our four-legged journey

I. JOEL & CHARITY'S WEDDING : michigan

our journey began with a drive up to michigan for joel & charity's wedding. josh was officiating their wedding ceremony, which drew from many jewish traditions (charity's heritage).

joel & charity are kindred spirits, & a real inspiration to us. we met charity when josh was on a mini-tour with the psalters. she was the accordian player, & we hit it off instantly. she even gave me her most valued possession--a set of downy woodpecker wings. joel & charity live in rural missouri, in the poorest county in the state. joel built his own straw bale house, & they both teach at a local elementary school. this past year they taught a circus class, & at the end of the year the kids put on the SASSAFRAS CIRCUS for the whole town!

joel & charity have become dear friends of ours over the past year, & charity & i continue to add onto our "were-we-separated-at-birth?" list. the most recent addition was the discovery that we both have what joel calls "mouse feet", from years of barefoot walking...

(note our husbands' awe/horror)

: pronouncement by rabbi garrels :

: joel's feathers :

the reception was a blast... gypsy/israeli polka punk music, dancing, delicious vegan food, accordians & banjos. at midnight, after much dancing, josh & i hopped in our faithful chariot for a 3-hour drive to mom & dad garrels' home.



II. GRANGER GOODBYE/A SALMON FEAST : indiana

we arrived at 3 a.m., just in time to sleep a wee bit before mike & marti's goodbye party on sunday morning, hosted by their weekly fellowship group. mike & marti requested that josh play "restless ones" at their party. it was an honor to be a part of this gathering, hosted by folks who have known & loved the garrels family for their 20 years in granger. the kids from the fellowship even performed a dance (ending in a candlelighting to send them off) in honor of mike & marti--a touching farewell!

: guests of honor :

and then...

a family sauna & salmon feast! alli's boyfriend josh was in alaska for the summer working on a fishing boat. he grilled a delicious salmon for us on sunday night.

III. DIXON FAMILY REUNION : south jersey

this was our third family reunion this summer! but it was the first time in many years that i'd seen my extended family (on my mom's side), & the first time many of them were meeting josh. actually, several of them had met him 5 or 6 years ago at my brother's wedding, where he sang, but we weren't dating at the time!


highlights of this visit were a drive past the roller skating rink where my parents met at age 15 (!), a trip to the ocean city boardwalk with mom & dad, playing mexican train, sharing a pint with cousin becky, & discovering wawa coffee.

: the boardwalk :

do you like mom's hat? "the 'D' is for 'dixon'," she says

: mom got pooped on by seagulls (2 minutes after they pooped on josh) :

: they think it's funny :

: crossword puzzles : mom, uncle jerry, josh, cousin becky :

IV. JOSH OPENS FOR GURU/JAZZMATAZZ : washington, d.c. area

this was an interesting show, as we suspected it would be. financially it didn't make sense to do this show, nor did the timing (in the middle of our move). & josh only ended up playing 4 songs, since the two other openers played extra-long. but we left the show feeling encouraged, knowing that we were supposed to be there. we left at midnight, after only 3 of guru's songs, to begin the journey home (found a hotel in maryland at 3 a.m.), & had a really inspiring talk about charity & love, & how so often the right thing or the charitable thing doesn't always make sense; it often doesn't seem efficient or particularly lucrative. but we ended the evening with an even greater passion to live this way--to live with constant availability to God, to live from our hearts, to live in a way that may not make sense to those around us. we are passionately committed to this, & sense christ calling us to it.

i don't have many pictures from this event, but i like this tunnel picture that i took on the way to d.c... (i like it because my fairy showed up in the picture)