JAMAICAN BABYMOON!

This vacation was blissfully uneventful. After all the stories that came out of our honeymoon I half expected to have a few more after this trip...not true. In fact, there's not too much to write because we did NOTHING and it was wonderful. :-)

The weather was pretty good but there were a few days of clouds and rain that put a halt on the tan I had hoped for. Even through the rain and clouds, it was still a great temperature and we were outside swimming or something anyway.

The first two days we basically lounged on the beach and went swimming even though it was kinda cloudy. We had a nice rotation of laying down, reading, swimming, getting a new fruit smoothie, repeat. The third day we took a catamaran ride to snorkel and see the famous Dunn's River Falls. It was a great trip...the snorkeling wasn't that great but the boat ride was fun and the the waterfalls were amazing! They were kind of touristy but you actually got to hike up in them the whole hour! Literally...up to our waists in the rushing water of the waterfall climbing up the rocks. Aaron was in his glory. A few minutes in, I was pretty sure this wasn't an activity for someone 6 months pregnant but I didn't know ahead of time and I wasn't about to get out...so don't judge me...Aaron had a good hold of me the whole time so I didn't fall or anything.

The next two days were good and sunny so we went back to our original plan and did nothing but lay on the beach...we added an afternoon kyack and tennis session though. For active people, we were remarkably still until that point. Funny story...so we're playing tennis...mind you, we haven't played in a while and I'm WAY less mobile than I'd like at this point considering my shifting center of gravity. So we're playing and some videographers come up and ask us if they cam tape us playing for the resort commercial!!! YIKES!!!! I was tempted to say they were better off looking elsewhere but we were the only ones playing. So somewhere Aaron and I will be in a RIU Resorts commercial playing some really bad tennis.

The food was good but not as good as it was on the cruise we took with the rest of the Faro fam last Christmas. But that goods cause if it was really good I would have eaten a whole lot more! As it was I was already feeling guilty because I consumed WAY more sugar than I normally do. The all inclusive makes getting smoothies and fruity drinks way too easy and we made good use of it. Poor baby Faro...on a sugar rush all week...it's probably going through withdrawal already. A plus of the sugar rush is that it was moving a whole lot more which made me feel better about being so far away from my doctor...a little peace of mind never hurts. And it's finally kicking hard enough to Aaron can feel it! And one night it was so severe that if you watched my stomach, you could see the kicks show though...a lot! And that's why I didn't sleep so much. It's hard to sleep when something on your insides wants to be on your outsides :-)

So hopefully the pictures have given you a look at our five year anniversary/babymoon trip...

When we finally got home late last night, I was greeted by an early Christmas present from my thoughtful and crafty husband. I have had a few home projects in mind for a long time now but wasn't too keen on doing them myself. A few of those tasks included painting the ceilings, sanding and restaining the kitchen cabinets (they were a hideous orangey color), and redoing the living room carpet. So we walk in the front door and I say, "it smells like paint", and he gets this little grin on his face and says, "oh does it?" He had a bunch of our friends come in and paint the ceilings and redo the kitchen cabinets while we were gone so I didn't have to do it and I didn't have to live in the fumes! What a guy :-)

Sidenote, we also got home to a few early shower presents! I guess a few people have shipped them so we walked in to see our carseats and a stroller...not that I know who they're from yet!

The "JUST WAIT" Phenomenon

This past weekend Aaron and I hit the road again. This time it was for two different things. We drive to Jillian's in Virginia and then he continued on home to meet up with the rest of the Faro family to see Brett's playoff games. It was a lot of travel again but well worth it. Brett won so they're still in it! While Aaron was there watching that all go down, I spent the weekend immersed in baby shower activities for Jill where I learned quite a few things...

Brace yourself, parts of this may sound like a rant against pregnancy...I assure you, its not. It's funny, once you are entering the next phase of life, everyone that has already been there assumes that you are just waiting to hear all the things they've learned and all the "wisdom" they claim to have. It was like that getting married and it's even more like that when you're pregnant! It's a lesson I'm trying to remind myself when my first instinct is to share my personal experience and oh so wise advice...think before you trap someone with your own story! Better yet, ask them if they want to hear it, don't just assume they do! I'm not saying you can't learn from others...I know that is quite false...learning from people that have already been down a certain road is wise...I just rather it be from people I know well, like family and close friends. People you barely know think they have the right to advise you on being a parent! P.S. - They also think that can touch your belly...they can't. It's weird and rude. I've grown to really appreciate those that say, "oh, can I feel your belly?" Merely asking makes it a little less invasive and awkward. Again, family and friends you know well are a different story...I'm referring to the people you barely know.

