Population: Me

The lyrics below really have been speaking to me this week:

In my own little world it hardly ever rains
I’ve never gone hungry, always felt safe
I got some money in my pocket, shoes on my feet
In my own little world
Population: me

I try to stay awake during Sunday morning church
I throw a twenty in the plate, but I never give ’til it hurts
I turn off the news when I don’t like what I see
It’s easy to do when it’s
Population: me

What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
I could be living right now
Outside my own little world

when i Stopped at a red light, looked out my window
I saw a cardboard sign, said “Help this homeless widow”
And above that sign was the face of a human
and I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”
So I rolled down the window and I looked her in the eye
i thought how many times have I just passed her by?
I gave her some money then I drove on through
And my own little world reached
Population: two

Father break my heart for what breaks Yours
Give me open hands and open doors
and Put Your light in my eyes and let me see
That my own little world is not about me

What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
That I could be living right now
and i know theres a bigger picture
I dont wanna miss it now
i know theres a plan and a purpose
I can be living right now
Outside my own little world

I recently heard this Matthew West Song on Klove and absolutely love it and was so convicted by it. Isn’t that how we live so often in the world of population: me? I know I do. I wish I could say I was more selfless and cared so much more for others but I would be lying. I want to but I get caught up in the entanglements of this life and my world so easily.

I love the line where he says he saw the widow holding up the sign and above the sign was the face of a human. It kind of reminds me of Jesus. He was all about the individual. We can’t change the world all at once or make a difference in everyone’s life. But we can make a difference and notice one person at a time.

Oh Lord, forgive my selfish heart and open my eyes to the ways I can notice and love those around me even if it’s just one person everyday. Turn my eyes upward and outward instead of inward. My world is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. Give me greater Heavenly perspective. Amen.

Homeless for the Holidays

I received a free screener copy of a Christmas movie a few weeks ago so I could watch and review it. I’ve seen it in the Family Christian Store magazine so I figured it couldn’t be that bad. I am usually skeptical of these type of low budget films and don’t care for them too much.

However, this one had a really good message. No, the acting won’t win any academy awards and there were some cheesy, over the top moments. But overall, I thought it was well done and a good family movie.

The premise of the movie is what happens in the life of a man and his family when he loses his job and finds himself homeless for the holidays. It touches on some great truths about the way men and women think. It deals with the pride of a man and his desire to provide for his family. How much is too much and what is really important? What is a man willing to do to provide for those he loves? It deals with the insecurities of a woman and how important it is to be supportive of your husband.

Most importantly it speaks of the issue of generosity and how much of a blessing we can truly be to others, even when we don’t have much to give. It was certainly a challenging message but a great reminder of what Jesus calls us to do. And not just this Christmas season, but always. We are called to give generously and to love others. How often I fall short of that!

So despite the weak moments in this film I would recommend it as a great tool for reminding yourselves and your kids of what the truly important things are in this life. And even better is if you are able to put into practice the truths brought to life.

Go check it out at: http://homelessfortheholidaysmovie.com/

1st Things 1st

Life has recently gotten away from us. Oh we've been living and busy but some important things got pushed to the back burner. I could make up excuses. Our schedules have changed, we have more going on at night, we're too tired. Like I said, excuses. But God really convicted me last week that we needed to make a change. I feel like he was telling John the same thing in a different way.

When we were dating we would pray together on the phone. When we were engaged we would pray together almost every night. When we first got married we did devos and prayed quite frequently. And then the past few months is when life got away from us. We both know how important it is for us to be praying together. Personal time with God is important too, but praying together is a special time when we are spiritually connected and laid bare before God and each other. It's key to the health of our marriage.

So God prompted my heart to mention that I miss praying together and John agreed. We came up with a new schedule and so far so good. We've been getting up a little earlier, both of us, so that we can pray before breakfast and before work. This seems to work better for both of us because we are fresh and not tired from a long days work. It is so refreshing to start off the day that way.

I am telling you this not to brag, but to be an encouragement. There are so many things in this life that we can't do. We can't fix everyone's problems.  We can't even fix our own problems most times. We can't heal people. We can't be there for everyone all the time. We can't be everything for our spouse. We can't be everything for our family. We need help. We can't always give of our time or money to help others. But we can pray. And it's one of our best spiritual weapons against the enemy. And when we pray together it unites us in serving together.

