A much needed vacation... and Welcome Fall!

Here's a little shot from our vacation in Arizona last week...  pretty nice, huh?  We went to Scottsdale, AZ for 6 days for some much needed R&R.  We were SO thankful to the Lord for it.  As you can see, it seemed like we had the whole resort to ourselves!  We spent our days eating big, delicious breakfasts, laying out by the pool, praying, reading, playing tennis, going for walks, and driving around the area.  We both came back home feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually REFRESHED.  God is good! 

As you can see, too, the setting is absolutely gorgeous, and we were both overwhelmed by the fact that this area will be our home in 9 short months.  Our vacation choice was somewhat strategic--we wanted to get out to Arizona again before we move next June.  Our last trip there, which was over Easter, was good, but I still felt like I wanted more time there.  I've been praying and thinking a lot about our move over the summer, and I feel like God has just expanded my heart and grown my excitement about it all. Before my sadness of leaving Boston over shadowed my excitement for what's ahead; now I feel free to dream and get envisioned about moving to Tempe.  Here's a shot of just one of the beautiful desert sunsets we got to witness...

Wow!  The colors are just so vibrant and breathtaking.  We also enjoyed good food... like Old Tortilla Factory and In&Out burgers.  In & Out is probably my new favorite place to grab food.  I hope I am able to limit myself when we're out there.  Cheeseburgers are my favorite food, and theirs are JUST SO GOOD!  (as you can tell from the picture...)

                               

Me savoring my last bite of cheeseburger.

The weekend before we left was our annual College Leaders' Retreat, which is a time when all the small group leaders in college ministry at our church can come back together after the summer and get re-envisioned for the year, get encouraged, worship and pray together, and just have some good fellowship.  Andy and I are section leaders in the college group, so we were there, too.  The retreat was in Limington, Maine--a litter further northwest from Kennebunkport.  It was great, as usual, and really fun to get excited for the upcoming year with the students.  We are believing for Boston College (and the other schools in Boston) to be changed by Jesus this year!  This past Sunday was our church's "kickoff sunday" and we already met tons of new BC students.  Andy and I are committed to pouring our lives out to see students' lives changed because this is what we have received in our own lives, so it's always exciting to see the ministry growing and developing.  And this is what we'll be doing out in Tempe at ASU, so we pray that our 5-6 years of experience in college ministry in Boston will serve us well out west :)

So, Fall is upon us!  (Ok, maybe not according to the calendar, but according to me!)  I LOVE LOVE LOVE autumn.  It is my favorite season by far.  I love the cozy smells, the changing leaves, apple picking, farms, apple cider, cider donuts, pumpkins, baking breads and muffins and cookies and pies, the crisp, autumn air, weekend football games... everything!  I added in that last one for Andy.  He is a diehard Jets fan (J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS!), and I am trying to learn more about the stinkin game so I can actually watch and understand the games with him.  haha!  And we're just beginning to see the change in weather a bit, too, which I love.  The weather has actually been really nice... in the 60s with blue skies.   I'm hoping we get to go apple picking in the next few weekends...maybe for my birthday?  But until then, I'll leave you with a picture from our apple picking adventure last year.