Sisterly Adventures

I have once again been inspired by my students' blogs to revive my own with a new post!

The exciting event of the last two weeks has been my sister, Tamara's, visit from Australia. She arrived last Monday night and is staying until Saturday morning, when she flies out of Kansas City to meet our brother, Allen, and his wife, Eleni, in Chicago. I am not looking forward to her leaving, as she has been so much fun and such a help to have around!

Our adventures started with a road trip to Colorado Springs last Tuesday through Friday. We stayed with my husband's aunt and uncle and their family, the Milroys, where we were welcomed as if we had always belonged to them. My sister-in-law, Olivia, is currently working in Colorado Springs and living with them, so we had a nice time catching up with her, too. Tamara wanted to go snowboarding, so we spend Wednesday at Monarch Mountain with Olivia and the two youngest boys in the Milroy family. Though the twisty two-hour trip up the mountain was a bit rough for some of us, we all had a lovely day, with them out on the slopes and me acting as the "lodge mom," reading, grading papers, and chatting with those who came in for breaks. Thursday, I stayed at the Milroy's house while Tamara went with Uncle Craig and the two boys to another mountain for a full day of snowboarding and skiing. I got to catch up with one of my friends from Indiana and see her new house, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Our trip was pretty short, as we traveled back Friday morning. But I was glad to get home to my husband and to be done driving at the end of the day!

That evening, we went to see bull riding at K-State. Tamara and I had never been to anything like it, and I must admit it was a lot more entertaining than I'd first imagined! I did get startled every time the raging bull came out, trying everything in its power to dismount the rider on its back. There were some scary calls and also humorous moments. I am glad I didn't personally know any of the riders because I was afraid enough for them knowing they were only strangers! I think you have to be a bit crazy to pursue the bull-riding hobby!

Saturday was a more leisurely day, with a long breakfast, a short jog with Tamara, and an afternoon hike at Konza Prairie to watch the sun set over the beautiful hills. We also had an Australia Day celebration, which included ANZAC biscuits, Tim-Tams, and Milo. We sang the Australian National Anthem and watched a video of my family and some Australian friends singing at our church International Conference this past summer. It definitely warmed my heart to remember my old home in Australia!

It was great to have Tamara at church with us on Sunday, and she spent Saturday and Sunday nights with our pastor and his wife, who visited Australia a couple years ago on a missions trip and got to know my family well.

This week, Tamara got to come to see me teach and has shopped, cooked, and cleaned with me. We have both had work to do, so there has been some productivity but also some interruptions with laughter or mini-adventures to clear our heads and help us get re-focused. Tonight, we are having a sushi party with people from church, and Friday we plan to do some shopping with my pastor's wife. The week will be over too soon, and Tamara will be off on other sibling adventures, but I'm thankful for the time she took to spend with me here in Manhattan!

Holidays!

I am sorry to admit how sadly I have been neglecting my blog! Garrett and I just got back on Monday from our 10-day holiday in Indiana. It was wonderful to see family and friends there, to spend time having DnMs (deep and meaningful conversations), playing in the snow, and attending two weddings. I was the matron of honor in one wedding, and it felt strange to not be around for most of the wedding preparations. We got to help out quite a bit the day before the wedding, though, and we also spend a long time helping clean up. Garrett and I were happy to help because we were thinking about how after our wedding, we simply left and let everyone else clean up the mess late into the night!

Some of the highlights of the couple of weeks included the following:

• Seeing my brothers, sisters-in-law, and niece for the first time since our wedding
• Having breakfast with Garrett's sister and brother-in-law before they headed to Kansas for the Mann family Christmas
• The Indiana blizzard that yielded about 7 inches of snow, which we all went out and attempted to play ultimate frisbee in! Felicity, my one-year-old niece, got uncomfortable in the cold very quickly, so our game didn't last long...and running through the snow was rather hard work, too!
• Staying up late talking to our old pastor and associate pastor and their wives
• Driving for 20 hours with Garrett, talking, reading "Jane Eyre" aloud, and enjoying the beautiful snowy scenery around us
• Spending two nights in a cabin at Tuttle Creek back in Manhattan over New Years, taking a long walk with Garrett in the beautiful snow and spending a lot of time praying and talking about the Lord and what He has for us right now
• Making a whirl-wind trip to Kansas City the day after we were finally home, just to watch the K-State football game with Garrett's family and see the Indiana siblings one more time

Yes, it's been a wonderful couple of weeks, and now it's back to "reality." Honestly, though, the Lord has been helping me have a lot of peace and contentment about "normal life." He is helping me to find my place here in Manhattan, giving me good things to do, providing deepening new relationships with people, and giving much spiritual refreshment after our holiday time. And with those, and many other blessings, I am very thankfully looking forward to 2013!