Weekend Away at Home...

Joel's graduation

WE had a great time last weekend celebrating Joel's graduation from seminary. He graduated from North Park Theological Seminary with an MDIV/MBA. He graduated with high honors! I am so proud of him and all his hard work. He did such a great job and we both learned SO much during our time here. It has not been easy all the time-we knew it wouldn't be, but we thank God so much for bring us here.
We had a fun party with all kinds of people. Lots of people from church came which really was special. For those of you who haven't seen the apartment, here are some pictures of different parts in the background.
Congratulations to my graduate! I'm so proud of you!

Our Anniversary in Pictures

Our Chicago Anniversary

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Amy W @ http://amysfrontdoor.blogspot.com/

The Rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Things about me!

1.) I joined the blogging world after Julie Lamb sent me an email about it. After that I was totally hooked and have found so many people to re-connect with. I love blogging and love keeping up with people!

2.) My addictions are CHOCOLATE and Starbucks (specifically grande skim white chocolate mochas with no whip!) coffee. My husband would say I am addicted to T.V. too.

3.) I am so ashamed to admit this, but I am terribly dis-organized and a HUGE procrastinator. I wish I could be different, but it has worked so far for me. I am working on it, but well...after 28years, it's not an easy habit to break!

4.) I love adventure and I love to travel. Since moving to Chicago we have had a lot of adventure and done a lot of traveling. Most recent was Ecuador (our future sight as missionaries), Alaska and Japan. I LOVED Japan! Probably explains too why my favorite food is SUSHI!

5.) I like to read books of my choice, but I hate to read books I am forced to read (such as for school). As bad as it is to say, I have yet to read an entire book in undergrad or graduate work that I am asked to. Luckily I don't get graded on that! And DON"T TELL MY MOM!

6.) I love surprises! My husband luckily knows this and surprises me all the time! I love it! Most recently for our anniversary, we went downtown Chicago and stayed in a hotel (another favorite thing). We did all kinds of stuff downtown andhe surprised me with a beautiful necklace!

7.) I love adrenalin. It explains my last 2 jobs well, working in the pediatric ICU and now in the ER. I love the high pace and high skill that it takes to do this work combined with care. That's why I love nursing. God truly has gifted me (not to be cocky). But I can't imagine doing anything else. I LOVE MY JOB!

8.) I love pictures! If you saw our apartment you will know this immediatly.

I am tagging:
Christa
Lisa P
Erin N
Jen A
Jo Ellen Hummel


4.)

5 years!

Happy 5th Anniversary to my wonderful, amazing husband!

The time has flown by.

I love you more today than I did 5 years ago today. I'm so excited for the journey so far and for where God is leading us.

I will post more pictures later from our anniversary celebration!

On strict orders from my mom, I am posting about my wonderful couple days back home in Indiana!
I was so excited to get to spend time with my mom and dad for my mom's birthday. We had cake and tons of food out at our fav restuarants.
On Friday night, I got to spend time with some of the girls (and one boy) that I went to high school with. A lot of these I haven't seen for 5 or 6 years! It was such a priviledge to be in the presence of so many women (and men) of faith. Like Kelli said, my cheeks hurt the next day from so much laughing! What a great feeling. It was so amazing to catch up on each of their lives and see where they are and what they are doing. Just a re-cap for my mom.
Going from this picture of all of us. You know me and what I am doing. Carrie K is a nurse and paramedic. Please keep her and her fam in your prayers. Her brother was recently killed in Iraq. Bethany H is doing her residency right now in Indianapolis at Riley Children's. I always knew she'd be a great doc. WIsh I could work with her! Kelli is back right now from Laos and is seeking God's will on what is next. Geoffrey H and his fiance (Lydia) were back for one week planning for the wedding. They live in China and will after the wedding. Melissa lives on the south side of Indy with her husband who is a policeman. Her little girl Sydney is precious and looks just like her. It was so cool to see her as a mom. She's great at it! Allison lives in Muncie with her husband Chad. You can't mistake her little boy as being hers. WOW! THey look so much alike. His name is Jackson. Heather and her husband (Joel, good name!) live in Noblesville. He is finishing his masters and she is working at Taylor. She's going to be taking a trip to Ecuador soon! YEAH!
Jennifer and her husband live in Arizona! She likes it hot! She is just as fun as ever! She is working on getting her counseling license. How cool would it be to have her as a counselor?!
We also talked to Ashley on the phone. She couldn't come. Her and Ryan live in Noblesville. She recently became an AUNT!
Can I just say that this was such a highlight for me. It is so awesome to literally be able to watch people grow up and then reconnect to see where God has brought them from and where they are now. They really are changing the world!
What a blessing to be in the presence and to catch up.
God is good!







Mom and Dad Carter

Allison and Jackson and Mel and Sydney

THe ones that stayed later! Sydney wanted to hang with da girls!



