Happy Birthday, Delaney!

Delaney is celebrating her 10th birthday! I truly can't believe she's entered the double digit phase. She's growing into quite the young lady. When I tucked her into bed last night she asked me to tell her the story of when we first met. I distinctly remember being at Jeff's dinner table with Delaney and Max whizzing around, and they were totally oblivious to me and how we'd change each other's lives. My how time flies.

Delaney was so excited by her many fabulous presents! Her grandparents spoiled her with tons of fabulous gifts, including a CD player, books galore, a pretty dress, a music box and turtle earrings. Jeff & I bought her some clothes and a Wii fit! She desperately wanted the Wii Fit which surprised me at first...it seemed like an odd request for a kid. But she liked the hula hoop and snowboarding game. I think it'll be fun for the whole family. As I blog, Jeff just stepped on the Wii board. It flashed that he's overweight and his fitness age is 52! Wow. We've got lots of work to do.
Anyway, it's cake and ice cream for tonight in celebration of Delaney's life. We love her.

Eggs-travaganza!

Imagine a park filled with 15,000 eggs! Easter came a little early for Max and Delaney...Jeff and I took them to Detweiller Park because the Jaycees hosted a monster egg hunt. I bumped into an old colleague of mine from WMBD who's in the Jaycees club and she said they rolled out 15,000 plastic eggs for the kids to find! It was amazing to see the swarm of hundreds of kids racing around in the cold, rainy weather to gather candy-filled eggs. Max was thrilled to have gathered 70 eggs of his own! Each of the kids also won a prize of a little basket and bunny.

This Easter egg event is apparently among the largest in Central Illinois...normally they even have carnival games and Fun-on-the-Run rides...but with the bad weather they weren't able to offer all those options to the kids. Nonetheless, they had a blast!

You know Easter eggs are a symbol of life in many countries, and of course, in the United States, the Easter egg hunt is a popular festive activity. I think it's such a fun tradition that brings joy to so many children...but I also hope in the midst of all the fun, we don't lose the true meaning of Easter as we honor the death and resurrection of Christ.

Pray for Scott!

So...Scott called me last night and said, "Cat, I've got some bad news. My doctor says I've got a detached retina and I need to have emergency surgery tomorrow morning...but that's not all--I'll be out of work for at least the next two weeks!" My gut reaction was that he was playing an early April Fool's joke on me! He's such a prankster. But alas, he's serious...And he could really use your prayers as he goes into surgery this morning. He has a bunch of eye complications on top of this one so pray for healing, a speedy recovery, and minimal pain...and pray for patience for our morning show listeners as they learn to just put up with me. I don't know if I can do the show without him for that long!

Swatch watch...is this the 80s?

Jeff broke the beautiful, expensive watch I gave him for his birthday two years ago (it was the very first present I ever gave my husband, BTW). So...Jeff decided to purchase the tackiest, cheapest swatch watch I've ever seen on eBay. As soon as Delaney walked into the house last night she took a look at Jeff's wrist and asked, "What on earth is that?" Max is fascinated by the lack of numbers and the huge circle dot in the center of the watch. It's embarrassing. Like a bad flashback to the 80s. I can't believe Jeff wears this to work! He looks like he's having a mid-life crisis. But I love him anyway.

Shreddin' the Gnar

Imagine being in a packed auditorium with thousands of screaming teens, raging hormones and all! Jeff and I had a blast hanging out with the youth group that Scott's wife ministers to. I've got a newfound respect for Susie. She's got this uncanny ability to love and relate to all the kids. They're so lucky to have her. And Jeff and I felt lucky to be a part of the whole Dare 2 Share experience. Tons of kids gave their lives to Christ, shared the gospel with their friends, or re-dedicated their lives. The worship music was incredible...and the speakers energized the teens with their enthusiasm to spread the gospel. Zane Black taught us some new lingo--Shreddin' the Gnar. It's a term that originated in the early days of skateboarding. It means to go big, never stop, and don't give up.

I think the six middle school girls who Jeff and I chaperoned got the message...in between doing their hair, guy watching, and texting non-stop! Man did they make me feel ancient! The seven of us were packed in a hotel room, so I offered to sleep on the floor so that two girls could sleep on the bed. One girl said, "Well, you're old so you could take the bed!" Zinger. It's true that I'm double their age! I'm so used to being the young one next to Jeff. While the girls were all darling--so precious and sweet--it made me dread the day when Delaney becomes a teen!

Unfortunately we had to hit the road earlier than planned on Saturday because of the impending snowstorm. We arrived back in Peoria at 11pm...and woke up to this incredible white mess. I'm posting this picture for the benefit of my family in Hawaii. Yes, it snows here in the Midwest even in the spring!
After this experience, Jeff and I really want to do something ministry-related together, as a team. He's so much fun to be with and I wouldn't have had nearly as good of a time if he wasn't by my side. I'm so lucky to have him. In my fantasy world, I would have Jeff all to myself, 24/7 and live in a big city.
But alas, reality intervenes...and it's back to the grind tomorrow. I should've taken the day off. I'm so sleep-deprived!

Dare 2 Share

Jeff and I could really use your prayers today. We're heading to St. Louis in mid-afternoon with a bus packed with 100 teenagers! I'm sleep-deprived already, so I can't imagine how I'll feel tomorrow morning when the alarm sounds early for the Dare 2 Share conference. I'm sleeping in a hotel room with six middle school girls! Scott & Jeff are rooming together with a couple of boys.
The mission of "Dare 2 Share" is to energize and equip teenagers to know, live and share their faith in Christ. Statistics show that 2 out of 3 Christian teens will leave the church once they graduate high school. I wish I could've attended a conference like this when I was a kid. I think it would've helped me to avoid some pitfalls in my college years.
Anyway, I'm not sure what this experience will be like. We've not really worked with teens before...I'm kind of anxious about the experience and just pray that Jeff and I have supernatural patience and just enjoy interacting with the kids...and that we don't lose them when we canvass the streets of St. Louis!

Picture Day!

I love my husband's creative spirit. Yesterday Jeff rushed home from work eager to gather up the family to take photos in the Warehouse district in Peoria. We're sorely lacking family photos in our home and Jeff is enthused about a tripod he recently purchased. I reluctantly agreed and changed out of my glasses and sweatpants. Well, I should've taken a closer look at the forecast--it was so windy, what on earth was I thinking wearing a dress?

Winds felt like they were gusting at 25 m.p.h. The kids were grimacing. I nearly gave Delaney a concussion...Jeff had me hold up a dilapidated door. As soon as he let go to rush towards the camera as the wind knocked it down, I screamed and Delaney escaped from under me just in time. I still have a bruise on my side thanks to that door...and Laney said her head ached.

Max wanted to take pictures of me and Laney, so this is a snapshot from him.

Jeff took some photos of the kids playing with the wheelbarrow. I thought this snapshot was kind of cute.

I have a feeling we'll be returning to downtown Peoria to take more photos. These didn't turn out the best...the sun was coming down and it was freezing...we weren't color-coordinated. And we should probably bring an actual photographer with us next time. Are there any good spots to take pictures around Peoria that you know of? Let me know!