Jason.

So, evidently many of you have read my blog closely and picked up on my hints about someone who has become a very important part of my life.

Jason and I were introduced by our families. His sister and my mom work together in Abilene, Texas and for literally months they were nudging us on either side. I totally thought he was too good to be true. I knew he had just moved back from Australia, was a pediatrician, a world traveler, and from Abilene, Texas. At the very least, he sounded interesting – a West Texas guy who had grown up and had some fascinating global experiences.

I gave in to my mom’s nudging only once. I told her, “I will email him ONCE. And that’s it.” Basically I was hoping to sort of pacify her and satisfy the building curiosity about a man I knew virtually nothing about. I was willing to go out on a limb just to learn a little more about this man my mom (and his sister) seemed convinced would be a good match for me.

From his very first email response, I was impressed. He shared a bit why he had chosen medicine, his desire to be a part of global work in the future, and his willingness to entertain the idea of him and I emailing to get to know each other “just to see how it goes”.

Over the course of several weeks, we discovered that we did indeed have LOTS in common. He is driven by a desire to love and serve Christ in life, be actively engaged in global work, and welcome any opportunities to grow and learn along the way. These are the qualities that shine most brilliantly in who he is. He also likes to laugh, is a great communicator, and radiates generosity – all qualities to love in a person. We even figured out that we had the most random things in common: we have both spent time in Kathmandu (Nepal), grew up 30 minutes from each other, went to the same high school hang-outs, and were even in Berlin this past summer within days of each other.

We met in person in early October (the original email was at the end of August) and hit it off. Our first date consisted of him taking me to eat Lebanese food and both of us getting to know the person behind all the emails. Since then we’ve seen each other as much as possible and spent time with friends in Fort Worth and in Houston. All of the friends seem to agree that he and I are very well-matched. That has, perhaps, been one of the best things about this journey…to have friends who are close to me affirm that he and this relationship are something really special. A real gift from God… one that has been a tremendous reminder to us both that a Christ-like relationship is truly worth waiting for.

I’m also now a little bit less skeptical that family and friends really ARE capable of arranging some pretty good dating match-ups.

For now, he’s in Houston. But by July 1st, he’ll be in Fort Worth. I can hardly wait to start hanging out with him in person a lot. He and I both agree that we’d like to hang out in a together sort of way for a long, long, long time.

Absent Blogger.

So I have been a terribly absent blogger lately. Life has just been too busy to take a few minutes and update. So, here's a short one (update) and a few photos to keep the faithful Notice:Nicole readers pacified...

It looks like Spring in Texas! I am very much looking forward to wildflowers on the Texas Highways, exciting family happenings (sister's having a baby and brother is getting married, in that order), and a very special man in my life is moving to Fort Worth soon. So many exciting things to share...

But for now, I'll post a few pictures of recent (meaning last couple of months) events. Enjoy. More later...especially for those of you who read carefully and just picked up on the fact that I have a really special man in my life. More about him very soon.

It also snowed a bit this winter in Fort Worth.

Running in February.

In February, I ran the Cowtown Half Marathon with my roommate. It was a fabulous race - I shaved a whole 10 minutes off of last year's half marathon time.

Since then I've been eating a lot of chocolate cake and donuts.

Just kidding.

To all of you who think of doing something like training for and running a half marathon - just do it!

Also in January, my foursome of friends Callie, Amy, Rebecca, and I celebrated the pending arrival of little Caroline Olivia. Caroline is already here, but here's a cute picture of how she looked in Rebecca's tummy prior to her debut...

In January, I went to Purgatory, Colorado to ski with my grandmother for four days. She's so cool, isn't she? All I can say is that when I am 79, I hope I look half as good as she does on the slopes! She has promised to take me next year too just so she can say she skiied down the mountain at 80 years old. I am SO there.

( This pic from Google Images reminds us that there are definitely appropriate times to ignore calls...)

Fellow cell phone users:
Let’s resolve to always use good manners when dealing with cell phones in the year 2007…

Now that I’m in a very fast-paced and sometimes demanding job downtown, I often use my lunch hour to disconnect and run various errands I’d rather not save for the evening when I’m busy doing important stuff (like hanging out with friends, running, watching TV, etc.).

Today was one of those days when I used the lunch hour to do some important shopping I don’t have time to do later. It was a perfect plan to be very productive and enjoy a short shopping experience…until I landed in line behind a very rude female cell phone user. After spending time chatting loudly on the phone during her entire store experience, she received another call while she was standing in front of the cashier – just in line in front of me. The girl behind the counter had already rung up the items and bagged them nicely when another very important call came.

