A Monument to God and Man

I am transfixed and in awe of another mountain range, it is a mountain range that is not made up of rocks and stones that have been heaped up on the earth for thousands upon thousands of years. Instead, this is a mountain range in the midwest created with the hand of steel, fiberglass, cement, and the sweat of man's brow.

This is a monument to creativity, imagination, and foresight. It is a testimonial to extraordinary architecture, curved lines, beautiful colors, with spires and tips that can literally reach the sky. It is the Chicago skyline. To me, it is truly a masterpiece created by the inspiration of God and given to man.

-Shelly

My Sister, Lisa

Monday morning (4/12), my sister Lisa called. She informed me that she had breast cancer and would be having a mastectomy in two (2) days. The doctors found a massive tumor in her right breast. The doctors did not know if the cancer had spread to Lisa's lymph nodes or if she would need chemo or radiation.

I am thrilled to report that my little sister sailed out of both surgical procedures with flying colors. The cancer was pretty much contained in the tumor itself and had not spread to Lisa's lymph nodes.

Steve, Lisa's husband, said Lisa was well enough to go home last night. However, all my family seems to have a very hard time with the anesthesia. I was sick to my stomach for days after my surgeries. I know my mom and sisters have had a hard time with it as well. So, I wasn't surprise to hear that Lisa too was having a reaction to the anesthesia. Lisa's blood pressure was very high and she was pretty light headed so the doctors and Steve wanted to play it safe and had Lisa stay over night in the hospital.

We still will not know where things really stand until the lab work comes back on the tumor cell(s). The plastic surgeon and reconstruction surgery will begin in a few weeks. By next week we will know if she will need chemo and radiation.

I am so thrilled to know that the Lord watches over us all. I know God has a mighty hand in the lives of Lynn and I. For that I truly feel blessed.

-Shelly

Happy 50th Birthday Barbie!

I received this from one of my friends and I needed the extra chuckle today. :o)
-Shelly

Twinkies and Root Beer

Shelly and I got this in an Email yesterday from some good friends, and I thought it good enough to post to our blog

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting in the park just feeding some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.
Again, the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?

"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added," You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!
~author unknown~

Appreciate people who have touched your life in a special way. Let them know how important they are. Have lunch with God!

Spring and Baseball ??

You can just tell that spring is in Chicagoland’s air. The news topics around here have changed from corrupt governors, Chicago Bulls, and outrageous movie stars to Chicago's real love, which is BASEBALL!!! In fact, the main topic of one of our morning news shows was a poll being conducted on which baseball team, the Chicago White Sox or the Chicago Cubs have the best fan base. If you want to want to place your vote click here http://www.nbcchicago.com/around_town/debates/. So far with 11 days remaining, the White Sox fans are winning the poll!

My niece, Cori, her husband Jeff, and their son,Seth, live about an hour north from us and they have a soft or favorable spot for the Chicago Cubs. Lynn has a more practical approach when it comes to Chicago’s baseball teams. He says the Chicago White Sox are like Rodney Dangerfield, they ‘get no respect’, so that means Lynn leans a little bit farther to the White Sox bench. I like watching both teams. Since spring is in the air and Tuesday’s White Sox opening game is fast approaching let’s stop slinging hash and start playing Ball!!! The pennant and bragging rights are up this year for grabs.
-Shelly

In Honor of Mom's Everywhere!

In honor of mothers and to the strong and beautiful women who mother other mothers children, thank you for being you and for sharing your love and tenderness with us. We love you!

Shelly & Lynn

A great visit with the Bates & Mohr Families

Lynn and I are having the time of our lives with family visits. Lisa, my sister, and her family are in Chicago visiting their daughter, Cori. For some of Lisa's family, they are meeting Seth for the very first time. We got the entire gang together last night in Glenview at Hackney's Restaurant. I will be heading with Lisa, Steve, Kim and Andrew for a fun-filled adventure to Nauvoo, IL. We will come back tomorrow. Poor Lynn, Cori and Jeff have to work, so sadly, they will not be able to go with us to Nauvoo. Picture postings of Nauvoo will be posted soon.

-Shelly

A friends blog WORTH reading

I have a friend in Idaho who's daughter has Cystic Fibrosis (CF). A year ago she crashed and had to have a double lung transplant. She has written a blog that chronicles her ordeals, her faith, her highs, and her lows.. That she is alive today is a miracle. I thought it good enough to post a link to her blog on our sideboard to the right. I think that for it to make more sense you should start at the older posts and follow them to the present. Her name is Jamie. If you know anyone who has Cystic Fibrosis, refer them to her site, it would be worth their time. She is more than willing to communicate with others about her illness, and has done so with many people.
Lynn

A week with Vali

Last week with Vali (our niece) was wonderful as we toured various parts of Chicagoland. We had a nice time when we visited my sister Ami in Dearborn, MI. I am going through over a hundred pictures (I'm not kidding either) of our outings so I can post some of them, send copies to Vali, and to just categorize them. Here is a picture we had taken of the three of us when we were sampling brewed root beer at Walter Payton's Roundhouse Restaurant. I have more pictures to post or I will put them on a small video at another time.
-Shelly

Second Missionary from the Hook Siblings

Just wanted to report that my nephew just received his mission call to go to the South Africa Johannesburg Mission. Our second Missionary, and the first foriegn Missionary.He is leaving on Aug 6th. He is bummed though. He was hoping that it would be sooner than that......Congratulations David you will do well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Lynn & Shelly

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wow! It has been amazing living in Chicagoland. The communities that dot the landscape surrounding Chicago and Chicago itself really get active and festive for their holidays. North Chicago celebrates St. Patrick's Day the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day. Then the South side of Chicago follows suit and celebrates the 'BIG GREEN' day on Sunday. Parades, dying parts of the Chicago River green, wacky and elaborate St. Patrick's Day costumes, are all part of the holiday revelry.

