The Ultra-Marathon Adventure

Ruthie living it up and being fed breakfast in the big hotel chair!!

 Well, we had quite the adventurous trip to Arizona for Tad's first ultra marathon, which was a 50 mile trail race in the mountains! He was going to go by himself since he was running it with some good friends from college, but then we decided to make it into a family vacation! And it was a crazy one at that! In the last 2 months, we have been on 4 trips! They all happened kind of randomly, but each one was fun in its own way! So, the kids have really learned to be more flexible and sleep in different places. Which is a far cry from Maddy when she was little who could hardly sleep anywhere but her own crib!!

The kids having fun in their hotel bed!

 This trip in particular was a little hard for the kids, because we were in the car everyday, almost all day for about 5 days. I thought the day of the race we would watch Tad start, and then go back to the hotel or hang out in town. But our plans quickly changed when I realized we didn't have the official race map with checkpoints written out. We had friends who had the map and we could follow them to the next spots. We were 45 minutes away from the hotel and I didn't want to get lost and not be able to find Tad on the mountain when we returned! So the kids spent that day mostly in the car as we raced around trying to see Tad at different checkpoints!!

 We took 2 days to drive to Arizona, staying the first night in the infamous Roswell, New Mexico. Alien town!! It was pretty comical. Tad said he didn't want to tell Maddy anything about it because he wanted everyone to be able to sleep that night! But they got a kick out of the aliens that were around!!

 Fast forward to the race. We left the hotel about 4:30 am. The kids were not happy to be up that early, especially Ruth. I felt horrible! We ended up running a little late, and Tad had to book it to the starting line to get his things there by 5:30. The race started at 6 and the parking was about a quarter mile from the starting line, so I hoisted Ruth on my back into the hiking backpack and started down the trail in the dark. The beginning to an absolutely crazy day I will never forget! The crazy ultra-racers started with their headlamps since it was still dark!

 Mind you, this race was in the mountains! Not just an average marathon, or ultra marathon! Hiking! Elevation! Craziness!

 Our dear friends from college were there, Ian and Ruthie. Ian ran the race with Tad and Ruthie and Ian's brother hung out with us for a little bit. It was so good to see them!

 It was freezing in the morning, but it quickly warmed up to crazy warm temperatures for the day!!

 Tad at mile 7. Feelin' good!!

 Coming down the path to the first checkpoint where we could see them!

 Still feeling really good! So good to see them together!

 The narrow mountain drive to the next checkpoint where we could see them! Beautiful views! The next checkpoint is mile 25. We waited awhile there to see them! 

 And it started to get hot! We went from our winter apparel to rolling up our pants and taking off our coats, and I got sunburned really bad!!

 But the kids had fun playing in the dirt!! At least that! Had a little lunch on the side of the road!

 Finally, we went for a walk hoping to see Tad on the trail! Judah, at this point, and it was not a long walk, said "I just can't do this!" Poor guy!

 Ian had to drop out at mile 22 because of his knee and Ruthie and Eric had to go rescue him by car. Tad had to keep going by himself but he was still feeling good at this point! We saw him at the checkpoint, he ate and drank, and changed his shoes, and he was off! And this is where the story starts to get interesting.

We saw him 4 miles later at mile 29. Since Ian and Ruthie had other friends running the race, they drove ahead and watched them. So me and the 3 kids were on our own. I asked some workers at mile 29 how to get to the next checkpoint, since we had no map or directions. He gave me some sketchy directions and said it was mile 33. I said, "I don't think we are suppose to go to mile 33." He said, "I'm not gonna tell you you can't go." So, I thought to myself, "Tad would be really happy if he saw us at an extra checkpoint. We could encourage him. And I already have the directions."

So we started off. But once we made a turn and ended up on a super narrow mountain road, I started getting nervous. The roads ended up being pretty rough, and there was no way I could turn around. We finally got to mile 33, and waited for awhile to see Tad.

