Miss Emily's Art Class

We had no idea what a great art teacher Emily Campbell would be. She not only entertained the students with her down to earth humor, she taught them specific art skill and mostly importantly encouraged them in godly character. My kids couldn't wait until Friday afternoons to get to art class with friends and Mrs. Campbell. Thanks for sacrificing your time and sharing your talent with us all Emily!

Korean with the Kangs

As we have hoped to spend our last few dates in DC area trying ethnic food, our friends and fellow PC student and his wife the Kangs went to Korean with us to show us traditional Korean foods. We really enjoyed the food, but came away much more effected by the Kangs humility and commitment to the gospel and building a local church in Korea. Both Matt and I were so encouraged as they shared their experience at the PC and how the gospel has been affecting their marriage and parenting and how they longed for other Koreans to experience the same. They expressed much faith in God and displayed such patience with the timing of what the Lord might do. It has been such a priveldge to build relationships with the Kangs and other PC families.

Lurray Caverns with the Harveys

The Harveys not only watched our kids for us, but gave them a wonderful memory as they made the two hour trek to Lurray Caverns. The kids came home full of stories of the beauty of the caverns. They said that there was an underwater lake that so reflected the top of the cavern that you thought it was the same on the bottom. Matt and I have never seen a cavern so the kids are already more adventurous than we are. Thanks Uncle Craig and Aunt Jeannie!!

Weekend Getaway yet not away

Thanks to our friends the Harveys, Matt and I were able to spend two days all by ourselves. To save $ we stayed home but spent the days out. It was so good to celebrate what a blessing our marriage is. We stayed out Friday night and went to a late movie, unfortunately I fell asleep in it. The next day we woke up early, shaved Matt's head which he was very glad for. We rode the subway to DC and rented a paddle boat outside of the Jefferson Memorial. It was a beautiful day and it felt like we were kids. We left there and hunted down ethnic food at Adams Morgan. We started with a South American empanada (meatpie). Then shared a falafel pita at Amsterdam Falafel. They only serve falafel pitas and fries. The place was packed and we soon found out why. We ended up sharing a couple of appetiazers at the Lebanese Taverna. We then took the metro and took a tour at the National Gallery of Art. What a great day!The next day we slept in, Matt taught me how to understand the book of Hebrews better and we had indian buffet for lunch. Thank you Harveys for the time we had as a couple. Next blog post will be about what the kids did while we were away.

PC Spring Picnic

What a fun and beautiful day we had this past Saturday as we enjoyed another special event planned by the PC Admin Team. It was great to spend time with Tracy Branchaw one of our hosts. There was great music played live, lots to eat, animals to pet, playground to play on but best of all time to be together. I think we are all feeling the end is coming. It has set a desire in our hearts to savor. One of the highlights for me was seeing our fearless leader do what she does best, which is enter our worlds. Here is Betsy trying an almond stuffed date with Shari and Miran.

Easter: A day to celebrate God's greatest gift

Easter proved to be a fun memory making day. We started by going to church and then headed to the Lockharts for a ham dinner. We then did an Easter egg hunt and ended up with relay races that included an apple bobbing. It was a great opportunity to be together as families especially away from those we love back home.

The Pastors Conference: Celebrating as we look back and look forward!

We have always enjoyed conferences because of the concentrated time we get to spend praising God, the preaching and catching up with new and old friends. This conference for me was especially sweet. We first of all we were still in awe that were participating. Add to that amazing teaching that inspired awe at all that the Lord is doing and will do in coming generations. Then being able to have the two women that outside our moms have influenced my walk with the Lord the most in the same building. First was Mary Walsh (in the blue shirt) who walked faithfully with me as a new believer right up until I had Jordan. She was so real, many times teaching me with her life as I would sit in her living room as she taught homeschool. She said difficult things I needed to hear but always with such a heart to do me good. She even helped plan our wedding. Then when we moved to Orlando, God used Sandie Brooks( in the pink) to pick up where Mary left teaching me about marriage and self righteousness and raising kids. Then we saw the Kirchers who are a walking definition of fun and biblical fellowship. To add to all that we were able to spend much time with Allen and Janice Snapp (not shown here because my camera died) and recognize the immense priveledge to go to Corning and serve with them. Their son Jared stayed with the kids while we were at the conference which made it fun for all of us!

A night of grace-filled praise!

Some of the PC couples who are involved in worship back at their home churches had a chance to have dessert with Bob and Julie Kauflin last Friday night. We had started the year with a picnic at their home, sharing our exhuberance at being at PC. This time we sat around as Bob asked us what had been most impacting about this year. Couple after couple shared about how the grace of God and the gospel had become more tangible in their everyday lives through the care and example of Gary and Betsy Ricucci. It was helpful to stop and look back and see how much heart work has occurred over the past eight months. I described our time here as a continual "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory experience", one of wonder and amazement. I had a real treat at the end of the night as Julie answered my many decorating questions patiently and gave me some tips for our new home in Corning.

A Great time at Great Seneca Park

This past Saturday we had a very slow and relaxing morning followed by a picnic at Great Seneca Park. There is a beautiful lake surrounded by woods and a playground. The kids have named it "tire park" because most of the swing sets are made of tires. It was great to have Matt with us who made it extra fun by participating on the playground. It seems as Spring is waking up all around us, with flowering trees and warm sunshine.