Graduations!!

Here are some pictures from Colony's graduation (Tuesday night) and IDEA (homeschool) graduation tonight. I was taking company to the airport Wedensday night and missed Wasilla's graduation or they would be on here too!

Girls that graduated from CHS were Johanna, Miranda, Hannah, Emily, Elizabeth, Natalie, and Erin. Girls that graduated from IDEA were Diana, Tabitha, Arianna, Becky, and Cathy. Diana sang a solo "Legacy" by Nicole Nordaman. Ya, my eyes were a little damp during that and when Cathy walked across the stage to hug her mom and dad. We (Amanda and I) have truly phenomenal young women in our group.

Enjoy the pics!

...the end of a chapter

May has been a crazy busy month, this year more so than in years past. I've had fun company from out of state visit (Carrie and then Kari and Danita), finished another season of coaching track, competed in my 3rd Gold Nugget Triathlon, watched my senior girls graduate from high school and wrapped up 5 years of speech pathology in the school district. It's been a bit of a blur and full of emotion to say the least.

It's a little surreal to think that so much is going to be changing in the next two months. My girls will head off to various places to start college for the first time. I will be heading to the deep south to go back to school myself. It's a bitter sweet time in life. I'm excited to see where all my girls go and how God will use them to bless others. I'm also excited to know what he has in store for me.

I remember writing in my journal at the end of grad school 5 years ago about a chapter ending as I prepared to head back to Alaska. I had no idea then what these past five years had in store. I would have never guessed I'd get involved in youth ministry and that a group of teenage girls would have such a profound impact on my life. MY GIRLS have stirred a deep passion in me for ministry. MY GIRLS are part of the reason I am leaving this fall to pursue seminiary and ministry full time. I am forever thankful to God that he brought me back here and allowed my life to become so intertwined wih theirs. I can only imagine what HE has in store next! I have been blessed EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTY beyond what I ever hoped or imagined these past five years!

headin' down south...

I have some exciting long awaited news to share. I am going to be going to Columbia International Seminary this fall! YES, I will be living SOUTH and in the HEAT and HUMIDITY!! After much prayer and feedback...or lack of feedback from schools God has made it abundantly clear that this is the direction to head. I've been accepted to their two year program, MA in Intercultural Studies. I'll be getting in touch with my advisor, housing, etc. in the coming days. Columbia was initially recommended to me by a TEAM staff at a missions workshop I attended two years ago now. After going to seminars at Urbana led by Columbia staff and emailing staff over the past few weeks I am impressed with their focus on the Bible and Missions. I'll share more as things get worked out, but wanted to give you the latest breaking news in that realm of my life. I am bummed Sarah and Ashley will be moving back to AK this summer!! For those who have been praying for me in this regard, THANK YOU!!

more prom!

A few more shots to show the detail of the girl's dresses. :) Erin is in orange, Emily is in green, Hannah, Miranda and Stacey are the trio picture.

Captain Cook

So Sarah and I tried to be somewhat incognito as we walked around the perimeter of the dance floor. Some of our guy students were not overly excited to see their youth leaders at prom. We told them their parents were paying us big money to supervise and take notes. They didn't think we were so funny. Ha! We DID however get shots of all our youth kids there that night and they look AWESOME!! We're tempted now to do this for Wasilla's prom at the end of the month. Being school district employees pays off! Their prom was at the Captain Cook, a hotel in down town Anchorage. I recall having both my proms in our school gym. Interesting thing this year, Wasilla's is in the gym again but costs more than Colony's at the Captain Cook. Hmmmm, go figure! It was fun just to see the variety of dresses there. Seems to be the going fashion right now is sleek, form fitting, low/open backs. There were a few princess, big foof dresses, but the 80s hasn't made a full come back yet!

In all the CHS students there were, Dave Crozier, Nate VanNorwick, Jeremy Burris, Xiavier, Emily, Johanna, Erin, Elizabeth, Natalie, Stacey, Miranda and Hannah.

Picture explanation, the couple is Natalie and her boyfriend Xavier. To the right is Elizabeth and the group shot from left to right is me, Emily, Erin, Johanna, Miranda, Hannah, Stacey and Elizabeth.

Bacon bits!

While we were immersed in prom primping, the "Bacon bits," were great at entertaining themselves. When Morgan got tired of playing "sincess" with all her dolls she dove into wrestling with Drew and Gavin...taking off her "sincess" dress, tira, and shoes so she could be like the boys...shirtless. Really dresses just get in the way of flipping over couches and tackling brothers. She cracked me up!

