Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Some Questions

Why is it that running errands makes me feel ridiculously grown up?
I mean, I practically am grown up (although I discovered the other day that I can't rent a car) but really, I feel like even when I'm forty-five, I'll feel incredibly grown up when I have to "run to the grocery store" or "swing by the post office."
Actually, will there even be post offices when I'm forty-five?  I sure hope so.

Is anyone else obsessed with the numbers on their odometer?

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Oh you're not?  Well, you have to admit that it was pretty cool that I caught both of these.
Or am I the only one excited about this?


Okay.  That's all.  Just some ramblings for you.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Why I Love Kids

I was laying here on my bed balancing my checkbook against my bank statement, and one of the littles who stays in my house frequently sat next to me for a little while and observed what I was doing.  She watched me from all angles, dramatically craning her neck around to get an exact image in her head of what I was doing, then left.
About five minutes later she came back with a piece of paper that had scribbles of various sizes, and the exact notations I use on my bank statement.
She showed it to me and said, "See, Esther. You gave me the idea."
Then, when she ran out of space to write anymore on that paper she went to get a new one with the words "I need to go get another bank account."
And she sat concentrating solely on that bank account for much longer than I concentrated on mine.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

This

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made me incredibly happy today.  I actually drove home in it with the windows down.  We needed this so much.
Thank you Jesus for answering our prayers!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

About Two Weeks Ago

Christa and I road tripped it across the Muddy Mississippi and the Chattahoochee (and countless other rivers with less memorable names) and a few states to visit the lovely Wilson family.

Seriously some of my favorite people.

It was possibly the best vacation I've ever taken, mostly because we didn't have any sort of schedule, although we did have a list of things to do.  We slowly checked each item off our list, but didn't feel rushed or anything.  The lack of a rushed feeling may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that there was a small child in our company who required two naps a day in his own home, so that forced ("forced" here should be read as "allowed") us to have lots of rest time.  It was fantastic.

In fact, we had so much fun that we completely forgot the biggest goal for the trip.  We had spent months saying there was no way we would get this close to the East Coast and not see it.  Well, we realized when we stopped in Montgomery, AL for lunch that we hadn't even thought about going to the coast the whole time we were there.
We were just having too much fun!

And now, without further ado, let me present you with some pictures.

Two cheerful girls in a car.  Don't worry, we're at a stop light, I promise!

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The Big River

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The lovelies we visited . . . Hope Brett doesn't mind the term . . .

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The first two things we met at Ft. Benning: a fantastic Sunset and some awesome Fireworks

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I was quite impressed with the talents of the Georgian sky.
And then we went to the boardwalk in Columbus on the actual Fourth of July for a little festival action.
The view from the Boardwalk was so pretty, I couldn't resist capturing it.

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We decided it was definitely a good plan to return for the fireworks, so we loaded up and went to a fancy restaurant and then found the perfect spot from which to watch the fireworks . . .

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Or so we thought.

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Turns out there was a giant building in our way because the fireworks were not, in fact, over the river as we thought they would be.  Plus, three of us were stuck elsewhere looking for funnel cakes.  So when the giant human stampede came past, we were rather separated and concerned about each other.
Oh, you mean I didn't mention the fact that about a hundred people came running past us during the fireworks screaming that there was a gun?
Well, they did.
Yeah, the second fireworks show definitely didn't out-do the first . . .
Although there was a beautiful old train running on a bridge above us as we walked back to the car . . .

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And then, the next morning, we took a lovely walk around the base (well, not the whole thing because it is HUGE) and I found such lovely things as Rainbow Street and this community-ish tire swing.  I really couldn't find a single house with which the swing was connected!

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Later that day we visited this FANTASTIC museum which I definitely want to go to again.  It was too dark inside to take many pictures, but it had several galleries, one dedicated to each major war the infantry has participated in.

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In the entrance there is this statue, whose name I cannot remember. Joe, maybe?  Anyway, he's a famous real live infantryman and he's shouting "Follow Me!" which is the infantry's slogan or something.

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That evening, Christa and I babysat this little cutie so his parents could go out on a little date . . . to Walmart (oh, and an Indian food place).

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Then, the next day we watched some guys (and girls) jump out of planes.

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And then we went to another museum.  This time the Civil War Naval Museum.  It was incredible!  I'm a little bit of a Civil War Buff, but I'd never really learned much about the Navy.  Man, the things they could do on the water back then were amazing!
We went on a real Ironclad

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And Ransom read the information to us

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With a little slapping of the signage for emphasis.