I also think it helps in a marriage because it is a place of transparency. Hopefully you don't intentionally hide things from your spouse, but you can't hide from God. And if you are really open to Him when you pray together you will be surprised at the things God shows you. After all He knows us better than we know ourselves.

So I challenge you to try it out. But you have to be intentional about it. And feel free to check up on us. We're definitely not perfect. So I hope we can keep it going too!

Sometimes you just gotta get away

Two weekends + two road trips = too much fun!

A few weeks ago John and I headed out to Kansas for one of my friends wedding. It was a 9 hour drive one way. And two more hours to the wedding. So I figure if I add it all up we spent nearly a complete day in the car. 22 hours. Oddly enough, we both really enjoyed it. Here's some highlights at lightning speed:

1. BBQ, yum. John really liked it. And I had not had ribs in forever.

2. The food at the wedding was really delicious. 

3. Chik-fil-a. I am so excited they are opening one near us. It tasted so good and they gave us a sample of their new peppermint shake. Soooo good! Can't wait to go buy one. It's the little things.

Ok so beyond food, there were other really fun things:

4. Meeting up with an old friend who we rode to the wedding with. Yay for Sara.

5. Shannon's wedding was beautiful!

6. Laughing, singing and talking with my best friend for 18 hours

Last weekend we went our separate ways. John headed to a men's retreat in Indiana with my brother in law and dad, and us ladies (me, mom, and sis) went to Kenosha, WI for a shopping trip, and boy did we. We shopped til we dropped. Saturday we started out with a Panera breakfast and I just have to say that I absolutely LOVE their asiago cheese bagel. So the day started out great. We shopped at the outlets from 10-4. And then went to Cracker Barrel for a much needed hearty meal. Played phase 10 at the hotel and hit the hot tub before crashing. Sunday we visited the Jelly Belly warehouse and got some free samples before heading to Gurnee Mills and doing more shopping. I think I wore my family out but it was some much needed shopping therapy for me.  I did find some great deals, though I did not get as much Christmas shopping done as I had hoped. Oh well. 

A beautiful sunset greeted us as we pulled into the hotel. I had to snap a shot.

At the Bass store with my sis. Pretty warm for the North Pole.

We didn't completely fill the back of Jen's car but we did have quite a bit

No more traveling for a little while. But we do have a Christmas road trip to North Carolina planned so that should be loads of fun.

Fall Changes

This fall season has been wonderfully mild overall and gorgeous as usual. I love the changing leaves. I don't however love the colds that have been going around. I've been fighting with a cold for a few weeks now. I think I am winning, but you just never can tell with these persistent little guys. I think John has begun to get a little congested as well. Hopefully he will fight better than me. 

The squirrel that hangs out on our patio. We named him Wally. He likes to run up and down the wood from our place to the neighbors above us and back down again. 

We've had Star Wars on the brain recently. We had a Halloween party this weekend that we were dressing up for. I had found some discounted Star Wars costumes at a garage sale a few years back so we decided to dress up as a Storm Trooper (me) and Darth Vader (John). It was alot of fun. In preparation we watched the original Star Wars trilogy between last weekend and this one. I hadn't watched them through in quite some time. They were still good. It does boggle my mind though how one trilogy can have such a huge impact on our culture. 

For the same Halloween party I tried to make some cheesy breadsticks to bring. They were called Ooey Gooey Witch Fingers. The picture looked cool so I gave it my best shot. I've never made homemade dough before and I don't think it came out quite like it was supposed to, but I went ahead anyway. They did taste ok but most of the cheese snuck out of the dough while cooking. Sneaky cheese. Anyway, so they were not quite as ooey and gooey, but they did look like witch fingers, or monster fingers. I enjoyed them anyway. 

Next weekend we are going to Kansas for my friends wedding so we only have a 4 day work week. Work has been crazy so I need to work hard for these 4 days. Yay for 4 day weeks. 

Victory for the Customer!

I have definitely been an avid fan of couponing and money saving blogs especially since I have been married. It has been a learning process but I have come so far. I am still no where near as good as the people whose blogs I read, but I am still able to get excited when I can get alot of items for a really good price, or even free.


