This is my brother.
If you don't know him, you are missing out.
He has such a sunny disposition. ;)
I don't know many 37 year olds who will wear a shirt that their mom and sister got them.
But my brother will.
Probably because it fits him so well.
"My imaginary friend doesn't like you either."
He once had an imaginary friend.
His name was Leon.
My brother is hilarious.
If I don't post again for awhile.
It's because my brother found me. :)

On a more serious note now...
I am so incredibly proud of my nephew, Cody.
He graduated high school an entire year early.
Just so he could hurry up and join the Marines.
As you can see, this has been a goal from childhood for him.
Brainwashed?
Probably.
But regardless, I'm still so proud of him.

Cody.
Also hilarious.

Today, I met my friends Monica & Anthony in New Hope, PA.
A beautiful day, full of people and activities I love.

We went to see this cool looking lookout tower.
Which we discovered was built after any war.
To commemorate something that might have happened there.
Who said historical sights are boring!

Then as we got slightly disoriented in driving we happened on this lovely park.
The water was perfect.

The smooth stoned bottom of the brook was quite lovely to walk on.

I am always amazed at where God can grow things of beauty.

Me, Monica & Anthony.
A snake and running a good ways over rocks made this a tricky pic to take!
A perfect day with wonderful friends.

I'm so glad they finally got together and married.
What a sweet couple they are!

Anthony was a good buddy of mine in seminary.
It was fun to reconnect with him and see him married to someone wonderful!


Apparently, Monica and I have the same thought about swings.
What could be more wonderful on a summer day?!

One of two covered bridges we went on.
I don't remember ever having been on one before!

New Hope, PA.

Last week, after Cori left, I had a couple of down days. Then I went to Lowes and Target - and it hit me just why they have all these chain stores and restaurants.

They make you feel at home.

Maybe that's pushing it. They at least help you forget where you are for a time - which can be comforting in the transition stage. When I went inside Target, there was little way to tell that I was in PA - it could just as well have been IA or SC. Tonight after a really long day, I needed to get a few things for a picnic tomorrow and I had no idea what time the grocery stores closed - so where did I go? Yep, Target. It's nice to go someplace that at least feels familiar when you aren't feeling so great. I'm generally a "support the little guy" type of person - but in the last two weeks, I have really appreciated the familiar things - Target, Lowes, Panera, Chick-fil-a, and Donut Land.

And now it's time for a new observation about PA. This one comes much thanks to my teammate, Mark, who pointed it out when writing down some directions for me...

Roads here randomly change names. For instance, the other night I was on Holland Road (a nice name for a road.) Then I crossed over Upper Holland Road (a bit of redundancy?). THEN, the road I was on suddenly changed into Middle Holland Road (a serious lack of creativity!). It's always an adventure.

These are some close friends from my days in Dakar.
They emailed me a few days ago to let me know they were close by in NJ.
So I drove up two nights in a row to hang out.
Tonight we went to see Dark Knight...REALLY good, by the way.
It was a nice break from the quiet nights in my house.

Peace and her new neice.

Though the rain threatened our walk.
It was worth it for the rainbow!

A place so rich in history.

I had no idea parts of NJ could be so pretty.
This is an old Dutch windmill.
Brought over a long time ago, as you can see.

Rick, Peace, and Ann...they are SO much fun!

Such a beautiful family!

So I finally got this pic and had to share it.
My ray of Sunshine in life and myself...
I think this was the day before I left.
The day I made my brother really mad.
And when I realized he wasn't going to actually kill me,
I laughed. :)

Me and B.
Love you, girl!

So I promised some "interesting discoveries" that I have made in the last couple of days here in my new home....here they are - and yes, this list will get added to!

• I thought SC driving was bad...then I moved here.
• There is actually a sign on my road that says, "BEWARE OF AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS"
• Apparently "Have a good one" is said in place of "Have a nice day" (or some variation)
• Cori's personal favorite, there is a road (or is a street?) called "Street Road"
• And on a good note, on the whole, everyone has been far friendlier than I expected

And by the way, Cori's birthday is tomorrow (Monday)...so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND!
Love you!

So I'm in PA now.
My wonderful co-workers came over yesterday to help me unload.
I have been in the midst of boxes and bubble wrap all day just trying to make sense of this place.
I dropped Cori off at the airport this morning...that was hard.
But - I wanted to share pics from the last leg of my trip...
And to whet your appetite: My next post will be about some interesting things I have noticed in PA thus far...stay tuned!

The view from our hotel room.
Right. On. The. Beach.
Utter perfection.

I love beach pics.
But I don't love trashcans in my beach pics.

The beach.
Ah.