Dan and Bri's wedding

Dan and Brianna (both junior youth leaders) were married Saturday afternoon. Their junior guys were the ushers. Cathy and Anna Winter were two of the bridesmaids along with Bri's cousins Jenny Lynn and Laura Beth and her older sister. Cathy was the first bridesmaid to enter and Amanda and I both did a double take. She looked absolutly stunning! Cathy is an all 'round amazing woman of character. She blows me away with her constant kindness, generosity, positive attitude and perseverence. For those who don't know her, you're missing out! This is was a big day for her in many ways.

Dan and Bri are two of the happiest people on the planet right now. They are a perfect match!

prom!

Saturday night was Colony's Jr/Sr. prom so Amanda did another beauty day at her house. Johanna, Erin and Elizabeth all came out to her house to get their hair and make-up done. Amanda is FANTASTIC at doing hair! She did all the "primping" and I brought the food to hold us over and of course take pictures!

That afternoon we went to another youth leader's wedding, Dan and Brianna, and then Sarah Novak and I drove in to Anchorage to the Captain Cook to get prom pics of our junior and senior girls and guys. We had a blast! They all looked BEAUTIFUL!!

seminary update

Several people have been asking lately how my plans are coming with seminary. Things are actually a little interesting right now. In January I applied to Moody. I don't usually put all my eggs in one basket, but decided at that time to only apply there and wait to see what their response would be b/c I had my heart set on Moody for several reasons.

The end of February I got an email from them saying they had my entire packet minus one letter of recommendation and they would be in touch with me as soon as it was complete. After spring break, mid March, I decided to call and check on the progress and they had NO record of me in their system anywhere. Hmmmm. They checked all week, I called all that following week and NO record of me ANYWHERE. My check cleared, they had it at one point, but now, nothing. Prior to this I had been praying that God would make it very clear by closing and opening doors as to where to go to school this fall. After this week of phone tag and no paperwork coming up I feel like this may be God's way of closing a door.

This past week I applied to two other schools I had been looking at and one that prior to Urbana wasn't even on my radar. The two I had been considering are Wheaton, just outside Chicago, and Columbia in South Carolina. Columbia is HEAVILY missions minded and is a big draw to me. The third place I applied is Southern Baptist Theological in Kentucky, the seminary my dad and grandfather graduated from...dad 30 years ago and my grandpa 60 years ago.

A little story being Southern. I stopped by their booth at Urbana to get a magnet for my dad as a little alumni souveniere. Of course I got talking with them about my association with the school so I signed their follow up sheet giving them my address and email. Since the conference in December I've gotten 2 phone calls, 4 emails from different departments and 3 letters from various departments following up and asking if I'd be interested in coming to visit. Grant it all schools follow up differently, some more than others, but I found it almost humorous that they have been SO persistent. I even tried to email a response back to one department and it was sent back to me as "undeliverable." Evidently "no" is not the answer for now. SO, I went ahead and applied to their program "Missiology." One of the things I am attracted to about Southern is they have various missions degrees one focusing on the exact things I want to know more about, "Missiology."

Nut shell summary, new schools are in the works and I am excited to see how it will all turn out. I was approved for my year leave of absence from work so I don't have a job for the coming school year. One of those, God knows I just have to step out, be patient and have faith that it will all work out just as he deems best. The south would definitely be a change of pace for a girl who's always lived in COLD places (AK, ND, MN). I'd love your prayers too as I continue to wait!

spanakopita

So I put my culinary skills, or lack there of, to the test again. Tonight was my home group and our food theme was "Greek." A home group is a small-ish group of families from my church that get together regularly, ours is once a month, to fellowship and pray together. I say small-ish b/c our group consists of about 12 families and their children...not so small, but very fun. We meet out at Snyders. Anywhoo, so the theme was Greek tonight and I volunteered to bring spanakopita.

I've never made spanakopita before but I watched Diane and Angelo do it dozens of times when I worked at Evangelos and figured it couldn't be that hard. I called Diana earlier this week to get her authentic Greek recipe and in true Lambernakis fashion she not only gave me her recipe she provided over half the ingredients for me b/c they buy everything cheaper in bulk for the restaurant. Surprisingly I succeeded in making a nice golden brown pan that was completely consumed. For those who are who don't know what spanakopita is it's a spinach pie made with filo pastry dough, fetta, and some other things to spice it up. It was fun to learn a new recipe and have it turn out to be a success! Indian, Greek, maybe I'll move to Japanese next. Got any good easy to whip up recipes Carrie?

a time to celebrate...