 One of the workers gave the kids a book to read. It was pretty warm. I was getting worried about Tad, as he was alone and it was almost time for the checkpoint to close. We hiked up the hill a little and waited for him. Finally, we saw him. He was close to the cutoff point for the checkpoint, so he needed to get through fast. He ate some and was on his way. We got directions to the next checkpoint, mile 40. 7 miles that way. That sounded easy enough. Oh my word. The 7 miles weren't marked well. And the mountain terrain was not meant for my Pacifica. It was treacherous. Judah and Ruth fell asleep. And I'm surprised they didn't get whiplash. I made a couple of wrong turns. I didn't think the car was gonna make it through these rough roads that had deep spots, high ridges, super narrow paths with a cliff on the other side. I was lost. I had no service on my phone. I was responsible for 3 small children by myself. And I was scared to death. I was shaking while driving. I couldn't just stop the car and get out. There was no one around. There were a few people at the checkpoint a few miles away. A motorbike passed me and did a double take. That was before I realized how dangerous the path was. The second motorbike I saw I tried to flag down, and he didn't stop. I was about in tears and I was telling Maddy she had to pray.
We finally made it back to the familiar checkpoint we had been at and just kept backtracking until we were off the mountain.
By this point I just wanted to go somewhere familiar and to find the people I knew. I tried to remember what the camp was called that we had started at that morning. I remembered, "Kentucky Camp" and started seeing signs for it. Phew! Time for the next adventure. There were flashing lights at the entrance. When I stopped, the policeman told me that there had been an accident (of course, right at the entrance to the camp) and that the camp was closed. No one could go in or out. I told him my husband was doing a race and that it was on that mountain. He said I could go hang out in the town up ahead. So we hung out at a gas station where I called my parents and tried to figure out what to do. I passed by the accident several times and they finally opened up the camp. There had been some motorcyle road rage and a truck had creamed someone on a motorcycle. We passed by the mangled motorcycle, the body wrapped up and a pool of blood, and the cop car. I just wanted to know Tad was okay.
We finally hiked down to the camp, we hadn't had dinner. The car was a disaster from things flying all over the place while we were driving through the treacherous mountain. This mommy was spent.
We got down to the camp, and by God's grace, they were serving dinner, frying up hamburgers individually on the back grill, and there were picnic tables to sit at. For free. And our friends were there. What a relief. They said that all the racers had passed mile 46 and it was getting dark. I got the kids their dinner as we all waited for the racers to finish. At one point, as we were waiting, Tad walked up behind us, not where the racers were finishing.
His knee had given out. He couldn't make it past mile 40. He tore his ACL and knew that he couldn't safely finish. He waited over an hour to get a ride back. He was okay. He was exhausted. He was worried about us. But we were all safe and sound and back together. And ready for our beds!! We drove back to the hotel and told stories of the day. And we were thankful that we were all safe!!!

 So, that was kind of the long version. But I am documenting that adventure so I can go back and read about it in the future!! I hope to never have such an "adventure" again!! I am so proud that Tad completed 40 miles! He was bummed that he couldn't finish, but it was 14 more miles than he had ever done! And he is a winner in my heart!!!!!

Entertaining: Do's and Don'ts

I love entertaining. It's something I never knew I loved until I got married and started having people over. I had no idea what to do! But over time, I got ideas of how to have my house in order and cook and have a meal ready for people to come over! I really love having an excuse to super clean my house (my house doesn't look like this all the time, folks!) and to cook some really yummy food. It's the perfect combination of getting my house clean, cooking, and hanging out with friends!! But although I love it, entertaining has become a pretty stressful thing around here.
Although people might say I'm good at entertaining, they don't see the mayhem that goes on around my house before people arrive for dinner. Trying to clean a house with little ones running around who practically destroy your best efforts right behind you is exhausting. I try to clean throughout the week if I know people are coming over, but how quickly things get in disarray as the kids play. I don't want to tell them they can't play or make a mess, but inevitably their rooms go off limits at some point closer to when people will come. They just can't help but destroy them!
I have done a pretty good job of stressing out my poor husband when company is due to come, leaving him probably wishing we didn't entertain instead of all the stress that comes with people coming over. I guess I have 2 options: to either let go of my standards of how the house should look when people come over or have a better cleaning/cooking schedule that allows more time to get the house ready.
But it's not all horrible!! I really do enjoy it, and I will share some of the good things I have learned to do when having guests over, which I did a lot more of in Chicago, and am starting to do more of here in Oklahoma!!