After listening to a couple of minutes of discussion about which movie the woman was to see this afternoon with her friend, the cashier kindly asked the woman if she should take the next guest in line. The cell phone lady ignored the cashier, putting her hand up as if to say, “I’m busy talking right now. You can wait and so can she (glancing my way)” Even after the woman hung up the call and was digging for her wallet – she had yet to pay – she was dialing again. She spent a total of 6 minutes in front of the cash register dealing with her phone calls and trying to pay for her items. It seemed like an eternity as I watched her failure to give either task proper attention and waste the time of virtually everyone involved…

Fellow cell phone users, let’s resolve to NEVER have a not-so-urgent personal discussion when standing in line in front of other customers at a store. Matter of fact, let’s resolve to choose to not to answer or make cell phone calls while interacting with someone else face-to-face. Nothing could be more inconsiderate, rude, and as we say in West Texas, downright tacky.

Promise to be a polite cell phone user in 2007? Good - me too!
Hooray for 2007 and resolutions.

For other cell phone rants, you should check my friend Malita’s blog. Her 2006 rants on the subject are hilarious…and will make you think twice about your cell phone etiquette.

http://curlsz.blogspot.com/2006/06/get-off-your-freakin-phone.html
http://curlsz.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html (check the Cell Phone Rant #2 in August 2006)

HOLIDAY PICS

My brother Jeff, and his fiance Tara. What a beautiful new sister I am getting!









My niece and nephews

Me and one of my brown-eyed boys!

Merry Christmas!

For some reason I have an annual tradition of neglecting to send Christmas cards. Mostly it is because I have either recently moved, been out of the country - making it difficult to send cards, or simply failed to buy them. So for those of you who keep up with this blog, consider this my Christmas greeting and "life update" all wrapped into one.

This year I am celebrating Christmas with my family - who is now much closer than several states away. I am rejoicing that my life in Texas has been full of old friends and new ones. I am grateful for the many ways God has shown His love and faithfulness to me this year. It has been a good year full of travels and transition. I've had the opportunity to finish a season as a college professor, lead 25 high school students on an international experience, involve myself in a great community of believers in Texas, celebrate my 30th birthday alongside my nine-year-old niece, begin sewing lessons with my grandmother, and start a career as an event planner. It has been an eventful year indeed.

I am truly grateful to look back over this past year and remember that God has given an abundance of good things. May this season be a reminder of how beautiful, precious, and REAL He is.

I pray He is adored by you and yours today, tomorrow, and always.

Dinosaur Bones.

Over the holiday I took my nephews to the Science Museum in Fort Worth. Aren't they cute? And surprisingly brave to pose in front of this very patient dinosaur?

Matthew loved digging for dinosaur bones in the designated sand pit out front. He kept screaming, "Aunt Nicole, I found something!" Every time I would walk over and inspect the rock he was holding and reassure him that, yes, I think he may have been a part of uncovering a very important artifact. The museum is very gracious to allow 7-year-olds to host their own archaeological digs of sorts out front. I'll bet they don't even notice that kids everywhere are taking home pocketfuls of rocks they are convinced belonged to an ancient dinosaur.

If you are in Fort Worth and want to check it out, you too can take home your very own piece of dinosaur bone - or rocks. Whichever ones you are lucky enough to find.

The Coolest Christmas Party Invitation Award goes to...
...Leslie Roberson. She has displayed her party expertise yet again. Check it out. At first glance, it looks like my ipod that got left on the kitchen table...
But look more closely and you'll see that it's a party invitation wrapped up in chocolate. I'm telling you, she should copyright this stuff.

Long Overdue: WE WON

For you faithful blog readers who wondered about the fate of Kelly and I's entry in the pumpkin carving contest - good news! We won. Here's a picture of our reward. We promptly split it up to be used for dinner out or some other unbudgeted entertainment activity. Fantastic!

Update: Thursday's court date in Turkey for Hakan and Turan was really to set a more official court date in the future. No date has been set. However, their lawyer said the government does not have a strong case against them. Turan and Hakan were also able to speak freely of forgivenss for those who have falsely accused them. I'll post future updates as I receive information...

