A few extra pictures

Time flew by last week as we prepared for the Christmas holidays. Things were a little hectic so I asked Kari to cover my blog respnsibilities while I took care of some other things. She does a great job each time I ask her to ghost write for me but I wanted to add a few extra pictures from the past week.




Judit, my language friend, asked me to come by her house as soon as I got back into town because she had something for me for Christmas. You've heard of gingerbread houses? Well, I was tickled pink to receive this nativity scene made out of gingerbread! Such a creative and meaningful gift! I can't wait to talk with her about her choice of gift; it will open a door for us to talk about spiritual matters :).




And this is the nativity scene-up close! Isn't it great?




We have eaten and eaten and eaten since arriving. With 3 ladies who are great cooks and 3 men who are great eaters, we've had lots of wonderful dishes and this has required a lot of trips to the grocery store. However, since we have eaten so much, we've decided to walk some of it off by walking to and from the store instead of driving. It is about 4:30 pm when this picture was taken! Fortunately though, as of December 21, our days started to get longer and dark later. YIPEE!




This is my son Chris and his wife Kate. Great picture of them, isn't it?

This is our daughter Kari and her husband Jonathan. Another great picture, eh?

And the proud parents!

Our family has had a favorite tradition of making and decorating Christmas cookies ever since our kids were tiny tots. We really get into it with all the different kinds of sprinkles, especially Red Hots (my favorite). I have to admit, Chris is the greatest artist when it comes to decorating cookies. He uses tweezers to place the sprinkle in just the exact spot!

Can you believe it? We found this car tag on a car at the church we attended last Sunday! Wild! BTW (by the way...), we took the kids to Danube International Church since their worship service is in English and totally understandable to our non-Hungarian speaking daughter, son, and daughter-in-law. (Our son-in-law speaks a little Hungarian.) It was when we were exiting the building that we saw this car, and just a few spots down from it was a car with a Tennessee tag but I couldn't get my camera focused quickly enough as we drove past it!

We're having a great time, eating too much, walking a lot and laughing a ton! More later!!!

We made it!

Putting goodies in the kids' stockings on Christmas Eve

Well, after three days of snow delays in Virginia, we finally made it home! The kids had arrived on schedule last Sunday and had decorated the house for Christmas when we arrived on Wednesday. It has been great to be together again. The last time was in July of 2008 - too long!


Our stockings


Early morning coffee for the kids


Glenn tries on his new biking glasses


The fam


Jonathan and Chris setting the table for Christmas dinner


My red glasses. They were a wedding gift to Glenn's parents in 1945.


At the Citadel, overlooking Budapest

I have good news and bad news...

The bad news is that Glenn and I just got word that our flight out of Richmond to New York for today (Sunday) is cancelled. We are now rebooked for Tuesday. Bummer.

The good news is that we just talked to our kids and they have arrived in Budapest and are settling in nicely at our house. Actually, they are having a party since their parents aren't home!

Pray for no more snow for New York!

Winter Wallop

Well, we started the week out in another airport as we flew from Atlanta to Richmond, Virginia where we attended the Member Care meeting for lead consultants with our organization. I really ought to keep a count of the number of airports I'll be in over the course of the next year, just out of curiosity.




Airports are getting expensive, especially if I'm bored and I've already had my daily dose of Coke Zero. Very, very occasionally I will order a White Chocolate Mocha just for something to do (drink), and I have to admit, it is growing on me. It would be better though if they would put in more white chocolate and less coffee.




Our meetings went well and were very informative. It was good to be able to talk with the 3 other couples who are the lead consultants for their parts of the world and hear how they handle things. We also swapped web sites and shared other helpful resources. More than anything, it was good to be able to feel like someone else understood what we were trying to do and the challenges we face.

The conference ended at noon on Friday and we were supposed to stay overnight there at ILC until our flight out on Saturday, but Friday morning at 9 am we were told that a winter snow storm was coming to that area and that ILC was closing down for the weekend...and to find a hotel in town right away. I admit that the last 3 hours of discussion among our group was not very productive as comments were intermingled with searching for a hotel and rearranging our plans for the day!

