7 Quick Takes Friday

Good morning everyone! Happy weekend! Next weekend is the big "eat a billion calories" weekend--anyone else feel the need to eat uber healthy in the next 6 days to prepare? Yeah I'm not sure I do either, but it was a nice thought :)

**1**
So I'm not sure this exactly goes along with eating healthy, but this morning I'm checking out one of South Pasadena's newest restaurants, Mix n Munch with Becca. I'm super intrigued. It's a "comfort food" restaurant that specializes in cereal, grilled cheese, and tater tots. Seriously. But apparently it's like "fancy" cereal, where you mix types together and add toppings? And the grilled cheese has a variety of cheeses and toppings....I'm super intrigued.

**2**
Our new house is undergoing inspection this week! A specialist is coming out to take a closer look at one thing for us before we sign any papers, but our realtor said things looked really good! We're getting closer to the closing date--December 16! I'm already day dreaming about where I want to put what furniture, and how I want to decorate. I'm thankful my sister is going to come to Seattle a week after we get there to be my personal decorator helper :) Hopefully while she's there we'll get a couple walls/rooms painted! (Mom and Dad are coming too, but I have a feeling they are more excited about baby sitting the toddling munchkin instead of painting walls!) (Just kidding, they are fantastic unpackers--they've moved their daughters multiple times! I'll let mom loose in the kitchen and dad in the garage to build shelves--his specialty.) I bet Nathan will have fun building Lily an amazing fort out of empty boxes :)

**3**
I might have a new favorite band. The Band Perry. They are phenomenal. They kind of remind me of Sugarland a bit if you're a country fan--I think the main singer's voice is amazing. You should check them out :)

**4**
Last Saturday was our friend Praise's memorial service. It was a heart breaking day, seeing all the raw grief that was in that congregation of over 1000 people who gathered to say goodbye. It was also incredibly inspiring, to remember the way Praise lived her life--fully present with people, extremely passionate about making a difference for kids in the Philippines who lived on the streets and were caught in slavery or sex trafficking. We will always miss her, her sweet smile and her gentle spirit.

**5**
I am reading two very fun books right now that I would highly recommend to folks! The first is a fiction book, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. It's a book I saw on shelves awhile back and have been kind of intrigued by it for quite awhile now, knowing I wanted to read it at some point this year. It's about a young girl who realizes one day that when she takes a bite of food, she doesn't necessarily taste the flavor of the food, she tastes the feelings of the person who prepared it. She can taste the anger, the hurried rush, the guilt, the saddness, the emptiness etc in her food. I think it's a fun story, full of food, family dynamics, and a young girl coming of age.

The second book I'm reading was written by a friend of mine from my church in Seattle, Kimberlee Conway Ireton. It's called The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year, and is a super practical, very informative, and easy to read history and explanation of the liturgical year for anyone who wants to understand more about Advent, Lent, Epiphany, Ordinary Time etc. Each chapter has great practical things each person or family can do to bring a piece of this beautiful, ancient rhythm into their home to help us slow down and enter into a rhythm of life that is not defined and dictated by the Hallmark calendar. It's not too long, easy to read, well written, and practical--and if you are interested, well Advent starts this week, which is the beginning of the church year, so what better time to begin a journey??

**6**
Anyone else strangely fascinated with the William and Kate engagement/wedding plans? I'm not sure why I am, but I kind of am. I think having planned a wedding and been a bride I feel completely overwhelmed for the two of them! Talk about a LOT of people to keep happy with their event--man, I wouldn't be able to cope...I think I am glad I'm not a princess :)

**7**
November in Los Angeles always drives me crazy. The calendar says fall. But the stores always come out with their super cute new sweaters that I love. This past weekend my parents took me shopping for some new sweaters in preparation for the Seattle move, and I love them, I am so excited to wear them. But it's 75 degrees. Today is a bit cloudy, I'm not sure it's cold enough for the winter sweater, but I think I'm going to go for it...even if I have to turn the a/c on in my car.

Hello, Life Changes!

