49059 Day 303

acadia_3

48959 Day 302

acadia_2

48859 Day 301

acadia_1

48759 Day 298, 299, & 300

moving


the last three days have been all about finishing the move to east boston.  big thank yous to tim, quinton, bobby, andy, laura p, david, and laura n for your help!


now, vacation.  my next five posts will be wordless, just pics from our time in bar harbor, maine.

48659 Day 297

boston_on_screen

today the movie what's your number was being shot down the block from my store at cafe vanille, site of several sojourn related meetings.  pretty cool even if the movie doesn't seem to be super high quality.

also, tonight on abc, boston med premiered...the show follows doctors at three local hospitals one of which, mass general, is a block from our store in the other direction...lots of folks who work there get their coffee from us.  it'll be interesting to see if any customers appear on the show!

48559 Day 296

golden_goal


i spent most of the morning pulling my hair and swearing under my breath and then in one last minute of brilliance it all came out in a screaming run around the the house.  what a game.


more here and here.

48459 Day 295

new_david


summer happiness from crowder is here =)

48359 Day 294

30


when i turned 20 i had a bit of a meltdown.  it's become a legendary event in family lore.  something about not being a teenager and all the life stuff that is supposed to happen in your twenties got to me.


but turning 30 has been pretty uneventful.  in fact, i am pretty excited about it.  maybe it's because it means i am closer to my old man fantasy becoming a reality.  more importantly, i feel like i have officially passed the "getting ready for something important" phase and am now into the "this is my life's work" phase and that is pretty exciting.


i am totally stoked for my thirties!

48259 Day 293

laundry


today was full of a lot of good things and this i certainly not on the top of the list, especially in light of the conditions people live in around the world, but today was probably the last day we will go to the laundromat for a long time and that is a glorious thing!

48159 Day 292

pawsox


sojourn field trip to pawtucket, rhode island to watch some AAA baseball.  good times!

48059 Day 291

busy


life is a little hectic right now...today was so full that i had to go grocery shopping at 7:45 am. lot's to do in the next week before we take off for maine.


also, there was a soccer game today =)  tons of words will spent on the referee, and i suppose it is warranted...hope it doesn't overshadow the awesomeness of coming back from a 2-0 deficit.  pretty amazing.

47959 Day 290

honors


the apta conference is in boston right now and amy was honored tonight with other PT's and students who have been awesome this year.  so proud of her and all she has accomplished during her time at BU!

47859 Day 289

letters


once again, time to send out reports to supporters.  got some good news about our financial situation this week: we've carried a significant surplus over the course of the year, which puts us in a good place heading in to the coming year and gives me a lot of confidence for our next fundraising push!


thank you supporters!!!

47759 Day 288

moving...


...and so it begins!

47659 Day 287

Akron_pt_2


arguably the best part of our time in akron was spent by the "pond."  the pond is a hidden jewel owned by jenna's family and it is a wonderful, peaceful oasis!  we ate some amazing food and relaxed in this beautiful spot after a long drive and a busy morning.  what a gift!

47559 Day 285 & 286

akron


amy and i took a quick trip to Akron, NY this weekend to speak at a supporting church (first baptist Akron...this was our first chance to meet these generous folks) and to take our friend Jenna home.  we were super blessed with all the encouragement and generosity showed towards us.  we leave refreshed and energized knowing that these people are behind us praying us on!

47459 Day 284

world_cup


for me, nothing beats the world cup...except when the giants are in the playoffs.  but i actually think this event is better than the olympics, march madness, or whatever other sporting event one might throw into the mix.  interestingly, the world cup always occurs in the middle of some large life transition: '94, finished jr high and headed off to high school...'98, graduated high school headed off to college (actually watched part of this WC on a huge tv in a dorm during my orientation weekend instead of going to a party)...'02, graduated college headed off to grad school...'06, move to Colorado...'10, turn 30.  it'll be interesting to see what's on the table in '14, not too many of these "natural" life transitions left.

47359 Day 283

finishing_books


i'm fairly obsessive about finishing books that i start so it's been bothering me that i haven't finished this one yet.  in fact, i haven't picked it up in about a year. the last week though i've been back at it and i hope to finally finish it on vacation.  good luck to me.

47259 Day 282

community_group


pics from last year...but i/we really appreciate these people.  it's also been cool to see how we've gotten to know and been served by caleb, kaitlin, and jenna's families.  each of them have taken care of us in different ways but all have done it well.  thanks guys!

47159 Day 281

brainstorm


initial outline and ideas for a talk i'll give this sunday at first baptist akron in new york...this is our newest supporting church and i can't wait to meet them and share in person about what we are doing and how they are helping to further the mission.

47059 Day 280

2_years_pt_2


celebrated two years of marriage today with a lot of hanging out, some hiking, and indian food.


2 down, many more to go!!!

46959 Day 279

2_years


a little avett brothers goodness in honor of our anniversary, which is actually tomorrow.  think this pretty much sums it up =)

She keeps it simple
And I am thankful for her kind of lovin'
'Cause it's simple

No longer do we wonder if we're together
We're way past that
And I've already asked her
So in January we're gettin' married

She's talkin' to me with her voice
Down so low I barely hear her
But I know what she's sayin'
I understand because my heart and hers are the same
And in January we're gettin' married

And I was sick with heartache
And she was sick like Audrey Hepburn when I met her
But we would both surrender
True love is not the kind of thing you should turn down
Don't ever turn it down

I hope that I don't sound to insane when I say
There is darkness all around us
I don't feel weak but I do need sometimes for her to protect me
And reconnect me to the beauty that I'm missin'
And in January we're gettin' married

No longer does it matter what circumstances we were born in
She knows which birds are singin'
And the names of the trees where they're performin' in the mornin
And in January we're gettin' married
Come January let's get married

46859 Day 278

lightening


At approximately 3:30 am boston got hit with one of the most amazing thunder and lightening storms i've ever been a part of.  beautiful and cool but it made for a short night of sleep!

46759 Day 277

east_coast_sports_fan_rant


i try not to use my blog as a forum for my personal soapbox issues, so please forgive this self-indulgent tangent. this is something i've needed to get off my chest for a while.


i spent the first 27.5 years of my life living in the western half of the united states.  i have watched a lot of sports, listened to way too much sports talk radio, and read thousands upon thousands of sports related articles.  when we play trivia i get almost every sports question right (and almost every other question wrong).  and for 27.5 years i have seen, read, and listened to various commentators rip the west coast for having uninformed, uninterested, and, most offensively, BAD fans.


when i knew i was moving to boston i was excited because, finally, i would be able to experience this magical place where sports fans walked on water.  i will say this: boston fans are passionate.  but i have heard the most inane sports banter possible in this town.  west coast fans may have more divided interests but they have nothing on east coasters for pure ridiculousness.  furthermore, just because the lakers have movie stars in the front row of their games doesn't mean ALL fans in california (or elsewhere in the west) come late and leave early and can't tell you where ray allen went to college (uconn, look it up).


anyway, this is part defensiveness, but also (mostly) disappointment: come on east coast fans, i should never have bought in to the hype.  

46659 Day 276

CSA


picked our fist offering from our share in the food project's CSA program.  small, but the first of the season, which means lots of good stuff to come still!

46559 Day 275

more_whiteboard


from one of our most interesting discussions...

46459 Day 274

retreat


sojourn staff getaway today and tomorrow to get some stuff hammered out for the fall.  lots of talking, whiteboarding, brainstorming, thinking, and progress!