Farrell Follies

NOLA

2011-01-31T17:09:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while Chris gets a burst of spontaneity and decides we need a weekend getaway - this time the destination was New Orleans! Chris' previous trip there was cut short by a hurricane & I had never been before so it was a great plan! We caught a Friday afternoon flight and were there before dinner. There was not alot of advance planning, but just enough. I had scoped out online some of the best restaurants and oyster bars to keep us busy while we were there. Friday night we hit up Acme's Oyster Bar. The key was getting there early before the line was out the door. We hit it just in time! I dined on po-boys, raw oysters & char grilled oysters. It was delish! After dinner we walked around the french quarter & then found a place for dessert. Chris had his fave bananas foster & I had pecan pie. Yummy! Saturday morning we had reservations at The New Orleans Cooking School. A friend had recommend it and boy was she right on! This may have my favorite part of the trip! I highly recommend this to anyone visiting NOLA. Lots of great food & great cooking tips. You sit at large round tables with random people - which of course Chris loved! We had a fun group! I think Chris' favorite part of this experience was the bread pudding and pralines! The boy is probably 50% sugar. They also serve Abita beer which is brewed locally and quite good. That afternoon we shopped & stopped by Pat O'Briens to have our token hurricane. They have many wonderful art galleries and great local shops. When our lunch wore off we grabbed a few more oysters and some local beer at Desire Oyster Bar. Our waitress there was a very knowledgeable local and we really enjoyed her company! I found a new beer to love - Abita's purple haze! So tasty! After some bar hopping we met up with Brad & Emily McKenzie (Baton Rouge residents). We had made plans for dinner with the McKenzie's at K Pauls restaurant. K Paul has many local specialties on the menu. Chris & Brad opted for the rabbit - I had a taste. It just seems wrong to eat rabbit. Any who we had an amazing time with them - as usual! We wish they loved a little closer so we could do this on a regular basis. Thanks again for making the drive over! Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast at Cafe du Monde, because well its not a trip to New Orleans if you don't. After hearing all the hype about it I can honestly say we weren't that impressed. I think I'll stick with donuts & Starbucks next time. So after waiting in line for a not so wonderful breakfast we set out to find a real one :) Finally we found one at Oceana Grill. With full tummies we set out to ride the cable cars to see the garden district. The homes were AMAZING! Architecture from many different areas are represented. The cable cars were a perfect solution for the rainy afternoon. After that is was time to head home. Fantastic weekend getaway!

San Francisco Treat

2010-10-15T21:23:00.001-04:00

Although Chris & I have both previously been to San Francisco we decided it was such a great place to visit that we would go for a week this year. We were also able to make a day trip up to Sonoma to see the wine country, and then down to San Jose to check out Stanford and Los Gatos. October is the perfect time to be in the bay area.

The weather was beautiful, cool in the mornings/evenings & warm all afternoon! Just perfect! We used the trolleys to take us all over town. We had the most amazing milkshake at Ghirardelli Square, clam chowder in a bread bowl at Boudins on Fisherman's Wharf & a wonderful birthday dinner for Chris at One Market! Basically all our vacations revolve around food - there is no reason to deny it, its who we are! I bought tickets in advance for a nighttime tour of Alcatraz which was great! Chris missed it on his last trip so it was a must see this time around. The views of the city at night were spectacular! One morning we took the trolley to Lombard and hiked the crooked street and then the hill to Coit tower. Again more amazing views of the city & the Golden Gate bridge. After a few days in the city we rented a car and drove up to Sonoma and toured a few wineries. We can't wait to go back just to the wine country for a few days. What an incredible area! So much to see and do. Chris also wanted to see Stanford and the southern parts of the bay area so after lunch at In N Out (cause we love it) we drove back through the city and south to San Jose. Stanford has a beautiful campus - its hard to imagine that people actually live and go to school there. We are certain they do not appreciate it! For dinner that evening we headed to Los Gatos - a great little suburb of San Jose. Food was fabulous and then we made our way back to the big city for a few more days. We attempted the Go Cars, but I just couldn't do it. The helmet was to much for me! Ha! So we settled for a bus tour that took us to Golden Gate Park and passed the Full House homes. The park was stunning! Lots of museums and other things to do. As for the Full House homes, well you just can't miss seeing part of your childhood :) Another bonus to this trip was meeting up with my cousin Nathan, his wife Chenda and their baby girl Preslea. We met up with the Shepards in Chinatown for some peking duck and catching up. They are the experts on the restaurants and it was nice to have an inside track on things. This was our first time meeting Chenda and Preslea. Chenda moved to the US just a year ago to marry Nathan. She has a wonderful personality and fits right into our family! We stayed at a great place near Union Square. Our trip happened to fall the week before the womens marathon in San Fran and the Nike store at Union Square was head quarters so we ventured in to see their store. Incredible! Chris really loved it. The last day was short and sweet. We managed to find an amazing sushi restaurant to grab lunch before we headed out of town.

I'm certain the pictures really tell it all.

Texas State Fair

2010-10-09T20:51:00.000-04:00

About five years ago Chris & I made our first trip to the state fair together, funny thing is I was on a "date" with one of his friends! And to make the story better Chris was the one responsible for the set up! So this year it was our turn to make OUR memories at the fair.

October has been a busy month so this was our only available weekend to go and well I guess nothing says Texas like the state fair during the UT vs OU football game weekend! It was crazy busy and there were a few to many sooners & t-sips for our taste - but we made the best of it! I would say the goal of the trip was mostly food related. We had fried oreos, chicken fried bacon, fried twinkies & I think there was a hot dog in there somewhere. All in all a beautiful day to take it all in!

FOUR - New York Style

2010-08-29T16:47:00.013-04:00

This year we had the opportunity to spend our 4th Anniversary in the Big Apple! Chris was making a trip to Long Island for work and I was able to tag along. We spent 3 glorious days back in the city - it was beyond wonderful! We took the LIRR into the city on Friday morning and had lunch at Carnegie Deli. They have some serious sandwiches! It was beyond filling! After lunch we made our way down to meet up with my old work buddies for a few drinks. We had such a great time catching up with Stacy, Mary & Jerilyn. I miss these girls so much! After happy hour we ran to the TKTS booth to find a show for the night. Chris landed us some great seats for "Rock of Ages". The show was great! Who doesn't love some good 80's rock n roll! When the show ended we made a quick trip to Juniors for some cheesecake and headed back to the room to devour it! Our hotel was perfect. Right in Time Square and just the right price! We highly recommend Hotel Mela for your future NYC trips. Saturday we slept in and then took the train down to Soho for brunch with Ramon & Lily. We met them at The Cupping Room Cafe. Chris had his favorite french toast! Lily brought along some of her famous meat spice for us to take home. These 2 people are just precious. So giving and so loving! It was a treat to get to spend just a few hours with them. That afternoon we roamed around the city and made sure to stop in at the NBA store - Chris' favorite! Then we cleaned up for another night out! First stop was drinks at 230 Fifth - The Rooftop Bar. Great sights and good drinks! We left there with just enough time to stop at Fish's Eddy in Union Square - my favorite shop! Then we jumped back on the train and headed to Greenwich Village for dinner with The Passaro's at Market Table. Dinner was amazing! The food was incredible as was the company! We could spend hours just chatting with Nick and Sue. In fact we basically were asked to leave - the next reservation had been waiting for like an hour :) Sunday morning we slept in until we had lunch plans at John's Pizza with the Bohannon's. So fun to catch up with their crew! That afternoon we toured the Central Park Zoo. We caught some incredible views of their polar bears! On our way back to the hotel for check out we made a few purchases at a street fair and took a quick walk through FAO Schwartz. Then we made our way to NJ to fly home. All in all the PERFECT anniversary weekend!

Charleston SC

2010-07-31T10:22:00.001-04:00

After we left Myrtle Beach we headed to Charleston for a few days with the other Farrell's - Chris' dad & Marsha. Chris, Rod & Marsha had all been before but this was my first time and it was amazing! Chris & I both love to see where history was made and even more where our national history began. If you remember we have toured Williamsburg Virginia which was a Colonial village. It was wonderful as well but Charleston was by far the best of the best! Charleston is a Colonial City so it has a wealth of history beyond that of Williamsburg. It should be categorized with Philly, Boston & NYC - which are also Colonial cities. For whatever reason though Charleston does not get the same amount of historical press. All that to say if you have the opportunity don't miss it!

We checked in on Friday morning at The Meeting Street Inn. They are located right next to the slave markets and just a short walk away from Rainbow row and many other sites. We meet up with Rod & Marsha for a late lunch at Magnolias Chris indulged in his first Shrimp & Grits experience, I had a fried green tomato sandwich - both were wonderful! Late that afternoon we took a carriage tour through the old city. For dinner we went to La Fourchette which was delicious! Chris had lamb chops & I had duck - not the norm for either of us but very, very good! We rode pedicabs to the restaurant which was a fun experience. After dinner we walked around and ended up at Charleston Place for after dinner drinks and a little piano playing. Saturday morning we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then headed out for a walking tour of the city. Our tour guide was wonderful! She focused on the history of the churches in Charleston. There are so many! Chris should really post something more on this because I will not do it justice! She also talked about the general history of the city and its people. Completely fascinating! It was a great tour despite the ridiculous hear & humidity! Next time we are going in early spring when its cool :). After the tour we went to lunch at Blossom. I was beyond overheated but I do remember the salad we had being fantastic as well as the pizza :) We did a little more walking around after lunch and then I spent a few hours cooling off in the hotel room while Chris & the parents hung out at a wine bar. Did I mention it was hot? Anyway that evening we had one of the most amazing dinners I have ever had. In keeping with the pattern we had already set we dined at Cypress. Chris had the oysters with ahi tuna as an appetizer, I had the almond fried brie - seriously it was unbelievable! For the main course Chris had the Beef Oscar and I had the Steak Diane. Both were quite tasty! Dessert was a masterpiece all its own! Chris ordered the Grand Marinier Soufle & I had the Chocolate Pecan Torte! Just writing about this brings a smile to my face! Sunday morning we had breakfast back at Charleston Place and then headed to the Aquarium to beat the heat! They have a great little aquarium that includes an albino alligator! It was so cool! Chris even held a small alligator. Then we headed the airport to come back home. Rod & Marsha we wonderful company on this trip as always! Marsha is a wonderful trip planner - we are very fortunate to have her :) Thanks again to the Farrells for taking us along for the ride!

Myrtle Beach 30-30-60

2010-07-26T09:50:00.001-04:00

This was a big year of birthday's in my family and we wanted to do something special. In March my Dad hit the big 6-0 and then in April Susan & I celebrated the big 3-0! So about a year ago we started planning a vacation to celebrate! In late July it all finally came together and we all boarded a plan to Myrtle Beach, SC. We rented a beach cottage for the week and had a blast! We spent the mornings & early afternoons on the sand and then cleaned up each evening for some shopping and dinner. It was so nice to relax and just hang out. We ate at some great seafood joints & a really great steakhouse as well. All in a all a wonderful vacation!

