Thanksgiving!

I realize how behind I am in blogging, so now, as we are only 9 days away from Christmas, I thought I would share my Thanksgiving pictures with you. My parents and I headed up to Attica Michigan to my best friend's parents house. She and her husband were in town from Petosky, so we went up there. Their family is my second family. It's always a great time in the Ostrander household. Aside from stuffing our stomachs with more food than we could imagine, we talked, went for a stroll outside, and played games.

The Wagner's visit!

Over thanksgiving weekend, my first roommate from Moody and her husband were in town, so of course I had to see them. Especially because they have a new baby. Susanna was a great roommate. We both entered Moody later on in life, and both had desires and passions to serve the Lord overseas. I loved having Susanna as a roommate. She came home with me one weekend, and we went to the zoo. I don't think she liked it quite as well as I did....possibly because it was cold, and I wanted to take tons of pictures. haha! At Moody, she started to develop a relationship with a boy, and I always would tell her that they were going to get married, and she would always tell me to "stop it." Well, she left Moody the next year, so we were only roommates for a short time. But that short time developed into a relationship that I still have with her today. And she ended up marrying the boy. Mike is a great guy. He graduated from Moody, and went on to Grad school at Wheaton College, so I would go out to Wheaton and stay with them in their small, but cute apartment. And cookies were always made when I was there. I love Susanna's chocolate chip cookies, which to this day when I try and make never come out as good as hers. Earlier this year, she conveyed her joy that she was expecting. Little Max arrived in October, and I am so thankful I got to meet him. He is a little chunk that I loved having in my arms. It was hard to say goodbye, because they live in Minnesota, and I want to see Max everyday. Hopefully, I'll be able to see them before I head out to Africa. They are currently raising support for the Phillipines, and hope to leave in March as well. Thanks Mike and Susanna for letting me love on your litte man. Moose is the cutest ever, and I miss him dearly! :)

Niagra Falls!

I was able to go to Niagra Falls this past weekend with my Aunt. The only unfortunate thing was that she got sick, so we didn't do much. But we did go to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, and shop in the souvenir shops. I went and saw the Falls the next morning, before we left to go back to Ohio. It was a low-key, relaxing weekend.

On the way home, I stopped in Cleveland because I am always fascinated by the massive amounts of seagulls that flock over and around the lake. The ice was beautiful!

Rachel & Greg's wedding!

This past weekend I attended the wedding of Rachel Papke and Greg Galey. It was a wonderful evening, full of fun, laughter, and memories. Congrats Greg and Rach, and many blessings in the years to come. Love ya!

Sights from my 2nd home....CHICAGO!

My time in Chicago was amazing! I didn't realize just how much I missed it until I went back. I was able to visit many friends, and meet with 5 of my professors from Moody. It was so good to be back and catch up with everyone. I was really looking forward to seeing Steph, Tad, and Madelynn. Steph was telling me that she is saying so many words, and boy, was she right! Seeing Momers talk, dance, sing, and say "Hi Jess" everytime I entered the room melted my heart. I miss watching her grow up more than ever! We took her trick-or-treating at Moody Church for their harvest party. She was so tired, but was excited to eat her chocolate "nummies" once we got home. She was Simba, and her roar was phenomenal! :)

Steph, Anna, (Tad's sis) and I put our foil on for our free Chipotle burritos later on in the evening. I LOVE Chipotle, and whenever you can get it for free, you must take advantage of it. We are dressed as burritos...can you tell? hehe (actually, if you have foil on any part of your body, that counts!)

One of the biggest highlights was connecting with the Embrees again. I had made reservations at the American Girl Cafe' for Ella, the girls, and I and we loved it. They moved their store into Watertower Place, and it is so spacious and nice. The girls loved eating with their dolls and shopping for their one item they were allowed to purchase. I bought them new dresses for the day, and they looked so stinkin' cute in them. It was adorable! We then went out to Elmhurst and I saw James and Max. I can't wait to get back to Africa to serve our Mighty God with them!! Only a few more months....hard to believe!

