Monday, August 24, 2009

Are you ready for some....BASEBALL?

The second Friday that we were in Charlotte, we met up with Crystal for a Charlotte Knights game. It was only $10 a ticket and it included a concert with Needtobreathe. This is probably one of our favorite bands.....so it was SO great to see them.....for so little money. We had a great time! Ben was up REALLY late, but he was a trooper!


CRYSTAL TIME!

We were sitting right behind home plate....so whenever a foul ball came our way, I freaked out like there wasn't a net to protect us! Ben loved watching the airplanes flying by more then the game!

Great concert post-game:

CORN PARTY!

I'll tell you....the Weir's sure know how to throw a heck of a corn party! Caleb's parents brought home tons of corn from their trip to PA. Yuuuuum!My sister-in-law Jill, Cam and Alex (above)

Emory LOVED the husks!

Ben was going to town!

Most nights, this is how Ben looks:


Thursday, August 20, 2009

Intermission....

I have tons of pictures that I hope to be able to upload at some point! But, for now, words will have to do!

As you know, we are still in the middle of our month long training on how to live in a cross-cultural environment. Currently, I am in San Francisco until Sunday. I am in my best friend's wedding on Saturday night. I think I really needed this break....but I'll get to that later!

The training is very good. I did not realize how the training is two-fold. We are being 1) thrown into many situations, simulations and exercises that give us an idea of what stresses we will face when we move over-seas and 2) we are being encouraged to share very personal struggles and life stories. The idea behind this second part is that supposedly when you are under stress, all those things you didn't face before you left the states come out ten-fold. So, as you can imagine, we are being stretched passed our comfort zone in many ways.

I really enjoyed a simulation that we did a couple of days ago. All the instructors pretended to be from the country of IT. We had to get our passport, exchange our money, get our visa and buy our airplane ticket. It was a race, but we soon learned we would be lucky if we finished by next week. I learned how impatient and competitive I really am. But, it was GREAT training that I used immediately.

I was scheduled to fly out of Charlotte at 2:30pm yesterday....so naturally, I arrived two hours early only to find out that my flight had been delayed for two hours. This meant I would miss my connecting flight in Minneapolis (honestly, I didn't even know where that was at the time). Due to tornadoes that actually hit, the airport shut down for some time. Then, every flight I took became delayed. I was patient for 20 hours....and I am really proud of how I handled the whole situation....but let's just say that it is GOOD TO FINALLY BE IN CA.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. Thank you, also, for understanding that this is a temporary absence from the internet. Luckily when we are in PNG, we will be able to e-mail and blog frequently.

Be on the look-out for pictures! Maybe Caleb will surprise me and post them!

We have...

- A Corn Party
- Pictures with Grammy and Buna
- Pictures of Ben on a Riding Lawn Mower
- Pictures from a baseball game with Crystal
- Pictures from the Needtobreathe Concert
- And More!!!

I miss my blog....and all of you, of course!

Saturday, August 08, 2009

In Charlotte....

We made it safe and soundly to Charlotte. Training officially began Friday afternoon.

Ben managed to blow out his diaper on the way to Charlotte, all of his clothes were with Caleb in the other vehicle, so he rode diaper-only. When we arrived, he went running towards Caleb and fell on the pavement.....wearing only that diaper. He is a little marked up, but nothing serious. He is rather proud of his "boo-boo's", though....and is happy to show them to any and everyone. I'm afraid this child might have a scar from every training we have attended....just kidding!

Please pray for us when you get the chance....we are already learning so much and feel like we are experiencing many firsts. We have to attend a new church tomorrow where we will be the minority....and Ben will have to sit through the entire service....i.e, no childcare.

We still feel very blessed and very excited.....but feel very alone. We do not have access to the internet at our apartment....we hope we will have it soon, but we are trying not to "expect" it.

Thanks, friends...

Monday, August 03, 2009

Visit with MeeMom and PopPop

MeeMom and PopPop visited from Maryland this past week-end. It was so nice having them here to help. Since we are leaving for Charlotte soon, they were able to hang out with Ben while I got other things in order for our trip.

Ben LOVES to be the "helper". He loves to help you clean, throw out trash, do laundry and cook. MeeMom and PopPop let him help make a cake!
They also took him to the Museum of Natural History. It is his favorite thing to do with them. He loves to name all the animals that he sees!

And, of course, he loves to read!


Thank you, MeeMom and PopPop for visiting us. We all had such a good time. Thank you, also, for taking Kirk home with you while we are in Charlotte....Kirk, we miss you already! (Well, everyone but Caleb misses the dog!)

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Ahhhh....It's Saturday!

Just wanted to share with you all one of Ben's new words. He has a new word for "coffee". He calls it "happy". I LOVE it!