Kittens are cute!

While visiting my sister, I enjoyed getting to play with the kittens their cat Missy had -- they were about a month old. Enjoy the pictures! The black one was everyone's favorite...his name is George (but Ben pronounces it "Gorge") -- he's very curious and will just stare intently at you when you talk to him. He's also very fast!

Surprises are fun!!

Last week, my brother and I drove up to Oregon to surprise my sister Anna for her 30th birthday...we showed up on her doorstep, along with our parents and younger sister, and gave her quite a shock! Here's the video of her reaction (sorry you have to stare at the door for so long...she didn't answer right away)!

We spent a few days at their house and enjoyed the time with our nephews Ben and Aaron...here are a few videos (I just love the one of Ben singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")!

Here are a few more cute shots of the boys that I took:

Aaron and Elmo coloring

Ben and his buddy Elmo

Nature walk on a beautiful day...

The weather was lovely today, and my brother and I were able to take advantage of some free time in the afternoon to visit a nearby park with winding paths along a river. The weather was perfect for a walk, in the low 70s, the sky bright blue with puffy white clouds here and there. I didn't have my camera with me, but here's what we saw while on our walk:

A woodpecker, red squirrels, grey squirrels, a jackrabbit and a baby jackrabbit (which let me get close enough to almost touch it), wild turkeys, regular turkeys (with their tails all fanned out like the turkeys you see on Thanksgiving cards), four deer, butterflies, geese, ducks, magpies, a heron, and various other small birds, and a few miscellaneous insects! :-)

Next time I go to this park, I'm bringing my camera!

Thanking the Lord for His beautiful creation today!

Bacon Chocolate Bar, Anyone?

My local Whole Foods store sells these bacon chocolate bars -- I had seen them there several months ago, but they must have sold out, because for the longest time they didn't have them. Then when I was there the other day, they had them back in stock, so I decided to give it a try!

It's called Mo's Bacon Bar by the Vosges chocolate company. It's deep milk chocolate (41% cacao) with applewood smoked bacon and Alder wood smoked salt.

From the picture you might get the impression it's just like a chocolate-covered slab of bacon, but really it's more like tiny little crunchy bacon bits throughout the bar (as well as the pieces of undissolved salt).

It's actually quite tasty if you like salty/sweet combinations. Have you ever had a breakfast plate of pancakes or waffles with eggs and bacon on the side, and then the maple syrup gets over everything? If you like the bacon with maple syrup on it, you'd like this. Some other things it reminded me of while I ate it:

* Chocolate covered pretzels

* Peanut M&Ms

* Trail mix (with salty nuts and chocolate chips)

The bacon taste is not extremely pronounced...really, bacon is just more of a "salty" taste than anything when you think about it!

So, if you ever get a chance to try it, I'd recommend it. I won't be buying them on a regular basis, but it's fun to be able to tell people I've eaten a bacon chocolate bar!

In sickness and in health...

My poor hubby has been sick for the last few days. He came home from work early in the afternoon yesterday and was on the couch for the rest of the day and most of today. It's 5:00 PM and he just got up a little while ago. Last night he even fainted in the middle of the night! He had gotten up to get a drink of water, and he remembers feeling somewhat light-headed at the sink, and the next thing he remembers is waking up on the floor in the livingroom -- we're both very thankful he didn't hit his head on anything on the way down, or break any bones when he landed!

He could not get warm today (even though it's not that cold outside)...so he put on his slippers and a sweater over his pajama top and got a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon, and I put a snuggly hat on his head to help him warm up even quicker...here's a picture of my suffering sweetie:

So even though we won't get to go out for a romantic dinner or anything to celebrate Valentine's Day, I am so thankful for the privilege of being married to this wonderful man and of loving him "in sickness" today. On this Valentine's Day I'm celebrating true love (better than anything those fairy tales try to convince us we need to be happy). This is a love that picks up used tissues off the living room floor, takes a trip to the store for headache medicine, and brings glasses of water, juice, or tea when needed. This is the love I signed up for when I said, "I do." And I wouldn't have it any other way!