I recently had read that the new Gain dish soap was on sale at Walmart for $.97. There is a $1.00 of coupon that is around too making these free. I had been to Walmart twice and completely forgot about the coupon until last Saturday. I picked up a few items I needed and was happy to see the Gain still on sale so I picked up that too. Unfortunately for me my cashier would not accept the coupon for $1 off because it was over the $.97. Really? I told her that I know she could do it. (I read like 3 blogs where people bought like 8. I knew 1 was completely acceptable). I asked her if she could just adjust it down then instead of giving me the $.03 extra that proctor and gamble will give them back anyway. She said she would have to check with someone.


She walked away and came back a minute later and said "No, I can't do it." I was already too frusrated at that point to make a bigger deal about it. I honestly don't think she asked anyone. So I asked her to remove the item and I paid for my stuff and left. Honestly, I was way more upset than I needed to be. But it was the principle! I had to know what the deal was and if I was in the right or not so I would know for the future. I might not have been so upset if this wasn't the second time I have had trouble at this Wal-mart. The first time the cashier and even a manager was telling me that my coupon said buy one get one free, even though it said FREE. Sometimes they really just need to read the coupon. Do I really look like I am trying to pull a fast one? I must.


I checked their corporate coupon policy online and did not really state anything about overage with coupons. So I did what any frustrated customer does these days. I wrote a letter via their website to corporate addressing my confusion, the specific incident and how I do not appreciate being treated like a criminal. I sent it off and felt better that I had done my part.


Last week I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted via phone by the manager of the Wal-mart I go to. She was very apologetic and expressed that it definitely is their coupon policy to take those coupons. She said their were had a meeting about it and were having another with cashiers and managers to address coupon policies. It was good to hear from her. Even though I wasn't able to use the coupon before it expired it just felt good to be acknowledged and armed with knowing that next time I will stand my ground and have management backing me up. 


Victory for the customer!

Our Wrigley Adventure

We were blessed by some new friends to get to go to the last home game at Wrigley Field this year to watch the Cubs game. It was a chilly day and I certainly felt more like I was bundling up for a football game than a baseball game. Nonetheless we were prepared to go and have a good time.

We met up with our friends and took the train down there. We got in, got our seats and settled in for some typical Cubs baseball. The Cubs were losing 4-0 in the first inning. Before we even had a chance to eat things were looking sad. John and I each got a hot dog and shared a bag of peanuts, typical ball park food. Gotta love it!

As the game went on it did slowly get better and the Cubs began making a slow come back. It got a little exciting and definitely made the cool breeze less noticeable. Overall, we were just having a fun time at the ball park hanging with some new friends and enjoying America’s favorite pastime. That was, until after the 7^th inning stretch. It was about that time John started not feeling too good.

He left to go to the bathroom, like one typically does when your stomach is churning. Only a few moments passed and an Usher came and got me to tell me my husband was sick and they were taking him to first aid if I wanted to come. Of course I wanted to come. So we all took a field trip to first aid. Not too exciting down there but at least everyone was nice. I found out when we got there that John never made to the bathroom, but he was able to find a garbage and throw up 3 times. He was also incredibly cold and had the chills. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone. I am usually warming myself up on John, not the other way around. His hands were icy. Crazy!

So we just stayed in first aid til the end of the game. John was not looking or feeling so hot (both literally and figuratively). We met up with our friends and had to make the trek back to the car. I felt so bad for John because there weren’t too many options since we had walked and taken the train. He was a trooper though and made it. Not without another trip to the garbage can outside the train station, but at least he made it. Since he just got another round out of his system we figured he could make it to my parents house which was much closer than going all the way home. The bad thing is that we had his car, which is manual and I can’t drive. I felt so helpless because I couldn’t even drive him.

We did make it to my parents house and John just crashed on the bed. He was so cold and ill. We warmed him up with some blankets and hot tea. He rested. It was pretty evident that he was in no shape to drive home so I had to leave him at my parents over night while my dad gave me a lift home. He did throw up one more time before I left and then his temp went up, so that was good. It was hard saying goodbye to my husband and leaving him there sick. I wanted to be there taking care of him. But I know he was in good hands and there wasn’t anything more I could do.