Whew! I am pretty sure my head is overwhelmed with details right about now! It's been an absolute whirlwind 9 days and I am a bit tired--mostly mentally I think. We flew up to Seattle early last Saturday morning and were picked up at the airport by our fantastic realtor (if anyone in Seattle needs a recommendation, let me know!). She had a list of about 9 places to show us, so we began right away. We liked a couple of them, but for various reasons neither of our top 2 choices at the end of the long day seemed like "the one." It felt like with either house we were saying "it's great...but...we'd be sacrificing this..." or "it is great but doesn't have this..." We'd kind of given up for the day and were heading back to the host family's house that we were staying with when we drove past a set of new town homes that we'd been by a few times already but hadn't really paid much attention to because the sign out front listed a price higher than our budget. As we drove by the last time Charles asked our realtor what she knew about them and she gave us the scoop. We decided to turn around and go check them out just for fun. As soon as we walked in I thought "oh crap. If we can't afford this, we never should have come in here!" I knew immediately, walking into the entry way that I was going to love this house. And I did. Everything about it. It was perfect. Our realtor told us the contractor really wanted to have them all sold by the end of the year, so much so that he would probably be willing to accept a low offer if we would close in December. So we went home, had a long conversation about budget, money, talked a lot with my parents about how to make this potentially happen, and went back the next day to look at the houses again. We decided to make an offer, convinced they would counter a little, and were absolutely shocked to learn that they really were willing to accept our initial offer if we'd close Dec. 16. We returned home and spent the rest of the week getting all kinds of paperwork, finances etc together to make this a reality. It's being inspected today, and if that goes well we'll be anxiously awaiting our closing date in mid-December! I love our new house, so much, and can't wait to show it off and have guests come to stay in our guest room!

Also last weekend while we were in Seattle we had the opportunity to spend a very full Sunday morning at our new church, being introduced to the congregation at both the 8:15 and 11:00 services and spending the Sunday school hour with the junior and senior high youth group being "interviewed" by the students to let them get to know us. We learned a TON of new names, met some fabulous and very welcoming people, and left feeling a bit overwhelmed but very excited about this new community and new job and new adventure in life! We have landed ourselves in an incredible church and we feel beyond blessed to be joining this place!

The other topic of conversation around our place has been our car situation, and what to do with both our vehicles. We'd like to become a one-car family when we move, especially since we only have a one-car garage at the new house, so one would need to be out on the street if we have two. It's more economical, and living in Seattle it's totally possible because the bus system is so fantastic there. But, which car do we keep? How do we decide? His car is perfect for all the hauling of teenagers, surfboards, camping gear, etc that we do regularly. My car gets way better gas mileage and would be perfect for everyday use around a city. Do we sell one here? Do we drive both to Seattle and sell one there to not have to worry about it in the next month? Do we sell both and use the money to buy something that would meet our needs a little better? (A smaller SUV, still with hauling room but not quite as large as his explorer?) These are just a few of the questions we've been wrestling with a lot this past week! I think we're pretty sure we know what we're going to do but we're still deciding a bit...

My parents were here this past weekend and since my dad spent 25 years working in the financial world and is super good at figuring out retirement plans, mutual funds, investments, etc he's been our main financial helper. He graciously spent hours with us on Friday getting all our finances straightened out, helping Charles figure out what mutual funds to sell, how to get our downpayment together, looking at our life insurance policies with us, getting both our individual retirement plans and mutual funds combined and all transferred from our respective companies to Charles Schwab so he can help us manage them a bit easier etc. We are so grateful for the time he spent with us, and know that it would have taken so much longer for us to figure this all out on our own! So THANK YOU dad! (And poor mom ended up reading in the Charles Schwab waiting room for a long time while we worked on finances!)

Then of course there is the question of "okay, how are we going to get all our stuff up to Seattle??" Thankfully that is one question we actually have an answer for! We have a pod reserved that they will bring us here in Pasadena on Jan. 5 and will deliver it to us in Seattle a week later--as of this morning it's reserved, delivery times are scheduled, and we feel great about having something concrete worked out!

