Pocket Full of Sunshine

Hello! Sorry for taking so long to write. I have failed miserably at blogging lately. This past week I gave up getting up at 5 am in lieu of exercising after the sun goes down, which means by the time I am done with things for the day and ready to write, I'm not really in the mood.

So I guess it's time for a big update, complete with pictures.

Last week was a good week--minus the heat. I don't like the three-digit temperatures at all. I would rather be in 10 degree weather than 100. You year-round Arizonians can disagree, no problem, but I'm not changing my mind, at least tonight. Unfortunately, there are no forecasts of cool change in the near future, which means by the time it cools down for an extended period of time, I'll be back in Minnesota.

Still, even in this deadly heat, there is beauty in the desert. It's not the gigantic sandbox that I thought it was when I showed up last year. The cacti are beautiful.
This week was made complete by Kira's visit. We got to hang out all day Monday for Memorial Day in northern Phoenix with her sister and brother-in-law. It was so much fun. Then Monday night--Wednesday morning we spent time catching up, laughing, eating watermelon, putting puzzles together, swimming, making pancakes, seeing The Soloist (go see it!), running, and enjoying Mesa & Wildflower Bakery together in between my office hours at work. Plus, Wednesday was her birthday, so we were able to have a special celebration. Only two more months until we can hang out all the time! :)

After we said our goodbyes, I zipped to Mayo to do a special hospital visit and made it back in time for youth group. Wednesday nights are always a highlight of my week, but this week it was overwhelmingly difficult. I have written before about some of the issues that our youth in our congregation are facing. Take that and multiply it by 100. Things have continued to escalate...and not in a good way. You couldn't pay me to be a teenager again. Yet in the midst of such brokenness, heartache, and dysfunction, all of us were reminded the importance of friendship and faith.

Thursday I spent most of the day planning for our trip to Romania with Matt and Bri. We have been busy developing our VBS curriculum and collecting humanitarian aid. We leave in two weeks, can you believe it? We are all really looking forward to the trip. Part of our group had a celebration night with fajitas and swimming. They are wonderful people.

Friday was a catch-up and cleaning day. Not the most fun, but as a treat I went and saw Up. It's another must-see movie. I loved every minute of it. Visually it is very effective and the storyline is heartwarming. Plus, I think there's a man in my congregation who is "Mr. Fredrickson." An additional bonus is Pixar's short film at the beginning of the movie. It's great.

In the meantime, I have been doing things very uncharacteristic. I finally let my mom teach me how to sew! It was actually pretty fun, and the apron turned out. If I don't graduate or if I can't get a call next year, I'll start taking orders. Check it out.

Then with the new apron, I had to try it out in the kitchen. Cooking and sewing all in one day! What's going on!?

That's the week-long update.

Added bonus? I do not have any commitments at church this weekend. How often does that happen? I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Church is different when it's not a requirement. Funny how that works.

Hope you are all well.

Best--
HGJ