The next day he slept in late and was feeling much better. He was able to work and able to eat dinner. He still seems to be recuperating some of his strength and his stomach is still a little sensitive but he is getting better everyday. We are guessing it must have been food poisoning from something he ate. It must have been from the game, his hot dog? Who knows. Either way, we’re happy he’s doing better and I think it’s a good thing we won’t be going to another game this year. It’s always an adventure!

He’s all better now!

Harvest Chicago Event A Huge Success

The Harvest Crusade has come and gone and I guarantee you it is an event that many will remember for the rest of their lives. Not because they saw a cool concert or heard a great speaker, but because it was the night that they surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. How awesome is that!

I have some thoughts to share from the event as well. It was very emotional for me.

When John and I heard the Crusade was coming we were all excited and ready to jump on board. We wanted to get involved and volunteer and invite people, etc. We were able to get involved and found out how to be ushers or follow up workers. We prayed hard for the event and who we could invite. I prayed a lot for my co-workers. I was ready to load up the Ion van (if we had one) and take the whole company. I was so very ambitious.

The event drew near. A few weeks, a week, a few days, the day of…I didn’t invite anyone. Friday night I went home from work defeated. I felt completely deflated and like such a coward. Why didn’t I ask anyone to go? Is it really that hard? Yes and no. I guess part of me didn’t feel like I have that great of a relationship with anyone at work to be in a position where they would consider it, but I still should have asked.

That being said we ate dinner and headed over to the All-State Arena. It was pretty full by the time we got there. We checked in as follow up workers, got our assignment, our bibles to giveaway and made our way up to the balcony to find a few seats. I could not get over this spirit of defeat within me. Even as the Katina’s began with the worship songs I just felt so oppressed and so ashamed of myself. I asked God to forgive my cowardice but I still felt this hold on my heart. David Crowder came up with his band and began his set. He is really funny and I love his songs but my heart was still aching.

Then he began to sing one of his songs I love.

¯ He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

(Pre-Chorus)
And O how He loves us
Oh, O how He loves us

God’s love was penetrating my heart and I could feel the guilt and the shame dissipating with this renewed realization of the depths of his grace, mercy and love. And then began verse 2

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

He loves us
Oh, O how He loves us

O how He loves us ¯

My heart was turning violently inside of my chest and the tears of shame and regret were turned to tears of joy as I was radically overwhelmed by the love of my Father who loves me despite my weaknesses. I could no longer dwell on the past but I was very much in the present enjoying this moment with my Abba in which He reassured me that He won’t give up on me despite my short comings. A love like this I don’t deserve.  My heart was freed and I was able to enjoy the rest of the worship as I poured out my adoration and thanks to my Savior.

The message that night was good. Greg Laurie is a great speaker and he spoke on the topic of living for something. We all live for something, but only one thing lasts. As he neared the end of his message I was getting nervous. We were going to be going down to the floor soon to follow up with those who gave their lives to Christ. This was a very scary prospect for me. I’m just not very good at talking to people.

Despite my fears, as he asked people to come forward we joined the parade and headed to the floor. They packed us in good and it took a while before he prayed with everyone. After so many people gave their lives to Christ they were supposed to find one of us, counselors, who would give them a bible and some next steps if you will. John found someone right away. I did too, only another lady found her friend and they kinda wanted to be together so I gave her up if you will. And then, everyone had someone already. I felt kinda useless. But I know it wasn’t about me. Honestly, part of me was relieved and the other part was disappointed. But either way, I know I was there and willing so I am proud of myself for following God despite my fears. And it was really cool to be a part of the action if you will and get to see first hand the lives impacted. God was certainly moving.

Saturday night we went just to go. Skillet was playing, which is John’s favorite band, so we didn’t want to miss that. And of course they rocked it! It was a very high energy night and the place was packed. We were sitting almost behind the stage and there were literally no empty seats. People were standing because all the seats were taken. Amazing! The message was another great one, but honestly I can’t tell you exactly what he said. What sticks with me most is what happened when he gave the invitation to come to Christ. The floor where we had been the night before was packed solid. There was no more room for anyone to come down. We sat the top amazed and praying for these soon to be new believers. What a testament to the power of prayer! It was an incredible sight to see!

This is a picture of the packed out floor on Saturday night.
No room left, Praise God!

