Whip-lash

Know what that is???

I think I have it.


Just a week and a half ago My husband  was called by God, through the lot, to serve our church as head pastor.  Church leadership is not a new idea to us since Amos was commissioned as an assistant pastor 6+ years ago. We're not sure exactly what all will change with the responsibilities of being head pastor, but inevitably, there will be some changes.

We have been blessed with the abiding presence of Jesus, which is giving us both peace and courage about the future. We're also incredibly blessed with a wonderfully supportive church family, friends and relatives. We're so blessed.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary a few months early, thanks to the expected (and greatly anticipated!!!) arrival of Ittsy in early August. We spent 3 delightful days at my brother Kyle's cabin. We didn't leave the cabin during our stay, save for a short walk and to carry in some wood. I always imagined that a 10th anniversary celebration would surely include something  grand, like a trip to Europe or the New England States or a cruise to who knows where. What I didn't imagine was that we would go through an ordination 1 day before our anniversary trip. I didn't know that we would be in the thick of parenting and paying school tuition and buying a house and feeding this beautiful growing family. I didn't know that a quiet 3 day vacation at a rustic cabin just a couple of miles from home would be feel so absolutely luxurious and wonderful. It was perfect for us at this time.

We spent the bulk of our time sitting in front of this lovely fireplace. This fire provided the primary heat for the cabin. My dream home definitely includes a real wood burning fireplace.

Hot drinks and fun treats. {Thanks to our mystery friend for his particular pastry} No sticky faces to wipe or spilled hot chocolate to clean up.

Good books and good conversation. I would highly recommend this particular book. This is not your typical 'how to improve your marriage' kind of book. It's a call to personal holiness and how God wants to use your marriage as a tool in this growing process. Good stuff.

This is our definition of a perfectly delicious supper. We did all our own cooking, which was relatively little for just two people.

Relaxing. Relaxing. Relaxing.

This shot is taken from the loft room down into the main living room area.

And this one was taken from the living room up into the loft area. The loft area includes a large master bedroom and bathroom.

View from living room area into the kitchen. Don't mind the sheets of dry wall...he's still renovating. This is going to be quite the sweet cabin when he's done!!! If you're interested in renting it for a week or weekend you can contact my brother Kyle. ( you're welcome, Kyle, for the advertising)

Less than 24 hours after returning home from the cabin we were packed up again and headed to Baltimore to visit some of our favorite missionaries. This time the tribe went with us. We stopped en route to visit Amos's parents and meet a brand new nephew.

The Petersheim family is currently living in the city of Baltimore. They are in the middle of starting a Christian school in the city. (think. HARD WORK) Their vision and the way they live out of that is an incredible inspiration to us!

Our history with Reuben and Patty goes back quite a few years to our earliest days of marriage. Well, even further than that actually. I knew both Reuben and Patty when they were still single. Reuben was a student at Faith Builders and Patty was a teacher.  But back to our connection with them in our first years of marriage...We were part of a urban ministry vision group which they started. They're done with vision group thing now, they're putting it into practice.

I love this picture of Reuben and Patty because it just fits them to the T. They're probably brainstorming about which curriculum they should try next.

Amos got to help with some renovation work at their school building on Saturday. They are expanding their facility as their school grows. Exciting. But like I already said, lots and lots of long hours are being put in by Reuben and Patty and their fine staff at Hampden Christian School.

Spending time with this fine lady was of highest priority. It was a joy to see Rosanne's life in Baltimore. I enjoyed walking the streets with her, visiting some of her favorite shops and having a cup of coffee along The Avenue.  Christopher claimed her as his new best friend.

Saturday evening Rosanne and Katrina took us on a pleasurable sight seeing tour of Baltimore. The kids loved riding the train and bus.

We hopped off the train for a pizza break.

And enjoyed a beautiful walk along the harbor.

Our train ride back to Rosanne's neighborhood turned out to be rather interesting when the train had to stop due to an accident on the tracks. Apparently a drunk man was walking on the tracks and got hit. {shivers!} We sat on the stationary train for a while and then finally were directed off the train and on to a city bus. We then commenced to sitting and waiting on the bus for a while. We were eventually delivered to our desired destination, just an hour or so late.

On our way home from Baltimore we stopped one more time to visit  few of our friends at SMBI. The time there was short but extremely sweet. Amos and I keenly feel our youthfulness as we think about our role as leaders in our church. It was comforting and encouraging to be surrounded by  mature friends who have already walked this road.

And now. We're home again. And very happy to be here. It may take us several weeks to recover from this whiplash.