Only in the Midwest

Only in the Midwest will you have humidity, crazy wind, 64 degree weather, rainstorms, hailstorms, and snow in the same day. Go figure.

For You From Me

Every so often I hear a song that really just captures my heart. Recently, I've become a fan of Jon McLaughlin. I looked into his music at first because I thought he was a former American Idol contestant that was one of my favorites. It turns out that he's not, but I'm very grateful for the mistake. His music is absolutely wonderful. He reminds me of my friend Chris in that they both are amazing singers and pianists. I heard this song on my way back from Wal-Mart, and it became an instant favorite. I can't wait until I have someone to sing this about. So...here are the words for "From You From Me" by Jon McLaughlin:

Unexpected
Understatement of the year
That's for sure
Who'd of thought that
I'd be standing at your door

It's just the way you say my name that throws me
And all the windows of my past are closing
And everything that you see

Is for you from me
I'd give it away so easily
Never stopped to look at what's behind
For you from me
Everything we want will be
Holdin' us together tonight
Tonight

Unexpected
I'm not used to chasin' dreams
And catchin' them
All of a sudden
I'm the winner in the end

I'm used to every door I open closing
Always makin' sure I'm not supposing
I can't believe I'm really here

For you from me
I'd give it away so easily
Never stopped to look at what's behind
For you from me
Everything we want will be
Holdin' us together tonight
Tonight

We will never fall
We'll defy the laws of this world
With new ones of our own
That's the way I feel
Stupid but for real
All that I am is...

For you from me
I'd give it away so easily
Never stopped to look at what's behind
For you from me
Everything we want will be
Holdin' us together tonight
Tonight

We're infested...again!

But this time, we're infested by mice! Dawn and Daeghan came back to their room last night to find that a mouse had been living in their storage spaces over break. We saw it running around while we were cleaning up its droppings, so the girls decided to buy a trap today (a humane trap, one where they could get in, but couldn't get out). They set the trap up this afternoon. We went to Pokey's tonight, and when we came back, they had caught two mice! They were really small, and we think they might be babies. I was holding the box they were in, showing one of my girls the mice, and then we saw another mouse running around in the storage space! We're infested! Even though they were cute, and would have made nice pets, I had to make them let them go. Poor Steve McQueen and Gus Gus. I hope they don't freeze...

Batman Movie Marathon

Right now we are in the middle of movie number three (of five). Thanks to one of my wonderful uncles (Yea Scott!), I now have the complete Batman movie collection! My girls and I decided that tonight we were going to have a movie party in order to hang out and spend time with our two new girls, and they decided that they wanted to watch all of the Batmans, in order. I knew I loved these girls.

The Adventures of Flat Stanley

My cousin Rebekah is in the 1st grade and her class is doing "Flat Stanley." Well, Rebekah sent Flat Stanley to me, so now I have the wonderful privilege of getting to take Stanley on adventures! Today, he came with some friends and me to St. Louis. We went to the Art Museum for a couple of hours, then we went downtown and had dinner at Fitz's, and we ended the day at a Jazz Bistro! It was so great. The Bistro had a live band, and they were awesome!! I had a perfect view of the pianist's hands, so I watched them play for most of the show (I love watching hands play the piano). Also, we made some new friends. There were 6 of us, and the tables only sat 4, so Storm and I ended up sitting at the table behind the rest of our crew, and eventually a couple joined us. They were really nice, and we had a nice conversation before the show. Well...after the show, the woman, Gwen, made a point of us exchanging numbers because sometimes they get tickets to Cardinals games through her husband's work, and she wanted to offer us some! So, not only did we meet awesome new people, we'll get free Cardinals tickets! When her husband, Vincent, said goodbye, he told the two of us to "Stay ::pause:: wonderful." They were so sweet, and I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to meet them. Today was just a great day.

