St. Louis Site - Upper Limits

Anyone else find some great deals through Groupon? I have and this one was another winner.

Hubs turns 29 tomorrow and so I bought a groupon to Upper Limits Indoor Rock Climbing Gym. I had  wanted to go there with Hubs for over a year now, but I knew it needed to be a special occasion because it wasn't the cheapest activity. With the groupon, however, we paid $15/person for a 2-hour Rock Climbing 101 class, rentals (harnesses, belay system, chalk, and shoes), and a full day of climbing (regularly $30/person).

You know me. Always ready for a new adventure and this sounded like one for sure.

In the class, we learned all the basics to climbing and belaying - tying knots, important gear, technique, etc. Then, we practiced climbing and belaying while being supervised by our instructor. Once he passed us, we were able to climb on our own.

I think Hubs was slightly nervous about me being between him and falling hundreds of feet to the crushed rubber ground, however, I didn't let him drop. Talk about a trusting sport. I found it to be pretty hard and only made it to the top one time before my arms feeling like jello and not being able to go further. Hubs, however, made it to the top 3 times on more difficult routes before feeling the jello.

We both enjoyed it so much. Not only was it a fun thing to do, but the staff and instructors were great and I'd recommend anyone to try it.

After you take the class, they give great coupons to come back and climb again. Coupons that we will definitely be taking advantage of in the next month. Also, tomorrow (1/20) they are having a sale with 50% off their yearly membership. That's a great deal if you are interested in making climbing a full-time hobby.

Oh, Good Grief

I searched through my past photos to see if I had anything interesting to blog about - you know, since it has been 2 months - but I didn't have anything. Photos seem to make things more interesting though, so I pulled some random ones while I update you on our life.

If you have done much moving around, you will understand this. It is so interesting how you adapt to a new place. Without knowing it, you plant roots. For a while, I didn't think I would ever extend roots in Saint Louis and maybe I even tried not to. Now I can see that there are people and things I would really miss if we leave. That topic - what happens after residency - is a subject that is approached almost daily but never do we leave it with an answer or a leaning any certain direction. We have lots of thoughts and ideas and plans and dreams. And faster than we ever imagined, we are now down to 12 months left.

 

One thing I love here is the trees. Beautiful trees in the fall. Each Sunday as we drove to church, my face was glued to the forests searching for the brightest and boldest colors. I wasn't disappointed. 

Have I told you that I ride the MetroLink to work? It is the transit train. I drive about a mile to the station, get on the train at 7:15 and it takes me within 3 blocks of the office. AND, there is a Starbucks on my walk to the building. It's like it was meant to be. I have really enjoyed this. It is way cheaper than parking, plus I don't have the expense of gas. Sometimes I read a book, sometimes listen to a sermon and sometimes I sleep. Every once in a while I have to drive to work for one reason or another and I am reminded why I love the train - St. Louis traffic.

I am so anxious for Christmas this year. I haven't seen my brothers in FOREVER and I have NEVER met my niece. I can't wait to savor every moment spent with the family before we go our separate ways again.

 When we come back from Christmas, I am starting a new job. It came without me looking for it (which are usually the best opportunities), and I seem to think it fits me pretty perfectly. It won't be without its challenges, but I'm excited about being used in a way to serve people and the Lord. It wasn't easy to leave my old job, though. I attach myself very easily to people and positions and roles. And I have a great boss who taught me a lot about professionalism, work ethic and office management. I'm so thankful for the job the Lord has provided me with for the past 18 months and very excited about where  I'm headed now.

Hubs and I are as happy and in love as ever before. I finally understand what all those people meant when they said your love grows deeper. Its entirely unexplainable and wonderful. But what they should tell you is that it doesn't just happen. It takes purposeful, intentional loving of one another - putting each other before yourself and loving the Lord more than everything. It takes forgiveness instead of bitterness. But it is worth it.

Cheers to you all. Hopefully I'll touch base with you soon.