Pregnancy has also made me aware of another phenomenon...the one mentioned in the title of this post. The "JUST WAIT" phenomenon. Why is it that every single person asks you how you feel, and if you've had your ultrasound, and if you've picked out names and all that other fun stuff, but really, they are just waiting for you to stop answering so they can tell you about themselves...and inevitably...after you tell them things you're experiencing they say...you think that's hard, "JUST WAIT". It's really rude to minimize what is happening at the moment purely to tell someone what happened to YOU later on. It is not encouraging either! There are quite a few things that require lots of physical and emotional adjustment...and they do feel difficult sometimes. Why must you tell me that what I'm dealing with right now is nothing in the grand scheme of what's about to happen to me? You're not fostering the excitment that should be coming with each phase. Regardless of the strange things that are happening, each phase feels very different and I'm trying to enjoy the positives of each one without sprinting ahead to other things. So please stop volunteering all the negative of what I'm walking into and stop making me feel like what I'm feeling is trivial.

On to a more positive side of things...for those that are wondering...I'm between 21 and 22 weeks at the moment and yes, I have a belly and can't fit in my pants anymore. So those that will see us at Christmas will get to see a belly for sure. As far as how I'm feeling, it's up and down still. I've been having tons of headaches and dizzy spells and don't really feel as good as people told me the second trimester would feel like. My doctor told me I need to drink more water so I've been doing that but so far it hasn't changed much. I am feeling the baby move around in there...that is pretty surreal! It moves around a lot so its a fun reminder that something is actually growing inside me! Makes the headaches not seem so bad sometimes :-) Sadly, you can't feel the movement from the outside yet so Aaron has yet to feel it move. Maybe soon.

The baby shower plans are in motion which is also fun to think about...especially just coming from Jillian's. I'll have one with the Faro's right before Christmas and one on Long Island right after. The registry is up and running for the showers and I'm looking forward to them! Amy, great work on the invitations....they look great!

Little Faro Pics

The pictures below are from today's ultrasound. This second one blew our minds! I didn't know that my practice did the 3D/4D ultrasound and had never seen one before. She started with the basic one shown first. Those are the only kind i've ever seen and that's kind of what I expected. She had some trouble getting the baby to move into the right positions to get the measurements and pictures she needed. She definately already pinned our baby as "stubborn". Not much of a shock...that one was pretty much a given. But the baby was basically on its head, and looked like it was doing crunches. My kind of baby...already doing abs :-) So we got quite a few printouts of pictures. In both dimensions. The two here are the only ones I've gotten scanned into the computer so far. I think they are the clearest. The doctor's report said that all is well and thre are no problems seen by their measurements. Good news! She also said the baby was measuring a little big. I immediately got nervous. I'm not up for delivering a 10 pound baby! Aaron of course thinks I'm overreacting. The baby can ether be older than the original estimation or just a big baby. I'm hoping its older :-)

Next on the baby agenda is registering. I've done a little research and made a long list of all the recommended items. BTW...babies require massive amounts of stuff! So after I check with the local moms, Aaron and I will be off to Babies R Us in the next week or so and get the registry up and running! More "stuff" to accumulate.

On a very different sidenote...I am so ready for this election to be over. Besides the commercials that just make outrageous claims and lie about everything, I got another unpleasant surprise Sunday afternoon. The doorbell rings and I answer it to see an Obama campaigner at the door. First Strike: He says, "hello Christine". How on earth do you know my name!!! I don't like it. I'm immediately annoyed that campaigners are at my door and calling me by name on a Sunday. He proceeds to tell me what he's all about while I ever-so-nicely inform him that I've already voted so he should move on. Then he asked me, "oh, well did you husband Aaron vote?" Strike two!!! How do they know our names and marital status and then proceed to think its OK to come to my door and talk as if we're close friends. After he finds out that I already voted he throws in, "well i hope it was for Obama". Strike three. To which I say nothing because its none of his business...instead I just stared at him waiting for him to get my obvious disgust. Then he asks, "well, do you mind me asking who you did vote for?" Strike four!! And I boldly say..."YES, I do! i mind you being at my door, thinking its ok to intrude on my Sunday, and ask personal information that some of my close friends don't even know...it's personal and none of your business". I must say, regardless of who I voted for, if I hadn't already voted, this little interaction would not have helped their cause. Lets just finish this election and get on with whatever is going to happen...and PRAY for God's mercy cause we're gonna need it either way!

