It's All About the Weekends

The best way to sum up the past several weeks is to say that we live for the weekends.  The weeks just seem to roll by with this crazy schedule, so when the weekend shows up we are all over it like white on rice.

Home improvement project in the Newberry master bath...

A Sunday afternoon with the Dyesses at Francis Park...

..where we once again got to hang out with Bill & Julie because they had a booth there!

As I roam through our photos, the pics in between our weekends are pretty pathetic.  Photos from a new building tour at work, David's school documents, and even a cool new piece of collateral for CommonGround.  Snore...Not that I don't love my job !

Last weekend sort of tops our weekend cake.  Mikel came in for an unexpected visit.  After he picked up his new RV in Cincinnati!  In true RV fashion, we met as a family for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and then hung out in the parking lot for an hour during our tour.  Isn't she a beauty?  Nice pick, Mikel!

Toodie and Frank were headed out to Shaw Nature Reserve for a hike.  Being in "seize the weekend" mode and all, we hopped on that train and in no time (well, no time if you are a Morgan Minor...Toodie and Frank would probably see it differently) we had changed clothes and made the drive.  So glad we did!  It was about 70, the leaves were brilliant colors for fall (thank you, God, for faithfully giving us this annual treat) and we had just downloaded the new panoramic software for our iPhones.  Bonus!  Took us a few tries until we got it right...for example.

But then we figured it out...

David and Toodie even spotted this preying mantis with their Go-Go Gadget eyes, so we pestered it for some good head shots.  Creepy!  It was quite the sport, bless its teeny heart.

And in preparation for our celebratory backpacking adventure in the Grand Canyon the week before Christmas, we attended the REI Garage Sale.  David Morgan woke up at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday to get in line (number 9 - what a champ) for their 10:00 a.m. start time.  We are now fully prepared for winter backpacking at a crazy reduced rate.  Isn't he a handsome money-saver?  So many people behind him!  I joined him at 9:45.  I think he was the only dude in line without a full beard and sporting short hair on a Sunday.  Such a prep!

Speaking of, he has just arrived home after a 14 hour work day, soaked to the bone from this monsoon. I think we are going to cook some eggs, watch some Warehouse 13, read a little from Love & Respect and hit the bed.  Coming soon...details from our weekend at a pumpkin patch with the Caseys.  And loads of studying.

If you think to pray for us, please pray for David to focus well on his studies for the surgery final next Thursday and Friday.  And also that God would establish the work of our hands in BSF.  Can't wait to share more about that.  What a joy so far!

We love you all and pray for you often.

Missy Morgan

Good & Tired

I love a whirlwind.  I confess!  Probably why I enjoy planning conferences and events - lots of activity and never a dull moment.  So here we are twenty days into September and scratching our heads wondering how time can fly so fast.  Reminds me of growing up.  My parents always used to wonder the same thing, while I was counting the slow hours until Christmas vacation.  Who knew there was a direct correlation between getting older and time flying? 

Debbie and Mikel came to St. Louis for Labor Day weekend.  We sure crammed tons of fun into those few days!  Bike riding and throwing the Aerobie, petting stingrays at the zoo (see pic below courtesy of Mikel Morgan), dinner at Milagro (best Mexican we've found in town), The Lion King at the Fox Theatre, and RV shopping to cap it all off.  Those are some good times, peeps! 

David dove headfirst into a schedule that will leave everyone in a pure state of shock.  As most of you know, the morning hurts him.  So bless his heart, his surgery rotation at the VA requires his alert presence between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m.  No need to review that last line, folks.  You read correctly.  Yesterday the alarm was going off at 3:30 a.m.  Then 3:40.  (We have agreed that one snooze is permittable.) The new bedtime for my hubby is 8:00 p.m.  I am thinking of jumping on that crazy bedtime train.  Think of all the stuff a gal can get done at 4 in the morning.  Creating whirlwinds of cleaning, BSF preparation, cooking, BLOGGING!  The list is endless.  Not to mention I am not sleeping well with the alarm going off so early and some shoulder pain.  Prayers for that would be great - it is definitely not getting any better.  And no swimming - darn.