Lately

I realize I haven't updated anyone on our lives in quite a while. So, if you don't communicate regularly with me, you could think that all I do is look back at old pictures and blog very irregularly.

I have been working a lot. That, and maintaining our home to the bare minimum, takes up most of my time. I am trying very hard to stay within our budget and so menu planning and strategic shopping are key. I am also running again and training for a 10k in June. After moving here, working out became non-existent and I will admit to weighing more than ever in my entire life. Doing this 10k with a friend is helping me get back into the habits that I need to have.

Hubs and I are going to a small group each week from our church. Both our church and small group meet quite a ways away from us, but it is worth it to be with fellow believers. We both are very happy with our home. A year ago, we really had no idea where our house was located in means of convenience to school/work/shopping/etc. We live in a quiet little neighborhood of very friendly faces and are close to downtown St Louis as well as the suburbs. God was directing our lives last year at this time and looking back we can give Him the praise for where we are now.

Hubs is busy at school seeing patients, studying for classes, preparing for presentations and readying his research. He gets a few breaks this year, which we are thankful for, but we both count down the months until it is all over. I have leaned on Hubs more than ever in the past 9 months and he has proved to be the godly man and leader that I knew he was. More than once he has directed my wayward mind back to Christ and the scriptures. And I have no doubts he will have to continue to do so.

We are adjusting to our new life, which looks like a mixture of our Kansas life with our Nebraska life. We have all the demands of full-time school and work mixed with the leisurely life we had come to love. I still know that we both want to be more involved in our church and we want to be able to entertain people in our home more, but we both also know that other factors come to play right now restricting us at times to do all that we want.

If you ever pray for us or think of us, thank you. We are amazed at all that has happened in the past 6 years and have no clue what is in store for the next. And I'm very thankful that people continue to read this haphazard blog of mine!

Looking Back at Israel - Caesarea Maritime & Jezreel

Caesarea Maritime - Hippodrome

Caesarea Maritime is on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is a city and harbor built by Herod. While there, we saw ruins of a theater, the hippodrome, Herod's palace, a temple to Zeus, an aquaduct and other antiquities. The question is....what does any of it matter to us?

Theatre at Caesarea (the throne would have sat right in the middle of the stadium)

Besides being historical and amazing to think they built all this without machines, this area is mentioned in Scripture twice. Acts 12:20-23 describes the death of Herod after the people called him a god. Because Herod did not give God the glory, he was eaten by worms and died. This event is placed either in the theatre or in the hippodrome; because of what the historian Josephus writes, it most likely is in the theatre.

Aquaduct

But in Acts 10, we learn the story of Cornelius who was in Caesarea. Peter travels there after a vision and he witnesses the Holy Spirit fall onto Gentiles. This is the first time Peter sees this happen without a Gentile having to conform to the Jewish traditions. We took some time to just think over the importance of this passage and the greatness of God in bringing the gospel to the Gentiles.

* * *

We experienced the Jezreel Valley from every side: from the northwest at Mt. Carmel, from the west from Megiddo, from the south at Mr. Gilboa, and from the east at Nazareth. The Jezreel Valley is the only way anyone could travel between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Controlling this valley often meant controll of the trade routes and the regions surrounding it. At each of those spots where we viewed the beautiful Jezreel Valley, we also thought of the other historical events that occurred.

Jezreel Valley from Mt. Carmel: Mt. Carmel was also the place where Elijah contested with the prophets of Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18).

Jezreel Valley from Megiddo. Megiddo is an important spot in past history and future. There are 18 layers of civilizations here and Solomon fortified this city when he was king (1 Kings 9:15-16).  We saw excavated stables and even a manger (which would have been made of stone, not wood). Of course, Megiddo is where the armies will gather for the battle of Armegeddon (Revelation 16:12-16).

Jezreel Valley from Mt. Gilboa. Mt Gilboa is where Saul took his life (1 Samuel 31). The spring of Harod is on Mt. Gilboa and is where Gideon chose 300 men to fight against the Midianites (Judges 7).

