Thanksgiving Weekend Firsts...

1 - Watching a calf being born at Schum-acres farm, to a mother who apparently has done this many times before, because she didn't even seem to be working very hard, and then - Voila' - out pops a calf! And once she gave it a good licking to ensure it was alive and breathing and hers, she promptly set out to run a couple laps around the barn. No problem! :)

2 - Possibly the longest hot-tub soak in Becca Clark history, a good 2 hours or more with a few cool-down breaks in between, in the amazing, huge, and wonderfully massaging hot tub that Rachel's brother won on "The Price is Right!" Ahhh...

3 - Spending Thanksgiving dinner with no blood-relatives! A very foreign concept...Although my sense of "family" has always been fairly flexible, with all our holiday "family gatherings" consisting of my immediate family and the other missionary families, there was still the smaller family within that which was my own kin. And in college, Thanksgiving was spent with my sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins. But this year, I joined the extended family of Ben & Carina for their autumnal feast, and it was a very new experience, let me tell you, flying solo for a major holiday! It was my own choice - I could have gone to my Aunt's house with my sister, but I didn't want to spend that much time in the car, and I knew that I would need some time to just be at home. So, overall, it was great fun, and at the end of it all, as I was leaving, one of them thanked me for being part of their family - for we ARE related, through the blood of Christ.

4 - On Friday, Carina, Rachel, and I helped Ben turn the doe he shot into venison steaks, roasts, and stew meat for the freezer. And then we ate some for dinner!!! Probably the freshest meat I've ever eaten. :) And, boy, was it tasty!

5 - It didn't snow!!! Now, I know that's not a first, because I grew up where Thanksgiving was hot and often accompanied by post-dinner swims in the pool or the ocean. But, ever since I've moved to the land where snow is a reality, I believe this is the first Thanksgiving break I remember where there hasn't been a speck of snow in the air - not even a hint of a flurry. Snow, snow, stay away! At least for a little while longer...

6 - There was no green bean casserole at our Thanksgiving feast!!!!! :( I got to have some left-over green bean casserole from my sister's feast at her in-laws', which was good, but it just isn't the same...The french-fried onions had been incorporated into the rest of it, leaving me without that satisfying crunch. That is the only "first" on this list that I do not wish to repeat...So overall, I'd have to say that I'm pretty thankful for this Thanksgiving! How was YOURS?

So I guess I'm not really that much of a world traveler

Look at all that white space...I've still got lots of countries to go! Some of you have red on every continent, but I guess that in order to add any countries in them to my map of visited countries, I'll just have to come visit you there! :)

create your own visited country map

Or not...

So, in spite of the good start, we still remain unable to attain the final prize...The Houghton women fell in the quarterfinals, in a tragic 1-0 match, to keep their trend of being unable to move past the quarterfinals in the National Tournament...Alas, maybe next year!

But, in good news, there is part of the soccer world that still smiles on me! For my heart's team, Sao Paulo Futebol Clube, clinched the Brazilian National Championship yesterday, and that makes me very happy. :)

Man, I would have loved to be there...Or maybe I would have died, so maybe I'm glad I wasn't. :)

Yay!!!!!

The fans are used to it by now. The Houghton College Women's Soccer team always does smashingly well during the regular season, soundly trouncing all their opponents and earning a Top-10 National Ranking. And then we get to the National Tournament and we choke, and since all games there are elimination games, we end up coming home early. This year we were ranked #4 going into Nationals, and all us fans were hoping against hope that our girls would go far, but there was still some residual fear as to whether we should book the hotel rooms for the entire time and buy the return tickets for Tuesday after the finals, or whether we should play it safe and plan on a Sunday return, after the quarterfinals. So we gave our team the benefit of the doubt, and based on our #4 ranking are counting on making it at least to the Final Four.

Well, so far it's working! Because we WON our first round game, against the host school, Park University, last night! YAY!!!! :) Sure, we had to go into overtime to win, but we DID, and we out-shot and out-played the other team, we just kept hitting the crossbar with our shots. Our next game is a Quarterfinal match on Saturday at 6:30 pm, against a yet-to-be-determined opponent, and if you're soccer-crazy like me you can follow a real time play-by-play of the game here. Go Houghton girls!!!



