Full Swing!

Well, things are in full swing around here!  We're busy just about every minute of the day.  We're learning a lot and we're glad (thankful!) we're here...

One good thing about being busy every minute of the day is that by the time it's about 8 pm I am WIPED out!  And super ready for bed.  Makes for good sleeping!

And...I can't believe it but I have no pictures for you!  Crazy, I know.  One of the few times I have not taken photos for consecutive days.

That's all, just a simple update to say that we're still here, just in full swing! :)

And we're off...

Well, it's here!  We're heading out.

The bags are packed.  The car is loaded.  The room is cleaned out.  And we're on our way to Virginia!

It's no telling what the next two months will look like.  Things may be a bit sporadic on our little corner of the internet, but we'll be around...just maybe not as frequent.

But come the end of March, things should be back in full swing as we head over to SLOVAKIA.  We look forward to updating you!

As always, we appreciate prayer as we prepare for change and whatever it is the Lord has in store for us this year. Thanks for following along with us on our journey :)

And I'll leave you with one that has me smilin', maybe it will do the same for you:

The Big 8-5

Last night we celebrated this sweet lady's birthday...

That would be Grandma Rodriguez.  She rang in 85 years of life by having dinner, eating cake, and opening presents with the whole fam.

Her birthday is technically not for about another week, but we celebrated early so that Jas and I could be here to join in on the fun :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Grandma R!  We love you!

Another Sad Goodbye

Yesterday was another day of sad goodbye's, or better yet, "see ya later's".  I must say this whole goodbye thing isn't easy.

Over the last couple of years I have gotten to know these girls really well.  We've passed a good many hours over coffee and ice cream just chatting about everything from our relationships with Christ to silly things (and all that's in between!).

I love them like sistas!

So yesterday we had a good time taking some pictures and hitting up Starbucks for some quality convo one last time before Jas and I head off.

And then....there may have been some tears shed when we all separated.  But I am thankful for the many good times we've had and will have again in the future!

Oh, and in case you're curious, Jas has been doing his fair share of "see ya later's" too, he's just not in to the whole carrying a camera around and taking pictures thing :)

FOUR days!

It's right around the corner.  We're on the home stretch.  It's almost time!

In four days we leave for training in Virginia.  Crazy!  The long process of applying, packing, moving, packing, preparing is coming to an end.  In four days we'll be at training, and then in two months we'll be headed to Bratislava...yip yip!

The last few days we have been running last minute errands, meeting up with friends to say our goodbye's (tear), and doing lots and lots of reading for both training and Slovakia.

We'll finish out the weekend, pack our bags, and head that way come Monday.  Thank you all for your prayers!

And I'll leave you with a picture of Rae, sweet Sophie, and I during our coffee date with Kim (taken from her blog).

More QT...love it!

Tonight I got to have some more QT (quality time, remember?)

My sweet El Salvadorian friend, Atta, drove down to Durham to hang out with me tonight.

We caught up over dinner and Starbucks.  And of course, took pictures (she's a rockin' photographer...check her out here).

I usually get to see her about once a year, so it's super special when we do meet up.  I'll miss our annual hang out over the next few years, but you can be sure when we're back in America that dinner and Starbucks will be in order :)

Good Friends, Good Memories

Yesterday I got to spend some much-needed QT (that's quality time for any non-acronymers out there) with my college roommates.

We headed out to Wake Forest where Erin resides and hung out there for most of the day.  We did what friends do:  caught up, took pictures, went to dinner, made brownies...ya know, all the makings for a fun-filled day...

And we continued our typical Cranium championship.  I am sad to say Erin and I lost to Emily and Steph one more time (just twice over all).  But don't worry, the next time we play Erin and I are going to BRING it. Just wait.

This year will bring about lots of change for us all.  One just graduated from grad school, one has a husband going in the marines, and two of us are headed overseas.  A lot different from our college days.

I am thankful for these ladies!

And while I won't see them for a good couple of years, I excitedly anticipate our next day of quality time.  Oh, and being a Cranium Champ :)

It's been a year...

Yesterday marked a year of the earthquake in Haiti (I'm a day late...)

Jas and I were at a conference in Virginia when we first got the news about the massive earthquake that brought Haiti even lower than low.  Having been there a couple of times, we were moved...but we didn't understand the full effects of it all until we went back in April and September of last year.

Even then, we could experience some of the real-life aftermath (sights, smells, sounds, etc.), but we weren't there to experience the actual quake and the hours and days immediately following...

But I do know that each time we've been there, we have experienced about a million different emotions (at least I have...Jas, probably just two emotions ;)

And we love Haiti.

And we are still continually praying for the people, the government, and the country as a whole.

As the Haitians say, "Beni Swa L'eternel!"

And check out our friends Jacob and Britt's blog (they lived in Haiti for a while)...

Snowing all the way!

This past week/weekend we have been traveling like it's our job.  Our first stop was Virginia for some sweet ski action, then we headed the opposite direction, to the beach for visiting some family.

And we have been enjoying our fair share of snow!  Now, snow in the mountains while skiing, is expected.  However, snow at the beach, well, that's far less common.

But we did finally make it back home today from the beach in less than favorable driving conditions. Yikes.

Here ya go, from the mountains...

To the beach...

Ya like my makeshift-scarf-hat?  It was coooold and I was unprepared!

We made a stop to see the snow on the beach and he quickly found these three shark teeth.  Impressive.

Two trips down, one more trip to Hickory to see my family once more before heading to training.

That is if this crazy, snowy, weather holds off!

No broken leg(s)!

Well, we're back from skiing and I am so happy to report we all came away with everything in tact!  Thank goodness.

That means no broken legs :)

I was a little nervous at first about skiing seeing as how I had never really been taught or hadn't gone very often.  But my ski instructor, better known as my husband, persisted with the encouragement and despite my fair share of stumbles and falls, I am proud to say I made it down over and over again.  And now, man, I am a skiing convert!  It was so. much. fun.

I loved it!  

I am already quite sore, however.  Tomorrow we pack up again for mini-trip number 2 to see Jason's aunt.  Be back Monday.

Oh please, no broken leg...

Today our friends come in and we'll soon be off on our first mini-trip.  A little ski action in Virginia.

This will be only my second time EVER going skiing (yes, I did live in Boone, NC and yes, I should have skied more).

So let's just hope and pray I don't break a leg before training :)

In the mean time I'll pretend I am this good--

Here's dreamin', right?

From that to this...

Orientation is in a few shorts weeks and while we've done a lot, we still have much to-do on our list of things-to-be-done.

But we have gone from this...

Our house full of things to sort through, organize, and get rid of,

to this...

stuff on top of and right in front of the pool table.

There's still some items to be narrowed down (obviously), but it's been a work in progress.  It's also been an eye-opening and actually quite awesome adventure in cleaning out and minimizing.  I'm so glad we've gotten to do it (and still are doing it).

In addition to sorting through some final items, we've got some paperwork, reading, last minute errands, etc. to do.  We'll also be taking some mini-trips and spending time with family/friends before we head out for training.

Ah...we can't believe it's so close.  2010, where did you go!?

Welcome 2011!