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb...My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139:13,15-16

This week has been a week of celebrations. Wasilla boys and girls won the state b-ball tournament this past weekend. Today was my 29th birthday but even more exciting today Marc and Abby Spear met their Chinese daughter Malea for the first time. I could try to recap their blog entry but you should check it out for yourself and hear first hand about their experience (Spear link). It reminds me of my trip back from China a few years ago where 10-12 families were flying back to the U.S. with their new little girls. A sea of joy and mixed emotion. A life changing and life giving experience. Amazing and awesome! I am EXCITED for you Marc and Abby! Blessings on your growing family!

Reading their blog reminded me of God's adoption of US as children of a HEAVENLY FATHER. Malea's adoption, as awesome and life changing as it is is only a drop in the bucket to what we will experience being adopted into heaven to experience ETERNAL life with a God who is crazy unconditionally in LOVE us! We cannot grasp in our finite bodies the depths of his love for us or all that he has in store for us. Psalm 139 came to mind so I added a tid bit above as a reminder of his hand on our lives.

A little less eventful but fun was my birthday celebrated over a period of 3 days. Saturday I had lunch at Evangelos with a bunch of girlfriends. Last night I had dinner, Cold Stone icecream cake, and a couple rounds of "Bohnanza" (thanks again Kari!) with my family. Today I spent the evening with my youth girls out at VanWingerden's cabin having a senior photo shoot. We had a blast! Thanks for giving us your time and talent Marie! Can't wait to see the photos!!

puppies...

This past Friday Martin Boozer, long time Iditorod runner and former champ came to my school to do an assembly on mushing. I met him before hand briefly and was asked to help with part of the "presentation." The admin. secretary and I had the awesome responsibility of bringing in one of his dogs and her 5 puppies half way through his talk. Talk about obedient and kind dogs! No surprise for a man who has made mushing his livelihood. He has anywhere from 70-90 dogs at a time. Right now he's got 87. He trains Alaskan Huskies b/c they are the "Nascar" version of racing dog. Siberian Huskies I learned, are more for show...beautiful but slow-er. This year was his 24th Iditorod! I don't remember how many times he's won, 4 or more but he's always a a top finisher.

We got to sneak a picture at the end before all the kids left the gym and swarmed us! Talk about melt your heart!! What a great way to end the week!

On another note, the highlight of the week/school year was Satuday night. I went to Anchorage with my family...parents and bro (rare occassion) to watch history in the making. Wasilla High girls AND boys won the state basketball championship!! First time in the history of WHS the boys have won and the girls last win was 25 years ago. Sarah Palin, our new Governor, was on the team the year they won, she was at Saturday night's game too to cheer them on. GO WARRIORS!!!

Iditorod

I haven't been to an Iditorod restart in years so I decided to check it out again this year. Marie Lambing and I drove out to Bruce and Rose's cabin on the Deshka to our own little dug out snow spot at mile 6 to watch the teams pass by. I'm not a die hard dog racing fan, but it really is pretty impressive to watch. We cheered on 50 or so of the 88 mushers before heading out...saw some of the big names like Dee Dee, Jeff King, Martin Buser and Doug Swinley.

For those unfamiliar with the Iditorod it's a 1,100 mile dog sled race that goes from Willow (south central AK) up to Nome (northwest AK). Top finishers complete it in just over a week with one mandatory 24 hr. break and two 8 hr. breaks. They start with a team of 18 dogs and usually drop some off to be flown home along the trail. Some teams are down to 12 dogs now.

Part way through Bruce took me out on his snow machine to a cliff overlook spot where we watched them race in the canyon of frozen rivers. The picture is taken right where the Deshka and Su rivers meet. Crazy to think that we boat and fish that in the summer!