We were not able to attend on Sunday but I know it had a great turnout as well. In total for all three nights 47,600 were in attendance and 4,758 people made decisions for Christ. Those numbers are staggering. Check out the website to view more stories from the events or to watch the webcast and see for yourself how amazing it was.

Harvest Chicago

The challenge for John and I now is to remember that we don’t need events like this to speak to our neighbors and co-workers about Christ. We need to be looking for opportunities to love others and build relationships everyday.

Gandalf vs. Moses

John and I got into a random discussion last week while doing our devotional together. We were discussing the sermon series which is going through Deuteronomy. In talking about Moses I had the most random thought, "I wonder if the Israelites viewed Moses kinda like the Gandalf of their day." So John and I set right out to see if we could come up with a list of the ways Moses and Gandalf are similar. (Gandalf is the good wizard from Lord of the Rings, just fyi)

Similarities between Gandalf and Moses

1. They both have a "magic" staff
2. They both had white hair and beards
3. They both wore robes
4. They were not conjurers of cheap tricks
5. They were both leaders of quests, Gandalf of the ring, Moses to the promised land
6. They both brought evil empires to their knees

Obviously we know that any of Moses "magic" was the power of God which makes it really that much cooler. That story is 100% true.

Busy Busy Busy

Life has been a little crazy around the Cox residence these last few weeks. Work has picked up for me tremendously. This is both good and bad. Good because I get paid overtime which is nice. However, it's not so great for my sanity and leaves me feeling very exhausted and emotionally drained some nights. It hasn't helped because I've had trouble sleeping the last few weeks as well adding to the stress and exhaustion. But I did sleep better last night, so I am hoping the trend will continue. 

Our schedule has changed some as well. Awana (church kids club) began last week and we are leaders for a group of kindergarten boys. They are really cute and I think it's gonna be alot of fun. It is somewhat of a rush for both of us to get there on time though. And then we have our new bible study group that started as well. Although we have merged with a new group and more than doubled in size it has been a real blessing and I am so encouraged already. It's great to continue to meet new people and grow with them. 

We have been able to play tennis a few more times and even got in a doubles match with some friends. We are enjoying that and hope the weather will stay nice enough to play some more. 

Random thoughts:

Hot tea is so wonderful! It's so soothing and relaxing. Hot tea and cookies is even better. Hot tea and cookies and a good book or tv show....life is good. 

We've Reached a Goal

As many of you know from our Christmas newsletter we've been following Dave Ramsey's steps to financial freedom. We've been working on Baby Step 3 (Saving 3-6 months living expenses) for about a year. As of two weeks ago we reached that goal!!!  God has been so faithful to provide and sometimes I am amazed that we got there so quickly. 

No sooner had we celebrated our victory then John's car had to have a major repair. However, that just happened to be same week I got my 2 yr bonus at work, had overtime in my paycheck and got our ComEd Refund check in the mail. Needless to say, God provided in a big way and we didn't have to touch the money set aside. It was such a great reminder of God's provision and care for us, no matter what.

We've been a little slow to start moving on to the next step but I am excited that we've made it this far. We don't know what the future holds but at least we know Who holds it.

Becky's Rants and Raves:
Ok, so this is my time to get a little off my chest. I think it's because God has blessed me with sound financial teaching from an early age and wisdom that I have never been a huge spender. Plus, I've never been one to have to keep up with the latest fashions or trends. And yes, I realize that I probably have no sense of style, but I'm ok with that. 


I do and don't understand why people think the way they do about money. I know that doesn't make sense, but let me explain. I understand why people can be influenced to think they need everything now, even if they can't afford it. Advertising and marketing in our country is extremely seductive! Credit is readily available and if you interviewed 10 random people, probably 9 of them have some sort of debt whether it's a car payment, or college loan or mortgage. So this message that it's ok to spend what you don't have is out there. 


However, what I don't understand is why people buy into it. To me all it takes is a little common sense to understand that you don't spend what you don't have. When you are teaching children about money you might take them to the store and say, "Here is 1 dollar. You can buy whatever you want with this dollar." So they look and decide and bring you what they want. It adds up to $2. So what do you tell them? Well, normally a good parent who is teaching them would tell them they have too many things and need to put something back. You help them learn that they can only get $1 worth of goods for the $1 they have on hand. 


