A Florida Christmas

It was wonderful to be home for Christmas. Mom encouraged all of us to take lots of pictures because at the end of the week we were going to scrapbook as a family. All 6 of us created a page for our new annual Christmas scrapbook. Each of our pages looked creative in different ways.

I've grown up in with warm Christmases. I've never thought going to the beach on Christmas day was a strange event. Well, when I went home this year I just couldn't believe that we went to the beach on the 25th!

Another thing I noticed during vacation was the safety in my home town. I hadn't realized how much I need to think about safety in Philly. I found it quite refreshing to be able to leave the front screen door open while I was home, not having to lock the car door for a quick trip into the store and not having to be painfully aware of my surrounds all the time. I was able to breath easier.

The West coast Linde's came for a few days. On Christmas day, my dad made arrangements so we each had a bike. The 12 Linde's went for a nice ride. It was so fun! The weather was perfect. My skin hasn't seen the sun in so long my shoulders got quite burned.

Other Christmas break highlights:

• Sara dyed my hair- twice!
  
• Went to the gym with my buff brother
  
• Sale shopping was a must
  
• Lot of yummy food including our yearly Swedish tradition of meatballs and Yule kaka (bread)
• Matching sister shirts (see above pic)
  
• More memories here
  

Ebola Outbreak in Uganda on WHM website.

Want to donate to the Africa Response Fund?

Brokenness

The last two weeks have been full of brokenness. There have been daily, even hourly reminders that we live in a very fallen world. I've always known we live in a broken world but it's hitting close to home. I want this to be an honest and yet hopeful post so I'm not going to run through the list of reminders of this broken world. In the midst extreme sadness, confusion and tiredness I know God is who he says he is. I know the Holy Spirit is giving us grace to make it through each moment. A friend reminded us this morning at staff prayer that when life doesn't make sense at deep, deep levels, we can only run to Jesus because he has the words of life. John 6: 68-69 says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." It's King Jesus who hangs on to us when our faith is weak.

Many of you have heard about the Ebola epidemic in Uganda. Our WHM team has been greatly affected. The tone at home office is heavy, sad and clinging to Jesus and his promises. I greatly encourage you to read the blog of the doctors who have stayed in Bundibugyo to help with the Ebola epidemic. Their children and the rest of team were evacuated to Kampala earlier this week. Each post is powerful. Click here for the blog link: Myhre's blog

Last night Rachel and I were at Young Lives Club. I said hi to a friend and they asked how I was doing. I can't lie when life is rough. I don't have the gift of faking it so I said I was tiered and worn out from seeing all the brokenness in the world. They wrote me an encouraging email later that night. "You are at the point where your gifts will not help, but his Grace will be sufficient for you. Without ignoring the pain or denying the weight you carry for yourself, your friends, Uganda, your missionaries-- God is placing you right where he wants you-- naked before him, open to the cold-- ready to rest in the warm blanket of his embrace... Monica, go there!

Tears came to my eyes as I read these words. God will still use my gifts in the midst of the sadness but I'm realizing that my gifts won't fix the problems, pain and sadness. The graphic picture of my expose before God was hard to read and yet beautiful. I can be as I am before him and he loves me. May He give each of us the strength to "go there" with him.

Thanksgiving in Philly

Thanksgiving dinner was small and wonderful. Christie came from Florida and Brooks came from Boston. Janine, a dear friend from work, came as well. We had a boxed and canned Thanksgiving dinner. We splurged on the ham and bought a real honey baked ham. Delicious!















Brooks playing the guitar at our cousin's house


Will's (my cousin) 2 of 3 daughters















Christie showed Olivia how to play a duet









More Thanksgiving pictures here.

A Marshmallow World

Usually I show great restraint in listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. This year is different. Bethany and I are the only staff in the MOB department today. She had Pandora Macy's Holiday mix on her computer. I gave her a hard time about it but within 10 minutes I was listening to Christmas music. So much for restraint! A Marshmallow
World by Frank Sinatra is one of those happy, get-you-in-the-mood-for-
the-holidays songs.

Christie (sister) and Brooks (cousin) come to Philadelphia tomorrow to share Thanksgiving with me. My friend, Janine, from WHM will join us for Thanksgiving dinner. She and I went grocery shopping yesterday. Our theme is "Boxed and Canned." No fresh or homemade dishes allowed! I'm looking forward to a relaxing Thanksgiving dinner at my house with family and a good friend.

