Cedarville Dinner

Last night, there was a dinner in downtown D.C. for Cedarville alumni, parents, and people interested in attending. This is the first alumni event we have heard of around here, and it was a free dinner, so we decided to go. One of my friends at our homeschool co-op, Jill, is also a Cedarville grad (91) who happens to have 5 boys. I was so excited that she was able to go as well--in fact, she rode with Bob and me! Bob was a real trooper. He drove us downtown in all the traffic, and then he dropped us off in front of the restaurant, since we were a little late, and he dealt with the parking issue all by himself. The parking garage was full, so he found some street parking that didn't even have a meter, thus saving us $4 an hour. Yay!

I had looked at the list of attendees online and didn't think I was going to know anyone, so imagine my surprise when someone I knew named Mike sat down at our table! (Hint for Amy: He should have never given up Julie, LOL) Too funny. We sat at a table with the families of 2 prospective students. One seemed pretty set on Cedarville and wants to major in electrical engineering. The other one wants to major in international business/global economics, and she was keeping her options open. She had many great and glorious plans for the future, LOL. Ahhh, to be young and dreaming big again . . . But I digress. No one was interested in hearing about a biology/math double major, so I pretty much just talked with Jill and Bob.

The restaurant was named Clyde's, and it was pretty good! We were expecting a buffet, but no--it was a sit-down dinner . . . salad and bread, chicken, mashed potatoes, and sauteed pepper strips, and cheesecake for dessert. I kept gobbling up each course as if I wasn't going to have time to finish. Jill laughed at me, and I realized I was eating so quickly because well, that's what I have to do at home. Someone always needs me, and I never have to time to just sit and eat a leisurely meal. I wonder if I'll ever lose this habit?!

The only bad part of the room we were in (well, the whole restaurant, I think) was the acoustics. It was so loud!!!! We were all shouting across the table, which you can imagine cut down on conversation except with those immediately beside you! Bob got involved in a deep theological conversation with the man next to him, who is a pastor. I really enjoyed talking to Jill and getting to know her better. No one else at the table was interested in swapping stories about homeschooling lots of kids, LOL.

After dinner, Dr. Bill Brown, the president of Cedarville, talked for awhile. He went through the mission and vision statements of Cedarville. I really appreciate their focus on developing Christians with a solidly Biblical worldview, and also their committment to the inerrancy and supremacy of Scripture. I enjoyed hearing about the new projects that are going on a Cedarville such as the building of a new Center for Biblical and Theological Studies, and also the beginning of a pharmacy program. I think I would have really enjoyed majoring in something like that. Well, I'm not going back--I must be firm on that! LOL

We finally ducked out at 9:40, although the evening had still not ended. Ed was back here holding the fort by himself since Elizabeth was in Colorado with Anthony who had knee surgery yesterday. We didn't want to leave Ed there too late, especially since the boys and Amanda, Jessica, and Zachary were all still up! Grace was surprisingly cooperative--he put her down 2 hours after we left, and she just slept until we got back. I was so worried since she has pretty much firmly decided that bottles are absolutely not for her. Anna went down with no problems, and everyone else had a ball in the basement playing and watching videos. We are so very thankful for good friends who are willing to watch all our kids! What a tremendous blessing!!! So it was really a fun evening, and both Jill and I are hopeful that there will be more alumni association things happening here--maybe even in northern Virginia, so we can skip the killer trip into the city and all the parking woes!