The perfect house guests

Last week, Brian's parents came to spend a few days with us in Indy over his dad's birthday. As many of you know, this past year has presented some health challenges for his dad, so we were especially excited to be able to spend this year's birthday with him! Our family certainly has much to celebrate - we have witnessed firsthand the Lord's faithfulness as He has answered our prayers for healing and increased faith!

We had been looking forward to Mom and Dad Smith's visit for so long - we were so sad to see them go! It was really fun to be able to show them around some of our favorite Indy finds, as well as discover some great new spots together.

Taking a walk in the beautiful park that is a block away from our house. Most days we walk Stryder twice around the trails here, where he chases squirrels to his little heart's content. In the picture above, Brian has spotted a squirrel and Stryder is about to go flying toward it.

Dinner at our house.

Birthday dinner for Dad at Ambrosia, a FABULOUS family owned and operated Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. The food was so authentic and amazing that we ate here twice during the four nights that Mom and Dad were here. It was just that good.

Discovering Zionsville. This quaint little Indianapolis community is about the closest thing I have ever seen to Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls fans, you know what I'm talking about.) We spent a wonderful afternoon walking Main Street and exploring all of the little shops and restaurants. It even has a coffee shop (like Luke's) AND a park with gazebo. If we were going to stay in Indianapolis for good, I think Brian and I would both say that this area would be in our top picks of ideal places to live.

Riding the Monon Trail. Years ago, the city of Indianapolis converted an unused train railway into a paved path that stretches nearly 20 miles throughout the center of the city. It starts downtown and runs all the way through a northern suburb. We were blessed with unseasonably beautiful weather during Mom and Dad's stay, so we spent a gorgeous afternoon riding bikes and enjoying the last of the fall scenery. The trail has a connection just 3 blocks from our house - we still marvel at the unbelievably perfect location that God led us to!