"real" post

ok, so now that i did my mandatory book review, i feel compelled to at least come up w/ some sort of a real post. whew. where to start....things continue to seem to run in high gear around here. which is good but it's sorta making me tired right now. things at church are going pretty good - phil's youth group continues to see lots of new kids, which is awesome. next weekend is a ladies retreat that i have nearly single-handedly thrown together - i'm excited to see how it goes, there are going to be around 25 women. (by the way, if you feel so led, i would appreciate prayers for that!)

we are in the middle of dave ramsey's "financial peace university" which is a 13 wk. course on, you guessed it, finances! he is really good - i highly recommend any of his books, etc. we feel like we are getting a better handle on things and learning a lot - and thankfully, learning that we are in a lot better position than many people. i am so thankful that we have not let credit cards rule our life! anyway, along those lines we were extremely blessed this week as we got our taxes done and due to various factors (one being the new adoption refund - praise Jesus!) we are getting a large chunk of change and will be able to finish off our 6 month emergency fund as well as upgrade my car using cash! i can honestly say that getting our budget under control has already strengthened our marriage and taken a lot of anxiety/stress away from me.

you see, i don't think i have issues trusting God to provide for us, yet i still let myself get caught up and worried day in - day out about all the money stuff. it's really silly. but now that we are doing things differently (we are actually using the cash/envelope system for a few of our budget categories) i know exactly where we're at and where the money is going. it is really freeing. in our early years of marriage we were better about this, but in the last several i think we just got a little lazy....along w/ having some major stuff happen in lives, like, oh i don't know, adopting a couple kids, buying a house, getting a new job!

well, i guess that's about all for now - just thought i'd let ya know that the benners are doing pretty well. life is good, God is good - all the time. :) maybe i'll add a few pics of those crazy little people who live w/ us.

i think ari will take after her papa w/ the artistic flair!
i am glad he thought being stuck in the box was so funny so that i could take the pic!

Chazown

This is a book review of a book called "Chazown" by Craig Groeschel. I actually received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for writing this review. So, the title is the Hebrew word for vision, also meaning dream or revelation. Basically, it is a practical, how-to guide for those trying to determine God's vision for their lives. I liked the book, but I would say that it's not really anything I haven't heard before and I found myself skipping over a lot of application suggestions. (Maybe that just means I'm getting old and I must think I already know it all!) But I did enjoy the author's writing and stories and I appreciated the short chapters - always a plus in my opinion!

another milestone

this past sunday, november 7th, marked a year since we brought nate home. we went out for lunch after church w/ some friends to celebrate. it doesn't seem possible that it's been a year- it has flown by so quickly, but a lot has happened. he was a big, 20 lb., 7 mos. old baby then and now he's a big, 30 lb., 19 mos. old toddler! he can now chase after his "big" sissy and hold his own when she tries to take toys from him. :) but sometimes they do actually play nice together....once in awhile. he didn't really start walking a lot until august - around 16 mos. old - i think it surprised and almost scared ari - she must have thought "baby nate" (as we used to call him) would stay a baby forever.

his first word was "mama", as every good child's should be, but now his vocabulary is really taking off. he doesn't say "yes" but has this very cute way of nodding and saying "uh", and when he says "more" it is really adorable. he's a pretty funny guy and just a lot of fun. oh, and he is forever asking to go to the playground....i was kinda shocked when we were driving one day (several months ago) and i heard him say it...but i guess that's what happens when you have an older sibling to teach you stuff!

ari has had a summer of milestones herself. first was the switch from crib to toddler bed which went pretty well...we put a gate at her door, so she could get out of bed and go open the door but not leave her room. some nights we would hear that door open and close at least 20 or 30 times until she would settle down! next was the potty training - she did amazing. the first couple days were a little rough but she caught on quick and has been great ever since. she occasionally goes thru a period for a few days where she has accidents, but nothing major. i am very thankful and just hope and pray that nate is at least half that easy!

