Meet...

Alana Joy
Born 1:18pm December 27th
7 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long
Congratulations Jen & Ryan!

Christmas Birth

Much is made of the baby.
The baby Jesus.
Born to be a savior.
But to believe that Jesus was born to be a savior
Is to believe that cribs hold dictators, and drug addicts.
Their lives ensnared by predestined fate.
Jesus was born to be a human.
And as a human he could make choices.
And his choices led him to Calvary and beyond.
The Christmas miracle was not that a predestined savior was born
But that the will of God was entrusted to humanity.
Our frailty, revealed in our infancy,
Is strong enough to hold the purposes of the Almighty.
The Christmas miracle is not wrapped up in one baby,
But in all humanity.
Each of us are frail but sacred vessels of possibility.
The world is full of saviors awaiting awareness
To make choices, to pay the price,
to ignite the sacred potential of a human life
and embody the divine.

-Pastor Rich Gamble

Levi & I built a new friend this afternoon. :)

Snowy Days

Favorites:

• watching snow fall
• sledding with kids
• clean, decorated house
• gathering friends in our home
• reading reports comparing this storm to 1990 & 1996 & remembering where I was during those
• warm kitties
• Levi teaching himself to play guitar
• Christmas lights in the snow
• emails with Alan, Mom, Boo & Chris about our snow adventures
• the crunch sound of walking in the snow
• yummy food & drink

Prayers for those:

• without shelter
• away from their families
• fleeing from their homes
• unemployed
• lacking food
• feeling alone
• battling mental illness
• facing violence

May we all support efforts so that each person can experience the peace of this season.

Life lately...

Lately Calvin has been squashing himself into various boxes.

And these two silly girls keep getting cuter & smarter.
And we are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of this Christmas baby.
And hoping for more snow!

Best wishes to you, dear friends!

10 on 10...

sort of.

I feel as though I start each post with some comment about how busy life has been...this would be no exception. I've been traipsing about the country, trying to remain positive in a fearful/frustrating work environment, & navigating the slippery slope between work & life & sanity. It's a good thing I did not write this post yesterday, because with four hours of sleep on a missed connection in Dallas, the world looked horribly bleak & I was ready to burst into tears at anything. Thankfully I did as my mother always suggests: go to bed & go to sleep, tomorrow will be a better day. And indeed it is!

So, putting a twist on 10 on 10 (since I was on an airplane yesterday), here are 10 things I am thankful for & 10 recent favorite photos.

1. Levi--his patience with my ups & downs, absence, & neglect of the house
2. The Holden Evening Prayer Service at Keystone
3. Christmas lights
   
4. My Majha
5. My Budgie
6. Our recent trip to Kauai
7. Text messaging & how it helps keep me connected
8. Eggnog chai
9. Hoodies
10. This blogging community--I miss you all & hope you are well!
    

First batch of Flickr Photo's are up

Maybe more to come not sure.

Our Set

Aaron's Set

Surfing

The 6 of us took a surf lesson while in Kauai. It was great fun and we were all successful getting up on the boards. I can see why people get addicted to the sport. Even on the small waves we were riding it was a rush.

Just north of Na Pali Coast

The sun was in and out on the trip but when it came out the blue ocean was a thing to see.

Back from Kauii

We are home and safe and cold. Had a great trip. Lots of great pictures and stories. Unfortunately my camera broke while we were there so this was the only good shot I got. Liza's should have plenty of good pictures though.

More to come..