The Girls

This weekend was the annual roommate reunion weekend (minus one. We missed Kristin this weekend). This year we headed to New York City. Holly and I were looking forward to our first journey on the train from Lancaster to NYC. We all met up at Penn Station and the talking and giggling began. Right away we went to find our hotel and check in. Lunch was on the agenda immediately after that. Following lunch at PJ Clarke's we headed over to The Met (mostly to get warm, the weather was colder than cold). After meandering and warming, we took a stroll through Central Park on our way back to our hotel. There was a bit of complaining about the frigid temperature, but Kelli . . . and the rest of us survived. For dinner, we met up with Jen's friend Heather at 5 Napkin Burger, where we saw a "famous guy," at least that's what we kept calling him until we figured out that it was Victor Garber (played on Alias, Titanic and now has had a few appearances on Glee). Dinner was delicious and the company was, as always, spectacular. We did go to bed fairly early. We're no spring chickens anymore. Sunday dawned icy cold, but clear. Jen ventured out in her PJs to bring us back some hot coffee and cocoa from Starbucks. Thanks, Jen! Then the four of us made our way to the Empire State Building. Tip to travelers: go to all the tourist sites when it's freezing outside. You won't have to wait in line! We took the elevator to the 86th floor observatory. In spite of the wind and cold, the view was spectacular. Crystal clear skies and views. When we could take the cold no longer we checked out the sights from inside. It was time to say goodbye to Kelli after that. She had to go home and we had some more time on our hands. So Jen, Holly and I jumped on the subway and headed over to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I had never been there and it was beautiful. Though I was wishing for warmer shoes. I had some concern that my toes would be frostbitten. We couldn't go up the Statue on Sunday, so we just took some photos and looked around. After that, it was time to part with Jen and we said goodbye to her at Penn Station before Holly and I made our way to our train. I'm already looking forward to next year's reunion. I love my friends and am so thankful that we just pick up where we last left off. True friends are a beautiful thing! Love you girls!

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Roommates

A house full of ladies. PJs. Glasses of wine. Mexican food. Laughter. Shopping. A lot of talking. Snacks. More talking. Laughter again. This describes this past weekend with my college roommates. It has been a few years since the 5 of us were together and finally we managed to pin down a weekend to do it again. The gals came to Lancaster this time. One by train from New York. Another from DC and one more from Virginia. Two of us live here, so the group was complete. It's funny how we don't see each other all that often, and yet we just pick up where we left off and it's the way it always has been. I wish the weekend could have lasted longer because we truly had a lovely time. I love you girls! And Sean thanks you for the Captain. He thought that was a nice touch.

Due to my inability to take proper pictures, I'm using the ones Kristin sent to me. Thanks, Kris!
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Happy New Year

This year we got a little fancy in our celebration. Our friends invited us to a New Year's Eve party at Stout's Brewery. Dressed up a bit, we started out the evening with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and followed up that with a delicious lobster and steak dinner. We danced a bit and finally called it a night after counting down to 2009. We had a fun evening and now look forward to what this new year holds for us. Enjoy some silly photos of our evening with friends. Link

Busy weekend

We had a rather busy weekend.

Friday night: Bob Dylan tribute concert

Saturday AM: New tires on Sean's car and a baby shower

Saturday PM: Party at the Hoffman's

Sunday AM: Sleep in!!

Sunday PM: Photo shoot for the Wingert's 40th anniversary

Sunday afternoon we drove up to Messiah College and took some photos for our friends, the Wingerts and company. All manner of family and friends were there so we took the opportunity to get some nice family shots. It went great and we had a blast. It's always east to take great pictures when you have lovely surroundings and good weather. I enjoyed every moment.

It feels really good to have total digital control over all my pictures. Gone are the days of film. My new camera is starting to feel like an extension. I just imagine, point, compose and press the shutter. Click. And there it is.

Anyway here are some of my favorite pics: Click Here

To see the whole gallery of pics: Click Here

Have a great evening..

