This is so great...

This is one of the funnier things that I've seen in awhile...

82 degrees...!

The past three days here have been amazing! It's official now that winter is over and the city is rejoicing. Today's high was 82...holla! I am also rejoicing because I have exactly 4 weeks left of school (that does mean that there is a lot of work due in those 4 weeks but oh well). So the weather and the fact that I can see the end to this semster makes me feel so good. And having a really great weekend doesn't hurt either...here's some highlights for your reading and viewing enjoyment.





Friday marked a big first for me, I went to my first Cubs Game! We got some tickets for a rooftop party so we weren't really in Wrigley but it was a great view and perfect weather . The only thing that would have made it better would have been if the Cubs had actually won (dang Cardinals!). We also got a front row seat to a fight between some construction workers who were working on the bleachers on the roof next to us, pretty exciting...yeah we don't get out much!




On Saturday I also had another first when I got up early to go to the library and work on a paper only to walk in a have the lady at the desk tell me that they weren't open yet. Who does that...goes to the library before it opens...I'm officially a nerd!


Saturday night Sheri and I meet up with Kristi (Sheri's sister) and Emma (Kristi and Sheri's friend from Sweden who is living with Kristi...got that?) in the city and we had a great dinner at SoPo's (my favorite place) and then some drinks in Wrigleyville. It was great to hang out with the girls and enjoy the city in the nice weather.
And Emma got to see Wrigley for the first time.


















Today topped it all off with an afternoon at the beach with Marissa, Laura, Anne and this attractive gentleman who decided to layout near us. This is why Chicago beaches are a little creepy at times.

Easter in Muskegon

This past weekend I headed up to Muskegon Michigan with Jeff G and Kurt Roberts to see the Ciccone's. I first met Tim and Maria when I was a sophomore in high school and Tim was an intern at 4C's. Then after I went to CBC Tim hired me to be his intern at Crossroads Covenant in Forest Lake Minnesota. So basically, we go way back...like 10 years back. Maria has some really great pictures of me in high school that should probably just stay in her scrapbooks. Anyways, it's always great to see them and I love that they are only a few hours away. Another really fun thing is that they have 2 great boys now and it's fun to watch them as parents now. Caleb and Josiah are great kids and it was fun to be around them.

It didn't really feel like Easter though because it snowed the whole weekend! Kurt and Jeff shoveled Friday morning, not really a typical Easter weekend activity...

The snow didn't matter much though because we mostly played inside with Caleb or sat in front of the TV playing guitar hero. I'm kind of considering taking up guitar except for the fact that my fingers started to hurt after awhile, or maybe that was because we played for 7 hours straight! This was Kurt and Caleb's jam session while we were babysitting...


After church we stopped and got some treats and Caleb picked out the muffin with the most chocolate on it which ended up getting all over his handsome Easter outfit... oh well, at least it tasted good! To avoid tracking chocolate all over the house, Caleb's handsome outfit came off at the table and then he ran off the chocolate as the Easter bunny...so funny


Kurt told us about a tradition that his family has of having egg wars on Easter. They decorate an egg and then fight each other with them. You have to crack your opponents egg with your egg before they crack yours with theirs...strange...but we did it and it was fun...


Check out Caleb's hair in the background of this pic, oh and this is Josiah...


Anyways, that was Easter. So fun and relaxing but cold, I'm ready for spring to come...

Holy Week

For some odd reason, I really enjoy Holy Week. I love walking through the events of that week and reading what Jesus said and did when he knew that it was his last week with those people. One of my favorite services of the year growing up was our Good Friday service at church and a big part of me is really bummed that I'm going to miss it this week. I'm also bummed that I don't get to be in the Easter choir at church either, even though many years I just made fun of what we had to sing! All that to say, I just really like Easter. But this week as I have been reading the texts about Holy Week and as I have been walking through everyday life things, I have been more and more aware of the restoration that God seeks for his people. Some of the things that have come up for me in the past weeks have just been messy. Walking through life with people is just messy sometimes and there is nothing you can do about it. As much as you might want to, you just can't fix it. You can't protect them from the messy things, and you can't always stop the messy things from happening to them. The only one who can restore and repair is God. I know this sounds so super basic but I just can't get away from it this week. Also in the midst of chewing on all of that I had a project for one of my classes to create a presentation in which we presented a biblical truth. So below you will find the result of my thinking about Easter and Jesus' death and the power of restoration that we have in Christ. Kind of a heavy subject I realize, but it's been kind of a heavy week...

