I promised some pictures from our trip to Chicago, and I am finally going to post some.
Abby is at mass with Papa this morning. Every Friday, St. Elizabeth's has a mass for the school children (geared to about a 7 yr old level).
Today is reformation day. And alot of my protestant friends celebrate the day. But I have trouble with that. Despite the fact that I believe a great deal of good came from the reformation, it seems so ugly to celebrate a rift in the universal church. But I do think it is a good time to teach the differences between different denominations and such. So I thought it would be good for Abby to go to a Catholic mass. My dad has promised he isn't going to try to convert her "at least not yet."
My dad is sometimes a little offensive in his pro-Catholic view point. I do very much respect his faith. And I think that he respects mine. But when you think you are right about something, it is sometimes hard to show adequate respect for the viewpoints of another.
And it is perfectly okay to believe that someone else is wrong.
Anyway, the boys are enjoying their morning playing with trucks and tractors, with no one to boss them around.
okay, I've tried four times to upload pictures... maybe another day...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I don't like to talk politics with people who disagree with me. I usually avoid the subject, because I think it is best not to make other people mad. But I feel that my blog is a safe place to discuss the subject.
I know many of you are Obama supporters. And there are many things to respect about Barack Obama. And I find it quite ridiculous that so many people think that he is a secret muslim terrorist. I don't think that is true at all. So lets discuss the issues.
ECONOMY
McCain's policy on the economy is somewhat schizophrenic. He doesn't really seem to understand some economic nuances, but he does believe that the budget needs to be balanced and he has been a consistent fighter in the war against earmarks. I respect that.
Obama's fiscal policy would pull us more toward socialism. And I don't think socialism is a dirty word. Obama certainly has a heart for helping the underprivileged (at least he has a heart for making the government help underprivelegd people). He has a strong sense of justice, and wants to see justice done. Unfortunately justice isn't always what helps the most for the economy. I do think that there needs to be more regulation than there has been in a lot of industry (and I am glad for that). But in other cases I think overregulation has caused problems. I know that Obama is going to "soak it to the rich". But by increasing corporate tax rates, I think it will hurt American businesses. And I also think it will decrease the incentive to succeed. Why make more money is Uncle Sam is just going to take it away? I do believe that all Americans should have a right to healthcare. But I am nervous about a government controlled health system --the government is pretty good at messing things up.
NATIONAL SECURITY
I tend to think McCain has the upperhand on this one. I think diplomacy is good, and I think that Obama is excellent at persuading people. But I also suspect he is somewhat naive. I also suspect that McCain's experience in the military, and his time as a POW will be helpful in this regard. I think McCain's position on the war in Iraq has been poorly characterized. Neither of the two have given a very good explanation of how they will deal with a nuclear Iran.
THE ENVIRONMENT
I think Obama may likely have the upper hand on this one. But I also think McCain's policies seem plausible.
GAY RIGHTS
Obama supports gay people having civil unions granting them the same rights as married people but not calling it marriage. McCain supports letting gay people say that they are married but not having the same legal rights. I think... I am sort of confused. And honestly, I am not entirely sure what my own position on this one is.
THE SUPREME COURT
As many as three supreme court justices may retire in the next for years. McCain follows a strict constructionist belief. Obama feels that it is okay for justices to interpret the constitution according to their own beliefs. I find it terribly frightening where that could lead us.
LIFE
Okay so now we have gotten to the meat of it.
"A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope!" -John Paul II
Am I a one issue voter? Not quite, but this issue trumps all others. I believe that life begins at conception and that innocent life must be protected. The heinous crime that is abortion causes the deaths of approximately 4000 innocents every day.
McCain opposes abortion. Obama supports abortion. He even believes that the government should pay for abortion. I do not want my money to be used to kill innocent people. He also opposed a law that would guarantee protection for the babies who survive an abortion.
Every pregnancy I have had makes me even more pro-life. I know that the baby inside of me is a real baby and not just a lump of tissue.
So even if Obama had by far the best plans for economy, environment and national security, I could not vote for him. We do not deserve to be a prosperous nation if we fail to protect the unborn.
I hope you wouldn't elect Hitler if he had a better health plan? Seriously, how many more lives are at stake.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't expect my little rant would change the perspective of anyone who is pro-choice. But I hope I have reminded my pro-life friends that that issue is one of utmost importance.