We packed our bags, said our good-byes and hurried into town to do all the things we had planned to do on our last evening in America before the blizzard arrived.

Oh, before leaving ILC for town, we got word that our flight out the next afternoon was CANCELLED, and the snow had not even arrived yet! So, Glenn got busy and got us another reservation for leaving on Sunday (instead of Saturday).



I didn't remember it being this PINK!

Glenn's favorite eatery in Richmond is Cheeburger Cheeburger, home of delicious deep-fat fried onion rings and real hamburgers! You know, 100% Angus patties, hand shaped and carefully grilled to perfection with tons of carmelized onions, jalepenos peppers, and A1 Steak Sauce. Mmmm.




From the previous picture you can tell that the place was empty of customers except for us. Talk about great service!! Evidently everyone else in town was out stocking up on groceries before they were held captive in their own homes by the snow that was coming.

From this picture you can tell that the snow had not yet started falling. While we were there, at 4:30 pm (I checked my watch), the snow started falling, slowly at first but gaining in density as the minutes ticked by.

Since the snow was not yet causing any problems, we ran by one or two more stores to pick up last minute items and to refill our rental car before heading to our hotel out by the airport.




After settling into our hotel room we decided to go ahead and turn in our rental car a day early since we didn't know how much snow there would be on the ground by the next day, nor if there would be anyone from the rental agency to accept our car keys if the snow truly handicapped everyone. You can see the snow that had accumulated in just a matter of 3 hours.

Okay, so now we are going to have TWO nights in a hotel while we watch the snow fall. We got a great price ($67) for a king size suite, complete with a refrigerator, coffee pot, microwave, and a huge TV in the living area and another one in the bedroom. The bedroom had a large window that overlooked the parking lot; not a great view, but we slept with the curtains open and watched the dime and quarter-size snowflakes plummet to the ground all night.

We spent most of Saturday working on emails, watching the snow get deeper and deeper, and enjoying one Hallmark Christmas movie after another! It was quite relaxing...until we got word that our Sunday reservation was also CANCELLED! So, Glenn spent the better part of the day trying to get us on another flight, which he finally was able to do.

On a side note, while I was in the lobby I met a woman from NY who is down here for the birth of her first grandchild. Due to flu season, she is not allowed at the hospital so she was knitting to keep herself busy until the baby is born. God gave me the privilege of praying with her for the safety of mom and baby. It was a divine appointment!

All this time, we're in communication with Chris and Kate and Kari and Jonathan, keeping them informed of our cancellations and new arrangements, and making sure they are still on schedule for their flights to Budapest!

This is one of our friends who does Member Care in one of the other regions, clearing the snow off their rental car on Saturday afternoon. They stayed at the Hilton also. Mid-afternoon they asked if we wanted to take our chances and ride with them the mile to the shopping district so that we could get some lunch (rather than eat in the hotel at their expensive restaurant). Of course, we said yes! We made sure to be back before it got dark and the road slush refroze! They were also affected by all the snow and cancellations but are now headed to the airport to catch their plane to South America.

It is almost noon on Sunday as I am writing this blog update. Glenn is packing our bags for us to head to the airport soon and both of us are praying that everything goes smoothly from here on out.

THIS JUST IN! We heard from Kari and Jonathan via Skype that they made it to Budapest without any problems, and they are closing up their computers, grabbing their bags and heading over to the other terminal because Chris and Kate are due in any minute now!!!! Our co-workers Brian and Michelle have fixed spaghetti for our kids and will get them settled into our house. Hopefully, the kids will go ahead and set up the Christmas tree and decorate the house. We'll be there as soon as we can make it! Pray for no more snow for atleast 24 hours!!!

Glenn and I wish our family and friends a wonderful Spirit-filled Christmas! We pray that during the holidays, in spite of the financial woes and wintery weather, that your family remembers the reason we celebrate this season. We celebrate the greatest gift of God, given to all people, the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Gained 5 pounds in 3 weeks!