Highs and Lows

Sometimes I play this game with my small group or with the girls that I babysit called "high and low". Nothing to complex, you just have to say what the high of your day was and what the low of your day was. So I will play that game for you now...

One low of the week was a sudden shift in summer plans that was thrown at me. I had a girl who had wanted to rent my room for the summer if I was going to go back to Colorado. Well I finally decided that it would be best for everyone if I did go home for the summer. I could save some money by not paying rent and I could get some time with fam and friends in Colorado. It felt good to decide. Then earlier this week that girl backed out so now my heart is still headed to Colorado for the summer while it looks like I will be paying rent in Chicago, what part of that makes sense! There is still time and hopefully someone will turn up that needs a room but for now I'm bummed that I have another detail to work out...

Another Low in my week was that Marissa's grandpa died on Monday. Marissa was in my CBC class last year and is now in my small group this year, but more importantly she is just great and is someone that I love a lot. Her family has kind of been my family away from home out here so it was hard to know that they were all so sad and that they lost an important piece of their family. Our small group drove out last night and went to the wake and then I went to the funeral this morning. It all just reminded me that sometimes doing life with people is messy and a little uncomfortable. I loved watching Marissa love on her family though, she is just so great.

Ok now some Highs...

Aaron Espe was here! He had a show on Tuesday night and then Jeff and I hosted a house concert for him on Wednesday night. It was really fun to have him around for a few days, good conversations and just a change in routine. Aaron reminds me of my brother Ben so that was nice, they both make themselves laugh and they ask good questions...maybe Aaron is our brother and we just don't know it. Also the house concert at Jeff's was a great excuse to have a lot of friends come hang out. Lots of people that I love were there and it was good to listen to Aaron and just hang out. So one of my favorite songs of his is called "Tuesday Morning" but it's not on any CD yet, but here's a clip of him singing part of it...



A high for this week would be that I'm pretty sure it is done snowing here and the sun actually came out this week...who knew it was still there! And in case you were wondering, I wore flip flops on Thursday :)

Another High would be that all my picks for the march madness games tonight won...I'm such a good guesser. Now to bed and I can't even wait to sleep in...

Spring Break...

Yes, it's true that I am 26 and I still get a spring break. It felt weird to have a break when I had only been back in Chicago for about a month but I wasn't complaining. For the first few days I stayed in Chicago and did some work around here. The weather was beautiful and I love this city when the weather is nice because you can go to the lake and eat outside at restaurants. Then on Wednesday night I flew to Colorado for the last few days of break. And nothing is more refreshing for me than some time in Colorado. Ev, my dad, and I spent Thursday skiing and then stayed at the Everitt's condo. Then Friday that plan was for my dad and I to ski again and then head home. But on our first run I had a little fall that ended up cranking my leg around in an unnatural sort of way that really hurt. So it became clear that I couldn't ski on it and I ended up having to get ski patrol to take me down. It was a little embarrassing but necessary. Now I know what it's like to ride in one of those sleds! Here are some pics of the ordeal thanks to my dad, yes he took pictures while I tried to get loaded in the sled!
















So in the end it looks like all that I did was sprain my knee, nothing that won't heal in a week or so. But it is so annoying to try to walk or get into cars or go up stairs.








But don't you worry, the weekend was still really great. Friday night we had everyone at our house for dad's birthday dinner (notice the curly candles on the grown man's cake...so classy!) Happy Birthday Dad!

I spent a good deal of my time watching march madness with Tate and Soph and checking my brackets. So far I'm holding on but I could have guessed a little better, oh well there is always next year. Besides the knee incident, spring break was truly a break and for that I'm really grateful! But now it's time for bed because I got up at 3:30am today and I'm starting to get loopy...talk to ya later

hips don't lie...

And this is why I love my brother...

who covers "hips don't lie"?...oh yeah ben, isaac, dave, and joe do...

my favorite part is ben reading the lyrics, I think he was really feeling it!

check this out "hips don't lie"