native tongue

Aradhna: Namaste Saté

Namasté sate´ sarvalok-ashrayaya
Namasté chité vishwarup-atmakaya
Namo adwait tatwaya muktipradaya
Namo brahmane vyapiné shashwataya

Ultimate Reality, we greet You
In you the whole Universe is held together
Your life fills every nucleus that has ever been created
You dwell in our flesh and bones
Your Great Liberation is to bring us into loving oneness with you,
so full, that we can no longer feel any separation between us
We greet you, O Supreme One, all pervading, and eternal

it is WAY too late for me to be blogging, but we just got home from baton rouge, and it takes me a bit to wind down and be able to fall asleep... and i was thinking about this, so why not? hopefully i will be coherent :) (also on a sidenote, we passed a DWI checkpoint on the way home, and i was driving (because charlie falls asleep at the wheel because he is, in fact, a pawpaw) but the sheriff accused him of being drunk. because he looked so tired. my poor husband was not built to stay up past 10! and i find that quite endearing about him) (also glad for checkpoints even though all the drunk people know about them and avoid them) (that topic's for another day.)

Aradhna. i've know about this band since my freshman year of college and i immediately fell in love with them. they're "missionaries" of sorts, even though i believe some, if not all, of the men have lived in india/nepal at some point. what is so beautiful about their ministry is that they do it so relevantly. basically, as i understand it, they take one of the worship forms of hinduism, and bring it back to Christ. they take the "language" (vocally and culturally) and use that to express what a relationship with God is like. i find it incredible and very moving... i was able to go to two concerts when i was in college and they were beautiful. we all sat closely on the floor and worshiped.

it reminds me of how Paul handled things. he took a city's "unknown god" and turned it into a lesson about Christ. he took what they already knew, and made it relevant. this happened in acts

or how about how God allowed the wise men to find baby Jesus? God used their knowledge... their systems for doing things... essentially their astronomy or astrology (probably a mix of the two) and led them to the good news. He didn't have to do that! He didn't have to speak in their language... but He chose to.

just like He ultimately chose to "speak our language" by making Himself human. pretty awesome, and not to mention humble, if you ask me.

i hope you'll check this band out.. i just really love their music (which is beautiful) and their method (which is probably even more beautiful).

Desert Song

one of my all-time favorite songs.

VERSE 1:
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

VERSE 2:
This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

CHORUS:
I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

VERSE 3:
This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

BRIDGE:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

VERSE 4:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

there is always reason to praise God! I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand!


i've been busy lately... i impulsively (kind of) drove home for easter... it was much needed. and awesome to be with my parents and celebrate my little sister's 20th birthday! when i got back i had to cram for a test (woohoo) which i did well on considering i didn't really study. then i had to finish 2 projects for different classes. and today i found out that i don't have to take my final for one of my online classes because of the tornado... i feel bad that i am so excited about not taking the final because it definitely comes along with the devastation of Tuscaloosa.

readytobefinishedwithclasses. aaaaaand way too excited about trying on a bridesmaid dress tomorrow!

April 27

April 27th. one of my very first memories. i was 4. (should i be worried this was one of my first memories?) Mom and dad dropped Susan and I off at a cousin's house EARLY early in the morning while it was still dark... I watched them drive off looking out the window. The next day we were taken to meet our perfect baby sister, Stacy!

She was the CUTEST KID EVER.

Lover of ALL animals...

Very imaginative and the baby of the entire (extended) family.
She was a good sport to dress up and be silly with us. Obviously much cooler than either Susan or me :) (Yes, I am wearing a mustache.)

Look at her little hand! She brought so much joy into our family.. always talking about going to the "theeeeeeatuuuuuuhhh." (theater)Very smart... and a great reader.
She also had (has) this way of making friends with others everywhere she goes.

Nicknames galore... bean (skinny like a bean-pole), toto (that one was my mistake... maybe you could be honored I named my dog after you?), Cupie, and Lovie, just to name a few.
And then, she started to grow up. beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
And such a hard worker.
She definitely completed the Galbo-family.
Stacy, I so appreciate your friendship.
You are passionate, full of life,
And you're a heart-breaker... so so beautiful. But on the inside and out. I can't imagine the many ways God will be able to use you as an attorney with your willingness of heart to bring His Kingdom to the broken.
God has such good plans for you, Stacy. I can't believe you're in your 20's now! I can't wait to see His plan for your life come together... it's going to be awesome.

Duck, duck turkey

There's a wild turkey in our backyard. I'm blogging from Russellville, by the way. What is a wild turkey doing in our backyard? While we do have empty fields beside and behind our house, we ARE kind of in the middle of town. Mom called us all out on the back porch to listen, and after the first few gobbles (okay... Not gobbles.. The other sound turkeys make...) my dad declared that it must be someone with a turkey call camped out in our back yard or in the ditch or something. So my mom yells into the darkness "you got me! I was excited we had a turkey... You fooled me! You can stop now! You fooled an old southern girl!"

