Minnesota, Week 2

Apologies that the second part of my commentary of my MN trip has been a long time in coming. I am finally getting back on my feet from jet lag and settling back into life in the quaint little village town of Barton Mills, UK :)

Here's what my second week's travel itinerary looked like:

MONDAY: I drove to Becker and got to have some girl time with Tab at her apartment. I packed taco fixings (enjoying fresh garden tomatoes as much as possible the whole time I was back) and we "picnicked" in her living room. As usual, we shared incredible conversation. We had probably one of the coolest faith conversations we ever have. (I found out later at the wedding that I had screamed and talked in my sleep. . . that poor girl. I woke her up shouting "IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT EVERYONE LEAVE NOW OR WE WILL ALL DIE!" Who says imperative in their sleep, seriously?!?!?! She gained even more sympathy that she already must possess for my poor husband that evening. . .)

TUESDAY: I drove to St. Paul in the morning to spend the day with my sweet friend Hannah Pratt. We chatted and spent some time doing my US shopping. My favorite store ever is "Turn Style" (it's a consignment store in the Cities), so we gave them some good business. We indulged in a wonderful lunch at Chipotle :)
AT 5:00, I met Janelle Hallberg for coffee. Janelle was the varsity speech coach that I worked with at Mounds View when I judged and coached throughout college. We're good buds, and she always can make me laugh. We too had a pretty amazing faith conversation as I shared what I had with Tab: over the last year the Lord has brought a lot of people into my life who have been very hurt by the church and thus have a very bitter taste in their mouth regarding Christianity. It pains me that so many people claim the label of Christianity (which often becomes a classification for anyone who is not a Moslem, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or Athiest) and their actions and words don't reflect the grace that is at the crux of the cross and Christ's crucifixion OR their priorities and beliefs are a far cry from reflecting the Lordship of Christ in their lives. Janelle brought up a great St. Augustine quote that we unpacked for awhile: "The church is a whore but she's my mother."

On my way back to my parents' I stopped in Plymouth and had dinner with one of my "sorority sisters" from college, Amber. She and I lived in the "Greenfield" house (there was a total of 7 girls in the residence - waaay too much estrogen under one roof) my last year in college. We went to Applebee's for old time sake. It was SO wonderful to hear how she and her husband Mark were doing (it's like we're growing up and becoming adults or something). It didn't work out to connect while I was in MN in May, so seeing her was a huge priority for me during the August trip.

WEDNESDAY: I got to spend all of Wednesday with my second family, the Pankratz's. I lived with them for a summer, so their house is a second home. We got to have a wonderful relaxing day. It amazes me how much their four kids are growing up! SCARY! We enjoyed making extra sugary monkey bread and have a super fun girl game of cards.

THURSDAY: I needed to rest and catch my breath from the beginning of the week :)

FRIDAY: I left for St. Cloud and the wedding weekend kicked off. Rehearsal dinner was at Mexican Village (which was a blast).

SATURDAY: My beautiful Tabitha Marie married her best friend, Doug Kremmin in an outdoor ceremony at a golf club in Sartell. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was fun to see some classmates and former teachers (including our 7th grade science teacher, Mrs. Becker who was Tab's and my cheerleading coach, for it was in this class that Tab and I became inseperable).

I had to laugh because I walked down the aisle with our friend Eric - one of the men I was very interested in back in the sixth grade. . .

After dedicating "I'm too Sexy" to him, I got a dance out of our high school math teacher, Mr. Halvorson. Tabitha and I spent most of our time in his class bursting out into spontaneous laughter an inappropriate times.

SUNDAY: I enjoyed another Sunday with my parents' tremendous church family. During the evening we went over to McCoy's house. I hadn't laughed as hard as I did as we sat around talking and roasting marshmellows as I had it months. It made me think about how incredible it is to fellowship with a group of believers. I was excited that I would be able to go home to the same kind of friends that become like family that my parents have found at their church.

MONDAY: Home again, home again, jiggety jig! (Philip was a happy boy!!!!) My trip was smooth and uneventful (Praise the Lord!)

I've had a busy week with school, church commitments and work and have loved every second of it. It's good to be home and fun to recollect about an incredible trip.