My Chicago Adventure

Well, last week I was off to the Windy City, well a little west of Chicago to a studio in Aurora, IL.  I was asked about a month ago by my godly widow, Miriam Neff,  to be part of a video series for http://www.widowconnection.com/ She wanted to do some interviews with me for this series.  I didn't hesitate to say yes because I love it when God gives me opportunities to share with others.  I know God didn't cause me to be in this situation, but I am here never the less and if I can do something good with it that will help others, then dog gone it, I'm in!  So I decided to make it a road trip.  This one was three generations of girls.  Eric's mom has never been to Chicago and Maddie hasn't either so us three girls headed out for an adventure.  We arrived in Aurora the night before and swam and relaxed in the hotel then got up early the next morning and headed to the Studio to meet Miriam and her crew.  She had a make-up artist there to touch up our make-up and that she did!  I was airbrush sprayed and painted all pretty.  I never have worn so much blush and lip stick in my life.  I guess it's a lights and camera thing.  I started to get nervous.... This was for real and what was I doing here???  I got to relax in the green room for a little bit and other widows had arrived.  I met some amazing women that day and love the connections I get pretty instantaneously with other widows.  I started to get relaxed again.  They wanted to get some B shots with me, Maddie and Grandma Fox interacting and me with other widows, etc. for the intro for the videos which was fun and a little awkward.  I am not by any means an actress, so when you tell me to do something specific, I just start to laugh as I think of myself trying to do it, but it was fun!  Maddie was a star and her and grandma got to get made up too.  Maddie kept saying "Mom, I need more lip gloss".  It was time for my first interview and I headed into the studio that looked like a set from Beth Moore and I started to get anxious again.  I sat in a chair and prayed while they were going through Miriam's teleprompter.  "God, not my words, but Yours.  I don't know what to say. Amen."  I sat across from Miriam and she said you and me are having a conversation (one widow to another) and that instantly calmed my nerves as I was looking at her, not the camera's and lights and people in the studio and could just talk to her.  I don't know for sure all I said or how it sounded but both interviews went good.  As always, when I am done doing something God wants me to do, I breathe a great big sigh of relief!  After that, we stayed for some more outdoor shots and headed out having made some new friends 7 hours after we arrived.  What an amazing day that was.  I loved it all!  The video series should be finished by September and will be available for widow groups. 
We headed back towards Chicago to finish our trip with the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and downtown Chicago the next day.  We spent plenty of time at the American Girl doll store at Water Tower Place on Michigan Ave.  Now this was an experience.  Maddie was so excited as we had been talking about this for a while and now we were finally there.  She picked the new doll from Hawaii named Kanani Akina and then we had to look at every other doll and outfit and accessory in the store, check out the doll salon to get her ears pierced and then finish it off by having lunch in their cafe with our new family member.  After that, we took a narrated boat ride through the city on the river and out through the Locks to Lake Michigan to view the city skyline.  It was a great day despite losing my $33.00 parking ticket to get us out of the garage.  We arrived home almost midnight exhausted but refreshed in our souls.  Here are some photos of our day in Chicago:

This ends my post on Chicago, as once again, it is the middle of the night and I can't sleep but need to try.  I have been so busy lately running kids and picking up extra kids that I need to get sleep to keep my sanity.  My next post may shock some of you ... Could Lori be dating?  Oh, this could be interesting...stay tuned :)