Vacay Smorgasbord

This past week, there was so much going on, I had to take a few PTO days just to make it all. Turns out, it was a very nice break after being in the hospital/home with mom then going straight back to work. I was totally flustered at work beforehand, so now I feel much more refreshed and ready to handle anything the CCU brings! (which is usually just about anything!)

Tuesday we drove up to Manassas, and I was Austin's fill-in sponsor. He made his confirmation at St. Clare, a small church in Clifton, VA. We had a nice, intimate family style mass with the bishop. (I keep pronouncing it in my head: "bish-OP" like Mike School) He had a really long homily, and it cracked me up b/c the parish priest was even nodding off a bit. I made sure to pay good attention, b/c he was speaking about 3 ft away from Austin and I ;) Afterward there was a nice reception downstairs, which took us 15 min to get to with two handicapped family members in the pouring rain!! My car, "Bessie," left some nice off-roading tracks. whoops. Then back at home we had delicious take-out Olive Garden salad and cookie cake to celebrate. Proud of Austin and the young man he is growing up to be!

Next we were off to Lewisburg, PA in the morning, after picking up Neil at the Manassas train station and an IHOP brunch with the fam. ( I HIGHLY recommend the seasonal, pumpkin pancakes, mmm) The town was super quaint, and with the rainy-gloomy-foggy weather, it was perfectly fitting for a Halloween week wedding.

There we helped Cary and Ben celebrate their wedding. Some friends and I did the music for the ceremony, which was complete with 3 part harmonies, violin, guitar, and the occasional piano and cello. (I work with some talented people!) We had a great time doing it, especially when Neil accidentally sung right in the microphone "whorehouses laden with snow" instead of "storehouses" during the song Indescribable. We almost lost it laughing and had the potential to ruin the entire song :P Luckily we held it together. The highlight was Ben's surprise song, "You Lift Me Up," to his bride. Definitely a tear jerker.

Good friends at the reception.

Hubby and I at the reception.

We came home just in time to hit the road again to Lynchburg, VA for a concert to see one of my favorite artists, Matt Maher. He was also playing with Michael W. Smith and friends but lets be honest, we were there to see Matt. (Best part of all, he is Catholic!) This pic is during his song, "You Were On the Cross," which was particularly inspiring b/c he gave a reflection right before it explaining the song. I had never quite understood the purpose behind the song until he did that, and the message really hit home with me. Hopefully I can write another entry on that.

Hubby and I with Matt.
I have met Matt on numerous occasions at seminars, retreats and such so it was great to see him here in VA. I am proud to say he finally knows me by name and was really excited to meet John. We just love this guy. And yes, that is Jerry Falwell behind us. The concert was in his church and I appreciated the powerful prayer for unity for all Christians. Best words of the night: Matt said straight up that Jesus is coming back, and he's coming for a bride, not a harem.

Next day we tailgated before the UVA-DUKE game. The game made me so pissed off at the UVA football team and Al Groh, that I stood up and left as soon as they allowed Duke to get another touchdown with less than 4 min in the game after the quarterback lost the ball during a sack. My quote of the night: "It's hard to be a UVA football fan."
Afterward, we enjoyed a visit from good friends, Shannon and Jonathan Young and their daughter my BFF Paige. Shannon is expecting and will be due in about a month, so it was great to get some quality time before baby comes and she is a mom of 2!!!

Favorite photo: Carmen, who graduated from VT with an engineering degree.
At the tailgate, John put our flag on her car, and this was her reaction. Fake puking with a purple wine glass in hand. I love this girl.