anyway, over the summer ari also started putting sentences together on her own and now she is doing even better...she used to always refer to herself in the third person but now she is using "me" more. one of her really funny phrases is "no like it"....yes, it can be frustrating at times, but we would usually laugh b/c at first she would just protest w/ "like it" and by wiping off her tongue! it was quite hilarious. just recently she really started singing songs more completely - she's always loved to sing but would skip a lot of words - now she is really getting most of the words in and she loves to help sing "jesus loves me" to nate when we put him to sleep.

hmmm....what else have we been up to? this past month or so has just been crazy busy, but it has been a wonderful fall. back in early october we had a surprise visit from "uncle chris" from chicago and that was a lot of fun and a much needed break for phil. then while phil was away at a conference, the kids and i went to visit my parents and i took ari to a "veggie tales live" show - it was a lot of fun. i think she was in shock for the first few songs - the veggie costumes were pretty huge! but then she got into it and was singing and dancing.

and now i am looking forward to the holidays. i know it will be busy but it will be good to have some time off and visits with family. and at some point we are hoping to take a few days and go away on a little "family retreat" to a camp over in the poconos - we really need to get away for a break. i just want to really soak up this time while the kids are little - i know they probably won't always want to hang out with us as much as they do now! and i so want to remember all of these funny little things that they do and say - but they are changing so darn fast - is there a way to slow them down a little? :)

spring fever

i know it's still a bit early for this, but i've been mostly stuck in our house w/ 2 kiddos for over 3 mos. now - i'm so ready for spring! life will be so much easier when i can just drop the kids in the stroller and bop into town to run errands, visit phil at work or just get out. it will be nothing short of heavenly...well, except for the fact that it will be a major workout every time b/c by then i'll have to push around over 50 lbs of children! HA!

i'd like to say that i'm going to do better at blogging but i'm not that unrealistic....but i do want to get better at capturing things that nate and ari do and recording them here. guess i should rename my blog...hmmm. anyway, a couple wks ago we celebrated one yr. since we brought arianna home - kinda crazy. we went out for brunch and visited a friend's farm to bottle feed a baby goat and meet some llamas and sheep. :) it was great! it's hard to imagine our lives w/o her. every night after the kids are in bed we sit and laugh about the silly things she says and does.

she really enjoys being naked these days - it's quite funny. occasionally when i go to get her up after naptime she has taken her shirt off and prefers to stay that way. we marvel that she doesn't seem to get cold, but i guess it's a good thing b/c i'm planning to potty train next wk so she will be walking around for at least a few days in just undies and a shirt. (or maybe no shirt, if she so chooses!)

another favorite activity of hers is singing - she makes up lots of great songs. she really gets into it too. we're pretty sure we have a future musician on our hands. she's been up front after church several times and phil has let her sing into a mic and also bang on the drums...she's pretty good for an almost 2 yr old!

nate is finally starting to do some army crawling, but he still rolls a lot too. he's a smily guy and is very sweet - sometimes ari screeches at him and he immediately starts to cry. poor guy, he's gonna have to toughen up - he's def. learned he needs to be more vocal around here to get attention...i think he must have learned that from his big sissy. :)

2009...whoa!

so, i am doing the customary reflecting on the year that is about to end in 2 hrs. and it is quite mind blowing. i still can't believe all that has happened in the past 365 days. last year at this time we were daring to hope that a sweet, cute, funny little girl would soon be joining our family. we had no idea all that was to follow...probably a good thing. :) don't get me wrong, i am still reeling from the overwhelming blessings we have been given...however i am also not a big fan of change so this year has been a little rough too.

i'm still figuring out this whole mommy thing, and phil and i are trying to make time for us again. it's just a little unsettling when pretty much every conceivable thing in your life changes...except for God...for which i am so thankful. i am just reminded again and again that it's not about me. and thankfully, the beautiful smiles from our kids remind me of that every day.

i'm looking forward to see what 2010 will hold. i'm excited about continuing to watch our kiddos grow (i'm already amazed when i look back at pics of ari from just a few months ago or from when we brought her home!). i'm looking forward to putting down deeper roots here: making stronger friendships, spending more time w/ family and getting more involved at church. and i hope that i will grow closer to God - keep seeking Him and figuring out how to make Him the focus of all that we do. i hope that you are able to take some time to reflect and think about some hopes for the new year as well!