It's been quite the St. Louis fall so far.  We thought we had missed the balloon race last Saturday and got a little sad.  Not the case!  We caught the whole thing as they flew over our apartment while we were riding our bikes.  It was chilly outside, you could smell fires in people's chimneys, the balloons were passing overhead...glorious fall!   

 
Last night David broke his curfew and took me to the symphony concert in Forest Park.  So stinkin' fun!  We met up with our friends, the Caseys (photo below courtesy of Autumn), ate chicken salad sandwiches, and stayed all the way through the fireworks.  If any of you out-of-towners want to visit us in St. Louis, we suggest you come the week of this concert.  They play tunes from their upcoming lineup on Art Hill right in front of the water at sunset.  People come in droves with picnic baskets and blankets.  Not to mention we busted out our fleece for the evening.  Nothing spells fall like F-L-E-E-C-E, right?

BSF is off to a grand start this year.  The kids in our group are awesome - very mature, inquisitive, they join in the discussion with excitement and they are crazy sweet.  Lots of great questions in the first chapter of Genesis.  Keeps me praying.  A lot!  I have been thinking about my first days in BSF.  Julia was my teaching leader and Jan was my discussion leader.  Great memories of that class in Fayetteville, and excellent guidance and teaching.  I would have never thought I would be a children's leader.  Good thing I am not in control of such things. :)

Oh!  I am singing praises to God for answering so many prayers.  Our appraisal went through yesterday for the house in Fayetteville.  We hope to close on Monday, Lord willing.  Prayers that He would allow everything to be completed successfully Monday would be greatly appreciated.  And thank God for Joseph - he has been such a comforting realtor through everything. 

We are constantly praying for all of you and love you so much.

Missy Morgan







 



The Great Outdoors

I am learning quite a bit about St. Louis.  Starting with the weather.  My first week here (winter 2010) included a heavy snow storm followed by a tornado on New Year's Day.  I believe I wore my snow boots all the way through March.  Then this winter included barely a smattering of snow followed by more tornadoes and the craziest drought they are comparing to the Dust Bowl.  Two weekends ago we were walking to Ted Drewe's for some custard with the Caseys at around 9:30 p.m. and I wished I had a light jacket.  In August.

My point?  This place is crazy!  The weather is nuts.    August has turned into the most pleasant of summer months.  And the whole city goes out in droves to enjoy it while we have it.  You never know when God's gonna change it up again, so we live it up while it's here.  Crazy!

So we just join 'em.  Last weekend we had dinner (and the previously mentioned Ted Drewe's) with the Caseys (Autumn and Dave).  The very next day in church, we ran into them again with Dave's family including brother and sister-in-law and his parents plus a cousin from out of town.  They were grabbing Chipotle and had firm plans for Forrest Park and wanted us to join.  Ah, twist our arms.  It was in the upper 80s and the sun was shining through random clouds here and there as opposed to scorching and sucking the life out of anything that moves.  When in St. Louis...

Carpe Diem!  We quickly ran home and changed into casual stuff and off we went.  So here is where you will begin to fully grasp how anyone from St. Louis grabs the weather bull by the horns when they get the chance.  Autumn and Dave bought a scooter last January, probably inspired by the mild winter, and as we all know now, people here make decisions based mainly on the weather.  On the first day of proud ownership, Dave's dad gave it a spin in a shopping center parking lot.  And would've made it through the loop fine minus his final turn.  The poor man ended up flipping it on its side, which rammed his shoulder into the concrete.  He had shoulder surgery in the past several months and has his arm in a sling to this day as he finishes rehab.  With that being said, not even that stopped us from a Sunday 4 on 4 game of ultimate frisbee.  Including Mr. Casey, sling and all!  He only fell once, but did not give up possession of the frisbee.  We were so proud.  Below is a picture of our team, but we are missing Mr. and Mrs. Casey - they are the photographers.  A sweaty bunch.  That was a tough game!