4th of July - Monsoon Style

2010-07-08T09:27:00.001-04:00

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Lubbock. I am not quite sure how much rain we got that weekend, but it was ridiculous! But we are not ruined by rain and managed to have a great weekend! The drive down & back was great - mostly because we got to spend it with our friends Brian & Kelli! They also have family in Lubbock so we car pooled. Lots of good laughs & great conversation for the 10-12 hours of car time. Definitely the best way to go! Saturday we hit Rosa's and then the movie theater to see Grown Ups. Great movie! Then Saturday night we had a cook out at Susan & Andrew's. Needless to say it was more of any indoor cookout due to the rain. Sunday morning Chris & I attended worship at Experience Life. It was phenomenal! We really enjoyed every bit of it! Looking forward to going again next time we are home. Sunday afternoon & evening we hung out with my mom & Joe. We had spaghetti for dinner and then chocolate rolls for dessert! Susan & Andrew's neighborhood is perfect for fireworks because they sit just beyond the city limits. We did a few of our own but mostly just watched everyone elses. Drew & Brooklyn neither one were big fans of all the load noises and the dark - but I am sure they will grow to love it! Monday we slept in, had lunch with the fam again and hit the road. Its never long enough - but at least we can drive back anytime we like :)

Happy Birthday, Diana!

2010-06-30T09:20:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed a great family dinner for Diana's birthday this year! Everyone met up at The Cheescake Factory for some food & of course cheesecake! It was great to celebrate and catch up with everyone. I am blessed to have a wonderful Mother-in-law. She raised a great man in Chris! Happy Birthday, Diana! We love you!

Fathers Day

2010-06-22T11:39:00.001-04:00

For the first time in several years we spent Father's day with Chris' dad. He and Marsha happened to be traveling to San Angelo for the weekend and we were able to make it as well. It was such a nice and relaxing weekend with Marsha's family - many of them I had never even met before. We really had a great time catching up with all the aunts, uncles & cousins. It was wonderful to spend time with Marsha's daddy as well. Sam is such a neat man. Chris has such a wonderful dad and I have been blessed in the same way by my father in law. Thanks again to the Farrell/Ross/Carmack families for a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Dick!

2010-06-07T11:37:00.005-04:00

We celebrated Dick's birthday this year family style and all hit the Main Event for some serious bowling! I think the little kids really enjoyed it and they were so much fun to watch. Afterwards we shared a meal together at Rudys. Good times had by all! Happy Birthday Dick! We love you!

(For some reason Chris did not get any pictures of Sarah or Dick....not sure why. Next time he will try to do a better job!)

Lake Athens Weekend Getaway

2010-06-06T11:34:00.001-04:00

Its summertime and that means fun in the sun! We hit the lake recently with our small group from church. It was a blast! There was plenty of tubing and skiing, along with some swimming. We also enjoyed a few meals together and of course there were smores! What would a lake trip be without a night around a campfire :) These precious couples have become great friends. We are truly blest to have a wonderful church family at MCFBC!

Mother Daughter Memorial Day

2010-05-31T11:32:00.001-04:00

This Memorial Day my mom came for a visit. It was the perfect long weekend! Shopping, cooking, eating, visiting & sunning by the pool! We also celebrated her birthday. Thanks Mom for making the trip - we always love having you here with us!

DAD & Cathrina

2010-05-26T09:37:00.005-04:00

This past weekend was AWESOME! My Dad & Cathrina drove in on Friday night to spend the weekend with us. After they arrived on Friday we headed straight to Babe's for dinner! If you have never been you are missing out on some of the best food of your life! We all enjoyed stuffing ourselves well beyond full! Saturday we headed to Studio Movie Grill to see Date Night and indulge in more food! Great movie and I think its safe to say we will be there again soon. I mean what could be better than watching a movie and having a waiter to wait on you hand & foot - not to mention they have free refills! Chris & I took a break from the diet we have been on and pumped ourselves full of Dr Pepper. It was amazing! That afternoon we did a little sightseeing, by way of some furniture & book shopping. Then Saturday night we topped the weekend off with mojitos, sangria swirls & wine at Gloria's. According to my Dad Gloria's was "WOW"! Which in our family means FANTASTIC FOOD, DRINKS & ATMOSPHERE. We were able to walk in and get a table within minutes on the patio. It truly felt like vacation! Sunday morning they headed back and we relaxed the day away.

Momma Jane

2010-05-15T15:01:00.003-04:00

What a treat is was to have lunch with my mom on Mother's Day weekend. She was in town to see my sister and of course the grand kids. We met them about halfway between Frisco & Weatherford. It really was wonderful! I have the best Mom around! She is a great friend and always a great encouragement to me. We look forward to having her at our house in just a few weeks. Lookout DFW malls! We will be on the loose! I love you mom!

H-Town Bound

2010-04-11T18:32:00.001-04:00

Easter weekend was a 3 day weekend at my office so Chris and I took advantage and headed South for some fun! During the time we lived in New Jersey we were blessed to meet many people but mostly The Thompsons! Jeff & Cindy were our very best friends while we lived there. They were such a wonderful support to us. They were also our favorite travel buddies! In May of last year they moved back to Texas and we have kept in touch. So this was our big reunion weekend! We drove down Thursday. Spent Friday & Saturday shopping, eating & watching movies. It was so wonderful! Then Saturday night we continued our reunion by meeting The Albanese's for dinner at the Galleria. Parking was a nightmare but it was totally worth it! It had been a long while since we had been able to just hang out with these 2 (now 3). Averie was cute as ever! Saturday night we landed at Casa Hobson for some more fun! Matt & Nicole welcomed James just a few months ago and we enjoyed so real time with him. The boys played some Super Mario Bros which was awesome! Sunday morning we did church and lunch and then hit the road. On the road home we were able to make one more stop to visit with my BFF Linn and her family. Always great to just hug her neck and chat. All in a ll a wonderful weekend! Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Birthdays R Us

2010-03-20T17:57:00.000-04:00

January, February & March are busy months for our families in regards to birthdays.

Our nephew Mason & niece Emmerson both turned 5 just a week apart from one another. Emmerson had a Disney party. We drove over to Weatherford and caught a little of the action! She was a very cute Minnie Mouse and had lots of wonderful things to share about her trip to Disney World! Then the next week Chris had to work, but I was able to join the family at The Magic Time Machine for Mason's birthday dinner. Chris & I both were able to make the Going Bonkers party. We all had a great time and Mason got some awesome toys! Here are a few pictures of our time with them.

Granty also celebrated a birthday and so we enjoyed the traditional birthday dinner at Abuelos. She is such a wonderful lady! We are happy to be living a little closer to her.

In March we headed to Lubbock to celebrate our niece Brooklyn's 1st Birthday right along side my Dad's 60th Birthday. It was a wonderful weekend! We really enjoyed all the family time and especially dinner with my Dad. Brooklyn was quite a hit with the birthday cake as you could imagine! She is so stinkin cute!

My Granny

2010-01-15T17:49:00.000-05:00

I am blessed beyond measure to have had such wonderful grandparents! They lived 6 blocks away for most of my life and we were able to spend so much time with them. It was all truly priceless! There were times when I thought I might not get married before they passed - what a great gift that I could share Chris with them in their last years. The holidays this year were bittersweet. Chris & I got to spend our first Christmas at home - but my granny was to sick to be there. However we did get some incredible one on one time with her late one night at the hospital. I think I somehow knew it might be the last time I would get to visit with her. So despite the fact that it was 3am we soaked it all up. She was the granny I remembered as a kid that night - and one we had not seen in months. To say that she was a Godly woman seems to be an understatement. I learned so much from her about life and about my Lord. I miss her like crazy! But I know there will come a day when we will be reunited - oh what a glorious day that will be!

I love you Granny!

MEXICO

2010-01-14T13:44:00.004-05:00

Oh how sweet it is to be on vacation....oh how hard it is to get back to reality!

We headed out New Years morning for a week vacation in MEXICO! Warm weather & all you can eat/drink! It was fabulous & I can't wait to do it all over again next year. But until then I will just soak in all these beautiful pictures! We stayed at the Aventura Spa Palace - it was wonderful! We would both highly recommend it! The hotel was great, but we did venture out to Playa for the day & also to Xel-ha. Xel-ha was beautiful! Another great recommendation for your next Mexican vacation! Chris & I both got some sun - which was awesome! I guess it makes up for our summer in NJ where we never saw the sun. Now we begin our countdown to the next vacation...to bad its 6 months away :(

Sidenote: we saw lots of Iguana's and I just could not pass up the opportunity to snap their picture...sorry if its a bit excessive!

White Christmas

2009-12-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

It seems Chris & I are on a roll of White Christmases. Last year we watched the snow fall in Vermont & this year it followed us to Lubbock. I love SNOW! So it was the perfect addition to our holiday celebrations. Unfortunately Christmas in our family was a little rough this year. My Granny fell and broke her hip just a few days before and so we spent the holiday on hospital rotations. However I really would not trade it for the world. Chris & I spend part of Christmas night at the hospital. My Granny had slept most of the day which made her awake & alert for our 9pm-3am shift. We just sat & talked. I held her hands, rubbed her back & just shared the details of our Christmas day. She commented on all her great grandchildren & how beautiful they are. It was truly priceless time! We always treasure our family time and this year was really no exception! I think the kids all had a wonderful Christmas!

Pre-Christmas Christmas

2009-12-21T13:33:00.001-05:00

This was the first year that Chris & I have been on a more typical holiday circuit with our families. Since we spent Thanksgiving with his family then we will be in Lubbock for Christmas. So his family had a Pre-Christmas Christmas this past weekend. The kids got tons of toys, games, clothes & costumes! I still cannot believe all the loot! We enjoyed spending the evening with everyone & watching the Cowboys afterwards. The pictures really tell it best...

Run the Rock

2009-12-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

My twin sister has always been the athlete, so it should be no surprise that she has a new hobby....running. A few years back she & a friend began training for a half marathon. They have since run 3. It just blows my mind! Anyway this year they were back to run the White Rock Half Marathon & fortunately for me we now live close enough to participate as spectators! Saturday night we "carb loaded" with she & Andrew at Bucca. Yummy food & great Sangria! Then Sunday morning I met up with Andrew, the kids & her in laws. We drove down together and found a place to spot her at mile 9. They stopped long enough to hug Drew & I got a quick photo op. Then it was back on the road to the finish line. Susan & Sarah set new personal records & were very pleased with how the race went. Congrats ladies!!!

JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS!

2009-12-06T21:26:00.001-05:00

It is so great to be back home where we can enjoy the little things in life...like my nieces Christmas dance recital. They did a number to a Jingle Bells tune. It was priceless! She was eating it up! We look forward to this spring when the next recital comes around. We love you Emmerson!

Gobble Gobble

2009-12-02T11:20:00.004-05:00

We have so much to be thankful for! This year has been a whirlwind, but we have seen God's faithful hand in everything & so we give thanks! It was nice to spend the holiday here in the Dallas area - no traveling required! Wednesday night we had dinner with our friends the McKenzie's in from Baton Rouge. We finally got to meet Anna Claire and she was so much fun! We only wished they lived closer so we could hang out more often. That evening we met up with Shane & Laura (who really need to update the blog) to see The Blind Side. It was soooo good! A must see for everyone out there :). Thursday we spent the afternoon & evening with Chris' family. Lots of good food & fun times at the park. Followed by a big Cowboys Win & an Aggie loss...I guess we can't have everything we want! The Seiferd's entertained again on Thursday night - definitely a night I will never forget. Not sure if I can explain without it becoming a novel, but I will try. We met them at a friends house (they were house/dog sitting) & headed for some relaxation in the hot tub. Got out of the hot tub to learn we had locked ourselves out in the cold. Its 11:30pm, we have no clothes (just bathing suits & towels), no shoes, no keys, no phone, no phone numbers...you get the picture! Fortunately we found some neighbors who were awake and were able to eventually call a locksmith. In the meantime we waited it all out in Shane's key less entry truck. But not before Shane & I found the dog poop in the dark! Good times my friends! Memories of a lifetime for sure :) Friday we slept in and then did a little Christmas shopping. I cooked up brisket for dinner and we enjoyed some time with Aunt Debbie & Uncle John. The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. We finished up a few more things from the to do list around the apartment & of course we decorated (or rather I decorated) for Christmas!

