We're off to see...

The Wizard! A few weeks ago, Matt surprised me with tickets to see the Wizard of Oz at the historic Chicago Theater! I was so excited! Apparently he bought the tickets last semester when he heard that the show would be playing in Chicago. He knows me well! So, one lovely Saturday afternoon we were off to the theater. It was such a nice day, and the play was wonderful! Matt especially enjoyed the fact that they had a real dog to play Toto! I think I may have been more excited than all the 5 year old girls that were there (although many of them dressed up like Dorothy!) Since the play was only in Chicago for a short time, the set wasn't as elaborate as the set of Wicked, but the show was still great. It was a wonderful afternoon spent somewhere over the rainbow!

Job Search...

Please keep Matt and I in your prayers as we continue to look for jobs. His job hunt has been ongoing for quite awhile now, and I think we're both starting to get frustrated with it. We are trying to be patient & trust that God will work it out...but sometimes my patience fails me! We appreciate your prayers!

Matt's Graduation...

Well, it's 2:24 am and I should probably be in bed or grading papers. But, I was tired of grading papers and Matt seems to have passed his insomnia off to me (since he is already in bed). I have so many things to post, but Matt and I are now sharing a computer so I haven't had much time! Don't worry...I will update with pictures from our exciting lives soon. But tonight, I need to post about the most important event in our recent history...Matt graduated from his LLM program! Sunday, May 17th was his graduation day. He graduated WITH HONORS (so far he still has a 4.0 gpa...we're still waiting on the rest of his grades). I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of him. It was such a wonderful day as we celebrated with all of his classmates. There were over 400 graduates (this included the JD students, as well as all of the LLM programs), so the ceremony was 2 hours long! A justice on the Illinois supreme court was the speaker, they awarded 3 honorary doctorates, gave out several awards to JD students and professors, and spent 45 minutes handing out diplomas! Like I said, it was a long ceremony, but I was so proud when they finally got to the LLM students & Matt and all of his "foreign" friends walked across the stage. I lovingly call them the "foreigners" because they're all from different countries. Following the ceremony, there was a wonderful reception & we took lots of pictures of this momentus occasion. Here are a few pictures of the wonderful day:

Matt & me at the reception


Outside after graduation:


Matt's dressed & ready to go:


Matt and the foreigners (clockwise from left: Alonso from Mexico, Matt, Rafi from Puerto Rico, Gioncarlo from El Salvador, Fatma from Turkey, Lauri from Paraguay):


I took a video of Matt's LLM section (LLM in International Business and Trade). I know graduations aren't too fun to watch, but I thought the family that was unable to be with us to celebrate would enjoy watching Matt walk across the stage! Be sure your volume is turned up and press play. Enjoy!


Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day. It's now 3 am (videos take awhile to upload) so I am going to try to get some sleep!

Refrigerator Artwork...

We have some very special artwork adorning our refrigerator. First, is a picture from Caleb & I love it! According to him, it is a picture of me and him (although it says Lori & Matt in the corner). He sent it all the way from California! Thanks, Caleb, your picture is wonderful!

Next, we have a masterpiece drawn by Chloe. This is a close likeness of Uncle Matt that she drew on Easter Sunday while he was leading singing. It is also a great artistic creation! Both art pieces are proudly displayed on our fridge for us to see everyday.

*Update* Kentucky Fried Chicken...

Well, Matt and I tried to take the suggestion from Lindsy's Blog and visit KFC for some of their new grilled chicken. Oprah had a coupon on her website for a free 2 piece meal, and I'm all about some free food! Matt has been wanting to try the new chicken, so this was a perfect chance! In spite of the thunder and lightning, and the weather forecast that said it would be raining for the rest of the night, we decided to brave the weather and head to KFC. The closest one is kind of far away, so we walk the block to the bus stop, hop on the bus, the back of my pants get wet from the wet seats (I'm hoping this was from the rain!), sit in traffic, wait, wait, make a detour for construction, get off the bus, walk 3 blocks, see the KFC sign, eagerly approach the door, and STOP. The sign on the door apologetically explained that KFC will be closed until NEXT WEEK to "update equipment." REALLY?!? We braved the storm for nothing?! Matt was very upset & very hungry. But, no big deal. We walked a few more blocks (still in the rain) and ate at one of our favorite pizza places. We certainly weren't going to go all the way back home with no food! I guess we'll try again next week for KFC! Lindsy, thanks for the coupon tip...hopefully we can use it soon!

**Update: KFC Take 2 was also unsuccessful. Today Matt and I had to run an errand to the south side of the Loop, and there is another KFC down there. So, we grabbed our coupon & headed out. As we approach the door, we see another sign..."No Grilled Chicken." Again? Really? Since we're hungry, we go ahead and head inside to get some plain ol' fried chicken. We ask the manager why they don't have grilled chicken & he said the equipment for it is broken & it will take 6 weeks before they have it. Hmm... When we got home, Matt looked online & it said they are no longer accepting the coupons. So much for free food. Now we have paid to eat out twice when we were trying to eat out for free. So the free food coupon cost us $30. Nice.**

The Tiny Kitchen...

So I have mentioned before that it's slightly difficult to cook in our "kitchen" since we only have one inch of countertop. I thought I would show you what it looks like on a typical night when I'm cooking dinner...






I wasn't making an elaborate meal, just cheese dip and quesadillas. Notice the cheese grater, plate, and cutting board precariously balanced on the edge of the sink. Also notice that the skillet and pan are touching each other while sitting on the burners (no, these aren't extra large pans)! It definitely makes for some interesting cooking experiences (sometimes I burn myself, other times I knock things in the floor or the sink). But, I won't complain because, after all, we do live in downtown Chicago & the weather is starting to get BEAUTIFUL!!