Random Weekend Stories

I was out mowing the lawn Saturday when a neighbor walked over. Jamie was on the back porch. The neighbor asked if the rumors were true. I gave her a brief summary of our plans. She said "I have a couple friends who went to Africa for a year...BIGGEST MISTAKE OF THEIR LIVES!". She said they were just out of college and thought they were going to change the world, and perhaps their expectations were set a little high.

Then we had Kobe's birthday party yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure how, but my Grandpa wasn't aware of our plans (although after reading further maybe you'll understand how I forgot to tell him). I thought I had told him, or thought that my dad did... Anyway he found out and was not happy. He followed me around for 5 minutes while I was barbecuing trying to "talk some sense into me". He said he's available Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights. I need to come by for an hour each night and he'll explain how the world works to me, either that or I need to go see a "shrink". I think it is partly out of concern for my family, and partly out of his opinion that there's nothing we can do to help Africa. He did say he prayed for the first time yesterday, and God told him I should stay. I told him to keep praying. I learned a long time ago there is no point arguing with him and to never take offense at anything he says.

One kinda funny story. We were at the farm store in town getting some flowers and Colton had this conversation with the cashier:
Cashier: Are these flowers for your mother?
Colton: uh, not really.
Cashier: they're not for mother's day?
Colton: No, they're to make our house look pretty so we can sell it.
Cashier: Sell it? Why are you selling it?
Colton: because we're going to move.
Cashier: Why would you want to leave Everson? Where are you moving to?
Colton: Africa
Cashier: (light laughter).....are you serious?
Colton: Yeah, we're going to be missionaries in Liberia
Cashier: (looking at me) are you really?
I guess she didn't trust hearing it from an 8 year old.

And one really funny story. My brother in law told us this Saturday night and everyone was just about rolling on the floor laughing. About 9 years ago he was driving with his wife and young son through the bank drive thru. When they pulled up to the teller window his wife was bent over getting something out of her purse. The teller asked "would you like a sucker for your child and a dog treat for your dog?". My sister in law sat up in her seat and was wondering how the teller knew they had a dog, when she saw the look of horror on the teller's face. The teller started to apologize profusely, saying she'd never seen someone with such long beautiful hair. My brother in law had to pull over into the parking lot after their transaction was done because he was laughing to hard to drive.

Youth Group

So we had about 10 minutes to kill in youth group last night so I decided we'd play hangman while we were waiting. In the middle of the game all the kids started snickering and laughing. I looked up at the board and in the group of letters I had writing to track which ones were picked were-AOESHIT. The girl that picked the T was an 8th grade visitor so I don't think she meant too.

Before church a 4 year old girl gave me a mint from a little tin that had Countrywide written on it. I asked her about the tin and she said her dad got it from his work. So I asked her what her dad did at work. She said "They had a commercial on TV! and they said they do what nobody else can do. So my dad does what nobody else can do!"

103 other things

We listen to a lot of music in our family. Our tastes are somewhat varied. I'll listen to just about anything. My CD library has Classic Rock, Pop, Country, Rap, Christian, and an Engelbert Humperdinck CD Scott bought me for Christmas one year. Lately we've been listening to a wide variety of Christian music. I put some of our favorites (OK, really my favorites) on itunes. That link will take you to my itunes "imix". If you don't have itunes, call me on your rotary phone and I'll telegraph you the list. I probably spend too much time (and money) on itunes, which reminds me, tomorrow is new release Tuesday.

Now to make up for the inclusion of a number of female artists on the list, I have pictures of us visiting the Fort Lewis Army museum Sunday on our way back from Portland. It doesn't get much more manly than looking at guns and tanks. There are quite a few pictures so I'll just link our Picasa album.

We had a brief but fun trip to Portland to visit the Calenberg's who aranged for us to meet with 4 people who have a wide range of experience ministering and living in Liberia. Too many incredible stories to list.

Pictures of last weekend

Kobe playing soccer. Jamie got him mid-prance.

Kobe jumping while playing soccer.

Friday we went to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Here's the view from the top of the Space Needle.

The boys playing in the steel bamboo

And last but not least, the best picture I could get of the boys and Jamie.

At least Jamie was looking at the Camera. Although, the boys thought the picture was good, she's the only one that doesn't like her picture.

Mission Trips

Tony Woodlief has an interesting article this week in World on the Web about youth mission trips. I think it's worth a read, as is his blog. His post on April 3rd reminds me of John Eldredge's Wild at Heart.

Potatoes and onions

One of our neighbors brought out a potato gun a couple weeks ago so Royce and I had to make our own. Here's the boys demonstrating proper technique. (warning: some vegetables were hurt in the filming of this video)

Making Melodies

Jamie bought me a video camera over a year ago and I haven't really had a chance to use it much. Most of the time Jamie has been using it. She's taped a few of the boys' games and some church events. I was downloading everything off the camera for her and came across some videos from the end of the school year carnival the church put on in 2007. I couldn't resist making a best of video from the "Making Melodies Booth" at the carnival. I may have to go into hiding now from some of the SDC members, but here it is.

Grandpa's Birthday

For this post, I will steal my sister's thoughts (and brother's picture)

http://web.mac.com/pannell/Site/Blog/Entries/2008/4/2_80th_birthdays_and_sleep_deprivation.html

Andrea's thought's on my Grandpa sum him up pretty good. He has always been resourceful and has been involved in more businesses and industries than we can keep track of. You could write a book with all his sayings and advice, but blogger might flag my blog as "adult only" if I listed them here.

Some pictures from the boys soccer game yesterday. We had a very unusual late March snow shower.

Jamie had to get one picture of Tyler wearing his mom's "Megan's Mom" sweatshirt

Liberia 2

So I was planning on holding off posting anything until we know more...but word has spread like wildfire so I thought I'd post something. Jamie and I (and yes Tyler, the boys too) have applied to an organization called SIM to work in Liberia. We will go for 4 days in the middle of May to an introductory weekend at SIM's headquarters in Charlotte. After that weekend we'll find out more about whether we're accepted and hopefully know a little more about when we'd go. Our best guess right now is that we'll leave around November.
If everything goes as planned I'll be filling their construction supervisor position. They have a 130+ acre campus just outside Monrovia that includes a radio station, hospital, dental clinic and school. You can see more about the site through their partners website here. They have a long list of construction needs to repair their facilities after the 14 year Liberian civil war that ended in 2003. The position is "self-supported" and we've made a 1-year commitment. After that we'll decide whether we'll stay longer or come back.
I'll post more later about what has led up to this decision and what everyone's reaction has been so far. Oh, and if anyone wants to buy a 2-year old house in Everson let me know.