shenanigans

again, we're pretty far behind, but we have lots of blog-worthy material. so bear with us.

a few weeks ago, ryan, jon, and i set out to pick up a desk for ryan and meet up at mary massey's afterwards for a dip in her hottub.



we went over to alisha and zach's, where we picked up the desk, and loaded it into jon's van.



by the time we we left, we found out that it was already going to be too late to hit the hottub at mary's.



sweet reflection off the desk in the van.



it was a long ride, and i got bored, so i took pictures.

once we got the desk unloaded back home, we decided to head over to nick and shuptar's house to see what they were up to.



nick was home.



shuptar arrived shortly thereafter.

while there, danny martinez called and invited us over to muldoons. since nick and shuptar had to be in bed early for work the next day, we headed on over.



but not before we killed a steer first.



there it is...muldoon's: the gathering place of burnt out high school athletes who never left wheaton.



...lively bar.



...lively jon.

while at muldoon's, we ran into meagan lindsey, who happens to have a hottub as well. being full believers in the sovereignty of God, we couldn't let this mere coincidence pass us by. jon decided to head home, but ryan and i went to the lindsey home for a little relaxation. we got our hottub in the end.

the end.

jay


ps. we now get internet in our house because of this bad boy:


this contraption picks up the free wireless signal from our neighbors and rebroadcasts it so we can pick it up anywhere in the house, rather than just in the windowsill or the backyard.

pps. we've solved the mystery of the rectal suppository. remember? we won't name names though because we're too nice.

ppps. similarities between 4 years ago (abandoned insane asylum) and now (naperville carnival)?


we'll let you be the judge. comment!

ryan

this one goes out to ryan who doesn't seem to make it on the blog that much.

ryan, we love you.

Rowan Leif Bunch Cramer

here i am sitting in the hospital room with liz and ben and i just let go of one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen in my life. i held a 7 hour old baby in my arms for close to an hour. he was asleep most of the time and dreaming of things that no one can know. everyone celebrate the new life with us. praise God for His goodness and for the joy of new life!

the day after the bbq

sorry we're getting behind on our updates. it happens you know.

so, the day after the birthday bbq, we were trying to find something low key to do. turns out naperville was having a carnival,


so joel, jonathan, emily, and jay loaded up in the mini van to ride some sweet rides.


there we are in naperville, with jonathan dressing, or was he undressing?...


we started by scoping the place out.
hmmm... not too much going on, except...


"the fireball" otherwise known as "the ring of fire" at other carnivals.


the carnie was a large, scary man (as seen in the back taking tickets)
joel offering emily a farewell kiss.


emily not too sure about something--could be the carnie, the ride, or her riding companion.


jon and jay psyched for the excitement.


it went upsidedown, a lot.


see, they're having fun.

after the ride, we walked around some more until we...


followed the banana...


for free jamba juice samples. mmm, fruity.


we found another decent looking ride. there jonathan getting ready.


joel and jay having the time of their lives.
really.

afterwards, we walked to a used bookstore in downtown naperville.


joel reading up on the art of heraldry.


jonathan perusing the sci-fi/fantasy section.


jay, discovering himself.

although not fully satisfied, we decided to head home for lack of other activities. until we saw...


where we could test drive brand new lincolns, and get a free $50 gift certificate to Rhapsody, just for driving their sweet cars. not a bad deal, eh?


its a smooth ride, let me tell you.


emily at the wheel.


jay working his magic.


jonathan's straight thuggin it.

so now we have a $200 tab at Rhapsody for the 4 of us. that episode will surely be blog-worthy, so stay tuned.

after naperville, we stopped by Whole Foods, picked up some corn to grill, and went home for another bbq. gotta take advantage of the weather. it won't be warm enough for too much longer.

the end.

