my girls

Kenneshia, QueQue & Dria
Sunday, March 14, 2010

utahhh

Last week I had the pleasant opportunity to spend a week in Deer Valley, Utah, nannying for four families including my precious kiddos from Memphis--Mason, Carrington and Tucker. The weather was beautiful and the mountains were majestic as usual...they looked a bit more regal than usual, however, seeing how it had been over a year since I'd seen any. My Sheena Bean who currently is studying Arabic linguistics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City came over for a girl's night which included hot tub, sauna, movies, food, repeat. And I even got to meet up with my cousins from Mississippi (who I had seen just a few weeks earlier at the family reunion) as they were out skiing for their spring break. Ah, and that skiing...I was blessed to get a whole day on the slopes. It took me about that amount of time to remember how to distribute my weight and glide with confidence, but it just reminded me of how thankful I am for life and mountains and big blue skies.


The view from our front porch...sunrise

Tucker and Carrington


toofless

mi sobrino

This is my nephew, Levi, and I am completely aware of how many photos I just uploaded. But seriously, how cute is he. These were all taken the weekend of the family reunion when he and I went to explore the wonders of leaves and rocks.

family reunion

Before I get back into a Nepal photo exhibit, I need to backtrack into the last month's details. My father turned 65 in mid-February, and for the occasion we had a surprise family reunion in Southern Mississippi. I saw cousins and aunts and uncles that I hadn't seen in years (some, ever), and my dad took my two sisters and I on a brief tour of his hometown. It was a very special weekend with some Holy Spirit-sanctioned weather.


(my cute dad on the bottom right with his brother and cousins)


(my beautiful little cousins: Mary Caldwell above, Shelby below)

secil

Oh my goodness, I miss this kid. Secil was five years old in this photo, the youngest of our kids who went to school daily. He is pure boy, and played it suave and distant for the first week or so that we were there. Shortly thereafter, however, he was creeping his little cuteness up in our lives. He just loved to laugh, play tricks, and wear our shoes.

anticipation

I realized last night that I will be going to Nepal in just four months. It's March...that's surprising and magical and so close to spring...then summer...and July's in summer. With such an event hovering just months away, I thought I would make it a habit to post either photos or videos from my time at Harka just two years ago. For those of you who may not be aware of my time there, you can read the stories at:
www.travelsinnepal.blogspot.com
This just happens to be my favorite video. Tulie was just over two years old here and we had a game where she would ask me what my name was and I would same any name (including poop, 'gu') until I finally said mine...it would keep us laughing for hours. That's Jamuna, one of the girl twins, in the background. Adorable...

work that is to be done

"People notice peacemakers because they dress funny. We know how the people who make war dress--in uniforms and medals, or in computers and clipboards, or in absoluteness, severity, greed, and cynicism. But the peacemaker is dressed in righteousness, justice, and faithfulness--dressed for the work that is to be done."
-Walter Brueggemann