Sister Surprises

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky...Travis and I took off to Mexico to steal away from the heat and to surprise my sister who was in Juarez for two weeks. See Emily's blog for more pictures and details...We snuck up behind her while she was in the kitchen preparing one of the hundred meals she made while she was serving the kids and volunteers. Her face was priceless. There is nothing better than bringing joy to another sister who is away from home.

Another sister of mine, Emily Baker, is moving away too. We have said multiple goodbyes to them this week at various friend's parties. I reminded Emily to anticipate the future with faith. As a new transplant, I am coming to realize the importance of having a heavenly perspective on leaving loved ones behind. You have to see the present as a means of grace as much as a trustworthy promise of future hope. You know the old adage, "Bloom where you are planted" ? I reminded Emily of that because God seems to have made some people like her and Eric, my friends who married military men, Sarah and Janelle, and my friends in Australia, Elizabeth and Logan to possess a unique resiliance and joy in the face of "starting over". They bear fruit where they are planted and it brings so much glory to God through their lives in transitions. I can only hope to mirror their example and access that grace.

A bright spot

One of the little boys at ICAN, the low-income afterschool and day camp program I am working at this summer, provided a brighter spot in an otherwise depressing Tuesday. I was asking the children to name different color vegetables. We started with red and then moved onto the other colors. When I asked them to name orange vegetables, a very excited Hispanic six-year old with a cute space between his front teeth, stood up in his chair and proudly yelled, "I know! CaRRRRots!" Via la Mexico.

Father's Day

On Sunday morning during our seven minute break in service, the Shank kids were standing around near me. I had just finished telling Jordan about Travis' Father's Day card, which congratulated him on our expanding flock. A few minutes later, he turned to Janelle who had just come back from children's ministry and said, "Janelle, did you know that Travis got a Father's Day card?" Her face dropped. Her jaw dropped. What came out of her mouth was priceless, "WHAT!! You didn't tell me!" she exclaimed. I quickly clarified; "Chickens, my dear. Chickens. Not children." Not a nice joke;but a good one. Sometimes there are softballs you just have to take the oppurtunity to hit out of the park... Jordan may not be the sportman but he sure did hit one in the strike zone.

New additions

You know how I found Tina the other day sitting again on a bunch of eggs? With the addition of a more mature rooster to our flock, I was wondering if she was actually going to hatch them. To my delight this morning I went out to feed the chickens and heard the piercing cheep echoing in the coop. Sure enough, she's hatched 9 of them. I called my husband and said "Honey, you're a Dad! Happy Father's Day!" Now our flock has more than doubled....The challenge will be to keep them alive. But this time I know better than to let Tina do it herself... I think I'm going to lock them up in the coop together and feed them separately.

My job

Most people probably don't know what I really do for work---everyone knows I'm a registered dietitian but what does that mean? Sometimes I work at the hospital, but for these 9 weeks, I am teaching nutrition to low-income kids within summer camp programs in the valley. This week was especially a lot of work, but in the end, very rewarding. Not only did my boss announce she is leaving for another hospital but the director of Community Benefits also announced he was leaving.
So, here I was with almost 200 kids and a commitment to educate, with no funding. So I got on the phone and with (bold) faith, called all the local grocery stores. We got a large amount of funding for fresh fruits and vegetables--one donated a large amount of Red Delicous Apples, another a case of Navel Oranges and still another 20 pounds of baby carrots. Here are some pictures from my 10.5 hour day on Tuesday.