CANES WIN and I was there!

Hi folks- it is good to be back in NC, and it is good to finally step into the RBC Center and see my beloved Canes play hockey surrounded by 19,000 other good folk who are cheering them on to the 4-2 win. My brother, sister-in-law and my friend Jared went and caught the Canes vs. Ducks game earlier this evening- my first (and potentially only) game of the season- in comparison, last year I went to about 25 games... in other words, I have been jonesing for some hockey. Yay! They also honored Rod Brind'Amor tonight for his milestones of 1,000 career points and 600 career assists that he reached back in November. That was pretty cool. Here are a couple of pixs...

I can't believe my break is almost over, and that in 4 days I will be sitting back in the classroom learning Hebrew or should I say werbeH gninrael- at least I have got the AlefBet down...

Cheers! Oh, and Happy New Year!

C

Florida Greetings

Hi All-
I am wrapping up my time here in Flordia, and thought I would post a quick blog entry. The visist has been nice, as always, I find my time spent in Crystal River to be very relaxing. I have read three novels over the last 4 days, taken a few walks, hung out with my grandma and mom, and enjoyed watching the wildlife that seems somewhat exclusively Floridian... a couple of manatee sightings, not to mention all the various birds here. My grandma lives in this tiny town called Crystal River that is well known in the diving community, but otherwise you would probably never come here. But it sits on the gulf side of the state, about an hour south of Ocala. Most of the tall trees are covered in spanish moss and there is something about the mix of tropical vegitation (I picked a few oranges right off a tree- not to mention palm trees, poinsettias, ferns, aloe, and lots of things i can't id) and the series of canals that run through the area, it is just a unique place to me. Anyways, outside of my second cold in three weeks, this has been a nice few days and just thought I would mention a few words about it.
On a seperate note, the Canes have won all 5 games since I have been back east, their longest winning streak this season- (last season they had two 9 game winning streaks) which has been exciting for me- I get to go to the game Friday when they play the Ducks- the rest of my time back east has been so great as well- a lot of time spent catching up with people- looking forward to these next few days. Now if I can only get the Hebrew alphabet down- I would be good to go.
Take care- C

home for the holidays...

Hi all-
Just a quick note to say that being back in NC is so nice. I just finished a marathon Monopoly game of which I was dominating until everybody went bank rupt except my brother. Oh well... thems the breaks.... I got to go to TAPC today and worship with them, that was really cool- lots of fun things coming up over the next days with tickets to the Monet exhibit at the NC Art Museum, Duke vs Kent St. Basket Ball game, Hurricanes vs. the Ducks NHL game, not to mention hanging out with all my friends here. Anyways- Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad.
-Carrie

DONE!!!!

Hi all-
I am happy to report that I am now officially done with my first semester at seminary!!!

I will see a lot of you in just a couple of days and I am most excited about that.

Happy holidays everyone!

Take care,
Carrie


Ps Here are a few pictures from the Trail of Lights at Zilker Park in Austin...

Polity Bowl 2006!

Hi all-
Today was the annual polity bowl! Which, for those of you who doesn't know what that is- every December during Reading week we play the Episcipal (sp?) Seminary down the street in flag football, followed by a Bar-B-Q and beverage meal. APTS (my school) won the game 20-18... I think this is like the 3rd year in a row now. Anyways- Congrats to the team... here are some picks (the man with the stripes on his face is our President, Ted Wardlow, sporting our team colors)... cool.... huh huh
by the by- I didn't play- but we had a good showing of "fans" including a two person pep band and a dancing Scottsman- ahh Presbyterianism at its finiest

Presbyterian Disaster.... Assistance? Team

Hi all-
Just got back from hanging out in Mississippi with some crazy folk from TAPC working on some hurricane relief mission work. I drove 9+ hours on Sunday and today and spent the days in between hanging insulation and mudding and taping sheetrock. I also got to bore a hole through 8 inches of wood with a drill which was pretty cool for me. It was down in the 30s and 20s there at night so we spent a good time being cold, but other than that the trip was great. Here are a couple of pix...


(me and Kim, the home owner whose house we worked on)
Well, its reading week so I need to get back to studying and writting. Until next time...
Carrie
PS... only 10 days till I am back in NC!

Pictures from last weekend...

Here are a few pix from last weekend's sight seeing...

the skyline (as seen from Mt. Bonnel)

looking up inside the capitol dome... Texas' capitol is 9 ft. taller than DC's

Texas sure loves it's lone star... here seen with my dad and Sherry

check out this site http://www.luckenbachtexas.com to see one of the coolest places we visited...

One more day of classes!!!

Weekend Update

Howdy Ya'll-
(yep I went there...) So, the great thing about having people visit is that one gets to be a tourist a little bit. My dad and his wife arrived in Austin (from Atlanta) on Thanksgiving and we have spent the last few days touring this part of Texas (although- I did not go with them today). We checked out Mt. Bonnel- which is this mount that overlooks the city of Austin and the surrounding hill country. We had a great community dinner with fellow seminarians, and we went to the capital building, the state history museum, we went kyacking (and uhm,... I fell in), we went to a little German town called Fredericksburg and also to an even smaller town called Luckenbach and we went to Johnson City and toured the home that LBJ grew up in, we caught the Esther's Follies show and have had some good food. Oh and I beat my dad and Sherry in Scrabble! (Good stuff). Thankfully, they also like Grey's Anatomy so I got to see that too. Today I sort of relaxed and did some school work while they went down to San Antonio. Tomorrow brings the last week of classes and then reading week and then finals and then a blessed two week break and back to beautiful NC and Florida for visits with family and friends.... this semester has flown by. I will put up some pictures from the weekend later. I really need to finish a paper that I keep procrastinating on.
Take care all-
Carrie

What Up Playas...

Hi all-
Thought I would take a moment to update the ol' blog- hope all is good in your neck of the woods. This past weekend was a pretty good one for me. I went with a group of friends on Friday to see the new James Bond movie- it was pretty darn good and I would recommend it- some amazing action sequences. On Saturday it was such a beautiful day that I went kyacking again- this time with Vanessa- a new friend. The trip was fun and somewhat HI-larious as we got attacked by some mean and agressive geese and then Vanessa got stung by a bee for the first time (and freaked out in the middle of the lake in the process- of course I laughed a certain part of my anatomy off)... Later than night I hung out with my friend Melissa as we studied for our final and then went to a new (to us) pub and saw a band called "Rat Ranch" -they are a cover band of songs from the 70s to 90s (everything from the Commodores to Bon Jovi to Nine Inch Nails) and I hope that they were intenionally being over the top ridiclious because they certainly were over the top. I can't believe Thanksgiving is only 2 days a way.
I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving. One of the things I am most thankful for is friends and family like you. Take care yall.
-C

only 1 1/2 weeks left of lectures...