Wow. No wonder my brain is tired! We've been thinking through a lot, we're already grieving and tearing up when we think about the goodbyes we need to say, which is probably also adding to the stress a little. I'm having all kinds of strange dreams about cars, money, and car seats not fitting in whatever new car I was driving in my dream. Hopefully this next week we can take some deep breaths and rest a little. We'd love any prayers you want to send our way as we think through all these major decisions! We'll keep you posted along the way!

7 Quick Takes Friday

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday! Here's our past week in a nutshell for ya!

**1**
Last Saturday night we wanted to do a date night, we hadn't had one in quite awhile and we felt that it was time. But, we also are trying a lot harder to stick to a stricter budget which meant we weren't allowed to take out any more cash for the week, nor were we going to put our date on the credit card. We had about $11 between the two of us left from our weekly "fun money," but what we really wanted to do was go see The Social Network because it was a film we'd both been intrigued by. Well in LA, you can't go see a movie for $11 (I think tickets are $11.75 each). So we got creative, which was almost as much fun as the movie :) We dug a ton of change out of our cars. We rolled all the random coins we had in piles around the house. I went through every purse I owned (and found a TON of change--ladies, try this, you could easily find enough to buy a lunch out with friends!) And I am happy to announce that we did it :) We came up with $24 ($11 in cash and the rest in coins) and went to see out movie. The cashier at the theater wasn't sure she could accept rolls of pennies to pay for the film but eventually she did. The film was SO worth it. It's been a long time since we've both walked out of a movie loving it--the story, the directing, the acting...the whole thing was excellent. Hooray for fun while not breaking the budget rules!

**2**
Tomorrow morning we fly to Seattle to house hunt which we are very excited about :) We have a list of 7 properties I think that we're going to check out and keep our fingers crossed that we'll like one of them! It's going to be a really fast trip, unfortunately we're not even going to see friends there, but we'll be back in January for good :) We're staying with the great family we stayed with back in September for our interview. Sunday morning they are introducing us to the church and the youth, which we are both excited about. It feels very fun to be taking these next steps towards our new life!

**3**
We are still very much in the grieving process for Praise. It's been a journey that I know will probably continue for awhile. Last Sunday we gathered with some of her closest friends (we were honored to receive an invitation into this small group) for a time of sharing how we're each doing. It was a tough gathering, people aren't doing well with her being gone, which only continued to remind me that grieving is a process. Her memorial service is next Saturday, and I think it's going to be huge, and hopefully a great time of celebrating her and mourning together.

**4**
My mom and dad come next weekend to play in LA! I am so excited! It's been almost 3 years since they have been out here, so I'm excited to show them what life is like here. I'm looking forward to five days of cooking yummy meals together, visiting The Getty (my dad will love this place with his camera!), visiting Josh at Dreamworks to see his photography exhibit, sharing meals with some friends, introducing them to our church and some of our youth, and having them explore the Huntington Gardens (which they're going to do while we're at Praise's service Saturday I think).

**5**
Something that brought me pure joy during this week was the Halloween photos and video chat with my sister and her munchkin :) What was Lily this year? Why a Lily-bug of course! (and yes, my uber-creative sister made her costume out of things they already had around the house. I don't know that we'll have a baby by next Halloween, but the year after--Megs, you're going to be hired as my child's costume designer!)This shoe doesn't need to go on my feet...it's a much better toy!
**6**
I am still obsessed with The Hunger Games. I'm hoping to be awake enough on our early morning flight tomorrow to finish the series--it's amazing. Truly.

**7**
My favorite blog-related tradition is coming soon! Thanksgiving from A-Z--it'll be the 5th year of this for me! Anyone have any ideas what I might be thankful for that starts with an X,Y, or Z? Feel free to share :)

What's Cookin This Month!

It's been awhile since I've done a month of menu planning at a time, but with us moving in 2 months, traveling, house hunting etc I was feeling the need to do something organized! Here is what the Kennedy's will be eating throughout November, feel free to try any of these as well!

