Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Motorcycle Mama


My daughter loves to play dress up- princess, ballerina, motorcycle mama- you name it. Usually she drags me into playing it with her and I love it! I am so glad she is my constant reminder to play and have fun.

She makes me laugh and brings me joy all the time.
But it is mutual..
I'll do silly things and she just giggles like it is the best and funniest thing in the world.

Thank God for kids that remind us life is to enjoy!

Rejoice

I wanted to write a special post for my little cousin.

There is a meaningful verse in the Bible that says we are to "rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn." My cousin and I have had our share of mourning in our lives. Through each trial my cousin has always been there to listen to me and show me support. I hope I have done the same for her. We have been to funerals of each other's parents, walked through infertility issues and all the emotions around that and just shared more mourning than someone our age should have to deal with, in my opinion.

However, there is a beautiful flip side to that verse; when the good times comes, we are to rejoice.

My cousin is going to be a mom- after five years of trying, tears, confusion, lots of phone calls trying to process it all.. she is now carrying twins. I can't tell you what it was like to get that phone call from her with the news. Having walked on the mourning side with a person for a long season, it is wonderful to now dance on the rejoicing side for awhile.

I can't wait to hold my baby cousins and see my cousin as a mom. I'm excited to swap kid stories and talk about what kind of diaper cream works best and how to deal with our kids as they have their first crush.

It is a long awaited season and I am so happy!

Friday, September 17, 2010

My Week...

Highlights from the week..

FARMER'S MARKET- Finally went to the Dane Co. famer's market a week ago with friends. Super fun. They have their routine of where they go for coffee and bread, etc.. and it was so fun to tag along and enjoy the market.

FOOD CARTS- For our day off this week we headed downtown and grabbed lunch from one of the food carts. So great. The weather this week has been amazing, so we ate outside on the capital square, while Liliana chased squirrels and gathered acorns.

WEDNESDAYS WITH WALT- I already wrote a post about our weekly family tradition, but this Wed I have to say was the best calzone I have ever made.. I actually was a little short on flour, so I adjusted my recipe a bit and it was delicious. Chris talked about the calzone for days. We also watched the first half of Snow White. (we only make it through half a movie at a time since Liliana is still young for an entire movie)

STARBUCKS PARTY- The Starbucks down the street from us was hosting a party on behalf of a club in Madison that helps cancer patients. Liilana and I walked up there today and they had a huge tent outside with a band, free coffee and several cakes to choose from, and door prizes. Go Starbucks.

WEDDING #3- We went to an outdoor wedding of a couple from our church. She is from Sweden and he is from Colorado, so this was actually their third wedding ceremony. Their real wedding was in Sweden a month ago. But most of the groom's relatives could not make it, so they had a US wedding in his home town. Then they decided to have a third ceremony in Madison, where they both live and work. What bride gets to wear her dress 3 times? How great is that.
It was laid back with empanadas, Mexican sodas and having them share their vows again. I was super impressed to hear that for their first wedding, the groom practiced his vows in Swedish so he could say them at the wedding since the bride's family does not speak English. Very impressive. We really like this couple and it was so great to share in their ceremony locally.

Fun week! We'll see what adventures await us this following week.

Monday, September 13, 2010

It's Been a Year!!

Yesterday marked the official 1 year anniversary of our church. Wow, what a year!

All of our classes on church planting talked about how church planting is one of the most amazing things you could do, but also the toughest. They were totally right. We have worked harder this year than I have ever worked in my life. (And that is saying a lot consider I am Greek and we have a very strong work ethic)

Last weekend we heard from 2 different people who have been part of our church, but relocated due to job/school. One is a single guy and he just called to check in with Chris and let us know how things were going for him. I appreciated the phone call so much and realized how much he really did connect with God and our community this past year.

The other was from a family that came to our church last summer, while we were still doing our informal services. At that point we didn't have childcare and we were meeting in a small hotel room as a group just to figure out how to do our public services and work out logistics. They came and for some reason stuck around. They moved a few weeks ago and before they left we had them over for dinner. They shared some rather profound ways that our church impacted their lives and marriage this past year and I was so encouraged. Sometimes you are just doing what you do and you have no idea what a difference it is making in someone else.

