end of writer's strike! :)

ha! just kidding...it was more like a hiatus. does it count that i've been writing this blog in my head for several wks now?? well, most of you know we moved at the end of march so things got a bit busy. now, as most of you know, we are in the midst of our home study for adopting. so those are my excuses. and i think i've discovered (not surprisingly) that i enjoy reading blogs more than writing on mine!

anyway, our transition has been great - it's so fun living near the lake and much closer to our friends. it took us considerably longer to get settled in b/c we were spending so much more time just chilling w/ everyone. on the flip side.....parking around here is terrible and these first two months of cub's season there are a ton of home games, so we are walking and biking as much as possible. (which is fine b/c in case you haven't heard gas is over $4 a gal. here!!)

the adoption process is going a bit quicker than we anticipated, but that's fine w/ us. our home study should be completed by mid-june....as long as our background checks clear and everyone sends in their references...you know who you are!! :) we are excited but it's still kinda weird b/c we don't really know how long it will take to have a child placed w/ us....ahhh, just another lesson in patience.

so, that's about all for general "life" stuff...ya know, nothing major. :) so, since i've last written, i finished reading "anna karenina"....it was good, BUT there were some parts that dragged and you could basically skip over them....hunting, elections, farming, blah, blah, blah. that's ok though, i can add it to my growing list of monstrous, 900+ pg books that i feel quite proud to have gotten thru. our next book group selection is "three cups of tea" which i am excited to read b/c i've heard great things....and clearly it is very popular in chicago right now b/c i can't get my hands on a single copy from the public library - there are a million holds on it!

right now for my Bible study group i am re-reading "mudhouse sabbath" by lauren winner. i know i've mentioned this before, but i LOVE her. partly b/c she's just a great writer and she's my age so i think i connect w/ her. also b/c she converted from judaism and has some amazing views on christianity in light of her background. that's mostly what this book is about - she explores jewish practices and disciplines and how we could better celebrate or practice them as christians. it's a small book, so very readable for anyone, but has a lot of depth to it. she takes a look at things you would expect like sabbath, prayer, and fasting as well as subjects such as mourning, hospitality, the body, and aging.

so, i have one other recommendation...but not for reading. a few wks. ago we went to a concert - the first one in quite awhile. funny thing is, it's a band i have loved since they first came out 15 years ago and i'd never seen them in concert before! (writing that makes me feel old!) anyway, it was caedmon's call, on tour w/ derek webb (who used to be their lead singer). they were nothing short of absolutely AMAZING. they are extremely talented musicians, worshippers and songwriters. i thought i had died and gone to heaven. :) i did not want the evening to end. it was cool too b/c we were in a pretty small chapel at a college nearby and were in the 4th row. so, i would suggest you check out their tour schedule here: www.caedmonscall.com and make it a priority...i promise you won't be disappointed.

well that's all i got for now.....hopefully i will update again sooner rather than later!