4th of July weekend

I have never been able to consistently celebrate the 4th of July holiday. One year I was in Guatemala, a couple years I was in Chicago sitting on the lakeshore, at Navy Pier, or in Grant Park amidst the millions of people, or at various locations like the fairgrounds near the town where I grew up. Last year I was in the midst of moving out of Chicago and was trying to get myself ready to go to Guatemala the shortly after and finish up a paper, som in the craziness didn't plan for celebrating the 4th, so I just watched fireworks on TV. Well, this year I'm living here in Indy, my mom is staying at my brother's house recovering from double knee replacement surgery and my brother, sister-in-law and her parents were all in town. I had thought it would be fun to have everyone over to my place and then walk a block or two and see if we could see some of the downtown fireworks. Well, then on the 4th it was rainy and cloudy and nobody was up for the adventure . . . good thing though because the fireworks were canceled and postponed until the 5th. So, the 5th was a busy day at my brother's house and once again nobody was interested in attempting to see the fireworks . . . except me! So, I just went back to my apartment (thankfully early enough that there was plenty of parking!) and about 5 min. before the fireworks started I walked about 3 blocks to Mass Ave. and had a perfect view of all the fireworks. It was great. Then they were over and I walked past all the poor people stuck in traffic trying to leave and back to my apartment. Next year I think that I will be planning a 4th of July party at my house - and I'll supply the fireworks =)
Here's the only 4th of july photo that I have from this year:

All in a Sunday

This morning I got off work around 3am, came home, and went to bed. I woke up to my alarm getting me up in time to make it to my church's spanish service which doesn't meet until 12:15pm, since I knew I wouldn't make it to any of the earlier services. I was rushing but ready to get out the door on time, so I grabbed my purse and Bible and rushed out the door. Before closing the door I always turn the lock on the door handle and then close the door and once outside I lock the deadbolt. Except today when I went to lock the deadbolt, NO keys in my purse!!! ooooops - they were still inside. Thankfully my sister-in-law has a key to my apartment and was able to come to the rescue and get me back into my apartment! While I was waiting I was able to re-pot some of the plants in my garden. I currently have green beans, cucumber, zucchini, spaghetti squash, basil, mint, and possibly cilantro growing. They are all in pots so I'm not sure what will grow and what will not, but i'm hoping that I get lots of use out of the plants!!! All were started from seeds except for the basil and mint!

Anyway, after cleaning up the house some and working on a project for school I decided to go for a jog/walk down by the Indy canal. It was beautiful outside, a bit crowded on the canal but not too bad. Then I saw the most precious little family of ducks swimming around, the little ducklings were tiny and so cute to watch. I rounded the curve of the canal and down a little ways was one lonely little duckling just kinda sitting scared stiff in the water all alone. I was so worried for the little duck. Paddle boats were going by it and it just hardly moved because it looked so scared and was so tiny in comparison! I couldn't leave without making sure that the little duckling got reunited with it's family, but how because the mama duck couldn't see the duckling and the duckling couldn't see the mama duck. So, I walked back down around the curve to see what the mama duck and other babies were doing. After a few minutes they started to swim back in the direction of the lost little ducking. I was so excited I just kinda walked slowly with them making sure they made it back far enough to be reunited. After about another 15 min. or so the baby duck was finally reunited with it's mother and siblings. Whew - that was a stressful exercise, but all turned out ok in the end!!!

The day ended good as it looks like we are close to finishing up our project for school. Actually, myself and another classmate are putting together a professional poster to represent a project we completed last fall and will display it at a poster session during a conference for public health educators. The conference will be in Chicago at a hotel in Greek town and I can't wait to go!!!

