DUMB AND DUMBER...

So I just realized that I had totally forgotten to share this story until I was uploading pictures on my computer Sunday night. I will preface this with there is a reason why you have to have a boating license and now I know why. Picture this...the Monday of Thanksgiving week I was home in Birmingham with my family. Over the summer my dad and Scotty purchased a pontoon boat and I have never gotten to see it or ride on it. The weather was going to be beautiful on Monday so dad had the boat put in the water and we planned a family day at the lake. We had picked up lunch on the way and so Teri and I were eating our Subway sandwiches while dad drove the boat. When we had finished out lunch and said why don't one of you drive so I can eat...my sister quickly jumped up and took the wheel. She looked at me and said "this never happens...he never lets anyone drive the boat." It was quite entertaining to watch my dad give her directions to where we were going because he would pick an obscure point of reference in the direction we were going and Teri could never figure out

what he was talking about. Needless to say there was much abuse taken at Teri's expense. Granted they were obscure references but I was always able to spot them. After a while I asked for a turn at the wheel. The pressure was now one....I felt like if dad referenced something I had to say "got it" in .8 seconds or I was going to be like Teri. I had great fun driving...especially getting to go much faster than Teri cranked it up. It came time to head back to the dock and that is where is got fun. Teri asked dad which pier he was going to park the boat at and his response was "I'm not the one driving the boat...KB, which pier are you going to park the boat at?" I knew he was only kidding but the competitive nature in me welled up and I said I can park this thing...no problem." Having been told by Teri that he normally doesn't let anyone drive the boat I seriously doubted he was going to let me prove my mad skills but as we approached the pier I was still in the drivers seat. AND THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE....I just want to say for the record I did an excellent job and couldn't have gotten more parallel to the dock than I did on my first try. However, it would be crucial to have lessons in the gear shifting prior to trying to park a boat for the first time. As soon as I was parallel to the pier with Teri hanging off the back end and dad hanging over the front, I hear dad yell..."put it in neutral"...I don't know how to do that so of course as I figure it out we have drifted a little too far past the pier. So dad yells..."put it in reverse." Something you should know about a boat...when it's in reverse it is not going to be obvious at first and back up quickly so I thought I must not have gotten in gear so I pushed the throttle down some more and boy did we go in reverse....problem being we will going quickly in reverse with the back end of the
boat tied to the dock. PROBLEM!! All I hear is dad yelling...Teri yelling and the cracking of wood that indicated we were about to pull the dock off the boat was about to be ripped apart. When all was said in done we were all laughing hysterically...I amost pee'd my pants. It was hilarious and both the boat and pier were in one piece. Like the title suggest though it was the story of dumb and dumber and I will let you decide which is which after the next story...

So we have secured the boat and gotten the cover put on and dad wanted to take us over and show us the trailor they are getting ready to buy on the lake. The currenty owners do not live there year round so we nosied around the trailor looking in the windows and walked down to the pier. The couple had just recently added a new deck on to their pier and so we were admiring it. Dad noticed their was a ladder built on to the end of the pier so he pulled it up to inspect it. I must say is was a quality ladder minus the nest of fish eggs that were attached to one of the lower rungs. Dad told Teri and I to watch out as he let the ladder go to fall back in the water. We both appreciated the warning so we didn't get soaked by the splash. As we were walking away we here "oh sh&*" and we turned around to see that the ladder has come loose from the pier and has now sunk in the water. I am laughing right now just thinking about it. Funny thing was that dad was closing on the contract that day so I asked him if he was going to call and renogiate the price and tell the owners that there was no ladder on the pier. Well in the Thomas family where there is a will there is way. Dad scavenged through the people's shed and found a rope and hook and went fishing for the ladder. When he finally got it he told me sister to get down on teh pier and grap a hold of one side and hold on to it until he could get down and help her pull it up. Guess what was on the side he has pulled up for her to grab...the nasty sack of fish eggs. I might have to go to the bathroom just thinking about it...I can still hear her just carrying on..."I am not going to grab that nasty ladder...I am not going to touch those fish eggs"...with dad responding just as loud "grab the da*& ladder Teri." Are you wondering what I am doing at the time...trying not to pee on myself and holding everyone's phone and wallets in case this situation goes south in hurry and people end up in the water. My momma didn't raise no fool! We, or shall I say, they managed to get the ladder out of the water and our day of adventure was brought to an end.

