We interrupt this Spring Break series...

We're in the thick of things with our classes. Lately I've been trying to take in as much as possible, applying what I've been learning on a more personal level. The great thing about where we're at in school is that everything we're learning feels applicable. Jeremy and I think about our future in ministry often and how we want to shape our family and lives around truth and the calling that the Lord has on our lives. Without getting too corny, I wanted to share a story with you from a book I've been reading called From Fear to Love. It's from one of my counseling classes and it addresses the cycle that we get into when we let our fears allow us to move to control and then supercharge our control with anger. This story is in the chapter on overcoming our fears in a section called "Learning to be Real". It actually is taken from a children's story called The Velveteen Rabbit. Margery Williams describes what it means to become real... 

"What is Real?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become REAL."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," He asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are REal you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

What the story relates is that vulnerability is the key to love, that risk is involved in becoming REAL.

Parts of a Heart of Spring Break

Plain and Simple there were many parts to our spring break... lots of adventures and trips and get togethers that made up the heart of our spring break. So I'm going to break up our spring break into several blogs instead of making it one long one. Plus that means it will take me less time to write each blog which means it will be more likely that I'll actually update our blog :) Plus for all you mothers of the Allen family members out there, more exciting blogs to wait for in great anticipation. 

The bench we were engaged by

Over break we were blessed to be able to house sit for a professor at moody that Jeremy TA's for. They let us use their lovely home, and their car. It was a great excuse with all our free time to try and get out of the city. One of our first trips (besides to the grocery store) was to ITASCA. This is where we got engaged, a forest preserve in the suburbs. It was such a rare warm day for early spring in Chicago that we knew we had to jump on the chance to get outside and away from the city. It was a small day trip but we took snacks, our kite, and our camera and very adventurous spirits.

 It took us a while to get the kite in the air. but once we did it stayed up for the entire time we were relaxing on top of the hill. It's a beautiful view of the preserve from there and the little red bench makes me happy. Every one was so impressed by our kite flying skills. But I have to say our kite flying record is not so great. But ever since Gma Leih has bought us this kite, our record has greatly improved. So thanks GMA! 

Our day in ITasca was totally relaxing. Everything we could have wanted it to be. We did a lot of little things around this time at the beginning of our break as well. We really spoiled ourselves in terms of food. I took Jeremy with me to Trader Joes on shopping day and he gets quite excited there. We cooked a lot in the BIG kitchen we were so blessed with and actually watched a lot of movies in the evening because they had a TV at their house (which we don't, that's how we like it). But it was a unique little treat. I maybe went over board on the cooking band wagon making pico de gallo, granola bars, mini cupcake tarts, and many other yummy treats. I couldn't help myself with so much counter space and some great cooking supplies. Although she didn't have a kitchen aide, I must say thanks to our uncle Time and aunt Marie Helene we really have it made when it comes to mixing things :)


We'll I'm beat. We have some good friends out visiting that we've been spending all our free time with touring the city and eating great food. In fact we just got back from eating dessert in a restaurant on the 96th floor of the Hancock Tower with a great view of the night lights of the city. Lots of laughs this weekend that's for sure. It's been so good to have them here. But one things for sure it makes us miss our families even more. We're so ready for a summer in California. Recently a skype a week hasn't even been enough. We really miss all of them and can't wait for our grand reunion. Although My sister is coming in only a matter of weeks!!! That is exciting for sure. 


My eyes are drooping so I will say until again when we bring you another piece to the heart of our spring break. 

Makes me smile

It's been a while

 So it's been quite a while... so without boring you with too many details I'll try to do a quick recap before I jump into the more recent of events. 
I've been cooking quite a lot as you can see. Valentines day started it off. These pictures were only the beginnings of my many cooking excursions. Good thing we go to the gym otherwise I might need a wheel chair right about now for how many sweets we put down in the month of Love... currently we're trying out a much healthier eating style (at least for the time being:) 

I've been trying out a lot of really fun recipes, and recently got obsessed with a food blog called the domestic mama/ village cook. She puts out some good recipes. I made her Manicotti not too long ago, turned out pretty good says the hubs. 








As you can see there was plenty of food for everyone.

 


 We had a great Valentine's day.
 The main reason I've been putting off blogging about it is that we went to this fabulous Valentine's day dance the Friday before actual Vday at the homeless center that we volunteer at near our apartment. Basically I've been waiting to get pictures from our coordinator at the church from the event before I blogged about the weekend in it's entirety. Obviously it's been a long while since then so I guess we'll just have to move on and you'll have to wait in utter suspense for the valentine's day blog guest appearance which at this point may not happen till next vday. 


