no need to say goodbye.

Now we're back to the beginning

It's just a feeling and no one knows yet

But just because they can't feel it too

Doesn't mean that you have to forget.

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger

'Til they're before your eyes

You'll come back when they call you

No need to say goodbye.

-Regina Spektor "The Call"

I have come home. It is so good to see little faces and give kisses eight times a day to each chubby cheek, and pull Grace onto my lap or ruffle Levi's hair. It's good to be eating homemade food again, it's good to sleep in my own bed, it's good to talk with Sarah after getting in our pajamas. It's good to be with home-people, speaking of home-things, seeing home-sights...Georgia's pretty but Virginia's gorgeous. Just sayin'. ;) Abigail Taylor came up Thursday night after we got home, so I haven't had a long time to get Campaign-sick yet. She's amazing enough herself. <3

We also ended up getting together a group of home-people that I hadn't seen for at least a month, which was so much fun! We went to see the newest Batman movie, and (after I got over my temporary theatre-fear :P) I really enjoyed it! The themes of heroism, courage, and A Tale of Two Cities will be discussed in a different post. Suffice it to say, I liked it very well. :)

But despite all these things, I will admit it that a sensation of Missing Them is lurking, and I didn't expect that. :D I miss my guys and girls that I spent such a long, eventful month with. It's crazy how quickly you grow close to people when you are working together with a common purpose, a common goal, and sharing the same life. :] Thankfully I expect to see a good many of them again someday--homeschooling, Christian, political circles just aren't that cavernous, and I am fast becoming a believer in the 6-degrees-of-separation idea. I mean really, I just discovered that I'm two degrees away from Michael Phelps! (A friend's cousin is Brandon Hansen--a guy on the US Olympic swim-team which means he would know Michael. :)

I have had so.many.memories on this Georgia trip, and though we did not win the election, I cannot in any way say it was a waste. Not when I flip through  my mental scrapbook. Not when I picture Autumn giggling or John laughing, or Zach's happy-dance. Not when I remember the many sighs and laughs and exclamations, or all the thousand-and-one stories of going door-to-door.
These people have made indelible prints on this summer of memories, and I hope I will linger in their thoughts awhile. :) I know they've effected me!

I'll never again eat Skittles without remembering Wyatt Fairlead.

I'll never smell Axe without recalling the Axe-opinion war I waged with Micah.

I'll never hear the words "Eagle-stare" without remembering my first day with Autumn.

And I'll never ever ever hear anything about 6-packs without thinking of Katie. 

Even though the girls we had were few and far between, I got to be great friends with Katie Frost, Autumn B, Bridget, and Mamie Carlstrom. You girls were awesome, and when you were around we had larks by the bucket-load. I love you! <3

But a huge thank-you goes out to my hotel boys. These dozen or so guys made life as the only girl at the hotel simply amazing. The surprise birthday party...the literary discussions...the anticipation over Olympic events....you've spoiled me, guys. You were such gentleman that I really am missing you majorly.

I actually had to open a door by myself...two of you were always there to do it in Georgia. 

Since coming home I've kinda lost my Royal Retinue...I always had a pod of 3 or 4 of you wherever I went. It was fun being your Queen. :)

I'll have to look for fashion in the Belk-ads now...Jere and Stephen, you definitely gave us some laughs.

I've gone back to doing laundry at home...Nystrom boys...you'll have to get your own laundry soap from now on. ;)

Russell...no one can sleep as deep as you. Period.

Ian...Bumble-bee kilts and you are forever paired in my mind.

I now know a deal about loose-leaf tea, Southern soul-food, Pentatonix, Kansas, and why I don't run marathons. Thanks, Zach. :)

Elijah...you with the face. That's all.

Justin...you make a splendid Puddleglum, even when you're cross. And you can run like nobody's business. You and Zach should race sometime.

I just wanted to let you guys know how much getting to know you blessed me. :) You turned what could have been a lonely, drab hotel time into a grand and glorious hullaballoo. You were entirely awesome and I'm still smiling over my month. And thank you, Jesus, for bringing our amazing team together. Thank You for blessing us with Your grace and letting us bring You glory, even through what we see as a defeat. You are amazing, God. :)

Olympic-love

Creme de la creme! I think that is supposed to me "Cream of cream" in French, but I use it in the same manner as I use "Good grief!" which is to say, it appears in Rachel's Dictionary like so:

creme de la creme: an expression used to denote extreme surprise, exhaustion, etc. Usually paired with a raised eyebrow.