I can honestly say I have laughed that much with my dad and sister in a long time. Lucky for us it was a Monday and no one else was out on the lake to see all this stupidity take place...it will just have to live on in our minds. We're all getting older and our minds are that great which is why I decided to blog about it.

"PLAY BALL"

....so it's one of my favorite scenes from Christmas vacation where the fireworks are going off and Aunt Bethany starts singing the star spangled banner and everyone joins in...then she yells..."PLAY BALL"...I love that senile old lady. Well aside from being my favorite Christmas movie it will also be the theme for this weekend.
At 3:00pm on Saturday my AUBURN Tigers are taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC Championship Game. The currently #1 ranked Tigers will clinched a position to compete in the National Championship with a win this Saturday....WAR EAGLE BABY!!

Tis The Season...

The holiday season beginning with Thanksgiving and going all the way through New Years is my absolute favorite time of year. I love that people are generally in chipper moods (not all, but most). I love the decorations...especially driving around looking at white christmas lights on houses. I love the food...I could swim in my dad's cornbread dressing. And I LOVE THE MUSIC. I have been playing my Christmas music since long before Thanksgiving. I am usually opposed to such things because I don't like to bypass Thanksgiving..BUT...I have realized that one of the things that I am so thankful for is this season and the birth of Christ so why just limit it to the 31 days of December. If you don't agree that's fine, we can still be friends but it's my blog and I can write what I want.

Here are just some my favorite Christmas songs thus far this season....in no particular order. If you're looking for something to listen to this are just my suggestions.
* O Holy Night sung by Martina McBride (you can't find a better version)
*Joy to the World and All I want for Christmas is You sung by Mariah Carey
*I'll Be Home for Christmas sung by Anne Murray
*Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas sung by "ole blue eyes"...Frank Sinatra
*Born to Die and Glory in the Highest sung by Shane & Shane
*Breath of Heaven and Grown Up Christmas List sung by Amy Grant
*Don't Save it All For Christmas sung by Avalon
*Christmas in Dixie sung by Alabama

That's a good start....hope you enjoy.

And if you're looking for a good Christmas movie here are my top picks for the holiday season. You will find these movies playing non-stop in my DVD player from now until January.
*ELF
*Christmas Vacation
*The Holiday
I know these aren't the classics like White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life but I enjoy a good laugh and these three never disappoint.

In other holiday news....I have set a fist ever record for completing my Christmas shopping. I was done with my shopping before Thanksgiving Day with the exception of one gift that has since been ordered. I usually don't get my shopping done until, oh, the Christmas Eve. I think this year is was possible because I always feel pressured to get the "perfect" gift (which doesn't exist) and make sure that I don't jip someone out of a good gift if they get me something really good. The pressure was off this year. Financial hardship has fallen on the Thomas family because of unemployment or retirement and I am pretty much the only one giving gifts this year. I am excited to be able to give to my family with no expectation of a gift in return and it completely took the pressure off finding the perfect gift. Who would have thought?

My house has also been overcome with the smell of all things pumpkin baking in the oven...fresh ground coffee with peppermint mocha creamer...and the aroma of homemade gumbo and chicken and dumplings. I just love being home and being domestic this time of year. I just love sitting in my living room with nothing but the lights of my christmas tree filling the room. So, are you catching what I am throwing out here? I LOVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!

I wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday...tis the season in deed, shall we not forget the reason why we celebrate.

It's the small things in life....

This time of year I usually make a list of the top 50 things that I am thankful for. I've obviously been slacking on my blogging and every day when I check facebook or twitter I see people's daily thanksgivings for the month of thankfulness. I decided today was the day that my list was created. Crazy thing about this list is that after a life changing trip to Africa I have found great pleasure in the small things this year and so that is what my list is about this go around....it truly is the small things that happen on a daily basis, things that aren't elaborate, usually don't cost any money...but make my day brighter. This are in no particular order so enjoy:

