After Chris' brief hospital stay, we got in a little downtime at home which was so needed. The following week Chris had an upper endoscopy done at the local hospital and received a clean bill of health. Unless his cough comes back we are in the clear. We followed that up with a weekend visiting Katia and the boys up in Waverly. Another quick trip but it was so good to see her and Sean and Ian - the first time we've seen them since the wedding.
The next weekend Chris' friends from Michigan, Brian and Tonia, flew in. We had invited them down to attend a marriage conference with us. Our small group leader, Arlin, had rented a bus in the hopes of getting 20+ couples from our area up to the conference. So we met the rest of the group in our church parking lot and loaded the bus. We arrived in Sioux City just in time to get checked in and send everyone else off to the conference. To help some of our other friends be able to attend the conference, Chris and I had volunteered to watch our friend's little guy, Noah for the duration. (We attended the conference back in October and wanted our friends to be able to experience it.) So we played and swam with Noah - talk about a little water baby! He loved being in the pool and even puts his head underwater and he's only 17 months (15 at the time of the conference). Things went great until Daddy tried to visit Noah later in the evening - and then left. Noah was not a happy camper after that and the three of us had a loooooooonngg night. We got to sleep in on Saturday, though, and took it easy as we all got ready for the day and ready to check out. After the conference, we all loaded the bus again and headed back to Harlan. Chris and I and Brian and Tonia made homemade pizza and played Settlers of Catan all the while chatting and talking about the conference. On Sunday morning, the four of us headed to church and Sunday school followed by a great brunch at our friend's Ken and Edie's place. After brunch, the four of us headed home to relax and get Brian and Tonia packed up. Chris and I took them to the airport and headed back to Harlan for small group.
The rest of the month was fairly uneventful, just lots of work and studying. We did start February off with some excitement though! Chris and I, along with our friends Dan and Melanie, got to see Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Louis Giglio in concert on February 2nd. Matt Redman wrote and originally sang one of Chris and my favorite songs "Blessed Be Your Name." It was a very intense worship experience and we all had an amazing time. It was made even more fun since we got to sit with our other friends, Mike and Deb, and saw a bunch of friends from church in the crowd.
The following week Chris and I flew out to Philadelphia to visit my best friend Amy. We also got to meet Amy's boyfriend Ross for the first time! Ross is the best and a perfect match for Amy! Ross just put out his first CD and it is amazing! Go here www.rossmlevy.com to hear song samples or to order the CD. On Friday night, we went to services with Amy and both Amy and Ross helped to lead services with their music - it was so awesome to get to hear them sing together. Saturday was a crazy, fun day! We slept in way late which was great! The four of us headed to Germantown to meet my friend Victoria for a late brunch/lunch. We headed down to South Street after that so Chris could have a real Philly cheesesteak. Amy found some fun jewelry at one of the shops and I found a cute hat. But Ross found the steal of the day - a guitar at one of the pawn shops. He was a happy camper! It had been pretty nice all day but as we were walking, it started snowing really hard. So we headed home to get ready for Amy's birthday party that night. Despite the crazy weather, many of Ame's friends were still able to make it - Amy K, Dana and Dean, Rachel and her husband, and Janet. Dana made a fantastic lasagna and the rest of us all brought something to share. After dinner, Ross gave us a little impromtu concert which was wonderful.
Janet and Amy watching as Ross brings in the birthday cake.
Dana, Amy and I
In the morning, we woke to over a foot of snow! We all headed out to get the car cleaned off and dug out so we could get Ross to the train station. After a nerve wracking drive to the train station and back, we got home and all crashed - lots of naps, talking, eating and movie watching. Chris and I got packed up and after digging the car out again (thank you Mr. snowplow driver!) Amy took us to the airport so we could head back to Iowa. Our flight attendant from Atlanta to Philadelphia was fantastic and we had a great time. We got in late, late Sunday night after nearly perfect flights. We drove part way home, crashed in a motel room and headed right to work the next morning. It was such a great trip and so much fun to spend time with Amy and Ross. It's the first time that Amy and I have ever both had a significant other at the same time so it was really awesome to spend time both as friends and as couples. Ross is definitely the guy for her and Chris and I both really like him. I am so thankful that my friend is so happy!
Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple was great! We both had to work, obviously, but spent a relaxing evening talking and just being together. We turned off the phones and just vegged together. It was so nice!
We've spent the past few weekends around here, hanging out with friends, babysitting, working on projects and generally keeping busy. Chris is busy working on a couple of projects with church and I've been diligently studying for my written comprehensive exams which are scheduled for March 31st - April 3rd. Only 4 weeks to go!
Hope you have all been well!
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