All in all it's been a tough year running. Over 19 competetors have scratched with major injuries. Sounds like the trail has been worse than they've seen in years. Hats off to 'em!

problem solved

Good news from the home front, the ice issue has been resolved! Friday afternoon a neighbor, friend and original builder of the home came over with a plumber to fix the pipe. After chipping the ice away with an ax, they found the root of the problem, the summer hose hook up had been left on and at some point came loose enough to allow water flow again. This caused it the big freeze up. Thankfully the first couple inches of pipe were frozen but not cracked. In about a total of 40 minutes they replaced the inner pipe, the handle on the faucet and stuck it all back in the wall...amazing what plumbers can do! So all is well and there should be no flooding at this point!

ice escapade

I've been house sitting a place since October and have gone this entire job without any significant quirks...with the exception of a snowmachine running over the mail box splitting the post and smashing the box in half. The mail box was laid to rest and will have to be replaced when the owners come home. To my relief this has happened before, easy target for speeding snowmachines coming around the corner I guess. The perk for me has been no junk mail.

Anyway, this past Sunday I came upon a rather unusual growth on the side of the house. On the basement level back side of the house as I opened the blinds to let the sun in, I saw an unidentifiable growth sticking out from the wall. I went outside to get a better view and found that somehow the water spigot (hose hook up) had gotten turned on and froze about a foot in width onto and out from the house.

It looks rather specatcular actually, a mini water fall that a midget could ice climb on. The problem is the pipe is likely frozen and will flood the basement come spring. We're currently experience 20 below wind chill so there is no threat of thawing soon, however, I am turning off the well water pump in the morning when I leave for work as a precaution if/when it does thaw. The owners are due back middle of this month so hopefully it will stay frozen for now. They thought the pictures were pretty spectacular too, I'm glad they are easy going!

When life gives you frozen waterfalls...make snow cones! (or turn off your water pump!)

articulation lessons...

It's been awhile since I've blogged so I've got a little catching up to do. A few weeks ago a friend from church called and asked me if I ever did any "language or pronunciation training" or knew of someone who did. She was looking for someone who'd be willing to teach her and 2 of her friends from Columbia to speak better English.

The last time I worked on ESL pronunciation specifically was at St. Cloud State with one of the engineering profs from China. He wanted to speak better English so his students could readily understand him. I recall him bringing fantastically difficult engineering terms to practice that I would have to look up to figure out how to pronounce myself...humbling for both of us I think. We had a great time though!

I kind of felt like God was placing this in front of me as another opportunity to practice what may be coming in my future...even if I don't end up overseas to at least be able to use my training to help people FROM other countries. This past Wednesday was our first "lesson" and we had a blast! Two of the three know English pretty well, one is very new to the U.S. I wasn't exactly sure how far we'd get or how much to prep but after working on consonant sounds we decided to call it a night. I think they were feeling a little overwhelmed by that point. Oh friends, just wait for vowels! Our language is nuts! We have rules for our rules and exceptions to our exceptions. I am excited for our study time together and hope they get something helpful from it! :)

twins!!

Many of you know this exciting news but for those in far away places, Willy and Adrian Shelton had their twin boys this past Monday!! They scheduled a c-section so it was pretty quick and easy as far as labor goes. I had a chance to swing by the hospital later that afternoon to see them and they are INCREDIBLE! Babies truly are miraculous, all their little body parts in tact, 10 fingers, 10 toes, lungs breathing, brains already soaking in the world around them. They are a gift to be treasured!

As I walked in the room Adrian had both boys on a pillow in her lap...all four family members taking a little snooze. As a good friend would do I woke them up and they graciously showed off their new little men. Bitty tiny Joel was born at 4 lbs. and a few ounces and Nathan was born almost twice that size at 7 lb. 12 oz. They are both amazing! When I asked Adrian how she felt her first response was, "I can breath again! It's WONDERFUL!" They got to take them home on Thursday. Blessings on you guys as you raise them to be godly men!

P.S. Will post a picture later!

Toastmasters

A little update on my nerdiness...about a month ago a co-worker of mine asked me if I'd be interested in going to a "Toastmasters" meeting where people work on public speaking, giving speeches, etc. She's looking at going back to school at some point to get her Ph.D and wants the practice for university teaching and I'm looking at going into full time ministry where the opportunities to speak will likely multiply from here. SOOOOO, I said yes and have now given two speeches.

My first speech was an "icebreaker" where I got to sum up who I am in a 3 minute speech. Woohoo! It took me all of 30 minutes to think of my "topic" and write out the speech. Hmmmmmm, any ideas what I talked about?? I gave a nutshell version of my testimony and passion in life, knowing God and making Him known to people of all nations. I don't know if we're supposed to quote scripture being that it's a public/national organization but I had free reign to talk about me so I took advantage of the opportunity!

