Catching Up

Well, since we don't have internet at our apartment, I'm limited as to when I can update our blog. We are at the Smiths tonight and I figured I'd take some time to post.
We recently went to a marriage conference in Hershey, and it was amazing. The topic was Marriage and the Mercy of God, and we walked away so refreshed and encouraged. God really used the messages to spur us on in showing mercy towards one another. Aron Osborne talked about how we can exercise mercy when our spouse is sinning by being patient and waiting for his/her redeemed nature to come out. Mike is so good at this - I'm consistently amazed at his love and patience towards me in every situation. He is always coming alongside me, gently showing me where I am erring, and pointing me to the Gospel. God certainly knew what I needed in a husband, and I got above and beyond that! We walked away from that conference more encouraged and more in love than when we walked in. I'm so grateful to God!
I didn't get many pictures from the retreat. The only ones I got were at lunch on the way home, and they were only of Rick and Traci. Jason and Vicky were with us too, but they had already left by the time I pulled out my camera :)

I spilled my drink!

We also had a great time watching the Lynch kids the other night. I love spending time with them - they are so creative and definitely good for a laugh or two. And usually, when Kenny and Amy come home, we'll spend an hour or so just catching up on life with them. I've known them since I was eight years old, and it's crazy to me that they're not just my parents' friends anymore, they're our friends!

the husband speaks again: i am sorry to report that my marriage does not now bring unusual good luck to philly sports teams in championship situations

before i begin, i must say that my greatest skill as a blogger is my catchy and concise titles for my posts. i can't take credit for it, it is a gift. but enough chatter, on to the main topic. prior to this past sunday, january 18 2009, i had begun to suspect a very strange phenomenon. but first a bit of background.

the failures of philly sports teams over the past 25 years or so have been well documented. i have personally witnessed several of the most heartbreaking ones. i first became aware of sports in 1993, when my mom gave my brother and me a poster celebrating the 1993 NL champion phillies. i found out several days later that they lost the world series in tragic fashion. in 1997, my interest in sports grew when i first saw The Mighty Ducks, and then a few days later watched the Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres to close out a playoff series. i became hooked on hockey and continued watching the Flyers' playoff games as often as possible. at Celebration '97, i watched them beat the Rangers in game 5 of the conference finals to advence to the Stanley Cup finals; a few days later i watched them lose the first of 4 straight in that series. the sadness was a theme for me. the first playoff football game i really watched was a 14-0 Eagles loss to the 49ers; i saw the Flyers blow a 3-1 series lead to the Devils in the conference finals; the heavily-favored Eagles' 14-3 loss in the 2003 NFC championship was the feature event of my 18th birthday party. in short, though i have not lived long, i have known much pain. (PS, anyone here know who that is in the picture?)

then, in october 2008, something happened. something amazing, unexpected, miraculous. i got married. but a little later in that same month, something else happened: the Phillies won the World Series. it was my second favorite thing that happened that month, at last all my years of loyalty as a fan had paid yielded me the joy of a championship.

a few short months after that most euphoric of sports moments, the Eagles began what seemed to be a miraculous run. against all odds, they made it to the playoffs; then they took care of business in their first 2 playoff games, knocking off the Giants (widely considered to be their greatest challenge in the playoffs) in the process. the stars seemed to be aligned; they would play a very beatable opponent--the Cardinals--for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. furthermore, neither of their potential opponents seemed that scary. it seemed--dare i even say it--very possible that they could win it all.

and that's when i started speculating: perhaps, somehow, in the inexplicable mysteries of God's universe, my marriage had ushered in a new era of philly sports. maybe, now that i had said my vows, i would witness championship upon championship, and that my devotion to my teams--now second only to my devotion to my Lord and my wife--would be rewarded with parade upon parade for years to come. the possibilities were glorious.

and then the Eagles played on Sunday, January 20, 2009. and they lost.

and that's when i realized, i am no curse-breaker. i'm just a happily married guy who will continue to support his teams, even thought they usually manage to poop their pants in big games.

and i'm ok with that. because like i said, the 2008 World Series Champions were only my second favorite thing about October.

Jake

So, I was going through some of my old pictures and came across lots of these guy. And believe it or not, I find myself missing him lots!!!!!! He wasn't the perfect dog :) he would occassionally crash into you at full speed and knock you over, or slobber on you, or bark for no reason whatsoever. But I do miss him. And maybe....just MAYBE....Mike will get me a puppy some day....I'll be working on that ;)

Also, shout out to Andrew who fixed my laptop! Which now enables me to post :)

Happenings

So It's been a while since I've updated. This is mostly due to the fact that we don't have a computer at home :) But Andrew is trying to fix my laptop - so hopefully it is fixable and we will be up and running soon :) Basically, what we have been up to is:

- Christmas (with the Smiths this year)
- Birthdays (Dan, Mike, Tom, Andrew.....soon it will be Shannon and Michelle. Basically this means we are broke.)
- New Years
- Eagles games (SURPRISE!)

Christmas was lovely. We spent Thanksgiving with my family, so we spent Christmas with Mike's. It was great - Christmas Eve Mike and I went to P.F. Chang's for dinner and then to the Christmas Eve service. We then went home and tried to watch A Christmas Carol, but fell asleep :) That night, Sean met me at 1 a.m. to bring in Mike's big-ticket-item this Christmas: a keyboard! Thanks to many people who wanted to bless Mike, we were able to get him a keyboard, something he's been wanting so he can practice at home. Even though he was not surprised (long story) it was still so so fun to bless him this way!
On Christmas day, we went over to the Smiths' and stayed in our PJs all day and watched movies! Mike got me the camera I'd been wanting for a long time - the Sony A200 - so I spent a lot of the day annoying people by snapping pics - it is fabulous! :)
For Mike's birthday, I cooked him a big breakfast and we ate it in front of the TV watching, what else, School of Rock. Later we went over the Smiths' for cake and Andrew and Rosie came too. It was a great day!
And today we went to the Smiths and watched the Eagles beat the Giants! It was fabulous.
Ok, so here is a photo update. In reverse order from actual occurrence because I always forget that they load backwards. There are many pictures because I have been having lots of fun - hope that's not a problem.



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