Richie is home!

Today I've been able to talk to Richie! Not in depth, but for a bit. He's doing well. He's got a bit of a head cold, but he says he's fine. He is going to see a doctor as soon as he gets back. I'm so excited to see him tomorrow. I hope things aren't awkward or weird. Especially after not seeing him for a month and not talking to him for 2+ weeks. I know this time apart will help us in the long run and I'm so glad he will be driving home tomorrow. Not too much to report today. I finished my skirt today! I'll have to post photos tomorrow. My Nana would be proud of me for figuring it out. Tomorrow I'll try to post photos of Richie and I reuniting! I might only get to see him for an hour or so, so I took Monday off work so we could hang out and reconnect. Until tomorrow....

Houston, we've made contact!

I HEARD FROM RICHIE TODAY! It was less than 5 minutes, but every minute was so sweet! He is back in the country in Atlanta. He, the other leaders, and the kids are debriefing today. Then tomorrow the kids fly out and then the leaders debrief. So I expect the soonest I'll see Richie will be Monday. If he drives home Sunday I expect him to go home and sleep.

Today I got the well and pump finished! I'm so stoked to be getting sod put in. :) Here are some photos!

This is the bin my well pump is in. It's super nice!

The pump! Runs on 4 cents an hour of electricity! :)

The Dirty Dena Experience Recap

Finally a blog on The Dirty Dena Experience. Let's go back to the future where it all began....

Helene and John picked me up from the airport and we went to John's house and hung out with his mom for a while. Then we went to The Donut Shack. One of my favorite places in all of Severna Park. They have the BEST donuts, and they're open 24 hours! Then we went to Helene's and crashed. We got up the next day and Helene and I went to Giant to get food for the lunch party that day. Helene showed me how to cook fish and potatoes. It was so delicious. Amelia, John, Kelly and baby Milo came over. We had such fun catching up and Facebook stalking old friends and frienemys. Then that night Helene showed me how to cook crabs! They were so stinking delicious! We had such fun eating crabs and hanging out.

Then I went over to Jess and Shannon's house. Kerry was there and we had a sleepover. We ate pizza and watched a horror movie. It was HILARIOUS! From the moment I walked in it was non stop laughter! The next day we went to our old tree in the woods. This is the tree that we all carved our names into and have spent many hours talking and bonding. Then after Jess and Shannon's they took me to Kelly's to hang out with her and Milo. Kelly and I went to Subway and had lunch. We walked there which was an experience. Then Kelly and I hung out at the house. After that, we met up with Ms. Penny and Kelly's sister and kids. We went to Marley Station Mall and shopped around. Then we went to Ann's Dairy Queen. A quick word on Ann'. They have the BEST chili cheese hotdogs! I would kill for an Ann's in St. Augustine. Jess picked me up that night to go to the Earleigh Heights Firehouse Carnival. It was so expensive so we rode one ride and played carnival games. I won two goldfish. I named them Heavy D and JKwan. Jess then took me back to Kelly's and I crashed for the evening.

The next day Kelly, Ms. Penny, Milo and I got up early and started the 4 hour drive to Virginia Beach to see Kelly's new house. Kelly's house is lovely. It needs some work, but Kelly is so awesome, I know she is going to turn that place into the ultimate house to raise Milo in. We hung out by their pool and then went to this Mexican restaurant for dinner. We all split a delicious pomegranate margarita. The next day we got up and Kelly and I went swimming. I spent about 20 minutes jumping on her sweet trampoline! Then we all got in the car and headed back to The Dena. When we got back in town I went to Jess' and we went to see Horrible Bosses. It was a really good movie. Might want to buy it when it comes out. I know Richie would have liked it. The next day Kelly and I went to Ann's again. Hey, I gotta get it when I can. Then we went to the Annapolis Mall and hung out until my flight. It was such fun to hang out with my bestie. I miss her so much. The following photos are of Milo. I am such a proud godmommy. He is the most adorable baby ever. I cannot wait to spoil this kid and see him in less than 10 months at the wedding. I am so proud of my best friend. Her husband is in the Navy and she went through pregnancy and is raising Milo for the first 4 months of his life on her own. She is such a strong woman that would make any dad, mother, and husband proud.

And that, my friends, was The Dirty Experience!

Stepping Up: The Journey Begins

Another short blog today. I just got home from bible study. We're doing Stepping Up by Beth Moore. It's a study of The Psalms of Ascent. I'm super excited to start this journey with Allison and Catherine. I am hoping that through this study I can continue to work on replacing Rich as an idol and filling that hole with Christ. I'm hoping this study will show me how I can do that. I first did this study when I was a sophomore in college. So it will be interesting to see what my old answers were and how far I've come in my walk with Christ. You can be sure I will be blogging about my experience. I am now getting quotes on sod so hopefully I can get  a new yard! Richie would be so proud. Tomorrow the well guys are going to come and finish the pump. Super excited for these changes. Richie is flying home TOMORROW! Well, they're flying to Atlanta tomorrow at 10pm. Tomorrow is the first time I might actually hear Richie's voice after 3 weeks! Please be praying for their safety and timely travel. Also be praying that the kids and leaders merge back into society as smoothly as possible. Tomorrow I plan to do a long blog of the Maryland trip complete with photos. Things have just been a whirlwind since getting back. Until tomorrow.....

Well and Lawn

Today I got the well and pump installed! Whoot! Now looking at getting sod put in! My goal is to get it done before the engagement party. After work, I went over to Rich's to work on a surprise for him and made Joel dinner. I made talapia and old bay potatoes. It was good to hang out with him. Due to the lateness of this post I'm opting to keep it short. Another good thing about today I got a tervis tumbler with my name on it at work today! :) Check the photos below...

Yummy new well! :)

My new cup! So excited!

Mor-ons: The Dirty Dena Experience

The last video from The Dirty Dena. Coming at you from 30,000 feet in the air. A rant about airport people....Tomorrow will be a long recap of the week and amazingness. The biggest news today? I heard from Rich. Not just an email from the AIM workers, but a personal one from Richie. I loved it. It's too personal to share, just know that he is safe and growing exponentially in Christ.  Be praying for this last week in the Amazon that he and the leaders have health, safety and run this last segment harder than ever for Christ. Enjoy the video and let me know your thoughts! :)

Pop It Like Its Hot: The Dirty Dena Experience

So sorry for not posting yesterday. We did not have internet service in Virginia Beach. To recap yesterday, Kelly, Ms. Penny, Milo and I drove down to see Kelly's new home. It was so pretty. They have an awesome tiki bar with a pool. And lets not forget the trampoline. We drove down yesterday and just hung by the pool. We went to a cool mexican restaurant and split a margarita. This video was inspired by Kelly. She was in the car looking at the corn fields....there were too many to count. And she starts asking why homeless people don't steal corn at night because it's right there. So naturally we stole some corn.....enjoy :)