Jezreel Valley from Nazareth. Nazareth is behind Hubs, who is taking the picture and we actually did not go into Nazareth besides driving through. Obviously, it is Jesus' boyhood home and where he was rejected twice during his ministry (Luke 4:16-30; Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 13:53-58). However, besides churches and monuments, there didn't seem to be much that would interest us.


We saw all of these sites (and more) in one day. Hopefully that gives perspective on how small Israel is compared to most countries and also how much we accomplished in our days. I also hope that you see how diverse the landscape is. Sometimes I know we think that it is dry, dusty and dessert-ish. However, it is a very fertile area, green and rocky.

Looking Back at Israel - Preparedness, Companions & Accomodations

I promise to get to the sites, but first I want to describe the trip.

Our flights were nice. We were able to fly directly from Newark to Tel Aviv. Although it was a long plane ride, I preferred it to stopping in Europe and having another layover. Hubs and I are moderately well-traveled and knew to wear comfy clothes, dress in layers and bring along toiletries. It is nice to take a break on the flight to brush teeth, remove/replace contacts and refresh. For, when arriving in the morning, after flying all night, the fun starts immediately.

Our trip was fast paced; we fit a lot of things into a little amount of time. It was designed that way to keep costs & time-away down. To prepare, most of the group got together 4 times before the trip. We were briefed on the places we would visit and why, on what to expect and on what to pack. This was an extreme benefit in all ways. We could read over our notes each morning and know what the day would entail and I think we packed extremely well.

The group sitting on all that is left of the Temple.

We were a large group of mostly familiar faces from our church. We also had some new faces and were able to get to know each other well. For spending all day together, we got along very well. Hubs and I were among the youngest travelers and were very happy to have our cousins along to bring the median age lower.

Cousins headed home

We stayed at a variety of hotels. Our first night was at a Jewish hotel on the coast of the Mediterranean in Netanya. It was a very nice, clean hotel where it seemed many people would come for the weekend to get away.

Outside of the Blue Bay Hotel, Netanya

The next two nights were spent at a Jewish Kibbutz, or collective community, on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The front of the Kibbutz Kenneret hotel with our bus driver, Joel.

Our fourth night was in a youth hostel at the foot of Masada. This was my least favorite spot and fortunately we spent very little time there. The rooms left much to be desired, but it was in a very convenient location to hike Masada the next morning.

Looking down at the Masada Hostel as we begin the trek up Masada.

Our last nights were spent at a hotel inside the old walls of Jerusalem. This hotel had a medieval feel and was a favorite of mine. We were situated on the wall of Old Jerusalem and could peep out of the slits in the wall to see the rest of the city. Once we arrived in Jerusalem, we walked everywhere. Our location was very situated for that, and for visiting the local shops.

The Knight's Palace in Old Jerusalem.

Our accommodations all had a western feel. There was nothing more unusual than dealing with the electrical outlets. It was all excellently planned and we never had to worry about our trip arrangements.

Now that I have the particulars out of the way, I can focus on the sites in the upcoming posts!

Looking Back at Israel - Food

Again, I am finding it very hard to write about Israel. There is so much. So, let me begin with something incredibly simple. The food.

When you are a picky particular eater, traveling to a foreign country is bound to introduce you to new, unknown foods. One might need to be daring, but even then, there is no guarantee the food will be good. The mediterranean diet is full of great food, however there are two essential things you need to like: olives & chickpeas. Neither does Hubs like.

So, our suitcases were filled with snacks. The breakfasts and dinners were buffets at our hotels and always had a large enough variety for us to fill up on. Picture giant bowls of fruits and veggies, pasta salads and cheeses. All except the final hotel were certified Kosher. So, meat and dairy could not be served together. There was no butter for your rolls in the evening. There was no meat in the morning to go with your eggs. Not really a huge deal for me, but others found it rough. The last hotel we stayed in was by far everyone's favorite, mainly because it was a great mixture of the foods we liked of Israel and the foods we were used to in the States.

