Country Livin'

It is SUCH a treat for us when we visit with Cynthia and Nate in Liberty, Indiana.  There is something that makes me smile as I'm driving 55 (70 really lol) through the country roads and the speed limit immediately drops to 25 because I'm approaching a "town."  I love all the corn fields.  I love the cute accents.  I love how Cynthia and Nate seriously know everyone everywhere we go.  I just love how it is SO not Chicago.  When we arrive at their home it's always at like 1 in the morning because we fight our way through Chicago rush hour traffic on Friday.  If there is anyone that has the gift of hospitality it is seriously Cynthia Stevens!  When we arrived there was a pumpkin filled with candy, chips, and caramels with an apple spiced candle waiting for us on our bed.  As always, she leaves us a sweet note telling us about the plans for the weekend and how excited she is for us to be there.  And, there is always drinks in the mini fridge in our room.  Man, talk about feeling at home!! 

There is just something so peaceful about where they live.  Even though Cynthia has grown up there her whole life and sometimes wishes to get out, I just love being there.  We went to an Octoberfest in Richmond, Indiana, and walked around looking at all the candles, food, and crafts.  Then we went to this new winery which was so great!  We had electra- it was frozen wine!  I didn't even know that wine could freeze- but they made it happen somehow.  Then we went back to her parents house and got to meet everyone from her mom's side of the family.  We ate amazing food- fried chicken, fried wings, potato salad, frosted cookie sandwiches, apple crisp with ice cream, apple cider, - and there were seriously at least 15 other dishes I didn't eat because I was too full.  We had a spoons tournament.  (I love spoons lol) And then we went on a hay ride through the cornfield.  Does it get any better than that?

Also, we got to experience Nate in action.  Nate is a firefighter in Liberty and he wears this pager so anytime there is an emergency he gets called.  Well, after our eventful Saturday, we're exhausted and sitting in their basement and this loud pitched noise floods the room.  Before I knew what was happening, Nate had sprinted upstairs and was out the door!  At that point Cynthia turned on her scanner so she could hear what was happening.  I seriously have so much respect for her!  I was SO nervous for Nate!  It turned out that someone at a campsite punctured their leg on a nail and the blood was squirting out so bad they couldn't stop the bleeding!  ewww! But, they turned out to be ok.  Anyway, they have some pretty interesting stories because he is on the "in" on all the emergencies that happen in their town!

View from their house :)

Me and Cynthia at the Octoberfest!

Daniel and I :)

Elle :)  Home for 2 years at Miami

The new addition to our street!  Elle is on our left, the stop sign is where there was a fence then beyond that a huge field!

We love our visits out there :) They're wonderful and we wished we lived closer to them.  Oh, and we went to OBF to church on Sunday (a church on Miami's campus) and we got to drive around and see our old dorms/ houses and hang out uptown.  It was sssuuuch a treat!  We haven't been back in about 2 years and a LOT of things have changed.  They actually added onto my street that I lived on my Jr and Sr year.  There used to be a fence and a large field and they added a whole street and houses!  I couldn't believe it!  (I posted pictures above!) Miami holds such a precious spot in our hearts :)  We loved our time there and was blessed by so many wonderful friends!  It was great to go back!

Waiting...

This is a good truth for me today :)  Happy Tuesday.

"What God does in our lives while we're waiting is often more important than the thing we think we're waiting for"- Erwin Lutzer

10.10.2010- The Journey continues

I decided that this update needed a whole separate post because this Saturday rocked my world.  20 miles.  I was the girl who dreeeaaaded the mile in middle school, and I just ran 20 miles this past weekend!?!!  AND, it took us a little under 4 hours.  I can't even tell you the things we could have done in 4 hours.  It takes me 16 miles to get to work.  I could have ran to work and then some.


So miles 1-10.  Not too bad.  We ran with Becca and she is great at bringing up conversation and very entertaining so really that helped a TON.  We were able to stop and go to the bathroom, refill our water bottles, and turn around.


Miles 10-14.  Still not awful.  Starting to feel pain in my legs and can tell I'm getting tired, but not at the point of stopping.


Mile 14.  Thunder. Lightning. Pouring down rain.  It rained on us last weekend during our 14 mile run, but this was a whole other experience.  I was actually scared that we would get struck.  You may laugh, but it was seriously terrifying!  I was soaked, cold, and so ready to be done running.


Mile 16.  The pain is kicking in.  I ask Dan and Becca how they are doing.  They say tired.  I begin to wonder if the "pain"I think I am feeling is just tiredness or if I'm actually experiencing something different than them because they seem to be holding up MUCH better than I am.


Mile 17. 18. 19. 20.  I almost cried a couple times, no joke.  I was just telling myself to make it to the next mile.


