As much as we were looking forward to Fall, I think it caught me off guard - I've been trying to catch up ever since! Here are some of the highlights.
Halloween:
We decided to stay in this year since we've been so busy. We made soup, pumkin sandwhiches (like an ice cream sandwhich but with frosting in the middle), amazing spiced apple cider (with cinnamon sticks), rented Ghostbusters (which David had never seen before!) & relaxed for the evening. So nice to just be home.
Retreat:
We took a weekend off & headed to Cedar Creek Lake with our small group from church. Some friends from church have a house that they were gracious enough to let us stay at. We ate meals & hung out on their amazing deck/boat house over the lake, watched the Rangers beat the Yankees, played games & soaked up the silence.
Family visit:
My mom & grandma came to visit us the first week in October. I wore them out & fully enjoyed spending 4 full days with them =) The weather was perfect while they were here, which meant we got to do lots of fun stuff! We went to the Texas State Fair, the Dallas Arboretum and the Dallas World Aquarium (which I think we all would agree was the highlight). There were toucans flying over our heads & monkeys (even a sloth we could have reached out & touched) in the trees around us - it was like being in a rainforest! And they had manatees, which is pretty cool =) My mom & Grandma took me shopping & watched girl movies with me too. So good to be with them.
Friend visit:
Kendra & Greg (our close friends from college who now reside in Virginia) came to visit in September. Greg was coming out for business in Fort Worth, so they made a weekend out of it & came to see us! So fun. It had been over a year since we had seen them (way too long!!). We of course had to play disc golf, so we found this neat course on Lewisville Lake, grabbed some slurpies when we finished (it was pretty hot), & barbequed dinner on White Rock Lake. Sunday we went to Fort Worth Zoo & grabbed some dinner in Sundance Square. Monday I got to spend the day with Kendra, shopping, eating at Snappy Salads =) & chatting. Girl time is so good. I think this weekend went by before I even realized it had come. I was very sad to see them go. It is hard living to far from such close friends, but it is such a huge blessing when we can get together.
Other updates:
1. David is continuing to work part-time at the ESD bookstore through the school year. He has worked there the past 3 summers & they have decided to keep him on staff. Yay!
2. Per bullet point #1, we are considering moving to a slightly larger place nearby. David needs the study space & I could use the closet space =)
3. ThM status: Pending completion date May 2012
4. PhD status: currently considering Wheaton or DTS
5. Lindsay just started co-leading her SWIM Bible study (soon to be leading)
7. We will be in California Dec 23 - Jan 1. Yay!!