hi all-
You ever have those days when you leave your home in the morning you have no real clue what the day has in store for you? Today was one of those days for me. Thursdays are typically long days for my jr. class as we have three lectures (as opposed to one or two M-W) and I have to work on Thursdays as well, and I typically attend a Bible Study- ergo- Thursdays are typically long ones. Well, I woke up with a case of the Blahs today which made it even more dificult to sit through the (albeit fascinating) lectures today. Anyways- my friend Jamie here at the seminary is a brain cancer survivor (one year in the clear)and a couple of weeks ago they (the doctors) found a suspicious looking mass and had all of at the seminary worried about her, and she feared the cancer was back. Well she found out this morning that the mass had shrunk and the doctors no longer think its cancerous. So we (Jamie, Melissa, Trey, Sarah, Mark, Margaret and I) went out to celebrate after the last class of the day. It was a good time. I made it home in time for Sarah and I to watch this week's Grey's Anatomy (which was alright) and then we went back out and wound up having a really good discussion about the Presbyterian church.
So I guess the purpose of this rambling on is, this day turned out to be a lot better (and brighter) than I originally thought it would be. Which is awesome. Also- I read the most recent update on Linda Ross-Thaxton and things are sounding better with her. So all in all- not a bad way to wrap up the academic part of my week. Hopefully tomorrow I will spend the day working on the readings and actually writing my Cristology paper and cleaning around the apartment in preparation of my dad and step-mom's arrival next Thursday.
That's the latest for me I think. Hope all is well with you.
Take care, C

weekend away

Hi all-
I went on a retreat this weekend with the Young Adults Group at Covenant Pres (i have been attending this gathering since September). Anyways about 15 of us headed out to this ranch just south of Austin. The place we stayed at was incredibly beautiful and filled with antiques. It was really cool to go on a retreat and just be a participant- not worry about program or food or all the other little details that I have taken care of in the past.

The place belongs to a couple from the church and they were in Cuba on a mission trip. So it worked out very well for us. Last week the weather was ridiculous- in the mid to upper 80s and so on Friday (before heading to the retreat) Sarah and I went kayaking again on Town Lake. All in all- a very good weekend.

I will update again soon- it really is hard to believe that we are in the middle of November (both in regards to how quickly time is passing and in regards to the warm weather). Hope you are all doing well. Take Care- C

39%

Hi all- So I have been paying a bit more attention to the world arround me lately, and I don't know if thats a good thing or not. For instance, the elections yesterday. Now, I should preface, I missed the cut-off date to register to vote here in Texas so my commentary is that of one who didn't participate in the process (which will be remified by the next election)... The current governor of Texas, Rick Perry (R), won again with a whopping 39% of the vote. Chris Bell (D) came in second with 30%, one tough grandma, Carole Strayhorn (I), 18%; Kinky Freedman had 12% of the vote. Now, it is clear that Mr. Perry has a higher percentage of voters but he does not have the majority of the vote. I would imagine if they had a run-off election, the 31% of the people who voted for the two independents and the one libertarian candidate, might shift the outcome of the election. or maybe Perry would still win, but atleast he could know that he truly had the majority of the state behind him. but Texas I guess, will always be Texas no matter who is in the governor's seat... and as The Onion said, 100% of all the elections were won by politicians.
Also in the news- the evangelical presidental scandal! Ok so I am again biased on this story too, after all I just learned about the guy a week or so before as he was in that documentary "Jesus Camp." I can't help but feel some sense of irony/ joy in his resignation. Particulary since he was feverant in his bashing of homosexuals and then to be kicked out of his church for having a homosexual tryst. And for the joy I feel, I do humblty appologize to Christ, it is sad when anyone falls. We should always look out for one another even if we do not support what they stand for.
ok one more and the blog post shall be done.
Faith Hill is quoted in the paper saying "Carrie is a talented and deserving female vocalist of the year." Ok so maybe she was talking about Carrie Underwood and the recent Country Music Awards, but hey, it's a good day for Carries everywhere!

Until next time (I have to go learn the Hebrew alphabet now-)
Take care- C

Hockey Night in Austin!

What's that you say? Hockey in Austin, Texas? Yep, believe it- Austin has a great little CHL league (minor league farm team for the Minesotta Wild- think AA baseball) called the Ice Bats. Note: One of the things Austin is known for is the thousands of bats that reside under the Congress St. Bridge 3/4 of the year. Anyways, last night Sarah, Trey and I went and watched them play the Loredo Bucks. We wound up getting front row, against the glass seats where the Bats shot twice tickets on a discount because it was Scout night- now I don't know how come that makes a difference but if it means me saving money and getting to watch the game that close I don't complain or question the rationale. Now it was certainly no NHL (a lot more sloppy playing and a lot more penalties go unnoticed) and it certainly wasn't as fun as watching the Stanley Cup Champions (ahem Carolina Hurricanes) play, but for being here in Texas, it was a good time. (Which, by the way, the Canes just beat Ottawa and Martin Gerber a few minutes ago up in Canada... bittersweet win I think, but GO CANES)!!

Anyways- that's about the most exciting thing thats happened in the last few days. I hope you are all doing well wherever you are!
Take Care- C

All Saints Day Rememberance

Hi all-
As it is well known, today is Reformation Day also, it is also the slightly lesser known holiday Halloween... so whatever you celebrate- hope you have a happy one.

Tomorrow is also All Saints Day. In chapel today we celebrated communion (as we do every Tuesday) and I got to thinking about the community that we share when we join together in communion, in the actual partaking of the elements, how we truly are connected through and in the body of Christ. I got to thinking about all of that and I thought I would honor All Saints Day and take a moment in this blog spot to remember then all the saints that have come into my life, however briefly, that are no longer with us. This list is only partial. But those who I want to remember today are: My grandfather, C.L. Graham, who died in Sept, 1999; Keturah "Newt" Wright, my last best buddy, she was 17 when she died this past January (and her mom Rhetta); William "Grant" Atkins, my first best buddy, who was 8 when he died Feb, 2004; Andy Wesley, 2002, one of my youth; Hazel Johnson, Carol Beran, Mac Underwood, Gene Wages, 2006; Bob Atkinson, 2005; Mary Ellen Atkinson, 1985; and Henry Shannon, Ray Yow, Slim Summerville, Richard Wilkins, Don McIntire, my great aunts Lou and Esther; my great uncle Body; and Boots Berryhill. Please feel free to add (via post a comment to this) others you would like to remember.

Also, I ask that you include these people in your prayers: ny cousin Megan and Sam Harrel and Megan's son Kevin; Linda Ross-Thaxton and her husband David; my grandmother Finch, my great aunt Fran, Jamie Peterson, Isabel Wages, my cousin Will Thomas, Bill Greenway, and for my brother and his wife as they prepare to move.

Thanks all- next post I promise will be more 'whats going on' but sometimes, it's just important to remember. Take care. C

Movie Night

Hi all-
Went with one of my friends to see the documentary "Jesus Camp" tonight. It's about how some Christian Evangelicals present Jesus, the Bible, their doctrine to children at a summer camp in North Dakota. It is an interesting film to watch; one that will (hopefully) in some ways make you angry and sad. As a Christian from a "dead church" (a child in the movie proclaimed churches that worship God in the fashion of my denomination, that is with out jumping around and shouting Praise Jesus) I found certain beliefs of theirs appaling and down right mis-informed. And yet, we all share the body of Christ. As a friend of mine likes to say "God uses that too."
Anyways- i would recommend seeing the film if for no other reason as to be aware of the evangelical church and its beliefs. Will it upset you? Probably, but that hopefully, is something God can use too. Be passionate for God. Be passionate in your giving, in your praying, in walking in your Christian faith, but do so remembering that God is omnipotent, not you, by remembering that God created the entire world, all the believers of all faiths, of all sexual orientations, of all walks of life, and respect those creations because they too are gifts of God.

