DECEMBER IN CHICAGO IS CHRISTMAS ON STEROIDS.

Like a young school girl, I was AMAZED by the view.

Our view, from the 60th floor apartment.

We overlooked a 180 degree view of Lake Michigan to Millennium Park.

[I plan to blog on my sweet memories of Chicago, piece by piece. K?]

avant garden

i love working here so far. who knew i would work in a floral shop? who knew i would love it? so funny where life goes. so thankful i'm not the one in control...

today's small thought.

sooo, i frequently have these small thoughts that i think about blogging. but then i think...eh, its just one sentence, so i don't take the time to sign in and post it.

however, i just decided that i am going to post my small thoughts. here is my latest one:

i fondly look back on college times as so simple. i told scott last night that i want to be more like we were in college. simple. happy. free.

We MUST believe in OUR God to do

immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the Glory.

Eph 3:20

To effectively love - restore - to be an agent of change,

I must believe that HE can do such things.

christmas cheer

so, its scott and I's first christmas {so fun} and we are starting our schardt family traditions! our meager tree is a happy tree for us, we are excited to build on it through the next 75 years.

another fun tradition we are starting is making scott's grandmothers sugar cookies from scratch. {yes, even the icing} here is a sample of the cookies we took some friends tonight...

happy christmas!

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" Psalm 84:1 - 3

We are thankful for M. Chandler's current state.

And we yearn for Him in this place of discomfort for the Church and his family.

I'm thankful that I've been surrounded by artistically talented people. Brit, I'm not saying accounting isn't beautiful ... or maybe I am? You are the smartest of all of us with numbers, that's for sure. But seriously, my friends are artistic. Can I brag? Lindsay and her design - interior/exterior/drawing/life in general. Then Tori's paintings are pretty incredible. Zog and Woods blow people away with their voices. Natalie is a stellar actress and singer. Pearson and Shaun are incredible musically. On top of that, Shaun freaking is a top notch photographer. Then there's my dear/sweet/tender Lauren Larsen's wonderful photography. That girl has pipes too. I heard them for years through our apartment's walls. Oh, don't forget Shep's brillant mind in narration and jaw-dropping photos. He can sing too. Whew. Then you've got Frazier's crafty treats - food or design. She's even better at her blog. Frazier, do you sing? [wink, wink]

Seth Philpott just adds to the list. I've known him for oodles of years. Well .. just back to early college days when Baylor and Aggie times would kindle for a football game. Then a time or two of drives to Frontier Ranch for snowboarding trips. He somehow manages to make it to Dallas for an extended amount of time every few months, although he currently resides in Tennessee.

Anyways, last night he reminded how he is my most favorite to be silly with. You know all those random voices/comments/statements I make? Well they always make him laugh. And he's never too serious. I feel most comfortable to be my dumb-silly self with you, Seth. You might even top the weirdness. I'm proud of your new cd. And Shaun, you're again, a bad ass with them fotos you took of him.

Check out his music ...

Buy his cd ...

You'll love him when you meet him ..

After a long week of work + finishing up my final classes for the semester. I tuned on the Office...Without fail, it started the night/weekend off right!

Group:	Hey Mister Scott, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do make our dreams come true! Hey Mister Scott, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do make our dreams come true!
Student:	You came into our lives and made a promise. That made us honest. Made us realize, we don't need to compromise!
Group:	We can have it all!
Student:	'Cause you made it possible. For us to achieve the improbable
Group:	Hey Mister Scott, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do make our dreams come true!

----------------

Michael Scott:	Now, I can't pay for your college. But you don't have to go to class, to be in class. Online classes are a viable option to a traditional college experience.[unzips suitcase] And the best way to access those courses is with your own personal laptop. Which is rendered useless, without batteries. And I have one for each of you.
	[the entire room erupts with outrage]
Michael Scott:	Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! Hold on.
	[the room quiets]
Michael Scott:	They're lithium!

-----------------

Dwight Schrute:	Also, this should be accompanied by a monetary prize.
Jim Halpert:	Well, in an ideal world--
Dwight Schrute:	In an ideal world I would have all ten fingers on my left hand so my right hand could just me a fist for punching.

-----------------

Michael Scott:

I just--I fell in love with these kids. And I didn't want to see them fall victim to the system. So I made 'em a promise. I told them if they graduated from high school, I would pay for their college education. I have made some empty promises in my life but, hands down that was the most generous.

I was just thinking about the real life happening here.

Two years have passed. Such critical times in most of my roommates lives.

Early morning laughs. Late night scares. Evening walks.

Constant sounds of cars driving by. Woods stomping through the house.

Doors slamming. The garage door opening and shutting repeatedly.

The kitchen never being clean. Deep cleaning rarely being done.

Voices in song all day - Thank you Woods/Zog.

Relationships, that are about to become one, began here.

Puppies coming and going... just to visit. No, Woods never bought a pet at Anita!

Watching t.v. shows weekly TOGETHER.

Birthday breakfasts. Decorations.

Engagement parties. Theme parties.

Baby showers. Wedding showers.

Bible Studies. St. Patrick day Parades. Cookouts. New Years Parties.

Flowers. Always. There's always a boy chasing down someone living here. Tee hee.

[Zog's wins the prize. Maybe I'll post a photo, sorry PW]

Snow. Rain. Hail. Winds. Trees falling in our backyard.

A break in. I think of my camera daily.

The driveway, where someone is always blocked in.

The pies/cookies/cakes/treats always on the counter for sharing.

For me, listening to P and B talk on the phone every night. Without fail. For a long time.

Laughing and then Brittany laughing because she can hear me laughing. Through the wall.

Brit's horrible ring tones and horribly loud alarm clock.

Sharing clothes. Sharing jewelry. Sharing food. Sharing.

Praying communally through Mrs. K's cancer.

Praying through the shock and loss of Mark.

Praying communally through Life's first breaths.

First dates. Heart breaks.

Mood swings. PMS. Tears. Laughs. Grunts. Fights. Good talks. Hard talks.

Screaming fights [Woods/Myself = fruitful .. after]

Zog's suitcase up and down the stairwell, for her many travels.

Shopping bags. Grocery bags.

Lindsay always sleeping in my room, with me.

Finding out Laurel was going into labor with Jack, at 4 am. We were in the closet, below the stairwell because of the tornado. Jack came with a bang.

There's more. I'm sure of it.

The idea of boxing up Anita seems too big a task.

Six different girls have lived here.

I don't even want to count the number of closets there are.

The kitchen. Boy, oh boy. It's huge. Cabinets everywhere.

How will we ever do this?

When Lindsay moved out it was a big-time bummer.

But now we are all moving.

Brittany is engaged. Lindsay B just got engaged.

Zog is next.

Hey, but you should come by our [Woods/Zog/Myself] new place.

We live next to Matt/Lauren/Life.

But above Shaun Menary.

And below Morgan Stallings.

Down the street are the Schardts. And the Jager sisters to the right.

The Vue, Lower Greenville ... Here we come.

I feel like this is the finish race.

My 12 month race to graduate.

My 12 month race to maybe quit my job.

My 12 month lease to the Vue, Lower Greenville.

My 12 month race to make post-12 month race plans.

Thrilled. Thankful. Excited...

For the 12 month race and the post-12 month happenings.

Bring on the adventure!