Now that you are informed of the proper usage, I may continue. For some reason the hotel internet will not work in my room. I have concocted a brilliant plot in my head as to Why. Some crazy techno-chap is in the room next to us using up all the internet. ;)

At any rate, I am downstairs writing this blog post while talking with Mamie and Charles. We are all excited about watching the olympics tonight. :) Unfortunately we won't be at the hotel to watch them on the t.v.--we'll be at dinner--but hopefully we can find them online somewhere, or come back not too far into the show. I am dead-set on hearing a Scottish accent. Honestly, the men don't know how easy it'd be to catch my eye--or ear, rather. All they have to have is a tolerably passing Scotch accent and I'm theirs. ;)


I've never been able to tell which Olympics are my favorite. I think I change every four years...when Summer comes around I swear those are my favorites...then winter comes and I swing back in the other direction...I'll have to limit it to my favorite sporting events:

the ice-dancing finals:

men's figure-skating:

swimming:

girls gymnastics:

men's beach volleyball:

downhill skiing:

speed-skating:

fencing:

Golly. I love it all, it seems! :D Anyhow, I am so excited the Olympics have come around again, and that they are held in my beloved Britain! But Team USA is still my favorite--in fact, I'm wearing my blue Team USA t-shirt and some red lipstick and some gold, glittery eyeshadow just to celebrate the opening ceremonies tonight! Let's win as many gold medals as we can! :)

//Further chronicles of the south//

Hello darlings! I'm still down in Georgia, and am presently enjoying a quiet hotel room before heading out to The Varsity this evening. :) (It's supposedly some amazing, All-American greasy burger place that is entirely famous. :P) It is also supposedly the world's largest drive-in restaurant! We'll see how it goes. My 20th birthday was on Friday, and the dear guys went all out for it. It began with a wonderful package from my family--you can read about that here--and went on to include being treated fabulously all day. :) 

My glitzy package. :) <3

Toward the evening some people were needed to run down to the office and map out a precinct or two--initially I was not going, but then Daniel changed his mind and asked me to come along. At first I was suspicious that something was afoot, but after getting down to the office and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I forgot all about it. 
We got back to the hotel and Daniel tried his key in the door--it didn't work. He then told me that Ian (one of our guys) needed me to help him with the laundry machines. I went to the second-floor laundry, but then Daniel called me back: "He's on the first floor!" So I tramped downstairs to the first-floor laundry and was almost there when Daniel came dashing out of the elevator: "He's actually on the third floor--sorry!"
At this point it was midnight and I was exhausted. I began despairing over Ian's sanity--I mean, what 18 year old guy can't figure out a laundry machine? But I am the unofficial hotel-Mama (the only girl in a group of 11 guys!) so I knew I had to help. ;) Then Daniel took pity on me. "I'll get it," he said. "Just come in and put your stuff down." He fit a different key into the door and swung it open. All at once a loud chorus of "Happy Birthday!" filled the air and the light-switch came on. :) Brandt, Justin, (two of our home-guys) and John (An Arkansian--and a twin! :) had stayed awake the whole time we were at the office, and had decorated my room with all the things Mama had apparently sent. :) 

They did an amazing job, and I was so touched and blessed by their forsaking their sleep to wait up for me and give me their little gifts and cards. It was so much fun! Zach (another of my boys) had bought a huge card on behalf of the whole crew, and everyone signed it. They bought Bieber because they knew I was such a fan. ;)

Hee-hee. :]

^My enormous birthday-pin....yes, I wore it to Steak n' Shake. :P

Because of course we had to seal the night with Steak N' Shake afterward. That put us back at the hotel after 1:00 a.m. I definitely let my golden-birthday out with a bang! :D I think the  best part of this whole campaign has been being the only girl in the hotel--the guys are such little gentleman, and make me feel like the queen of the realm. :D It's rather a lot of power. ;) When a decision is to be made, one or another always pauses and says, "Well what would Rachel like to do? She's the girl!" :)

Here are some pictures of the rest of the fun we've been having between all the work...enjoy!

Zach enjoying some sparkling-water at Moe's. We walked there for dinner the other night. :) I'm learning lots of fun trivia about my teammates. For instance, Zach and the Frosts love old movies, and are edu-ma-cating me in which ones I need to watch SOON! Arthur is afraid of strong medication, and dogs don't like him. Arthur's brothers [the twins] like BBC dramas! :) Zach's family owns and operates a British imports store called The Queen's Pantry that I want to visit someday!