Here are some great pics from Thanksgiving Day mostly. And no unfortunately there are no pictures from the hot tub incident - you will have to picture that yourselves :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Drew!

2009-12-01T16:17:00.004-05:00

My little nephew turned 3 yesterday! He is such a big boy now and really it all goes way to fast even for us aunts & uncles. I still remember seeing him for the first time via Skype. We were living in Phoenix and could not be there for the birth. It was a cold snowy day in Lubbock so really Skype was the best way to see him even if we had been local. Drew is the perfect blend of Susan & Andrew - it is crazy how much he looks & acts like both of them! We love you Drew & we were so happy to celebrate with you this year! My sister threw a great party with a fire truck and everything! She really is so creative. Way to go sis you did an amazing job!

After the party Chris & I were able to hang out with family and friends we have not seen in at least a year! It is so awesome to think now we can see them whenever we would like :) We were able to have 2 double dates for coffee & lunch with 2 very special couples. Thanks for making time for us Rineharts & Kings! We look forward to doing it again soon!

This trip was also special because I got to meet my newest niece Brooklyn. She is already so big! I have serious time to make up for! She is a wonderful baby, so happy & sweet! We love you too Brooklyn!

Nashvegas

2009-12-01T15:44:00.003-05:00

The drive from NJ to TX is about 24 hours long - so we decided to enjoy the sites along the way to break things up and give our legs a good stretch! Our main stop was Nashville! Chris had never been before and well I barely remember it from a trip there when I was younger. We had a great time doing all the touristy things during the day. We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium and walked the streets of Broadway. For lunch we stopped at Jack's. Clearly it was the best choice as the line was out the door. They have some serious BBQ and everyone wanted to try it! After we had seen all we could see we met up with Cody & Raylissa Batten for dinner and then stayed the night at their house. It was so great to see them & meet their sweet little girl Trenda. Thanks again to the Battens for letting us stay & for entertaining us :)

We took tons of pictures....so enjoy as many as you can!

WDW 2009

2009-10-18T15:56:00.000-04:00

After we sent all of our stuff in a moving truck headed for Texas we hopped on a plane to Orlando to spend a week at Disney World. Amanda had been to Disney in the last decade but I hadn't been in over two decades and this was our first time to go together. We got there on my birthday so it was great because they gave us a gift card to buy stuff since we already had tickets. Another great thing about the time we were there was it was the International Wine & Food Festival so there were booths from tons of different countries and those booths had great food and wines to try.

We have decided that October is a great time to go because the weather is nice and the lines aren't that long. During our week there we visited all for Disney parks and also visited the two parks at Universal Studios. We really liked the rides at Universal & Adventure Island and were really glad we spent a couple days there. Another thing we enjoyed was our resort that we stayed at, the Wyndham Bonnett Creek was a great resort with a shuttle to all the Disney parks.

All in all it was a great trip and we look forward to the day we can go back!

Our FINALE

2009-10-11T15:21:00.000-04:00

Today was officially our last day in NYC....as locals that is...I am sure we will be back again but probably only as visitors.

These past 2 years have been many things:

a wild ride
trying times
once in a lifetime experience
horizon broadening
marriage building
faith testing
a great adventure
culture shock
unforgettable (in both good & bad ways)

I could probably go on forever! We are truly going to miss this place - because well we just love city life and trying new things :) God truly blessed us with an amazing opportunity to share our lives in a new town, new city & new culture! His divine plans are sometimes challenging but almost always rewarding on the flip side. We can see the impact we have left behind and Praise God for His work in NJ & NYC!

I am still trying to fathom life without Broadway musicals, weekend trips to Boston, apple picking, trips down the shore, subway & train rides - just public transportation in general, working on Wall St, Christmas in NYC, Soupman, Nuts for Nuts, Dean & Deluca, picnics in Central Park, shopping at Union Square, day trips to Princeton, citylights, South Seaport dinners....its definitely going to be a change! But we will press on and enjoy life back in Texas with real Mexican food, real COWBOY Football, real families dinners & holidays! Its going to be great!

Today we completed our 2 year tour with a trip to St Pauls Chapel, Trinity Church, Stone Street, dinner at Spotted Pig in the West Village, dessert at Milk & Cookies!

Next stop DISNEYWORLD!

Family Ties

2009-10-04T10:07:00.003-04:00

We have been anticipating the arrival of Chris' family for sometime now and they finally arrived! Chris & I had made plans for several fun things in NYC as well as a trip to Atlantic City & Princeton. The weather cooperated and we were able to see & do so much in just a few short days! Everyone arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Chris entertained while I worked :) After work we showed them around Union Square and hit a few of my favorite shops, including Fish's Eddy (check out their website sometime, they have awesome stuff!). Then we headed to Soho for dinner at Hundred Acres, another place worth checking out. The food was incredible and the atmosphere even better! We had the perfect table right on the street. At dinner we announced our big news WE ARE MOVING TO TEXAS! Chris had the creative idea to wrap up our new address and give it to them at dinner. Everyone was so surprised and VERY excited! Wednesday Chris and fam spent the day at Liberty & Ellis Island learning a little while they saw the sites! That evening we had dinner at Alfredo's of Rome. Chris & I had eaten at the one in Rome and the New York location did not disappoint! The service there was incredible and the food was just as expected! Dinner was followed by tickets to Jersey Boys. The show was UNBELIEVABLE! So GREAT! We would go again in a heartbeat! Obviously I highly recommend it!!! Thursday we set out for Atlantic City and enjoyed dinner & a nice walk along the Boardwalk. Its definitely not Vegas but we still had a great time! We stayed the night in ATL City and then set out for Princeton on Friday morning. Princeton is one of Chris & I's favorite NJ cities...probably our most favorite! They have great shops, fabulous food & awesome architecture. We all enjoyed walking around and then had a tasty Italian dinner at Teresa's Caffe. For dessert we checked out The Bent Spoon. They have some serious ice cream and make it fresh from NJ products & produce. Be sure to ask Chris about the habanero pepper & chocolate he tasted :) Saturday was short & sweet, lunch at Nellies and then off to the airport. So easy to say goodbye when you know you will see each other again in 3 weeks!

Top of the ROCK

2009-09-04T09:23:00.003-04:00

Over the Labor Day weekend Chris had some time off work so we spent the afternoon touring the Top of the Rock @ Rockefeller! It was the perfect day! Beautiful weather and no crowds! We had such a great time soaking it all in. The views are just amazing and they really give you a feel for the size of New York City. Top of the Rock is definitely a must see!

Perfect Picnic

2009-08-31T20:48:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago Chris & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with a fabulous (and probably once in a lifetime) picnic in Central Park. The day was AMAZING! It was sunny, clear, dry & 80 degrees. I am certain it was the most perfect day we had all summer long. Earlier in the week I ordered a picnic "box" from a local gourmet grocery store & then we grabbed a sleeping bag and headed out. We found a great spot in one of the larger meadows and set up shop. The food was awesome & the company was even better! This will definitely be a hard day to beat on future occasions.

Sophia Alexis Jones

2009-08-29T22:20:00.004-04:00

We are thrilled to have another beautiful niece! Sophie was born Friday, August 28th. She is just perfect! Chris & I are looking forward to meeting her soon!

Congratulations Brian, Sarah & big brother Ethan!

LOVE x THREE = YOU & ME

2009-08-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Anniversary Chris!

Three years ago today I married the man of my dreams! I love you more with each passing day & I thank God for bringing our lives together. You truly are my life and my world!

Brad Paisley sings it best in his new song THEN:

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mezmorized
And three weeks later, in the front porch light
taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
but I thought I loved you then

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

And i remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care
Got down on one knee right there once again,
I thought I loved you then

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way
And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then

MOM

2009-07-07T18:37:00.007-04:00

Should I even say anything else, I think the word MOM speaks volumes alone! It has been 7 months since my mom and I last saw each other last - way to long if you ask me, way to long! A month or so back we finally got her flight booked and began the countdown to her arrival in NJ.

Last Wednesday we picked her up at the airport and the fun began! We took her to our favorite pizza place for dinner on Wednesday, caught the matinee on Thursday followed by Chicken n Dumplins for dinner, Friday morning we dropped Chris at work and headed to the outlet mall for some shopping & then had Omaha Steaks for dinner, Saturday we snoozed and then walked around Ridgewood and had Chicken Fried Steak for dinner, & Sunday we worshipped at Brooklyn Tabernacle, had lunch at Max Brenner & relaxed the afternoon and evening away - just taking in the last bit of time together! I love her so much! Its like detox this week to get back to life as we know it. She is a great mentor to me, my best friend, my free counselor, my nieces & nephews Mimi, my husbands fantastic MIL, a fabulous chef, & most importantly a lover of Christ! I seriously could not wish for more - she is the whole package people!

Thanks for taking time out to come see us, we loved every second of it!

Childhood Friendship

2009-07-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

Today is the 30th birthday of a childhood friend of mine. So to celebrate a small post in her honor.

Leslie and I grew up together basically from infancy through college. Its crazy to think back to all the slumber parties, youth group get togethers, social club events, ski trips, family dinners & even recent times in Lubbock we have shared. We have had many experiences together. Her laugh is contagious and I don't even have to be in her presence to think of it! She is beautiful inside and out. It has been so fun to keep up with each other through the blogosphere and hear about what a great mom and wife she is. I could only wish we lived closer and could spend more time together. How blessed we are to have parents that brought us together so many years ago. Here is to more Espresso Shakes at Daybreak in Lubbock soon!

Happy Birthday Leslie!

Fleet Week

2009-05-31T21:45:00.018-04:00

For Memorial Day this year Amanda & I decided to venture into the city for "Fleet Week", if you're not familiar with what "Fleet Week" is then you need to check it out sometime. "Fleet Week" is a week celebrating our service men & women here in NYC. During the week several active duty ships port in the NYC harbor and all sorts of activities go on. On Memorial Day we went and toured several ships (Intrepid, Iwo Jima & Army Cargo to be more specific), a submarine (the Growler - known for its part in cruise missle development), and the old Concord airplane. One of my favorite things was talking with some of the sailors about their tours of duty...makes you really proud to have met these great soldiers! After spending a few hours touring we decided since it was so nice outside to walk down and have lunch at "Hell's Kitchen" which was really good and we got to sit outside. It was a great day to remember all the brave soldiers who have died to make our country free...thank you!

Look out RICHARD SIMMONS....

2009-05-19T13:36:00.007-04:00

In case you ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at the Farrell house....now you know!

Never a dull moment around here and always entertaining :)

I love you babe!!!