I love to have people over for dinner, moms over for a morning playdate with a mid-morning snack, an afternoon playdate with snacks for the kids, dinner with friends, and I have been wanting to do a brunch for the ladies! Someday!! I have learned to plan to cook during the kids nap time and to try to keep as much stuff warm in crockpots so that I'm not rushing around finishing dinner when company gets here. I used to be finishing my cooking when people were walking in the door, and if I wasn't finished, it was stressful to try to talk to them while measuring ingredients and cooking. I would rather calmly greet people at the door and be able to talk to them instead of frantically cooking and finishing dinner!!
Something else I did was to start writing down dinners that went well for company, were easy, and had a good reaction. That way when company is coming over, I can just look up a meal I haven't made for them, and it's something I'm familiar with and I'm not as stressed out about it. I used to always cook a new recipe for company, but using a familiar meal cuts down on the nerves about dinner turning out!!
With little kids, you can still clean earlier in the week and get things done, and then close off the rooms, like the bathroom, master bedroom, kitchen counters, surfaces, decluttering, etc. You can pick the areas that they can't reach or you can shut off to clean earlier in the week, and save the main areas that they will destroy throughout the week for last. That way you aren't cleaning the same area more than once.

Do you think my house always looks like this?? Why do you think I had to take a picture? To enjoy this sweet, brief moment!!

And the more you can get done ahead of time makes your time with company more enjoyable. Get out all the plates, napkins, utensils, and cups. Make the drinks ahead of time and have them in the fridge. Prep the coffee for dessert, set out dessert plates and forks, and pick a dessert you can make a day or more in advance so that isn't even on your list for that day!! Make to-do lists for each day until they arrive, so all the stress isn't at the last minute. Make a to-do list for your husband on the Monday before they come so he has all week to get it done. Like right now, since I'm pregnant, I can't do heavy lifting. So I try to save all the big stuff for him to do when he gets home from work. That way you aren't yelling at him at the last minute to get stuff done. He knows ahead of time what you expect him to do, there isn't miscommunication about it, and he can get it done in his time. Which believe me, isn't your time!!
So, sorry this is so long!! Hopefully this might give you some ideas about what to do, and what not to do, and of course, adapt it to how you like to entertain and get things done!!


Happy Entertaining!!

New Year's Appetizer Ideas

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I love the times when I get to make/eat appetizer-type food because it doesn't seem like there are many times where I get to! I made a huge menu for tonight's food, and then had some people cancel, so I'm still not sure how much I'm going to make, but here was my original list. Maybe this was the crazy-hungry-lover-of-appetizers-and-love-excuses-to-cook-tons-of-food menu. Call it what you will, but it sounded good to me!!

Foccacia Bread (will be made by my sis-in-law, Lydia)
Bacon-wrapped Jalapenos
Beef Nachos
Queso Dip
Potato Skins
Chicken Wings
Bacon-cheddar Pinwheels
Shrimp Cocktail
Possibly: Cheese Wontons, made by my sis-in-law

Sound like too much? Not to me!! Now I just hope we can have some more guests who want to help eat it all up!!

Happy New Year to you all!

Cookie Plates!

Every year, we make cookie plates for a few friends and have fun delivering them around Christmas time! This year was no different! We had fun delivering cookies to some of our new friends and as Christmas presents for family!! Maddy got to help me make some of these delectable treats, and I made some stuff I have never made before!! Included on the cookie plates were:

Russian Tea Cakes
Coconut Snowballs
Peanut Brittle (Recipe below)
Biscotti Toscani (Recipe below)
Rocky Road Fudge (Recipe below)

They were plates of yumminess!! I already included the recipe for coconut snowballs in another post (link below), but I will give you the recipes for the Biscotti, which I hadn't made before, and the peanut brittle, which was a new adventure as well! I have made fudge before, but I have never made Rocky Road fudge. As long as you have a sweet tooth and like chocolate, nuts, and marshmallows together! It was really good, and this recipe is below as well!
These Biscotti were really fun to make, and a fun treat instead of just making all cookies. Here is the recipe!