Enough of my soap box rambling. Go see the movie, then call me- we can discuss...
Take care-
C

flying with the setting sun

I returned back to Austin last evening wrapping up a good week in NC. It made me a little sad to leave... I really am grateful for you all. Well, on my flight back to Austin something unexpected happened, which I want to share with you now. Now, I have flown cross country a few times in my life but I don't think I have ever flown west while the sun is setting. Last night, the sun set lasted over an hour for me (and all the other passengers). It was AMAZING. We were flying above the clouds and the sky was filled with orange, pink, purple, red and blue and clouds. I can't tell you how much peace that hour gave me. It was, dare I say, redemptive. The sun finally gave way to night only when we began to slow down and desend back down to the ground. I took a few pictures of it all, and I know that they can't do justice to the actual experience... but here are a couple of them...

I hope you all get to witness a sunset like this sometime. It's good for the soul.

So that's it for me today. Blessings- C

tempus fugit!

It's hard to believe that I am already at the end of Thursday, and my time here in NC is quickly coming to an end. It has been so far a really good visit. I have gotten to catch up with a lot of friends and got to watch the Hurricanes practice their hockey prowess.

Uhm... the picture- yeah that's me and David Tannabe, a defensemen for the Hurricanes- one of my favorites... I got to chat with most of the players (with the exception of Eric Cole- who I most wanted to see) after the practice yesterday. Let's see... other highlights- 1) Last night, I visited TAPC (my former work place) and had dinner with them, and about 20 of my kids showed up to see me- it was very very cool. They are great! 2) Mom and I went to the state fair today- which is worth a visit once every five to six years for me. (it's been atleast 5 since I last went). 3) Having a meal with various people- including the suprise Jon and Sarah showing up tonight when I was out with Margot and Scott. 4)Having a marathon silly string battle with 3 of the 4 Drakes. 5) Helping lead worship with Jim at my home church Sunday; 6) going to farmer's market and all the wonders of locally grown goodness and finally, 7) I get to have lunch tomorrow with Donovan- which I know that technically hasn't happened yet- but I really am looking forward to catching up with him.

That's about it for me. oh, here is a picture from the farmer's market that I thought was pretty funny- after all, this is the South...

so yeah, it's been a pretty good fall break- I even managed to get some reading in too... I guess that's it for now. More to come soon I reckon...

Take care- C

Fall Break!!!

Hi all-
I write this today as a woman who is very happy to have reached the half-way mark of her first semester in seminary! I am pleased to report that school is going well, both academically and life in general. Earlier today I went kayaking on the Colorado River (otherwise known as Town Lake). It was very cool and very relaxing. Here are some pictures from that experience...

Tomorrow- I head back to NC and I am incredibly excited to be heading home and seeing my friends and mom back east. I hope to see a lot of you soon. Anyways- I am going to end this for now-
Take care and I will write again soon!

Let the games begin!

All right- it's time to talk Carolina Hurricanes and the new season of hockey... Which by the way, as a reminder, puck drops at 6:13 central time tomorrow night after the Stanley Cup presentation- yeah! (I am very excited about this (in case you didn't already know that)... Anyways- I thought it would be kind of fun to sort of cull some of the comments I have read on various websites about my boys in red and sort of give you my over all predictions on what is sure to be an exciting season of hockey across the board.
Scott Burnside, a writer for ESPN has them picked to finish 2nd- "Injuries and an inevitable post-Cup hangover might blunt the kind of strong start the team enjoyed last season, but the Canes should prevail as Southeast winners and assume the second seed in the East."

Goldstein's Take (from CBS Sportsline)
"Considering how much turnover NHL teams go through these days, the Hurricanes are a picture of continuity. That's a good thing for the Stanley Cup champs, because Carolina will be able to defend its title with more than just the core of its lineup intact.
The Hurricanes couldn't avoid some personnel departures during their short summer hiatus, and they'll start the new season with playoff star forward Cory Stillman and steady defenseman Frantisek Kaberle rehabbing shoulder injuries. But if they get all hands on deck, Carolina's lineup will be arguably better than it was in June.
Carolina's strength remains down the middle with centers Rod Brind'Amour and Eric Staal and playoff MVP Cam Ward in goal, but the 'Canes have prime talent on the wings as well, with Erik Cole, Justin Williams and the emerging Andrew Ladd. Throw in veterans Ray Whitney, newcomer Scott Walker and Stillman when he's healthy, and Carolina could improve on what was the league's third best offense last season.
If there is a question mark for coach Peter Laviolette, it's along the blue line. The Hurricanes lost Aaron Ward to free-agency, Kaberle is out for most of the season and Bret Hedican had hip surgery in mid-September. And a fourth member of the top six, Glen Wesley, will be 38 by opening night. The back end could leave the Hurricanes vulnerable at times, but probably not enough to keep Carolina from being the class of the division this season.
Upside/Downside
Upside: Any less than another Stanley Cup would be a step back, but at the very least a division title and possibly a conference crown.
Downside: A Stanley Cup hangover lingers, and the 'Canes take their eyes off the puck while slipping back into the East pack." (note- all 5 analysts have picked the Canes to finish first in the South East
John Molinaro of CBC sports (a Canadian site) has them as their top favorites and this is what he has to say "Outlook: No team has repeated as Stanley Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings pulled it off in 1997-98, but you have to like Carolina's chances. The Hurricanes have a solid core of veterans (Rod Brind'Amour, Bret Hedican, Cory Stillman) and youngsters (Eric Staal, Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward, Justin Williams), all of whom played key roles in last season's Stanley Cup run. With Martin Gerber gone (to Ottawa) the No. 1 goalie's job belongs to Ward – look for him to be a Vezina candidate. Ward will play behind a solid defensive unit anchored by Hedican and Frantisek Kaberle. Carolina boasts great offensive depth with plenty of speed and character. Staal and Williams had breakout campaigns in 2005-06 and should be ever better this season. "
Sports Illustrated has them picked fourth, but also primed for a South East Dynasty...
I could keep going, but suffice to say, this year's preseason's press is a heck of a lot nicer than last year's (when everyone had them predicted to be at the bottom of the barrel). So as a fan, this is nice to see them being treated with some respect from the media- I guess proving everybody wrong and winning the Stanley Cup will do that, huh? Me I predict that the Canes will once again break the 100 point mark, that both Erik and Eric will score at least 80 points (either as goals or assists) and that Whitney, Ladd, Williams, Letowski, and BrindA'mour will put up some impressive numbers as well. I like the depth of the offense, and I think the blueline is probably the weakest point right now, but as Hedican and Kaberle heal, and with Commodore coming into his own, we will be all right. I am glad to see Grahame as our back-up. He worked with Laviotte on the Olympic squad and I think he will work well in our system (plus coming from Tampa Bay, he has really good insight into the shooting capabilities of his former team- which I think can only strengthen the Canes since they play the Lightning a lot). As long as our core three lines can stay healthy these next couple of months (allowing enough time for Stillman to heal) than I really do like our chances this year to quite possibly repeat the Cup run. I think that a lot of teams this year are going to be exponetially tougher than last year, I expect the Penguins, Rangers, and Buffalo to be some of our rising contenders in the east (ok Buffalo not so much rising but they are probably our most formidable opponent).
Yep, all in all, it should be a great year- I am so sad not be there in the midst of all the excitement that has been bubbling up in Raleigh all summer, so all you NC friends and family- Rick Flair WOOOOOO a little louder for me ok. Because here in Texas- I will do my best to keep the tradition alive!