Allison and Jackson

Sydney and Mel

The smilers! I just love these girls. They have helped shape who I am today! Colleen and Kel

Past and Present

Yes, this is a VERY old picture. Kelli will probably kill me when she sees this, but I just have to post a blog about my good friend Kelli.

Number 1, I am so excited because on Friday, I am getting together with friends from high school who I haven't really seen SINCE high school. This is such a treat for me and I can't wait to catch up with everyone.

Kelli is one that I am so excited to see. She has been teaching in Thailand for the last 5 years and I haven't seen her for that long. You see, Kelli has a special place in my heart, because she is the first friend (after my mom) who was an example of Christ to me. Even at THIS young age that you see here, Kelli showed me and told me about Jesus and truly lived it out-and she still does.

I can't wait to see her and the others who I haven't seen in years. There is just something about being around people that haven known you since you were a kid. I will post pictures when I get home!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

I just wanted to send a Happy Birthday to my mom! I wish I was there with her today, but wanted to say Happy Birthday anyway. She's the most special and amazing lady I know and I am proud to be her daughter. She has been such an example throughout my life. She has been an example of Christ to me since I was a kid. I remember when she used to read the Bible to me each night before we went to bed.

So this post is for my mom. The most amazing woman I know. I love you mom and Happy Birthday!





(My Aunt Donna and Mom)

Slackin'

Yes, I have totally been slackin in the blog world. Minimal posts to other fav blogs, no posting on our blog for, well awile. Can I be honest and say I just haven't done it. Not to mention that nothing has really happened lately worthy of blogging. I have had some ideas of things to blog...

~I was going to do the "can you pass 8th grade math thing" Then I looked at it and realized for sure I WASN"T going to spend the time on that and I pretty much knew there was no way on God's green earth I would pass it!
~The dogs have done some really cute stuff, but I can't ever capture it on camera. It's usually them coming up to smell the camera or them turning there back side to it (NOT SO BLOG-WORTHY!)
~Talk about the new research paper I am writing for Major Psychopathological Disorders! It's actually interesting (to me), but must not be TOO interesting since I am blogging instead of writing it!
~I may end up posting this still, but I will do a dry run. Had a conversation in Curves the other day about what the ladies categorize as gross. Now granted one is a teacher so I'm sure she sees gross things, but her biggest thing she can't handle is when kids wiggle their loose teeth in front of her...well, many directions to go there, but do you think I could MAYBE one up her since I"m an ER NURSE! HELLO!
~Going to blog about our new addiction to 24, but realize that we are on season 4-you all have BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT!

So instead I came up with this. At least it is something! Hopefully my life gets more interesting. Research papers and Epidemiology homework...not so fun to blog about! Are we really THAT boring! DON"T ANSWER THAT!
Peace to ya!

Thursday Thirteen

Top Thirteen Movies in the Delp Household
1.) Patch Adams (Joel's Fav)
2.) Schindler's List (Kim's Fav, yes it is a weird fav, but I appreciate history about WW II)
3.) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4.) So I Married and Axe Murderer
5.) Simon Birch
6.) Hotel Rwanda
7.) Amistad
8.) Gross Pointe Blank
9.) Matrix Trilogy
10.)Lord of the Rings Trilogy
11.) Forest Gump
12.) Braveheart
13.) Crash

In the true spirit of one of favs that didn't make the list...High Fidelity (yes we are John Cusack fans), what's YOUR top 5?

Easter Morning

HE IS RISEN!

Maunday Thursday

Observance of Maunday Thursday

In observing Maunday Thursday, we are remembering Christ’s last opportunity to be with his disciples in the Upper Room. In John’s account of this evening, Christ said “A New Commandment I give you, to love one another”. The word Maunday comes from the Latin word “mandatum novum,” which means New Commandment.

He then went on to demonstrate his love for his disciples by washing each of their feet, which was a surprising act since footwashing was usually done by the lowliest of servants.

And as we know, he also instituted a ceremony of bread and wine by which we can remember his sacrificial love for us by dying on the cross. So in remembering Christ on Maunday Thursday, we are reminded anew to take seriously this New Commandment that he has given us to love one another as He has loved us.

OH CANADA!

I just recently found the camera and I am finally able to post pictures from our mini vacation to Canada. We went to a small town called Searchmont about 40 minutes North of Saulte St. Marie. We stayed in a very cute cabin with a beautiful view, a wood stove, and even cable!. The main thing we were able to do was RELAX! It was much needed. We also went skiing for an afternoon and snowshoeing! We had never done that before and had a great time! It's a major workout!! We also watched a lot of the March Madness games which was lots of fun!
GO BUCKEYES!!!!
It was a very nice time for us to get away and just be together for a bit.
Enjoy the pictures and enjoy this Holy Week.
Blessings!

Not so wordless Wednesday...

This is the newest book we are reading for our small group. It is really good so far...I highly recommend it.

