Home, Warm, Home

That's right we've returned and all in one piece. The plane trip both ways went very well. Thank God for portable DVD players! There's really so much I could blog about. I will try to highlight a few things.

Conference Highlights:
Being at the leaders conference is always nostalgic for Chris and I. I still remember our first conference in 2002 as guests. We were defintely affected by what we saw and heard and left wanting to know more. So to return, no longer as guests, was a wonderful feeling. I marveled at God's grace and His sovereign hand in bringing us there. As in typical Sovereign Grace fashion we checked in and received gifts! I got a cute brown and blue tropical like bag filled with goodies. Chris also got more "manly gifts". The messages given by R.C. Sproul, David Powlison and CJ Mahaney were outstanding. I highly encourage all to check out the messages here. Caroyln Mahaney gave a message to the ladies on how to bring correction to your husbands. Chris joked that I didn't need to attend this seminar. I'm not really the shy, keep my thoughts to myself, person. Joking aside I was very glad I attended and recommend her message to every wife.

Perhaps some of the most encouraging time came from conversations with other Pastor wives. It was great catching up with our old Pastor College friends, reliving our year together and rejoicing in what God is doing now. I was particularly encouraged by those wives with young children. All who are more Godly than I! I talked with one girl who has four children under six and began asking her questions about her sunday morning routine. She gave some helpful advice and briefly mentioned that it had been four years since she sat through a full sunday meeting. She said it without a hint of complaining in her voice and I could sense the joy she had in mothering her four. She reminded me that sometimes it's just in having an edifying conversation with another that makes the sunday morning craziness worth it! Thanks Jen, I was very encouraged by our conversation!

Vacation Highlights:
We had a few unexpected opportunites to spend time with our friends the Smiths. Chris and I were blessed by their hospitatlilty. We shared one lunch and two dinners together! There's nothing like a homecooked meal after eating out for days straight. Their son Carson and Trevor are the same age. Jenni and I have e-mailed over the year about how fun it would be to get the boys together one day. And fun it was! They played together and like typical two year old friends, fought together. Mostly Trevor and yes, mostly over trains.

As expected we had a great time catching up with the Dustin's. We love them and were once again served by their hospitatliy and care for our children. We kind of underestimated how hard it would be on Trevor and Rylee to fly accross the country only to be left by mommy and daddy with people they really don't know. Liz had a hard job and I think Rylee has officially hit the "I want my mommy and only my mommy" stage. She cried pretty much nonstop until I came and took her with me to the conference on friday. Trevor also surprisingly missed mommy very much. He would ask the Dustin's for Mommy and throw himself on the ground when he realized I was gone. What can I say my kids love me- it's flattering really... except when you need them to be good so you can attend a conference :-)

Here are some pictures from our time....

Park Day with the Smiths:




To beat the cold rainy day blues we took the kids to a number of indoor places. One being Chucky Cheese.
Trevor hung out with "trickle" Jacob a lot while we were there.

See what Trevor is riding...really is anyone suprised?

Taylor also enjoyed the rides there. Here she is with her uh...what the heck?


We found a gymnastic place that had open gym for an hour each day. Taylor and Trevor LOVED that place. They were able to jump on the trampoline, walk the low balance beam and slide or jump into a foam pit. The pit was by far the favorite!


For our final night we took the kids to Krispy Kreme doughnuts.


She really is cute and sweet... when I'm around!


One last picture of the two girls!


Well we are off and running full force into life again. Welcoming the warmer weather after a very cold week in Maryland and praising God for His sustaining grace to us through our trip!