Today I came home from meeting a new girl at an Indian Restaurant and there was a note attached to my door. I opened it up and it was a hand made thank you note from our upstairs neighbors. It made my day!
Our first week here Liliana had a hard time going to sleep in her new environment. My daughter has LOUD pipes, so she was wailing at the top of her lungs at some points and just couldn’t be calmed down. I have never lived in an apartment before, so I had no idea if our neighbors could hear and if they officially hated us for moving in. So, I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies that Liliana and I could deliver to the neighbors as a way to meet them and apologize for them having to deal with her adjustment. Last week I met the girls upstairs- they are sisters and have a cat that Liliana loves. When I gave them the cookies at first, they seemed like they didn’t know how to take me and to be honest I kind of felt like June Cleaver minus the pearls. Anyway, they assured me that they couldn’t hear Liliana and welcomed me to Madison.
Then today was their sweet note thanking me for the delicious cookies. I like these girls already!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Madison or Bust
Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks of taking the biggest step of faith in my life. We packed up all of our belongings, filled a U-haul, trailer and back of a truck and moved to Madison, WI to start a new church. We still haven't sold our home back in the St Louis area, yet we both felt in the deepest place of our heart God nudging us that it was time to step out and that He would take care of us each step of the way.
So, here we are.
As we were driving up, we didn't even know if we were going to have a place to stay. We literally called an apartment manager at a gas station to see if they had received and approved our application. We got to Madison, looked at the apartment and then went and signed papers 15 minutes before the office closed.
It still feels a bit surreal that we are actually living here and I sometimes find myself feeling like I am just on a YWAM outreach. Yet as each day unfolds we continue to feel God is in this and our hearts are connecting more and more with our new community.
We actually love our apartment and our area of town. Chris walks to work, it is so close. Less than 2 miles is our favorite microbrewery. We walk to great parks and trails, the library... Madison is a super fun town and we really really like it here.
I can't wait to see how this next phase of our lives unfold!
So, here we are.
As we were driving up, we didn't even know if we were going to have a place to stay. We literally called an apartment manager at a gas station to see if they had received and approved our application. We got to Madison, looked at the apartment and then went and signed papers 15 minutes before the office closed.
It still feels a bit surreal that we are actually living here and I sometimes find myself feeling like I am just on a YWAM outreach. Yet as each day unfolds we continue to feel God is in this and our hearts are connecting more and more with our new community.
We actually love our apartment and our area of town. Chris walks to work, it is so close. Less than 2 miles is our favorite microbrewery. We walk to great parks and trails, the library... Madison is a super fun town and we really really like it here.
I can't wait to see how this next phase of our lives unfold!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Animal Lover??
Yesterday Chris and I had a lunch date while my sister watched Liliana. We had a little more time before we had to head back, so Chris wanted to run by Borders because Tuesday is the "new release" day for music, books and movies. He likes to keep up with all that stuff. So, we went in and somehow I ended up in the children's section.
They had several Mother's Day books on display, so I picked a few up and started to read. One in particular was so amazing. It showed all these mother animals with their babies and how each one loved them in a special way- the kangaroo mom held her baby and they hopped along; the rhinoceros mom played in the water with her baby.. on and on. I just loved flipping the pages and seeing all these animals show their babies love in a way unique to them.
So, today I go to work and in the Yochum's garage is their cat sitting in a cushioned box. As I looked closer tiny kittens were nestled next to her, getting their nourishment. I knew their cat was pregnant, but we weren't expecting kittens for a few more weeks. It turns out that last night she gave birth to 6 kittens.
I did not grow up on the farm, so this was my first time to see tiny baby kittens and the sight was so precious. The Mom, Friskey, looked so proud as she sat with her babies next to her and the 6 kittens so frail. Their eyes were not yet opened and they just shook. It was such a display of tender beauty.
What's crazy is that if you know me, you'll know that I am NOT an animal lover. Not at all. Yet, lately I have been asking God to open my eyes more to His beauty in new ways. It just so happens that the animal mom book and Friskey's birth displayed such a tender side of God. Truly beautiful!
They had several Mother's Day books on display, so I picked a few up and started to read. One in particular was so amazing. It showed all these mother animals with their babies and how each one loved them in a special way- the kangaroo mom held her baby and they hopped along; the rhinoceros mom played in the water with her baby.. on and on. I just loved flipping the pages and seeing all these animals show their babies love in a way unique to them.
So, today I go to work and in the Yochum's garage is their cat sitting in a cushioned box. As I looked closer tiny kittens were nestled next to her, getting their nourishment. I knew their cat was pregnant, but we weren't expecting kittens for a few more weeks. It turns out that last night she gave birth to 6 kittens.
I did not grow up on the farm, so this was my first time to see tiny baby kittens and the sight was so precious. The Mom, Friskey, looked so proud as she sat with her babies next to her and the 6 kittens so frail. Their eyes were not yet opened and they just shook. It was such a display of tender beauty.
