Oh me Oh my...

It's another hum-de-dum day here in PA. Work hasn't been as oppresively busy as normal, so I'm excited to grab 5 minutes here to jot some thoughts. Fall is indeed right upon us! The leaves have started to turn and the grass is frosty when I go outside in the morning. What a neat thing it is to actually see something change. :)

Bradley is gone on one of his admissions trips -which are increasingly harder for me to bear, Lord give me strength! He'll be back in 8 days... which feel like an eternity because I miss him.

With the fall comes a ton of busy-ness for my life - I am now a focus group leader @ HBC, and i love it! I have some fantastic girls in my group...and I'm eager to see how we all grow in the next few weeks, months... Tonight we will be deciding what our first group activity will be and I'm just so excited for that. I love youth activities - I remember how fun they were as a teen, and I feel spoiled that I'll get to do them again (only with a little more wisdom, I hope). My husband loves working with the youth as well, I've attached a pic of he and his buddy, Matt, the Jr. high intern. They have such a great time together- which almost makes it even more great for me, to see Brad's joy. :) One of those blessings of marriage I suppose.

Thinking back...

Nostalgia... It comes and goes for some people, that sense you get when you see an old toy that you played with as a child or when grandpa tells a story about the "good old days". Well, I am nostalgic all the time, I've decided. Lastnight we had a fabulous time with some friends from our church at a little event called "supper six", where three couples meet together once a month for a shared dinner. Maggie made the meat, I made the veggie salad and Rachel made the beans! We had such a great time eating, laughing, telling stories and watching all the kiddo's have fun. Mallory (3), Billy (1ish) and Aniyah (1ish) were just too adorable, and being with real families for dinner made me feel so completed and fulfilled lastnight.

It made me think back to being at home, with all my family around - cousins, aunts, uncles...everyone just there having a good time, laughing, telling the same stories... everyone just loving each other. Those were good times I'll always carry with me. And, it just added to the enjoyment that there was a REAL original Nintendo present. The boys played a while and then I had a turn with my good old friend Mario Bros'. Ahhh...memories. Even though I died right away (some things never change) it was just so cool to play again, I havent picked up the small controllers probably since I was in single digits....8,9..? It was a great night! I praise the Lord for these people, especially during a time when I've been feeling so down and alone. God does that, he comforts his children...he presents good in their lives. He knows my inward thoughts and feelings and I praise Him for that.

On another note... we were at Camp Bayouca this past weekend, where Brad spoke. While he was out doing his "prep" I had some down time to explore nature (my fave) and let me tell you Nature is just on the verge of exploding into gorgeous colors... enjoy some of the last pics of summer life. I had a blast poking around... and thankfully the camera was somewhat cooperative this time!

In Nature

I've always been a little dramatic, I admit it. And not only do I admit it, I'm convinced that God loves dramatic thinkers. When I was little I loved to play in the dirt and pretend I was a poor beggar because I wanted to "feel" what that was like. Or I'd get my dolls together and pretend I was a mother of 5, lived in a big farm house out on the plains and my husband was a busy farmer/preacher. All that to say, I didn't have "normal" play situations as a little one, and all through high school I kept the dramatic life - writing short stories that swam through my head, attempting art (photography), wanting desperately to fall deep in storybook love....

Well, this past weekend I had another chance in life to feel dramatic and to really just wallow in my imagination - and in the beauty of creation! What a great God. We went camping at Promised Land state park, and it's just perfect! The trees were tall and gorgeous, the air was filled with the smell of rutic campfires and grilled food, the sunrises were amazing... :) I loved it! I always feel that much closer to heaven when I have a few days to just sit and enjoy this world God has given to me.

There was one tree right by our tent, it's roots were crazy. It was a huge tree... and so many of it's roots were grown above ground - it reminded me of the strength of our Lord.

Everytime I passed it I would try to remember to thank the Lord for this life he's given. He IS so good. Beauty... drama... I think God wants us to feel that. I know I feel it, and in nature when I'm alone with just God and his creation I feel it more. It's a perfect thing! Thank you Great God for the beauty of this earth.

La Festa Italiano

Clearly, I'm not Italian - as I probably didn't even spell that correctly. All the same, this past weekend we had our annual trip to the Italian Fest in Scranton. We walked around the same block 5 times, got something new to eat with each round, and said our "hello's" to the miscellaneous BBC people we would see. There was something oddly comfortable about this year. Maybe it's because it was my 7th festival. :) I can't believe I've been here for almost 8 years now...I never would have guessed this. It's truly amazing to look back and remember - not only what God has done, but to remember the fun memories, experiences and associated events. This festival in particular gives me warm memories of piling into cars and coming down with my girlfriends from the dorm. We would have a fabulous time "people watching", we would just laugh and laugh, and laugh more as we watched the "Frank Sinatra" double perform for the masses, never as good as the original - but trying so hard, and so loudly. It also makes me think of all the different phases of people we go through - the true friends, the acquantences, the "obligated to go with" group, etc. It's amazing how life changes, almost cyclic - and I'm sure it's supposed to be like that. This year we went with some cousins, Becki and Adam. I was so thankful to be with family - it's just natural, care free, fun. And even though I don't know them super well (brad's side of fam), just knowing it's family makes it better.