(On a completely unrelated note, last night while I was at the grocery store, they were piping Christmas music out over the speakers. And I thought to myself, "What are you thinking? You can't play Christmas music yet! I'm not ready for Christmas music! It's not even Thanksgiving!" Crazy people...)

Dear Cherith,

Thank you for your comment. It was resoundingly true, and in theory I agree with you. But in practice, I guess I sometimes find it easier to be critical than to extend grace to people who are doing things that drive me nuts. And cultural ignorance is one of my biggest pet peeves, along with gender stereotyping. (Hence why most of the stories I tell about my workplace involve those two things...Besides, they make funnier stories...)

At the end of all things, though, the girls and I did laugh about it together when they were here in the office, and there were no hard feelings. And I encouraged her to apply, saying that all my friends who went to Tanzania had a wonderful time there, and I'm sure she will, too! (Where I wish I could go right now, so I could be in the sun, and with Kat & Paul...sigh...)

P.S. - I owe you a REALLY LOOOOOONG e-mail, that is currently sitting in my drafts box...You and Chuck and Coffs Harbour are in my prayers continually. Love you!!!

Geographic specificity, please!

Last week, a girl came into my office asking for information on the Tanzania Mayterm/Summer program that is being held this year (which we affectionately call "Mini-Tanzania"). So I gave her the brochure, and went back to work at my computer, trying really hard not to laugh at their ooh-ing and aah-ing commentary as she and her friend pored over it. But I lost it when the friend said, "Africa is such an awesome country! I loved it when I went, and it would be so great if you got to go see it!"

I proceeded to ask her if she knew that Africa was a continent, not a country. She blushed and kind of stammered her way out of it, and we laughed. So in an attempt to smooth things over and make small talk, I asked her if she had studied in Tanzania and that was why she was recommending the program to her friend. Then she said, "Well, never actually been to Tanzania. But I have been to Africa, on a missions trip to Botswana. I love Africa."

Hmmm...so YOU went on a missions trip to Botswana, and therefore you love the whole continent of Africa, and therefore based on this your friend is going to love studing in Tanzania...

My heart aches...

Because, having listened in and spied on part of Jars of Clay's sound check, and getting a brief taste of some of that delectable music, alas, I will not be able to partake of the concertous feast they will put on later tonight, to the delight of many ears and the nourishment of many souls.

For I showed up to buy my tickets on the day they sold out. Perhaps next time, my friends! For now, I must be content with the memory of a few guitar strains and vocal harmonizations, and a passing glimpse of the band members through the window in the door next to the chapel stage...Ah, how it hurts to be so close, and yet so far...

I'm a hopeless cause...

I just deleted 515 e-mails from my inbox. It felt so good!

That is, until I realized that, even after all that, there are still 791 items in said inbox...

Combatting the accumulation of random, assorted, unnecessary things is ever an uphill battle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATRINA JOY!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to a beautiful and phenomenal friend of mine, who happens to be on the other side of the world as she turns 24 on this November 7th!

Katrina, I shall eat stuffed mushrooms in your honour today. :)

Love you!!!

Oh, the days of muddy fun...

Look like fun? Well, it does to me! :) This is a picture of my brother Ben's soccer team after their game yesterday. In a mud pit. (Can you tell which one is him???)

Unfortunately, they lost, to our long-time rival E.A.C...But doesn't part of you just want to slide through the mud? Or sling it at someone? Or push someone down in it? Yeah, I know, I'm nuts. At times like these I sure miss playing soccer...But I love the fact that, due to the spectacular internet, I can track their scores and pictures during this week's tournament, even though it's in a whole different hemisphere. Love you, bro!

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

Well, at least that's a little bit how I feel. Like Chicken Little.

It's actually solid, white, cold, flaky precipitation that's falling. From the sky. And I, like Chicken Little, want to run away screaming for everyone to go and hide.

I will grow used to the snow in a few weeks, and, yes, even love it, but it will take an adjustment period...Goodbye, green grass, for now. See you in March!