Well, our fourth week in America passed by more quickly than the first three weeks did, and it was bittersweet. Our first week was spent in Indiana at a member care conference, and now we've been in Marietta for the past 3 weeks. We hate to have to say good-bye to our family but we also know that the sooner we got back to Budapest, the sooner we get to see our children who are coming to spend Christmas with us!

But let me tell you about what we did this past week...



Shopping at Walgreens!

I finished the last of my Christmas shopping this past week, buying gifts for my Dad, Emogene, Queenie and Pa (my in-laws). Did you know you could buy for everyone on your list at one store if you like giving gift cards? I was amazed at the "one stop shopping" that can be done at Walgreens-they had quite the variety! I like to receive the store cards but I don't like to give them. Sorry, Dad!

Prezzano's Pizza with Pam

Rendezvous-ing at North Cobb Christian School where I first met her several years ago, Pam and I went for lunch in Kennesaw...but not until we went by her son's class for me to speak impromptu-ously (Is that a word? Can I make it one?) to them about our work overseas. A little rusty at public speaking and not sure how much they would understand about our jobs as counselors to the missionaries, never-the-less, I shared with them about our ministry in hopes that they would pray for Glenn and me during the remainder of the school year!

I met Pam when she came to look at NCCS as a prospective school for Adam years ago when I was the Admissions Director. She is also a member of West Cobb Church where we worshipped before moving to Budapest. The time we spent together at Prezzano's was really the first time Pam and I have really just sat down and gotten to know each other, even though she has been so good to me over the past three years by praying for us, leaving encouraging comments on my blog, and sending me wonderful care packages from time to time. I really enjoyed getting to know her better!




I wrapped all my Dad's Christmas presents that he is giving to family and friends. I love doing stuff like this for him while I am "home".



The Holloways

We drove up to Calhoun late one afternoon to spend the evening with our good friends, Karen and Stephen and their kids, and their grandkids! We go waaaay back to our seminary days in the early 1980's. We lived parallel lives with them for so many years as we vacationed with them, raised our kids together, served on the mission field in West Africa together, and then moved back to Georgia together. It's kind of strange to see the different paths our lives have taken in the past few years after having been so similar for so long. Whereas our kids have moved far away, theirs live close by. They have grandkids, but we don't (yet).



Not enough chairs in the house?

Several nights a week, Glenn and I would watch a movie late in the evening with Emogene and Pop. We watched a few Christmas movies to get us in the spirit of the season, and we watched a few chick flicks too. Emogene has a Blockbuster card that gives her unlimited movies per month, one at a time, for one set price. We tried to help her get her money's worth!




I also helped my dad with some real estate paperwork. Those of you who know me WELL, know that I am not good with math/numbers, which makes it funny (and scary?) that I helped him figure out the amortization schedule on properties for which he holds the mortgage. (Is that right, Dad? Is that what I did for you?)

Glenn and I spent an evening with my brother Jay and his son Christian. It is hard to believe that just a few days ago my brother turned 35. He was born during my freshman year at Auburn University. It is hard to believe that I graduated from high school 35 years ago! Akkk! Is that possible?

We met our nephew and his wife for breakfast one morning at Sweet Cakes on the Marietta Square. Major event since I don't do breakfasts or mornings! It was good to visit with them, hear about what God is doing in their lives, and to get caught up on their news.

They also gave us a tour of their "new" house.

They actually remodeled Glenn's parents' old house on Allgood Road. The house was built in 1867 and was in desperate need of some rebuilding and restoring. Beth and Stephen did an incredible job of building onto, into and around the old house, using as much of the brick of the old house as possible.

The brick that you see here was originally the outside wall of their back porch. I love how they have incorporated the outside brick INTO the house walls.

We also went out to dinner one night with Glenn's parents (Queenie and Pa) and Glenn's aunt and uncle(Judy and Lindsay). I loved this picture of Pa with his dapper cap!

