Will and Jen Visit The Windy City

What a great weekend!

Our wonderful friends, Jennifer Leigh and Will S, came to Chicago for the weekend and we had a blast!

I have been missing my friends A LOT lately and this trip was a great pick-me-up! I hadn't seen any of my friends since Christmas and it was starting to get to me!

Jen and Will arrived Friday to beautiful sunny weather and spent the day playing in the city.
They arrived in Wheaton (via the Metra) Friday night where we picked them up from the train station and headed to dinner in Naperville.
We ate dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, La Sorella Di Francesca. AMAZING food - from the delicious caesar salads to incredible entrees - we ate till we were about to bust! Not only is the food amazing but the atmosphere is very cozy and it was a great place to catch up on life with our friends!
We got to show Jen and Will a bit of downtown Naperville with their lights and cute stores - we didn't make it too long because it was starting to get a bit chilly!
Saturday morning arrived with Jen's famous pancakes and my homemade biscuits (not really homemade..more like from the Pillsbury can, but still great).
After breakfast we spent the morning getting ready and then headed to downtown Wheaton.
We drove around and showed Jen/Will the Wheaton College campus, the downtown area, and drove thru the beautiful homes that surround the campus. We love the houses in downtown Wheaton, there is not one house that is the same, and they all have so much character. Jen only got to take a few pics due to Sean speeding thru the neighborhoods, but it was still a great time!
After touring the homes we went to our favorite sandwich place in Wheaton, Shane's Deli - now we miss Stonemill almost as much as we miss our friends, but Shane's makes a pretty great sandwich. I had the potato soup and a rice krispy treat the size of my head.
Once we were full again we headed off to discover the shops of downtown Wheaton. Mostly we just laughed at the silly stuff people sell but did find one good shop, Paper Works - it's a fun little gift shop that had some pretty cute stuff. We also took our guests into the crazy sports store on the corner of main and front street. This store never gets old, they have so much stuff in there you can barely move and most of it is from the '70s - including the creepy maniquins.
We took the metra into the city that afternoon and had a great time walking the streets. We tried to find a fun cupcake shop but after realizing we past the closest one we gave up and headed into some stores. Sean stopped in the Puma store and gazed at some new shoes ( as much as I wish we could get him some, he really doesn't need any more shoes). Even though the weather was cloudy we got some great pics and enjoyed just being with great friends!
We stopped in Sephora for me, I had a gift card and wanted to get my usual perfume which I've been out of for weeks, unfortunately not all Sephoras carry my scent. No luck there but we did get a chance for the boys to try on some fun sunglasses at the Sunglass Hut. After many pictures of the city and each other we ventured into the American Girl Doll store. I had never been in one of the American Girl stores and it was amazing! I would have loved this place when I was younger! It was so fun to walk around the store and look at all the things that they have for the dolls now. We even had fun assigning each of the new dolls to our friends - we found a great fit for Borris! After we had our fun in the AGDS we headed into one of the greatest stores on Michigan Ave - J.Crew. Jennifer Leigh is a loyal customer to J.Crew and it was a blast to see all the new springs arrivals. They had so many beautiful dresses and skirts...made me wish Spring would arrive soon! We then headed to State street - my favorite part of downtown Chicago. It's not busy and has a very funky feel to it. We of course went straight to Anthropology - Annie's favorite store - and had a blast! I could play in their home section for days! Even though the DeWitts are on a pretty serious budget these days I did get to purchase 2 little fun glasses - as my mom calls them "juice glasses" . They are precious and I hope to collect these in the future. They remind me of something my grandmother would have in her house.
Finally after we were all out of shopping steam we headed into Carmines for a yummy dinner - we had no problem eating Italian food 2 nights in a row! It was a wonderful meal with wonderful company! And the cheesecake wasn't bad either! After dinner we caught the Metra back to Wheaton. Jen, Will, and I all had fun chatting on the way home and my studious student Sean read his grad books so he wouldn't get behind. As I always say he is a lot more studious than I would ever be!
Sunday was another great day! Jennifer and Will joined us for church at Harvest and after the service Sean had to go tutor a student. So the rest of us went to Noodles & Company for lunch. After we were full (yet again) Jen and I dropped Will off at the house so we could watch the winter Olympics and we headed to the greatest store ever...HomeGoods. Jen and I compare this store to T.J.Max on crack. It has the cutest home pieces at insane prices! As we were about to check out Jennifer announces that she is going to purchase something for me for letting us stay at our house. After about half an hour of arguing I gave in and became the proud owner of a fun blue lamp! I can't tell you how much I love this lamp and my sweet friend for her kindness.

Jen and I pouted as the boys made us pack up her things and get ready for the airport.

