These Days are Marked

These days are marked for me.

They are marked with sweet joy of celebrating advent that leads to Christmas celebrations. Birthdays for two of my girls.  Decorations I love. Family Traditions. Family...

This year they are also marked with incredible Heartache. Loss. Memories.

Around this time last year we were celebrating my youngest's first year of life while facing the fact that my dad was finishing his last.

It all takes my breath away like it just happened.  The days... good and bad... play in my mind.  The pictures are blurred by tears that I cannot stop.

I miss my papa.  Every. Day.  Some days are extremely difficult.  Others are not so bad.  Most probably think that I am doing okay.  For the most part I am don't get me wrong.  On a lot of days I just want to sit and cry.  I have three little ones that distract me and need me to keep going.  My two older ones will randomly talk about him when I least expect it.  On some occasions it makes me laugh or smile and on others I fight back tears or they spill out.

Some people ask about him or how I am doing. Most do not. It's awkward for some. It's okay.  It's true...life is but a vapor and the grass remembers us no more.

It has been strange to not ponder over what gift to buy him this year as he seemed to have all that he wanted. Or he would tell me that what was on his list was far too expensive which generally meant that it was some firearm he wanted. HA!

My gift to him last year was a CD of hymns (he was listening to it when he passed.) In all the years I had with him I don't remember him being quite as grateful as he was for this one.  I can still see him mouthing the words "thank you." to me.  Maybe I'll pull it out sometime... maybe

Indeed, these days are marked.  Marked by hope that came as a little baby under the cover of night.  Hope that grew to be a man of stature and character that would pay the ultimate sacrifice of dying on a cross for my sins.  Hope that rose from the dead.  Hope that promises the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. That Hope is Jesus.  A Hope that Papa has...a Hope that I have.  In this I find great comfort...yes... and joy. Even in my tears.

Advent | 25 Days of Books

The Advent season marks the beginning of the Church Year, and begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Advent means "coming" or "arrival" and refers to the First Advent of Jesus, the Messiah. The Advent season is observed as a time of preparation, not only for Christmas, but also for the Second Advent of Jesus. This is a time of thankfulness and expectation, for we are those who "live between Advents."

I think that the Church calendar is beautiful.  Yes, I do know it's man made but I am not a slave to it nor is it an idol for me. However, I find that it helps me think through ways in which I center my thoughts, heart, and life to Christ... that is what makes it beautiful.

This year, as most years of recent memory, something (whether good or bad) has turned plans upside down for what I thought our Advent and Christmas seasons would look like.  Things were scaled back quite a bit with our assignment here in California being extended.  I still want this season to look very different than other times in our church life and in our home life.  It's an exciting time with so many opportunities to point our girls to Jesus.  I had planned to do the books of Advent this year even if we had been at home this year.  I'll be honest, the travel out here on the first day of Advent has set me back a bit. Here we are on Day 4 and we have yet to open a book and begin.  Okay, okay... the other part is that I just got them wrapped up last night!  It's all about honesty here, people.

I am still working on a few more books to purchase for the end and to help round out our collection.  I am sure that some of them may even change over the years.  And some years we will need to add more because, believe it or not, Advent does NOT start on December 1 like many believe.  It begins on the FOURTH SUNDAY before Christmas.  So, some years there are actually 28 days in Advent.  This year it just happened to coordinate nicely with December 1.  There is your public service announcement for today.

So, while we're being honest here I am kind of a book snob when it comes to relaying the message of Christmas to our children.  We don't do Santa.  Go ahead and get your "awwwwww's" out and the comments about how we are depriving our children of some great thing.  We tell our children about the man who Santa is based and how that man loved Jesus and had a heart to serve people around him.  They are not missing out.  They do think that Santa is fun and sometimes they say, "Let's pretend Santa is real just for a little bit while we play."  So, they do.  I find that Christmas is already tainted by this world with commercialization.  We don't want to cloud their vision with a "person" that can give them anything when the season is about God who came to give them everything.

With that, here are the books that we have in our collection or will be purchasing.  Some of these books are from my childhood, some we have purchased over the years -- both new or used -- your local used book shop is a great place to start!  Yes, I realize that there are only 22 books on the list.  We started late and I am still trying to find more books.  If you have recommendations leave them here!!

