Packing in the Last Week in Chi

We really tried to pack in as many adventures as my homework schedule would allow during my last week in Chicago before I leave Jaden and head home to Utah to see Bridger and hang out with family for 6 weeks! 

To start Pete and Alexa had told us about this awesome Italian restaurant right on the river they always take people to when they come and visit. It's called Pizzeria Portofino and its deliciousness is confirmed by its reservations being booked out for weeks in advance. I managed to squeeze us in an early lunch reservation right when they opened. We were one of a few people there and as we ate a boat pulled up and people climbed out and came to the restaurant for their own reservation. It felt very posh. The food was awesome. We got a margharita pizza and lemon pasta that was SO good! Chicago might be known for their deep dish but I'm a thin crust girl all the way. The more authentic the pizza the better I think. 

After a few more days of work, studying, watching Band of Brothers with Jade, (his all time favorite tv series he watches yearly and finally got me to watch it with him. Those men were absolutely incredible and we just saw that the very last living member of EZ Company passed away this month. What an amazing reunion that must have been with all of his brothers up in heaven!), we made it to the weekend. 

Friday evening we picked up Pete, Alexa, Megan and Mason and drove out to the Chicago Temple. We had made reservations at a Sushi place outside of the city and just 15 minutes away from the temple. However we hit major weekend traffic coming out of the city plus not one, not two but THREE car wrecks which made us 20 minutes late for our dinner reservation. Then the service was SO slow. The food was worth the wait but we all looked at our clocks and knew there was no way we were making our session time. By the time we got to the temple it was just 5 minutes after the session started. We asked the worker at the front desk if there was anything we could do while we were there and he pointed toward the baptistry doors and said "well we just had a group go in we could fit you in for baptisms if you'd like." 

 We all looked at each other and kind of smiled at the turn of events and agreed we'd do it. It ended up being such a neat experience. I don't think I had actually done baptisms since before my mission. I certainly had never done them with Jaden. The workers were really kind and allowed each of us girls to be baptized by our husbands which was a sweet experience. So grateful to be married to a worthy priesthood holder who works hard to help our little family progress both temporally and spiritually. 

 I seem to always have terrible luck with the showers and was the only one who had to endure an icy shower, I swear I turned the nozzle the correct way. Jaden said his was cold too so it must've been because we were the first ones out or something it was kind of funny though.

 After we did confirmations the temple workers asked us to remain in the baptistry and they would share a few thoughts with us. The assistant to the temple matron told us about the group before us who had done work for a recently deceased family member. Then another temple worker shared the following quote which I loved: "Just as our Redeemer gave His life as a vicarious sacrifice for all men, and in so doing became our Savior, even so we, in a small measure, when we engage in proxy work in the temple, become as saviors to those on the other side." He talked about how the baptistry can be seen as an extension of the celestial room in the temple and can be the same place of peace and calm and reflection for youth and others who have not yet been endowed which I thought was so sweet. He encouraged us to sit and ponder for a few minutes before we left. As I looked down the row I felt so much gratitude for the people next to me and gratitude yet again how the Lord places people in our path. I think its fascinating to think about how those paths twist and turn and meet back up again. My mission president's wife would always remind us we're here to help each other home, and in that moment I got to experience a little bit of joy seeing friends in the temple and imagining the reunion of friends in heaven one day.

On Saturday Jeff texted in the Richins family group message about a talk he was scheduled to give in church. He asked us what came to mind when we thought about the law of sacrifice. I responded with the following:  

I am a big believer that anything worthwhile takes sacrifice. And it is one of the strongest ties to the Savior who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Last night Jade and I went to the temple with friends we were scheduled to go to an endowment session but traffic and a delayed dinner reservation caused us to miss our session time. Lucky for us the temple workers still accommodated us and asked if we would be willing to help do baptisms for the dead. I think it’s kind of rare to do them after you’re endowed but it was a testament to me that the Lord provides and takes care of us. We set aside time to serve and even thought it didn’t work out the way we had planned the Lord still provided a way for us to accomplish His work. That’s what the law of sacrifice means to me. Whatever effort we give and sacrifice we make the Lord magnifies it because His sacrifice covers our shortfalls.

And it's so true! Whatever we give however small it might be He can make it greater. He turned water to wine, stones to light, one meal into thousands, the list goes on and on.

To finish up the week we went to a Cubs game. It felt like going back in time to old school baseball days. They still have a wooden scoreboard which I thought was awesome. As vintage as it felt they had modern amenities and I was especially impressed by the checkout station that took a picture of all the food you set on the counter and charged accordingly. Neither Jaden or I are huge baseball fans but it has been a lot of fun to go to MLB games and visit some iconic stadiums while we're out on this side of the country.

For my final Sunday we went to church and then had Peter, Alexa, Megan and Mason over for a Sunday brunch with Jaden's famous sausage egg casserole. It truly has been such a blessing to find friends and family everywhere we go. It's not lost on us how lucky we are to have an incredible support network. My mom always says "it takes a village" and we've got a pretty amazing village cheering us on. 

And speaking of amazing village members I've said it before but we really do owe Jacquelyn and Dane so much for helping find us the perfect place to live for the summer. Though they were gone for a majority of the time we were in town the time we were able to spend with them was great. They are incredible people and are doing and will continue to do amazing things. We're again just so grateful for family and friends that enrich and bless our lives no matter where we are in the world. 

Peaches:

• Ate some awesome food
• Uber driver that took us to the Cubs game was playing Frank Sinatra while we drove. He told me it's the Pink Martini station, so of course I looked it up and added it to my stations and have been listening as I work
• Made a Kodiak cakes waffle for lunch with pesto chicken that reminded me of my favorite savory waffle from Waffled back home. Also the place where Jaden and I went on one of our first dates
• Making brunch and hanging out with friends
• Jacquelyn and Dane finding us the best place to live
• Feeling excited to visit family and see Bridger again
• Driving past the Walgreens where we bought Mom's bandaids when she had horrible blisters when we passed through Chicago on our way out to PA and smiling thinking back on those and so many other memories we've made since
• There was a cute little art show on the street behind our apartment, probably the best thing about living in cities is there is always an event popping up to go to!

Pits:

• Dreading leaving Jaden
• At church there was feedback through the entire church's speakers during the Relief Society lesson that we couldn't get to turn off which was so unfortunate because the lesson really was so good
• Trying to get caught up and ahead of school so I won't be stressed heading home