Reunions 2013!

I can't believe it's been ten years since I graduated from Princeton... David is fond of reminding me that I've gotten an advanced degree and had two babies and so much more, but still -- can it really have been ten years already??

The great class of 2003 came back in full force for Reunions this year!  And for the first time, I actually registered for official Reunions events -- we're normally so busy with PEF events that it's not really worth it to pay for the class events, but we decided to splurge for my tenth.  In large part because I wanted to wear the class costume.  :)  But also because I was really looking forward to seeing people I hadn't seen in years!

David took on kid duty on the Friday night so I could go to the dinner at the tents, footloose and fancy-free.  :)  It was so good running into so many old friends, many of whom I hadn't seen since graduation, many more of whom had little kidlets of their own...




Then on Saturday, we kicked things off at the PEF pre-P-rade luncheon.  It was Sophia's first experience of Reunions, and I think she was mostly just confused by it all.  :)  But Joshua is old enough now to really enjoy himself -- he particularly loved the juice boxes and grapes.  And the kids' table!








(Oh, yeah, and our class theme was "Around the turn," which is apparently a golf reference to the 10th hole.  Lots of black and orange argyle and polos, complete with kicky golf caps and long black knee socks.  Most of us weren't wearing the knee socks because, hello, 95-degree heat, but you can see a couple of the guys above who went all in with the full getup!)

Then we attempted to take the kids to the P-rade.  It was sooooo hot, though, and way too crowded to push a stroller around... So David took Joshua in the stroller to hang out in a shady area and I braved the crowds with Sophia strapped to my front, running into people and marveling at the madness that is the Princeton P-rade.  Here's what Sophia thought of it all:


We finally retreated to Frist for the air conditioning.  And ran into so many more friends!  Joshua loved playing with Claire and Jonathan and their respective parents and grandparents, and we had such a good time catching up with everyone.









I'm always so thankful at Reunions that we still live in Princeton, and that everyone comes back here to the best ol' place of all.  Can't wait until our 15th -- but definitely hope to see all of you again before then!

PEF Fall Retreat!

The last weekend of October, we all went on the PEF fall retreat!  This was the first fall retreat in years -- I think the last one was the fall of my senior year, 2002?  There was enough interest among the students (and enough energy on the staff side!) to reinstate this tradition this year, and it was such a good weekend!

This was also our first time bringing *both* kids on a trip.  I was a little nervous about how they would handle the disruptions to our normal routine, and whether I would be able to do anything other than childcare over the weekend, but as it turned out, I had nothing to worry about.  The retreat was up in the Poconos, about a 2-hour drive away in good traffic.  Of course, driving north on Friday during rush hour is anything but good traffic... But thankfully, the kids did well with the car trip!  And at the retreat itself, Joshua had a BLAST playing with all the students.  He loved having so many energetic friends to run around with -- and this tired mama was glad to have others take on the task of running after our little ball of perpetual motion!  And little Sophia was such a trooper.  She hung out in the baby carrier with me for most of the weekend, eating and sleeping regularly, and just rolling with all the changes.  She really is such a mellow little girl!

So for the first time in weeks, I was able to sit through some good PEF teaching.  The retreat theme was busyness and rest, a topic that is always apropos for Princetonians.  The format of the meetings was a bit different -- instead of having two or three main messages, there were a series of mini-messages, interspersed with times of directed prayer and sharing.  I very much appreciated hearing the messages -- though my current season of busyness is different from that of the students, the message of God's rest is just as applicable, if not more!

And of course, I took a ton of photos.  I do love being the PEF photographer and capturing the sheer fun of hanging out with college students!

One of the many amenities of the retreat center: Gaga Ball!  And the students graciously let Joshua in on a very brief round.  :)






Meetings in the rustic lodge:




While Joshua played (relatively) quietly in the back:


And one of the retreat highlights: a campfire!




What an incredibly fun and refreshing weekend away!

Christmas Vespers 2011

Sunday evening, December 11, was the annual interfellowship Christmas Vespers.  And as always, it was such a beautiful service!  There were a record-breaking 38 students in the choir, which sounded absolutely majestic in the soaring splendor of Rockefeller Common Room, singing music beautifully arranged, as always, by Jamie Rankin.  We also had a harp, several string instruments, a percussion section, some woodwinds, and Rob Dunlop '01 coming back for his umpteenth year as the French hornist.  :)










The readings, though familiar, always bring home to me new facets and applications of the Incarnation.  And we had some seriously powerful soloists this year!  The songs chosen for this service always move me to tears, and this year was no exception.






David Buschman gave a touching message on how the Old Testament comes to a point or apex with the birth of Christ, which then spreads the message of God's salvation to all peoples everywhere -- the hourglass view of all history, if you will.






It was so restorative, in the midst of this busy season in our lives, to come together in worship and be reminded anew of God's great gift of grace.

Interfellowship Friday, fall 2011

At the end of October, we had an Interfellowship Friday large group meeting -- it's fast becoming an every-semester tradition, which is awesome to see!  The speaker this fall was R. York Moore, a National Evangelist for Intervarsity, and someone deeply involved in the work of the International Justice Mission, an organization dedicated to freeing modern-day slaves and using the rule of law to end human trafficking.  York gave an inspiring message on justice and the role that we as Christians are all called to play in doing God's work.  It was a message that I particularly needed to hear, and one that I'm still working through, so I was very thankful that I got to attend this session.

It's also always encouraging to see the different Christian groups gather together to worship.  "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!"