family of 4!

so, we have now expanded our family again....for the 2nd time in 9 mos. yeah, just a little crazy! and apparently it has caused me to have insomnia because i should have been sleeping for several hours by now....don't know what's going on w/ that but i'm a little afraid to find out what it will mean for my body and overall attitude tomorrow! no matter, we are in chicago and it was wonderful to hang out w/ some of our amazing friends here tonight. almost felt like we never left....almost.

anyway, we are thrilled to have nathaniel join our clan - he is a sweet, happy, chunky little amazing gift from God. ari is doing pretty well adjusting to having him around so far and we know there will be challenges ahead but that she will be an awesome big sis. (probably a little bossy at times too!) we are looking forward to watching them grow up and play together and hopefully be great buddies. we are immensely blessed!

to everything, turn, turn, turn

so it's only been almost 5 months since i last blogged...silly, i know. then again, not like we've had any major stuff going on. :) move halfway across the country, buy a house, new job/ministry, and start pursuing another adoption...whic

h means practically redoing the whole process since we live in a new state!! but thru it all GOD has been so good and so faithful and we are SO BLESSED.

we've had a great summer and fall in our new home and ari has grown so much. she continues to amaze us: with her silliness, her cuteness, her ability to charm everyone, and how she keeps filling our hearts with joy more and more each day. she is now running all over the place, repeating lots of words, feeding herself w/a spoon (and

making a big mess in the process!), drinking from a sippy cup, and so much more. she still loves music - wiggles/dances whenever there's some tunes playing. oh yeah, and she is now an official veggie tales addict and asks for them a lot....anytime she sees phil's computer, ipod, or if the TV is on. the irony of it all is that she will not EAT veggies. :) we think she is just smart enough to suspect she might be eating her singing friends.

and then there is nathaniel....who we have been trying to bring home all summer....and it has been such a frustrating process, but again we know God's timing is perfect and hopefully he will be coming home in a few wks. he is such a sweet little guy a

nd we are so excited to add him to our family...a little scared too - they are 11 months apart, after all! but we know it will be so good for them to grow up together.

i am just so ready to once again "get settled". and please, Lord, no more big changes for us for a little while, k? i don't know how much more i could handle....i was pretty close to the "edge" a couple times, but i just kept turning back to God and trusting Him with all of it. i'm so glad He uses these times to draw us closer to Him.

we are making new friends but still miss chicago too...can't wait to get back for a visit...hopefully soon, when we go to get Nate. i guess that's the synopsis for now....just gotta add some pics of my cutie girl!

the merry month of may!

so, besides the sunshine, warm weather, lilacs and general green-ness all around it has been a time of celebration for us. i have always loved the month of may b/c it just happens to be the month i was born. and then wouldn't ya know, i married someone who was likewise born in this amazing month. and then we were blessed w/ a beautiful baby who was born in may! i LOVE it! so here are a few pics from our little girl turning one. it's a little weird celebrating her birthday after only having her for a few months, but we are looking forward to many more years of fun. :)

(who wouldn't have this reaction to chocolate cupcakes w/ peanut butter frosting???)
we discovered that she loves balloons...ok, what kid doesn't? anyway, we decorated for her little party while she was napping, and when she woke up and phil brought her out, she was so excited to see these fun, bright colored things all over the place!

that third pic was taken by our friend kelly. we went to the lincoln park zoo and conservatory and had a great time! if by some chance there is someone out there reading this who has not already seen the slide show she made of the pics, here is a link: http://thingsshesaw.myshowit.com/bennerfamily

she's the reason

...i laugh so much more each day! so i know this is very overdue, but after 2 1/2 mos. of having her in our family, i am finally introducing everyone in the blog-0-sphere to my dear arianna. i may or may not ever post again about books i am reading...we shall see!

but let's just say that the past couple months have been a great adventure...we are so blessed and ari is such a joy. we are officially spoiled for any future children b/c she is a great sleeper and is just perpetually happy....seriously, like 98% of the time. God has been so faithful in providing for the adoption finances and we have been so surrounded by love with support, prayers and gifts. so thank you all!!

beautiful song

i needed to hear this last night....especially that last verse.

Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel

But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there

Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet

blah & a couple "must reads"

yes, blah. that is how i have been feeling in the mornings when i get up. sore throat, headache, tired, etc. as the days go on i end up feeling mostly better and usually squeeze in a little nap somewhere....but it's just annoying. :( oh well, i know i'll survive and it's just the beginning of the season of colds - yay. (hopefully you can hear the sarcasm)

so this is supposed to be a book blog and i have not written about any books lately. at this point i will have a hard time remembering much about books that i read awhile ago (my memory is terrible), but i will tell you a few that left lasting impressions on me.

one of my sort of recent favorite reads was memoirs of a geisha. i had seen the movie and finally got around to reading the book....it is amazing. i was completely sucked in by it and could not put it down - i think i read it in about 3 days, it was that good. i would def. call it a "must read". it was just so beautifully written and the descriptions were so clear. and i guess i hadn't read much from asian culture before so it was quite educational for me, as well.

so, a book that i read last winter that i actually can't believe i haven't written about yet is called serve god, save the planet: a christian call to action. in all honesty, this book has had one of the biggest impacts on me as far as actually DOING something about trying to reduce my impact on the environment. not that i didn't care about it before but i would say that i only did the basic stuff that the average person would do...some recycling, switch lightbulbs to CFL's, etc. this author has a unique perspective in that he's a medical dr. and he tells some very interesting stories. but he also gives a lot of great info, explains from scripture why we are called to take care of this planet and others in it, and tells the story of how his family has taken huge steps to reduce their impact on the environment. (i mean HUGE steps - they downsized to a house that in it's entirety is the same size as the garage of their old house!) this book really opened my eyes to how selfish our culture has become and how our demand for conveniences and our use of so much of the world's resources helps contribute to the poverty of so many others in the world. i am trying to be less of a consumer....i am so thankful my mother raised me to shop at second hand stores! a couple things we do now as a result of this book are: taking our own reusable bags when we go shopping, i bought cloth napkins, we don't use our dishwasher anymore, and we unplug our electronics if they are not being used. i could go on and on about this book - i learned so much from it. but i would also like to read it again soon so maybe i will wait and write about it again later. :)

i guess that's all for now...it's a good day to curl up w /a book....i'm currently reading an adoption memoir. ;) have a great wknd!

are you smarter than a 5th grader?

well, i think i am! :) the other saturday i actually did an IQ test of sorts for a friend of a friend who is getting her master's and needed to practice on someone. it was actually kinda fun, but the sad part is that i can't find out the results since she's not licensed yet. it was kinda crazy though b/c i would second guess some of my answers or think that i was totally getting stuff wrong that i should know. (after it ended i had to look some stuff up on google to ease my conscience!) so here are some of the things i do know: the capital of italy, who painted the sistene chapel, and the president during the civil war. of course there was much more to it than that.....math questons which were kinda hard b/c of it being given verbally, some interesting puzzles, pictures and word definitions. one of the first ones that threw me was "define winter"...uh, what? sounds crazy but i really had to think for a few mins. to decide how to best define a season. (by the way, i said "the season between fall and spring") anyway, at least i got a nice gift card for a nearby coffeeshop out of the deal! :)

since everyone i know is commenting about the election on their blogs, here is what i will say: i will be extremely happy in 8 days when it is all over and we finally know who it's gonna be!!

fall is def. here in full force: i am wearing slippers, drinking hot chocolate, enjoying the crisp air and sights of pumpkins on people's porches and the colors of changing leaves. we took our fall camping excursion up to WI last sun. thru tues. and it was nothing short of amazing. the weather was perfect: cool but not too cold and the trees were gorgeous! i honestly am trying to figure out why we haven't always done a fall trip to WI in oct. - we both love camping at this time of year, it's less crowded, you don't get all hot and sweaty hiking and there's no bugs! anyway, it truly was the break that we needed from the chaos of the city and a good time for us to reflect and reconnect. i will let the pics tell the rest of the story.