It's hard to admit when a weekend is coming to an end, especially when you won't get to see your friends for a while. Sean and I are so blessed to be where we are at right now and to be learning so much about life. It can be challenging and lonely at times but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. God has placed us here and continues to teach us new things every day. I'm thankful that He has brought us to Wheaton, I'm thankful for His love and mercy, and I'm thankful that he has blessed us with so many wonderful friends.

Below are some of the pictures from this weekend! I'll probably try to post them with captions later too!

Night Friends!

A Weekend With The DeWitts

Here are some fun pictures from this past weekend! Sean got glasses, we ate lunch at a yummy Thai restaurant, and we toured the neighboring town of Glen Elyn

Forgot to Mention That I'm In Love...

With Miss Lily!
How sweet it is to be an Aunt and this little one has stolen my heart!
I miss you and all of our nieces and nephews!
Even though we don't get to spend a lot of time with them we enjoy every minute of it!
How blessed we are!

"These are a few of my favorite things...."

Sean's parents gave me an incredible camera for Christmas and needless to say I've been taking pictures of everything. I've always loved photography and pictures, and am very excited about my new hobby!

Tonight I was looking for a reason to use my beloved camera and decided to capture some of my favorite things around our house! Take a look!

The Little Things In Life that Make My Day

So here is something to make you laugh..

It's Friday, I went to work early so I could get off work early! Great Idea! 

So I got in at 6 and left at 3!

It was so amazing to leave work while the sun was still out! PS the sun starts setting at 3:00 here! 

I got home without traffic, got to see my husband, finished up work while on the comfort of my couch with a friends episode on in the background. 

After I finished work, I cleaned around the house, did 4 loads of laundry, and pretty much accomplished my Saturday to-do list by Friday night! 

I know by admitting this it shows my OCD-ness to cleaning and organizing, but I can't tell you how happy I am that I don't have to do ANYTHING tomorrow but hang out with Sean and probably nap! 

Here's to looking forward to a great weekend! 

What The Dewitts Have Been Learning....

I tell people all the time that Sean and I are continually learning here in Chicago. 

It amazes me how much we have learned in our short time here and I know there are many more lessons to come. 

I was telling my mom on her last visit here that the thing that God has been putting on my heart the most is this: People need love. 

It seems simple, but the more God has opened my eyes and my heart I realize that people really aren't given love that often. 

When people are given love it is  based on performance, conditions, or requirements. From what I have observed I don't think people are freely offered unconditional love. 

I think a majority of people go throughout their days thinking about themselves, their to-do lists, their families, their job obligations, etc. 

We ask one another in check out lines "How are you doing today" but no one ever gives a real answer, we typically throw out the "I'm fine" - which should be code for "not good". And when someone does give a real answer it makes us feel uncomfortable. 

But as I said earlier, The Lord is at work in The DeWitts and He is all about molding our lives to look more like His and less like the world. 

Recently, Sean began talking to me about a girl that he worked with at Starbucks. (For those of you who didn't know my amazing husband worked at Starbucks when we moved here, it was an incredible experience for us - it taught us a lot and allowed me to see Sean as a true servant of the Lord).  Sean's former co-worker is pregnant with her second child, experiencing pregnancy complications, and her husband has recently lost his job. He keep saying he felt like he needed to do something, but wasn't sure what. I have to be honest and say that the first few times he mentioned this I listened but never really took heart. I keep thinking it's getting close to the Holidays, people are already on tight budgets because of the economy, what could we really offer, and that it might be uncomfortable asking people to help. Basically I was being a jerk and putting limitations on the Lord. 

So the more we discussed it the more we prayed about it. After much prayer Sean reached out to our friends and family back home. He wrote a beautiful email asking for prayer support and financial support from those that could help. What an incredible response we received! So many people sent gift cards to grocery stores, gift cards to Toys R Us, and monetary gifts. 

This past Saturday Sean and I were able to met up with his former co-worker. Sean had sent her a text to let her know we had a gift for the baby. Before we left we prayed that the Lord would make this moment His and most importantly that she wouldn't see our faces on this gift, but Christ's. We arrived to the coffee shop, said hi, and had some causal chit chat. Then Sean began to ask her how she was doing. Not a quick "hey how's it going" question, but a real and sincere question. I loved watching that moment, watching the Lord speak thru my husband and reach out to another human. After listening to her describe what had been going on in their lives Sean quietly said that we had been praying for her and her family. And that we had reached out to some of our family and friends back home and that we all wanted to give her and her family a gift for Christmas. She barley opened the envelope before closing it back up and starring at us.  She spent about a minute speechless looking back and forth between our eyes. It was one of the coolest moments I've experienced. No words were needed, but we felt the love and thanks that was in her heart. As soon as she gathered herself we were all hugging and crying (except for Sean who says that female emotions make him uncomfortable). She kept saying "How did you all do this", "Why did you all do this", "You don't know how much this means to my family", etc.  We simply explained that we wanted to help and that we had friends and family that also wanted to help. That it was our joy to help her. And it truly was the sweetest joy I've ever felt. 

