Washington D.C.

We had a GREAT time in D.C. today! It was most definitely a whirlwind of a day. I'm actually surprised we got to see as much as we did in such a short period of time. We got into D.C. at about 10:45 am and had to be back at Union Station at 5:00 pm, not a lot of time. We jumped on the red line and headed to Connecticut Ave. where we ate at a french restaurant, Bistro du Coin. It was such a cute little place and had amazing food. We prayer walked the street and then headed off to the memorials. We got to see the newer WWII memorial, it was beautiful (see enclosed pictures).

We journeyed to the Washington Monument where we were bound to end up having a conversation with someone. As our team was sitting a little boy came up and wanted to play with Delaney and the two other little girls that were with us. We had a great conversation with the mom and found out they had just moved to the US from India. One of the guys in our group shared the gospel with her and then we were able to hand her a track in Hindi, which was her native tongue. It was a great opportunity. Thanks to those who were praying for those opportunities!!

Tomorrow is Parents Night Out so Jason and I are actually getting away by OURSELVES! Hooray!! Tomorrow is shot day for Jason and I. Delaney only had to get a TB test, she lucked out! Some kids had to get eight shots, YIKES! Love you all. I'm counting down the days until we get to see you all.

Are We There Yet?

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have about 2 weeks left on the "farm." I'm not gonna lie, I am ready to leave this place. We've built wonderful relationships and have learned so much, however, we're ready to be in Finland ALREADY!! We've been sent pictures of our apartment in Espoo and it made everything very REAL. The apartment is straight out of an IKEA catalog, we feel so privileged.

This Thursday the entire camp goes to Washington D.C. for a cross-cultural evangelism trip. I haven't been to D.C since I was in high school so I'm excited to take it all in for a second time. Please pray that we might have opportunities to talk with people about the Father.

One thing I've enjoyed here is that I've been able to bake. I've made cupcakes, Key Lime pie and cinnamon rolls (I have a pile of requests for more). I've learned to improvise with the kitchen utensils. I've realized I CAN survive without my Kitchen Aid.

I'll write on Friday and fill you in on our D.C. trip.

Life as a Soundtrack

Okay, so I feel like there are a thousand things I could see myself doing in life and one of those things was writing music or movie reviews. I didn't think I could be a very good movie reviewer because I just LOVE all movies, even the really stupid ones. I think I have seen maybe 3 or 4 movies that I just couldn't stand but other than that I just like to watch movies. What can I say, I'm easily entertained! However, music reviews I could have done. I love all types of music. Some of my favorites include Jimmy Buffett, UB40, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Sting, Coldplay, Etta James, Harry Connick Jr., Eric Clapton, Kenny Chesney, Jars of Clay, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Sade, Sarah McLachlan, Tim McGraw, U2, Michael Buble, Fleetwood Mac, Fiona Apple, the list goes on. I love almost every genre of music, however, there are a few I just can't stand. I can not listen to HEAVY METAL, it hurts my head. I do like some HIP HOP but most of it has lyrics that aren't so fabulous.

I love how music can take you to a certain place, can bring back certain emotions, can be an escape. If you didn't already know our daughter's name, Delaney, came from a Jimmy Buffett song. I remember listening to that song when I was in high school on my dad's boat thinking if I ever had a daughter I had to name her Delaney. I remember driving in the car with my mom listening to the oldies station (which has always been one of my favorite) and her saying, "I remember this was my favorite song in the 8th grade and I had a crush on..."

Do you have a soundtrack to your life? Do you have those songs that represent certain times of your life? Do you have a song that helped you get through the bad times of your life? Do you remember being obsessed with a certain song and playing it over and over, driving the rest of your family crazy? Here's my goal...I want to compile a list of songs that would be entitled "The Soundtrack to my life..." What songs would be included in your soundtrack? Something to chew on.

One artist you must have in your music collection is ENYA. I recently bought some music for the Ipod and I came across Enya. I've always loved Enya and I have found the GREATEST compilation of her songs. The album is entitled "Paint the Sky with Stars, The Best of Enya." This album has 16 songs and if you buy it from Itunes it's only $9.99. This album is actually 11 years old but it really is the BEST of her stuff. If I could recommend any album this would be it. I put it on my Ipod and my walks have been a thousand times more enjoyable. A few of these songs will definitely be on my "Life Soundtrack."