Lunches were an entirely different matter. We ate local, which means we ate falafel or schwarma. I happen to like both, but Hubs suffered through the loads of hummus inside the pita bread. In one Arab town, we got to have schnitzel - chicken breaded in sesame seeds and wrapped in a pita. And one day we ate at the most expensive McDonald's ever.

One amazing opportunity we had was to be invited to our bus driver's home for lunch. He is a beduin Arab by descent, as well as a Christian. His wife and family cooked an amazing meal and invited us into their home. We at in stages:

Stage 1: Coffee. Not normal coffee, but coffee brewed with cardamon. And they believed Americans to prefer coffee with sugar (gag), so they also brewed it with sugar. It was very hard, but we all chugged it down.

Stage 2: Pastry. A pastry pocket filled with fruit and nuts - dates, apples, spices and nuts. It was very good.

Stage 3: The main course. Fall-off-the-bone chicken in delicious seasonings, pita bread (more like naan) covered in olive oil and onions, a very sour cheese and tomatoes. I loved the pita and I loved the chicken and tomatoes. And I am one of those people who usually insists on swallowing anything somebody makes for you, however I could not. Our poor pita was drenched in oil and after eating 1/4 of my plate, I started to have the gag reflex. Maybe my body wasn't used to the spices and oil, maybe it was because I had been awake for over 24 hours, but this food was not going down my throat.

Stage 4: Fruit. We got to pick a piece a fresh fruit. This was delightful. Israel grows much produce and much of what is eaten there is grown there

Stage 5: Tea. A nice cup of sweetened tea with mint. It was a refreshing end the meal.

In Old Jerusalem, we were free to eat wherever we chose. Hubs & I chose pizza quite frequently and at one pizzeria had this frozen lemonade with mint leaves that was delicious. [And I'm pretty sure I can duplicate it.]

I think we could have had a lot worse to deal with than Kosher standards and chickpeas!

Looking Back One Year

One year ago today, Hubs and I woke up before any human should after a mere 4 hours of sleep. We were running behind and our ride showed up promptly as we threw everything together, triple-checked that we had our passports, and ran out the door. Eleven hours later, we landed in one of the most coveted pieces of land in the world. Israel.

When people told us that we needed to see Israel, I believed them, but I didn’t really understand why. Now I agree wholeheartedly, but I can’t completely explain to you why. It is more than being able to put landscapes with the stories and it is more than knowing the distances between towns and the different terrains. But if given the opportunity, you should make sacrifices in order to go. I would, to go again.

And, I dare say that the experience Hubs and I had was completely different than what a person would get if you just signed up for any ol’ tour of Israel. Don’t do that. Hubs and I went on a study trip. We didn’t just carry around our cameras; we had notebooks and maps and Bibles and booklets of information. We didn’t just sleep on the bus rides; we were being taught and were taking notes. It was as if I was in college again, except this time learning things that really matter and trying to absorb and meditate on the abundance of truth imparted to us each day.

So, if you are going to spend all that money to get there, do it only if you have a teacher who can delve into the truths of the gospel. Sure, you can be impressed with a church structure that was built to commemorate a possible location in the Bible. Or, you can be interested in learning about the history of the current nation of Israel. And you can even be entranced in the different cultures. But, you won’t be nearly as edified as going with someone who has made it his life’s aim to know Jesus deeply and intimately and who has studied and knows and loves Israel because of the love that God has for Israel.

When we returned from Israel, I hardly blogged about it at all. It was so overwhelming and life was a bit chaotic. So, each day of the trip, one year later, I am going to share some of my favorite times there. I have no doubts that this will do no justice to the trip itself, but hopefully will give you a glimpse into why Israel is a place you should go.

The tale of the [giant] spider

One Saturday, I was getting a lot done around the house - organizing, cleaning, unpacking [yes, there was is still some of that left]. When I pulled out a storage bin, a giant spider fell to the ground. Not usually afraid of spiders, I leapt out of the way of the giant, extremely fast-crawling spider. It crawled behind the TV and I decided to ignore it for the time being.