So then we were slightly creeped out that someone was sitting in our backyard turkey-calling us.

So dad camped out on the porch and listened. For about an hour. And the turkey kept calling.. Never made a mistake.. He's actually still calling as we speak. I suuuuuuuuuure hope that's a real turkey out there. But really? A turkey? In our backyard? I hope he can find his way home.

it's the pms talking

i've been cheating.

i haven't actually posted anything over the past few days... just videos of things. whoops.

i've been thinking a lot lately (i actually think i'm just thinking with my hormones! ha!) i sometimes wish i had more control over my life. for instance, i am excited about the next two years, but at the same time i am really not excited about the debt and hoursandhoursandhours of schoolwork, and starting over again, and the cold (that everyone keeps reminding me of), and leaving friends here and possibly having to spend summers (the most beautiful time in minnesota) away from charlie. i am ALSO extremely not thrilled about the practical side of me that believes i will have to work for at least a couple of years full-time to justify going back to school; meaning it will probably be 4 years before charlie and i can start our family. NOT EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

charlie and i took crawfish to some family friends in slaughter the other day and stayed and visited for a while. my friend's dad was asking us about having kids and i told him our 4-year plan and he laughed and said, "i wouldn't plan too thoroughly, God has a way of changing plans in my experience." which is VERY true. i KNOW it's true. and i really wish planning and being rigid wasn't something i felt like i had to do. but looking at our life and the next few years... i just don't see another way.

part of me wishes that i had figured out a way to become a dietitian in college or that i had just sucked it up and used the past 3 years to work on it... even if charlie and i had to acquire some debt to do so... but how can you really regret those types of decisions? i know everything went like it was supposed to.

2 years is NOTHING in the span of a lifetime... 4 years really isn't that long either...

but right now it kind of feels like forever.

homesick

a sigur ros kind of mood

our wedding song...
Ára Bátur
Row Boat

you've tried it all
yes, a thousand times
experienced enough
come through enough
but it was you who
let it all into my heart
and it was you who
once again quickened my spirit

i left, you left

you stir up
emotions
in a blender
all out for all
but it was you who was always
there for me
and it was you who never judged -
a true friend

i left, you left

you sail on the rivers
over the old years
leaking badly
fighting the waves
can't help you
floating in the sea
asleep on the waves
a light in the mist

fedup

"those who know their God will display strength and take action" daniel 11:32

this is my new verse for the rest of the month. it is so packed with implications and application, i'm not even going to go there. but think about it.




i may regret this severely, but i was just thinking about how dorky i was when i was in jr high/high school. my (tall) friends erin, kelsey, an i used to be in occasional skits on 'that one show' which was the local college's weekly tv show. we became friends with the guys who did the show and they invited us to be in a music video they were putting together.

aaaaaand. probably the most embarrassing part is when i do air drums? they didn't tell me they were filming? aaaaand. go ahead. i know how bad it is. but this definitely makes me laugh.

good ole' 2001.

can't... stop... blogging....

so, i suppose the official 30-day challenge is over. but i still feel this need to blog for some reason. i don't even really have anything to say!

it's been fun to blog. at first i didn't really have anything to say, but as we went along i would think of things during the day that could possibly make a nice little anecdote or thought. i love reading back on old blogs. just like any old journal... i don't know why i like it so much. maybe because i have a poor memory and need it to be jogged from time to time.

apparently someone has hacked into and stolen my old hotmail address. i have SO MANY old emails and memories in there. it makes me sad to delete it... but someone keeps spamming people even though i deleted my address book. i can't bear to erase it :( my oooooold emails from charlie are in there! including... the pictures and emails of the birthday cake charlie cooked me for my 21st birthday in costa rica. how can i possibly delete that from my life? ever?

barbara ann

this is a memory (namely for susan) because i don't know if anyone else in the world would think this was funny...




when we were little, my dad would drive me and susan places... and he would start singing this song, and i guess susan and i HATED it, because we'd start trying to sing over him. and you know what song we selected? i'm guessing the most annoying thing we could think of. it was a Nickelodeon commercial for yogi and booboo. the tune is to something famous, but i can't remember the name or composer of it... but let's just say it was annoying with us screaming "yogi and booboo yogi and booboo yogi and booboo weekdays on nick!"

my dad was such a good sport...

love, not obligation

i was talking with a dear friend tonight about relationships and marriage. we were discussing expectation, and how the person you date is the person you marry who is the person they were (mostly) before you ever started dating. haha follow?

expectations are scary things. there are things i do for charlie that i would never evereverever have done without him... however, he doesn't demand them of me... i volunteer them. that's because i love him. he does the same for me.

for instance: i have gone crawfishing with charlie on multiple occasions... because it's so important to him.