a sea of mennonites

a horse-drawn buggy just went past the window of the internet cafe i'm currently blessing with my patronage. for those of you who know me and my background, i feel like i just walked into a town somewhere between pekin and morris. lovely goshen indiana, nestled, well mostly among fields and trees. but mostly fields. i actually stumbled into a local artist community where there are potters and sculpters living in community here. i'm about to go and check out the local farmer's market, which considering the location should be an ample display of agricultural glory. the post is amazing (i came here to interview to be the director of a community center/venue known as the post). it's a huge building from the early 20th century. 6,000 square feet. great sound system. spiral staircases, etc. they are really doing some amazing work for the kingdom here, and i like it more than i thought i would.

a little history: goshen was settle in 1834 by amish and mennonite communities. alright. that's enough history. i'm going to watch a potter hone his craft and then i'm going hiking and then i'm going to read a fantasy novel (stone of tears). if you're reading this, i'd cross a goshen for you.

further reports.
since last posting many wonderous things have taken place. after i left the coffee shop i went down to the farmers market and bought some produce from a couple of guys with beards, only to discover that one of them lived in north lawndale and is from colorado, then i found out he's friends with a bunch of my friends from college and before. a very nice surprise. he lives in a log cabbin with no electricity or running water and works on a farm with another guy and his wife. interesting people. after walking out of the farmer's market i saw a sign for custom made guitars and mandolins. i walked into a little shop, stuffed with handmade tools and beautiful guitars and mandolins lining the walls and floors. every inch of space stunk of fresh-cut wood. i introduced myself and talked to the owner who disigns his own instruments, and i met a couple of the locals who play shows around the area (generally from a jazz/folk tradition, which is what i would like to be playing right now) and hang out in the little shop. i happened to have my taylor in my car so i brought it in and had him look at it, and then we played for a while and talked about the guitar making process. i found out that his wife runs the bakery down the street and puts on shows every week in the cafe area. after walking out of the shop with a promise from the owner that i would find musicians and plenty of shows i walked down a trail along the river until i came to an abandon factory of some sort and sat down on a ledge, looking out on the water. i was beginning to fall for goshen. i got back in the mini van after some time and headed up to main street where i found another music store with a vintage botique in the back. i talked to the proprioter for a time about 1920's and 30's fashion and left to seek sustinance. i found it in san marcos. a little taqueiera at the back of a grocery store. i put my spanish to use and had some excellent guacamole (incidently 30% of goshen in latino). i decided to drive by the mennonite college but felt the need to go on. i noticed a chain of lakes off the road and turned into a neighborhood. i found a sign that said "local traffic only" and started off across a bridge. the lakes looked perfect for canoing and i imeediately wished i had an old birchbark or something of that quality. but finding myslef boatless, i kept going until i chanced upon an apple orchard. i had to get out and pick some apples. only $0.49 a lb. and they were beautiful. i will be bringing back some jonathans (of course), macintosh and some other kind i can't remember that looked delightful. that's all for now. i'm glad we could share this moment together electronically, in goshen.

in honour of...

benjamin charles rey



a haiku:
benjamin charles,
twas a mighty good roommate.
you will be missed, friend.







he moved out last week, but will remain in our hearts.

a more extensive recount of the birthday bbq

our day began by cleaning up the house and moving some new furniture in, as ben had just moved out the previous day.


ryan cutting a hole in the new entertainment center. it now sits in our living room, not with a tv, but with a painting of jesus. why? because ben took his tv when he moved out. jerk.


guests began to arrive around 4pm, beginning with the greener family.






as the afternoon progressed, more folks began to come and go.


after it got dark, we built a fire in the back yard.


conversation began to escalate, and things got serious, as grace and ben began to argue theology.


things began to get physical, innuagurating the first annual battle between anglicansim and orthodoxy.

big ben vs irrestable grace

stay posted for the announcement of the second annual.


anglicanism won, but we're not sure that the outcome had anything to do with a superior doctrine.


emily super excited about the victory of her denomination, or maybe she was just excited about the s'mores.


things calmed down as we sat by the fire some more. matt larsen came.


jonathan enjoys his new birthday tobacco from british ben.


as the night wore on, things digressed. here joel leads a sing-a-long of everyone's favorite middle-school youth group songs.

others chose to eat weird combinations of the leftover food.

we all went to bed about 4am, concluding the 12 hour party.