Anyone else read this book?

What did you think?

Ecuador Update

I know I have had this picture on here before, but I just love it and it makes me homesick for Ecuador.




It has been a while since we have talked about Ecuador. This is mainly due to not really having any news to tell. Well, in the last few weeks, we have gotten some new info regarding our plans for overseas mission work.


About 3-4 weeks ago, we talked to the president of missions for our denomination, trying to figure out where God was leading and what directions we were to go. In that conversation, it was decided that we would stay here in the states for at least 2 more years while I finish school. We thought we would be really disappointed about this because we just want to get there!! But, we had a great peace regarding this decision and truly feel this is where the Lord is taking us. It was decided however, that we would be in conversation with leaders from the National Covenenant Church of Ecuador and through this we would develop relationship in hopes of coming alongside the National Church to develop an orphanage and medical clinic in a developing area of Ecuador.


It was a great relief to realize that the president as well as others are excited to have us go. We have felt in the past that maybe this was TOO big a vision, wondering if people would really be on board with this. But, through this conversation as well as others, we realize that people ARE excited to have us go and even view us as "a new generation of missionaries." HOW EXCITING! We are looking forward to the conversations over the next months and years and to see where that leads us. They seemed extremely excited to realize that we were ready and willing to go wherever, and we are actually hoping to go to the places where others don't want to go-the jungle, the coast, etc.


We are excited to see where this leads. Thank you for your continued interest and prayers.

Go Buckeyes!

GO OHIO STATE! All the way to #1!

What's your favorite team as we go into March Madness time?

My Everest is CONQUERED!!

So maybe this should not be considered "my Everst", but for the last little bit, this was my Everest. I had to completed this book for my book club by last Wednesday, or I would not be able to choose the next book. This was a huge incentive since I have a book I really really really want to read. Anyway, I spent all on Wednesday reading the last 200 pages and finished it with enough time to make dinner and dessert! I was very excited!
So, what did I think? Well, it was a classic Steinbeck book from what I hear. I haven't read many. I was excited to finish, since most people that I talked to had not read this book, I am happy to say I have. Parallels! It has so many parallels to life, the classic good VS evil that has plagued mankind since Adam and Eve and particularly for this book-Cain and Abel.
WOuld I recommend???
YES. If for no other reason than to say that you have read a classic! It is a classic and captures much of the essence of mankind. The way it is written-PHENOMINAL! He does such a great job in writing this. I would recommend, but I admit, I don't think I will read it again. The first time was good enough.!

Wordless Wednesday

MORE SNOW!

Saturday we got MORE snow here in Chicago with a mix of sleet and stuff too. The pups were amazed at the golf ball size snow flakes. I tried to get some pictures of them enjoying it, but they are really quick! If only dogs could make snow angels!

New Hair Color

Kind of a goofy thing to post about, but I have been wanting to do something new with my hair-keep it sassy ya know! Well, today I went to see Michelle (not like you would normally say it). MI-Chelle. He is a very good stylist, although expensive! WOW! Anyway, I didn't really specifiy what I wanted, but I thought it went pretty well. I don't know how well the pictures show it, but the top of my hair is a light brown, which in certain light looks more strawberry blonde. The bottom is a very deep dark brown. It looks pretty cool! He also layered it and styled it. It was a really fun day for me. I felt I was getting very pampered (not like the diapers!)

So what do you think...be honest!

Colorado Trip

We are finally back and getting settled again in the routine of city life. It was nice to be away and 'be one with nature' for 3 days skiing in Breckenridge COLORADO! It was beautiful as you can see from the pictures. We got to ski with friends of ours from church. Our pastor came and stayed with us one day and went skiing after 12 years of not!
The second half of the trip was a conference we had in Denver. It was our denomination's annual conference so most people from the denomination made a showing. We thought this would be good to go to to get to know people better in hopes of networking for the mission field. This proved a success as we got to have a meeting the the field director's for Ecuador! They seem really excited about what we want to do and really want to help get us there! This is such a MAJOR answer to prayer. Thank you to those of you who have been praying.


As well as the conference and rubbing shoulders with many 'Covenanters' we also got to reconnect with some of our friends from Seminary who are out in the trenches as pastor's! We are so proud of them and the work they are doing through Christ. It was such a joy and encouragement to see them all again and to catch up on life.

Pastor Paul and us after a day of skiing! We were all exhausted and sore.

The beautiful view of Breckenridge

The Delp's

The pretty trees. They don't make em like that in Chicago!

Our good friend Jodi who is pastoring in Nebraksa!

Phil and Kate with their precious girl Madeleine! It was great to see y'all!

AND We're off!

Tomorrow we are off to Colorado to do a little skiing and for a conference for our denomination.
We are looking forward to being away from the city for a while, catching up with friends, and just being together!
We just checked the weather and they just got 6 new inches of fresh powder!
SWEET!
We'll try to post as we're there.