I had to share this...

One of my favorite bloggers is Ann V. over at Holy Experience. She never ceases to amaze me with the beautiful way she writes about the things of the Lord.

I thought Ann's blog entry for today was especially worth sharing (although almost anything she writes is...I'd encourage you to read through her archives).

"When the Artist captivates, beauty rousing us from lumbering, slumbering ways, we spontaneously desire to emulate His brushstrokes—to walk and create and live like He does. We kindle, wanting to be like the Artist. To co-create beauty and holiness with Him. When the love that exudes, drips, floods from all His work wakes us up, we too fill with a love that is His. What law cannot wring out, gazing at Creator's beauty ignites. Esteeming God as Creator, knowing Him as Painter, Weaver, Poet, the Color-Saturated, Singing, Dancing, Joy-Soaked One, transforms us in the ways we yearn for."

Click here to read the entire entry... (Some soft piano music will come on, so be aware of your speaker volume!)

I don't know Ann personally, but her words minister to me. What an amazing thing that we can use this medium of blogging to touch hearts and lives, pointing them to the One who gave us the gift of language and, more importantly, the gift of His Son.

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in my home city, and I am thankful to be alive and to belong to Christ!

I may never ride in the...calvary?

I don't know if this bugs anyone else as much as it bugs me, but I can't stand it when people use the word "calvary" when what they really mean is "cavalry". They are two entirely different words, with two entirely different meanings. I was watching a TV show the other night and one of the characters mentioned something about the other one "calling in the calvary", and I could not restrain myself from saying to the screen, "It's cavalry! Cavalry, not calvary!"

This mix-up commonly occurs in the little Sunday school song most of us grew up singing:

"I may never march in the infantry, ride in the ________ , shoot the artillery, I may never zoom o'er the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army! Yes, sir!"

Most kids grow up singing about riding in the calvary, whatever that might mean! And hey, since this song is sung in church, where the word "Calvary" is used quite a bit in its proper sense, I can't fault the little ones for not questioning its placement in the song. But it makes a lot more sense for them to sing about riding in the cavalry!


Calvary

Pronunciation: \ˈkal-v(ə-)rē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Calvary, the hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified

1 : an open-air representation of the crucifixion of Jesus

2 : an experience of usually intense mental suffering




Cavalry

Pronunciation: \ˈka-vəl-rē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian cavalleria cavalry, chivalry, from cavaliere

1 a: an army component mounted on horseback b: an army component moving in motor vehicles or helicopters and assigned to combat missions that require great mobility

2: Horsemen: "a thousand cavalry in flight"


No real point to sharing this with you...I just wondered if this bugs anyone else, or if I'm the only one that notices when people make this very common mistake!

Demolition....

Our new kitchen is in a current state of destruction...we are having new cabinets installed in a few weeks, so they've torn out all the old ones (it actually looks even worse than this now, as all the bottom cabinets are gone, too).



All I can say is, I'm so glad we're not living there right now... We lived through the remodeling of our current house and it was no fun!

And, I can't wait until I can post the "after" pics! :-)

It's looking like we'll probably be moving in sometime after the 1st of March...I haven't even started packing yet!

Lazy Sundays

My brother snapped this picture of Andrew and me on a recent Sunday afternoon...one of my favorite ways to relax is to nap on the couch with Andrew while he's watching football... when football is on the TV it always makes me very sleepy, for some reason....

Gilligan enjoys Sunday afternoon naps, too!

Ah, nothing like a catnap on the couch!

Happy New Year!

As 2008 begins, I'm thankful for all God's blessings in 2007, and looking forward to what He has in store for us this year.

One of the biggest things coming up for us is our move! On December 26th we signed papers on a new house, located just a few blocks from our church. This house will be great for hospitality, as it's bigger than our current house, and will be perfect for raising any future children the Lord might choose to send us. We are very thankful for this gift from Him; the way it all worked out makes it clear to us that it's His will for us to move. After we have a few renovations done we hope to move in at the beginning of February! We'll be renting out our current house to one of Andrew's sisters (so we'll still get to enjoy pomegranates from the tree in the backyard when they're in season)!