Back at the car.  I start to worry about the full 26.2.  I still have 3 weeks, but I can't even express to you how my legs felt.  I thought after finishing the full 20 miles I would feel more confident but at this point I am just more nervous than anything.  I only pray to finish.  And what seemed to be an easy "under 5 hour finish" seems to be a little bit more challenging.  I could barely stretch, and let's just say on my run today I was in extreme pain.  I hope these three weeks of tapering helps prep me for the big day.  Ready or not, it'll be here before I know it!!  I actually paid to do this. Ha.

Birthdays, Chicago, and friends

We have had such a great time enjoying these last couple weekends in summer! (Or what appears to be Fall!)  Two weekends ago we celebrated Dan, Becca, and Brian's birthday! All in the month of September!  We did a progressive night - with Dan's special part of the night beginning with us hanging outside eating a bloomin' onion (note to self and everyone else: avoid getting a bloomin' onion to go!) with Octoberfest and Smarties.  Then we went to Brian's favorite restaurant... that I just can't remember what it's called right now lol But, it was really good! I had a salmon salad and it was amazing!  Lastly, we went back to Brian and Rachael's and ate the cake that Andy made and played Cranium :)  Overall it was a great evening!  As always, we have pictures :) 

Us at Dinner :)

Bloomin' Onion.  Oh how we love outback

Then, this past weekend we hung out with our old small group (2:1- newly married) and I got to hold lots of babies! Sam is about 4 months old and Bekah is 6 weeks older than her and they were just SO cute!!  And, they were both so great- hardly any crying and only one diaper change (obviously done by mom lol).  While tempting, Dan and I still have some time to wait in the baby department.  Until then we will hold other people's babies ... and then when they cry (or when my arm gets tired- those babies get heavy after a while!) we will hand them back to mommy and daddy.  But, it was really fun to hang out with them and get to catch up!  And we ate a lot of amazing meat that they cooked in their smoker. 

Dan with Bekah

Sam :)

The last part of Saturday- aside from watching football- consisted of heading into the city! My dad is in town every 2 years for this convention with his company so we were able to enjoy a night on the town eating at Carmine's- this phenomenal Italian restaurant, walking around downtown, and going to the top of the John Hancock building!  We got some great pictures even though it was through glass. 

Us in downtown!

View from the Hancock building

On Sunday we visited a Korean church where one of our friends, David, preaches.  Since Dan and I have been married we have been attending pretty big churches (even back in Hudson- the Chapel isn't "small").  This service that we went to had about 20 people and we sang acapella- so it was about the size of my classes at Trinity!  But, something that was so different from the bigger churches that we attend was the community.  They were so warm and welcoming, and it was the Korean Thanksgiving so they cooked this huge meal and we ate authentic Korean food and I have to say I was VERY proud of Dan.  He seriously has come a long way since we got married, and he tried a lot of the food and actually enjoyed a good bit of it too.  Although, he didn't like the rice drink (in his defense neither did I and I will eat/ drink almost anything!)  It was really a blessing to be at a church where everyone introduced themselves to us and where everyone is so warm and welcoming.  At a big church it is so easy to come and go, and while that can seem comfortable for a while, it felt great to be around people who notice you and smile and thank you for coming to their church!

Overall it was a great weekend :)

My sweet husband :)

Recently I have been reminded of just what a ladies man my husband is.  That may sound weird, so let me explain :) The other day we were at the dentist, and let me tell you I could write a WHOLE stinkin' post about our dentist adventures but I won't bore you with that.  Anyway I was in the chair waiting for the dentist, and during this time I actually fell asleep because it had been 25 minutes.  Well, the dentist and his assistant come storming in laughing, scaring me half to death, and the guy bursts out saying "Wow your husband is just such a GREAT guy!" I'm thinking in my head, oh geez what did he do lol  He doesn't just stop there, "He was just so friendly!  My assistant here couldn't stop talking to him!"

Now, this assistant isn't just the average dental assistant I had growing up (aka normally a mom).  Nope, she is a cute, twenty something, tall, blond looking model with an accent.  Awesome.  I'm about ready to to throw down right there in the dentist office (haha not really) when she starts blushing and saying "No I wasn't!" And then my dentist has to clarify that she wasn't hitting on Dan even though he didn't sound too convincing.  Oh geez. 

