rajastan

i just had one of the most amazing weeks of my life with the type of experiences i will get to tell my grand kids...and i got to spend it with my amazing adventurous friend, Kara who i have been friends with for 6 years.
we went on a camel trek, rode scooters around the desert, and ate dinners on the rooftops of restaurants in an old ancient fort. we had such cool adventures....on the camel trek you sleep out under the stars. and folks...i could see the milky way and i saw 5 shooting stars. it was one the most precious times on the trip.
then we rented scooters and drove out to the sand dunes in the town. it was so fun. you should of seen us when we first started to learn...we made the man from the rental store so nervous!! but by the end we were like our own biker gang...or scooter gang. at this one point around sunset i was riding on the open road in the desert when a fighter plane flew over head (there is an air force base there as well) and for about 1 minute i felt like i was on top gun!!!
so now i am in thailand with a good friend. beth and sarah come next week.
i love rainy afternoons. i love thailand. i love new adventures. i love that kara was so patient with me when i lost my temper so much in india!! i love that i beat kara at the skip-bo tournament. i came back from a 0-6 deficit to win....11-9!!!! i love that kara is competitive and we feed each other's competitive side. i love kara's kindness and sensitive heart towards God.

i am in delhi.

so yesterday was my last day in kolkata...except for the 18 hour i have to spend on my way back through....and it was soooooo sad. i didn't expect it to be but i was so sad. i cried on and off all day long. i got to talk with the sb ladies on the phone, have coffee with sarah, spend some time with beth, and say bye to some freeset folks. and it was sad.
and now i am in delhi after a 19 hour train ride which was quite pleasant. actually the last 24 hours in kolkata and here have been amazing. so redemptive. the gas company had amazing customer service, a man on the bus gave his seat for me, and on the way here i was seated with me and 7 other indian men and it was so pleasant so GO India!!!!
and i am traveling now. i meet kara tomorrow and we leave for rajastan and a camel trek, then i am off to thailand to see a friend and then beth and sarah are coming for our last week together. then new zeland, south india with tammy, dylan and molly, then london and maybe paris...then my brother in dallas...then home. in december!!!

i love that i am really hungry right now so will fnd a new good restraunt to eat at. i love exploring somewhere new. i love that i made my dad smile. i love i get to see oivlia in a cuople months.

For my dad's 60th birthday!!!!