Big News

Well, most of you already know...but Aaron and I are gonna have a baby!!!! Yes, we've waited a long time to tell anyone but the secret is out. I'm almost 18 weeks (4 and a half months for those that are not familiar with the "week" system). I'm due on March 31st. Seems like it's right around the corner. We finally told people a few weekends ago. Well, we told the Faro family when we saw them all for the boys games and then we waited until we were gonna see my parents in person.




To tell the Faro's we give ben a package od Uncle Ben's rice to see who would be quick enough to get it. We knew John would be the first but the rest of the fam really stayed in the dark. It was hilarious to watch Ben...he thought we just got him some rice to make in his room and was trying to act so appreciative even though it would've been so random if it were true! Finally, after John prompted him with "Ben, what would make you an uncle Ben?", he and everyone else caught on along with him. Good times. For my parents, we wrapped up onsies that said Grandma and Grandpa on them and had them open them as a surprise gift after they picked us up from the airport. The Faraci's were there too which was fun. Mom was so stunned that she just sat there with her head in her hands for what semed like an eternity before she started to cry. It took Dad all of 30 seconds to go to the neighbors back door to share the news! All the while, Grandma was yelling and Grandpa wasn't sure what was going on :-) Classic.
the happy grandparents to be!


It was a good weekend to start spilling the news because we were going to see quite a few people that we wanted to tell in person. The whole reason we were up was for Chris Rosario's wedding so we got to tell him and Jillian (who was also there for the wedding and is also pregnant!). Those two are my oldet and closest friends and it was great to tell them. Now, little Ian Green and baby Faro will be close in age! Along with those two, there were quite a few old high school friends at Chris' wedding so they all found out too. After the wedding we flew up to Boston to see the Crowell's and their new little addition. Jory was the best man at our wedding and we're now the godparents to Sam so it was good to spend time catching up and sharing good news. We had a great time in Boston and got a little glimpse of life with a 5 week old! I was pretty relieved to come home still feeling excited...I was nervous I would come home shellshocked and scared to death to start this aprenting journey. Below are some pics of our time in Boston...I'm still waiting for Jillian to share some pics from the wedding so when I get those, I'll share.

celebration dinner with jory, laura and sam!

aaron and i getting a little practice wawlking around boston :-)

After that momentous weekend we came home and started spreading the news here in Charlotte. We told our Bible study people and then thanks to facebook, nobody else around here got to hear it directly from us. It's been so much fun to ask questions of the professional moms around here and have our friends share in our excitement. The Academy kids were amazing as well. I've never had as many phone calls or texts as I did that morning. I guess when you share so much of life with a group of people, they feel like they're a part of everything for you too :-) So we've received a few gifts from people...some shoes, a blanket, some cute little onsies, a pregnancy jouornal...a whole new world of presents. Crazy stuff!

Just a little warning, I'm not posting "belly pictures" like most people do these days. Especially not before there's a recognizable bump there. I really don't understand the fascination and draw of following how large you get. Maybe for all you out-of-towners, I'll post some pictures when it looks more like a pregnant belly and less like a huge lunch and a lack of exercise. I have my ultrasound in two weeks so I'll put thos epictures up when I get them. No, we are not finding out what it is...much to the dismay of those trying to buy us presents. We're going with the surprise route :-)

Weekend Travels

True to our typical lives we've spent the last 4 weekend on the road. I;m not sure if that's by design or because we are gluttons for hours in the car and high gas bills. I'll start with out first weekend away. We went up to the mountains to get some solitude and try to work through some of our present decisions. We were finding it difficult to focus on seeking the Lord with our future in the midst of getting back into the swing of things here. So we went to Mitch's grandparents cabin about 2 hours away. They were gone for the weekend and were gracious enough to let us crash there for a few days. It was gorgeous weather and a great time to reconnecting and seeking. We would have liked to come home with some clariy on our decision but that hadn't quite happened.

The next weekend we went the other direction, down to South Carolina. Two of the Academy guys had games down there and two others drove down from school to join us. So the six of us got a hotel suite, had a guys room and a girls room and had our little southern reunion! It was a great time to see them again, catch up on life, and pray for each other. After being so entrenched in each other lives, its hard to do it playing catch up!

The next weekend we went way north. Ben and Brett both had home games on the same day so we drove up Friday night to see the Saturday games. Friday we went to Philly, got some dinner with Ben and Linds and then went on to stay at Hayden and Michelle's house. It was a really long drive but wortht it. It was great to spend some time with everyone on a smaller scale too. Saturday we went to Ben's game and met up with the rest of the Faro fam to SWEAT while we watched. It was rather toasty outside...one of those situations where you stop worrying about how your look because you're too focused on the sweat rolling down various parts of your body. After Ben's game we drove over to Messiah to see Brett play. We had a little family tailgate action and then watched the game. There were tons of people at the game which was a pleasant surprise. We saw Em and Linds as well as some others. That night we went out for some post game Friendly's...just like old times. That night we stayed at Emily's and got to catch up with her and Nick. We went to Church as a fam the next morning and then saw two more of the Academy kids before we hit the road! Bowser and Neil met up for lunch to hang out for a little bit. Good times.

