It’s that time again – time for our FRIDAY UPDATE! We had a very busy week this week, including a trip down to Georgia for meetings. (Originally I was going alone, but Rusty’s department ended up needing him in for meetings too so we came together!) Check out our update below!
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The Land of Milk and Honey. We arrived Tuesday night to the Land
of Milk and Honey….er…. I mean the Land of Chick-Fil-A and Sweet
Tea. My parents and little brother picked us up from the airport and we
all stuffed ourselves at Chick-Fil-A. It was great to see them and to
catch up! Mom even brought me a few ‘prizes’ from Martins (you
Oxford/Anniston people know what I’m talking about!) Cute clothes for
$2.50 are always exciting! It was a great start to our trip.
of Milk and Honey….er…. I mean the Land of Chick-Fil-A and Sweet
Tea. My parents and little brother picked us up from the airport and we
all stuffed ourselves at Chick-Fil-A. It was great to see them and to
catch up! Mom even brought me a few ‘prizes’ from Martins (you
Oxford/Anniston people know what I’m talking about!) Cute clothes for
$2.50 are always exciting! It was a great start to our trip.
The Blue Kazoo. We then jumped into the Blue Kazoo to drive up to
Gainesville. For those of you who knew me in college, you know that The
Blue Kazoo is my old car, a 1989 Volvo Station Wagon. It wouldn’t make
it to Michigan, so we left it with my parents. They let us borrow it
for 2 days to get around in Gainesville. It was a great idea until the car
started to hum, then vibrate, then shake violently! It felt like we
were in a helicopter!!! We pulled off the interstate to find a ‘bump’
in the tire. While it wasn’t fun to change a tire in the cold that
night, we are so thankful God protected us and kept it from blowing out!
Gainesville. For those of you who knew me in college, you know that The
Blue Kazoo is my old car, a 1989 Volvo Station Wagon. It wouldn’t make
it to Michigan, so we left it with my parents. They let us borrow it
for 2 days to get around in Gainesville. It was a great idea until the car
started to hum, then vibrate, then shake violently! It felt like we
were in a helicopter!!! We pulled off the interstate to find a ‘bump’
in the tire. While it wasn’t fun to change a tire in the cold that
night, we are so thankful God protected us and kept it from blowing out!
Swazi friends. While in the office, I ran into some dear
friends I haven’t seen in almost 2 years – Kriek and Jumbo Gerber from
Swaziland! (Well, they are actually South African, but they live in
Swaziland). They are the couple that led my first team to Swaziland in
2007, and are on staff with AIM in charge of our Swazi orphan care.
I’ve missed seeing them so much! It was great to catch up with Kriek
for a while, and hear about their visit to the States!
friends I haven’t seen in almost 2 years – Kriek and Jumbo Gerber from
Swaziland! (Well, they are actually South African, but they live in
Swaziland). They are the couple that led my first team to Swaziland in
2007, and are on staff with AIM in charge of our Swazi orphan care.
I’ve missed seeing them so much! It was great to catch up with Kriek
for a while, and hear about their visit to the States!
Meetings, meetings, meetings. Those were the point of the trip,
afterall, so we had plenty of them! Rusty was working on replicating
the sales/recruitment system at AIM. He’s worked hard to create
a productive system for The World Race, and now they want to use it for
other programs! (Great job Rusty!) My meetings were entirely different,
but very productive. Details about them will be coming soon – God has
been at work in some big ways!
afterall, so we had plenty of them! Rusty was working on replicating
the sales/recruitment system at AIM. He’s worked hard to create
a productive system for The World Race, and now they want to use it for
other programs! (Great job Rusty!) My meetings were entirely different,
but very productive. Details about them will be coming soon – God has
been at work in some big ways!
Baby Mikayla. During our lunch break, Kelsey and I went to visit
our friend and co-worker Rosie who just had a sweet baby girl. Mikayla
is less than 2 weeks old…a tiny little bundle of joy. She is
absolutely BEAUTIFUL! (and Rosie looks great too!)
our friend and co-worker Rosie who just had a sweet baby girl. Mikayla
is less than 2 weeks old…a tiny little bundle of joy. She is
absolutely BEAUTIFUL! (and Rosie looks great too!)
Mommy Rosie and Baby Mikayla
My turn to hold her!
Auntie Kelsey & Baby Mikayla…
Shane Co. On our way to the airport, we stopped off to get our
wedding rings checked and cleaned (because there’s no Shane Co in
Michigan). I know this sounds like a detail, but it was actually one of
the highlights of our trip! I cannot say enough GREAT things about
Shane Co, and we love every chance we get to visit out friends there.
The staff knows us by name and has one of our prayer cards up in the
back room. They love hearing about our mission work and updating us on
their lives too! If you’re looking for jeweler that will also be your
friends, I’d encourage you to check them out. And did I mention my
rings are BEAUTIFUL?! (we recommend the Shane Co in Duluth, GA).
wedding rings checked and cleaned (because there’s no Shane Co in
Michigan). I know this sounds like a detail, but it was actually one of
the highlights of our trip! I cannot say enough GREAT things about
Shane Co, and we love every chance we get to visit out friends there.
The staff knows us by name and has one of our prayer cards up in the
back room. They love hearing about our mission work and updating us on
their lives too! If you’re looking for jeweler that will also be your
friends, I’d encourage you to check them out. And did I mention my
rings are BEAUTIFUL?! (we recommend the Shane Co in Duluth, GA).
Home Sweet Williams. Last, but certainly not 
least, we must tell
you where stayed during our visit. The fabulous Williams family (Kevin,
Sarah, Chloe, Eli, and Samson the doggie) let us stay in their guest
apartment. This is important because WE LOVE THE WILLIAMS!!!! Princess
Chloe was my flowergirl for our wedding, Eli is the cutest little
blonde you’ll ever see, and Kevin and Sarah…well… they’re just
AWESOME! The kids stayed with Grandma Wednesday night, so the 4 of us
adults stayed up like goofy college kids till 2am. We shared stories,
talked about movies, music, and macbooks, and laughed at hilarious Dave
Barnes videos. We heard all about their trip to Disney, and made a plan
to move to Orlando and become Disney characters for a year (sounds like
fun, right?) We did NOT want to leave and were secretly hoping we’d
miss our flight, haha! Kevin and Sarah – thanks for having us!
least, we must tellyou where stayed during our visit. The fabulous Williams family (Kevin,
Sarah, Chloe, Eli, and Samson the doggie) let us stay in their guest
apartment. This is important because WE LOVE THE WILLIAMS!!!! Princess
Chloe was my flowergirl for our wedding, Eli is the cutest little
blonde you’ll ever see, and Kevin and Sarah…well… they’re just
AWESOME! The kids stayed with Grandma Wednesday night, so the 4 of us
adults stayed up like goofy college kids till 2am. We shared stories,
talked about movies, music, and macbooks, and laughed at hilarious Dave
Barnes videos. We heard all about their trip to Disney, and made a plan
to move to Orlando and become Disney characters for a year (sounds like
fun, right?) We did NOT want to leave and were secretly hoping we’d
miss our flight, haha! Kevin and Sarah – thanks for having us!
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*the last picture is of me and Chloe on my wedding day….somehow we have managed to NEVER get a picture all together with Kevin and Sarah! Maybe it’s because we tend to hang out, just the 4 of us, late at night? Williams Family, we need to remedy this!
WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE SHANE CO TOO! I can’t believe there’s not one in Michigan. I thought there was one everywhere! 🙂