While eating some lunch, the beast scurries from under the TV right to the middle of the floor. I may or may not have let out a little scream at this point. Then I went to get a shoe and was going to take care of this problem once and for all. After a good 10 minutes of staring at the thing, I texted Richard:

"Call me."

I might have been a little dramatic, but we talked and discussed using a Tupperware container to keep him in place so that Hubs could take care of it when he got home. I sent a text back to assure him I caught the thing:

Hubs replied: I will bring on the pain to him when I get home.

But, the I got to thinking. What if he escaped in the hours that Hubs spent at school. I thought he could possibly get out under the lid. And then, I would never be able to relax in the basement without wondering if he was going to crawl up my leg. So, I texted back:

He's not going anywhere.

I can assure you. The giant spider is dead.

St. Louis Site: Castlewood State Park // Labor Day Weekend

As planned, Hubs and I saved Labor Day as a day to get out and relax. We left the house by 8:30 am and were off to revel in the sub-60 degree temps at Castlewood State Park. I had heard good things, but we weren't sure what to expect. It is only 17 miles from our doorstep, right in the city of Ballwin [one of the places where we looked for a house].

We weren't dissappointed. What a great spot for a family outing - picnics, hiking, biking, gathering, grilling, swimming [if you do that sort of thing in a river - I do not]. It was gorgeous. And, it's FREE!

Part of the reason we chose this activity was to get the Pups out and exercised. We loaded him up with full Nalgene bottles in his pack [water for us and him] to make him work a little harder. It was pretty chilly - not being used to such reasonable temperatures - so Hubs made a stop and surprised me with some coffee. Made my day.

As you can tell, Ransom had a blast. It was fun to see him working - dogs are so happy when they have a job to do - and he even took a little jump into the river. If we would have been more prepared with a long leash, we would have let him get in further. Hubs and I enjoyed the calm, quietness of the woods.

After we finished a pretty lengthy trail, we decided to do another short one. I'm excited to go back again sometime, maybe in the fall when the leaves are changing. Afterwards we got some fast food, dropped the pups off at home for a nap, and went to a matinee for $7.25 each! We finally concluded the Harry Potter movie series.

And the weather is still perfect. It really was the break we needed before we settle in for a semester of school and work!

St. Louis Site: St. Louis Zoo

My employer had a family outing at the St. Louis zoo, which, by the way, is a free zoo. They had lunch for us and we were able to see some of the fun exhibits at the zoo.

It started off kind of rainy, but cleared up and got really hot and muggy - typical for around here. You don't really know what to think about a free zoo, but it turns out that it is a really good zoo. The animals were active - especially the hippos, hyenas, and bears. And they are adding a really cool sea lion exhibit that we will have to go back next year and visit.

And the highlight of the day was Caribbean Cove, where we were able to pet stingrays and sharks.

They are sort of slimy, but really very smooth and soft. Hands-on experience are my favorite so this was my favorite part of the day. Hubs took a little video of the experience.

I accidently slipped and "fell in." But we petted sting rays and even a few little sharks. The sharks aren't as fond of being touched as the rays so they zip by pretty fast. Sometimes they let you feed the sting rays,  so they seem to be more friendly.

When/If you visit, we'd definitely suggest this spot. Hubs and I parked on the road, had lunch provided, and even got $5 in zoo bucks (which we used towards the sting ray exhibit which costs $3/person), so the total cost of this day was $1. Those are just the kind of dates we love!

five.

Today Hubs and I have hit the five year mark. We have been married for five years, know each other for seven. And it has been quite the ride [everyone say that kind of thing].

At five years, I have reached the point where I can't remember what it was like to not have him in my life. Five years ago I hardly loved Hubs at all, compared to how much I love him today.

