Guest Post (Jason): Daddy/Abby and the Slide

This is Jason and I am guest posting...

Here is something that happened last October in Maryland. This was a learning experience. Enjoy.

The Pastor's College comes to an end!

So bittersweet!  So many memories, so many great friendships made, so much learned.  So much you want to hold onto, and yet so much you want to go home to.  Much of this I didn't feel right away.  It was a busy, busy push to the finish and we left the morning after graduation.  It may have been a little bit of a crash and burn, but man, it was a fun ride!

The End of the Year Dinner!

This just felt like a huge family celebration!  We were all together and we were having a great time!  All the wives had worked on a 30 minute parody act to honor our husbands and all the guys did the same.  Both turned out so great!  My friend Shari wrote all the songs and did a fabulous job!  

So for a little bit of a BIG sidenote... I announced that night to the class that we were expecting our 3rd child!  I am sure most of you know by now, since I am about 17 weeks.

Anyways, it was so fun to be together and so meaningful to honor those who are due much honor!

But in case you thought we made a fool of ourselves, check this out! The guys were hilarious!


I loved the time we had to honor the Purswells and the Ricuccis. To think how they have impacted our lives, and that they have that impact year in and year out on each class, they are truly amazing servants of the most high God!

And then it happened... Graduation! An amazing night to celebrate God, what He has done, what He is doing! It was so humbling to be a part of this group, to know that these men were being sent out to further the gospel and to build God's church!

All the guys


There's the hottest one of the bunch!  Wahoo!  Well done my love!


I love these two couples! Our lives have been forever changed because of their teaching and example!


Now to explain why most of these after celebratory pictures are of me and not Jason.  Well, I actually forgot my camera and just downloaded Hannah's onto my computer.  Thanks Hannah!  Well, as you can imagine, she took more pictures of me and the girls than Jason.  :)  I guess I couldn't have picked a bigger occasion to forget my camera!

But of course, first there is Hannah!  I love this picture and I love this girl!  She was one of my most special gifts this year!  I treasure her and her friendship and pray that she will be a friend I talk to for the rest of my life!  I can't wait to see where they end up! (shhhh, whisper, west coast, west coast, west coast... :) ! )







Ah!  My parents!  They are the best!  They made yet another trip out to MD and this time it was to bring us home!  Thank you!

Has it really been over two months?

Wow!  I promise I haven't given up on this blog!  But, yes, it really has been two months since I have posted.  And, specifically, two very important months for us.  A lot has happened and a lot has changed.  End of PC year festivities, Graduation, our awesome drive home, our stops in Michigan, Chicago, and Missouri, coming home, Abby's 4th Birthday, the 4th of July in Pinetop, and to sum it up, I haven't taken any pictures since the 4th of July!  These and more I would love to post about, but is it possible?  I am not sure I have the time for all of those posts, but we can see how far I get.  But yes, we are here, alive and well, loving being home!

Do you think they are ready to come home!

With all of the packing, the girls found their swimsuits. There have already been a couple of days that I have given in and just let them wear them all day! They have been talking a lot about coming home, everyone they are going to see, and, most importantly (to them), swimming!

Then and Now

I know that "time flies" in every year of life, but this year, being at the PC, Jason and I have talked a lot about how much the girls have changed since we've come. Which makes me think of all the babies back home. I can't wait to see them all. Some of whom were just born right before we left.
So a then and now...
Last Summer Family Shot


Present Family Shot

There are a lot of "lasts" going on around here!

Well, today is Jason's last day of class!  Yeah Baby!  I am so so proud of him!  What an amazing job he has done working hard at school and at home!  I am so thrilled to have watched him this year grow and learn (and learn and learn!) and so thankful for how well he has chosen his priorities this year.  Although this is the end of an incredible year, it also feels like an exciting beginning!  We are itching to get home, to family, friends, and our amazing church.  We love our church!  And still can't believe that we get to serve alongside some of the most godly and humble people we know!  We plan to be arriving on the 18th.  And I know it is super hot there right now... but bring me home baby!  To the valley of the sun!  

So lasts...

We have already had our last monthly ladies meeting, our last care group at the Ricucci's home, our last fellowship group times, our end of the year open house at the Purswell's home, our last gym day, our last ladies night out, the last guys night out, our last picnic at the Lockhart's, our last trip to Butler's orchard, our last hang-out time with the Wassinks, and... I am sure more things that I can't think of.  

So, as you can see, much to much to blog about, so here are some pictures...

My fellowship group

Group shot outside of the Ricucci's at our last care group

Our fabulous night at the Purswell's open house

Hanging out after our last gym day

Ladies Night out

Strawberry Picking at Butler's Orchard

Double date with the Wassinks

Lasts, lasts, lasts!  Bittersweet!  Tomorrow night is our end of the year dinner, Saturday my parents arrive, Sunday is Graduation, Monday we drive out!

Our 7th Anniversary!

Seven years!  I can't believe it!  Time truly does fly so fast!  Jason planned a wonderful day for us to celebrate!  He emailed me the night before and told me to be ready for family day the next day by 8am.  Well that was my first clue that something was fishy, because I have never been ready with the kids by 8am!  The next morning, Jason snuck out while I was blow drying my hair and went to pick up Mariah and Christian to babysit.  The Slack family is just a whole other story!  I have met few people who love to serve like them!  Anyways, I was stoked!  A whole day with my hubby to explore the city!  We took the Metro down by the Zoo, which is this really cute and quaint part of town.  He had found a locally acclaimed breakfast place that was delicious!  If you ever want breakfast in DC, you should try it.  They had this indoor outdoor patio and we got a table right by the window with the little flower bed.  I had an amazing chai tea and we talked about, well everything, for two hours!  I loved it!  
Next we headed down towards the National Mall.  Jason had just finished Manhunt, about John Wilkes Booth, and so he wanted to go back to the Ford's Theatre one more time.  It was really interesting listening to him tell me all of the extra details of the infamous day.  Jason and I both love the theater and have mentioned several times how we would love to actually see a production in Ford's Theatre.  But we never really found the right play at the right time.  Well, the day we were there, they were offering free showings of this two man production about the day that Lincoln died.  Perfect!  It was actually really good, much better than we were expecting for a free performance.  This was definitely a highlight from the day.  

Our next stop was the Library of Congress.  It was one place I hadn't seen yet and wanted to just pop in.  You can only get in to the main reading room if you register for research.  I am trying to convince Jason to go down there and study for a day.  Wouldn't that be awesome!  

To finish the day, we grabbed a mid-afternoon lunch at a great Mexican food place right off the mall.  

I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God to give me this man!  He loves God more than anything and I have been truly blessed to follow him these past seven years!   I love you!