Ruston

Our family took a little trip this week to northern Louisiana. It was our first time to visit Ruston, home of Louisiana Tech University. The boys weren't feeling the greatest, but we had a fabulous time anyway. Our hosts were our friends, Dennis and Julie (Doug's former secretary at Berean), who are in the process of selling their home in New Orleans and buying a new home in Ruston. Katrina evacuated them there since both of their older daughters live there and little did they know, they are now becoming permanent residents for this season of their lives. Their son Dillon would be part of the Connection if he were still in town.

On Monday night, Doug drove to the podunk town of Summerfield to see two of "our" seniors graduate from Summerfield High School. In a similar situation, Laci and Laura were plucked from their much-anticipated senior year at Chalmette High School in New Orleans when their family evacuated to their grandparents' home in Homer, LA. Their father is Chris, Berean's former children's pastor and one of Doug's closest friends in NOLA. He took a position in West Monroe about a month ago. Doug was proud to witness this unique graduation as the girls donned their burgundy robes amidst their classmates' crimson ones, AND Laura gave her salutatorian speech. You'll have to ask Doug about the hunting scholarship that was given by the man in camo. :)

On Tuesday, Julie showed us around Ruston and Tech's campus. Sam loved the "train bridge" and would willingly put his hands in the air and shout, "Here we go!" when we approached any hill. Zach met a new milestone as we turned his carseat to face forward -- a brand new view for riding in the car! My favorite stop of the day was Tech Dairy for some homemade ice cream. Driving in Ruston reminded me of small-town PA, but walking into the tiny ice cream shop smelled JUST like those in PA. Dennis and Julie graciously gathered our "Connection alumni" (now Tech students) on Tuesday night for a bbq at their home. It was so fun to see them together again and be able to reminisce on times past as well as hear about their world in Ruston.

Doug was able to visit with Chris on Wednesday, while Julie, the boys and I had lunch at Cane's and did some shopping. Hooray for some incredible finds and perfect Mother's Day presents. Doug and Dillon hung out that night as the rest of us saw their anticipated new home and enjoyed Julie's awesome lasagna along with Dana and Laura who joined us for the evening. Doug ended up playing ultimate frisbee late that night with Tech guys and saw Ryan and Keith's dorm room.

Anyway, we had an awesome trip! We couldn't have been more comfortable (thanks, Julie!) and we were able to see everyone and everything we wanted to ... in Ruston and the surrounding area. We miss you all, but it was fun to see your "new" world.