1.  Who is Coming to Our House?
2. The Christmas Story
3. What Child is This? (I couldn't find a link)
4. The Most Marvelous Gift
5. Mary's First Christmas
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas
7. The Tale of Three Trees
8. What Sarah Saw
9. Silent Night (It's the song with beautiful illustrations, I have a different cover than the one shown here)
10. Merry Christmas, Strega Nona
11.The Very Special Visitors
12.The Crippled Lamb
14. Song of the Stars
15. The Christmas Story (different than the Golden Book above, but couldn't find a link)
16. Mortimer's Christmas Manger
17. Waiting for Noel
18. The Nativity
19. The 12 Days of Christmas: The Story Behind a Favorite Christmas Song
20. Humphrey's First Christmas
21. God Gave Us Christmas
22. A Child is Born


**Some of these links may lead to Kindle additions or may show really crazy prices.  I provided links mostly so you can see what the book looks like.  Where your procure them from is entirely up to you.  :)

Happy Holidays?

Now, don't go getting your tinsel in a tangle because I used the term "happy holidays" in my title.  Hear me out here.

I saw this image on a friends Facebook wall the other day.  It made me think.  While I may not totally "get" Kwanzaa I am sure there are many that don't get why our family does Advent, Christmas, and we actually give more than a nod towards Epiphany.  But as I thought about this image I wondered if I wished someone a Merry Christmas would they in turn wish me a merry/joyous/happy whatever they celebrate?

Little did I know that I would find out a few days later.

I was leaving the pediatrician on Wednesday with our newest one and our oldest one who likes to come help Mama with Miss S.  I was getting them secured in the van when Miss L asked where Miss S was at that moment.  I told her that Miss S was right next to me and that she was okay.  I realized a lady had moved to a bench behind me with the intentions of grabbing a quick smoke in the designated area.  Awesome.  I had basically parked in the smoking section!  This kind lady head me talking, realized I had a newborn, and quickly said she would wait to light up her cigarette until we were underway.  I appreciated her consideration greatly.  She then asked how old Baby Girl was and then wished me a "Merry Christmas."  I wished her one as well and then she replied, "Hanukkah, actually, but thank you."  She was very kind about it.  I engaged her a little about Hanukkah and I think she was surprised that I knew that it had actually started at sunset the evening before.  This whole time Miss L is shouting from in the car, "Merry Christmas!!" Precious and funny at that particular moment all at the same time.

I immediately thought back to this social network image.  Interesting, right?  Basically, I am fine with whatever you want to tell me as long as I can tell you my preference.  However, if I know you celebrate one in particular that is what I will tell you.  However, I do take issue with curbing what people would normally says for the sake of political correctness. Political Correctness, in my book, has overstayed its welcome.

So, from our house to yours...

Merry Christmas!

On a side note, my conversation was of enough time that she never had time to take her smoke break as her ride came to pick her up.  ha ha!  YES!!

And, yes, there will be a post about the arrival of Miss S. :)

Ham Fried Rice

I have been meaning to post this recipe for awhile now.  By that I mean probably about two week after Easter when I made this with left over ham.  I think you could substitute the meat protein with whatever floats your boat, including tofu (blech).  Sorry if you are a tofu fan -- I am so not there.  I found the base recipe on Allrecipes.com but have made some adjustments to make it my own.

However, I did learn why sometimes when I have tried to do this recipe it always came out funny.  It was because I would use freshly cooked rice that was still warm.  The trick is to start with your rice cold.  The rice doesn't get mushy and holds the texture well.  So, there's your tip for the day.

Ham Fried Rice


2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 C cold cooked rice
1 carrot chopped
1 C peas
1/4 C corn (optional - or add more if you like)
1 1/3 C diced fully cooked ham
1 tsp garlic powder (you can add more if you like)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash of pepper
1 dash chili pepper (as you like for your family)
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

In a skillet, cook and stir eggs in oil over medium heat until eggs are completely set.  Remove and set aside.  Add carrot, cook for a couple of minutes.  Add corn and peas.  Cook until carrots are just soft.  Toss in the rice, ham, garlic powder, ginger, pepper, and chili until heated through.  Add the soy sauce and worcestershire sauce and reserved eggs..  Stir well.  Serve immediately.

