Nashville in October

October was a sweet month filled with spending time with family and those who are just like family. Lynn, Abigail, Mom, Dad, and I met in Nashville for Community Bible Church's annual missions conference. Gail was missed as she had to stay in school! We stayed at a close friend house and were able to just hang out. It was the first time many people had see Abigail and she put on the charm!

The Searles had a new edition, Tegan had little Gavin (Stephanie will have to tell me if I got the spelling right) but he looks like he could be in a Gerber commercial! Precious!

I got some play time and smiles!





Abigail was thrilled to be staying at Emily Ann's mom's where Ginger (the dog) lived during the day. It was a highlight of her day to be able to pet and feed the dog. A highlight of my day, besides seeing all of the precious people, was to get to drive the rental car.We all had a blast riding with top down!

Coincidentally and luckily the weekend we were in town was my high school homecoming football game. My cousin was playing in his senior game so we took Mau Mau and watched #44 work his magic. I was able to see people I hadn't seen in 6 years. The track team was an important part of my high school life and I was excited to see the girls on my 4x800 team and one has two kids now. My how life does keep going!

People were so generous to open their homes but sometimes Abigail and Lynn just needed to hide a bit from the crowds:)

Mom was in charge of speaking at the women's brunch and did a great job with a slide show and power point presentation to communicate what she is doing in Bangladesh.

Miss Ruby is one of our dear friends in Nashville. It is truly a joy to be able to sit and talk with her sister and her and hear the tales of their childhood and nursing experiences. If I am half as spry and encouraging as Miss Ruby is when I am in my 90s I will be one happy chick. I guess add my Mau Mau to that list of 1/2 as well as someone is in their 90s. She was a champion and just jumped into whatever we were doing at the time!
Mom's good friends from college Barb and Natalie came for the missions conference to hear her speak. It was good to have the support of so many who have been praying for us all though the years.

This is one of my favorite photos with Mrs. Haver and Mau Mau and then below with Mrs. Ramer. We stayed in Mrs. Ramer's house since she is living in an Altzimers home in Nashville. I don't understand why God has us all age so differently. It was great to be able just to sit and go through some photo albums together.

Cousin Melissa came and of course Abigail chose the 2 1/2 year old favorite toy to play with- the brown box filled with peanuts for packing. Abigail's laugh makes everyone else smile:)


Abigail at the International Market learning how to use chopsticks. She was quite proud of herself!
Mau Mau recently moved to a different apartment where she could have a bit more help if needed. It has worked out really well with most all of the staff being very helpful and kind. I was looking around her place one day thinking "this is about the size of house that I would like to be responsible for cleaning." It is a beautiful facility and comforting to know Mau Mau is being well taken care of. Abigail liked it because there were always plenty of crackers for her to eat!




Abigail liked to 'help' Mau Mau walk. Some friends that had been displaced by hurricane Katrina came to visit. Fran has been a friend of my Aunt's and it is great to have her living in Nashville now. Abigail loved playing with her grand kids the twins and as you can tell we just had wonderful weather.

Always wonderful to spend time with Emily Ann and my roomie from college Becky!

A really special treat was getting to have dinner with Gretch and meet her husband. I felt like we were able to be open and maybe that is a part of having history with one another. It was a sweet time to get to sit and share what life is teaching us in this season.

Stephanie and me in the good old 'camera on top of the other car in the parking lot' shot. You know what I am talking about!
Then it was time to go. Abigail carried her own suitcase like a grown up. Mom and I spent the morning with MauMau and then grabbed some breakfast at a place where you could have gigantic pickles with breakfast. What more could you want! In this season to be thankful I can say that I am most thankful for my family and friends who continue to walk with me and beside me on this journey.