It's a pretty neat organization, what I know of it thus far. We meet at Windbreak every Tuesday for an hour before work...yes, I get up earlier than sane people do to WILLINGLY learn and practice public speaking, I am a NERD!! Anyway, they accomplish a lot in a short time and give great feedback and advice on how to improve your skills. I critique kid's speech and language all day every day so this has given me a new perspective...it's a little nerve racking being the one critiqued!

Beauty and the Beast

Friday night my parents and I went to the VPA performance of "Beauty and the Beast." I've been to several VPA plays in the past, but this one was all the more exciting b/c I got to see my brother and sister-in-law perform together. Dave's done musical performance in the past...my favorite was his senior year in "Camelot" where he wore tights and ballet shoes!! Yeehaw! He always razed me growing up doing all my ballet performances...tutu's, tights, tiaras, ringlets, but that was HIS time to shine! Anywhoo, I enjoy REMINDING him occassionally of those moments as he is now a police officer. I don't know that Aimy's done a musical performance before, but she sang all through high school and has an incredible voice!

So Dave and Aimy had two roles in the show, towns people and my personal favorite...dancing knives. How, you ask do knives dance?? Excellent question, very CAREFULLY!! During the enchanted object dance, if you've seen the Disney production, the entire kitchen comes alive, they tango together (not to be confused with tengo :)). I was VERY impressed! I'm attaching pictures to capture the moment as best I can seeing as there was no flash photography during the show. If you're in the valley and can get tickets GO!! It is definitely worth it! They have 18 shows left to perform! Awesome job you guys!! We LOVED it!

Grease!

Thursday night was our monthly BUNCO night again. The theme you ask..."Grease," not to be confused with GREECE. I was initially planning on dressing up like a Greek god, but changed my plan when another member the week prior reminded me it was the 50s flavor, John Travolta, sandals and olive leaves were out! We had a blast as usual. More socializing than game playing and the best part...it was out at VanWingerdens. Marie always does a fantastic job decorating b/c she does a photo shoot after. Marie and Carrie are my pre-professional photographer friends. The shot you are admiring however is from my little digital. If I get some pics from Marie later I'll update to better shots. :) Next month is my turn to host and I'm a little at a loss for a good theme...one's that have crossed my mind, March maddness but basketball doesn't really fly with a huge group of girls, GREEN b/c of St. Patricks or ??? Any great ideas, post them as a comment, I am wide open to suggestions!

P.S. If you can't make it out, that is Marie applying gobs of hot pink lipstick! She's a die hard girly girl deep down!

Psalm 51

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin...Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51

This was written by a guy named David shortly after he was confronted by a friend for committing adultery with another man's wife, a man he later murdered to cover up the mess he got himself into. David's name means "a man after God's own heart." A man after God's own heart?? How did he earn THAT name??? He didn't earn it and it wasn't by mistake that he got the name. God had chosen to use David to do mighty things, and he DID, even amidst his failings. He was a king, a father, an heir to Jesus. One of the things that set David apart from other men of his time that participated in the same sins was his repentant and teachable heart. He WAS a man after God's heart and he sought hard after God. He sought forgiveness.

My old college roommate (graphic art minor) painted this picture to portray the meaning of this chapter and the healing that takes place when, after messing up, we PRAY to be made new, steadfast, washed, cleansed from our sin. More than anything else the God who created us longs to have a right relationship with us, to extend his grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Going through life by far it has been the times when I've messed up, been broken and embarrassed by the sin in my life that God has been most glorified. It's been in those times and moments when He used my human-ness to be an encouragement to someone else or a testimony of His provision and healing. What a beautiful portrayal of this passage. A man being made new with a steadfast spirit, given a new heart that is even bigger than before not inspite of having sin but through the healing and forgiveness from sin that comes when we ask. God doesn't need "perfect" people to do good works for him. He IS perfect and has that piece under control. He needs people who are broken, made humble and teachable. As a dear friend said recently to me, "I don't need a God who will protect me, love me, do good things for me (although those are nice and God DOES do those things). I need a SAVIOR. Someone who loves me enough to save me from the sin in my life." It is by GRACE we have been saved, not by works lest any man boast. Where would we be without grace? Praise you Lord for your abundant GRACE!

Hummer Time!