God is good. All the time, God is good. Happy Thanksgiving!

Parking Tickets

My sister, Sara, and I chatted a few minutes last night. We decided parts of center city Philly are so look nice because the city gives out lots of parking tickets. Ask Sara sometime about her ticket adventures in Philly because she got a few tickets and was only here 2 months.

I contested a parking ticket last week for a ticket I got about a month ago. They forgave the ticket! Yeah! The story: On a beautiful Saturday morning, I went to the South Philly Aveda Institute to get my haircut. One of the girls ran out to feed my meter. There was a parking ticket on my windshield with FOUR minutes still on the meter! She returned to tell me, I quickly paid for the haircut and ran out to my car. I spent 45 minutes looking for a meter maid.

The ticket was only $26 but still- it was an unfair $26. Lesson learned: take a picture with my camera phone to prove I had 4 minutes left on the meter.

Last night I was in Manayunk and happened to find a meter that was broken so I got 2 1/2 hours of free parking. Thanks, Philly!

Living Sacrifices & Love

Romans 12 is the chapter that I'm reading these days. The themes are living sacrifices and love. As I read it this morning I was hit with how impossible it is to live this chapter out without the Holy Spirit. Who wants to be a living sacrifice? That sounds painful. It calls for constantly laying down our lives for others. I'm called to be "joyful in hope... patient in affliction... faithful in prayer... live in harmony with one another... if at all possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." My heart is not responding to these words this morning. It's too hard. I don't have the strength to do these things. I know in my heart that I'm never able to do these things in my own strength but I trick myself into thinking it's in my strength that I lay down my life and love others. Holy Spirit, I need you to invade my dead heart today.

Will Fall truly come this year?

Global warming- the leaves are FINALLY starting to turn. Guess how warm it is outside though? 75 to 80 degrees everyday! It's crazy to see leaves turning and being outside in a tank top and flip flops.

I'm thankful Winter will be shorter this year but I'm going to be sad if we only have two weeks of fall. The switch has been made: winter clothes are in my closet and dresser and the summer clothes are packed away in the basement.

This is a picture from my front porch- our leaves haven't turned much yet but our street will be beautiful when the trees are full of color.

Went to a friend's house for a fun Friday night. Guess what we started doing after dinner? You'll never guess so I'll tell you. We colored. That's right, Jennifer is into art these days and she bought professional level pastels, water colors and colored pencils. We colored for a while- it was so relaxing. My picture was a Florida tropical scene including palm tree, sand, water, sharks and a bright sun. After our art session was over we watched Dirty Filthy Love. It was a 2007 Sundance movie. The preview made it sound hilarious and light. In reality, it was slightly depressing. The main character has turrets syndrome and also has a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. During the movie I felt I had OCD and turrets. Needless to say, not a good feeling. This movie is still haunting Jennifer.

My next post may deal with life instead of movies. :-)

A friend and I went to see Across the Universe last night. We didn't have plans after dinner and thought we'd go see a movie. I always plan ahead when I go to a movie but last night we drove by a few theaters to see what and when they were playing movies and then picked one. Thankfully, the Ritz theaters in Philly are close together. We killed an hour before the movie started.

Ever since I saw the preview for Across the Universe I was excited to see it. The movie exceeded my expectations! I recommend this movie. I was worried that the movie was going to be depressing because it was about star crossed lovers during the Vietnam war. I was also worried that they weren't going to use the Beatles' songs wisely and well. Boy was I wrong. The movie was a beautiful musical that used the songs ingeniously. The timing and rhythm throughout the movie was beautiful. I'm not an excellent movie critic so I found a review that phrases my thoughts well.

One of my favorite scenes was when Jim Sturgess sings Strawberry Fields Forever. It's an emotional scene as Jim creates art using strawberries that , like his heart, are depicted as bleeding.

Watch it. You won't be disappointed.

Fun Quiz

My friend showed me this website by HG- TV. You can go to their website and take their 10 question quiz. Then they tell you your decorating style. Fun.

They said I'm Ethnic Eclectic...

Your style is a mix of bohemian chic and contemporary ethnic flair. Whether you travel extensively or shop locally, chances are good that your home is filled with a collection of interesting accessories. By contrast, a neutral color scheme and furniture with simple lines is the best backdrop to accentuate your most colorful pieces. To achieve this mix-and-match design style, look to nature. "The concern with the environment is playing a big role in interior design trends – from colors you find in nature, to high-end natural fibers in wall coverings, to exotic woods and stone being used throughout the home," says Denise Turner, an interior designer in Alta Loma, California. It's all about simple lines and natural materials as a backdrop for your collectables and artwork.

