The Wedding Pictures... The Phillips' Wedding Page

Welcome to The Urban Page. Our home Church is Jesus People USA Covenant Church.
Marty works for Riverview Self Storage and Jesse is HR for Lake Front Roofing Supply in Chicago.

We love going to see nature.
Marty loves bird watching & hiking, good coffee and ginger ale.
Jesse is a nice artist and loves embroidery and crafts. Jesse loves walks, hot chocolate and good books.

We hope you enjoy your visit! Here is our latest issue of the
URBAN TIMES. Stay tuned for updates!!updated December 26, 2004

Here is My Blog

My Other Links:Here is My Birding Page/ Jesse and Marty's myspace

Marty & Jesse's ShoutLife

12/4/06

URBAN TIMES CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

So, 2006 is coming to an end. The holidays are here and we are settled back into JPUSA; the lights are up down town and the decorations are up in our room. The fourth floor is getting ready to have their open house were we will listen to Christmas music, laugh and visit with friends we don't see every day and stuff ourselves with Tom Cameron's world famous chili. There will be homemade bread and more desserts that you can shake a stick at. We will walk away with full bellies and full spirits.

Christmas at Jesus People is amazing. It's not like spending the holidays at home. It's not like spending holidays with friends. It's like...it's like the way the holidays are supposed to be. Everyone is family. No one is left sitting alone. Everyone is full and warm and happy. It's the true meaning of family. We spend time doing tons and spend tons of time doing nothing. There's Christmas cookies, praise and worship, amazing decorating and art, encouragement, laughter. It doesn't get any better than this.

I suppose that those of you who took the time to check out our MySpace are wondering why we didn't just send out a Christmas letter. There are several reasons: saving on postage, saving paper (and therefore saving the environment), and during the crazy holidays, who has time to read a Christmas letter? I usually glance at them and then read them the next time I have two whole minutes to sit and read...so usually when I'm waiting on my computer to warm up, or before I toss all the Christmas cards away I remember that I needed to read it and I set it in my "I'll get to that eventually" pile which means that I read it in May of the following year. No offense, but life is nuts. So, the main reason that I just sent a card with this web address is because if you have time and are really curious (or just nosy) then take your time, settle in, grab a cup of hot cocoa (or iced tea - depending on when you get around to reading this) and dive right in! Oh yeah, and welcome!

So, 2006 is at an end and what a busy year it has been. Our friends down the hall, Dave and Harmony, moved to just across the hall at the beginning of this year. I built (yes, I, Jesse Phillips: Carpenter Extraordinaire) a Murphy bed. A Murphy bed is a wardrobe that folds down into a bed. Or, contrary-wise, a bed that folds into a wardrobe. My greatest carpentry accomplishment. Woot, woot to me! So, we moved, cleaned, organized and painted and helped them get moved.

We decided to remodel our room this spring, since last year we moved into our room so quickly last year. We added some lovely colors (thanks to Marty's amazing sense of style) in browns and burgundies; I built a new countertop, closet, shelving unit for the squirrel cage and computer desk...*pant, pant*...and our room looks really big now! We got rid of boxes of stuff. We moved everything out of the room and agreed that we would not bring anything into the room unless it had a place. Wow. Did we have tons of stuff. But now our room has clean lines, nice color, good lighting and it feels peaceful and uncluttered and that is a blessing beyond words.

Cornerstone Festival was rough this year. Marty had to stay in Chicago to work and I went to Bushnell for the Festival myself. I stayed with a group of JPUSA girls in a trailer (not a tent!) that had air conditioning and a refrigerator. The kids program, Creation Station, went on without a hitch, thanks especially to our new handyman, Eric Clayton. That part of the fest was really fun. However, on July 4th, Marty received a phone call from his family, informing him that his father, Wendell, had committed suicide. Marty's father had been estranged from the family for many years, but it was harder because we were not together. Marty had his friend, John who was also working in Chicago, to help carry the burden until I got home. Marty's mom was with her daughter and granddaughter in Michigan when it happened. It was a hard month. In August John, Marty and I went on vacation to Seattle! What a great vacation! My Aunt Helen and I shopped, Marty, John and I played baseball with Helen's boys, Jake and James (and Choka, the brown lab who had a major crush on John and Marty), the boys went hiking and bird watching, we all hung out with my family and spent the bulk of the trip sharing an RV. Just the RV was interesting. John slept in the bunk and Marty and I were in the queen bed. Talk about tight quarters! And whenever we had a particularly big meal, both boys would have gas and then snore all night. Needless to say, it was an amusing experience. I got to spend some real quality time with my family; playing baseball with Jake, talking Hot Wheels with James, shopping and cooking with Auntie Helen, long visits with Josh and his friend, Tara (she rocks!), and some real quality time with my Grandad. I remembered all over again how blessed I am to have a family that really loves me. They are each unique, each a little nuts, and all born with a desire to eat good food, cook good food, help each other out, find the best deal on whatever they need, and laugh as much as possible. My family, ladies and gentlemen, in a nutshell. (and a nutshell is the best description! No wonder I fit right in!)

