7 days and 7 hours....

...that's how long until I get on the plane... another step toward living my dream. My thoughts and prayers are always to try to do what God wants me to do; this feels so right, and I'm at peace with all the difficult decisions to be made. I read recently about hearing God's call, and what stuck with me is this definition of “call,” attributed to Frederick Buechner. “Call,” he says, “Is where your great joy meets the world’s great need.” It’s where your passion finds expression in service. When something I can teach can meet a need, it gives me great joy. When I can show love to a child, it gives me great joy. When I can do something to make someone's life a little more pleasant, it gives me great joy. It's not about me, it never has been. My great joy is to help others...

I bought my ticket...

Today I bought a plane ticket to fly to Mozambique... no, not to stay and work for a year, not yet... this trip will be preparatory for that adventure. Today is the 354th day since I left the continent of Africa, and not a moment has passed since that trip that I have not longed to be back there... When I return next month, it will be two years (almost to the DAY!) since the first time I went. Since my son had been there before, and my parents had spent a year in another part of Africa, I thought I was well prepared for what I would find. I was prepared in some areas, but totally unprepared in other areas. I learned a lot from both trips, mostly that I have a LOT more to learn! So, I went to school, read books, talked to folks who have been there, and prayed - a lot! I still have a lot to learn, but now I think I am better prepared to learn it! What surprised me the most, I think, was how easy it was for me to love the children I came in contact with, and how easily they warmed up to me. Something that also surprised me was the depth of committment shown by the missionaries working in that difficult area. I am still wondering whether I have the "stuff" to do it, am I capable of that absolutely selfless devotion? I'll never know unless I try... God help me, I know I can't do it alone...

And it all starts over again...

OK, now that Christmas is behind us (in more ways than one, ugghhh!) the New Year is upon us (again, in more ways than one, eewww, gotta get back on that treadmill!), now what? I have so much to look forward to this year, but I'm still waiting for the final paperwork so I can get started! So, here's a look back at some of the fun things I did...

Carly came along early in the year, making me a grandmother for the second time. I think I'm liking this grandmother thing! This photo was taken the day I saw Carly for the first time, on my way home from the airport. Silly little girl couldn't wait for Mamaw to get home from Africa! That was OK, though, because her daddy sent me photos almost immediately! Isn't the Internet wonderful!

It snowed 8 inches in March! Hey, this is Texas, for Pete's sake, it's not supposed to snow here! Then a couple of weeks later, it was a beautiful day for the Easter Egg Hunt! That's more like it! (yeah, notice those manly legs in the background, wearing shorts!)
Graduation happened, and then summer...

Caleb loves Grandpa's tractor!

Fall and football... that's my niece in the football pads, flirting with the players as usual (She's 4, and a very silly girl! Her daddy's a coach, so she spends a LOT of time at football games...)

Carly grew and grew and grew!

Once this year I got inspired and baked whole wheat bread FROM SCRATCH! (not that frozen stuff you get at the supermarket!) Yeast bread rising smells so good!

The obligatory Thanksgiving family pose... (after the football game, of course!)


....and SUDDENLY it's Christmas again! Where does the time go? Now we get to do it all over again... I hope and pray that 2009 will be as much fun as 2008!