SNOW February 9, 2010

 What a crazy weekend! I know we have a lot of family and friends who are excited to see pictures of our record breaking blizzard, and well, I sure don’t want to keep you waiting!

My office closed at 1:30 PM on Friday, along with the Federal Government, and we’ve been closed ever since. Jared and I still went to our church community group that evening, and we had an adventurous time trying to get home. Don’t worry–we walked, but it was still a challenge! The blizzard was in full force by then and so we trudged forward, blazing a trail through about eight inches of snow as we went. By the time the snow stopped on Saturday, 17.8 inches had accumulated in the district, and about 30 inches in surrounding counties of northern Virginia.

Friday night madness!

The view out our front door

Jared spent two hours digging in the front yard. He was unsuccessful at digging out our car, which is currently still stuck. I didn’t help because we only have one shovel.

The park beside our house

The Supreme Court

Jared just loves to pose! It was actually fun to see all the people outside enjoying the snow. Some were sledding down the sidewalks next to the Capitol, and others were walking around on skis (which I personally thought was a little ridiculous, but still kind of cool).

The snow came up past my knees. We’re not really sure why it looks like there’s an Olympic torch behind me, but this picture was taken next to the Capitol reflecting pool.

We still went to church both Sunday morning and Sunday night (we also walk to church), and caught the second half of a Super Bowl party. Our friends, Travis and Jenny, stayed the night at our house, and we played Settlers of Catan until the wee hours of the morning. Today, however, cabin fever began to hit in a bad way. Last night I was excited about having an extra day off of work, but I have to be honest and say that today was one of the least productive days of my life. There’s only so much reading and TV watching one can do.

Jared and I did play chess last night, and we watched The Hurt Locker this afternoon, which was fantastic. I loved it.  Greg and Mimi came over to chat for awhile, and we’re tentatively planning to go to their house tomorrow evening. We’re supposed to get 10-20 inches of snow tomorrow on top of what we already have so we may be stuck. My office is closed again tomorrow. Actually, the whole city is shut down. Power outages are rampant. Metro has no above ground service and very limited bus service. Since Metro is the city’s lifeline, it’s unlikely anything will go back tomorrow until it’s up and running again. There are many service industry workers who do not get days off, and without public transportation they are in danger of losing their jobs because they can’t get to work. As enjoyable as the snow can be, I’m really praying that this next blizzard will wimp out before it unleashes more damage, and that things here can go back to normal soon.

Well, I should get to sleep so I can maintain some kind of routine in the midst of this irregular situation. The time off has been good for our marriage, and we’ve had many edifying conversations with each other and with our friends. It’s also been good for bible study and prayer (although I’m ashamed at how much I slacked off on that today). I’m thankful for these gifts and for the extra rest I’ve received, but the ramifications of this storm are huge for many people. Please especially keep the homeless of DC in your prayers, and for the shelters who are trying to serve them well during this time.

We’re just a couple of hermits these days so there isn’t much else to say. Below are a couple of large pics to make up for the lack of substance

Monster Snow Storm Headed for the Mid Atlantic February 5, 2010

That’s the headline on Accu Weather right now. There’s also a map on the homepage with the word ‘Paralyzing’ stretching over Philly and DC. Paralyzing? Yikes!

Folks, we’re supposed to get almost 2 feet. Jared is headed to the grocery store early tomorrow to stock up before the snowfall begins. Your’s truly will be at work tomorrow. Practically everyone else is telecommuting, but I need to be there to run the front desk. It’s kind of a bummer, but I only live two blocks from my office so it’s not like I have much of an excuse to not be there.

Tonight I went to Young Lives. (I’ve mentioned YL on here before, but in case you forgot it is an organization that supports teenage moms. I’ve been a childcare volunteer for their parenting classes for almost a year now). It was a fairly calm night, and I was actually able to sit and talk with some of the other workers while the kids played around us. YL used to be located in my neighborhood, but was moved to Northwest DC because of permit issues. At first, I was really disappointed, but now I’m thankful. Being in a new location has introduced a lot of new workers, and it’s been really great to meet servant-hearted women from different parts of the city.

