Photo of the Week - Christmas, 2011

It has been a great holiday vacation...so great, I'm slow to take the time to update my pictures. I enjoyed Christmas in Peoria and in Bluffton. Enjoy the family pictures!

Photo of the Week - December 18, 2011

I had four Christmas Parties in the last week...Jeff was a great date for all of them. We had fun during a white elephant exchange at one of the fiestas. I won a food dehydrator before it was stolen from me. Not all bad, as I ended up with some nice lotion. I'm enjoying the time with friends during the holiday season, and I look forward to the time ahead next week when I can celebrate with family in Peoria and Bluffton.

Jada

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~Washington Irving

Photo of the Week - December 11, 2011

We had Pizza . . .








We had Mt. Dew . . .











Some Video Games . . .




















A Cake - Half White / Half Chocolate...










There were candles. . .
















And a wish. . .














Which made for a fun 15 year Birthday party!

Photo of the Week - December 4, 2011

OPPSIES!!



I'm the poster child for Honda Civic. This week, Jeff drove north to Planet Honda to buy an '09 for me. This will make my third civic. I did look at other cars, but in my heart knew we would pick a civic yet again.

Unfortunately, my farewell to #2 is sooner than expected. I was driving too fast and had a wreck that caused a total loss to the car. Seems unfortunate as it is still drivable and could be fixed...but the salvage company comes tomorrow to pick it up.

Jeff and I had fun snapping pictures of #2 & #3 today. Needless to say, I have a new commitment to safe driving practices. I did learn a lesson!

Jada

Any colour - so long as it's black.
Henry Ford

Any car - so long as it's civic.
Jada Hoerr

Photo of the Week - Thanksgiving 2012

Holiday tradition rang true in my life this weekend. Tis the season for time with family, holiday recipes, Christmas decorating and yes...some Black Friday shopping!

Jeff and I celebrated Thanksgiving in Peoria. We had multiple fun family parties. I was slow with my camera (too busy eating and chatting) but there are a few telling shots from the weekend. Enjoy a summary of our meal on Thursday and a picture of me going through the line to fill my plate.


"Never eat more than you can lift." -- Miss Piggy, Muppet extraordinaire

Photo of the Week - November 20, 2011

Friends,

Blessings beyond measure! Check out this news article and see my handsome husband in action as he distributes food bags. What a great day to celebrate the meaning of Thanksgiving.

http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/local/Thanksgiving-Dinner-Brings-South-Side-Communty-Together-134213208.html

Jada

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 1 Chronicles 16:8

Photo of the Week - November 13, 2011

Family week for the Hoerr clan! A baby shower, a wedding, and a Thanksgiving celebration. These pictures from the wedding only begin to demonstrate the lovely time we have had.

Enjoy! Congratulations Katy with a baby on the way! Congratulations on your marriage Nikki and Andy!

Jada


Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future. ~Gail Lumet Buckley

Photo of the Week - November 6, 2011

Friends,

I celebrated with my friend Rebecca "Birthday Girl" Dailey on Saturday night. We will took a picture together to remember the moment. After looking at the picture, we both commented on a similar shot we took together at my Birthday in Miami in 2003. Just for fun, I've attached both photos. God willing we will be adding many more to the collection in years to come.

Happy Birthday, Rebecca.

Jada

It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
John Leonard

Photo of the Week - October 30, 2011

Date Night: 3rd row seat at the Casting Crown's concert on Saturday night. I won tickets on the morning radio trivia show...How cool is that?

Enjoy the picture...and lyrics.


And all who thirst will thirst no more,
And all who search will find what their souls long for,
The world will try, but it can never fill,
So leave it all behind, and come to the well
- Casting Crowns, The Well

Photo of the Week - October 23, 2011

What a gorgeous fall we are having in Central Illinois. My parents visited us in Peoria this weekend. We filled the weekend with some fun fall activities...buying mums, visiting an orchard, watching football, eating pumpkin cookies, and hug a scarecrow.

Enjoy your week and the little song below...

Jada


Sing to the tune of I'm A Little Teapot
I'm a little scarecrow
Stuffed with hay,
Standing watch in my field all day.
When I see a crow
I like to shout:
"Hey, Mr. Crow, you'd better get out!"

Photo of the Week - October 16, 2011

Wow! Some weeks are disproportionally filled with moments that merit pictures. I'll limit myself for this posting. I had a chance to connect with my friend Cris in Chicago on Saturday. Cris and I have been friends since the moment we met in 2000 while I was living in Brazil. We took in some famous sites around city and enjoyed the conversation. As we sadly said good-bye at the end of the night we were left hopeful about the experiences God would bring each of us until we met again.









"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"
- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Photo of the Week - October 9, 2011

Yes, my photo of the week is pictures of me in a warehouse...exciting times! Jeff and I went to a banquet at the Midwest Food Bank (MFB) on Saturday night. The event was celebrating the success of Tender Mercies, a new easy to make nutritious food donation developed and produced at MFB. The Peoria location of MFB is run by friends Larry and Suzy Herman. I have been wanting to learn more about the Tender Mercies project ever since Suzy told me about it in the early summer of 2010. This ministry totally resonates with me and of course the evening with family and friends was a blast.

