we'll [forget to] leave the light on for ya

i have been quite excited about the arrival of some house guests that were here over the weekend. [i LOVE house guests...hint, hint] my mom and the behr parentals road tripped to kc to watch matthew wrestle in the lee's summit holiday invitational, because i can't think of a better way to celebrate the christmas season than spending two days watching a bunch of scantily clad high school boys roll around on top of each other.

we love those vikings!

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i never thought i'd say this, but...

in an unusual and somewhat shocking turn of events, i have found myself employed as a full time teacher for two and a half months. not a substitute, but a real kind of teacher with my own class and my own district provided laptop. the kind where i have to come up with lesson plans and inspire the next generation.

last friday afternoon i was minding my own business as a sub at my favorite school, when i was called into the principal's office. she assured me i hadn't done anything wrong, but they were actually offering me a position as a tiger quest teacher for third quarter. there had been four teachers lined up for some time, but one had to back out at the last minute. training was scheduled for the next monday, tuesday and wednesday...so basically they were desperate. i reminded her i am not certified, nor do i have any kind of education in education, but evidently desperate times call for desperate measures.

i was overwhelmed at the thought of it, to say the least, but agreed to think about the offer over the weekend. after consulting with my board of advisers, and some chatting with the Chairman, i decided to go for it.

the class starts after christmas break and runs through spring break...ten weeks. [can we say countdown chain?!?] it's a class they have created to help students with skills needed to improve their scores on the missouri standardized test and it's funded by a grant. i'll be teaching seventh grade language arts, which is great because my best friend in the building is a seventh grade language arts genius and she's promised to help me through. [although i'm willing to bet she may eventually regret making that offer.]

i've been 'training' for two days and my head is swimming in a sea of abbreviations and education lingo i do not understand. this will be an adventure, no doubt, but when i get overwhelmed i will stare at my workbook, click my heels three times and remember there's no place like home.

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a shopping extravaganza

i'm not really a black friday shopper, but i do love a good deal. so as the clock struck midnight to start thanksgiving day, i was heading to cvs with lindsey, her mom and her sisters. the whole outing was kind of hilarious. only two of us were seasoned cvs-ers so we were showing the ropes to the four newbies.

we had a very detailed plan of attack that was a bit thrown off by two missing items, so at one point we all plopped down in an aisle to regroup. we definitely amused a few of our fellow shoppers...one lady even said she thought we were having some sort of prayer meeting. hahaha!!

i think we also provided some entertainment for the employees...this is us with our new friends al and habib.

thanks for the family bonding prosser girls!!

for the inquiring minds:

i went in with $7 of ecb's, spent an additional $1.73, and left with $12.71 of ecb's, along with all of this...

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100 birthdays for picklepuss

my friend edith turned 100 today. she is hilarious...and kind of feisty. i kept pointing out the fact that she is now 100 [because really, how often does that happen?] and she kept pointing out the fact that she is now older than dirt. during her birthday dinner, she paused to sing us the star spangled banner. just because she loves living in america. she told lots of stories, the most memorable being the one about how when she was younger she was given the nickname picklepuss at work...because there was also another edith that worked at the casket making company and it was too confusing. true story.

so happy birthday edith. you're definitely a special one.

marilyn . shelly . edith . edna

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nobody puts jesus in a corner

yep, that was a dirty dancing reference with jesus thrown in. no i cannot take credit for the hilarious-ness of it. that belongs to one of my new favorite people - jonathan acuff. seriously, whatever it is...he's got it. he just got hired by dave ramsey (another of my favorite people) which is how i found out about him. i immediately checked out his book from the library and promptly laughed my head off. it's a quick read and pokes some hilarious fun at the church and the things we crazy christians think, say and do. a few of my favs from the book and his blog:

on married people trying to get single people married off as soon as possible:

never, ever tell a single person that marriage can be difficult...whenever they ask...say marriage is awesome. it is perfect. it's easy and fun and and is kind of like rolling around in a field of flowers and kit kats and pillows stuffed with rainbows 100% of the time.

on the new skecher shoe called BOBS, which look exactly like TOMS:

if changing TOMS to BOBS becomes a trend, would it be odd if i became a christian musician named, 'chris boblin' instead of of chris tomlin? my first song would be titled, 'how greater is our God.'

on christian tracts that look like money:

is there anyone that picks up what appears to be a ten dollar bill, flips it over, finds out it's actually a message about the bible and says, "phew, i thought this was free money for a second. let's see what this john 3:16 is all about instead?"

