Matthew and Kiley's Christmas

This shot is off of our 18th floor balcony. If you look to the east when the sky is clear, you can see downtown Chicago. It's pretty sweet.

I finally figured out how to write between pictures. Silly me! Anyway, this is me kissing the turkey. :)

(We got each other matching "Northwestern" shirts from Steve and Barry's (going out of business) for like 2.50 each!)

This year's Christmas season is especially sentimental because it's our first year as a married couple. :) So, Matt and I decided to have our own Christmas meal and celebration last night. I made my very first turkey!! (12 pounds... I'm using the remaining 11 1/2 pounds to make soup). Anyway, it was a fun evening. We had dinner, then Matt found this great fireplace background we could play on our way-too-big TV. So, we had a "fireside" reading of the Christmas story from Luke. My favorite part of the Christmas story is when is says that Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. I have a feeling she didn't take the task of carrying God's son lightly. I've never thought of this before until right now, but I would love someday to meet Mary! I think the Catholic church does a good job of like remembering her, but the only time I think of Mary ever is Christmas, and it's just a passing thought, like, oh, you carried Jesus for nine months. No--she was engaged and got pregnant--a huge, huge no-no in that society I'm sure!! (yes, I did get my MA from Wheaton College) :) Then she had to convince her husband that GOD of all people made her pregnant (but thanks to the angel who stepped in). Then, she carried him nine months (I wonder when during the time they actually got married), gave birth NOT in a five star hospital, and had to raise baby, child, and teenage Jesus! What a task. Anyway, back to our Christmas. So after the fireside reading, we opened a few gifts. Then we went to Express to exchange some of Matt's gifts, then we came back for dessert. We were going to watch Elf, but instead ended up watching one of our favorite TV shows, John and Kate Plus Eight (yes, and I said one of "our" favorite shows... Matt likes it, too. :) It was a fun evening, and I'm glad we took some time to celebrate just the two of us.

Last Day!

My last day for fall semester at Harper College was Tuesday. I taught Writing IV (high-intermediate writing) and Reading II (high beginning/low intermediate reading). I had great students this semester! The last day is always a fun celebration (because I have to give my final the class before the last one)... this year we had doughnuts and just hung out. Another semestser done! Hard to believe. The next semester begins January 20th.

Christmas Party

Last night was our World Relief Christmas party for the families that Wheaton Bible Church has sponsored. Each of the families brought a native dish, and the Americans brought sides, salads, and breads. It was a lot of fun to see the families open their gifts. And Aseel, one of the moms, made a delicious Iraqui-rice-potatoes-chicken-beef-vegetable dish that I will have to get the recipe for.

Fun in the Snow

This weekend was the first real snowfall. I always love the first pretty white snowfalls of the year--it seems so pretty, light, and romantic. We had some fun in the snow with Matt's family in Cedar Rapids. Maddie, Mary Ellen and I made a (tilting) snowman. :)

Nealy's Baby Shower

Last weekend was Nealy's baby shower! She is due January 23rd is is having a girl! I am SO excited to be an aunt (on my side of the family).

Potato and Ham Casserole

I'm not much of a casserole-maker, but I like this one because it's very easy, very yummy, and can be breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, or dinner. You can use light ingredients to make it a little more healthy. I made it for Natalie's baby shower and had a few requests for the recipe, so here ya go! :)

Potato and Ham Casserole

1 onion, chopped and sauteed

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 16-oz container sour cream

1 8-oz tub cream cheese

1 packet italian dressing mix (Good Seasons)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can be mixed in or sprinkled on top)

2 cups cooked diced ham

1 2-lb package frozen hash brown potateos

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Put into a large casserole dish (a 13 by 9 inch pan works, too) and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

29

My husband is turning 29.

This weekend, I pulled off a huge surprise. For weeks, I have been planning for Matt's family to come visit us for the weekend... Friday night, Matthew and I went wine tasting just the two of us, and then we met his parents at Gino's (once again) for pizza. Matt got there and said, "We have reservations for 'Waite'" and then the hostess pointed us to where they were sitting. He was super surprised. Saturday morning, his sister and her family showed up (I may have lied to Matt a little and told them they couldn't come...) Once again, he was surprised! We went downtown Chicago for the day (Art museum, Grand Lux Cafe, the American Girl store, etc). This morning (Sunday) we spent at the hotel swimming and hot tubbing. It was a very fun weekend.

