While I’m waiting…

Since J has been mostly communicating the happenings of our adoption story, I wanted to share my perspective a little bit.  This process has been a long time coming for us, and now there’s a little light at the end of the tunnel.  Everything seems to be just outside of our reach as we wait to bring home our little Eli.

This entire week, I’ve been singing in my head or listening to While I’m Waiting by Jon Waller.  Yes, it appears in that cheesy Christian movie, Fireproof, but it’s a great song that really resonates with my current situation.  I highly recommend making it the soundtrack for any times where you’re struggling with patience or waiting for God’s plans to unfold in your life.  To be completely open-and-honest, I sang it aggressively yesterday as my patience has really been tested with this process…it probably was an ineffective way to deal with my situation, but alas.

This week was extremely bittersweet for me.  It was my last week as a teacher at the Early Learning Center at Granger Community Church.  The ELC is an amazing place where little ones can learn and grow, both in faith and academics.  Prior to teaching at the ELC, I taught for six years as a special education teacher at Oak Manor Sixth Grade Center in the Niles Community Schools District.  I love teaching.  There’s something about watching a child learn something that makes my heart beat fast.  Specifically at the ELC, I gained a new perspective for teaching children about Jesus.  This huge responsibility made an impact on my own walk with Christ, and for that I’m truly grateful.  Listening to children pray and retell bible stories has been humbling and transforming.  While I’m sad about leaving my teaching responsibilities and terrific co-workers, I am beyond excited to be a stay-at-home mom.  It feels like I’ve waited for this for a very long time, and I’m totally ready to embrace mommy-hood.

As I finish up this reflection, I have to smile at how perfect God’s timing really is.  We literally just finished our home study.  Our social worker, Fran, is completing her side of the paperwork tonight and will have it ready for us to pick up at her home tomorrow…just in time for our trip to Baton Rouge on Monday.  (Someone please cue Garth Brooks’ Callin’ Baton Rouge!)

This all seems so surreal and super-fast.  I cannot effectively communicate the peace both J and I feel.  That’s how we know that this is God’s doing.  Everything is simply falling into place.  Please continue to pray for us.  Pray for Eli’s continued health gains.  Pray for the doctors, lawyers and staff, and social workers.  We also ask you to pray for Eli’s birth mother, Daune.  We pray for her to be at peace, to know God’s love, and to walk each step of her recovery path.  Even though it is unlikely that I will ever meet her or hold her hand to thank her for this unbelievable gift in my life, I hope she knows that she will always carry a special place in my heart.

Our hearts are full, friends.  God is always good.

Delayed in Colorado … But also a Daddy !!!

What !?! … Exqueeze me?  Baking Powder?

You have read this correctly.  I’m stuck in the Yampa Valley Airport, hours away from home.  I’ve been hanging out in Steamboat Springs, CO since Friday, taking part of the Bridgestone Winter Driving School.  We trained for two days on how to properly correct and manage winter conditions, focusing specifically on ice covered roads.  Myself and three other coworkers learned how to power slide, the “Scandinavian Flick”, and the 180 degree Rockford File reverse.  All on ice covered snow.  Pretty cool, huh?

What?  You’re more interested in the later half of this blog post title?  Well, I can totally understand why, because believe me … It has been a stressful last uncouple of days, eagerly waiting to share with all of you the following news …

Angie and I are proud to finally introduce to you our long awaited, three years in the “making”, prayed over, heart’s desire … Ladies and Gents, boys and girls, children of all ages …

The Aquila Villa would like to introduce to you our son, Elihu James.  But you can call him “Eli” for short.  He was born on Monday, the 13th, in Louisiana.  Weighing in at the time of birth : 4 lbs, 10 oz.  Measuring seventeen inches long.  The little guy was born about 4 weeks too early, due to the following story, which Angie and I are obviously willing to share, but with a little reservation.

Eli’s mom had a past with some unfortunate drug use.  She was three-years sober; however, in the week before giving birth to our son, our birth mother had a relapse use, after three years of being clean.  Obviously, this was something Angie and I were not expecting because we came into the process of this private adoption knowing that all birth mothers going through our lawyer’s office were very well taken care of.  But just like in my last post, I didn’t know that God had a better story planned for us.

A better story?