Note- this will most likely be my last post for a while... so please continue to pray for my cousin Megan, her son Kevin, and all of her family, they cling barely to hope of miracles. God's blessings on/to all of you.
-Carrie

PS... I added a link to the Stanley Cup Journal that is kept by the Hockey Hall of Fame- it tells about the various players' day with the cup- check it out sometime (link is on the right)

Flag Football, Salt Lick and the Authority of Scripture

what's that you say? Well- in some ways, that is the best way to descibe the my day today. That is to say that I woken up early on a beautiful Saturday morning to go to flag football practice/ scrimage. Let me explain... there is an Episcopalian Seminary less than two blocks from my seminary and apparently, every Saturday before reading week in December, our two schools play each other in what has been affectionately dubbed "Polity Bowl." Now our school has won the last two years, and they are serious about keeping the winning streak alive (something my beloved Hurricanes have yet to even create in this short preseason... more about them later though). Which means that every Saturday until then they have a two hour practice in the morning. It's pretty fun I guess, at least its a nice way to spend some time outdoors.

Salt Lick- that's actually a resturaunt in Driftwood, TX (I can't make this stuff up people) that is known for it's smoked meat. Well, my friend Scott had a birthday earlier this week and to celebrate a group of us drove out there (approx. 40 minutes south of Austin) to eat at this "famed" place. It was pretty dang good (I just had the chicken) but everybody else got pork ribs, beef brisket and sausage. We got there around 3pm and there was a 40 minute wait- if that gives you any indication of how popular it is - check out the site http://www.saltlickbbq.com if you want to learn more about it- I think Kenny (my brother) would love this place.

And finally, the Authority of Scripture which is what I have been reading about the rest of the day in order to begin a paper on said subject that is due right before fall break. AKA the real reason why I am here in Texas at all.

Although, I do want to share one more "adventure in Texas" story to close this post- last night Melissa and I decided to go check out th

e band "South Austin Jug Band" at this little hole in the wall establishment- of which Austin has dozens of which makes it incredibly easy and cheap to see live music here- just because we liked their name. They turned out to be a bluegrass band that was all strings- a mandolin player, a fiddler or two, an upright bassist and two acustic guitarists. They were really a lot of fun and one the bands that opened for them, Uncle Lucius, was pretty good as well. It made for quite an enjoyable night.

Tomorrow- its off to visit another church- although I think I will be going to a Catholic one so I can write another paper (for Worship Class) and get that assignment knocked out before fall break as well.

Finally, I am attaching a couple of pictures from Salt Lick because I thought they were funny. I have discovered that the pictures never really pop up on my actual blog where I put them when I am composing this thing so I am not even going to try to place them this time.

Anyways- until next time (which will be very soon as I need to give my completely biased pre-opening night analysis of NHL Hockey this season)- you all take care.
Carrie

Mid week's end...

Hi all-
So it is the end of Wednesday, which means for me only one more day of classes this week which is great, although Thursday is always the longest day (we have three classes tomorrow). Well, a few things have happened since my last post so I thought I would fill you all in... 1) I got my test back from Church History- and I got a 96. Which is very cool- but being so close to a 100 just makes me wish that I could have gotten that instead. 2) I took my second test on Tuesday in Old Testament- I haven't gotten that grade back but I am predicting a "B"- 3) I also turned in my first paper this morning for Intro to Worship- it was on the relevance of "traditional" worship in today's context- I am quite proud of it actually- 4) I did not get elected to the senate- which I am more than fine with- it frees up my Wednesdays... 5) I did however get a job on campus and technically started working today- I am one of two new AV/Tech people here (I feel like I am following in the footsteps eerily of my mentor) and today our school hosted the President's Colloquim and the topic for debate was immigration. They had three people here to speak on it, on guest visas, on securing borders, rights for illegal aliens etc- with very different opinions from one another- it was pretty interesting. Anyways, I had to get to the chapel early to learn how to work the camera and sound board and so I took a couple of pictures of the chapel and thought I would share them with you... The first one is the stained glass window that sits in the front of the chapel.
The second one is the front of the worship space (normally there is a communion table but they took it out and replaced it with a folding table to host the pannelists).

Anyways- just thought I'd share.

That's it for now. I have got some more reading to do- will blog again soon.

Take care- Carrie

One month!

This past Friday marked the one month anniversary of me living here in Austin. It's hard to believe that I have been here this long. Today I checked out my 5th church, Hope Presbyterian. It was pretty cool- their service today was led primarily by the Stephen Ministers in their congregation- so that was neat... I have also been attending for the last three weeks a young adult group (ages 22-35) at Covenant Presbyterian. It's been kind of good to get to know some other people outside of the Seminary walls.
Anyways, let's see... what to tell you all about these last few days... I took my first test Thursday and feel really confident about how I did on it. I have my next test Tuesday and I am starting to feel pretty good about being prepared for this one as well. My first paper is due this Wednesday too, so it is going to be a busy week. Uhm... I got nominated for Jr. Class Senator- I will find out this Wednesday if I won. I also played raquet ball on Friday (and lost terribly 4 games in a row)... we had "Fall Fest" on Friday and this guy Ryan Jensen (from Tennesse) cooked up some bar-be-que and some beef brisket and the on-going debate ensues here about who's bar-be-que is better, pulled pork (good ole' NC style) or this beef stuff that people call bar-be-que here. Of course all of us here that are from east of the Mississippi think the pig is where it's at. But I digress,...
One thing that I have noticed about chapel time. Tuesday is our bigger chapel service, its when we celebrate the Eucharist, and although the chapel is pretty small, when the place is at least half full it is really cool to hear everyone worshipping. That is to say, when you get a room full (or mostly full) of people who are pastors and wannabe pastors, you get people participating in their loud voices which means the whole place echoes with the words and music. In comparisson, if you have a room full of youth in the same situation, they would be more likely than not singing softly (if at all- I am picturing Clark mouthing the words or Brendan singing in falsetto) and using their "in door"' voices when reading the lituragy... anyways- it's a noticable difference, and I like it.
Well, I need to get going. I am sorry if this is sort of jumbled- I am so tired and it's only Sunday...
Take care and if you can, please pray for my cousins Megan (and her family) as she continues to struggle with cancer and also for Will- who is getting shipped off to Afghanistan tomorrow to be a door gunner on a helicopter and also also for Wake (my cousin not the county) who apparently busted up his knee up at ASU playing football and will be in a wheel chair for the next couple of months... Thanks. Peace. -Carrie

Hungarian Cooks...

