more....
(Continuation of Andrews/Chicago Trip)
Sabbath Morning, Leah and I got up to go to early service at the Pioneer Memorial church. The pastor is Dwight Nelson and he preached about allowing God to melt away the dirty snow in our lives. (ironic because he wrote the sermon not knowing that a blizzard was coming). He is a very dynamic pastor...easy to pay attention to and not afraid of touching on controversial subjects.
After church, Erin drove Leah, Nikki, and I to Southbend, Indiana where we took a 2 hour train into Chicago. We talked about whether we'd rather: (1) be deaf or blind, (2)never shop again or never listen to music again (on a ipod, CD player, ect...), and (3) never shop again or never go on the internet again. Difficult questions! I chose to never shop again and listen to music, and never go on the internet again and go shopping. The toughest question was definitely the deaf/blind one. If I were to choose eyesight, I would have to give up my career and music, learn sign language, suffer incredible speech difficulties which would progressively get to the point where I would not be understandable, never hear the voice of my husband and kids, and live in a dead silent world. If I were to choose hearing, I would never be able to see nature, always need assistance getting from place to place (or a guide dog), and never be able to look upon the face of my husband and kids. I can't decide!!!!!! I'm so blessed God has given me both.
In Chicago, the three of us walked passed Millenium Park and to our hotel room at the Hilton. We took so many pictures that day! After, we ate a late lunch at Giradonnos--Chicagos most famous Deep Dish Pizza restaurant. We randomly ran into Maddie's mom Jill and her boyfriend Gary. I had no idea she would be there!!!!! All the way across the country! haha. We sent a picture to maddie without an explanation and she was so confused and shocked. lol. We walked down the magnificent mile to the 8 story water tower mall, and then had an appetizer at Cheescake factory for a lighter dinner. At the mall, we went to Macy's and had a "worst-dressed competition," picked ugly outfits for each other, and then all crowded into a dressing room to try them on take pictures. Good times! We then took a taxi to "the bean". That was my first time on a taxi! When we got back to the hotel, Nikki and Leah watched TV and I talked to Andy on the phone. What an amazing conversation we had....and so comfortable, meaningful and open! Over four hours! =O
Sunday morning we woke up to a day of shopping! We hit up Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe---two of my top 4 favorite stores (GAP and PacSun are the other 2). Oh the joys of shopping and putting together outfits! We all found pretty good sales as well. :) I bought 2 casual dresses, yellow flats, and a few other things that I can't remember. Leah bought a few shirts, a pair of shorts, and a necklace. Nikki bought a few shirts, the same dress that I bought except in a different color, and a few other random things. Fun times. After shopping, we ate subway and got on the train to go back to Andrews. The rest of the day was blah and relaxing. Nikki and I were talking about when to get up in the morning, and she came up with a ridiculously early time. I asked her why and she said she has a morning devotional every morning which she started doing in the summer. I asked her about it and she showed me her Bible reading plan. I am truly inspired. I can't wait to start my Bible reading plan! To top off another great day, I talked to Andy for over 4 hours again. :) hehe :)
Monday morning I woke up, ate breakfast with Leah and Nikki at the caf, and then started off the day of scheduled events. Nikki and I went on a guided tour of the campus with Steve Toscano and Lauren Shy Toscano!!!!! Random. Steve is looking into the Theological Seminary for next year. I then went to a choir rehearsal with Stephen Zork, a counterpoint class, and met with the chair of the department and the wind ensemble director. The music department really feels like that of the music department at LSU. It is about the same size and the same caliber. Shouldn't grad school be a step up? But I loved it there! Ayyy! I need to just rely on prayer and let God open the doors that He wants me to walk through. Another thing that made me think is that an advisor told me that many times it is best to have experience teaching before coming into a grad school. He told me that Adventist schools will many times pick a teacher without the masters degree over one that does because it's cheaper for them. Also, if I start teaching first, then the school will most likely pay for my masters degree. He told me about schools that offer a degree in choral conducting in 3-4 summers. There are so many new ideas that I need to consider and process!