This stuff went fast in our house!  Was a hit with tiny mouths :)  

Thoughts on Easter

I have been thinking about Easter a lot lately.  Not just because we should as Christians but because of its weighty significance it should hold in the lives of Christians.  The events of Resurrection Day are what our faith hinges on, what makes it so very different than any other religion in the world.

Why is it that we spend almost a month (or for some more) planning, anticipating, and celebrating Christmas?  I thought about this awhile and talked with Husband about it.  I realize that preparing for a birth is quite celebratory and exciting.  However, do we celebrate someones impending death and funeral the same?  No, I would say not.  So, how do we celebrate (or festivate as many here like to say) Easter in such a way that our children see a striking difference in between it and Christmas?  How do we make it always a point in the year that they, and we, look to in great hope and excitement?

I read on a website that they celebrate all week long with a variety of fun things especially at meal time.  They toast in grand celebration at each dinner meal.  I need to think on things that they do during the week to celebrate new life that extends from that empty tomb.

I want to strive for this kind of celebration... not only for me, but for Little Flower and her siblings to come.

Do you out there in blog land have thoughts or ideas?

Maundy Thursday

Today "is known in the traditional church as Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday. It's the day/night of the Last Super, the washing of the disciples feet, the breaking of the bread, the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, etc. John describes the events and conversation of this day in detail in chapters 13 - 19. Quite a discourse!

Getting to the point here, what does Maundy mean? Growing up, I guess I always assumed Maundy meant, "sad", or "mourning", because of the betrayal and all. But that's not even close. The word "Maundy" is from the Latin word "mandatum"....sound familiar...it's where we get our word, "mandate". The church applied it concerning Jesus statement in John 13.34, "A new commandment (mandate) I give to you: Love each other, just as I have loved you!" "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" So, Holy Thursday, became known as Mandate (Maundy) Thursday, or as, "Go love each other as I have loved you Thursday!"

Just thought you would want to know." 

(Taken from a posting by Sam Osterloh of Campus Crusade for Christ)

In other thoughts on the day, I flash back to my days in college around this time.  My religious studies professor, Dr. Brubacher, would host a Seder meal for his students that were interested.  Dr. Brubacher went so far as to have a mock up of a triclinium for us to eat at.  He would do the presentation with many of his archaeological slides and vasts amount of knowledge.  I am pretty sure those Sederdinners were things that marked my life in some way and helped form my thoughts on the last supper for a more accurate grasp on what was happening.  The triclinium was a three-sided table usually used for special occasions and you reclined at the meal... Passover was one such time.  It's an interesting way to eat for sure.  It is a meal marked with great symbolism.  I cannot remember it all now but I may take the time to look it up again in the near future.  It would be an excellent thing to do with our family in the coming years.  (I remember loving every morsel of food and thought it would be a much beter way to eat, too!)

So, there are some of my random thoughts on this day of Holy Week.  More to come hopefully next week on the whole of the Easter season.

Triumphal Entry

Palm Sunday marks the Triumphal Entry of Jesus in Jerusalem (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, John 12).  At that time, one week before His crucifixion, a large crowd of those gathered for the feast of the Passover, declared Jesus as King and the long expected Messiah.  John described it this way (12:12-13): "The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and cried out: 'Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!  The King of Israel!' "  Palm branches were used, harkening back to the Feast of Booths (Leviticus 23:40-44), signifying deliverance, redemption, and provision.  Jericho, a place marked by the Lord's victory, was known as the City of Palms (Deuteronomy 34:3; Chronicles 28:15).  The temple, the place of worship and God's presence, was decorated with palm trees (1 Kings 6:29, 32,35, 7:36; 2 Chronicles 3:5).  Therefore, we should not wonder at the description of that innumerable worshipping host standing before the throne of the Lamb.  They are clothed in white robes, holding palm branches in their hands, and saying with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9)

Baby Girl

Yes, a brief return to the blog world.  I am not sure how long this will last or how often it will be.  But here is a return as we strive to establish our new "normal."

