Give me a J, Give me an O, Give be a B - what does that spell?

I apologize profusely for the lack of postings.  I have no excuse except that there hasn't been much going on to write home about...until today!  Ha ha!  In 3 days, I'll have been here 1 month.
IT IS COLD!  We awoke to 29 degrees today!  Yesterday it was....guess.  Come on, just take a stab in the dark.  HA!  WRONG!  66 degrees!  Baaaaaad storms came through last night while I was sitting in rush hour trying to get to the western side of city.  2 hours.  Dang.  But I did get some gas while I was out there!

Monkey

So...several things of note have been going on this week and to follow a friend's example, I'll use a bulleted list!
1.  The Thompsons are coming to Chicago for Thanksgiving!!  YAY!  Of course, they're bringing the monkey too.  For those not familiar with the monkey, she is not a monkey at all, but the cutest 19 month old in the world!  Shown here.  She also goes by bugar and Jamie.
2.  I have had 3 interviews since last week.  The interview on Friday was for a wholesale Jewelry company that has been in business here since 1854.  It is an office assistant position and I'm supposed to know by tomorrow.  The next interview was for an administrative support position for a customer service department of Akzon Nobel.  They are a chemical manufacturing company with offices all over the world.  That job is only temporary- no time frame as yet but it could become permanent or other opportunities could arise within that company.  The interview I have at 2pm today is for Groupon.  That position is for Quality assurance.  That is my least favorite prospect out of the 3 of them but Holy Cow there are 3 prospects!!  Praise the Lord!
3.  The apartment that is being renovated in the basement of this building is finally almost ready!  Hopefully, crosses fingers, I can move in next weekend perhaps.  That would be FANTASTIC!  Then I can have people come and stay with me!  Only bad side of the apartment = no bathtub.  Booo!
4.  I think I have found the church that God would have me attend.  Park Community that I mentioned earlier.  I finally went to the 5:30p service on Sunday and I really really liked it.  I liked it better than the 9 and 11am services, so I think I'll go there.  It also doesn't hurt that most people my age and most of the singles go to that service.  Also, I met a girl named Sarah at the intro class on Sunday night who is working for Campus Crusade for Christ here in Chicago and she was a vocal performance major.  We are going to meet up next week and get to know one another.  I was very very encouraged by that entire evening, which I almost didn't go to because I wanted to take a nap. The Holy Spirit knew what He was doing when He sent me there!
5.  I was very encouraged by a Christian friend in Chicago to explore some aspects of my relationship with God that I had never contemplated before.  I've hit some walls in my Christian growth and what she said really made sense.  So I've been pursuing that with the Lord and it has been a tremendous blessing.  I hope to be able to discuss it with her further and to develop my thinking on some of these issues.

The sum total of above?  God has been soooo faithful!  Once again, I can't do anything but praise him for the amazing things he's done!
Now - onto some fun stuff.
Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights Parade!  The Kellys and I went on Saturday to the first holiday parade of the season.  I knew I wouldn't be able to get to the Thanksgiving Day parade so we halted all work on Saturday and took the L downtown.  It was all to wall people.  The parade itself wasn't a lot of fun but it was great to see all the people!  We were able to walk down the middle of Michigan Ave after the parade and see the street lined with lights.  I got some pretty cool pictures!

Looking down Michigan Ave after the parade!

We "watched" the parade from here.

Isn't she adorable?

This was the crowd in front of us.

The Chicago Tribune Bldg.  Gorgeous!

Water Tower!

Wall to wall people!

Oh look!  More people!

Pretty! Water tower in the background!

THIS is why we took the L.

Royal Chicago Mounted Police!

The Lovely Kellys...see the water tower in the back?

Yay!  Purple?

Water Tower pump house.

That is all my friends.  If I get a job, you'll be among the first to know!  Woot!

LAUNDRY!

I know its been awhile since I last posted.  Don't worry - nothing important happened.
The big topic today is:  Laundry! YEP!  That's the headline for today!  My first Chicago trip to the laundromat!  $1.75 a wash and $.25 dryers.  I don't know how long $.25 will get you but I felt like it took my clothes entirely too long to dry.  Another lady who came in at the same time was almost done with her 6 loads drying by the time I got my 2 loads done drying.  ::le sigh:: I guess I picked the crappy dyers. Perhaps that's why they were not in use.  ::nods head::  Ah, now the backstory unfolds.  Ha ha!
Well, this week has been rather...discouraging.  I'm still job hunting and that has me down (not to mention the nasty sinus stuff that's still lurking around -boo!).  I had another interview yesterday with another staffing company and this lady seems to be more interesting in getting me a job.  Unfortunately, the job I applied for was filled today and I don't even think they read over my resume.  But, I have to keep trusting in God's sovereignty.  He knows the needs that I have and he will fill them.  A friend told me yesterday to be strong and take courage.  ::sighs:: Oh I wish I could.  I do have some temp work that starts tomorrow.  The bad part is that the job is going to suck.  Over an hour on the train there, 6 hours on my feet making people take a newspaper they probably don't want, then another hour home.  And all this starts at 5:30am!  I am grateful for the work, it is money coming in - despite how much I may complain.