Trial tomorrow in Turkey

Many of you, if you keep up with global news regarding Christian persecution, have heard about a recent case in Turkey. Two guys I worked closely with in Istanbul have been arrested and are facing a trial tomorrow that could result in a prison sentence.

Hakan and Turan, both Turkish and Christian, were charged initially with illegal gun possession (a totally false accusation) and now face three charges: 1)Article 301-Putting down the Turkish republic and inciting riot 2) Article 216-Saying bad things about another person’s religion, 3) Article 135-Gathering and using people’s personal information with out their permission.

Hakan and Turan are working along with other Christians in Turkey to send out Bible correspondence information to people who request it. This is not illegal. Being a Christian is not illegal….but these two were targeted by the local community and the government. They are being charged with offenses that are not true and prosecuted under Turkish laws that have received a lot of scrutiny lately as Turkey vies for EU membership.

The outcome of this case could be a very important factor as the EU watches how Turkey treats minorities. These laws don’t just affect Turkish Christians, they affect writers, artists, and other religious minorities in Turkey. In fact, anyone who might say anything that seems to go against the strong nationalism/Islamic heritage of Turkey can be a target. Several people have been arrested under these laws. If you’d like to read more about the political details of the law and how it affects people in Turkey, check out this wikipedia article.

How should we respond? As people who live in a country where there is freedom of speech and freedom of religion, our first response should be gratitude. Not one of us has to be concerned that sharing our faith will land us in prison in the US. Secondly, if you are a follower of Christ, pray for these brothers and their families. They have displayed tremendous faith and are not worried about their situation. In fact, Turan wrote a recent email that said pray he will face these trials as Paul did, with boldness and faith. The outcome of this trial could affect the Church in Turkey and how Christians are treated in places where Christ is not known. May we recognize our responsibility as the Church to be involved, to pray, and stay informed about what’s going on around the globe.

Sunday Night with Life Group Friends

The women sitting at Leslie Roberson's beautifully decorated fall table.






Nick & Traci - friends and neighbors













Leslie's Centerpiece














Nicole & Amy













Callie, Amy, Amanda & Sylvia

Autumn

At work on Friday we had a pumpkin carving contest and “Autumn” is what my co-worker and I came up with.

Here are some of the reasons we decided to forego the traditionally carved pumpkin:
1. There is a lot of pressure to come up with an original carving design. This natural pumpkin idea came from google. Not hard at all.
2. Cutting a pumpkin with a knife is hard. Hot gluing acorns and gourds seemed much easier.
3. It’s messy to dig out the inside of a pumpkin. Sorry, co-workers, but I’m not willing to get messy at work for the sake of winning a contest.
4. We can label our pumpkin “made with all natural ingredients”.
5. Since the contest was on Friday and the pumpkins are hanging around till Tuesday, we know ours isn’t going to rot. Rotten pumpkins are stinky. And they attract flies too.

Here’s to hoping Autumn wins the contest!

Good food, Good people, Good job.

This is a picture of me and Kelly, my co-worker. She is a lot of fun and really helping me to learn the catering and party planning ropes. This was Friday’s event at The Ashton Depot. We hosted a luncheon for 500 and I couldn’t help but think that I really really like this job. Who can beat a job where you are surrounded by good food, fun people, and parties galore?

How much do you know about World Hunger?

Today is World Food Day, a time to focus on the issue of hunger in the world. I challenge you to see how much you really know about it. Take this quiz published by the BBC.

A Baby!

So this morning I called my niece to wish her a happy birthday before school and I got some other news too...My sister is having another baby! Madison turned 9 today and the twins Matthew and Mitchell are 7. Now they are adding a baby to the mix. This will be so fun!

The kids already asked if they could name it. Their suggestion? Magician. They wanna call it Magic for short. I'm sure they got that idea from some Disney movie or cartoon, but the irony of their suggestion makes me laugh. My sister and brother-in-law are in for a fun ride with a new baby and three little helpers! Let's just hope she doesn't take seriously their offers to help name it...

The Birthday Weekend

For my birthday this past weekend, my good friends Rebecca, Amy, and Callie organized a Girls’ Weekend in honor of my 30th. Friday began with a great evening of pedicures, movies, girl talk, and baked Brie. Saturday was coffee and brunch (with more girl talk), Tea Time at Tempest in Dallas, and shopping at the Galleria. Could I have asked for a more girly weekend? I don’t think so! I loved every minute.
Love those girls.
Love pedicures.
Love girl talk.
Love shopping.
And Love being 30.