Week in Chicago

Eric and I just got home from a week in Chicago to work/attend The Gospel Coalition Conference. We had a great, but exhausting time!

One of the hotels that had rooms blocked out for the conference was the historic Palmer House Hilton (built in 1871). We decided to stay there instead of the hotel on McCormick Place's campus.

Its located right in the loop, and was beautiful!

main lobby

our room

The conference brought such a broad variety of people (reformed, baptist, evangelical) and the main topic of the plenary speakers was "Preaching Christ from the Old Testament". Eric's (educated) commentary was that most speakers did really well, although there were a few that didn't do justice to the topic.

If you get the chance, we'd highly recommend you listen to:

Tim Keller, Getting Out (Exodus)

Conrad Mbewe, The Righteous Branch (Jeremiah)

Matt Chandler, Youth (Ecclesiastes)

Mike Bullmore, God's Great Heart of Love Towards His Own (Zephaniah)

Don Carson, Getting Excited About Melchizedek (Psalms)

There were dozens of break-outs sessions and special events. One that we were able to attend was a live taping of The White Horse Inn, a radio program/podcast that Eric and I have been listening to for years. One of WSC's faculty members started WHI 20 years ago and we are closely connected with them at the seminary. Last minute one of the usual panelists got sick and wasn't able to make it, so Eric's preaching professor stepped in (he also spoke at another breakout session).  We sat in the front row and cheered like groupies.

There was addendum post-conference called Christ + City that we also attended. Mostly urban pastors seeking to communicate the mission and encourage the leaders of urban or inner-city churches.  Included in that event was Tim Keller's Generous Justice message, which was great to hear.

(Eric recently read his book, and subsequently wrote a review for Westminster's blog on it:

http://wscal.edu/blog/entry/book-review-generous-justice-by-tim-keller)

The events of the week concluded with a concert by some of Eric's favorite artists. I know most people will be skeptical when they hear this music described, so I'm just going to link up to some songs and let you know decide for your self.

We had a blast at the concert and felt edified leaving it, which is a weird thing after you've been head-bobbing, singing and stepping for two hours.

After the conference was over we headed home. A birthday dinner with Rachel, and a long lazy breakfast with the family rounded out the weekend.


We left just in time...snow had started to fall as our plane left. We were so happy to come home to Cali.

Theatre with Jane Gray and Allan

Every summer San Diego has a Summer Shakespeare Festival at the Lowell Davies Theatre in Balboa Park.  It's outdoors!  We saw The Taming of the Shrew earlier in the summer with Eric's family.  Last week we took Allan and Jane Gray to see The Madness of King George III.

It's not a Shakespeare play, but it was set in the same time and place as a book I recently read for my book club (Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire), so I was interested in seeing it.

Then two weeks before we wanted to go, I got an email from the media director for the theater that the tickets had gone down in price to $10 (usually $50, or $20 if you are 30 yrs old or younger).  SO we snatched them up.

After a hectic day with work and school (Jane Gray got a job!), it was nice to take a break and enjoy the show.

Right after this photo we got reprimanded for taking pictures!

We enjoyed walking through the gardens in Balboa park and sipping hot chocolate in the intermission.

Fun night with friends!

Young People's Spaghetti Dinner

Last Wednesday, we helped the youth group kids throw their annual fundraising spaghetti dinner.










the sun was streaming in SO brightly through the windows it makes the family in the fron look angelic!

These girls did a great job serving up the spaghetti


Kelli and I cut desserts:



While a couple of the junior girls served them up




As part of the fundraiser,(in addition to taking donations at the door) several of the women in church make dessert specialties that get auctioned off.



In the mix were stroopwafels, banket, mocha cake, caramel corn, chocolate chip cookies, and much more!





The desserts went for hundreds of dollars to some big sweet tooths and the youth managed to raise 25% more than they have in years past!

and Eric egged people on in dessert bidding:



The money goes to the youth groups games, and retreats, but also to their mission trips and care packages sent to an orphanage n Mexico.

I took a video of the kids cleaning up, in case you are interested (which I don't expect you to be, it's not that interesting)

The Dutch Fest

Eric spent a good portion of the weekend finishing up a paper for school, so I was on my own a couple Saturdays ago.  It was the local Christian School's bi-annual dutch fest so I had to check it out!

For those of you Chicago Dutch who haven't had stroopwafels, I have to say it's the one big advantage of the California dutch!

Take a little ball of dough, put it in the cookie iron.

While still hot, immediately cut in half, spread with butter, corn syrup, brown sugar mixture, and put halves together. wipe the edges clean.

Leave with this:

They were selling packs of frozen stroopwafels and making fresh ones right in front of you.  Thankfully I got there early...check out the line just a few minutes later!

