Well, I suppose I should give an update on my life, since it has been a great, long while.

Herbie went back, and is now in his training. I got a post card from him earlier this month, but that is the last I've heard. I know he can do well if he can calm down enough.

I am settling in to my life here at Verity. I have 3 roommates, and I heard today that we have the most "interesting" room. Apparently, they think we are an unusual combination of personalities. We get along well, but we've have had some random things happen after curfew.

So far, I have taken two tests, one in "Analyzing and Interpreting Literature" and one in "English Literature". Boy, I tell you, there are some loony authors out there! However, did you know how Sir Francis Bacon died? He caught a chill when he was out stuffing a chicken with snow to test his theory of refridgeration. Was the chicken dead? 

I get to start a course in Biology next week, and also a class on American Lit. I've heard that American Lit. is even loonier than English Lit. This should be interesting. I also have to give a speech next week, a 9-11 minute speech. I considered talking reeeeaaaaalllllyyy slowly, like a taperecorder running out of batteries, but I don't think that would go over well.

So long, folks. Live long and prosper.

Well, Herbie has been "invited" to return to Guiding Eyes for the Blind. He is 14 months old now, so I have been waiting to be told when he has to go back. Actually, he is being considered for breeding, which would be a very high honor, indeed. I'm not holding my breath, though.. Very few of the dogs they consider actually become breeding dogs; most of them end up going into regular training. I'm not sure what to think. Herbie really needs something to keep his mind occupied, or he gets mischievous. I think he would be happier as a working dog. If he doesn't make it as a breed dog, he will be "transferred" to regular training.

I'll miss my sidekick. I'll miss opening my door to find him lying there waiting for me; I'll miss him coming to tell me that he'd finished his dinner; I'll miss taking him shopping for candles and handcream (he loves to smell all the different kinds); I'll miss walking into church, or Walmart, or the gas station with him; I'll think of him every time I see a grate in the road. It will be weird to not have him anymore, and kind of lonely, too.

However, strange as it may be, I am relieved to have a date for his return. I really wanted to be able to finish what I started with him, and not have to pass him off to another raiser. That brings me to another bit of news...

I have been accepted to attend Verity, starting in the beginning of September. Right now, I'm planning on majoring in Biology. So, if Herbie leaves in August and I leave in September, I'll have managed to work with him all the way to the end.

And now, I have to go get him. He has been running like a maniac through the house, and just got in trouble....again.

Well, I may not be as wise as I was before, but I survived and that's a good thing. God was really good, and my teeth came out without trouble. Recovering, however, was an adventure. I was able to bring all four teeth home, so technically I'm not sure if I really "lost" any wisdom. Now I have to figure out what to do with them....

One year ago today I was on my way to Malaysia. That is amazing to me. I wonder where I'll be a year from now, what kind of experiences I'll have had, the adventures I'll have had, the memories I'll have, and the things God will have taught me. This past year has been good, and God doesn't stand still.

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming – WOW—What a Ride!" 

    ~Unknown

The Day

Tomorrow is The Day. It is the day I go to the dentist to have my teeth pulled. It also happens to be the day that my sister gets home from college. Wouldn't you know, I'm not supposed to talk after this little procedure. How am I going to manage? How am I going to get Hannah to understand all the things I want to tell her, without opening my mouth very far, and without speaking? Can you scream with your mouth closed?

I received a surprise today: I came walking in all unsuspecting, and my brothers pounced upon me to tell me that I just had to listen to this song. They had found it in a CD from Pensacola Christian College, of all places. The song? "A Place in the Choir"

Ahh, what a week.

It started on Monday with a trip to the dentist. I don't mind going to the dentist, but this trip was special. See, we have been keeping an eye on my Wisdom teeth for 3 years now, to see if I'll be able to keep them or not. They started to come in, but after looking them over, Mama had rather grim predictions. So, I went for another xray, and lo and behold, the xray showed that my jaw isn't big enough. I have to have all 4 Wisdom teeth pulled. But wait...what about "keep sound wisdom and discretion" and "Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom"? Besides, I'm rather attached to those teeth.

Yesterday, we had the first lambs of the year born, and I got to help deliver them. The mother probably would have done fine without me. Sheep have managed to survive for decades, even centuries without me, you know. I couldn't stand to see her push and push without much progress, though, so she pushed and I pulled and together we got them out. The lambs were so cute! I was almost as proud of them as the mother was, but I was not about to do all that smacking and licking and cleaning them off with my tongue. There are some things only a mother will do.

"When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."

~Harriet Beecher Stowe