Monday, September 29, 2008

Our new sister!



Here are some pictures from my (Allison)'s brother's wedding this weekend. We had a blast celebrating the marriage of Bart & Liv. Liv is one amazing woman -- she loves God, loves her family, and loves the hurting (she is so involved in helping improve her community). She is smart, funny, beautiful, and loves my brother dearly. We are proud to have her as our sister and to welcome in her wonderful sisters (and brother-in-law and their little ones) and parents into our extended family.

In order to welcome my family into the bride's Filipino family, the guys wore barongs at the rehearsal.



Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Redeeming Moments

Today I (Allie) learned that officially Chicago is ranked as the most stressful city in America. Even crazy NYC is #2. Chicago is stressful because of its urban density, high cost of gas, wild weather, and commuting nightmares (OK, so I added some to the official list of reasons).

This ranking, of course, does not surprise me. The pace of Chicago life is enough to bring a person to his or her breaking point quite easily. Due to flooding and special events, it's taken me 1.5 hours to get home from work each night this week. And, my work schedule is such that I leave at an off time.

I just had dinner with a good friend who, like me, is a transplant Chicagoan. She and I talked about the disadvantages of city life, especially how we spend so much time commuting and dealing with cityness that we are not as involved in serving in our church.

Yet we know that God has a plan for us to be here. Yes, we could be more involved if we lived in more sustainable towns, but this is where God has us now. And, we know that God gives us ministry opportunities right under our noses.

Tonight, as I drove home from dinner with this friend, I stopped by our local drug store. I was contemplating my purchase, when a woman asked for my help selecting diapers for her grandson. I quickly explained to her that I don't have kids, but she still asked for my input anyway. She was a Greek immigrant who didn't speak or read much English. She didn't know which brand was best and which would fit well on the grandson she's babysitting. We walked to the check out counter, and as I left I said goodbye to her and smiled.

So, while yes, city life is stressful, God still places situations in our lives where we can love others and serve them. Whether it's simply not adding stress to the other drivers we're with on the roads each day or helping someone out when we could be too busy. The key is recognizing those moments and choosing to love and serve instead of focusing on our own stress.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ode to Caramel

Hi everyone...sorry it's been three weeks since we've blogged. I (Allie) have been dealing with some dental issues that have caused pain and, at times, have prevented me from even eating or drinking. Lord-willing, I think we may have turned the corner.

So one thing I wish I knew before the dental work process is that I would no longer be able to eat caramel. I love caramel, and this season is the perfect time for caramel. Caramel apples, caramel in desserts...ahh...oh caramel. Unfortunately, I scheduled the dental work to happen right after our Hawaii trip so I wasn't as prepared with how the dental work may affect my eating habits. Anyway, I want to say goodbye to one of my favorite foods. Goodbye, caramel...:(

Ok, enough of the sob story about caramel. This season has been a good learning experience for Abe and me. We've learned how to talk each other down from going to "crazy town" (a term our friends Paul & Kristen use to describe freak outs) when we start having stress reactions. God always uses these experiences to refine us...it's just the refining fire is very hot!

Now that our lives (hopefully) are settling down, we're getting excited for a big event to come in the next couple weeks -- my brother's wedding! We are so excited to see our family and to spend time with our future sister-in-law and her wonderful friends and family. We're ready to party!