Rach and I were honored to hang out with Ben's for his last night in the US of A. Good conversation at Tierra Colombiana for drinks.
Three of the four guys going to London. The other Ben hopes to join Ben, Adam and Daniel in a month or so. This picture was taken at the Jenkintown train station just before they boarded for the trip to the Philly airport.

Interactive map of violence in Philly

Very interesting...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/special/violence/

Recent Movies Watched

Last night I finished Philadelphia. It's the first Hollywood movie that dealt with AIDS in America. Tom Hanks plays a homosexual lawyer with AIDS. Denzel Washington plays the reluctant lawyer to advocate Hank's case. Powerful & real... it's an excellent movie! It won a few Oscars in 1993.

The Ten- a movie I watched last week with my new roommates. It's comprised of 10 short stories inspired by, not based, on the Ten Commandments. Overall, this movie is crude & sacrilegious. The cast is good and the movie is hilarious at parts and keeps your attention. I don't recommend this movie. Maybe I'm not cultured enough or don't know how to better interpret this movie. Thoughts?

Natalie Grant has been on my iTunes for months now but I haven't listened to the album. I'm at a coffee shop with Rach doing work stuff and decided to listen to Ms. Grant. Wow. Powerful, beautiful music. I'm struck by the words of The Real Me. How freeing to know that God knows the real me. Read and ponder.

Foolish heart, looks like we're here again.
Same old game of plastic smile,
Don't let anybody in.
Hiding my heartache,
Will this glass house break?
How much will it take before I'm empty?
Do I let it show?
Does anybody know?

CHORUS:
But You see the real me.
Hiding in my skin, broken from within.
Unveil me completely.
I'm loosening my grasp,
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause You see the real me.

Painted on, life is behind a mask,
Self-inflicted circus clown.
I'm tired of the song and dance,
Living a charade, always on parade.
What a mess I've made of my existence.
But You love me even now
And still I see somehow...

Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When You look at me.
You're turning the tattered fabric of my life
Into a perfect tapestry.
Oh, I just wanna be me,
I wanna be me.

and you love me just as i am.
wonderful, beautiful is what you see
when you look at me.

Ireland- Dublin Prayer Conference

From Ireland

I've been in Ireland for 5 days now- half way through my time in this beautiful country. The schedule is packed with worship, Irish speakers, ministry sites and people. I love it! Before I landed in Ireland my days were full of packing my home and office, unpacking in my new home and finalizing details for the church teams heading to Ireland. Now my days are full of catching up with interns, apprentices & missionaries and getting to know the Americans who are here for the Dublin Prayer Conference. This is what I enjoy- sitting down with people, hearing their stories and having Kingdom conversations. People give me energy but after 5 days straight I need pull away a bit and have Monica time.

There's a quiet room right off the kitchen at the YWCA in Greystones that I'm blogging from. The picture above is a bay in Greystones. I'll post more pictures from the trip on my flickr site when I return. Greystones is a small, sleepy town about 15 miles south of Dublin on the coast. One of the interns and I went on a run last night on the beach. We started the run at 10:00PM!!! In the summer here the sun rises at 4:00AM and doesn't set until 10:30/11ish.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray that the Lord sustains us as we pray and walk alongside the Irish and American missionaries.

Passport Found!

Thank you, for praying that I'd find my passport. I looked through a few boxes after I returned home late last night from Chatty. I went to bed resting that God would show me where I lost my passport or had some reason for me not to go to Ireland on Thursday. This morning, I looked through a few more boxes as I got ready for work. I took a small box labeled "random/ misc." from a shelf. I hadn't even opened all four flaps before I saw the little navy book with gold writing: "Passport: United States of America." Nothing can go wrong today!!!! I'm so happy. :-) I'll post pictures from my time in Chatty soon. Thanks again for praying! Unless I misplace my passport before Thursday, I 'll be heading to Ireland that night. Yeah!

Thanks... God is faithful

The move went well! About a dozen people showed up to help load and unload my stuff. We started a little after 5:00pm and were done with all the moving AND dinner by 8:00pm! The house is a mess but all my stuff and Sara's stuff is in one place. We went back to my old house to clean and make one last trip. I was in bed by midnight- a long, tiring but good day. Thanks for praying! I knew people were praying. God's peace surpassed my understanding and his grace was big enough for it all. Why am I still surprised at this?

