Nashotah House Community

We are finally recovered from a great trip to Nashotah House. It was so amazing that I needed some time to process all of the wonderful experiences before writing about them in a somewhat legible way.
Besides seeing Rob in a cassock and surplice, I am most excited about being a part of the awesome community at Nashotah House. Before visiting "the House," as it is affectionately called by those who live there, I knew from reading the website and pamphlets that it was an "intentional community." I figured this meant that all students and families live on campus together. I had no idea how much more it really is than that. While visiting, I saw that the families don't just live next to each other. They become family to each other. Like many large families, the whole community eats together at a big dinner once a month. The seminarians eat breakfast and lunch together everyday, but everyone gets together on these nights. When we were there, we got to see their annual talent show, which really spoke volumes about how close they all are. The children put on dances together, sang, and played instruments. The seminarians put on hilarious skits, teasing each other just like siblings. Spouses sang and danced; one even sang opera with an accordion player who they hired just for the event. A seminarian and his little 3 year-old son played guitar and sang together. I wish I had a video of the whole thing. It was beautiful. All I could think while watching it (admittedly with tears in my eyes) was, "I cannot wait to be a part of this!" I know Rob was just as excited because at the end of the talent show, he leaned over and suggested a possible act for us to do next year. I guess we'll have a while to practice! As the talent show so clearly portrayed, these people really know each other. They see each other daily. They hang out with each other in the evenings and on the weekends. They take care of each other. They sometimes annoy each other. Their kids are friends. Basically, they "do life" together. I'm including a link (under Our Links to the right) to Nashotah House's picture blog so that all of you can get a glimpse into the community. I can't wait until you see our faces on that blog next year! More about our trip to come...

We're Back!

We had a wonderful trip to Nashotah House last week. We were fairly certain that this was the seminary for us before we visited, and now we are completely convinced! I will write more about our experiences later, but I want to go ahead and post a link to the pictures (under Our Picture Albums to the right). I know many of you are excited to have a vision of where we will be living for the next three years. Thank you for your prayers. We were showered with blessings during our visit!