Praying that 2008 will be a year of great joy and peace for you!

The Joy of Christmas

I just finished the last of three performances in our church's Christmas production, "The Joy of Christmas." It was a great show with the choir and live orchestra and drama. I played the mom of a 10-year-old girl. My character had heard the story of Christmas from her grandparents when she was young, but never told her own daughter about the real meaning of Christmas. She gets her grandmother's old nativity set in the mail, and it sets the stage for her explaining the story of Christmas to her daughter. Despite some minor technical glitches with our microphones, it went very well! I am glad it's over, though. Even though performing is fun, it carries with it a certain level of stress that I am quite happy to be free from again!

Here's a photo of me with Desanka Ilic, the little girl who played my daughter. She did such a good job! It was a joy to work with her!

I had to re-wrap the nativity set each night to be used for the next performance!

I'm thankful that the Lord helped us to remember our lines and that many people were blessed by the performances all three nights! All glory to Him!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry it's been so long since I've written here...I need some more inspiration for things to write about, I guess!

Andrew and I are here in Oregon this week with my family, and I'm loving getting to hang out with my nephews (Ben is 2 1/2, Aaron will be a year old next month). It's neat to see how they have changed even since I was here a few months ago. They're so fun!

I am so thankful for all that the Lord has given me...much more than I deserve. I have a wonderful husband, a loving family, and precious friends. God provides for all of my needs, over and above. I am truly blessed!

Praying you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

Avocado Love

Growing up in Portland, Oregon, with parents who possessed decidedly bland, predictable tastes in food, I was not exposed to avocados. Not once. The only thing I knew about them was that they were the main ingredient in guacamole, which I never tasted because my mom thought it was gross; I just assumed I wouldn't like it, either. (Note to moms out there: if there's some good-for-you food that you don't happen to enjoy, you should still buy or make it for your kids to try. They might like it, and it doesn't mean you have to eat it yourself!)

Anyway, after moving to California eight years ago, I suddenly discovered this wonderful little fruit! Now, I eat avocado almost daily.

Fun Avocado Facts (courtesy of www.avocado.org):

*Avocados were once a luxury food reserved for the tables of royalty.

*California produces about 90% of the nation's avocado crop. San Diego County is the Avocado Capital of the U.S., producing 60% of all the avocados grown in California.

*The avocado's smooth, creamy consistency makes it one of the first fresh fruits a baby can enjoy. Sodium- and cholesterol- free, avocados contain valuable nutrients including 8% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for folate; 4% DV for fiber and potassium, 4% DV for vitamin E; and 2% DV for iron. A serving of avocado also contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. Per serving, avocados have 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain.

Some of my favorite ways to eat avocado:

*In a sandwich, mashed up and spread on the bread.

*Mashed up and mixed with fresh salsa (basically homemade guacamole) and served with chips.

*Cut into small pieces in a salad.

*Sliced and mixed with sliced tomato, with a sprinkling of sea salt on top, as a side dish to almost any entree.

If you haven't caught the avocado train yet, hop aboard! You'll be glad you did!

The Cow Train

My brother, Nate, and I were in Oregon on Labor Day, and we spent a few hours with my parents, my sister, Anna, and her two boys at a farm. My 2-year-old nephew Ben really enjoyed sitting on the old tractors and going down the inflatable slide with his Uncle Nate, ascending the climb-able hay pyramid with his mommy, and imitating the rooster in the barn. Then Anna and I decided it would be fun to take Ben on the “Cow Train” for an idyllic little tour of the cornfields and pumpkin patches before lunch. So we paid our $2.00 and settled in to enjoy the ride. Don’t we look happy?


That sense of joyful expectation soon gave way to a sense of “What in the world did we get ourselves into?!!!” and “How soon is this going to end?”