Anyways, this has been long enough. ;-) I'm flying home tommorrow. I'm ready. It's been a fantastic trip, but I miss Andy. :) Wild Animal Park on Wednesday!!! woo hoo! :)
Sabbath Morning, Leah and I got up to go to early service at the Pioneer Memorial church. The pastor is Dwight Nelson and he preached about allowing God to melt away the dirty snow in our lives. (ironic because he wrote the sermon not knowing that a blizzard was coming). He is a very dynamic pastor...easy to pay attention to and not afraid of touching on controversial subjects.
After church, Erin drove Leah, Nikki, and I to Southbend, Indiana where we took a 2 hour train into Chicago. We talked about whether we'd rather: (1) be deaf or blind, (2)never shop again or never listen to music again (on a ipod, CD player, ect...), and (3) never shop again or never go on the internet again. Difficult questions! I chose to never shop again and listen to music, and never go on the internet again and go shopping. The toughest question was definitely the deaf/blind one. If I were to choose eyesight, I would have to give up my career and music, learn sign language, suffer incredible speech difficulties which would progressively get to the point where I would not be understandable, never hear the voice of my husband and kids, and live in a dead silent world. If I were to choose hearing, I would never be able to see nature, always need assistance getting from place to place (or a guide dog), and never be able to look upon the face of my husband and kids. I can't decide!!!!!! I'm so blessed God has given me both.
In Chicago, the three of us walked passed Millenium Park and to our hotel room at the Hilton. We took so many pictures that day! After, we ate a late lunch at Giradonnos--Chicagos most famous Deep Dish Pizza restaurant. We randomly ran into Maddie's mom Jill and her boyfriend Gary. I had no idea she would be there!!!!! All the way across the country! haha. We sent a picture to maddie without an explanation and she was so confused and shocked. lol. We walked down the magnificent mile to the 8 story water tower mall, and then had an appetizer at Cheescake factory for a lighter dinner. At the mall, we went to Macy's and had a "worst-dressed competition," picked ugly outfits for each other, and then all crowded into a dressing room to try them on take pictures. Good times! We then took a taxi to "the bean". That was my first time on a taxi! When we got back to the hotel, Nikki and Leah watched TV and I talked to Andy on the phone. What an amazing conversation we had....and so comfortable, meaningful and open! Over four hours! =O
Sunday morning we woke up to a day of shopping! We hit up Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe---two of my top 4 favorite stores (GAP and PacSun are the other 2). Oh the joys of shopping and putting together outfits! We all found pretty good sales as well. :) I bought 2 casual dresses, yellow flats, and a few other things that I can't remember. Leah bought a few shirts, a pair of shorts, and a necklace. Nikki bought a few shirts, the same dress that I bought except in a different color, and a few other random things. Fun times. After shopping, we ate subway and got on the train to go back to Andrews. The rest of the day was blah and relaxing. Nikki and I were talking about when to get up in the morning, and she came up with a ridiculously early time. I asked her why and she said she has a morning devotional every morning which she started doing in the summer. I asked her about it and she showed me her Bible reading plan. I am truly inspired. I can't wait to start my Bible reading plan! To top off another great day, I talked to Andy for over 4 hours again. :) hehe :)
Monday morning I woke up, ate breakfast with Leah and Nikki at the caf, and then started off the day of scheduled events. Nikki and I went on a guided tour of the campus with Steve Toscano and Lauren Shy Toscano!!!!! Random. Steve is looking into the Theological Seminary for next year. I then went to a choir rehearsal with Stephen Zork, a counterpoint class, and met with the chair of the department and the wind ensemble director. The music department really feels like that of the music department at LSU. It is about the same size and the same caliber. Shouldn't grad school be a step up? But I loved it there! Ayyy! I need to just rely on prayer and let God open the doors that He wants me to walk through. Another thing that made me think is that an advisor told me that many times it is best to have experience teaching before coming into a grad school. He told me that Adventist schools will many times pick a teacher without the masters degree over one that does because it's cheaper for them. Also, if I start teaching first, then the school will most likely pay for my masters degree. He told me about schools that offer a degree in choral conducting in 3-4 summers. There are so many new ideas that I need to consider and process!
Anyways, this has been long enough. ;-) I'm flying home tommorrow. I'm ready. It's been a fantastic trip, but I miss Andy. :) Wild Animal Park on Wednesday!!! woo hoo! :)