Southern Style VACATION

2009-05-17T19:57:00.027-04:00

Really the word VACATION says it all! Chris & I spent the first week of May in Atlanta, Savannah & Hilton Head. Atlanta was the first stop. We spent a few days visiting friends, being regular tourists & Chris was able to attend the Drive conference at Northpoint Church. You can read all about what he learned there by visiting his blog here. It was so great to see the Matthews as well as all my old Cantoni friends. My time in Atlanta was such a huge part of who I am today and it was great to share that with Chris this time around. Thanks again to the Matthews for the wonderful hospitality - we love you guys! As for our days as tourists....we visited CNN Center, the NEW World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium. While Chris was at the conference I was able to go out on the town with Nina, Kohl, William, Brent & Mercedes for dinner and drinks at Six Feet Under. We had a blast as usual! After a few wonderful days in Atlanta we made the short drive to Hilton Head to visit the other Farrell's and enjoy the sites at Savannah. Since we were last at Haig Point there has been an addition to the family - Dusty the Golden Retriever. Our first morning was spent at the beach playing fetch with Dusty and loving every minute of it! I mean who could resist his sweet face and fancy tail! We relaxed and had lunch at the Beach Clubhouse to take in the water view. It really was a beautiful day! The next morning we headed to Savannah where we took the trolley tour around town. We stopped and walked around the river shops and had a delicious lunch at Vic's. The seafood was amazing! While shopping we also stopped to have a taste of the wonderful pecan pralines....mmmmmm good. The next few days we rode bikes around the island, hunted for baby alligators, had dinner at Marshside Mama's and road Rick's boat to lunch one afternoon. Thank you Rod and Marsha for a great visit. All in all a very good vacation!

Amanda's Birthday

2009-04-26T21:57:00.004-04:00

This weekend we celebrated Amanda's 29th birthday Saturday night and Sunday with our friend Jeff and Cindy. Saturday night we decided to go check out what Soho had to offer and ate at this great little restaurant called "Nolita House". The food there was amazing and we loved the great weather. After dinner we stayed at Jeff and Cindy's apartment in Hoboken overlooking the Hudson River and looking out on the NYC skyline. Sunday we got up and went to brunch at the famous "Tavern on the Green". The food wasn't what it is all about but the place is amazing. This weekend is the first official heat wave so after brunch we walked through Central Park to enjoy seeing everyone out and loving the weather. I'm so blessed to have Amanda in my life and it was so fun to celebrate her 29th with our friends in the big city!

Happy Birthday Madison!

2009-04-17T08:55:00.001-04:00

Today this beautiful little girl turns 2! It is hard to believe she is getting so big. Chris & I will never forget the first time we laid eyes on you, Madison Mizell. We were home for a visit and Mason was so excited for us to meet you. He immediately introduced you as "my beautiful Madison". So sweet! You captured our hearts - just like your brother and cousin. This past year was a real treat for me because I was able to see you a few extra times. We played at the mall and I got to tag along for Halloween. Your personality continues to develop and we love to hear all the stories about you! Chris got to love on you at Thanksgiving and I think he is smitten :) We hope you have a very Happy Birthday!

In Your Easter Bonnet.....

2009-04-12T20:43:00.014-04:00

Happy Resurrection Day! He is risen...He is risen indeed!

Today on this special day remembering what Christ did for us and still continues to do for us today we decided to celebrate with friends in the city. We had brunch at Tribeca Grill(Robert DeNiro is part owner) which was really good. After brunch we made our way down to the Easter parade on Fifth Avenue. Evidently the parade is a big deal - there were so many people out and it was fun to walk around and see every ones Bonnet. I decided to stick my head in and enjoy a little of the Easter Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The wind was pretty strong and the temp was in the 40's but the sun was out and it was a beautiful day to play in the city. We have so much to be thankful for but most of all we should be thankful for what Christ did for us in dying and raising from the dead so that if we place our faith in Him we might have eternal life. He is risen indeed!

The parade is a tribute to the traditional Easter Bonnet. There were many to see....here are a few we caught on camera. Keep in mind this is NYC. In case you have forgotten the tune, here is the chorus as a reminder.

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.
Ill be all in clover and when they look you over,
Ill be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade.
On the avenue, fifth avenue, the photographers will snap us,
And you'll find that you're in the rotogravure.
Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet,
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter parade.

THE VIEW

2009-03-22T18:19:00.003-04:00

Last week Chris & I got to be a part of the audience at THE VIEW. It was a really cool experience. We are not regular watchers - or watchers at all for that matter - but it was definitely a great way to spend part of our day! We were there on St Paddy's day, dressed in out GREEN! We had really great seats and Marisa actually got to do the commercial break with Whoopi. How cool is that!! Elizabeth Hasselbeck spoke directly to Chris which he thought was AMAZING! They had three guests, Gary Sinise was there promoting the documentary "Brothers At War" which is the executive producer for, Dr Drew from Celebrity Rehab promoting his new book (if you really want a copy we have 2 and would gladly give them away :)) & last but certainly not least Jay Mohr. Jay was hilarious! Probably the highlight of the show that day. Afterwards we headed to Little Italy for some pizza. Another great day in NYC!

In case you missed the show you can view it at ABC's website.

Beantown Roadtrip

2009-03-08T18:30:00.009-04:00

One of the great things about living in the Northeast is there are so many fun places that are within driving distance from us. One of the great places we'd never been before was Boston so we along with our buddies Jeff & Cindy Thompson decided to make a road trip of it. Since three of the four of us are unemployed we decided to see how we could do this on the cheap and still hit the major things we needed to see. It was a quick Friday evening to Sunday afternoon but we did it!

For those of you who have been to Boston you know that you can't do Boston without at least three things: Fenway Park, Clam Chowder, and JFK. Saturday was a busy day of walking the Freedom Trail so that we could see all the historic buildings and eating lunch at the oldest constant running restaurant in America...Ye Old Union Oyster House. Later that afternoon we toured the JFK Presidential Library which I thought was really cool. Saturday evening we rocked out Harvard Square so that we could see the university and eat some Cajun/Mexican food...it was seriously spicy.

Sunday we got up and on our way home took a tour of the oldest US battleship the USS Constitution, had lunch at the House of Blues and saw Fenway Park. We had a great time and did it all for about $250! Who says you can't have a cheap vacation!

Side Note: Chris failed to mention that we also got to visit a childhood friend of mine. Rachel & I have been friends since sometime in Elementary school. We recently reconnected. It was great to see her and meet her husband Stephen and new baby girl Marlee. We rarely see each other, but always enjoy catching up! Here is to seeing each other before another ten years passed :)

Brooklyn Kale Cox

2009-03-06T12:53:00.007-05:00

We are proud to be an Aunt & Uncle again. My sister gave birth to Brooklyn Kale Cox this morning at 8:10am. She is a big girl, weighing in at 8lbs 13oz! Susan is doing great! All the grandparents are loving it! Drew has been all smiles since she arrived - what a sweet big brother. We look forward to seeing more of Brooklyn later today via Skype and maybe this summer we will get to love on her in person. Congratulations Susan, Andrew & Drew!

Disclaimer: Some of these pics are mobile uploads so they are a little fuzzy.

O-H-I-O

2009-02-18T20:13:00.006-05:00

Anytime there is a holiday or just a 3 day weekend we take serious advantage! So for the Valentines/President's Day weekend we headed to see friends in Columbus Ohio. Home of THE Ohio State....but even more important...home to Chris & Rebecca Testa! We flew in late on Thursday night - after a short 5 HOUR delay out of Newark. The weekend was WONDERFUL! It exceeded my expectations :) We basically just hung out and caught up on life. It had been a full 18 months since we left Phoenix together. Hard to believe so much has happened in that time. The BEST and BIGGEST change....the addition of Shayden Joseph! Such a cute and sweet little guy! We really enjoyed loving on him and he really enjoyed Chris' growling entertainment :) To top off the weekend we got another trip to Sonic & lunch at Abuelos. Columbus gets 2 thumbs up from us! The Zoo was great too. Here is to not letting 18 months go by before we get to see our friends again!

Thanks for all the fun and hospitality Testa's! We love you guys!

The City of Brotherly LOVE

2009-02-11T17:54:00.007-05:00

In a effort to take advantage of living in the NE - we have been trying to cram in as many sights as possible while we are here. So Saturday we ventured out just a an hour & a half southwest of here to see the city of brotherly love - PHILADELPHIA! We got up bright and early, picked up our friends Jeff & Cindy and hit the road. Our tour started at the Liberty Bell & Independence Hall. It was amazing to see where our country officially started. Independence Hall was the setting for so much of America's history. It reminded Chris & I alot of Williamsburg, Va. The Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution were both written and voted on in these rooms. Rooms that at one time were lived in by British soldiers and walls that were peed on by them - literally! I would not make this stuff up on my own :) For lunch we scoped out a good Philly Cheesesteak joint. Evidently its really hard to go wrong because we were given multiple suggestions. The sandwiches were really good - even with the cheese whiz! After lunch we walked around Christ Church, Betsy Ross' house & the Christ Church burial ground where Benjamin Franklin and his wife are buried. Then the search began for ROCKY! We made the short drive through downtown to the Museum of Art and there he was, just hanging out at the bottom of the steps he used to run. Chris was loving it! He and Jeff even mildly attempted a reinactment. The video of Chris is below. After finding Rocky we went in search of CHEESECAKE!!! Unfortunately it seems that Philadephia has overlooked its own namesake - Philadelphia Cream Cheese. We could not find cheesecake anywhere in downtown. We asked multiple locals and all of them suggested diners outside the city. Chris says he is going to write the mayor. Perhaps he can post about how that turns out later. Anyway, all in all a very good trip and something we can check off the list!

To hear the sound on the video you have to pause the blog music on the bottom right. Enjoy!

SUPERBOWL TIME

2009-02-10T20:05:00.005-05:00

This year we celebrated the Superbowl with Jeff & Cindy. Just a small carb-free party! We cheered on the Cardinals. They played so well. We also all enjoyed the 3-D additions to the commercials. Good times were had by all :)

Happy Birthday Mason!

2009-02-04T11:10:00.001-05:00

Today is Mason's 4th Birthday and so we are celebrating - even from a distance! It has been a joy to watch Mason grow over the past few years. He is turning into a little boy so quickly. Mason is a clear leader, especially on the playground, its seems he is the life of the party! He has such a cute way with words. I will never forget when he introduced Chris & I to his little sister Madison....we walked out the door and he looked up and said "This is my beautiful Madison". So sweet! He is definitely a great big brother! These pictures capture just a few of our memories with Mason. We hope you have a wonderful birthday and hope to see you soon!

Happy Birthday Emmerson!

2009-01-27T21:13:00.003-05:00

Four years ago today I was sitting at my desk in Dallas and waiting for the call. My older sister Becky was in labor with the my first niece, Emmerson Lauren Cave. When she arrived I made the drive to Fort Worth to meet her. It was a special day for our family! She is a sweet little princess! It has been amazing to watch her grow and change. I love her beautiful blond hair and to hear her laugh! She is a great entertainer & singer! Being an Aunt is one of the greatest things in the world and she was only the beginning! Today is her big day and I hope it was a wonderful one!

We love you Emmerson!

Disclaimer: Too all our other nieces and nephews....this is the start of birthday posts :)

CHRIS

2009-01-22T11:54:00.003-05:00

I know that I do not tell people enough how FANTASTIC & WONDERFUL my husband is. I am one lucky girl! He is so kind, loving, giving, patient & a friend to everyone. He is great listener when I need to vent, he is the ultimate comedian when I need a good laugh or even when I am angry :) He makes me a better woman, wife, sister & friend. I cannot thank the Lord enough for this blessing He has given me! Our life together has already been an AMAZING ADVENTURE! I cannot wait to see what journey will be next!

