Dinner with Cip

Yesterday I got a huge surprise. Cip called me and said that his papers went through and he is finally here (and safe) in Naperville! So tonight Beth and I took Cip out to celebrate! It was a blast. We spent time laughing about some of the memories of when we were in Rwanda. We laughed about the Baboon that chased me while on a Safari, the crazy roads that we had to drive on and the bridges that we thought we were going to die on. We then spent time laughing about some of the crazy questions people have asked Cip since he has been here.

I met Cip over a year ago when I was in Rwanda. He lived there with his wife and their four kids. Because of the constant instability of the government and Cip's safety, he came to the United States to be granted asylum. Cip has an incredible story that he went through during the years of the genocide. He is a man of incredible faith. So many times I find myself frustrated with the petty things in life and seeing Cip reminds me how much I have to be thankful for. Although it is a blessing to see Cip, there is part of my heart that breaks for him. I can't imagine coming to another country without my family. Although Cip is incredibly optimistic and just thankful to be safe, I can see how much he longs for his wife and kids. Please pray for Cip and his family. Please pray that Cip is able to find a job and that his wife and kids will be allowed to come and live with him. Also pray for their safety as they are still back in Rwanda.

I go a new book

Last night I was planning on going to watch a softball game but it got rained out. Although I miss seeing the girls play, it was a nice blessing to have a free night. I headed over to the bookstore and picked up a new book. I spent 2 hours curled up in my bed reading. This book has a blog and a webcast that goes along with it. I am pretty jazzed about it.

Oh David

I got to have my niece and nephew for part of this past weekend. We had a ton of fun. We spent some time watching Alvin and Chipmunks, playing at the park, and just hanging out and being goofy. My nephew (3) is in that stage where there are certain letters that just don't come out the way they are supposed to. One of those challenging combinations for him are the letters "s" and "t." When the two of them are put together, he makes them sound like the letter "d."

When we were playing at the park, David was digging in the sand and came across a bubble container. I was ten feet away playing with his sister on the monkey bars and David was getting a little frustrated because he could not find the stick that is in the container to blow bubbles. My nephew never says anything quietly and began yelling, "Aunt Debbie, I can't find the (st)ick, I can't find the (st)ick. AUNT DEBBIE, where's the (st)ick." The parents of course were looking at me to see how I was going to react and trying not to laugh, I explained that he was saying stick and we are working on his "st" In the end, we all kinda chuckled a little bit but if I had a camera to capture their faces when he first started yelling. Never a dull moment....

Swinging from trees

Today I took 24 students out to a high ropes course for a field trip. I had taken a group of students a couple years ago but decided that since there were an even group of students, I would just stay below and encourage the students while they are up there. (reality was I was too chicken to make a fool out of myself) This year, the other teacher was convinced that we were going up and completing every challenge. Each activity looked so much easier from the ground than it did when I was in the air. Between the wind swaying the trees that we were attached to and the crazy feeling I would get when I looked down, I was pretty pathetic. There were certain points throughout the course that my legs were shaking so fast I literaly could not stop them. I hate heights and even through I knew that I was supported by a rope, there was no comfort in that rope keeping me up. There is so many positive analogies and lessons that can come out of a high ropes experience. I think the thing I enjoyed seeing the most was how much the students supported one another. I have never heard such positive encouragement spoken from high school students to one another and even to us as teachers. I am pretty bruised up today from taking a few nasty spills but it was worth it.

Shaken up...

At 4:30 in the morning, I started to feel my bed shaking. My first through was that someone was opening our garage door which is below my bedroom but when I began to hear my bookshelf rattle against the wall and the walls begin to creek, I knew it was an earthquake. I ran out into the hall and noticed that my roommates light was on. Sure enough, the rumble woke both of us up. When I went through the day, it was amazing to me how many people claimed they slept right through it. I usually sleep through anything but there was no way I would have slept through that.

Endless winter and burnt armpits

So I finally was sick and tired of this crazy winter weather and decided that I needed a little splash of summer. I decided a couple weeks ago to purchase a small package of tanning minutes to give me a little sunshine until the summer months arrive. I realize it is hypocritical to tan as a health teacher but I had a weak moment and decided a little glow on my skin would make this crazy long winter a little easier to deal with. Yesterday after school I stopped by the tanning salon on my way home from work for my third session of tanning. This particular time, I would have had to wait ten minutes to get a lay down booth but I could tan right away in a stand up booth. I am a big fan of the relaxation that the lay down bed offers but I decided that I didn't have time to wait so I would try something new. Awful idea. Although the time under the lights is less, you stand in a small time capsule looking thing and hold onto this bar above your head. If being claustrophobic wasn't bad enough, I have the worst case of burnt armpits ever. Today it was all I could do to have my arms to the side. I felt like I needed to keep them suspended out in the air to keep from rubbing against my t-shirt. I have had a sunburn before but NEVER has it been as bad as burning my armpits!