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mrs. marni morales

leanna, shelly, marni and jen...celebrating the big day!

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just another israelite

the israelites. possibly the most forgetful people group in history, and they were really, really good at complaining.

here's basically what went down...the israelites are God's chosen people. this is a good start for them. life is good for while, but then there is a famine and everyone ends up in egypt. fast forward four hundred years and the israelites actually become slaves to the egyptians. big bummer. but, lucky for them, God hasn't forgotten them or the promises He made to them. so He puts on a pretty good show [lots of frogs and hail, parting a sea, etc.] and breaks the israelites out of bondage. they should be thrilled, right? wrong. what is their response to this amazing turn of events? to the fact that God continues to show up day after day to lead them and feed them? they start complaining. umm...hello!?! did you forget what just happened?

sometimes i just shake my head and feel sorry for them. it's like they couldn't see past the end of their noses. or remember the great things God did for them in their recent past. and then i realize...i'm just like them. God did something cool for me on monday [this is a true story] and now, forty eight hours later, i am fighting the urge to whine and complain because i haven't seen any progress on this subject in two days.

two. days.

have i lost my mind? am i potentially even more forgetful than the israelites? i am hoping that the Lord decides to heap on the grace and mercy and not decide that i need forty years in the proverbial desert to get my head on straight. the goal for today? to remember and be thankful. and to work on my patience.

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tiny little dancers

marni and i have been friends since way back in the day. we graduated from kindergarten together at weldon spring school [which we will love evermore] and graduated from francis howell together thirteen years later. as you can imagine, we made quite a few memories over the years.

class parties . balloon day . girl scout camp outs . brownies . dance class . field trips . new kids on the block . slumber parties . six flags . our birthday parties [or maybe not] . francis howell show choir . pizza man videos . lip syncs . rock-a-thons . the flute . bagel bites . dr pepper . ice cream cake . the taco bell dresses . curlers on the way to school . couple skates . and many, many more

and a week from today we'll be making new memories on her wedding day!

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a day @ the zoo in the lou

missy, sophie and i took a quick road trip to st. louis last week to go to the zoo and introduce sophie to the joys of my vintage collection of my little ponies, complete with the dream castle. we had a great day with our long-time friends...the big ones and the little ones!

jen . shelly . missy

sophie . shelly . jonah

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honduran happiness

i read a good article the other day about finding happiness, here's a bit of what it said:

"...one of the keys to happiness is strong relationships with other people. so when you're deciding how to spend your money, consider whether the purchase will strengthen your relationships. if you're trying to choose between spending money on a train ticket to visit a friend or on a new pair of boots, the visit to your friend will bring more happiness in the long run. experiences tend to make us happier than stuff..."

while i think this is a good rule for life in general, i realized that it's also a great description for short term missions. this past week i felt like i learned so much about the ministries in honduras and especially the people. this was the second year my mom and i had gone with calvary to this same project. since we already had a foundation of friendship, we were able to get to know people better and see their hearts for this ministry.

on our last night jorge pinto, who is a honduran pastor and the 'father' of project manuelito, was talking to our team about how some people only want to send money to support the project. while this is an obvious need, he talked about how important it is to come and meet the children face to face. sending money and helping in other ways is great, but nothing can compare to becoming friends with both the kids and the staff, and being a part of their lives.

during the week we spent time working in talanga painting the new school, enlarging the tool shed and other random projects. we took a trip to el sembrador, which is an impressive farm school for underprivileged boys. [this was a highlight for me...it really gave us a vision of what manuelio could be like in another forty or fifty years] but the best, and most important part, was the time we spent playing with the kids and struggling through our spanglish with our honduran friends. i really like them.