Flat Stanley and Friends in front of the Art Museum

Having some Root Beer at Fitz's

P.S. One of my absolute favorite people in the world, Chris Marsh, called me today! I haven't talked to him since around March last year, so it was so nice to hear his voice! I was so excited when I saw that it was him on my caller ID! It was absolutely wonderful to talk to him and to catch up. I'm so proud of him, and so happy for him. I just love him with all of my heart. Basically, he made my day. I just miss him so much!

P.P.S. Yesterday was my brother's 17th birthday! He is growing up so fast! It was weird not being home, and I really didn't like not being there with him, but I got to talk to him yesterday, so that was really nice. Hands down, he's the best brother in the world. I'm so proud of him, and I love him so much!!!! (if you haven't seen it yet, his picture is on the right margin)

Did you ever notice that when certain people say your name, it sounds more beautiful?

It's almost as if they see past your exterior and appreciate the real you, no matter how broken you may be. Or notice how some songs seem to capture everything you are? It's comforting, yet frightening feeling that a stranger knows you better than those you call friend. Have you ever felt the kiss of the wind, or the tears of the rain? Do you dare let the Lord love you like that, completely enraptured by simplicity? Do you ever find yourself stuck and it seems as though the only way to live is through other people? Do you let them feel for you, love for you, worship for you? Did you ever notice the joy that can be found in simple things? Did you ever notice the warmth that can be found in a man's toothless grin, the contagious nature of a laugh, the innocence of the child sitting in front of you in church, the way a come from behind win can unite two people, how a crooner's voice can sweep you off of your feet, how you can still taste the love in a home-cooked meal even when it is cold, how one small question can spark the start of something big, or how a momentary glimpse of someone's heart can change your world forever? Have you ever felt yourself falling in love? I catch myself everyday as I look into the eyes of the 2-year-old I'm clutching in my arms in the photo on my desk. Do you know what it feels like to prevent yourself from falling in love? Have you ever felt someone push you away from loving them? No matter what you do, or how hard you try, they won't let you. Eventually, you have nothing left. Have you ever had something to say, but couldn't, or didn't? Did you ever notice how some signs of affection pale in comparison to a hug from your dad or a smile from your mom? Or notice how a pleasant surprise can be tainted by the circumstances meriting the surprise? Have you ever seen someone's presence light up a room? Have you ever felt too beautiful for words to describe? It's kind of like when certain people say your name.

"Bears taking a wait-and-see approach with Brown"

For the past few days, I've noticed that headline on the Bears' website. The Bears are home to multiple "Browns," and today my curiosity spiked and I clicked on it in hopes that it was referencing my beloved Mike Brown, and it was. The article talks about Brown's most recent injury, and what sort of plans they have for his future in Chicago. Jerry Angelo, the general manger, says that his future with the organization is uncertain due to his numerous injuries in the past 4 years. Quoting Angelo: "How am I going to count on Mike Brown? Mike's been hurt a lot. We certainly would like to have Mike on our football team, but we're just going to wait." If it was any other team, this logic would make some sort of sense to me. But, given certain circumstances, this makes me very angry! The name of those such circumstances are Rex Grossman. This marked Grossman's fifth season. One season was ended due to a torn ACL, the next didn't get started until the final 3 games due to a broken ankle, and this season was cut short because of a torn MCL (and at various times, simply because of a lack of talent). With that track record, you would think Angelo would have made comments about Rex like he did Brown, right? Wrong. Not once has Grossman been questioned like that, not once! Brown is at least 10 times the football player that Grossman is/possibly will be!!!! How come he is the one in question when Grossman deserves questioning, and a stronger dose, as well? It's ridiculous, that's what it is. But it won't matter for long. The Bears will come to their senses and keep Mike Brown, and Grossman will leave after the Bears pick up John David Booty in the NFL draft. I just know it...