1. Being at the hospital for Noah Lee Chandlers grand entrance into the world.


2. Falling in love with a dog more every day because she is so stinkin cute when she sleeps.
3. Coming home and having Matti greet me at the door like she hasn't seen me in ages.
4. Free haircuts from a dear friend.
5. Using a towel fresh out of the dryer.
6. Seasonal flavored coffee creamers...thank you pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha.
7. Being the first one to use the bathroom at work in the mornings...I love finding the toilet with the lid still up and blue in the bowl (weird I know).
8. Making Noah Lee Chandler cackle...it's precious!
9. Having a biscuit with homemade pumpkin butter made by Amy.
10. Finding a great new station on Pandora radio that makes the work day better.
11. Walking around the corner in the morning and seeing my Christmas tree lit.
12. Walking out in the backyard and seeing new blooms on my plants.
13. Getting home from a grocery store trip and realizing I have so many options to choose from.
14. SAM's hotdogs....they are amazing.
15. Watching Auburn football on Saturdays.
16. Catching up with old friends over the phone or on facebook.
17. Cleaning out my closet and taking bags of stuff to goodwill.
18. Finding a "too good to be true" deal on something you didn't even know you needed.
19. A good heart to heart with a student.
20. Taking Matti on a walk around campus on a beautiful Fall day.
21. The first morning of Daylight's saving time change.
22. Finding a book that I just can't put down.
23. The first time I was able to run a mile this year without stopping.
24. Blowing my diet and realizing that today is a new day!
25. Getting to camp with my dad for three days in Tennessee.
26. Having my mom and sister come for Mom's weekend.
27. Resetting my gas gauge after filling up at the gas station.
28. Getting new plug in air freshners for my house.
29. Getting to go home for the holidays.
30. Finding the perfect ringtone for someone so that when they call you literally laugh out loud.
31. Buying new undies.
32. Eating a Reese cup egg or two.
33. Getting to sleep in.
34. Getting bear hugs from Cliff Magee almost on a daily basis.
35. Rearranging my office or living room.
36. Stumbling on a great movie on TV on Saturday afternoon when you should really be cleaning the house but instead you settle into the couch.
37. Getting a note from a mentor that starts with "I'm so proud of you..." (thanks Tommy McGregor)
38. Getting a thank you note from a student's parent (it's a rare thing)
39. Getting a new bottle of shampoo and conditioner.
40. The way my teeth feel after leaving the dentist office.
41. Laughing until you cry for no reason at all.
42. Finding money in the washer or dryer.
43. Finding boyfriend tees on sale at Target and buying one in every color (that's for you Jill)
44. Mastering another Louisiana dish (I've got Sara's gumbo down now)
45. Pecan cobbler from Portabella's
46. Buying an ice cream cake and sitting around with a group of girls digging in without an occassion except we wanted ice cream cake.
47. Hearing the LC marching band play "Living on a Prayer"
48. Getting to hold a sting ray.


49. Buying chickens for two wonderful families in Uganda...you would have thought we gave them a million dollars.


50. Having great friends and family who read my blog because they care what goes on in my life...love you all dearly.

Back from a week in Paradise

Well I am sitting at my desk on Monday morning eating an apple, drinking water and trying to figure out why my desk is swaying. Diet and workout begin today and vacation is officially over. We had a blast on our cruise though. I enjoyed getting to hang out with friends outside the office and I always love vacationing with my pops. I got to do some amazing snokeling in Jamaica with Eric and Lauren....then I got to swim with the sting rays in Grand Cayman. I won't lie that was a little unnerving to me at first but once I got used to them I love it. They are like big babies...they love being held and petted and fed. Our tour guide was fabulous and made our trip unforgetable. He was explaining to us the differences between male and female sting ray. The females are really large and the males are really small. As he was showing us a male and female side by side he said "now this is the joke portion of my tour....if I died and came back as anything I would want to be a male sting ray for two reasons. The ratio is 1 to 8, male to female so the odds are in my favor. The second reason is this (as he pulls up to things from the back of the sting ray)...I call this one Oscar and this one Myer" (and then he proceeds to laugh). Who knew male sting rays were so well endowed.
Our last day in Cozumel was a bust. We went to an all inclusive result to spend the day on the beach only the waves were too rough for us to snorkel or get in the water...the "mexican buffet" was terrible and because of the weather I couldn't parasail, which I had my heart set on doing.

Regardless of our last day in Cozumel and a cold, rocky day on the boat the last day headed home....we had an amazing time. Pictures to come but for now here is a picture of me and the sting ray I got to hold and kiss on.

Cruises, Costumes and soon to be Cursing...

So this is going to be a catch all blog since I have been horrible about updating my blog. My apologies....the semester is just flying by and dragging me keeping and screaming with it.

CRUISES....well we booked a 7 day Carribean cruise over a year ago and it's finally here. We leave out of Mobile on Saturday for 7 glories days on the high sea. We will be stopping in Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Cozumel. I am excited (and a little anxious) about vacationing with friends and co-workers but we are all desperately in need of a break. I shall tell of our adventures (at least those web approved) when we return.

