A Letter to my Brother

My younger brother emailed me today.  And I emailed him back.  And then I thought I could post that email here so you could have a glimpse of what's going on in my small life.  Because I can't get to this space very often these days.  Twenty-seven days until a jet plane swoops us away.  A new blog will be started once I come up with a catchy name for it.

Hey David,

I hope your apricots were tasty.  Izzy is known for its fig production, if you ever happen to buy some figs.  We had an amazing, powerful time at a conference in AZ last week.  Met about a 150 people who are interested in Chickens like we are.  I loved hearing Chicken believers share from their hearts.  We pray for the spirit to use us and guide us.  I have a lot of peace about moving, even though we are still homeless once we get to Izzy.  I met a woman in the bathroom at the conference who said she'd take care of finding a place for us to stay while we look for a permanent home.  Workers in Chicken are pretty awesome about helping each other.  I'm hoping Mat Kearney makes a return trip to Chicken AND lets us know about it.

Paul's last Sunday is this next one.  Then we're appearing/meeting with tons of folks at our big supporting church a couple states over, then a Sunday off, then preaching at G'castle Church, then we leave 2 days later.  We have lots of dinner/lunch appointments with friends and family in the next month.  Our house is pretty bare.  I'm having a hard time letting go of children's books that I want to bring.  Homeschooling requires a lot of books, but books are heavy.  Paul keeps telling me I have to move more of our learning to online, which is true, but I still think a love of reading is encouraged by having books around.

We had a neat encounter with a Korean worker who wants to plant blueberries at her retreat center an hour from Izzy.  She offered us land to plant them.  I hope to write about it on my neglected blog.  I have much to write about, but I'm in a tired funk.  But!  Tonight a 70 year old lady in our town invited us for dinner and she specifically fried chicken livers for us - for the sake of my iron needs.  Ha.  I ate three, yes I did.  So I'm looking forward to much energy tomorrow.

How do you add a search for Izzy on your news feed?  That's such a great idea.  I check their weather about everyday.  It's warmer than here.

I miss you tons.  Thanks for writing.

Stacey

My Paul

June is Paul's birthday month and we've had fun celebrating him.

He took us to a Mediterranean restaurant one day and to a Turkish one another night.  Delicious and fun to share international food with friends who basically stick to fried American food.

Many local friends dropped by the house with love offerings of cookies.

Peter set up a treasure hunt for Paul to find his gift from him.

A clue under the printer.

Peter gave him a money clip,

something Paul's been wanting to replace his wallet.

I asked Reuben if he wanted to get Paul a gift and he said,

"A cup."

"You want to give him a cup?"

"Yes."

So he picked out this very special set of dishes

for Paul to use as his very own.

Starbucks sent Paul a postcard for a free birthday drink

so we took that on our date last night,

which was also a part of the birthday festivities.

To the Mat Kearney show we went!

Thank you birthday money from our parents

and a free ticket from a friend.

Such a sweet time together.

And for the record,

I predicted Mat would wear a horizontally striped shirt

and he did.

Which isn't really that impressive if you're

up on Mat Kearney.

But still, one point for me.

Our date night continued over to this morning

as the boys had a sleepover at a friend's house.

And now I must go retrieve them.

Good-bye treasured date-night.

Hope you had a Happy Birthday Celebration,

Sugar Lumps.

Ha.

My Friend Mat

We've been friends for several years.  When he comes to town, Paul and I make a point to meet up with him and hang out.  There's always music.  And always a good time.

But sadly, I found out about his wedding six months after the 'vintage farm' gala.  Seems he's not aware of how tight we are.

Here's Mat with his new bride, Annie.
Annie's a sweet name.

You can see snapshots from his wedding in this article at Southern Living.

Love that Mat Kearney.

Maybe you do too.

Apparently Annie does.

And I love that he is coming back to town this summer.

AND he's currently recording a new album.

AND my husband regularly serenades me with his songs.

Maybe he's coming to your town...

You should get a babysitter and go out
with your favorite person.

I recommend standing to the right of the stage.

He seems to face that way the most.

Announcing 2011 Tour Dates with Owl City and Unwed Sailor!

13-Jun	Nashville, TN	Ryman Auditorium
14-Jun	Atlanta, GA	Tabernacle
16-Jun	Orlando, FL	House of Blues
17-Jun	Charlotte, NC	Fillmore
18-Jun	Baltimore, MD	Pier Six
20-Jun	Montreal, QC	Olympia
21-Jun	Toronto, ON	Kool Haus
23-Jun	New York, NY	Roseland Ballroom
25-Jun	Philadelphia, PA	The Mann
26-Jun	Boston, MA	House of Blues
28-Jun	Indianapolis, IN	Egyptian Room
29-Jun	Detroit, MI	Fillmore
30-Jun	Milwaukee, WI	Summerfest
1-Jul	Columbus, OH	LC Pavilion
11-Jul	Kansas City, MO	Uptown Theatre
12-Jul	Denver, CO	Fillmore
13-Jul	Salt Lake City, UT	MacKay Event Center
15-Jul	Seattle, WA	Paramount Theatre
16-Jul	Vancouver, BC	The Center
17-Jul	Portland, OR	Roseland Ballroom
19-Jul	San Francisco, CA	Warfield Theatre
21-Jul	Los Angeles, CA	Club Nokia
23-Jul	Pomona, CA	Fox Theatre
25-Jul	Houston, TX	Verizon Theatre
26-Jul	Dallas, TX	Verizon Theatre
27-Jul	Austin, TX	ACL Live
29-Jul	Chicago, IL	Aragon Ballroom
30-Jul	Minneapolis, MN	Roy Wilkins Auditorium