Thursday, April 02, 2009

Spring break!!

Since I have returned to school I was able to go on Spring Break this year! It was great! Karilee and I went on Thursday to CO Springs and were able to visit with Will's oldest brother Ron and his family and spend some time at Focus on the Family where Ron works. It was really meaningful to get to meet people who had prayed for Will and I and those who are continuing to pray for us. Adam met us the next day and we drove to Denver to meet up with some of his Cornell buddies. We had a yummy meal at the Cheesecake factory before heading out to the mountains to see Gail and Terri and their families! We spent the next day just hanging out with the McCrerys and Dillinghams and their nine kids. There is always something to do! We went to the hot springs and enjoyed the natural hot tub:-)
The next day Adam, Karilee, and I drove to Monarch ski resort to try our hand at snow sports. It was Adam and Karilee's first time in a long time to ski so I decided to try skiing for the first time in 12 years. I have been snowboarding for a long time I guess! They did great and Adam was ready to head to the green slopes after an hour which was OK with me. We were on blues by the end of the day. I think he had the skiing bug bite him while we were there which means there might be another trip next year!

We left a day early because of the predicted snow. Ends up they did get 2-4 inches which since we had a V-4 Mazda we would not have made it over the pass. It again was a great time to spend with family and friends and I am looking forward to the crew coming out in May!!

Valentines Day

In February the snow continued to fall, although we have had a more mild winter than I have ever experienced in KC, and my best friend Betsie came from Nashville to see me! We cooked Valentine's Dinner together and used my Mau Mau's china for the first time since I moved to KC which was really special. The crystal makes everything look fancy! Adam played in a concert and it was beautiful! He is a talented violin player (among other instruments) and it is a joy to hear him play. We met friends on Friday to have dinner and drinks at Sky's restaurant which rotates and is a great way to watch Kansas City go by!



Transition again into KC

In January I returned to KC to start my semester. I continued to work part-time at the VA and I started a new position at KU as a teaching assistant to bachelors nursing students in the learning lab. Adam and Molly Dixon and Adam S. continue to be special friends and we are able to just have fun with one another. A friend from work Cheryl had her baby and Jessica and I have loved getting to know Emma June!


Karilee's brother Brian (who was Will's best friend) came in town with his twins and we had fun playing with them!

Adam's company Garmin had a winter formal which felt like going to Prom again and we had a good time getting dressed up and watching all the others who seemed to take this formal thing very seriously! Kim (in picture underneath to the right of me) went to cooking school in Spain and blessed us by making some yummy Paella that she had learned to cook while she was there. I have discovered I am more of a pescaterian then a vegetarian...I do love fish!





















City Union Mission continues to be a great place to partner with and be blessed by kids at the shelter and the youth center. As you can see it is not a very serious time
:-) but instead we are able to bless and be blessed! January was full of transitions, some of which I continue to adjust to and learn more about how God grace really is sufficient for today!




January 2009

Most of the rest of January was spent in California. I was able to visit with my cousin, friends from my first job at the VA, experience Davis with Gail and eat at the Crepe house, spend time on the beach, skiing at Tahoe, sledding near Tahoe, playing games, football and just being together!


















The December of change 2008

In December my dad came to visit in the first of the month. It was great just to be able to do work around the house and have nice dinners. The leaves fell off the trees and we had our first snow! I am not sure that I will ever get used to the fact that everyone drives in the snow. Here is a picture of the VA on one of those days.





Times at the mission have remained an important and meaningful part of life in Kansas City as well as time with friends. Molly and Adam Dixon, and a new friend Adam and I took as much advantage of the cold weather as we were able. I think Adam D. was trying to do an aerial in this picture. Christmas in KC really is a great time to enjoy the city!

With my parents still being in the country I then headed off to CA to spend the Holidays with the family. I had just found out that I was accepted into Graduate School at the University of Kansas (KU) to study to get my masters in Nursing. I consequently went part-time/PRN at the VA which enabled me to spend 3 weeks in CA. As you can see Santa came to visit, Lynn is expecting her second baby, (its a girl) and it was just really wonderful to all be together. Gail is loving her time at Davis and becoming quite the special young lady and Abigail is getting so big!