                                                     On December 11th, our Little Flower made her debut.  Were we ready?  By no means!  We were not expecting her to arrive for another 4 weeks.  But she was quite ready and didn't want to miss Christmas.  My water broke at 4:30 AM and when I realized what was happening I knew there was no tuning back.  They can stop contractions but they can't put that "water" back!  We made it to the hospital around 6:00 AM and by 8:00 AM we had our little girl in our arms.  Wow.  She came via "emergency" c-section as she was in a breech presentation.  The irony in it all was that the next day we had an appointment to talk about our options for tuning her.  Yeah, so much for that!  All in all, things went well and I am no longer afraid of the epidural or spinal needle.  I am pretty sure that when baby two comes along (hopefully, naturally) I will be signing up for the epidural.  The contractions I had were becoming not so fun... ha ha ha!!

I had pondered the season in which I was pregnant.  I thought about the arrival of Jesus and the trek that Mary and Joseph made.  I was pretty sure that I would not have been so keen about jumping on a donkey for a long journey.  Goodness, I was uncomfortable on a two hour car ride to Prescott the day after Thanksgiving.  I appreciated Mary's willing heart and submissiveness to the Lord.  There were deeper pondering of  my heart but I think that many of them will stay there for now.

It's hard to believe that Little Flower has already been with us a month!  She has a fun little personality (when she's awake) and we just enjoy getting to know her.  For sure there is a lot to learn and we are thankful for the grace and the learning curve.  We have never been so tired and deliriously happy all at the same time.

Little Flower arrived just  a few hours before her cousin (another girl) out in Missouri.  How fun to share the same birthday!!

Blog Back Log: Christmas Pops?

On December 6th (just a few days before our lives would change forever) Husband and I were treated to a performance at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix.  We decided to make it a date night because afterwards we would be heading to the "Charthouse" for dinner with Husband's company.  Plus, we knew that our weekends out would be limited in the near future.  It was a delightful night overall.

However, let me make some observations about our time at the Symphony...

Husband and I were under the impression that there would be some of the traditional  Christmas music.  You know, things that we sing in church or even music sung by old crooners like Bing Crosby.  We were surprised to hear music from "Home Alone" and more contemporary, unfamiliar type tunes that didn't really seem to capture the REAL meaning of the season.  I did appreciate some of the Hanukkahinspired music withits upbeat tempos.  There were some other fun things that were added into the performance that made it all the more fun -- antlers on the orchestra, a three-year old conducting, and noticing one of the violin players had a service dog with antlers, too.

I must tell you that there was one significant and redeeming moment in the whole performance.  When I sat down and looked at the program and noted that they would at least be performing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.  I turned to Husband and asked if he thought that people here would know that they are supposed to stand at the playing of the chorus.  He thought probably not and I was bummed.  As the orchestra started the piece I looked at Husband and "played" like I was getting ready to stand up.  I sat back for a few more seconds and realized that people way down in the pricier seats were starting to stand.  My heart leaped to my throat!  I stood immediately and watched as more and more people stood.  I could hear people around me asking why they were standing.  I cried.  Little did they know it was in reverence to the King of Kings.  Did they not hear the words more than just "hallelujah?"  That was the best part of the whole performance for sure.

On a side note... when you are singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" remember that it was written poolside right here in Phoenix, poolside at the Biltmore.  Here in the Valley we are always dreaming of a white Christmas.  That's when we pack up the family and head north for the day.

Christmas Funny

When my Papa saw the hint of the camera flash while under the tree, he quipped "I'm sure I'll be seeing this on your blog."  I assured him that he would.

You see, it takes a great deal of work to get our tree set up.  First, one must take it down.  And by down I mean someone must unhook the 100 lb box that is suspended from our garage ceiling.  It requires at least three people.  Much to the chagrin of the men in my life I climbed the ladder to unhook the second chain.  All was well.  Next, you have to haul it inside.  No big deal in the grand scheme of things.  Then we have to piece it all together.  I think it has four pieces to create a nine foot beauty of a tree with a six foot base.  Yes, it's HUGE!  And we love it!!  For this photo we had to laugh because my dad was doing something with the cords and all the branches were still "closed up" and then all of a sudden... BOOM... they all came down and thus it looks like Little Flower's Grandpy was consumed by the bottom of the tree.  Hummm... maybe you had to be there.  We thought it was funny.  Thankfully, none of those branches bopped my Papa at all and he kept right on with what he was doing.

