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Britain has died. So has Brutus. And Britty Cakes. One in the same, this 18 year-old cat of Adam’s adolescence has passed on to the great wide scratching pole in the sky. Named Britain in the peak of Adam’s Anglophile stage, Adam’s mom took to calling the prissy, aloof cat Britty. To offset the boy cat’s cutesy name, Adam’s dad called him Brutus.

When Adam and I were dating, I walked into his parents’ dining room to see his mom nuzzling the fluff-ball cooing, “awww Britty Caaaaakes…. you the momma’s boooooy…. yes you are…. you the momma’s boooooy, Britty Caaaaaaakes.”

How could I resist? I grabbed onto Adam and began cooing, “awww Addy Caaaaakes…. you the Jessi’s boooooy…. yes you are…. you the Jessi’s boooooy, Addy Caaaaaaakes.”

Thus, to this day, my beloved husband is Addy Cakes, or Cakers, sometimes Mr. Cakes, or simply just Cakes. And I am Jessi Cakes, Mrs. Cakes, and so on… which is funny because as a little girl, my dad called me Cakes too. I guess I’m just destined to be Cakes.

So here’s to Britty Cakes… he was a surly, old cat but loved all the same.

-Jessi Cakes

More news from home– Adam’s dad is back in the hospital for the third time for his mysterious blood clots.  There is now a big one in his leg, and his blood count is low.   Please continue to think of and pray for him.  If you’re in Nashville, you can find him at St. Thomas.  We don’t know when he’ll be released.
- Jessica

We have news that Adam’s dad is being discharged from the hospital today, earlier than initially expected.  That’s good news.  Adam talked to his parents last night, and Steve seems to be doing better.  I don’t know any details, really, but I know you’d like to hear the good news that he’s going home.  Thanks to many of you for asking about him.  He could use your continued prayers.

In other news, Adam edited and uploaded an interview he conducted with my Grandpa Swanson in 2006.  If you’d like to hear about his childhood as a Swede in Minnesota and his time flying a “Pregnant Whale” in WWII, you can download the interview at http://lofbomm.com/Grandpa.mov.  (It’s a big download.)

And then, completely unrelated, I’m now #29 on the Idol Underground chart, up from #40 last week.  Thanks for stopping by- I’m sure it was you that raised my ranking.

We appreciate you, our friends and readers.

-Jessica

I woke up this morning with the nostalgic craving for “A Prairie Home Companion”, the down-home American radio program on National Public Radio. I woke up and found it online, and now I’m listening to the stream of last week’s program.

This spring Saturday morning, the host, Garrison Keillor’s voice is taking me back to Saturday mornings in the spring and early summer in Nashville, driving around with Adam, Adam’s dad, and our friend Daniel, searching out garage sales. Or Sunday afternoons driving home from church with Adam, ready for our Sunday afternoon nap. One Sunday, we heard the broadcast from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Forgetting that it was a re-broadcast, Adam and I jetted to the Ryman, hoping to catch the second half of the show, live. The woman in the ticket booth was confused as I ran up breathless, asking if we could slide into the back somewhere.

It brings me even further back to family trips with Mom and Dad and my big brother Jeff. In the back seat, Jeff and I would read books, do crossword puzzles, play card games, follow the map, and name the drivers in the cars around us as we yearly made the two-day drive from suburban Chicago to Chatham, New Jersey to visit Grandma and Grandpa Swanson. We’d always stop in Clarion, Pennsylvania to stay at the Sheraton hotel where Jeff and I would pass the night jumping cannon-balls into the big swimming pool. Grandpa Swanson, a Swede from Minnesota, had a collection of tapes “The News From Lake Wobegon” that I took as a family history, listening over and over on Route 80 between West Chicago and Chatham, Chatham and West Chicago every summer. Garrison Keillor’s story-telling and the deep bass of Randy Travis singing “Forever and Ever, Amen” through my walkman tape player epitomize those family road trips of my youth.

And that’s the news from Lake Wobegon, where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are above-average.

-Jessica

We just saw this video, and I don’t know what we can do, but we can spread the word. Eric Volz is a young man from Nashville being held in Nicaragua for a murder he didn’t commit. Help spread the word. If you’re an American, please write your senator.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YChhOHrFA4[/youtube]

www.friendsofericvolz.com

Addendum: I’ve seen these kinds of “free so-and-so” emails and videos before, and they seem so far removed.  I guess this one hits home for me because he’s from Nashville, and he’s only 27.  This is also a very recent story, one that only began in November.  I try not to jump on every political bandwagon, but this seems worthwhile.  If there is anything you can think of to help this guy, if you know any people of influence, please help.

-Jessica

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-hjmYLWTB0[/youtube]

Yeah, I’m writing a blog about American Idol. The thing is, I went to Belmont with Melinda Doolittle, and I wanted to send my support. She’s the popular favorite for winning the contest. Watch the video and see why. I can’t watch or vote since we’re on the other side of the planet, so maybe you can for us. :).

-Jessica

Last month, we wrote a blog “To Bless a Friend” about Brian McKay and his family who are adopting three teenage girls from an orphanage in Moldova.  The McKays now have their own blog where you can keep up with the progress of their adoption and see where they need help.  Their blog is McKayAdoption.blogspot.com, and their church also has information here.

I just thought I’d share the update.  Have a good day.