Then I stopped to grab a fresh olie bollen (or two)



The CA dutch put apples in them!  I like them much better without.



mmm, greasy, sugary, fried deliciousness

I broswed the shops and stopped by to check out the pies.  I've heard this pie is delicious, but I couldn't bring myself to buy a piece.  What do you think?




I wore blue and orange in honor of my heritage :-)

And that was my morning at the dutch fest.

Trip to MI for work and friends

Many of you know that the reason I was able to be out in the Midwest so long in March is because I had to work at a conference in MI for work the following weekend.  I drove up there early Thursday morning, did some recruiting at Kuiper College and then arrived at a cute little house in GR and was happily reuinited with my wonderful friend Caitlin!

It was so fun to catch up and hang out in their hood.  On Thursday, Cait made some yummy pot pie and then we went out for a beer at a sweet pub/restaurant called The Winchester.

I was browing the specialty beers when I came up a brew from a certain Stone Brewing Co. of Escondido, CA! Little did I know, even in snowy MI, I couldn't escape home!



One of my favorite couples!





I browsed the menu just for fun and was so impressed with the selection, I just had to try these pierogies



They did not disappoint, and as you can see, they didn't hurt the wallet either!
I've been so desensitized to high costs, I was shocked to see how affordable MI menus are priced.



oh yummy.

I have no pictures to document the rest of the weekend...but it involved me working two 13 hours days, antique book shopping for my studious husband, lots of Biggby coffees, meeting up for lunch with Gary, Christie and Fam, meeting up for a beer with AJ, and a really great conference on Revelation.

But after 11 days away, I was ready to be home!

Spring Break

Or as Eric, and most of his classmates called it, "Paper Writing Break"

So while eric spent at least 30/40 hours his spring break week in the library doing school work, we also took a little time to relax.  On Monday (the Mon. before Easter), we went to the Wild Animal Park with our annual passes (purchased when Grammy and Gramps were out visiting) and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

There was a brand new elephant calf that was a little shy:





"You don't get this kind of view in Chicago" -Eric



We nearly ran into this little guy on our way to the Tour of Africa tram



Just lion around

Happy Resurrection Day!

from Casa Chappell

ps. this was taken after we attended a very, very early Easter service, hence the tired eyes.

Grammy and Gramps come to visit

During a rather dreary and rainy January, gma and gpa trekked from AZ to visit us West Coasters for a week (as well as see some friends and other family) It was so nice to see them, and show them around our town and Southern California.
We hung out a little bit during the week but between our church commitments and their friends, we didn't see them much.

On Friday, they stopped by to see the seminary and I showed them around.  Then they were off with Eric to the Wild Animal Park.  Leave it to grandpa to take this photo of a bird of paradise, but no real animals :-)

Saturday we met up early-ish for coffee and then trekked up to Julian where we explored the cute little town.  Julian is a former mining town turned tourist town with lots of fun shops, antiques, collectibles, kitschy home and garden stores, and old fashioned cafes and diners. Grammy and I both remarked how much Auntie Dee would have loved it.



One of many shops with kitschy collectibles.  But grammy and I both found something!




Eric and Gramps waitied patiently while we girls ventured into every shop



We stopped at the Julian Cafe and Bakery for lunch

yum!

They served our drinks in cowboy boot shaped glasses...loved it!


We ended our time in Julian with a piece of pie to share, and took a whole pie home (wild mountain berry and boysenberry apple respectively, if you must know :-)) for Sunday dessert.



We spent most of the day in Julian, so afterwards we relaxed at our house for an hour or so, before heading west to watch the sunset from Oceanside Pier.



grammy was cold. eric was goofy. [so, nothing new]




Doesn't this make you want to come out and visit us?



How bout now?


Don't let the wind and jackets fool you. We are wimpy californians. It was probably low 50s


grammy got really cold so I gave her my scarf


we go close enough to a pelican to pet it.


At the very end of the Oceanside Pier is a 50's style diner called Ruby's where we ate a light dinner.


I love when people come visit us becuase we do touristy things we wouldn't otherwise.

On Sunday, I made dinner and had Eric's parents over.
[the sunset pictures and those that follow are grandpa's...my camera battery died]

I had an itchy nose! and yes, I washed my hands before finishing the food.


Eric's mom brought me tulips. She was thinking of her daughter-in-law's dutch family :-)



Monday night was another rousing night of card games and dessert since grammy and gramps had lupper with grammy's niece.

Thanks for coming to visit us Grammy and Gramps! We loved having you
& we would love to have more of you here....hint, hint :-)

*As you read this we'll be on our way to Tuscon, AZ to visit some of Eric's relatives for a very short weekend.  Hoping also to see my first rodeo!  Blog post on our youth group retreat and AZ weekend to come!*