We hung out with my dear friend, Sarah, her crazy husband, her friend Danielle (who was sixteen and staying with them at the time) and her two very energetic kids, Arianna (age 5) and Asa (age 3). Arianna fell madly in love with John McCain and followed him everywhere. She was very concerned that he did not send her a Christmas gift last year, even though Marty and I did. When John explained that he did not actually know her last year, she thought about it, agreed that he had a legitimate excuse, and then explained that she liked ponies best. John was very concerned about the consequences of not sending a gift this year. (Arianna will be receiving both a purple and a blue flying pony figurine this year from John. Too cute.) Danielle, Sarah and I stayed up all night doing girl things - nails, hair, makeup, eating ice cream and giggling. It was awesome!

We ended the trip by dropping John and Marty off in the middle of the Olympic Mountain Range and telling them I'd meet them on the other side. The boys hiked and camped for three days (while I shopped, slept, shopped, flew a kite, ate and shopped) and we met at a tiny log cabin in the on a lake, surrounded by mountains on the other side of the mountain range. I showed up with huge steaks and fresh clothes. The guys ate like they hadn't eaten in a week and then promptly fell asleep. We stayed for three days at the cabin, strayed in to town briefly to browse and bird watch (both boys limping along behind.

After vacation, Harmony and I finally (and this statement in fifteen months in the making) finished the living room on our side of the floor. Whew! Talk about a long project. But it's done and it is currently being used for crafting as I write! Families on the floor have been eating their dinners in there nearly every evening and we had Thanksgiving in our finished living room with the Claytons, Spaniels and Helle's this year. We went to Michigan that weekend to have Thanksgiving leftovers with Marty's sister, and his niece’s family. It was the first time we had seen Renee since she got married and had a baby!! Tristyn (Renee's daughter) is so beautiful and energetic! And Lucas (her step son) is a total spit fire who was so excited to see us! All in all, a good Fall! Marty and I will be going to the Christmas bird count the weekend before Christmas this year. We are both really excited about a long weekend in Bushnell! (I hope that it snows!)

I am still working for Lakefront as Human Resources. I am learning how to say "no" (just a bit) and I will be starting a few college courses next year, just to keep on top of H.R.'s current needs. I have become wildly obsessed with Swing Dancing this year (thanks to our friend, Nathan Cameron). There is a small group of JPUSA's who have taken classes at Old Town Music School for Swing Dance. My friends Bethany, Elijah and I took the eight-week course and had such a blast. It's great exercise and so much fun! I actually have (get this!) skirts in my wardrobe, now. If you ever have a chance to go Swing Dancing, do it! Nearly everyone can learn it pretty quickly, and it's so much fun!

Marty is still working for Riverview Self Storage and still loves his job. He is also working for GRRR Records part time, helping them with their MySpaces. He started out with a REZ Band MySpace and it has taken off from there. He manages most of the JPUSA bands MySpaces, including the Crossing (he got them another gig with two weeks of taking over the MySpace for them) and Glenn Kaiser Band.

So, that's it for 2006, barring any unforeseen craziness. I am always so amazed at how much gets squeezed into the year! I didn't even mention Marty's 40th Birthday surprise party, finishing the kitchen on our floor, not dealing with office parties anymore (thank you, Jesus!), me getting rushed to the emergency room (don't worry, I'm fine.), my scrapbook obsession finally taking shape, Mom's first trip to Bushnell, and all the other stuff that happened this year. But, hey, if you read this far, Congratulations! This is a brief as I could get with this amazing year. And what does 2007 hold for the Phillips'? Only the Lord knows for sure.

Happy Christmas, friends and family!
And a Happy New Year!