This past weekend we went down to Wilmington. Aaron had another triathlon...and of course he did well. This one was a sprint so it was quite a bit shorter than his normal races. Out of 1300 racers, he came in seventh overall and first in his age group. They actaully made people stand on a podium for each age group which was hilarious because it made him the center of attention. I don't have pictures of it but when I get them, I'll share. So while in Wilmington we stayed with Dave and Annmarie Miller. OK...they live literally ON THE OCEAN!!! What a pleasant surprise! Our room opened up to a balcony that was one row away from the beach so you could sit out there and look at the water and hear the waves. It was so nice to fall asleep to the sound of the waves. As a former beach bum, there is nothing more relaxing. Sadly, the weather wasn't great. It was a bit chilly and overcast. Not great beach weather but we hung out there for a few hours each day anyway.

We got back about dinner time Sunday night. On our drive home we got a text from Mitch looking for a family dinner. So we got home and had the Charlotte fam over for dinner! Never a dull moment. It was so good though because we haven't been all together in a long time. So Heidi, Sam, Mitch, Klotz, and Melissa came over for a little grill and chill. And Now we're back to the work week.

Shockingly, we're home this weekend! What will we do with ourselves??!?! Perhaps cultivate some friendships we regularly ignore here. It's not too long lasting though...the following weekend we're back on the road, up in NY for a wedding.

one more reason i hate dogs...

so i woke up this morning and my legs were really sore. i went for a jog yesterday but it shouldn't have made me sore so i was confused. then i remembered why i probably got sore from that run...i had a brief sprinting session. so let me tell you what happened. i went out for a run and was gonna go through our neighborhood before going across the street to run in theirs. i turn down the first cul-de-sac and get about one house in and i hear a dog go nuts barking at the end of the cul-de-sac. i keep jogging just thinking that it was barking...no, it was apparently furious with me for runnning on his street. so he is probably about 4 or 5 houses down and starts to book it towards me, all the while, snarling and showing his teeth. so i quickly realize that i'm about to get attacked by a dog and turn around and start sprinting back as fast as i can. it doesn't take too long to realize that much like most other people in this world, the dog is also faster than me. so i decide to run on someones lawn and try to jump their fence into their backyard. just as i'm about to hop the fence the dog comes to an abrupt stop about 20 yards away. at this point, i'm wondering why on earth he just sprinted the length of a football field only to stop right before eating me alive but i'm not staying around to figure that one out. what a way to start my run. i had already felt like i ran a marathon and it had only been a few minutes. so my brief sprint from death is why my legs are sore. and this leaves me with more hatred for people that assume their own dogs are friendly and think they can just go wherever they heck they want. all i wanted to do was get outside and get a workout...put your stinking animal on a leash!!!! or get an invisible fence!!! add this to the list of why i just don't like animals.

so sidenote, i tell this story to neighbors that came over to watch the olympics last night. and when they left to walk home, the same dog started to run afer them! so then some lady comes outside and says "oh, don't worry, i'm just taking care of him for my daughter, he'll be gone tomorrow". BULL...you are not "taking care" of him, you are letting him run loose and terrorize the neighborhood.

Blog Slacking Again!

Hopefully you have been tracking what we're up to on the Summer Academy blog instead of this one so you're not totally in the dark. We've had some amazing times here this summer and its hard to believe there's only a few weeks left. It's gone so fast...probably because we're so busy we can't even think straight. That being said, we'd like to make a public apology for all our loved ones we've been ignoring since May. We know we haven't been good keeping in touch with family and friends. Honestly, I don't see how we could've done it any differently, but I'm sure you don't know that. It's been pretty difficult here to even grab a few minutes alone for quiet time, forget about talking t people outside the ministry here! Please know that we do miss you and would love to be talking to you all if we could...a few weeks from now we look forward to catching up witha ll of you and filling you in on all you've been praying for...just know your prayers are felt and its been amazing!

Readers Digest version of our summer so far...

Brazil was great. The first half boys and girls were separated and did ministry in different cities. It was a great chance for me to get in deep with the girls and have some quality time before the boys came in and distracted them all (which was inevitable). Aaron had the same with the guys. In fact, we all loved that time apart so much we didn't want to reunite in Rio! While we were excited to see each other, we loved the places we had been at and didn't want to leave. With that, some people got in a funk in Rio and had a hard time adjusting. It was still a great time but it felt a little different. By the end of the trip, it was good to have spent time in multiple cities and do really different ministry in all three areas. The people there are wonderful and we were well taken care of!