I also got to speak to the Women's Choir and hear them sing for chapel. They have 25 new girls this year, so it's a young group. However, Ms. Hong is doing a wonderful job, and they sound so beautiful. I wish I was closer so I could hear them sing more! :(

I also got to visit my old roomie, Jess and her husband RC. It was wonderful to see them again. (btw, thanks for all the candy corn)


Before I left and said goodbye to the Davis', I took some family pictures for them. We bribed Maddy with chocolate "nummies" if she smiled. Although she was ready to be done a short time after we started, she did a great job and they turned out swell.

If you opened up your home to me, took me out for a meal, or made time to catch up with me, I thank you. I really appreciate you all! I enjoyed this trip so much, (even though it was too short) and look forward to coming back early next year before I head back to Africa.

Chicago!

I've been in Chicago for the last few days, and it feels like home. I knew I missed being in Chicago, but had no idea I missed it this much. I spent the night with my friend Andrea Thursday night, and went to the Original Pancake House Fri. morning. It was wonderful to spend time with her and see her new place. Friday, until today, I have been staying with Tad, Steph, and Madelynn. The minute they came and picked me up, Madelynn was saying, "Aunt Jess" over and over again. She has grown so much, and it is so stinkin' adorable. I enjoyed seeing her grow up before my eyes, and as I look at her now, she is speaking so many words, saying all the animals and the sounds they make, counting to 14, saying her abc's, and doing plenty of singing and dancing. I've missed so much, and yet I am so thankful to be able to spend this time with her. I love her cuddling and hugs, her double kisses, and her "hi Jess" whenever I step out of the room and come back. I'm looking forward to spending time with her momma next Wednesday.



I've also been able to visit Moody. Ms. Hong asked me to speak with the Women's Choir on Thursday, which was really sweet. There are 25 new girls this year, and it was fun to tell them some personal stories, but also encourage them as this is a hard time in the semester. I got to hear them sing too, which made me miss it all the more. Steph and I were reminiscing as we looked through some pictures tonight....I can't tell you what a blessing that group was to me. I can't imagine my life without all those incredible opportunities WCC provided for me. What a blast!! I also got to visit with 5 of my professors and share with them my pictures from Africa and hear how school is going and what God is doing in their lives. These people have made such a huge impression in my life, and it is a blessing to be able to meet with them again.



Tomorrow is the American Girl Cafe' for lunch with the Ella and the girls. Even though it has only been about 50 days since I have seen them, it seems like it has been forever! It will be good to have fun with them and catch up once again. I'll post pics as soon as I am able. (which probably won't be until I get home as I left my camera card reader at home)


Madelynn and I :)




Have a great day!

WESTVIEW

I thought I would post from my adventures with the Grady girls last week. We went to Westview pumpkin patch, and had a blast. I love hanging out with these girls aside from the everyday afterschool schedule. Kerry came too, which was nice. She left Fox 2 a couple weeks ago to start a new job with MEA, which she really enjoys. It will be nice for everyone, because she'll be able to have more time with her family.
The animals were a huge hit, and probably my favorite part. We loved the donkeys and chicks.

The girls also enjoyed bouncing on the big pillows. I had never seen anything like it before, but it's like a moon-walk, only much more cool! :)

Lexi and I did the corn maze, while Kerry and the girls went to pick pumpkins. We enjoyed apple cider and doughnuts, as well as a pumpkin roll and caramel apples to end the fun day!

Sorry about the weird layout....I can't seem to figure this out. One of these days I'll get it! :)

There is just something about a good friend....

This is Dominique, and I consider her my bff. There are so may reasons why. We have been friends since I was 15, and I can't get enough of her. Unfortunetly, our lives have taken us to different places in recent years, so we are not able to get together nearly as much as we would like to. But when we are able to, it is like time never passed. And this happened last weekend. I love that I can talk to her about anything, and that we can share our life with each other, and what issues we are facing and going through. She supports me, and I support her. She loves me, and I love her. She encourages me, and I encourage her. When she hurts, I hurt. And when I hurt, she hurts. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I am so thankful to have her in my life. If you don't have a friend like Dominique, I would pray that you would be able to find someone just like her. We all need these types of friends in our lives!

