October fun

We've had some busy, fun times lately; here are just a few pics to get the grands through to Halloween, which we're really excited about (and trying to get everyone over colds before)... also very excited about the election. Go Obama! Love to all - the pellfam...

Retreat from the Real World

We returned a few days ago from what was quite a retreat of a weekend, in more ways than one. The reason for the trip in the first place: I was invited to attend "Hearts Alive and Free" with my twin brother Joe... a men's religious extended weekend (3 1/2 days) disguised as a frisbee golfing/wall climbing/zip lining/ropes coursing/mountain biking/hiking free-for-all with 280 other guys. Joe told me about it months ago. I got the idea that when he went to the event last year, he felt he came back a changed man, better husband, and better father (as if he wasn't pretty good already). Honestly, in the days leading up to it, I was in fear of some sort of brainwashing. When we arrived Thursday evening, I told Marisa goodbye over the cell phone, and turned it (along with every other possible connection to the outside world) off until midday Sunday... when a stranger used my phone to call her. That stranger was me. I don't want to get into it too much over the blog, but I felt that I went through many years of personal (and spiritual) growth over the course of just a few days. Unbelievable what I learned about myself, about Christianity in general (along with my misconceptions of it), and about the "quiet still voice" that has been within my heart all along, without me even knowing it. Along with all of that deep stuff (and despite my cynicism and strong resistance... it worked, and not in the ways I had expected to), the essence of the weekend was for men to "recapture their hearts" i.e. returning to the urges of youth through adventure, which we did for several hours each day interspersed with spiritual group sessions and times within convenants of silence and solitude. I feel silly and exposed for writing all of this stuff here... and yet, how can I not, with this seismic change within me. And you would not believe the stories of many of the men that I met, the triumph over adversity in their pasts and even presents, through the strength of their faith. "Where do I begin?" was the question facing me as I opened up this blog editor, and so this is what I have come up with. :) And one of the coolest things of all was going through it with my bro... a picture of us is included below. You rock, dude. As we were returning to civilization and listening to the radio, I realized "Oh yeah, there's an election coming up and the vice presidential debate just happened." "Huh, the stock market's going to crap." "How 'bout that, Michigan lost another game." The thing that startled me most, is how little I now cared about those things.

Because I had to come up from West Virginia in order to go, we (Marisa and I) decided to organize a whole trip around it. While I was gone with Joe, Marisa and the kids took in a few days of hanging out with grandmas/aunts/uncles/cousins/etc. This included going to Grandma Laurie's school, visiting Yate's Cider Mill, and enjoying a day out in the country in Metamora. I tried to include a good sampling of photos from all of the fun (including a precious moment in which the kids' hands and a plant's leaves met in a clover shape, all around a fascinating caterpillar). Needless to say, the kids got all tuckered out, as evidenced by the top photo in this blog.

As they say in those infomercials, "But wait! There's more!!!" As we crossed the state line back into WV on the way back home, we visited Point Pleasant, a town along the Ohio River with a funny little piece of folklore: The "Mothman" Statue. If you've ever see the movie "The Mothman Prophecy" you might know a little about it.

Those of you who are a little curious, click on the small image of the sign for more. The kids thought the statue was cool, especially in light of Halloween coming up... though the highlight for them honestly was the fact that its bottom was exposed on the backside. We also walked along the shore of the Ohio River (Mom/Evan pic below).

And finally, upon returning, we found the phenomenom of Fall colors suddenly well underway. Yesterday, I was able to take Autumn and Evan on a hike through the woods with the mission of collecting leaves (and my mission, of course, photos). This morning, with Evan home sick with a touch of pneumonia (just got diagnosed), we took out the glue and construction paper to create their personal leaf collections.

Good stuff! To quote a philosopher I know well, "The World is a Wonderful Place."

-Mark