The hilarious thing about Dave Casey and David Morgan is their love for new gadgets.  Apple products, robot vacuum cleaners, games - you name it, they both love it.  So naturally we have made a new purchase after spending so much time with them over that weekend.  It'll make any woman want to go throw a frisbee with her man in the park.  And I believe it'll make any man who enjoys throwing a frisbee want to break the record for distance thrown.  For ten dollars, it can also be yours.  Ladies and gentleman, meet the Aerobie.  It's strangely fast, and will make even the lamest frisbee thrower look moderately cool.  To make bring your Sunday frisbee throwing to the heights of romance, we recommend a bike ride to the park, about an hour of chasing down the Aerobie, a walk through the zoo to visit the seals, and a bike ride back home.  But you can't be embarrassed to wear it home.  And it's a great way to celebrate great weather the St. Louis way.

Great weather inspires my husband.  And this St. Louis Sunday was enough to find our entire bed covered in backpacking gear so he could pack our backpacks to check for weight.  For our trip in... December.  We've got it all figured out down to the number of pairs of socks I am allowed to take.  I won't scare the ladies with the exact figure.  It ain't much.  So David is a genius for putting that idea in my head four months before takeoff.  He knows me well.  By the way, doesn't he look like he could teach classes at REI for the packing impaired?

The last part of summer means back to BSF.  And I am so ready!  We had our workshop on Saturday, which is when they assign our grade levels and our co-leaders for the children's program.  I will be teaching 7th and 8th graders with one of my favorite ladies, Bridget Gilbert.  I was so blessed to teach with her a few times last year and spend a little time with her at our retreat.  She is a wife, a mother, a golf coach and she runs marathons.  There is no lack of energy or enthusiasm when you are hangin' with Bridget, especially for doing God's work.  I was so excited to see we would be teaching together this year.  So I forced her to let me take a picture for me to post in this blog.  Please pray for God to prepare and equip us to teach these kids.  I know we'll have plenty of fun along the way.

David is back in Fairfield for his last 2.5 weeks of his family medicine rotation.  God has really blessed him with a doctor that loves to teach.  Then he comes back home to do his surgery rotation.  I am so proud of him - he is really doing a great job and is balancing a lot of responsibilities while always managing to make me giggle.  He's got talent.

And we are elated to see Debbie and Mikel this weekend!  Bike rides, The Lion King, Aerobie time with the Morgan Majors - pinch us!  Everyone take care and know we love you.  If you think to pray for us, we have a roofer going to the house in Fayetteville to check on some loose roof tiles found during the inspection.  And thank the Lord for the best real estate agent in town - Mr. Joseph Hayes.

Huge hugs - Missy Morgan

The Smell...of Derm

As soon as I walked in the house I could smell it.  Quick check of the trash can - not it.  Brain scan - no pets, no babies and therefore no random "accidents"...could a dead animal have snuck in today, died and already started to smell?  I wonder...Then I see David.  He is wearing blue latex gloves and his scrubs.  He is reaching into a plastic bag in the sink.  I see blood - on the counter, in the sink.  Everywhere.  Wooziness.  He explains.  In the bag, which has been stored in our freezer for months apparently, is a pig's foot.  And on our dining room table is a cow's tongue.  The smell is dead flesh and blood.  And a little bit of latex from the gloves.  Never a dull moment.

David just started his dermatology rotation today.  Which means suturing practice.  And new plans for dinner.  Yes, the picture below highlights the cow tongue on our meat cutting board (makes sense), then on top of our cookie sheet.  On top of our dining room table.  I don't blame anyone for never eating baked goods from our house again.

So I am now sitting in our tiny office with a bag of corn chips and a bowl of salsa.  The fact that it has no air-conditioning does not matter.  It smells so nice.  I might add a bit of meat to my dinner once the smell leaves my nostrils and becomes a distant memory.  Then again, I might not.