With that said....we are turning over a new leaf in 2009. We are back on the church hunt and thrilled to be there! It will be a struggle on some days but we are GAME! God is good! It is so exciting to look into the future and know that it is even better than today. I am confident is the Lord's promises and I know that we will be used in so many ways.

We have been working for months to try and get all of Chris' sermons online so everyone can enjoy them.....and now we have SUCCESS!

Please check it out!

http://www.pastorchrisfarrell.blogspot.com/

Korean BBQ

2009-01-21T22:13:00.005-05:00

I think one of the best parts of living in this area has been the culture - or the amount of culture. There are so many different people and different nations represented in the United States. Chris & I love to experience foreign cultures anytime we get the opportunity.

This last week we went KOREAN with Andy & Ellen Choi. We met Andy & Ellen through our young marrieds ministry and then we also participated in a small group with them. They a parents to 3 amazing little boys and we just love spending time with them! So Saturday night we headed to Fort Lee and had dinner is a large Korean area. It was awesome! It honestly felt like we were in another country. Andy did all the ordering and some of the "teaching". We had BBQ - Korean style. The food was fabulous! We are looking forward to experiencing it again real soon!

For those of you who love the details...we had spare ribs & pork, along with soups & sides. Chris & I successfully tried everything which really impressed our friends! We are suckers for a good time what can I say :) The rice wine was a big hit as well. We are hoping our next adventure with the Choi's will be at a Korean grocery store! They go every week - we can't wait to see it.

No Longer DREAMING

2008-12-27T13:51:00.006-05:00

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

As one of three girls in a very musical home we spent every Christmas season singing and watching "White Christmas". We loved the movie and knew all the songs by heart! This Christmas the movie came to life for Chris & I.

A few weeks back Chris found a special at The Mountain Top Inn of Chittenden Vermont. So we booked it and have been looking forward to seeing the sites and experiencing a New England Christmas - just the two of us! We headed out on Tuesday the 23rd. It was a short 4 hour drive with lots of beautiful scenery along the way. We arrived at the Inn and got everything unloaded and into our Ike's View Luxury Suite! That's right we stayed in the room where President Eisenhower spent many of his own vacations. The view was amazing! We then made the short drive to Woodstock Vermont and did some shopping and walking and eating. Woodstock is such a cute little town and the perfect place to be at Christmas. Just a week before we arrived the area had gotten about 2 feet of the powdery white stuff! It was beautiful! That evening we had dinner at The Prince & the Pauper. Great food & a great atmosphere. Afterwards we walked over to the Woodstock Inn to look around. Then we headed back to our Suite for the night.

The next morning we drove back to the Woodstock area to Quechee Vermont. Quechee is home to one of only a few Simon Pearce galleries. Simon Pearce is a famous glass blower. The work these craftsmen produce is unbelievable! I could have bought every piece in the whole shop (although it would have cost me millions!). They also dabble in pottery and we spent a few minutes talking to one of a few potters. I probably could have watched he and the glass blowers for days. It was so interesting to watch. The tools and molds they use are fascinating! There is also a restaurant on the premises so we did lunch there as well. The food was great and the view was awesome! All of the Simon Pearce workshops are hydro powered and very environment friendly. This location sits on a waterfall and right next to a typical Vermont wooden bridge. We took in a few more shops in the Quechee area and a few in Killington before we drove back to the Inn for the evening.

Christmas Day was WHITE! It snowed all morning! We slept late and then laid in bed just enjoying the snowstorm. I was kidding around with Chris and asked him where all my presents were (we traditionally only exchange an ornament - this year we bought them together in Woodstock). He reached over to his side of the bed (I had no clue what he was doing!) and pulled out a box from Simon Pearce! What in the world! He totally got me and it was a wonderful surprise! Our entire afternoon at Simon's I had been eyeing these little Christmas trees of glass. We even had them on our table in the restaurant so I took a picture to remember them. He snuck out at lunch to "go to the restroom" and he bought me one then he hid it in the car! Seriously he is the best husband ever! The little Christmas tree made my day :) We did lunch at the Tavern downstairs at the Inn and then Chris did some serious sledding! That afternoon we snuggled up in our room and just relaxed. About 5pm we went over to the Activities center for our horse drawn sleigh ride. It was cold! But we really loved it! Such a special way to spend Christmas! We had dinner reservations at 7pm in the Dining Room.

Christmas 2008 was the kind dreams are made of.

We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to 2009.

Merry Christmas....Happy New Year

2008-12-18T20:27:00.003-05:00

We want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas! May God bless you in 2009.

GO COWBOYS!

2008-12-15T21:46:00.004-05:00

Life in The Meadowlands can be rough....but we have survived and now we have overcome! We watched the Sunday night game with our Giant loving friends the Horn's. Everyone devoured some hot wings, french fries & even a few Christmas cookies. It was so much fun! But I am probably biased because the COWBOYS WON! It was a rough game, but a win like that is still a big win. Josh and Heather were great sports! Alyssa on the other hand changed her ways and cheered on the COWBOYS much to her parents dismay. She loves Chris and at least for Sunday night showed her love for the COWBOYS!

Brad & Emily

2008-12-07T18:58:00.016-05:00

This past week Brad & Emily came to visit. Emily's birthday is TODAY, but we all celebrated early with a few evenings in NYC. We had dinner on Wednesday night here in NJ at Nellie's (our favorite pizza place), Thursday we all met up at Union Square and had dinner and most importantly dessert at Max Brenner - Chocolate By The Bald Man, and Friday we hit Virgil's for some local BBQ. I think we probably all vote Max Brenner as the best! The smell as you walk through the doors is AMAZING! Brad would say you could "lick the air"! For dessert Emily & I shared an ice cream bar dipped in chocolate sauce, nuts and chocolate candy. What a great combination! Chris had a Concoction - not sure what all was in it but he basically licked it up! Brad was the brave one. He had the Mexican Hot Chocolate. Yes that is hot chocolate with a pepper kick - weird but he loved it :) In between all the food we had some wonderful conversations and caught up on life. Christmas time is so exciting in NYC! So many decorations to take in and the shops are buzzing. We visited Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree - it is beautiful this year! At Union Square we stopped and look at the holiday shops. They are my favorite! The Christmas Season is officially here!

Thanks for a wonderful week guys! We hope to see you again soon!

THANKSGIVING - Texas Style

2008-12-03T15:26:00.005-05:00

We are so thankful to have spent the past week and a half with our families in Texas. We left NJ on November 20th and returned just last night. It was a wonderful time with friends, food, family, football & a few other things in between. By the time it was all over we had eaten THREE Thanksgiving dinners! Needless to say that will make up for not being home at Christmas.

We hit Dallas first to see Chris' family and our first Thanksgiving dinner. That Sunday we had lunch with several friends. It is always so nice to catch up with everyone. Monday night we had Thanksgiving dinner with my old Life Group. They cooked a fried turkey and it was so tasty! Due to my October and November work schedule I was able to attend 3 Life Group meetings - AWESOME! One night we managed to do dinner with all the siblings at RA and then dessert! We had a wonderful time and wish we could do that more often. I guess we will have to hope that they come visit us in the big city soon!

Wednesday we made the short flight to Lubbock to see my family. Thursday we spent the day at my aunts house stuffing ourselves with STUFFING! We watched the COWBOYS win, and Chris watched his Aggies lose. I guess maybe those even each other out :) Then Friday my sister and I braved the early morning black Friday sales. Mostly we did it just to say we had. I can almost guarantee it will never happen again! Chris slept in and so did Drew. Saturday we took family pics and then headed to the TECH game. It was chilly, but we had a great time! Sunday we ran a few errands and then headed to my moms for a Chicken Fried Steak dinner - Chris' favorite (my mom loves to spoil us). Then we made our way back to Dallas in route to NJ. We filled ourselves up with the last Texas food we could get and the flew out.

Party of Five

2008-11-17T20:55:00.005-05:00

Kendra, Kristin, Linn & Me - Brad is taking the picture!

Last weekend was a sort of reunion weekend. My college roommate and I met up for a girls weekend of sorts. We shopped and ate and stayed up way to late catching up on life :) I can't believe we let so much time go between visits, but we never seem to skip a beat. Linn & I spent one evening with a few other close college friends. It was like freshman year all over again! Except for all the conversations surrounding every ones kids :) I honestly cannot explain the friendship we all share. We basically lived our entire freshman year together, every weekday and every weekend. Believe it or not most of it is caught of tape! Man I miss those days :) These are people I always love sharing life with! They are the most amazing people I know, and the most amazing parents I know as well! I love you all! I miss you all!

Linn & Me

Home again, home again....

2008-11-17T20:50:00.003-05:00

October & November have been traveling months for me. I have been working on a project in Dallas and have taken advantage of the opportunity to see family...especially all our nieces and nephews! I just can't get enough! My first trip to Dallas fit right around Halloween so that was a real treat! During the week I was able to meet my sister and her crew for dinner. Then for Halloween I went with Chris' fam to their church fair. It was a great trip!

We love being an aunt & uncle!

The Farrell Four

2008-11-17T19:02:00.003-05:00

Back in October we finally got to spend a weekend with the other Farrell's, Chris' dad & step mom. Rod & Marsha took the train up overnight from Savannah to Newark for a visit. We had a wonderful time! It was our first chance to really show off New Jersey. We had the most amazing dinner at Highlawn Pavilion in West Orange. The food was fantastic and the view was even better! What a great way to celebrate a few late birthdays. Then Saturday we started our day with the largest pancakes ever! Next we headed to Princeton for some apple picking and taking in the sites. We enjoyed Terhune Orchards (thanks Marcy) and ice cream at Halo Pub. To top the weekend off we did lunch on Sunday at Nellie's - our favorite pizza place. It was so great to spend time with family!

Grumbling About the Election

2008-11-05T16:06:00.002-05:00

Today someone sent me the blog posting of Pastor Joe Stowell. I believe what you will read below it great words of wisdom so I hope you'll think about what he says.

Our Only Hope

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

The early days of November in America signal election time, when the politicians maneuver for votes and the people cast their ballot for their favorite candidates. And, like it or not, for the next few years we are stuck with whoever wins. If it’s not our kind of candidate, Christians can get pretty down in the dumps.

To hear some of us talk, you’d think that our only hope for righteousness and godliness lies in the hands of the government. I’ll never forget the time when I was speaking to a group in Florida regarding the importance of living for Christ in the deepening darkness of our changing culture. I said, “America has changed, and we’re not going to get our good old America back”—to which a man in the front row blurted out, “Oh, no, that can’t be! If that’s true, we have no hope!”

Since when was our hope to be found in Washington, DC? When did we start thinking that it’s the government’s job to uphold, promote, and protect biblical truth and values? Actually, it’s not such a surprising misunderstanding. Christians in the US have experienced an unusual phenomenon in the history of the world. Rarely, if ever in modern history, has there been a nation built more squarely on the fundamental tenets of a biblical heritage than our nation. But that has all changed. We join Christians throughout time that have lived successfully in nations where Christ is not honored as they light up their dark and decadent world with the light of Jesus.

If you feel betrayed when the government doesn’t advocate truth and righteousness, then you have misunderstood the biblical mandate for those in authority over us. Romans 13 tells us that their job is to keep the peace, collect the taxes, and rule in authority over their subjects—hopefully for the good of the people. Other than the unique relationship God had with the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, He never assigned government the task of upholding and advancing biblical truth. That’s our job as His followers. The advancement and articulation of godly values is up to us, and quite frankly we no longer have the luxury of always expecting our government to help us in the process.

