Hog roast

Just a few weeks ago, Jeremy was talking with Pastor Todd about the fact that we're not having a fall event at church this year.  Many factors went into that, but Jeremy mentioned that he would like to roast a hog and just invite everyone he knows to come eat and hang out.  They decided then and there to do just that--nothing fancy, no big to-do--just have a hog roast, invite friends, and hang out.

Yesterday morning, Jeremy left home before 5am and drove to his dad's butcher shop in Indiana to pick up the hog.  He came home and took a couple hour nap this afternoon.  He got the huge hog roaster into the back of Shannon's truck (with a tiny bit of help from me).  He left home about 5pm last evening to  pick up a few more supplies he needed, then went to the church to get things set up.  

He said he managed to get a little more sleep before his buddy Dave arrived at the church at 2:45 a.m. to light the roaster and get that hog going! Dave posted this picture on his Facebook about 6 a.m.  Not looking too sleep deprived yet.

Meanwhile, back at our house...I was having unexplained stomach pain, and these two weren't helping!  They tried to play together outside and were inside complaining about each other within minutes.  Time for another 10-minute hug.  Thankfully, this works for them.

When we got to the church, the guys were finishing pulling the meat apart.  

The "hog masters" surveying the crowd...

It was a pretty good crowd--about 125 people and lots of new faces.

These ladies saw our event on Facebook and had called me a few days ago to ask if they could come! One of them had never been to a hog roast before, and they just came and introduced themselves.  Awesome!

It was a perfectly gorgeous afternoon! 

 It was about 80 degrees--almost too warm for hot chocolate and s'mores over a fire, until the sun set and it cooled down just right.

These guys played Star Wars Monopoly inside, but most everyone else stayed outside.

It was a beautiful day for a hog roast, and such a nice way to celebrate fall.  I was able to meet and chat with every guest that came and have conversations with several people I don't know terribly well--something I don't always get to do on a Sunday morning.  It was just the kind of thing we needed at this time--time to just hang out and get to know people better.  Thanks, Lord!