Its been a while since I have posted any sort of real updates about how things are going here in Texas, so I thought I would do a little of that before I get to my reading for class tomorrow... (always the procrastanator). Let's see... I just got home from having dinner with the President of the seminary. It's an annual thing he does to try and get to know the new students, it was pretty cool I guess. I tried to talk him into putting a pool in his back yard because the Episcipal (sp?) Seminary has one for its students... We'll see how that flies. I have my first test this week, its in church history and it spans 586BC to 500AD. So, there is a lot of information to memorize. YAY!
This weekend marked my fourth Sunday here and I have now visited 4 different Presbyterian Churches, and Ted (the President) has reccomended 3 more for me to try out- so that's something. None of them seem to fall in what I call the "moderate" category- the church yesterday, Westlake, is on a cliff overlooking the hill country, and is a beautiful building. It's on the western side of Austin (the beginning of the hill country)- anyways- Sarah and I decided to ride out to West Cave Preserve to go see the cave and got to see some of the more pretty landscape of Texas- although when we got there, we found out we couldn't go down the bluff without a guide and the trip would have taken upwards of two hours so we opted out since we do have a test- but it is something I would go to again if I had more time.
Saturday night I went back to the Alamo Draft House and saw the movie "Beer Fest." It was pretty funny and pretty dumb- but it made for an excellent study break.
These past two weekends there have been a ton of visitors to Austin, last week it was the Buck Eye fans, this weekend it was the Austin City Limits music festival- which I tried to get in as a volunteer, but that didn't work out so much. But what it has meant is a LOT more traffic and people in general all around- which is kind of weird to be in a place with so much happening all the time.
School is going well so far I think. This week starts putting the proverbial pedal to the medal with the first test, next week is a test and a paper and it keeps going like that for the next 3 years I think. I am enjoying the lectures though and the weather. Chapel has been nice to go in the midst of classes, it helps remind me of why I am here I think.
I do miss my friends and family back east though. I miss the rythym. I look forward to being back in NC in less than a month and am looking forward to catching up with most of you. Don't get me wrong, there are some cool people here, but it is different- you know?

Oh well- I really do need to get at the books, hope all of you are doing well. Take care and I will update again soon. -C

ohh- post note- the chef at the school as well as some of his helpers are Hungarian, and tonight I learned a very interesting word in Hungarian, the english means "I'll do it." I won't type here how you say it in Hungarian, but ask me if you are curious and I'll let you know, it will make you laugh...

Pics from last Thursday 30 celebration

I will post actual words about things later- but I wanted to share a few pics from my 30th birthday at the Hole In the Wall...

1st pic...Derick, Grant, Ryan P and Ryan J and
the Miller Lite Girls were there, which made the boys happy...
2nd pic- Sarah J, me and Melissa

3rd pic-I switched places with the MLGirl (taking Man Law Survey) ...
4th pic...Sarah F (the Iowan- uhm Go Cyclones!?), me and Scott (from NC!, sort of- most recently from there anyways...)

First week wrap-up

Well the first week has come and gone and so have my 20s... Yep I started seminary and turned 30 in these last few days. So, the question I have gotten the most is what's this all been like for me... in that regard, I offer you some first week highlights...
Monday- Trip to San Antonio (which I wrote about earlier, but here are some pictures from the day, the stone font, is supposedly the baptsimal font that was used at the Mission in the 1800s in San Antonio, I thought it was pretty cool. Also, the picture of the city is from the top of the Tower of Americas- both pictures taken by Sarah Feltman).
Tuesday- First two classes (Intro to the Old Testament and Systematic Theology I- both classes are very engaging and I do believe that I will enjoy them a lot and hopefully learn a lot from them). Also on that day we had convocation and opening worship and I cooked dinner for my buddy, Nikki, and another classmate, Melissa- my firsts dinner guests in the new digs.
Wednesday- I had The Church as a Worshiping Community class, aka Intro to Worship. I think this is going to be my favorite class, I thoroughly enjoyed the first lecture at least. We also had our first mid-week manna (which is a weekly student forum and it comes with free coffee and donoughts, so thats pretty cool). We also took the MLAT to help evaluate our ability to learn foreign languages, and through the test I happened to learn some Kurdish words. Tij=1; yong=hawk, xozo= easy, wener=book, lah=wolf, etc.
Thursday- I had three classes that day and also celebrated the big 30. Nikki brought snacks to share for my 9:30 class (she is a great buddy!) Additionally, I was taken out to eat by Jamie, Melissa and Sarah at a Tex-Mex restruant where they sing happy birthday with morracas and frog puppets- yep, frog puppets. Later that night, Melissa, Sarah F, Sarah J, Elvis Ryan, Tattoo Ryan, Scott, Grant, Derick and I went out for adult breverages to this place called "Hole in the Wall." It was a fun evening with some rather random things occuring. For instance, this one woman, who knew Ryan, caught a live cricket and gave it to me as a birthday present (weird) and she also kissed me on both my cheeks (more weird). Also, the Miller Light girls were there (in their school girl outfits- Brad- you would have died) promoting the "Man Laws" and were going around collecting new laws. Ryan (Elvis) and Derick's laws were both chosen as good calls (if you have seen the commericials it makes sense) and they/we won two free pitchers of beer because of it. All in all, it was a very fun and weird day. (Perhaps pictures might pop up later)
Today (Friday)- There aren't any high lights from today except to say that I got a new O2 sensor put in my car so hopefully the Check Engine light will finally stay off and I can pass the state inspection. That and the Frendutos called. (yesterday lots of people called too and I loved talking to all of you/ and/or having you sing to me- esp. the Badgers and TAPC staff).

This weekend, the school is having a chili cook-off and 40,000+ people have descended into Austin to watch Ohio State take on UT in football tomorrow. So I imagine the day will be filled with burnt orange and red and lots of noise. Hopefully, I will be able to tackle all the readings I need to do before Monday and week 2 gets up and running.
I will write again soon. Take care and thanks to all of you who have supported me in any way. C

Alamo Squared

In the last couple of days I have actually done some "touristy" type stuff. On Saturday night I went to the famed "Original Alamo Draft House" (South Lamar one) and saw the movie "Talladega Nights." This theater could possibly be one of the coolest places to ever watch a movie. They sometimes will have actors/directors/writers (ie Quentin Tarentino) come in and screen movies with the people. They also have live music and interactive movie showings (ie "The Boy Band Sing-a-Long- which I will be going to later this month). But on top of all that they cater each set of previews and "pre-show" entertainment arround the movie you are about to see, plus they serve beer (and food) to you while watching the show. It definately is a place I would reccomend checking out if you are ever in Austin.
I also went to San Antonio today with a class mate to check out the seventh largest city in America (as a note, Austin is the 16th largest city). We went and saw the famous land mark "The Alamo"- the original one, noted for its famed 13 day seige back in the 1800s. It is pretty small but it is also pretty cool. Sarah got some good pictures that I will try to post later. We also went to the River Walk, ate some good food down by the San Antonio River, fed some fish and birds, took a boat ride on the river (very touristy no doubt) and then we walked around the city and wound up at the Tower of the Americas which is similar to the Space Needle (at least to me) in that it was 750 feet tall and had a circular observation deck at the top. There at the tower, we watched a 4-D movie about Texas (which was really cool) and took the glass elevator up to the top of the tower and walked around and looked at San Antonio from the sky. (Note: Tom, I know where the Spurs play and can definately get you there to a game when you come to visit).