This morning brought new adventures. When I got out of the car today at work I heard a hissing sound. Sure enough- it was my tire loosing air. Within 5 minutes my tire was flat.

Tuesday is prayer meeting and two missionaries were in town. Robert & Lois Carr- missys in Nairobi, Kenya and Jason & Amber Kidner- missys in Southall, London. Robert is the field director for East Africa and are back for a few months. Jason and Amber got married 3 weeks ago. They will come through A&O in September in hopes to return to the field as a couple. What a blessing to be in partnership with these couples.

Paul shared a wonderful devotion about how we tend to act like orphans instead of adopted children who have the full rights and privileges to our Kingly Father. Just imagine Jesus in a palace in the center of extensive grounds. We say to Him, "I'm busy with fixing this fence, Dad. I'll spend time with you later. I'd love to hang out with you when I get all the things on my list finished." I do this to my Dad all the time. Yes, we need to get things done, yes, God's called us to Kingdom work but not at the cost of spending time with our Daddy.

Paul asked us if our problems have consumed us? Are we living on the estate like we own the land because we're adopted or like orphans? Are we running to our heavenly Father? Why do we avoid Him? Where do we scurry away to instead of to His palace?

A friend and co-worker and I went out at lunch to get my tire fixed. $15.90 isn't too painful, especially when we also stopped at Rita's on the way back to work.

Monica Needs Prayer Today!!!

Will you guys pray for me? I've had some anxiety about my move to the city. There are a few factors:

• I don't feel 100% ready with all the packing. Sara and I weren't feeling well last night so we didn't get a lot of packing done. I leave work at 1pm today and my friends come at 5pm to help move me- so we will have some time to finish the packing.
  
• I know I have expectations about moving into the city. I know I still have somewhat of a romantic view of living in a needy neighborhood, ministering and hanging out with neighbors.
  
• Adjustment to new roommates. New friendships in the house. New pace of life.
  
• I work all day Tuesday then leave for Chattanooga on Wednesday morning. The house will still be a mess with boxes all over the place. Not my ideal but the way it's going to be.
  
• The great team coming to move today is great- I feel loved. I want to communicate my appreciation and not waste their time. Fear of people is the issue on this one. Will they think I'm disorganized? Will they think I have too much stuff?

Thanks for praying!

I love technology!

WHM is working to update all our technology before the office move in two weeks. A generous donor funded the technology upgrade. Our system is now 10x faster than our old one! I don't know what to do with this much speed. I used to start to open a program and then go back to Outlook to do email until it loaded. I no longer can multi-task.

My computer was one of the worst in the office so I was a priority to get a new computer. Chris, our computer guy, set up my new IBM ThinkPad earlier this week and today I he set a 20 inch, flat screen. What a nice surprise to see when I got back from lunch!

Welcome to Philly, Sara!!!

Karen Joy, Leah, Jonah and Talitha had a welcome dinner and dessert for Sara. It's so nice to come home to a family member. She is hoping to start at Starbuck's soon.

Sara flew into PHilly on Saturday. That morning I had a yard sale. Sara called me two hours into the yard sale and I had made $4. Oh well. By the time we cleaned up I had made about $70- enough to rent a U-haul van for the move day. God provides.

Dear Friends,

My dad and I talked Monday about my grandmother. Last week I had a bit of inaccurate information. The procedure they did on her last week was to take a sample of the lumps they found, not to remove them. The lumps they found were cancerous.

She had gone to the doctor's office Monday to check if the results were coming in soon, not thinking the doctor would be in the office. However, he was in for a short time and out of courtesy took her into his office and told her that the results showed she had cancer.

As you could imagine, by herself (she had no one along) the news hit her as quite a shock . She and my Aunt Marlys meet with the doctor again yesterday for further discussion and potential steps to take next.

The doctor will do a lumpsectomy, followed by radiation. If all goes well, that will be the of her breast cancer. Please pray for her peace, strength and faith. Thanks for caring and for praying.

Monica

Living in the Present

The last 3 weeks have been crazy at the Sending Center. We had 30 interns. The next week we had an A&O class of 9. Last week phase two of the interns came through for orientation. I LOVE having all these great students and adults in the SC. It gives me such energy.

