Celebration in the downtown Chicago!

So Tim planned a trip into the city for our 5 year anniversary. Here is a shot of our hotel.


It was so quaint


We had to laugh because the room smelled like Old Spice - it was almost like that was their air freshener :o) It was a gorgeous room though!This was the lobby - I wanted to just hang out and read, but there wasn't time.
That night we went to the Pritzker Pavillion and watched Northwestern University play for us. It was fabulous!

The night was perfect - 60-70 degrees and just so relaxing!

I loved this close up - they have concerts all summer long - we look forward to hitting some more.


After the concert, we headed to Geja's cafe. It was so much fun!
It was so cozy and romantic!
They started with the fruit, bread and cheese
And then went to a small salad
Then came the Meat and veggies! It was actually really good. Although I purposely overcooked every piece - just in case!
We got to roast our marshamallows over the chocolate
Some great fruit!


Mmmmm - chocolate!!!The next morning, we woke up (late) and stopped by "The Original Pancake House" which is well known here. It was pretty amazing!



Tim got the house specialty - the "Apple Pancake" It as massive! He only finished about half. But it sure was good!
That afternoon, we headed to University of Chicago - Beautiful School!
Then we spent time jsut walking the magnificent mile and hanging out in Millenium park.

We had a wonderful time together - we probably walked 5 + miles, but it was worth it. It was nice just to see the parts of the city we hadn't seen before. And of course it was such a blessing just being together and relaxing!

The best 5 years of my life!

This was actually the night we got engaged  - I don't really have any wedding pictures on our computer (i'll have to work on that). But today is our 5 year anniversary! I can hardly believe it. Tim has just flown by! I love being married to my best friend. We have had a blast just living our lives together.  We had a wonderful four years in Virginia Beach where we made so many friends at Central Seminary and Greenbrier Christian Academy. We bought our first home, got a few years teaching under our belts, sold our first home... and then headed to Chicago. We have been here less then a year - there has been a lot of transition, but it didn't seem hard because I had my companion by my side!  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY!   

He was so sweet that he planned a little get away for us in downtown Chicago. We are heading into the city tomorrow morning after church, watching a concert at the pritzker pavillion, having dinner at Geja's cafe, staying the night at the Whitehall Hotel, and then just checking out the city the rest of the day on Monday.  I am sooo looking forward to it! I am so impressed that he made the time to plan this for us with as busy as he has been.  I love him so much and I am so looking forward to some time away with him.

Shrimp Stew

I was in the grocery store the other day, and there was this chef serving soup.  I tried it and about died it was so good!  He had cards with the recipe and I quickly grabbed one and then proceeded to hurry around the store to find the ingredients.  I made it for Tim the next day, and he LOVED it! So I wanted to post the recipe :o) 
* 2 T Canola Oil

* 1/4 cup each : Onion, Celery, and Carrots(chopped small)

* 1/4 cup Blackstone Chardonnay Wine

* 2 bottles (8oz.) Clam Juice

* 1 Can Fire roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)

* 1 T Creole Seasoning

* 2 Pounds large shrimp (raw, peeled, deveined) ( I only used one pound)

* 2 T basil

1. Heat a large tock pot over medium - high heat for one minute.

Add oil and vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Add wine, clam juice, and canned tomatoes, and Creole seasoning, stir to combine.

2. Place lid on pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the lid and add raw shrimp and basil. Simmer for 4 minutes, stirring often. Serve immediately with crusty bread and Blackstone Chardonnay.

We loved it and I hope you do too!

Baby Baylor - 9 weeks

Well, here are our first pictures of little peanut.  They didn't scan super well, so it is hard to see, but we could see little arm and leg buds swimming around the screen.
The technician said that the little one wouldn't hold still - just kept squirming across the screen.  It was so special - even though he/she is sooo little - it was so nice to see that he/she is healthy.  We saw and heard the heartbeat. Everything is great.  And there is only ONE (which since I am a twin, was good for us to know :o)  

My due date was changed to December 9th.  

We are just so thankful for the Lord's grace and goodness.  

Happy Mother's Day!

I just wanted to take a moment and wish all of those mothers and mothers-to-be a HAPPY day!

Tim woke me up before church and gave me a very sweet "First Mother's Day" card. I didn't even think he had time to remember with the end of the semester coming on Friday.

And then he took me out to T.G.I.Fridays. It was nice just to spend time with him. He is such a sweetheart!

I hope the rest of you moms were spoiled today (and got to take a NAP!)

Have a great day with your family!

Burnt Ham

So I decided to make a ham the other day.  I have only made one in almost five years of marriage (and that one didn't turn out so hot).  Well, I found this recipe on the internet. It's kind of weird, but it sounded good. It consisted of butter, brown sugar, coke, and pineapple. 

 Anyways, the directions were to cover the ham with all said ingredients and then bake for 3 hours at 450 degrees. I mean, I have to admit, it seemed like a pretty hight temp for that long, but who am I to disagree with a recipe.  So I put it in the oven and set the timer.  Well, after 3 hours the buzzer went off. I was on my way home from the grocery store when tim called me and said, "honey, the ham..." I said, "what about it?" He said, "it looks bad, really bad!"

I kind of blew it off and told him to turn the oven off. I was home in a few minutes, and I could not believe how bad it really looked!  It was charcoal!  I tapped on it with a knife... and it made a loud cracking noise!  

Bummer, I thought - another ham in the garbage!

But then I talked to my sweet mother and she said that I should try to cut into it anyways to see what was inside. So after several minutes of carving away at the charcoal helmet, I broke through to -- beautiful pink ham!  It was amazing! It actually tasted sweet and juicy!  So we went ahead and ate on it for the next few days.  Craziness.... any good ham recipes out there?

Pictures of Baby Logan

We had the privilege of seeing Scott, Lindsay, and little David James last night. He is a cutie! We promised them we would post pics for everyone, since they don't have internet access at the hospital.