So I have yet to see a cicada in Chicago (Thank God!), however, there are plenty to go around at my parents house in Winnetka and other surrounding suburbs. I have said it once and I will say it again....Sick! I will not be shedding a single tear when they disappear for another 17 years.

This is a little belated but it was my dad's birthday this past Sunday (the 27th) and I just wanted to say how great he is. When it comes to my dad I really could not have been more blessed. He is someone who has been a part of shaping me into the person I am today through his unconditional love that he has for me. He has shown me what it looks like to live your live for God and how his love for Jesus shines through him like a light. He is someone who has shown me faith, love, kindness, patience, loyalty, perseverance, humility, care, humor, generosity, leadership, and the list could go on on and on. My dad is amazing and I love him so much. I am truly blessed to be able to call him my father.
At the Bears game with Cam
At the driving range with the family on a Sunday afternoon

Mariachi band anyone??

Cicadas....they are so gross they deserve 2 posts before they have even emerged! Any day now, any day now.

So in honor May 22 (the predicted doom day) Stacy, Annie and I had a "coming out" welcome party. Let's be honest, life is just not as much fun if you can't be silly once in a while.

Cicadas seem to be a very hot topic these days especially with their arrival day looming in the near future. I, for one, am extremely NOT excited for the cicadas to come. Here are some pictures that I found to just help us get into the mindset of when they come, which is supposedly May 22, next Tuesday!

I heard on the radio that there is 1.5 million cicadas per acre! That seems to be a ridiculously huge amount for such a small area. We'll see if that really is the case. I hope not.

My mom told me a story of the last time they were here when I was 8. We were going into town together and I happened to be holding a cicada in my open palm. She asked me what I was doing with it and I told her I was taking it for a walk. I highly doubt I am going to be taking cicadas on a stroll this time around. I am pretty sure I will just be freaking out because flying insects scare me. I have joked about tying a piece of string around the leg of one and having it fly over my head in circles but that seems a bit cruel and I would have to hold it. Yuck! Clearly, I'm am not excited. Can you tell? Just thought I would share.

Anyone have any stories that they can remember of the last time they were here 17 years ago?

More sad news...this past weekend Tomte died. That is 3 cats in 2 weeks! Unlike the other cats, I was ready for this one. We have been watching him dramatically lose weight for the past couple months so we figured this was coming. He died in his favorite place, on my mom's lap. If you ask me that's kind of gross but sweet at the same time. Way to be a trooper mom! So here are some pictures I shot of him several weeks ago. And then there was one...but stay tuned because my mom believes in having cats in two's!

To my surprise, my parents got last minute tickets to the Cubs game last night. It was a fun game to go to and we won! The score was 1-0. Of course, since it was last minute we missed their only scoring run in the first inning because we got there late. Oh well. It was a fun game spent with great people and nice weather. You can't ask for anything more.

You won't be seeing many posts from me about my family pets unless there is news to share. Unfortunately, what I am about to tell you is not good but sorrowful. You will also probably not find a post like this on Linnea's blog because she never cared much about our cats so I stand alone in the blog world posting this tribute to 2 of our cats, Mia and Pojke.

This past Sunday I learned that 2 of our beloved cats were missing. Mia, our part Siamese, too good for the other cats and owners besides my mom, has been missing for over a week. While Mia was a very beautiful cat, I can't say that I am terribly upset about her disappearance. While she will be missed, she has always only been affectionate with my mom so I have never had much of a connection with her. We have had her since I was a Junior in High school.

The other cat that is missing is Pojke. He has been gone for the last several days. He is the sweetest cat that loved to curl up in your lap during the day or snuggle with you at night. I can still remember the day I came home from school when I was in 5th grade and the first time I saw him. He was underneath the shelf where our microwave sits trying to hide in the dark corner. It was difficult to see him since he was all black but I remember pulling him out and holding him for the first time. Pojke has been in my life for a long time and is one of those pets that I will truly miss seeing every time I am home.

While I would not be surprised if Mia just took off and never returned, it is a missing Pojke that makes me think that we are never going to be seeing them again. He is too old to be wondering off and just not coming back. That's just not like him. Not to mention, my mom said that she head noises that could have been coming from a cat that was being attacked the other night.

So this is my tribute to Mia and Pojke (2), may they rest in peace. I will post some pictures if I can find some in the near future. I hope they have a great time in kitty heaven and say hi to Elsie, Tily, Flicka 1, Flicka 2, Flicka 3 and Pojke 1.

Side note: If you are worried about my parents being lonely in their house without Mia and Pojke you don't have to worry. Tompte and Bjorn are still there to keep them company but don't be too surprised if you read another post soon regarding Tompte. He's not doing so well. Long live Bjorn!