I know many of you are Obama supporters. And there are many things to respect about Barack Obama. And I find it quite ridiculous that so many people think that he is a secret muslim terrorist. I don't think that is true at all. So lets discuss the issues.
ECONOMY
McCain's policy on the economy is somewhat schizophrenic. He doesn't really seem to understand some economic nuances, but he does believe that the budget needs to be balanced and he has been a consistent fighter in the war against earmarks. I respect that.
Obama's fiscal policy would pull us more toward socialism. And I don't think socialism is a dirty word. Obama certainly has a heart for helping the underprivileged (at least he has a heart for making the government help underprivelegd people). He has a strong sense of justice, and wants to see justice done. Unfortunately justice isn't always what helps the most for the economy. I do think that there needs to be more regulation than there has been in a lot of industry (and I am glad for that). But in other cases I think overregulation has caused problems. I know that Obama is going to "soak it to the rich". But by increasing corporate tax rates, I think it will hurt American businesses. And I also think it will decrease the incentive to succeed. Why make more money is Uncle Sam is just going to take it away? I do believe that all Americans should have a right to healthcare. But I am nervous about a government controlled health system --the government is pretty good at messing things up.
NATIONAL SECURITY
I tend to think McCain has the upperhand on this one. I think diplomacy is good, and I think that Obama is excellent at persuading people. But I also suspect he is somewhat naive. I also suspect that McCain's experience in the military, and his time as a POW will be helpful in this regard. I think McCain's position on the war in Iraq has been poorly characterized. Neither of the two have given a very good explanation of how they will deal with a nuclear Iran.
THE ENVIRONMENT
I think Obama may likely have the upper hand on this one. But I also think McCain's policies seem plausible.
GAY RIGHTS
Obama supports gay people having civil unions granting them the same rights as married people but not calling it marriage. McCain supports letting gay people say that they are married but not having the same legal rights. I think... I am sort of confused. And honestly, I am not entirely sure what my own position on this one is.
THE SUPREME COURT
As many as three supreme court justices may retire in the next for years. McCain follows a strict constructionist belief. Obama feels that it is okay for justices to interpret the constitution according to their own beliefs. I find it terribly frightening where that could lead us.
LIFE
Okay so now we have gotten to the meat of it.
"A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope!" -John Paul II
Am I a one issue voter? Not quite, but this issue trumps all others. I believe that life begins at conception and that innocent life must be protected. The heinous crime that is abortion causes the deaths of approximately 4000 innocents every day.
McCain opposes abortion. Obama supports abortion. He even believes that the government should pay for abortion. I do not want my money to be used to kill innocent people. He also opposed a law that would guarantee protection for the babies who survive an abortion.
Every pregnancy I have had makes me even more pro-life. I know that the baby inside of me is a real baby and not just a lump of tissue.
So even if Obama had by far the best plans for economy, environment and national security, I could not vote for him. We do not deserve to be a prosperous nation if we fail to protect the unborn.
I hope you wouldn't elect Hitler if he had a better health plan? Seriously, how many more lives are at stake.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't expect my little rant would change the perspective of anyone who is pro-choice. But I hope I have reminded my pro-life friends that that issue is one of utmost importance.
rickroll
I am surprised my video did not generate comments!
For those of you who may be unfamiliar. Rickrolling is the act of placing a link to something, and instead of that thing, person clicking the link comes to a video of Rick Astley's 1987 music video "Never Gonna Give You Up!"
There is, to my knowledge, no video of Michelle Obama making racist remarks. Although you-tube has dozens of videos claiming to be that. And I assure you that if there had been such a video, I would not have posted it on my blog. That's not my type of political persuasion.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar. Rickrolling is the act of placing a link to something, and instead of that thing, person clicking the link comes to a video of Rick Astley's 1987 music video "Never Gonna Give You Up!"
There is, to my knowledge, no video of Michelle Obama making racist remarks. Although you-tube has dozens of videos claiming to be that. And I assure you that if there had been such a video, I would not have posted it on my blog. That's not my type of political persuasion.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Getting Political
You need to see this
I know this might be controversial, but I think you all will understand why I posted it after you watch it.
I'll talk about it more in my next post.
I know this might be controversial, but I think you all will understand why I posted it after you watch it.
I'll talk about it more in my next post.
Monday, October 27, 2008
You Betcha!
When I got home from the rally on Saturday, Paul asked "Was it everything you hoped it would be?"
