Vacation is almost over

Virginia beach as been a great time to relax and get things I have wanted to get done, done. I have been working on my website "artiswork.org" this week and I expect to fully launch it sometime in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping it can be more than just a website where I can show my own work, maybe a place where many can show work, and also dialog about art, life, and maybe bring up the joys of fermentation occasionally. In any case Amy and I have also done a great deal of resting on the beach, taking long naps in the afternoon, and being part of her family. Amy's two sisters were here the whole week, and her brother came for the first weekend. It has been a ruckus. Amy is getting bigger and it has been fun to see her dig a hole in the sand to fit her belly in. We all got a lot of laughs out of it. This week Amy and I have begun seeing new things in our marriage and particularly needing to decide what we want our marriage to look like. Mostly it has been a spotlight on me and my ambition to be an artist and a creative person, which is a good and righteous thing, but when it depletes my energy for our marriage then it is time to evaluate the balance. This has meant me dying to doing things as I see fit, and when I see fit. I am not naturally inclined to often think of others, I think of others when it comes to mind, or when it seems like it might feel good to doing something sweet for Amy. Pretty ugly huh. A wise man reminded me recently that Christ died for his bride, and that I am called to die for mine : die to control, die to my timeline, die to my schedule, so that I might live in love, be resurrect in unity with my wife. It all sounds good written out, but I always find it really gut wrenching when it comes to the real deal. This week has been a good time to be reminded of my calling as a husband, and to be reminded who courts me in love - my Jesus. We'll be home in Philly soon. We miss our friends, we miss our church. I would not have guessed six months ago that I could say as much. Hallelujah.

We're heading to the beach.

Amy and I are joining up with the Hall family for a week at the beach, Virginia Beach to be precise. This will be a whole new vacationing experience for me. When I was young, if we had the time for a vacation we went backpacking and hiked somewhere between 12 and 60 miles, depending on the trip, or maybe we would go waterskiing in Wyoming, or go hunting in Easter Colorado, but THE BEACH!? Though its a break in form for me, I think its a break I could get used to. Supposedly we will do next to nothing, with no agenda. For the first time in my life, I hope that I am BORED TO DEATH! I have constantly had something on my mind, or something to do for far too long now (can you tell I am a closet hedonist?), I am looking forward to this. Cheers yall, Matthew

Busy Weekend

We discovered this Gem while walking back from North Third, a bar in the city we have become fond of for their homemade buffalo wings. Hopefully you recognize it as the famous lamp from "The Christmas Story". Amy and I scarffed no less than two pounds of those suckers! They we're great. When you don't have that much money to spend on going out, when you actually do, it tends to feel outstanding! Our friends Coury and Anne Deeb took the picture. They have been one of the couples we have really connected with since we moved to Philly, and especially since we started going to Liberti about eight months ago. On Saturday morning we woke up and headed over to the Beatty's House: We filled up on what seemed to me to be a Thanksgiving version of breakfast. We had warm croissants, a great quiche, fresh orange juice and coffee, sausage, melon, and great company. Maria and Geoff Beatty happen to also have been our birth class teachers as well (we just recently graduated). The Beatty's also have blogs. Check out Geoff's or Maria's blog by clicking on their name in this sentence. As you can see, God has been unbelievably generous in providing us with such great friends to live with here in Philadelphia. In many respects Amy and I are trying to live a missional life here, and hoping all the time to know a greater love for the city, and a hope for its people in Jesus. Have a good week.

VA trip

If only we could have summer vacation like back in grade school again. Instead we have these short "long-weekends" that I guess are supposed to relax us and give us a break? In my opinion, they're way too short. By the time you finally let go of your racing brain and the "to-do" list and just relax...it's time for the break to end and to head back to work. That's at least how Matthew and I felt this morning! We had a great time visiting my family for the past few days though. First, we headed to Harrisonburg to visit my best bud from high school. I would have put our picture on here, but like a doof, I closed my eyes...here's one of Matthew and I in their backyard anyhow :0) And then there was the enthralling Apple store trip with the family to get Mom's anniversary/birthday/Mother's Day gift...her new pride and joy, her green mini ipod...AND a new Mac computer. Matthew could barely contain his excitement. We had to drag him out of the store though as he clutched onto a new widescreen monitor begging it to come home with him (he, he, he). Overall, it was such a great time with my family just relaxing and eating good food and enjoying each other's laughs and sharing the baby kicks. We're looking forward to getting a little more time with them at the beach in a couple weeks, when the long lost Hall sister, Callie, returns from Costa Rica. One last picture of the soon-to-be-grandma and soon-to-be-mama!