Another one bites the dust

Megan Thompson is off the market! Meg got engaged so her dating life bites the dust but, the marriage part of her life hasn't even started.

Meg and I were college roommates my final semester at Gordon. The day we signed our paperwork to move into that apartment we showed up wearing the exact same outfit to sign the papers... a tad embarrassing at the time. It was necessary then to move in together, that way we would see what the other person was wearing and then change before leaving the room.

I only got to live with Meg for 4 short months but they were amazing and they helped to seal the deal on this friendship thing we got going on.

Love this girl and I am so happy for her! Good choice Mike, you know how to pick 'em!

Love you Meg! (that's her on the left)

Thankful in 2011

1. For this clan I get to be part of (forever and ever):

Note: Dad is missing but, I am thankful for him too!

2. This addition to the clan:

If babies just slept like this forever I think people would have more of them, that's why God makes them cry and poop, to control the population.

3. These 2:

Don't be confused by the mexican props, that's just Trey and Jessie, doing what they do best- having a good time. That's why I am thankful for them, we never have a boring day here.

4. This dry, hot desert that I get to live in.

And all the new things it has brought me; friendships, opportunities, absence from home (which makes the heart grow fonder) and endless days in the sunshine with tan skin!

Man and Wife

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and Christine Emery

These two got married when I was home. That was just a part of the reason I went home last month.

That and this guy:

J.J. Gonzalez

Christine, over the past 6 years has become a friend to treasure. I have now known Christine longer with Taylor in her life than without him in her life. That's a good thing, I like Taylor in Christine's life and I hope he likes me in her life too. I have no plans of going much further away than I currently am and we haven't seem to miss a beat yet. I had a blast taking in the fall colors and being a part of such a fun bridal party:

I had the best time being an Aunt! J.J. was just perfect when he fell asleep in my arms... and that was almost every time I held him.

J.J. Gonzalez, stop growing now and just stay small enough for me to hold forever.

Eid Mubarak!

Today was the second day of Eid Al Adha which is the second Eid of the year.

Here's a little Wikipedia for you on this Eid:

Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his sonIshmael (Isma'il) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice instead.

In the Christian Bible we believe that it was Isaac not Ishmael that was going to be sacrificed by Abraham. But the story is similar to the one in the Quran. The point of the story being that God intervenes with a lamb or animal to sacrifice instead of Abraham sacrificing his son. At Eid they are celebrating the substitute for Ishmael and giving thanks to Allah for this.

As Christians, we see this Old Testament account of God providing a sacrifice in the place of Abraham sacrificing his son as preparation for the ultimate sacrifice that was to come. While animals in the Old Testament were sacrificed as offering to cover over sins, this time Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. God in the end, intervened and provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In the New Testament, Jesus is brought to the cross and killed as an eternal sacrifice for the sins of man. In the book of John we are told that Jesus is the "Lamb of God" who will take away the sins of the world and anyone who will believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

During this Eid we visited over 15 homes and shared in this special holiday with our friends. While we see the story slightly differently and we certainly see the story having a different meaning it is nice to see our friends and celebrate with them. They know that we will soon celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas and holidays are a great time to learn about one another's cultures, traditions and religions.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday! And unfortunately I will not be there to celebrate it with her. But, I hear my dad made some pretty awesome plans for the two of them. They are going to the Princess Diana exhibit at Foxwoods!

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31

She has been a wonderful mother and she will make an even better grandmother to JJ!

Happy Birthday Mom! I wish I could be at home with you in Massachusetts, without power and with lots of snow!

"Return of the Mac You Know that I'll Be Back"

And it took me a while but here I am! I am back in commission after a rowdy trip home and 2 weeks of the worst jet lag of my entire life. I am HERE.

Today I will post about my first weekend home and I will give you more of home as the week goes on.

Weekend One: Christine's AMAZING Bachelorette Party with some of the most fun girls I know at a beautiful cabin in New Hampshire!

The view from the cabin known as the Martinelli Memory Maker! A Gordon connection helped us get the weekend here!

Meg got her boyfriend to drive her up from Philly for just 2 nights! What a man, what a man... feel free to break into the rest of the song if you know it.

At Stonegate Vineyard Winery run by Jane and her husband Peter. If you are ever in the area you should visit it's such a fun afternoon!

Just hanging out at the house!

It's been a long time

Hey! I am coming home in just a few short days and my eyes have been set on this for a while now! Christine is getting married and I couldn't think of a more exciting reason to get to Boston in the Fall.
I wanted to share some exciting news. Recently a gentlemen in Al Ain offered to help fundraise for Oasis Hospital by running the Gobi March, a 250km race over 7 days in the hottest part of China. It's really exciting and I am so happy to be part of the team that will help him raise money for Oasis Hospital and CURE International. Check it out! Most of you know I worked in Development when I was in Boston and I think I will get to use some of my fundraising skills to help him make the most of his race. It feels good to be doing something familiar again!