However, the funniest part of the process was that after all was said and done Husband found an ornament still on the tree!  It was no worse for the wear.  It wasn't one of our breakable ones.  However, it did make us ponder if we could put the tree away mostly decorated.  HA!  We wouldn't do that but it was a tempting thought for about 2.3 seconds.

Now we need to decorate our tree.  But for the next few days it will sit somewhat naked in the living room and delight me even though it only has one ornament and lights for now.

Trick or Treat?

Friday, as you know, was Halloween.  Husband and I were pretty excited to spend a fairly quiet evening at home passing out candy.  I got a great deal on some yummy candy - oh about 100 pieces in two bags.  We had a pretty good showing last year.  I thought we would almost run out this year since the day was on a Friday.  We didn't carve a pumpkin but we made sure to turn on lights to let folks know we were, indeed, home.  Neither one of us are super into Halloween but we like to see the little ones all dressed up.  I thought that the little ones would be around about dusk and the older kids after dark... anticipating a slow down around 9:00 PM.

 

Yeah... so what I thought would happen was very different from what ACTUALLY happened.

Our first trick-or-treaters came at about 7:15 PM (about an hour after I thought they would start) and we had two very excited princesses on our patio.  I was excited for the parade to start.

Little did I know that would BE the parade.  Two little ones all night.

Unfortunately, I opened the bags of candy to put in a festive bowl.  So, now we are stuck with all the mostly chocolaty goodness... darn.  hee hee!

On the upside, we got a kick our of making my tummy into a little pumpkin at 30-weeks.

29 and Not Really Holding...

Birthdays.  I LOVE birthdays.  Not sure why but I have a feeling it will always be that way until the very last one is squeezed out of me.  (Oh, mine was Sunday.)

We have had a bit of a week long celebration.  Mostly due to the "free" certificates that I get from different food establishments.  To say the least the restrictions on my diet have been loosened a bit for the week which is nice.  I am not even too upset that it will take about a weeks worth of work to reverse the effects but I am REALLY okay with that if it means I can have fries a couple of times this weekend.

Birthday celebrations all really began on Monday, March 10.  I had a coupon for Dairy Queen and a free Blizzard.  So, off we went on Monday needing to celebrate not only my birthday but the decision to stay put in our lovely home for the time being and cease our house search for a season.  It was a good move and we continue to see how the Lord is confirming that in our lives all throughout the week.  So, to toast my birthday and the decision I had a (Stacy could guess this) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard minus the chocolate sauce and Husband had a Strawberry Cheese-Quake Blizzard.  Blizzard's have sentimental value from college for me.  Although, the DQ here in the 'Copa doesn't quite have the "atmosphere" that my quaint small college town DQ had.  Oh well, I will take what I can get.

Wednesday, I had a free Sonic drink -- Cherry Limeade, delightfully refreshing.

Later in the week my friend from high school, Sarah, called and said, "So, how do you feel about surprise visitors?"  In short, Sarah's husband had some time off and they were going to do some camping from California on into Arizona.  She didn't know it was my birthday weekend but wanted to know if we could do a meal sometime.  So, Friday evening, Sarah, Sam, and their two little ones, Rowan (3) and Miles (10-months) showed up on our front door!  Fun times!  We went to dinner and it was great to catch up with them even if it was entirely too short of a visit.  They had a funny camping story to share with us and it was fun to see how much Rowan has changed (a delightful and beautiful little girl) and to finally meet Miles (who wasn't so sure of me!)  They left soon after dinner because the kiddos were fading fast -- I think Sam and Sarah were too, especially after packing up their campsite in a record 30 minutes in the middle of the night because of a bear scare!  The rest of the evening was quite as Matt and I watched a little TV, talked, and read.