I had my birthday lunch at Five Guys with my five guys. :D 

Left to Right: Brandt, Russel, Charles, Daniel, and John. (John and Charles are twins, and therefore two of my favorites. :)

Mail!

We campaigned in old Senoia, which is where many films have been shot, including Driving Miss Daisy! :) That was so neat!

Ever tried to fit 10 or 11 guys in the back of a mini-van? Well, it works....if you don't care about legality. :P L-R: Jeremiah, Ian, Zach, Arthur, Justin, Charles, Daniel, Brandt, and Stephen. John was buried underneath everyone! If you look close, I am told you can see one of his legs. I haven't tested that yet, though.

Our massive team we gathered for Saturday! Actually, Daniel, Brandt, and I ended up staying back at the office to make maps. It was a pleasant break!

Arthur and Ian saving the South, I believe. ;)

It's been such a blessing from God that after our long, grueling, highly productive days we have such an awesome group of people at the hotel to come home too! The hotel staff are pretty great too! :) All in all, I'm having a great time in Georgia, and I'm so glad that Daniel and I were given this opportunity. I appreciate all of your prayers, and all the dear letters many of you have sent!

Georgia Adventures!

Well...here I am, safe and sound in GA. :D My first day on the job was yesterday, and it went very well! (I was being Lewis and I had a fellow female highlighter-cartographer [Clark]) Bascially we were making walk-maps, which means that we are literally mapping out every street in the counties we're covering, and then Clark and I go along with our lists of Hard R's (Republicans) and highlight all the roads we need to walk and drop literature along. Tedious, but effective! :)
 Daniel and I came home plum tired though, and it was 9:30 before we found the Panera's where we wanted to eat. I crept in feeling "worn out and provincial and positively twelve years old" to quote Anne Shirley, but after consuming two cups of piping hot Hazelnut Coffee (COMFORT FOOD ALERT!) I felt much better. :) The clam chowder was good too. I don't know what possessed me to eat clam chowder when the day had been 100 degrees, but I think I was cold in spirit and needed some warming. :D
Daniel and I proceeded to Walmart to get a couple of things, and then we came back to the hotel and watched Spiderman 2, which was actually better than I expected it to be. :) Then I was lost to the world until dawn. All this morning Daniel and I have been going hammer-and-tongs at a fever-pitch to roust out some volunteers. Getting help on a local campaign is hard enough, but we'd definitely covet your prayers for getting enough people to help when we don't know anyone in the area! Our employer and his family have been able to give us some contacts, but it's definitely harder. :)
Daniel and I are about to eat lunch and then do laundry. He's been here most of a week so he's already cycled through much of what he brought. :D Hopefully we'll be getting some out of state help (immigrants! ;) for weeks 2 and 3 of the campaign to push us through to the end (it's looking up!) but we do need prayer for stamina, protection, and encouragement! :)
All in all it's been a good first week, I think. Daniel and I are keeping each other sane, giving out Advil and shoulder-massages, and quoting secret things to each other when we get stressed. :D Here a couple pictures I took this morning in between phone-calls:

My bed has a mirror at the foot so I can see myself every morning and inspect my bed-hair. ;)

The remainder of a good night's sleep.

(who can say Memory Foam?)

Very skeptical about these new mobile devices--it's Daniel's and it and I are not exactly chummy.

Well, please pray for us, and I'll keep you updated on further Georgia Adventures!

Georgia on my mind!

Hello darling people! I wished to tell you that after much flipping and flopping and waiting and going and not going and waiting some more and going again and flipping and flopping every more, I am leaving tomorrow to be in Georgia for a month, working as an assistant on 3 primary campaigns. :)
Daniel is heading up the door-knocking campaign, and I am his assistant as well as a general all-around helper. I am so so excited about this! Getting to work on campaigns in a state I've never been in, flying (and having a lay-over) by myself both ways...it's going to be awesome! :) The Lord brought this up really quick for Daniel and I both, but I am so blessed it worked out! 4 weeks on a mission like this with Daniel is going to be fabulous.
I'd appreciate prayer, both for safe travel and a blessed time down there--and safety in the Georgia heat! Virginia gets awful sultry and sticky, but I've GA's worse.... :P
Anyway, I'm off to our dear little local Fourth of July picnic so I've got to scram! Oh yeah---and this was what I wanted to say in the first place:
I'm on Facebook now, so you girls can stay updated with me there! :) (I have some posts scheduled here as well, for those of you who don't have FB. :) Ciao!