Growth

Helloo!!

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween. :) Ours didn't turn out quite like I'd planned, but it wasn't bad. I wanted to watch this marathon of Halloween tv shows, make Halloween cookies and just hang out with Beebs...but we ended up going to Graham and Deb's place and having dinner....which took a lot longer than I expected and we didn't get a chance to do anything remotely Halloweeny. :( Oh well.

In other news, the house is completely spotless! I did some garge sale-ing with Debra on Saturday morning and got some really pretty bowls and plates and things that suit our neutral theme in the living room, so I've displayed them on the shelves in there and it looks really nice. It's just nice to be in a clean house! Chris and I are naturally extremely disorganized and messy people (a blessing actually because I'd drive him insane otherwise) so who knows how long the house will stay this way. It will be nice while it lasts though!

Amelia sent Bean a new collar in the mail!! He's never had a collar with a bell on it before and was freaking out trying to figure out where the ringing was coming from! Click on the first picture in my Flickr Stream on the left to watch a video of him doing back-flips across the living room trying to catch sight of the bell, or click here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43479003@N03/4063020647/

Bean can now not only play "fetch" but "catch" as well. If we throw the ball down the hall, he'll chase it, bring it back and place it in our hand. Now if you throw the ball directly at him, he'll jump 18 inches off the ground and catch the ball between his paws every time. He's awesome!! Coolest cat I've ever had, hands down he just takes the cake. :) It's too bad most of y'all haven't been able to meet him yet!!

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We've also planted some new shrubs in the garden. We've had them for almost a month now but only just decided to plant them in the pots we've gotten. They actually look really really nice and make a big difference to the side of the house! We've thrown Miracle Gro all over the lawn in front of the picket fence and on the left side of the yard. The lawn in front of the fence is responding nicely, but the lawn on the left side of the backyard is still grey and dead. :( I hope it comes up!! It's REALLY hard to have a green lawn here though with all the water restrictions (sprinkling M & F between the hours of 5-9 pm ONLY. Hand watering Tues. Wed....something like that) and I don't know if we'll ever manage to have a completely patch-free yard but we're going to try!!


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I talked to Debra about how I've been feeling about next year. I really want to do a hairdresser apprenticeship...but I just couldn't feel "at peace" about it. I know that God needs me in Moranbah and I feel like I could make a big difference here as far as the programs for youth are concerned which is why I feel like I'm supposed to be here, like the youth are my purpose....I just feel like locking myself into a 3 year apprenticeship would mean giving up any opportunities to work with youth during that period. I'd be too tied down and I think I need flexibility right now. I'm also having a hard time playing "the game" in Moranbah which is sooo "not what you know but who you know" that it makes me want to scream. No one wants to hire you for the 9-5 type jobs if you're not "a local" or if they're not familiar with your family or your husband, etc. etc. It doesn't matter how hard you work, if someone else comes in who's best friends with the boss's wife or has a good reference with the manager's golf buddy they'll get the job over you every time. I'm not used to that....but I know that I need to get my face in the community if I'm going to gain the trust of the community. SO Debra and I decided that I should go on like, a volunteering spree next year and forget about the job for now. I'm going to volunteer at the Salvation Army, MDSS, HS "tuck shop", RE program, Lifeline and whatever else I can find. I'm just going to dive in and tell them I have absolutely nothing to do and would love to help whenever and however they need me. I would LOVE to just be involved and meet people and make a difference. :)

There's also some high school aged girls at church (maybe 3?) and I'd really like to get to know them and see if they'd like to start a girls youth group of some kind. I'd provide food and fun and they just show up. I wouldn't want it to be like a bible study or anything, just a place where they can come with their friends and know that no one will judge them, there's no "in" group and they're all just friends hanging out. I'm excited about it. :) I think it'd be cool to do a craft each week like jewelry or something.....I dunno. I'll talk to them and see if we should set up a meeting with their parents to get something started.

There was 22 people at church on Sunday, btw!!!! This is HUUGE compared to the 3 people in September. In a population of 6000, that is a really big deal. Percentage-wise, if we were in Fort Worth with a pop. of 720k (not counting surrounding cities that some churches attract attendance from) it would be as if 2600 people came to your church when your avg. attendance is 360 people. I just had to be excited with you!!

Gotta go to bed now, but I love y'all and can't wait til the next update. YOU should start a blog if you don't have one. I would read all the time. Promise. ;)