All in all, it made for quite an enjoyable day. The weather was perfect. And we arrived back to Austin with plenty of time to fret over the fact that tomorrow is our first day of school! I actually picked up my "Survey of the Old Testament" textbook and have already ready the first 6 pages of it- which is pretty amazing for me. (Of course, now I have stopped so I can procrastinate a little longer- to write this blog entry- some things never change). Well, I want to finish this chapter so I can go to bed and hopefully sleep the sound sleep of a person well prepared to begin seminary- AUUUUGGHHH!!! (jk) Take care one and all, and drop me a line sometime ok? -CaRRie

the phenomenom that is...

So I am sitting here in my apartment, surfing on the internet (Thanks Greg A for the wifi connection) and chatting with my friend Tom in Wilmington and all the sudden I hear someone talking. No, it's not the voices of my head, it is however the commentator for the UT football game. My apartment is like 6 blocks from the stadium but apparently I am close enough to hear the calls. I can even hear the 85,000 fans cheering and booing... Right now the other team has the ball. Ross tackles... 1st and 10 from the Texas 24.
Yeah. That's something. Earlier this morning I went to a book sale with another incoming student (Stephen) and on or drive back to the apartments everywhere we looked kids were walking around in the burnt orange longhorn tee shirts and other paraphanilla (sp???). This is a very strange phenomenom for me since my university didn't have football and while the triangle dominates the world of college basketball, well, football, uhm not so much.

To let you know, I have completed the whole orientation. My first semester of books cost me about $400 (two of them were out of stock) and I signed my life away yesterday on a loan for the first year of school... But classes will be starting in three days and I am excited about that (and a little nervous about the academic rigours). People are very friendly here at the seminary which is great and on Monday, one of my other new classmates (Sarah- from Iowa---really) and I are going to drive down to San Antonio to see the city and the Alamo. It will be my first real adventure in Texas! So, all in all, I am getting settled in in my new life. They say that the spring and fall times here are the most wonderful times (temperature and therefore outdoor activity wise) so I am lookig forward to that too.

On another note, please continue to lift my cousin, Megan up in prayer. She is coming to the end of her ten year fight against cancer and she and her family need all the prayer and support we can find.

Well, I am going to close this post. I think I will start on some reading for my first class. (Maybe this will be the year that I don't procrastinate- HA HA HA HA).... Oh well, take care and I will write more soon....

stormy monday

It looks likes its finally going to rain here in Texas which is a good thing. Rain= cooler weather= Carrie happy. And that's a good equation. The apartment is getting more and more homey, with the arrival of my new bed. I am getting ready now to go and get my new driver's license (or at least get the book for driving rules in Tx). so, anyways, orientation starts on Wednesday this week, and then things should be up and running for me here. I don't know too much else really, just wanted to pop a quick post up to let you all know in NC I was thinking of you. Take care, C

Howdy Yall (do i sound texan?)

Hello everyone- Just wanted to let you all know that I have made it safely to Austin with out too many complications. Mom and I left around 10:30 Sunday morning and drove all the way to Greenville, Al that first night (about 600+ miles). On Monday we drove another 600+ miles all the way to Katy, Texas (just west of Houston). Tuesday morning we finished the drive about 12:30pm, for a grand total of 1,415 miles. I did all of the driving which was fun. Note: if you ever pull a U-Haul trailer, be prepared to be shaken like a salt shaker the entire ride, you feel every bump. Anyways- it took us a while to find the woman who had the keys to my apartment so we finally started moving things in about 3pm. It was hot and my stuff was heavy. Fortunately, a few other seminarians were about and they offered to help. One of the women even payed some guys to carry up all the heavy stuff. So, it was very cool. Considering all things, most of my stuff made in intact, a bowl and dish were sacrificied, and the big ticket item was that my boxspring broke, so yesterday my mom went out and bought me a new bed. Mom and I have spent most of the time between Tuesday unpacking, organizing and learning our way around the city. She has bought me a lot of stuff to help in all the previous endeavors. Well, I gotta go, take care and I will write again soon....
C

last one before Texas...

Hi all-
I thought I would post one last blog entry before I head to Texas in a couple of days and won't be near a computer for a while. Anyways- here are some recommendations of things one should do while living in the Triangle- (in no particular order) 1) Go to the American Tobacco District and walk around the fake river, esp. at night. 2) Take a Bike Ride the Tobacco Trail. 3) Go hiking at Umstead Park. 4) Go see the Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, play at the RBC Center. 5) Go see a Broadway play at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium- or at least go see Theater in the Park's "A Christmas Carol." 6) Go see one of the local university's sporting events (I personally would choose the Tarheels- but whatever floats your boat). 7) Attend church at TAPC- they got some good preaching going on over there. 8) Have lunch at the Capital City Club- that one is a little more tricky to do- but well worth it if you can get in. 9) Go to the Power House District in downtown Raleigh- there are lots of great restraunts and bars to choose from there- RiRa's, 42nd St. etc... 10) Check out the museums in Raleigh and Durham- my personal favs are the NC Art Museum and the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. 11) Check out the Duke Chapel. 12) Participate in the Relay for Life- Garner has probably one of the best one's I have been to. 13) Check out the Durham Bulls in action (it's right by the Tobacco District so you can do two of these at once). 14) Visit Pullen Park- as a kid, that was definately one of my favorite places to go. and 15) Play disc golf at one of the 6 local courses- I highly reccomend Cedar Hills or Valley Springs- they are my favs.

Anyways- that's all I got right now- must press on with this whole packing thing. God's blessings to you all.

unemployed

technically speaking, I am now unemployed. Wow. That's weird to write. Today was my last day at TAPC. Now the packing must begin! I picked out my new computer this evening- got some advice from a couple of friends about the package I put together so tomorrow I am buying my first new computer ever- this is all possible due to the generousity of the youth and their families of TAPC.
I've spent so much time lately running through all the details (both big and small) that I need to take care of in order to move and to start seminary and to leave this place I have called home- I am finding it just so exhausting. I am looking forward to just being settled in, you know?
That's the rub though about starting something new, you have to end something old. This ending part sucks.
Well, there is much to do in my house filled with clutter. So I better close- please pray for my cousin Megan who is not doing so well and for my mom and I and our upcoming drive to TX.
Take care- C

borrowed thoughts...

Gotthold Ephriam Lessing once wrote (in 1767) "A single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer." If that is indeed the case I say thanks be to God for you, my family and friends...

so here are two short poems that I thought I would pass on... enjoy.

