Thankful Thursday 09/29/11

1. Well, of course, the trip was just amazing. More posts to come, but it is taking some time to work through the pictures.

2. Met some great people on the trip that I hope we maintain contact.

3. A new class at CU begins tonight. I enjoy teaching but there is always a bit of apprehension about meeting a new group. This is a four-week class so just about the time we get comfortable, the class is over.

4. Have been to ArtPrize twice. Saw a very colorful painting of a floor full of toys last night at the Public Museum. That was my favorite of the night I think. Last Saturday I really liked a piece of old crayons at the Diocese and the large exhibit made from used lottery tickets at UICA. Great message in that one. And at the Art Museum I liked the picture collage of an old barn.

This is a picture made from 5 colors of duck tape! It's at the Public Museum

5. I'm trying out some different contacts. A few mornings the contact has moved in my right eye while getting ready in the morning. This morning I tried to find it in my eye and couldn't do it. I thought that it surely couldn't be in the shower still but when I pulled back the curtain--there it was!

I learned on the trip that the rabbis taught you are to "bless" (praise/thank) God 100 times a day to acknowledge all He does for you. I'm thinking about changing the name of my (almost) weekly post, but I probably won't try to list 100 items.

Holy Land Trip pt. 1

So many things to share following 16 days on a trip to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt with an overnight in Turkey. There will be more posts and more pics as I process this amazing trip.

This is us ready to leave on a bus ride to O'Hare. We certainly look fresh don't we?

This is me at the top of the Mt. of Olives overlooking the Old City. You can see the Dome of the Rock in the background.

A highlight of the trip was getting to know my new Bluffton friends. Here Myra, Shari, and I are walking on David St. after going to the Wailing Wall on Shebat (Friday evening). Myra's husband, Steve, took the picture. Shari e-mailed from a list of e-mail addresses of trip participants and we realized we have the same church background, and Steve is actually a 3rd cousin! It was definitely a small world thing.

Thankful Thursday 9/1/11

Wow, September already!

1. Only five days!!!
2. A family at church who know of some of the things I've been dealing with have been very encouraging.
3. Chest pain is essentially gone.
4. Glad I don't have the dread of starting a new school year on Tuesday. Sometimes it's nicer to have just kept working and to know I can take a vacation even in the middle of September, or October, or November, or January--you get the point.