Storms, Weigh-Ins, Birthdays and Babies

We don't mess around when it comes to weather warnings these days. David sent a text to me on Friday afternoon warning me to hit the road for Rogers pronto. St. Louis had "tornado watch" written all over it for the early evening. I gunned it for 44, stopped quickly for gas and ate my chips and salsa dinner on the road. Twenty minutes out from turning south on 71, I turned on the radio to hear tornado warnings for northwest Arkansas as I headed toward black clouds. Alas, 71 appeared and took me right out of the storms. I didn't see or hear a drop of rain until safely tucked into bed at Debbie and Mikel's late that night. Praise God, and thanks for praying!

The weekend naturally went by way too fast. For the short duration, I say we efficiently maximized on family time and good fun.

The purpose? David had a weight-loss contest weigh-in with his buddies to complete, we desperately wanted to hold Baby Eli, and we had three birthdays to celebrate. As it turns out, no one hit their goal weight, though David did lose 20 pounds. But no one is getting any younger, so the party and baby-holding stayed on schedule. And I am so grateful! Bobbie fixed us two delicious mexican casseroles and Debbie made a gluten-free cake. As far as I'm concerned, where there's cake there's a party.

Here are a few "party-pics" for everyone. And a special Happy Birthday goes out to Ed, who is celebrating his 80th! He sure is a dapper, youthful 80 if you ask me.

Happy Birthday to US!

Some of the Morgans...After all, somebody has to take the picture. Anybody recognize David's shirt? Jan Shaddox convinced me in Israel that purchasing a shirt for David would NOT be too personal.

If anyone is interested in how fabulous 79 and 80 could be, you need to spend a few days with these folks. They run circles around people like me. :)

If these two aren't enough "adorable" for you, watch out. Eli made a special visit all the way from Tampa, Florida. He stole our hearts with his little "man face". And he also played hard to get on the smiles. Saved them for the very end.

I still marvel at the fact that David and these guys have maintained their friendship through all of these years and life changes. And I count myself blessed to call them friends now, too.

Last note before I run off to do some work. Pastor Lumpkin gave out some facts about how much meat, cheese, etc. people in the U.S. eat each year. We sure spend a lot of time taking care of our bodies physically. But if we compare that with the amount of time we spend in His Word, learning about Him, His life and Who He Is, we more than likely fall very short. Two weeks out from the end of BSF for the summer caused me to pause and listen closely to his recommendation for approaching God's Word daily. What a difference it makes for me. Oh, and they closed out with the song "Ancient Words" for all of you BSF leaders! It makes me tear up a bit each time I hear it.

We love you guys, we pray for you, and we will be in touch. Happy June!

Missy Morgan

Mrs. David Gump

Light rain tapping the office window, tea kettle whistling, laundry folded and tucked away (about 6 loads - no kidding) and a 3-hour nap behind me...the only thing keeping today from being a perfect Saturday is David. He's in Memphis. Thank God for text messaging. I already know what he had for dinner. :)

While on one hand it is slightly embarrassing that I haven't written a blog since well before Easter, on the other hand it is oodles of fun to look back at photos and gawk at the fact that we are on the heels of summer.

I love looking back at our photos from Easter weekend in Arkansas. Highlight of the weekend, or any weekend in Arkansas for that matter, was the sermon from Mike Lumpkin at UBC. I am certain I have never attended an Easter service with the sermon coming from the book of Zechariah, who (according to the notes I have written in pencil) prophesied 550 years prior to Jesus Christ coming to us on earth but after God brought His people back from Babylon. The sermon was rich with prophesy of the Coming King to save and shepherd His people. Excellent reminder that my redemption came at a heavy price. Lumpkin also touched on our Good Shepherd...that we know His voice. He likened it to the whistle of his mother when he was a kid riding bikes all over the neighborhood. He could always hear that whistle, and knew instantly it was her and he was to head home, and pronto. Mom, it brought me back to Harvest Glen when you would call us for dinnertime. How is it possible that I could hear you several blocks away. "Kids!!! Dinner!!! Missy, Rob...?!". John 10:27-30 comes to mind for me, which I have circled with a heart next to the chapter. I love what God says here about Jesus being our Good Shepherd! Jan, I remember studying that book in your discussion group. What a blessing.

I am SO thankful for the family time at Easter. Eleven of us at the Morgan Major abode - what a fun time! Melissa brought a photo of the most gorgeous cupcakes and, not at all a shock, talked the rest of us ladies into bringing these intricate pastries to life. They were stunning!