COSTUMES...we recently had our annual homecoming hoedown and I went all out this year. Your's truly dressed as a cowgirl wtih cow printed chaps and all. The same costume will make an appearance at the Halloween party on our cruise. Since it's debut at hoedown I have added a cowgirl hat, a holster and pistol and a whip. More pictures to come.


And last but not least...CURSING...why is that you say? Because I have slacked on my workouts since I got back from Uganda. I came back with pnuemonia and after battling that for several weeks and the semester kicking off I find myself months removed from working out and I am feeling it. As soon as we get back from the cruise my grueling workouts will commence and I assure you there will be cursing (at least under my breath).

Happy Hump Day my friends!

Adventures...oh we had adventures

It has been an insanely busy few weeks with Mom's Weekend and then the Adventure Trip and then homecoming week and now I am getting ready to head out on a 7 day cruise. No rest for the weary and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am way over due for a blog update so I thought I would share some pictures from our adventure trip. We camped out at Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga, TN and went white water rafting on the Occoee River. We had a blast and didn't freeze too much. And sadly enough we ate better while camping then I usually eat when I am home. My dad and Scotty pulled their RV up to camp with us and did all the cooking. YUMMY!

Great trip...great students...fun memories...we shall do it again next year!

A Cup of Coffee and a Heap of Conviction

I visited my local LifeWay this week and picked up two new books. My love for reading developed when I was in seminary...because I was never a reader before then. Now I crave a good book that will challenge me, help me dig deeper into God's Word and help me fall more in love with my Savior. So what did I pick up this time?

The new buzz has been all about David Platt's book "Radical" so I wanted to see for myself what the hype was about. I was fortunate to attend seminary with David and we went to the same church where he served as the missions pastor. Before graduating from seminary he actually taught one of my evangelism classes and almost on a daily basis we were all in tears with a burden for the lost. You won't find a more passionate heart when it comes to world missions. I knew this book would be good but I wasn't quite sure I was ready to wrestle with the truths laid bare on the pages. I'm only four chapters in and it's been quite a challenge. It's an easy read getting through the text but the application...well that's another story. The nutshell summary is David giving a challenge to believers to forsake pursuing the American Dream to embrace a life completely surrendered to Jesus Christ. The truth is that this shouldn't be a "radical" life but to the outside world and unfortunately to a lot of professing believers this concept is pretty "radical." Truth be told if we truly lived this way the only thing "radical" would be the impact we had on the Kingdom of God here on earth.

The second read came pretty hesitantly. My dear friend Tina Propes turned me on to John Piper in 2003 when we worked camp together. I just recently finished the first Piper book I picked up in 2003. Just kidding....but he isn't an easy read by any stretch of the imagination. His writing is meaty and though you may get through a chapter it will probably take two or three readings to comprehend what you've read. If I'm in this boat alone please don't tell me how easy of a read Piper is for you. I grew to appreciate the writings of Piper in seminary but had to take a sabatacle recently because of the idol he was becoming for our Christian Studies majors. I felt like I was hearing the name Piper more than I was hearing them talk about Jesus. I reluctantly picked up another Piper book this trip. The name of the book is "Taste and See"...a book of 140 meditations on savoring the supremacy of God in our daily life. Much easier to take in 2-3 pages at a time...and it's been a great springboard into my time with the Lord in the mornings.

I'd recommend both if you're looking for something to read these days.

What a weekend....

This Saturday was our first home game of the season. The atmosphere on campus was simply electric. Residence Life hosted a tailgate party complete with an inflatable water slide, games, prizes and yours truly grilled about 1000 hotdogs. In fact when I got to the game I smelled like a walking hotdog and there was nothing flattering about that. Even though the game started at 6:00pm it was still in the 90's at kickoff and even after the game. Gotta love Louisiana weather! Here is a picture of Noah "enjoying" his first Wildcat football game.

Poor little guy was all dressed up in his Wildcat jersey but got way too hot. As soon as Amy took his clothes off he fell asleep. What a fan!

Unfortunately our Wildcats are now 0-2. We lost last week to Belhaven on the road and lost to Huntington College last night in overtime. It was such an amazing game...the Wildcats were trailing going into the half and made an incredible comeback to tie the game and go ahead in the 2nd half. Huntington tied the game in the last few minutes to send the game into overtime. Our defense just struggled to hold them and we lost 62-56...what a heartbreaking game. I have never been so proud of those guys as I was last night. They played with heart, determination and grit to the bitter end!! Keep your head up boys and get ready for Mississippi College in two weeks on the road.