Last night we had a senior youth girl sleepover at my place. It was a smaller group b/c of holiday plans, activities, sports but we had a blast. Food was plentiful and constant, socks were exchanged (new ones) in a Chinese auction, games were played and chick flicks ran into the wee morning hours. I introduced them to "Bohnanza" an addictive card game my old college roommate sent me a couple Christmases ago, thanks Kari! Ella, we played it this summer when I was down. It's comparative in some ways to slow motion version of "Pit." By 2 a.m. it was getting hysterical! Inhibitions are significantly decreasing by that time and manifest themselves very differently in different girls. Mayerly for instance reminded me of Dori from "Finding Nemo," not a clue what was going on when her turn came around, Elizabeth Golter on the other hand was in prime lawyer negotiation mode and a bit on the aggressive side, myself...totally calm and rational! HA, right!!

A funny ending, May and Natalie left to go home (just a mile down the road) and ended up high centered in the ditch and stuck for a good while waiting for assistance. Natalie's dad came to the rescue but to no avail, May's blazer was STUCK! But lo, just as all seemed lost, a neighbor drove by in his hummer. The true test of a hummer's stellar ability was put to the test and yes he succeeded in getting her out...after a couple tries. Impressive to see a Hummer actually put to the test. As they worked at getting the vehicle unstuck, I stood by ready with my camera to get some good shots for our senior slide show coming up this spring. Thanks for being a good sport Mayerly!

I'll add more pics later when my computer can process faster!

St. Louis

Imagine yourself in a football stadium with 22,000 other people from all 50 states and over 120 foreign countries singing songs in unison, dancing, and cheering in the new year...that was how I celebrated New Years this year, an unforgettable experience! In my last post I mentioned going to a missions conference in St. Louis, MO. In a nut shell, it is a FULL 4.5 days of speakers, seminars, bible study, worship, and prayer.

It's tough to summarize in a short blog post so I'll share a couple personal highlights. During the seminars (I chose most of mine from the "missions 101" track focusing on going overseas) something God confirmed or affirmed to me was to move forward with pursuing seminary. I don't know that God will take me overseas full time to work with a specific people group at this point but I am going to press forward in the direction until/unless he clearly closes that door. A few years ago I went on a trip overseas and God impressed the need I have personally to get solid Bible training before moving forward long term. One of the speakers at a seminar iterated the importance (criticalness) of this as well.

Long story short, Lord willing I will be going to seminary this coming fall either in Illinios or South Carolina to get a Masters in Biblical Studies. My first choice/desire for school would be at Moody Bible in Chicago, but we'll see how everything shakes out here in the next couple months as I apply. I don't have all the long term details worked out...finances being a biggie to me, but that also is something I need to lay before God and have faith that He will provide. Having just paid off all my loans this summer from grad school I don't want to jump back in to a debt situation. There are a lot of options I'm checking into to keep from having that again...working part time as an SLP being one. Wouldn't that be a change of pace, small school in Wasilla to an inner city school in Chicago?? The country mouse goes metro.

Another awesome blessing that week was my roommates. I shared a hotel room with 3 phenomenal women all in their late 20s early 30s, career stage life. We bonded immediately and had a BLAST together!! That is, when we saw each other...at night for our prayer and debriefing times and for a short morning session. Once our days started we'd all split and go to various sessions and not usually see each other again until we got back (via bus shuttle) to our hotel. Karen is a psychiatrist in New York City, Mari lives in Toronto doing administrative work for a medical clinic and Misty is a mechanic in South Dakota! I loved sharing and praying with you all! Blessings on your future decisions!

Urbana

Some of you have probably heard of or even been to Urbana in years past. Urbana is a huge triannual missions conference put on my InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. It used to be held in Urbana, IL but is moving this year to St. Louis, MO to allow for more space. I got a flyer in the mail this past spring and was really impressed to go, personally not by any particular group or person. I registered in May and have been eagerly awaiting getting to go since then. It goes from Dec 27th-Jan 1st. There are hundreds of mission agencies, missionaries, and seminaries there. It is geared for college and career age people interested in missions.

I'm excited to go and am praying for some good connections/info while I'm there b/c I know it will be overwhelming with SO much there. I'll be rooming in a nearby hotel with 3 other girls from across the country. One is a psychiatrist from NY! Crazy the people you meet! I'll fill you in more when I get back. Please pray for safe travel/connections and health over the next week. I woke up yesterday feeling sick so I'm trying to soak in as much sleep as possible before I fly out Tuesday night!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

traditions...

