Hibbets' Happenings

Thursday morning Jayden and I headed out to find some baby wipes and snacks. First we walked to a little convenience store not far from the hotel, but since they didn't have what we needed, we caught a taxi and rode to the Walgreen's a few blocks away. We got some quick oats that we "cooked" in our hotel coffee mugs with water heated in the hotel coffee pot -- ha! I had salt and cinnamon from our HK trip to season our oatmeal with, and one morning we even put raisins in. It was a good little "improv" breakfast, and cheap too! In fact, I think I'm going to copy myself on that and bring a little dish of quick oats up here to my office so that I can fix me a hot breakfast on these cool winter mornings when I'm having trouble getting the chill out. I've been pretty chilly up here at work this week. Thursday afternoon David took a taxi to Dallas to go to the Cooper Institute to take his test. He feels like it went really well. He has one more requirement to complete for them to grade his test and then hopefully he will have a nutrition certification through them. Very neat. Thursday evening we got to meet two good friends for dinner along with their son who is only two months younger than Jayden. We ate at Bennigan's, which was in walking distance from the hotel, and got to have a long visit, which was really nice! Thursday night was rough; Jayden was wide awake and David and I were worn out. David let me sleep some since my conference began the next day, and finally the two were able to sleep around 5am. My conference presentation Friday was not until afternoon. I skipped out on breakfast Friday morning and was late to the first presentation, but then went to the second morning session which lasted until noon. By the end I was struggling to stay awake, so I figured I needed a nap more than I needed lunch. I went back to the room and slept through lunch and most of the first afternoon session, and then went back down to the conference to present during the second afternoon session. I could tell I wasn't nearly as awake or alert or prepared as I would have liked to have been, but I got some positive feedback and I think it went okay. After my presentation, we called mom and dad and they were almost there. So they found our hotel and came to the room; we visited for a few minutes and then went to get some supper. We decided to eat at Uno's Pizzeria (Chicago-style pizza) which was right across from the hotel. David and I have talked about Chicago-style pizza since the pizza we got in Detroit at Pizza Papalis back in the Fall of 2003. It was good, but not quite what we were expecting based on Pizza Papalis. We definitely want that again next time we're in Detroit -- whenever that will be! After supper we walked to the Starbucks (we had been there Thursday night with our friends, too) and laughed at Jayden playing with all the mug-type things they had on display. Then a couple with another little boy came in; we could tell he was a little younger than Jayden, but walking, and so about her age. As it turned out, we got to strike up a conversion with these guys; the little boy's name is also Jadon (so spelled differently), the couple is from Germany, they're in Fort Worth for him to attend seminary at South Western, he's getting his master's degree in pastoral leadership and counseling .... it was so neat! We enjoyed visiting with them so much. We got their email address but I haven't written yet. I've got to do that. Saturday morning I did get up early enough to attend the breakfast and got to visit with some other conference attendees, which was nice and went well. I skipped out on the first morning session to relax and put the final touches on my presentation, which was in the second morning session. Mom and Dad got to the room during that time so I got to visit with them for a little bit before going down to the conference, plus I got to help David gather our things for check-out a little before I left. He would checkout while I was presenting and we would all meet up again after my session, get some lunch and head home. My session went well. I was the first presenter. I got some really nice feedback. It was very encouraging. We decided to eat at a sandwich shop nearby, within walking distance, called Potbelly's. Mom and Dad had eaten at one before, but we hadn't. It was fine. Kind of like a Subway model -- you choose white or wheat bread, and choose your sandwich, and then tell them which "fixin's" you want on it; they're all toasted, and Dad likes to add they're all the same price ($3.99). We also got some soup, which was good. It was fine. Now I can say I've heard of and have eaten at a Potbelly's. Then we left for Monroe! We made really good time. I thought it might be 8:00 or after before we'd be in West Monroe, but we were at Pueblo Viejo before 6:00. David's family was going to meet us there so we could visit. We had a nice supper -- I was disappointed with my order, but that's another story -- and it was good to see more family. Finally we got home in time to go to bed, pretty much, and start another day on Sunday. Sunday morning getting ready, and in particular fixing breakfast, was kind of weird. Where do I keep my measuring cups? And I kept trying to start the gas stove (I have electric). It's funny how new routines are picked up in only a month. David said getting into the van to drive to church felt weird. It was nice to see everyone at church Sunday morning. We had lunch after church with Mom and Dad at a Chinese buffet (!) -- but it's actually what I wanted, to compare "American" Chinese food with "real" Chinese food while it was fresh on my mind. Our conclusion: the two are hard to compare. They're similar, but also very different. When we got home, I was really tired, so I slept all afternoon. Sunday night was our new kids' clubs kickoffs at church: GEMS for the girls and Pioneers for the boys. They both went really well. I am working primarily with the younger girls. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.