Now, we start a brand new year. We have an engaged couple who talked to us yesterday about pre-marital counseling. I was thinking about the privilege it is to walk with a couple in that season of life and help them build a strong foundation for their future marriage. We have new faces; we have our committed friends who relocated to a new state to help us start this church; we have people branching out this fall to lead classes and help with groups and worship.

Our church is vibrant and growing and is FUN. I can't wait to go to church on Sunday and see our little community gathered. I feel like a mom in some ways- I am proud of the people in my church, I love them, I want to see God do good things in their lives, I get concerned for them, and I carry them in my heart.

I am so thankful for this past year. It has been a great journey and I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

Friday, September 10, 2010

LHOTP

I was at the library the other day and brought home the dvd from season 1 of.. Little House on the Prairie. Chris saw it on the counter and said, “Really?” (which is a clear indicator that I will be watching the dvd by myself, instead of in his company)

So, I admit that I have LHOTP. There you have it.

I’ve never really seen the show before. I probably caught a few mintues here or there but don’t think I’ve ever seen an entire episode.

I am now a fan.

I love seeing the family interact, enjoy simple pleasures of life, have time in the evenings to be creative, work hard when it's time to work and rest when it's time to rest. I have to say I even brought up one of the episodes yesterday in a conversation- I guess I am getting inspired by this pioneer family.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

More encouragement...

Along the adoption front, we just received an unexpected card and inside was a check for $250. Inside was a note that they wanted to pass this along for our next adoption. Wow.

Last time, with Liliana, I kept a running log of all the encouraging words and gifts along the way. I wanted her to see God's hand in her life and I also wanted to be reminded of his hand in my life too.

So, my list is growing for adoption #2. I am excited!

Madison Culture

As we are in our 2nd year of living in Madison, we are branching out to experience more of the Wisconsin culture and sights.

This weekend we watched the Mad City Ski Team with some friends. I never knew that water skiing was a competitive sport, but it is. Each Sunday night the ski team does pyramids and tricks at Lake Monona and people can watch. I thought it was going to be totally cheezy, but we ended up having a fun time with the group of friends.

Then for Labor day we attended a Brewers vs. Cardinals baseball game. I have not converted to a Brewers fan after all those years living in St. Louis- don't think it will happen. However, this was my first experience tail gating- what a blast! All of our parking garages in St. Louis are either covered or are street parking, but in Milwaukee they have a huge open lot and everyone goes early to grill and tail gate before the game. Super fun. It was also Liliana's first baseball game and she loved it. One of the couples that went to the game are grandparent figures to Liliana and she adores them. They made it so fun for her and we made a big deal every time Bernie the Brewer came out in his costume or when music would be played. It was one of my most memorable and fun games I have been to.

Next weekend more Madison adventures await. We have plans to go to the Farmer's Market with some folks for the first time. I am excited to finally experience that.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Wednesdays with Walt

We started this family tradition several weeks ago.
On Wednesday nights we make home made pizza. Liliana has her own mini rolling pin and pizza pan so she can help. Then we watch a Walt Disney movie together. I realized that there are several classics I have never seen or have completely forgotten about the story line. Plus, there are some fun new ones out there.


Week 1- PRINCESS and the FROG


First of all, I loved how they tied in the culture of New Orleans and Louisiana into this movie. The music was fun and dynamic. I also like the fact that the princess was African American and loved to cook!




Also, even though I don't promote voodoo, every movie has evil portrayed in one sense or another. I thought it was clever using that to portray the evil, again reinforcing the culture of the movie. (Although we had to fast forward part of that so Liliana wouldn't be scared) All in all I was totally impressed with how the culture came through this film. I love anything diverse and cultural, so it was easy for me to like it.

And.. after all that New Orleans has been through in the past few years, it was great to see a movie that celebrates the city and culture there.

I know this has nothing to do with the plot or characters. But I was impressed with the setting in this film and enjoyed it.