august recap

hey again! so now that's it october, i thought i would go back and review the month of august! :) not sure how much i can remember though....we had some fun visitors: phil's oldest nephew, ben, came out for 6 days. they ran around the city, watched the air and water show, and then we went up to WI for a couple days of camping which was really good. we went back to Devil's Lake State Park, which we hadn't been to in several years - we highly recommend it. there are some awesome hikes and it doesn't take too long to get up to a really nice view. we are planning to go back up there in a couple wks. to enjoy the fall colors and hopefully not freeze for one last camping trip of the year!





then right after ben left our friend ann came for a few days. we used to work together at Sunshine Gospel Ministries, but she left a year ago to take a break, travel the world and figure out where God is taking her next. it was fun to catch up and we got to help phil work at a neighborhood festival where the coffeeshop our church owns (ipsento) had a stand selling frozen mochas....yummy! :)





then phil and i celebrated 8 YEARS of wedded bliss. we can hardly believe it - it's a good reminder to make the most of each day b/c they fly by so quickly. we went out for a nice dinner and then attended a seminar on "openness" w/ our adoption agency. it was actually a really good evening....and crazy to think that most likely by the time we celebrate another anniversary we will be parents! anyway, they had a birth mom there who gave up her little boy 2 yrs ago but one of her requirements was that the adoption be completely open: meaning she has a relationship w/ her son and his parents. it was really good to hear her perspective and we were already willing to consider an open adoption but now i think i really want it - it could be really cool to have a relationship w/ the birth mom and see how God could use that. as well as making it a lot easier on the kid.







so, to wrap up august and the whole summer, we went back out to MI for labor day wknd to hang out w/our friends at the lake. it was....well, how can i put it? WONDERFUL! there were around 10 of us that went out and we did it all: tubing, skiiing, swimming, fishing, laughing, sleeping, puzzle making, eating, and more! oh yeah, and on the last morning, our friend's grandpa (whose house we were staying at), said, "i'm really surprised no one took the kayaks out - it's a perfect morning for it...." - so i went to find phil and said, "grandpa T just twisted my arm - we have to take the kayaks out before we leave b/c we don't want them (the neglected kayaks or the grandparents) to feel bad"! :) it was a delightful way to wrap up a perfect wknd. thanks so much to our dear friends the gilberts and talens!!!









that last pic is me and my friend sara tubing - she was gonna go by herself (she hadn't been out yet but most of us already had), so i said, "friends don't let friends tube alone!" ;) well i think that's all i've got for now. maybe in my next post i will actually tell you about the books i read this summer - there were some good ones!

i'm it!

so, a friend of mine, whose blog i read, "tagged me" which means i'm "it". or, in this case, it means i have to share 7 random or weird things about myself.....hmm, this could be interesting. :) then i get to tag 7 people who must do the same....hehe. so, here goes:

1. when i spent a semester in israel, i got bit by a dog and almost had to get rabies shots (can we say, scary??)

2. the only bones i've ever broken in my body are my teeth

3. i failed the test to get my driver's license more than a few times....let's just say i lost count, but if i hadn't passed it when i did i would have had to retake the test for my learner's permit!

4. i hate applesauce, but my mom claims that it's all i ate when i was a baby!

5. i was never very adventurous in my younger days, but in college i learned how to ski (downhill and x-country) and since being married i have done some serious mountain biking that i never would have imagined myself doing - and enjoying.

6. another weird food fact: i do not like jelly - yuck! so sticky and messy!

