Love is alive!

So I will just say that corn mazes are wonderful, especially at night. : ) Saturday night, after doing some RPAC art show/concert stuff and going to the library, Jill, Nat and I went to a corn maze where we met up with Megan who was also visiting and all our Bethel/Vineyard crew. I was worried it would be scary and/or difficult to find my way through the maze at night, but instead, we were able to go in groups, use Jill's phone as a flashlight and answer trivia questions to keep us on the "right" path. And for the most part it worked. We were the first ones to get out! We also ran past groups a lot. It was more invigorating that way. Oh, I love me some healthy competition, and I'm glad Jill and Nat loved it too. : )  Then after we all got out, there was this amazing smell coming from one of the stands at this farm. They were selling kettle corn, my favorite. So we bought some of that too then went home and Jill made an apple pie for us. Delicious.

Sunday was Matt and Jamie Metzger's wedding. They are on their way to Hawaii soon. It was a Bethel reunion for me and Nat. almost a DR reunion for me too, since Jamie was in the DR with me and invited most of our team. I loved seeing everyone again, and I really appreciate that there are so many awesome people who I can call my friends. "Matt and Jamie," Laura Bulgrien said at the wedding, "are a force to be reckoned with." And that's the truth. They are intensely loving and God-fearing people who shine light everywhere they go, and will continue to, even though Hawaii gets plenty of sun. ;) Their wedding was a good day.

And today was Nat and my five-month-iversary. He made me dinner when I got off work to celebrate. I also got flowers and ice-cream. Then we watched Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in the classic movie, Shall We Dance. But my favorite part of this day was that Nat was here. And I needed him to be. I will miss it when he goes back to Chicago tomorrow. He's been here all week. Luckily for me, he has decided to move back to South Bend around Christmas. That will be great.

Other great news. We're getting down to the wire with the art auction and getting coverage here and there. We have a possible interview with WNDU tomorrow. Nat and I set up some art at the church to get ready for that. Also, we got an anonymous matching gift donation of $3,000 towards the auction! Isn't that amazing?! God really is so good, and he is truly blessing this endeavor, and it will truly bless the New Generation Dreamland orphanage as well. So many praises right now. I need to look past my frustration with grad school right now and focus on God's goodness. It all works together for the Lord.

Currently Shall We Dance By Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, Jerome Cowan see related

So, this is what happens when my boyfriend lives in Chicago and visits on the weekends; we have tons of fun but I don't get much homework done. I need to work on that. This program is serious business.

But my boyfriend visiting is also serious business. When Nat came up this weekend, we went to pizza for dinner (I owed him one from a  lost game of Scrabble), then it began to rain and we had to set up a tent for a camp-out in the backyard with Ryan and Tiff. We were able to assemble the tent in the damp, dark night, between heavier rains. Then by the time Ry and Tiff got there, the rain had subsided mostly and we had a campfire. Those two didn't last the night in the tent, but we did, and then had to wake up early for Art Beat. It was good to hear crickets chirp and smell the damp earth and old tent. Tents just have this weird smell that can either be good or bad, but it was good. We were camping.

We got up in the morning pretty early, had breakfast, loaded the van and went off to Art Beat. I had a booth set up all day for the art auction we're doing in October, Art for the Heart of Africa. We passed out lots of flyers, got an interview and an interested reporter who wants to cover this event. Awesome. We had a good response from people, got the info out and really had a good day, although extremely long and tiring. We were there from 9am to almost 6pm. We booked out a little early. All day we had one extra volunteer to help man the booth. So, we didn't get to wander around too much. But I did make the rounds once and saw the different sites. Steve had a tent on the other side of the river. Our friends from the River Park Arts Community (RPAC) had a spot in front of the State theater.

Once we got home, we just relaxed and watched movies. And today was also good: church, friends, shrimp scampi with the family, a free orchestra concert at Potowatomi park, a little shopping, then cake and ice-cream for Steve's birthday. There's no way I could fit homework in a weekend like that. So, I'll see what I can do now that Nat went home. Good times.

Sitting at the funeral today, I heard amazing stories about a woman I hardly knew. She was sister and daughter to my dear friends. And from the stories I heard and her family I know, I got to know her even more. I only saw Leah maybe 4 or 5 times because she lived in Canada: at her mom's wedding, at Katie's opera and following dance party, at the Salvation Army, and I'm sure there were other brief times. She was wonderful, funny, and easy-going. After listening to family and friends recount adventures with Leah, and all the joy she brought to their lives, I thought, "I would like to hang out with her more." But then I had to change that thought, to "I wish I could have." It's hard even for me to come to the understanding that Leah is gone. I'm sure it's much harder still, far more than I can know, for her mother and sisters and family and friends. I'm so sorry.

Keep the Cunninghams in your prayers.

Grandma, Nat got the job. And everyone else, Nat got the job. Sorry I forgot to let you in on the good news. Anyway, it's with a tutoring program called Brain Hurricane (like a brain storm but bigger). He's recruiting kids into the program now at schools that are not meeting AYP (adequate yearly progress. aka. "failing" schools). Soon he'll start tutoring after school. It's a good job, and he's learning Spanish too! Most of his colleagues speak Spanish, and a lot of the kids at the school he's at are from Spanish-speaking homes. So that's that. Thanks for your prayers.

Also, things are looking good for the art auction. We've got music, a string trio. And food, hors d'oeuvres catered by Yesterday's in Granger. And more art! I'm picking up some more art tomorrow. And we have Art Beat next Saturday to promote, promote, promote it! It'll be great. So, that's what's up. Later.