I really can't believe Matt is turning 29 (on Wednesay, Nov 12 by the way). It kinda makes me feel old! But I don't know--the older I get, the more I really realize how life is SO short and how eternity in heaven is SO unimaginably long (good long)... and how I want to live THIS life like I realize what's important. This has been on my mind a ton lately--just with Matt looking for a job, with us deciding where to live, etc--I just don't want to live my life for the American dream. I want to live it for the Lord and serve and love him fully.

One Word Answers

Okay Nealy, you "tagged" me. :) Here we go.
So I guess I have to write one word answers only.

1.Where is your cell phone? Drawer
2. Your significant other? Cuddler
3. Your hair? Cuuuuurly
4. Your mother? Thoughtful
5. Your favorite thing? Dates
6. Your dream last night? Lots
7. Your favorite drink? Coffee. Or wine.
8. Your dream/goal? children
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your fear? ??
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? MN!
12. Where were you last night? home
13. Something that you aren’t? runner
14. Muffins? Cupcakes!
15. Wish list item? house
16. Last thing you did? tv! (Biggest Loser)
17. What are you wearing? PJs
18. Your TV? 17 Kids and Counting (I know it's more than 1 word... but it's my new fav show!)
19. Your pets? nope
20. Friends? Fun!
21. Your life? Good
22. Your mood? Mellow
23. Missing someone? Many
24. Your car? Jeep
25. Something you’re not wearing? makeup
26. Your favorite store? Any
27. Your favorite color? Pink
28. When is the last time you laughed? Class
29. Last time you cried? Tonight
(I recoreded Oprah and watched it tonight and there was a piece on baby Elliot... if you have children or every dream someday of having children, watch this video... it will make you cry! The dad wrote letters to his baby.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

PS Is there a way of officially "tag" people on blogs?

Weekend in Ames

This weekend, Matthew and I went to Ames for the weekend. It's the first time we've been there since January 13 (the day after our wedding!) Most of the time was spent relaxing with family. We also went to see Sarah Palin speak in Des Moines on Saturday.

I also got together with Sarah, Jen, Emily, and Kelly at Cafe Diem for coffee and catching up. Jen and I did some wedding stuff together which was super fun!

We went to El Azteca for Mexican food and awesome margaritas. Brady's new girlfriend, Lena, came too.

Family

I miss my family.

This weekend was the first weekend in forEVER that Matt and I really didn't have anything to do or anywhere to go. Saturday morning I woke up and thought, "Maybe my mom and dad or Brady, Wes, and J will drive to Chicago! They could get here by 4pm, we could go out to eat together, hang out, and Sunday we could chill till they had to leave around 4!" So, I call my mom. No answer. I call my dad. No answer. I call Wesley. No answer. I leave him a ridiculous message about how he should come to Chi-town. I call Brady. No answer. Leave same message as Wes. Call Jasey. Finally! I tell her to call me as soon as we talk to the boys so we can get these plans going! My dad calls back. Unfortunately, he and my mom are on their way to Clear Lake. I get the sinking feeling like my plans are not going to work. "But Pops, you can just turn around! You're not that far!" At this point, Matt is (internally) laughing at my silliness, but he's playing along. I hang up the phone with my dad and Matt and I decide to go for a walk. I take my cell phone, though, because I am just certain that Brady, Wes, and J are going to call and tell me they're on their way. No call. Brady finally calls Matt at 2 in the afternoon. After they hang up, I ask Matt, "Did it sound like he was in the car?" I thought that maybe they were all surprising me and coming to Wheaton! Nope. :)

Turns out Matt and I had a very relaxing weekend to ourselves, which was nice. Sometimes when I get an idea stuck in my head (like how I wanted my fam to come to Wheaton), I can't get it out. Anyway, how's that for a random blog post.

Caribbean Cruise

As many of you know, a few weeks ago, Matthew and I went on a Caribbean cruise with my sister (Nealy) and her husband (Kyle). It was pretty much awesome. :) Here are some of my favorite parts...

1. The company. Nealy and Kyle were super fun to vacation with. They are just super fun to hang out with! Plus, the four of us like to do similar things on vacations, so it worked out perfectly! Oh, and it was wonderful spending a whole week with my husband. :)

2. The food. Those of you who have been on cruises can understand how much food is everywhere! For breakfast, the french toast with peanut butter and syrup was my fav. My favorite dinner food was cream of roasted garlic soup, scallop risotto with corn, or probably an Indian meal I had.