Naw, probably not. We spent nearly two hours waiting outside in the cold, and my dad ended up taking the kids home. So it was just mom and me. (Afterwards we walked to Ruby Tuesday and had some spinach artichoke dip while we waited for my dad to come pick us up).
The long line was related to the secret service and their zealous security. And some poorly planned out directing of people.
Because of the wait, we missed hearing congressman Mark Souder (I am no too disappointed by that really). I'm much more disappointed that we only got to hear Hank play two songs. Then Dan Coats (former senator) introduced Lt. Governor Becky Skillman (I'd never heard her speak before, and was fairly impressed. And Skillman introduced Palin.
My first thought was "Wow, she's tiny!" I admit that from the nosebleed section of the coliseum, anyone would look tiny. But the truth is that she just seemed so much thinner and more petite than I imagined. My second thought was "I want her boots" She had totally awesome boots.
I was pretty impressed by Palin. I'm not sure that she was the wisest choice for McCain. But she does not at all seem to be the dunce that she has been depicted as. Honestly, it seems that the campaign has highlighted all of her weaknesses and none of her strengths.
Well anyway, I had a good time. Would I do it again? No. But it was worth it.
And a special thanks the to the FWFD who gave us blankets while we stood in line.
Naw, probably not. We spent nearly two hours waiting outside in the cold, and my dad ended up taking the kids home. So it was just mom and me. (Afterwards we walked to Ruby Tuesday and had some spinach artichoke dip while we waited for my dad to come pick us up).
The long line was related to the secret service and their zealous security. And some poorly planned out directing of people.
Because of the wait, we missed hearing congressman Mark Souder (I am no too disappointed by that really). I'm much more disappointed that we only got to hear Hank play two songs. Then Dan Coats (former senator) introduced Lt. Governor Becky Skillman (I'd never heard her speak before, and was fairly impressed. And Skillman introduced Palin.
My first thought was "Wow, she's tiny!" I admit that from the nosebleed section of the coliseum, anyone would look tiny. But the truth is that she just seemed so much thinner and more petite than I imagined. My second thought was "I want her boots" She had totally awesome boots.
I was pretty impressed by Palin. I'm not sure that she was the wisest choice for McCain. But she does not at all seem to be the dunce that she has been depicted as. Honestly, it seems that the campaign has highlighted all of her weaknesses and none of her strengths.
Well anyway, I had a good time. Would I do it again? No. But it was worth it.
And a special thanks the to the FWFD who gave us blankets while we stood in line.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Grammar Rules (taken from MOMYS.com)
All rules should be applied immediately, if not sooner ............
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than
necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical
words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put
forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than
necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical
words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put
forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Warming Up
I was just reading in the news that "they" did a study on the effect of drinking hot drinks to socialization. It turns out that people drinking hot coffee "warm up" to people more quickly than those drinking iced coffee.
So if you want to make a good impression on someone, maybe you should buy them a cup of hot coffee. Or chai latte (my preferred hot drink).
And speaking of warming up, warm up time is by far my children's favorite part of gymnastics. First they dance a dance. Then they do there stretches by pretending to cook something. (Each time they have to get something out they have to reach for one of their feet).
Coach Pat: "What should we make today?"
Sam: "Pasta"
Coach Pat: "Emma, what should we put on our pasta?"
Emma: "Cake"
Coach Pat: "Cake on Spaghetti? Okay, get out the cake?"
Isaac when asked always says hot dogs. Regardless of what they are making. There was a little girl who used to be in Sam's class who always answered "Princess!"
Abby's class is not quite as funny, they seem to get the idea.
Then they do butterfly stretches and sing "I'm flying, I'm flying"
Their coach is oodles of fun. He makes great sound effects, and jokes and plays. But he is also good at getting the children to mind.
They have been playing gymnastics class lately. This consists of doing all of the warm up activities, and then doing forward rolls. Then at the end they get stamps on their hands. Abby does the stamps by writing on her brothers and herself with a magic marker.
So if you want to make a good impression on someone, maybe you should buy them a cup of hot coffee. Or chai latte (my preferred hot drink).
And speaking of warming up, warm up time is by far my children's favorite part of gymnastics. First they dance a dance. Then they do there stretches by pretending to cook something. (Each time they have to get something out they have to reach for one of their feet).
Coach Pat: "What should we make today?"
Sam: "Pasta"
Coach Pat: "Emma, what should we put on our pasta?"