A pelican. Just for my dad.

Reflecting.

Though we were only here a day and a half, we spent some serious time out here.
And I caught up on a lot of sleep!

So peaceful.

Cori and I ventured to a sea food place.
I don't like seafood.
But I still ate some fish.
Cori had popcorn shrimp and...
Yeah, a crab.
It freaked us out a little. :)

Beach bums - as you can see from the sun kissed look.
It was fun...I just regret that it is over.

It is not very often that my various worlds get to intermingle. However, it is enjoyable when they do...especially when they flow seamlessly. Yesterday, Cori and I arrived in Cola, SC where I went to seminary and caught up with a few people. Tomorrow morning we head out for two days on the beach in NC...but here are a few snapshots of our evening tonight...

After a yummy dinner, we had ice cream. Cori likes ice cream, but doesn't often get it in Senegal...so she had the works...two kinds PLUS whip cream PLUS nuts PLUS chocolate syrup!

After dinner we played a game that bridges these two worlds well...Dutch Blitz. Tom was a good enough sport to sit in on one round (he's not a big fan). :)

When he retired for the evening, we ladies continued on for one more match.

Welcome to my two worlds...CIU and Dakar.

It was good. Surrounded by people I love...a glimpse into what Heaven will be like...no big lakes lie between us, just believers gathered together with Jesus. :)

It was a good visit...and tomorrow we are off...again.

Yesterday we hung out with our friends here in AL at a pool. The little kids and big ones alike had a lot of fun. :)

J and his grandpa...this kid is hilarious!

Tonight...
We had to make room in my new car for Bethany...but we forgot about making room for the stuff she bought on our outing to Target!

This is purely in honor of my cousin, Alisa. I just couldn't help myself!

It was fun seeing these two together again. :)

Saying goodbye.

I've woken up a few mornings in the last week a little confused as to where I was. Yesterday, I was in Georgia with my cousin and her family. Today, I picked up Cori and we are in Alabama with our friends who we taught in Senegal with. :)

My two favorite little guys...M and B.

Before I left GA today, we went to the park and played.
Alisa and B had fun on the tire swing...

And M had fun on the slides.

Scott and his daredevil son, M, who was up for anything today...except playing with the little girl who was also at the park. :)

Alisa and B...they are little monkeys!

ALABAMA
My friend Bethany's oldest son...he has a thing for accessories and apparently my flops looked inviting!

This little guy and I hung out most of the evening while watching the boys set off fireworks.

J had his first experience with sparklers...overall, it went pretty well!

Some of our fireworks. :)

Joseph showing his son how sparklers really work!

And to end the night, we found a new little friend.
We will be in AL until Monday morning when we continue our adventure by heading to SC.

So I am behind with updates...so far my trip has included a stop in Indy to see my friend Sus and her husband and little girl...then on to Tennessee to hang out with Bekah & Eric (and his brother and dad!)...fun times all around thus far...as you can see!

Sus and Jim took A and I to the zoo...the lemurs make me laugh. :)

The petting zoo is her favorite part of the whole zoo...and for good reason!

A really liked the goats!

Mom and A washing hands after playing with goats

This is one of my favorite parts of this zoo...the gardens and butterflies!

After the zoo, Sus and I went to Cheesecake Factory and caught a movie...fun times. :)

I got to Tennesse on Tuesday afternoon to visit my friends Bekah & Eric. Bekah informed me that she wanted to do some canning - for the veggies they have pulled from their garden thus far...it was a new experience for the both of us as you can see below. Eric's brother, Mark, and their dad joined us today...and were we ever glad they were here!

This is a pretty good picture of our afternoon...snapping beans, cutting/freezing veggies, grating zucchini, etc. These are the sweet times of life...when it all slows down and the company of friends is simply enjoyed.

Eric and Mark, storing the grated zucchini.

The four of us sat around snapping beans and finally finished them all up.

Getting the green beans ready for the pressure cooker...

Me and Bekah...with our jars ready for the next step!

The pressure cooker was the one part of the process that made us all a little uneasy. We were all new to canning and the directions weren't really clear on this thing. Thankfully, between the five of us (Eric & Mark's dad arrived just in time - he knew what he was doing), we got it figured out...

But as you can see...everything turned out all right! And in the morning we'll see if the jars sealed or not. :)

After finishing the beans, the boys went to the store to stock up for their hiking/camping trip over the weekend. Bekah and I went outside and got some fresh air of our own...and I admired the view from her porch - the Smokey Mountains!

So after our little break outside, we came back in and did 9 jars of pickles to end our day!
Tomorrow I'm off to Georgia to see my cousin and her family!