IN OTHER NEWS:  I keep taking sneak peeks in the windows of the apartment that I'm in line for.  Kevin has been painting like a mad man.  I was hoping it would be done by Thanksgiving but once he's done painting, they've got to do flooring so I'm not confident it will be.  But neither am I confident that I'll have a job by that time to pay for it.
I did get some FANTASTIC news yesterday and today - about two completely different things by two divergent people.  I cannot tell you either of them, however.  I have been sworn to secrecy on both accounts.  Both made me want to do jigs around the apartment.  I did not lose my dignity and do so, I simply said something like, "YAY YAY YAY YAY, Woo-hoo!  Hahahahahaha!  YAY."  Yeah, it was downright fun!
On another up note because God is faithful and I have no reason to be discouraged on that fact alone!  The Kellys and I sat down and looked at Chicago events coming up that are free.
There is the Thanksgiving Day Parade which looks stupendous!
There is the lighting of the tree in Daley Plaza.
There is caroling at the Rockefeller Center with the carillon.
Then there is "Snow Days" in January at the Navy Pier.  Its a snow sculpting competition.
That and the zoos are free and there are museums to see.  Hopefully I can be blogging about some of those fun things in the near future.
I promise...I will perk up!  Cross my heart!
Until next time...
Tootles!
Much Love

Chicago is my city!

So my mom reminded me tonight that I haven't posted anything here since Sunday.
Well, its been an interesting week.  So here's a short synopsis:

Cousin Lindsey with Molly and Piglet
and Baby Griffin as a Honey Pot.  Sooo cute!

Monday - I rode the Metra (the L for the suburbs) to Arlington Heights to babysit again for my cousin Lindsey.  Kids were great!  Soooo cute!  Molly just makes me grin!  THEN I went downtown to register my car.  That was expensive - $194 to title my car in IL and to get plates.  OH...MY...GOSH!  So I'm poorer than normal right now.  God has provided though so I'm not destitute.
Tuesday - what did I do on Tuesday?  Uh...I don't think I went anywhere.  I think I stayed in my pajamas till 3p then did some job stuff, got an interview for a job...cooked dinner, read a lot.  It was a day of nothing. I watch a lot of Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Wednesday - Kevin and Jennifer left for Houston about 5am so I have the house to myself until next Tues.  Its strange being alone.  I feel like this is a test.  Can I really make it in Chicago by myself?  I can!
So Wednesday I drove out to Des Plaines to meet with the Director of Missions (DOM) for the Chicago Metro Baptist Association (CMBA).  I had expressed interest in ethnic and people group research when I came in June so we went over some of that stuff. It's a huge task but one that will greatly help the strategy and church planting here in Chicago.  It might even hold a full-time position somewhere down the road, somewhere down the long road!  So last night I sat and read.  I tried to cuddle with Max (the Kelly's kitty) but he is still kinda anti-social.  He's warming up now that the Kellys aren't here to feed and cuddle him.  I almost got him onto my lap this afternoon. It was a bit chilly.

200 W Madison
The building I had my interview in!

Thursday - So today...I got up early and went downtown for my interview.  On the 20th floor of a fantastic building.  The view was not so great, just the 20th floor of other buildings, but hey, it was still a Chicago experience.  I rode the L by myself and got off at the right spot and didn't even get lost once on my way to the interview!  The interview went well and I hope to have some kind of job next weekend.  They were going to put my resume in for a job tomorrow but I don't think I'll get it.  I'm not sure I'm supposed to have it.  We'll see what God has planned.
So after that, I came home, grabbed some lunch and sat and read for awhile.  Max almost joined me on the couch, but he is still shy.
Then I remembered that my friend Hilary had some flyers she was going to be passing out for a discussion group she is starting in the neighborhood of UIC (University of IL Chicago).  So we went to businesses and asked if we could put flyers up on their message boards and got a really good response from most people.  It should be a good group.  It starts next Wednesday so I'll let everyone know how it goes.

The fantastic Artopolis!

After that, it started to rain - praise the LORD it waited until after we were done.  So we went to Greek town and ran in the rain to a fantastic little Greek restaurant - Artopolis.  The food was good and I had a great time chatting with Hilary and her friend Sara about their ministries.  God is doing some good stuff in Chicago - or at least beginning to.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please be praying for those working in Chicago.  There is so much need here and so few workers.  Please be praying that God would send more workers who will help reach Chicago for Christ.
Please also be praying for a job for me so that I can move into the apartment I think God has for me when its ready.  It will most likely be another 2 weeks before its ready, but I'd love to have the security deposit and the first month's rent ready to go.  Also be praying for how God wants to use me in Chicago.  I am participating in others' ministries while I am getting settled so I am active but I want to start looking at what God has for me here.
God is really taking care of me here.  I have wanted for nothing and had plenty of everything, even friends and family to make the transition so much easier.  I cannot praise God enough for all He has done, is doing and will do in my life here.  I am starting to feel like this is my city.  I can tell that God has moved me here.  I miss everyone in Louisville and I wish I could still be a part of their lives, but my time there was over.  I can see that very clearly now.  The LORD is being so gracious to me during this time of uncertainty and transition.
Please let me know if I can be praying for you in anyway.
Much Love