Stunning

I'm not pregnant, but if I ever am, I want a photo like this from photographer Michael Seif via NPR's Baby Blog Project. Simply stunning. 

What one thing would you give up?

My day job covering disasters (and my former life as a journalist) means that I'm usually right in the middle of some of the worst humanitarian crises happening around the world every single day.  And sometimes that can be overwhelming.


Other times, I remember, like the story of the starfish, that even if I can do just one thing today to help make someone else's life better, I am making the world a better place and honoring the "least of these." 

“..Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

Instead of getting discouraged about the tragedy, the injustice, the chaos that I see all around me, I want my life to be like the starfish story.  So today, I want to ask myself again: what one thing would I give up to help someone else? I'm still thinking about what my one thing will be.  Maybe a meal? Maybe a Starbucks or a trip to Target? Simple, I know, but I want to do something more. 


Join the conversation with World Vision and challenge yourself, your friends, your colleagues, your church buddies, your children to give up ONE thing today, this week or this month to help support World Vision's emergency relief efforts in the Horn of Africa.


You can make it your Facebook profile pic here.  Or get some more ideas by reading this blog here.  Or even just text "FAMINE" to 20222 to give $10 to the cause.  


What one thing would you give up?

From Cleveland to the Carolinas

Last weekend was bittersweet as we traveled home to Ohio for my grandmother's memorial service.  We had a good time reminiscing about her amazing skills as an Italian cook, her great smile, and her love for our family.  These two pictures are two of my favorites.  The one on the bottom looks like something on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1945, doesn't it? And the photo on the top was taken when my grandmother was in her mid-20s.   Some people have said that I resemble my grandmother quite a bit - what do you think?

My sister, Chelcie, holding my parents' dog, Grace, outside of Duke University's beautiful chapel.

Date night in downtown Durham at an area known as "American Tobacco" -  several old factories that have been turned into restaurants, bars, office space, and shops. Very cool!

After the funeral, my parents and youngest sister road-tripped from Ohio to North Carolina, and they stayed a few days for a visit. We had a great time exploring our new neighborhood together: Duke University and the gorgeous chapel, the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, UNC's Medical School campus, Franklin Street, and even the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen for breakfast. Yummm! 



We've also had a little déjà vu here because we visited our friends, B&G, here a few times, while they were living in Durham, and we did a lot of the same things! We even have a photo of the two of us eating dinner with them at the Carolina Brewery on Frankin Street about 6 years ago. It's funny to look at us then and think: if you only KNEW what was in store for you in the next 6 years! Getting married, moving to Boston, Costa Rica, and then eventually Chapel Hill! Changing jobs (twice), starting medical school, and more. When life is chaotic, it's nice to know that the Lord promises us He has a plan for it all.  My head feels like it has been spinning for the past several months.

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.  "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  

First day!

Yes, I still take pictures on the first day of school...or work.   (Even though he's 29 years old).


Yes, I still pack lunches in lunch boxes. (This one's green from Target). 


And yes, I like to write little notes in the lunch boxes. (Awwwww). 


And I may or may not have sent B off on his first day of medical school with the reminder that my mom used to say to me and my sisters every day as we ran to catch the bus:


Let your light shine for Jesus today! Don't talk to any boys! Be nice to the lonely kids!


(So the "talking to boys" part might not be as applicable, but you get the idea!) So proud of you, BB, and the UNC Medical School Class of 2015. 

From Costa Rica...to the Carolinas

Well, a lot has happened over the past two weeks.  We packed up our apartment in Costa Rica, said goodbye to our friends there, flew to the U.S. and spent a few days in Boston with our dear friends, bought a car (my first real car!), drove 800 miles from Boston to North Carolina** (with a 12-hour stopover to visit friends on the Eastern Shore of Maryland), went on a weekend lake retreat with Brian's new classmates, started working from home again, started medical school orientation, and started looking at houses! Phew.


**Yep! After two years of pre-med courses, a year of applying to medical school, two MCAT exams, and three trips back to the U.S. for interviews, Brian is starting medical school at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC) tomorrow! Praise the Lord. 


To say that our heads are spinning a bit is an understatement.  But God is good! We've met some new friends here (including a Christian couple who lives within walking distance of our home now and is in Brian's class), went out to eat at an awesome restaurant in Chapel Hill called Lantern, wandered around and did some exploring, and are just getting used to life back here in the U.S. again.


In all honesty, it feels like the pressures of the past few months have just melted away as we moved back here.  There really hasn't been a lot of transition time; we've just moved quickly from one life to the other, but it's been a pretty smooth transition for us.  Chapel Hill is certainly different than anywhere else we've lived as adults (NYC, Boston, D.C., Costa Rica, Atlanta) but there's a lot that we already love about it, and I know we'll continue to fall in love with our new life here!


Here's a glimpse of our life over the past two weeks.

Last night at Cafe de los Deseos in San Jose.

 

Adios, Costa Rica!

My first real car! 2006 Honda CR-V.

Enjoying a delicious, farm fresh breakfast with Grady, Sarah, Liam and Parks. Yumm!

Our friends, the Powells, in Maryland with their two sweet boys.

 

800-ish miles later, we made it! Hey y'all!

Sweet jeans are made of these

One of the processes I enjoy most during a move is the "throw away."   Going through old clothes, getting rid of stuff that we don't use anymore, and finding a good new home for it! Anytime I do this, I hear my Oma's voice in my head saying, "Waste not, want not!" 


So, I can't throw ANYTHING away.  I find donation stores, recycling centers, or neighbors who could use a hand.  I thought I had pretty much found every way to use every old thing we have, but this is a first for me! Have you ever heard of recycling old jeans and turning them into insulation material for homes? LOVE it. 


Brian gave me a pair of his old jeans for the giveaway pile, and they were gently worn but had a hole in an unfortunate place (let's just say we couldn't donate this pair to the local Salvation Army!).  A quick Google search pulled up Cotton from Blue to Green, a fantastic recycling program that allows you to mail in your old denim (jackets, jeans, anything!) and they will transform it into insulation material that can be used for homes with Habitat for Humanity. How cool is that? 


I'm heading to the post office tomorrow to make those old jeans "new" again!

NYTimes: Evangelicals Without Blowhards

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to share this insightful New York Times column from Nicholas Kristof over the weekend about the changing role of evangelical Christians in caring for the poor and oppressed around the world:

"...Partly because of such self-righteousness, the entire evangelical movement often has been pilloried among progressives as reactionary, myopic, anti-intellectual and, if anything, immoral.

Yet that casual dismissal is profoundly unfair of the movement as a whole. It reflects a kind of reverse intolerance, sometimes a reverse bigotry, directed at tens of millions of people who have actually become increasingly engaged in issues of global poverty and justice..."

PS: We arrived! Landed in Boston around midnight with 5 suitcases, 1 bicycle, and 2 tired travelers.  Only 1 suitcase ended up stranded in Houston but that should be coming later today. Praise God!