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Wednesday 31 May 2006

My Apartment in Kandern

So I was told today that if you look up Kandern Germany on Wikipedia.com... it shows a photo of my apartment. Check it out! The top level of curtains is where I live. the curtain set on the right is my kitchen and the set on the left is my living/dining area. This photo was taken this spring... cause that green thing in front of the door has only been there since it started to snow and you could not see it in the snow... :-)

Anyway.. fun facts to know and tell.

Tuesday 30 May 2006

A day in the Park


On Sunday, a group of us went up Europa Park. Think Disneyland.. only exchange Mickey Mouse for Chuck E. Cheese and Space Mountain for Euro Sat. It was really fun.. actually. It rained in the morning and we all got soaked.. and then it cleared up in the afternoon and we all got dried off. :-) I LOVE ROLLER COASTERS!!!!! this photo was at the end of a water roller coaster.. yes...even after we dried off we voluntarily got wet again.

My friends.. those of you who have been to a theme park with me in the past... know that I usually do not put my hands up on roller coasters.. I hold on with all my might and sometimes close my eyes... I do love the thrill even if I can't see. :-) But Sunday... it seemed to be a personal goal of Ross' to get me to lift up my arms when we would go down the really steep parts fo the rides. It took a bit of coaxing...but I did it.. I do not think I am ever going back. :-)

and here we are at the end of the ride... does it look like splash mountain to you? cause it reminded me of that too... At one point in the day I wondered if the Europeans go to Disneyland and think that Disney got their ideas from Europa Park... only thing is... Europa opened the year I was born... and Disneyland is much older! :-)


yep. it was fun. good people. good times.

Oh.. and while we were there.. Adrienne and I got our photo taken in front of the Shakespeare Globe Theatre... since we didn't do that in London...

Saturday 27 May 2006

On another year older and hopefully wiser

Well, I did it.. I turned another year older. :-) Actually God did it.. He has given me another year of life and lessons learned.

It is strange celebrating a birthday in a different time zone from the past 10 birthdays. I was blessed with some hilarious and touching e-cards.. amazing what technology allows us to do these days. :-) We had a staff meeting at the office and I was blessed to be able to help lead worship for it... and it started with a rendition of Happy Birthday... how do you transition from the pleasure and embarrasment of that to worshiping the Lord? funny thing... It was not hard to thank and praise the Lord after that. :-) And a co-worker made an amazing cake. I heard from several other co-workers.. "thanks for having a birthday so we could have cake." gotta love the sentiment. :-)

I had been informed the day before that I would be picked up at 7p.m. on my birthday and I should be dressed up. Ah... surprises... so, Brad picked me up at 7p.m. and informed me that I could either lie and say I wore the blindfold or wear the blindfold... if you know me... I opted to not wear it. :-) Thank you Brad for the option...cause I really do not like wearing blindfolds. We drove to Kevin and Lisa's place where we were greeted with name tags, I was Susanne Smythe. and welcomed to the murder mystery dinner that was about to commence.

Adrienne and Scott and Deb and Kevin and Lisa and Brad and a new friend Louisa were all part of the dinner. It was fun.


The next day... I came home from work to find a bunch of flowers on my doorstep. I wondered who they could possibly be from and I opened the card to see that they were from the Leafies. The amazing girls I have been in a growing group with for the past few years. I still am not sure how they did it... Thank you girls!!!!


So, it was a good birthday. Thank you to all of you who remembered.

Saturday 20 May 2006

it has been awhile

I keep meaning to post... but I just can't seem to find the words to put down here. Bekah was here and it was so great to see her. When I took her to the airport and said goodbye it felt like a shock that she was leaving. I was somehow not prepared for that. strange.

It was special to be able to go to Karin's wedding in Switzerland. I understood some of what the pastor was saying. It was about love. go figure. :-)

we met Karin when she came to the states in 2003 for a few months. She has become a dear friend and I treasure that I could be at her wedding to Stefan. I am excited for you two!!!!

Speaking of weddings. I am missing my friend Jamie's wedding today. It is strange.... this is a major life event of a dear friend that I am not able to be a part of. I have alternately shed tears, prayed for them and smiled thinking about them today. Jamie and Mikey... may you fall more in love with the Lord as you fall more in love with each other!


This past week I was in the UK for a conference. I met many amazing women but one in particular was special. Karen is the wife of one of the Atheletes in Action staff in Northern Ireland. Yes... Dierdre... Northern Ireland... loved the accent. :-) Want to hear how God did this? :-) we arrived at the airport an hour apart and when I met her, I felt that God was saying.. you need to know her. Then we got put in rooms next to each other, picked each other's names as secret angels for the conference and were put in the same small group too. We share some similar life experiences but more than that.. she has a sweet spirit and I love that I found another new friend!

The Lord used this conference to refresh my soul and I am SO grateful!

Well... I will have another birthday on Tuesday. Strange to not have Bekah or Tiana here to plan a big party for me. :-) I appreciate you guys!!!! :-)

okay, I think I will stop now. I should go to bed.

Friday 5 May 2006

Bekah is here


It is good to have Beks here. Nice to just BE with a friend. :-)