So it was kinda like a Tupperware party but not

So the other night I loaded up with some of my Africa mission trip buddies and some future Africa mission trip participants and headed to Columbia to feed some orphans.  Yes, we went to Columbia, Tennessee to feed some orphans.

We walked into a house that looked like this.  It kinda reminded me of a Tupperware party or any other home party.  The kind of parties that I don't go to anymore:)  I spent the latter part of my twenties and early part of my thirties attending various parties that sold:  candles, jewelry, make-up, plastic containers, scrapbook supplies and my all time favorite...cookware.  The last "cookware" party that I went to I purchased a $10 oven mitt.  I didn't really need any cookware because...hold on to the seat of your pants because I'm about to reveal a startling revelation.  You don't really need cookware when you don't cook!  I do have to say that the oven mitt has served me well because my bakers are still using it to get the brownies out of the oven.

No cookware for me, I purchased a strand of these...

These beads are made from recycled magazines. Amazima Ministries is training the women in the Karamajong tribe to make these necklaces.  The women who run 147 Million Orphans buy their beads, sell them, & then send a portion of the proceeds back to a feeding program for their children.  They also sell t-shirts, hats and bags to help feed the orphans in Uganda.  This one strand of beads fed a child in Uganda for a week.  It's just like that old saying...

Give a woman a bead; and she's got something nice to wear. Teach a woman to bead; and she can feed herself and the kids...or something like that:)


Here we are with Suzanne & Gwen.  They are the volunteer administrators of  Katie's Amazima Ministries.  So we got to hear all about Katie and the work that she is doing in Uganda.  They started 147 Million Orphans website to bring awareness to orphans and adoption.  By the way, if you aren't reading Katie's blog yet, click here. 

You can click on this button to see everything they have...

It's the Et Cetera that has me worried

This past week I set out on a adventure with some members of the Africa mission team to get some vaccinations.  It seems when you go into third world countries, its important to get your shots.  So I had been researching on the internet (it will get you in trouble everytime) for a travel clinic because it seems that the local doctors prefer not to have a bottle of the live yellow fever virus sitting in their fridge.  I also was looking for a bargain on the shotz because their kinda pricey.  Please note: bargain hunting for vaccinations is not advised.

Anyhoo, Alicia, Jesse and I traveled over to Bellevue to a place called Shots Etc.  When I pictured the establishment, I pictured what one might call a traditional medical center with I don't know...maybe a private room.  But a private room it did not have.  In fact, it was in a strip mall.  Ya know the kinda place where you usually find clothing stores and nail salons. 

Not a private room...

This is me getting ready for my shots.  Yes, it is November, and I didn't leave the house with just a tank top on.  I wore a button up shirt over this tank but couldn't push the sleeve up so I had to remove it.  Classy, I know.  Again, please note that this is not a private room but it's an office/patient check-in station/vaccination station/lunchroom....Et Cetera.  If you can serve one patient, why not just serve them all at the same time.

Also, something tells me those Clorox wipes have never been opened.  Why would I think that?  Oh, I don't know, maybe its because my nurse didn't bother to put on a pair of gloves when she administered my shots.  And she was waving those needles around like they were pom-poms.

Alicia didn't get the nice relaxy chair but she did get to sit next to the fridge.  Ya know the fridge that holds the live virus', a Diet Coke and a Lean Cuisine.

Before you get your shots you have to review all the risk.  You get a laminated sheet for every shot you're getting.  I have five sheets because I got five shots.  A certain member of our trip was making fun of me because I was getting every shot that they offered and even suggested I get the hang nail vaccination just to be on the safe side. 

Please count the number of sheets a certain member of our team is holding.  He ended up getting the hang nail vaccination after all.

The Princess and The Peep

It was Halloween 2009 and the Lil'Nanny and I set out to find the perfect costumes. 

Meet the Candy Corn Princess & the Peep

Please note:  I'm not expecting. I stuffed that costume with a pillow to get the full effect.

Look it's my Africa Peeps.  Don't you just think of Africa when you see our faces:)

We got to host concessions at the Fall Festival to raise money for our Africa mission trip.

We convinced some people to be slave laborers volunteers.

We all know that when you work with volunteers, you sometimes run into some issues.

I'm sure this is not breaking any health regulations.

I ran into a Thing 2 and another one of my Peeps in the hallway.

Vitameatavegamin

I've always had a love/hate relationship with vitamins.  I think I need to take them because some might say my diet is a little lacking in some essential nutrients.  I buy vitamins, and I don't end up taking them because they always end up being horse pills that I can't get down without someone wrapping it in a piece of cheese and stroking my neck.  Some people in my family are just not willing to go the extra mile.  Anyhoo,  I recently discovered the best vitamins ever.  Gummy vitamins for adults.  Their magically delicious.  I have the mult-vitamin, vitamin C and vitamin D.  I got them all at the Superb Target.  The Lil'Nanny loves them too.  I would recommend that you place them on a high shelf because they taste just like gummy bears, and I could see a kid downing an entire bottle in one sitting.  Honestly,  I have a hard time only taking my alloted 2 per day.  Obviously, you can see that when it comes to candy, I have the maturity of the average 3 year old. 

Fall break, Anniversary, Mice, LIFE, Fun, Freezing Yard Sale and Dedication

I've got no clever title just a whole bunch of week wrapped up into one very long blog post...