That’s right … God’s story for both my life, Angie’s life, and little Eli’s as well.  Drugs suck.  Plain and simple, but they are a part of this story.  Nobody can tell us for sure, but it is believed that drug use could have caused the early birth.  Eli was meant to be born in February.  Since he is early, he has to stay in the NICU for a little while longer before Angie and  I can bring him home to meet everybody.  But before I go further … Here are a few God sightings that we are seeing so far in Eli’s short life so far.   We will start with his health …

Eli is …

1) Not in an incubator, And is sleeping in a crib.  So he is regulating his body temp just fine.  Some premature babies have issues with this, but our boy is good to go there.

2) Is eating from a bottle.  This means he can suck without any issue, which means his lungs are developed enough for feeding, and normal breathing.

3) Not showing any signs of withdrawal.  This is the most important, as it shows to us that ongoing use of drugs was not prevelant  during pregnancy.  His size and birthweight also is backing this up as well, showing no signs of Inter-Uterain Grow Retardation (IUGR).  Basically, this means ongoing drug or alcohol use (because there apparently was none) has not effected his growth.  If he was born, as scheduled in February, he would have been several pounds heavier, at a normal birthweight.

Eli is only in the NICU, at this point, to gain weight and to be sure of a clean bill of health, regarding our birthmom’s relapse.  A meconium (stool sample) drug test is still yet to be delivered, which should show exactly if any drugs made it into Eli’s system.  His urine drug test was negative, but the meconium test will be conclusive.  Either way, the good news is that Eli is healthy and not showing ANY signs of withdrawal or dependency.

Here is another cool God sighting.  Because Eli was born early, we believe God was protecting our son from future exposure to drugs by putting him into the care of the NICU.  Who knows what all could have happened if Eli was born at full term?  God saw to it that our son came into this world and avoided more potential drug exposure.  That’s awesome!

Angie and I also believe that God provided us our Eli because we were first in line for a little boy.  Our preferences were wide open, but it turns out all other prospective parents all wanted gabby girls.  So whether Eli was born in February or January, white or brown … he was destined to be ours.

So … What’s in a name?

Angie and I gave him the name Elihu because of it’s meaning: “My God is Yahweh”.  We know that Eli is a gift from God, so we plan on teaching him and raising him to know from whom he came from.  He will be baptized and dedicated right back to God, as soon as possible.

Angie’s great-great-grandfather was also named Elihu, and it’s also her brother’s middle name.  The “James” comes from my grandfather, and is also my middle name.  Angie and I both found it important to honor our family members within our naming process.

To end…we are so excited to have you meet the little guy.  Right now, we are awaiting his release from the hospital, so we can make our first “Family of Three” road trip.  As always, we will keep you posted, and well informed once we know more.

A New Story Worth Telling

So … It’s been awhile.  A loooooooong while.  Ages, really.

Awhile back … Almost three years ago, Angie and I decided to let nature take its course and see if we could start a family.  With me being five years older than Ang, and because I didn’t exactly get married straight out of school, I did not want to be an OLD man when my kids graduated high school.  So I decided to start putting in work quality work … (grin).

And while that was all fun times for Angie and I, for some reason the work never produced results.  There were a couple of “maybes”, and a lot of pregnancy tests taken, but no plus signs.  We were pretty bummed and frustrated for a good portion of the last two years.   Watching others start a family was really hard for Angie.  I was disappointed as well, but always knew there was a plan, and God had it all worked out.  I just encouraged Ang to stay patient / positive, and everything would work out.  I just knew we would get pregnant eventually.

We, as a couple, had seen others struggle with getting pregnant.  We saw those couples eventually become pregnant naturally, or find another way to conceive.  One of our favorite couples even had an amazing experience through adoption.  And while we were stoked for them, and thought we even might be interested in the potential adoption option, we still believed that in only a matter of time, nature would do it’s thing.  Our story involved us having our own child, naturally.

But time went on … and on … and on.  No baby.

We eventually agreed that both of us should get “our stuff” checked out, since timing and persistence did not appear to be a concern.  We had been using birth control for a while, but Ang had also been off that for some time,  so we thought there had to be something else potentially off.  Angie had a procedure or two, to check for setback culprits, but all came back with zero concerns.