July is going to be crazy busy. I'm moving into the city in 2 weeks, then going to Chatty for 5 days, back to Philly for a few days, Ireland for 10 days, back to Philly for a few days then going to Altoona, PA for a college roommate's wedding. I'm her wedding planner so I'll be there a few days early. It's all fun stuff but lots of moving and packing and unpacking.

Please pray that I'm able to live day to day. It's been OK but the last week I've started to get stressed about moving stuff, my sister moving up here, my job, etc. It's just busy. I don't like being this busy. I can't wait for things to slow down in August and yet I know God calls me to live in the present.

Grandma Linde & Muffey

Some of you knew that my Grandma Linde had breast surgery yesterday afternoon. Thanks for your prayers. I talked with my dad this morning. The surgery went well. Hopefully they were able to remove both lumps. The biopsy results will come back Monday. Please pray that she doesn’t have cancer. If she does, she says she doesn’t want treatment. My grandfather passed away this past fall and she really misses him. Pray that she decides to fight- especially if a more aggressive surgery could take care of it. She loves the Lord with all her heart and is at peace about her future. Pray that my family and I would rest in Jesus’ care for us and her. Here's a pic of her with 2 of her 3 kids this May.

My parents are going to put my dog, Muffey, to sleep today. When I was home in June they told me they were going to put her down and so I said my goodbyes to her. We’ve had her since I was 10. She’s old and in a lot of pain. They think she has cancer through her whole body. Please pray for my siblings as they say goodbye to her today- Christie, Sara and Peter. The appointment is this afternoon.

Email a bouquet of flowers to someone.

Hope

Hope means to keep living
amid depression
and to keep humming
in the darkness.
Hoping is knowing that there is love,
it is trust in tomorrow
it is falling asleep
and waking again
when the sun rises.
In the midst of a gale at sea,
it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another
It is to see that he understands you.

As long as there is still hope
There will also be prayer.

And God will be holding you
in his hands.

~Henri Nouwen
With Open Hands

Squirming

God is trying to teach us things when we're at low points in of life. My normal reaction has been to work to climb out of the valley. This is not the way God intended it to be. We're not supposed to sit still in the valley and be passive. We're also not supposed to strive to get out of the valley and miss the lessons God wants to teach us. We're supposed to squirm. Squirm because we're not content to stay there. God, teach us to welcome you into the mess of life. Teach us to squirm.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Yep- I'm a Floridian. This was a fun quiz to take try it. The red lines didn't come through for the bottom accents to indicate how much of these accents I possess. They are in order or the most like me to the least. A friend & WHM missy gave me the idea from her blog:
http://www.eurorebs.com/blog/2007/03/phillies.php

A friend recently asked me what kind of music I listen to. I always have a hard time with this question. Besides the fact that I have a hard time putting tunes with artists, I'm all over the map with my music. I like to say I'm well rounded. :-) My mood dictates the genre of music I'll listen to. My pattern is to listen to a few cd's at a time until I'm sick of them or until someone presents new music to me. I don't actively seek new music but am always open to suggestions. I welcome recommendations.

Currently in my ipod & computer at work:

• Keith Green
• Eva Cassidy
• Sarah McLachlan
• Little Women soundtrack
• Third Day
• The Temptations
• Beatles
• Postal Service
• Rigoletto soundtrack
• Gospel
• Allison Krause
• Jump 5
• Nickel Creek
• Casting Crowns
• Dixie Chicks
• Vivaldi- the Four Seasons
• Flaming Lips
• Sufjan Stevens
• Martina McBride
• Cold Play
• Abba

Peter Herron & Janet Talley got married last Saturday. The wedding was a wonderful reunion. What a blessing to see people I hadn't seen in so long. It was great to Dan & Shanna & their new little boy- Eli.
He's one cuddly baby.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Florida. My little brother, Peter, is graduating from high school. Pray that I wake up in time to catch the train to the airport at 5:45AM. Yikes. Better not stay up too late.

Can't wait to put my toes in this sand.

Amy Claire (& her firstborn, Brighton)

We weren't friends in college- we ran in different circles but our paths now cross frequently in Philly. Her blog is one I check regularly. Her post on Mother's Day is one of my favorite. http://minismith.com/home/the-culprit
She's been working to put all her entries into categories so you can click on "family," "faith," "recipes" or other categories. No matter your gender or status in life you will be uplifted by her honesty and love for the Gospel.

I sold my car... finally!

