Delaney

Ahh, what a precious little bundle of joy!

Our friend Katie (originally from Living Water but now based in Bloomington, IL) was in town for a conference and I jumped at the chance to watch her little girl, Delaney, while mommy was in her sessions.

Delaney has to be one of THE most adorable little girls ever - with her huge blue eyes, golden curls, outstretched arms wanting hugs, and her mischevious smile. Pure heaven.

Chapter 3 is coming, but first...

I know I have to add some photos and share some more details of mom's visit with us in Chicago, and I've even downloaded the photos already. So there's nothing really stopping me except a nice big chunk of time.
But right now, I've folded 2 large hampers worth of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, created a new client contract, cleared the dining room table from miscellaneous receipts and mail, recycled the junk mail, and flopped down on the couch with a glass of Pinot Noir. We had a wonderful time with mom, but after seeing her off at the airport on Thursday I immediately went back into work mode, doing some PR work that afternoon, two long full days of organizing on Friday and Saturday, various social activities on Sunday, and more organizing today. And it's going to be another busy week. Phew, life has been really full and looks to continue on that same trajectory. I need to remember that if as an organizer I'm encouraging people to declutter their lives on a number of levels and gain some balance, I should be setting an example. And I think I do - I try to create buffer zones in my life and for the most part I'm good at that. But it's been a busy summer, with lots of (awesome!) guests which I wouldn't trade for anything, and now it's time to settle into a routine and figure out how well I'm juggling all these balls.

Mom's Visit - Chapter 2

The second week Mom was here she flew out to Detroit for 3 days to visit with Al and Patti - Eric's parents. I think the in-laws all had a good time together, and Mom's visit included a trip apple-picking, checking out the Canterbury Village, and having dinner with the Davids! Lovely to see familiar faces...

I worked while Mom was gone and was pretty busy. But for the most part I've tried to keep it lowkey and only work one or two days a week.

Last weekend, with all of us in town we took advantage of the crisp sunny Fall weather to go to Chicago's Green City Market - an outdoor fresh produce, cheese, meat, eggs, flowers, pastries (etcetera!) market. We dug into yummy crepes prepared on the spot, munched on freshly baked apple danishes, sampled yummy award-winning cheeses, and bought a few ingredients for my home-made salsa verde, such as jalapenos and white onions.

I am STILL having trouble with some of my photos deciding to rotate themselves. I don't know what to do about this. Apologies!

Mom's Visit - Chapter 1

We've been so busy that I haven't had time to blog about mom's visit much! But right now, after a Starbucks breakfast and walk along the lake, we're waiting for Eric to finish up some work (at the dining table!) and then we're going to go out and about together.

In the couple of weeks that Mom has been here so far we've had lots of fun, and just some good quality time together.

See pics above for an evening stroll for a coffee at Starbucks and along the lake; a visit to a fun little bakery in Lincoln Park (Sweet Mandy B's); and mom has done LOTS of reading while she's here too!

Ang and Brad and Seth were here!!!

Okay, so anyone who knows me knows that my two best friends in the world are the twins - Angela and Christine. I can't count how many times I've been somewhere, traipsing around the city, and said to Eric "how I wish Ang or Chris could be here with me..."

Well, finally part of that dream came true! Unexpectedly and with only a couple of weeks notice, Ang and Brad and Seth were able to come on a ministry trip to Canada and the States and decided to come via Chicago so they could spend a few days with us.

What a joy to have them stay in our home, and to spend wonderful quality time with them. We had some fun-filled days and the weather was perfect!

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory downtown....

We went on an architectural boat cruise (on the river and the lake). This is one of my favorite things to do with visitors, and I enjoy it every single time. What a great way to see some of the city and its fabulous buildings...

We went to Millenium Park and saw the Bean...

We went to the Fountain and splashed in the water. This is really cool to see - thousands of tiny pictures create the mosaic of a person's face, who eventually creates an 'o' with his/her mouth and water spouts forth... Brad was the only adult with his shirt off (typical South African male...); and I think Ang and I were the only adult women who got themselves soaking wet. Fully clothed still of course!

We also went to ColdStone Creamery, because who doesn't love ice-cream! Trust me, we also had our fill of it at home, where we stocked up on Haagen Dasz and Ben & Jerry's...

Coffee is always on the agenda, so while plenty of Starbucks was consumed, we also had a couple of stops at Peets Coffee...

One night Seth was very happy to stay at home with a babysitter, while the four of us went for a delicious dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Lincoln Park. What a gorgeous evening that was, sipping Pinot Noir out on the terrace.

While they were here my mom finally arrived for her long-awaited visit!! The Sunday she arrived Ang and fam went off and had a blast at the Children's Museum at Navy Pier; and on Monday we all went to Ikea and shopping in downtown Evanston. I think Eric was really glad he actually had to go to work - he always says that if there was a purgatory, it would look like Ikea! Haha! Well, I think my mom and the Verreynnes enjoyed it - but they didn't enjoy tasting Root Beer afterwards - it tastes like Mentadent P toothpaste!

Tuesday morning arrived all too quickly and the Verreynnes started their road trip to Toronto. Our time together flashed by and now they are very much missed :(. I hope it's not another 8 years before they visit in the States!!

As for me and my house...

I'm playing a bit of catch up since I finally downloaded photos from the last month.

A few weeks ago we had a progressive house blessing, and invited some of our nearer Living Water neighbors. In April 3 different families moved closer to the church (including us) and we've been meaning to have a house blessing ever since! Rather than separate events, we started off at Jason, Annie and Rivers' home.

From there we moved to Liz and Peter's place...

And ended up at our place, where our house blessing was followed by a little party!

We followed the liturgy from the Celtic Daily Prayer house blessing, and moved from room to room to bless each one. The living room to the guest room, to the master bedroom; the study/office, the bathroom and the kitchen... each was blessed and consecrated to God and for His purposes. It was a very special time, and I have to admit, quite funny to have 15 people trying to cram into our bathroom (even a couple folks in the tub!) while the others lined the hallway...

Thanks to all who blessed us by being there and praying with us!



Eric, with Kirk and Drew.

Me and Eric.

Various folk...

Mari, Cindy and Dana. Is it just me or does Dana look like she has a 3rd arm?!!

Not such a final goodbye...

We're bummed. Friends of ours from church just had their last Sunday at Living Water this past weekend. Josh and Cindy, pictured below on Cindy's birthday a couple of weeks ago, have been called away...

For whatever reason, at this time in our life we are surrounded by a large number of grad students, particularly young married couples who are crazy busy between pursuing Ph.D's, seminary training, active involvement in the church body, etc etc. Josh, who is at seminary, has been offered a ministry position at a church in the burbs, and they're taking it. They'll still live down the road from us for a while as the lovely Cindy studies at a local university, so at least they're not moving out of the neighborhood just yet.

But it's a reminder of the transience of life. I know I've been more the one who moves away, so I've got to expect to get a little taste of my own medicine every so often.

Nevertheless, we wish them all the best, for God's blessing and strength, and for intentional opportunities to enjoy their company and friendship despite not seeing them Sunday mornings.