HEAT WAVE!!!! (7/24/11)

You know you live in Philly without A/C during record high heat when...

   1. You have to wait a minute for the shower water to get cold enough before hopping in.

   2. You wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of your husband gasping for air, and realize you are doing the same.

   3. You find your cats spontaneously panting. 

   4. You hang your laundry to dry in your living room and before you are finished, the first pieces are dry.

   5. You walk around the apartment in your underwear (or less) and suddenly don't care who can see through your windows. 

   6. Next to the 100 degrees on the weather report there is fine print that says, "feels like 120".

    So in case you couldn't tell, it is REALLY HOT! Thankfully, although we do not have A/C, we do have a fan and ice cube trays. Supposedly we are supposed to get some thunder storms today which would be marvelous. But in the meantime, here's what we've been up to, trying to keep cool. 

1. U2 CONCERT!!!!! I couldn't believe we found out about it a day before and there were still tickets left. AND we got to experience "The Linc" for the first time (Eagle's football stadium). U2 was unbelievable and we were so high up, we even got to feel a breeze and experience a relatively beautiful east coast sunset!

2. Caught some Shakespeare in the Park at our local haunt, Clark Park

Ben in front of our house holding our farmer's market fare.

3. Went to a Phillies game with my nursing cohort. I found myself cheering for Chase Utley...Ben stayed strong.

They sure love their Phillies.

Walking back through Penn....I love the campus at night.

4. Yesterday, during one of the hottest days yet, we drove out to King of Prussia (a Philly suburb with an awesome name) because we knew they had a mall and we wanted some A/C. While there we discovered two things: 

Philly has a Cheesecake Factory

And, King of Prussia is right next door to Valley Forge. So despite the 120 degree heat index, Ben was a trooper and explored it with me:

Inside Washington's Chapel

The valley: several miles long and wide where 20,000 men and women battled the winter of 1777, under the command of General George Washington. 

The Arch commemorating the troops at Valley Forge. 

The mighty Yaris. 

Resting in the shade of the arch.

Gettysburg, you're next!

 

And lastly, we are not the only ones trying to keep cool in this heat....if it's hot for us, can't imagine what it would be like covered in thick fur. I've tried dousing them in cold water but they act more pissed about that than the heat. Any suggestions?

THE END

When ARM became ARR (7/15/11)

Last weekend I had the privilege to attend and be a part of Annie and Chris's wedding. Annie Rose has been my dear friend ever since high school. Her brother and my sister made us life long friends when they married 6 years ago, fulfilling our wishes of becoming sisters. I cherish my friendship with Annie, not just because she is my sister, and not just because she is honest, faithful, funny and interesting. Throughout our friendship, we've had peculiarly parallel experiences. At times, we experience the same thing at the same time, but usually, our experiences are staggered so that one of us gets to help the other one through. But always, we are able to relate to each other on a deeper than usual level, finding comfort and encouragement and growth in one another. In fact, she is one of my inspirations to go back to school, change careers, and pursue a more people-centered career. A few years ago, God brought Chris into Annie's life. They have a beautiful story and I look so forward to experiencing this new chapter in our friendship, and to getting to know the man of her dreams. Here are some pictures of when Annie Rose Monkowski became Annie Rose Reynolds (hence ARM --> ARR).

Good to see you again, Danville.

A little pampering for the lady of the hour (weekend)

The famous tree where it all went down.

Proud daddy with his Kritter.

And I got to meet Joey and Lindsey's BABY!!!!! So fun to see the bump.

Last night as a single lady.

The lovely shoes.

BEAUTIFUL bride!

Sisters.

Ready to cut her cake.

And they're off! Great end to a beautiful day.

So although it was really fun to come back to California for a VERY quick weekend, I really looked forward to returning to Philadelphia (mostly because I was going home to Ben, but partly because I really like Philly). I thought that was a good sign. 

4th of July Heroes....and patriotic storm troopers (7/8/11)

Kristin and I experienced the 4th of July Philadelphia style. We had a good weekend which started with watching fire works, from a rooftop, on July 2nd at Penn's Landing. Then we biked down town in the morning to see the Independance Day parade on the 4th. That afternoon we spend grilling and hanging out with a couple of old friends, Tanu and Debbie Hopponnen, from my Black Forrest Academy days. I recently reconnected with Debbie and Tanu on a trip to Philly back in May. I haven't seen them since high school but had a great time getting to know each other again. The parade proved interesting as we saw everything from colonial soldiers, civil war actors, and of course Star Wars characters....yeah. We also saw Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln on the same float. We passed Ben Franklin's real house and shop, independance hall, (under construction) and Darth Vader. 

On Leaving (7/3/11)

  The other night I heard Ben tell a friend that never in his life has he left a place with more support, more encouragement, more love than when he left Millbrae. I agree wholeheartedly and thought it was time to write out some thoughts on leaving. 

