It's been a month since I've posted anything new, and it's not because they're nothing to write about! I've been so busy, so overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of life, that taking time to write in a blog seems somehow wasteful.
Anyway, here I am for a quick update.
I'm writing from Mishawaka, Indiana. I lived much of my life in and around Mishawaka, so it's good to be back. I haven't had my whole family here since October of 2000, so it's about time we got back. This is the first visit to Indiana for the twins, and it's also our first chance to meet my seven-month-old niece, Lydia.
We're staying at my mom and dad's house (they are staying at my uncle's for the week - giving us a whole house to occupy). My sister, Sarah, and her family live here as well. You can read her thoughts about our family reunion here. My brother, Micah, and his wife drove up from Nashville, too... so it was great to all be together for the first time in six years. Here are all the kids in order from oldest to youngest: Joshua, Jacob, Alex, Emily, Zachary, Maddy and Lydia.
We're grateful to have the chance to see my grandpa and several aunts and uncles, and we're getting together with our dear friends from college, Dave & Emily Stoll and Carissa (Dollaske) Woodwyk. I even get to see an old high school pal, Andy Sommers, and his family.
What else has been happening in the last month? Our oldest, Josh, went to his first dance last week. He's in middle school now, so I guess this is where it all starts! He and a bunch of his buddies got together for dinner at a friend's house and then went to the dance together. The good news? He didn't dance with any girls. In fact, he had an answer prepared for any girl who asked him to dance: "Let me think about for a couple of hours."
One of the coolest things for me and my band was opening for the Lost Dogs on October 3. I'm such a fan of these guys. It was just amazing having them at my church and hanging out with them. Here's Terry, Steve, Mike, me and Derri after the show:
It was a crazy day. My good friend and guitarist, Ugur, and his wife were expecting a baby any moment. Liesl was in labor, with regular contractions and everything. We didn't know what we'd do if she went into hard labor, because we really needed our lead guitarist for the show, AND Ugur was also scheduled to run sound for the Lost Dogs.
In God's gracious timing, the baby waited until the NEXT day. Little Vaughn Joseph was born on October 4. Welcome to the world, little VJ, and congrats to Ugur & Liesl!