Chi Hoowah Hoowah

So I just got back a couple of days ago from spending a week in Chicago. Greenville does this thing called Interterm, which is a two week long term where you take only one class if you choose to participate. I took a class called Diversity Issues. For the class we stayed at a hostel owned by Jesus People up in Chicago, and we were there for a week doing random service projects. Some of the days we had opportunities for free time, and each night the leaders had some sort of activity planned for us. I will do my best to keep this brief. There was quite a lot packed into not that long of a period of time, so I will try not to overwhelm you with information...anywho...My service projects consisted of: working at a temporary home for people who are transitioning out of homelessness, painting an apartment building for women in need, stuffing boxes for a group called MAC that were to be delivered to elderly people (a month's worth of groceries), serving at the Bishop Conway assisted living facility, serving at a soup kitchen (it was actually a full meal, rather than a normal soup kitchen), being a teacher's assistant in a class of 3 year olds (the preschool was in a poor neighborhood), and helping with various tasks at an organization called Little Brothers (basically, the purpose of the organization is to provide friendship to lonely people in the elderly community).

We spent a lot of time in downtown Chicago, so that was a lot of fun. I love Chicago; there's just something about it that really appeals to me. Our evening activities consisted of: attending a Taize service (it is centered around meditation), having dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant, attending a play in a very small theatre, talking with people from Emmaus ministries (they are a ministry that serves male prostitutes), going to a concert by an acapella group called Men of Destiny (these men met in drug rehab, and were amazing!), and taking a tour and having dinner in Pilsen (the Hispanic neighborhood of Chicago).

On Sunday we attended two church services. One was a Greek Orthodox service, and the other was a Hare Krishna service (Hare Krishna is a form of Hinduism). Both were extremely different. The Orthodox service was extremely traditional, and was one liturgy. The church was absolutely beautiful. It was an interesting experience, but none of us felt welcome because they made us sit in the back (we were heading in to rows towards the center of the seating, and the greeter actually came in and told us to sit in the back of the sanctuary). The Hare Krishna service was exactly the opposite. The worship was uninhibited, and was full of singing and dancing. We stood at the back, by choice, to observe, and after a few minutes a couple of the women came and grabbed me and some of the other girls and invited us to dance with them! A little while after that, some of the men got some of our guys and invited them to dance with their group! It was so awesome. We were all worshipping, and even though God looked different to us than He did to them, we were still invited and united. It was a wonderful experience.

I was worried about the trip at first because I was friends with only one person that was going, and we weren't that close. However, I met a lot of amazing people and had a really great time. I won't go in to detail about everything, because that would take forever, but I do want to highlight a couple of things. My two favorite moments were serving at the soup kitchen and hearing from Emmaus ministries. Both those opportunities really touched my heart. The whole time we were hearing from the directors of Emmaus, my heart was pounding. I'm not exactly sure why, but I just know I couldn't get it to stop. And while we were serving a room full of homeless people at the soup kitchen, I was incredibly moved. I got really emotional during the meal. I think I was overwhelmed by the fact that all 130 people in the room were without a home, and there were a lot more people that needed a meal, but didn't make it into the room because there weren't enough seats for them. I felt really in my element as I walked around and interacted with the people, and there was quite a mix of people there. I had one woman who called me a b**** because I wouldn't give her a cigarette, I listened to a little old man do impressions for five minutes, each sounding the same, and I was hit on by two other men. They were all interesting, and all needed our love. I guess that's one thing that every person we helped during the week had in common: they all were in need, and had many needs that we couldn't meet, but we could help fulfill their need for love. I'll end with saying that I'm really glad I took this class and had all of these wonderful opportunities. I really learned a lot, and had a great time doing it.

"Senior Prom"

In high school my friends and I joked about going to McDonald's for prom dinner. Unfortunately, we never actually did it. My "dream" finally came true, and for New Year's Eve, some friends and I got all fancy and went to Taco Bell for dinner. It was so much fun (and so cold)! My friends are awesome. I love that they will do weird things like that with me. We went back to one of their houses after that and just hung out, it was nice. We all counted down to midnight together and toasted with sparkling grape juice. It was so nice to spend time with everyone, I love being home. I truly have amazing friends, I love them all so much!

Brittany and me

Nick, me, and Jared