  Several years ago, when I was living in France, my roommate gave me a book called Le Prophete by Khalil Gibran. I was suffering from heartbreak (Ben and I had recently broken up...don't worry, we got back together 3 years later) and she gave it to me with this note inside, "I offer you this magnificent book, very wise... I hope that it helps you in the difficult moments of your life and that it will bring you as much wisdom as it has brought me." I have returned to phrases in this book over and over each time I leave someone or some place I love (including my dear friend that gave me the book). As a disclaimer I will say that it is in French and so my translation of the words may be slightly off or I may be missing a nuance. 

  The character in the book that is leaving his home says, "numerous are the shreds of my soul that I have left in every street of my home...how can I distance myself from them without being overwhelmed and bruised? It's not merely a piece of clothing that I am taking off, but rather my skin that my hands must peel off." 

  I know it sounds incredibly dramatic, but it helps me to understand the depth of my sadness in leaving people I love. Especially when the leaving comes about unexpectedly and prematurely. What makes this experience unique is that I am leaving with Ben. Usually when I leave somewhere it is on my own and the processing is done in solitude. I am so thankful that this time I was able to leave with my best friend. Although, I have discovered that taking someone with you when leaving has its own layer of sadness attached because there is an acute sense of loss that I can see in Ben that I wouldn't notice in myself. C.S. Lewis talks about how in community, parts of a person are only brought out by a single other person. And so when you take a friend out of the equation, not only do you feel the loss of that missing friend, but you sense the loss in the pieces of your other friends that aren't brought out anymore by the missing friend. There are pieces of Ben that I don't get to experience anymore because we are not around the friends that would otherwise bring those parts out of him. And I'm sure it's likewise with me. Even still, I can't imagine doing this without Ben. God has blessed me deeply with his friendship and companionship during this transition, not to mention we've just had so much fun starting this adventure together.

  There is a snare I've encountered before and that I imagine will present itself here. When leaving a beloved place and people, it's easy for me to build "home" up to be something that it's not. It's tempting to assume, especially in the new place when it gets really cold, or the food is rotten or bland, or the people become tiresome, that the place I left is paradise and if I could just get back, I would be happy again. I did this in France when I missed the sun, I did it in Africa when I missed cool fog, and I do it all the time when I miss people. California is truly a marvelous place and our friends and family that we left are precious beyond words to us. But rather than looking back and longing for what once was, I want to be present in this new place, and I want to set my heart on the true Home that I long for, heaven. I want to treasure and maintain friendships from home while planting pieces of my soul in the people we are surrounded by now. Rather than building people up in my mind to be the perfect cure to loneliness, I want to lean deeper into my friendship with Christ. And that goes for my expectation of Ben too. We recently listened to a talk by Matt Chandler where he warned against making your spouse your god. He said his wife was a terrible god. Beautiful mother. Wonderful wife. Terrible god. Because only God can fulfill that role in our life. Ben and I have to be careful to strike a balance between leaning on each other and finding support and companionship in one another, but not elevating each other to the place of God in our hearts. 

  This is really long so I'll wrap it up. I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped us to leave well. The high schoolers threw us a surprise party so we could hang out one last time on a Friday night, my sister and brother-in-law hosted a good bye open house so we could say good bye to our East Bay friends on a Saturday, the church threw us a good bye lunch on a Sunday, we went to Maui for a week (a gift from a family in the church so we could relax---so thankful!) and then we came back for a day and our former students-turned-college friends threw us a surprise good bye party that night. It was overwhelming and humbling and we enjoyed every second of it. Like I said, we've never felt so commissioned and released to leave a place like we did just now. These words feel pale compared to what my heart longs to say but I will use them just the same. THANK you.

Love love love,

Kristin

Build-a-Bed and Water Ice (7/2/11)

WE HAVE A BED! It took us a little while to pick it out and set it up but we finally feel like ourselves again after getting a good night's sleep. Here is the evolution...

Our little helper.

Success!

Yesterday we had dinner at Sara Keiper's. She is one of the missionaries that CPC supports and she just happens to live close to Philadelphia. Imagine that. We have only known her for a short time but already she is a good friend. AND she introduced us to Water Ice last night. It is like a snow cone crossed with frozen yogurt and on a hot Philly night, just about the best thing ever.

And this morning we woke up to funny guttural sounds and a crash...Peter had tried jumping through the screen.  

This weekend is a really big deal in Philadelphia! We look forward to experiencing the 4th of July in the birthplace of America!

