Did you know...

1a) that Kristen now goes by Kristy?  Please, no matter what she tells you, she would appreciate it if you use this name from now on.

1b) that I went to hang out with her in Ethiopia last week? I ate sheep, narrowly escaped death by hippopotamus attack, and had an incredible time with her!

1c) that I also enjoy Picasa albums and have uploaded some photos of the trip for you to see here?

2a) that, based on recent evidence, in addition to following me to Africa and joining the Picasa family, Ryan Warden actually aspires to be like me in everything he does?

2b) that, despite what this photo may suggest, I did not actually attempt to knock Kristy out and feed her to the hungry hippos?

3) that I've decided to extend my time in Uganda by a couple months, until mid-November?  I've prayed and thought about it a lot, and I feel like this is what the Lord wants me to do.

4) that I am still so ridiculously thankful for all of you and miss you more than I can say?  Seriously, I recently set my screen saver to scroll through about 400 photos of the family, and I fear I may never leave my computer again because it makes me so happy to look at your faces!  I really believe that what we have is special - an evidence of Grace, really - and I want you to know that I am beyond grateful for it, that I think of you often and it gives me joy, that I love hearing from you, and that I love you.

love. jen

Stomach Parasites make Awesome Pets

So I know I dont post that much but here is what has been going on lately, I just got back from taking a mission trip to India for two weeks with the other interns and our intern director. We were in Calcutta working with a family we knew who moved there from memphis. They help women escape the sex industry by gving them an alternative means of income, we also worked in one of the Mother theresa homes for the destitute. After the original trip m and two other friends took an extended trip to visit another family we knew. Sadly we had to leave early, because one of the guys I was traveling with had his passport stolen. But no fears we al made it back, upon returning I was promptly attacked by the stomach parasite i had hidden in my body which sucked I am getting better now and will hopefully be back to normal tomorrow. anyways news on the homefront Rachel and I are still going strong, i think I might have found a house t rent next year which is great. Also, still not sure what my job will be but i have an interview on Monday with an incredible Charter School in the neighborhood about a possibe maintenance position, which would be an awesome job. So ya that pretty much sums up my recent life. Hope all of you are doing well, i love and cherish all of you.

turns out

google does it again. i have quickly decided to use picasa.google for posting pictures, it is delightful. it has a link through my i-google, a good format, large sizes to download, and yes... face recognition. i threw a couple pics from the amazing wilco concert from last week while i was at it.
check it every now and then if you want to keep up, as i fly out to cape town this thursday. this thursday, so crazy how all the momentum can shift so fast. i spent the last week studying almost every waking hour and now i prepare for travelling an amazing unknown continent for seven weeks. i'm going to miss ya'll, birmingham family. africa friends, i'll be a little closer, maybe we'll share some kindred emotions

http://picasaweb.google.com/billy211b@gmail.com

pictures...

I am testing out this picasa picture posting thing for this summer. These couple of pics are from the first time me and john went to the locust fork to kayak. It was for real. I am now hooked on the yak

Crazy Awesome Buy

Amazon.com sometimes is absolutely amazing. This week, the re-mastered version of one of my all-time favorite albums (and Rolling Stone's 2nd best album ever) is on sale for digital download for $1.99. Even if you don't like the Beach Boys or think you don't like the Beach Boys, I strongly encourage this buy. If you don't like it, I'll refund your money... and call you a damnable liar...

Pet Sounds