We got back and had a few days rest and preparation for camp season. We had one week of inner city camp an then team week with no camp. Inner city camp was interesting because its the most unorganized thing we do. The neighborhoods and churches involved just operate under different life principles than we're used to in middle class suburbia. It was a great week overall and I think it was good for everyone to get a taste of what some people live like. One campsite was across the street from homeless shelter and had some drug paraphenalia present along with the homeless people sleeping onthe benches next to our field. Quite the picture of a different life than we know.

Team week was a great recharging time after that. We camped out on the dunes of lake Michigan for two days and had a great time of games, worship, campfires, devo's, beachtime, mission clarification, etc. Most of us didn't want to go home! Later on in the week we celebrated the 4th. People really do it up here. We held our own "amazing race" down in Chicago on the 3rd (which is when they do all their festivities). The race was a blast! It was basically like the tv show in that we were split in 5 teams and were given a scavenger hunt list of things to do and video's/pictures to take in front of various places downtown. So all 30-something of us were running all over chicago for about 3 hours taking random pictures and making rediclous videos, using people on the street to complete out lists. We followed the race with devo's by the lake and then the city firework show.

This week we're back to camp. Half of us are down town again and the other half are in a wealthy suburb up north. Both camps are going well and the staff is loving it! It's been so much fun to be living downtown. We're staying in the Moody college dorms which is right downtown. So after camp we walk down stairs and walk around the city to see the lake or get dinner. Good times!

Last night we all met up in the middle at the lake again and had small groups and worship. This small group was different in that Aaron and I were put on the relationship "hot seat". Our relationship has been on display for all to see this summer and it has been a major source of questions and discussion for all the students (both to us and behind our backs!). So we decided to put it all out there and let them ask whatever they want all together. It was actually a really great time to share all together and encourage them to seek God's best in relationships. They are all so concerned with this topic at this point in their lives and has probably been our greatest ministry to them.

Next week we go straight up to Wisconsin for two more camps and the following week we're back in Wheaton for the last week of camp. Then it's making the trek back to reality! Some notable moments to mention...Brett came by to visit for a few days and it was great to see him! The Sanfords have also been here and were a wonderful encouragement to us. Even though we're so tired, and haven't been alone in months, I can still say this is exactly where God has us this summer. Its been so much fun to serve side by side.

Looking forward to catching up with you all soon! Sorry I don't have pictures up here...I need to perform a mass picture steal from everyone and show you another time.

Praise the Lord

Good News!!!! After an interesting day yesterday...the passports are in our hands! Yesterday was quite the rollercoaster. So I had been checking the tracking number all morning like the consulate lady told me to and the record showed nothing all day. I tried to call her again during the one hour you're allowed to call the consulate and wasn't ablt to get through the whole time. So now I'm freaking out again after having an encouraging day the day before. I checked at 7, right before dinner and it still hadn't been sent according to the internet so I went to dinner pretty shaken up. We had a time of prayer there after dinner for the 5 passports still missing and truthfully, I really wrestled with the transition from the good news the day before only to be let down afterwards. I was pretty angry (which presented itself in crying much to my dismay).

Anyway...we got back to the hotel at about 10 and I had a homework assignment due at 11 so I went to the room while everyone else played games downstairs. I felt like I wanted to check the tracking number again but talked myself out of it because I was tired of bad news. So I finished my homework and before I went down to join the group for the late-night games, I decided to check. AND AT 10:45PM THE TRACKING NUMBER SHOWED UP ONLINE AS BEING SENT! I can't even tell you the sense of relief. So I got to go down stairs with great news of answered prayer for those kids that had been praying for and with us. Now we just needed to see if it was approved. Rick wasn't at the hotel for our news and had the surprise of getting them at the post office this morning. He quickly drove over to the hotel to deliver our passports, with visas stamped in and approved. What a whirlwind!!!!!!!!!

Through all this, I'm sad to say I wish I had more faith. There was no other way this would've happened if it weren't for a string of miracles....all the way from our delivery date being posted earlier than we sent it, to the consulate actually bending the rules for us, to the late night post office update, and a one-day delivery back. I wish I could say I expected it instead of just hoping for it. Anyway, thanks so much for praying...you prayed us into Brazil!!!!!!!!!