Missions Conference with the Columbine's!

We had our week long missions conference this past week, and it was amazing! I enjoyed connecting with our missionaries, as well as spending time with a few of them individually. This was the case with Michelle Columbine. Her and her husband Bo, as well as their girls Grace and Faith are getting ready to leave for France to attend language school, where they will then go on to Senegal. Michelle loves to scrapbook, so I took her to Archiver's, my favorite scrapbook store of all time, and we had a blast! It was so fun to "spoil" her and pick out fun stuff for our albums. Although scrapbooking is a very arduous and time-consuming task, :) both Michelle and I see it as a way to relieve stress, and have a lot of fun! We also had to make the all coveted stop to Starbucks to get our needed fix of energy! (although, hot chocolate doesn't give me too much energy. For those of you who do not know, I can't stand coffee...the taste, smell, nothing. Nada. And I don't like tea. So it is either hot chocolate or vanilla bean frappacinos for me at Starbucks!)
The girls were cold one night, so they grabbed their daddy's coat, and got right into it! :)

Michelle, I love ya and I'm praying for you and your family as you go out and serve our Amazing God! Thanks for the blessing you were to me. I'm so glad we were able to go out and spend time together!

Goodbye Alaska!

A couple days ago, we went hiking and saw Moose, including a mama and a baby. They were so cute! Yesterday, we went to downtown Anchorage. Because Ella doesn't like to shop, James and I did the shopping, (mostly window shopping) and she took the kids to the Imagenarium. Last night, the kids had Awana, and we went out to Coldstone for some ice cream....it was delicious!

Some of you have been asking about the weather, and I haven't really mentioned what it is like here. Most days, it is overcast and cloudy, however there have been a few sunny days that tend to bring a lot of warmth!! The temp. is usually around 55-60, although yesterday it was 51. Not too bad, as I love the Fall and being able to wear jeans and hoodies! :)

Ella and I were able to attend a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) in Anchorage today. The cool thing about BSF's is that they are all over the world, and they study exactly the same thing each week. So, if I am out of town, I can go to one wherever I am at! And they even have it in South Africa, so Elle and I are looking forward to discussing what we learn each week, and then hopefully we will be able to go together once I return to Africa. If any of you are interested in doing this as well, that would be great!! Just let me know....

Tonight is Enchiladas and game night.....tomorrow we have a in-home dessert thing where James and Ella will share about Africa, and then Saturday is the market and a time of goodbyes once again as I leave this beautiful state. Thanks for your prayers while I was here. They were appreciated!!

I hope to post pics in the next week or so of the events that took place the last several days. Stay tuned....

Have a blessed weekend!

Jess

Flying!

On Saturday, Mark took me flying in his Cessna 120. I have never been in a small plane before, but I had a blast!! It was tight quarters for sure, but I loved every minute of it! He took me over a glacier, and it was stunning to see God's magnificent beauty and splendor completely surrounding me. Mark asked if I wanted to fly down next to it, and I of course said yes! The temperature dropped quite a bit, but it was so cool to see these big mounds of ice everywhere.

I also helped the Embrees move to Anchorage later in the day to the mission house of Chapel by the Sea. We are staying at Turnagain Cottage, which is located right on the Ocean. It is BEAUTIFUL!!

This week will bring some new adventures, however I will no longer be able to post pics because of dial-up internet here. I'll try and update through writing, but we will see if that happens or not! I can't believe I only have 5 days left. I am having the best time with the Embrees. I just love being with them, and hanging out....never a dull moment, that is for sure!! They are such a blessing to me!

MATANUSKA GLACIER

Well folks, I wish I could post many more pics of this amazing day! We hiked on the glacier, and it was absolutely beautiful! I help the Embrees move to Anchorage tomorrow, and we are unsure of internet access there, so this may be for blogging until I return home. This first week has been AMAZING, and I cannot wait to see what the next week will bring. Have a wonderful weekend, and have I mentioned that Sarah Palin is from Wasilla, Alaska? :)