New Babies

Last Thursday, May 26, 2 new babies entered the world. One is Sutherlin Alec Tillery, son of my best friend from college. He was 10 lbs and 9 oz at birth, and she was actually able to deliver him! Amazing.

Also, I have a new niece. Ryley Paige Watkins was born later that afternoon, no where near 10 lbs, more like 6 lbs. something. We'll get to meet her next week.

It's fun to have these sweet babies coming into the world. I will enjoy getting to know them. I can't wait for all the babies in our church to be born as well. It's going to be a fun year.

Can you pass the Turkey please?

Well, this morning I depart for the airport on a 23 hour oddessy as I travel to Antalya, Turkey. I'm leading a team that is going to work for 2 weeks in this Mediterranean city (who said missions was hard?).

I'm hoping to be able to post to the blog while I'm there keeping you up to date our our experiences.

Just a few more things to put in the backpack and I'll be ready...

The Type of English I speak. . .

Here it is. I was hoping for a bit less Dixie (sorry Arkansas friends), but that's okay. . .

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Dixie

10% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

So close!

We only need one more person to sign up and complete their offer for the free iPod and then we get ours! You know you want to... click on the iPod link on the right side of this page or just click here.

Chicago

On Friday, our family drove up to Chicago for some needed rest and relaxation. On Saturday, we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. We visited this great zoo a couple of years ago when Maitlyn was about 2.5 years old and Elspeth was only 2 months old. The best thing about the zoo is that IT IS FREE! They have tons of great animals like tigers, polar bears, monkeys and this proud mama lion:



Earlier in the morning, when we were inside the Big Cat House, her mate, a big hairy male, put on a show of roaring at all of us who were watching him. That was one of the most ferocious sounds I have ever experienced - it truly sent chills down my spine.

On Sunday, we visited one of the best aquariums in the world, the Shedd Aquarium. They have the most amazing fish I have ever seen, including a huge tank in an area called Wild Reef that curves over your head and is filled with hundreds of different kinds of fish including many sharks. Afterwards, we chilled out next to the shores of Lake Michigan with the city as our backdrop:



Today, we went to our favorite store, IKEA, to get bunk beds, twin mattresses, linens, etc. We are transforming Maitlyn's room so she and Elspeth can start sharing it in time for the upcoming baby (who moves into the nursery sometime after November 5th). I took this picture to try to convey the sheer size of the IKEA in Chicago:



However, this picture doesn't come close to conveying the sheer magnitude of this store. Elise and I estimate that the bottom floor alone (not counting the warehouse) is at least as big as a Wal-Mart Supercenter. And then it has 2 MORE FLOORS!!!! Anyone who has been in an IKEA knows that they are overwhelming.

It has been a really great trip. We've gotten to eat at several of our favorite restaurants like Giordano's (home of "Chicago's Famous Stuffed Pizza" and my favorite pizza of all time), Baja Fresh, Chipotle (the home of the VERY BEST BURRITOS EVER), and of course, the IKEA Restaurant (where you can eat breakfast for $.99, kids meals are $.99, they have great Swedish Meatballs and kids get free cookies and milk from 3-5 p.m.). We've gotten to visit some of our favorite places. We've gotten to spend some much needed time together as a family.

If only we could have worked in a Cubs game and made it to the U2 show...

The Big Dig - Progress Report

Last weekend, 13 friends descended on our back yard to help me install Sod! This was quite a rewarding day because there was finally grass in our yard after a full month of dirt. Now it looks like a yard again. Essentially all I have left to do in order to finish this project is to put the landscape fabric and mulch into the playset pad. Then, we build the playset (it's on order and will be here around the third week of May).

Here are a couple of pictures from our day. We installed Zoysia sod, which is pretty amazing grass. The pictures don't do it justice.