Raw

A really wonderful friend of ours came over for dinner last weekend. We had a great time, and the whole week we were looking forward to her company. As the evening sun drifted lower in our kitchen window, and the evening's conversation spun it it yarns around our meal we approached the topic of God.
Our guest has lost someone very special and dear to her recently. A tragic accident resulted in the loss of a good friend. Marci asked her how she was handling things, and how she was doing.
One thing I love about our friend is the openness of that big warm heart she has. She openly talked about her emotions after the accident and how the whole situation had made her feel.
My heart was feeling sore for her as I recounted in my mind what I felt like the moment I heard the news. We spoke about God and how she had struggled in her mind to reconcile this whole event and still believe in a merciful Lord.
Then she said something that made my thoughts stop so suddenly I could feel myself breathing.
" I had to realize through this situation that I serve a God who would allow my friend to die"
Wow - did you get that.
I did. Very suddenly. Understand, that our friend still loves the Lord, very much so. But what she said was real to her, and certainly justified. But how can you possibly resolve this? Because it's true, it happened.
That made me stop and think. Once in a while you hear something that makes you do that. This was one of those moments. Stop and think about the realness, and the weight of that statement.
It wasn't said in any sense of anger or bitterness, It was said in all Godly respect and honesty.

Do I always see the bigger picture? How small am I? How on earth can something like this happen? I tried so hard to process this information last week. My limited conclusion is this: God is a merciful God, yet we live in a world corrupted by sin. I am convinced that as humans, we sometimes expect that God's mercy is lived out in the flesh when we ask for it here on earth. We expect it. Why wouldn't we? We are flesh and bone. I think that God's mercy exists in the fact that He died for us already and has bridged the gap we created between us and Him. That is where true mercy is displayed, on the cross and the fact that every day that we live in sin and we are forgiven. There is no account held against us who trust in Jesus.

Life is really hard sometimes. We are faced with sorrow and the question "why did this happen?" Amidst all of that I was reminded last week that we are all mortal beings. We forget this sometimes. This planet is truly only temporary. The young lady that lost her life in this story was a believer. I thank God for that. She is in a place with no suffering, and no pain.
Perhaps a way to settle this terrible tragedy in our minds is that she has now experienced the full extent God's grace. She has been reconciled to the Father through the death of his son and now lives and his heavenly kingdom.

I still don't fully understand, but for all of us I hope the following.
May you stop, slow down and breath this week. Don't miss your life going by.

Sean.

Hooray beer.

Last night we went to the new "Iron Hill Restaurant and Brewery" in Lancaster with our good friends, Preston and Kelly, and our new friends Nathan and Jackie.

This place is very cool. They brew all their own beer on site. They are very proud of this, as the very enthusiastic waiter reminded us more than a few times during the course of the dinner. Highlights of the evening included watching Kelly sip her way through the "sampler." This is a collection of approximately 12 different samples of their own brew, ripe with exciting names like "Ironbound Ale and Vienna Red Lager" Even more fun was watching Nathan actually drink all 12 glasses of his sampler, each one being followed by a satisfied grin. Truly a devotee of all things brewed with hops and barley. My own personal favorite was the "Pig Iron Porter." A lovely, rich beer where "the distinct roasted and chocolate notes are well balanced by a slight bitterness."

So here's to good food, fellowship, and to the brewmeister. You Sir, are responsible for endowing upon us that sweet nectar of life, beer.

Cheers.

More Pics

We spent this sunday afternoon enjoying a picnic with some of our good friends, Mark and Holly, and their little guy.
I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of their son playing on the playground and having a great old time.

It's usually a challenge taking pictures of kids, cuz' they wont look at the camera for more than a second!!
An eye constantly glued to the viewfinder, and a quick "trigger finger" usually means you can end up with some great candid pictures.

They're a great family, with another on the way - Holly is going to have her hands full soon.