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Psalm 122:1 & Acts 27:29

Psalm 122:1
"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD!'"
Acts 27:29
"And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come."

I was so blessed in prayer meeting tonight.  I am fully glad that I am here, right here where I need to be, for the summer, because I have the house of the Lord to go to every Sunday and Wednesday.
Every summer I was at camp and away from home, there would be a point when I felt a need, a pull to the house of the Lord which I couldn't respond to because I was busy all day.
I was doing the Lord's work and He was there right beside me the whole time, holding me up and whispering encouragement through a beautiful sky or the pure smile of a child or a verse on the wall of the Pots & Pans room, but I needed to go to His house sometimes.
Camp is a place that I truly love, but the Mission is a place that I truly love as well and I am glad that I can cast my anchors there when I fear running aground.

But you know who I miss?  My sister (you would get a link if there was something to link to) and this girl.
To you two:
I love you both.
We had Bible Study yesterday and something was missing.  That something was you two.
I was on campus yesterday running errands and wishing I could meet you two for lunch.
Tonight I cast anchors for both of you.  Everyone at the Mission cast anchors for you.
My heart is torn in between two places right now.  I think it's clear by now where those two places are.
I can't wait to see you, and I will soon.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Could This Day Get Any Weirder?

I just commented on somebody's blog and the little word verification thingie was literally jujywar, as in Jujyfruits, but not.

Earlier today I was at the dentist's office and literally broke down and started crying because I felt like I can't afford to get my wisdom teeth out right now.
Really Esther?  Yes.  Really.
The thing is, I don't cry in front of people unless they're super special to me.  I'm really very comfortable with my dentist.  I don't have the dentist fear that everyone else seems to be plagued with.  But comfortable enough to cry in front of him?  As in ugly sobs, tears and mascara mingling kind of crying.
Yeah.  It was really weird.

Then, after my dentist appointment, I went to McDonald's to run through the drive-thru for a quick lunch.  And these two boys in their trucks decided it was a good idea to have a let's-see-who-can-rev-their-engine-the-loudest contest right there in the drive-thru.  One in front of me and one behind.  I couldn't hear the person in the drive-thru who was taking my order and she certainly couldn't hear me.
Now, I'm fine with people revving their engines in a normal going-down-the-street kind of environment, although it really doesn't impress me much.  But doing it in the drive-thru is just inconsiderate.
My blood sugar was already low and I was on-edge emotionally (per the last paragraph), so I might or might not have said into the drive-thru speaker (okay, maybe yelled) "I'm sorry, can you hear me?  Because there are some people out here being VERY rude and EXTREMELY loud!"
And those kids could definitely hear me because my outburst was in a moment when both of them were paused, but they just kept it up.  They did this literally for three minutes. And I was stuck in the drive-thru.  Couldn't get out because they were on either side of me and neither one of them was going to move until they established a winner for their little contest.
People these days are ridiculous.

Then I went to Walmart.  This is the point where you should gasp in feigned shock.
How could anything weird happen at Walmart?
I got everything I needed and made it to the checkout line with no mishaps.  Then, there was this VERY strange old man in line behind me who was acting like he'd known me all his life.  At first I thought, well, he's probably harmless.  I'll just chat with him.  Then he brushed my butt with his hand, clearly on purpose.
That is not what I call harmless.
At this juncture, I conveniently noticed that I'd lost my wallet.
It was convenient because it got me away from Creepy Old Man, but it was rather disturbing, because I truly had no idea where it was.
The first place I thought to look was in my car, and before you get really concerned, don't worry.  It was there, safe and sound.
But I almost wasn't safe and sound.
As I was walking to my car, I noticed one of those crazy evangelists standing in the parking lot yelling things like "America is going to Hell!" VERY loudly.  I was slightly distracted by him, as was the lady who nearly backed over me while making her way out of her parking spot.  It was really a close call.
Scared me.
Scared her too.
Then Evangelist Man jumped in a truck, and picked up none other than Creepy Old Man at the front of Walmart.
I am not lying to you.

It has been a weird day.  But I am recovering in my happy place and have even started to laugh at almost everything that happened so far. Oh Texas, I would have stayed in Georgia if I'd known the kind of hospitality you'd show me when I got back.
Speaking of which, don't worry, you will still get a run-through of the trip complete with photos.  I'm currently working on figuring out how to make photos show up bigger on my blog.

Be Happy Everyone!