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weekend o' fun

last summer i traveled to the carolinas for jenn's wedding and while i was there i met some great new friends, who just happen to live in kc too. we've had a lot of fun outings together this past year and last weekend jacob, nickie and i headed back to north carolina to visit jenn and tyler [and hershey].

there is never a dull moment when you're with jenn, which is one of the [many] reasons i like her so much! she loves playing games and is full of fun outing ideas...plus she's pretty good at planning them.

we managed to fit in some mini-golf, tubing and skiing at the lake, a fierce guys vs. girls trivial pursuit game, bumper boats, a hike in hanging rock state park, some serious games of wizard, and a jack johnson concert...which was a dream come true for me!

the trip was a blast...thanks jacob and nickie for being my travel buddies, and thanks jenn and tyler for having us!

nickie, shelly & jenn before jack

the whole gang...even hershey

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golden beaver fever [continued]

the number of road trip participants tripled for phase two. we were joined by the arden family, some of my favorite friends of all time. tara and i met at sbu when we were both on the croatia mission team and her husband matt is also a fellow bearcat. she is definitely what you would call a kindred spirit...sometimes we're so alike it's scary. they have welcomed me as an honorary member of the arden family and i couldn't be more pleased. along with them came two of my favorite little people, sophia and tori. the six of us piled into the car and the fun began. we:

• ate picnic lunches by rivers and on beaches
• celebrated sophia turning the big number four
• hiked the lady bird johnson trail at redwood national park
• explored a lot of beaches with some really cool sand
• listened to our pal dave through our awesome sound system
• took a sand dune buggy ride through the oregon dunes national recreation area
• visited the world's largest sea lion cave
• sang 'hey soul sister' more times than we could count
• played on the beach with our sand pails
• stayed in some fun hotel rooms, our favorite being the one with a loft, fireplace and an ocean front balcony
• laughed at tori walking like a monkey
• visited the oregon coast aquarium and saw some amazing jellyfish
• ate a lot of 'fresh off the boat' seafood
• watched movies in our 'drive in' theatre
• made some comic book shop stops for matt
• ate at a fun fifties diner in eugene

the whole trip was a really fun adventure!

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golden beaver fever

phase one [the mother-daughter portion] of the golden beaver fever road trip is now complete. we flew into sacramento, california and drove south along the sierra nevada mountains. here's the highlight reel from the week:

• visited the jelly belly factory
• ate at in-n-out
• took a barefoot stroll through sequoia national park and visited the general sherman tree
• ate dinner at a fancy restaurant overlooking the kaweah river
• climbed on the rocks in the kaweah river
• drove across yosemite national park and saw a bear
• rolled our eyes every time garmina recalculated
• overlooked yosemite valley [el capitan, half dome, bridalveil fall]
• hiked [and i do mean hiked] to the devil's postpile national monument and rainbow falls at mammoth mountain
• sat in the hot tub
• went on a bike ride around the base of mammoth mountain [my mom opted out of that one]
• breathed a lot of fresh, thin mountain air
• took a scenic drive around june lake, mono lake and mammoth lakes
• lunched on the south shore of lake tahoe

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livin' the life

i haven't been out of town in over three weeks, if you can even believe it. in an effort to enjoy this time of year to the fullest, i have been spending much of my time here...

and the rest watching this piece of television genius...

man i love summer

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ode to kids camp

calvary kids camp is the bomb,

i even get to bring my mom;

there's crafts and games and so much fun,

and swimming in the summer sun;

we learn a lot and make new friends,

i wish that it would never end;

the best is when we dance and sing,

to celebrate the risen King!

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first she was one

...then she was two...

...and now the big girl is three...

happy birthday sophie!

love, aunt shelly

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the timothys

for the majority of the time i've lived in kansas city, i've been a part of a really great bible study. we're kind of a random group, but i love it just the same. our game plan is simple, pick a book of the bible and study it in chapters and/or chunks until we're done. we usually jump around from old testament to new testament to keep things interesting. every time we finish one my friend joy comes up with an amazing acrostic to summarize what we've learned. [we're now on a mission to finish the whole thing so she can publish a book of them!] she's inspired me to make an effort to keep track of the things i've learned in our study and discussions.

we just finished up both first and second timothy and as we talked through it together it reminded us of things we had learned last summer studying ecclesiastes. that christianity isn't as hard as we try to make it sometimes with our lists of dos and don'ts. it's as simple as being who you are, wherever the Lord puts you, and letting people see jesus in you.

paul is encouraging timothy to simply live his life in front of others. to show jesus to others by who he is. but following that instruction doesn't mean we have to have it all together first. it's okay to let people see all of us; the good, the bad and the ugly. our failures are part of the gospel story. after all, if we had any chance of being "good enough" on our own, what need would we have of a savior?

at the end of first timothy paul tells us to "go after God...to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous". which is simple, and not-so-simple, all at once. but it encourages me to know that i don't have to worry about saying or doing just the right thing at just the right time to share the most important thing in my life with the people around me. i can just be me. if i'm following jesus, people are going to get to know him when they get to know me.

and that's what i learned from the timothys.

