Tony’s Turning 40

I can’t believe that I am turning 40. It’s fortunate that I’ve already had a number of “mid-life” crises, so I’ll be fine. In some ways being 40 is no different from being 39, but the mental impact is the clincher. A friend of mine told me that his father called it the “40-year flop.” While I am not anticipating “flopping” any time soon, it does provide a moment of introspection and evaluation of future plans. I will let you know if I decide to buy a red sports car or get a hair transplant. I am not sure if I wanted to post this to reflect on my birthday or simply to say that I updated my blog. I hope to start posting some of my research and writing, so get ready for more random thoughts from an urban theologian.

Cooking With Marge

Last night, Elizabeth and I went to Minion’s Cafe in Maplewood to see a dinner theatre performance of Cooking With Marge. Actress Linda Spall plays Marjoram Fennel , an entertaining mixture of Julia Childs and Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances. Not only was it a memorable way to celebrate our anniversary, but the food was delicious as well. One of the best parts of the evening was sharing a table with a couple from St. Louis who shared stories of living in downtown St. Louis, attending local theatre, and parenting.

Our 19th Year

On January 14th, Elizabeth and I will celebrate our 19th year of marriage. The blessings that we have received are more than I can count. The love that we share, our wonderful son, and the riches of God’s grace have filled our married life with joy. We give thanks to God for the relationship he has given us with each other, our ever-supportive family, and our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Maybe There is Rest for the Wicked…

The Cook family is finally going on vacation! With a brief window of opportunity available, we have decided to take a trip to Florida and stay at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. It is actually an air-conditioned cabin, but we will pretend that we are rouging it. Once we return on June 10th, it will be back to work and school until late Fall. I hope to post some post-vacation pictures, so stay-tuned.

Back to School

As of last Friday, I am officially a graduate student at St. Louis University. My first two classes are Qualitative Research and Secondary Supervision. Both classes are required for my Ph.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction. I look forward to the classwork as well as the opportunity to apply what I learn to my day-to-day seminary activities. Any prayers will be appreciated. I will let you know how it goes.

Back From Vacation

We are back from vacation and had a wonderful time. We spent plenty of time swimming, visiting caves, putt-putt golfing, shopping as well as a number of other enjoyable activities. And as always, we are also glad to be back home. Last night there was a cove party that lasted until 3:30 am with fireworks all night long, so needless to say, we are in need of some rest. Ben is busy catching up on the cable tv he missed and Elizabeth is washing a mountain of clothes. Once again, thanks go to Rich and Ellen for letting us borrow the house. It was great!

The Cook’s Roach Vacation

As of tomorrow, we are officially on vacation! After realizing that I had only taken two days of vacation this year, we decided it was time. This summer we are spending our vacation in Roach - Roach, Missouri. Thanks to the kindness of Rich and Ellen, we will stay in their lake house in the Ozarks. This was a favorite vacation spot before moving from the St. Louis area and now that we’re back, we look forward to a return trip.

This is an off-the-grid vacation - No Internet or television, just books and a pile of blank journals to catch any new ideas that might emerge. Actually, I am hoping to make some headway on an evangelism program I am working on, but we will see what happens. The desire to browse the Ozark stores for corncob pipes and weather predictors consisting of a rock tied to a string might distract me from my goal.

Well, it’s time to finish my last minute seminary paperwork so I can have a guilt free vacation. I will post pictures when we return.

Our 17th Year

Well, another week has passed and we are looking forward to a weekend of celebration. Tomorrow is our 17th anniversary and Elizabeth and I are going to the Seven Gables while Ben has a couple days with Mama and Papa. As I think about the last 17 years so much has happened, but it feels like it was just yesterday. While Elizabeth is as beautiful as the day we were married, I am not sure who that thin guy with hair is standing next to her in the wedding photo.

Even though time has not been good to my hair or waistline, I feel like I am the luckiest man on earth. Elizabeth is a wonderful, understanding and caring soul-mate and Ben continues to make me proud each and every day. So as we celebrate our 17 years together, I am reminded to take time to give thanks to God for all that He has given, for Elizabeth and Ben and for His gift of grace and love through Jesus Christ.

Life After Christmas Break

Christmas vacation is over and the students have returned. I am told that the time between Christmas and Easter is tough on the students and professors due to the lack of time off in-between the holidays. The students who work in my lab were less than enthusiastic to return to class today, but it was nice to have them back.

On the home front,  Ben and Elizabeth went ice skating to celebrate Ben’s last day of vacation and Elizabeth began preparing the house for student visitation. This Friday we will entertain 10 pre-seminary students as part of a perspective student visit. I remember when Elizabeth and I visited the campus as college graduates. We met the professors, visited classes and enjoyed a small taste of seminary life. I hope the students we host have the same memorable experience. I will let you know how it goes.

On a stranger note, I received a phone message from a local photographer who claims to have captured an other-worldly image and a strange language on film. While it is not unusual for the seminary to receive strange calls and emails, it did provide for an interesting beginning to my first week back. He said he would email the photo, so we will see what happens. Well, I will close for tonight since I need to haul the Christmas boxes up from the basement to begin packing up the decorations. I hope that as you return to your post-Christmas life you carry the joy of the season in your heart all year long.

New Year’s Eve

It is New Year’s Eve and we have begun our festivities for the evening. We spent most of the day getting Ben’s room ready for his new loft and finally setting up our bedroom (You can tell that I am getting cabin fever when I begin to rearrange the furniture).

Later in the evening, after watching Polar Express, we decided to use Elizabeth’s birthday present from Mom - a chocolate fountain. Now there are many ways to overeat, but this is one of the more enjoyable ones.

Ben obviously enjoyed himself and now we are taking a glutton’s rest before a rousing game of Kings in the Corner. It is our prayer that the New Year draws you closer to both Jesus and your family…well back to the celebration.

Happy New Year!
The Cooks

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