The only downside to the evening was that I changed the most disgusting diaper I’ve ever seen in my life. Poor MacKenzie had a blowout of epic proportions. And no, I don’t have kids so I don’t change a lot of diapers, but I’m pretty certain this one was exceptionally bad. I even had to throw away the shirt I was wearing. Ew. I think it’s a good metaphor for life though–sometimes you just have to get messy. The poop doesn’t clean itself.

I should move on.

Have I mentioned how incredibly wise my husband is? I was suffering great anxiety over something for several days. Knowing worry is a sin, I prayed many prayers of confession, but was frustrated that I could not overcome it. Jared gently reminded me that prayer is not a formula for instananeous success, and that growth is often a slow and occasionally painful process. Then he read aloud from Hebrews 11, which he’d just discussed with his bible study, and we prayed together.

It was good for my soul to listen to the testaments of faith in Hebrews, and to meditate on my own weak understanding of what it means to be faithful. While anxiety may seem minor or normal on the surface, I know it really demonstrates a lack of trust in God and a desire to control everything myself. And according to Hebrews, Christians are called to an extremely high standard of faithfulness and trust.

As in most cases, my anxiety ended up being all for nothing. Everything worked out–it doesn’t always (at least not the way I want it to), but this time it did. Still, I have much to learn. True faith requires great discipline, which also happens to be my theme for this year! Thankfully, God is able and willing to give the grace we need.

Before I call it a night, today is my dad’s birthday! I already called him, but still want to give a shout out on the good ‘ole blog. He’s a bit down right now because his man crush, Kurt Warner, retired from the NFL, but hopefully he’ll get some good celebrating in sometime soon. I love you, Dad!

February 3, 2010

I took these pictures on my way to work this morning.

 We got four inches of the most beautiful snow last night. It was light, powdery, and made us feel like little kids inside a giant snow globe. Jared and I were outside at 11:30 (usually well after our bed time) running and sliding on the sidewalk in front of our house. It was a lot of fun! Snow is the name of the game for us lately. We had a moderate storm last weekend, and this coming Friday is supposed to bring us another blizzard. I’m thankful we’ve avoided the nasty ice storms in the Midwest, but will certainly be glad when the first signs of spring show themselves here in DC.

Here I am blogging about the weather. You can tell things have been slow lately.

Jared and I went on a ‘high school’ date last Friday. He took me to Five Guys and then we watched Avatar in 3D. My husband cannot stand Hollywood rhetoric so it’s always a gamble to go to a movie with him. However, we both enjoyed it more than we expected, although it did remind me an awful lot of Pocahontas and Fern Gully. I definitely caught myself humming ‘Colors of the Wind’ a couple of times.

 On Saturday we helped one of our favorite couples, the Perreaults, unpack their new house. Mimi and I made a somewhat treacherous pilgrimage to the grocery store (snow was falling hard that day), but thankfully returned unharmed. Greg was a rock star and grilled steaks for us OUTSIDE. We also got crazy playing the Wii—I think cabin fever started to hit towards the end of the day because Mimi and I were jumping and dancing like mad women while playing Sport Resort.

 Here’s Mimi and I

Here is an apple pie we accidentally dropped on the floor. We still ate it.

Jenny and I hosted two college students from the Middle East for tea on Sunday. We picked them up from the Union Station metro and drove to my house. This is our second time to hang out with these girls, and we hope many more opportunities will come. They are very easy and fun to talk to, and I love learning about their culture, as well as hearing their thoughts on America. It’s far too easy to spend most of your time with people just like you, so I am thankful to be developing more diverse friendships.

On a totally unrelated note, I read a really great article this morning in The Washington Post about the whole Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad controversy. I realize not everyone follows the shenanigans of mainstream news, but this particular author wrote a very fair assessment—not to mention she identifies herself as ‘pro-choice’ so she doesn’t even share the same viewpoint Tim Tebow. Check it out if you’re interested and let me know what you think!