Christmas is usually filled with traditions for most of us. One of our long standing family traditions is to make and decorate sugar cookies and watch It's a Wonderful Life together on Christmas Eve. There is the blending of traditions this year with Dave and Aimy getting married...sharing family time. Soooo, we did our Christmas Eve Friday night. Mom, dad and I went over to Dave and Aimy's to eat dinner, Papa Murphey's pizza, make our cookies and watch the classic story of It's a Wonderful Life. Aimy, I've found out, is equally as stoked about Christmas as my family, loves decorating, etc. and we had a GREAT time making cookies! It was surprisingly a lot more mellow than in years past. Usually flower ends up all over me and not to be outdone, flower ends up all over Dave. Maybe having a wife will change things up? Dave did comment that he LOVES not having to Christmas shop anymore! He only has to shop for Aimy and she does the rest and ENJOYS it! All you guys out there reading this probably agree. :)

Progressive Dinner

Tonight was our last youth group of the year...2006 that is. Instead of having a regular worship and lesson time we had a "bondfire" night...our choice to do something fun together. Our group of seniors had a progressive dinner and it was a blast! We started at the Greenstreets for appetizers, salsa/cheese dip with chips then moved to my parent's house for the main course, mexican chili mountains the out to Bacons to wrap it all up with desert, root beer floats and other baked yummies. It's been a loooooong time since I've done a dinner like that, I forgot how much fun it is! This week is finals and the end of 2nd quarter, half the year is over, unbelievable!!

keepin' it light

This year I thought it'd be fun to do a little somethin' different for school pictures so I talked to our specialist group (librarian, music and PE teachers) about dressing up for the occassion. They were a little hesitant at first but went with it each dressing up to represent their profession. As you can see the music teacher is Cher (sp?), the PE teacher is a hockey player, the librarian is Dr. Seuss and I am a communication specialist of course! The head phones are for good listening, lips accentuate good speaking, however they pose a challenge to speak with, the picture strip for you speech paths out there is my augmentative communication "time for speech," and the ASL sign for "I love you!"

The afro has no correlation it's merely to spice it all up. It DOES however do wonders for spontaneous communication with low language kids. I wore it last year for a crazy hair day. One of my students with autism came to speech that day and stopped in the doorway carefully assessing the situation. His comment as he stood bewildered was, "Miss Eller...you're just...you're just...freakin' me out!" Very socially appropriate, spontaneous AND he made eye contact (three in one, a home run)!! Something to try in the therapy room for those of with nonverbal kiddos! Maybe afros should be part of the Super Duper therapy materials under social language. :)

pj bunko night

Thursday was our monthly bunko night again. The theme you ask?? Pajama night! I am all about being comfy! We met up at Bacons for the extravaganza...fellowship, dice rolling (mindless game), eating (of course), and gabbing. December we do a sock exchange. Can you guess which socks I happened to get?? But of course, John Deere! I won most bunkos too and got a purple knit hat and gloves to match! If you've been following the bunko posts last month two players were 9 mos. pregnant so we had two additions playing this time, Noah Kroon and Olivia Peppard. Total cutie pies!

army garb...

My cousin Beth is currently in Houston, TX for military training. She is a II Lt. RN among several other abbreviations now...I can't keep up! Anywhoo, part of her PT attire is the fancy reflective "ARMY" T and construction worker reflective belt. She posted a picture, similar to this one on her blog a few months ago and I had a little fun commenting on the great attire. Not wanting to leave me out, as a fellow runner in training (definitely not for the military though!)she thoughtfully sent me my OWN PT uniform. For how riduculous this may look to some I am excited to have it! There's also a giant reflective triangle on the back of the shirt. The U.S. Army doesn't want any PT casualties. This AK runner will now be less likely to become a road casualty as well...in the summer when it warms up 40-60 degrees! Thanks for the gear Beth, you're the best!

Maxwell wedding

Over Thanksgiving weekend Rachel Parker and Ben Maxwell tied the knot! They were married in our new building, a gymnasium currently. It was a beautiful ceremony...I can't imagine a Parker wedding not being beautiful, they do it right! Rachel was very ill leading up to the ceremony, but the Lord gave her strength and stamina to get through it and we all had a great time celebrating. God is good! They are VERY happy. :)