It was then my turn.  I provided my specimen for the urology folks, and was initially told that my count was really high, but there were some concerns on the quality of the product.  I scheduled a follow-up with the doctor, to get a more detailed explanation … and then waited, and waited, and waited … just for a follow-up appointment. They said the best doctor was scheduled out three months! Eventually, I just got torqued off and decided I did not to wait for my scheduled appointment to come around.  The nurse eventually got me bumped up the wait list, after showing I was flexible with taking any potential cancellation opportunities.

The doctor finally fit me in back in September, and said although my “stuff” was not perfect, that it would be harder for us to have normal expectations.  I had a hard time with this.  I was shaken, to be honest.  All I wanted to do was provide something we both wanted.  I thought I knew how to make this happen, and felt that “time and chance happens to us all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) – but it turns out I had no idea what the real plan was.  If I’m really wanting to be honest … I was ignoring the same advice I was offering to my wife, and that was to stay open to God’s plan for us.

After coming to this realization, I had my moment of grief, and then told myself to move forward.  To find another way to make this happen.   Although Angie was all about finding another way, the pain of not having the opportunity to be pregnant was a pretty big deal to her.  There was disappointment, hurt, and jealousy moments from time to time.   Being around peers who were starting families became really hard for her.

We shared our struggles with the same couple I mentioned above (Ryan and Ashley Clough), who adopted a little guy named Garrett, after dealing with a somewhat similar story to ours.  Because they had dealt with similar disappointments, and frustrations, they knew just how to encourage and mentor us.  Their struggle was hard, and they knew our pain … AND then some.  We were there for them, when they went through life’s wringer, and felt terrible for them at the time.  But now we finally felt Ash and Ryan’s real pain.  It was a humbling experience, and has also drawn us closer as friends.  I thank God for them all the time, and for His brilliance in putting those friends in my life, way back at Taylor University.

After many tears, and a lot prayer, we finally decided that our plan just might not be God’s plan for our family.   But family WAS still God’s plan for us.  Adoption was going to be our next move, because waiting any more just was not an option.  We felt God was telling us that our child was out there, and that the hunt was on!  But where and how do we start?

Fortunately, Angie has this great group of friends, who pretend to read books.  The truth is, they are all beautiful women, who like getting together and share stories, and occasionally bring up the assigned book for the month.  They are all moms, so for the longest time, you can understand why Ang was close to quitting the group.  But while we went through our struggle, Angie met a friend, who we’ll call “Helen” … because that is her name.   She is 2nd from the left, in the top row.  Her story is completely different from ours, but the impact of her son’s adoption has made a HUGE impact on our story and plan to adopt.

Helen set us up with the same private adoption attorney out of Louisiana, who introduced her to her son (Finn), who also only accepts referrals for his services.  These adoptions are completely closed, which means that once the child has been signed over into our care, they are ours, and there is no possibility of the mother changing her mind down the line, expecting to regain access to the child.   The both of us strongly believe that by doing things this way, that it leaves the child’s future wide open for the best of EVERYTHING.  Basically allowing God to have His way in the child’s life.

Right now, we are in the process of having a home study done.  Our paperwork is in, and our lawyer will soon match us with a mother.  Our preferences are WIDE open … so again, God’s gonna do what He’s gonna do.  If you haven’t caught on yet, we strongly believe this, and that belief is the theme of our story.

To end … We will keep you all posted.  We are very excited and hope you’ll check back with us either on Facebook, or through this blog.  If you have our number, you can text or call, but don’t always expect an immediate response, or much progress.  We don’t know a timetable yet or any more details than what you have now.  This is hot off the press for us as well.  We also will only share something once we feel it to be rock solid, and progress is being made.  No sense in getting worked up until there is real work being done.

Please keep ALL of us in your prayers.  By this, we mean the mother, our lawyer, his staff, and our families.  We know these people are all essential to making this work, and are a part of God’s plan.   So that you know, you are part of the team as well.  We appreciate your prayers and encouragement.  We look forward to introducing you to the  someday soon.  Until then …

“Glory to Jesus
Ancient and strong
Giver of love
And the theme of my song

Glory to Jesus
Ancient and strong
Come to Your people
And carry us home” 

– Andrew Peterson

Behold the Lamb of God : An Advent Narrative

I know it been forever since I’ve contributed to this blog, and I also knew it would take something significant to get me to actually sit down and write again.  The good news is, friends, that I’ve found that something significant to share, and it’s a book I’ve been reading this month.