Monday was fall break day for WCS & Tennessee Tech.  We had a low key day at home.  I finally decided that showering was going to be a necessity when I got the call that Checkers was delivering.  No Nashville hospital visit would be complete without a stop for dinner at a local dive called Rotiers.  I wish I had pictures.  It's one of the only places left that has an old school cigerette machine...and we all know that adds a special touch of class to any restaurant.  I believe that we now have laws in place about smoking in restaurants but my nose told me that someone was sneaking a smoke in that restaurant.  It's one of Sumer's favorite Nashville eateries and she ordered us up some hot fingers, a burger, fries and hash brown casserole.  Alicia Jordan did not eat...that's. all. I'm. sayin'  :)    Also, nothing says, "Let me hold your newborn baby" like three southern baptist women that smell like smoke.

Tuesday was our second day of fall break.  It was also mine and Lawnmower Man's 20th anniversary.  Lawnmower Man was a little under the weather over the weekend and still was not feeling well so we spent the day at home and ordered up some Applebee's carside to go for our anniversary dinner. And someone may have spent the entire day in a pink terry cloth bathrobe.  But that's okay because it matched my awesome anniversary gift...

I've kind of had my eye on this for a while and the traditional 20th anniversary gift is china.  Seriously, who really needs china on their 20th anniversary?  He specifically picked this one out because it didn't have any complicated gears.  Apparently, I'm getting too old and a little gear switch on the handle bars would prove to be too much.  We'll be going out for our anniversary at a later date.  If there are any new Nashville eateries that you think we should consider, please leave me a comment. (Please note:  LM prefers restaurants that don't have cigerette machines.)

Wednesday-I went to work.  Let me rephrase that...I went to work and didn't get anything done because I spent most of the day running out of my office or sitting on my desk...

Nothing says professional like sitting on top of your desk at the church office.

(Please note:  I was talking to the one and only Tracey Jones.)

You might wonder why I'm sitting on my desk...

Apparently, my office is now the hangout for all the local church mice.  Yes, that's mice.  As in PLURAL.  I got a heads up about the situation when Awesome Amber sent me a little email with this picture and it was titled:  the scene in your office.  There are two church maintenance men & an education pastor that think they have a gift for trapping, but I don't fool around with these silly little 99 cent rat traps. I made a stop to the Tractor Supply Company on my way to work and picked up four sticky traps because nothing brings me greater joy then to see the mouse that defecated on my desk suffer a slow and painful death on a good ol'sticky trap.  I have what I like to call a zero tolerance policy for those that break that rule.  You also haven't seen anything until you've seen the local student pastor run and scream like a girl because he saw the mouse run down Cindy's arm when she was trying to get it out of my blinds.  Cindy is one of our ministry assistants and lives life in the country.  Need I say more?  I had a squealing mouse stuck on a sticky trap by 11:59 a.m.  (Please note: The local senior pastor has stated his concern for the joy I find in killing God's creatures and is probably meeting with the personnel team right now.)

Thursday-I went to work and I wasn't there long before I headed to the Grace Pregnancy Resource Center with some of my office peeps. 

Robin, Angela, Brian Best, Alicia, Cindy (the mouse whisperer)

Calm down.  No one in the picture is pregnant...that I know of.

We went there for the 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigel that is happening right now across our nation.  Brian Best attends our church and has worked for the Tennessee Right to Life Organization for many years. He gave us a tour of the facility and told us the amazing story of how this pregnancy center was recently relocated practically next door to the abortion clinic.  Sometimes pregnant women are on their way to the abortion clinic and end up at this place accidently because it says pregnancy resource center on the sign and it's the first place they see.  They are given wise counsel and babies are saved.  We spent an hour praying across the street from the abortion clinic.  Please know that this is not a protest but an honest to goodness peaceful prayer vigel to pray for innocent lives.  I was amazed by Brian's commitment to this organization and how God is blessing his obedience to work hard and protect LIFE!  Sign-up to pray, you'll be blessed. 

Friday-for just a brief moment I could not remember what I did on Friday but then I reviewed the pictures and it all clicked...

I hung out with like 50 + preschoolers and their moms for preschool Friday fun day at Let it Shine Gymnastics.  It was Friday and it was fun.  Friday is my day off...or not;)  but if you have to work you might as well jump into that spongy pit thingy and almost lose your socks.  Well, hold onto your socks because  after that I went to a real live grocery store, bought real food, and actually did some chopping and such to make homemade soup for my family for dinner.  And they liked it.  Shocking, I know.

Saturday-we had our mission fundraiser yard sale and it was the coldest day ever. 

I didn't take any pictures of the sale because you would be so jealous of all the cool stuff you missed out on buying. As always, the first things to go are always the things that I laughed at and thought no one would buy.   Had I known there was a big market for a 1970's duck lamp and ceramic statues from Mexico...I would have priced them much higher than a quarter!  I did however get a picture of me trying to ride the green machine and Sumer riding my new bike.  After you spend the day out in the freezing cold, you just get silly.

Alicia was probably sitting around a heater somewhere counting quarters;)  If we didn't have her, we'd never make it to Africa on our own. 

And today was Sunday.  Some people call it their day of rest...I, however, call it my busiest day of the week.  We had our baby dedication and prayed a special verse over each of the 31 babies.  Obviously, I'm trying to make it into the Guinness books for the world's largest baby dedication.  Have I told you people how much I love sweet babies in pink, blue and white outfits?  Here is a picture...

This is sweet baby Ava. 

You can tell by the look on her chubby little cheeks that she knows she's getting a Word from the Lord.

The end.  I'm so glad tomorrow is Monday!