What's crazy is that if you know me, you'll know that I am NOT an animal lover. Not at all. Yet, lately I have been asking God to open my eyes more to His beauty in new ways. It just so happens that the animal mom book and Friskey's birth displayed such a tender side of God. Truly beautiful!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Random humourous moments
Liliana loves to put my winter tukes on over her entire face and walk around like a blind person, with her hands out to reach for the wall. She looks like a little mummy. Every time she walks into a wall she just pulls the hat up to peek and see where she is at, and then pulls it back over her face for more fun.
Alyssa told me that in gym class she accidentally bumped into her friend Liam in his privates. So, he began to sing:
"Stop, don't touch me there
This is my no-no square"
She sang and showed me the motions and I was cracking up. So of course I had to tell Chris. He sang it to all his co-workers and so now that is the song they sing at Bread Co. while they work.
Last week we watched the Office and when Chris gets really excited or when he really laughs he sort of does this whooping kind of laugh and gets us from his chair, flailing his arms. You can probably hear him from 2 houses down, that's how loud he is. He is so fun to watch comedy with.. he used to do this every night when Everybody Loves Raymond was on. This past week Dwight Schrute just drew out the Chris Roberts laughter gig. I love it.
Alyssa told me that in gym class she accidentally bumped into her friend Liam in his privates. So, he began to sing:
"Stop, don't touch me there
This is my no-no square"
She sang and showed me the motions and I was cracking up. So of course I had to tell Chris. He sang it to all his co-workers and so now that is the song they sing at Bread Co. while they work.
Last week we watched the Office and when Chris gets really excited or when he really laughs he sort of does this whooping kind of laugh and gets us from his chair, flailing his arms. You can probably hear him from 2 houses down, that's how loud he is. He is so fun to watch comedy with.. he used to do this every night when Everybody Loves Raymond was on. This past week Dwight Schrute just drew out the Chris Roberts laughter gig. I love it.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Journals Journals More Journals
Last year I started an annual tradition of going on a solitude retreat. We have a few Catholic monasteries near us where people can go to spend a day or a week (or more) in solitude and prayer. So I did my 2nd solitude retreat a few weeks ago overnight at one of these Catholic places.
For this retreat I packed up ALL of my journals. I have written in journals since I was a teenager and they are in a big plastic container in my closet. So I brought them with me and literally spent hours going through each one. What a rich experience! I forgot half of what I have done or experienced and it was so great to have these journals to look on.
Since my retreat I find myself going back to these different seasons of life in my mind and realizing I have actually led an interesting life. I have actually done some adventurous acts. God is actually real and wants to have an engaging thriving relationship with me.
It makes me want more.
My prayers have been bolder the past few weeks, my passions re-stirred, and my desire to see other people's dreams realized has increased. I am so excited to start a church in Madison and see people realize their dreams and go make a difference for the kingdom of God. It's time.
For this retreat I packed up ALL of my journals. I have written in journals since I was a teenager and they are in a big plastic container in my closet. So I brought them with me and literally spent hours going through each one. What a rich experience! I forgot half of what I have done or experienced and it was so great to have these journals to look on.
Since my retreat I find myself going back to these different seasons of life in my mind and realizing I have actually led an interesting life. I have actually done some adventurous acts. God is actually real and wants to have an engaging thriving relationship with me.
It makes me want more.
My prayers have been bolder the past few weeks, my passions re-stirred, and my desire to see other people's dreams realized has increased. I am so excited to start a church in Madison and see people realize their dreams and go make a difference for the kingdom of God. It's time.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Like Daughter Like Mother
The older my daughter gets, the more outgoing she is and the more outgoing I am becoming.
Last week we flew to Texas to finalize her adoption. Liliana was in heaven at the St. Louis airport East Terminal. She had this wide open space and so Chris and I took turns walking up and down the terminal with her to let her get her energies out before boarding the plane. She made tons of friends along the way. We passed by a sports bar and there was an older man who was in his own world drinking his whiskey. Liliana walked right up to him and smiled. He immediately put down his glass to engage in conversation with her. After that she found a big tough guy that looked like he was meeting up with his gangster buddies. Same thing.. sure enough Mr Gangster himself was flashing his teeth trying to get Liliana to smile more. I love it that she picks the most random people to socialize with. It seriously has made me more aware of people when I go out and I feel like I am on a mission now to encourage strangers.
A few weeks ago the lady at the deli counter was pouring out her heart to me about her family problems and at the end of our time slipped me some extra turkey that I didn't have to pay for. I think she just appreciated someone to take time to listen to her.
We often go for family treats to Culvers. There's a lady that cleans the dining room named Mary. She is an older lady with no kids or husband and you can tell she also is lonely. So now every time we go in we make sure to talk to Mary and give her space to just share what is going on with her life. It's only a few minutes of our time, but I think it really encourages Mary.
Just random people.. I am so thankful that Liliana is teaching me to notice them, to read their name tags at work and call them by name, to ask them questions about their lives and hopefully to speak encouraging words to them. It makes ordinary tasks like running errands so much richer when I am thinking, "How can I encourage the check out clerk at Walmart?"