Biscotti Toscani
Allrecipes.com

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. orange zest
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted almond pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and zest. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in almonds. Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12 inches long. Place the two loaves about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
4. With a serrated knife, cut diagonally into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices flat on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turning once. Cool on a wire rack.
5. Place chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Use a spatula to smooth chocolate onto one side of each cookie. Let stand at room temperature until set. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Maddy helping to make the Peanut Brittle!

Peanut Brittle
The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
1 cup salted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.
2. In heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved and syrup is bubbling.
3. Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until temperature reaches 300 to 310 degrees (hard-crack stage), 20 to 25 minutes. (Once temperature reaches 220 degrees, it will rise quickly, so watch carefully.) Stir in peanuts.
4. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (mixture will bubble vigorously); immediately pour onto prepared sheet. With two forks, quickly lift and stretch peanut mixture into 14 by 12 inch rectangle.
5. Cool brittle completely on cookie sheet on wire rack. With hands, break brittle into small pieces. Layer between waxed paper in airtight container. Store at room temperature up to 1 month. Makes about 1 pound.

Seriously, such an easy recipe!!

Rocky Road Fudge
Allrecipes.com

1 (12 oz.) package of semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1. Line a 13 by 9 inch baking pan with foil and grease lightly.
2. Microwave morsels and sweetened condensed milk in large, microwave-safe bowl on high (100 percent) power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10 to 20 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Fold in marshmallows and nuts.
3. Press mixture into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Lift from pan; remove foil and cut into pieces.

So, if you haven't already made cookies for friends and family, or you just want some yummy recipes to try while you are still on Christmas break, then give one of these a try!

Writing a Letter

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A letter. Who does that anymore? Who receives them anymore? Not like a short thank-you note, or an invitation to a party, which are also becoming obsolete, but a true, long, heartfelt letter? I will tell you this much, a letter means a lot more than a quick email, an online invitation, or a quick, one-liner message on Facebook! Now, I'm not saying that I don't do these things, or that I'm offended when I get these things, but I'm just saying that taking the time to sit down and hand-write a letter to someone could make their day.
I was encouraged to do this from the book Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman and also in the book Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Kim Brenneman encourages you to sit down a write a letter once a week to a friend as a part of your office day. Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages you to write notes/letters to people who have meant a lot to you in your life, and not to wait until you are standing at someone's funeral and wish you would have expressed how much they had meant in your life. She had amazing stories of how people had really touched other people who might not have otherwise known the difference they had made in someone's life.
I just think a letter is endearing, charming, and extremely thoughtful. For someone to sit down, and take the time to get out paper and pen, and to think of the words to write to you, to put that letter in an envelope and find a stamp to put on it, not to mention dig up your address, it really means a lot!
So, in light of this, I sat down and wrote my first letter a couple of weeks ago. I wrote to a friend who means a lot and who I haven't seen in several months. Someone who will always remain one of my closest friends, no matter the distance between us. She received that letter, and said she had just been thinking how we needed to catch up, and then she got the letter! It made her day! I was so glad I took the time to write to her, and look forward to writing to more people who mean a lot to me but are (sadly) far away!

So, who could you write a letter to this week? We could even write love letters to our husbands!! How much would that mean to them if we took the time to write out what we appreciate about them and how we appreciate all the work they do for our families, especially if that means that we get to stay home with our kiddos!

The possibilities are endless! Make someone's day today, and write them a letter!

Hop of over to aliciashomemaking.com to read more about other people's new adventures this week!!

Traveling Alone with Kids

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Well we are visiting Ohio for 2 weeks! I took the 2 kids by myself and came to visit my family! When we lived in Chicago, I made the roadtrip by myself dozens of times; it was only 6 hours! Roadtrips are my comfort zone. Kids strapped in to carseats with endless snacks, movies, and naps when they get sleepy. That isn't always fun, either, but at least you don't have to physically wrestle them.