Other than that event we've just been chuggin away at school. Lots of work and class time put in but it's all worth it. We feel like we're learning a lot and really being challenged in our views and thought processes. We've also been planning for the future as we look forward to spending our summer in Ventura living with some close family friends (thank you Dilbecks if you're reading (the older pair)). We have to do an internship as part of completion for our degrees. Jeremy has to fulfill sort of a bible teaching leadership position for the summer where he's under an established mentor who has been in the type of ministry he's considering. I have to be under a mentor who has their masters in counseling and is working in a field serving a demographic of people in need. We both have to do twenty hours a week. We are so blessed to have found that in Ventura. Jeremy will be under his old youth pastor at his church pioneering a college group and I'm going to be under a very generous director of counseling at the Ventura Missionary Counseling Center. I could go on and on about all the cool opportunities that are being laid out for us where we'll hopefully be able to learn so much from the circumstance that we'll be in and from the people surrounding us who are doing some of the things we can't wait to do ourselves. We want to do ministry well and we think that the internship opportunities we've been given will really help us in the pathway to learning how. Jeremy is going to be working part time as a life guard and I'm looking for part time work as well. We've seen how greatly the Lord has provided for us and we know he will continue to. We also found some guys from moody to sublet our apartment for the summer which is really helpful in terms of leaving things behind in Chicago and not having to fork out a ton of money for rent at a place we're not even living. We're so grateful for how it all came together. 


This is becoming very long so I'm going to stop and keep you in suspense. Currently we're on spring break (well at the end of it sadly). We've done quite a few things over our two weeks of break and plan on posting several blogs (with lots of pictures :) But I'll put it in the  next post so you don't hurt your eyes or go to sleep while reading this one.

Currently dreaming of my summer on the beach...

Bakery R US

Today was a bread day. I started following this blog called the domestic mama/ the village cook. She makes me so hungery every time i look at it.  So today I stayed home and cleaned, and cleaned did laundry and made bread. 
It was an olive rosemary bread and it turned out pretty dang good as my husband said. 

bon appetit!

Oh how we love thee CALIFONIA Christmas!

 We're back in Chicago in full motion, classes, work, new small group (happy face for that one), and although it may not seem significant grocery shopping again has to go back on the list for me. After three weeks off of that, let me tell you it was hard to go back to hiking the cart up the stairs both ways, really, no really. 
Although we're excited about our semester, new classes, and exciting new experiences in the city, we are still mourning the loss of our Christmas vacation that was oh so sweet. Somehow 8 o'clock classes can't compete with sleeping in until ridiculous hours of the day, in'n'out, and family (in that order :)). Just kidding mom. We had a great time in California, oh sweet California, how we love thee.

This is us in Idyllwild doing some sledding, super fun, but super dangerous just ask my dad, well played dad. :) (insert monkey here).

Sledding!

Em's and her roomate

We spent our first Christmas together in Ventura with Jeremy's family. Jeremy and I decided to do stockings for his side of the family this year, just to mix it up and hopefully make them a bit more exciting than an orange. Such a strange tradition by the way. My mom has always done it too. Jeremy and I can't figure it out. But I guess we'll keep doing it. We'll probably do it to our kids, either that or coal. Anyways, We played a lot of games, my personal favorite the wii game Just Dance 2, oh wow let me tell you! There were lots of family parties, almost too many, but it was super good to see everyone and spread some good old holiday cheer. Somewhere in there we fit in a camp out with the "group" which aparently the only way in is through marriage, so I'm now known as the chosen one, I really had no idea or preference, but let me tell you it was fun. Side Note: can't wait for the Dilbecks and Lawheads to come visit us in Chicago. (we've been singing I am a snowflake way too often to be mentioned). 

 After our time in Ventura, lots of surfing by the way, lots of sleeping done by me. We headed off to Idyllwild where it was much colder and snowier, which was ok because we got to pretend it was Christmas all over again and do it in rewind, except this time with a white Christmas, which is my favorite! Like I said we went sledding and again played lots of games.

The Leih family, Jeremy taking the picture

At my house there was a little more sitting around but equal amounts of eating. Rest was so so good. But of course the three family Christmas's that we had to attend to did fill our time quite well. It was Jeremy's first time experiencing the greater Leih family Christmas, cousins, aunts uncle, grandparents, the works. Lots of gifts and lots of mess. It was soo good to see everyone though. Normal for me, but Jeremy was a trooper and totally survived it with battle scars to prove it. 


The countdown for three of our favorite gifts: Jeremy got Puerto Rico from my parents which is the longest most tedious and strategic board game you'll ever play and I LOVE it!!! Mostly because of beaten him at it twice, but Jeremy claims that that fact is under scrutiny.

 I recieved a book bag/ purse which is totally an upgrade from the dorky back pack I wore all semester long. So now I'll be doing school in style thanks mom! Use it all the time. 
And at the end of our list of favorite Christmas gifts lands the ever popular trip to Hawaii that the Allen's bought for the whole family to take at some point in our lives, we don't know when but it's coming and it's on the list! Thanks Allen family good pick :) Can't wait to wear my sundress is what I think daily as I put on my thirty layers in order to walk two blocks to school. 

This is how they told us through a puzzle let me tell you it was quite eventful. 