The way this “train” was constructed is there’s a guy on a four-wheeler type of vehicle pulling a chain of these little “cars” made out of plastic barrels with wheels attached, painted to look like cows. They did include seatbelts, which is a good thing, seeing as how….well, we’ll get to that in a moment. But the seats were not padded in any way, shape, or form, which was not a good thing, seeing as how…well, just keep reading.

The man driving this train (I shall fondly refer to him as The Torture Master from here on out) either had to go to the bathroom really bad or he thought we were being chased by a swarm of angry wasps, because once all the victims, er, riders were in place, he tore off down the bumpy lane as if he were racing a cheetah! I think I caught a glimpse of some corn fields before the first turn, but I was bouncing around so much that it might have just been tall grass. Thank goodness for those seatbelts I mentioned earlier, or I’m sure Ben would have bounced right off of Anna’s lap and onto the side of the road! I’ll just say that it’s a good thing we decided to go before lunch and not after.

As we sped along, I noticed that the roads were very dry and dusty. I could tell because the huge wheels on the contraption The Torture Master was driving were showering those of us in the first few barrels with a fine, gritty layer of terra firma. “So that’s what I’d look like with a tan,” I thought as I looked down at my darkening arms. As our dusty hair blew in the wind and we tried not to breathe, I thought I glimpsed some large oranges lying in a field – oh wait, those were pumpkins! Too late to get a closer look, though…they were already far behind us.

After what felt like hours (but was, in reality, probably less than five minutes), we came to a fork in the road. Finally, we were going to head back! But wait, oh…no! He turned left instead, away from where we started! I gripped the sides of the barrel, white-knuckled; steeling myself for more jolts; closing my eyes against the dust; feeling a new kinship with the tin cans people tie onto the backs of newlyweds’ cars.

If you had been watching as we raced by, you would have thought that my sister and I were having a good time…we were even laughing! But it was more a laughter of bewilderment, of shock, of “We paid good money for THIS?!” – it was not a laughter of enjoyment, I can tell you that!

Finally, we rounded the last corner and the cow train screeched to a halt back at starting position. As we unbuckled and shakily stepped out of the barrels, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the dust from our hair and clothing, I had to suppress the urge to shout out a warning to the people waiting in line for the next ride: “Spare yourselves the agony and get away while you still can!” But I kept silent as I glanced at The Torture Master, who was busy accepting people’s dollars and strapping them into the plastic cows. I think I heard him give a sinister little laugh under his breath.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I didn’t get any “after” pictures, but just imagine something like this:

Scrabble-tastic!

While I was visiting my sister in Oregon last week, we came up with a fun way to spend an evening. She suggested playing Scrabble, and then I suggested that when we were finished, we should each write a story – using all the words from the game at least once. So that’s what we did!

Anna thoroughly enjoyed my tale of a hapless teenage boy smitten by a girl he knew from band, only to discover upon visiting her home that she was a bit, um, odd. And I was laughing so hard that it hurt when she read what she had written about pirates trying to appease the sea after an oil slick (complete with pirate-y voices). It was really cool how we were using the same words as starters and came up with such completely different stories!

We had so much fun that we decided to do it again the following night, and I think it will become a regular event during future visits!

Both of our husbands (hers from the other room and mine when I told him on the phone about it later) expressed their opinion that our choice of entertainment was something akin to Chinese water torture. All I can say is, it’s their loss!

I got tagged!

My friend Amy has "tagged" me to participate in a little blogworld fun...I'm supposed to list eight random facts about myself, and then tag eight other bloggers to do the same. Well...since I don't really know that many other bloggers, I'll just leave it up to whoever reads this to decide if they want to list eight random things about themselves on their blog (and leave me a comment if you do, so I can read them)! (Sorry I'm changing the rules...I guess that's my prerogative, seeing as this is my blog)! ;-)

So, eight random things about me:

1) There are two 80's/90's Christian rock bands I really enjoy and still listen to fairly often -- Petra and Whiteheart.

2) I own a book of poetry that was published in 1838 (the oldest of my extensive antique book collection).

