Things Change....Life Changes!!

Well....I know this is a bit late...and most of you who read my xanga blog already know this...but I am an engaged woman now!!

On Friday, April 28th...Brack asked me to marry him and I said yes...of course!!

The whole story is on our new blog... www.xanga.com/brackandjulie

This means that my life will be changing in many different ways. The first thing is that I will be leaving my beloved Romania next month and heading back to my home state of Texas.

I will really miss the fun and friends I have made here and I hope they know that they will always hold a special place in my heart. To me...Romania will always be my second home and I will never forget it and the impact it has made on my life!! The friends I have made here...both while here with my family, on various summer trips back, and especially this last year...will always be remembered with love and I hope to never lose touch with them!!

The move back to the US in early June will be another change...as I will be finding a place to live and a job in the DFW area....and also begin to plan for a fall wedding!! Thank the Lord that I will be able to buy my car back from the family friends that bought it from me last year...that will be one less thing to worry about when I get back.

Another change is that I am an aunt again...little Luke Aidan was born to my brother John and his wife Dayana on May 4th...a big boy with a big smile and chubby cheeks!! I look forward to being able to spoil him a BUNCH...along with his cousins Lydia and Josiah!!

Another change is that my family and I are basically switching places and it will be another 4 years at least till we are living on the same continent once again!! My mom and dad and the three youngest arrived in Romania yesterday and are getting settled in. They will be working with another missionary family and their children's home.

I have no idea when the whole family will be once again on the same continent together...as my brother Steve and his wife Syrena will be in Korea till next fall and we are still waiting for my brother John's wife Dayana to get her visa so that she and little Luke Aidan can get to the States!!

As I sit here typing this in a net cafe halfway around the world from Brack I can't help missing him and hoping to see him...but I will spare you my gushiness this time...as Brack can be gushy enough for the both of us!! So I will just close this out before I do start gushing...or boring you all with wedding plans!!

Wow!! It's been a while!!

Well....so much has happened lately in my life!! This past month and a half has been pretty full!! I have moved into an efficiency apartment, my roommate Meg has headed back to the States, and I have kept busy teaching English and continuing in the follow-up programs with Livada Orphan Care. If you want a slightly more detailed accounting of what has been going on in my life...check out my xanga...

First big new piece of news...my fam is moving back to Romania...11 years after leaving it last!! They will be working with Bro. Brian Crossley in his ministry to orphans. This time around it will be just Mom and Dad with Beka and Andrew...as Suz will be graduating high school this year and plans to start college this fall. I am excited to hear that Dad is feeling well enough to continue on with missionary work...he had me worried for a while with his heart condition, but he seems to have been doing better these days.

Second BIG piece of news...I have a special Someone now!! His name is Brack and he is a fellow Texan. I actually met him online on a website for current and former members of ATI (the homeschool program that my family is in)...but it has come out since that we do have some acquaintances in common. He is 31 years old, lives just north of Fort Worth, works for his church, and is a moderator on that website mentioned previously. He has already met my family, has spent COUNTLESS hours chatting and voice-chatting with me, and has already indicated that he would like our relationship to progress to a permanent status!! I will be heading to the States next week for a two week visit--during which we will visit both sets of parents!! Please keep us in your prayers---that God will lead in every aspect of this relationship!!

Well, I have now finally updated this page...sorry it has taken me so long...but I will try to keep up with this blog better...at least as much as with my Xanga!!

Addiction

It's funny what different people call addictions. Of course, there are the obvious ones like drugs, smoking, and alcohol. Others that are more secret such as bulimia or cutting. There are the hush-hush ones we don't talk about and which I'm not really gonna get into on here.


But then there are the ones that people don't really think about as addictions...such as a morning latte from Starbucks, or that donut you just can't go without at Sunday morning fellowship time, the regular daily or weekly phone call from a family member or close friend....stuff that while you don't really think about it...is also an addiction...and you would miss it if you couldn't have it.


I think I have got an addiction now...one that may cure itself soon from sheer busyness!! About a month ago I was able to join a site on the internet that is just for those who grew up using the same homeschool program as I did. It is pretty cool because we kinda know where everyone on there is coming from and I've already made a few friends from there. (Hi to any of you Crossings peeps reading this)!!


Anyway, this site has forums where people can post messages on just about any topic under the sun...and if there isn't one on the topic you want...you can start a new one!! I will admit to feeling an urgency to check this site at least a couple times a day to see what new stuff has been posted, posting multiple posts at one sitting, and even staying up most all night a couple times to keep up with the posting...since most of the people posting are in the US!!!