Prayers for David would be greatly appreciated in this new rotation.  It is the area he would like to work in once he graduates and he is working so hard on suturing to make sure he does a good job.  Prayers for me in the midst of suture smells would be fantastic.  This is why I do marketing.  Marketing does not smell.  It does not vomit. It doesn't bleed...that is, unless it's just really bad marketing.  God made a good match with us.  David also kills the bugs.  It all evens out. :)

In my last post I didn't finish our Colorado story.  I can't let you miss the finale.  It's so us.  We packed up Mikel's Pilot to head into Denver a little early so we could meet the Batemans for lunch.  Never underestimate a Morgan when it comes to packing for a trip.  Then add 3 more.  This is what you'll find...Oh, my.

Now, I must confess that David and I alone had seven bags just between us.  But in our defense, we had snow and sun plus a night of camping.  Bless their hearts, after David and Mikel put in an hour or so of luggage Tetris we were finally off.  And we only feared decapitation by way of flying bags two times before pulling in and seeing these friendly faces.

We got to catch up with Heather while Riley and Debbie ripped open Splenda packets, threw the contents on the table and lapped it up with their fingers.  Guilty!!!

And Andrew joined us a little later.  They all look great and seem to really love Denver.  So glad to catch up with them.

After the last few weeks, we have no travel plans.  Just lots of hanging out in St. Louis.  We hit the zoo a few weekends ago.  Love, love, love the zoo!  We even got to pet the sting rays on this trip.  And we spent some time in the primate exhibit, where I have found my new fav.  The lemur.  Who wouldn't like a lemur?!  These crazy guys are adorable, have long and sometimes stripey tails and flaunt their acrobatic skills because they are HAMS.  Total posers, too.  Look at this guy!

We had our friends, Dave and Autumn Casey, over for sushi.  Julie and Bill gifted David some small octopus from the fish market.  So we decided it would be a great re-gift for the Caseys.  Let's just say Autumn is the one with the strong stomach in that relationship.  Poor Dave didn't look too good after the first, very loud bite.  But he held onto it.  Interesting...Do all couples have one person with a strong stomach and not so much with the other?  Hmmm...I would love to hear your thoughts.

The only other exciting news we have is about our house in Fayetteville.  We have prayed and come to the decision to put it on the market.  The renter's contract ends on July 31st.  We hope to have it on the market after the following weekend.  Joseph Hayes, David's great friend and best man, will be our agent.  Prayers for God's wisdom, provision and protection would be appreciated.  Not to mention a petition that the house be a blessing to whomever gets it next.  It sure was for me.  We shall see what God has in store.  What a comfort that He is the giver of all good things.

Well, I think it is time for a turkey hot dog and some blueberries.  David sprayed some Lysol with bleach in the sink and on the counter before heading off to play some tennis.  No report on the cutting board and cookie sheet.

We love all of you and would love to know how to pray for you.  Take care!

Closing out spring in Colorado

I absolutely adore every season change.  Adore them!  And I am so thankful to have a hubby who loves to get outside and enjoy God's creation with me.  We have been like little kids who hear the sound of the ice cream truck in the distance.  After saving up our little "Colorado" envelope for months, off we went with huge eyes of excitement for our four Colorado trip together.  And we loved it!  Here's the scoop...

David and I flew into the Denver airport on May 5th (yes, I am behind) for a night camping under the stars of the Morraine Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).  Yes, loved ones.  That was super-moon night!  It got pretty cold that night, a baby cried for about six hours and their public bathrooms were closed...ugh.  I have officially decided that backpacking with a privy is the way to go.  Not to be discouraged, we woke up at 7:00 a.m., loaded the car and headed for KIND Coffee.  After filling our bellies with delicious coffee (my first full-caff experience since the unfortunate Johnson Shut-ins experience and after surviving Mikel Morgan's death blend) and gluten-free pumpkin muffins, we headed for our rental for the rest of the week.  Check out the view!  A river and elk with sweet scrambling peaks in the background - right up our alley.  What a blessing!  Couldn't wait for Debbie and Mikel to get there.

