Sunday, January 23, 2011

Sanctity of Human Life

Sorry for two videos in a row, but I saw this video a few years ago and then again a couple days ago.

In honor of Sanctity of Human Life Day today:

Friday, January 21, 2011

"This Was Grace"

I LOVE this video.

It's a great reminder of the wisdom of God's sovereignty.


This Was Grace from Andrew Laparra on Vimeo.

Miss this...

Christine is my super fun, Jesus-lovin', friend and Ugandan sister.  She and my sister Laura got to meet when Laura came to visit me.

We went and ate pizza at a restaraunt on Lake Victoria and it was awesome.

Miss you, Christine!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

It's Been a Year!

It's officially been one year since I left for Uganda, which just totally blows my mind.  It already seems like such a whisper of time that I was even there, yet I still catch myself saying, "Oh, I just got back from Uganda."

So, in honor of the one year anniversary of me leaving for Uganda, here's a short list of great ways to support missionaries (other than financially):

1.  Pray for them daily.  And make sure you tell them you're doing so, even sending specific prayers.

2.  Write e-mails.  Lots of them.  They don't even have to be interesting.  I was thrilled by every little detail of life at home.

3.  Send care packages.  Excellent ideas include: Oreos (chocolate or my favorite golden) or non-meltable candy, photos, smelly lotions or candles, books, and CDs.  There are lots of other things I could think of too, but the simple stuff truly is the most exciting.

4.  Stay updated with what's going on "over there."  It was really encouraging for me to get blog comments because that way I knew people were reading my blog and cared about what I was doing.

5.  Call or Skype.  If this is an option, it's fun for all parties involved.  You might have to stay up late or get up early, but it's totally worth it!

So, thanks for all of you who did these things (and supported me in other ways) while I was gone.  I appreciate each one of you!  That's all I got in my five minutes of brainstorming, so hope you enjoyed!

I spent the weekend in Wisconsin, visiting Christine, who I lived with in Uganda.  It was really strange to see her in America (I had never even seen her in jeans!) AND in the snow - quite a difference from the last time we met!

Anway, we had a great time catching up and I was ridiculously excited about the six inches of snow while I was there.  We went sledding, baked cookies (I taught her the recipe for Cowboy cookies), went on a wine tour, and took a hike through some woods.  And we talked, and talked, and talked about Uganda and all the people we love there. 

Here are a few pictures:

 Hiking.
 Sledding. In the dark. Totally awesome!
The snowy woods. So pretty!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

17, 25, and 21 (almost)

Has it really been over four months since I've posted?  Yikes!

I'm alive and well and just about fully adjusted back to America (though I think there are some things to which I will never completely adjust).  I've been busy, though not doing a whole lot to speak of.  I worked at a day care for a few months and it was just not a good fit for me.  Now I'm working at Crate and Barrel, which I LOVE!  Never thought I would say that about retail, but it's true.  There are awesome opportunities for conversation and it has felt a bit like ministry at times. :)  Starting today, I'm also hard-core job-searching.  If you know of any opportunities, let me know!  I prefer Washington D.C. or Dallas.

Just a few things to note:

Conner turned 17 in December!  We had fun celebrating his birthday and Laura made this awesome cake - a perfect representation of his interests this year.


My parents celebrated their 25th anniversary with a trip to New York City.  They had a great trip and Conner and I had a great time hanging out for the week.

Laura turns 21 in a few weeks.  She'll be back at school by then and who knows if I'll remember to blog it, so happy early birthday, sis!  Here we are at Murchison Falls on the Nile.

And here we all are on Christmas Eve.  I had to work, so I didn't join the rest of the family for church.  Plus, we had to wear tacky sweaters to work.  So here I am in a awesome Christmas sweater with the rest of my family looking great!  (I decided to leave it un-cropped because that makes the picture that much better.)