October 30

Phase two of my time here in Chicagoland began today as the male folk boarded a plane to head home.

But first, we met Abby outside the dining hall on campus so we could all have one more meal together. Isaac and Brady consumed a shocking number of red Jell-o cubes and Abby's pal Laura showed up, made her half a waffle, and then disappeared again. (As an aside, Abby gave me a piece of said-waffle. She told me that Laura is so good at making waffles that a waffle would be her Cutie Mark if she were a My Little Pony. And I can now confirm she was right because yum, that was a good bite of waffle.)

Then Abby and I drove the boys to Midway Airport and set off for an afternoon of shopping (which was mostly me gasping over how many Cars-with-faces they had in Target and buying Abby sweatshirts so she doesn't freeze when the temps dip). Following a pit stop at Culver's for some pretzel bites, we did a little more retail therapy and then I dropped her off at her dorm. With said-pretzel bites and cheesy sauce in mind, I hit the fitness room at the hotel for some treadmill action, and now I'm back in my room click-clacking on my keyboard, switching between this entry and our currently lively family group chat. (Which is lively because the boys have safely arrived back in California.)

It was a good day, and I am thankful to God for that goodness. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do tomorrow since Abby has class much of the day, but whatever it is... it'll be good, too.