Memorial Day weekend

I had plans to visit my good friend from Guatemala who is visiting Warsaw, IN with her daughter on Sat. of Memorial Day weekend. Before I left that morning I decided that since I didn't have to go to work until the following Wed. that I would continue on to visit some friends in Chicago as well. Below is my friend Anel and her beautiful daugher Annika. We had fun at McDonalds so that we could chat while Annika played on the indoor playground.
I love how she was laughing hysterically like in the above photo, until we went to take the below photo and she wouldn't even look at the camera let alone smile!

Then I went to Lowell to spend the night at my mom's house before heading up to Chicago Sunday morning. I was able to go to Armitage en Espanol - it was so great to see my chicago church family and be welcomed back with open arms by the spanish congregation. I even got to meet a couple who are still missionaries in Guatemala after 59 years . . . they are well into their 80's and continue to minister there. What a testimony! Sunday was a rushed day as I got in a quick visit to the old apartment and got to see one of my housemates that still lives there. Then off to lunch with another friend. And then, probably the whole reason I needed to get to Chicago to visit: to see Jeanette and her baby Shayne!!! They are below - he is such a beautiful little angel!!! I was so excited to finally see her again and meet her baby! As we were walking in the park we had fun running into a former co-worker from Children's who was 40+ weeks pregnant and trying to walk the baby out =) It was nice to catch up with her unexpectedly (and thankfully she has since had the baby)!!!



After my visit with Jeanette I was able to see Jackie - another former housemate from the Nottingham house. Monday morning was spent playing with her niece and nephew and then going to brunch with some of her family. Then back to Lowell to see mom before having to get back to Indy for work on Wed.

It was a fun spontaneous trip, although I never get to see everybody that I want in such a quick visit to Chicago. There were so many good friends that I would have loved to see, but time just didn't allow!

mexico . . . summer . . .baby . . .

This semester was a busy one - but all final exams have been taken and all final projects and assignments completed. I never thought I would get through last semester and still be sane, but alas God's grace is sufficient and I can look back and say that I learned a lot and I'm happy with the outcomes of my courses. However, there were a few surprises in these past few weeks!!! Everything was falling wonderfully into place for my internship in Mexico, including the submission of a grant that would cover the costs of my internship and related expenses, as well as funding for the future project I would be starting to do the groundwork for. Then the H1N1 (aka. the swine flu) hit! The university finally decided that in keeping with the advised travel restrictions they would cancel all student and faculty related study trips to Mexico for the summer. I can't say I was surprised, although it was a bit of a relief as I didn't have to make the decision. Also, I was really stretching myself to leave on the planned day after finishing up the semester, and didn't expect to be sick on top of that, so it's kinda nice not to be having to leave in about 48 hours from right now! But, that means a lot of rearranging of my schedule for the summer. Work had already granted me the leave of absence, so I had to be put back on the schedule and will have to re-apply for another one if needed. Our hopes are that I will be able to go to Mexico possibly in the fall to complete the planned internship!
In place of Mexico I will still be working on internship hours here in Indy, the plan is that those hours will cont. to prep me for the trip to Mexico!
And have no fear, June will keep me plenty busy with a conference in Chicago, my sister-in-law's baby shower, and my mom's bilateral kneed replacement surgery!
Yes, I did say my sister-in law's baby shower . . . I'm going to be an Auntie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mom found this adorable little outfit for my niece and I can't wait to see it on her, although I have to wait until september!!!!!!!!!!

More updates to come and some photos from this spring, but those can wait until another day!

Indianapolis Fire

Last night, well this morning, I got off work around 3:30am and started heading home as usual. I didn't get far from the hospital and realized that something was wrong up ahead - an orange glow and some smoke and glowing particles drifting from the glow and what looked like spraying water. I continued on my way home, but trying to get a better look at what was actually burning. Within seconds flames were shooting up into the air above the surrounding 3-4 story buildings with huge thick black smoke billowing from the blaze. It must have started around 3AM or a bit earlier - emergency vehicles were already on the scene and more arriving by the second. I was having a hard time differentiating where the fire was at due to the density of structures in the area surrounding the fire. All I could tell was that it was huge!!! I called back to work to see if they had gotten any notice for a disaster response . . . if the fire was in one of the 4-5 large apartment/condo buildings then the hospital would need extra help and being only a couple blocks away I could have gone back in . . . but they had not heard about anything at that point. As I was driving about 2-3 blocks away there were smoldering pieces of debris falling on the road. Here are the photos that I tried to take with my phone - they aren't very good, but give you an idea of the enormity of the fire!