My crock pot is getting a major work out these days, as I started cooking all my own beans and then freezing them. It's cheaper than buying cans of beans, and I know that I'm not adding any sodium or anything to the beans when I make them myself. I had tried once before with a stovetop method that didn't work very well. Thanks to Sara over at Thriving Mama I have reconquered my fear of cooking beans, and might never go back to cans :) Each day this week my crock pot will be cooking up a batch of dried beans--black, garbanzo, and kidney, and at the end of the day I place 1.5 cups of cooked beans in ziplock baggies to go in the freezer (each can of beans is approximately 1.5 cups, so 1 baggie now equals 1 can of beans). When I cook something I don't even really defrost, I just toss the frozen black beans in the crock pot or soup or whatever I'm making and they heat up and defrost. Besides beans, here's what is on our menu for the month...(click on each item to go to the recipe)

Crock Pot Cranberry Chicken
Crock Pot Throw it in the Pot Chili
Homemade Cornbread
Crock Pot Chicken Azteca

Black Bean Taco Salad with Lime-Cilantro Dressing (one of our favorites!)
Go Go Mango Chicken
Broccoli with carmelized onions and pine nuts
Spaghetti with Speedy Red Sauce (vegetarian)
Crock Pot Bean and Vegetable Burritos
Mustard Crusted Salmon
Autumn Vegetable Soup
Stuffed Shells

7 Quick Takes Friday

If you read my last post, about Remembering our friend Praise, you can probably tell that it's been a tough week. So, today for my 7 quick takes, we're going to work on counting our blessings, and so here you go...7 things I am thankful for this week in the midst of grief.

**1**
Look who is one!! Photos from Lily's first birthday made my week, along with getting to video chat and watch her WALK! She can do a few steps at a time before sitting down again but she can totally do it!Yes, Megan made the Sesame Street cakes for the party, I know, they're amazing :)
**2**
Jenn & Sandeep's wedding was last weekend, and it was such a fun wedding week! I had a blast getting to know Sandeep's family, helping out with random tasks, and celebrating this amazing couple. Here are a few photos I loved...this one is from the rehearsal dinner where the bridesmaids all got to wear saris.My toast to the happy couple
**3**
Downtime. It has been such a busy fall. We've had stuff every weekend for the past two months, many of which have been out of town events. Most of our evenings have been full as well. This week for some reason we were given a break, which was a huge blessing especially in light of trying to deal with Praise's death. We've had extra space just to sit, to enjoy a spontaneous meal with friends who are also grieving Praise, to read together lying in bed one night, and to watch a few episodes of The Office as a distraction. We didn't have to be anywhere any evening this week except Friday night, and now it's almost 3 on Saturday and I haven't had to leave home yet. We literally have nothing on our calendar for today which was shocking to us both. So Charles is out watching college football with friends and I'm here enjoying quiet, apple cider, and have just finished the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I am very very thankful for a bit of a break!

**4**
Getting lost in a story. Last weekend on the way to Portland I read the first book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I finished it and immediately started the second one because I wanted to know where this plot was headed. I just finished the second book a bit ago and am taking a brief break before probably picking up the third book (thanks to my Kindle I don't have to wait for a library or bookstore, I can download it from my couch) :) It's been quite awhile since I have been so caught up in a story that I can't stop for anything. Suzanne Collins has crafted a magnificent, very disturbing, captivating saga that I am loving these days!

**5**
The Event. Last night was our youth programs' first crack at a big outreach type event, which we appropriately named The Event. We have a fabulous youth space in the basement of our church with various rooms to use, so they were transformed into a fantastic party for our high schoolers to bring their friends to. The main space was a big dance floor with black drapings, white twinkle lights, and a DJ. Another room was set aside as the cafe, with food, drinks, couches, and more music. The game room had pool, fooseball, air hockey, and wii stations set up. We had just over 40 kids show up and had a great time hanging out with them. I wasn't so sure how up to a big halloween party I was going to be, but honestly, dancing around singing Taylor Swift songs for several hours was very refreshing :) I was thankful for the chance to let loose and just dance for the evening!

