Population: 5100 (Make that 5102)

We certainly have moved to a small town. Two things happened last week that made us certain of this fact. For one, our move made the front page of the local paper. It made me feel like the time Jonathan and I went to Savannah and stayed in a B&B which ended up being on the "Haunted Tours" trail. Tourists chauffeured in a hearse stopped in front of the house late at night and took photos up at our room on the second floor. Should I stay away from the front windows here? Does everyone know where we live?

Small town happening number two: I went to breakfast with the Senior Pastor's wife, Marilyn, (who is super sweet and reminds me of a mix between Meg Ryan and Shirley Feeney) at a local place called The Four Corners Cafe. Later that day, Jonathan had lunch there with the Senior Pastor, Randy. While at the cash register, Randy introduced Jonathan as the new Assistant Pastor at First EPC to the restaurant owner (and chef), Cindy (who I never met). She said, "Oh yeah, your wife was here this morning. She had the veggie omelet."

New Beginnings...

We have moved to Anna, IL!

We used our time in Indiana to prayerfully consider our next step in ministry (which we had thought would look more like church-planting in Kansas City). Following the wisdom of other pastors and the God-given desire of our hearts, we decided to focus on an existing church at this point in time. After starting the interview process with a couple churches in October and doing final interviews in December, we came to the conclusion that God is calling us to Southern Illinois. This was a hard decision as we were wanting to be a little closer to my family in KC, but we could not be more thrilled with the church here in Anna and the position Jonathan has accepted here. He is the Assistant Pastor which includes heading up the youth (grades 7-12) and young adults/families (up to age 35) plus some pastoral care duties and occasional opportunities to preach. Jonathan is so excited to get to focus his full vocational attention on ministry and not be working multiple jobs! He has a beautiful office with plenty of room for all our seminary books and musical instruments (we can't expect to have a "guitar room" everywhere we live like we had in Charlotte)! The people at First EPC are so warm, welcoming, gracious, and full of laughter. We felt like we fit here the moment we arrived for interviewing.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. ~ Isaiah 55:8

A Hoosier Send-Off

Our time in Indiana has come to a close. We spent our last few days there enjoying family, history, and the beautiful snow. We had lunch at the Olympia Candy Kitchen in Goshen which has been around for generations. We saw several family members at a gathering at the Williams' house where Uncle Dave greeted guests while wearing his "John Denver" wig. Don, Becky, Jonathan and I went ice skating by moonlight on the pond. The guys chivalrously shoveled a path for us and we enjoyed a fun midnight skate complete with gently falling snow. We are so grateful for our six months in Indiana and will miss the Hoosier life!!!

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!

I know some of you have been quite anxious to hear how this meal was... to explain, my mother-in-law served a themed meal that had chocolate in every dish. Admittedly, Jonathan and I were dreading it because we thought it'd make us sick (sorry, Janet!) but most of it was actually quite tasty! The flank steak was delicious and Jonathan even said the mashed potatoes made with chocolate milk were not as bad as he'd expected. These photos capture the chocolate bread, salad with chocolate nibs and a cocoa-vinaigrette dressing, and the infamous chocolate mashed potatoes.

Christmas with the Whitleys

Christmas in St. Louis was a great time to see the Whitley fam. There were presents and pastries galore! We got to see where Chef Peter works and sample his delicious desserts. How many Whitleys can you fit in a glass elevator at the mall? Looks like seven from the pic, but there are actually ten!!! My three sisters-in-law are ALL expecting baby Whitleys in the next several months. Cheers to expanding the fam!

Christmas with the Ebys

What a celebration! Dad cut the turkey, everyone made a dish and a dessert, Jonathan made his first snowman of the season, and Jil finally brought Ray home to meet us all! It was a fun weekend full of laughter, eating, dancing, and playing games.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2008: My sister, Andra, and brother-in-law, Bruce, came into town. Bruce dared to come to Northern Indiana without a coat, so Jonathan lent him his Nascar garb....Bruce and Nascar = an oxymoron. Becky took Andra and Linda for a ride around the farm on Buc. They came back with mud splattered everywhere. (Becky gets a certain gleam in her eye when she drives Buc.... I knew better than to take her up on a ride this time)! The boys played some two-hand-touch. It's not Thanksgiving without football, right? Later, I had the task of trying to de-grass stain Jonathan's clothes from that day. Good thing my Aunt Jean knows a little secret to getting rid of grass stain: rubbing alcohol.