 So to sum it all up we had a great time, but most importantly we considered our time in California a gift from the Lord to recuperate and regear for the coming semester of learning and training for ministry, as we seek to serve him during our ongoing time in Chicago and in the future. Our classes are getting more specific to our majors and that is challenging as well as engaging. Jeremy is taking Romans in Greek which is exactly how it sounds. The phrase it's all "Greek to me" comes to mind when I think of that class, cause believe me it would be. But he loves the challenge and he sure is good at it. I on the other hand am taking every counseling class known to man right now. Counseling training skills, intro to counseling, marriage and family systems ect. My mind is swimming in counseling terminology. The other night I had a small meltdown after a conversation with a friend, as I realized that I had been speaking counselor. "I'm gonna be one of those wierdo counselor therapist freaks! our kids are gonna hate me, and I'm gonna over analyze you" I quote, speaking to Jeremy that night. Thankfully in his very sensitive and patient way he calmed me down. 

Ok I'm writing too too much. we love you all and welcome your prayers. (and by all i mean the five people that read this blog hehehe, moms ) 

Love, jeremy and amy allen (still just like putting the last name in cause i like him).  

Tree Lot

Although its a little outdated I figured I could still put up a post of us in chicago before christmas, decorating and getting into the holiday spirit. It was so fun decorating our little apartment and got really excited for our first christmas together. 

our first tree, its tiny

We bought our tree for 10 dollars, it was the top of a full sized christmas tree, i think we got ripped off. 

On the bus with our tree!

In our lobby mirror with our tree. funny poses. 

Homemade, from leftover from our baby tree head

Our charlie brown Christmas Tree. Love IT!

 Special Thanks to Cathy McConnell and Beth Brunett for getting us the wonderful wedding shower gift of a basket full of christmas decorations. You helped create our first Christmas in Chicago!

Thanksgiving Break!

So I know I promised you all more blogs to come in the near future, so here's another one on the tally board. Don't worry it took me all week to get to this after several group projects, a couples tests, and some major espanol homework. And don't even ask what Jeremy has been doing, cause all I can say is that the corner of our apartment with the little desk in it is always lite up by a study light and I can just say yours truly is not the one sitting over there at late hours of the night. :)

Our thanksgiving break was wonderful! We were able to do quite a few things including taking a couple of extra days off so that we could go to a wedding in pheonix for my cousin, go to Idyllwild, and then go to Ventura! Needless to say it was a whirldwind week but we had a lot of fun and it was so great to see all of our family.

First we headed to the wedding in Phoenix which was so great to be able to see all of my extended family there together. Jeremy and I shared a hotel room with my sister and my cousin for two nights so slumber party with the girls and Jeremy! Hahaha, it was a lot of fun, for me at least. The most epic part of the weekend for me was the extreme uncomfortableness that a little thing called constipation brings. Never had it before never want to again, but for about three days, my insides wanted out of me and they were screaming it. 

After the wedding we went to Idyllwild for a few more days. The boys went hunting the morning after we returned from Phoenix and the mom and I stayed home and crafted. We began making stockings for Jeremy and I. (Pictures to come) the original design that we had picked out was one from Martha Stewart, but when the Martha Stewart hole punch broke on us instantly we cursed Martha and moved on to a new design. So the new and improved is a very cute little stocking result that I finished in chicago. She also had a few other crafts for us to do but those are a secret. I wish we had more pictures of this but I'm a bad picture taker. Although we do have pictures of hunting I'm waiting to let Jeremy share the excitment of his first hunting experience with you. All I can say is I think we've created a monster here people. Jeremy got sunburned from the snow that day, hahaha. We're so white.

Yes they change in the parking lot why do you ask?

After an awesome time in Idyllwild although short lived we moved on to visit the Allen side of the family in Ventura. There was lots of beach going and surfing, even though it was super cold.


Jeremy Surfed as much as he could but sadly the waves weren't that good.

Me and the Emsta

There's my surfer

The Brothers

Party Wave, Timmy & Jeremy

Boys

Girls, we're not as chubby as we look

So Besides surfing we did a lot of cooking. We each kinda made our own dish for the thanksgiving meal which was a lot of fun. FYI if you ever see a mashed potatoe recipe that says simple garlic mashed potatoes then don't listen to it cause its a lie :) Sarah and I made the Mashed Potatoes and then later I made some little bread appetizers with olives and artichoke hearts, parsley, and parmesan cheese. mmmmm I think I want some right now. Everything turned out really great and we had a great meal. Jeremy made the green bean casserole. The theme for the cooking week was the Real Simple magazine that I've found we're all obsessed with. 

pretty cute!

Needless to say we had a lot of fun and can't wait to go home for Christmas break! it's only about a week and a half away which seems crazy because we just got back from Thanksgiving but either way we're all full of Christmas music and I'm currently obsessed with making home made apple cider in the ever wonderful crock pot. 


Tomorrow is Jeremy's 23rd birthday so we rented a hotel in the suburbs to take a little family vacation for the night. It's snowing outside and I've heard that where we're going they have great christmas decorations on the streets so it should be fun!


love you all! But we miss our families the most. Thanks for a great Thanksgiving break all!