Then, my friend recently in an email told me that when Dan stopped by her office he started up quite the conversation after he left with all her friends asking who "that cute guy was."  Thankfully, she explained that he was her friend's "husband." lol

Obviously, any wife would be proud (and a little nervous at times!) knowing their husband gets that kind of attention, and it totally takes me back to my high school days.  I feel like this has been going on our whole relationship- in college my friends would mention how nice Dan looked when he was all dressed up for Beta events, even at church people have told me how they can see his smile from up on stage.  See, when Dan Cinadr moved to Hudson, Ohio from Florida, he was kind of a big deal.  Well, in my circle he was.  Everyone talked about the cute, smart, new guy, so naturally I was dying to meet him.  After an awkward conversation (on my part) at a swim meet I was hooked.  I had a crush on Dan Cinadr and everyone knew it.  Why wouldn't I?  He had a smile that seriously could melt anyone (still does :)  Naturally that's why he won Hudson High School's "Best Smile" his senior year.  I really hope our kids get that trait lol When I had my crush on Dan in high school I used to think he was flirting with me because he smiled at me.  Little did I know he did that to everyone, not just me!

But, I didn't write this blog post to rave about the good looks of my husband!  I actually enjoy teasing him about these things because it makes him SO uncomfortable.  The more we are married the more amazed I am at how Dan doesn't live for what this world lives for.  In 1 Samuel the Lord says  "Do not consider his appearance or his height ... The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  In a world where everyone is focused on themselves and looking good, Dan truly stands out.  He is SO humble and genuine and is truly more focused on his character than his outward appearance.  Let's just say I certainly was never the heart throb in high school and don't get nearly as much attention as Dan, but I have to admit in my heart I definitely can strive for it.  What a blessing it is to have someone who reminds me daily that it's not the outward appearance that matters because I am not here to please man but to please God. 

I am so blessed and thankful to have such a godly husband :)  Here's us at prom.  6 YEARS ago!

Bittersweet Ending

So I've been thinking about posting this for a while now.  Obviously this is a blog, not my personal journal. So, I don't feel the need to disclose all of my personal information over the Internet, and to be honest with you- you probably don't want to read about it either.  But, since we had a specific label for "Jr High" in this blog and have talked about it a good amount of times because it has been a pretty big part of our life these past couple years, I figured I should mention and expand a little bit about how this year we won't be involved in the Jr. High ministry.

It's actually pretty hard for me to type that.  We have made some amazing friends, learned a ton about leadership, conflict management, encouragement, had some crazy sleepovers,  and had opportunities to build into some great kids and leaders.  This is just the start of a long list of ways God used this ministry in our lives.

This past year was an eye opener for us.  I think it was the first realization that our church isn't perfect.  No church is perfect, and we "knew"that coming in, but didn't really know it until this past year.  It's a great and horrible realization all rolled up into one emotional mess.  I had this hidden expectation that in the church there should be a bunch of Jesus' walking around and what we really have is a bunch of people trying to be Jesus but failing miserably, or thinking they're Jesus when they're not (myself included).  Now looking back I'm glad I realized it when we did.  I'd rather it happen now then when we're actually in ministry.  I love the lyrics "beautiful the mess we are" because that is what we all are (myself VERY included in that).  It's beautiful because it brings us back to the Gospel and how much we need our Savior's grace.  I think that's why I've been so passionate about counseling, because it helps people deal with their mess and brings them back to the cross.

Anyway, I'm totally getting off topic from Jr High.  Long story short about the last paragraph: God has taught us a lot about ministry in general.  Back to Jr High.  A while back when I first started this blog I wrote about how I felt I was living my life by simply responding to people.  How anytime there was a need, anytime someone needed coffee, anytime they needed someone to lead that group, I was there.  I was responding to people and not to God.  For the first time in my life these past two weeks I decided to listen to God and not people.  Sure there are times when God wants us to listen to those people, but this time I was pretty sure God wanted me to listen to Him.  He wanted me to listen to how much He is instilling a passion for counseling in me and how He is allowing me the privilege of taking classes to learn more about Him in preparation for ministry in the future.  He was reminding me how I am always so over committed with ministry and people that I run myself dry simply because I can't say "no."  He was showing me what He has been trying to teach me for the past year- slow down.

This was a much harder decision for Dan.  The kids LOVE Dan; and he is SO great with the kids.  On the other hand, the kids liked me, and I managed to have awkward conversations with them.  Huge difference.  While he is a great leader and such a great asset to the ministry, after a lot of processing as well he really felt that he needed to get involved in a ministry that was less time consuming.  (He's taking 7 hours this semester, plus working full time- and 4 of those hours is a Greek class- which is slowly overtaking his life.)  I think for the first time since we've been married he's got more on his plate than me! Our goal and passion is to do ministry for the rest of our lives.  We don't know what that is going to look like, but we feel called to that.  And, right now we have a great opportunity to be prepared for the future ministry that is going to be entrusted to us.  After taking a hard look at his schedule and praying a TON about the situation, he realized he wouldn't have the time he wanted or the time it would take to really build into the kids and the ministry this year.