Emma: "Cake"
Coach Pat: "Cake on Spaghetti? Okay, get out the cake?"
Isaac when asked always says hot dogs. Regardless of what they are making. There was a little girl who used to be in Sam's class who always answered "Princess!"
Abby's class is not quite as funny, they seem to get the idea.
Then they do butterfly stretches and sing "I'm flying, I'm flying"
Their coach is oodles of fun. He makes great sound effects, and jokes and plays. But he is also good at getting the children to mind.
They have been playing gymnastics class lately. This consists of doing all of the warm up activities, and then doing forward rolls. Then at the end they get stamps on their hands. Abby does the stamps by writing on her brothers and herself with a magic marker.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
My children have been playing so well together today. It's really sweet. Even Omi is playing with them. Right now they are building a hospital from duplos with their "unstruction quipment" Earlier they were playing they were playing "Pharoah" which was actually a sort of reenactment of Exodus. Isaac played the role of pharoah, which involved him removing everything but his underwear (or underwee as he calls them). Omi played the role of baby Moses (who had to be hid -- by having a blanket put over her head).
I have actually been sort of lazy today, because the children are doing such a good job of entertaining themselves.
Tomorrow I am taking Sam and Abby to a political rally. Paul will watch the older two. Sarah Palin is speaking at the coliseum. My dad went and got tickets today at Republican headquarters. I am not entirely thrilled by McCain. But I don't see any alternative but supporting him, given my very adamant pro-life stance. And I am sort of curious about Sarah Palin.
I have actually been sort of lazy today, because the children are doing such a good job of entertaining themselves.
Tomorrow I am taking Sam and Abby to a political rally. Paul will watch the older two. Sarah Palin is speaking at the coliseum. My dad went and got tickets today at Republican headquarters. I am not entirely thrilled by McCain. But I don't see any alternative but supporting him, given my very adamant pro-life stance. And I am sort of curious about Sarah Palin.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Heaven needs babies too
Olivia Joy Benik, born on October 1, passed away on October 19 due to massive system failures.
The funeral services will be on Wednesday. If you would like information regarding arrangements, and where to send condolences, please email me (or Sara or Scott).
Manda is still fighting an infection as well. So this is an extremely trying time for the family.
I have not been able to talk to Manda or Tony. I am sure there is very deep grief, and perhaps they are wondering why. And of course, God alone knows why. But I do believe that little Olivia is in the hands of God now. And what a blessing for her to be in the arms of her creator.
Paul is heading to Chicago for the funeral, but the kids and I will not be able to go.
The funeral services will be on Wednesday. If you would like information regarding arrangements, and where to send condolences, please email me (or Sara or Scott).
Manda is still fighting an infection as well. So this is an extremely trying time for the family.
I have not been able to talk to Manda or Tony. I am sure there is very deep grief, and perhaps they are wondering why. And of course, God alone knows why. But I do believe that little Olivia is in the hands of God now. And what a blessing for her to be in the arms of her creator.
Paul is heading to Chicago for the funeral, but the kids and I will not be able to go.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
oops
I posted my entry on the wrong blog. So kindly check out the link labeled baking fun.
sigh... i'm tired.
sigh... i'm tired.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Chicago
As soon as Paul gets the pics on here, I will post some of our trip to Chicago. What a blast!
We left home at about 10:00 on Friday morning. It was our plan to have a picnic lunch, but after not passing any parks for a long time we ended up eating at McDonald's (with a playplace) in Valpo.
Our first stop in Chicago was the museum of Science and Industry. The children's favorite part was called the "Idea Factory" which was geared specifically to young children, and even included a special area for babies who can't walk yet. We also really enjoyed the farm area and the boats. Actually we pretty well liked everything we saw. But unfortunately the museum closed at 4:00. After leaving the museum, we hopped into the van to go find a place for a picnic. Paul began by driving toward downtown, but before we reached downtown, we realized that the traffic was just too heavy. So we headed to La Villita.
We were going to have the picnic at Piotrowski Park. But before reaching the park, we stopped a school playground. It was nice and quite. Although there was a circus going on in a big tent about half a block away. (We did get to see camels when we drove by).
After dinner we headed to Sara's place. We took Ogden all the way out (which took about forever) but it brought back neat memories, and we got to see some neat stuff.
It was so great of Sara to put us up. We fit pretty well into her one bedroom apartment, although we pretty much took over.