"Love's stricken "why"
Is all that love can speak-
Built of just a syllable
The hugest hearts that break."
-Emily Dickenson

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."
- Robert Frost

brought back Jesse???

For something different (I am still relatively new to this whole blogging thing) I thought I would comment on a recent hockey transaction and take my mind off the more important, more pressing reality that it is in fact August and this is the month that everything changes for me... so here is my mini-hockey rant-enjoy!

So I am scanning the headlines on my three hockey news sites (as I do daily) and I see that the Hurricanes are bringing back Jesse Boulerice for another year... ugh, I don't get why they like him so much (or why the fans do for that matter). The only thing he's good at is racking up penalty minutes and having a very hockey-fied mullet hair style that some ladies love- i am guessing they signed him more because they got him at the rock bottom NHL contract price and he might contribute somewhere in the special units lines, but I would rather have seen them keep Vasicek or bring back Vrbata or Tanabe (who is still available) or even Bates for that matter- bring back the BBC line- that's what I say. but what do I know-

it's all in good fun, I still love my Stanley Cup Victorious team and think this season will be a great one- and if you haven't seen it (or got it yet) I highly recommend watching/getting the Stanley Cup DVD- it's pretty awesome! GO CANES!

blues traveler...

theres this band called "Blues Traveler" that is a mix of rock and blues and harmonica that I like a lot... I am listening to one of their older CD's right now (Save His Soul)- it just speaks to where I am at this evening.

I have just spent the last two hours or so going through more piles of stuff that clutter my house in an effort to reduce what I own. It's an interesting process going through all the letters, cards, bills, pictures and other things I have kept as momentos (a WHOLE lot of Hurricanes ticket stubs as an example) and trying to discern what to keep and what I can throw away. In a sense, its as if I am deciding what is important about my past and what's expendable.

It's on this cusp of turning 30 that in a very real way I am giving up everything I have established so far as my life and starting over. I am giving up at least the security and comfort I know and having to rely on faith and this ever present sense of call that has been pulling at my heart for so many years now. And I am so very excited to be heading to Austin and so very scared and so very sad to be leaving this shelter, leaving the people who have supported me in so many ways to head off to a place that I do not know, to be surrounded by people I do not know and to put myself in an academic arena which I haven't been a part of in 9 years. (and certainly not at this level of study either).

If experience has taught me anything I have come to know and accept that when I move away in a couple of weeks, this will be the last time that I will see some of the people I know and interact with now. I know that some of my friendships will begin to fade away and while I know this is bound to happen, it makes me sad.

And I know too that some friendships will (and have) sustain the tests of time and moves and fights and disappointments and life in general, and for those relationships I am forever indebted. I am grateful for all the people who come in and out of my life for however briefly of lenghty amounts of time and shared their lives with me.

this is just some of the stuff that is swimming around my head these days and I felt compeled to share - so there you go - and now I am going to go. Take care- C

The numbers game (this time its about time)

One of the classes I took in college was Production and Decission Sciences 101, which basically was a statistics class that was required if you were going to major in any of the business degrees. Since I was considering double majoring in Marketing, I took the class. I have to admit, I loved learning how to manipulate and crunch numbers. I still do. For fun, I work logic and word puzzles, I do Soduko puzzles because they fascinate me. I can't also seem to help myself from running my own numbers game. (ala "By The Numbers" a column on NHL.com's website). Anyways here are the latest numbers running through my head...

53- That's right, 53. In the last twelve months I have spent a whoping 53 days traveling with/ for TAPC (my job)- That's seven days, or one week short of a full two months or 1/6 of the year spent in other places than Durham.

14- of those 53 days have been in the last 30 days and...

28- of the 53 have been on mission related trips.

12- (in comparison) days of the last year I spent traveling to see either family or a couple of my friends...

25- that's how many days left I have before my last day at TAPC which means that in...

30- days I will be moving to Texas.

1- its been one month since the Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup and one month since we left to go to Belize.

3- the number of continents my chocos (sandals) have been in in the last two years (or ever for that matter).
----------

and that my friends is the numbers game, or perhaps better worded as "I spend way too much time in my head thinking about things that matter to no one except me" game. so until I post again, Take care.
-Carrie

blink and it's gone....

Somehow it's already full swing July... how did that happen? My friend Susie has called me up a couple of times since we got back from Belize and she keeps asking "doesn't it feel like we never went"- that it just seems so surreal that our trip has come and gone, June has come and gone, the Canes have won the cup and everybody in the NHL world is already focusing in on the upcoming season, and I am short-timing it here and there just doesn't seem to be enough time to accomplish the growing list of things I have got to do before I move...

I have started the slow process of packing, that is, I am beginning to decide what I want to keep and what I need to get rid of. And I can tell you, I have a lot of stuff. Anybody need a Return of the Jedi poster? No? How about a Kevin Weekes one?

Anyways, this upcoming week brings the slide show that I have spent 3 days putting together, then I have to prepare to go before the Presbytery and tell two hundred plus people what I believe about God and what it means to be a Christian in three minutes or less to officially become a canidate for ministry- it's a pretty big thing for me- and I am leaving straight from there to head to Massanetta with a couple of my youth (and my friend Susie) for the Massanetta Middle School Conference. Hopefully I will also find some time to meet with my shepherd and get my stuff together for a yard sale at my mom's house the next weekend. BUT after this week, things should be a little more managable for a week or two (I hope).

It was good to spend time with so many of you this past week, Tom, I had fun whooping up in poker, Jared thanks for coming out to hear me Sunday, Goat- great meal the other night, fifteen years is a long time, and to the various TAPC people that I also hung out with this week, I am grateful for all of you. Mom thanks for lunch last Sunday and for all your support in general.

All right- that's it for me, I am off to bed. Take care one and all-
C

The end of a very long week...

Tonight caps the end of a very long week for me. One that started off in Central America as the youth mission trip that I led in Belize wrapped up on Tuesday. And then it was back to the office on Wednesday to get the bulletin done and to start working on tomorrow's service.

There have been a lot of things that have happened in my life in the two weeks since I last posted a blog thingy. Mainly, the mission trip that I have been working on these past two years finally happened and the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup!!! Not only that, but they have re-signed a good number of their players from this current season (they have yet to sign Cole and A. Ward, but I am hopeful that they will soon).

Also, while I was in Belize I got some pretty scary news about my brother and the possibility that he had a tumor in his stomach. He had surgery yesterday and it turned out that it was a hernia after all. Which is sort of a relief, except that during the pre-op stuff his doctor said there might be something wrong with his heart and so now he has to have some more tests done. Please keep him in your prayers, as he is the only brother I got, I am kind of attached to him...

Today I watched my first world cup game of the year, I watched as Portugal knocked England out of the running. It was a pretty good game and served as a distraction for putting off the things on my "to do" list a little bit longer. Of the teams left, I think I will pull for Germany, since they are hosting the cup this year. (Since Brazil was eliminated today too).