Last week we flew to Texas to finalize her adoption. Liliana was in heaven at the St. Louis airport East Terminal. She had this wide open space and so Chris and I took turns walking up and down the terminal with her to let her get her energies out before boarding the plane. She made tons of friends along the way. We passed by a sports bar and there was an older man who was in his own world drinking his whiskey. Liliana walked right up to him and smiled. He immediately put down his glass to engage in conversation with her. After that she found a big tough guy that looked like he was meeting up with his gangster buddies. Same thing.. sure enough Mr Gangster himself was flashing his teeth trying to get Liliana to smile more. I love it that she picks the most random people to socialize with. It seriously has made me more aware of people when I go out and I feel like I am on a mission now to encourage strangers.
A few weeks ago the lady at the deli counter was pouring out her heart to me about her family problems and at the end of our time slipped me some extra turkey that I didn't have to pay for. I think she just appreciated someone to take time to listen to her.
We often go for family treats to Culvers. There's a lady that cleans the dining room named Mary. She is an older lady with no kids or husband and you can tell she also is lonely. So now every time we go in we make sure to talk to Mary and give her space to just share what is going on with her life. It's only a few minutes of our time, but I think it really encourages Mary.
Just random people.. I am so thankful that Liliana is teaching me to notice them, to read their name tags at work and call them by name, to ask them questions about their lives and hopefully to speak encouraging words to them. It makes ordinary tasks like running errands so much richer when I am thinking, "How can I encourage the check out clerk at Walmart?"
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Food Tour
This past month we've had some fun food experiences. Babysitters have been coming out of the wood work, so we have been taking full advantage.
Our food tour started off with a hole in the wall Vietnamese place near our old neighborhood. There's about 10 tables in the restaurant and it's owned by an older couple. When we went for lunch, the Vietnamese man stopped and talked to us each time he brought something to our table. His wife was in the kitchen cooking and you could tell he was so proud of his wife as he bragged about her food. The food was delicious. The word we kept using was fresh- everything tasted so fresh. We loved eating the food, while hearing this old man tell us about the homemade sauces his wife made and seeing his cute personality and pride in his family business.
Last week we had some of our friends treat us to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant. It more like a Mexican bistro type place verses your typical place with mariache band playing in the background and pinatas hanging from the wall. The presentation of the food was art and the flavors bold. It was yummy- especially the sangrias. One thing that stood out to us was actually in the bathroom. They had old black and white photos of wedding pictures (we're assuming it was the owner's parents) hanging in there. Again, the touch of food and family- we loved it.
This week we went for Greek food. One of the Greek Orthodox churches in town hosts a luncheon every Friday where they cook up some good Greek grub. I've heard about it, but have never gone, so we ventured out there. As soon as I stepped in the door a whiff of incense hit my nostrils and I immediately thought of my childhood. Greeks love to have actual incense in their services as a representation of our prayers. You have to get used to it, otherwise you'd probably get a head ache every week. Anyway, we satisfied my Greek craving and on the way out we noticed the bulletin board: "Lambs for sale for Easter. Call ..." Seriously, where else will you find a bulletin board advertising lambs? I'm sure Gus or Pete or whoever is selling the lambs will sell out this Easter. Every Greek home has one cooking away come Easter morning. I used to love my dad's lamb he made at the holiday.
So, it has been a fun month having our own little "Taste of St. Louis". Lots of variety, good food and creative atmospheres.
Our food tour started off with a hole in the wall Vietnamese place near our old neighborhood. There's about 10 tables in the restaurant and it's owned by an older couple. When we went for lunch, the Vietnamese man stopped and talked to us each time he brought something to our table. His wife was in the kitchen cooking and you could tell he was so proud of his wife as he bragged about her food. The food was delicious. The word we kept using was fresh- everything tasted so fresh. We loved eating the food, while hearing this old man tell us about the homemade sauces his wife made and seeing his cute personality and pride in his family business.
Last week we had some of our friends treat us to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant. It more like a Mexican bistro type place verses your typical place with mariache band playing in the background and pinatas hanging from the wall. The presentation of the food was art and the flavors bold. It was yummy- especially the sangrias. One thing that stood out to us was actually in the bathroom. They had old black and white photos of wedding pictures (we're assuming it was the owner's parents) hanging in there. Again, the touch of food and family- we loved it.
This week we went for Greek food. One of the Greek Orthodox churches in town hosts a luncheon every Friday where they cook up some good Greek grub. I've heard about it, but have never gone, so we ventured out there. As soon as I stepped in the door a whiff of incense hit my nostrils and I immediately thought of my childhood. Greeks love to have actual incense in their services as a representation of our prayers. You have to get used to it, otherwise you'd probably get a head ache every week. Anyway, we satisfied my Greek craving and on the way out we noticed the bulletin board: "Lambs for sale for Easter. Call ..." Seriously, where else will you find a bulletin board advertising lambs? I'm sure Gus or Pete or whoever is selling the lambs will sell out this Easter. Every Greek home has one cooking away come Easter morning. I used to love my dad's lamb he made at the holiday.
So, it has been a fun month having our own little "Taste of St. Louis". Lots of variety, good food and creative atmospheres.
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