7. i was born on my great-grandmother's birthday - may 12th. and strangely enough, phil and i are only 1 day shy of being 5 years apart - he was born on may 11th. :)





so, now it's time for liz, justine, jes, davene, ashley, marissa and kacie!

yes, i am alive!!!

hello there! i'm sure by now most of you thought i would never return to blog-land, but i've gotten several emails and comments about the fact that i need to get back to it - so here i am! even though it has been forever (or 3 mos.) i am still going to attempt to "catch up" here on what has been happening w/ us all summer....don't worry, i'll spread it out over a few blogs. :)

well, to pick up where i left off, we had a great trip home to PA back in early july. we spent time w/both of our families and it was a much-needed break from the city. we hadn't been home during the summer time in several years, so it was quite lovely. we even went camping w/one of phil's brothers and his neices and nephews and we saw a lot of wildlife: deer, elk, and a BEAR! it was great fun. and then driving through the mts. to head back to my parent's a baby bobcat crossed the road in front of us. anyway, aside from getting a 24 hr. stomach bug of some sort, our trip was really great but as always it felt too short. we miss you, our wonderful family!!

the next wknd. after we got home from PA, some friends and i became TRIATHLETES! i was a little worried about how i would survive, as i hadn't trained as hard as i wanted to...but honestly, it was not that hard at all and we had a lot of fun. (sounds crazy, i know!) i actually did a lot better than i thought i would and finished in less than 2 hrs., here were my times: .5 mile swim in 19 mins., 12.4 mile bike in 56 mins., and 3.2 mile run in 34 mins. i was most amazed at my run time.....running is my least favorite thing and i am not good at it....but i guess being warmed up helps a lot b/c i ran 11 min. miles! :) we are planning to force more of our friends to do it w/ us next year b/c it really is such an empowering feeling and it's a tri. just for women so everyone is really encouraging.

aren't we cute?? we made our own shirts....well, phil did the design - the front had a stick figure swimming, biking and running (they looked like the ones they used for the olympics) and on the back it had the verse from isaiah "they will run and not grow weary"...but we inserted "swim, bike, and run" ;)....it was super cute and very appropriate b/c we are all in a Bible study together and had just finished the book of isaiah! we even put "team isaiah" on the shirts!
(in case anyone notices, my crazy friend marissa, who is next to me in the pic, has ice on her leg b/c she actually did the race w/a stress-fractured tibia - yes, she is certifiably insane but i love her!!)

so, to finish out the month of july we went out to MI for a few days to enjoy some R&R on a little lake where our friend's grandpa has a cottage. it was great to catch up w/ them and just to enjoy some peace away from the city. we even went to a nearby farm and picked black raspberries and flowers....so delightful! we are so blessed to have such amazing friends - we are truly grateful.

well i think that is all for now - i will finish catching up on the summer another time.....guess i shouldn't wait too long though since today is the first day of fall! hope you are enjoying weather as nice as we have been having - it's actually been in the 80's the past few days. :) trying to make summer last as long as possible! take care!

going bye-bye!

so, somehow it's been a couple wks. since i posted anything, but i just wanted to let everyone know that it will be quiet for another 10 days at least while we are in the promised land....pennsylvania. :) we are very excited to be heading out first thing tomorrow morning - i'm ready for a change -i feel like things have been really busy again lately. but it's all good stuff. like yesterday we went to IN to go to a wedding - it was a really beautiful, outdoor ceremony and the weather was perfect. they are a sweet couple who went to Moody and attended our church. i'll have to try to remember to post some pics later.

anyway, it will be refreshing to get out the city and see our families - we have lots of nieces and nephews who grow a lot while we're gone, so we need to check in once and awhile so that we can still recognize them! and we're also looking forward to meeting two new additions: phil's cousin and his wife had their 2nd little girl a month ago, and some very dear friends who we haven't seen in a year and a half had their 2nd (also a girl, but their first is a boy) back in jan....we can't wait to meet you, sophia and sadie!

so i'm sure we will be having lots of laughs, eating too much, having good conversations (i better practice my "where we are in the adoption process" speech!), and staying up late to star gaze b/c we'll actually be able to see them for a change!! :) oh yeah and i'm looking forward to sitting out on our parent's back porches and just relaxing and watching lightning bugs!