Reports are that nobody was hurt, the fire was in a new construction site and they were able to keep it contained to only that site. That I must say is the amazing work done my the fire men and women who were working through the night, after more than 9 hours they were able to get the fire down and just dealing with the remaining hot spots and smoldering areas!!!

missing guatemala

today is just one of those days that i'm really missing guatemala. i don't understand it and i don't know why - all i know is that i was brought to tears last night thinking about those precious faces, and wondering what i can even do to make a difference . . . the difference and the hope they are looking for is only found in Jesus! anything that i have to offer can't even begin to touch the deep needs that are in their hearts and that they face on a daily basis. and isn't it so american to even think that they have something that needs to be fixed? sometimes going back there seems so far away, and then i see a photo or a memory flashes into my mind and i feel like i'm just away from home for a little while, waiting to go back. i don't know what it all means, but today, as much as i'm missing guatemala, i have a peace that i'm right where i'm suppose to be.
on a lighter note, i ran out of my guatemalan coffee =( horrible, i know! thankfully i have a contact who is currently in guate and will be bringing me back some of the good stuff soon! but, until then i have to survive on something - so i decided that i would buy "Casi Ciello" which is a guatemalan coffee that starbucks sells. i've never had it, but have always wanted to try it. normally i wouldn't spend that much on coffee, but i had a gift card and it would cover basically the whole amount, so i thought it would be ok. problem - i went to 3 different starbucks and they were out of it, apparently it's seasonal and they won't be getting anymore, i called around to about 3 or 4 more stores and gave up when they all said they were out as well. still needed more coffee though . . . so i went ahead and walked down to the starbucks and used my giftcard to buy the regular coffee from antigua, guatemala =) i can't wait until tom. morning when i get to see if it's any good!!! i was so happy on my walk back to my house, funny how such a little thing can make me so happy!!!

March is here . . .

I'm so excited about the warm weather that we have seen a few days here and there here in Indy! It's given me an excuse to get out of the house for a few minutes here and there to go for quick walks or jogs! Let me just say that I love love love my apartment and it's close location to work and school!
March is going to be full of continued assignments and course work for all 12 credit hours that I'm taking at IUPUI, assisting 2 professors as a TA, work, days of orientation and classes for the emergency room, and planning for my summer internship. Work allowed me to go down to part time, not sure if that will go into effect during the month of March or not until April. Regardless I will be thankful for the little bit of extra time that working less hours will give me . . . hopefully no more late assignments!!!
The summer internship is still in the planning and approval stage, but looks like it is coming together in ways that only God can do! IUPUI has a partner university in Mexico and they have talked about different diabetes prevention programs. A group of us are putting together a grant proposal for a diabetes prevention program focused on 4th graders that can be implemented both in the United States as well as in Mexico. My internship would be a "feasibility study", which means going to Mexico and working with the faculty to on this program. The grant will cover my travel expenses as well as other aspects of the program, so I'm praying we get the grant!!!
I wanted to post photos and don't have too many new ones, but there are some I realized that I haven't posted that are kinda fun . . .

These first 3 photos are from my quick visit to Chicago in January:
The new PGM building

This was taken at my friend's baby shower

Enjoying fondue with the Nottingham Girls (minus 1)

I was recently able to see some photos that somebody else took in Guatemala this summer,
this is some of the team that I worked with:

and this brings back a fun memory of helping to translate some truths from the Bible to this mother of one of the VBS children.