I'm Horrible at Meme's

I never follow the rules with Meme's. I mean....there are enough rules in life without the added stress of those made up in the bloggy world.

I'm sorry Cathy for not doing this sooner. I love pictures though...so you tagged the right girl!

The rules were something sort of like this....post the 10th picture in your 1st picture folder.

Here it is:



This is my uncle and my love talking after a mission conference service. We were staying at a youth camp where my husband and I used to work before he went to pastor in Georgia. My uncle was the pastor of Lee's Chapel Baptist church where my husband was saved and was the youth pastor and later assoc pastor. My uncle has recently resigned Lee's Chapel after nearly 20 years as pastor to become missionaries to India. He and my aunt will be visiting us in October on their way to India.

This was taken a month before we left for Portugal. It was a very emotional mission conference for me. A lot of my family as well as some dear church family attend this church and I knew it would be the last time I saw them for quite a while. I cried like a baby.

Ahhhh.....Chicken Feet

I stopped by the butcher yesterday to pick up a few things for dinner this week. I'm very excited to say that I no longer have to snort like a pig or flap my arms like a chicken to tell the butcher which type of meat I want.

Yes, I've actually done that.

Sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do.

I got a pork roast, a few boneless skinless chicken breast, ground pork, and one chicken cut up.

This morning, while preparing our Sunday afternoon lunch, I was washing the cut up chicken to bake when I came across the ugliest, scaliest chicken feet! I had already thrown them away when I thought to take a picture just for you, but I wasn't going to dig threw the trash that contained nasty diapers from a stomach virus plaguing my family....

enough about that....

Anyway, here is the end result...yummy chicken baking away in my oven. (without feet)



A few weeks ago we had a meeting at the house of one of the members of the church where we minister. We are doing this once a month over the next few months in an attempt to reach the friends and neighbors of those hosting the meeting. It's a good time of singing, preaching and always food and fellowship afterwards.






The kids seem to be feeling better today. Hopefully that bug is on it's way out the door!
Thanks for your prayers.







Hope you guys have a great week!

Madrid - Day 2 Photo Journey

Tuesday, after a quick 45 minute flight to Madrid, I met up with friend and fellow blogger Dani
Joy. We spent a little time at the airport fellowshiping with other friends and bloggers, then we set out on our adventure. First stop locate our hotel. (ahem..hole in the wall cheap hostal)

Pilar....I bet your glad you didn't end up going with us, huh?! ;)

While out walking on day 2, we came across this restaurant, and after a quick survey of the lunch menu we slipped inside for a delicious meal.


I had some sort of curry chicken. It was wonderful!


We ended day 2 on a great note, church! Here I met other American missionaries who have been serving faithfully in Spain for many years, as well as a precious lady, Olga who spoke Portuguese. She quickly found me after service and pulled me to the side to converse. I'm very proud to say that I actually carried on a fairly lengthy conversation without any help from anyone!

Lazy dog outside of a cute flower shop.

There wasn't much difference in Madrid than the larger cities in Portugal, but it was still a very pretty and interesting place to visit. We had beautiful weather and my camera cried out to be used.

My confused tour guide.

They call it Dunkin Coffee and not Dunkin Doughnuts....but it still had heavenly treats inside. It wasn't Krispy Kreme, but I wasn't complaining.

This poor lady was begging for a high-5.


I spent almost 12 hours in the Madrid airport on Thursday waiting for my flight to leave. I had a late flight and Danielle had a early train home, so I went on to the airport thinking I could curl up somewhere and sleep. But that didn't happen. After 4 gate changes and a 2 hour late departure, I arrived home to a grateful family and a comfy bed, complete with a handsome husband.

It's good to be home, however I was quickly thrust back into Mommy Mode and no longer the fancy European traveler as 3 of my 5 kids are sick. Life is like that, ya know. Sick babies are a way of life for me.....and I love that life! I'm so glad to be home with them again. I've returned home with a renewed sense of responsibility to my family and ministry.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Nina

Phobia Phriday (with the Preacher)

Welcome to another edition of our weekly posts about very random and often phunny phobias which have been medically documented in one reference book or another. Each Phriday we list, define, and give an example of one of these irrational phears, phictional or otherwise.*

Porphyrophobia - fear of the color purple (not Oprah and the movie...the actual color)

Can you imagine living in a world where you felt uneasy looking at this?

We also know that porphyrophobia often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can cause panic attacks and keep people apart from loved ones and business associates.








Don't want the porphyrophobic in-laws over for Christmas? Decorate with these....problem solved.



Can you imagine telling your college professor that you can't do that research paper because you have a fear of the color purple?

As always, have a wonderful weekend in the Lord Jesus, and remember if you are porphyrophobic, stay away from the tulip gardens.

*No attempt is made to truly offend or belittle an actual medical condition that the reader may or may not have. If such offense was taken, we sincerely apologize, advise you to contact the applicable counselor, and avoid contact with this blog post until such phobia has been overcome.

That's Funny - Guest Blogger

There's funny. There's hilarious, and then there's a monkey urinating on the Zambian president. I'm not quite sure where this falls into your comedic scale, but for me it is well into the ninetieth percentile. A brief account from Breitbart.com provides for us a few interesting details including several quotes from President Rupiah Banda himself.