I strongly suggest you get a copy of Russ Ramsey’s Behold the Lamb of God : An Advent Narrative.  I first discovered this book earlier this fall, while visiting one of  my favorite websites, www.RabbitRoom.com , where you can read about our God’s love for the arts, in the beauty of His creation that is this world.  The book also shares its title with an amazing compilation of music from Andrew Peterson.  Each Christmas, Andrew and a troupe of artists travel the country to share Behold the Lamb of God, live in concert, to tell the musical story of the coming of Christ.  Angie and I have seen this concert several times over the last six years.  Each time taking friends to come along and enjoy the beautiful evening of music and laughter.  It’s the perfect way to start the Christmas season.

Just like Peterson’s music, Ramsey’s book has been a blessing to me this 2011 Christmas season.  It has allowed me to receive the all so familiar Christmas and see it once again with new eyes.  A lot of people try to do this every year, during the holidays, and present the Gospel story with a new spin, in efforts to reach those who have yet to hear it.  Or to reach out to those would normally let the greatest story ever told fall upon deaf ears.  Although I appreciate those people’s efforts and their creativity, I’m choosing to write for the first time in …. for Pete’s sake …. almost a year … to tell you how I’m reconnecting with the “old, old, story” that I love this Christmas.

Behold the Lamb of God, not only is an amazing narrative for the season of Advent, but it is also a clear and beautiful reminder to yours truly how the coming of Christ is the also the climax to the even larger adventure / love story, that is better known as the Bible.

(Insert Screeching Halt Sound Effect)

Some of you are now wondering one of two things …

a) “Wait just one minute, Aquila … What are you talking about? The Bible is a bunch of stories, which took place sooooo long ago, and are now amassed together in one book …” A book most of us will never take the time to read from cover to cover, because we’d rather just skip around and hit the stories we remember from flannel-graph time during Sunday school.

OR  b) “Hey J … Duh.  Why do you think all of those amazing stories we put together in one big book?”

I’ll admit that, before reading Ramsey’s book, I found myself encamped with group A.  I loved all the Sunday school stories from my childhood.  I understood how each story displayed how God used significant characters in the Bible to avoid a flood and save some animals and their family from drowning, or a mission to free slaves from the bondage of work camps and create a new nation of their own, and how one man can make a difference with a rock and sling.  I loved hearing the stories of how God used people to change the world for His glory back in those days.  Each story was remarkable all on its own, and I can recount most of these stories without the use of the Good Book as reference.

And yet somehow, through recently starting to read this Advent narrative, at 33 years old, I’m finally piecing together how each Biblical story (Old Testament and New) is uniquely connected to the telling one major, overlapping story.  And that the story being told is how God loves His creation so much, that ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, He has been fitting to win us back.  That He loved us enough to leave His high place, at the Throne of Heaven, to come down to Earth to be amongst us in the flesh.  He became a messenger of redemption, and declared Himself the Son of God, in hopes of drawing His creation back to Him for good.

Behold the Lamb of God has shown me that every piece of the puzzle, that are the stories of the Old Testament, leads up to humanity discovering the one missing piece of the puzzle, which is Jesus.  He’s the piece of the puzzle that makes assembling the rest of the puzzle so easy to finish.  Only through finding Jesus can we clearly see the masterpiece, that is God’s unending love for His children.  This year (through the help of Ramsey’s book) the true, tall-tale of the Coming of Christ, makes both the Old and New Testament come alive, once again in a way I have never been able to see before.

I know this is going to change everything about how I read scripture and how I attend church.  It has to.  There’s simply no way to going back to how I used to see the Bible and my relationship with God.

I only wish I had come to this realization sooner.

Peer Pressure, Folks.

For real, ya’ll.

This post is brought to you by my fine bookie ladies, who’ve so nicely pointed out on Facebook that we have blogged in forever.  Ironically, the previous post, titled We’re not slackers…I swear, was a complete post dedicated to convincing our readers that we’re still alive, and yet, here we are, once again, after months of dead bloggery silence.  I’m sensing a pattern here.  I’m not going to even provide any lame excuses for the absence, and I’m not apologizing for it either (just kidding…totally sorry, but whatever).

