza a few times - because it's even more fun with lots of people contributing. But, perhaps because J and I don't have kids, we just don't think to do those kinds of things that much.

So, this year... we spent Thanksgiving at our house here in NC. Tony only had 96 hours of leave from the Marine base in Jacksonville, NC, and so he couldn't travel all the way to Mom and Dad's in Ohio... so Ohio came to us this year. (Except for Dustin, who couldn't make it because he had to work, and whom we missed TERRIBLY... it has been a long time since we've all been together for a holiday... so I'm hoping for Christmas.) And so, our humble little abode hosted 5 people for a "traditional" Thanksgiving feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, baked beans, green beans, corn, asparagus, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Mom was very patient in teaching me how to orchestrate the whole thing with only 4 stovetop burners and 3 pots (the microwave got lots of attention!). And then we sat together at our little round table, pulled in the computer chair for a 5th seat... and made like Pilgrims and Native Americans around the table (without the exchange of typhoid and all that...). It was really cool.

The take away for me: Traditions are really fun, and perhaps even comforting to a lot of people. But maybe it doesn't matter if we eat Turkey or Pizza (which also happened at least once)... I want to take advantage of having the people I care about close by, and value the experience above the ritual.

One last note, I really did miss spending the holiday with Justin's family, too. We've been very lucky so far to have been able to split the holidays with both of our families, but that didn't work out this year. So, I'm really looking forward to getting to see them all at Christmastime. J did set up a brief Skype video chat session so that we could say hi to everyone, though.

Oh, and sorry there are no pictures... probably that's a holiday tradition most people have, too. Not us. :) Call on your imagination.

Welcome Home LCpl Little Bro!

After nine long months in a middle eastern desert, my baby brother is home from Afghanistan! We had a great "homecoming" celebration today, and we're looking forward to having him home for a few days. Here are a few pictures from our reunion:

Welcome home, bud! We missed you!! We love you!!

Thoughts as of late...

Ok, I admit, 6 weeks without a blog is a lot, even for me. BUT, now that I'm officially on the bottom of everyone's blog list... something has to give! So, some life updates:

My job in the Office of University Events at UNC has gone really well. I've learned a lot and met some really great people. The event that I was hired to help with was the Installation Ceremony for UNC's tenth chancellor, Dr. Holden Thorp. Well, that event, and the ones that surrounded it. So, last weekend was busy, for sure, but it was also high-energy, exciting, and stressful - all of which I love! Here are a few pictures from the day (and the locals would insist that I point out the "Carolina Blue" sky):

This one is Dr. Thorp with Carolina's ensemble choir known as the Cleff Hangers... They had just finished a rousing rendition of J.T.'s Carolina In My Mind:

So what's next? you ask... well, so do I. Now that the installation event is over, the job search is in full swing again. There are a few prospects out there, and so for now I wait to see what comes back up in the nets I've cast. Uncertain, but ok. I'll keep you updated on this as things unfold...

Fall as officially arrived in North Carolina. Just when I had convinced myself that we might get to skip right to spring, it came. And so, with much grumbling, I have pulled out the sweatshirts. I don't know where the tradition of carving pumpkins came from, but I think that it might have been to give us a chance to create a physical reminder for us to keep a hold of our toothy grins despite the trespass of the frosty conditions. So I've made it a goal for the week to carve a toothy grin into some unsuspecting pumpkin - and I promise to post a picture of my creation.

I'm officially half way finished with my grad classes. For those of you who didn't know, or who had forgotten, that I was even taking classes - don't worry, I do that all the time. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the trek I get to make to Washington this coming summer to take a class on campus. (And also looking forward to the detour to LA on the trip to visit Nate - and Char & Kev!)

Some sad news: my car was violated this week. Apparently the state of North Carolina feels threatened by my "thug-ride" and has decided that the tinting is too dark to pass a vehicle inspection. And so, Justin has done the dirty work for me, and took my car to someone to lighten the windows. I haven't seen the handy work just yet...

Some great news: My brother comes home from Afghanistan Monday! :) After what seems like EONS, I will have both little brothers (relatively speaking, of course) on one continent again. YAY! My parents and I will be on base to meet him upon his arrival Monday night. Will be a happy homecoming, indeed! Here's a picture of the two of us a few days before he left:

Arrival pictures coming soon! :)