The long, Long, LONG, LOOONG weekend!!

This weekend we headed back to the DFW area. We left East Texas after work on Friday and arrived at my parents house at around 8pm. We immediately started "the projects". We have decided that we cannot go home to visit our families without "the projects". There are always too many for us to do, but that does not prevent us (and the members of our family) from trying to accomplish ALL of them! My husband went down to hook up my grandpa's DSL and I stayed up with my mom making gifts for all of her friends at the school that she is retiring from. We were up until 12:30am!

The next morning was a blur as we prepared for my mom's retirement party. Her fellow educators and administration had planned a retirement luncheon for her, but somehow I got very involved, too. We arrived about an hour before anyone else so that we could help with the set-up and bring the things that I was responsible for. It was a great reception and I know that mom appreciated it and had a wonderful time. Lots of teachers, principals, and superintendents that mom had worked with and for were able to come and that made it that much more special. Also, my mother and sister-in-law were able to come, which was a nice bonus. They ended up taking Dekker (our furry child) home with them so we would not have to add more miles and hours to our travel time from place to place.

Next, we were on the run again to meet some friends in downtown Dallas. One of them just moved into a loft and we were excited to see it. It was such a neat place and such a nice night. We walked to a restaurant downtown for dinner and then on to Dealy Plaza and the "grassy knoll"...as in JFK. After walking several hundred blocks (might be a slight exaggeration, but not much) in heels, I convinced the guys that we should just go hang out at the loft where I could take my shoes off! It was nice to catch up and relax! I really could see my husband and I living in a loft! It seemed so relaxing, but perception is not always reality! But I still would like to do it!

After the fun with friends, we drove to my husband's family's house to stay with them. He stayed up until 1:30am working on his mom's computer. It was a late night and early morning, but we were able to spend some time with his family. Later in the morning we went to Central Market to spend our grocery money. We spend a lot of time, but came home with a lot of yummy things. We met my mother-in-law because she kept Dekker (again) so we could take our time shopping. We then headed to a mall and Dekker rode around (very unwillingly) in my purse! We didn't shop long, but the day kept getting longer and longer. After getting lost trying to find our road home, we finally found our way with a little help from our family and made it home at 7:30pm...just in time for a conference call about our mission trip.

We were able to meet (over the phone) five of the fifteen or so people that will be going on the trip with us and learned a few more things about our trip! We know where we are staying in Beijing and Fushun, but we are still not sure how we are getting from place to place. Hopefully we will find that out soon. We signed up for the "theme" days that we are going to have for the orphans. We are in charge of Safari Day and my husband (being the athlete that he is) volunteered to help another couple with field day! We were told a little about the environment, food, climate, and a little of what to expect from the orphanage and nannies. We also learned that the first group from Visiting Orphans was leaving this morning for a trip. There are about nine people on that trip, so please keep them in your prayers. I think the conference call got us both a little more excited about the trip...although we discussed on the way home from DFW that we were ready not to travel for awhile...unless it is incognito!