We have enjoyed a great & beautiful weekend in Washington, DC. The pictures below tell the stories themselves. This was a wonderful way to celebrate everything that our armed forces have fought so hard for - we are blessed to be Americans!
Many of you know who Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman is because he has been one of the more recognizable names in the music industry for almost two decades. For all his number one songs and all his Grammy awards I'm guessing the thing he'd tell you he is most proud of is he and his wifes opportunity to travel to China several times to work with orphans and adopt three children. Steven and his wife have three children and have adopted three children from China because they really have a passion for helping kids. Yesterday tragedy struck when their teenage son backed out of the driveway of their house while the family was playing outside and didn't see his 5 year old sister. Sadly, he backed over his little sister they had adopted from China and she was killed. As I'm sure you can imagine the family is devastated and in need of a lot of prayer. Events like this really make us once again face the fact we aren't promised another minute and to treasure this life God has given us and live it for Him.
Another note of tragedy I read today China is saying there is over 4,000 new orphans because of the earth quake. So many child without parents in a country that is so far from God.
Pray...pray...pray
This Memorial Day weekend Amanda and I are traveling to Washington,D.C. Amanda went to D.C. when she was a kid but I have never been so we're very excited about this little getaway. One of the great benefits of living in the NE is that you can get to some really neat places in the amount of time it would have taken us to get from Dallas to Lubbock...crazy. Thankfully Amanda has some family in Arlington,VA that we can stay with so this trip won't be that expensive. I hadn't even thought about it till I saw on a website that all the stuff in D.C. is "free" to get into. We know it isn't really "free" but that we have already paid for it with our tax money but it is nice to be able to tour some really cool places and not pay again :) Well we'll post pictures (that we took with our new camera from Amanda's dad) when we get back. Hope everyone has a great and safe holiday.
Chris & I began a young marrieds group at church just a few months ago. There are many great couples who we are beginning to build some real relationships with. We all know that a group is not complete without social activities! As we began discussing social events we found out that a member of our group teaches ballroom dancing - what a deal! We finally got it all organized and Saturday night we hit the floor! For those of you that know what a dancer I am you would have been completely impressed. Chris & I are great dancers! Now for the proof.....
Needless to say we love FOOD! We will pretty much try anything at least once. So last week we decided it was time to try real Indian food. Don't worry we had the best guides - Joy & Sharon Christian (& baby Marissa). Both Joy and Sharon were born in India but grew up mostly here in the New Jersey/New York area so they know all the best places for authentic dining experiences. They treated us to dinner at a small restaurant in Englewood, NJ. We had a great time! The food was excellent. We topped the night off with some Cookies n Cream ice cream at home. It should also be noted that this was Marissa's first restaurant experience and she was perfect! Everyone thought she was great! 
Chris & I also spent the past few weeks a little under the weather - some of us more than others. So last week while I lay in bed with STREP, I was sooo waiting for the day I could eat again and SUSHI was my main craving. Chris rewarded me Saturday night with a great dinner in Ridgewood, NJ at Gen Sushi. Our friends James and Judith came along for some Japanese as well. We introduced them to Japanese Soda - very cool if you have not had it. This restaurant also gives away Orange Japanese Gum at the end of dinner which we thought was really cool. Its the simple things in life right?