  The next morning we hustled around to get a hike in before heading to the airport to meet up with the Majors.  What a site and what a hike.  Did I mention it was in the 60s when we landed the day before?

On our way back from the airport to Estes Park, we stopped to visit with Aunt Mary.  Love her!  She is such a sweetie.  Quite a feisty one, I tell ya.  After that stop and a crazy big trip to Wal Mart, we finally started our official week of hiking.  David did a great job of choosing new hikes we had never done before.  Tuesday we selected one that was in lower elevation to help everyone acclimate well.  Caught a great pic of the guys and another of Mikel, Debbie and David. 

 

As the week went on it got warmer and back into the upper 60s.  Glorious!  We did a pretty fantastic hike on Wednesday.  I would say it was fantastic once we got to the top.  We were on vacation time, so we didn't even get out to the trail until 3 p.m.  And no one had been fed.  Any family on my side is raising eyebrows at this point knowing what happens when you don't feed Missy the Pooh.  Some random, and rather unappreciated, couple told us we had forty-five minutes until we hit the top at the point when this picture was taken.  So we were all-smiles.

Well into an hour and a half later, we still had not reached the top.  Mikel recommended we stop for a snack.  I don't even remember getting the food out of my pack and into my hands, but I was shoveling it in faster than a chipmunk on a cracker binge.  In the midst of the lightheadedness and dizzying excitment over nothing more than an apple and M&Ms, David announced he was going to check out the top.  Debbie and Mikel were murmuring about retiring this one.  We pressed on, people!  And we were so glad we did.  Look at that view! 

Needless to say, the next day we were huge fans of taking a more "relaxed" hike.  Mikel stayed home to deal with some 3M business.  David, Debbie and I hit the trail.  It was another sunny day - perfect for shorts. 

And we finished up the week with one last hike on Friday...in the snow.  We couldn't have been more pleased.  We headed to Bear Lake, but from a different route than we had ever done before.  We ate lunch right next to the snow-covered lake with gloved hands and finished it off with hot chocolate straight from the Jet Boil.  Nothing like a good snow storm before heading back to a midwest summer, right?  Praise God for Colorado - we needed that break!

I'll post details for our trip closer with the Batemans and our trip to FL. 

For now, know that we love you all and miss you terribly.

Missy





Bacon for Dinner

The past few weeks have been an assortment of exciting things and lots of studying.  For both of us.  I'll start with this week and work backwards.  And then bring it back to this week again at the end.

So guess where I got to go for work on Tuesday?  It took two hours to get there from the office.  We magically had cellular service while we were there.  And for lunch we ate at The Kountry Kitchen.  any guesses?

We had to put on covers for our clothes.  For two reasons - stench and piles.  Guesses?

That's me and Gina, a co-worker on the CommonGround team.  Needless to say, we were a little beside ourselves with excitement over our day.  And I imagine not everyone would feel that way.  Which is why God lead us to our jobs!  I'll give you another little hint.  I'll bet very few of you have ever been to one either.  Still guessing?

We went to a hog farm!  And this is one of his grain contraptions.  See, this farmer grows his own grains (mainly soybeans and corn) to feed his hogs.  He has many silos where he holds the grains.  And from his laptop he can tell this machine above to mix feed for pigs in any growth stage he desires.  Then he can pick it up and go feed his hogs.  So cool!

Look at them pigs!  Gina said she just couldn't look at them and think about dinner.  I appreciate what she's saying.  But I beg to differ. :)  After two days of thinking about nothing but the deliciousness of crispy bacon, I gave in and made 'breakfast for dinner' tonight.  David's favorite.  And I grew up on it.  Dad, David is always impressed with fried eggs made "Bob-style".  Thanks for teaching me!

