It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle...
when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."
- Kenyan Proverb
We braved the 18 hour drive up to the Mid-West to visit family a few weekends back. Some might wonder why since its like the middle of the fall with Thanksgiving just a few weeks away. It was actually for my college alumni basketball game. My brother is on the team and I wanted to play
with him at least one more time before he's done. He does have another year left... but we really do not know how long or short a time God has purposed for us on this earth... so we took advantage of that moment.
So I was able to play basketball with my brother, which is always fun. It was way to short, and we lost to the college team 94-89. So it was close, and I had 3-point basket for our team in the last minute which brought the score to 89-92. It was a close game, but we fouled they made their shots and time expired. Good hard play all-around. The coolest part is that my college team is very Christ centered, even in athletic activities. So before and after the game we had prayer, and it was good fellowship before, during, and after. After the game my college siblings posed for a picture. I sure do
miss them.
Spent some time with the fam... then headed ot Michigan to spend time with all the In-Laws! That fun too... just isn't enough time for everyone.
While we were at Sarah's parent's home the kids had a costume party and we joined in...
we were Preston and Penelope. She was the nose-in-the-book librarian with wrinkly
knee-highs. And I was the captian-of-the-chess-club geeky nerd. We had crushes on each other but were kinda embarassed to admit it, openly anyway (most of the time ;)
So it was a whirlwind trip, but it was great to see family, they are greatly missed... yup... life is a lot quieter missing those 17 siblings. But love spans the greatest divides, no matter how far, and thats what we have for all of them.
We had a free weekend so our friends the Buisch's were on the agenda. They had recently been introduced to their first child, Katherine... so we thought it would be a perfect time to drop in and say hello. It was a beautiful fall drive with all the changing colors of the Appalachian's.
This is their lovely farm home. Jonny and Jess were awesome friends in college, and still are now that life has carried us off into adulthood. It's rather funny to go and visit friends in their homes rather than just traveling down the hall and popping into their dorm rooms.
So the real reason for the trip was to visit the new Buisch baby...! It makes one grasp with gravity the shortness of life, 
the importance of family, and the joy of gifts that only God can give.
(isn't she cute??? >>>)
So it was an awesome weekend up on the farm. It brought back many good memories of the Midwest farm country which is missed greatly in the culture shock of living in the outer-reaches of Philidelphia. We were able to help with chores... and it was the first time working with dairy farming... which is a good bit of work itself.
A couple of weekends ago we were able to travel down to the Kimmel Center and attend the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Two other couples from seminary joined us in our venture down into the city. As usually the girls wanted to dress up, and show off their true royal selves, so naturally the men dressed to match our better halves accordingly. It's a little over an hours drive, but we took one wrong turn and ended up heading the wrong way in downtown Philly. It was literally on the other side of the tracks. Being all dressed up to attend this classy event and ending up in the downtown getto area which looked very rough, was needless to say a little unnerving. But after crossing back over the SEPTA line (a.k.a. -
"the tracks") we were in the downtown Philly business side of things and everything was contrasted starkly with what we had just experienced. Instead of low-rise, rundown... it became high-rise, ritz.
The concert was phenominal. It was really, really well done. The performers were suburb and the sound carried itself as if alive throughout the whole hall. It was our first concert we have attended together, so we now have some nice cultured dates under our belts in case anyone thought otherwise. Live preformances have something magically about them. The way you can "feel" the music, the way you know that its the "real" thing. All in all... it was a fine evening to spend having a little fun, getting out on the town... and trying to experience the interesting aspects of life out East.