We enjoyed salads and pizza (what else?) at Mellow Mushroom and an evening of reminiscing about years past. I told Judy that when Glenn and I were ready to retire, we wanted to buy their cabin in the woods in Elijay, but Judy informed me I'd have trouble getting it from their kids who also love it! Rats!

Wanda and Bill came to town and stayed with Emogene for a few days. It was so good to see them! The Traweeks were good friends with my parents and Emogene and Bobby Bass (before Bobby passed away) back when I was in high school and living in Virginia! They went to our church and were military also so we had a lot in common. The thing I remember most about Wanda, besides her ability to laugh easily, was that she had a white chair in her living room and kids were not allowed to sit in the chair! I remember wondering what good it was to have a chair that no one could sit in!?!

SS class Christmas luncheon

Glenn and I volunteered to help his mother cater a luncheon for a senior adult Sunday School class on Saturday, just like we used to do every Christmas when we lived in Marietta. We love preparing and serving at the luncheons because it is the best time for us to get to see so many of our dear senior adult friends again!

While the folks were singing, the "hired help" sits in the back and eats.

Carolyn and E.W.

While I was serving the food, Carolyn introduced me to her new husband and later gave me permission to share "their story" with you. It is fantastic! E.W. was Carolyn's first boyfriend, and they were engaged for 2 years, from 1943-1945, until Carolyn met Henry and wrote E.W. a "Dear John" letter-breaking their 2 year engagement. Carolyn soon married Henry and E.W. later married a friend of Carolyn's named Louise.

The two families kept in touch through the years, but I don't know to what degree. A couple of years ago Louise passed away and later the same year, Henry died also. At Henry's funeral, E.W. offered to help Carolyn probate the will and take care of some of the paperwork "because he knew how to do it since he'd recently had to do it when Louise passed away". (What a pick-up line!) To make a long story short, Carolyn and E.W. were married this past August 21st, which was Carolyn's 84th birthday! (E.W. is a few years older than Carolyn but he didn't elaborate.) Carolyn showed me the engagement ring on her wedding finger. It was the same one E.W. had given her in 1943! He had saved it all those years! Isn't that a cute story? They were a lot like young newlyweds!

We attended worship on Sunday at Marietta First Baptist Church and got to see some more folks we knew from when we were members there. Brandon is a friend of our daughter, Kari. He looks the same but is all grown up!

I saw Dean Hunter, who was my supervisor when I served as the Interim Minister to Children at MFBC from May 1995 to November 1996. He still looks the same too!

It was sad to say good-bye to Beck, Darden, Queenie and Pa.

But, most of all, it was hardest for me to say good-bye to my Dad. He opened his home to us, offered to rent us a car to use (but we thank Beck and Darden for loaning us one of their extra vehicles to use!), took us out to eat several times, and "helped" us with a lot of our shopping. Thanks, Dad! We had a great time and will miss you. I love you and am looking forward to helping you again on your taxes and such next September.

Speaking of September...we will take our stateside assignment in Marietta next September through January and will stay in the missionary home of Marietta First Baptist Church. We hope to have time to visit with everyone again next time we are home! It was great!

We are now in Virginia at our International Learning Center for a Member Care meeting of Lead Consultants. We'll be here until Saturday, which is when we return to Budapest and will see our kids later the same day! Can't wait!!

I love my family and friends!

We've had a great week because we've seen a ton of people that we love but miss when we are in Budapest. This weeks' blog update may be pretty boring for everyone except our children but I knew they'd want to see our family and friends.



Queenie and Pa



4 generations: Queenie, Carolyn, Mallory and Holly



Our wonderful neighbors, Ed and Jo



Chris and Nancy

We went to Maryville, Tennessee for a day and visited two of our families from Central and Eastern Europe who are home on stateside assignment right now. They are good friends of ours over there, and it was good to see them again!



Monte Vista Baptist Church

We also visited with Howard and Jean, the former pastor and his wife of Monte Vista Baptist Church, which is the church for which Glenn was the Youth Minister way back in the summer of 1976 and 1977. Howard also married Glenn and me on December 17, 1977 so we all go waaaayyyyy back!



