full

I am full. Full of food, full of family, and full of good friends. I realized on my flight into Chicago at sunrise, that even though I don't have a job and place to be, I am blessed with friends who I love enough to fly around the country and see while I have some time off.

I stayed with my friends, Dan and Emily. They have a delightful daughter, Morgan, who learned how to pump her legs on the swing while I was there. Emily also made some fantastic cakes. Her cooking is always excellent! And, I listened to Dan explain his home brewing system. It's quite a fascinating process.

We all made our way over to the Dave & Mary's house for Mary's fantastic hamburgers on the grill. They are like a second family to me and I had a great time catching up with them and watching their family grow with new babies!

At church on Sunday morning, I saw lots of familiar faces. All the kids looked about twice as tall as they were two years ago and I was surprised how many people have kept up with my life through this blog!

On Sunday night, I stayed with Phil, Jen, and Ashley. My friends have beautiful children, and Ashley is no exception (despite how the photo looks. I caught her about to cry). I have a feeling those cute cheeks and big eyes will give dad some problems in a few years, though!

Monday morning, Shari had me over for waffles; which are one of my favorite breakfast foods. And, in the afternoon, Brandi and I went out to appease my pallet with some Starbucks coffee.

Chicago was a great stop. I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, but I'll be back again. The food was great; especially the Chicago pizza from Rosatti's AND Giordano's!