charlie has picked blueberries for me (while i sat under a bush in the shade and ate them! :)) because he loves me.

he is also moving to minnesota for me! and will go with me to cooooold places to visit my dear sister and her family.


i have gone fishing with charlie AND gone to grand isle because it's his heart.


and charlie played with poodle puff... well. just because she's cute :) and to impress me.

why

i like to help people. sometimes whether or not they want help.

i also am a HUGE fan of justice. err... maybe i mean "fairness". but probably a combination of both.

it is, at the very least, mentally and emotionally -painful- for me to see people in desperate situations. i can easily place myself in their shoes and realize that my life is only different because of the circumstances i was born into. and the grace of God that allowed me to hear His voice and make some good decisions with the resources i had available.

i have never felt more helpless than i did in costa rica and nicaragua. i could see people suffering and in these... dire situations everywhere. and i didn't have a skill or a means to help them.

this is a video i took on our way out of the landfill. it was heart-wrenching to know that i could leave and that these 50 families were stuck here... most likely forever.



their job, as a community, is to sort through the landfill looking for things to sell or recycle to make money. they wear sandles. in this filth. you should have seen the infections and diseases.


even if they can get out of the community (and walk to the nearest city) to look for a job, their clothes have been dried in the stench of the landfill (which i was told was horrendous) and so they are labeled. and are never offered jobs. essentially, they are trapped.


and then you meet people like her. who deserve a good shot at life... who deserve to have their basic health needs taken care of... who deserve to know that they are worth more than someone who lives in filth.

this was their pharmacy set up in their school. they may need a pharmacy, yes... but they need to know basic things about hygiene and healthcare.




and that is why i have to go back to school.

huh?

this is an actual sentence from the notes for my test tomorrow:

Oxidation of the alcohol produces a keto group that's beta to the alpha C that's linked to -SCoA.

Thank you, Jesus i'm finishing this class tomorrow.

2 years ago...

i was just thinking about our wedding. and honeymoon. i thought charlie may have proposed to me about 2 years ago this week... but i think it was a little later in April (i forgot that we -technically- planned our wedding in only 3 months! i thought it was 4 or 5! although we definitely started planning... ohh... when we officially started dating :)) but i'm very thankful our official engagement was short. i loved everything about our outdoor ceremony, reception, and honeymoon. everything was just perfect. and with the perfect man! thanks for proposing to me, charlie loup!

beef.

we had a wonderful dinner with some friends tonight in pointe coupee parish. it was fun! (and kind of strange to be with no one i'm related to.. that has happened very rarely in the last few years haha)

i was trying to think of fun little memories/anecdotes from my family growing up. for instance: after we ate chinese food, we'd all crack open a fortune cookie and look at the "lucky numbers"... whoever had the highest number got to drive home (no matter what age!)


here we are at bethel seminary in minnesota. education was always very important to our family. my mom as a teacher... my dad working on his master's degree while we were middle-schoolish and now his doctorate now that we are older... my sister pursuing her doctorate in physical therapy... most of my cousins obtained masters degrees, and we were always encouraged (and rewarded) for doing well in school. it's important to us. i always assumed that i would get an advanced degree at some point in my life. it's hard to balance everything in life as it is, so i'm so thankful i have the opportunity now before life just gets more and more complicated and busy. not that going back to school is NECESSARY... and it's definitely not a money issue (although it gives me peace to know i will be able to provide if the need ever arises)... we're just a family who loves to learn!

it's yo birfday

happy, happy birthday, dear mother-in-law! i am so thankful for you for many reasons!

#1. you raised such a precious, awesome man! i am SO thankful for everything you taught charlie about God: listening to Him and having a relationship with Him. it's created the foundation for our 13+ years of friendship.



#2. Not to mentioned the rest of the great family you are such a firm foundation for. I appreciate how much you love them and courageously fight for them to fulfill everything God has for them. You're a great mama.


#3. And you welcomed me into the family! You were my first friend and confidant in Louisiana, and I will always appreciate our long talks. You have such a great way with people... making them feel special and important and like God cares about them, too. Thanks for the many times you've let me laugh, cry, and "work" with you!


We love you, Mrs. Annie/Mom/Mimi/Gammy! Happy happy birthday! We're so blessed to be a part of your family!