Anyways, I will close with one story from my trip and then I am off to bed (I have been extremely tired since my return). This one is about the "after hours" craziness that ensued in Belize. To frame the story though, you need a few details... 1) Belize is hot and humid and we were there at the beginning of it's rainy season. 2) The house we stayed in did not have air conditioning. 3) Due to the number of people we brought there were not enough beds for everyone so me and Carolyn and Katherine slept in the living room on couches. 4) The living room is connected to the covered porch where people tended to congregate. 5) There were two windows that had glass slats (sort of like blinds but bigger/wider) that you could sort of direct the wind with. 6) The front door was always opened, and at night they would simply close the iron gate and lock it so no one could leave or come in without a key. 7) My couch was directly under the windows and was warped and therefore the most UNCOMFORTABLE couch I have ever slept on. All right so anyways (did I mention this is a long story???) every night there was always something going on that kept Carolyn and I up (somehow Katherine could sleep through most of the stuff) or woke us up if we had managed to fall asleep. After two or three nights of this we decided to keep a journal of which we entitled "Carolyn and Carrie's Nightly Mayhem" journal. Some of the "highlights' from our nights included (but not limited to) one of the Connecticut boys shooting a BB gun off the porch swing, apparently they liked to try to shoot the rats. There was also the two dogs that barked anytime someone walked by or the other dogs on the street decided to bark. The dogs hung out outside our windows... Then there was the nights that it rained, and when it rained we got wet, one night in particular, the wind was blowing at least 30 mph and we were getting soaked, I couldn't help but laugh as we scurried to try to shut the windows and the front door to keep from continuing to be poured on. The rain also brought mosquitoes in, and oh yeah, the cat peed on the couch during the day (the one that I slept on). And then there was the guy who passed out on the side street with his foot somehow still on the pedal of his bike (ok so that didn't wake us up but it sure was funny). By the end of the trip we were anticipating what nightly "merriment" was coming our way and had accepted the fact that a good night's sleep is just a myth when you stay on couches in the living room in Belize.

Yep. Crazy stuff. Well on that note, I am off, maybe next time I will write about driving in Belize and how I am pretty sure that I lost at least 4 years of my life because of that... Anyways, until next time, be good and be safe.

4 and 1/2 hours till GO!

In four and a half hours, my phone will be waking me up so I can shower, etc. and be ready to head to the airport and then to Belize.

Truthfully, I still don't think it has fully hit me that the trip is here. I mean, I certainly have had my share of worry and anxiety about it and I am finally all packed and ready to go, but it just seems so surreal that the trip is NOW.

I hope and pray that the mission team gets along, they we all stay healthy and safe, and more than that, I pray that God be with us and that God uses us and that God touches the lives of these kids we are working with and the kids that I am taking down.

***
I went to the RBC center tonight to join the thousands of other Caniacs cheer on their team (via the jumbotron seeing how the game was being played in Alberta, Canada). I went with some pretty cool people, the Drakes, so that was nice, we posed for pictures with the Prince of Wales trophy (Eastern Conference winner trophy) and found some good seats to sit back, enjoy the crowd and enjoy the game. The Hurricanes "played" game six tonight. I use the word played loosely as they seemed to barely show up tonight. Edmonton dominated them in every aspect, it was so miserable. The only good thing about the game is that Erik Cole returned in uniform to his first game since March 5th when a Penguin took him to the boards illegally and broke his neck. Other than that, the game was no good.

As I drove us back home in silence, I kept thinking of how I won't be able to see game 7 of the Stanley Cup because of my trip. How I will be utterly and completely removed from the (hopefully) madness that ensues when the Canes (hopefully) win the Cup. Win or lose Monday night, though, the season is over. I thought about how I won't be here, and how much time (and money) I have invested in this club and in this season in particular. And I thought to myself, this going away, being removed from all of the hoopla, is a blessing. This trip, these kids, this church, my ministry, thats whats important. And while I love the Hurricanes, my love for them pales in comparison to the other. And so, win or lose, life goes on and I am more than okay with that.

i hope that you all have a blessed ten days and I will update again after I get back. Please keep us in your prayers.

Take care. C

A poem that seems fitting...

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
-Dylan Thomas

For so many reasons, this is my other favorite poem (see side bar for one by e.e. cummings), and somehow it seems fitting today.
-c

That daunting Lord Stanley

let me preface by saying that I know that there are a million more things out there more important than a hockey game. I know that. I am, for instance, extraoridinarily grateful that my grandmother in Flordia is okay and that her house is ok after being evacuated from the flooding that the tropical storm brought.

With that being said though, I tell you, the drive home from Raleigh tonight was darn near depressing, as the Hurricanes lost in overtime to Edmonton. I was for sure believing that tonight was the night the Hurricanes were going to win the Cup. I made bets on it, I told everyone that would listen that Game 5 was going to be the clencher, and yet, here we are, hours later with the series 3-2. God willing, the Hurricanes will win it Saturday in Edmenton, so I can go about my life and (more importantly) leave on Sunday for Belize with out stupid hockey occupying so much of my time and thoughts.

On a seperate note, for the record, the church that I am currently serving continues to overwhelm me with well wishes and goodness. Earlier this evening I recieved a wonderfully generous gift that I was not expecting. For this, for them, and for so many other things, I am truly thankful.

And just in case I get caught up in pre-Belize stuff and don't get a chance to call Saturday, Dad, Happy Father's Day.

Peace and blessings to you all.
C

I GOT MY APARTMENT!

WOO HOO!
The seminary just sent me my housing information and I got a pretty cool apartment for the fall and that makes me quite happy! I know where I am going to live! Here is the floor plan for my upcoming digs...

It's on the third floor, so that's cool except for moving stuff in/out.

That's all, just wanted to share!

oh and GO CANES! (game 3 tonight 8pm, NBC)

Stanley Cup and Belize!!!

In an attempt to keep connected with people as I get ready to move half way across the country in a couple of months, I thought I would go ahead and set up a little piece of internet real-estate, sort of as a way to let people know what's up.

Right now, there are two things I am most excited about...

1) THE CAROLINA HURRICANES are only 2 games away from hoisting the Stanely Cup for the first time in franchise history and I am beyond estatic about this. After following the team through all its ups and downs these last nine years, I have nothing but love and respect for this Class A organization and I will certainly miss not getting to see them play that often. But anyways... GO CANES! (My prediction- they beat Edmenton in 5 games- Donovan and Brad- hopefully you will have to "pay" up).

2) Right after the Stanley Cup Finals, I am departing for a tiny country in Central America called Belize for ten days. Yep, ten days of mission trip with 21 high schoolers as we try to serve God and grow in our faith. Thankfully. I will have 4 other adults there to help me out. And while I am worried about all the unknowns and how the kids will behave, i have to admit I am starting to get excited about it too. The kids and their families worked hard these last twelve months to raise the money to go and I can't help but be proud of them. So, keep us in your prayers June 18-27th (and the citizens of Belize :)

Well, that's it for now. I hope to update this periodically this summer and then on a regular basis once I am in Texas. Let me know what you think about this little blog and what you want to see on it and I will try to oblige.

Till next time, all the best to you and take care. C