2 Classes Down 2 To Go.

Today was "reading" day - the Monday before finals where no classes or finals are scheduled. It was unexpectantly delightful thanks to:
-Pancakes with Nutella and coffee with vanilla creamer
-An unplanned excursion to Oak Park
-Falafel
-Ben and Jerry
-The archetecture of Frank Llyod Wright
-A wildflower park
-Sweet songs for the ride.
and of course...
-The company of my favorite boy.

I know the last few posts have consisted of little more than my most pleasant moments/days. It's true that this is one of the happier times of life that I've experienced. However, this doesn't mean I'm not thinking about things or that hard days don't come sometimes too... but when I do get a chance to post in the midst of this business, I usually want to share with you all who I love, these happy and blissful moments, so that you can enjoy them a little too.

My brain hurts.

8 more days of this.

Rosie Thomas and Dennison Witmer!

I got to go into the city tonight with my very favorite boy and see them play. They're so terrific and talented and hilarious. I really wish I had pictures. Rosie Thomas did like this comedian act where she dressed up and just became this carachter named Shiela for like 15-20 min. before Dennison played. So funny. But a lot of standing in a crowded room, haven't been to one of those types of shows in a while... I'm not as young as I used to be! Oi, my aching back!

A real college student.

Today I was a college student in just the romanitc way I've always dreamed of being.
I woke up early this morning becuase it was the only time my Social Research group could meet to work on our project and proceeded to get myself quite energized thanks to a steaming cup of coffee purchased at the campus coffee shop.
I then worked for a few hours (thanks to that blessed caffine high) and accomplished much in the way of learning.
Next I had a nice lunch with my boyfriend (who I met in a college class no less) and from there we retreated to a coffee shop for a couple more hours of working (though admittedly slightly less productive in his distractingly pleasant company).
This evening we had dinner and played some ping pong in the college lounge, and THEN (this is where the realization of my dream really reaches its pinnacle):
I went with 3 of my best girlfriends to a showing of Ingmar Bergman's "Winter Light" (a black and white Swedish film about a pastor losing his faith) followed by a stunningly intellectual conversation led by probably the most brilliant professor on campus (I'm currently reading a book by him assigned to by a different professor and it is incredible) and participated in by my brilliant class-mates.
A black and white foreign film in a chilly college auditorium. Few true life experiences are more romantic than that...
If only I'd played frisbee on the lawn...

Tidbits

So I got to meet Michael's mom this week. She is very nice and very cool and it was very fun.

I am just now recovering from the past week's illness enough to realize how much work I am about to be bombarded with in the next 3 weeks. Lord save me!
So that might mean you won't be hearing from me for a while... or it might mean you'll be hearing from me more often since I'll probably be spending a lot of time sitting at my computer wanting to procrastinate. Only time will tell.

It freaking snowed yesterday and today. SNOWED. Ggrrrr.Yeah... that's all I have to say about that.

He is Risen!

We easily embrace the beauty of Christ's death for we can see our need of it so clearly. As we we feel the weight lifted from our shoulders by leaving our sin at the cross and as we see that ultimate portrayal of love fulfilling our deep longing to be loved - our hearts leap. We somberly rejoice for "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." 1 John 3:16

This is good, it is great! and of course we should rejoice and our hearts should be stirred as we embrace this love which we see through his death - but let us never stop there and so miss the power of his resurrection. As we see our need for forgiveness and our longing to be loved which is answered by his death, let us also see our need for his POWER which enables us live in the fullness of new life that he has given us through his resurrection. Let us have hearts that, once they have embraced his love and forgiveness, would ardently desire to "Know Christ and the Power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain the resurrection from the dead!" Phil 3:10-11.

He is risen indeed!

Day At the Museum.

Our Human Origins class (which is in fact the class where Michael and I met) went on a field trip to the Field Museum in Chicago to see the evolution exhibit (gasp! evolution! relax, we still believe in God as the creator...). It wouldn't have been a bad field trip anyway, but was immesurably better since this guy was there with me.
So this is Micael and I with Lucy (the earliest full hominid fossil, Austrolopithecus Afarensus). She's totally checking Michael out... I can't blame her...

Here's Michael posing ("Come on Pamela... why do you keep making me take pictures in the Museum...") in front of this sweet T-Rex. I discovered that this is in fact the very same Museum (and Dinosaur) used in the hit film "Night At the Museum" starring Ben Stiller (it sucked, don't waste your time).
Aw, we're so cute. (Yeah... he knitted that scarf).

This is from the Aquarium, which we didn't go to. But this statue was just way to delightfully awkward not to take a picture of.

Ok, in other news: I do have some actual things I've been thinking about and should/will probably post about soon - blogger just hasn't been working recently so I'm taking advantage of being able to post pictures as long as I can! But as this post is pretty long already just with those pictures I will save other thoughts for other times.
Happy Holy Week everyone! Be sure and take time to meditate on the amazing sacrifice of our Savior this weekend and the love which he displayed through it.

Blogger's not letting me post anything besides titles these days. Don't know why. Sorry...