Getting Settled in Chicago

Well, after applying for jobs for a month in a field that is supposed to have openings everywhere, Jen finally has a job! My first day will be April 2, this coming Monday. We are living on campus at Northpark University and Seminary, and Jen will walk about 6 blocks to work at Swedish Covenant Hospital!

Andrew has been working since April 12 at the Covenant World Mission Headquarters. His job is perfect for all of his gifts...he is doing administrative work. He is organizing, working on a website, and going crazy with special projects. For more information on the Evangelical Covenant Church, follow the link!

We are now settled in pretty well. I have unpacked the last box and put pictures on the walls. It's been fun playing house wife, but it's getting old so I'm glad to start work next week! Marathon training...so far, so good!


(This photo is from last August, but I like the look of us in Chicago!)

Beth's Birthday! (Mar 23-25)

Beth (Andrew's Mom) had a birthday last week, but we won't tell you which one! We were able to leave at 6:00 on Friday morning to get to Grand Rapids and spend theweekend with her. We took her to see the new movie "Shooter" at her request! We all liked the movie, so if you like gun movies and you haven't seen it, you should! Then we ate dinner at "The Melting Pot: A Fondue Restaurant" and had a great 2 hour meal! It was a lot of fun to have the pot on the table cooking! We started with bread, apples, and veggies dipped in our cheese. We ate salads that were spectacular. Then we got boiling oil and chicken, 2 kinds of beef, Mahi Mahi and shrimp! We were so full that we didn't have room for chocolate desert!! Andrew and I went over to the Raisches to watch basketball.

The next morning Beth, Andrew & Jen went for an hour walk in the neighborhood. The weather was spectacular the whole weekend! Then Grandma and Grandpa Davidson came over, as well as Aunt Nancy and Uncle Al. We all went to lunch together to celebrate Beth's birthday again. It was great to see everyone again. We all rode together to the lunch in Grandma & Grandpa's new Honda van, which we've offered to take off their hands whenever they are ready for a new vehicle!! That afternoon the girls went shopping and they boys stayed home and explored technology together (computers and such). The three of us stayed up late that night watching SNL, and laughing so hard we almost peed our pants! Did anyone else see it?? Good stuff!

Sunday morning we went to church and then a fund raising brunch for the group going to Mexico. It was nice to see old friends, and to meet new ones. After church, Jen & Andrew went for a run. Did you know we are training for the Chicago Marathon in October?? We rested that afternoon, watched some more basketball, and then headed home. It was a very nice weekend, and we laughed a lot!

Alumni Basketball (Mar. 17-18)

Every March, the alumni of Stoughton High School in Stoughton Wisconsin get together to have a basketball tournament. I have never heard of anyone else having anything like this, have you? We combine enough old basketball players from adjacent classes to make a team, and play against other teams in the men's or women's bracket. Players represent the class of '60 to the class of '06! It's a great chance to reconnect with old friends.


This year, Jen's team was the class of '97-'99. We were only 5 players with 2 "managers" who were supposed to play...but they are pregnant! So, at 26 and 27 years old, we should have started getting in shape for the weekend long ago!!! We have won every year since graduation, and expectations were high again this year.

We won our first game by about 50 points to a team who also had only 5 players. We alternated calling time-outs to allow rest for all, and even though the score was not close it was a very fun game. It's great to get back in the zone with the girls who were such a big part of one of the most incredible times of my life. Sound like I'm having trouble letting go of high school? I kind of am! We were the first team sport from Stoughton to EVER to go to state! 1/3 of the town was at that game, and most of the town still relives those days with us each time we are home.


Saturday night we went "downtown". It's in quotes because the town is 12,000, so downtown is just Main Street! There are 2 bars that sponsor the tournament, so we visited each. Michelle, who is pregnant, and I were the drivers. It happened to be St. Patrick's Day, so we were not the only people out! It was a great time!


We made it to the championship game, against the classes of '03-'06. They were young and fresh, with 9 players on their team! But in the end, we found our groove and won by about 12 points. That makes 9 years in a row! No pressure for next year!!!

Moving In (Feb. 17)

We're going to do something a bit different! We will catch you up on what's going now, and then in April, we will begin to relive our Europe travels day by day. That way no one gets overwhelmed!!!


After seeing the world, spending all our money, and seeing each other every moment of nearly every day for the last 5 months...we were ready to move in to our apartment in Chicago and begin the next phase of life! And, after taking over 600 photos, we limited ourselves to only 57 to commemorate the move in!



Thanks to Rob, Sharon, and Taye Bradford, and to Seth and Becky Kaufman for your help. And of course, thanks to Jen's mom, Lynne for storing our stuff for 4 months and Aunt Judy and Grandma Mork for helping move in!

It only took a couple days here to make it feel like home. It is great to be back in the North! Chilly, but great!!