Austria

We took a day trip to Austria with Brandy and Sammy and got to see a couple sites from "The Sound of Music." This is the garden and cemetary from the film.

Munich

In Munich we got to visit with Brandy, one of my college roomies, and her husband, Sammy. They took us to Weisses Brauhaus for a genuine German breakfast. There was a band that played and several men dressed in lederhosen. It was super fun eating white sausage and huge pretzels for breakfast!

Vienna

We had a stop-over in Vienna on our flight from Paris to Munich, so we decided to take the train into town for lunch. We loved Vienna and enjoyed listening to this street musician. He played when people dropped coins into his case then he would "wind down" until he heard more change drop. We got a little turned around on our way back to the train and almost missed our flight, but it was a great adventure and worth the effort.

Remembrance Day Service at the Notre Dame

Paris

EUROPE!!!

In November we had the opportunity to take our first European Vacation! The trip centered around our good friends from Charlotte, Chris and Kirsten Furr and kiddos. The Furrs have been in France a little over a year now and are missionaries outside of Paris. The first day we were there they took us to a Chateau where there was chocolate tasting--yum! I'll try to show a smattering of our photos to give you an idea of what we experienced.

Cross Country Action

My cousin, Andy, runs cross country for Manchester College and we got to attend a couple of his meets this fall. We had a blast cheering him on and watching him win Conference. I got shots of my Uncle Dave and cousin, Becky, running to multiple locations to cheer Andy on-- what a supportive, dedicated family! We were so glad to get to be part of it.

Anniversary

For our anniversary we went to Muskegon, Michigan and attended a Gala on a WWII ship. The LST 393 was hopping with a swing band and folks dressed in 1940's garb. We had the best time dancing, eating, and exploring this vessel. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast then walked along Lake Michigan the next day. It was a wonderful way to celebrate 7 extraordinary years together.

the Oreo cow

Night Swimming

Jonathan and my cousin, Don, decided they should swim across the lake in early October. It was a little chilly and by the time they got started, the day was ending. Jonathan swam first while Don rowed the boat next to him then when they got to the other side, they switched. I'm so glad Don's sister, Becky, came over for moral support because it was too dark to see them on the way back and without her sense of reason I would have jumped to the conclusion that they probably drowned.

Days Gone By

I love this little house. It sits across the lake from ours so I get to gaze at it daily and think about it's history. In 1941, before my Grandpa Eby left for the war, he took my Grandma Bee here for a weekend getaway. This little house has hardly changed since then. We have photos of him eating breakfast on the porch and her sitting on a large rock on the bank. After their kids were born, my grandparents took the family here in the summertime and my dad remembers sleeping out in the very same porch. His sisters remember the numerous tiny snapping turtles he would scoop up with a net while laying face down on the pier. At the end of the day he would release the turtles from his large metal bucket and watch them all walk to the edge then plop off the pier back into the water. It's hard to believe so many years have passed and so many memories have been made at this one little house whose look hasn't changed.

Beached Pie

We had the pleasure of cooking dinner for my Aunt Jeannine for her birthday. Now, we're not so much a cake family but we all really LOVE pie. So, naturally I wanted to put her candles on pie instead of cake. I went to the supermarket where they carry pies and baked goods made fresh by a local woman. I was excited to serve it to Jeannine... until I went to put the candles on it and realized that just under the top crust was a thick, fuzzy, layer of blueish-gray mold! What to do? I decided to light the candles and let her blow them out. Then I broke the sad news that we would not be able to actually eat the pie due to a mold infestation (in spite of the expiration date of 3 days later)! My aunt, being such a gracious and light-hearted woman just got a huge laugh out of it. And as every good hostess knows to do, I had an emergency backup plan: Beachy Bars in the freezer! (Which could go head to head with pie any day of the week. And I LIKE pie)!