Motivating words from my pastor's weekly update:

I think that's it for now, except to ask you to pray for one person by name, who you know is troubled or in conflict and needs God's peace. Would you share with that person what God is showing you these days about conflict and peace here at New Life, and invite him/her to come with you on Sunday? Don't keep it to yourself! It's too good not to share! People are dying for Good News, and by the grace of God you've got it! Turn it loose!

Please come "prayed up" and "looking up" in anticipation of what the Lord will do as He "shows up"...

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John

Spilling Open

by Sabrina Ward Harrison

My friend Tammy showed me this book. It's the journal of a 19 year old that she published at 25 years of age. It's a work of art. Amazing & inspiring.

I've only read a few entries but here's a taste of what she's written:

"I sat on the bench outside of class today and talked to Jon. I read to him from my journal, it was the part about the accordion player I was watching on the street last weekend. He said that an accordion is such a perfect metaphor for love, because you are always opening, and closing, shifting and getting air, and that's how the music happens. True."


Sabrina writes a lot about accepting and loving who you are. More treats:

"If we let ourselves be truly seen than we can be truly loved."

"I'm afraid to show you who I really am, because if I show you who I really am, you might not like it and that's all I've got."

"I want to stop sucking in- stop holding my breath- stop covering up. Let g0- it isn't worth it. I can't think of one good reason to keep up the act of being more (or less) than I need. If I can't love myself... then he certainly can't love me."

"Trying to change myself to fit some ideal seems to be an endless and dehydrating way to live."

Does this drawing of a woman look familiar? She did the art for one of the albums for Sixpence None the Richer.

Scoop

Just watched Scoop with a friend. Woody Allen is the director & writer. It was released in 2006. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457513/

Faxing the Vatican

Today I faxed the Vatican to set up a tour for a group of WHM people. Dan & Bob are taking a few potential missionaries to a few of our fields in the next two weeks. They will be visiting our team in Rome and hope to visit the Vatican while they’re there. One of my jobs as the MOB Administrator is to set up the tour for the six of them. The way the Vatican works is you have to fax your information to them and wait for their response. I just think it’s crazy that I can say, “well, I faxed the Vatican today.”

The group is going to take the tour that will allow them to see the Sistine Chapel. Taken from Wikipedia: "The Sistine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sistina) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in the Vatican City. Its fame rests on its architecture, which evokes Solomon's Temple of the Old Testament, its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo whose ceiling is legendary, and its purpose, as a site of papal religious and functionary activity, notably the conclave, at which a new Pope is selected." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel

The office is quiet today. The glaring florescent lights are off and Matthew and I have our living room, Ikea lights on. It's real nice.

Kimiko & Garrett
March 31, 2007


What a blessing to witness the marriage of Kimiko & Garrett. Instead of having a receiving line they returned to the sanctuary and dismissed each row. They were able to greet each guest this way. What a great idea!


We danced the night away. The bride and groom left around 11:30 and the last few of us left at midnight. Now that's a party!


Keren was beautiful in her bridesmaid dress. She also sang at the reception.


WHM friends


The day after the wedding the New City folk were at my church for Palm Sunday. This is Kimiko's home church. My worlds came together and Randy coined the phrase "Philla-nooga."

Jim & Joan played a song during worship

More wedding pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monicatulip/sets/72157600039448276/

Thanks for all the "Happy birthday's." Each one was special!!!!

The staff decorated my office.


Leah, Brae, Amy: some of the girls that came to the Melting Pot for my birthday dessert.

Nostalgia.
Chatty found me in Birmingham!

Clumpies opened a store in B'ham about a year ago. LB and I passed it on our walk and I made a mental note. My cousin, Jordan, is a freshman at Samford in B'ham. He and I went out for Thai and then Clumpies for desserJordan. French silk tasted the same in B'ham as it does in Chatty.


Interesting March flavors. I tasted Guinness... let's just say it's much better as a drink.

Weekend in Birmingham, AL

LB took me to this great little place for brunch after our long walk.



Laura Beth



The cups and saucers were handpainted.



Brunch



We sat outside but inside was set up like a taste of Europe.



Here comes the bride.



Mr. & Mrs. Powell



LBT & Me



Yang & Me



Her parents bought her this veil in France a few years ago before she had even met Chris. Absolutely stunning!!!



Off to Chatty for their first night.



I snapped this from LB's sunroof as we drove home after the wedding. I was on a high. It was 74 degrees and beautiful. The weekend away was refreshing to my soul. It was a treat to be in the South again. People who you don't know actually smile as you go by. Thanks for hosting me, LB. You're welcome in Philly anytime.