This addiction will probably begin to cure itself soon, as not only will I be starting some new ministries soon, but the place I will be moving to may not have internet connections right away…and it will definitely be mostly cured come summer...when I will be away from internet connections for long periods of time!! Meanwhile I have been coming up with creative ways to catch friends on there without losing out on precious sleep…such as going to bed a bit earlier and getting up earlier…which is actually a good habit anyway!!


Anyway, these were just my thoughts on the subject…now I gotta go see what has been posted since I started writing this blog entry!! JK!!

Spring

I want to apologize for not being a bit more faithful to keeping this blog up to date...that being said, at least I am trying!!

As you can see, the title for this entry does not match with the picture. The picture was taken last week when it snowed a LOT!! Fortunately, the very next day it began to melt off. Spring is on its way...but with some days warmer with a blue sky and sun, and other days with grey skies and more of a nip in the air. Today is one of the grey days!!

Please keep me in your prayers as I have been having headaches and migraines more frequently. I bought some homeopathic stuff the other day..hoping it will help. I'm also gonna see about having my parents send me some more Excedrine migraine medicine. If they continue I may need to go to the doctor here. Please pray that the headaches clear up soon.

I am keeping busy with English classes. I now have a regular schedule...requiring me to be at the English school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9am to 1pm and on Tuesdays from around 11am to 1pm. We will be having a bowling night with all the students this Saturday...a chance for us to get to know our students better and open up opportunities to share Christ in a non-threatening environment. Many of our students are white-collar workers, mostly middle-aged, who have been raised as nominal Orthodox, so we have to tread carefully as we share our beliefs.

I also have been continuing with the two programs for orphans with Livada Orphan Care...Saturdays at the girls home in Zau and Mondays at the boys home in Petelea. These children are so fun and sweet!! Last Saturday at Zau when some of the older girls were playing a game I was able to take 3-4 younger ones off to the side and color with them and had so much fun talking and laughing with them. Monday we played "hot balloon" at the boys home in Petelea...hilarious!!

I haven't had a youth night in a while, but hope to really get started with things once I move at the end of March. My roommate Meg is heading back home to the US, so I am taking this opportunity to search for a better apartment. I am willing to pay what we are paying now for a two bedroom apartment and pay that for a one bedroom...as long as it is a better apartment and better furnished. Going six months with no refrigerator, no stove except a gas hotplate, and no way to wash clothes is a long time!! I really want to find a place a little more centrally located that's furnished at least with a stove, fridge, couch bed, carpets, and a wardrobe...and hopefully a washer too!! If the apartment doesn't have a washer, then I may have to buy one...but I at least want the apartment to have a stove and fridge!!

Once the apartment situation is resolved then I will be having the youth nights once a week, and will be starting a girls club and a beginning English class...both to meet once a week. I have some materials for the girls club and the English class and am really looking forward to getting them started.

Well, I'm gonna close this entry out...my head is hurting and I think I will take a nap...thank the Lord for days off!! God bless!!

Funny Cat Escapades

My roommate and I have a couple of kittens. Mine is named Hayley and she was a little bundle of tiger-striped fluff when she was tiny. She is going through an awkward stage right now though as she is growing up...her fur is getting sleeker...it's just not there yet...so it kinda sticks out all over!!

Meg's kitten is named Starbucks and she is a white and black spotted cat with very large expressive ears. We actually looked up what she is online and she is what they call a "cow cat"...with maybe some abyssynian characteristics. Her ears let us know if she is mad, embarrassed, happy, etc. It's actually quite funny!! She loves to ride on shoulders, poke her head around the shower curtain when someone is showering, and hide under blankets. Some of these characteristics are common to her breed...but she is rubbing off on Hayley!!

Hayley is a more gentle cat...she loves to sit still and cuddle forever and is always striking a cute pose. Starbucks, on the other hand has a lot more energy and is always trying to rile Hayley up. They have been known to have mad chases through the house and "discussions" as to whose toy who has!!

The two of them have weird food addictions. They LOVE popcorn!! We buy it pre-popped and flavored and we can't even walk through the door with a bag before they are weaving around legs and meowing for some!! Whenever I have young people over they get a big kick out of throwing popcorn kernels down just to see the kittens go nuts!! They also love this instant pudding that Meg and I found at a store over here...last night Meg let Starbucks have at her almost empty mug of pudding and it was so funny cause that little cat kept getting pudding on her face and sneezing...but still kept on eating it!!

These silly little kittens will also beg for or get into any other people food they can get their little paws on...pizza, mandarine orange slices, sweet bread, regular bread, pasta of any type, chocolate cake, you name it...they love it!! About the only things that we have discovered they don't care for is pickles and olives...and that is only because they already begged for and tasted them and didn't like them!!

