Reviewing the Situation

If you've been lucky enough to help me celebrate my birthday over the years, you've heard me ask questions to reflect on - or review - the previous year.  I try to stick to the highlights, but often the year must include the low moments, too, to be adequately described.  I just like moments, occasions, events that are ripe with opportunity to look back.  Lately I've been convicted that I need to do this ritual more often - like every day - to be reminded of how God is working in my life and the world each day.   Ask Him for guidance in the morning and be thankful for His presence and answer in the evening.  I'm working on it. 


Wednesday of this week was the end of finals and tonight we have graduation at my new school.  Among so many other differences between community college and public school, the semester ends earlier, of which I am NOT complaining :)  However, it's still a new routine for me to get used to and I find myself thinking "How can I do this better?"  or "What did I enjoy most about this new job?" 


Last night I was able to take out to dinner 4 of our international students who are still on campus while most have already left.   I had thought I'd waited too long to try to organize something, but one of the students came by my office on Monday and I took it as a sign we needed to do something, even if it was small, to celebrate this end (& to celebrate his graduation).  The guys were very gracious as we drove to Tyler, ate at #Genghis Grill (which they all loved in great contrast to the cafeteria food they've eaten all year), stopped in at #GameStop so they could buy a new game to fill much of their time in the next few days (!), and then I treated them to their very first DQ #Blizzards!!  All in all, a good time.


Some of them still struggle with their English skills, which can make conversation -stilted- at times.  But I came prepared with my questions, genuinely curious of their answers.  I was suprised by some of them and wanted to share them, or at least record them for my own memory. 

3 of the 4 just arrived in country for the first time in January, while the 4th one has been here for 2 years.  Three of them are from Turkmenistan, one from Japan.

At the question, "What have you missed most?,"  the answers, not surprisingly, strongly centered on family and friends, but also included specifically parties with those friends.  As we talked I was reminded of the joy of making new friends while living abroad, but it doesn't compare to the comfort of established friends.  The guys also mentioned missing traditional foods from their home countries, and....the SMELL of home.  Turns out our guy from Japan is from Okinawa and the smells of the ocean are so strong there that there is a palpable difference for him without it.   I shared with them that when living in the Philippines, I remember missing turkey (a staple for me in the US) and the beautiful Texas blue sky (of course, along with family and friends!)

At the question, "What has been your favorite thing here this semester?," they spoke of truly friendly people (which I was so thankful to hear).  One mentioned the differences between college here and back home, citing that over there they would be required to wear uniforms, not miss any classes, and in general, live a pretty strict life.  While here he is appreciative of the freedoms he has to make his own choices, to direct his own path - and specifically, to speak his own mind.  Oh, the things we Americans take for granted!!! Our student from Japan is probably the one I spoke with the most this spring as we ended up in the cafeteria at the same time several times at lunch.  Because of this I just know a little bit of his story- along with the disaster in his home country, he also had a close friend die unexpectedly and was blessed by his parents to go home for the funeral for a few days.  He always greeted me with a huge smile, but I know his classes were challenging because of the language issue (he usually had at least one word he would ask me about) and I can only imagine the incredible cultural differences he had to overcome - alone (as opposed to other students who had fellow students from their countries).  When I turned to him to ask - "what are some good things about this semester" he honestly answered - "there were not many" - which broke my heart. 

But he came up with an answer.   Squirrels.  Yup.  He said they don't have squirrels in Japan and every time he saw one (and we have many on campus) he would smile. 

He is staying in town this summer to take some classes, while almost all of our international students are leaving town to work full time jobs to earn money for next year.  I think it will be lonely for him, but I'm going to try to check on him periodically.  I am again impressed with the courage and perseverance of those who choose to come to our country for education to better themselves, their family and possibly their own country.  And I am again convicted to see how I can encourage them, even if in little ways.

Azat, Agaly, Umit & Kenta

Azat is graduating today and I felt God place on my heart to buy him a graduation present since his family wouldn't be here.  I walked into the store with no ideas, though, until a woman from my church stopped me to talk.  When I told her my mission, she immediately said TOOLS!  When I gave him the gift bag, he said no one had ever given him a gift before.  Wow.  When he pulled out the tools, he looked at his friend and said "we were just talking about how I need to get some tools" - for the new/used car he just bought!  I love it when God provides for the needs of others without them even knowing.

I have a habit of reflecting and not letting it make any changes in me.  I pray that I continue to recount the blessings of God and be thankful, but also to meditate on what needs to change and then act on it. 

If you have any ways you do this, feel free to share!


p.s. The post title is a song from "Oliver" which I've only ever seen on stage at Faith Academy where I taught in the Philippines.  They did an awesome job and those songs pop into my head on occasion bringing back great memories. 

What do the Simple Folk Do?

Almost every weekend in April I went out of town and did great and fun things...it's just going to take a bit to recap them all!

The first weekend was celebrating my grandparents' birthdays down in Austin.  As already recorded - this family can easily pass the time away by just sitting, chatting...and of course, eating!  We were a few members short and some came late or had to leave early, but again - time together is precious and not to be taken for granted.  Here's a picture overview of our time.