Click here

Old Friends

This weekend marked the annual Maynard and Friends "retreat" and it was the first year that Sean and I were able to attend. My cousin Daryl (a.k.a Maynard, not that interesting of a story really) has been organizing this little get together for the past 5 years or so. A crew of old friends from the big town of Chambersburg get together at Cove Valley Camp for a weekend of relaxation, hiking, boating, fishing, running after a passel of kiddos, eating and reminiscing. I subjected Sean to this crowd and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. I haven't seen some of these folks for quite a few years, so it was fantastic to catch up with them.

So, thanks, Old Friends, for a great time. Daryl, put us on the list for next year.

Enjoy the photos (mostly of the cute kids). . . Cove Valley Photos

Moving On Up

Moving day dawned bright and unbelievably hot. And let's not forget the unbearable humidity yesterday. Yuck! Our amazing friends joined Sean at the old townhouse at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday to begin hauling our treasures and some junk into the big U-haul (see Sean's previous post). I got lucky and didn't have to sweat it out with the rest of them because I needed to meet the furniture delivery guys at the new house. Somehow, they managed to get it all out and on the truck in record time. The crew arrived soon after at the new house, and we unloaded as quickly as possible. I happened to glance at the clock as we were all beginning to eat our lunch after it was all over. It read 11:22 a.m. The move lasted less than 2 1/2 hours. Unbelievable! The neighbor across the street wants the names and numbers of our movers. She was completely impressed as she watched them work yesterday. So . . . Amy, Jodi, Greg, John, Daryl, Ryan, Phil, Leon, and Lindsey, I know we coerced you with the promise of food and beer. But you are awesome and we are so thankful to you for helping us in spite of extremely uncomfortable weather. I also want to say a huge thank you to Erin and Mom Steele for their help with packing, painting and hanging blinds. You made it so much easier for us to get things accomplished.

And now Sean and I are here. The long wait is over. We love our new home and are so thankful for God's blessings. His timing has been perfect through it all. We'll be in touch with our new address and all that good stuff.

And, finally, what you've all been waiting for . . . the U-haul photo. It's not the best quality, because I had to use my phone. Who knows where the camera was during the whole process! Here he comes . . . the best U-haul driver around!

And here he is! Ready to get that bad boy unloaded!

Lots of MOOlah

So last week we had dinner with our very good friends, Eric and Heidi. They live on and operate what has grown into a huge dairy farm, in pristine Lancaster County. They now herd a total of almost 750 cows. Not surprisingly, we had large steaks for dinner. When I asked Heidi if we were eating one of their former "employees" she simply smiled and nodded.
After dinner, Eric took us on a tour of the new facility.
I took some pictures....
Cows live here:
The amazing thing about the barn, is that it features what could be called "the worlds largest toilet." At the push of a button, thousands of gallons of water flushes through the center of the barn, washing away all manner of poo and dirt. This keeps the barn spotlessly clean, and all the ladies fresh and happy. The cool part is that all the water is recycled, and the whole process is very eco-friendly.

Next: Cows get milked here..

This is the milking parlor, each cow has a special tag that is read by a scanner. The amount of milk produced is logged, and tracked by a computer. If it detects any problems, on their way out it singles out the cow into a special gated area. Very cool.

Next:
Milk goes here...


Thats a whole lotta milk..

And finally off to be processed.

So now you know where milk comes from.

At the end of the day, each cow gets a nice warm hug and a kiss from Heidi.

Just like this.

Needless to say that the farm is lovely. We had a great time.
Thanks to Eric and Heidi for a great evening!

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Times

On Sunday evening Sean and I enjoyed dinner out with great friends. It was partially an anniversary celebration and partially a chance to spend time with our friends. We had dinner at Lily’s on Main, a lovely establishment in Ephrata, PA. Who knew that the little town of Ephrata held such a gem! I would describe Lily’s as casual fine dining. The atmosphere was retro, yet classy. The service was exceptional, and the food was delicious and beautifully presented.

John and Jenny

We went there on the recommendation of John and Jenny, who had their first date at Lily’s; and later John proposed to Jenny in “the romantic corner,” a little table for two where it all began for them. If you’re ever in the Lancaster area, I highly recommend my favorite new restaurant. And thanks, Daryl and Erin, for the generous and kind treat. We love you!

Daryl and Erin