Your Stuck With Us

That's what my mother-in-law told me tonight after the family dinner/fox news debate. It's rare that these "discussions" happen without the full family here (the Landers crew)... it's never good to do a show without the full cast anyhow. But tonight was spirited and tasty. Left over Christmas dinner made into sandwiches and politics on our sleeves rivals any dinner combo at your local eatery. There seemed to be as many "arguments" as there were people and I'm still not sure how it began, nor where we ended up. All I know is this...I am a lucky guy to be stuck with these people. They all, each uniquely talented, deeply care about this world. They all love Jesus and desire others to as well. They are amazing parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nanas and papas...and when the day is done and the curtain closes there is no doubt that we love each other. And you know what....they're stuck with me too:)

I also know that half the people that read this will be ones described above. Ya, I wrote about you...It's out there in the blog world...if you don't like it, well we'll just have to "discuss" it over dinner:)

Mike and Emily Delster

Mike was Taylor’s roommate for three years at Grand Canyon. At first, probably an unlikely combo, he has definitely become a dear friend. He was right there in the middle of all the stories and pranks from that time of life. Actually it was usually Mike and Matt that did the damage, Taylor just instigated. Emily is Mike’s beautiful wife, who he meet the summer after his freshman year. It is cool to see how God has put these two together. Though they got engaged months after we did, they were married 20 days before us. Taylor was in Mike’s wedding and Mike was in ours. Since then it has always been a pleasure to catch up with them whenever we come to Phoenx...usually at Chipotle. They are comfortable and transparent. We can be ourselves around them. In June, they will be having their first kid which is a crazy reminder that we are getting old...or at least older. They are going to be great parents just as they are great friends. Mmm...the Delsters!

We Made It!

Christmas in two places with three families! It has been so good to see all the people we love. We never seem to get enough time with them though. We made it in to Colorado safe and sound and it is so beautiful here! We keep thinking about how incredibly blessed we are and how much God really takes care of us. So undeserving...So grateful!

Merry Christmas!

That means traveling for us. We're off to Colorado! Christmas is always best when spent in two different states ;). More posts and pics to come.

Matt and Sarah

This is Matt and Sarah. Sarah came to Grand Canyon, when Taylor was a sophomore. And we met Matt that same year when he came to visit Sarah from CA. Sarah has always been a good friend who we’ve shared a lot of laughs with. She has always got her camera with her…and you can always count on her to capture life’s moments. Matt came to Canyon Taylor’s junior year and roomed with him and Mike Delster for the next two years. He is definitely one of Taylor’s college buddies. There are countless stories and pranks they reminisce about when together. After dating for a long time, Matt and Sarah are getting married this summer in Colorado. We are extremely excited for them. Can’t wait to know them as husband and wife. It was so good getting to see them. One of those couples that it is easy to be around.

YUMA

Our time in Phoenix was a whirlwind. We saw a lot of amazing people....which we will continue to blog about. We are now in Yuma with Taylor's dad and family. Our trips to see family are always too few and far between. We will be soaking up this time.

Michelle

It has become a tradition….we arrive in Phoenix, pick up our rental car, and head off to meet our dear friend Michelle for coffee. I met Michelle the summer of 2004 when I went to Scotland on a summer project with Campus Crusade. I was attracted to her sincerity and love for the Lord. At the time, Michelle had only been a Christian for a few years, but she knew her Savior so intimately; something that I had lost along the way. I was refreshed and inspired by our time together in Scotland. I knew she was someone I wanted to keep in touch with. God made that easier, when Michelle moved to Arizona a year later. We attended the same church and Michelle became our Sunday buddy. We would go to coffee and talk for hours. Michelle is a wealth of interesting and insightful information and finds the small things in life exciting. Taylor and I talk about traveling with her because we know we would experience any place to it’s fullest. She makes us see the world in a new ways. Now our coffee dates come about every 6-12 months, but they are always a highlight. She makes us laugh. She asks great questions. She listens intently and I always leave with a new book recommendation. We love her and can’t wait to see how God continues to use her in all the adventures He takes her on.

PHOENIX!

photo by Mike Cavaroc
We have arrived in the B E A UTIFUL desert southwest. It has been raining here the past three days which has left the air clean, the sky blue, the plants alive, and the clouds glorious. There's just something special about Phoenix for us. Over the next few weeks we will be catching up with some of our favorite people in the world. These are people that we only get to see once or twice a year, but that we hope to know for the rest of our lives. Our goal is to take pictures with these amazing individuals, couples, and families and share a little bit about who they are and what they mean to us...so keep an eye out, you just might find yourself posted!

