The Emmerts

Went to a picnic yesterday for the Emmerts. The Emmerts are our friends who are living in Kebemer, Senegal in West Africa. They are missionaries with Missions: Moving Mountains. They are back in the states until the end of October. We became friends with them close to 10 years ago. We met them in Sunday School at church. We've had some great adventures together. Of course those were all in the pre-kid days. Now when we get together, we have fun reminiscing about those days and make fun of ourselves about how life is too crazy right now to make new memories!

Saturday night they got to speak at church. They were given the entire "sermon" time. As I watched them, I was so proud of them. I was proud to be able to say...those are our good friends! God chose them to leave their family, friends, home, and everything they knew and owned here in the US and go to Africa. And they said yes! How incredible. How scary. God has blessed them so much because of their obedience. I think it's incredible that they even heard His calling. I am so wrapped up in myself and my own life that if God called me to be in missions I would never know it. (Although I know we're all called to be in missions.) It was great to watch them up on stage. Kendall has always been able to play on her audience's emotions...make us laugh or cry with her raw stories. She's not embarassed to share anything. As I watched Andy I wondered if he has always been such a great speaker...or if it's something he's developed over the past 5 years.

They have 2 kids and another on the way. Sophia is exactly 1 month older than Lucy, Sammy is exactly 1 week older than Grace. And Kendall is having another baby that will be about 3 1/2 months younger than the boys. She has a friend Mara that is on the same baby making schedule as us! The few chances I've got to hang out with them this summer have been so great. Kendall and I have very similar parenting styles. (A lot of my thoughts on raising children came from Jody - watching her raise her boys before I had my own kids.) It's actually encouraging to watch Sophie or Sammy throw a fit and refuse to obey their mommy...because that's exactly the stage Lucy's in right now. And to watch how Kendall reacts to the situation makes me feel like I'm not a freak...there's someone else out there going through the exact same thing I am.

Some great memories we have together include going on a 3 day hike with the Christy's...packing everything we own in back packs, including all our food, clothes, sleeping gear, tents, fishing gear, etc. As we were following the trail to our first destination, we crossed a street...and then another. So what was supposed to be a secluded hike in the middle of no where ended up being not so secluded. They all brought this "yummy" (ha) food that you add water to. Not me. I brought eggs, bacon bits, cans of ravioli. But we all ended up going back to our car and hopping on one of those roads and driving to the closest pizza joint our last night there.

On New Years Eve 1999/2000, we all went to the Abbey Hotel together. We spent $160 per person for the worst dinner I've ever eaten! It said we'd be served lobster, beef and chicken. Well the lobster was a lobster loaf with the gel around it, the chicken was like a bratwurst, and the beef was a steak so small you needed a magnifying glass to see it! But we had fun anyway. Leading up to the night, we all took swing dance classes with Bruce Brown. And we all bought fancy clothes.

On the News Years Eve the year before, we all hung out in Iowa City together. The most memorable part of the night was getting stuck in an elevator!

Went camping at Sugar Bottom in Coralville.

We've had a ton of great times together. A lot more could be said...but the babies are hungry, it's 10 PM and I've got to go!