A Blupload

A pictorial walk through recent events in the life of the Pensyls:

 Our main man Jalin - it was so great to get to spend a week with him in the Dominican again this year! He's 11 now so it's important that he was being cool and hanging out with friends, but I was required to give a hug goodbye every day and we were able to catch a few special quiet moments throughout the week. I was showing him pictures of Marc, the dogs, and the house on my phone and then took this picture and made it my background to show him. He then took my phone and within 7 seconds of being handed the phone he had managed to turn off airplane mode and place a call to Marc. Needless to say I ended the call before it connected so I wouldn't have a phone bill through the roof.

 Marc's speedometer hit 123456789.0 so we took a picture. The stress from about 123456786 to 123456788.9 was insane. This isn't something you can re-create!

 We went to Nazareth in June and stopped by Calandra's. Marc raves about Calandra's cheese so we finally stopped and bought some. The guy working there used to live in Altoona and knew where Port Matilda was! How wild! Marc was one happy guy when he was eating that cheese!

 This is how Tucker sleeps. What a goofball. It's hard to tell from this angle, but his one paw sticks straight up. It's like he's always waiting to ask a question.

 Abigail came to stay with Gram and Gramps ("Pa") for a week and we painted nails.

She does good work.

We found this delicious new recipe in the July issue of "Real Simple" magazine - Gemelli pasta with goat cheese and basil oil. So good. Seriously. Invite yourself over for dinner and request this dish!

Is This What We Look Like?

We love the time we get to spend with our "old" youth group gang. Luckily, college boys are always hungry so I can usually entice them with a meal. I fear that they think we only each pizza or pasta, but Marc is a vegetarian and pizza or pasta is meatless and can feed a crowd. I also need to remember that they're 20 and probably don't care what I'm feeding them since it's not Ramen.

Anyway - Jake, Andrew, and AC came over the other week and drew this picture on the whiteboard:

A few thoughts:
1. I'm better looking than I thought. I have less hair though.
2. Marc is drawn how Jake used to draw stick figures when he was a kid.
3. Yes, Marc is labeled as "Masc". This is how he appears in Jake's phone beause T9 finished it incorrectly for him like four years ago and he never fixed it.
4. Lily looks like a snail
5. Tucker (Tooker - said with a Scottish accent) looks like part dog/part T-rex. Also, his tail is supposed to be a muscular arm. It kind of looks like poop.

Oddly, this drawing warmed my heart. I sure do love those guys.

Funny Things Marc Says and Other Tidbits

"It just can't all be lollipops and googly goos!"

"Perspertation"

When I pointed that I thought he had used the wrong word he said, "No I didn't. It's when you sweat and then go out in the rain so you get all wet and then it doesn't look like you were sweating."

Ah yes. Of course.

We enjoyed some unexpected time together this morning running errands and then stopped by the Waffle Shop for brunch. I really do like it there, I just hate how you smell like it afterwards.

Yesterday morning at breakfast I took one look at Marc and knew he'd be well hydrated for the day:

That'd be chocolate hemp milk, water, apple juice, and mint tea. In his defense, the apple juice was mine...I pushed it closer to him to enhance the humor factor of the photo.

I'm about to go embark on a mission of tagging all of my remaining Dominican Republic pictures. Only 600. Should be done in a jif. I began dreaming about the DR again this past week, spent some time looking at plane tickets. Marc says I talk about it so much that I should just go live down there for a year. I told him I would, but I was married and had to stay. He said he was giving me permission to go. Part of me suspects he was saying this so he could get the bed to himself with the dogs. I think the three of them are up to something...

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our friends Mark and Becky and their kiddos the other night. We love the time we spend with them. Not only does Becky make amazing food, but we love experiencing their family dynamics and "being part of the gang"! The highlight of my week was laying on the trampoline on my back with four year old Eden sitting on top of me listing off something (I wasn't entirely sure what was being listed, a list of rules of some sort). I loved watching her wave her arms around, her facial expressions, her losing count of what number item she was on and asking me so I could help her start at the right spot. I realized somewhere around item seven that I was truly relaxed. Yes, there was chaos occurring all around, but I was truly relaxed. My only job in life at that moment was to listen to Eden and make her feel like she was the most important thing in my life at that moment! My life tends to be hectic (I bring it on myself) so experiencing that fleeting moment of wonderfulness boosted me for the rest of the week! I also loved watching Marc throw the football with Shane and Judah and giving tiny little Tristan piggyback rides!

Malea comes home in 18 days (I'm not counting today, it's almost over). The Pensyls are super stoked about this. We love Malea and can't wait to see her!

I flew to Michigan last weekend for my dear friend Megan's bridal shower. It was a hub-bub of activity, but it was wonderful to spend those precious few hours with two dear friends who know me inside and out, tell it to me straight, and laugh at/with me. The man she is marrying is truly hand picked by God for her. I am so excited for their marriage! As a disclaimer: I really, really, really liked Abe even before he began cooking me wonderful meals and handing me a glass of wine every time I went over.