In other exciting news this weekend I learned a valuable lesson. It's dangerous to cuddle too closely with a 70lb boxer who startles easily. I was taking my normal Sunday afternoon nap and was cuddled up with ole Matti and apparently went to snuggle with her a little closer or something and scared her in her sleep. Result....Matti's noggin to my cheek bone = one heck of a headache, a bruised cheek bone and the start of a black eye. Good thing I'm not married or people would think I was getting beat up at home. Check out the start of my shiner...


It certainly wasn't a boring weekend...that's for sure!

bad timing!

I have been neglecting my blog lately and for that I am sorry....it's been insanely busy around my neck of the woods. I am, however, taking a short break to express my frustration in the incredibly bad timing of our cable being out on campus. For some reason we are not picking up channels 15-22...which include ESPN and ESPN2 and for any of you who know me well enough you know I am a die hard AUBURN TIGERS fan....and they play tonight on ESPN against Mississippi State. Needless to say I have been on the phone with the cable company most of the morning trying to get this issue resolved before 6:30pm. I may have to visit our local pub if something doesn't get worked out today.

WAR EAGLE!!!

just me and little man...

I took a mental health day on Wednesday and spent the day with my favorite little guy...Noah Lee Chandler. I absolutely adore that baby boy. We ran errands and did some shopping and just hung out at home with Matti and I loved every minute of it. Spending the day with him was great for my emotional wellbeing and was just a foretaste of what's to come this weekend. Amy and Cory are going to Atlanta for the weekend for the LSU season opener and Noah is staying behind with his Aunt Kabes for the weekend. Three days of single parenting will surely tell me if I am as ready for motherhood as I think I am. Either way...I'm excited to spend the weekend cuddled on the couch with my monkey watching SEC football. I am sure there will be lots of pictures to come!

Too Much Fun For WEEK ONE

Well I have fallen off the face of my blogging world because it has been one crazy semester! The Lord brought me out of a spiritual drought at the right time. Had I started any other semester the way this one has started I might would have been committed to the looney ben. During RA training we had to move an entire wing of beds from Cottingham (the women's dorm) to Tudor Hall (the men's dorm) in order to make bunk beds and sleep three freshmen to a room. We are definitely experiencing some growing pains at LC. We have the largest freshmen class in the history of the college and no where to sleep these guys. For now they are sleeping three to a room and most of them aren't too happy about it. I'm so thankful for my RA staff who make the big bed move like champs!

About the time that phone calls stopped coming in from upset moms about the Tudor Hall situation...the dam broke in CDA. The very first day of classes I was having lunch with a friend and came back on campus to find fire trucks at CDA and the building was flooded by the fire sprinkler system. Really?!?! First day of class and this is how it starts? I quickly sent out an SOS and my RAs came running to move 45 girls out of the building. For two days we moved girls, their stuff and all the beds from CDA to the empty wing on Cottingham. Needless to say the phone starting ringing off the hook again with upset parents wanting to know what the plan was. Every time the phone rang I just had to chuckle because I have yet to find an instruction manual in my office that says, "if a dorm floods do this, this and then this." We are just taking it one day at a time and trying to keep girls happy.

To say it's been a crazy semester is an understatement but here's to hoping for an uneventful Monday starting off week two.

A New Semester

Well, I have officially kicked off the start of year five at Louisiana College as the Director of Residence Life. I have the gray as proof that position isn't always easy, but it's a fun job and there is never a dull moment.

I've been missing in action on my blog for the last two weeks because I have been in training all day, every day with my 2010-2011 staff. The first week of training was with my head advisor staff...I love them to death! We had a lot of fun and got a lot accomplished in a weeks time. Here they are...

Hayden, Myra, Lizzie, Sara, Cory, Brian and KB

The second week has been spent in training with the rest of the RAs. By far the best staff I have ever worked with...I love them! I'm looking forward to an amazing year serving along side them. Here are just a few pics from our week of training...as you can see we played as much as we worked.



the head advisors making their giant clock that chimed "ode to joy"


one of the groups completing the "magic carpet" initiative at Dry Creek


this group was completing the "mohawk walk" initiative with a twist


playing the newly wed game...here are the cheaters..
I mean the winners, "the Terrells"


this is Lee Jones at our "white trash holiday party"

It's been a great week! Move In Day is tomorrow and we are busting at the seams with freshmen! I'm looking forward to a great year with a great staff!

why did the chicken cross the road?....