So what happens when we grow up? All those rules don't apply anymore? They should. Our national government and state departments are all broke. Why? Because they spent what they didn't have and borrowed what they couldn't pay back. Obviously it's no wonder society followed their lead. We really need to get back to the basics. I tend to agree with Dave about getting rid of credit cards. Cash is a sure fire way to control spending. $2 is $2, not $500 that you can spend now and pay back over the course of your life. 


I am passionate about this topic and feel like I have some personal knowledge and experience with it. I understand sometimes life throws crazy circumstances at you and not everyone has a choice, but most of us do. I have not made perfect financial decisions and I do regret some choices I've made, but overall I am very happy that from a young age I never got hooked on credit. If I wanted something I saved for it and then bought it.  I do consider myself so blessed to have had parents that could help with some major expenses and I realize that is not the case for many either. However, instead of throwing away the money I did have I was able to save. This allowed my husband and I to be debt free early on in our marriage. It is a huge blessing to know that we wont' miss any payments no matter what happens on the job front. And now with our savings even if a job loss occurs we are covered for a little while. There is so much freedom in that. 


I'm not saying all this to brag. If anything I brag that God's financial plan works. Try it out. Save and then spend, not the other way around. Don't let our credit driven, you need it now, culture get it's grip on you. Just like you should say no to drugs, say no to credit! Say no to debt! 

Labor Day Weekend 2010

Work has been extremely crazy for me lately and I definitely welcomed this 3 day weekend. While we did do some relaxing we had a very full and fun weekend starting with Saturday morning. We woke up early to head to Bloomington, IL with some of John's extended family that lives nearby. We were able to visit with some of John's relatives down there that haven't seen him in a l-o-n-g time, so that was really neat.

A restored Camaro that John couldn't wait to check out

While down there we were able to pick some apples from family backyards. I came home with 3 huge bags of apples. So most of Sunday was spent making apple things: applesauce, apple cobbler and apple ice cream to accompany it. We got to eat the cobbler and ice cream today and it was good! I love free food!

I know John really loved being out there in the "country" as well. And I even enjoyed a little more space. Got me thinking it might not be so bad to move out of the city a little bit more.

Wind turbines graced much of the landscape we saw

Sunday, as I mentioned was our apple cooking day and grocery shopping and dishes and dinner. It was a busy day. Though we did get some tennis in too. I really am enjoying playing tennis with John so much! We are both about the same level so it's really competitive and we have to play hard to be in contention to win. It's a great workout!

Today we met up at my sister's house with my parents and had a relaxing time. Played a little tennis, ate alot and watched some Office episodes. It's always nice to have a laid back day chillin' with the family. Overall it was such a great weekend. I am not ready to head back into the craziness but I know it is only for a season. Speaking of seasons. I know fall is fast approaching but I was also able to enjoy the art of summer this weekend too and I leave you with a few parting pieces of summer art.

Weekend Fun

We have had such a full weekend and yet so productive. The highlights for me are varied but all wonderful. My least favorite part had to be Saturday morning because both of us were working. My job has been crazy lately which is good for the company and I suppose it’s nice to get a little overtime too. But the fun started after work. 

We had some errands to run which doesn’t sound too exciting but they were fun errands. First stop Staples to get some ink and paper. I didn’t even know the paper had a rebate offer with it so after we get the rebate (which you could submit online) then the ream will have been 50 cents, which is really cheap. Yay. When they say easy rebate, they really mean it. I am now a Staples fan.

Second stop was one of our now favorite burger places Five Guys. I was privileged to have frequented there on the east coast during my Camfel days. That was the only place they were located at the time and I was sad to leave them behind. But apparently they understood what a good thing they had going and have started opening them all over the country. There are 2 within 20 minutes of our house now. It’s a beautiful thing. They have really good burgers and fries. Needless to say, we always love it when we can splurge a little and have lunch there. 

Third stop was Sports Authority. We had a $10 gift card and had decided a few weeks ago that we were going to invest in a couple tennis rackets. So we did. Then later we went out and played tennis again. John and I are pretty even which is good because we really push each other and bring out the best, and sad to say, worst in each other. But isn’t that what a good marriage is all about? Helping you fine tune the best and bringing the worst to light so you can work on that too? All that to say, it was not my best performance tonight but I hung in there and did win one set.

