Well, after 6 weeks where we spent time in, PA, Iceland, England, Wales, Ireland (republic & the north) & France, we are finally back in Ithaca (at least until we move to Trumansburg in a month!)

First off, let me say that the trip was amazing.  While I think my kids were all glad to get back & spend some time with people they are not actually related to, the trip was really good for us.  One of the questions we get asked is, “did it seem to go by quickly?”  And on the one hand, it did…you spend months preparing for a trip & then it’s over.  But at the same time, there are certain parts of the trip that seem like they happened months ago.

(And yes, we took pictures…and while we will not force anyone to go through a slide show with us, between the 5 of us, we surpassed 6000 photos.)

One of the things that helped make the trip great was that we had a great team of people here keeping things going.  Bill Williams & James Cherian stepped in and managed the day to day running of the church…Erin Smith & Darin LeBlanc started as interns working in the office one week before I left & had to figure out a lot of stuff while we were gone.  They all did a great job & I have really no catching up to do!!

I also wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who spoke on Sundays while I was gone…Jeff Printy from them Vineyard in Irondequiot, and then Bill, James, Mike Heisler & Steve Clark from here at the Ithaca Vineyard!

There are some really big things coming up in the next few weeks (specifically the Sacred Rythyms Conference & the Clam Bake), but we’ll start putting in a plug or two for them starting tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who was praying for us while we were gone!  Look forward to seeing you this Sunday.