So my latest addiction that takes up all of my time (literally…all. of. it.) is Pinterest.  If you don’t know what it is and do not have the time for a brand new dependency outside of your current, well-established habits, do not click on the link.  I’m serious.  I’m sure there is a bazillion-step program to disable said-dependency, but I’m completely sure that I will just relapse into a Pinterest-fueled downward spiral, which let’s face it, would be really inconvenient at this specific time, you know, with the holidays coming and everything.  So just let me sit in my comfy-oversized-chair, and pin in peace, thankyouverymuch.  If all of this addiction sounds just lovely to you and you’d like to join me in my pinning heaven, join pinterest, and follow me.  I’d love to share my crazy with you.  Trust me, there’s enough crazy to go around (just ask my husband).

(FYI – There was a good 20ish minute delay between paragraphs…refer to the previous ramblings for reasoning)

Besides that, everything around the villa is just lovely.  J’s job is utterly fantastic (as he is).  I’m still teaching the super sixth graders, and loving it (most days!!).  Our pups are the best and always keep us on our toes.  Plus, we’re more in love now, than on the day we married (in a gross-sappy way…sorry to those of you who have to witness it).  On the eve of Thanksgiving, with a homemade-from-scratch pecan pie baking in my oven, I’d love to express how thankful I am for my wonderful life, and all of those I’m blessed to have in my presence.  Looking back over this past year (thus far), God’s hand in our lives, guiding us, holding us, and shaking things up, is obvious.  I’m so in love with everything around me, and still can’t believe that this is my life.

God is so cool.

Happy Thanksgiving, ya’ll.

We’re not slackers, I swear…

…we’ve just been really busy!

• J lost his job in January.  It sucked.  Bad.  Dealing with struggles in our marriage reminds me why I love that man so stinkin’ much.  Since that sucky time, J has moved onward and upward to a position at Tirerack in South Bend.  He’s still in training and loves it so far.  When he’s officially “on the phones”, we’ll let ya know so you can order some tires…from Charlie…that’s right.  His work name is Charlie (ask him about it).  Thanks for all the prayers during this valley.  Now, we’re celebrating on the mountain top!
• I got a new ride.  I’m pretty flippin’ cool now.  Holler at me.  We traded in my Chevy Malibu for a brand new Volkswagen GTI.  It’s adorable, fast and has plaid seats.  Not gonna lie…the seats are in reason for the purchase.  There’s tons of safety features, too, which is an acceptable bonus to its overall loveliness.
• Tomorrow afternoon, at 11:00, I am officially on Spring Break.  With J’s new job, we’re not going anywhere, but I’m pretty pumped about sleeping in and a few short trips…in my new car.  Plaid Seats.
• I only have 3 MORE WEEKS of my masters…that’s two more papers (after this weekend’s doozy of two papers due.  C’mon people, don’t ya know it’s Spring Break).
• Opening Day for baseball is today.  I’m totally ready for baseball season.  Seriously.  I purchased a new Cubs t-shirt and sequined flip-flops.  Let’s do this.

God is good.

Plaid seats.

The End is Near…

…for my Masters Program, that is!

I’m starting my last class next week, and I’m pretty pumped about it.  I have one big, summative paper to write about how my teaching as changed, as I apply the new things I’ve learned.  The class is called Teacher as the Hero (go ahead, laugh.  I did).  This class seems rather easy, in comparison to the others I’ve completed.  It’s basically a novel study with a small group of other teachers.  I can handle that!  Then, come April 23rd, I’m done!

I’m not quite sure what I’ll do when I don’t have a twenty-two page paper due every-other-week…suggestions welcome.

ps – J was layed off in January from his job.

pps – J got a new job, which started last week.

ppss – God is always, always, always good.

Angie’s 2010 Top 10…

Oh, 2010, where did our time go?  Lots of stuff happened in 2010, both happy and sad, but I’ll share my top ten memories of 2010 (in no specific order!).

1 – Masters Program – I started my Masters work in the Art of Teaching with a focus in Curriculum in the fall of 2010, and man, it’s been rough.  I pretty much hate it, but understand it’s worth and value in my career.  Over 2010, I’ve written a boat-load of papers, completed research and cried.  The end is near – April 23rd, 2011…not that I’m excited about that…at all (sarcasm, folks…stay with me!)