Love seeing my Pa-Pa holding babies!  This newest great-grand is really starting to blossom!

Me-Ma & Pa-Pa opening their new computer - on which I hope they're seeing this blog!!

Could they be any cuter??  Destined to be great friend-cousins.



Our reason for gathering.



3 of the 4 great-grands who also have April birthdays!  (Poor Holt had to leave early)

Love watching this new father with his son. 

Where we had our big birthday meal - possibly the largest restaurant in Texas.
And that's saying something!  Built on "cliffs" around Lake Travis.  Fun times.



With Dad looking one direction.  As you can see - amazing weather that day.



And with Mom looking the other direction.  We only sweat a little bit (first week in April!)

2 Newest Great-Grand families with the Great-Grandparents

You didn't think I'd leave out my cute nephew??? 
He got some musical instruments from his music teacher great-aunt Anna.  The boy loves music!

Me-Ma with some cuddle time with baby E.



OK - I just love this picture.  Dad is using the paper to "escape" before he dives back into the family fray. 
And well, cousin Michael was checking box scores before he could read....

Documenting our blended family (notice the Gig'ems and the Longhorns!)



Love this family :)

P.S. Post title is a song from "Camelot".  It's sung to try to get King Arthur & Lady Guinevere out of a "blue" mood.  But I just think we're good "simple" folk.  (By the way, the song says to try whistling, dancing & singing if you're trying to lift your mood.  Usually works for me.)



Oh, what a beautiful day!

Through a variety of conflicting schedules, my Booker cousins didn't get together over any of the holiday season this past year, so we were overdue a get-together.  As most of us are in the DFW area, we decided to convene at one of Ft. Worth's restaurant treasures - Joe T. Garcia's!  As Joe T's boasts seating for 1000 people, I think it's possible I've been to 2 of the largest Texas restaurants this month!!  (Post re: Oasis# in Austin coming soon)     

And it was truly a beautiful day!

We were a couple cousins short, but had a good time catching up (and getting to know some of the newest additions - both through birth and marriage!) Lots of laughing - which is always my opinion of a great time.   Being the oldest grandchild on this side of the family, I earned early on the reputation of....well, bossy.  There's also been this rumor that I always made up rules to games...I always claim I was just the one who READ all the rules - and maybe conveniently forgot to mention some of those rules until I needed them!  So I don't think anyone was surprised when I "made" everyone share something going on their life as we went around the table :)  Long live bossy!  I was blessed to hear lots of good news shared about new jobs, new houses, new experiences, dogs, babies...and general happiness. 

I pray my Pa-Pa was looking down and enjoying watching the legacy he began. 



There was a time when I was the tallest...but we're still "stairsteps" by age :)



And we're so happy for the brave souls like Leigh Ann who have joined us by marriage!

What a nice posed picture of Michelle & Derek...

...as opposed to candid - Sorry, Jules!  Documenting Heath was there!

And Scot, too!

And, of course, the youngest addition -
but soon to be joined by Booker great-grand #2 - (From another cousin - not my brother!!!)
He fit right in snacking on (tiny) chips and tortilla with beans!!!

Here's to many more cousin get-togethers to come!

p.s. Post title from the 2nd line of "O what a beautiful morning" - from Oklahoma, of course. What else do you sing when you step out and the sun is shining and the sky is blue, but it's not too hot yet?!

I like to be in America...

...but I do enjoy an International experience!! 

One goal I had this year was to try to befriend the international students at my new college home and help them in any way I could.  We have about 15-18 of them that live in the dorms.

My best of intentions have not been what I had hoped for...But I have had a few good opportunities to spend a little time with some of them and am always blessed when I'm with them.  This semester there are only 2 girls (not counting a couple we have who were recruited to play sports.)  I asked them if there was something they'd like to do outside our small town and after contemplation and some negotiating, we decided on an art musuem in Dallas!  They were incredibly gracious last Sat as I did not always take the most direct route to where we were headed. :)  As my experience has been with most internationals on our soil, they were flexible and undemanding and seemed determined to just enjoy whatever was happening. 

Between 2 art musuems, we saw art from all over the world. 
The Asian art really interests me more now that I've spent time in Asia.

We had some great conversations throughout the day getting to know each other.  Both of them are thrilled at the opportunity to get their education here and while they both have clear goals they're working towards, they're open to any number of pathways that might appear before them as their future unfolds.  That's exciting to me.  The WORLD is literally - their oyster. 

Tolu from Nigeria and Rozalina from Turkmenistan have become fast friends.
They enjoyed a beautiful day outside with a healthy veggie wrap at *Jason's Deli*
while I chowed down on the club :)

If you've spent much time with me over the last 8 years, you've probably heard me say I believe everyone needs a chance to travel outside the US to broaden your view of yourself, your country, your world and your God.  I just don't think there is anything else that can have the same effect.  At times, I have been known to be a little hard on my beloved home country, specifically our pride.  Strangely enough, yesterday was a day I found myself proud of the freedoms and joys that living here can provide.