They also have some other strange things they love to do. We had a basket in the bathroom, right by the radiator pipes, that we kept extra rolls of toilet paper in...not anymore!! They decided they wanted that basket for their naps and now anytime we forget and leave a roll or two of toilet paper in there....they shred it to pieces!! They also have a weird fixation on Q-tips and twisty ties and would rather fight over and play with them than with the toys we bought them at the pet shop!! Once, Meg forgot to close her Q-tip container in the bathroom and we came home to find about 12-15 Q-tips scattered around the hall...in various stages of destruction!!

Anyway...we sure do have some strange kitties...and now you know just HOW weird!! And now, of course, I sound like a total old maid...talking about her cats!! Oh, well...I get my entertainment where I can!!

What Happened?

I really wanna know where January disappeared to....it seems like it was New Years just days ago!! This month just FLEW!! Here are some of the things that have happened this month:

*I don't work at Kiwi House anymore. The powers that be decided to go with a strictly salaried staff from here on out...no more volunteers. So I haven't been working there since the beginning of January. Even though I don't miss the diaper changing and such....I really do miss the babies!!

*I am an English teacher!! Who woulda thunk it? I am SO not teacher material...it's one thing teaching a Sunday School class once a week, or doing a few weeks of camp counselor...but I have never seen myself as the teacher type...especially not to adults!! I started the very next week after my last day at Kiwi to teach at another foundation. Right now I teach one class of over--50's from the gas company...Intro English!! Starting in February I will have one more Intro class (which the biggest challenge for that will be getting up in the wee hours of the morning...it starts at 7:30am)!! This last week I subbed for another teacher who hasn't arrived yet, and may have to sub again next week...hopefully that teacher will arrive soon!!

*We FINALLY have internet at the apartment!! Yup, we have now had internet in the apartment for about two weeks!! It took them long enough to get around to installing it...almost three months!! But now it's up and running. We still haven't managed to figure out how to set up the wireless, so we have cables criss-crossing the living-room floor to our laptops....but hey, it's cool anyway...we have internet!!

*I am still going to Petelea on Mondays and to Zau on Saturdays...except when things happen to upset our schedule....such as our van being in the shop...so we aren't going to Zau tomorrow...thus the late night!!

*I worked up an invite to the Friday Fellowships at my apartment on Publisher this past week. I'm gonna print out an original copy and then make copies off of it soon, cause they will start being a weekly thing this coming week.

*I dyed my hair a couple weeks ago...it looked cool, but it was just temporary...so my hair is almost back to normal...just in time to dye it bright red for Valentine's Day...just kidding!!

Speaking of Valentine's Day...let's just forget about that this year, okay? I will be thirty this year and with one solitary exception have never had a special Valentine, so I'd rather forget that particular holiday. So this will be the one and only time that I will refer to it this year, okay? For those of you who have valentines....congrats and have fun...but let's not make too much of this holiday, okay?

Okay, on to more interesting stuff. I really am hoping to make a regular thing of blogging...AND I love to take pictures and can take them easier now that I have a digital camera...so I am trying out quite a few different places for friend networks, blogging, and posting photos. So far I have these places listing me on their site lists...Yahoo 360, Tickle, Ringo, Hi5, Friendster, Bebo, MSN Spaces, MySpace, Angelfire, Xanga, and Blogger. Anyone who knows anything about these sites who can help me figure out who offers the best layout for content, your help would be appreciated!! I wanna try to get all my blogging and pics on just one site or two...but we'll see!!

Anyway....even though I don't have to get up so stinkin' early tomorrow...I still need to clean the apartment and get some clothes over to a friend's house in the AM to get them washed, and it is already almost 5:30am!! Whoa!! I need my bed now, people!! So I'm gonna close this out now... take care one and all!!

Happy Birthday, Everyone!!

Hello once again from the beautiful country of Romania!! I take this opportunity to sent a big Happy Birthday out to everyone in my fam with birthdays during this holiday time!!

Yup, my family has TONS of birthdays around now...Mom and my bro-in-law Michael are in November and my littlest bro Andrew in January. But the biggest months for birthdays are February (my sis Melody, Aunt Brenda, sis-in-law Dayana, and both of my grandmas) and December (Dad, my bro Steve, my bro John, my sis Rebekah, and my new little niece Lydia)!! It makes for an interesting holiday season, let me tell you!! Plus, this Christmas Eve my parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary!!