2 – The Rhema Project – J and I started serving Jesus more through The Rhema Project just after J returned from his second trip to India.  This non-profit organized was started by a TERRRRRRRRRIFIC person, Dan Blacketor, who noticed the inequality for females in India and he chose to do something about it.  I admire Dan so much for choosing to take action.  So often people feel stirred by God to move, but don’t.  Not Dan.  He and his wife, Jo (who is equally amazing!) make God smile continuously by refusing to idlely stand.  I’ve been working with Jo and several other educators to start a Pen Pal program between American students and the rescued girls in India.

3 – Book Club – So I’ve decided to indulge my inner-nerd a lot this past year.  I read a lot.  I read reallllly fast.  I love books.  Seriously.  When a book can take over my mind or challenge me in someway, my heart beats fast.  I joined a book club in the fall and it’s been fantastic.  We select a book for each month, meet at one member’s house, talk, eat and drink our little hearts out.  It’s been great to get to know new people…and I’m not gonna lie…I love an excuse to read!

4 – My new Classroom – My first 4 years of teaching, I taught in an inclusion setting for Special Education.  A brief description for inclusion is when general education students and special educations students (generally with learning disabilities) are in the same classroom with a general education teacher and special education teacher co-teaching for the entire school day.  I loved inclusion, but I’ve always wanted to teach in my own room, selecting my own lessons, and let’s not forget my constant need to decorate and organize!  This year, my supervisors placed me in an outclusion setting, teaching in a cross-catergorical special education room…of my own!  I have 7 students this year, with cognitive impairments and learning disabilities and I love it!  I’m excited to go to work each day and tend to leave later than normal…again…indulging my inner nerd.  Plus, this year, I got a Smartboard in my classroom, which is pretty much the coolest thing.  Ever.

5 – Friends – I’m very lucky to have been blessed with a great group of friends.  J and I spend a lot of time with our friends.  We’ve taken vacations, trips, dinner, games, movies in with these people and I’m so grateful for that!  I love sharing our triumphs and defeats with our trusted friends and mourning their losses and celebrating their successes with them.

6 – Granny – J’s Granny went to be with Jesus in November of 2010.  It was terribly difficult for us to let her go, but remembering her amazing life made it slightly easier.  Granny taught sixth grade (just like me), loved Jesus and her family and supported all of us in any way she could.  My favorite thing about Granny was her honesty.  In a world of dishonesty, you could always count on Granny to tell you exactly what she was thinking, not just what you wanted to hear.  Granny always spoke from the heart and out of love.

7 – Ryan – Siblings are the best.  Ryan returned home from Afghanistan in May of 2010.  Over the summer and into the fall, we were blessed to spend some time with Ryan, for which I am grateful.  I really miss our younger years, where we would go to movies, hang out at Saint Joe College (where he went to school), and just talk for hours.  Ryan’s currently serving in his 4th tour of duty in Afghanistan. He’s a great big brother, terrific person and a fine cook!

8 – Parental Units – We’re blessed with great parents.  Recently, Penny (J’s momma) and the rest of the Aquila women (+Brennan) decorated cookies together for Christmas, which was a lot of fun!  We’re hoping to do this every year (I kinda have a thing for traditions).  J’s parents graciously took care of Granny in her final months.  It’s in those kinds of times where I see Jesus in my daily life.  My parents, J and I took a wonderful vacation to Sedona, Arizona.  We had a great time hiking, shopping and eating together.  Plus, we went to the Out of Africa Wild Park and Preserve, where I kissed a giraffe (Kebo) on the mouth…three times.  As I get older, I become closer to my parents.  My mom and I talk every single day…sometimes multiple times.  My dad is a constant in my life, who I can always rely on for a chat or to help me fix or install something.  My parents are very handy and very resourceful.  I’m a lucky gal.

9 – Notre Dame Games – Whether at the stadium or in our basement, they’re always a good time.  We were very lucky to attend quite a few games this year and also had friends over for several games as well.  Tailgating was a lot of fun this year too, especially when my parents and Ryan reserved two spots and cooked for us.  We ate like kings that day…very fat kings to be exact.  Plus, the Fighting Irish won a bowl game, which is always a big deal.  I’m excited to see what Brian Kelley has up his sleeve for the years to come.

