I have not been the best about blogging on the odds and ends that are going on in our lives lately. Now that my part-time "stay at home"/part-time "world traveling" husband is officially back to work I thought I would share a quick recap of the past few weeks.
We have officially launched The Village (www.dustinsvillage.org). This is an all-girls supplement to Dustin's GreenHouse that focuses on changing the power of influence in the lives of teenage girls. We have a team of 12 students that meets collectively twice a month, once for life coaching exercises and once for service based learning. Each student is also paired with a mentor and our mentor-pairings participate in weekly activities: phone calls, text messages, dinners, cooking classes, etc. We've been up and running for about three months now and the experience has been incredible. Our girls are learning so much about themselves, some are participating in summer internships and they are in the process of making a significant contribution to a local organization called Kids Path. (More on that soon!)
Dustin's GreenHouse is also going full-steam ahead! The 2010 team leaves for South Africa today! I am so proud of the program my parents and the other leaders have put together. The Globetrotter Program continues to break barriers and introduce students to life-changing environments. If you'd like to learn more about the 2010 kids, here is a link to their profile page: http://www.dustinsgreenhouse.org/2010-globetrotters.html and they will be sharing their journeys on www.hopegrowshere.blogspot.com.
On a family front, I had the unique privilege of having my husband home for a couple week-days in June and July. Prior to his trip to South Africa for the World Cup, he was in Greensboro for an entire week! And following his return I got him for another 5 days straight. It was bliss! We had dinner together, did chores, played chess, rocked on the front porch, talked, played with Addie, went on date nights, played golf, visited parents... We were like normal married people!
As I alluded to above, Mike headed to South Africa June 25th - July 6th where he joined the soccer crazies - vuvuzelas, Shakira's "Waka, Waka" and all! You'll have to ask him to tell you some of his stories. (They are hilarious and I fear I won't do them justice if I try to re-tell them here.) I will tell you that he said the Ghana v. Uruguay game was one of the best soccer matches he has ever been to in his entire life. Other memories involved late night clubbing, hanging with kids, scalping tickets, drinking and driving, a disruptive "chicken," chasing Africans on foot, paying people to not rob your car and spotting the big 5.
Since Mike was away over the 4th of July, a dear friend of mine adopted me for the holiday weekend. In somewhat last-minute fashion (big surprise) I spent part of the weekend with her and her mom at Lake Raybun in Georgia. Talk about Americana... holy cuteness! It was like stumbling upon hidden treasures. Families were everywhere, grills were hot, boats and boat docks were adorned in red, white and blue. We went to a blue-grass community picnic Saturday night and to boat church on Sunday morning. I wish I would have had my camera (it was with Mike in SA); the experience was truly unreal. After a big breakfast Sunday morning we headed back North East to meet the other side of her family in Grandfather Mountain. (No, it really does not get more perfect!) We spent the next two days enjoying more food, family and fireworks. We even got a round of golf in on Monday, and believe it or not, I was about 6 inches away from having my first hole-in-one!
So that pretty much concludes the past month weeks in our world. I will do my best to get a few pictures up soon. Don't forget to keep your eyes on hopegrowshere.blogspot.com. Their adventures promise to put mine to shame!
