Married Christmas

WOW! It's the night of December 26th. We have been in four cities in three states in the last nine days. We have seen so many people we love and have gained so many pounds eating with them all or sipping Starbucks. Our first Christmas as husband and wife has been quite the event. On the 17th of December we flew into Phoenix, AZ where we were amazed at the extent to which we missed the valley of the sun. We stayed with a much loved family (the St. Clairs) and scheduled every hour out for the three full days we were there. Each day was 16 hours of meals and mocha shared with some of the best people on earth. It was SO good to reconnect with friends we truly know and who truly know us. Needless to say we slept well those nights.

On the 21st, we drove down to Yuma, AZ to spend time with the Sprague Family for Christmas. I worked with my dad at the store and Joanna ran errands and wrapped tons of gifts. Christmas morning came fast and as we shared gifts and laughs, Jo and I felt very blessed and spoiled. After a delicious breakfast, we quickly packed up, drove back to Phoenix, and boarded a plane to snow covered Denver, CO.

As we flew in, the sun was setting behind the majestic Rockies; peircing the clouds and brilliantly illuminating the vast. We are in Colorado Springs now. Our "Second Christmas" was an all out paper shredding. When we got to the Springs, we quickly wrapped the gifts we had for the Armstrong household and drove over to their new abode. There are a lot of people in our family anyway, but we had the five neices under 10 gracing us with their presence as well. Once the first gift was opened, the rest came quickly after. It's always special when we are all together under one roof. We spent our "Third Christmas" this morning watching the joy of a two year old as she helped pass out presents and ripped into her own. Our niece Irelynd is a precious little blond who could make a man with no teeth smile.

It has been a whirlwind, but we wouldn't trade the past week and a half for anything. We are blessed with great friends, incredible family, and especially eachother.

Humbled,

The Sprague's

A few pictures in no particular order

Movie Stars

In the middle of a historic metropolitan, a glass castle surrounds an outdoor diamond rink. The sun is bursting through an opening in the modern day fortress and the rays warm a 30 ft. Christmas Tree in the center of the ice. The Spirit of Christmas fills the people wrapped in scarves and jackets as they follow eachother around the tree.

This past Saturday, we went ice skating in the middle of Pittsburgh. We felt like we were in the middle of movie. After the ice skating, we walked past a large display of gingerbread houses on our way to a warm cup of joy from Starbucks.

I think we found our new tradition (as long as we're in Pittsburgh)

My Red Headed Scottish Friend

So she's not really Scottish, but I did go Scotland with Sarah. This past Friday, Sarah Lovell came up from WVU to hang out with Taylor and I before she started her finals this week. It was great to see her again!

Let it Snow!

I know we are from Colorado and it is nothing new, but you would have thought we had never seen snow before. We woke up to flurries the other morning. It made our day! We even tried to have a snowball fight with the little snow the hit the ground. There is just something about snow that is romantic, beautiful, and a gift from God. I'm sure we will get tired of it eventually. But right now, it lifts our spirits and gets us anxious for Christmas!

Can you post a Prayer Request on a Blog?

The semester is taking it's final stride into the finish line of Christmas Break. Students have all of their big papers and tests do in the next couple of weeks, after being teased of peace and rest for Thanksgiving. Stress is running high and patience and grace seem to be blinking their empty light. There is no story of what's going on or pictures of our latest adventure. This is just heaviness of heart asking for plentiful petition. If Joanna and I ever cross your mind in the day or for some reason you think of college or a college student; throw up a prayer for Pearce. Pray that we would all be able to finish strong. Pray that TRUE community would happen here. Pray that God be ferociously present here. Thank you.
p.s. We can't wait for Christmas Break either! :)

Snubbed by Starbucks

For the past two years, Joanna and I have had a holiday tradition in early December. Starbucks has put on Holiday Parties at each of their stores, sharing Christmas Cheer and Joy by giving free tall drinks and pastry samples. People would come from all over to enjoy the spirit Starbucks created. Apparently the Christmas Spirit is not on top of Starbucks list this year. Our tradition was cut out from under us...no free drinks! That's what Christmas is all about right? Oh well, we paid for some drinks anyways and we'll just have to start a new tradition. Merry Christmas everyone!

Just Us

We are trying to get better at updating our blog. Unfortunately we don't lead very exciting lives or have children to write about. Our Sunday consisted of sleeping in (we go to church on Thursday), being lazy around the house, cleaning house, going to church for a Christmas open house, eating out at On the Boarder (Yea Mexican Food!) and a trip to Target to buy a movie to watch tonight. So that is our exciting life. And in case you forgot what we look like, here is what we looked like today!

What a Day!

This morning, we woke up to a overcast 64 degree day. By ten it was absolutely pouring and the high reached 68. Around noon, the winds began to pick up, the sky's cleared, and Beaver Falls got hit with 50 mph gusts. Tonight, the clouds have again covered the vast, and with the wind chill, it is about 18 degrees outside. Where are we living?