10 – JASON JAMES AQUILA – He’s probably my favorite thing about each and every year.  We’ve been married for 3 years now, and it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever in life.  I love sharing the small moments with him.  Every day is a new adventure with him, and I’m always looking forward to our tomorrows.   In the past year, we spent 10 days apart while he was in India, went on vacations to Sedona and Mackinac Island, laughed a lot, decreased our debt, went to movies, among other amazing things.  He’s my best friend and I can’t wait to spend 2011 and the years after that with him!

So, that’s my top ten.  Bring it on, 2011!

J’s Best of 2010

Top 5 Adventures …

1) 3 years of Marriage with Angie :  We are having a blast together!  I am learning to love her more and more each day.  She teaches me how to be a better man, even in the smallest of ways.  I’m so proud of her, with her perusing her masters in curriculum, and for getting her own class room at school this year.  She is an amazing teacher and friend to her students.  We took a few trips this year together, including …

2)  Sedona, AZ :  Last spring break, we joined Angie’s parents on a trip out west, to show them Red Rock country.  This place is one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been to.  You see God and all of his wonder there.  I would love to retire out there.  We got to hike quite a bit. Take a Jeep tour with our friends, Corey and Chloe Mann.  We ate some great food.  Saw a Cubs pre-season game.  And Angie got to kiss a giraffe on the mouth.

3)  Mackinac Island :  A new experience for the two of us!  I’m not a huge fan of Michigan … mostly because of the Wolverines … Go Irish.  But Mackinac Island was a fun getaway for us, right before Angie had to go back to school.  It was nice to do something out of the norm and without any cars on the island, we found just that.  It was quiet, romantic and the subtle nature of the island allowed us to slowly enjoy the end to summer.

4)  Garrett :  This technically isn’t our adventure, but Angie and I got to come along with some other friends of ours, the Cloughs.  Ryan and Ashley both went to Taylor with me.  They had been trying for a few years now to have a child of their own.  But life kept them from that.  Fortunately, God had a better story for them and provided them a child through a remarkably speedy adoption.  They literally got picked to be the parents of Garret Lucas Clough within two weeks of submitting their profile application.  You can easily tell they are so happy to be a complete family, and we are so glad to call them friends.

5) India – Part Deux :  Back in March, I made my second journey to southern India.  Although my first experience was not what I expected it to be, this trip blew my mind with God’s love for His people.  The Irula village of Kalavai is now close to being totally self sufficient, after several years of teams from GCC traveling to rebuild suitable housing, create conversational English programming for students, supplying clean water, and helping to develop micro-enterprise businesses for the villagers to take part in.  The little village is our family over there and I look forward to taking Angie to India someday.  She already is pretty involved with the great work going on with The Rhema Project, which has become an amazing extension of the great ministry work going on in southern India.

Top 5 Movies …

1) Inception : Christopher Nolan continues to impress me on how deep his genius goes!  Such an amazing storyteller.  I’ll be surprised if he does not win Best Director this year at the Oscars. The special effects and cinematography of this film is what won me over in the end.  I have yet to watch the Blu Ray special feature option that shows you how they performed all the stunts and effects, but it’s on my list of to do’s!  I look at my own dreams in a whole new manner after seeing this film.  The entire cast was brilliant and I well placed within their roles.  This is easily a must own if you love great movies.

2) The Town :  One of the purest action movies in the past years.  I rank this one right up there with Michael Mann’s “HEAT”.  Ben Affleck is a star on the rise in regards to his directing ability.  Jeremy Renner played a great psychopath.  Any film set in the greater Boston area always seem to get my attention.  With this being a heist movie, it was a must see on my list for this year.

3) Toy Story 3 : A great ending to a fantastic franchise that both children and adults could watch together.  I took my niece and nephew to this and they had a blast. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are hilarious as always, and the addition of Michael Keaton as the Ken doll was what made this sequel really enjoyable.  Pixar set the bar pretty high with this film.  With a field of ten entries, this film should be considered for Best Picture at the Oscars this year.