Speaking of David...He is in the midst of cramming for finals.  His last day of this rotation in internal medicine was Wednesday.  And guess what?!  He got a A!  Today he had a physical exam final and tomorrow is the actual test.  Praise God for blessing him with a great brain and time to study.  And please pray if you get a chance that he can get through all the material he needs to review and have excellent recall tomorrow.  Doesn't he look handsome when he studies?  Sorry about the iron in the background.  We are running on low here and didn't much feel like moving it this morning knowing we would just need it again tonight. Roomba ran today and couldn't get through the piles of laundry I had left on the floor for us to start when we got home.  Poor thing got stuck in the darks!

It hasn't been all work and studying around here.  I promise.  Last Friday night we did what people do here in St. Louis.  We went to a Cardinals game, courtesy of our buddies Autumn and Dave.  So fun!  Dave's parents, whom we finally met, get season tickets and had some extras.  They even got free shirts for being the first 2,500 people there (or something like that).  And they gave them to us!  So sweet!  We ate nachos, a turkey leg and ridiculous amounts of Coke Zero at an unreasonable hour to be consuming so much caffeine.  It was fabulous.  Oh, and the Cardinals did great.  13-1 against Milwaukee.  Good times, good times.

And that's about as exciting as we get around here.  Between his exams and BSF, we are all books and study breaks.  He might kill me for this, but really...who could resist the opportunity?  He has some new game that he streams from his phone onto the tv.  Takes place in space or something.  Very intense!  I was in the middle of a brow-furrowing game of Word Scramble against none other than my sweet sister when I looked up to see this...

We don't kid around when it comes to games.  Or studying.  Or pork. Or Coke Zero. 

Everyone have a fabulous evening.  Know that we love you.  And we thank the Good Lord for you!

Missy Morgan 

Easter Was Too Short

As soon as we knew that we were both free from school and work duties for Good Friday, our plans were set.  Sea salt and cracked pepper pistachios for me, sweet and sour chicken for David, and we were off, en route to Ed and Bobbie's place in Bella Vista.  Did you know that day was Mikel's birthday?  Too much fun - Bobbie made a most delicious meatloaf with green chilis (totally yummo).  Ed and Bobbie, thank you so much for having us at your place for the night.  And for our delicious breakfast!  We always love spending time with you two.  

We headed over to Mikel and Debbie's for the rest of the weekend.  Debbie and I got in a nice bike ride before the rest of the St. Louis crew arrived.  And what a blessing, because we hopped over to Jim and Dianne Campbell's house and caught them both before the grandbabies were headed over.  For those of you who didn't meet them at the wedding, they are my sweet friends from our Israel trip. Aren't they too cute?!  Before I even knew them, they were already friends of Debbie and Mikel. 

 We also got to spend some quality time with Miss Felix.  Not familiar? We became great pals during my stay with Debbie and Mikel.  David and I miss her terribly!  She is fifteen years old and still going strong.  With a little extra help regarding jumping on laps.  And the vet gave her a clean bill of health.  Isn't she a beauty?

The rest of the weekend was a whirlwind of food and quality time.  Girls went shopping, guys went shooting, Joseph came over and joined us for the afternoon and dinner on Saturday.  And David showed off his new culinary specialty, Bananas Foster.  Where there's food to be lit on fire, there my husband will be.  So tasty!

My favorite part was attending UBC with the family on Easter Sunday.  Mike Lumpkin, the pastor who married us, is the head pastor there.  He taught out of Hebrews 12 about our inheritance, the unshakeable kingdom of God.  From verse 28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire.""  It was a great reminder to clear ourselves of serving out of guilt to serve in love and gratitude for the cross, which we did nothing to gain.  We can't serve with gratitude if we are serving out of guilt!  And I am ever grateful for the freedom of that cross. 

Back at the Morgan Major household (where, by the way, they hosted 11 of us for dinner), the place was aflutter with food-centered action.  And the results made my belly very, very happy.  Ham, a green salad, fruit salad, asparagus, smashed potatoes (delightful).  Great pic of David and Debbie during meal prep, eh?  And another of Carolyn and Toodie. If you are loving Debbie's ensemble, be sure to hit Versona's at The Promenade.  We spent two hours there on Saturday.  Fabulous clothes and accessories, light on the pocketbook.  Very envelope friendly.

