Bridal Shower for Heather

Erin, Danielle, and I have been planning a surprise bridal shower and bachelorette party for Heather all summer. (Above - Making the cake, Erin was obviously having a lot of fun). We had a hard time getting her here to Bismarck, but we finally got it all worked out. The night before, Erin and I spent hours working on the decorations and cooking the food. We made BBQ chicken for the main course and then cake for dessert. (Right - Erin putting the cupcakes into the oven) Erin and I decorated the cake ourselves. I think we did a pretty good job, but you can judge for yourself. We also blew up balloons for decorations and wrapped presents for prizes for the games we had planned. (Left - Wrapping gifts). It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to us.
The next day, we got everyone together that we could. We ate together, and then had games. Finally, after the bridal shower was over, we also had a bachelorette party. It was kind of short because Heather had to leave, but we still had a few games before it ended.

Decorating the Cake

The finished Cake

Setting the table for the next day.

Erin and I decorated this chair as Heather's "throne"

Erin and I after finishing the preparations
Having Lunch

One of the games we played: Heather had to guess Mike's answer to a question. If she got it wrong, she had to put a piece of gum in her mouth. For this question, she was especially bewildered . . . great facial expression!

One of our games: toilet paper veils!!

Beginning of presents!

The BRIDE!

Its been awhile

I know, I know, it has been a long time since I have written (more than a month actually). Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I have a lot to update. Let's see, my birthday was this month and I had a pretty good one. I heard from several friends, but one of the people who should have remembered my birthday (namely my sister) didn't. It has been nearly three weeks since my birthday and she still hasn't thought to call or send a card. I guess that shows where I stand with her.
Other than that, I had a good birthday. My family had a BBQ, just like I like to have, though we ate inside to be air conditioned. I got presents, but mostly I just enjoyed being with the people I love.
Since then, I have been relaxing and getting ready to go back to school. I leave in about three weeks. Crazy! I've been waiting for this for 7 months and now that it is coming, it feels weird. I haven't been to school in 2 years and so I'm not sure what is going to happen when I get there. Most of my friends have already graduated and the ones who haven't are married and won't have time for little old me. Oh well, I guess I'll have to make new ones.
Oh, I went to the doctor again. This time my tests came back normal, but I feel the same. So, I'm not sure exactly what that means, though I know I have to go back for more tests soon.
That's it for me.

Currently Reading:
Poems
by Alexander Pushkin

News

Hello, once again. Its been a while since I posted last, but as usual, there isn't much going on. Though, I have been finally called as a visiting teacher. But, it seems kind of silly to do that after 6 months of being here when I have only 2 and a half months left. Oh well.
Anyway, I'm still having problems with exhaustion. I've been taking my medication for 5 weeks now, but the last few weeks, I've started to feel worse. I went in to the doctor yesterday, and talked about how I've been feeling. She decided to take me off the medication temporarily. Then, I have to go back for some more tests. She said that they should be able to get it all taken care of and fixed before I go back to school. That's a relief because I don't think I would be able to handle school feeling like I am.
I guess that's about it for me!

Finally

I finally decided to create a blog in Russian. This is to help me not lose my Russian and also so my friends and family in Russia can read my blog. You just need to understand that I don't speak perfectly, so there will be mistakes and incomprehensible phrases. I want to learn and know Russian better. So (if anyone reading this speaks Russian) please write me (you can do that as a commentary or by email) so I can learn to speak more correctly and also so I know when something is not understandable in Russian. Thanks! I hope that it will be interesting for you to read about me!
Also, I was finally called to be a visiting teacher. I'm glad because its already been 2 hours since I've been a visiting teacher.

Currently reading:
The Last Battle
by C. S. Lewis

Just a thought

Here I am, still awake, even though it is getting rather late. Well, that's not the point of my post. I went over to my friend, Erin's, apartment, yesterday. She lives on the third floor and has a balcony facing the parking lot. As I was leaving, I was suddenly struck with a wave of sadness. This feeling was linked to a profound missing of my mission.
You see, in one city, there was a woman and her son whom we visited regularly. Every week we went to their home which was inside a hostel. Basically, this is a building where everyone has separate rooms, but they share the bathroom/kitchen with several people. It is kind of like a dormitory. Anyway, their rooms were near the balcony facing the front of the building. Every week, they would walk us out and wave to us from the top of the stairs as we walked out (they lived on the fifth floor). Then they hurried to their balcony window and waved to us as we walked out of sight. (See above - Татьяна (Tatiana) and Саша (Sasha) from their balcony - woman on the right is a neighbor of theirs) I'll never forget that small gesture. In that action, I felt their love.
As I left my friend's apartment, I wished that I could have another moment like the one experienced at that hostel in Russia. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect my friend to wave to me from her balcony window as I walk to my car and drive away. She has two kids and a home daycare, so I know that isn't something she can really do. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that such little things, like walking from a building, can remind you of places far away and people long gone. Most people who have served missions can probably attest to the longing to return, and still more people can probably understand that desire to see people they haven't seen in a long time after a simple little act.
Well, I don't know if this make any sense at all. I hope that amongst the ramblings, you can understand my sentiments.

Currently Reading:
The Silver Chair
by C. S. Lewis