VISA UPDATE

well...there might be some progress. i'm trying not to get our hopes up but we got some good news today. as of this morning we were missing 8 visas (all of which were mailed to miami). we've been in serious prayer about it here corporately and other people have been praying as well. all week we've been trying to call and they were closed monday and tuesday, and yesterday "all circuits were busy" and we couldn't get through. the same was true today until about an hour ago. i finally got through and talked to a lady that appears to be really helpful. the first helpful/nice person i've talked to in the last two weeks. they weren't processing our mail day yet and she said she didn't think it would happen...so i started to tell her our situation and she actually listened!!! i asked if there was something she could do to help even though i know she didn't have to. she actually got off the phone and went to the mail room to find our envelope. when she got back on the phone she said she found it, she would process it today, and mail it out tomorrow!!!!! obviously, we still need her to follow up on her promise but i'm just grateful she took the time to listen and actually was willing to help. so when i check our tracking number tomorrow at lunch time i should know if she followed through on her word. please keep praying these visas through from the consulate to our p.o. box!!! we need this miracle to be completed!!!!

Visa Trouble

Ok...

we need some prayer for our visa situation...badly. as of right now we won't get our visas back in time to go to brazil with the group, or even at all. based on some bad info about sending them out (ugh!) we didn't send them with enough time to process. apparently each consulate has different processing times. so at best, our visas might get to us three days after the group has already been in brazil. so we need you guys to pray that someone at the consulate gets tired of taking our phone calls and rushes our processing. at this point, i was told..."sorry, i don't think you're gonna make it". when i asked if there is some fee we could pay to rush it, they said no. thats not what i was looking for at all. at this point i'd pay a lot of money to have this resolved. so please pray that god wants us to go to brazil and he takes care of whatever needs to happen in the consulate to make that happen. thankfully, he's bigger than consulate formality and regulations. i'll keep you updated if anything happens!

Catching Up...Get Ready, It's Gonna Be a Long One!

I know, I know...I've been a blogging slacker (as evidenced by the comments/guilt trips I'm hearing from others) There has been a lot going on in our lives since my last update on our California trip. And because this is a catch-up post, each event will not be given the proper amount of love it might've if I'd written while it was happening. Please don't take offense if your involvement doesn't get much press...it's not personal. Seriously, its been so long I have to look back in my calandar to see what I'm supposed to say!

We got back from Malibu on Monday and left for Chicago that Thursday. Pretty quick laundry turn-around! We went up for a leadership retreat weekend for the Summer Academy. It was a great time. We got to meet the kids from last year that came back to day hello and also spend time with the returners that are coming back to be student leaders this year with us. It was a real encouraging time to see how much the Academy meant to them and really fostered some excitement for this year. It's gonna be sweet to be a part of something so special. We had some classroom brainstorming sessions, played soccer tennis (ugh, the first of many soccer activities for me this summer), went out to eat, played games at the McKinleys, etc. It seems like a great group of college kids and we can't wait for them to get in town! Two weeks from today they'll be here!

The following weekend we had a visit from the Kellers! It was great to get some time with them and play games like we love to do. Unfortuantely I quickly became the most hated member of the family when I won most of the games (Dutch Blitz and Settlers)...and then they all accused me of rediculous things because they were losing. Finally, I started losing (in Family Feud) and all was well in the world again. We got to take them to McAlisters and Sonic, both requests of Amy. They also got to meet the Koontz and the Ross' which was fun to connect the two worlds like that.

Then, a week later, we went to a Carrie Underwood/Keith Urban concert! I must say, as someone that doesn't like country music, I loved it! Keith Urban was amazing and it was a great time. We went with Klotz and the Casey's and Nate.

The day after that my parents came down. And in Dad's true fashion, he did something for our house. We put a screen of the back door! As the Faro kids well know, the gift of cross breeze is unmatched. Aaron basically wanted to keep the back door open continuously until we left for Chicago. Apparently this should've been a present a long time ago. For the guy nobody can buy for, this idea should've hit me earlier I guess. Next on the agenda is to put one on the kitchen door that goes to the garage so we can have that door open when the game room in in action. Sadly, we weren't able to spend much time with my parents because of work and getting ready to leave again...

Aaron and I went to Tampa for the St. Anthony's Triathlon the next weekend. We signed him up for this in December because apparently it's a big deal...and it was! It was unreal. I'll describe a little bit but you won't really get a good enough picture of it. We drove down two days early and stayed with the Faraci grandparents the day or so before. They are adorable. We got many tours of the neighborhood and were VERY well fed. Of course. We drove the rest of the way to Tampa and met up with Buck and Ally the day before the race. Had to check in and drop off your stuff in the transition area. There were 4500 people in this race...it was an unbelievable spectacle. There were vendors all over and so many people walking around in their Lance outfits (good old tri gear). This race had some serious contenders...like the guys that won the olympic trials, and the world championships...so I guess thats why you need to sign up months in advance. He raced with the big boys this time.

