easter

I ended up hopping in my car Saturday night to spend a last-minute Holy Weekend in Memphis with my family and friends. We shared in a feast that Sunday afternoon with a beautiful mosaic of children (could have manifested into a Baby Gap commercial at any moment).

my nephew, Levi

baby Danielle

Jonny and his new son, Kaleb

Kimbel

Lucy

namche bazaar

Just a few short miles down from Sargamatha (Mount Everest)

thirst

by Mary Oliver

Another morning and I wake with thirst
for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has
given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord,
I was never a quick scholar but sulked
and hunched over my books past the hour
and the bell; grant me, in your mercy,
a little more time. Love for the earth
and love for you are having such a long
conversation in my heart. Who knows what
will finally happen or where I will be sent,
yet already I have given a great many things
away, expecting to be told to pack nothing,
except the prayers which, with this thirst,
I am slowy learning.

soniya and baby manish

Soniya and I both had a scar on our right cheek from a dog bite--she was also filled with sarcasm and a loud laugh. I called her my sista.

ashish

I definitely haven't forgotten about my Nepali anticipation. Here is another video and some photos...oh goodness. Ashish is the ham of Harka orphan home. It's hard not to love his charming smile, contagious laugh, and huge head/belly combo. There were five children too young to enter school, so they would stay home with us as we spent our days reading Dr. Seuss, playing soccer, bathing, cleaning, preparing food, etc. Here, Laxmi (the 'director'/mother figure to all the kids) and Britta are helping Ashish practice his numbers in English. Numbers six and eight were usually skipped with much amusement.


Classic Old Man Ashish

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