As we left and went about the rest of our Saturday errands I began to realize that this is what the world needs more of. More people sharing God's unconditional love, more men like Sean who not only hear the call from Christ, but act upon it at the right time. More people like our friends and family that are so willing to step up and help, despite the cost or circumstance.  I told Sean that I wish that everyday of my life could be like that moment...sharing hope and joy with others. For I know that I would be a different woman if that was my life. Maybe it can't be everyday but I hope it becomes more common. I hope I am open to the Lord's desire for my life. Our pastor said this past Sunday that "obedience is doing what God wants, when God wants it, with a God honoring attitude. And the secret to obedience is....love." Tonight I pray for obedience to God's will for my life and always unconditional love for his people. 

We love you all! 

The Dewitts

Prayers

I haven't posted in a while and have lots of stories to tell, but tonight I just want to share what Sean and I have been praying for.

Please feel free to leave us a message if we can be praying for you and please feel free to send up a prayer for us too!

Here is what has been our hearts lately..

• Sean's PHD program - It seems a little crazy to already be thinking about what school Sean should get his PHD from considering that he is in his 9th week of his Masters Program! We found out pretty soon after starting the Masters program that different schools have different requirements for their PHD programs...so if you find a school you like you better have met all of their requirements. Sean and I really like living in Wheaton, but we aren't sure if Wheaton College will be the best choice for Sean to get his PHD from based on his career goals post-school. Our main prayer is that we go wherever God wants us to be. I tell Sean quite frequently that it doesn't matter where his diploma is from - God will use him however He sees fit. We've been asking God to reveal to us where he would like us in the 2nd stage of graduate school. There are lots of options; options to stay up north & options to move back down south. Of course my heart gets a little giddy thinking about being in the South, but I really am at ease knowing He is going to take us where He desires.

• Love for People - so Sean and I have both entered into new work environments and are surrounded by lots of different types of people (Let's use the phrase "non-southerners") We have both been really challenged to have positive attitudes and serving hearts, not because we aren't use to different types of people, but we both work in stressful/chaotic environments. (Today especially - I prayed for lots of love for people!). Sean and I desire to be different, to show people that we are living for something other than worldly desires, but it can be really hard to do that. I must say that God has truly blessed me by providing two wonderful and caring co-workers! I love these new girls and am very grateful to get to work with them everyday. I think the biggest challenge in jobs and careers can be deciding to have a positive attitude and deciding to love people during times of frustration and misunderstanding. I'm trying to teach my mind and heart to love those that frustrate me and hurt me. Not easy, but I'm trying.

• Family - Our family is incredible and we are truly blessed to have them. Both sides of our family have had lots of big changes lately and Sean and I have been praying that God will guide all of their decisions. We pray that he will ease their stress and show them grace thru challenging times. We also pray for all of our nieces and nephews that they would have Godly parents who show them Christ's love and that they would one day have a personal relationship with God.

• Hannah Grace - my long time friend, Jennifer Reeves (Watson) got married this past summer and had the sweetest little girls in her wedding as flower-girls. One of the little girls recently became very ill. Jen has been posting updates on Twitter and Hannah has been on my heart quite a bit. This past week Jen sent me a link to Hannah's parent's blog. I spent my entire Monday evening reading every post. It is just incredible what this little girl has been thru and how strong her family has been. It's amazing to read the emotions expressed in one blog...hurt...sadness...misunderstanding...grace...love...hope... all in one post. Sean and I continue to pray for her and I love to come home from work and read the blog and see how she is doing that day. I pray that God heals her body, provides her comfort and peace now, that she isn't feeling any pain, and continues to give her parents strength, and the doctors wisdom in their actions and decisions. Please be sure to pray for Miss Hannah if you get a chance!

• Friends - Sean and I have lots of wonderful friends that we love to pray for. We pray that God would guide their actions, that they would be seeking Him in their daily lives. It's a very exciting and different time for our group of friends. We've had lots of friends move, graduate, take on new responsibilities, new jobs, etc. We miss getting to be around them, but hope they know how much we love and miss them. We both try to stay in touch with friends (the only good part about my 2 hour commute = lots of good phone time!) and always want to know how we can be praying for them. So let us know what we can be praying for you about!

I have lots of more prayers to share, but I want to include a cool passage from a John Piper book that Sean and I are reading right now. The book is called "Pierced by the Word"

Pg. 15

"But let us not tell Jesus what love is. Let us not instruct Him how He should love us and make us central. Let us learn from Jesus what love is and what our true well-being is. Love is doing whatever you need to do to help people see and savor the glory of God in Christ forever and ever. Love keeps God central. Because the soul was made for God."

Love you all and know the DeWitts are always praying for you!

Night Yall!