Kenya Believe It?

Well, I’m off to Kenya for a two week immersion trip tomorrow. (Enlarge the picture to see how far away it is!) It’s the focus of my summer class: Social Justice and East Africa. I can hardly believe it sometimes; it seemed so far away, so distant for so long, but time has a funny way of marching forward. So now this adventure awaits. Five needles and a prescription for malaria pills later, I’m ready. I vacillate between excitement and nervousness, between concern and trust. Story of my life in many ways I suppose. Please keep me in your prayers!

Charles in Charge

I had the chance recently to visit Charles up at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, IL. The weather was beautiful and accented the gorgeous grounds that the seminary is located on. (Yes, they do include a well manicured soccer field) Charles was in good spirits as usual. It was his last day of classes which is probably bittersweet as those of us graduating are finding out. With graduation this weekend and then ordination on 5/19 things are rolling along for our favorite LGH hero. Charles will be working at St. Paul of the Cross parish in Park Ridge and that means that....he'll be on the parish on-call list for LGH, so he'll likely be walking the sacred halls again in a couple weeks. He told me that he's also still in contact with the gal who appears with him in CPE: The Movie, as she lives near his new parish. HIPPA worries for the movie producers should now disappear like a bad dream about the morgue. It was great to see Charles on his home turf. Congrats on your ordination Musula!

Neumatics Rock...Again!

Last weekend was another great opportunity to gather, to tell the stories, to break bread, and to sing! We started the night at Goose Island with a solid crew (Les and Kristin, Matt and Nicole, Joy and Jake, Chris and Amy) to sample beers and review Blades of Glory. We cheered and toasted Matt and Nicole’s announcement of a new Kennedy baby coming in November – Congrats! We then headed to the infamous US Beer Company, where, after fighting through slews of autograph seekers and groupies, we met up with Anthony who was ready to rock. The Neumatics cranked through a set of fan favorites with Anthony jumping around as if he had just won Target Force Gold! Long live rock and roll and long live the cast of CPE: The Movie!

Stop the presses!

Great to see some people last night at a quality rock show by the Neumatics. Safe travels to Anthony as he returns to his Island paradise (thanks for bringing some nice weather with you).

For those of you who weren't able to join us last night, I'll fill you in on the news here in the Kennedy house. Our little family will be welcoming a new member. Yes, my wife and I are going to be having a baby. Nicole is 9 weeks along, and we're guessing that she'll be due in mid-November. Hold your applause. We're very excited, occasionally scared, but overall we're thrilled.

Hawaiian Name of the Week: FETUKUTUKU LAKALAKA

Try saying this one five times fast.

Easter is Giving Me the Shakes!

Yes, I know it is well past St. Patrick’s Day, but part of my mind can’t leave March 17^th yet. The reason? Well, during Lent it’s tradition in Catholicism that people “give up something” for Lent. This often takes the form of sweets, or drinks, etc. It’s very much from the old Catholic asceticism practices and many in the church have tried to reframe it so that people focus instead on doing something positive. But the practice remains and has had some resurgence lately. In years past I have not given up anything, but have tried to do some things instead during this time to focus on the season – journaling, letter writing, praying. Well, this year, I decided to give up something, something hard. Ice cream! Since I love it, almost as much as Nicole, and maybe more, (Read as ice cream eating contest challenge!) it’s been a tough go, but we’re nearing the finish line. Where does St. Patrick’s Day come in you ask? Well, every year McDonald’s offers green Shamrock Shakes for a couple weeks around St. Patrick’s Day. And they are a little cup o’ heaven! So in my freezer are two frozen Shamrock Shakes from back around St. Patrick’s Day, waiting to be enjoyed faster than free hot dogs on Hot Dog Day at LGH. So this year Easter bunnies have given way to leprechauns. 12:01am Saturday night is technically Easter, right?
Mmmm, green ice cream……

Anthony's visit...

Ola everyone! Well, Mexico was great fun! Though I have to say I'm glad to be back in the land of clean showers, durable plumbing, and beds higher than 3 inches off the ground. One of the highlights (other than UNC losing to Georgetown--wahooo!!!) was when I was called to the front of a church during a concert we were at to demonstrate some dance moves. See picture. I haven't showered in days and I'm wearing my work clothes, but I have to say, I still look pretty hot ;)

I leave tomorrow for Norway, so I wanted us to start thinking about a possible date that we can all get together when Anthony is in town April 16th through April 23rd. Leave a comment or post on the blog mentioning your availability. Here is mine:

April 16th--free anytime except 5:30-8:30 p.m.
17th--free except for lunch
18th--free until 3:30 p.m.
19th--not really free, but could shuffle things around if need be
20th--not free (junior high lock in baby!! giddy up!!)
21st--Anthony's show, I'm going! In the morning I'm busy, but otherwise wide open
22nd--don't know just yet if I'll be free in the afternoon or evening
23rd--not free

What about you? Let's see if we can't arrange a lunch or downtown filming expedition or dinner or something. Anthony, what does your schedule look like once you're here?

Miss you all! I expect to see a lot of posts when I get back from Norway!