Both of the wise men who led our wedding ceremony said over and over that the key to our marriage would be to put our own needs, wants and desires last. [Not really what you hear from modern therapists and counselors.] I remember distinctly the charge given to me: "First bind yourself to Christ, then bind yourself to Richard." And wow, does marriage work better when I remember [and practice] those words!

In five years, we've done a lot together. We've traveled all over - Hawaii [twice], Seattle, Colorado, Mexico, Israel, San Diego, Michigan, Atlanta. We've moved 2.3 times. We've made lots of great friends together. We've brought a house. We added Ransom to our family. We've grown. A lot. We've laughed together and we've gotten angry at each other. All of it has helped us love each other more.

So, what does a couple of 27-year-olds, one a non-paid resident and the other a receptionist, do on their 5th wedding anniversary that happens to fall on a weekend to celebrate?

Watch all 8 Harry Potter movies in a row? Perhaps.

But first we are going HERE to ignite the child-at-heart and then dinner out on the town.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Saint Louis Sight: Cardinal's Game

We are football people. We are college football, Nebraska football, people. But now we are immersed it what can only be described as a baseball town. Baseball: the slow-moving, no-replays-on-the-big-screen, hard-to-hold-attention game.

We got free tickets to a Cardinals game, and if we are going to take in all this city has to offer, we definitely had to take in this game. Plus, we don't turn down free anything.

It rains here more than in Kansas. A 50% chance of rain in Kansas means it probably won't rain. A 50% chance of rain here means it just might rain or it just might not. Rain has affected our plans more than ever before. Just as it did on Thursday.

Though the game was delayed a little, we still went. We took the metrolink downtown to avoid parking fees and potential break-ins.

The sky was ominous against the lights of the stadium. The rain had cooled down the temperature, though, and it was a good night.

We settled in and started to enjoy the game. It was hard, however, with the smell of fried onion rings wafting my direction. It was hard to think of anything but the food I was not enjoying. I did think it was cool how they mowed an arch in the field.

The stadium was awesome. Clean and very nice. We were impressed.

It started raining about 90 minutes later. Pouring. So the rain delayed the game and we decided to head home. The metrolink proved to be a good form of transportation. One we will probably use again since the station is less than a mile away.

I definitely wouldn't mind going to another game! But next time...we're getting food.

St. Louis Sight - Kirkwood Fireworks & Tropical Moose

We had planned to go to Fair Saint Louis on Saturday to see Maroon 5 and the fireworks underneath the arch. However, rain changed our plans and we ended up playing two very exciting games of Scrabble.

On July 4th, however, we headed out to Kirkwood for their fireworks show. I had heard about a shave ice place that had the Hawaiian specialty of ice cream on the bottom, plus a special little treat for canines.

We stood in line for a long time. It was a perfect day for shave ice. Once we got them, they were well worth the wait.

Mine is the giant papaya dream treat on the left; the nasty brown stuff on the left is for Ransom. They call it a "Canine Cooler" - meat flavored shave ice.

Ransom loved it. He couldn't stop eating it.

Ransom was very popular with the little girls sitting next to us. They loved on him until the fireworks started.

There were lots of people. The show was really good, too. And although Ransom does really well during the fireworks, we probably won't take him again.

St. Louis Sight: Music+Movie in Laumeier Sculpture Park

Our Friday night outing was to Music+Movie in Laumeier Sculpture Park. The have done this for the past few years throughout June. Although I had never heard of the movie before, it was the last week for the event. So, I packed up a dinner and snacks and we headed out.

The night was gorgeous. We've come to realize that wind isn't normal. Living in the midwest for so long, we started to think that a day without wind was odd. If it's windy here...well, it's just not.

There were all ages. Families, couples, singles, retirees...all sorts. And it was fun! The rockabilly band was upbeat. Kids and adults were dancing and playing outdoor sports, too.

We laid out a blanket and chairs and enjoyed our food with 1,200 other people around. They launched t-shirts into the crowd and had other free things too!

Unfortunately, we left early. The movie was not entertaining to us, so we headed home. It was still a fun time and I can't wait to do it again next year!