Funny you should ask why the chicken crossed the road. That's a joke we've all heard and yet in Uganda I discovered that the punchline is probably not "to get to the other side"...but rather "so I wouldn't cut his head off!" I realize that needs a bit of an explanation so here goes.

We hadn't been in Uganda long when I noticed just how many chickens were roaming around. In fact the first morning when I came out of my hotel room there was a chicken just walking in the parking lot. On our way from Gulu to Nebbi we stopped and purchased 7 chickens. Three of which were to be for our team meals and then we bought Geoffrey's family 2 and Stanley's family 2. We learned that eating chicken was usually a holiday treat and while we were there we were served chicken almost every day. You would have thought that we had given Geoffrey and Stanley a million dollars by buying them chickens to take home.

Back to the chickens....which I affectionately named Shadrack, Mishack and Abednigo. Probably shouldn't name animals that will soon be your dinner. We purchased the chickens and then tied them to the top of the van with our luggage. Those poor guys had to ride 4 hours strapped to the top of the van but all 7 were still there when we arrived in Nebbi. As the guys were loosening the ropes from our luggage (which was also holding the chickens) one of the little boogers got loose. Without any hesitation I reached for him and swiped him up by his legs. Not sure what got into me but I knew I couldn't let dinner get away. My team was quite impressed with my handy work.





If you haven't picked up on the fact that I loved every minute of being in Africa and had a desire to soak it all in...nows your chance to get a full glimpse into my experiences. While driving to Nebbi I told Geoffrey that I would like to get to kill one of the chickens that we were going to eat. I was mostly being serious and partly kidding. I have always wanted to learn how to ring a chickens neck and I knew if I was ever seriously going to move to Africa then I had to be woman enough to kill a chicken.

One morning...just happened to be the morning I wore a white shirt...Geoffrey and Stanley came to pick us up to head to some schools for ministry. Geoffrey told me that he needed to run to the bank but that Stanley was going to take me to his house so that I could kill the chicken that Joy was going to prepare for lunch that day. Oh joy! So remember how I thought I was going to ring the chicken's neck? Yeah, not so much. When we arrived at Geoffrey's, Stanley began to show me the process of how I was going to put Mishack to rest. You'll see the process in the next series of pictures but I had to stand on the wings with one foot, the feet with another foot and pull the neck up so I could chop off his head. Yep, I said chop. What happened to just breaking it's neck? Not the way they do things in Uganda. Not only did I have to cut his head off...they gave me a knife that was about as sharp as a butter knife so I had to saw the little guy in two.

Worry not...I didn't get any chicken blood on my white shirt. I was a champ at killing the chicken even though I was a little freaked out by the fact it's head was still clucking in my hand and it's body was flopping around under my feet and the two were not attached. All I know is Stanley told me not to step off the chicken until he stopped moving...so I didn't. Here are the pics of big big momma providing for the team.






I promise that is the only grusome story I will share about my time in Africa but I was too proud of my chicken killing adventure not to share. I promised my sister a new Uganda story by the end of the weekend and this was the easiest to tell.

more laughs and adventures...as promised!

So I was looking through my pictures and realized I need to back track for two quick stories that happened during our time in Atlanta...

The day before the team arrived in ATL I was out running errands for SaraBeth in Cheryl's car and got pulled over by the police. I truly was baffled as to why I was being pulled over because I knew I wasn't speeding. When the cop appeared at the window and asked if I knew why I was being stopped I could with all honesty say, "I have no idea." Come to find out Cheryl's registration on her jeep was expired and lucky for me it is the operator of the vehicle who gets the ticket. What a way to start a trip, huh?

Second back tracking story...during our first day together we did a blindfold walk as a team. As you can guess I was the only one who could see where we were going as I led the team through a parking lot and field in search of orange cones. This was just the first insight the team got into realizing that I was going to be leading them blind into a lot of adventures. I was struggling in giving them directions. I would tell them left when I really meant right. I realized that I can't flip directions in my head when I am facing them. The funniest is when we started down a hill and for some reason I told them we were about to go up a hill. Jimmy was in the front of the line and took a large step up to find the hill and almost hit the ground face first. Luckily I was there to block the fall. Again, just the start of realizing that even though I was the leader I didn't know much more than they did about what was ahead of us. In fact they would ask me all kinds of questions on a daily basis and I would just start making up answers. I would usually preface my answer with "well the last time I was here...." and they would just laugh and remember that I had never been to Uganda either. Here are some pics of our blindfold walk through the field.





okay now back to Uganda adventures.

