A Birthday Memory I'll Never Forget

A few months ago, I was browsing through the family email when I came across Beverly Lewis' newsletter. She is definitely one of my favorite authors, so when I see her newsletter I always quickly scan it to see when her new book is coming out. However, this particular newsletter captured my attention when I saw -much to my amazement- that one of her book series was being put to a musical! I LOVE musicals, and just the thought that it would be based on my favorite author's book made it even more intriguing. I looked for the location and discovered that it was going to be taking place near Lancaster, which is only about 2 hours away. Then I noticed that in October, Beverly Lewis herself would actually be coming to the musical, and there would be a special dinner with her before the show. When I discovered that it "just so happened" to be the same week as my birthday, I subtly mentioned to my Mom that it would be a perfect birthday present! Well, my Mom picked up rather quickly to my subtleness, and booked tickets for the two of us to go the day after my birthday!

So my Mom and I were off to Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant yesterday to enjoy a yummy meal with Beverly Lewis, and later on, enjoy an Amish musical! This family restaurant was like a mini Shady Maple, with the same delicious Pennsylvania Dutch food served. I was quite happy to eat my pork & sour kraut with fluffy mashed potatoes!

We soon discovered that Beverly Lewis is a very sweet and personable lady. She came around to each table to greet all the guests personally and chat with them. It was one of those moments that I couldn't believe was actually happening! I have seen her smiling face on the back of many of my favorite books, so to actually carry on a conversation with her was pretty amazing! My Mom thanked her for always having a clear Gospel message in her books, and she replied that was the reason she wrote. Without the Gospel, there would be no reason to write. Beverly then gave a short talk before she began signing books. She was quite inspiring!

Book signing time!

I just did a quick scan through the bookshelves in our house, and between all her Amish series I currently have on my shelf, her teen series I read when I was younger, and her children series Alayna collected, we have a total of 56 books written by Beverly Lewis!! She is quite the amazing author, and if that number doesn't prove that to you, nothing will! :-)

There are certain moments in your life you want captured, and this was definitely one of those moments!

After dinner and the book signing was over, we then went downstairs to the area where the Amish musical was taking place. Although it wasn't the grandeur of a Sight & Sound production, the cast did an AMAZING job with both their acting and singing!! It was obviously a condensed version of this particular book series, but they captured the emotions of the story quite well. There were moments where we were dying of laughter, and moments where we were wiping away tears. By the time the musical was over, it was rather late, and we still had about a 2 hour drive home. My Mom bought me the soundtrack to the musical, so we played it all the way home to keep me awake as I drove. :-) Oh yes, it was definitely a birthday memory I will never forget!!!