Well, my Christmas went by pretty quickly...since all I really did was go caroling!! Fortunately, everyone got the white Christmas we were hoping for, so it was very pretty outside for the holiday (it snowed almost non-stop for two days)!!. I went caroling on the 24th and 25th...getting home after 5 am both nights and then sleeping most of the day on Christmas and the day after!! My roommate was out of the country for a week and so it was just me and our two kittens and the cat I was cat-sitting for a friend!! I ate a McDonald double cheeseburger meal for Christmas dinner!! Hopefully next year I will get to do the works for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas to make up for this year!!

Anyway, I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon (Dec.31) with a bunch of youth from church to go to the mountains for 3 days to celebrate the New Year...we will be having Bible studies during this time, but everyone will also have plenty of time for sledding, snowball fights, and other winter activities. Should be fun!!

I am doing fine otherwise...I've recovered from my embarrassing fall on the ice last week!! I think I sprained a finger this week and I am hoping that my last wisdom tooth hasn't actually decided to start growing, but I am doing fine besides. I think I beat a cold..hope so anyway...by drinking liters of orange juice and dosing up on vitamins and cold medicine...my head is finally pretty clear, so that is awesome...no sniffling on the mountain trip!!

Well, this will be it till the New Year rolls around...so I will take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy New Year...here's hoping next year will be all you are wishing for and more!! God Bless!!

Happy Holidays...And God Bless Us, Everyone!!

As I write this, it is almost 6 am...which means that even though I slept in yesterday I have still been up for almost 20 hours straight...so please bear with me!! I am at an internet cafe downtown in the "bustling metropolis" of Targu Mures, Romania!! Once I head home I will need to air out my jacket as it is beginning to reek of second-hand cigarette smoke!! (On a side note, if I make it back to the States after my stint here WITHOUT lung cancer from all the second-hand smoke...it will be a miracle)!!

I have some awesome family news to impart...as of one week ago...I have a new niece!! Her name is Lydia Claire Cordero and she is a little beauty!! I was able to talk to the biggest chunk of my family on the internet this evening and to see most of them via webcam...it was absolutely great...and definately helped me to bear being away from them ALL for the first time EVER (usually the barest Christmases included at least my Grandma Seale, my aunt Joyce, and a brother or two)!! Next year Steve and Syrena have promised to visit at Christmas and the following one after that I will be home in the States...so yeah...this will be my loneliest Christmas.

Anyway, about getting to talk to my family...I was able to talk to Mom, Dad, John, Dayana, Michael, Melody, Susanna, and Rebekah. Poor little guy Andrew was feeling sick, so he only waved from across the room at the webcam. I also got to see the new little one Lydia and to see how my "big boy" nephew Josiah has grown!! It was SO good to talk to them. Suz and Beka are both insisting that they will have enough money to come here for next summer and I don't doubt but that Suz will at least...it remains to be seen whether Beka will be able to hold onto her money that long!!

I still plan on getting my previous newsletters posted in here one of these days soon...so keep an eye peeled for that. I also want to get some more pics on this page...but that will most likely have to wait till I get S&S to send me some of their wedding pics, M&M to send some pics of the babies, and my digital camera to arrive!! Yes, my Christmas present to myself...(thanks to Steve FINALLY sending my support in a lump sum this month)...is a new digital camera and a super-duper 512MB memory stick...so everyone will FINALLY see pics of TM and of the babies at Kiwi House.

My apologies to anyone who has just stumbled onto this site and has no clue whatsoever what I am talking about...but again...once my newsletters and a few more things get posted on here...it should be easy for you to figure out what in the WORLD I am talking about...maybe!! But then again, I can be pretty random sometimes!!

All right...now to the main reason I was gonna post today!! I want to wish all of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope you have the best of time this holiday season!!!Think of me when you eat your Christmas dinner...hopefully next year I can actually bake...pray for my next apartment to be fully furnished (or at LEAST have a stove and fridge included)!!! I pray you have an awesome time this holiday season...and that no one else falls on their backside on ice that is hidden under the snow and gets stared at by all the passersby!! Okay, that happened to me Thursday and I'm still sore!!

Anyways, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and GOD BLESS!!!

Adventures in Missionary Life!!

I wanted to start a blog so that people could better get an idea of my life as I am on the field of Romania. I really thought I knew a lot about being a missionary...having been a missionary kid (MK) for most of my life...but there is so much more involved in actually being a missionary...frustrations, misunderstandings, the pendulum swinging from boredom to sheer chaos in no time at all...it is fun and frustrating at the same time!!

What I want to do is update this whenever I can and then maybe take from all these tidbits when I go to do my newsletters...so for those of you who get my newsletters, you will probably recognize a lot of my info from the blogs...so I apologize in advance for repeating myself!!
God Bless!!

JULIE