Roast chicken and potatoes(oh yeah, and a pan of stuffing!) is in the oven and dinner is less than thirty minutes away. But will I let that stop me from attempting to update y’all on the awesomeness of the last few weeks? No, I will not! So no messing around and no tangents and no randomness from me today…I will just let my fingers fly in correspondence with my increasing hunger.

Anyways, I have several updates, seeing as I haven’t written in quite some time.

Update Number One: Yes, I am back in Scotland now.

Update Number Two: Yes, I was in Florida last week due to some visa complications.

Update Number Three: Wait…wasn’t I supposed to be in Oklahoma City by this time? This is true, but due to some business needs here in Aberdeen, turns out I’ll be here through the end of July!! Actually, I almost ended up in Singapore, but Cameron figured it’d be easier to keep me here. And no, I don’t know where I’ll be following my time in Scotland. I’ll keep you posted.

Update Number Four: Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our awesome and most holy God blesses me ever more abundantly than I could ever ask or imagine. Oh wait, that’s not an update. That’s always true!!

And now that the bullet point updates are out of the way, I’ll expound a bit on my Great Florida Visa Renewal Trip of 2011!! Cameron knew that my visa was going to run out…but somehow I still found out on Monday(yes, TWO weeks ago) that I’d need to be back in Florida for a biometrics appointment and visa submittal to the British Consulate in the States. So two days later I found myself on a flight back to Florida!!

I told my parents I was coming…but pretty much no one else(bar a few of you Scotland people!). So my parents picked me up Wednesday night at Tampa International and I walked in the house to the shock of Laura and Katharyn. Their faces were a sight to behold…following the reunions, enjoyed some of mom’s spaghetti and enjoyed being with my family even more…

Thursday, I didn’t get to sleep in, nope. It turned out we were planting grass at the church, so my dad took me along to help him lay down the hay on top of the grass to protect it while it germinated. I ended up getting a sunburn my first day back in Florida. Yep, I got skillz. That night, rested with the family a bit…and the following day after a pancake breakfast, up to Gainesville I drove! And why did I go to Gville? Well it just happened that Friday the 15th is Maryanne’s birthday, and I just could not pass up the opportunity to give her a happy birthday surprise! I haven’t been in Gville since Rob and Laurie’s wedding December 2009, so it was so weird making the Tampa-Gville drive and then driving through the oh-so-familiar streets. Took me about an hour to find parking near campus(yep, no change there)…finally I gave up looking for legitimate parking and parked at McDonald’s near the corner of 13th and University Ave. I bought an iced coffee there…so fair enough, right?

I then walked onto campus grounds…feeling the oft-trod paths under my feet and exhilarating in my return – it wasn’t even that hot(yet). So I let the breeze caress my face while I slowly proceeded towards Turlington. Maryanne was supposedly(according to my informants – thanks Mom!) eating lunch at Subway with a friend, so I ended up near there. I really wanted to call her and pull a Bourne(“Maryanne, you look tired. Get some rest.”) but because she’s a good friend, she kept eating lunch with her friend Sarah, not answering her phone! After attempting to call her phone about 12 times, I walked towards the Subway…about 10 feet away, she looked through the door and saw me…yeah, her face was priceless. “What are you DOING here???” We laughed and hugged and it was SO GOOD to see her again!!! Happy 20th, Maryanne!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah then graciously left so we could have some time together, so me and Maryanne grabbed some Subway and ate out on the Plaza and caught up(a little!) She finally had to go, so I left her and went to get my car and go meet…RobG!!! I had called him the night before, so we’d set up a meeting at the CSC. I drove over there and found him inside at our old study corner…and it was amazing. It felt like I’d seen him 15 minutes ago…not 15 months. He bought me a java chip chiller and we talked and talked and talked…obviously I can’t really recount that here, but know it was epic. Oh God has poured out grace on him and Laurie exceedingly…and well, I just can’t express how blessed I feel knowing him and having him as a friend. Laurie came down eventually and so got to talk with her some too!! Eventually, Rob had to leave(for an overnight youth trip), and so then I dashed to the Hub to see Chris real quick! He just might have been a bit shocked to see me, but we got a few minutes together before he had to close down work. I went back to the CSC and Laurie and I made our way to my next stop…Dan and Betsy’s!!! I had also called them the night before, and they’d assured me I’d always have a place at their house. So me and Laurie drove over(on the way, Laurie called Mary…who upon hearing I was in town decided to join us at Dan and Betsy’s for dinner!).

Arrived at Dan and Betsy’s…Dan opened the door, and oh it was good to see my brother and friend again. We then decided to walk down to the store for some supplies for dinner(walking is always better than driving, no??) and on the way, ran into Betsy driving home(who was listening to Absolution in my honor – yep, she knows me!) Me and Dan walked to the store and back, talking and enjoying each other’s presence all the while…

And hm, now it’s time for me to take my dinner out. Apparently I don’t type fast enough!! But, I will let it cook a little longer while I try to finish up. Operative word: try. I’ll speed this up a bit!!

So me and Dan and Betsy and Laurie and Mary enjoyed dinner together…and we stayed up past twelve talking…about pretty much everything, from deep matters to light. We had fifteen months to catch up on!! And so I found out what they’ve been up to(a lot) and they got the low down on my life(yep, a lot!) And most of all…I just rejoice in the LORD that I have friends and family such as them that any time I see them…I can bask in their fellowship and love them and be loved. Oh good times. Again, words cannot express.

And I just checked the oven and the stuffing is slightly burnt, eek!!! I think the inside parts will still be good, but I am a tad bit annoyed. Burning food is most definitely not my favorite thing. Anyways, while the food cools…I’ll just finish up with my Gville trip…Saturday morning was spent disc golfing with George and Laura Lebo(with Dan’s Beast disc…which he gave to me afterwards. I love that disc!!). For some reason, even though I haven’t played disc golf in ages, I played better than was my custom. Weird? But I’ll take it. Also got to hear a lot about what George and Laura have been up to…

Soon enough, dropped the Lebos off and then stopped by at Dan and Betsy’s to change my shirt. Oh Florida. Then back to campus to pick up Maryanne!!! We had decided we must have more time together, so we gleefully Starbucks-ed, browsed book stores…and finally finished off our time at Five Guys. Which is THREE MINUTES WALK from Stoneridge. WHY was it never there when I actually lived there? Well, maybe that’s a good thing. Anyways, my sister Maryanne is indeed so dear…I love her so!!

Finally, finally, I drove back to Tampa. And the next few days would take a while to describe, but be assured that they were just as sweet as my Gville trip. Spent oh-so-delicious times with mom, dad, Laura, Katharyn…and above all, soaking in the grace of the Almighty. I wasn’t quite sure why the Lord wanted me back in Florida for a week, but I was determined to make the most of it. It felt like a gift of the Father, indeed.

And now, it really is dinner time. This was not a short update. Oops?

Dance in the beauty of this glorious world, y’all…dance and laugh and sing. And glory in our God!!!!