Currently listening: Twothirtyeight

charlie actually picked out the above selection ^ and it's very, very loud! however, he is currently cleaning the kitchen so he can listen to whatever he wants to as loudly as he wants to! :)

i'm trying to figure this summer out. some friends from college may? possibly come? for a weekend? sometime this summer? i would like to spend a week at home with my parents, stacy, susan and caleb! (and of course charlie and al if they can make it..) we also really need to go to minnesota to start figuring things out. and i want to go to kansas city to see the new hunt household once they get moved in. PLUS i have friends in nashville, pittsburgh/california, and dallas that i haven't gone to see! ugh. if only money were unlimited and i didn't have to work :)

i hope charlie enjoys minnesota as much as i have in my (limited) experience. i think he will, but that must be kind of scary MOVING somewhere for 2 years that you haven't even visited before. fortunately, he's laid back and patient, and i feel positive he will transition well (probably better than me!)


crystal... this is for you, in honor of national breastfeeding month and my little sister's birthday month! around the time this picture was taken, my mom overheard me say to stacy, "okay... you can try, but i don't know how much you'll get!" wasn't i sweet for offering, though? haha

in case of emergency

i skipped class tonight. it was AWESOME. charlie and i took the puppies for a run through the ponds and spotted the spoonbills again. one of the pairs has lost each other though :( i hope spoonbills have meeting places in case of emergencies.

my dogs bring me so much joy. punkin, who still has a hurt paw :(, runs as furiously as she can to keep up with the other two. she's definitely smiling the whole time, too. she runs and runs and as soon as she catches up, the other two are on to the next thing.

moomoo hops like a kangaroo through the tall grass on the pond embankments. she comes home completely soaking wet, without ever having swum. punkin wants to play with her SO badly, but she is more focused on following rufie.

rufus. that goofy, rufie dog. he chased an opossum, raccoon, and rabbit through the weeds. charlie and i would see said animal run out of the weeds, and rufus would still be sniffing and searching for it. he'd come out a minute later with a victorious smirk on his face like he conquered the creature.

the new picture on my banner ^ is a favorite. i wish it had the whole "family," but i highly doubt we'll ever be able to make the three of them sit still long enough and face the same direction at one time. so punkin will have to do.

i'm having a hard time finding words right now on the only serious thing on my mind, so i guess this will have to suffice.

currently watching: friday night lights

sooo charlie and i just sat in the dark for the last 3 hours. that was fun. right when we were getting up to go to bed, i got off the couch to let pernky out to use the bathroom, and loandbehold the lights came back on. right as i was standing in front of our open living room window in my panties. niiiiiice.

i have had a massive headache since friday. i'm hoping with this weather coming through it will be gone tomorrow. Please, Jesus, pleeeease.

currently reading: Nutritional Biochemistry

i got to spend the morning/afternoon with some of my favorite people. we had amber and john's engagement shower today.

i also really like events. i love setting everything up and getting things ready and the anticipation... and i even love clean up. (when you have a fun/efficient group to clean up with.) and get to take home leftovers! today reminded me of my college years with iLead (the leadership program i was seriously blessed to work for.) we usually had around 15 events per semester which we repeated each year for each class in the program. we had big events and small events, but we ALWAYS had food at them. i miss that. and my director friends. and my mentor/boss, becci.

when i first moved down here i was offered a job as an assistant event planner for a non-profit in baton rouge. i was SO tempted to take it (and it paid REALLY well....) there was just something not right about it, so i turned it down. but everything worked out like it was supposed to (or else i might be a nurse now, EWWW!), so it's okay, but i was really happy to work on this shower over the weekend! i had a really good time!

blahg.

today i helped all the loup-family women (actually... i think it's glynn family women) get ready for amber and john's engagement shower tomorrow. i dipped and decorated petit fours (mrs. annie is probably as patient with me as her dear son)... i think they turned out alright. afterwards, we went out to the crawfish ponds with Aunt Pat and Aunt Sharon to look for some wild flowers. i was really excited and definitely wanted to tag along in the golf cart because going back there and seeing all the beautiful trees and water and birds and wildlife is quickly becoming one of my very favorite things to do.

as you read earlier this week, i missed seeing the roseate spoonbills the other day. charlie said they never come this time of year, so i would probably miss them. but on our ride collecting thistles and other swamp plants, we approached and slough with 4 feeding spoonbills! and they must mate and stick together because they were very obviously two pairs of birds. when we got too close for comfort, they flew way up in the air and circled around until we left. i was... ecstatic. it was like the happiest thing that had ever happened to me (Dramatic, i know. i told my mom this story and she said it's in my blood to love birds, but she's just thankful that i can finally appreciate nature! i may or may not have slept the whole time we went to the grand canyon when i was in high school...?)

but anyway... in my not-so-distant past i went through a dark time. i couldn't think of ANYTHING that made me happy. a good friend recommended that i do something that made me happy every day... and i couldn't come up with anything. even things that used to make me happy. i felt... purpose-less... discontent... and just... unhappy. at the beginning of the year i felt like God said things would change this year... and i feel like it's true. dark times don't stay dark forever. hard times are relieved by lighter times full of joy. (i even think my hormones are more balanced thanks to my insulin-resistance diet!) I feel... happy and content and thankful. thank you, God!

April Fools Day

charlie did this WAY better than i ever could have...

so this is what you shall read...