3. Diet coke with grenadine and cherries. This was my drink of choice on the boat. Yum!!

4. It was really fun getting dressed up every night for dinner.

5. Seeing the cultures of different places. Our stops were Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Martin, and St. Thomas. We left from San Juan, Puerto Rico, so we also got to see that place. My favorite beach was probably the first beach we saw in Barbados. If I could spend a week anywhere, I'd probably pick St. Martin or St. Thomas.

6. Beaches. Some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen!!

This vacation was SO much fun. I would definitely do a cruise again.

Bananas Foster

My new obsession in cooking is to see what things I can light on fire. :) First, it was Saganaki (a recipe from Nealy's blog). Yummy... fried cheese with lemon and brandy!! So after making the saganaki, I of course had to think of something else to make with this brandy I had bought. I thought of brandy alexanders, but then my friend Deadra (a culinary school graduate :) suggested bananas foster.

So, the other night, Matt and I had the pleasure of having Katie & Eli and Sydney & Brandon over for dinner. I always like to get a little "girl time" in when we have people over, so the girls made dessert and had girl talk in the kitchen while the gentlemen smoked cigars and sipped brandy in the other room. Just kidding. Anyway, the bananas foster we made turned out quite scrumptious, if I do say so myself. Nice job, ladies!

Bananas Foster

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 t vanilla

2 t cinnamon

1/3 t nutmeg

a handful of walnuts

6 bananas, sliced

1/4 cup brandy

vanilla ice cream

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. When mixture begins to bubble, add bananas and cook about 2 minutes or until bananas are warm all the way through. Take off heat, pour brandy on top, and light on fire! After the flame goes out, let banana mixture sit until it's not too hot. Pour over vanilla ice cream. Makes 6 servings.

The Zeigler Wedding

Amanda and Stuart got married! Their wedding was BEAUTIFUL. Tiffany blue satin tablecloths, coral bridesmaid dresses... and Amanda looked "regal" (Matt's word). Like a princess, for sure.

J-Baby

So my little sister Jasey visited us last week... I met my her, my mom, and Wes in Iowa City for the swap. Some of the best parts of our week together include...

1. Blasting out to Miley Cyrus in the car.

2. Blasting out to Jasey Rebarcak in the car. Yes, that's right. My sister is an awesome musician--she made her own CD with songs she wrote!! She played all the instruments and then mixed them on the computer. This was actually the first time I had heard her sing, and her voice is awesome, too! I'm pretty sure she's going to be famous!

3. Going to the opening showing of "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." There were a whole 10 people in the theater. :)

4. Watching High School Musical 1 AND 2 in the same day. Gotta love Disney, G-rated musicals!

5. Making and eating a LOT of puppy chow!

6. Going to the Grand Lux Cafe downtown Chi-town. Yum!

7. Talking J "back to school shopping" with mom's credit card.

8. Wearing our matching Wheaton Tshirts to bed. :)

9. Taking lots of silly pictures, and

10. Being there while J led worship at our small group... I was so proud! :)

Audrey's Shower

Today Melissa and I threw a bridal shower for Audrey. She and Wes (Matt’s old roommate) are getting married at the end of September. Of course I have to mention the food… it was a 10 AM brunch shower, so we had two kinds of quiche (spinach mushroom quiche with boursin—secret ingredient—and mozzarella and a bacon asparagus quiche with cheddar and swiss), cinnabon mini muffins from Costco, fruit salad, mimosas, and coffee. The shower was really fun… we played game, asked Audrey some questions which Wes had answered, and opened gifts. I was thinking during the shower about how each couple has “their story,” ya know? I love hearing how couples first met and how they ended up together… it’s always fun to see the bride’s (or wife’s) eyes light up as they begin to gush about the first time they met their husband, or the first few weeks of dating. I think it’s good, too, for wives to always remember how excited they felt when they first met their husband (and vice versa)—and how much they really wanted him to like her, marry her, etc. There’s my infinite, 6-month marriage wisdom. :) Anyway, the shower was a blast, and I’m super excited for Wes and Audrey’s wedding!

Amanda's Shower

'Tis the season... for weddings! It seems like everyone I know is engaged and planning a wedding! Ya know, I never used to get excited about weddings.... like, when people would tell me their colors, their flowers, their music, etc, I'd definitely politely listen, but it was kinda like in one ear out the other. After planning my own wedding, however, something changed! I can't wait to hear what the bridesmaids' dresses look like, where the couple is going on the honeymoon, what the bride is walking down the aisle to, etc. I think I remember how much fun it was to dream about every little detail...