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102067.html

January 27, 2010

Blogging–Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few

I read this quote today and it made me laugh. It also fed my fear that blogging might be a narcissistic hobby. So did the movie Julie and Julia. Jared thinks it’s probably fine as long as I don’t spend hours spewing life advice to hundreds of people who don’t know me as if I’m some kind of expert. And since I recently discovered how to view my daily blog hits, I know I don’t have to worry about that any time soon

My evenings are largely free this semester (no more night class!), and I’ve resisted the temptation to fill them with various activities so I can spend more time at home. I have to admit it can be a little tough sometimes–especially when Jared has class. Tonight, for example, I ate dinner by myself and cleaned out my junk drawer. I feel a bit lame at the moment, but it needed to be done and it’s good for me to nurture my domestic side (I know it’s in there somewhere).

Last night I had time to make butter chicken masala. Indian food is my all time favorite, but I rarely make it for two reasons: the spices are expensive and my least favorite kind of Indian food is the kind I make. I’ve had the best in the world so I’m tough to please. However, I went with my friend, Jessie, to World Market on Saturday and found some cheap cardamom and garam masala. It actually didn’t turn out too bad although it sure doesn’t look like the butter chicken I had in India (does it ever?).

A simmering combo of tomatoes, onion, garlic, masala, chili powder, ginger, cilantro, I could keep going…

The finished product. I have to say I didn’t make the channa myself. Class or no class, I don’t have that kind of time commitment!

One happy customer!

Three things of importance to note:

1. My organization supports Christian colleges and universities all over the world. One of our schools is in Port-au-Prince, and was flattened by the earthquake. We received an e-mail from them today, and the president and his wife survived, but many others were killed. They mentioned that they are living in the streets, but are thankful to God for the gift of life.

2. The annual Pro-Life march on Washington happened recently. I was at work and could not attend, but am so thankful for those who did. In a time when so many consider abortion a ‘tired, worn-out, or even irrelevent’ issue, I want to be one who remembers to value, pray, and speak for the unborn in our society. Those  with forming or already formed body parts and sensations of touch, but with no legal rights to live unless someone happens to want them.

3. My dear friend, Suzanne’s, mom went into surgery to have a kidney removed due to a large tumor the doctor believed to be malignant (with 90% certainty). During surgery, the doctor realized it could be removed without taking out the kidney. Then the pathology report came back benign!

These are the things I think about while sitting at my desk, cleaning out my junk drawer, or making butter chicken masala. I also think about my readings in Isaiah and how God expects and deserves the trust of His people, and yet His promises do not change whether we follow through or not. This morning I read about the life of Hezekiah, who cowered against the Assyrians, who bemoaned his coming death, who foolishly gave in to the flattery of the Babylonians, and who shrugged away the warning of future capitvity. And yet God gave him victory against the invaders, healed his diseases, and extended his life. Not because He didn’t take Hezekiah’s faults seriously–quite the opposite–but because He had a plan and intended to see it to completion. I choose to believe His good purpose will continue to go forth in the lives of our members in Port-au-Prince, the unborn, those suffering with diseases, and my own life, which is seemingly easy in comparison but in no way guaranteed to stay that way. 

Jared is now home so I’m going to resign myself from blogging and heat up a plate of butter chicken. Thanks for tuning in–more thoughts on Isaiah to come. It’s been a long but rich journey so far!

Sunday Afternoon January 24, 2010

I’m sitting on the couch wearing a zebra print Snuggie right now. Jared is reading for school and occasionally glancing up at the muted football game on TV. I just returned from eating delicious turkey chili at a friend’s house, and can feel my heavy eyelids start to droop. If we didn’t have an evening service at church in an hour and a half, I’m fairly certain I’d be taking a nap right now.

Instead, I’m awake and reflecting on my week. There isn’t much to think about on the surface–it was fairly normal with busy work days and somewhat stuffy nights (I’m getting over a stubborn cold). We watched an interfaith dialogue with a small group from the Muslim Student Association at AU (where Jared goes to school). Two of the girls were fairly new to the US and I greatly enjoyed getting to know them. We were able to touch on a number of interesting religious and cultural topics with these students and hope to spend more time with them in the future.