Upon detecting the monkey pee Banda spoke directly to the offending primate who was squatting in an overhead tree. The president proclaimed, “You have urinated on my jacket.” He then turned to the reporters with whom he was speaking and quipped, “I will give this monkey for lunch to Mr. Sata,” speaking of his defeated opponent in the last election. Maybe it's some sort of cultural olive branch to offer someone a monkey for lunch.

I suppose that would be an act of goodwill toward his opponent. Were it to happen in the United States, can you imagine the PETA firestorm that would ensue? That single statement of retribution for “making water” alone would incite protests, especially after our Swatter-in-Chief Obama smacked that annoying fly during an interview a couple of weeks ago.

For me though, the questions around Banda's misfortune are numerous. Does this kind of monkey urine stain? What about the stench? If it were me, I would have to just toss the jacket in the trash and move right along. I'm not trying to have it dry-cleaned. It's going straight to the dumpster.

Last Tuesday I took my kids to the zoo, and we spent the most time watching the monkeys. They were the most aware of our presence of all the animals there. When Faith called, “Boo!” to the baboon, he smiled, not just once but numerous times. The spider monkeys were busy trying to split open oranges and smash bugs against the Plexiglas. They seemed to enjoy an audience and craved attention. When one young boy turned to walk away, the disappointed simian stood on his feet and pressed his entire body against the glass as if to say, “Take me with you!”

Recently seeing this type of harmless mischief, I'm curious as to the possibility of intent. Was our Zambian monkey aiming for the president? If so, did he aim for his coat or did he simply miss the mark intending something a little more sinister?

Forgive me, but was there a splash effect on the neck or back of the head? Because, that would be almost unbearable.

It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. At times that proves true. Yet, even more often than truth being stranger than fiction, I have found that truth is more amusing than fiction. The success of America's Funniest Videos proves this on a daily basis. Comedians make their living bringing humor out of everyday events. The Bible tells us, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Reader's Digest agrees with God's Word by having an entire section devoted to thigh-slappers entitled Laughter, the Best Medicine.

With all the tension in today's political realm, maybe we should just import some wild animals to Washington DC and, if you will, let nature take its course.

Written by Michael Andrzejewski for the LaGrange Daily News.

Madrid ~ Day 1 Photo Journey

Praise the Lord for a safe, tranquil flight!


Dani Joy, Ashley, Pilar and myself. Brief meeting at the airport. Pilar was going to come with us on our trip to Madrid, but decided to make a quick trip to The States instead. Our planes crossed paths in the Madrid airport, so I was able to meet her in person!

Told you where you'd find us gals!!

Self photos...got to love em.

Wow!! BBQ sauce! If I had any more room in my luggage I would have bought all 3 flavors!

What's this guy's problem?

Don't ask me what this was called....I called it good!

This lady sprayed herself with something nasty and sat like a statue in the sun wanting people to put money in her pot. Yeah, right.

When I think of Spain, this is what I think of.

And this lady?!? Okay...whatever....


Have a great week everyone....more pictures to come.


Nina

Count Down Begins....

I have less than 24 hours before I leave for Madrid. I'm busy packing, making meals for my family and weighing my bag over and over again. It's amazing how quickly I put 10 kilos in my bag. My bag alone weighs almost 2!!

So for now I'll leave you with a few pictures.

The next time I post it will be done from Madrid! Have a great week!

Nina

Longings & Lazy Lounging

A few things I miss about America. Specifically...the south.


1) grits

2) skin-so-soft used as a bug repellent

3) Huge, ginormous watermelons

4) tanning beds & pedicures

5) Mexican, Japanese and Mediterranean restaurants

6) pepperoni

7) Diet. Dr. pepper

8) consignment shops & thrift stores

9) my friends and family

10) choirs singing

11) ladies retreats........ohhh....but get this.....

Next Tuesday morning I'll board a budget airline flight to Madrid, Spain where I'll spent three days and two restful nights with my friend and fellow missionary wife, Dani Joy.



Sounds fancy, doesn't it?

Well, my plane ticket costs less than $20. I can't check any luggage. I'm almost certain that I'll not get any peanuts or soft drinks. I'll probably have to sit in some one's lap. I just hope they can afford to put enough fuel in the plane. (I mean seriously...how can an airline survive charging such ridiculously low fares?!) With toll roads and $8 a gallon gas....it's silly to not fly.

I'm not complaining, mind you...it's just a thought. For a consignment shop-thrift store shopping gal....this is my type of airline! Forget the thrills, just give me cheap!

My 1 cabin bag can weigh up to 22 pounds and must contain my purse, laptop and anything that I'll be taking. Oh, and it can only be so big...like the size of a back pack.



It's a good thing that I'm not high maintenance.

Must haves for my trip:

1)camera
2)laptop
3)toothbrush
4)clean undies
5)wi-fi capable hotel room

Just give me technology, and I'm good to go. That's not high maintenance, is it?




Enjoy these beautiful pictures of Madrid, and pretend that I took them. Pretend I did all the sight seeing there is to do in such a grand city.

Because in reality, you'll find my friend and I sitting in a Starbucks sipping frapuccinos & giggling. Or maybe even in the hotel room at 2:00 pm eating breakfast in our pj's. (I'll spare you those pictures)

When I say restful.... that's exactly what I mean.

But you know me, I'll probably manage to get a few pictures in... ;)



So don't go judging me. This trip is costing less than your average trip to Wal-Mart. Cheap travel between European countries is one of the perks of living over here.

But remember....I don't have Krispy Kreme.

(I'd trade you any day)