The weather was incredible, which meant an Easter walk for me, Toodie and Melissa. The neighborhood still has some construction lots. And we figured with zero construction activity due to the holiday, nothing could possibly stop us from taking a peek here and there. After all, we have family in the neighborhood and we look pretty innocent. We had just gotten to the back patio of one home. As Toodie was commenting that it looked like they were putting in a full kitchen on the back deck, we heard a car pull up. Ah, yeah. Busted.

Home owners. We sheepishly approached a group of three looking fresh from church - sandals, dresses and a suit. One gal, the owner, was giving her good friends a tour. Bless her heart, she invited us to stay and get the scoop. Awkward! We kindly slipped out with an embarrassed blush after twenty minutes of stalling their tour and wished them well. Eh - It's Arkansas. People are so kind, as was our tour guide. If it had gotten too weird, we did have Melissa with us. She can talk anyone into or out of anything.

Back to St. Louis...

And praise God! David accepted a full-time position as PA in family medicine with an office in Washington, MO! And due to the lengthy incoming paperwork, his start date is July 1. Which leaves David time to study and to focus on his table tennis skills. I'll catch him from time to time with his head in the clouds. I wonder...Is he stressed? Bored? Troubled by something? Dreaming of the future? Nine times out of ten when I ask he says, "Oh, no, honey. Everything is great. I was just thinking about ping pong." Hey, who can blame him. He's got some mad skills! He had his first table tennis tournament (try saying that fast five times in a row) a few weekends ago. I sat with Toodie and Frank and we watched him compete. Doesn't he look handsome?!

That's all I've got. We love all of you and pray for you often. If you think of us in your prayers, please pray for David's HR paperwork to get started quickly and for me to finish the year strong with Bible Study Fellowship. Only three class nights left! I'll be sad to not see those kids over the summer. They have taken a little soft spot in my heart.

Love you - Missy

Wrapping Up Winter

According to my weather app, the high today should reach 72 degrees. With that being said, it is time for us to wrap up winter. I say this with confidence as I didn't even wear socks today.

With David graduated, we've been squeezing everything we can into this time knowing that his time will be limited in the near future, Lord willing. So I thought I'd work backwards over the past several weeks and share some of our adventures.

Last weekend we were total road warriors. Our goal - North Texas. Halfway point - Bella Vista, AR. We spent the night with Ed and Bobbie. The evening was monumental. Sam the cat actually tried to jump in my lap during dinner. Not to mention Bobbie provided a delicious three-course meal complete with red meat and ice cream.

Then we hit the highway again for some R&R time with Dad and Pat at Crooked Creek Ranch. Visitors must always keep a few things in mind at CCR. First, the foreman cooks a mean breakfast, so a late morning just isn't smart. Sunday morning it was eggs benedict and hash browns with coffee. Take a look at that plate.

In addition, watch your snacks. This is their ranch. And they take kindly to sharing.

Lastly, firearms are welcome. But only half-smiles for the camera, please.

We had a big 'ole time celebrating Dad's birthday with them. Thanks, Dad and Pat, for your hospitality and loads of love. We had a blast. We got to see Mom, too! She drove several hours to see our faces. And she looked so pretty, but I still forgot to take a picture with her. Darn! Mom, we love you and loved seeing you. :)

One week before that I was headed to New York City for work, so David snagged a buddy pass from Melissa and we hit the town for two days. What a trip! Well, more so for David. I had to work most of the time, but who can complain when they get to spend an afternoon and an evening seeing the sights with their handsome hubby? We stayed right on Times Square and took pictures like wild, crazy, annoying tourists on our way to lunch the first day.

Naturally, we knew a traditional NYC deli was in the plans. Who doesn't crave pounds of greasy deli meats and teeny tiny sodas for $5 with no refills? We do! David finished his colossal BLT and declared a new diet upon reaching Missouri soil.

And what's winter without a snow day including school closings and news stories covering the pillaged grocery shelves by panicked shoppers who inevitably make it out onto the roads the very next day? We call that a sad winter season. Since Forest Park is one of the things we love most about St. Louis, that's where we go when Schnucks' checkout lines go 25 deep. All you need is a pizza pan and snow pants, people. They even light up the ponds at night and build fires to warm your noses in these parts. You just can't be afraid of looking like a bit of a dork.

That's all for now. We love you, miss you and pray for you often! Please be praying for David's job search and interviews!

Missy Morgan

On this Coke Zero, Floor-Pacing Sunday...