Saturday morning, we drove out to Elburn (about 45 minutes) for the wedding of Paul's cousin Rachel. The wedding and reception were both outdoors; it was a bit chilly but absolutely beautiful. We had a good time visiting with Paul's uncles and cousins. The food was scrumptious, and there was a large grassy area to run around in.
After the wedding and reception we drove approximately forever to the hospital to visit Manda. Children were not allowed to go up to her room. So Paul went up by himself, and then Manda and Tony (and their other visitors) came down to see us.
After our visit we stopped at Burger King (play place) near the hospital to have dinner. There was a group of muslims having a Birthday party, so it was very crowded and noisy. (Not to imply that muslims are noisy --I imagine any Birthday party would be noisy). I only know they were muslim because all of the women were wearing headcoverings.
Then we went back to Sara's place and watched the Princess Bride, which I forgot to mention we had started watching Friday night.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church in Lawndale. We went to the church (Westlawn Gospel Chapel) where I had worked in the summer of 2001. It was somewhat strange to see the little children I had worked with were now teenagers. The sermon was about using the authority God gives us in ways that are serving Christ. There were lots of anecdotes in the sermon that were highly amusing to me. Much of the sermon I could give a hearty amen too. One of the most interesting moments in the sermon was when the preacher said "Barack On!" (I suppose the political affiliations of an inner city black church in Chicago should be pretty obvious anyway).
After church (about 1:30) we went to Nuevo Leon in La Villita with the Soderquists and a few other people from Westlawn. The teenagers were supposed to be coming there as well, but ended up at a different restaurant (I was a little disappointed by that). Lunch was scrumptious. The Soderquists (the International Teams missionaries we had worked with) eat at Nuevo Leon often, and were obviously on very friendly terms with the wait staff. They gave us updates on the people we had worked with, and we told them about life in Fort Wayne.
After lunch we walked around La Villita. We went to visit lots of little stores, including the hardware store we had fond memories of. We wanted to get Paletas, but since we didn't pass it, we ended up going to a little ice cream shop instead. Yum!
Then Manda called to let us know she was being discharged from the hospital. So we drove about 80 blocks down Cicero avenue to Manda and Tony's apartment. Tony's parents had fixed about enough food to feed an army, so we had dinner there. Tony's family was mostly there. They seemed very nice, and obviously enjoyed our crazy children.
Then it was back to Sara's where we watched Mulan to put the children to sleep.
Monday morning we got up and packed up all of our stuff. Then we drove to little India. Our first stop was the South Asian Friendship Center. Paul had a good visit with the staff there particulary a man from Sicily named Cicero (or something like that). I mostly kept the children in line. We all enjoyed the free chai.
Then we browsed the shops and bought some food stuffs (I got a great deal on rice flour). And we got two dresses for Abigail. Paul did a great job negotiating the price.
We had lunch at a place called Khan BBQ, on the recommendation of Cicero. I hadn't had such good Indian food in a long time. It was scrumptious. We ate up everything except the really spicy stuff that only Paul could handle. All of us really liked it a lot.
We left little India at about 3:00. Traffic was heavy and it took over 2 hours to get to Valpo. Because of construction we ended up taking a slightly unusual route. Paul was definitely ready for me to drive by the time we were out of Chicago!
We stopped for dinner at McDonald's (playplace). I am so sick of cheeseburgers.
The trip was oodles of fun!
We left home at about 10:00 on Friday morning. It was our plan to have a picnic lunch, but after not passing any parks for a long time we ended up eating at McDonald's (with a playplace) in Valpo.
Our first stop in Chicago was the museum of Science and Industry. The children's favorite part was called the "Idea Factory" which was geared specifically to young children, and even included a special area for babies who can't walk yet. We also really enjoyed the farm area and the boats. Actually we pretty well liked everything we saw. But unfortunately the museum closed at 4:00. After leaving the museum, we hopped into the van to go find a place for a picnic. Paul began by driving toward downtown, but before we reached downtown, we realized that the traffic was just too heavy. So we headed to La Villita.
We were going to have the picnic at Piotrowski Park. But before reaching the park, we stopped a school playground. It was nice and quite. Although there was a circus going on in a big tent about half a block away. (We did get to see camels when we drove by).
After dinner we headed to Sara's place. We took Ogden all the way out (which took about forever) but it brought back neat memories, and we got to see some neat stuff.
