Going to the chapel...

...and going on Safari! My small group is in a baking frenzy this weekend to make dessert for our small group leader's wedding. Instead of having a single ginormous wedding cake, they asked friends to contribute their own unique wedding cake creations. According to the groom, it's a southern tradition...And I have the most fun job of creating cupcakes for the kids! Since the reception's at the zoo, I topped the cupcakes with safari animals!
It's really relaxing for me to be in the zone of baking. I woke up early this morning, spent some time with the Lord...and then cranked up some music so that I could forget about my worries and just blast that icing away. I love being creative with fun food! BTW, I made some coffee this morning, forgetting I'm out of creamer and my fridge isn't working well anyway...so I threw in a dollop of icing. Not bad! Try it sometime!

One of those days...

One of my favorite books of all time is "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." I'm having one of those days. It started at 5:00 this morning when my car wouldn't start. I woke up my not so chipper husband to take me to work. He was a little grumpy when he returned home and was able to easily jump my car and thought I just forgot to flip off my car light. Right? Wrong.
Our lovely office manager at 91.5 WCIC (love ya, Katie!) drove me home to retrieve my car and it wouldn't start again! So she graciously drove me to my doctor's appointment. I endured a painful and expensive procedure with inconclusive results. Great. When that was over, I called my husband to pick me up from the doctor's office and take me to get the car fixed.
At this point Jeff was very apologetic for being in a bad mood and was incredibly sweet. The highlight of my day? Getting a hug from my husband. Another low point of my day? Taking my '96 Camry to the mechanic who's so sick of my car problems, he doesn't even want to fix them. He advised that I buy a new car. It's gonna cost several hundred dollars to fix everything that's wrong. Is it worth it? Well, I don't have a lot of leisure time to make this decision.
I was actually planning on driving to Chicago to see my parents one last time before they leave for Hawaii. Now that's out of the question.
So I figured I should get started on those cupcakes I promised to make for a wedding tomorrow! Jeff & I rushed to the store to purchase baking supplies so I could get started on the treats. However, when I stepped foot in the kitchen, a puddle spanning half the kitchen floor pooled around my heels. Ugh...the refrigerator is broken, too!
So as I type this, I'm sopping wet from kitchen clean-up. When will this day end??? I broke down and cried for a few minutes.
I think I'll put everything aside for now, take a deep breath, and PPRRAAAAAYYYYY super hard for the Lord to give me patience and trust that even though my life is messy at the moment, He will see me through and someday everything will make sense. What I really want to do is throw my dishes at the door to vent frustration...but that'll just lead to more clean-up!

Apple Picking

My parents took off about an hour ago. Sniff, sniff. Sigh. I'm sad to see them go. It was kind of bizarre to invite them into my Midwestern world. After taking tons of pictures of our adventures I realized that I failed to include them in even a single snapshot. Darn! Anyway, the kids and I took my (step)father to Tanner's Orchard on Monday. My mom had a stomachache, so she stayed behind. The kids had fun racing through the orchards to fill our bag with apples.

My apologies to the orchard if kids aren't allowed to climb trees! It was Max's favorite part of the experience...Of course in hindsight, I thought, "Gosh, Max was the only kid climbing trees at that place. Maybe it's prohibited." I'm not always the most thoughtful, what can I say? I enjoyed watching the kids roam around farmland, breathe fresh air and sample the caramel corn and apple cider.

The highlight of Delaney's day was catching a caterpillar she named Tiger. He's a darling furry creature who resembles fuzzy wire. As I type this I'm watching him crawl around a glass vase we cleaned out for him. The kids made me promise to give him fresh grass when they're away from our house. It's their pet. Isn't that pathetic? I'd like to get them a dog or something to really love on!

To cap off our day, we went swimming in an outdoor pool--in 60 degree weather and whipping winds. Delaney insisted we take advantage of my parents' hotel accommodations. Not the brightest idea! Of course, I jumped in the pool with the kids because they pleaded with me to play with them. Again, not the brightest idea. Oh, well. We made some sweet memories together.

Lazy Sunday

I'm trying to enjoy my lazy Sunday morning but I've got pangs of guilt. I skipped church. As a matter of fact, my entire family did. It took a ton of arm twisting of my husband to agree to this. But I plead my case: (a) I've got a migraine. (b) My week's been crazy busier than usual and I need a break. (c) My parents are coming into town today.
Now just to be clear, I'm not an advocate of making church-skipping a habit. As a family we benefit tremendously from fellowshipping with other Christ-followers, worshiping the Lord in a corporate setting, and hearing the Lord speak through our pastor. And it's especially important for the kids to learn about the Lord in their Sunday school classes.
Jeff was kind of disappointed when the kids let out a resounding, "YAAAAAYYYY!!!" when I said we wouldn't be going to church today. But I don't think that means they don't enjoy church. I just think that--like me--they enjoy a change of pace and one day of unstructured time together as a family...with no expectations and no rushing around and getting dressed by a certain time to be somewhere.
This is the first time we've missed a church service as a family. And probably our last. So why do I feel so guilty? We engaged our Bible study small group on Friday night and served with other small group members on Saturday...But Jeff feels especially bad for missing Sunday service.
Oh, well...we'll still make time to honor the Lord in what we say and do today...I've got 91.5 WCIC's "Call to Worship" blaring in the background as the kids are engrossed in making a "Welcome Back" banner for my parents. Oh, and did I mention I'm pulling the children out of school tomorrow to pick apples with my parents? :)

Dominion

Every night is game night in my house. So for our anniversary I purchased a card game for Jeff called "Dominion" and WE LOVE IT!!! I especially enjoy it because I beat Jeff four times in a row! Tonight we taught the kids how to play and we're now addicted as a family. It's a great game for just two adult players or a family of four. So...I'm just dashing a quick note to enthusiastically recommend a fun, family-friendly game you should try!

Pumpkins galore

Pumpkin season's in full swing. Max was given the school assignment of decorating a pumpkin...Of course I thought, "Let's make it a Hawaiian pumpkin!" Palm trees for eyes...flowers for hair...a lei for a smile. I MISS HAWAII!!! I get terribly homesick this time of year. I can't wait to go back home. I'm excited that my parents are coming in from Hawaii next week for a few days. Now I've gotta think of how to entertain them. Maybe pumpkin picking at an orchard?

Speaking of pumpkins, I actually had fun walking in the Morton Pumpkin Festival. I was dreading it because I fear public speaking and the thought of waving to thousands of strangers as I passed by with the 91.5 WCIC station van made me break out in a sweat. But my mother-in-law and cousin-in-law (pictured w/me) graciously agreed to walk by my side for moral support. Thanks, ladies! It was also nice to see our wonderful listeners enjoying the festivities and cheering on their support. You guys are the best!

Pain in the Back

I got a frantic phone call from my husband yesterday afternoon (just as I was ready to slip into bed for a cat nap). He asked me to send over pain-killers for a bad back pain. I guess he felt the pain shoot into his lower back at noon and it's been pulsating ever since. He called in sick for the first time today. Jeff won't see a doctor...but does insist on cookies and milk in his bed-ridden state. Some things never change no matter the pain! But seriously, I'm concerned that it could be an ailment that deserves medical attention. If you have any ideas for treating back pain let me know!