First Week in Philly (6/28/11)

It's hard to believe but Ben and I have already been in Philly for one week. In that span of time we have:

1. Unloaded all of our belongings and lugged them up 2 flights of stairs

2. Attended a Phillies/A's game with the added pleasure of an A's victory

3. Watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 in preparation for the 4th

4. Attempted to attend Proclamation Presbyterian Church but our car battery died and AAA had to replace it. We caught the last 15 minutes or so of the service though, I got to meet Sara Keiper for the first time (I really really love her already) and we had lunch with the pastor and his wife and their daughter. The pastor attended Westminster (where Ben is going to transfer) and the wife studied abroad in France so needless to say, we had lots to talk about. We learned quite a lot from them in an afternoon, hospitality included, and we were so thankful for the opportunity to relax in a home (air-conditioned and not full of boxes) with such lovely people. It was a wonderful day.

5. I started school! I have really loved getting to know the other people in my program and it feels so good to finally just BE in school. This week is an intensive Intro to Nursing course and next week I will start learning actual skills. Penn is a truly amazing school and I am humbled by the opportunity to study here. 

6. Found some great local restaurants, an interesting food co-op, a park where Ben can play basketball and I can shop farmer's markets, and some cool cafes. We have also met many of our neighbors including a Russian couple that lives on the floor beneath us and that we are really excited to get to know better. 

I could go on and on (seriously, I can't believe it's been only a week). Here are some pictures (I can't believe how many I took of the cats but I just keep finding them in funny poses due to the heat and their attempts at cooling off).

Here is Lucy testing out some of our new Ikea pillows (I think they passed the test)

Our kitchen full of boxes. I think by next week I'll be able to post pictures of our apartment all set-up but it's taking some time.

The Yaris made a friend on our street!

Poor guy.

Even for cats, they've been sleeping a lot. Just too hot to do anything else.

Cheesy first day of school shot.

I turned away from my school work for a moment and he had already fallen asleep on it.

Ben finally got his wish. I came home from school today and found this new TV in our family room! Rumor has it I might come home to a bed tomorrow. We discovered 2 things about Delaware this weekend that prompted Ben to drive down there for the tv: 1) Delaware has no sales tax 2) Delaware is only about 20 minutes away. Who knew!

Ben also picked up a little something since we have been missing Millbrae!

Love,

Kristin

We Have Arrived! (6/23/11)

We made it! Ben and I are finally living in the place we will call home (at least for a little while). We've spent the last 24 hours unloading our little car, cleaning the apartment, setting up the Internet, exploring our neighborhood and running some errands. Ben even found some pick-up basketball at a park just a few blocks from our house. This same park holds an Amish Farmer's Market twice a week. Seems like our perfect park. 

UPS was supposed to drop off the truck holding our stuff today between 12 and 5. Comcast was supposed to come hook up Internet from 11 to 1. We called UPS this morning to confirm. Everything was good to go. We figured Comcast wouldn't show based on our previous experiences with them. But they showed up right on time, hooked us up and were quite pleasant. At 12:30 we called for an update on the truck. UPS proceeded to tell us they would not be dropping it off because we didn't arrange a drop off. What do you mean UPS, we just spoke with you a few hours ago. They called us liars. I sort of lost it. It's been a long week. Turns out someone didn't get a memo. Fortunately Ben held his cool and arranged for a drop off tomorrow morning. So we had wasted half the day waiting for the truck. To make ourselves feel better, we ran a few errands.... Nothing like dropping $100 on house supplies at Tarjay to brighten our mood (THANK you for the gift cards =).

But we weren't finished.  Can you guess where we went next? 

No, not Sveden. Here's one more clue...

IKEA!! Nothing like several hours meandering through IKEA to feel like the world makes sense.

Here's a few "before" pictures of our apartment. Once we get everything all set up I'll show you what it looks like.

This is the front bedroom that we are going to use as a family room. Sort of looks like a San Francisco window, no?

Another shot of the family room.

Our kitchen. I don't think I would ever select this color of red on my own, but I really like it! Funny enough, these counters and cupboards are the same ones that were in our Millbrae house! Makes me feel at home in the kitchen. Can't wait for all my pots and tools to get here. 

We are working on making this look nicer. 

Here's our bedroom. We need to buy a bed. And we are taking suggestions. 

(Testing one out at IKEA)

So that's about it for now. We are just trying to stay cool both literally and figuratively. Overall people have been pretty friendly here (EXCEPT on the road, there they are ridiculous), they just seem wound a little tight at first. 

In the next few days I'll try to post more about our thoughts on leaving Millbrae so stay tuned. For now I just want to say a huge THANK YOU for all the prayers. We had a couple of close calls on the road...including one time when a really rickety truck lost one of its plastic siding pieces. It flew off and hit the minivan in front of us, shattering into pieces (but not before creating a huge gash in the minivan's windshield) which then hit us. Thankfully the Yaris was not injured although I don't even want to think about the damage that plastic could have done if the minivan hadn't buffered the hit. Everyone in the minivan was fine. Anyway, thanks for encouraging us with your words and prayers. It's weird now that's it's kind of just the two of us (4 including the cats). We're having fun, growing closer, creating memories, living an adventure. But we really, really miss you. 

Love,

Kristin