It was so great of Sara to put us up. We fit pretty well into her one bedroom apartment, although we pretty much took over.
Saturday morning, we drove out to Elburn (about 45 minutes) for the wedding of Paul's cousin Rachel. The wedding and reception were both outdoors; it was a bit chilly but absolutely beautiful. We had a good time visiting with Paul's uncles and cousins. The food was scrumptious, and there was a large grassy area to run around in.
After the wedding and reception we drove approximately forever to the hospital to visit Manda. Children were not allowed to go up to her room. So Paul went up by himself, and then Manda and Tony (and their other visitors) came down to see us.
After our visit we stopped at Burger King (play place) near the hospital to have dinner. There was a group of muslims having a Birthday party, so it was very crowded and noisy. (Not to imply that muslims are noisy --I imagine any Birthday party would be noisy). I only know they were muslim because all of the women were wearing headcoverings.
Then we went back to Sara's place and watched the Princess Bride, which I forgot to mention we had started watching Friday night.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church in Lawndale. We went to the church (Westlawn Gospel Chapel) where I had worked in the summer of 2001. It was somewhat strange to see the little children I had worked with were now teenagers. The sermon was about using the authority God gives us in ways that are serving Christ. There were lots of anecdotes in the sermon that were highly amusing to me. Much of the sermon I could give a hearty amen too. One of the most interesting moments in the sermon was when the preacher said "Barack On!" (I suppose the political affiliations of an inner city black church in Chicago should be pretty obvious anyway).
After church (about 1:30) we went to Nuevo Leon in La Villita with the Soderquists and a few other people from Westlawn. The teenagers were supposed to be coming there as well, but ended up at a different restaurant (I was a little disappointed by that). Lunch was scrumptious. The Soderquists (the International Teams missionaries we had worked with) eat at Nuevo Leon often, and were obviously on very friendly terms with the wait staff. They gave us updates on the people we had worked with, and we told them about life in Fort Wayne.
After lunch we walked around La Villita. We went to visit lots of little stores, including the hardware store we had fond memories of. We wanted to get Paletas, but since we didn't pass it, we ended up going to a little ice cream shop instead. Yum!
Then Manda called to let us know she was being discharged from the hospital. So we drove about 80 blocks down Cicero avenue to Manda and Tony's apartment. Tony's parents had fixed about enough food to feed an army, so we had dinner there. Tony's family was mostly there. They seemed very nice, and obviously enjoyed our crazy children.
Then it was back to Sara's where we watched Mulan to put the children to sleep.
Monday morning we got up and packed up all of our stuff. Then we drove to little India. Our first stop was the South Asian Friendship Center. Paul had a good visit with the staff there particulary a man from Sicily named Cicero (or something like that). I mostly kept the children in line. We all enjoyed the free chai.
Then we browsed the shops and bought some food stuffs (I got a great deal on rice flour). And we got two dresses for Abigail. Paul did a great job negotiating the price.
We had lunch at a place called Khan BBQ, on the recommendation of Cicero. I hadn't had such good Indian food in a long time. It was scrumptious. We ate up everything except the really spicy stuff that only Paul could handle. All of us really liked it a lot.
We left little India at about 3:00. Traffic was heavy and it took over 2 hours to get to Valpo. Because of construction we ended up taking a slightly unusual route. Paul was definitely ready for me to drive by the time we were out of Chicago!
We stopped for dinner at McDonald's (playplace). I am so sick of cheeseburgers.
The trip was oodles of fun!
So Loree forgot to mention...
I've heard through the grape vine that Alexis Terra was born to Loree and Derek on Saturday.
I don't know the details... Maybe they'll get posted as a comment (hint! hint!)
I don't know the details... Maybe they'll get posted as a comment (hint! hint!)
They're Playing Spore
And by "they" I mean Colin and Derek. I'm yawning and should be going to sleep, but I just can't stop what I'm doing to actually go to bed. Mostly because I like having company, and a sleeping toddler isn't that much company, nor a good shield against nighttime paranoia and overthinking.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Olivia
Manda and Tony's daughter, Olivia Joy was born today. Please pray for her! She was not "scheduled" to arrive until January 21. She is in the NICU. I do not know details of length and weight.
And please pray for Manda and Tony as I am sure they are distraught. And of course Manda is still needing to recover physically.
And please pray for Manda and Tony as I am sure they are distraught. And of course Manda is still needing to recover physically.
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