fauxhawk for funds

I've been home for about four hours. (Does anyone even still check my blog!?) So far I've...

• cleaned out and restocked my fridge (after a quick stop at the grocery store)
• made cappuccinos (we miss Italy!)
• weeded through my work emails (all I did was delete trash)
• transferred PayPal donations (praise God for His provision)
• scribbled a few "I'm home!" emails (if you didn't get one... I'm home!)
• gasped when I saw 767 posts in my Google Reader (uhhh, that's gonna take a while), and ...
• checked out what the interns have been up to on Facebook.

There's lots swirling in my head about our trip, but I'm saving my thoughts till I have more time to write a real blog post. (Or three. Or seven.)

In the meanwhile, if you've got three minutes to spare, check this out. Niel placed a challenge before our interns just days before we left for our vacation:

If they can raise $2,000 for the ministry, they can cut his hair however they want---and he'll keep it that way for their entire debriefing trip!

Wanna get in on the action? You can see the interns' progress, make a donation, and share a suggestion for Niel's haircut right here. And of course you'll see pictures of my husbter's new do on haircut day!

I'm off to unpack!

PS -- I've missed you guys!

let's (not) chat

I'm an anti-social flyer. I'm not one to make small talk with the people around me as I wait (un)patiently at the gate. I don't initiate conversation with those seated around me on the plane. I definitely don't feel compelled to forge any new friendships on my altogether-too-long trip home. In fact, I avoid making eye contact with people I think may be the chatty type. About halfway through the flight, I turned to Niel and said, "That Auntie keeps looking over here. I get the feeling that the moment her eyes lock with mine, she'll begin talking incessantly."

Maybe that means I'm rude. Maybe that means I'm not as concerned about reaching people with God's love as I should be.

Maybe it just means I want to stay in my personal space bubble and sleep.

I survived the flight without any chat attacks.

After we landed, got our luggage, and cleared customs, we drove home (a 3 hour drive). We pulled in front of our house and I walked inside. I haven't been here in five months: in some ways it seemed very much like "same ol' same ol'" and in other ways it seemed very foreign to me.

I walked into the living room and called, questioningly, "Starbucks?"  Our African Grey climbed out of his cage and said, "Hello!" I thought he might hold a grudge for a while since I've been gone so long, but he climbed right onto my finger and let me pet him. He made kissing noises and said "kisses" just for me.

Now that kind of chatting, I enjoy!