Since Vali (our niece) was in Chicago during this spirited and fun holiday. We decided to celebrate as well. We took advantage of the day by cruising through the lime, slime, shamrock green Chicago River dining on corn beef & cabbage, potatoes, etc. while admiring Chicago's architecture.

So, on behalf of the Chicagoland community, Lynn and I would like to be the first to wish you a HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY on Tuesday, March 17, 2009. (The green dye is harmless to the environment and wildlife and will be gone by the end of the week.) May the Luck of the Irish be with ye this week and always!

-Shelly

Seeing Chicago w/Vali

I have had the most wonderful time with my niece, Vali. Vali arrived on Friday and we have been on a whirlwind march ever since. We visited with my other niece, Cori, her husband, Jeff, and their lovely son, Seth, on Saturday. On Sunday morning we traveled to Dearborn, Michigan to see my sister, Ami. We had a fun time in Dearborn. Besides being w/Ami, John, Max, Tim, Sydney, and Vali; we also met up with some good friends, Shirley and Lee, and toured Henry Ford's Museum. Vali and I returned to Aurora on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning we rode the Metra down to Chicago. Toured the Sears Tower and several 'hot spots' around Chicago. We had such a delightful time that we decided to head back into town and visit Chicago's Field Museum. Tomorrow, Friday, we are heading to Cantingy Park, tour parts of Naperville, and who knows what else we will find to do. Saturday we are heading back to Chicago for a St. Patrick's dinner cruise. We will be feasting on corn beef & cabbage, potatoes, soda and dessert. Then we will rush back to Aurora for a Mystery Dinner activity. Sadly, on Sunday we will be putting Vali on the plane for Salt Lake.

Lynn and I have had a wonderful time being with Vali and sharing her enthusiasm for life. Hopefully, I'll have the pictures I took ready soon so you can actually see for yourselves how much fun we really had this week. :)

-Shelly

Waiting for Vali!

We are SO EXCITED! Our niece, Vali, (residence: Castle Dale, UT) will be coming to visit us for 8 days. We will pick her up tomorrow evening and have planned some fun-filled and memorable activities. We will be heading into Chicago for a few days (my first 'real' time in downtown Chicago), run over a few state lines to Michigan to visit Ami (my sister). Hopefully, I can get a few pictures and words posted next week. If not, tune in to our blog Sunday, March 15th, and you'll more than likely get the total rundown.

-Shelly

The Orient Express? No, It's Metra!

On President’s Day Lynn and I took our (or my) long awaited Metra trip to Union Station in Chicago. We took the train from Aurora to Chicago. Our train stopped at several small communities. It took about an hour to get to Union Station. Once at Union Station, we quickly ran outside the train station to take a few pictures. We looked at the large hall in Union Station with all the hard benches and architectural detail, and then took one of the faster trains back to Aurora. The train didn’t stop at all the little stations like it did on our way to Union Station, but it did stop at our parking lot. It took about 30 minutes to go from Union Station to Aurora. I had a fun time. Lynn groaned; but, I think he had a nice time too.

-Shelly

More Snow ...

The snow is flying everywhere today. More snowball type snow storms are heading our way during the week. My friend sent me this picture and I thought it was appropriate for the day. :)

I actually did leave our little cat CC outside. If it wasn't for Lynn's good ears she would have spent the entire night outdoors.

-Shelly

From "The Conversation Piece"

Here's a little tidbit from a book titled, "The Conversation Piece", authored by Bret Nicholaus and Paul Lowrie. Lynn and I thought we'd share with you some of their conversation pieces and see if their ideas could get you talking or 'thinking' of things you might not consider unless the question was asked. Here is the conversation piece for this week.

"Suppose you owned a large home in the country with a huge circular drive. If you could place one thing in the center of that circle to greet your guests as they approached your home, what would it be?"

If you know me, you wouldn't be the least surprised to find a giraffe enclosure in my circular space that would give me and my house guests the rare opportunity of a man/woman/child-to-giraffe and giraffe-to-man/woman/child relationship.

Lynn, on the other hand, wants just a nice tailored yard with grass, flowers, and bushes that he doesn't have to take care of but can utilize when he needs a bit of fresh air, a little serenity, and a quiet place to think. :)
-Shelly

I Have a Question!

Can you answer these?

If one doctor doctors another doctor does the doctor who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does the doctor doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?

If something happened in the nineteenth century, but nobody really knew about it until the twentieth century, which century should it be tested with? Does the answer change for something that was started in the nineteenth century but continued on into the twentieth century?And who, pray tell, made a reading list that lumps the two centuries together and then organized the exam with them separate?

What about saying these tongue twisters really fast?

• A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies
• I saw a saw that could out saw any other saw I ever saw.
• Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said "this butter's bitter! But a bit of better butter will but make my butter better" So she bought some better butter, better than the bitter butter, and it made her butter better so 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter!
• I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

Have a Good Week and Happy Valentine's Day! ! :)

Happy Groundhog Day!

Here's a Little Groundhog

(can be sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

Here's a little groundhog

Furry and brown

He's coming up

To look around

If he sees his shadow

Down he goes

Then six more weeks

Of winter snows.

Lynn & Shelly

A Comment From Garfield

We received this cartoon from one of our fantastic friends and E-mail buddy. Looking down at our (Lynn and my) physiques, Garfield clarifies everything.

-Shelly