America Day!

Since my last blog, Summer has been in full swing here in Illinois!  Everything has opened back up here at the Towers, Andee has the weekends off, and the weather has been 'HHH' (Hazy, Hot & Humid) just the way I like it!!  Andee and I have enjoyed many a day sitting by the pool and going for a dip, taking paddle boats and canoes out on the lake, long walks on beautiful summer evenings, fishing galore, and excursions to popular suburbs hot spots in the area!  Summer really is the best, don't you think?  Let's elaborate with the help of some photos!

A couple weekends ago, Andee and I headed to a local arcade to use up some gift cards we had been given!  We played some of our favourites such as flamin' finger and of course the claw machines, and ended up with some fun toys for Aloe as our prize!

We then headed to Downtown Naperville, a very historic and beautiful area filled with specialty shops and restaurants, and a beautiful River Walk with tons of interesting artistic statues and memorials.  It was on the cooler side of summer days, which made it perfect for a long walk with the Husband!  We treated ourselves to Taco Bell for dinner, and it was great to spend some time with Andee!

This past week we were also able to participate in our first 4th of July Independence Day celebrations in America!  Shockingly, Andee was given the day off, and so we were able to enjoy the celebrations together! Our first stop was a local parade with some Harvest friends which included a beautiful float promoting Vacation Bible School Kids Camp coming up next week!  We then headed out to lunch at a cute little breakfast place down the street, and were completely comfortable in our summer clothes in the shade!  Success!  

Andee and I then headed back to our apartment where we spent the afternoon boating and fishing!  We took out a paddle boat and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day fishing and paddling away!  Unfortunately, only the little fish were hungry, but at least we enjoyed the boat! We ended the day with a Blue Jays baseball game and a beautiful fireworks display that could be seen from our window!  An excellent first 4th of July holiday!  Happy Birthday America!

This past weekend Andee and I were also able to spend some time at the pool!  With three pools now open at our apartment complex, there is always lots of room to swim and lounge in the pool chairs!  And the very hot and humid day only added to the pool fun!!

We then headed over to the boathouse to take out a canoe!  I had forgotten that canoes are really tippy, but got the hang of it pretty soon!  After a couple hours of boating and fishing, as we were beginning to think that all the fish got swept away in the flood and found a new home in somebody elses lake, Andee catches this guy!  A big bass!  So now we know that at least some of them are still here!  We concluded the day with a long, warm summer walk around the nature trails at our apartment!  Amazing summer weekend!!

I was also surprised this week with a visit from Naomi!  Such good news!!  After visiting her parents in Texas, Naomi and kiddos flew back to Illinois for a couple days on the way back to Canada so they could have a visit with Joey, and while Joey was at work, I got to spend the day with them!  We headed over to a coffee shop called "Cafe and Play", where half the space was a coffee shop, and the other half a huge play area for kids!  Such a good idea!  So while the kids were playing away, Naomi and I had a great time catching up and getting excited about her return to Canada!  Such a nice surprise to see Naomi one more time before she heads home, and I hope to see her again soon!

So, as I am typing this, I just realized that it is only 8 days until I fly home to Canada for a mini-vacation!  What a long way I have come - from counting down 86 days in advance to arriving back in Canada to shockingly realizing that a Canadian vacation is a mere 8 days away!  God really is so good - taking this fearful, stagnant believer and changing my heart to finally be accepting of His perfect plan - and actually enjoying it too!  PTL!!  I am of course extremely excited to see my family and spend some time in the home country!  I'm planning on getting the full Canadian experience when I am back - Dental Hygiene shifts, free doctor appointments, cottage with the family - the works!  I am also extremely excited to be flying home on a direct flight straight to Toronto!  Canada, see you soon!!

We're Back!

We are back!!  Back in Illinois, back to work, and best of all, back in our APARTMENT!!  After two long months of being displaced from our home, we were finally reunited with our beloved apartment!  And along with that came our closet, no longer living out of a suitcase, our apartment amenities such as the pool, fishing, boating, etc., and best of all, one happy little cat!  Aloe missed our apartment probably more than we did, and immediately upon entering the front door began purring and rubbing up against us wanting love and pets!  After pretty much ignoring us other than in the mornings for the past 2 months, it was a wonderful change getting to see Aloe's real personality back!  He is so cuddly and affectionate, and definitely glad to be home!!  God did use this unfortunate situation for a lot of good (of course!) by allowing us to develop great relationships with Joe and Amy, and allowing us to go back to Canada to see family and friends!  God is Good; all the while more interested in our character than our circumstances, and relationships over materials!  Praise God, we are back!!

Upon our return to Illinois after our impromptu trip to Canada, I was able to spend some time with Naomi and her kids before they headed off to Texas, and then PEI!  It was great to see old friends from St. Kitts, and I am so glad our paths continue to intersect in various countries!  Maybe someday we can meet up in both of our home country; Canada!

We were also able to attend a beautiful summer wedding of two Harvest Bible Staff members, Michelle and Scott!  It was a beautiful sunny and warm day, and the wedding decor and dinner were wonderful!  The bride looked absolutely beautiful, and we sat at a table with lots of other Harvest Staff!  It was so nice being able to spend some time with friends and celebrate a wonderful marriage!  Congratulations to Michelle and Scott!!