-Jessica

Just thought I’d let you know that I finally finished loading the rest of our pictures from the trip home to the States.  You can view them in the Photos sections.
Here are a few highlights:

Fido, the Nashville Coffee shop where we had our first date on August 15, 2003

Adam at his new alma mater, DePaul University in Chicago

Our cousins Becky and SC

Enjoy,

-Jessica

This is a message worth sending on to your friends and colleagues. Copy this link into an email: http://lofbomm.com/2007/02/23/to-bless-a-friend/

Adam and I sponsor Felicia, a little girl in Moldova through a wonderful charitable organization called Sweet Sleep based in Tennessee, USA. We became acquainted with Felicia and Sweet Sleep in 2005 when I helped my company, EMI Christian Music Group, organize a huge Christmas charity for orphans in Moldova.

EMI CMG donated a winter coat for every child in two large Moldovan orphanages, employees and friends bought warm clothes and gifts, donated money for new beds, wrote letters to children, many employees (including myself) reached out to sponsor a child, and a few of our employees actually went to Moldova in January, 2006 to deliver these awesome gifts to hundreds of orphans. It was incredible. My friend, Brian McKay from the EMI CMG mail-room was one of those who went to Moldova, and his life was changed.

Last week while we were in Nashville, Adam and I visited the office at EMI Christian Music Group. We stopped in to say hi to old friends, including Brian, and he handed me an exciting letter:

Dear Friends,

There is something exciting happening in the McKay house and we want to share it with you! The dinner table in our home currently seats the two of us, our 14 year-old son Colton, 6 year-old daughter Hope, and 4 year-old daughter Kailyn, as Prince Tubby the basset hound patiently awaits falling crumbs. But things, they are a-changing!

As some of you know, over the last 13 months Brian has participated in 3 mission trips to Moldova, a small country about the size of Maryland, which lies between Romania and the Ukraine. To those of you who have supported those trips through prayer or donations, we extend our heartfelt thanks. Through these trips and letter writing, we have met and come to love the three beautiful girls pictured here with Brian. The Gritenco sisters, 16 year-old twins Marina and Diana and 14 year-old Viorica have lived most of their lives in the largest orphanage in the capital city of Chisinau with about 600 other children.

Orphanages in Moldova currently house over 12,000 children. The children live in dormitory housing and attend school there until they turn 16 or complete the 9th grade. At that time, they are discharged, only to attempt to make their own way in a society that has no use for parentless children.

The statistics for these children are heartbreaking. 10% of these teens will commit suicide in the first year after being discharged from the orphanage. 70% of the young men will either join the mafia in search of a “family”, or will be imprisoned due to their desperate attempts to survive. 80% of the young women will either be sold or forced into prostitution.

God is calling on our family to give the Gritenco sisters hope for a future. We can change the world, as they know it, by adopting them. We are commanded in James 1:27 to care for orphans in distress. We are praying for a miracle to make this adoption possible. The estimated cost associated with adopting these girls is $75,000. This includes adoption agency fees, travel expenses, Moldovan taxes, and too many other expenses to list.

With your help, and the help of others like you, God will provide. The church we are members of has offered their overwhelming support by establishing a fund to receive donations for this adoption. Your donations can be tax deductible if sent payable to New Joy Fellowship, 625 Spring Creek Road, Lebanon, TN, 37087. Please notate “adoption fund” in the memo line of your check. You can also help us by forwarding this letter to some of your friends, or by writing one of your own. If you don’t feel led to make a financial contribution at this time, we welcome any notes of encouragement, and let us know if you would like to receive updates about our journey.

Lastly, but most importantly, we ask you to pray. Not only for our growing family, but for the hearts of those children we can’t bring home.

In His Love,
Brian and Sarah McKay

Brian and his family are seeking 1,000 people who will each donate $75 to help in adopting these three sisters. Please help. We’re giving $75, and we also wanted to use this platform to encourage others to give.

You can send a tax-deductible check (if you are abroad, you can send a cashier’s check) payable to:

New Joy Fellowship
625 Spring Creek Road
Lebanon, TN, 37087
USA

Please notate “adoption fund” in the memo line of your check.

Adam and I try not to ask too much of you, our readers, but Brian is a good man, and Marina, Diana and Viorica’s lives can be changed. Let us know if you want to help but cannot send a check.

Thanks. We appreciate you and wish you all the best!

-Jessica

I’m ‘zausted.  We are at the end of the Nashville leg of out trip, and it has been great.  Tomorrow evening we’ll fly to Chicago to spend several days before we return to Korea on Saturday.

Usually, I like to editorialize and not just list events, but eh.  I’m sleepy, and I at least want to share a few nuggets of our time with you.  We’ve had a wonderful week.  Here are a few highlights from our time in Nashville:

On Tuesday, we had coffee with Genesis and her new mom, Heather.

On Wednesday, we had lunch with our former employers and then celebrated Valentines Day with KC and Gene’ with a feast at Maggiano’s.

On Thursday, we went to Thursday Business Lunch at church, then visited with Granny.

On Friday, we had a party at KC and Gene’s house and served our friends some Korean treats and a meal of kimchi, dokkboki, mandu, curry and dubu.  Everyone loved it.

On Saturday, my parents arrived from Chicago, and Adam’s mom served up an awesome feast for us at brunch and again at dinner.  It was a great family day.

On Sunday (today), we went to church, and I sang a solo.  We had lunch with Brandon and Lesley Ann.  We spent the evening hanging out with family at Granny’s house.

Tomorrow, we’ll have breakfast at Pancake Pantry, hang out with family and then be on our way to Chicago.  Bon voyage.

-Jessica