Christians through the ages have lived under hostile, oppressive, pagan systems and have often thrived in those kinds of environments. This was true of the early New Testament believers who, during times of ruthless political regimes upheld their faith under great cultural pressure. They understood that they, not their governments, were the light of the world. They followed Paul’s instructions to submit to the governing authorities, pay taxes, and even honor, respect, and pray for those in authority (Romans 13:1-7). And they understood that a Christian’s only hope is in the protection that God provides.

When we follow this biblical mandate, we will shift our hope and confidence from the White House to the throne room in heaven. It will realign our attitudes toward our leaders, and release us to get on with the business of being the torchbearers God intends us to be. So no matter who wins the election, remember that it is your high privilege to be the light of your world.

YOUR JOURNEY…

* Read Romans 13:1-7. Paul emphasizes: “There is no authority except that which God has established.” How does your view of God’s sovereignty challenge your attitude toward those in government today?
* What can you do to show your submission to the government and at the same time uphold truth and righteousness?
* Paul instructed Timothy to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). How often do you pray for government leaders?
* As you meditate on the verses for today, do you feel your attitudes aligning with God’s calling to advance what is good and godly in your world? What kind of actions should grow out of your refocused attitude?

"My Next Thirty Years"

2008-10-12T19:53:00.008-04:00

Its official, Tim McGraw's words have come true in our small household! We celebrated Chris' birthday all weekend long. Saturday he got to watch football all day and then we headed to Hoboken for more football and dinner at Bonefish with our friends Jeff & Cindy. After dinner there was a little more football - big surprise! Then we spent the night in Jeff & Cindy's guest room with a spectacular view of Manhattan. Sunday morning we had breakfast all together and then we headed back to Hawthorne for church. After church we had lunch at Dave & Rebecca Schuits and then came home to our community group to celebrate yet again. There was plenty of cake and candles to last the NEXT THIRTY YEARS!

I think Ill take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now its time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things Ive done
Maybe now Ive conquered all my adolescent fears
And Ill do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I'm doing here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe Ill remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

JAMAICA - Sandals Negril

2008-10-07T22:00:00.012-04:00

Hard to believe last week we were basking in the Jamaican sun & tonight we are in NJ and the temperature is expected to be in the 30's. At least I still have a TAN - well sort of :)

In just a few days Chris will officially be thirty! So to celebrate this milestone we spent last week in Negril Jamaica at the Sandals Resort with our friends Matt & Nicole.

SIDENOTE: Chris and Matt actually met as infants in the hospital, they share the same birthday. Matt's mom Dee & Chris' mom Diana met in their birthing class and developed a friendship. Not long after they met again at the hospital - this time both were in labor! Matt was a week late & Chris a week early - both arrived on October 12, 1978.

It was such a wonderful VACATION! We slept late, we ate fancy meals, we toured the jungle on a river and on a rope! We took way to many pictures, but there was so much to see. We even made a few friends along the way. It was really fun to just play for a week! I think all of us wish we were still there :) Take a peek into our Jamaican vacation....

Video 1 - Chris' jamaican TOOTSIE ROLL!

Video 2 - Canopy Tour. Riding a zip line at 250 feet high through the Jamaican jungle.

PICTURE TIME....

Promised Land?

2008-09-23T21:56:00.002-04:00

Have you ever been to the Promised Land? Who knew it was in Pennsylvania!

This weekend we spent some quality time with our young marrieds group at church camping. We drove out to none other than PROMISED LAND STATE PARK in PA. It was a short drive to paradise (or a form of paradise). We borrowed a tent, because we are not regular campers. However we actually ended up sharing a tent with our friends Bob & Sara because the ground was so rocky we could not put both tents up. Thank goodness Bob & Sara have a large tent - we actually had our own private room :) Friday night was REALLY cold and we basically didn't sleep at all, fun times! So Saturday night we took things into our own hands & took some Tylenol PM prior to hitting the sleeping bag. Let's just say we won't go camping again without it :) There was lots of smores eating & volleyball playing - I enjoyed a restful afternoon reading. It was wonderful! Perhaps we have started a new tradition.

Bill & DeeDee

2008-09-04T17:45:00.005-04:00

The best part of living near NYC is that we have had the opportunity to see many friends while they were here on vacation. Yesterday was the perfect example. It has been forever since I saw Bill and DeeDee last. We were so thrilled that they could make time in their schedule to meet us at Virgil's for dinner! It was wonderful for them to actually meet Chris and to just catch up on everything. We can't wait to plan our trip to Brussels to see them in the next few years. We love you both very much!

Labor Day

2008-09-04T17:11:00.003-04:00

We have officially survived our first year in NJ! This time last year we first experienced the Jersey Shore - I guess you could say that is now a Labor Day tradition for us because we did it again this year and it was wonderful! We also did several other fun things this past weekend. Chris' Aunt Debbie and Uncle John arrived last Thursday and stayed until Tuesday. On Friday we had breakfast in Ridgewood (or some of us did, I actually was at the salon getting all my hair cut off!), then we headed to the Natural History Museum in NYC to see Cosmis Collisions. It was a great museum. Saturday we had lunch in Ramsey at Brady's, then we ran by Abma's farm. Chris preached at church that evening and then we went to Nellie's for dinner with some more friends. Sunday we had tickets to the Yankee game, they lost but we enjoyed the festivities. It is the last year at the old stadium so we are glad we got to be apart of a game there. Monday morning we headed for the shore. We spent the day relaxing and watching others play around the rip current. Chris braved it for a short bit - mostly we just relaxed. I love the beach! The weather was beautiful all weekend.

Legacy of Love - Fletcher Quay Hodge

2008-08-25T16:26:00.007-04:00

A few weeks ago my grandfather passed away. He was an amazing husband, father, grandfather,& great-grandfather. We had a wonderful celebration of his life and were able to share with friends and family just how loved he was by all. My cousin put together a video that really captures his life and his Legacy of Love.

To watch the video copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YojENHf0P4k

Just a few memories....

We lived just a few blocks from he and my Granny growing up so we were able to spend many hours and many nights at their house. He had a blue pick up that I thought was so cool - we would walk to their house and he would drive us home in the back of the pick up. Grandad loved orange slices! He and Granny had the most beautiful backyard and garden. It seemed that their roses were always in bloom. They always had a special cabinet full of snacks. I remember many Christmas Eve's in their living room & decorating the tree a few weeks before. Grandad was a hard worker. When we were young he would come and help my mom around the house - he also would mow the lawn and do yard work. He could not get enough of his kids and grandkids. He always wanted us to sit in his lap or to ride the horse on his leg. I was thrilled a few years ago when he was able to meet Chris and to really get to know him. He could never be replaced. Most importantly he loved the Lord and all who knew him knew that. He was a special man of God.

We know that he is celebrating today in Jesus' arms!

ROME

2008-08-20T19:44:00.005-04:00

We are back to reality after a wonderful vacation in Rome, Italy! It was an amazing trip. We saw all the major sights and all the little stuff in between. The pictures really tell the best story....so enjoy the show!

West Texas meets New York City

2008-07-25T16:21:00.003-04:00

We have had a wonderful week with a collection of the Hodge family. My mom, her husband Joe, my Uncle Don & Aunt Phyliss, and Aunt Gayla arrived last Thursday from Lubbock for the New York/New Jersey experience. We took the Greyline bus tours all over the city on Saturday, attended church and hit the outlet malls on Sunday, Carmine's for dinner on Monday, a few went to the Yankee game on Tuesday night, most everyone visited Ellis Island & The Statue of Liberty on Wednesday and then we relaxed all day Thursday. During their visit we also did some serious home cooking! It was amazing! We had chicken and dumplings, spaghetti, pecan chicken, chicken fried steak, chocolate rolls and a few things in between! I think everyone really had a great time! Here is a glimpse of all the excitement!

July - Part 1

2008-07-15T19:35:00.008-04:00

We have had a busy few weeks and are headed for several more. It's summer time and it's what we do!!!

We spent the afternoon of July 4th at a family picnic. Our friends the Meyers and all the family came together for food, swimming & bocce ball. Chris even participated in the bocce ball. Maybe he can explain the rules - it reminded me of shuffle board except on grass. Anyway evidently its an Italian family tradition for picnics. Then that evening we headed to Hoboken for fireworks and BBQ at Jeff & Cindy Thompsons. We played Guesstures until the fireworks started over the city. It was a nice night - but the low clouds and smoke did not mix and eventually blacked out the show. I guess that's when a nice TV comes in handy. We watched the rest from the couch! Good times!

July 5th we had plans with our friends Nick & Sue Passaro. We had an amazing dinner at Ruth's Chris in Hoboken. This was Chris & I's first visit to Ruth's Chris - we can't believe how long we have been missing something so good! It was a wonderful night of great food and fantastic conversation! We hope to do it again soon! Thanks Nick & Sue!

The next week we spent an evening in the city. I had to work late so Chris drove in to hang out with me. We made our first trip to the Seaport Village - just a few blocks from my office. The pictures are below. It is still so awesome to live basically in NYC!

This past weekend Chris performed his first wedding. He was excellent! We recieved many wonderful comments. It was a beautiful wedding and the dinner reception was so much fun! I even danced - which for those of you that know me is a big deal. Don't worry Chris got pictures of the whole night. Congratulations Chuck & Nikki!

This week my mom, Joe, Aunt Gayla, Aunt Phyliss & Uncle Don arrive so there will be more pictures to post soon.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Miller Sims Cave

2008-06-28T17:41:00.003-04:00

We have a new nephew! Miller Sims Cave arrived at 2:30am this morning weighing 8lbs 5oz and he is 20 inches long. Congratulations Becky, Matthew & Big Sister Emmerson! We love you and can't wait to meet Miller later this year.

Shane & Laura

2008-06-22T20:41:00.002-04:00

There are so many great things about living near the "center of the universe" as my dad would call it. Mostly we enjoy entertaining visitors and giving them the best tours of NYC - or at least sharing what we know. This weekend was no different. Shane & Laura Seiferd were in from Dallas. They had a wedding to go to in Long Island but worked their travel plans so that we could spend time with them as well. It was great to have some Texas friends around for a few days. We weren't able to do as much in the city as we would have liked but we did get to see Time Square, Hoboken and the great state of New Jersey. The weather made the weekend just perfect! Below are a few pictures...... Thanks Seiferd's for a fabulous weekend! Please come back again soon!

Hudson River Adventure

2008-06-18T16:26:00.001-04:00

The weather is warm and its time for summer fun! This past weekend we spent an afternoon on the Hudson River. Chris braved the tube & I just enjoyed taking in the sun! Can't wait to do it agian. Thanks to Bill for bringing us along.

BLUE BELL

2008-06-12T22:03:00.008-04:00

We have found a taste of home - right here in New York City!
BLUE BELL Ice Cream & BBQ.

Last night we spent a really nice evening in the city with our fellow Texan friends Jeff & Cindy Thompson. We met Jeff & Cindy in October while we were selling tickets for the Shane & Shane concert. It was so exciting to meet people who could understand our Texas roots! Over the past months we have enjoyed many outings with them. Just last night Chris was commenting on how amazing it is to look back on their lives and our lives up to this point & to see the relationships, circumstances, opportunities that God allowed to bring us together for this season. We praise God for this season!

