It's been awhile...

...since I last posted anything and alot has gone on! I will do a quick update of our last week or so.

We went to VA last Wednesday for 4 nights to visit Andy's family. Actually he had a christian school conference to go to and visiting his family was a perk! It was close by to his brother's house so they were gracious to let us stay with them for so many nights!

I got to hang out with Andy's sister Amy almost the whole day on Thursday which was a treat since that's the most time we have been able to spend one-on-one ever! She took me to Smithfield's (not the bbq place) for lunch at a cozy bistro and then we spent our time running from antique shop to antique shop since it was pouring down rain neither one of us had an umbrella!

We spent lots of time with the Claire-bear (our niece) and even got to have her one evening to ourselves while Stevie and Sara went on a date. Apparently, for some reason, once you have kids, you don't get to date your spouse as much or as easily??? Go figure.

Then, Stevie and Sara had their annual "Lynch and Friends" party Saturday night at their beautiful new house. This is a neat tradition they do every year with their friends and family. It's kind of like Thanksgiving except not on Thanksgiving! Everyone brings a dish and just visits. Andy's family does a great job of being appreciative of their friends and each other and making it know. Maybe we should start a "Lynch and Friends" - Burlington edition!

We came home Sunday, rested up and planned for the week.

Tuesday I had our International Wives meeting at our church. It's a ministry for wives of Duke students to get together once a week, learn English, take craft classes, etc. We had a Thanksgiving tasting party last week where each of the teachers brings a traditional Thanksgiving dish for each of the lady's to taste. They love trying new foods and learning more about American traditions and holidays! Their plates were all clean by the end so hopefully they weren't just being nice! For some reason, I was lucky enough to get off just bringing rolls and sweet tea! Some of the other ladies had to make turkey and dressing. sweet potato casserol, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, cranberry casserole...mmmm. I'm getting hungry just talking about it!

Friday I had the privelege of eating breakfast with another very close friend of mine who has been living overseas! Kari surprised everyone and came home for 2 months! She showed up at my door a couple weeks ago and totally surprised me! It's great to have her home for awhile. She's actually been helping Andy at North Star with some odds and ends so that's been fun. It's great to have my girlfriends from growing up around for awhile! Kari's dad was my pastor when I was little up until college. She lived about a mile from me and we would ride the bus together. Sometimes I would get off at her house without my mom's permission and spend the afternoon with her! Mom was never too mad since it was on the way home! Kari and I have alot of great memories together and I am so proud of her!

Better than a Blue Ribbon milkshake

I had lunch today with me dear friend, EA (Erin-Ashley). She and her husband Andy (great name for a husband by the way) are here from overseas for a few months to have their second child!

We hung out last Friday night with our hubbies. The fun started at the City Park so her little Emma Grace could play with "sticks and rocks". Then we went to eat in Mebane and followed up with an old fashioned night of Southern Alamance High School football. A lot has changed since we both last stepped foot in that place and it was neat to be reminded of what the Lord has done in both our lives over the last 9 and a half years! Yes, our 10 year reunion will be in '09!

Today I got to have her to myself for about an hour and a half! We met for lunch at Blue Ribbon and got to catch up. I am so thankful for her friendship and how the Lord has kept us close (though not by miles) since we were 6 years old! She truly is a gem and I am thrilled to hear of how the Lord is using her in Andy's life, Emma Grace's life and all of those that surround her. We miss them terribly but treasure the time with have with them! Keep having babies, EA! It's good to have you home!

The photo below is of them last time they were home to have Emma Grace. She is 17 months old now and so precious!

Still not a Duke fan...

Andy and I spent some time at Duke University with some of our FBC friends this weekend. Courtney and Taylor Pike graciously invited us all for some tailgating and college football. Notice, Eliana (the baby) and I are the only ones not wearing Duke attire. I'm surprised Kim and Nathan didn't have her all decked out! I am still a Carolina fan even though it pertains more to basketball than anything else. Duke lost pretty badly to State on Saturday. Either way, it was great to hang out with some of our nearest and dearest! Courtney's on the left (the one with the pigtails), then Jenny (already featured on the lynch blog - getting to be a regular, are we?), me and Eliana of course, and then Kim on the right. I learned the same day that Kim and Nathan are 99% sure they are sticking around here for awhile longer. There were ominous threats that they would be heading back west within a year but it looks like NC has grown on them. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the other 1% chance that they will have to move.

Link to all of our Hawaii photos

If you want to see all of our photos from Hawaii, click on the link below.

You will have to log on to our snapfish account.
Our username is: sheryl.stainback.lynch@gmail.com
The password is: hawaii
Just warning you! There are alot!
Hawaii Photos

More Hawaii photos

As promised, here are some more photos from our Hawaii trip.
This is "Spouting Horn" in Kauai, one of our favorite spots from last time we were there. The ocean constantly crashes into this lava rock coast line and in spots, shoots up into the air. It can get quite high at times and makes a dragon-like sound while sucking in and pushing out the water.
We came here to watch the sunset one evening. It's hard to believe the water has been doing this same thing since we were there 3 years ago!




Maui
We had not been to Maui before and were so impressed. We thought nothing could compare to Kauai and let's just say Maui gave it a run for it's money! This is a beautiful island! It was still pretty laid back like Kauai but has much more to do. We took this drive up to Hana. Around every turn was beautiful coastline, numerous types of vegetation, dark ominous clouds to the left and a bright blue sky to the right.






We stopped along the way and hiked a 2 mile trail up to a 300+ foot waterfall. The water was freezing when we got in but it was well worth the shivering!