child at heart

So what’s new? I feel like I have a ton of stuff to update ya’ll on.

While I was in China I was able to go to the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. EXCITEMENT ABOUNDED! I called the parents from the Great Wall (to bad they didn’t answer the phone – LOSERS) and they know they can never top that call. It probably cost me like $10 to do that too. Either way I thought it was worth it. It made me sad that the people of China still worship Mao even after he’s been dead almost 30 years. It was eerie to be so close to his body and to see up close the way the people stared at his picture. It was almost sickening. They are so lost and they don’t even know it! Lord send me to tell them about you.

The orphanage was amazing. I wanted to bring home some children, I know I’ve already written about this a little but I’ve never missed children as much as I miss those in Chifeng. Especially Grover and Beaver. My little boys. Ugh. Sometimes I wish God wouldn’t call me to go on trips like these because they make me hurt so badly when I have to come back home and they stay there. In those buildings. With no parents. No home.  No personal love. No God. Please pray about this with me and that God will reveal His will to me because I know my God is not a God of confusion.

Joey turned 20 on April 16^th so mom officially has two ADULT children. She ain’t got no mo babies. This year was hard for her because that happened and not even two weeks later I walked for graduation. She said “why do ya’ll always do this to me!? I can’t catch a break”… and I just told her I had no control over how things played out time wise. She was the one who had the kids so close together. But I still can’t believe Joey is 20. It makes me feel real old. Ugh on the subject of birthdays I will be 23 this year. I’m still not sure how I feel about that myself.

I feel like I am stuck in graduation season right now. High Schools are graduating and we have quite a few precious friends who will be doing that first amazing walk this year. I get so excited for them each time I open their announcement. How excited they must feel, or anxious about what’s next. I love those kids and can’t wait to see them walk!

Last Friday I went with some friends and the parents and watched Tim Hawkins at Frazer. It was SO much fun and I don’t know when the last time I laughed that hard was. I was really happy he had some new material and he does have that much energy in real life. Home dude was bouncing around the stage, falling on the floor and dancing with people in the audience the whole night. I was tired just watching him. I was able to meet him afterwards and get his autograph. It was fun and he was down to earth… just a regular Joe down the block kind of guy.

Our new manager started 2 or so weeks ago, his name is Richard. He seems nice and I think eventually I will like him but he is no David so you know how that goes. He is a little more uptight and we don’t really know his personality yet, plus he is all about cleaning up the store, which we need but at the same time I want to be like THIS AINT YO STORE…. Stop throwing everything out. Ugh. It’s just because I didn’t want David to leave and I know that but still. His son just got married last weekend so he’s been gone last week so we didn’t really get to work with him.

 Just turned in my resume and cover letter last night for that job I applied for in North Carolina. Even if I don’t get it just doing that simple thing makes me feel like I have reached a new level in my life. It makes growing up seem inevitable, like I’ve now applied for a real job so I can never turn back to how it was just last month. I’m not a college kid just looking for a part time job – I am looking for something that will sustain me so I can move out eventually and take care of myself. I still cannot believe I am about to be a college graduate and will be in a new season of life. I’m still praying about what the Lord wants me to do and I am in the process of applying to IMB, One Hope, Café 1040 and maybe a couple other places. I figured I would just keep applying to places that I feel the Lord would want me to check out and then He would close the door as needed. I’m just trying to be faithful. I really feel like I need a change though, and this would be pretty awesome. I feel like I need to get out of my parents house. I need something to call my own but I don’t know if now is the time both financially and if its God’s timing.

 Now for my nerd moment, I am watching Twilight right this second and am almost done reading Eclipse again getting ready for the movie. Plus Muse will have another song on this upcoming movies soundtrack. Awesome. Which I also read online last night that tickets start going on sale this Friday, May 14^th!!!! Heck freaking yes. Alaura, Clara, myself and maybe Jacky and some other friends WILL be going to the midnight showing. Plus I have my wolf shirt and “Team Tent Scene” attitude ready for next month. :) Don’t judge me. Everyone has their thing. Don’t you just love how I can’t seem to make coherent sentences? Yeah, that is a little pathetic.

 The team for Kenya is leaving on June 14^th, and the team is the Trulls and Alex. No one else could find the money to go this year. This is cool because Alex will have opportunities that the rest of us did not have, for example, she gets to spend 4 days staying at Makenas house and then 4 days at Gladys house and then I’m not sure what else. Jealous, much. My heart aches that I will not be going back. That place truly is like home to me, some days I feel like I don’t belong here in Alabama. Some days I feel like I let them down by coming back here to Alabama rather than finding the way to stay with them, because Lord knows I have the will and want to. Please pray for them as they figure out what they will be doing this summer. There are some major changes going on with the trip and Alex gets to be there to experience them. She’s so lucky.

 Joey kind of has a girlfriend now. They haven’t really made it “official” or anything but they like each other a lot. And enjoy spending time with one another. They have so much in common. She came over and watched Fantastic Mr. Fox a couple weeks ago and then they went out to the movies to watch how to train a dragon last week. He seemed about as giddy as she did on the whole subject.  I don’t know. I don’t want to say too much until things get more serious or not.

 On the plus side I’ve been able to spend some more time with my precious friends. Alaura and I have been working together a lot so we have been hanging out a good bit on lunch breaks and just being goofy. She and Chris have set an official date for the wedding! January 8, 2011! I about jumped out of my skin with excitement when she told me. I don’t know why I am putting all this on here; this post is starting to end up like a teenager’s diary entry. Plus my friend Jacky has FINALLY started calling me to hang out since baby arrived. I like it though. And I like baby, she is pretty awesome. Looks just like her father though, poor thing. But not really, Darren is nice looking. (and I say that as a friend only Jacky, you know that.)

 I am not 100% sure what all this was about… I decided to write about my mind since graduation and you see what came out instead. I feel like my mind is going in about a thousand different directions now a days and I don’t know how to calm it down. It can be very tiring. Bleh. Ok I am done now I promise.