This Sunday was very different.  Normally we are going to the 9:00 a.m. church service to get home to get in a quick nap before Jr High, and it was really hard knowing a lot of our close friends were at the church hanging out with the kids, kicking off the ministry year and we weren't there.  It was such a big part of our life that it's hard to let it go. I'm sure it will take a couple weeks and it won't be easy, but we're excited to see how God is going to use this time in a different way.  We may not have as many funny blog posts about the crazy things the Jr highers do, but I'm sure we'll find some other form of entertainment for you :)

Rest

So I get these Proverbs 31 devotionals and I found this one particularly unique in the way they examined the Sabbath - something I definitely don't do as often as I should.  In the devo they talk about how the Jewish people spent three days preparing for Sabbath, and three days reflecting on what they had learned or encountered of God during the Sabbath.

Keri Wyatt Kent, author of Breathe, writes, "This creates a rhythm of life that puts our focus not on our stuff or our schedule but on the opportunity to meet with God.  We are created in the image of God, and he modeled for us a way of life that makes sense for how we are created. Here's how to dance the dance of life, he said: work, be creative, use your imagination, throw yourself into it, whether you are washing dishes, reading to your kids and running a household, or trading stocks, reading corporate reports, and running a business. ...At the end of each day, stop. Take a rest, eat a good meal, get enough sleep, and refresh yourself. Take time to think about your day, to notice where God was in it and where you were blessed, and to say, "It's good." Then go back at it the next day. And after six days, take a whole day off. And say, "It's really good." Spend a whole day just pausing, just reflecting on how really good it is, and then start the dance again, at a sustainable pace."

Happy Thursday

Labor day weekend

My goodness it has been a while since I have actually posted something about our life!  That actually may be a good thing- it means we're sitting around doing nothing worth blogging about- much needed after this crazy summer.  And, like I said before, we will have a ton more pictures as you already saw from our last update.  We are LOVING our new camera and it is just so fun to take everywhere- I feel like when I have it with me I am constantly looking for the beauty in the little things.  So fun :) 

This past weekend we had SUCH a blast hanging out with friends and exploring the city!  First, we went to the Libertyville high school football game on Friday night!  I have been wanting to go to a local football game since the second we moved to this area and the weather was perfect!  Not too cold, but definitely felt like football weather!  It reminded me when I used to cheer on #1 and #88 (my brother's numbers!!) out there on the field at Hudson High school, praying that Doug would emerge from the bottom of the pile each time he ran the ball (which was a LOT!)  Oh and we ate at this awesome Barbecue place- Smokehouse grill in Libertyville- it was so good!  And our friends let us use their coupon... actually come to think of it they paid for us.  I should pay them back for that. 

At the football game- they just scored hence the excitement

We were pretty close to the action

Anyway, the next morning we ran our 18 miles with our friend Becca- the most YET.  It's hard for me to put my thoughts together about all of this running.  It was a mix of fun, pain, and excitement that I actually survived all rolled into one.  I think it was my first glimpse into the pain I will be feeling during the FULL 26.2.  But, I am taking it one run at a time.  Tonight: 9 miles.

Then, we got ready pretty quickly after our run and headed to Wrigleyville to meet up with our friends Luke and Brittany!  We were so thankful that they invited us to the Cubs game to hang out with them right behind home plate!  They were great seats, and they WON (a rare thing these days!) so we got to sing the song which is always fun :)  Then we went to Lou's for pizza- and it was amazing.  It was such a blessing to catch up with them- they are yet another reason why Indianapolis is such a great place!!

All of us after the game

Also, my best friend from Indy, Jamie, and her two roommates were in town and they stayed with us as we explored Chicago!  So, that was really fun to be able to see them and catch up (even though we were so busy) we got to squeeze in some time to chat after (both) our exhausting days in the city on Saturday!

At Lou's!

Then, Dan and I got up on Sunday and drove to South Haven, Michigan.  Oh my goodness it is SUCH a beautiful place!  We stayed at this cute bed and breakfast that served appetizers with a "splash" of wine at 5:30, and we totally watched a movie on a VCR.  So great.  We walked around and look at all the boats, wandered through some shops, ate lots of good food, and just enjoyed relaxing.  Oh, AND we celebrated Dan's 25th birthday!!  There is more celebrating to come... that is just the beginning :)  I  posted some pictures in the previous post of our trip so you can tell how beautiful the area was.  Although it rained a little bit on Monday, it gave us some time to head home early so we could get our homework done.  It was such a great and relaxing labor day- couldn't have asked for anything else :) 

South Haven

Boat Town

Antique Store

Could have spent hours here...

Lighthouse

25th Birthday

Coffee Date

My handsome husband :)