Climbing High

We finally joined a gym 

that happens to have a three story climbing wall

upon which  Rynn climbed to THE TOP

on her first try.

 When I tucked her into bed that night I asked her,

"Were you scared being that high?."

She replied,

"Why would I be scared?  Daddy was holding me."

Climbing high without fear trusting in her father's love and care.

A spiritual lesson in there somewhere??

Eleanor took to the wall with great courage too.

Her favorite part?  

Swinging on the way down.

 My favorite part?  

Watching the proud bravado of some young guys (pictured below) be quickly silenced by a seven year old girl scampering to the top.

Awesome.

Ice Skating in the Big City

Today Jason and I go ice skating.

We buy skates.

We take the skates for coffee at Intelligentsia.

 We take pictures of the Bean because, well, it is becoming a habit.

We wait for the ice rink to open.

 And we skate!

A bit wobbly at first...

we soon gain our confidence.

 Thank you, Kate & Phil, for telling us about the FREE skating at Millennium Park.  What fun!

After a little skating we need some hot chocolate, so we go to our favorite place for FREE hot chocolate...

  The Member's Lounge at the Art Institute of Chicago.

 Jason creates a super yummy drink.

hot chocolate + 1 mint tea bag= peppermint hot chocolate

 and by the way... if you live in Chicago... make your journey to the Art Institute this month.  Admission is FREE for ANYONE weekdays only for the rest of the month of January.  Wow!

 Jason has so much fun on his new skates that he decides to take a spin on our neighborhood ice rink at Gillson Park.

No lines.

No people.

No rentals.

Five blocks from our house.

Jason practices his triple axel on hockey skates while the crowd goes wild.

A Parallel World

"...the Internet is not merely a parallel universe of self created identities and opportunities, but is a 'dark continent,' a place where people 'more and more live rather than in the real world.'  This is not a coincidence.  Feeling that you are on multiple channels, and not understanding anything clearly, seems to be a condition of modern life, and each of us deals with it differently."

- Cathy Horyn quoting Barbara Vinken in today's New York Times Style and Fashion section

 (Read the entire article Here).

Tucked in the corner of today's Fashion section of the NY Times is an interesting article about the difficulty the fashion industry is having pushing creative boundaries in a world where few boundaries still exist.  She writes, "the Internet offers people all kinds of ways to express themselves- through blogs, e-commerce, photographs and videos.  To be sure, some of it is not worthwhile, but the Internet represents a world that is livelier, more daring and actual than what currently takes place..."

something to chew on...

There's No Such Thing...

...as a SNOW DAY in Chicagoland.

Off to School

Helping Daddy Clean the Car

Eleanor and her good buddy Elise tromp into school in their snow gear.

A Kindergarten Science Lesson on the structure of snowflakes

Examining snowflakes with a magnifying glass in the same (well, almost) way the 19th c. scientists did

Snow boots in the hall...Rynn has to bring her gym shoes in her backpack!

My friends and family, who are curled up with your hot chocolate enjoying the recent winter storm that shut down the South, enjoy your snow day today and pray for my toes to thaw after getting two children to school and shoveling my driveway.  I know, poor me.

I'm off to HOT YOGA.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Originally published in the UK under the title 'The Other Hand,'  Chris Cleave's 2008 novel was released in the United States with the new title of Little Bee.  I think this was a huge mistake.  I'm not sure why book publishers thought giving this novel a cuter title and a sweeter cover would make it sell better in the US.  I've passed by this book for months because I thought it was another cozy book club read like The Secret Life of Bees or Akeelah and the Bee, and I just didn't feel in the mood.  Call me shallow, but the novel might have made it to my night stand sooner had I seen the original UK cover.  I guess I'm a dilettante when it comes to wine and books.  Sometimes I do judge by the cover (or the label as it may be).

Little Bee follows the story of two women, a Nigerian refugee who flees to London, and a stylish suburban magazine editor.  Their lives become intertwined through events that are very tragic and disturbing but sometimes seem forced and manipulated.  The novel clips along at a fast pace which makes it a good January read that is difficult to put down.    I am surprised, though,  that it was listed as an Editor's Choice in the New York Times Book Review.  Deeper character development and a slower resolution to the narrative conflicts (especially the ending) would make this novel much stronger.  One character in particular does shine - a four year boy who is convinced he is Batman.  Batman (aka. Charlie) is convinced the world is divided into the 'baddies' and the 'goodies.'  This little man leaps off the pages as Cleave weaves the story.  Unfortunately, sometimes the story itself is too easily divided into the baddies and the goodies.  This renders it a bit shallow in its attempt to tackle big subjects (immigration, death, oil wars, adultery, grief).  

But, despite my critique, I'll admit I was entertained reading Little Bee.  Challenged to think about immigration policy in our own country, I  also enjoyed a good story at the same time.  So, give it a try, and let me know if you, too, think it should still be called The Other Hand.

Hey, why not listen to a sermon?

January is a month for resolutions.  The Christmas trees are on the curbs, piles of gray snow are in the gutters (in Chicago, anyway), the sky is gray, and well, it is easy to feel blah.   Sometimes that 'blahness' creeps into our spiritual lives.  I tell myself I am going to read my Bible this January. This is going to be the January I will attend to my spiritual life with the regularity that I attend to runs or yoga.  Then the mundane chores of life creep back in, the laundry piles up, and the liveliness and mess of children explode around me.  Sometimes I wish I had the discipline of Susanna Wesley, mother of the 18th c. evangelist Charles Wesley, who threw her big apron over her head to pray while her 19 children ran around her.  Skinny jeans and yoga pants don't afford the coverage of an 18th c. apron, but I have one thing on Susanna. INTERNET.  Listening to sermons while I fold laundry, drive in the car, or prepare a meal is amazingly nurturing to my soul.   I want to remind you of two links on the sidebar of my blog to our church here (GRACE) and to our former church in Portland (HOPE).  Both have regularly posted sermons to encourage your heart and soul.

Check out Jason's most recent sermon on  chapter 12 of Revelation ("The Resolution of the Years").  What better way to start the new year than with the end of the story?

And on Hope's website you can hear another sermon, preached thousands of miles away by Casey Bedell (HOPE's pastoral intern) on the same Sunday.    (Way to go Casey on your first sermon! Well done!)

Happy listening and Happy New Year!

The Xtracyle Lives

You can take a bike out of Portland, but you can't take the Portland out of the bike.

The spirit of the Xtracycle Lives.