Workin' 9 to 5

Well I'm back from probably the most eventful Memorial Day Weekend I've ever had.

We got to the beach house on Friday night and didn't leave until this afternoon. We only went to the actual beach twice, but it was a very enjoyable weekend nonetheless.

Let's see. I'm trying to think of interesting things we did that would also interest you guys.

I'm not coming up with much. For the most part we just kinda laid around all weekend.

I got to bond with the most adorable (and happiest) 6-month-old you will ever meet (let's call her K from here on out). She is precious. And I get to live with her all summer. So there. Maybe my baby craving will be lessened since I'll actually be living with one. I seriously doubt it though.

We ended the weekend by going to the Galveston Schlitterbahn today. Now, it's no New Braunfels Original Schlitterbahn, but it was pretty great. Nothing truly eventful happened there. Except when K and her dad (henceforth D for dad) flipped over in the rapids. Or when the 6-year-old (and let's call her E) almost got swept away by the current and as I was running after her came up in the back half of someone else's double tube. Ha. Ok. That one was pretty eventful. You should have seen the look on her face when I was NOT the person sitting in the other half of the tube.

So tomorrow I begin the real reason I'm here. The work. I'm nervous for so very many reasons. The commute. The people. The work itself.

But I'm also really excited.

Tonight as we were driving back into Houston, I had been asleep but woke up when the mom of my host family (you guessed it, M) told E to turn around to look at something. There was a huge, beautiful rainbow arching over Houston. God keeps his promises. Just another beautiful reminder of it. God keeps his promises. He brought me here for a reason and he's going to be faithful throughout my time here.

Don't Swim at Dawn, Dusk, or Night

Well, I made it. I'm in Houston, or at least a suburb of Houston. The trip here was uneventful. Not as much crying as expected, mostly just when I hugged my mom and when I pulled out of my driveway. Actually. Only at those times. So that was pleasant.

And now I'm here getting all settled in. Tomorrow I head to my host family's beach house. I know what you're thinking: "How do I get a host family like that??" Answer: Make friends with Dudley Chancey. (And God. It's really the Lord who blessed me with this internship.)

Anyway.

Here's a quick video update. Sorry for the poor quality. My camera conveniently died this week so I have had to resort to making bad videos using my built-in camera. You'll survive. Plus. The video is mainly for my family. I guess I should tell them to read my blog.

And I'll leave you with this story. 

You know you're in Houston when one of the top news stories is about the local alligator mating season. Don't worry. As long as you follow the tips, you should be fine. (I'm going to go ahead and copy Stephanie because I think she's great.)

1. Don't feed or provoke the alligators. 

(Excuse me? Who would do either? Have I moved to the land of stupidity??)

2. Don't swim at dawn, dusk, or night. 

(Apparently this is when they are most ready to mate. Duh.)

3. Watch children while swimming. 

(If you're not already watching your child while he or she swims is an alligator really going to change things?)

4. There was a fourth one but I don't remember it. (

Probably something along the lines of "Don't try to domesticate the alligators.")

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend! Be prepared for a beach update when I get back. I'll try not to get sunburned this time. No promises. 

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

... Make that a loaded down Santa Fe. The day is finally here. Tomorrow I will leave for my summer in Houston. I am feeling so many things right now:

Excited

Scared

Nervous

Sad

Prepared

Unprepared

But mostly READY

For those of you who do not know, this will be my first summer away. My parents (inadvertently) followed me to college, so, thus far, the longest I have ever been away from them was 6 weeks last summer when I went to Germany. That's slightly different because I was with people I knew and I was in a foreign country. In some ways, MUCH scarier, but in some ways MUCH easier. 

I do not know anyone in Houston. I do not know anyone in the church where I will be working. I've only been to Houston once and all I saw was the church building and the hotel room. 

It's just so much unknown. 

But thank goodness I serve a God that is even Lord of the Unknown. 

So while I may have cried tonight when I said goodbye to my friends. And I might cry tomorrow when I say goodbye to my parents. And I will probably even cry when I pull out of Arlington. I'm ready. I'm ready to see what God has in store for me. I'm ready to let God use me this summer. I'm just ready to see him work. And to fall in love with some babies. I do love babies. 

There's just not much to report these days. I stay up really late. Sleep in every day. 

Clean a little bit. Hang out with friends. Repeat. 

While sometimes extremely boring, this down time is probably good before my summer kicks off. 

And now it's looking like my summer will kick off a couple days early with a trip to a beach house! 

I just can't wait to see what God has in store for me this summer. It's going to be so great! 

Cruuuuuuuuise

Well. We're back. 

I've been in denial. 

Which is why I haven't blogged about it. The second I blog about it, it's officially over. 

But I guess it was really over the second we walked off the boat and onto land. Ha. Oh well.

It was the second best vacation I've ever been on. (Disney World really is the land of happiness.) We went to deck parties. We swam. We got REALLY sunburnt. Well. I got really sunburnt. We spent a day on a private island. We spent a morning snorkeling in a reef. We shopped. We watched comedians. We saw a show every night. We sang karaoke. We took pictures with every single photographer on that boat. We ate. And ate and ate and ate and ate and ate. Sushi every night. 3 course meal every night. Buffet every lunch. Room service almost every day. 

It was just so wonderful. I would go again in a heartbeat. Here's some pictures to sum it up:

Well. I'm ready to go back. But now it's on to my real summer. 

15 days and counting until I'm in the land of humidity. (Houston)