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the family i love

this was the year for the fourth bi-annual meinhardt clan family reunion...and it was good times. in telling other people about this reunion of ours, i've realized how special it is that we both want and are able to spend a weekend together at the lake, just because. the 'elder' generation started with six cousins [one of them being my mom] and at this point we are adding members to the family on a pretty regular basis. we are all quite different, quite the same and somewhat amazed at how much we still like each other!

lest you think we are a boring bunch, i'll have you know that though we do spend a fair amount of time just talking and laughing together, we can get pretty serious about our fun. not only did i really enjoy the splash ball fight in the pool, but i participated in the most intense marshmallow fight i've ever experienced. the little kids brought their single shooters, but my uncle would not be outdone. he brought out his rapid fire marshmallow gun and really let them have it. you can just see the intensity on his face [and all the marshmallows on the floor] even though you can't see the gun.

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so many good things

long summer weekend . bolivar . new friends . old friends

forever families . good times

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simplicity

i am a nerd. not the steve urkel kind, but the kind that likes budgeting and loves to read about personal finances. i know…sounds thrilling doesn't it. so i often find myself reading financial books and blogs for entertainment. the other day at school i came across a book about retiring early and since i had nothing better to do while babysitting teenagers [aka substitute teaching], i skimmed through it.

now i am definitely a saver, not a spender. but even though i have 'financial peace' i sometimes start to wonder if the life i've chosen might not be the wisest financial decision. [i'm sure there are some other people who think that sometimes too - ha!] these wonderings started again as i read through this book and started feeling very behind in saving for a house, retirement, etc. i started to think that maybe i should just suck it up and get a 'real' job for awhile, then i could save more money.

but later that night as i was getting ready for bible study and i was reminded that i already have all i need. 1 timothy 6:8 says "if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough"...and i do. good reminder. i entered the world penniless, and i'll leave the same way. i think the adventures are worth a little less money in the bank.

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happy mothers day

i love my mom SO much, i made her a 'new' laundry room for mother's day! actually, it was one of my goals for the year, and it just so happened that i was able to finish it on mother's day weekend. i completely forgot to take before pictures [can you believe it!] but here's the finished product...

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me gusta mexico mucho

i have returned from a great week in the land of sombreros...complete with guacamole, churros and an infinite number of trips to the super chico for be-light.

we did quite a bit of manual labor at the orphanage...the main projects were:

• painting, moving and installing a playground for the kids [which involved, among other things, lots of hole digging and the risk of being impaled by rebar]
• cleaning up the property, removing thorny brush and shoveling rock
• putting the finishing touches on the new bedrooms and bathrooms for the kids [resulting in "the incident" - daryl and i accidentally getting high on some serious paint fumes...now that's what i call a memory]

we accomplished much more than we thought would be possible in one short week, but the highlight was most definitely the kids. they are fun, loving and pretty hilarious...listening to them laugh is one of my favorite things.

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to mexico i go

a week from today i'll be heading back to the 'house of joy' orphanage in san pedro mexico. i was there last october, just two weeks after they officially opened their doors. on that trip our team of five helped make their new house a home by painting the interior and having fun playing with the seven kids who lived there. we also heard some sweet stories about our new friends ruby and lizeth, and spent a lot of time cracking up at little aneth's laugh.

our team has grown to nine and it sounds like the orphanage has grown to seventeen! the plan this time is to install ceiling fans in the interior, build a playground outside and create a fire-pit with a seating area on the property. we're excited to see how the building has progressed in the six months since we've seen it, but we're even more excited to see our friends again! [one can only hope that our serenading drunk friend will pay us another visit]

after our last trip, heidi [our fearless leader] made a 2010 calendar with pictures from our visit and sent it to the kids. our april trip was already marked and terry [the missionary] tells us the kids are counting down the days! here they are looking at the photos and anticipating our arrival...

although, if i'm honest, i do have to say that one of the driving forces behind my desire to go on this trip has to do with the guys that sell fried dough out of their pickup trucks...it's mmm mmm good.

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spring break: part deux

kim's spring break was this week so i made the sacrifice and went on a second spring break trip, because that's what friends do. if anyone else needs me to be their friend, i'm available.

we flew to kim's favorite place [aka las vegas] to visit the dyers and gamble away our life savings [kidding!]. we took mallory to the golden nugget for a girls night and spend the rest of our days hanging out, playing with maddie, and shopping [i watched]. then at night we headed out on the town. thanks for letting us visit you dyer family...it was fab!