fyi, on the book front i just finished reading "pride and prejudice" by jane austen. it's a good read but you have to be able to get into the old english language. i thought it was great though and now i need to watch the movie again. :) at the library i just found a couple memoirs of people who were adopted and i'm looking foward to getting into one of them on our trip - i'll be sure to let you know how they are!

k, i'm gonna sign off for now, it's getting late-ish and we have to get up at 5:30!

and now.....we wait

so, in case you don't know this about me (all 6 of you who read this!), i am not a very patient person. which could prove interesting for this stage of our life: we have just completed our adoption home study and now we get to wait. yep, wait. approximately 6-12 months, give or take. i am also a structured, planner, organizer type person. so we'll see if i can keep my sanity. :) i also know that God has a sense of humor and might decide to bless us w/ a child at the last minute - you know the story: the adoption agency calls and says the hospital has to discharge a baby tomorrow, do you want it? yep, pretty sure that will be us. i'm not worried about it, but i just like to know "what's coming down the pike", so to speak. only time will tell!

in the mean time, if any of you don't know, i am training for a women's sprint triathlon (.5 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and 5k run). crazy, i know, but it will be fun b/c i'm doing it w/some of my bible study gals. but i've also decided to use it as forum to raise funds for our adoption, so if anyone out there wants to sponsor me in this endeavor, that would be even more incentive! just drop me an email or make a pledge in a comment and i'll follow up w/ you. thanks!

so, i'm finally learning how to post pics on my blog....pathetic, i know! anyway, it only took me about a month but i finally created new curtains out of this lovely fabric that i purchased. it's kinda hard to tell in the pic, but the design is actually flowers, but they are very wild, stemmy, herb-like looking flowers. :) i really like it. i'll have to try to take another pic and include both sets of windows if i can. instead, you get the pleasure of seeing phil taking a rest on our couch! hope you are having a great weekend!

summer's here....finally!

so today and several days thereafter it's supposed to get into the high 80's....craziness. when we got back from our WI trip last wk. the lilacs were finally in full bloom here - very strange to smell their heady fragrance magnified by the warmer, humid weather. anyway, i'm not complaining but it's just weird b/c last tues. night we went to the cub's game w/ our awesome friends chris and amy and froze our butts off - seriously, i was wearing long underwear and was still cold! (but the cubbies won, so it's all good)

anyway, our trip to WI was wonderful. a bit chilly for camping, but since it was the wk. before memorial day we had the state parks almost all to ourselves. that's how we like it....yep, we're selfish like that. :) for the first few nights we were at peninsula state park in door county - a place i've wanted to visit for quite some time. for those of you not familiar w/ the cheesehead state, it's the peninsula that juts out into lake michigan and creates green bay. it was really pretty w/ cute little towns. and they had good bike trails, so that makes the hubby happy.

then we went to north-central WI, pretty close to lake superior. we stayed at copper falls state park, which was also really nice. good hiking and several nice falls to check out....we were pleasantly surprised by the rock cliffs and ravines, etc. (even phil was impressed, if you can believe it!) and we did drive up to check out the superior great lake...didn't do anything super exciting but at least now we can say we've been there. :)

our last destination was to camp forest springs, where i did my college internship a few years ago (ok, i'm lying....it's been more than a few years). my very dear friend jenn and her hubby and their beautiful son just joined staff there recently, so it was great to catch up w/ them. the camp is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year so they had a special service over memorial day wknd. we were technically "campers" which was kinda funny, but we had a good time. it was refreshing to be served and on the receiving end and the speaker gave some challenges which led to good conversation for phil and i. mostly it was a "carpe diem" kinda theme and we talked about stuff that we always say we want to do, but never do... like learning how to play guitar.

so, that's what we've been up to. just a quick update on the adoption front...we were supposed to have our final home study interview last night but our case worker was sick. so now it's scheduled for next wed. not a major setback, but i was looking forward to getting it completed! then basically, she told us it would be about a 6-12 mos. wait. however, it could go faster for us b/c we are not being particular - we're open to adopting just about any child under the age of 2.