And then, of course, we started gathering for the big family photo.  Great job, Mikel, on always getting that camera set up.  Please send the final photo when you get a sec!  In the meanwhile, this is what we all look like trying to get organized. Note, as usual, Bobbie and Carolyn are ahead of schedule.  I love timeliness.

And then the sad part.  We had to leave.  Debbie was so sweet to give us two huge chocolate bunnies.  I am certain her intention was that they would each last us at least a few days.  And we had good intentions, too.   But five hours in a car with limited food options will drive you to do very bad things.

We love all of you.  To the Egert side - we miss you bunches!  Can't wait to see you hopefully soon.

Hugs - Missy Morgan

Whassup with the Minors?

I always said I wouldn't be one of those bloggers who says "sorry it's been so long since I updated...".  So much for that adorable idea.

PA Update!  David is just beginning his fourth rotation in Internal Medicine this week.  Location - SLU Hospital.  So far so good.  I like 'em already for selfish reasons.  They just approved us to be off from Good Friday through Easter Sunday!  And guess who else is free the same days?!  So our plans are set - We will be in northwest Arkansas all three days.  Can't wait!  And thanks for lifting David up in prayers during his last rotation in Hematology/Oncology.  He got an A!  And worked with an incredible doctor who taught him well.  And from the sounds of it, his presentation of a patient case study went over with flying colors.  Phew, praise God!  That was a pretty intense two weeks in this little apartment.

I just got back from a Bible Study Fellowship retreat in Milwaukee.  Try to picture 2600+ men and women in one place, studying 2 Timothy.  And imagine the sound when we all belted out "In Christ Alone" on the last morning.  Now, that was something!  If you can't picture it, maybe this will help.  This is after our evening session on Saturday.  And a great pic of some fellow leaders in my class next to Lake Michigan (taken in the hour we had between a session and dinner).  Love these gals!

Wondering how we all got there?  Check it out.  And follow my advice...If you ever run across a restroom on a bus, use it while it's NOT moving.  That's all I'm sayin'.  Meanwhile, I have a cool stat to share.  BSF has over 244,000 adults attending classes worldwide.  And over 55,000 children.  Which is my new department.  Yes, I am teaching children.  We know that was a call from God.  So far they haven't caught on that I have no idea what to do with kids.  Mostly because I have an awesome topic to focus on!  Not to mention a great team of leaders and a sharp, fantastic supervisor to observe.

The weather, as you are all aware, has been fantastic.  Therefore, we have been quite the little bikers.  I took Monday off of work and David got out of his rotation early, so we went for a bike ride followed by a trip to Chill, a local frozen yogurt bar.  One lap around Forest Park, and then about a mile down to the yogurt shop.  Not bad for a Monday!  Wondering how absolutely ridiculous we look in our helmets?  Wonder no more, loved ones.  

Most of you are probably relieved you don't have to claim us due to distance.  I don't blame you.  When Debbie was in town we did the same loop around the park.  But Debbie rode David's bike, which seemed stuck in very high gears.  If you knew the hills we took, you would knuckle-bump her five times.  Debbie - You are in GREAT shape.  

I had better scoot and start working on dinner so I can spend some time with David.  He is on call tomorrow, which means we don't know what time he will get home.  And I just learned that I will be teaching the Bible lesson on Tuesday to our 5th and 6th graders.  That's 25 minutes of lecture time. Yikes!  Prayers are appreciated!  It's the last study out of Ephesians.  And then I think we go back to the book of Acts.  I will let you know how that goes.  

Have I mentioned how much we miss all of you?  It's a fact!  

Missy Morgan

The Long Lost Morgans

Between a crazy holiday schedule, David's new year of rotations and my conference planning I must apologize for a lack of staying in touch. Inexcusable!  Please forgive me. Now, onto the good stuff.