202 Seventh Ave: The house that Chris built (remodeled, anyway)

We also went by to check on the house where our son and his wife lived before they moved to New Jersey last summer. The house still looked great but it was kinda sad to see it and know they weren't there.

Brad, Karen, Abby and Chloe

The Pollard's live in Budapest with us and we have missed their friendship so much! They will be returning from their stateside assignment shortly after we get back to town.

New Salem Baptist Church in Marietta

Wednesday evening Glenn and I spoke at New Salem Baptist Church about our work in Eurasia. It's been a long time since we've spoken in front of churches and I was a little rusty. Glenn did a great job though!

Borders homestead; old becomes new!

Glenn and I went by the house where he grew up, the one his parents recently vacated so that Glenn's nephew and his wife could remodel it for their family to live in. The original house was built in 1867! They've done a great job, trying to leave as much as they could of the old house while updating it. It is about 2 times as big as the old house and twice as beautiful!

Some of our friends, Anne and Mary Jean

Mid-week Glenn's mother (on the right) took us out to eat with two of the ladies in the church that we've known for many years and have always shown a lot of support for us. The meal was okay, but not nearly as good as the fellowship!

Stephen, Glenn's nephew

Madeline, Stephen's daughter

Beck and Darden

We squeezed in a BBQ dinner with Beck and Darden (Glenn's brother and sister-in-law) before they left on a week's vacation. They will be back the day before we depart but we wanted to have some time with them before we head home. They are Stephen's parents, and Madeline's grandparents.

North Cobb Christian School fundraiser

Friday night we were meeting our pastor and his wife (Ken and Shawna) for dinner (but I forgot to get a picture!!!) at 6:00 at Ted's Montana Grill at The Avenues but before going, we decided to run by Barnes and Noble bookstore to pick up some books to take back with us. Just as we were leaving, in walked a good friend of mine from NCCS, Donna Gillespie! Glenn and I just happened to be there on the night that NCCS was having a fundraiser and tons of families would be coming to shop from 6-10 pm! After dinner with the Williams, Glenn and I went back to the bookstore to be able to see folks we knew when I worked as the Admissions Director (9 years!) at the school. It was packed!

Friends Barb and Rick

We enjoyed talking with Barb and Rick and getting caught up on their news. All three of their children were Eagle Ambassadors, a program I started at NCCS. One day the Pfahl's are coming to visit us in BP! (Okay Barb, it's public knowledge so now you have to come!)

I also got to see Beth, who was the Assistant to the Head of School when I worked there, but is now doing my job as Admissions Director. She and I went to a couple of "late night" movies a few years' back. I don't have anyone in BP who will do that with me, except for Glenn!

My best friend

Saturday morning I met Kristin at IHOP for a fattening breakfast and a great time of heart to heart sharing. We sat there and talked for 3 hours before we realized how much time had passed! We then went Christmas shopping (well, she shopped and I accompanied her) and talked the whole time. We really needed a full day because I think it would take 16 hours to get caught up on everything that happened during the past year!

My brother Jim

Saturday evening my brother drove down from Chattanooga where he lives to be able to spend the evening with Glenn and me. It was a special time, and I really appreciated him coming.

Our Israel trip benefactor

It was cool to see Mr. Sekulow on television! If you remember, Glenn and I took a 10 day trip to Israel this past May as guests of Jay and Pam. A trip of a lifetime, and seeing Jay on the TV brought back a flood of great memories!

Great friends, great food!

My sister, Elizabeth offered to have a small luncheon for us to be able to spend some time with our closest friends from West Cobb Church so on Sunday after worship, we all met at Brennon and Elizabeth's house for a delicious lunch of chili and potato soup. Thank you, Elizabeth and Brennon!

Do we look alike?

We are heading into our last week here in Marietta before we head to Virginia for a member care meeting. We have a full week ahead, visiting with lots of friends and family members. Unfortunately, most of the times we get together with folks, it is over a meal. I think I've gained 3-4 pounds already, and I still have another week to go! Akkkkk!