I'm Ba-ack. (Note: I'm slurring the word back, not saying Barack.)

Yes, I owe you. I believe I previously explained about all of the sickness, after that post it continued on with a burst eardrum (for Jamie who couldn't let Natalie and me suffer alone.) During this month of germs and pain we also managed to have visits from both Jamie's mom and dad and celebrated Halloween. And live through one of the prettiest Fall color displays I have seen in years. Rather than go on wallowing in self-pity I'll get to the pictures. Halloween with our pretty dalmatian:
And a trip to the Arboretum - which was the prettiest I have ever seen it.It's funny, through all of the weeks of sickness I actually learned something more than just the difference between Halls and Jewel Brand Cough Drops. With all of the stuff (aka fever, coughing, etc) we had going - I managed to miss church four weeks in a row. I have often had conversations with people who ask me why I think it's so important to go to church on a regular basis and I usually come up with some commentary on community and accountability. What I discovered in my unwilling sabbatical is that going to church for me is sort of like Jamie tuning his guitar. Being there sharpens me, it keeps me focused and more in tune. It's not that by being away I lost my ability to "play" altogether, no strings were broken, but I could see a measurable difference in my general attitude and responses to stress. I have always thought that the tuning process is something that happens far too frequently, but I think that I am now beginning to understand why it is so important for making the music really beautiful. I know this isn't some earth shattering epiphany, but it just really hit me and it seemed worthy of sharing.