So our mother volunteered us (she is really good at that) to make manicotti for our church dinner that we have every Wednesday night. We cooked for about 150 people which is a LOT of manicotti. Fortunately, this is our second time doing this so we had our assembly line ready to go. Linnea was directing of course :) This time it only took 3 hours to make 225 noodles. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and some enough to take seconds!

I have not posted pictures of Gwen lately so here you go. The first one is of me, Gwen and my Grandpa "The Great One" at church and the last 3 are of us just hanging out with Linnea. Can you believe she is going to be 1 on May 2nd! She is just so cute! I am definitely the definition of a proud aunt :)

Lisa, Leah, Annie and Me
Lisa and Kenny

Me, Joel and Annie

Lisa and Joel Russell were in town on Thursday and we went to Andies for dinner in Andersonville. It is a great place for Mediterranean food. I had the Almond crusted tilapia on garlic mashed potatoes and it was so so yummy. It was so great to see them.

The Shamrock Shuffle was this past Sunday and I accomplished the goal that I had set for myself!!! I wanted to run the entire thing and I did!!! I honestly never thought I could run 5 miles so this is a great feeling. I almost died when I saw a hill during one of the last parts of the run. Are you kidding me? What are they trying to do to us??? Fortunately I overcame my exhaustion and finished the run. It was a gorgeous day and an overall great experience.
The top two pictures are me crossing the finish line. Sorry the pictures look so digital. I am just happy to have them :)

Leah and I after the race enjoying the beautiful Chicago day.

Just wanted to write a quick update that Curt and Roger returned home safely yesterday around 2 pm. This was a couple days earlier than expected and is truly a miracle. This really shows the power of prayer.

Thanks be to God for his protection over them!

Please pray for the situation in Congo right now. If you don't know much about it you can read articles on CNN.com, the Covenant Website http://www.covchurch.org/or any other world news website. Roger Thorpe, a retired Covenant missionary, and Curt Peterson, the executive director of World Missions are stuck there.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THEIR SAFETY!!!!!

So I am going to round out my day for you that I had on Monday. It began with the post about being sick and ends with me deciding to go to Linnea and Cam's and getting pulled over for taking a left turn during the hours of 4-6. It was a last minute decision to go to their place and it was an honest mistake because I did not see the sign.

Fortunately, I was already planning on going to see the one little girl that can always put a smile on my face no matter what kind of day I am having. That little girl is of course Gwen. Her parents make me happy as well but there is something about when she smiles that just makes me melt. Gwen makes me so happy and it was so worth moving back from California to be able to see her as often as I do. I am so thankful for Gwen, her parents and what they mean to me. I honestly don't know what I would do without them right now.

You know what sucks??? Feeling sick but being forced to go to work because you are still a new enough employee where you don't have paid sick time and you can't afford to not get paid for one day when you really should be getting some rest at home attempting to get better so that you don't get your co-workers sick.

People who abuse the sick time ruin it for those who are in fact sick!

That's all folks

If you have already looked at the Bassett's or Johnson's blog today you are not going to be surprised when I say that I just came back from a Jr. High retreat in the Wisconsin Dells this weekend. I will let you know from the beginning that I don't have any pictures so if you want to see some I refer you to the previously mentioned blogs.

What I did want to talk about was the message that we were trying to get across to the kids this weekend and that was hospitality. When I was in Junior High and even High School it seemed rare that I was ever shown hospitality from the other kids. I am of coarse meaning that they never seemed to include me. Was it because they were a little more mature than I was and just in a different place in life so we were interested in different things?? Maybe. Was it because I was not very outgoing so I was scared to talk to them and try to become friends?? Sure. Was it because they were just as nervous as I was to step out of their comfort zone to include someone new who they did not know as well?? Most likely. The fact is that I am sure that all these reasons apply and then some.

The point is that it can be very hard to include and be hospitable to others we don't know as well. After all, you are asking yourself to step outside your own boundaries and in a way making yourself vulnerable when you don't have to be. The sad truth is that this can still happen as an adult. However, I don't believe that it is as obvious because I think that this kind of behavior can be viewed as being "Junior Highish" and then dismissed as something that could never happen past those years. Thank God we have matured (well hopefully) and are able to allow ourselves to step out of our comfort zones with a little more confidence in ourselves. I know I try to because I know how it feels be the one left out of things.

So with that little explanation of our message this weekend, I am going to present you with the same challenge as we did to our Junior High youth group. I challenge you to step out of your circle and talk to someone you don't know as well as your close friends. Whether it be at church, work, the gym or wherever, take a few moments to say hello to someone you don't normally talk to but see all the time. I think this world would be a much better place if we were a little bit more hospitable to each other and a little less hostile.

