they're here!!

and, if you can't tell, its been glorious so far. we love them. they wanted to go on a five mile walk when they got here. they're basically superhuman.

the team is coming the team is coming!

just a few hours from now we'll be staring at the faces of our lovely, exhausted, completely unaware of what time it really is team members. hullabaloo.

here are a few pictures of our time so far. don't get too excited, we do promise they'll get better in the next few weeks!

this is the neighbor's house and the incredible view behind it. when we looked out the window of the airplane as we landed, the view was spectacular patches of different shades of green, much like the sections you see here. beautiful! today is an absolutely gorgeous day, 65 degrees and sunny (please don't hate me texans), the perfect day for the team to arrive!




we decided to take advantage of this lovely day by, drumroll please, doing laundry! they have a dryer but its very expensive to run so we've been doing our best to do laundry on sunny, dry days. i've gotta be honest - if i ever live somewhere that it would be feasible, i'd be totally into line drying my clothes. also i found out that i have a kitchen gadget that will enable me to make my own baby food someday. hippieeee.





well, the computer has decided it would rather not upload any more pictures right now, so we'll just keep you in anticipation. leaving to get the team in twenty minutes!

in other news.

i just came across a website that has some delightful, healthy recipes, and, what's even better, an entire section on cooking for 2! glory. i'm excited about our little home awaiting us in dallas and tonight is the perfect night to find some tasty treats to fill it up with. any favorite recipes are welcome!

lovely tonight.

(title credit goes to joshua radin who you need to listen to if you don't already.)

This afternoon and evening, Ernie and Nancy are out and Jared and I having a stay at "home" date/day off before the team comes tomorrow! Right now, Jared is playing Joshua Radin on the guitar (hence the blog title and the fact that words like "ecstasy" and "bliss" are breezing through my mind) and I'm, well, I'm blogging. We are so thrilled to have a day together and at the same time absolutely can't wait to see our team tomorrow. I can't believe its already time for them to come, this trip is going to fly by. We're doing our best to soak it up and remember the things we've seen, heard, and learned already. Its funny, I remember last time I came I told Nancy I wished I had written down everything she told me because we spent hours talking about marriage (it was 2 months or so before Jared and I got engaged), life, family, Jesus, scripture, being in the world and not of it, and so much more. She smiled and told me that if God was faithful enough to let me hear wisdom, He would be faithful to bring it to mind at the right time. Of course, He has, continues to, and will again.

Yesterday, we went to church in the morning and then Jessie (one of the other missionaries), and the Lewis family (the newer missionaries who just had a baby - Seth, Jessica, Daniel, and the new baby David) came for "dinner." Dinner, evidently, refers to the fact that its the biggest meal of the day, not the time of day it is served. So, they came for dinner at lunch time. We had a wonderful time with them and enjoyed hearing more about what they are in doing in the community, as well as getting to know Jessica's Mom who is here from Virginia helping with the baby. Then, last night we got to talk to the Perrys on skype for a while and then my little sister, Olivia for a few minutes! It was so great to get to talk to family and actually see them - it makes a big difference.

In other news, apparently Dr. Murano is no longer the president of A&M. Gotta love adult drama.

Love you guys dearly, off to hang out with the hub!