We brought more home from Minnesota than just memories!

We had such a great time in Minnesota - visiting with family, going to the fair and of course eating lots of food! :) (Which tends to happen when you get a large group of people together :))

We saw this sign in the horse barn, at the fair, and could not resist.





Crazy hats at the Fair with crazy people.

(L to R - Brad, Molly, Sarah, Grant, Uncle John)


And on our way home with picked up Chloe from my Aunt Joy and Uncle Jason's. One of their cats had had a litter of kittens, and we are now the proud parents of one of them! :)

Chloe is a source of laughter in our home (and to be honest, frustration* at times). She has so much energy! As a very active kitten she loves toes, climbing up pant legs, batting at my backpack, sending/chasing jellybeans across the room and, if you get lucky, curling up on your lap for a nap. It has been so much fun to see her grow, in 2 weeks, from a timid kitten, trying not to be too scared of her new surroundings, to a confident (sometimes too much so) kitten (she is getting bigger every day!), making sure nothing gets in her way.

*We get a bit frustrated when she wakes us up at 2 or 3 in the morning wanting to play. :)

Life is ever changing at the Kidder house, work is going well for Brad, and work/school is going well for Sarah. We have realized that the summer is over :(, but are excited for some fun things this fall! We are having an Office Party next Thursday night, as our beloved show begins again. And in October we are looking forward to having Brad's parents and some friends come stay with us for a weekend as they explore Chicago. We are also headed down south mid-October for a trip to see Sarah's family.

Well that is all for now, we will check in again soon! :)

Surprise weekend away!

The first week of our new fall schedule has gone well, I have classes on Tuesday and Thursdays and then work M W F. We have been wondering what to do this weekend (Monday is labor day, and we don't have to work! :) ) and hadn't been able to think of anything that sounded worthy of the long weekend. But Brad texted me yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, while I was in classes, "I have a huge surprise for you!" That got my interest piqued! :)

When Brad picked me up after work, he gave me a series of clues:


My reaction: "We are getting new hubcaps?!?!?!" lol we have been missing our front two hubcaps for some time now, and it was the first thing I noticed when I saw this picture.... "No, not hubcaps" Brad replied with a smile...


My Reply: "Cotton Candy! That is not healthy!"


Now, after seeing this, I immediately thought Minnesota, "We are going to Minnesota to hear John Piper on Sunday - no, WE ARE GOING TO THE FAIR!!!" :)

We leave this afternoon at about 2, we are so excited! We will post some pictures when we get back! :)

Theology and Starbucks, Two Of My Favorite Things!!

For the past few days I have been spending my lunch hour each day at Starbucks, with a cup of black coffee and a good book. Today as I sat down to read I could not help but overhear two high school girls studying for a test. The girls were discussing the Protestant Reformation in Europe, and the various kings and queens that England had during that time. If there is any area of history that I have studied the most it has to be very era that they were discussing. The girls were quite confused... I listened to them struggle for a while before finally speaking up and asking from my chair 10 feet away, "Where do you girls go to School?" They responded "The Latin School" (which is a quite prestigious High School next to where I work) I said "I graduated with a Degree in Historical Theology, do you want some help?" They both laughed, and said "yes". I was relived that they realized I wanted to help and did not think I was some sort of pedafile or stalker! I proceeded to give a 10 to 15 minute lecture on the reformation, and was able to slip in a brief summation of the gospel! One girl was even taking notes on what I was saying! :) so I hope I had all my facts right! I was so thankful for the great teachers that I had at Moody, and just rememebered how much I love to disscus theology! If nothing else I think I at least got those two girls better grades!

Summer time - enjoy and improvise

This summer has been a lot of fun. We have really enjoyed setting up our home, having friends over, watching 24 :) and trying to beat our high score in Wii bowling - which can get a little competitive sometimes. :)

We love our apartment! It fits us so well, the only thing it is lacking is a back porch where we could put a grill, but we have improvised :). The broiler in the oven worked for hotdogs on the 4th of July! :) Brad is the grill/broiler master! :)

Here we go!!

For some time now there has been a little voice in the back of my head, saying "Brad, you should start a blog so all of our friends and family can see what is going on with our life's". This voice, of course, belonged to my lovely wife Sarah! And as usual, Sarah was right. Hopefully this will help all of you to follow what we are up to here in Chicago!
Below are several pictures of our apartment for anyone who wants to see!