4) Eat, Pray, Love : This was more than a chick flick.  I really enjoyed this film about self rediscovery through travel.  It made me want to visit Italy as soon as possible.  It reminded me how beautiful, and yet tragic, India is.  It showed me that God is out there and has a plan for everyone.  Even those who have yet to accept Him and know Him personally.  Richard Jenkins should be nominated for his role.  How this guy keeps getting passed up on awards for his craft baffles me.

5) TRON – Legacy :  This movie was everything that Avatar was supposed to be.  First … it was good.  Second … it was 3D done correctly.  Third … Visually beautiful.  Yes, Pandora was pretty stunning, but the world of the Grid, paired with the action of the games was straight up awesome.  For a sequel that took 28 years to come into fruition, I was thoroughly impressed with first time director, Joseph Kosinski.  This whole project was his baby, so his vision and dedication to making a quality product had to be objective #1.  A great accomplishment for the franchise and for Disney.

Movies I missed … The Social Network, 127 Hours, The King’s Speech, True Grit, The American

Top 5 TV Shows …

1) LOST – The Final Season :  After spending the last several years following the lives of the survivors of Oceanic 815, it was sad to see this adventure / mystery / thriller  come to an end.  And the way it ended did not disappoint me one bit.  I loved how Jack ended up fixing everything after his many attempts, successes and failures in getting all the castaways home.  I loved how the show showed how we as humans are all in this great adventure together.  We are all connected together, to make it through our days, whether we realize it or not.  It tried to prove that Love and Sacrifice for the Greater Good are still driving forces in this world.  How can you not get hooked on a show that focuses in on universal truths like these?

2) Sons of Anarchy :  This show is perfect for people who loved The Sopranos.  It’s another dysfunctional family show that has the perfect blend of drama and action, each and every week.  It makes me want a motorcycle and to find a close group of guys to bond with over the open road.  The show is pretty gritty, but you can’t turn away once you’re hooked into the story.  This season ended perfectly with a surprise twist that I did not see coming.  It’s too bad it’s going to take nine more months before a new season emerges.

3) Fringe :  It took me forever to catch up with this show on my DVR, but midway through the season I finally got caught up, and was once again on how well written this sci-fi thriller is written.  This show is funny and never disappoints on the action end.  Although it has been moved to a Friday time slot, I suspect that this show will endure another season.  And should I be wrong, I’m sure Fox will allow JJ Abrams and his team to end the show well.  All I know is that I love the character of Walter Bishop.  The guy is a loon.

4) Treme :  This was a surprise for me this year.  I signed up for HBO to watch The Pacific, and while disappointed by that show, I found a jem in the show that followed it immediately afterward.  Treme is a “dramedy” that focuses on the rebirth of New Orleans, post hurricane Katrina.  It has a well rounded group of characters, and blends all of  it’s different subplots together within the arts of the music going on around the characters, inside the ward / district.  For me, the music was what hooked me into this show.  There are fun cameos and performances within each show, and it allows the musicians to play themselves in a genuine manner.  I’ve discovered several bands and artists through this show.  Be sure to catch the 2nd season this spring.

5) Boardwalk Empire :  Another great drama from HBO that somewhat resembles it’s mob focused predecessor, The Sopranos.  Here the story revolves around the early days of Atlantic City, and the corruption that toke place during it’s hay-day.  Steve Buschmei is fantastic as the male lead.  The sets and costuming are both top notch.  And they even got Martin Scorsese to direct and produce the season debut.  If you’re intrigued about the early mob, the story of Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and gritty – shoot ’em up TV … this is a show for you.  The first season just ended, but it’s probably still running in complete season re-runs on HBO these days.

Shows I Missed … The Good Wife, Big Band Theory

Top 5 Albums …

1) Andrew Peterson – Counting Stars

2) Zac Brown Band – You Get What You Give

3) Sheryl Crow – 100 Miles to Memphis

4) Daft Punk – TRON :Legacy Sountrack

5) Over The Rhine – The Long Surrender

Albums I Missed … The latest from : Mumford & Sons, Kenny Chesney

15 YEARS.

Fifteen years ago, we thought our world was falling apart.

Yet today, we celebrate 15 years of being CANCER FREE!

I love my mom and am so proud of her battle with cancer and the journey that brought us to this day.  Words cannot express the joy that is in my heart.

God is good, friends.