It's been a long time coming...

Well friends...here goes...my first ever post...
Trey did the first one a mere seven months ago.  It has been on my "To Do..." list for at least seven months.  I kept wanting it to be gorgeous and brilliant and so many things...but alas...it is just going to be.  My plan is to post every Sunday evening some the highlights (and possibly some of the lowlights) of our new life here in Serbia.
I've decided to just list some random observations that I've made during our first 10 weeks in the country.  Some are funny, some are sad, and some are kind of boring.  I hope at least one or two will be a little insightful.  I hope you enjoy...
*We serve with an awesome team of people who are fun and helpful and loving and forgiving.  I look forward to spending as many years as He allows on the journey with them.
*Sometimes you get offered whiskey really early in the morning from the principal of the school.
*Salsa, Dr. Pepper, and ziplock bags would make life here pretty near perfect.
*You really should wear tight jeans and big glasses to look like a native...I've embraced the big glasses, but am sparing the world the tight jeans.
*It is amazing and humbling and glorious to hear praises being sung to the God of the universe in new languages.  It doesn't matter that I don't understand the words yet, the message is one I know well.  Holy is the Lord who is worthy of our praise!
*It is fun to get your hair colored when you speak 42 words of Serbian and the hairstylist speaks 42 words of English.
*Sometimes it is nice not to understand what people are saying to you in a really angry voice.
*Tulips are beautiful everywhere.
*God is good, all the time.
*It is good to know the right chicken lady and egg lady and pasta lady and meat guy and banana person and cheese lady and plastic bin person and spinach guy and so on and so on...a wonderful woman named Lidija (Lydia) has taken me to the market and introduced me to many things and many people.  What a blessing to have someone teach me.
*Graffati gets less annoying after a while...I've learned to appreciate the stuff with cool lettering and no bad words.
*Organizing a cabinet and figuring out how to save 10% at the store still makes me very happy.
*Everyone needs to know Him.
*It takes longer to do everything.  I'm less productive, and so I'm learning to focus on what is important and not what is urgent.
*It sounds like the space shuttle is launching from our bathroom when the washing machine is on the spin cycle.
*Ice cream tastes better here.
*Lots of people say, oh...you are from Texas...John Wayne.
*Chad Marsh has a twin brother who drives a bus here.
*Nine year old girls have clothes drama in all countries of the world.
*Six year old boys still love star wars.
*Twelve year old boys still don't love to shower.
*An amazing forty year old boy still does super great things to keep his wife sane...(doing dishes, buying a cabinet for me to organize and figuring out how to call the special taxi to get it home, carrying the vacuum all over town because I asked if he could get Brooke on his way home, flowers for no reason...I could go on, but I don't want to embarrass him.)
*This thirty seven year old woman still has amazing friends and family and serves an amazing God who is teaching her so much on the journey.
*The sun comes up at 4:30 a.m.
*There is a hair salon, bakery and pharmacy every 15 feet.
*One kilo is a lot of cheese!
*We love it here.  When we are in the van coming to our new apartment 10 weeks ago Kyle said, "So, this is Serbia...I've been waiting my whole life to get here"  and that is how we all feel.  For such a time as this.