long time no read...

This is blow up doll, Wayne. He lived with us for a while, he posed with us, and he attended our holiday festivities. He was viciously stabbed and deflated a while ago, but he is slowly healing, and might be back to his old self soon. He now stands guard at our front door to ward off the un-welcomed ones. He's a nice guy.

So, life is busy for us all. It has been a long time since we have written, so here is a brief update on the going ons of the Poplar 5...

Dan has been dutifully and relentlessly studying for her boards that are coming up. Along with being in school with clinicals, she is still working a bit at the Loft. It's unbelievable how hard she works, it wears me out. I will be thrilled for her come May when she graduates.

Kitty, meow, has been at the grindstone as well, studying night and day, day and night. One of her favorite study spots is the 'bucks of course. And of course she saw Doc there with his "lady friend." Kitty always seems to attract the neighbors. I don't think I've seen Bert up close, ever, but Kitty is consistently telling us of her awkward, weird conversations with him.

Mans has been working her tail off, as well. Nannying from the wee hours of the morning till early evening on most days, then working in the Mound on other days. Exhausted everyday, she still is willing to stay up, watch a movie, and have a nice glass of wine with us. She's been helping out in Jr. High small groups all year on Sundays, and has started coming on Wednesday's too! It's great having her around, and she pays such sweet attention to the girls.

Aly has been working at the church, studying and hanging out with kids. She's always on the move and sometimes we don't know where she is. She got 2 new pairs of glasses and contacts are on the way! Mabel has been running strong, and lately has been decorated with tissue paper and toilet paper...of course when Aly gives kids a ride anywhere, they find some thing in her car to hang out the window or decorate the visor with. She has gotten to play with the babies recently, and is going to CALIFORNIA to visit all her family this semester. I am so excited for her.

I have been busy working as well. It seems most of my time these days is spent in the office, working on calendars, mail outs, e-mails, phone calls, etc. etc. etc. But, I will say that this week has been a good one for contact. I love writing notes to encourage the girls. I think letter writing is a dying art. What feels better than coming home from a hard day and rummaging through the mail and finding a letter with your name chicken scratched on the outside by a long lost pal? Ok, so a lot of things might feel better, but you get the point. ANYWAY, I wrote a few of my girls a note last night with a verse that I thought might encourage them specifically. After breakfast this morning, as I dropped them at school, I handed each of them their letters. One of the girls has been struggling with having horrible friends and feeling like a horrible person. I told her in the note that my prayer for her was that she would know who Jesus was, that He came to save the sick, and not the healthy, or the "good" people. On my way home, I got a text from her telling me "thank you" for the note. She also said that she didn't know if she loved Jesus, but she wanted to! Joy of my heart! Oh, my insignificant wretched self can be used by the Almighty to help someone see who Jesus is! I cannot even begin to explain the longing and heartache I have had for this girl who is so hopeless and downtrodden, and for her to see that Jesus is hope and joy and want to love Him is the only thing that matters in this job, this life.

Our Spirit is on the move in our church, in our families, and in our kids. I want to see more.

egd