Sidenote:  Even our financial adviser called to wish me a happy birthday.  It was very kind of them.  They asked about plans.  As I told them I had to stop and laugh, then blurted, "Basically we are eating our way through the weekend!"  I'm fine with that... I like food.

Saturday, Husband greeted me with, "Happy Birthday Eve, Sweetie!"  To which I laughed because he likes to do the "eve" thing for a variety of things.  Our Saturday traditional breakfasts had been revamped due to diet, however, today I wanted Eggs Benedict in a bad way.  I had planned ahead and purchased some things needed that would be a little more diet friendly and the splurge seemed a little more justified.  I was bummed that "This Old House Hour" wasn't on but I was glad that it will resume next weekend.  (They are working on a house in the 9th Ward which is where I was doing hurricane relief in 2006 -- maybe another post on that at a later date.)  It was a delightful and very relaxing morning.

Saturday afternoon we met up with my in-laws at a fun little bowling alley where we really just stunk up the lanes!  HA!  That is with the exception of Husband.  He did really well and the rest of us really had quite the laughable scores.  It didn't matter because all had fun and we came away with three free games for another day.  After that we grabbed some dinner at IN-N-OUT burger (which is actually fairly diet friendly if done right) and then off to a flour-less molten chocolate lava dessert at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion... not so diet friendly, but worth EVERY bite!

Sunday, Palm Sunday, and my official birthday!  Woohoo!  Husband and I got ready for church and I wanted Dunkin' Donuts.  Much to my sad realization after visiting TWO Dunkin' Donuts in the valley we think they may have all shut down!  Say it ain't so!  I will do some investigating on that.  We ended up having some McDonald's because we had to get to church to set up communion.  Church was delightful with many well wishers and fun gifts from friends.  We went to Red Robin for lunch (because they have endless baskets of fries AND I had a free burger coupon) and half way through my burger I found some paper from the cheese!  AH!  Well, because of that not only was my burger already free they comped us for another burger.  That was very nice of them... they really are about the customer there.  The rest of the afternoon was spent with family playing games and having fun... and more dessert.  I loved all the gifts that my friends and family so generously showered upon me, things to use with the iPod, things for my crocheting adventures, supplies for my new venture in soap making, an Ansel Adams photo set, balloons, cards, and three lovely bouquets of flowers. 

It was a grand weekend!

Welcome 2008.. even if a bit late!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself in the rhyming department. ha ha ha!!

There has been a lot to reflect on since the posting of the last blog. We had to take a bit of a hiatus in blogging just so we could fully enjoy the Advent and Christmas Season. I very much enjoy the planning and anticipation of it all. What a way to really emphasize the eager anticipation we should be filled with day to day as we celebrate the first coming of our Savior as we wait on the arrival of His second. We are still working through how we would like our celebrations and festivities to look now and in the future. But there is grace in that this was only our second Christmas and room to let things "go with the flow." Above all, we want Christ to be the focus of our celebration. Not what society has made it out to be as some commercial free-for-all that tends to focus on how much we get and how big the toy... a celebration that focuses on what God did... the sacrifice, the creativity, the humbleness... Not on a magical man with reindeer than we can hoodwink children into behaving for (if you celebrate Santa, that is fine, it's just been lately that I hear different things in the stores to get kiddos to behave rather than good ol' fashion discipline and respect.)

With all that to say we did have a delightful time with friends and family... enjoying each other, laughing, loving, eating, and more. We always look forward to the holiday season here. It is indeed an anticipatory time for on so many levels. Already, we look forward to Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas for 2008... and yes, we are well aware that the year just started. We closed out 2007 with a quick trip to San Diego and Sea World. We spent a quite evening at home and we did manage to watch the ball drop with much energy to spare. Although, we did sleep in quite a bit the next morning! (Side Note: New pictures are up in Flickr... if you would like an invitation to that site, please just ask through the comments section)

We, like you, have no idea what this year will hold for us. I am sure great joys and probably great sadness. But the Lord is sufficient in all things and all things He has ordained. We are excited about this year and what the Lord may do. We are anxious to see where He will lead and pray that we would always see His fingerprints on the events of our lives. We look forward to travel (although, probably not as much as last year), time with friends and family. We love worshipping with our church and we always look forward to the Sabbath with great delight.