Andee and I were also able to enjoy a wonderful pastime that we love so much - Blue Jays Baseball!  We were treated by my parents to a Toronto Blue Jays vs Chicago White Sox Baseball game at US Cellular Field in Chicago!  Believe it or not, this was indeed our first trip to Chicago since living in the western suburbs!  It was an incredibly warm day, perfect baseball weather, and we ordered some delicious ballpark food including an Italian beef sandwich and a "bases loaded" baked potato!  Delish!  We were also thrilled to be in attendance to a Blue Jays WIN; in the 10th inning!  That's right; down my a run in the top of the 9th, 2 outs, and our bags packed ready to leave with a looming loss, who else than Jose Bautista hits a Home Run!!  Hallelujah!!  We cheered, high fived, hugged, "Lo Visted", and were overjoyed!!  The excitement continued when the White Sox were unable to answer in the bottom of the 9th, and the Jays scored 2 more unanswered runs in the 10th, sealing victory for our Blue Jays!!  We celebrated with other Jays fans in the crowd, and headed back home with 49 cent McDonalds cones!  The perfect ending to a perfect day!  Thanks so much Mom and Dad for treating us to this amazing experience!  Next stop, Wrigley Field!

Last Friday and Saturday, I also had the pleasure of working/volunteering for the Paul Tripp Parenting Conference held at Harvest Bible Chapel!  It was an incredible conference, filled with so much biblical wisdom and practical examples on how to really get down to the heart of parenting, not just temporarily changing behavior, but permanently changing the heart!  Myself and all the other attendees learned so much valuable information, I couldn't make my pen write fast enough to get it all down!  To top it all off, for volunteering at the Merchandise Table, we got to pick out three merchandise items to take home with us!  I was so taken by the parenting conference, that I took two parenting DVD's and the parenting book!  Does this say something about my and Andee's (distant, don't get any ideas!) future?  I think it does!  And now, with the wisdom of the Creator through the ministry of Paul Tripp, we are prepared!!

On Tuesday we took our second trip to Chicago under much more intimidating circumstances; Andee's Step 2 CS licencing exam!  A looming 8-hour practical exam that when passed, assumes that Andee is now 2/3 a licensed Doctor in the US!  Praise God!  One more American exam to go in August, as well as the Canadian licencing exam in September, and all that is left is applications, the Match, and graduation!  Okay, so that is still a lot, but we are still one step closer to God's perfect plan made complete in us!  Andee and I also suspiciously had the same dream the night before, arriving at a fork in the road and being forced down the dangerous path, leaving the easy path behind.  This suggested and confirmed what we have already been learning in this season of unknowns that the safe, easy path is not the way to an amplified faith walk with Jesus, but we need to constantly step out of our comfort zones for the Glory of God!  Personally, I cannot receive enough reminders of this amazing truth!  I really hope through my life and online through this blog that it is clear to all that God's perfect will is what we strive for, and that His Glory would be seen in every circumstance!  Praise God!

To conclude this blog, a wonderful and amazing realization that Summer is finally upon us!  With 30 degree (86 for all you Americans) weather for the next while, I am planning on parking myself at the pool whenever humanly possible and enjoying this short but beautiful Northern Climate Summer!  Let the pool days begin!!

Impromtu Canadian Vacation!

If you are caught up on my last blog, we were totally unsure about the aftermath of our apartment flooding, and if or when we would be able to move back.  Since then (and take this with a grain of salt, because, well, you never really know with us) you all will be happy (maybe?) to hear that our apartment had given us a move-in date of June 15th!  If this date holds true, it will be just about two whole months of being unable to live in our home.  But by this point, we were just glad to be given any date at all!  In the meantime, since Andee had a gap in his Clinical Rotations schedule, we decided to take an impromptu trip back to Canada for a visit!  We were unsure how long we would be staying, taking it one week at a time, and searching for an elective rotation possibly in Canada.  We ended up staying three whole weeks with my parents, and obtaining a three week rotation back in Illinois for Andee before his twelve week surgery rotation.  We are also so grateful to be staying with Amy and Joe again for the next two weeks until our apartment is ready for us.  We'll take it!!  A little bit of certainty amidst all the organizational and moving chaos that is Medical School is always appreciated!  So without further ado, CANADA!!

Since the trip was, for the most part, rather unplanned, the only people that knew we were coming were my parents.  With this information kept mostly under wraps to my fellow Canadians, we were able to surprise a few friends and family members including my sister Cassie and her boyfriend Trevor, Andee's parents, and our best friends Dave and Arielle!  We also saw lots of family and friends throughout the trip, but since we didn't really know when we were heading back, we weren't able to get to everyone!  However, we did end up with a bunch of great pictures, and a lot of great memories!

With the beautiful Spring/Summer weather arriving, we hit up one of our favorite Ajax outdoor activities - Lynde Shores; a nature trail filled with geese, ducks, chipmunks, squirrels, racoons, blue jays, birds, and many other critters that will take food straight from your hands!  It was great!  See for yourself!!

We also visited my all time favorite summer spot - my Parent's cottage!!  We got in some beach time, warm sunshine, hanging out with lots of family including Aunts, Uncles and cousins, a family and a cousins bonfire, and of course, night fishing for the boys!  And boy, did they ever catch some amazing fish!  I suppose 3 full days and nights of fishing is bound to produce some results!

We were also able to hang out with our good friends, and really enjoy spending time with our families!  And this time, Aloe was much quicker to remember and befriend Mr. Purr, leading to many cute encounters and of course, pictures!

We just arrived back in Illinois only a few hours ago, and are "settling in" nicely back at Joe and Amy's.  Aloe too!  Only a few hisses!  We really do enjoy staying with our amazing friends, but are also excited to be reunited with our beloved apartment - and all the amenities it offers in the summer!  Get ready for an outdoor, activity filled summer!  I will conclude this entry with the cutest picture ever of the cutest cat ever....did I just type that?  Yes.  I did.  Enjoy!