I had to share funny photos.  The Newberry side of the family (Debbie's side) gathered in St. Louis for Christmas weekend.  I believe there were 20 of us in Dave and Melissa's house.  A Pyrex pan holding ham exploded in the kitchen while ornaments were flying like torpedos off of the Christmas tree.  Carolyn looks a little guilty in her photo.  Hmmm...she is sitting by the tree...It was indeed a bit chaotic, but lovely nonetheless.  To add to the excitement, we (of course) went shooting.  And I somehow broke the target holder.  How embarrassing.

Immediately after Christmas, we hopped in my car and drove down to San Antonio.  Thank the good Lord for sweet grandparents - Ed and Bobbie let us stay the night with them, complete with a turkey dinner and loads of laughs.  Then we finished our trek and landed at the Gloege household the next evening.  What a blast!  That's me and David somewhere in Arkansas.  Love the pic of Amy, Mom and little Gus at the River Walk.  Unfortunately, I am a loser aunt.  Forgot to get a picture of Matthew when he and Rob  met us for lunch in Allen.  Darn!  The child is precious.  Next time. :)

David started his rotations on January 3rd.  First stop, women's health.  Yes, friends.  That was no typo.  Pelvic exams and STDs (hope you are not eating) were the core of his first three weeks last month.  And then he moved onto psych for another three weeks.  Needless to say, I can't wait to get home everyday and hear his top story.  Be impressed - David Mikel Morgan has been waking up everyday at 5:15 a.m. to be out the door by 6:20 a.m.  I have evidence that he is surviving quite well.  Enter into evidence exhibit A, an iPhone pic of him about to head out the door, PA smock and all.  I married a handsome early-riser.

Once we got into the swing of things after the holidays, me and my team were working fast and furious on the annual conference.  My job is way cool.  35 farm women gathered with 35 staffers in Charleston, South Carolina last week to talk about farming and food.  Ladies, if you grocery shop and you have heard of the "Dirty Dozen" list, you will want to hear this!  We had a guest lecturer and scientist, Dr. Carl Winter, from UC Davis speak to us about his research regarding pesticides and their true effect on human health, most specifically the study done that created "The Dirty Dozen" list.  My takeaway - unless you are planning on eating a full truckload (or 34,000 pounds) of any fruits or vegetables in one day yourself, you need not worry the tiniest fraction about insecticides impacting your health.  If you did eat that much, you would still be in the clear!  Check out http://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/ - it has a cool calculator tool.  Makes me feel better about what I feed our little family.  Anywho, cool pic of Dr. Carl and a group of us at the airport afterwards.  We look energized, but I think we all collapsed once the plane took off. Also might've been the cheese popcorn.

My last bit of news is pretty exciting!  David and I had been praying about how to be serving God with our time.  We even discussed being open to me serving in BSF leadership again if God so desired.  After much prayer, I knew where God was leading me.  Um, not where I wanted to go!  But there it was...not going away.  I ended up sitting down with my BSF teaching leader here in St. Louis.  We had both been praying for God's guidance.  She asked me where I felt God leading me to serve.  I felt like I had glue on my tongue, but I did indeed obey and say, "I can't believe I am saying this out loud because it would never be a desire from my heart, but I feel strongly that God is leading me to working with children."  If you know me at all, you know that what I said is crazy!!!  I love the little people, but I have no idea what you are supposed to do with them. 

As God would have it, there was one opening in leadership.  In the Children's Program.  So my first day in training will be this Friday evening.  Pray for the children!  All kidding aside, please pray that God will equip me to know what to do.  I am walking into this with nothing but a willing heart!  I can't wait to see what He has in store.  I imagine we will all share a few great laughs along the way.  Big thanks to Julia and Jan for encouraging me.  And to Debbie for praying for God's guidance.

That's it for now.  We miss you and love you.  Quite a bit!

Missy Morgan