Cindy is the perfect NYC tour guide! She always has a new restaurant to try - so this week it was Texas BBQ @ Hill Country BBQ. We have been to some NJ BBQ places and have had some success, but its hard to beat the atmosphere and excitement of the city! There is just so much great stuff all in one place.

This trip was via the North Hoboken ferry so we could stop by and pick up Jeff from work. It was while we waited for Jeff that Chris figured out there was much to celebrate at dinner....it was Cindy's birthday! We didn't even know. We were so thrilled to be apart of her big day!

We ended the evening back at the Thompson condo overlooking the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline. Another great night in the Northeast.

See more pictures below...

Happiness is LUBBOCK TEXAS

2008-06-06T17:22:00.002-04:00

Last weekend and part of this past week I spent some real time with family in good ole Lubbock Texas. My mom's birthday was Saturday May 31st so it was the perfect suprise! She had no idea I was coming, along with the rest of my family. Susan took all those pictures along with many others - once I have them I will post them. We had a great time cooking out and enjoying the triple digit heat. Summer is here! We bought my nephew a pool to beat the heat. It's awesome! Perfect for cooling off. It was a relaxing time. I even learned how to play guitar hero - there is proof in the pictures below. The highlight was of course Drew. He has learned my name - its great to be an aunt! Hopefully he will remember til next time :)

Here are the pictures from the weekend....

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T22:38:00.002-04:00

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!

Tragedy

2008-05-22T10:37:00.003-04:00

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

Hi Mr. President

2008-05-22T10:31:00.002-04:00

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.

Dancing with THE STARS!

2008-05-19T00:25:00.003-04:00

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.....

FOOD!

2008-05-11T21:48:00.012-04:00

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?

Celebration Time!

2008-04-27T20:14:00.001-04:00

Friday April 25th was my 28th birthday! Crazy to think in just a few years I will be the big 3-0! We made a weekend of it. Friday night Chris made reservations at this fancy place in Weehawken on the Hudson River. It has a wonderful view of Manhattan & we were there for sunset! He did a great job. Saturday we headed to the Woodbury Common outlet mall in NY State. It was perfect weather so we really enjoyed ourselves - yes even Chris enjoys shopping! Don't ever let him tell you otherwise. Fortunately the weather has been really beautiful for the past few weeks. Just a few Saturdays ago we also went to visit the live animals at Abma's Farm. We are hoping that Spring really is here :)

I also should say Happy Birthday to my twin sister Susan! I am truly blessed to share this day with her. She is my sister and my friend. I love you & miss you!

Enjoy the pics!

Round 2

2008-04-22T21:58:00.002-04:00

As many of you remember,because Amanda told everyone, our first anniversary was spent moving accross America. Amanda wasn't thrilled with the fact we didn't go away somewhere special but circumstances didn't afford us that opportunity. Well...this year I have decided to make it up BIG time. Today I booked for us to spend August 1-8 in Rome. Our anniversary is the 6th so this hopefully will be perfect and hopefully get me out of the doghouse for last year:) If anybody has ever been to Rome and has ideas on food, sights, or anything else I'd love to hear it so that this can be a trip to remember.

T4G '08

2008-04-18T22:28:00.003-04:00

This last Monday through Thursday I had the great opportunity to be in Louisville, KY for the Together for the Gospel Conference. One of my good friends from college, Ryan and I had the opportunity to catch up on life and hear some of the best thinkers in Christian circles today. I'm going to give you a brief summary of what I learned at the conference but if you'd like to listen to any of the messages I'd encourage you to go to www.t4g.org and listen to them ASAP.

Ligon Duncan-- He spoke about the importance of doctrine and systematic theology. He talked about the importance of a pastor teaching his congregation to know doctrine and theology and to instill a passion for reading. Sound doctrine is crucial to the future of the church.

Thabiti Anybwile-- He talked about the importance of not seeing racial difference but focusing on our commonalities in Adam, Christ, and the church. He talked about the fact that although we may all look different we are all brothers by birth through Adam. If we are Christians then we are all brothers through Jesus and we are also brothers in the church, the body of Christ.

John MacArthur-- He talked about the doctrine of total depravity. He talked about how the Bible teaches that not only is man not willing to come to Christ but is unable. He talked about how when we truly understand how we brought nothing to God but that He saved us of His own choosing it will lead us into a tremendous since of humility and thankfulness for His love.

Mark Dever-- He talked about how we shouldn't add or detract from the Gospel. He talked about how we can make the Gospel kinder by taking out the sacrifice or how we can add to it by saying you must espouse something else (ie. must be a Republican or for traditional hymns). He talked about how your life story or you good deeds aren't the Gospel. The Gospel is very specific and always must be the center of what we say and do.

R.C. Sproul-- He talked about how Christ because a curse for us and took on the wrath of God for us. He talked about the importance of truly appreciating what it is that Christ did for us and how much it hurt Him to have His Father turn His back on Him.

Albert Mohler-- He spoke on the importance of the penal substitutionary atonement. He talked about all the distorted views that are around that try to say that the cross was something other then Jesus paying the penalty due a holy God in our place because we could never be able to pay the price demanded.

John Piper-- He talked about Christian suffering. He talked about how the Bible expressly states that if we are a child of God we will suffer. He talked about how it is important for us to step outside of our safe boxes and get uncomfortable. He talked about how he teaches his congregation all the time about suffering because he wants them to think theologically when suffering happens and that will only happen if they know how to react before it comes.

C.J. Mahaney-- He talked about how a pastors life should be overflowing with joy. He talked about how Paul was the most joyful man alive and in writing Philippians, from jail, he talked about joy. He talked about how joy is found in thankfulness, faith in God's plan, and love for God's people. He talked about how as Christians we shouldn't complain because when we complain we are saying that we have a better plan then the plan God has for us.

This conference was a great blessing to me in so many ways because I got to see these men that I know only from their writings in a personal time with friends and got to see them pour out their hearts about their love for Jesus and His people. They spent a lot of time talking about how it isn't about style or methods but it is about the Gospel. One quote that really stood out to me was when C.J. quoted C.H. Spurgeon. Spurgeon once said, "Whitefield and Wesley might be better preachers then I am but they don't preach a better Gospel". This is quite funny coming from the master preacher Spurgeon but his point is well taken.

This conference encouraged me to not worry about being this or being that but to be faithful to the message that God has given us and to trust Him to do His will. Too many times, and I am just as guilty as anyone, we think as preachers it is about us being funny enough or smart enough in our delivery but it is not about us but about the Gospel message.

Tourist Attractions!

2008-03-10T17:32:00.003-04:00

Chris & I are becoming quite the tourist attraction for family & friends. Funny how NYC will do that to you! Phoenix was a great place but clearly its not the BIG APPLE.

This past weekend my sisters, brother-in-laws, niece, nephew and mom all came to visit us. They arrived late Wednesday night and left on Sunday afternoon. We had a wonderful time and below is the slide show of their trip.

We did ground zero, the Statue of Liberty, Soup Man, Phantom of the Opera, FAO Schwartz, a tour with Reagan (the highlight for many) and a few local things in between. We cooked our favorite meals and played with the kids alot. Drew & Emmerson are quite a pair! They have so much energy - Chris & I were wiped out when it was all over.

Come back soon ya'll! We loved having you here.

Blessings.....

2008-02-29T23:13:00.013-05:00

HOME SWEET HOME

We have been very busy since Christmas. Here is an update on the latest in the Farrell home.

In January we began our search for a permanent home. After a few phone calls and drives through the neighborhoods we learned a few things about NJ real estate. If you want to rent an apartment regardless of whether its a 2-family home or a large complex you have to go through a realtor - and that realtor comes with a fee that the renter is required to pay. Nice, so not only would we be putting one and a half months rent in as a deposit we would also pay the realtor 1 month's rent. Scary huh! We needed to take our search to another level. So Chris called a friend and eventually everything just fell into place. Crazy how quickly God works sometimes. We are un-believably blessed!!! We are now the proud renters of a 3 bedroom apartment. Its actually a 2 family home so we have 1 neighbor downstairs but seperate entrances. We have all hardwood floors & tile - which we love! Chris' allergies are thanking us as well! The kitchen is nice and big and the price was just right. Along the way we also made some great friends in our landlords. Dave & Joy Meyer are two amazing Godly people. They continually bless us in ways we never imagined. The day we moved in they even provided lunch.....then later that day when everything has settled Joy puulled me aside and gave me our first housewarming gift. She has gone to the store and bought all of her favorite cleaning products, sponges, paper towels, dish detergent, laundry detergent (Tide HE for the new front-loading washer), hand soap, popcorn and a few others. She also gave me a dish towel she made. These people are pure gold! Did I mention that Dave is giving up more time tomorrow to help me hang my curtains :) We are finally planting our roots in New Jersey.

Here are a few pictures - we'll call these before because there is still some work to do. My apologies to Brooke - we did not take pictures outside tonight because its snowing. We'll have to do that the next go round.

SHANE & SHANE

Chris had a specifically busy February, we moved and then a week later he put on a Shane & Shane concert at the church. It went off great! If the weather had cooperated many more people would have made it - we still had a full house! People drove 2 and 3 hours in the snow to get there. We enjoyed meeting the group as well as Starfield and Bethany Dillon. David Nasser also provided a great message & wonderful entertainment! It was a fantastic night of worship & praise! We look forward to doing it again soon. We know many were blessed by the message & the music.

HAPPY VALENTINES & PRESIDENTS DAY!

This year we celebrated our Valentine's with a weekend getaway to Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Chris & I both had a 3 day weekend so we took full advantage! We had not been on vacation since our honeymoon - it was time. We relaxed, saw the sights, took a few tours, drank some wine & just enjoyed every bit of it. My job has been really crazy lately so it was the perfect way to wind down and just get back to hanging out with my fabulous husband! These pictures really don't capture his personality well enough :) He is my everyday blessing!

Thanks for a perfect weekend baby!

An Uncommon Christian

2008-01-24T20:27:00.000-05:00

Ralph "Jack" Dyess - Our Grandaddy

Chris & I experienced a hard loss just as 2008 began. We started back to work after a restful New Year's day and then Thursday morning January 3rd Chris got the call. His Grandfather was at Lewisville Medical Center in the ER and time was the unknown. I was on business in Chicago so Chris made arrangements to fly from Newark to Dallas and I did the same from Chicago to Dallas. We arrived that Thursday evening and headed straight to the hospital. Everyone was there, all the siblings, aunts, uncles, parents & even the little ones. We spent a few hours with Grandaddy as he was awake & although not comfortable I know he was enjoying that all the family was around. Chris & I both were able to speak to him and remind him of how loved he is! The next day his body really slowed down and mostly he slept. Chris had a few other conversations with him that I know he will never forget. On Saturday morning January 5th Grandaddy made his was home, home with his Heavenly Father & home with Chris' Grandmommy.

Chris and his Uncle John, as well as Dick participated in the funeral. They all did such an amazing job! There were so many stories shared that really reflected the life of such an incredible man - and an incredible legacy. They spoke of Grandaddy's hard work ethic, his soft heart, his sharp mind that never stopped learning & studying God's word, his devotion to a wonderful wife, his ability to teach young minds, his understanding of unconditional love as seen through his granddaughter Kimberly. Really the list could go on forever. The things I will always treasure were only 3 years in the making but still so special. The first night I met him with Chris - he wanted to know if I like farming....planting seeds and watching them grow - he was in his way describing the wife I would be to Chris and how I would share his church planting dream. He sat directly across the table from me that night as well as many other times and would remind me that he did that so he could take in my beauty :) We talked to him often over the phone and he would always ask Chris "How is your beautiful bride?". It makes me smile even now. We will never forget his voice. Most importantly he always expressed how proud he was of Chris for following the Lord's guidance in his life, and choosing to follow His calling into ministry. You could see so much JOY in his eyes - he just beamed with God's glory! His faith was obvious everyday and we were also proud of him!