So after landing in Entebbe and waiting in line to get our visas I had a small nervous breakdown...all internally of course. We had to have documentation of getting a yellow fever shot in order to enter the country. I told the team no less than 10 times the day before we left to make sure that the documentation was with their passport. In fact I kept reminding them and told them that the only part of Uganda they would see would be the airport if they forgot it. Guess who got to the airport and didn't have their yellow fever documentation? Yours truly. I knew exactly where it was..in the ziplock bag in my luggage with my allergy shots. Glory. Only by the grace of God did we make it through customs without having to show proof of vaccination and man was I relieved that it wasn't my luggage that was still in Amsterdam. As soon as I got my luggage I dug out that piece of paper and I had it with me at all times from then on out. Needless to say the team got a good laugh at my expense.

Morning one in Kampala we wake up and Geoffrey is nowhere to be found. No worries...at least that is what I kept telling myself. When I asked the lady at the desk if she knew where he was she told me he had not been here all night. A little confused I just said okay and walked out of the office. I knew Geoffrey has stayed with the boys so I figured he must have gone into town for something. We ate breakfast and got our bags ready for the trip to Gulu. As we loaded up the vehicle that was going to take us to the bus we quickly realized it was only by God's sovereignty that the boys bags didn't arrive. You see what happened is that the five of us, plus Geoffrey, plus the driver and all of our luggage (5 duffle bags and 3 big plastic containers with supplies) now had to fit into a toyota 4 runner. Yep that's right...a 4 runner. This was just the first of many times I would be told to sit in the front seat so that everyone could fit in the vehicle. The joys of being the chubby kid. Not too far from this day I would start affectionately be called big big momma. I am okay with the new name because being big in Uganda is a honor. I've been living in the wrong place my whole life, apparently. So here is just a glimpse into how packed the car was as we headed to the bus station.



Nothing like forced closeness?

Then came the six hour bus ride to Gulu. Just a warning this next part is not politically correct so if you are easily offended browse down to the next paragraph. For those of you who know me well this will not be shocking at all. I have grown up knowing and using the phrase "they were packed in like a bunch of mexicans" which is a reference to putting too many people in a little space. I have a new phrase now because Africans can pack in just as tight as Mexicans can. We were packed in like Africans on a six hour bus ride to Gulu. Matt, Maggie and I were crammed on the backseat of the bus with three African guys. The guy I was sitting by was named Stephen and he was a believer. He told us lots of stories of the rebel army and how he had escaped on three different occassions. The two most memorable things about sitting by Stephen were him using big big momma as a pillow. More times than I could count he would fall asleep and find himself sleeping on my arm, shoulder..wherever he landed. The other thing I remember was him buying us so much food. The bus would stop about every 45 minutes and people in the town would rush the side of the bus to sell their items. Every stop Stephen would buy us food...chapatte, corn, goat on a stick, kazava, grilled bananas, mangos, mango juice...you name it. I even got some boiled peanuts which made me feel like I was back in Alabama. The food was so good but we were all about to pop if he didn't stop buying us food. Stephen just wanted to make sure we got to experience true African food. CHECK!





The absolute funniest part of the bus ride...I heard a child start throwing up and looked up to see his father catching the throw up in his hand. Here we are in a close, confined space and this kid is hurling his cookies all over the bus. I was a little grossed out as I began digging in my bag for a napkin or wetones...something to pass up to the man. It was about that time that I looked up and realized that Jimmy was sitting right across the aisle from where all this is happening. I about died laughing...what are the odds that one of the two team members who doesn't have a change of clothes would get thrown up on. Classic. Luckily he dodged the bullet and only got a little splatter but I am still laughing about it as I write this post.

So that gets us to Gulu where our first days of ministry started. I will have to sort through pictures and see where to go from here. Stay tuned....

We Never Lacked for Laughter...

I guess following team introductions and then telling about how my spiritual drought came to an end...the next step is telling of our adventures. To say we never lacked for laughter seems like an understatment. We laughed with each other and at each other from day one. I certainly can't keep track of all the things we laughed at but I will try to document enough for me to always be able to look back on and for you to get a glimpse of the nuts I spent three weeks with.