now i will conclude w/ the actual "book" portion of my blog. :) i read "prince caspian" before going to see the movie - i thought both of them were great. they added a couple things to the movie of course, but i didn't think it was a big deal. i keep telling phil it makes me sad that peter and susan will not get to return to narnia.

i also read "three cups of tea", almost in it's entirety, on our trip. it was incredible. a real life story of a man (greg mortenson) on a mission to bring education to the children of afghanistan and pakistan. it is unbelievable what this guy goes thru....and it all starts off w/ him getting lost after trying to summit K2. i have a high respect for those who go out on the foreign mission field, and let me tell you, even though this guy is not a "christian missionary" (although he did grow up as an MK in africa) he has the determination of one! he is so committed to these people, i really wanted to cry at times. if only all of us could have half the compassion of this man. it was another reality check for me, to once again be reminded of how blessed and privileged i am just to be born in this country and have basic things like clean water, clothes and education. PLEASE read this book...and then tell your friends to read it. i mean, who needs to read a novel when this guy's life is way more interesting and uplifting than any fiction??

sorry, i probably should have made two separate posts out of all this stuff....but you know me, it might be another few wks. until i write again! one final thing, a PRAYER REQUEST: of late there have been a lot of child and infant deaths. i'm sure many of you heard about steven curtis chapman's 5 yr. old daughter's accidental death. then, an acquaintance of our's lost their 2 month old baby boy to SIDS last wk. (if you know of the christian music group selah, it was the woman who used to be their lead singer - her hubby went to moody and there's also a connection thru our old ministry, sunshine). finally, just the other day one of phil's cousins and his wife, jason and janelle, lost their 10 month old baby girl. she was born with an extremely rare set of genetic conditions, so they were never sure what her future would hold, but that doesn't make it any easier. so please join me in praying for these families as they attempt to make sense of out everything and to find their way to continue moving forward w/o their loved ones. thanks so much!

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!

tired of winter and of being sick!

so, it's been awhile. a lot has happened in the past couple weeks....we've gotten more snow, found a new apt. and signed the lease (yahoo!), went out of town for two days, been sick for the past week, and yesterday we moved our church from the school back to it's old home - very exciting!

so, i'll start w/ the new apt. - we were so excited to find it so quickly. it is literally a block from the lake - yippee! it's still w/in walking distance of church for phil but not too close to our beloved cubbies....however, parking our car will be more difficult, so that is something fun to look forward to. :) and one of the best parts is that we wil be a lot closer to many of our friends! it's a "garden" apt., meaning half below and half above ground. but it has really high ceilings and full size windows, so it doesn't feel like you are in a cave. it's a bit bigger than our current place, but not huge by any means - which is fine, we just wanted to be able to open up our dining table again and have more than 4 people sit around it! we are planning to move the last sat. of march...gotta get packing!

last sun. after church we headed out on a little adventure that phil planned for us - he didn't tell me where we were going until we were almost there. my surprise destination was starved rock state park, where we spent two nights at their lodge. it was really good to get away and just relax and we did some hiking - phil got some neat shots of the wooded winter scenes and we saw an eagle and several deer. it was a nice time, except that near the end i started getting this annoying cough which developed into a cold/flu thing which has continued and now phil has it - fun times. (apparently it's really going around though - i talked to lots of people at church yesterday who have it or had it)

then yesterday was our last day having church in the elementary school that we have called home for the past 2 years. it was neat to see so many people stay after and help us move all our stuff over to the church building - it went really fast. we're so excited to be back in our old home and the way God brought us back is such a cool story of redemption. for those who don't know, we moved out b/c of issues w/the previous owner. but the building was sold around a year ago and the new owner had actually been attending our church. he has done a lot of renovation and restoration of the building and it looks amazing, and now we are back as the primary renters. he is calling it a "community center" and wants it to be used for other organizations and events, so we don't have exclusive use of the building any time we want it. but our offices are there and it will be worlds better than meeting at the school, so we are extremely grateful!

so i guess that's the "big stuff" from here. please pray we feel better soon - we have no energy for the packing which needs to get started! not to mention we will be working on getting unpacked and settled in at the church this week too! have a great week!