So today was Amanda's shower... she and her fiance Stuart are getting married at the end of August. They will live exactly 6 floors below us in our apartment! In September, Deadra and her fiance Ben are getting married, and then a week later Wes and Audrey are tying the knot. So much fun!! (Wes and Audrey are going to live one floor below us in Wheaton Center... it's the place to be!)

The In-Laws

Matt's parents, Jim and Mary Ellen, visited this weekend. The four of us had a great time. Friday night we walked to Gino's East for a "Meaty Legend" pizza then walked down the street to Graham's for the best ice cream in Wheaton. Actually, it's the best ice cream I've EVER had. (If you go there, you must either get a scoop of chocolate peanut butter in a sugar cone or a hot fudge sundae made with cookie dough ice cream... the best!) Anyway, Saturday morning we walked to the French Market then went to Egg Harbor Cafe for brunch. Next, the four of us headed to IKEA (a first for Matt's parents). Mary Ellen and I spent the rest of the afternoon laying out at the local pool (I have a really cool mother-in-law.... it's been awesome getting to know her better!) while the guys watched the Cubs game on TV. Saturday night we did wine tasting at Tasting DeVine downtown Wheaton (7 wines for 7 bucks--my fav was the pino grigio... yum). We then went to The Bank for dinner. Sunday we had lunch at Ted's Montana Grill in Naperville, had Cold Stone for dessert, and walked around downtown Naperville a little bit. It was a really fun weekend. :)

Dessert

It seems like just about every week, I vow never to make dessert again (hasn’t been good on the waste line :) However, it seems like most weeks I make it until like Wednesday or Thursday before giving in and baking something sweet. :) This week, I decided to make a snickers ice cream dessert… my take on a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

Here’s how I changed it… I made it in a 9 X 9 pan instead of a 13 X 9 (so we wouldn’t have so many leftovers tempting us from the freezer). I used hot fudge instead of chocolate sauce, added a caramel layer to give it the “snickers” aspect, and used Spanish peanuts instead of regular. This dessert not only is rich and super yummy, but it looks pretty, too!

Snickers Ice Cream Bars

Adapted from allrecipes.com

1/2 cup hot fudge
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

2/3 cup caramel sauce

Ice cream sandwiches (about 12-14, depending on the size)

1 (8 ounce) container cool whip, thawed

1 cup Spanish peanuts

1. Combine hot fudge and peanut butter in a bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds.
2. Line the bottom of a 9 by 9 inch dish with a layer of ice cream sandwiches. (You may need to cut some so they fit tight.) Spread all of the fudge/peanut butter mixture on top of the first layer of ice cream sandwiches. Spread half of the cool whip; sprinkle half of the peanuts; drizzle half of the caramel.

3. Do another layer of ice cream sandwiches. Layer with cool whip, peanuts, and caramel. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours (but best if frozen overnight). Cut into squares and enjoy!

Madeleine

Do you remember what it was like to be in elementary school? When your biggest concern was who you were going to play with after school? Being around my niece, Maddie, reminds me of what it was like to be little... she is so carefree, so uninhibited, and just likes to have fun. I guess Matt and I inspired her to start a blog, and I thought her first entry was so cute!

Yo . Dude. Hi.This is maddie speaking. I have 2 retainers in my mouth and they HURT. Well, I was the person that thought of making this blog. It's because my aunt ( she's really nice and my uncle is to.) made a blog and I, MADDIE,wanted to make my own blog. my last name is willis. So is my mom and dads last name. My mom got married to my dad JUNE 7, 2008. IT WAS AWESOME! I got a ring and a dad. Then we danced all night long. Well I have nothing left to say. I'm logging out. BYE :-)maddie-

6 Months

Last Saturday, Matthew and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary. :) The night before, we crawled into bed at about 11:30 and Matt kept me up talking until midnight so he could wish me a happy anniversary. It was really cute. Honestly, I barely expected him to remember, and even less expected him to get me anything, but he surprised me with a beautiful silver beaded bracelet from Tiffany’s. It was so thoughtful (and really pretty)! Anyway, the evening of our anniversary, we had the pleasure of going out to eat with Jen Lowry and Ben Erbes who were in town for the weekend. We went to an Italian place… and it was kinda fun because I ordered one of the dishes we had at our Italian-feast-of-a-reception—cheese tortellini with proscuitto and peas. Yum!