Mamma Jo's

This year, Taylor and I both participated in intermural basketball. I pride myself of on being the basketball champion in our family (I know it was almost 7 years ago). But this year, Taylor was the one playing in the championship. His basketball team, made up from men in Pearce, and appropriately named Mamma Jo's battled their way past over 30 teams to find a place in the championship game. They were the underdog from the beginning. But they gave quite the performance. It came down to the last few seconds. Unfortunately, they lost by two. But I was so proud. It was fun to watch Taylor play with his guys. I was so proud. He invests so much time and energy into the men of Pearce. That is not always returned. But I think this was a moment of pride for him. Though a bit odd, when fans cheered "Go, Mamma Jo," I was honored to be a small part of the team.

Chris and Meghan

I've said it before, and am frequently reminded, that we have great students here at Geneva College. Chris and Meghan are two of those students. I knew Chris from his time here as an RA and had run into Meghan a few times by his side. Joanna and I had a blast hanging out with them on a fall day a few weeks back. When Meghan came in, she admitted she was a little nervous, so I told her what I tell each couple we shoot..."Take today as a day to hang out with Chris, just you and him and some good time together being yourselves...you just happen to have a guy with a camera following you around :). The best pictures are the ones where you are just being you." Somehow she took that and ran...the nervousness disappeared and they were so fun and easy to capture. Thanks Chris and Meghan for letting us in on who you are. Hopefully these pictures show that. So we were kind of in a shady place for some of these photos and right when Joanna took this picture, a cop drove by. She was real worried he was going to stop and have a word with us, but she still got the shot! That's my wife! We drove down a dirt road behind this building where there was a nice field to take some pictures in. When we got there, there were some huge scrap piles in back of the building. From those scraps we found a three legged bench and a tv set. That's how the below came about. I love it and I love that they let me do it. So fun!

Ellie and Toby

On occasion, I bring Ellie back to campus so she can play with Toby. They love it! Ellie always makes Toby do the chasing:)
I love how they can make each other laugh.
Ellie playing hard to get.
Love this one!

Two Weeks

We are home! Thanksgiving, though nontraditional, was great. It was so good to spend time with family. We wish we didn't live so far away. The Landers are an amazing family and we love them a ton! Two weeks until Christmas vacation. That is a crazy fact. Here we go!

Side Project

As an RD, you get to interact with a ton of students. At Geneva, that happens to be a great experience because we have so many good ones, but there are a few who's hearts beat the same as ours. Nate and Christian are two of those students. We love these guys. They are real, they love well, and they happen to be a couple of great singer/songwriters. They are in a band "Call of the Mild", but two of their members are off in Scotland for study abroad (such is college). In the interim, they are "Side Project" (Amy is the female). The other day, they agreed to be my guinea pigs. I woke them up before the sun and we headed out into the fog for my first "band picture" session. We had a lot of fun and it was great being a little more artsy with the product. Here are just a couple that we took.

Tyrone

Tyrone Wells is not only an incredibly talented musician, but he is a great person as well. We have been so blessed by his friendship and though we don't get to see him often, whenever he rolls through our neck of the woods, he always makes time to hang out and catch up. A couple of weeks ago was one of those opportunities. We headed to Pittsburgh with our good friends Ryan Holt and Sarah Dompier and caught Tyrone's show at the Hard Rock. HE HAS A NEW ALBUM COMING OUT ON ITUNES DECEMBER 9TH and he played quite a bit of his new stuff at this show. Let me tell you that we cannot wait till the 9th. His new stuff is GOOOOOOOOD! Some pictures are below as well as a "home video" from a show he did at some other college.

Holiday

Students checked out. Thanksgiving plans in place. Candles lit and decorations up. A warm cup of coffee/chai (usually in a red cup). A Charlie Brown Christmas playing in the background. It's the holidays! We love it. Happy Holidays!

Zeke and Kora

This post is for Jody. As far as I know, she has never seen these pictures of her beautiful children (our awesome niece and nephew). While we were in Maryland, one of the great people we met out there had us over to his house for lunch on Sunday (thanks Dave). While there, Aunt Joanna and Uncle Taylor took Z & K outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and to play a little hide and seek. These two are so much fun! They are so full of life and just happy little people. We're very blessed to be their Aunt and Uncle. This is Zeke's first football stance I believe.