Read more about Tender Mercies at:

http://www.pjstar.com/news/tricounty/x1070618619/Tender-Mercies-finds-way-to-provide-a-cheap-but-nutritionally-balanced-meal

http://www.tendermercies.com/#/home

Scripture on the Midwest Food Bank website: For I was hungered and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. Matthew 25:35

Photo of the Week - October 2, 2011

Jeff and I hosted a Fall Festival this week. Pumpkin desserts, candy corn, apples with caramel dip, cider...YUM! The fall themed party was an advocacy event for Compassion International. (www.compassion.com) We had everyone guess the number of corn kernels in the glass jars shown in the picture. While we didn't count every kernel, we made a solid mathematical estimate...10500 kernels. This is the number of kids that died due to hunger and malnutrition from the time our guests woke up until they arrived at our house for the party (14.5 hours). OK, so that isn't exactly a 'fun fact' that gets a party started. But, it did give us a better perspective of the world and thankful hearts for our food and nutrition.

Jada

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one. Mother Teresa

Photo of the Week - September 25, 2011

Life has been full of activity lately, and thus the late Photo of the Week posting! Last Friday Jeff and I received free tickets to the Peoria Symphony. It was a delightful show of Broadway music. Fantastic guest vocalist also performed...which is a good thing. I might have tried to belt out a tune had they not been there. I still have the songs running through my head...Oh what a beautiful morning....

Jada

I think you should make more movies, more musicals. I think the public deserves that. I think this country deserves to be able to get out and foster that talent. Give them an opportunity to become stars. I think the whole idea is wonderful.
Donald O'Connor

Photo of the Week - September 18, 2011

Friends,

I sadly won't make it to the Bluffton Street Fair this year. As a consolation prize, Jeff took me to the Morton Pumpkin Festival on Friday evening. I had a sampling of pumpkin chili, pumpkin pie, a pumpkin doughnut and pumpkin ice cream. I clearly had a good time. Enjoy the photo.

Jada

Home of Libby's Pumpkin, Morton is proud to say that over 80% of the world's canned pumpkin is processed right here. - Morton Chamber of Commerce website

Photo of the Week - Septebmer 11, 2011

Friends and Family,

While the leaves haven't started turning colors quite yet, we have had some signs of fall. The most significant in our household is the return of Football. Jeff and I enjoyed the game on Saturday afternoon at the U of I Memorial Stadium. Enjoy us decked out in orange.

Also, I want to share a link to a video showcasing the mission trip Jeff and I took to Brazil. We have a partner church in Brazil and they produced the video. You may not understands all of the words, but I believe the message will be clear. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-LOcyIgkfk

Jada

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

Photo of the Week - Labor Day, 2011

Friends,

Writing letters & taking pictures are my two renewed passions.

Writing Letters...
See the blog post from our friend Jeff and it will explain why I have had letter writing on my mind... http://www.thecandidchoas.com/2011/09/now-i-have-to-find-stamp.html

Taking Pictures...
After seeing Jeff's post and his pictures, I was inspired to take more pictures this weekend. I had the perfect location for the renewed hobby: the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Enjoy the candid shots.

Jada



In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what an important part it used to play in people's lives. ~Anatole Broyard

Photo of the Week - August 21 & August 28

Hello Friends,

I'm delayed in my posts. I could blame it on time zones after traveling to Geneva, Switzerland last week. Truth be told, I am only suffering from too much chocolate! Here are some of my favorite pictures. I was charmed by the picturesque views of my family's native land.



"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"
Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)

Photo of the Week - August 14, 2011

Friends and family,

This weekend Jeff and I had a chance to volunteer on a landscaping project for a local Peoria school. But, you can see pictures of Jeff and me doing this type of work any week. I selected a picture of Jeff and me volunteering in drama instead...well of Jeff anyway. He is quite the entertainer for the K - 3rd graders on Sunday mornings. Hopefully the picture alone gives you a glimpse of the joy we have during the drama.

Life is too important to be taken seriously. - Oscar Wilde

Photo of the Week - August 7, 2011

Friends and family,

Another year older and happier. This picture speaks for itself. We had a great party at Jeff's parents house. It was a lovely evening!

Jada




“The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” Lucille Ball

Photo of the Week - July 31, 2011

Friends,

Summer vacation brought my brother and his family to Bluffton...and me too! I spent the weekend with family and adored every minute with my niece and nephew. Among other things, they taught me how to shoot a BB gun.

Enjoy Megan's and Nathan's beautiful faces!

Jada



Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

Photo of the Week - July 24, 2011

Friends,

We made it back from our mission trip! Despite some challenges with the last leg of our trip, our entire team made it back to Illinois. Here is a video that was captured on the first days and sent back to our church, Richwoods Christian Church. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u88InVrPow

I've also included pictures of me at work in the village. You can see me distributing bibles and reading glasses. There are so many emotions I want to share about the trip...and so few words that do them justice. I'll summarize with a Hallelujah and Amen!

"We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God."
- John Stott

Photo of the Week - July 17, 2011

Greetings from Brazil!

Jeff and I have been here for a few days with our friends from our church. Enjoy a picture of the Amazon River from the plane. Also, see Jeff with his first Coconut Water! Finally, see me with two new friends I made while resting in the hotel lobby today. These girls inched up to me and mustered up the courage to say hi to a 'foreign looking lady.' God Bless the honesty of youth!

Tschau! Jada

Scripture from church today:
'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' Acts 1:8