Many thoughts went through my mind at the funeral and in the days since. One thing I haven't been able to get off my mind is what a wonderful CHRISTIAN Grandaddy. He was truly an UNCOMMON CHRISTIAN. It was back in high school that our youth minister centered a retreat around the poem below and I just kept repeating parts of it in my head - so I thought I should share my thoughts on Grandaddy for you to read.... as well as some pictures.

I choose to be an “Uncommon Christian”

I will live my faith in Jesus of Nazareth,
As seen in my everyday life, conduct, attitude & speech.
To the best of my ability and by the Grace of God
People will see Jesus when they see me.

I cannot justify loving only those who love me,
Aiding only my friends, and praying only for my fellow Christians.
I will love those who hate me, aide my enemies,
And pray for those who do not know my Lord.

I aspire to be like Him, to live on unseen resources of faith,
To tap the unlimited supply of His love
Through the life of His indwelling Holy Spirit,
Emerge from my moral conflicts “more than a conqueror”.
And through this power to rise above all earthly standards
To the completeness of His perfection.

I acknowledge that this is an impossible quest,
But I accept the challenge of its impossibility in
The knowledge that its pursuit will force me to rest on Him.

I desire great challenges, expect rippled seas & abandon all personal “rights”.

I consider it a curse to have a quality of life that is indistinguishable
from unbelieving men & common Christians.

My present failure to fulfill these intentions merely proves,
That God is needed even more than when I first believed.
I need God more each day than the last.

(Vandelia Winter Retreat 1995)

More pictures to come on future blogs. We want to keep his memory alive!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2007-12-26T21:07:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Christmas this year NYC style! We are blessed to live here & the Christmas season was filled with excitement in the city. Every morning for the past few weeks I have been greeted at the World Trade Center by the Salvation Army bell ringers - these 2 were not your average bell ringers - they had a jambox with Christmas music blarring! It put a smile on my face everytime. What joy they bring to the people of New York. Its great how the simplest of things can make your day :)

Dick & Diana spent Christmas with us again this year and I think we wore them out! There is just so much to do around here - and so little time to do all of it. Below is a slide show if our adventures. I will try my best to give you the play-by-play....

Thursday, December 20:
Dick & Diana arrive & we cooked dinner at home. The menu was a mix of favorites! Pecan Chicken (my mom's recipe) & Potatoe Casserole (Diana's recipe). Yum Yum! Who doesn't love home cooking!

Friday, December 21:
We slept in & then took the train into the World Trade Center to see the memorial & the construction site. It really is still moving to see all of it, even though I see it almost everyday. From there we made our first Subway trip to Time Square. We took some pictures & then worked our way up to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Tree & all the lights! Its was perfect! Dinner reservations were at 5:30pm so we had to move quickly to Virgil's BBQ on 44th Street. We had a very filling dinner! The BBQ was great - even though its not Texas. Then we headed to the THEATER! Dick & Diana's request was Les Miserables & it was amazing! I tried to hold back from belting out all the songs - I am a Clark what can I say :)

Saturday, December 22:
Down the shore.....We made a short trip to the New Jersey Shore for shopping & site seeing during the day. Then we prepared for Saturday Night Football & THE COWBOYS! Our only mistake was picking the Palisades Mall as our venue - parking was a nightmare. FOX Sports Grill was nice though.

Sunday, December 23:
Christmas Day in the Farrell house! I put a brisket on late Saturday so Sunday afternoon we could enjoy another meal at home....Chris is going to think something happened to me....all this cooking! Anyway, it was pouring rain outside so we thought we would take advantage of a lazy day inside to open gifts & take a nap. It was a blast as always! Diana & I also appreciated the fact that we looked nice for the Christmas morning pictures - as opposed to that just rolled out of bed look we typically have. Later that day we took in a movie at the local AMC - "I AM LEGEND" was Chris' pick. I think we all enjoyed it!

Monday, December 24:
Christmas Eve. This was our second trip to the city for some shopping! We made it to the NBA store, Trump Tower, FAO Schwartz & The American Girl. It was a busy day & we had to be back in Hawthorne by 4pm for a 5pm Christmas Eve service at church. We cleaned up & made it on time. Chris participated in the service & I know Dick & Diana really enjoyed seeing the church, meeting the people & singing the carols. After all HE is the reason for the season!!!

Tuesday, December 25:
Back to NYC for more fun....Our lunch reservation was for 12:30pm at Bryant Park Grill. We decided that traffic would be light enough to make the drive in instead of using public transportation. We arrived early & sat in the park calling family members to wish them all a Merry Christmas! We were seated early in the Holiday Room - it was beautiful! I think we all had a great meal & of course great family fellowship. We even toasted to the coming year! The afternoon was our chance to catch the last few tourist attractions so we took the Subway from Bryant Park to Wall Street. On Wall Street we saw the NYSE, Federal Hall & my office building (the highlight :)). From there we walked to the Staten Island Ferry & rode across to see the Statue of Liberty - still an amazing sight! Afterwards we made our way back uptown to Central Park for a stroll before we came home.

Today we took Dick & Diana around to our stomping grounds Ridgewood, Ramsey & Wyckoff. We had breakfast at the Daily Treat & shopped a little along the way. Then we rounded things up and made the trip back to the airport to see Dick & Diana off & back to Texas.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Things I've Learned

2007-12-14T09:06:00.000-05:00

Since moving to north Jersey in August there are several things I've learned about living here.

1) Don't expect to make left turns unless you're in a residental neighborhood
2) U-turn doesn't mean U-turn. When the sign says U-turn it means you will exit to the right and loop around, then you'll go over the highway where you'll need to loop around again to the right so that it can spit you out finally going the opposite direction you originally were going. Everyone jokes that they are really clovers.
3) It is really expensive to live here. A house in Texas that cost between 150-200K is between 400-500K. Property taxes range between 6-9K a year as well!
4) All gas stations are full service. This is really nice when it is cold and wet. (Granty would love this!)
5) You take your chances when you eat at local places. There are obviously some exceptions, but chains are your safer bet.
6) You never get tired of coming over the hill and seeing the NYC skyline straight ahead.
7) Amanda must have a built in GPS. Sometimes it can be confusing getting around here with all the little side roads and towns but she has got it down. Also if you ever go to NYC she is the best!
8) People love going "down the shore". People love the Jersey shore here and try to get there whenever they can. I have been a couple times to two different places and I have to admit it is alot of fun.
9) Soccer is almost as big as football.
10) There are lots of Dutch people here and they are notorious for sticking close to other Dutch and being tight with there money.
11) For all you theology guys there really are Hyper-Calvinist here! Their churches are called "Ebeneezer".
12) Once people like you they are really loyal but it takes a little longer for them to like you here.
12) In our short time here we have traveled into NYC more times than most people who have lived here all their lives. (What a shame!)
13) For one reason or another children live at home well into there late 20's and sometimes even into there 30's.
14) All the small towns around here are alot of fun to go find a place to eat or shop.
15) I love basements!

We love having visitors and having a fun place to show off so I hope this small peak into north Jersey life will make you want to come see it for yourself!

SNOW!

2007-12-13T19:04:00.000-05:00

The first big snow storm hit the Northeast this morning.....we got a little snow and alot of ice. Either way it was fun! My snow boots are on their way here via UPS - so last night we made a trip to Target to pick up a pair of rain boots so I don't soak my feet in all the mess tomorrow in Manhattan.

Chris thought it was very important that we capture this in pictures. Notice there are no pictures of him. Hmmmmm......looks like I got the raw end of this deal.

Later this weekend we are expecting the first Noreaster (sounds scary enough). Its Christmas time so who doesn't like to see snow! Hopefully there is more to come :)

Recap Story

2007-12-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

Well...who'd of thought we'd actually do this blog thing. Amanda wants me to tell our story up to this point so those who we haven't talked with in a long time can hear it.

So....it all began back in 2005. I had been a part of the singles group at Dallas Bible Church for a few years when Amanda and Amy started visiting the group. Pretty quickly after they started coming to the group we all felt pretty comfortable hanging out together. Amanda, Amy, Mike and I all started running at White Rock Lake and the four of us became pretty good friends. At the beginning of the fall I started to think there might be something between Amanda and I but I wasn't sure and since I was finishing up at Dallas Seminary I didn't know exactly what to do. After talking with Mike I decided to see if Amanda was interested in seeing if there was something more there.

In October of 2005 Amanda and I started dating and pretty quickly after that realized we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. In March of 2006 I asked Amanda to marry me and thankfully she said yes. We were engaged for 5 months and got married August 6. Amanda had always wanted an exotic wedding on the beach so we got married at Horseshoe Bay on the beach. It was a great time with family and friends. Following the wedding weekend we spent a week in San Diego having the time of our lives before the craziness began.

Upon graduating from DTS in December of 2005 I still hadn't received a church offer and we had decided that we'd like to start our lives somewhere different than Dallas. Thankfully one of my good friends Dustin offered me a job working for him in Phoenix, AZ so we decided to take a chance. Four days after getting back from our honeymoon we had packed our cars to move them and some stuff to Phoenix. Since we didn't find an apartment we felt comfortable committing to we moved in with Dustin and Laci for 3 weeks while we searched. Once we found a place we flew back to Dallas to pack up the rest of our stuff and drive a moving truck back to Phoenix.

Now that was a crazy trip! The next night was the big Ohio St. vs Texas game and I really wanted to see it so we basically drove through the night (3 hours of sleep) so that we could be back in Phoenix within 24 hours of leaving Dallas. It was alot of fun but very tiring! Living with Dustin and Laci was alot of fun but it was also nice to finally find our own place. Since we got married it had been 5 weeks since we stayed in our own place for the first time.

While in Phoenix we both had the opportunity to meet some great people and make some friends that will hopefully last the rest of our lives. I worked for a dealer of Cingular/AT&T products and Amanda worked for a WORKspaces (a Herman Miller dealer) doing office furniture project management and design. I really believe God used this opportunity to start our life together on the right foot.

Finally... almost 2 years after finishing seminary, God opened a door for me to go into full-time ministry. In late August of 2007 we moved once again. We are now in north New Jersey and I am the Young Adults and Small Groups Pastor at Hawthorne Gospel Church. This church has a long and storied history and it is such a blessing that God has given me. Amanda has been able to continue her work as a Project Manager for WB Wood NY. She is working in NYC, and learning how to commute on a higher level - trains, subways.....it's different but she enjoys it. NYC is a whole new beast!

Right now we're living in the churches missionary house on a temporary basis until we determine where we would like to settle and plant roots! For those of you not familiar with real estate the northeast is very expensive - to say the least. It is definetly different living up here but we are starting to make some friends and the church staff is alot of fun. Ministry is alot of fun but don't kid yourself by thinking everyone loves pastors. God is faithful and continually teach us things. We look forward to our future here and we hope this blog will allow you to also be apart of our journey.

We'll try to keep this updated as often as possible. Talk to you soon!