Update on my life...

I finally made it to my parents' house today. The last few days have been a mixture of fun and productivity. I've done some shopping, and in God's grace, hit many good sales and saved a lot of money on some clothes and shoes I needed. I went swimming and got some sun. Church on Sunday was great. I miss my church very much. It was very fun to meet two new babies - Charlotte and Lilia are just adorable. It always amazes me how quickly my friends' children grow up. There were some people I didn't recognize at the beginning of the service and realized half way through "Oh good grief - those adults are Dan and Dru's kids!" And of course, most of my friends' children are now taller than me... and they never seem to tire of pointing that out. "Miss LeAnne, Miss LeAnne - I can look you in the eye now..." "Miss LeAnne I can see the top of your head!"

Worship was wonderful - the entire service just meant so much. The longer I'm away, the more I appreciate my church and the people that for all these years have loved and cared for me. I've been affiliated with Covenant for 17 years, and a member for almost twelve. I'm truly blessed to be a part of the church. I had lunch with my pastors, their wives, two of my good friends and their families after church on Sunday. It's been good to catch up with people face to face instead of email and phone. Jay and Penni are always gracious hosts, and Lydia and Riley the beagle are always just enthralled with me... ok, not so much Riley, but Lydia and I have fun :)

Sunday I drove to the Sterns home... my dear friend Rachel and I have been incredibly close friends since freshman year of college. I love her and her family dearly, and I know they love me as well. I always have a blast there. Her husband, Pete, is just one of my favorite people. He's pretty high up in rank in the air force and is currently working at the Cape. I thought Pete was pretty cool when he worked at the Pentagon (remember my lunch there last furlough), but get this - he's one of the three people who has the power and authority to scrub a shuttle launch. How awesome is that?? Of course you never want to be the one to have to scrub a launch, but I mean seriously, that's power. :) Unfortunately I won't be able to go, but if I was, for this next shuttle launch Pete could have gotten me into a building with lots of buttons that make the shuttle "do things" (he said I couldn't touch any buttons though...) and I could wear head phones and listen to things, and then run to the roof and watch it blast off. I was drooling at the thought - I love that kind of stuff. The timing just won't work unfortunately... I really wanted to try and lunge for a button :) And I just love the Stern children, Abigail and Andrew. I could just throw them in my suitcase and haul them back to Croatia with me.

It's good to be with my folks tonight, and then tomorrow I get a haircut and drive back to Orlando with the folks to stay in a hotel to fly to Oregon early Wednesday morning. Uugh. The last thing I want to do is to get on a plane and head three more time zones to the west. BUT, I am looking forward very much to seeing my brother and sister, and my new sister in law and the nephews. It should be fun - if I can stay awake and be hungry at the appropriate times. My folks did make me one of my favorite meals tonight - speedies... Oh my gosh, they are fantastic... marinated meat skewered and grilled, then put on italian bread with ketchup - YUM!

OK, well, I will update again soon... thanks for stopping by! :)