Me, Megan, and Desiree

More to come soon...

Car Melt

I absolutely love getting in the car after it's been sitting in the sun in the parking lot. Half of you are going "ooooh yeah!" and the other half are saying "yeeeeck, that's the worst!". I've conducted some informal surveys and the love/hate of Car Melt seems to be gender split.

Additionally while I've been typing Marc has been playing "YMCA" and I had to keep stopping my typing in order to dance and do the motions. I guess I didn't "have" to, but I did.

Here I Sit

Here I am. Waiting. For what? I'm not really sure. The week to end so I'm off of work for a week? The Dominican Republic? Stress to leave me so my mind is clear (ha.)?

One thing I'm waiting for is my chiropractor appointment on Friday. I seriously think I'm addicted to neck adjustments. Getting my neck cracked is like a drug to me.

Marc and I went to go on a date last night - the intent was to go mini golfing and then get ice cream...but then we decided we were too hungry to golf first so we ate dinner at Meyer's...then we figured we were there so we'd just get the ice cream pre-golf game. Then we went to the golf place and it was closed. Fail. So we went to Target. Not the same, I know, but we picked up a few things we needed and still had a blast. Marc makes me laugh so hard that it is really unsafe when I'm driving and he's with me. Luckily, no one died last night.

I'm almost all packed for the DR. Need to do one last load of laundry at the end of the week so I have a full stock of undies packed, but otherwise I'm all set. The amount of things I'm bringing for Malea is rivaling the amount of things I've packed for myself. Luckily I like her a lot (and I'm exaggerating).

I'm excited to see Malea, the kids, and spend lots of time with my seniors graduates, but I'm going to miss Marc, Lily, and Tucker. I always miss them. Cold noses, licks, giving belly rubs, goatees, smiles, laughter, sassiness, floppy fuzz lips (attention reader: the previous list is a mix of both human and dog things :) ). I'll cherish every cuddle and smooch this week because it will have to last me through next week too! Lily and Tucker probably won't even care that I'm gone. The sooner I leave the sooner they get to sleep in the bed with Marc for a week.They'll probably escort me out the door...

And Onward They Go

Wowza. My HSM seniors are graduating in less then a week. They were freshman when I started working with HSM. Now they're seniors. They're graduating. They're leaving. Eeeesh. I don't like change. But this change is good and they're excited about it so I have to put on a brave face and pretend like I'm totally cool with it.

Today we celebrate them! We had them stand in church and prayed for them. They were surround by their families, friends, and other members of their church family as we prayed for them to move forward, eyes on God, strongly and courageously. We reminded them that no matter where they look God will be there - they just have to look. We reminded them that they are their brother's keeper and they need to support each other, sharpen each other, and guide each other.

We honored them with a celebration after church. After a deliciously catered lunch (thanks Aaron!) we watched their senior video - they each shared some memories, some advice, and some thoughts on where they had seen God work in their lives over the past four years. A theme repeated over and over again was the importance of having strong Christians friendships. After 14 months of wondering if they heard me it made my heart overflow to hear each of them, unbeknownst to the others, say that. An example of how God is always showing me the benefits of patience!

We had them stand with their parents and had their parents share a blessing over each of them. I always think it's good to have the students see their parents faith active.

We ended it with the blooper reel. I have dreamed of having a blooper reel for several years now and Doug made it a reality this year! It was 15 minutes long - half the length of the video itself. This fact should give you an idea of the kids in the group :) Doug made the video awesome - he's the greatest!

It's been a wild ride. Frustrating, yes - without a doubt. But in the end they grew closer to Jesus that was the goal. They'll keep growing and to do that I need to pass them off to the next Apollo who will water them. I'm scared to do that, but I know it'll grow me too. What do I always say? Let go and let God. I guess I need to listen to my own advice...

I'm proud of you guys - more than you'll ever know (because I'll never tell you because I don't like talking about my feelings). I love you. Go live for Jesus.

Diez dias

Diez dias. Ten days. Ten days until I am in the glorious sunshine at the Rose of Sharon Orphanage in the Dominican Republic listening to the shouts and laughter of the kids. Following Malea's lead, I'd like to make a list of ten things I'm looking forward to - in no particular order:

10. Hugging Jalin
9. Hearing "Americanos! Americanos!" as the Daihutsu pulls into the orphanage
8. Holding little hands as I walk from place to place
7. Unlimited hugs
6. Poking David's nose
5. Popping up out of bed to make Malea laugh
4.Watching my HSMers seek God and discover Him in the most unlikely of places as their hearts are shaped
3. Seeing my BFF after 8.5 months and our initial jumping/screaming hug
2.Watching the sunrise (so the answer is yes!)
1. Being used by God