Day One of training camp...Heather arrived from Blountsville, AL and I was anxious to meet my Alabama soul sister. We discovered early that we were living in a small world when we found out she had dated one of my cousins. Couldn't wait to meet the girl that was so excited about going to Uganda that it oozed over the phone whenever we talked. She arrived in Atlanta and was meeting with SaraBeth to pay off her trip and take care of all her paperwork. I need to preface that Heather got to expereience the Lord's faithfulness in raising money for the trip because she had her trip paid for and then almost double. The Sunday before coming to ATL her church took up a love offering and so she had an envelope with cash in it to turn in...when it came time to give the money to SaraBeth...she couldn't find it. I watched that girl tear her bag to pieces looking for the envelope. I knew at that moment that #1 I loved her already and #2 I needed to keep up with her passport if I was going to take this kid to Uganda and bring her back. Luckily I took a tour through her bag and found the envelope tucked safely in her bible.

Day Two of training camp...discovering that none of us had soccer skills. All I knew when I signed up to lead the trip was that we were going to Africa and that we would be working with orphans...all the other details were just fine print. I discovered when arriving in ATL that we were a soccer team, oh glory. Our first practice was a trip to say the least. Not only were we all exhausted after 30 minutes of play, we didn't know jack about soccer and we were about to head to the land of futbol. The Lord has a sense of humor. Here are just a few pics of our first soccer practice. The boys taught the three girls how to head the ball and let me be the first to tell you that if you don't hit the ball in just the right spot on your head you will have a killer headache.



After soccer practice came our next challenge....balloon animals. Who knew those things were so hard to blow up and even harder to make into something recognizable? We learned really quick that Jimmy would not be the balloon animal MVP. SaraBeth had blown up about 30 balloons to teach us how to make swords, hats and dogs...and in a matter of 5 minutes our boy Jimmy had popped 20 of them trying to make a dog. I saw yet another glimpse of the Lord's faithfulness becuase I was able to make balloon animals like a champ...no soccer for me! Before we left Atlanta I learned how to make a dog, a lion, a teddy bear, a sword, a hat and how to make Jonah in the whale...impressive, huh? Here are just a few pics of our balloon making lesson:






I knew it was going to be a great trip from the beginning because we laughed a lot together and genuinely enjoyed one another's company. Who knew that training camp was just a foretast of the laughs we would share.

Day one of travel...we went to check in at the ATL airport and Jimmy and Matt didn't show up on my e-ticket. Oops! I got the girls checked in and then began the process of trying to get the boys checked in. Matt's check in went smoothly and off he went. Then there was Jimmy...oh Jimmy. I will have to upload the pic from my iphone soon but Jimmy was being checked in by a lady who spoke very little English and I knew at that moment we were in trouble. When she took the two bags Jimmy was checking in and put them on the belt I knew in my gut we wouldn't be seeing those bags again. I asked her four different times if they were checked to Entebbe, Uganda (our final destination) and she told me yes. NOT SO MUCH! When we arrived in Uganda those two bags were no where to be found. The girls were relieved to know that the two bags Jimmy checked in were his and Matt's. We had to go through an hour long process of filing a claims report and of course the lady didn't give Jimmy a baggage claim ticket. It wasn't until four days later that we finally got the boys luggage. In the mean time we did laundry in a bucket because I had packed detergent. The girls loaned the boys some atheletic shorts...which was funny because they were sporting the daisy dukes on the soccer field. And poor Matt didn't pack any clothes in his carry-on despite his mom's instructions so he had to wash his undies every night...Jimmy had a spare. We loaned the boys shampoo and soap and Jimmy even used my deodorant. Talk about getting close really quick?!?! Needless to say the boys were great sports about the whole thing and were relieved when their luggage finally arrived after spending days in Amsterdam. Here are just a few pics of the boys in Heather's shorts:



I think in the Message the verse might would read..."greater love has no Heather...than to let Jimmy wear two pair of her shorts, one as shorts and the other as underwear." What a trooper!

And then there were CANKLES...yep, that's right. After two days of air travel four of the five of us discovered we no longer had ankles. Needless to say Matt got some laughs at our expense and eagerly volunteered to take a picture. I'll take cankles over wearing a bright green shirt for five days in a row any day. (sorry that was probably too soon.)



...more stories to come.