I think 2008 is off to a great start... lots will happen in our family I am sure, local events will effect us this year in some form or fashion... as will events at the national and worldwide level. However, in it all we can trust that our God is in control.

Advent

The Advent season marks the beginning of the Church Year, and begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Advent means "coming" or "arrival" and refers to the First Advent of Jesus, the Messiah. The Advent season is observed as a time of prepartion, not only for Christmas, but also for the Second Advent of Jesus. This is a time of thankfulness and expectation, for we are those who "live between Advents."

Giving of Thanks

I couldn't let November slip by without a mention of Thanksgiving at our house. It was a lovely day. My Papa was in town, Mom and Dad C came down, and our fun friend Julius joined in the merriment of the day.

The adventures began with the turkey. It's really kind of funny. I look at my spice rack and pick whatever looks entertaining at the time and we rub the turkey down with that and some olive oil (and it always turns out yummy!) The trick this year was getting the turkey balanced correctly on the spit, as we rotisserie our beloved bird. We were getting a little worried and frustrated but finally all was well at the grill and dinner would only be served about an hour from when I thought it would be ready. Which was fine because there was flexibility in schedules (Mom and Dad were headed to the ASU game later that day) and we were more than able to adjust the side dishes to the new serving time. Plus, people were quite content with spinach and artichoke dip, with an assortment of veggies and homemade herb bread, that was set before them to nibble on for the time being.

After getting the turkey settled into the grill, we had breakfast. Some of you know that my little fish, Jazz, had been sick and was nearing the end of his life. I checked on him before breakfast and he was still hanging in there. I went back after breakfast and he was gone. A bit of a sad time, I must say. I had him since 2004. We buried him next to the orange tree as I cannot bear to flush them. Friday, we braved some of the stores (only to find nothing that we really wanted) and stopped by Petsmart on the way home where we got a new fish! He is a crowntail beta and quite beautiful. He's doesn't have as strong a personality as the other fish... maybe that will change. For those of you that knew my fish before you know I am not off my rocker in saying that a fish, especially my fish, had some sort of personality. ha ha!! Anyway, so we welcomed Stout to his little place on the piano the day after Thanksgiving.

All in all, it was a delightful holiday. Husband, Papa, and I worked on a "Beers of the World" puzzle with 1,000 little pieces and finished it sometime on Monday. We watched ASU lose a pretty tough game. I laughed as Nebraska fell to Colorado once again and snickered as Texas A&M beat out Texas (or TU for you Aggie fans - I learned a lot about that rivalry when I visited Texas A&M before I was assigned there... but found out I was getting married instead of reporting to that assignment) Time spent playing games with Mom and Dad C. Singing with the congregation as we prepare for the Advent season and the beginning of the church calendar. What fun!! Papa left on Tuesday but will be back in a couple of weeks to celebrate Chirstmas.

The tree is up... just a few more touches on it and it will be done. I love this time of year!

I think for now, I will go enjoy the rain.

"Wow, that's a lot of gourds."

This is what I hear from some random guy to his girlfriend as I stand in line at Costco. The woman in front of me then asks, "What do you do with all of those?"

"Well, we are having a fall festival and I have a lot of tables to decorate."

"Then do you throw them away?"

"I guess. I think some of the families will take them to decorate until Thanksgiving."

"They won't last until next year?"

"I don't think so."

She looks at me with a perplexed facial contortion. That is when Leon, the friendly Costco Cashier, chimes in and says that his were stored in his garage for a year and they were just fine when he brought them out this year! I think my jaw dropped a smidge. Through the desert heat they survived. I am amazed. However, I know that if one of them gets a bit smashed little buggies will descend quite rapidly from no where... there was evidence of that at the display in the back of the store.

Needless to say, I hope that 11 (8 of which were purchased today) bags of shellacked gourds will do the trick to decorate the 40 or so tables for Fall Festival this weekend. I know that we have some whole fruit coming, like apples, and we will use that in decorating if need be in the main ramada. Should be fun.

First Time for Everything and Valentine's Day

Seriously... I just think that I am so funny because of the random things that happen to me.