We woke up this morning to gray skies that had just finished spitting ice as the temperature reached 33 degrees. I didn't budge an inch until 9:30 and we slouched around in our thick winter robes with cozy slippers and warm oatmeal until church. The sky is still very gray with constant drizzle.

This fabulous, dreary-weather Sunday is pulling us in two directions. Restfulness and study time. Medicine is calling David's name, and I have the notes and lesson to complete for our study in Genesis this week. Boy, is God guiding me through submission (do not fear the word - it is good stuff) and trusting obediently in His plans. What a book!

David is feeling the pressure as he enters his last week until he takes his boards. Loved ones, if you think of us this week please pray for him to be able to focus and really churn through all of the material.  And pray for me to be a good helper for him this week as he prepares. I won't even be in town when he takes it. I am flying out on Thursday for Wisconsin (brrrrr) and return Friday evening. Wish I could be there to send him off with a good breakfast and a hug - darn. :( The best I can do for now is replenish our depleted supply of Coke Zero (the morphine equivalent for David's book pains) and clear the shotgun path through our apartment in anticipation for his late-hour, nose-in-book pacings.

I did not have the opportunity to share his graduation days. My bad! It can be summarized into two words - blur and fantastic. It was a blur because of the timing. It followed Thanksgiving by only a week and a half. We had David's three buddies (John, Joseph and Adam) in the weekend before. And the day after the graduation activities came to a close, we hopped on a plane for a 3-week vacation in AR and AZ. I would have forgotten to breathe if my body didn't do it on it's own!

It was fantastic for a number of reasons. Starting with the hooding ceremony. Debbie, Mikel and Carolyn met me at the SLU campus for this small gathering on Thursday, December 12. The students, all wearing broad smiles of relief, received their hoods and off we went to a reception where they each stood before their class, family members and faculty to share their best memories and give thanks. This is a good shot of our handsome graduate with his new, shiny hood. Everyone cleans up nice, eh?

Now, we can all say we get a smidge nervous in regards to public speaking. I believe it is the worst when a family member is in the room or the worst yet - your peers. As it turns out, David's palm-sweating resistance to that entire portion of the event was a crazy front. He was great!. Who knew David had kept his entire class so entertained for 2.5 years? His polycystic kidney dream was a top memory for many and even a Halloween costume for a few. He had everyone laughing before they gave him the mic. So much for all the nervousness. What a front! He had us all in stitches in the first thirty seconds. And is it just me, or does he look extremely comfortable in front of this entire group?

As soon as it ended, we knew we were in a pickle. We had yet to finish packing to stay at Dave and Melissa's until Saturday and even more pressing, for our 2 week backpacking and Christmas trip to Arizona. Bless our hearts, we were fortunate to have found our socks and a tie for David that morning. Disarray! We had 20 minutes to stop by the house, create a cloud of luggage flurry, and blast over to the airport to pick Mom up and then join the rest of the family at the Dyess residence in Ellisville.

The next day was the larger ceremony. Ten of us convened in the bleachers to celebrate. Thanks, you guys! David got a bit choked up when they called his name and he heard us all cheering him on.

We are so thankful for your constant prayers, presence and encouragement throughout this whole process. God so knew we would need each of you and He so kindly blessed us to be here in St. Louis surrounded by family while we missed the rest of you in Arkansas, Arizona, New Hampshire and Texas.

Toodie and Frank Schaper

Melissa Dyess (Dave was there in spirit!)

Julie and Bill Newberry

Ignore my poofy jacket, people. The temperature dropped something silly (maybe 15 or 20 degrees) from when we left the front door to walking out of the ceremony, so David was sweet to let me borrow his jacket. I didn't realize I looked like an accessorized fullback until just now.

My mom (Sandy Morris), Carolyn Newberry and Debbie Morgan

(Behind the camera - Mikel Morgan)

Me and Mom with the grad - Mom, you are a gem for making the trip!!!

That evening David and I along with Mikel, Debbie, Mom and Carolyn headed to the graduation dinner and party. Call it exhaustion from the week or the entire program - after we ate and heartily embraced the candy bar, we did not last long. After all, we had some packing to do the next morning and a very sweet aunt and uncle were picking us up at 9:30 am...at our place...thirty minutes away...to go to the airport.

To give you a taste of the topic for my next post, I share with you evidence of our public humiliation by luggage. We'll never know if people laughed in our faces because of the sheer baggage volume or the Hefty trash bags. Either way, we fully own that we are one of two couples (the other shall remain unnamed and easily assumed) who require a luggage carrier for only two people.

Big hugs and love to all of you!

Missy Morgan

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