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just the eleven of us

one of the [many] reasons i was sad for college to end was the thought that i would never have the opportunity to go on another genuine spring break trip again. the kind where you pile into a caravan with a bunch of friends and head somewhere fun, usually the beach, to play in the sun.

luckily i was wrong.

we just spent a great week hanging at the beach with some fabulous friends who feel like family. here are the key players of "spring break extravaganza two thousand ten"...

• the williams family: my mom and i

• the behr family: chris, kim, matthew, jacob and gracie - we have gone to church with this family for years...before they were even a family, way back in the salem church days

• the schneider family: john and joanie - the parents of kim...who also went to salem [trivia fact - my mom, john and joanie even went to grade school and high school together]

• the taylor family: gary and bonnie - also salem-ites...and the parents of my friend jen who lives in colorado, i've known them since i was two!

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sledding is super

i love sledding. i love it a lot. unfortunately it seems harder to get some actual sledding in as an adult. luckily i recently discovered that snow creek has a tubing hill. it took some effort to actually get there, but my pal susan was up for the adventure!

we filled our shoes with hand warmers and had four fun hours of riding up the 'magic carpet' and sliding down the hill.

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word to the tithe

i mean really, this is some serious sunday morning entertainment...

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the wisdom of jimmy johns

have you ever read all those little signs on the walls at jimmy johns? some are hilarious, and some are kind of inspired. when i read this one i got real excited, because i so agree...and it's a good reminder that i already have everything i need.

the parable of the mexican fisherman

a fishing boat docked in a tiny coastal village in mexico. an american tourist complimented the mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"not very long," answered the mexican.

"but then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the american.

the mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

the american asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"i sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. in the evenings, i stroll into the village to see my friends, play the guitar and sing a few songs...i have a full life."

the american interrupted, "i have an mba from harvard and i can help you! you should start by fishing longer every day. you can then sell the extra fish you catch. with the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.

"and after that?" asked the mexican.

with the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. then you can leave this little village and move to mexico city, los angeles, or even new york city! from there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"how long would that take?" asked the mexican.

"ten, perhaps twenty years," replied the american.

"and after that?" the mexican asked.

"afterwards? that's when it gets really interesting," answered the american, laughing. "when your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"millions? really? and after that?"

"after that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings enjoying your friends."

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i have the greatest friends

not only are my friends just super people in general, they are often kind enough to entertain me and my unusual ideas. one such idea is my insistence to celebrate half birthdays. i know it's kind of silly and doesn't really deserve much fanfare, but i just get excited when it's january 16th. last year my co-workers had a little celebration and this year did not disappoint. missy made me some special chocolate covered strawberries and my mom provided the bubbly. a little serenade from tori and sophia and the day was complete...thanks friends!!

sophie and i with my play-doh cupcake...

...and us blowing out the candle

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little gtb

it was quite an eventful visit when i got to meet g.t. for the first time. it just so happened that the day i was in bolivar we found out that he had something called pyloric stenosis and would have to have surgery in springfield the next morning. he was a champ and did a super job, despite not being fed for twenty hours or so. everything went well, he's all better and sweet as ever!

me and gt just before he got the iv

cashed out after the surgery with his little incision

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it's a new year

i've made a list of some noteworthy events of my 2009. it's not an exhaustive list, but kind of sums up the year...

• finally made it to africa...and i loved it
• celebrated turning thirty in great ways with great friends
• spend a lot of time serving and traveling with my mom in st. louis, honduras, mexico and africa
• enjoyed a "no work, all play" summer...and it has spoiled me
• visited lots of friends all over the country
• met two of my favorite friends...jacob and nickie
• celebrated the arrival of little g.t. bass

i've never been much of a goal-maker [although i do love making lists], but due to the inspiration of my friends mimi and michelle, i've decided to come up with a few tangible goals for two thousand ten [i had to spell out the year because people saying "twenty-ten" really bugs me]...

• finish the 100 pushup challenge [already finished week two - though admittedly i am doing girl pushups]
• write in my "good things book" at least once a month
• stop biting my nails
• make a 'new' laundary room for my mom
• read through the bible
• take a solo trip
• find a sustainable way to get exercise in my everyday life

here's to a happy new year.

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