**6**
Dinner with unexpected friends. On Wednesday night we had our friends Brian and Courtney over for an impromptu dinner. They got married two weeks ago today, went on their honeymoon, and returned on Monday to find out the news about Praise. Brian, Chuck, and Praise all co-founded the Fuller Surf club a few years ago and would spend every Friday together enjoying the beach. We've never hung out as a couple with the two of them, but as the two guys were talking about Praise earlier in the week they agreed it would be good to share a meal and a time of talking about her and how they were doing. It was fun to be the first people to hang out with this great couple as they returned from their honeymoon, and while it was a tragic event that brought us together I am thankful for their presence Wednesday night.

**7**
Afternoon naps. On top of everything else I managed to catch some cold (probably from the airplane last week) and have been fighting that this week. I am thankful for a bit of a quieter week at work that has allowed me to get a bit of extra rest this week.

Remembering Praise

It's been a week of grief around here, what a strange juxtaposition from this weekend of joy celebrating Jenn & Sandeep's wedding. Our friend Praise passed away very suddenly on Monday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people shocked and struggling at various levels with intense grief. She had been traveling overseas in Singapore and Thailand in the past few weeks, and the doctors suspect she contracted some kind of virus that began spreading through her body. She didn't know she was sick until Sunday at church, went to the ER, was admitted for having trouble breathing, and passed away 24 hours later when her lung collapsed and her heart stopped. And the doctors still couldn't figure out what it was that was attacking her body, or how to treat it. I know her family is in complete shock, along with the church community she grew up in (here in the area) and Fuller's campus. Praise graduated from Fuller with me in 2009 and just began a job working in the office of admissions here. She was extremely active with the youth at her church, and thanks to facebook I've seen the incredibly raw grief these kids are struggling with--not understanding why this happened to someone so absolutely incredible. To be honest, we're all struggling with that question. None of us understand, and that feeling sucks. She was a surfing buddy of Charles' their whole first year here, and made incredible efforts to reach out to me, to bring me into the surfing community even if I didn't actually ride waves. Praise didn't care, she just loved people so much she simply wanted them around and included. From the moment I met her (and learned that her name really is Praise, that's not a nickname!) I was always a little in awe of her. She is one of those people who absolutely radiates pure joy whenever you come into contact with her. She loved Jesus passionately, and she took seriously His call to go and love the least of His children, to give a voice to those who had none. Praise teamed up with the Sold Project an organization that is working around the world to prevent child prostitution and to empower people to act out against this horrific trend happening around the world. Not too many 28 year old women spend their breaks from work/school in places like Thailand working to bring light and justice to incredibly dark places. Praise adored being at the beach, playing in the water, taking pictures, experiencing the beauty that surrounds her. And now she's with Jesus, experiencing the unimaginable beauty that awaits all of us, her brothers and sisters in Christ someday. She loved taking jumping pictures--photos in famous place of people jumping up in the air. Someone wrote on her facebook page after she died "I can almost hear you asking Jesus to jump so you can take his picture." What a photo that would be! But the rest of us are sad. Are so so sad. It's been a long time since something has hit me like this, and I think for Chuck too. I am so grateful that we're able to grieve together, that I had a man who is willing to sit with me as I weep, who will reach out and walk with me as we both struggle to come to terms with this. And honestly, we're angry. This isn't right. There is no reason someone as incredible as Praise should be gone. There have been some beautiful moments that have come since her death because of her, but that doesn't make it easier. We're grieving alongside many of our friends, and it's been a rough few days for all of us. We miss her, her laugh, her beautiful smile, her genuine "how are you doing?" that she'd ask as she met you around campus. We were saying that it seemed like Praise lived more life in 28 years than most people do in a full lifetime, which is so inspiring to us. I know Chuck wishes he could go catch waves with her this weekend, instead of going out with their other buddies in memory of Praise. We were talking the other night about how sometimes it seems like when you name a child, their name ends up being a bit prophetic. There truly is no other way we could describe your life, dear friend, than a life of Praise.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Hello friends! It's been quite awhile since I've actually been home and not traveling on a Friday! So after a few weeks off, here's the latest 7 random things about life in our household these days.