For the first time EVER I locked my keys in my car after having a lovely lunch with my wonderful husband. I headed over to Home Depot to return some items and pick up paint samples for our accent wall (by the way paint is on sale this weekend! SCORE!) Only to have to call my husband and ask him to come unlock my car for me. Thankfully, Husband always carries my keys with him. Way to always be prepared, my love! The funny thing was that I noticed my keys locked in my car as soon as I closed the door. What a day.

As for Valentines day... Husband and I really celebrated a day early. It's great... no one goes out the night before and the resturants are EMPTY! Lovely. :) We enjoyed a most delightful dinner at the Compass Room that was reminicent of our time in Seattle for our honeymoon when we ate at the Space Needle. Gotta love the rotating views of beautiful cities!

Tonight we are going to make lasagna tonight (Husband's recipe is my favorite!) with salad and bread. We will probably rent a movie or something. Fun times at home.

More later... but funny things that should be shared with all.

Thanksgiving 2006

This is the first Thanksgiving that we celebrated as husband and wife. It's interesting to think that last year at this time I was in Austin with my friend, A, cooking for a bunch of her friends. Husband and I were just beginning to speak on the phone... now we are married! God is so good and we have much to be thankful for.

My Papa flew in from New Mexico to celebrate with us, my in-laws drove down from Peoria, and our fun friend Julius joined us as well. Many people were shocked, astonished, and even encouraged to find out that I was going to take on the "challenge" of making this special meal the first time as a married woman. I guess my thought was, "Heck, why not? I'd really like to and it means people will be in my home!" I am always a little off with trying to get it all out at the same time piping hot... this year it finally worked out! I just dove right in and I think it all came out just wonderfully!

The morning was met with baking two pumpkin pies, one in the traditional way and the second with an experimental walnut topping. (The walnut topping was met with rave reviews and second helpings!) Julius brought a pumpkin cheesecake from CostCo... it's quite good... especially if you are a fan of pumpkin AND cheesecake. We had quite the assortment of pumpkin goodies. I even had some pumpkin bread (with dark chocolate chips) later in the evening!

Later, Husband put the turkey on the rotisserie that is on our grill. The turkey was rubbed down with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, thyme, tarragon, and sage. (Ah! So, good and juicy!) In the kitchen, a green bean casserole (with a twist, the best I have ever had) was being made along with dressing, corn on the cob, crescent rolls, gravy (made by Papa), and a mashed potato (yes, real potatoes) casserole-type dish (which was handy because it's a make ahead recipe which Husband put together on Wednesday afternoon.) The house was filled with a wonderful aroma! My mother-in-law brought corn bread to add the spread... it was awesome!

As a new household, Husband and I realize that we have traditions that we bring from before we were married. However, we also want to create traditions that are new and unique to our family. Before the dinner Husband read Psalm 136 which almost had me in tears as I looked around the table and remembered all that God has done in my life and before I ever took a breath. His mercy endures forever. Then we went around the table and talked about the things that we were thankful for this year. They were moments that I will cherish in my heart. We prayed and then dug into the bounty that our Lord provided for us. Over dinner we talked about things from our childhood that were "staples", good or bad, that were part of the holiday meals. It was pretty funny at times.

After we were thoroughly stuffed with turkey and pumpkin we enjoyed conversation and coffee in the living room. As the evening wore on we watched "Deal or No Deal" (yes, I think we are all fans) and then "ER." Soon, everyone was gone, except Papa who is staying with us, and we all went to bed pretty tired but fully satisfied with the day.

Today, we had plans to possibly venture out to Cost Plus World Market and then maybe to the top of South Mountain. Unfortunately, Papa is quite sick (while the rest of us are all healthy) and we are all at home... Papa sleeping, Husband and I on computers goofing off, and I am also taking in some of my favorite football games... Texas A&M vs. #11 Texas (A&M won! whoop!) and now the Colorado vs. #22 Nebraska (I am wearing my Colorado shirt, but know that Nebraska will win and they will probably win the Big 12 Championship... I am okay with that, too. I would cheer for Nebraska... except they are playing Colorado... I love the buffalo.)

Tomorrow, we hope to go to Cabela's... we will see how Papa is feeling.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!