Mostly just the "little" stuff:
     *like having so many choices of  how to spend the day;
     *free to be 3 women driving around, spending our own money;
     *to have literally every cuisine to choose from to eat dinner;

Their request for food - Indian!!  Not on my normal list of choices.  My local brother helped find me a good choice and they were So happy.  It was worth the burning mouth :) (And I enjoyed it more than I expected - yea!)

*to stop on the side of the road and take pictures of the beautiful bluebonnets;

These flowers just make me happy when I see them!

        *to return to homes (or apartments or dorms) with hot running water in the shower and cold drinking water in the faucet.


The girls acknowledged that the American dream can get a little tarnished at times...but it's still out there.  The dream is why they came. 

My prayer is that as others continue to pour into our borders from all over the world - that we realize that for all we have to offer them - we have so much to gain from them, too. 

Thanks, girls.


p.s. Post title from "West Side Story" - America

Be Our Guest

Did you build tents when you were a child?

I reminisced this week that I had a canopy bed growing up (do they still make canopy beds??)  It had been my mother's as well.  The canopy was hung on little metal pipes/rods on all 4 sides of the full-sized bed, plus it had a strong middle rod that crossed over the bed.  Through the magic of clothes pins and hanging afghans & blankets from those rods, my brother and I could transform my bed into a tent/castle/house/whatever-we-could-dream-of space.  What a fun memory sparked by.....this!

Blankets, and pillows, and furniture - oh my!

Check out this tent built by my sweet friends' children during our visit this week.  They did invite us "in" but we had to decline (as I'm pretty sure none of us fit!)  I was quite impressed, though, and they were thrilled with their end product.  I think it lasted a whole 15 minutes before one child "accidently" messed up part of it....but that's usually the way tents go, right?  Then they moved on to the next joyous activity.  Oh, to have that energy - and creativity!

These kiddos worked (& played) together so well! 
Kristen's Samantha, Mollie's Mattie, & Kristen's Julia & Blaine

p.s. "Be Our Guest" is of course, from Beauty & the Beast.  I highly recommend both the movie version AND the Broadway version.  It was one of the first 2 musicals I saw on Broadway when my family went to NYC for the first time after my high school graduation. 

You'll Never Walk Alone

How long have you known your oldest friend??  

I have 2 friends I've had since within the first 6 months of our lives.  Our mothers were friends - along with several other couples - in a small group at church.  After I moved at age 6, we kept up with weekend visits, birthday parties and then in middle school began our annual summer Leadership Camp week at ACU!  Every summer we grew closer, living in those dorm rooms for a whole week.  And then, freshman year we lived across the hall from each other a whole year!  Our friendships have grown and stretched over the years as our lives have taken different paths through weddings, children, moves far away, and just life in general.  But there's something about old friends...and I trust these friends with my life. 

What an absolute joy to spend the day with them this week!  Through laughter and tears, I know with these friends, I'll "never walk alone."




The Three Muskateers :)  Kristen, Sarah, Mollie




The next generation of childhood friends - Mollie's Mattie & Kristen's Blaine - 5 months apart!

P.S. Back to Broadway - this post title is from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Carousel".  A somewhat sad musical, this song is amazing and I have been known to sing it in times of trouble.

Happy Birthday - part 2

Well, I should have looked up how to say (sing) that in Brazilian Portuguese, because that's how we decided to celebrate on my brother's and I birthday weekend.  The last few years we've taken our parents on an international food ride (somehow they just don't get the chance much in our hometown!)  A Japanese steakhouse for a couple years, last year we did Mediterranean/Greek.  But this year - a Brazilian churrascaria (that's "shoe-HUSK-a-ria")!  I was blessed to spend 6 amazing weeks in Rio in the summer of 2002 on a Let's Start Talking campaign.  Besides the wonderful people I got to read the Bible with, we also got to experience a lot of culture (_World Cup_ was going on during our stay and Brazil won!) We ate at a variety of their "steakhouses" - from the corner, open air to the much nicer sit down.  No matter how much you paid, though, it was always "death by meat".  So for the last 9 years, Mom and Dad have been curious and last Friday they were able to experience it for themselves.  The Bookers will probably never get their money's worth at an all-you-can-eat meat fest, but oh, did we savor the bites we took! 

Here are Mom & Dad with knives in their faces - those waiters swoop right in to serve you!  15 different kinds of meat served right onto your plate!!

And of course, we had our own entertainment with us, too.  Here's Holt demonstrating how to request more food:




Red coaster - No more...for now :)



Green coaster = More meat please!!!



Saturday was more relaxing, playing and enjoying each other's company.  Can't believe the little one will be one year next month!  More birthday fun to follow...



Until then - pictures to hold us over.  Thanks, Family, for a fun time. 

Our one group shot - the valet called out "say cheese" - but Mom decided to say "churrascaria" instead!! 
Love ya, Mom :)



Serious concentration for this boy and his toys!!

Feb, March, (&April) Booker Birthday Buds!

And the wished for chocolate pie!!! Thanks, Mom!