So yesterday (the 22nd) was my 25th birthday! Man, I'm getting old. I officially have to say that I am mid-twenties. There is no way to get around it anymore. The day started with a very busy day at work :( I had lunch with my sisters at Tre Kronor (always yummy) and then dinner with my family at Grand Lux Cafe downtown on Michigan Avenue. I recommend that place to anyone. Then my sisters surprised me by whisking me off to the Signature Lounge (I had never been before) where they surprised me once again when several of my friends were there. I felt very special and it was a great way to start off number 25! Thank you to everyone who made this a great day for me. It's all down hill from here......ha just kidding :)

Ummmm.....excuse me. How cute are they and how flippin' excited is everyone that the Bears are going to the Superbowl!!!! Best day before birthday present EVER!!!!

So we went to a Bulls game last night and it was so much fun. It was my first game and we had a great time.

On a different note, I randomly signed up to run the Shamrock Shuffle (8k - 5 miles) in March. Now for those of you who know me know how much I hate running so this was a rather interesting choice for me. I am running it with Leah and her fiancé Chris who will serve as our motivator throughout the run. So please pray for me as I begin to start training. Thanks.

So here are some random pictures from my life over the past several weeks. December was crazy for me , as I am sure it was for most people, so these are going to be a bit random. Amazingly enough, I am still trying to get a handle on this blog thing so these events are in reverse order (the most recent being first). Also if you would like to see what I did for Christmas and New Years you can check out my sisters blog (The Johnson's) because I don't feel the need to basically repeat her blog. I also have no idea how I managed to get this section as a link but don't click it because you will only end up with an enlarged picture of the one above but if you want that picture to be enlarged, by all means click it! Someday I think I will get the hang of this.

We had a holiday get-together at our apartment and here are a few pictures. The first is of me and Britta, Annie and Krysta.
Stacy, Peter and Britta

Krysta and Josh This is of my family watching the Superbowl Shuffle after the main course of our progressive dinner. That would be my Grandma rockin it with '85 Bears!

Here is the Bears game vs. Tampa Bay on December 17th. The second picture is after we WON in OT!!!! It was a great game to go to and it felt like spring. You can't ask for anything more for a mid-December game!

Here's Gwen helping out with the Christmas tree at my parents house and sampling an ornament.

Thanksgiving.....this is going to get cheesy. Are you ready for it??

This is always a time of year where people begin to reflect on this past year and what has happened in their lives. It is weird to think that just one year ago I was living in California and this is the weekend that made me decide that I wanted to move back to Chicago. Four months later it happened. What triggered the final decision was a voice mail that I had received from my Grandma. I was in the happiest place on earth (Disneyland) and all I could think about was how much I missed my family. There was nothing special or out of the ordinary about the message I received from my Grandma. She was just simply calling to catch up but when I heard it I broke down. It was in this moment that I realized how much I needed to be surrounded by my family and those that I love.

Now that I have been back for a while there are many things that I am thankful for. The first and most important it my family. Not just my immediate family but my extended family as well. I am so blessed to be living so close to all of them and that we are able to get together as frequently as we do. These people are where I come from and helped shape me into the person I am today. I thank each one of them for the role that they have played in my life and the support they have given me. They mean so much to me and now that I have spent some time away from my family I have realized how blessed I am to be able to see them so often. I love my family so much and am so grateful.

There are also 2 big events that have happened in my immediate family this past year that I could not imagine missing. The first was the birth of my beautiful niece, Gwen, on May 2. She is the most precious little girl and I am probably the most proud aunt you will ever meet. I cannot say enough how much I love that girl. She means so much to me and she is not even 7 months old! She has 2 pretty amazing parents as well. The other event was the wedding of my sister Elsa to Matt Johnson. Even though she is my little sister I look up to her so much. I thank Elsa and Matt for setting such a great example of what a relationship looks like and how you are blessed when God is the center. They are 2 of the most wonderful people I know.

Another thing I am grateful for are my friends. It is amazing to know that you have such a solid group of girlfriends who I know are always going to be there to support and challenge me. At this age it is so important to have those kinds of friends who will just kick you in the butt when you need it and then lend their shoulder for you to cry on. I really have the most amazing group of girlfriends and feel so blessed by each of them.

The last thing I am grateful for is my job. For those who don't know, I am working at National Covenant Properties. This is the first time I have really felt like I am supposed to be here for a long time. I love the people I work with. I love what I am doing. I love the meaning behind what I am doing. I love that I work for the Covenant. It is so nice to know that I am 24 and I think I have found the place where God intends on me staying for a while. It is a great feeling.

This leads me to the thing I am most grateful for, God. Without God and His faithfulness I could not be as happy and content in my life as I am right now. I am so grateful for the life I lead right and how He provides. I could go on and on but I think you have the picture. This is getting long enough anyways.

Thanksgiving.....I have a lot to give thanks for right now. Life is great and I could not ask for anything more.

Sorry for the delay with my next posting...I had some technical difficulties :)

Here are some pictures from about a month ago at Annie Jensen's (now Engelman) wedding. She was a gorgeous bride and we all had a great time. Who doesn't have a great time in Florida???