This time, since we just moved to Oklahoma, we decided that we would fly since it is just me and the kids, and a 20 hour roadtrip by myself didn't seem fun. But, we got cheaper tickets out of a city that is 5 hours away! Soooo, we had to do a 5 hour roadtrip, and then fly. And the flight involved a stop and a switch, and getting into the Cleveland airport at 11:30 pm! Let's just say that we were all exhausted. By the end of the last flight, I just wanted to close my eyes and not hear screaming, fussing children that I was responsible for. It was nice to not have to keep my eyes open and hear fussing children for 20 hours straight by myself in the car, I will say, but flying wasn't any picnic either. Yes, it's nice that we didn't have to buy a ticket for Judah since he is 18 months, but that means that a super active toddler has to sit on your lap for the duration of the flight, and let me tell you, he didn't want to do that. The flight attendant came and told me that he had to be on my lap or in the empty seat next to us, and buckled. I just nodded my head and thought, "I hope he either walks away and doesn't look back, or he can come try to make him sit still!"

Judah was pretty inconsolable by the end of the flight, and refused to sleep the whole time. He got one 45 minute nap the whole day! The good news is that we are visiting Ohio for 2 weeks, so I don't have to think about doing that again right away!

I did feel like I was adequately prepared though. I had new dollar store toys for each of them, new snacks, snack size M&M bags, McDonalds food to eat on the plane, a little casino game with buttons for Judah(thinking I could give him that to play with instead of my phone). I even had my ipod to try to distract them. But I will just say, when they are done, they are done. Nothing can console them when they have limited space, limited sleep, and it's late. So, after all that griping, I will give you a little list of the things I am thankful for concerning that adventure!!

1. We got to fly instead of drive 20 hrs. I might have lost my mind!

2. We met a nice girl on part of the flight, she helped me immensely!

3. On 2 legs of the flight, we had an extra seat, so Judah was a little more entertained and not as fussy.

4. With there being 3 legs of the flight, at least we weren't on any plane for too long. The flights seemed pretty short.

5. Judah was briefly entertained by the planes and the wings of the planes, so that was a blessing.

6. Drinks/snacks on the plane!! They loved getting their little drinks with straws and their own little bags of pretzels!

7. Kind people on the plane; no one told me off for my noisy, fussy kids!

8. Maddy was very well-behaved. She colored, helped with Judah, was very obedient, and even tried her hardest to sleep on the last part of the flight, but with Judah being so fussy, it was kind of impossible.

9. It could have been worse. Judah wasn't fussy the whole time, and I thought he would attempt to get down and out of the seat much more. He kind of knew he couldn't get down into the aisle, so that kept me from having to chase him everywhere.

10. I am so thankful I am here visiting my family!!! My Uncle and Aunt are here from China, my Uncle is here from Florida, my other Uncle is here from Tennessee, and it's great being here with family. And of course the kids get to see their Papa and Nana! The kids are having a blast, sleeping well, and I have gotten to see a lot of my friends as well! We have been having a great time!! So until the flight/drive home, we will enjoy ourselves!! And if you think of it, keep us in your prayers on July 12 as we will be traveling back to Oklahoma!!

Packing and More Packing

We are in the midst of our last few days of craziness!! Actually, as of now, we have 3 days left! We have guests in town back to back, mostly staying with us, lots of packing to do, Christmas parties, getting together with people before we go, and lots of goodbyes!! My parents, my grandparents, my best friend Liz, and Tad's 4 siblings are people who are all visiting us before we go! And in the midst of all of this, my kids have been sick nonstop. Sadly, Maddy has had to miss almost all of her "last" things - last 2 Cubbies (Awana), last Mom2Mom group, last week at church - I feel so bad! But she has been so miserably sick with colds, pink eye, and an ear infection, that she wasn't well enough to even go, let alone be around other kids and give it to them too. Judah has gotten everything after Maddy, pink eye (or some kind of eye infection), a nasty cold, and an ear infection! I feel like we have been at the doctor more than anything else!
And now that we are down to our last few days, with packing and Christmas quickly approaching, I'm thinking to myself, "what were we thinking of moving right after Christmas??" It's enough to pack, move, and say goodbyes, but to add a Christmas letter, Christmas baking, Christmas parties, and the works, it adds a load of stress!!! Though I have chosen to do a lot of stuff I maybe should have put on hold!
We are excited to move! We are counting down the days! I have started getting anxious though, as I say goodbye to good friends, realize the finality of our few days left, and anticipate a completely different lifestyle, especially as we will be living with Tad's family for a short time! This time is bittersweet. We have been ready to move on to another place for awhile. But Chicago has been our home for 8 years. We met here (at Moody Bible Institute), had our first place here, spent our first 5 years of marriage, and had 2 kiddos here. It's the only home "we" have ever known, as a little family.
As our time is winding down, we are grateful for good friends along the way. Some very thoughtful ladies from my old homegroup had a going away party for me, where they got a cake from Sweet Mandy B's, filled a huge gift bag with treats from Trader Joe's (an awesome store that isn't in Oklahoma at all!!! and I will greatly miss) for our long drive, and sent me off with many blessings.
I appreciate the people who have taken the time to come visit us at the end of our time here, to help us pack, watch the kids, and wish us well as we will be moving so far away. Some of our closest friends we will dearly miss, and are glad we got to see at the end of our time in Chicago.

