Trip to MA

Well, we have arrived back from MA, and we are very excited because passed his last exams!   

Chris and I left on Thursday and drove part way.  My mom was kind enough to come up to VA to watch Josiah, so we could have a weekend away.  This is the first time since Josiah has been born that we have gone away together and will probably be the last one until 2011.  Once Sophie gets here it will be back to nursing again, which means no overnight trips for me.    We drove to Sterling, PA and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast.  It was nice to have our living room area right beside a brook.  We were able to open the sliding doors for a little bit to enjoy the bubbling sounds.  Chris eventually got cold, and we shut the doors.  Chris was in heaven because they had cable, and he was able to watch a little college football.  Chris surprised me with a massage when we got there, so it was very relaxing evening for the two of us.  We went out to dinner that didn't consist of trying to get in and out as quickly as possible.  We have a pretty neat story about our dinner experience.  Our waitress came over to get our drinks.  When I told her I wanted water, she lets out this BIG gasp.  I was a little taken aback by this, but then realized that she saw a big black bear come out of the woods into the field right near where we were sitting.  There were some good ol' boys that came out of the kitchen, and they estimated that the bear was close to 500 lbs.!  It was absolutely amazing and breath taking to see this bear in the wild.  The photographer in me wishes I had my camera, but I take moments like that as a special gift from God for me to enjoy in my mind.  Friday morning we got up and drove the rest of the way to MA.  We had a great dinner and worship service that night.  Chris was on the candidates who preached.  He did a great job preaching God's word and quite a few people shared with him how blessed they were by his sermon.  We stayed up a little too late Friday night watching TV--as you can probably tell--we don't have cable!    Saturday morning was the big day when Chris had to answer questions from the floor of the presbytery.  He did an AWESOME job communicating his convictions and God's calling on his life.  After he got done answering the questions, we had to leave so they could have any discussion and vote.  Just before they called us back in, we heard loud clapping from the sanctuary--we knew then that he was voted to be ordained!  We are so glad that this two-plus year journey has FINALLY come to an end.  On November 1st, we will actually have his ordination service where he will officially receive the title Reverend.

We are glad to have this behind us, but our next big hurdle is getting ready to move into our new place.  The moving will be so much easier than the ordination--Praise the LORD!  Please take some time to look at the pictures from our weekend and Josiah's 15 month pictures that my mom took while here.  By the way, he did great.  My mom said that he didn't get whiny or fussy the whole time we were gone.  From the sounds of things, she didn't give him much down time to miss us! 

Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we continue with our daily responsibilities and prepare to move.  Josiah will be having his 15 month check-up, so we are praying that there won't be any concern about his weight.  I will also be having my 24 week check-up with Sophie.