On the Same Note

"I have community with others and I shall continue to have it only through Jesus Christ. The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and his work become the one and only thing that is vital between us." Dietrich Bonhoeffer Part of our Community: Chipotle with Jon (Taylor's RA) and Kelly (Jon's girlfriend)

Bound

"God does not choose to be bound to this poeple because it serves some need God has; on the contrary, God enters into covenant relationship with Isreal as a strategy of reconciling all of creation to it's Creator." - Philip D. Kenneson, Life on the Vine
This is an excerpt from a book my class and I are going through. As I was reading it I wondered how this applied to us. As I understand it, we are supposed to be reflections of God. How then do our relationships with others (Husband/Wife, Family, Friends) reconcile creation to the Creator. No answer for now, but the mouse wheel is going.

Home Safe

After a 9 hour drive through the night, we arrived home in Beaver Falls. Only a few more weeks till we will head out again for Christmas. We loved being with family. Our nephews always make us laugh, but keep us firm on our plan to wait 5 years to have kids. I love being an aunt! Teaching the boys how to skip rocks. We are sitting in Panera Bread right now, while Wes is "working" on a paper that is due when he gets back to Boston. He leaves at 6:00am Monday morning. Good Luck Wes!

Big Sister

I was talking to a friend the other day and I made the comment, "The older I get, the faster time seems to go." Joanna and I feel so behind as time is flying past us. There are so many of you whom we have neglected to call, so many things that continue to fall down the to do list, and so much that we have failed to blog about. The dilemma is that we feel like in order to do justice to our deficient communication, we must find a large amount of time to express and share life. We are currently in Iowa spending the Thanksgiving holiday with Joanna's sister(Jody) and Brother-in-law(Andy) and their four boys(Dawson, Gabe, Max, and Quincy) (our cousin Wes is here too.) Jody has proven our above theory bogus. Here is a woman who is chasing around four boys under 7, is in the process of painting a house before they move into it in less than a week, and has graciously hosted us all while keeping up her blog. Pathetic, lazy, lethargic...we feel all these things. Thanks Jody;). Apparently the key is to not think about it. Just sit down for a few minutes and let fly. So with our new inspiration, here's to hopin we can "let fly" and keep up with our big sister. We love ya Jody.

She's the one peeking out of the barrage of boys

Website of the Week

Over a friendly game of cards, music snuck it's way into the conversation. A website submersed in everything music was brought to my attention, I feel the need to share this great joy with you. The website is

Pandora.com

. It goes something like this: Type in the name of your favorite artist; Pandora compiles a personal playlist based on the same type or "gene" of that artist; You are exposed to hundreds of artist you otherwise would not be; If you don't necessarily like one of there choices, you tell them and they further narrow the playlist you are listening to...instantly. I've been pretty impressed so far. It's worth checking out. If nothing else, it's always good to see inovation, and this is exactly that. If you want check out the theory behind the site, it was born out of the Music Genome Project.

Emily Visiting = LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

Emily flew across the country from Seattle to suprise Joanna and spend the weekend with us. Apparently we have to fly our friends in:) It was such a blessing to have her here. She is an incredible friend.

Quick Thought

"The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners."
-Morton Kelsey
Refreshing and Challenging. Thank God for Grace.

More Pictures!!!

Cash from Coffee

God continues to show us that we are supposed to be here in Beaver Falls. His latest confirmation has come in the form of a new job for Joanna. She is now the closing manager at the Riverview Cafe (Geneva's Brand New Coffee Shop). Her last day as a Therapuetic Staff Support was this past Thursday and she will begin working full time at the Coffee Shop this Monday. It's a good move and a big blessing.

New York, New York

We met the Sprague Parents in New York City! It was Richard's 50th Birthday Trip and they really spoiled us. Get ready for some pictures.

Our first Subway trip



The Parents



Lady Liberty in the distance



We planned on seeing some crazy things in New York, but we weren't expecting this. There was a wild turkey in the middle of Battery Park. So weird!



Downtown wrapped in Fog



On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty



There she is. The history here is overwhelming.







Wall Street. I don't think she realizes where she's standing.



The view from our hotel room.



We ate dinner at Sardi's. This is a celebrity frequented restaurant right next to Broadway and Times Square. The food was amazing.



Times Square



For Taylor's first Broadway, we went to see Chicago.



DJ Shooter, a close friend of the Sprague Family, is a senior at Yale University. He is also a stud football player there. We took a train from Grand Central Station to New Haven, CT to go visit him.







The Yale Bulldogs remained undeafeted in there division as they beat the Penn Quakers 17-14 in Overtime. DJ is #80.



Taylor and DJ



Chad and Hailey flew into New Haven to spend the weekend with DJ. It was a mini family reunion!





One last train trip, a limo ride, and a plane flight brought us back home. I can't believe how much we did in two short days. It was just enough to make us want to go back. We had such a great time and we are so grateful that we have parents that let us join in their fun. Thanks Mom and Dad Sprague.