Uh....

Trying the login out here.... Yep seems to work. Um, so let me try a quick story then.

Uh, last night for dinner I started eating this muffin cake thing Lauren had made. I thought it had blueberry in it, and while I know it had been in the freezer awhile, I didn't realize that a few weeks means those blue-ish spots were not blueberries. MMMmmmmm mold isn't really as bad as you think. Luckily I only had a swallowed probably one piece with it then gagged the rest out.

~End~

-Blair

Adventure Time!

Since my iPod doesn't recognize the text box as a text box, I can't type from there. So I'm on the hotel computer one last time before leaving. We leave tonight about 11pm to London, have an 8 hr layover (tea anyone?) then fly Monday night into S. Africa then onto Windhoek Namibia. I'm really starting to get excited for the trip. I'll have some internet access, but probably no phone except for emergencies and won't be able to upload pictures. It's really slow dial up and we just won't have time to sit and wait. Prayers are always appreciated for our trip and for Blair and the pups back home. I'll be back in country August 5 and did let Blair know the login info to here so if all I can do is send a quick email, he can copy and paste and post it here (whether he actually gets around to doing that with all his other things going on is another story). Lots of love! Lauren

Painting

I was a busy little bee this weekend painting two rooms. Not sure if I'll get to any more before Africa this weekend. I still need to pick out most of the paint colors!

Starting to get a little nervous about Namibia, mostly because I don't really know what we'll be doing (still). I hope a lot of that will be laid out this weekend in D.C. I leave about 11pm Sunday night with a layover in London and Johannesburg before finally arriving in Windhoek about 10am (local time, 7hrs ahead of us in Central Time) Jun 30th. I'll be back in the States about 3pm on August 5th and into Dallas about 9pm that same day. It's going to be an adventure that's for sure. I hope I've gotten everything I'll need packed!

My "last" day of "work" was yesterday. I really have been blessed to be around them for the past month. That group of ladies has been really great as spiritual encouragement. I was sent off in hugs and prayer, with the full expectation that I'll return at least for a couple days a month when I get back:)

I'm off for now. I'll probably post at least one more time before I actually leave the States. I won't be taking my computer with me, but will have my iPod (which can connect wirelessly), so no guarantees that I'll be posting often, but I'll try to post something when I can. And I do have a journaling notebook I'm taking, so if I can't post, be prepared for the longest post you've ever read when I get back....

House Update Pictures

So we've been working (I've been working, Blair helps generally when I can't reach) on getting the house put together. So far, this is what we've come up with. Definitely not a finished product, but a start. I love our bed and the part of the kitchen I've painted:) Plans are to paint and hang not pink curtains in the office before Africa.

The Clinic

I took this from an email I sent to a friend, then realized, this was something I want everyone to know about, because it's that wonderful. To keep you updated on what I'm up to (besides getting ready for the trip and getting settled in our house-still weird to say, hasn't completely hit that it's our house), I've started volunteering as a nurse at CCA (Christian Community Action)'s adult health clinic. It's really awesome. We serve people without medical insurance and give them all they need for about $20-30 a visit. It's been really cool to see the hope that we can give to people who some have never seen a doctor in their life, and some have really bad chronic diseases. All the staff is really fun (like our group (My Nav group in CO, and actually everyone I hang out with) is), but really serious about glorifying the Lord through all we do. There are a bunch of volunteers helping out, and some staff members and it's great to see how everyone appreciates what the other does (because we do!). They completely took me in, and are always super excited to have me around, and oddly, the director of the clinic is a retired Army nurse:) I can't seem to get away from the military! God's really blessed me through this volunteer opportunity and it's something I plan on doing even after I come back from Africa and start school in the fall. 

And of course, who can go without finally seeing a picture of the front of our house:) We're going to take one this weekend of the family (Blair, me and the pups) in front of it now that we are borrowing a tripod from the school. The first picture is my birthday dessert:) Super easy and super yummy if you want the recipe!