Some of the highlights from our first 6 months together…
- First and foremost, our honeymoon! Best week of my life. :) We are actually going back to Hawaii (Kauaii this time) for our one year—I can’t wait!
- Settling into our new apartment together and making it our own. It’s tiny, but it’s cute and it’s our own place.
- Both of us starting new jobs!
- Visiting Sarah and Dave Ling in Colorado. It was so much fun. In fact, the other night we were laying in bed and Matt, out of nowhere, was like, “Hanging out with Sarah and Dave was so much fun… do you think they’d want come to Chicago some weekend?”
- Attending LeAnn and Mike’s wedding in Iowa.
- Many nights cuddling on the couch watching our favorite shows or just talking. I hate to admit it, but I’ve kind of turned into a TV junkie. :) Prison Break has been my latest addiction. I never used to watch TV before we were married, but I think 1) because we have a nice TV, 2) because I can teevo—sp? my own shows, and 3) because I’m working now and sometimes need to check out of life, I watch more TV. Interesting. Perhaps the topic of a different blog entry. :)
- Spending our first summer together as a married couple in Clear Lake!
- Getting to know our friends in IL better, and last,
- Finding out that my sister is going to have a baby!

I feel very, very blessed by God to have married Matthew James. Not to get too sappy on you, but he is an amazing husband. He is unbelievably patient with me. He makes our marriage a priority. He truly puts my needs above his own. He prays with me and for me and loves God with all his heart. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that our marriage will only get better in the months and years to come.

Musings on Teaching

4:21 on a Friday afternoon. My husband is at school tonight and I don't have anything to do until 7 pm, so I thought I would give an update on my life. :) I just put in season 2 of Prison Break, but even the intro music scared me and I decided I had better wait to watch it until Matt's home. Plus, it's been awhile since I have posted anything so I thought blogging would be a better use of my time.

So, I started teaching the summer session at Harper on June 9th. I'm teaching intermediate grammar, advanced grammar and a conversation class. I like each class for different reasons: intermediate grammar is fun because I have such a random mix of students. Some are super shy, and some I can't get to shut up. They are wide-eyed and extremely eager to learn. It's a big class, though, so it's hard to get to know my students. They seem to like me and like coming to class, so that's good. My conversation class is fun because it's only nine students, and basically we get to talk the whole time! It's so interesting learning about thier lives. Two of my students are also newlyweds (one is from Turkey and one is from Mexico, and they both just married American citizens!) One girl was telling me that she cannot earn American citizenship for three years because during those 3 years, the government comes to their house to check to see if they really are "married" (for example, they will literally look in the closets to see if a woman's clothes are there, they'll look for family pictures on the walls, etc). Crazy, crazy, crazy. One of my students is from Thailand and every time I see her or talk to her, it SO brings me back! Last is advanced grammar. It's super challenging, one, because the class is two and a half hours long, and two, because I have to teach myself the grammar in order to explain it to them. The English language is extremely complex. So, needless to say, I spend hours and hours learning the ins and outs of a particular grammatical structure as well as figuring out the best way to teach it to people whose first language is not English.

All in all, though, I decided yesterday that I love my job. One of our conversation topics in class was, "What did you want to be when you grew up?" and I remembered that I always wanted to be a teacher. My mom even made the toyroom into a classroom with a chalk board and a long table for my "students" to sit at. My friends used to make fun of me because I always wanted to "play school" (Jen had the best school kit with like nametags, a green chalk board, a bell, etc... I loved it). I used to be entertained for hours just teaching my pretend students about compound words or state capitals or division. Five years ago, I never would have guessed that this is where I'd be, but for now, it's a good fit.

Sometimes I wonder if I have the right personality for teaching, however. I am a perfectionist and a people pleaser, so needless to say, I have a tendency to 1) spend far too much time on my lesson plans and 2) get anxious before every class I teach. But I truly, truly believe that the Lord has given me the job he has so that I would be forced to rely on his strength, to pray, and be dependent on him. He's teaching me, too, to not be anxious (this has been an ongoing battle in my life). So teaching English is a difficult job, but I am challenged and am learning a lot, not only about past unreal conditionals and present progressive verb tenses, but about myself and God.

Karaoke Rocks

Matt's cousin's wife, Jamie, and I sang our hearts out to "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascall Flats at a Karaoke bar ... oh, my.