**1**
It's my baby niece's first birthday!! I wish I could be there to celebrate in person, but I'll have to settle for a video chat date this afternoon to watch this new "big girl" on camera :) Happy, happy birthday Lily-girl, I love you more than you will ever know!

**2**
We are getting so excited about our move! Definitely overwhelmed at this point, thinking about all the logistics, but we started conversations with a realtor yesterday and are seriously looking into house hunting, even setting aside a weekend in early November to head up to look in person. The other night we were talking and over and over again my husband kept saying "I'm so excited! This is going to be such a good place for us!" We have a lot to do in the next couple months, and I think it will be a little stressful (moving always is!) but we're getting ready!

**3**
Last Friday we went to a wedding quite unlike any I have been to! I think that is a theme for this year, we've been to a LOT of weddings and several have been especially unique or memorable! This past Friday our friend, Megan, married Harout, an Armenian man with a large Armenian family :) Their wedding was quite the extravaganza in traditional armenian fashion. I have never seen so much food at a wedding in my life. When we walked into the reception site there were platters of food already on the tables, and you were expected to begin eating immediately. A half hour later, more platters were bought out. We arrived at 7:30. We left at 10:15. They were still not done bringing food, and hadn't even come close to cutting the cake and serving dessert! It was incredible! (The food was delicious!) Megan and Harout entered with an entourage of Armenian dancers and musicians which was very cool. Bottles of wine and brandy were on each table, and the party was expected to go all night (the bride and groom decided to leave around midnight, but traditionally they are to stay all night with their guests--Megan said that was not how she was spending her wedding night!)
Jenn & Josh

Becca tasting the brandy

A couple people tried sips of it, but our bottle was mostly untouched.

Standing on our chairs to get a better look as the bride and groom and entourage entered.

This was some kind of non-alcoholic punch, but we weren't sure what it was. The color was awesome, but it tasted just like black licorice.Tera, me, Becca and Jenn--Megan's small group. Probably one of our last group photos :( Tera and Dave moved this week to Virginia and since we're moving soon too our small group is kind of fizzling--it was an awesome 3 years together though!
**4**
I might have found a new TV show that I kind of like a lot. Granted it's not exactly new, it's on it's 10th season, but I've never watched it until this year. Yes, I am addicted to the Biggest Loser. This show really is amazing. I have learned a ton about food, diet, exercise, motivation etc. It's super inspiring and has made me sad I've had a sprained ankle for awhile now and haven't been able to get out and go for walks lately!

**5**
I started trying something new this week in the realm of housekeeping that is working fabulously for me. Many of you probably already do this, but for some reason it took me forever to figure this out. I used to wait until Saturday to do the main household chores, but I found that I would end up spending all day Saturday on tasks like laundry, bathroom cleaning, deep cleaning the kitchen, changing linens, vacuuming etc. After spending 8 hours cleaning our apartment last Saturday (we'd been gone for a month and it was horrible!) I decided I don't really want to spend all my weekend time doing chores. So, I started assigning each task to one day of the week, most of which can be done in about 15 minutes. I try to do a general pick up of all the things that have been left out of their normal places each evening, and then spend like 15 minutes on my "chore" of the day, and so far, our house is still remarkably clean a week later and I'm not looking at having to spend all day tomorrow straightening up!

**6**
This weekend we have another friend's wedding here in Pasadena, although I really don't know this couple well at all (it's a surfing buddy's of Chuck's). Then on Tuesday I get to head to Portland! My best friend is getting married next Saturday & I am very excited to get to be there and celebrate with her/help out throughout the week.

**7**
It has been such an insanely crazy fall that I am STILL working on book 1 of my list of 30 books to read this year! I am wondering how successful I'm going to be sticking to this list this year with all the upheaval going on in our family?? I'm still reading Heidi, which really is not hard to read (it's a children's book for goodness sake!) but for some reason I cannot seem to make solid progress. Hopefully it will be done this weekend and I can move on to book 2 :)