3) I wish I were more disciplined as a writer, and that I made more time in my life for creative writing.

4) I sometimes dream in Russian, although not very often.

5) I'm planning to grow my hair out for a few years, to see how long I can get it before it starts bugging me enough to make me want to cut it again.

6) I have been having fun lately experimenting with raw foods (also known as living foods) -- creating unique main dishes, salads, beverages, and desserts with raw fruits, veggies, nuts, and sprouted grains. I even bought a couple of raw cookbooks (although they'd be more appropriately labeled "un-cookbooks"). I've also pretty much given up most animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) -- I guess that makes me a vegan, although I will make exceptions now and then. I'm not going to be too legalistic about it!

7) Despite my healthy eating habits, I have a very hard time getting into an exercise routine, and that is the next main part of my physical life that I want to tackle. It's not good enough to just eat healthy, or to just exercise...it needs to be a good combination of both, so I'm working on this!

8) I will never wear a swimming suit in public, or if there are men other than my husband or brother present. If you want to ask me why, go ahead, but my opinion on this can be strong! ;-)

Oregon

A few weeks ago I flew up to Oregon to spend some time with my sister Anna and her family, and then to go to Women's Camp at Camp Tadmor with my mom and Anna. It was a really good time! I love hanging out with family...below are some pictures of the trip!

We shared a special moment with Anna and Matt as Benjamin (2) and Aaron (7 1/2 months) were dedicated at their church (where Matt is the youth and worship pastor)

Ben and Aaron -- the next "little boy" band..."Hadley" ;-)

Brothers

Benjamin

Aaron

Anna, Mom, and me after Women's Camp

Us!

Andrew and I celebrated our 12th anniversary yesterday... how is it possible that we've been married that long? The years just seem to fly by...

After all this time, we love each other more than we ever have, and are both so grateful for the years the Lord has given us together...we look forward to many more!

On Saturday we spent some time in San Francisco...here's a picture of us at the Botanical Gardens there...such a beautiful place!


Thank You, Lord, for giving me such a wonderful husband! I am so, so blessed to have him!

Speaking of simplicity...

A little gem from my favorite poet; it goes so well with my previous post:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I Have Found Such Joy"
Grace Noll Crowell

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.

I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.

Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things - old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.

Saturation Point

sat·u·ra·tion point – noun

Definition: “Limit to scope for expansion: the point at which no more can be added.”

I don’t know when it happened, exactly, but somewhere along the way I seem to have reached the saturation point when it comes to material possessions. And not just in a physical, running-out-of-places-to-put-things sense, although my storage closets do seem to require “No Vacancy” signs these days. This feeling of “No more, please!” goes beyond a mere lack of shelf space. The concept of an uncluttered, simplified lifestyle resonates with my soul; I long to live more simply in the midst of this modern existence. But I’m still trying to figure out how to make that a reality, practically speaking.

It’s gotten to where I almost dread Christmas and my birthday because I know I’m going to end up with more stuff… stuff that has to be put somewhere. Now I know why so often, when older people have birthday celebrations, they put on the invitation: “No gifts, please.” I’m not that old, but I understand getting to the point where things become a burden instead of a joy. It’s like, the first piece of cake is delicious, but if you were to keep eating and eating…you’d eventually be sickened by the thought of another bite. Too much of a good thing and all that.

I own more than many people in the world…so much more than I need. My perfume shelf is full, my jewelry box is full, my closet is full, my bookshelves are more than full…I have more pretty stationery and cards than I’ll probably ever be able to use in my lifetime. I’m running out of storage space in the kitchen, and the garage is overflowing. I am in need of nothing – and save the occasional new book or DVD release, I want nothing.

We remodeled our home a couple of years ago, and when it came time to clean out the closets I happily tossed items into a huge bin to give away, glad for the chance to simplify and de-clutter. Yet even though we got rid of a lot, and we own less than many other people I know, it still seems like we just have too much.

Has anyone else reached the “possessions saturation point” or am I the only one feeling overwhelmed by the stuff I own and longing for more simplicity?