Homegroup going away party

Beautiful cake from Sweet Mandy B's

My best friend from Chicago and her family

My dad and Maddy bonding

My dad and Judah bonding
My mom and Maddy working on Christmas cookies

So with a few more goodbyes, some more packing, 2 nights at the Ritz with our last comp nights, and Tad's 4 siblings coming, we are wrapping things up in Chicago!! This will probably be my last post before we move, though who knows, I may be able to get one more out before we leave!!! Hope your Christmas season is going well!!

A Wedding, a Race, and Donuts

We have done some fun things this Fall, including a close friend's wedding, going to the Chicago Marathon, and making donuts for school. I'll tell you all about it!

Let's just say, Trader Joe's chocolate frozen bon-bons were a hit!! They are awesome, and if you live by a Trader Joe's, you must try them. We are moving away from this amazing chain, and I might have to stock up on these!!

Someone enjoyed them!!

Maddy looking all grown up at the playground.

For the letter "D" for school, we made Donuts, and had a blast!! I'm telling you, I was skeptical about how these would turn out, but they were delightful, to use a "D" word!! We made them for Daddy, and a guy at our church who helps lead the Children's Ministry at our church, David!! We hope they liked them!! We sure did!!

Having fun cutting out the donut dough.

The Chicago Marathon was October 10 this year in Chicago. They run 26.2 miles throughout lots of different parts of Chicago, and they actually run right by our apartment building. We always go to Moody and watch them run by (they run by on one side at mile 3 and the other side at mile 11). Last year, Tad ran the marathon. This year we went and helped my friend with her 4 kids who was by herself and cheering on her husband who ran the marathon. Emily is one of my dearest friends here in Chicago, and we frequently have playdates with our kids, and thoroughly enjoy each other's company!! So glad we went!
Moody had lots of orange stuff (hairspray, face paint, sign-making stuff) to cheer on the World Vision runners. Our girls enjoyed it!
This is right in front of our building. You can see the "Atrium Village" sign to the left. Everything pretty much shuts down in Chicago on marathon morning.
About a half block from our apartment, between our apartment and Moody, with a view of the Willis Tower (the Sears Tower for those true Chicagoans).

Christine, Maddy, and Gwen. The older kids, and then I have Judah (10 months) and Emily also has 6 month old twins. So it's quite the crowd when we get together for playdates!!
My friend, Jess, came into town and stayed with us for a week, and she helped take care of my kids while I was out of town for a wedding I was in. It was so great to see her again, and to catch up! The day of the wedding, they all came out to the wedding about an hour outside of Chicago!
My dear friend and college roommate for 1 year at Moody got married, and I was so glad to have been in her wedding! It was one of the most God-honoring weddings I have ever been to. I know her family and know they are godly, devoted parents and have raised amazing children. The bride and groom actually helped lead worship on the piano and electric guitar, which you don't see at every wedding!!
Maddy is forever the flower girl's friend. She is intrigued by every flower girl at every wedding and can't wait to be one!! Hopefully one day!! These two girls hit it off and played together at the wedding and reception! And Maddy danced the night away until almost pure exhaustion! We had a blast!

The beautiful couple cutting their wedding cake!

A picture where we are actually all looking and smiling!!

Family shot with too much sun behind us!

Love all of you dear people who read my blog! Always fun to know who is keeping up with us!! Drop a line if you have time!!