The Artist

For the last week and a half, we have been on our very first family vacation. We decided to go to Tennessee to visit Uncle Frank and Aunt Peggy. They have never had the opportunity to meet Miss Abigail. As a matter of fact, last time we spent time with them, she was still in my belly.

We just had the most wonderful time with them and we are so thankful to God for their generosity and love. I have never met such giving people and we love them so much. On Thursday, we took a drive out to an orchard that belonged to a man that Uncle Frank knew so that we could pick some sour cherries off the trees and make pie. I know that personally, I was awestruck by the LORD's hand that day. HE is truly the artist, a master painter and creator. He is GOD and I am not, and I realized that more than ever as we drove up the drive and saw the orchard, the house, trees, and grapevines that HE had given to this man's care. Everything was so natural and beautiful.

I was excited for Abigail as she had her first experience of eating an apple right off the tree that she hand picked for herself. She ate some cherries too. She sat in the shade under the cherry trees as we picked and ate, and all for free. We could not have prayed and asked for a nicer day, or to spend it any other way with anyone else. It was perfect. I am just in awe of my Jesus.

The Lion King

This past weekend, Mike and I went to Pittsburgh to see the Broadway production of The Lion King. The play was at the Benedum Center, which is downtown in the cultural arts district. The city is bustling with activity, and we both found it to be a rather refreshing experience. The cultural arts district reminds me of an upscale Short North or Arena District, only with less traffic and narrower streets. From everything to visual arts, or the ballet, to a gallery crawl or cabaret and the symphony; the city seems to have something for everyone.
As we entered the theatre, the sweet aroma of candied almonds made our mouths water. Needless to say, we splurged on some of those during the intermission. The play was wonderful and the depth of talent that was displayed was unmatched to anything I've seen in a long time. The thing that impressed me most was the music. Not only did the singers showcase their beautiful african songs, their voices were incredibly controlled. I have always liked the the theatre and the ballet, and now that we have moved so close to a city that is thriving in cultural arts, I hope that we can be patrons of this kind of entertainment more often.