Playing Mom

I am currently babysitting four girls (the family I met in the airport) until Saturday. They are 10, 8, 5, and 3. I’m having a blast! I have to admit, I had been a little bit nervous about it just because things are SO different here than at home. Thankfully though, things have been really great and I have yet to feel nervous!

Today we played outside, climbed some trees, went out to dinner, and watched a movie. Oh, and in honor of April Fool’s Day we short-sheeted Chrissy’s bed – because every kid needs to know how to do that, right?! The girls thought this was way cool and could not stop giggling as I was putting them to bed. Somehow Chrissy didn’t catch on…

It’s definitely a lot of work, but so worth it! Tomorrow we’re having a “girls only party” to include dyeing Easter eggs, painting nails, watching a movie, and having a dance party – these are my kind of girls for sure!

April Fools!

These last few weeks have been insane. I have been incredibly busy, but I feel like it has been a busyness with more substantial things. I've been reading a LOT. . . mainly my Bible, Passion and Purity, and Martin Luther's commentary on Galatians. I have loved Luther's commentary. It has given me great insight into Galatians! I haven't loved P&P as much as I expected. It comes highly recommended, but I didn't think it quite lived up to the hype. Good, but not awesome. I just bought a C.S. Lewis book with a collection of seven books on spirituality. . . Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Abolition of Man, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed. I won't have a chance to start those until next week, but I'm looking forward to it. I also got Crazy Love by Francis Chan and More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.

Today I watched the complete "Does Satan Exist" debate and it was great! I thought that it was very representative of spirituality in America today. It makes me really sad, but I thought that those in defense of Jesus were very powerful. I would highly recommend watching it! It's pretty long, but very worth it.

I went to lunch with Ann from my office today and really enjoyed spending time with her. She has been a great encouragement in my life, and it has been nice to have an older Christian woman to pour into my life.


So, for April Fool's Day, I decided to send my roommates an eviction notice. Since our apartments already despise us, it wasn't really that hard to make it believable. Here is what the letter said:

Dear Apartment Residents,

This is an official notice of eviction, effective two weeks from today, April 15, 2009. Your compliance is appreciated. The following reasons are given for this notice:

1. Failure to pay full rent each month (Reference previous documents received).

2. Disregard of noise complaints filed by other Country Oaks residents (Reference previous documents left at your residence).

3. General hostility toward office staff.

Please note that failure to vacate by the above date will result in legal action. The Sheriff’s Department has been notified of the pending eviction and will be on hand April 15 to ensure that appropriate actions have been taken.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact the attorney listed on our website. Any attempts to contact office staff will be viewed as threatening and hostile and will be dealt with accordingly.

Sincerely,

Management Staff

It worked beautifully and was hilarious! I would highly recommend evicting your roommates as an excellent April Fools joke.


That's all for now. I'm looking forward to Easter and the celebration of Jesus' gift of salvation.

A Week (or two) in Review

Things have been rather mundane around here lately. Insanely busy, but nothing really important. A few highlights:

1. I chaperoned a middle school Valentine's Day dance. It was a good reminder of why I would never want to be in middle school again. I also got to deal with children who decided to get into a fight right in front of me. That was exciting (as in terrifying).

2. Our apartment is in a little bit of a prank war at the moment. Yesterday Roommate A got out of the shower to find that her bed was missing from its rightful place in her bedroom. It was later discovered in the living room. It's weird how those things can sometimes happen without any apparent cause or explanation. On Valentine's, Roommate S came home to a Christmas tree next to her bed. It stayed there for several days before it made its way back into a box. I have come home to a messed up closet, missing dishes, and rearranged picture frames on my walls. They are winning, so you can e-mail you fantastic prank ideas to me at any time.

3. I leave for Mexico in less than three weeks!! I am so excited. I have raised most of my money for the trip already and it has been really cool to watch it all come together. God's provision really is awesome!!

4. I am continuing to explore different avenues for a year overseas working with orphans. I don't have a specific country or even part of the world in mind, but I am trying to stay open to wherever the Lord would like to send me. It's an exciting, while terrifying time!


That's all for now. I have to go read, study, and write some papers. Sounds fun, right?

Hilarious!

I watched this video from someone else's blog that I follow and thought it was hilarious! I don't watch the Ellen show and typically think she's really annoying, but this is definitely worth watching. Make sure you watch the whole way through because it gets even better towards the end!