There are few groups to register in...professional, elite, and age groups. We took a chance and registered him elite even though the competition was pretty serious. His goal was to prove that he belonged in the elite category and to beat one professional. And he did it! He placed in the middle of the elite group and beat a few pros! He came in 75th place overall out of 4500 and finished in 2 hours and 6 minutes. Buck did well with a personal best time too! I made the mistake of trying to take video insread of pictures for this race so there's not much to show cause I was pretty bad at it. Now, he needs to figure out if this hobby is gonna be around for a while....I'm not sure I'm ready for this...and neither is he (he almost missed the start of his wave of the race cause he took too long to set up in the morning...seriously, he ran to the starting point and just had enough time to take his clothes off and grab the goggles...nothing like preparing for months to almost miss the race!)

And we got back from the race with a week and half to pack up the house and leave for Chicago! It was a whirwind week for sure. My school was finishing up, I had to finish out my clients, I had all my "last hangout" dates, we had to pack up our stuff for three months, and get the house ready for other people to live in it till we get back. Craziness. Aaron had the brilliant idea of going to the mountains for a few days on the way up to relax and catch our breath before the next wave of the summer hits full force.

It was a great time...we had a day or so to relax and get ourselves connected which was apparently very necessary. I didn't even know how worked up I was till we got there and I had time to think. Then Brian, Lani, Andy and Lauren came up for Saturday and Sunday. That was so much fun. We went on hikes, played games, and jumped into freezing cold water :-) Lani has recently broken her ankle was such a trooper the whole weekend!!!! She went on all the outings and crutched her way around, or the boys carried her. She did not let that hot pink cast slow her down! We had a good time of sharing and prayer too before we left which was awesome. It was a really sweet time of getting to know eachother on a deeper level and praying for good friends. I really love our friends!

Highlight of the weekend....no question...Lauren jumping into the base of the waterfall without any warning. We went to this water fall that people jump off of. We talked about jumping and realized we were all too scared cause its high and you can't see where you're jumping to and the water is freezing right now. So we walk down to the base of the water fall and Aaron is talking about want to go swimming. Lauren walks down and says "I think I'll just feel the water". And then she proceeds to jump in with her clothes on! And it took all of 5 seconds for the Aaron, Brian, and I to do the same things after she did it. And the water was FREEZING! Andy and Lani stayed nice and warm on the rocks watching us all act like fools in the cold water. Good times.

After they left Aaron and I had one more night there before the 11.5 hour drive up here. The drive actually wasn't too bad (says the girl that drove less than 3 hours of it). We got up about dinner time, had dinner at Rick's house and then went to our host family's house. They live about 25 minutes from the office here. A bit of a drive but they are awesome people and the set up there is good. They are in their late 60's with all grown kids. We basically have the whole downstairs floor of the house which has our bedroom, bathroom, and den with a tv, and even a tiny kitchen! Not bad considering I was preparing myself to live in a tiny bedroom right next to someone's 3 year old screaming kid. Pleasantly blessed!

So far we've been getting organized here in the office, helped out with the annual golf fundraiser yesterday, and are getting our visa applications out. Please pray for that process as it is never smooth and we are concerned our's won't get back in time. Probably not a good thing to have the leaders stay home without visas for Brazil! We overnighted it today and hope it all works out well!

Other random info...I got all A's in school last semester (not sure its worth it, I might shoot for B's next time), we've had time at night to relax and play tennis and take long bike rides which has been nice. There are tons of nice trails and parks here. Umm, a board member heard me talking about wanting a summer gym membership and bought me one at the auction. How nice is that?!?! He redeemed it at pick up and turned around and gave it right back to me. What a blessing to have that for the summer! What else...I think that's it for now! Thank you for all your prayers for the summer and keep them coming. We have lots ot do and not a lot of time to do it (true Eagles fashion). And for all you blog stalkers out there...there is a new blog to stalk. We made one for the summer for all the families to check so we'll be putting pictures and stories up for the summer. So you can check that one to keep up to date on what we're doing with the Academy! The website is http://chicagoacademy08.blogspot.com/

Things to pray for...

• safe travel for the kids here
  
• visa applications
  
• the boys staying at my house...and hopefully actually cleaning it!

Mali-beautiful!

