I was in St. Louis, really, I was...

And here are the pictures to prove it:


This is the Art Museum I thought about visiting...



This is a brick house....which represents how most of the buildings are built in St. Louis. It's actually really beautiful and if you look closely, you'll see Courtney and me in the upper left window.




And this is the Arch in which Angela and I went all the way to the top...much to the chagrin of my tummy. Look closely and you'll see Ange and me in the tiny window in the middle of the Arch. If you ever visit, don't miss the movie documenting how the Arch was built. It's full of suspense...truly.


If you haven't already guessed, there is not one picture proving that I was in St. Louis for almost a week....But, it is a really cool city and I had a great time visiting Angela, Courtney, and Jesse. We all met in Calcutta 2 years ago and they are great friends. It was such a nice time of just resting and relaxing...I wasn't quite ready to come home.

And, in other news, you may not have heard, but I am the best cook-maker EVER! Yep, it's true...check it out

A visit from the Brittles

Zach, Rebecca, Abi, and Maribel stayed the night with me a couple weeks ago. We crowded into my tiny apartment with Reb and me in the bed and Zach and Abi on the couch. It was great to have them...here's a picture of me with Maribel.

Cindy's Gone...

My supervisor's last day was Wednesday...Cindy is her name. It's been a sad week for me...our little corner office in the basement feels very empty, as does my heart. I realized she was one of like 2 friends I've made in Portland, so the loss of her is deep. But, she goes on to do some really really amazing work in Baltimore. Although, it is more than work she goes on to do, it is a way of living, to try and really put into action the Beatitudes. She gave me this poem as she was leaving, and I post it here as tribute to her:

A Hard Decree

Last

Night

God
Posted
On the Tavern wall

A hard decree for all of love’s inmates

Which read:

If your heart cannot find a joyful work

The jaws of this world
Will probably

Grab hold of your

Sweet
Ass.



Hafiz – The Great Sufi Master

Check This Out...

My nephew Jonah, who is 6, has his own blog. He takes most of his own pictures and writes his own captions....you don't want to miss this!!!! The World According to Jonah....maybe he's got something there...

Global Slave Trade Growing

I thought this article was a good one.

New Baby

My sister Elisabeth had her baby Brynne on Wednesday night. She was a wee bit early, so she was a wee bit small...but doing fine.

Marriage and Family

Sam, April, and Gracie


Surprise!!! We did it...I know many of you may be disappointed not to have been invited to the ceremony, but it was a very spontaneous thing. Well, actually, if you know us at all you know that we've been thinking about it for a long time, and decided that since we had a child together we may as well make the whole thing official, at least for the baby's sake. So, last Sunday, in Mary and Travis's backyard we had a simple ceremony, complete with a jumphouse for the kids and plenty of pink lemonade to go around. We aren't sure where we will be settling down, but when we know, don't you worry, you'll be the first to know.




Beautiful



Travis, Mary, and Malaney


Mary, Mindy, and Cheryl

Actually, I was in California visiting my sister who just had a baby, and it happened to be Malaney Grace's birthday/baptism weekend. These are pictures from her party....she's the pretty one in pink.