march madness

i cannot BELIEVE i am blogging right now. i should be fast asleep preparing for a day of answering phones and entering purchase orders. but how can a girl sleep when her wedding is two and a half weeks away? besides, i was chastised recently for being a sorry excuse for a blogger. here's what i've discovered: america=bad blogging. there's just not time. time was abundant in asia. here it is a luxury.

last week we spent five days in east texas for my uncle's funeral. he came to know the Lord six years ago. he was a big man with a lot of energy, but his back started hurting and he got sick. in just a matter of days he was diagnosed with rare bone cancer and liver failure. the service was lovely and i'd started writing my own deep thoughts on death and dying but never got around to finishing it. i do think death is a celebration for those with eternal hope, but it has such a sobering effect on me. i stand with my feet on the ground and breathe the air a little more deeply. i stare intently at my fingers and think about how someone God has created, someone unlike anyone or anything else that has ever lived, no longer exists in this world as we know it. if it weren't for my faith in the cross and resurrection i wouldn't be able to handle such despairing reality.

we returned home just in time for my weekend excursion to st. louis with my three best childhood friends. i know it seems like a weird transition after talking about death, but it's the order of my life. we went to see a musical at the fabulous fox theatre--the wedding singer. i guess you could accuse me for having shallow taste in musicals but i loved it! the eighties clothes were so fun, and it was a great experience to share with my friends. christy, charity, and jessica, also took me to eat thai and indian food, which may not have been their preference but it's two of my favorite cuisines. what great friends!



jared and i had our church wedding shower on sunday. all i can say about that is that we have some pretty amazing and generous people in our church. we even got bikes! courtesy of aunt marsha.

and last but not least we now have an answer to the question that has been on my mind for quite a few months now. where are we moving?

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DC!!! jared got accepted into american university so that's where we're headed this fall. i've already started looking for jobs and will probably apply in may. i'm excited--to be honest i would love to move back overseas but hopefully this will be a time where we can develop more skills to help people.

this has been a pretty general post, but i have so many things to get done these coming weeks! i've already had three dreams about everything going wrong on our wedding day. i think barack obama's pastor was in one of them. also, i've been trying to clean out my room, but i always end up looking at pictures and reading old letters and crying. to top it off i went for my final dress fitting today and the seamstress made my dress a little too tight on the top. she very rudely asked me if i gained weight. i don't know about you other ladies out there but when i gain weight it all goes to my back. man, my back just gets so wide that i have to start wearing football jerseys. needless to say i pointed out that my weight was the same and she did the alterations wrong, but really, what a mean lady! at least when indians tell you that you're fat they smile at you with toothy grins. thank goodness for india. whenever i feel a little frazzled i think about india. and then i thank God for the many blessings He's given that i do not deserve.