This evening flipping through the channels looking for something to relax and watch we stumbled across WttW and the Rock Symphony with David Garrett. At first I just wanted to check it out but then I found myself intrigued. It was really good and I feel like such a nerd for saying that but so be it. I am a nerd. I think that the symphony / rock mix is a really complex and beautiful sound. He played a wide variety as well. I enjoyed it as background music as I sat here writing. 

The only other thing I did tonight was write my review of Jurassic Park, the book. You should check it out. 

Second Birthday Celebration

     This weekend marked the second celebration of John's birthday. He received some cool gifts which he wants to show off. So I'll let him and the pictures speak for themselves.

Even though our first choice of restaurant happened to be closed we went to Plan B and it worked out great. Headed to Sports Bar named the Anthem Grill. Here John was able to watch most of the Braves game and we all enjoyed good food.

Last night we had a lovely evening eating outside at Olive Garden. I love eating outside in the summer on a night when it is not too buggy. The main reason is due to the fact that I am not cold and don't need to bring a jacket. I am so thankful for air conditioning, but boy do they keep places cold!

This afternoon we also got new phones from Verizon and it's definitely an upgrade from what we had before so that is exciting too. However, now I have to learn a new phone

Julie & Julia

     John is working late tonight which has actually been a blessing. We could definitely use the hours but it is not often I have some girl time. Plus, I am actually get caught up on blogging which is great since I want to make the launch official already.

     I think that the movie I indulged in tonight probably gave me the extra boost I needed as well.

Julie & Julia was such a good chick flick. I know it wouldn't have been John's first choice but it was the perfect movie for me tonight. It definitely inspired me to venture out with my cooking a little more and try some things I am intimidated by. We'll see how that goes. I will keep you posted if I try anything very daring. As it was I was scarfing down grilled cheese, chips and ice cream. Not exactly french gourmet but it sure was tasty.
     I do miss my husband though and am happy that he has a job where working nights or being away from home over night is not a part of the regular routine. I know many couples have to work through that and it's do-able, but not ideal.

Celebrating John's Birthday

     John turned 29 yesterday and it's hard to believe that we are both pushing 30 now. I feel sometimes that life is just getting started. We celebrated all weekend and will continue to celebrate this coming weekend. We headed downtown to Navy Pier. We had planned this in advance and then were pleasantly surprised when the City of Chicago decided to give us the added bonus of the Air & Water Show. Happy Birthday indeed!
     So we took the train down there and were blessed with the perfect day. Seriously, there was not a cloud in the sky! There was a nice breeze and it was not a scorcher though it was plenty hot enough. We were even given free Red Bull upon arrival. We also obtained a free "lunch" of pita chips and hummus samples while we joined the crowds camped out to watch the show from the pier.

    
     Watching planes fly is not really one of my top fascinations in life but I did enjoy it and I know John loved it. Mostly I just thought about the fact that if I was in that plane flying my free lunch would have been worthless because I would not have had time to digest it before it would have been out of my system once again. Lovely thoughts. We agreed they must have stomachs of steel.
     We had fun walking around, enjoying the beautiful weather, riding the ferris wheel and playing in the sprinkler. It was a picture perfect day. Thank you Lord for the gift you gave us today.
     Monday night we went out to eat to celebrate John's actual birthday. Gotta love Red Robin coupons. They have the best burgers. I always have the hardest time deciding what to order because everything is so good and there are so many choices. I settled on a fried chicken burger and John got the regular Robin burger. Both were really good. I was worried that our waiter was not going to bring John's birthday sundae but at the last possible moment he brought it. Sigh of relief. Last year they didn't give John a sundae but this year everything is alright.

Welcome!

     John and I would like to welcome you to our blog! Since we have not been doing a great job keeping up with newsletters we thought this might be a good way to keep you all updated more regularly. Also, since I'm trying to keep up with the book review blog it seemed like a good addition. So you can keep up with both if you want to. I really am going to try my hardest to keep up with both of them. We love you all and hope to keep up with all of you as well. 

     We definitely want to share with you all of our crazy adventures and the many things God is doing in our lives. Can't wait to fill you in on all of them. Let the adventures continue...

John & Becky