So its been over a week since we got home but due to other travels (Chicago leadership weekend) the California vacation update is late. The trip was AMAZING. First off....let me just plug Sky Bus Airlines. Not sure who knows about them but the first 10 seats on every flight are 10 bucks and then they go up from there. You basically need to be waiting at your computer for months to get those but you can still get them really cheap if you are only moderately addicted to checking the website....which is what mitch was doing. So we got roundtrip tickets direct from NC to LA for $150. We were pretty happy about that. We went out to visit and stay with Randy a Christie who are at Pepperdine for law school. Geography lesson: Pepperdine campus sits in mountains and on bluffs over looking the beach in Malibu.

So we get there tuesday and actually go sit in on one of randy's classes. And I feel asleep in my first law class. (so probably my last) Law school is not for everyone. But before I fell asleep I noticed a few things that are way different than I remember from college. Nobody uses paper. Everyone had a laptop in class (i mean everyone) and thats how they take notes. And i only saw two or three people on you tube, facebook, etc...there's no way i could be in a boring class and actually only takes notes with my computer in front of me. So the ticking on the laptops was a little hint as to when the professor was saying anything important. Crazy.

We did a bunch of stuff there and I don't really remember what days now thats its been a while so it'll be a summary through pictures including the beach, hikes, beach bocce, beach bike tours, etc...

a little hiking on the bluffs over the beach and the rich people's houses...

and some beach bocce...

randy and mitch had tickets to the anaheim march madness games and christie had work so aaron and i spent some time on the beach and hiked back behind the campus while everone was gone...

this monument was built cause one of the people that dies in the pentagon plane crash in 2001 was a student at pepperdine...it was a neat place with bible verses, flowing water, and flowers up overlooking campus and the mountains and beach. we hiked up to up one morning.

the next day we were all together and went to go do the hollywood hike...it was a pretty lame hike cause you basically walked up a gravel or paved path but it was cool to go there. can't go near hollywood and not go see the sign i guess. that day we also drive down rodeo drive, through beverly hills and saw the stars on the sidewalk. again, things we weren't too interested in to spend a whole day but took some time to drive through. poor randy....they're right when they talk about LA traffic...it took way too long and all he wanted to do was get home to watch the games. :-(

a redeeming factor to that day was diddy reese....my personal heaven. you walk in and pick two homemade cookies, and a flavor of ice cream and they make you a ice cream cookie sandwhich for a dollar fifty!!! yup, we went twice.

this was definately a highlight of the trip. saturday the boys went back to the basketball games and aaron, christie and i took a sweet bike ride. there's this path that runs from the santa monica area all the way down the coast. it is literally a path in the sand on the beaches. so we started near the santa monica pier and rode down about 10 miles to marina del ray and then came back. during thse travels we saw some amazing scenery. the beach of course...

the santa monica pier...

the rowing and sailboats area in marina del ray...

and then....the mayhem also known as venice beach. this picture doesn't even come close to showing the strange things that go on at venice beach. the picture is of a roller skating dance crew. weird but kinda cool. we saw a pogo stick jumper with an audience, lots of burnouts on the lawns, the outdoor gym, etc. There was so much going on and so many people milling around it was incredible. we didn't stop so i don't have many pictures because i don't think we qualify as being strange enough to be there.

one night we went to eat dinner at a place called dukes. dukes has half price entrees between four and six so we hit that up and sat out on the deck looking at the water. it was kinda cod outside for me but it was better than being inside with the random hula dancers.

and sunday morning we had a sweet easter service. we walked from campus across the street to the church. they lost their building in the fire and set up a huge tent to hold easter service overlooking the ocean. it was beautiful and a gorgeous day.

and we had this nice idea of going on a hike sunday after gorging ourselves on easter dinner. christie cooked up a storm (and had been all week) and we ate a lot of good food. then we went on a fabulous, yet terrifying hike. we hiked for a while and reached a waterfall. but there were other, better waterfalls higher up so we kept hiking higher. the hike got harder and even got pretty scary at the top. i hope my mother doesn't read this cause she will never stop worrying. there was a point that if you slipped on the gravel) like we had been doing on the way up) you could fall off the side of the mountain. and die. seriously. we were trying to hold on to bushes and brush to give ourselves more stability. there were points where it was not as bad and then times i really as nervous. poor aaron...he had his running flats on with no tread left s he was sliding all over the place. obviously we didn't exactly have hands free to capture these life changing moments but mitch caught a picture from behind us on one of the more stable travels down.

all in all...this trip was amazing! as aaron mentioned one time during the week. "best three hundred dollars we ever spent". and he was right. it was a great time of being active out in nice weather with friends we haven't seen in a while. love it.

next update to come...chicago leadership update from last weekend....and then the keller visit this coming weekend!