redeemed

I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 
Isaiah 43:1 NKJV

I have been redeemed. Sometimes I wish I could forget my past and never think about certain situations, but that doesn't happen. It amazes me how often I'm reminded of the past.  I think the reminders can be good because I never want to forget where I came from and how I have been redeemed.

A few weeks ago I got this very thoughtful gift in the mail. I was so surprised because it was not a special occasion, just a friend who was thinking of me. This beautiful necklace, from my beautiful selfless friend, is a great reminder to me that I am redeemed. The Lord rescued me and I don't ever want to forget that.

While I don't want to forget, I also know that I'm not who I used to be. The same week I got this necklace, I heard the Big Daddy Weave song, Redeemed, for the first time. The lyrics are powerful to me.  And, a powerful message for every single person. We all can be redeemed from whatever chains and stains we have.

"I am redeemed, You set me free

So I'll shake off these heavy chains

Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be

I am redeemed, I'm redeemed"

Take a few minutes and go listen to the song here. Thank God, redeemed.

surprise getaway

A few weeks into summer Greek, I starting thinking of something I could do for Dave as a reward for finishing Greek. There was only one week between the end of Greek and the beginning of the semester so I thought a small getaway would be nice. I was able to get a couple of days off work during the week which worked out perfectly.

After a quick trip to Indiana, I told Dave what his surprise was. We hopped on the "L" and headed downtown for the night.

I used Priceline to get us a great deal on a hotel room.  It was so nice!

We were on the 30th floor overlooking the river and Michigan Avenue. What a great view!

Even though we got there late, the whole city does not shut down at 9 p.m. like other places we have lived. ;) It was so strange to be out so late, and to see so many other people out too! We found a great Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a late dinner.

On the walk back, we found Sprinkles Cupcakes. Dave had heard before that they had a vending machine for cupcakes! We just had to try it and enjoyed a yummy red velvet cupcake when we got back to the hotel. It was very, very good!  

We slept in the next morning and that was great! We both were in need of some serious sleep with no alarm!

One of Dave's lifelong dreams (well maybe not) has been to go to the Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by the SNL skit back in the 70s. Last time we went downtown he was determined to find it. He knew it was under Michigan avenue but had no idea where. We never ended up finding it that day. But, when we were walking back to the hotel the night before, we saw the sign for it and he just HAD to see it! :) 

Since our Mexican food from the night before had finally digested, we decided to go in for lunch. I'm not one for looking like a tourist, but we managed okay. They seem pretty used to it in there and they were very nice. And, the cheeseburgers were really good!

After a nutritious lunch, we walked to Millennium Park and rented a couple of bikes. This was a great way to cover a lot of the city without as much walking.

We rode out to Buckingham fountain, the planetarium, Soldier Field, Navy Pier, and back to Millennium Park. It was such a fun way to be around the city. 

After we turned in our bikes, we went to The Cheesecake Factory. Apparently, I was too tired at that point to remember to take a picture. It was so delicious and a great way to top off our adventure in the city.

We really enjoyed our time together. It was so good for us after his rigorous summer class. Now we are on to the regular semester.  

I'm thankful for women around me who are going through the same thing as I am and can offer encouragement to me when I'm having a hard time. I'm thankful for moments of goofy laughter that I have with my husband. I'm thankful for the opportunity to get away, and for the growth that has come and will continue to come throughout this experience.

take me out to the ball game

Ever since we moved, Dave has had a list of things he would like to do. On that list was going to a Cubs game. We hadn't actively pursued going to a game since the season started and I wasn't too sure we would make it, but then it happened.

My boss is a huge Cubs fan. I actually got one strike once I was hired because I don't LOVE baseball! (And another strike for not loving coffee...I'm on thin ice!) One day, a little over a week ago, he asked if Dave and I would like to have a couple of his season tickets to the next afternoons game. Of course we accepted! Dave needed a break from his Greek studies and we were excited to spend some quality time together!

We took the "L" into the city. It was great to come up on the field and catch a glimpse of the excitement between buildings.

We enjoyed walking around and seeing the field from all different viewpoints. It was a windy and chilly afternoon!

We feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to go to the game. We had such a great time! After the game, we ate dinner across the street from the stadium. It was fun to watch all the fans walk down the streets. We walked around a little more before we went home. A great afternoon in the city!

it's all greek to me

For my new job, I've traveled 2 out of the last 3 weeks. While I have been traveling about the countryside, Dave has been studying Greek. He is taking a 5 1/2 week course that covers 2 semesters worth of Greek. It is a very intense class. I'm so proud of him for sticking with it and persevering through the past 3 1/2 weeks. I can't imagine what it takes to learn this language, but Dave does. And I know that he can see this through.

Greek Study Zone

Can you read this? I sure can't!

Will you please join me in praying for Dave as he finishes out these last two weeks of Greek? He will have a one week break before the fall semester beings. It will be challenging as well so your continued prayer support would be greatly appreciated.

One of the great things about traveling 2 of the last 3 weeks is that it has made it easier for Dave to focus completely on studying and not feel like he is ignoring me. It has also helped me get through this time where he needs to devote nearly all of his time to studying. The Lord always has a plan!

Here are a few pictures from Minneapolis last week.

The Mighty Mississippi

Pillsbury 

Gold Medal Flour

The last evening in Minneapolis we got to take a dinner cruise on the Mississippi.

I even got to wheel the yacht! Must have been my fabulous resume of boat driving skills.

Finished the evening with a beautiful sunset. I had a great time at the conference. Met some really great people. And got to enjoy a beautiful city.

the quest for the best

Since we decided to move to the Chicagoland area, Dave has been most excited about getting to eat deep dish pizza whenever he wants. Before moving up here, Dave's favorite was Giordano's. To him, there was no other. Now that we have lived here for a little over 6 months, we are finding more and more pizza places.

I think that everyone has their own opinion about which place has the best Chicago style deep dish pizza. We are determined to find our favorite!

I have to admit that we only ate Giordano's for the first 5 months we lived here, and in the past month or so we have tried a couple of others. Branching out has made us realize there are so many great pizza places in the area.

While going on a drive a few weeks ago we came across the original Lou Malnati's. We had to stop.

Lou started this pizzeria in 1971 after working in one of the original deep dish pizzerias since the 1940s and it's known as one of the best.  We'd have to agree! The crust of this pizza is amazing. A family recipe passed down from generation to generation is known as "butter crust" and its very tasty! I like their lighter sauce and Dave enjoys their special sausage blend.

The only downside about finding the best, is that everyone brings other pizza places to our attention. I guess we will just have to try them all! But for now, Lou's is at the top of our list.

What is your favorite Chicago style deep dish?

family time - part 3

The grand finale of our three part series! My sister, her husband, and their son, Ethan came up to visit. This was the third week in a row of family visitors.

What a great blessing to have almost all of our family come up in the month of June! It has been busy but very fun.  It's great to be able to show our family where we live and some of the cool things around here.

Elizabeth, Ethan, and Randy

My sister participated in a 4 day conference in a near by suburb so we didn't get to do too many Chicagoland activities. Although, we did partake of some Chicago style deep dish pizza which everyone enjoyed. We took some walks and enjoyed each others company.

It was so fun for Dave and I to get some quality time with little Ethan (Liz and Randy too!). He is sitting up on his own now and he is so close to crawling I feel like it could happen any day!

Seems like just yesterday he was born.  Now he is growing so fast. I love seeing Elizabeth and Randy as Ethan's parents. They are just great with him and you can tell he loves them back so much.

A great way to finish our month of visitors!

family time - part two

While my dad and Dave were at the Indy Car race in Milwaukee last weekend, my mom and I got to go on a fun adventure!

My mom has always loved Frank Lloyd Wright. When I knew that we would be spending the day together I decided to look into where some of his homes were to see if we could go visit.  I found out that his first home and several homes he designed were in Oak Park. We decided this would be a great way to spend our day!

We started with a walking tour of the neighborhood where we wore headsets that told us about each house as we walked by. We started with FLW's home and studio.

My mom in front of the studio

We walked past 10 other homes he designed in addition to his own. We had a great time seeing them all! They were all in the same area as his home. It was a great experience.

My mom's favorite FLW home, built in 1902.

My favorite on the tour, built 1893.

After we did the walking tour we were able to go on a tour of his home and studio. We were not able to take photos inside, but it was very beautiful and unique.

We were also able to take a tour of the Unity Temple which Wright designed after the original church was destroyed by fire. He was limited with a small space and limited budget.

Oak Park is also the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway.  We made a point to find his birthplace home and had a look from the outside.

Even though the temperature was very warm, we had a great time touring the town of Oak Park. What a great memory to have!