Guatemala Bound! - Part 2

Because of some internet issues at Fundaniños, I wasn't able to blog regularly like I had hoped. Since I'm home, have nothing better to do, and am constantly thinking about Guatemala anyway, I'm going to go back and blog each day of the trip. Here we go!

Deanna and Daniella took me to Chick-Fil-A for my farewell lunch:

Then they dropped me off to my team at the DFW Airport:

Once we made it through security, we had about a two hour wait at our gate. We sat faithfully at gate 40-something for most of the time, and I went to the restroom about 20 minutes before we were supposed to takeoff. While washing my hands, I hear the FINAL CALL for boarding for our flight at a totally different gate. I flew out of the restroom to find my group sitting undisturbed right where I'd left them. I thought maybe I misheard the announcement, so I went to check the arrival/departure board to be sure. I ran over to my team and told them it was time to move! We ran all the way to gate 20-something and made it just before they closed the door. Thank the Lord! :)

We had a good flight to Guatemala City, picked up our luggage, and made it through customs with no problems. Unfortunately, our first meal "in country" had to be Wendy's! We made the best of it, though. :) We arrived at Fundaniños after the kids had gone to bed, so we settled in and read our chapter in Proverbs for the day. As a team we decided to read the chapter that corresponded with the date while we were there (for example: on the 16th, we read Proverbs 16). Some of the team played Signs before bed, and that was our first day!

Guatemala Bound!

I managed to fit everything I need for my ten day trip in the regular size suitcase and my backpack. The carry-on suitcase is full of team supplies. :) I will have lunch with Deanna and Daniella and then head to the airport. I have to be there by 1:30 to get checked in and through security.

We are scheduled to spend tomorrow at the children's museum with several Compassion kids, so please pray that we don't have any delays today! Hopefully I'll be able to post tomorrow or Saturday.

Love y'all!

Compassion International

Did you know that I sponsor three children through Compassion International?

Well, now you do. :) Their names are Miriam, Stifani, and Gabriel. And I don't write them nearly as often as I should.

To be honest, I just don't think about it. Or I'm really busy. Or I'm lazy. And then I receive one of their letters in the mail and remember why I signed up to sponsor them in the first place.

Last week, one of the bloggers I follow traveled to the Philippines with Compassion International. She and others on the trip committed to blog about what they saw and heard and felt while they were there. I've been reading their posts for the last thirty minutes or so and just finished this one. It's about the kids without sponsors.

Please read it. You have time.

So...I suck at blogging.

What else is new? :)

Too much has happened since my last post to record it all here. I may be sneaky in the next few weeks and past-date some posts, so they will appear on the blog in the order they happened instead of a month or two later.

Anyway, I'm currently busy trying to survive the last few weeks of school. I am SO DONE with this year! It seems like everything has been made to be more difficult than necessary. The students have been checked out since, I don't know, March or April?! I found out last week that my BFF here at school has been transferred to another campus. :( AND to top it all off, we've basically been told to expect a more difficult year next year because of budget cuts. Please pray for me and every teacher you know. Yes, we get summers "off," but you really have no idea what's expected of us during the school year. Just FYI, it's not only teaching! :)

Heart Attack

I missed updating last week because I made an unexpected trip home to Mississippi. My dad had a heart attack Wednesday night but didn't decide to go to the hospital until 3:00 the next morning. I don't know what he was thinking! Anyway, the doctor put a stent into the offending artery immediately; however, he also found three more blockages to be dealt with later. When I decided to fly home, we didn't know yet if Dad we need bypass surgery ASAP or not. It turned out that his heart was not strong enough for more surgery right away, so they will monitor him for about six months and then check again. In the mean time, he is supposed to eat healthier, exercise more, and stop smoking 3 packs a day! So far he seems to be making better food choices, can walk a little over a mile, and is down to 5 or 6 cigarettes a day (instead of 50). Yay for progress! :)

Thanks again to all of you who prayed for him and my family. Please continue! :)

15 Before 28

Since I just had another birthday, that means it's time for my annual to-do list. :) If I were to continue the format from years past, I would be creating "27 Things To Do Before 28." Let me go ahead and tell you - there is NO WAY I can/want/will come up with a list of 27 things. However, I do have "a couple, two, three things" I want to do this year, so without further ado, here's my list:

1. Take a snowboarding lesson. (Yes, it's still on my list! Don't judge me. LOL.)
2. Create a scrapbook for my first five years as a teacher. (See parentheses above.)
3. Blog weekly, even if it is just a "week-in-review" type post.
4. Lose 15 pounds by July 1st, 2011.
5. Serve on the Guatemala 2 short-term mission trip.
6. Install new countertops in my kitchen.
7. Replace my laptop.
8. Visit Eileen.
9. Visit Amy B.
10. Visit Bess & Nick.
11. Save $10,000. (Not sure how I will do this because of #6-10!)
12. Finish the guest bathroom makeover.
13. Downsize by donating/recycling/throwing away at least 5 bags/boxes of "stuff."
14. Go roller skating again. :)
15. Become a Little Village volunteer.

Wow! This list might actually be doable. Wish me luck. ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Before the month of March is over, I figured I needed to write a post about my birthday which was on the 1st. It was AWESOME. :)

Well, having to proctor the English TAKS test (our standardized state test, for you non-Texans) wasn't exactly awesome, but the rest of the day sure was! Megan started the day off right by giving me a McDonald's gift card to buy my birthday breakfast. How fun is that?! Then I went to school and stared at the walls, out the window, over my students' heads, etc. until about 2:15. Boo. (One of my sweet PACE kids did bring me brownies, though. Thanks, Sergio!)

After school I went home and took a nap because some of my fun friends were coming over at 5:00. Daniella was on pizza patrol, and I just mingled with people and ate my Totino's pizza. I am still totally on a Totino's kick, by the way. For dessert, the roomies presented me with a super fun cookie cake with - wait for it - a big roller skate on the top! That's right, people. My 27th birthday had a roller skating theme. Don't be jealous.

Once we had a sufficient sugar high from the chocolate chip and M&M cookie cake, most of the party crowd headed to the local skating rink. I was fairly concerned that we would be the only people over the age of 12, but thankfully, I was wrong. Oh, I skated my heart out! It was such a fun party. I am so thankful I have great friends who will put on skates and act like a bunch of ten-year-old hoodlums for me!

When the roomies, Melissa, and I got home from the skating rink, I was finally allowed to open my gifts. EVERYTHING was great, and I loved it all! I received way more than I deserve, but I am truly thankful. This was one of my best birthdays ever!