Saturday, February 13, 2010

'til we meet


our branch (church congregation) meets once a month for family activity night. this month we said goodbye to our missionary couple, the blackhams. i'm so glad i got the chance to get to know them. so strange to think that they're now back in our hometown of glendale, az. we also welcomed our new missionary couple, the cases, from brigham city, ut! they seem awesome. i really like them. the night was spent watching slide shows and singing songs and eating great food. and regretting that i didn't get more time to put up that stringy banner.





 i was talking to a very sweet old lady that night and milo announced to the world that "she has a vampire tooth!" i'm hoping she didn't hear. please bless she didn't hear.

the branch is my favorite thing about this place.

22 comments:

Eliza said...

amazing banners

Ashley Seil Smith said...

our ward is one of our favorite things here as well

Michele said...

You have never met me, so don't think I am totally crazy, but I am Jamie's cousin- I found your blog via my sister Melissa's blog- you often leave comments to her that I love so I checked out your blog. I love it. I love the banners- they're beautiful. I think old ladies like vampire teeth so it's okay if she heard. :) Your pictures are always beautiful and I am beginning to love your branch too even though I don't know any of them. I know you got a ton of comments on your glamorous life post, but I just want to let you know; one- you make a bad day beautiful. two, I have so been there and if you ever need to vent tell me! The Caribbean is beautiful, but we all have bad days. We lived in Germany for 3 years and I had no car and two little toddlers. There were "bad German days" as I called them. Somedays were hard because having toddlers is hard, and not having a car is hard, and not having red vines is hard, and feeling like you stick out like a sore thumb is hard, and living in a new culture is hard. I felt like I couldn't tell anyone either because I didn't think anyone would understand or would think I was totally ungrateful about getting to live somewhere else cool like Europe. It's okay to have a bad day and just lay down on the floor and stare at the ceiling and cry a little, and when your kids ask you if the weird african masks and coconut statues and feather collection in a vase on the wall or whatever they were that belong to the people who's home you are temporarily renting for a couple of months scared you, it's okay to say yes they are way creeping me out because they really do and your daughter says "it's okay mommy, they scare me too" and hugs you and then you can cry more. Okay, that last part is my story, but hope you get the pic. There will be bad days and frustrating days and there will be absolutely beautiful days too- when you feel like you are living in dream; no matter where you live. There was culture shock moving back to the states too- but that's another story. Keep blogging the good and bad, you do it beautifully. (If you want to find me my blog is beeblogaloola and you can get there via Melissa's blog & maybe Wendy's).

sweetlissybug said...

Brigham City!? I grew up in Brigham City! You can see if they know Roger and Nancy (my parents). They don't look familiar to me, but I haven't lived in Brigham City for a long time. We live in a very small world sometimes don't we?

David and Shalynna said...

I'm jealous of the food you described. Possibly my favorite part about branch activities was the food. Caribbeans know how to cook!

I watched Sense and Sensibility this week after finishing the book and LOVED it! I thought about you because I know you are obsessed with it. :)

I sent your package, but who knows how long it will take to get to you. I hate that they make you write the contents on the customs form, so in order to not ruin the surprise I say don't read that part of the label.

Sarah said...

good job on the banner ab!

abby said...

i should've made clear that my friend beth printed the banner out. so she did most of the work. i was just supposed to put it together. not very well!

amyegodfrey said...

These are great photos! Jamie is a kid magnet. Your branch sounds wonderful.

angela hardison said...

the banner is awesome. also, your blog header... rad.

i've always thought it would be so fun to live somewhere with a ward/branch like that. i feel like i'm lacking a little culture in arizona, you know? enjoy it for me.

kate said...

what a rad branch!!

i'm still giggling over the vampire comment. hilarious.

A Sunday Kind Of Love said...

hello abby! thanks for your lovely comment! i replied on my blog, but just in case you don't see it, yes there is a new sense and sensibility (a miniseries so it's long!) and it is AMAZING! i highly recommend it.
also, that vampire tooth comment is awesome. milo must know that vampires are so in right now ;)

(and the little french girl i used to babysit loved the "sweetie" game. i don't think she really knew what she was saying, but she would always turn to me when we were walking somewhere and say "hello sweetie" in this creepy english voice. to this day, that's what i think of when i think of her).

robin said...

abby, can you email me? i have a question...
robinladle@hotmail.com

The LaLa said...

Just to make things symmetrical on your blog -- we welcomed home the Blackhams to our ward today. They sat two rows in front of us. She did give me an extra hug from you! Must have been a huge culture shock for them because it was our ward conference, which would have seemed like stake conference to them. Your branch looks like a Charlie Brown sincere-type branch where everybody comes to all activities! Awesome. Can't wait to hear Ben and Sally's report on their mission. Hugs!

Ju said...

This comment is refers to the posts below:
I'm with you in the way that I blog for myself, my family and for my kids to see what they were up to once they grow up. It is nice to have people commenting and we can then share some thoughts. I don't blog ever to make money, or to brag some freebies. It's just not me, so I relate to what you were saying; and like you, sometimes, reading other people's blogs makes me feel inadequate, just like I felt in high school occasionally. But then I remember, my real life it's not only about blogging... and I'm happy again.
If you want a nice ad free button, you can check this site http://www.adfreeblog.org/.
I love your pictures btw.

tessa said...

Such a small world. We enjoyed the Blackhams as a missionary couple in the Bellair Ward. How fun to see their faces all the way over there with you. Don't kids just say the darndest things? I've tried to train my daughter not to say in an exaggerated stage whisper, "Is that a boy or a girl?" when she sees a black woman with short hair. It's happened more than once. Thanks for the fun stories.

Jacob said...

how fun!! how did you guys choose to go there for med school?
loves!
britt

Bethany said...

That's awesome!

Wendy said...

Going through withdrawals here ... ;-)!

Wendy said...

Michele--I just read your comment (I don't usually read others' comments) and it was BEAUTIFUL.

Anonymous said...

have i ever told you that your tumblr page is really awesome? well, it is. and my secret (or not so secret) goal is that someday i'll be reblogged by abby.

kayleen said...

this makes me love the church.

and i didn't want to have to do this, but my husband is making me tell you that you live in his old mission. there. name dropped. bam.

Michelle said...

abby! spencer and i are the biggest fans of your kids! why are they so darn funny! we got a good laugh out of the vampire tooth! please send me your address so we can send you a package:) love spencer and michelle