Top 60 reasons I love my dad.
1. I remember how when I made it to state finals he came to watch the meet in Orlando Florida.
2. He came to all my softball games and always cheered the loudest.
3. He sponsored my soccer team one year and we were the “Perfusionist Association of Pinellas County”
4. My dad is amazing at crosswords
5. My dad is amazing at scrabble.
6. My dad can fry a turkey like no body’s business
7. My dad can grill a steak like nobody’s business
8. My dad can make me laugh.
9. My dad cries more then me and has such a sensitive heart.
10. For my first two years living in India we couldn’t say goodbye without crying.
11. I am his only daughter and his princess.
12. We go out to breakfast together.
13. He loves mayonnaise, pickles, and tuna for breakfast.
14. He will eat over 6 girl scout cookies for dessert.
15. He can dance.
16. When I was little he used to sit and listen to classical music and direct the symphony.
17. Through watching my dad do this I love beautiful music.
18. My dad is fascinated with how the human body works especially the heart.
19. My dad took me and my brother and ann to the human body exhibit when it came through town.
20. He let me use his time share twice, once when I was in Orlando with all my friends and once in sanibell island with all my friends.
21. He nicknames my boyfriends (or guys I like)
22. He is always proud of me.
23. He is really really good at his job.
24. He has a quick temper and still gets made at every red light he has to stop at.
25. He loves his dogs. He always takes them outside to do their business and even though he complains he loves them.
26. He always picks weeds in whatever yard he is in.
27. He has skinny legs and a “cute grandpa like belly”.
28. He is now a grandpa…not to my kids yet but a grandpa to a sweet amazing little girl named olivia!!!
29. He loves spoiling ann.
30. I have a respect for the game of golf from my dad.
31. I love when my dad went with me to go hit baseballs.
32. I love going to the movies with my dad and getting popcorn with extra, extra extra butter and splitting a large cherry coke.
33. I love that I inherited my dad’s skinny legs that happen to look amazing on my body!!!
34. My dad and I love, love, love fried foods. We could both go into a restaurant and order all the fried appetizers and be happy.
35. I love my brother and dad’s relationship
36. I love that J.C. respects my dad and sees him as a father figure.
37. I love that my dad will most likely cry at my wedding…not just once but multiple times.
38. I love that my dad makes a ‘swig” noise after a sip of coke.
39. I love that even though he knows its bad for his health he can’t stop drinking the coke!!!!
40. I love that my dad has had glasses most of his life.
41. I love that my dad has been so dedicated to his job that his hands are aching from working so hard.
42. I love that my dad has to have things his way when he loads the dishwasher so I am not really allowed to help.
43. I love that my dad framed my picture when it go into a magazine.
44. I love that I will always be a daddy’s girls.
45. I love that when I hear the world “malt” I automatically remember my childhood and smile and think of my dad making big thick amazing malts out of our orange tall plastic glasses.
46. My dad bought me a red Honda prelude when I was a teenage. It was an amazing first car.
47. I love that my dad got the Florida pre-paid college plan so I didn’t have to worry about how to pay for college or go into debt.
48. My dad doesn’t like the beach so I have memories of him sitting under newspaper and being rather grumpy one day at the beach.
49. I love that my dad wants to retire in TN and will have a room for the grandchildren.
50. My dad keeps his car impeccably clean.
51. My dad was really brave when he had his and ann’s two dogs put to sleep…Kaiser and shatzi.
52. I love the way my dad tells a story and has me either laughing or crying with all the emotion he puts into the story.
53. I love that my dad has always wanted to be the conductor of a train…even if its only at Disney world.
54. I love the way my dad loves lighthouses.
55. I love that really what my dad has wanted all along is for me to be happy.
56. I love my dad loves to read .
57. I love that my dad is an amazing, amazing speller and is really really smart.
58. I love that I have a dad that no matter what I do know that he will be there for me.
59. I love that when I first went to India my dad was really scared but now he is so supportive and encouraging.
60. I love that I don’t even have to stop at sixty reasons why my dad is awesome!!!!! I could go on and on. I love that I have a dad who loves me and his whole life has done his best to make sure that I know I am loved. I love that I have a glimpse of God’s love through my father here on earth. I love that in a couple months I get to be home again and see my dad…its been too long. I love that I am loved by my dad and I love him so very very much.

sorry....been busy

so yeah...this is another picture of olivia!!! isn't she soooo amazing!!! Drew...we will have to work on leading her to the truth of the beauty of orange and blue!!! there's time to work with her though....i will be the cool aunt!!!
life has been sad and beautiful and full and so surreal.
Beth and sarah organized a party for me this past saturday and it was one of the most amazing days of my life. around 100 people came....all the sari bari ladies came, all my forgein friends, my freeset friends, and even around 15 ladies from the gatch!!!! when the girls from the gatch walked in i almost started weeping with joy. it was soooo amazing and beautiful. it was a glimpse of heaven. they made a video for my time here and we played a game and danced. it was so amazing. i will try to post some pictures later.
so tomorrow is my last day at Sari Bari. pretty much tomorrow am going to have my heart ripped out!!! then wednesday we have my last day at the gatch and that night we are going to hand out flowers again.
so time is moving really fast in some ways and sometimes it feels like its all in slow motion. looking forward to the future but am having a hard time letting now go. still have so many dreams here.
i love beth waterman. i love candlelight. i love when someone surprises me. i love that a new chapter is starting. i love reading a book that inspires and changes me. i love that india had made me a size six!!!!