Also, Jared’s college friend, Jeremiah, spent the weekend with us. He is really into turning profits through purchasing and re-selling items on Craig’s List, e-bay, etc. I could tell Jared was instantly intrigued, and sure enough, I came home on Saturday to discover they had already sold and shipped off my old textbooks. I’m slightly worried Jared will sell half my wardrobe when I’m not looking.  

My mind keeps reverting back to this verse in Isaiah 30:

For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

This is one of many passages in the Old Testament foreshadowing God’s plan of salvation for His people. I love the reference to Jesus (your eyes shall see your Teacher), as well as to the Holy Spirit (your ears shall hear a word behind you…). However, the phrases ‘bread of adversity’ and ’water of affliction’ have been most poignant in my mind, especially because these things come from the Lord Himself.

It’s interesting to me that tucked in the middle of a passage foreshadowing the new covenant is a reminder of the reality of adversity and affliction in the earthly life of the believer. I often forget this and choose the path of least resistance–as if my best life now is the most important thing I can live for. This week my heart has desired comfort, ease, and instant satisfaction on so many different occasions.

Now, I’m certainly not out looking for trouble or destruction, but today I am pondering anew where my hope truly lies. Am I investing too much of myself in things that will one day fade or disappoint? Am I shrinking away from certain things the Lord may want to teach me because they promise to be hard and uncomfortable?

The short answer is yes. And I can’t help but notice the irony in the fact that I’m typing all of this while wearing a Snuggie.

Catching Up… January 16, 2010

Poor neglected blog!

I know I’m not the most consistent blogger, but it’s usually not this bad. Even so, I have good reasons for my absence–the least being that I have, in fact, been absent from my home and normal routine for awhile. That being said, let’s move forward.

First post of 2010!

I would be remiss if I didn’t share about our Christmas (which feels like ages ago). Just like Thanksgiving, we were able to see both sides of the family, which for us is a huge deal. We normally only get to see one family per holiday. First, we went to Missouri and arrived in time for my parents’ annual Christmas Eve party. This is always one of my favorite traditions because we play Trivial Pursuit with men versus women. The women had a winning streak going (three years, I think), which the men blamed on too many questions related to celebrities and ‘other nonsense.’ Therefore, they insisted we play the original version from 1940 or something like that. They did not, however, factor in my mom’s obsession with John Wayne and how much it would help our team. We were in a heated tie down to the very last questions of the game when one of the kids from downstairs ran up and yelled about blood being everywhere. Poor Jeremiah hit his head on a chair and had to go to the emergency room for stitches. Thankfully, he was okay, but the game went unfinished. The men will have to give credit to Jeremiah because without his help they surely would’ve been defeated a fourth year in a row!

We had snow on Christmas morning! I was so excited to wake up and see the flurries outside the window. My mom made coffee and played music while we opened our gifts. As usual, my parents (and extended family) were overly generous, but the real surprise was my dad’s gift to my mom. He is taking her on a very special trip–they are retracing their honeymoon! My parents are orginially from Southern California so they drove up the coast for their honeymoon. My dad made a scrapbook of the whole trip with pictures and all. He also added in a few days at a spa that my mom had wanted to go to on their honeymoon but they couldn’t afford it at the time. Needless to say, she was beyond thrilled, and since she is not one to stifle her emotions it was pretty fun watching her open the gift. It’s also highly impressive (and a bit amusing) that my dad stayed up till the wee hours of the morning making a scrapbook. He even used a silhouette drawing they had made at Disneyland while they were dating. Nice touch!

My family takes a photo by the tree every Christmas Eve. Grandma is holding John’s picture since he couldn’t come home this year.

One of the best parts of Christmas this year was spending time with these ladies. Christy, Jessica, Charity, and I have known each other since we were babies. Our parents all planted the church we grew up in, and so nearly every memory from 0-18 years of life includes these girls (and many more after that as well). The four of us hit up Springfield, MO together for some after Christmas shopping. We ate at one of my favorite Missouri restaurants, Ocean Zen, and went to a coffee shop downtown afterwards. It was so fun to talk and laugh about the many inside jokes we share. We really aren’t friends because we’re so much alike–our personalities and life goals are actually quite different. Our bond is more that of siblings, siblings who happen to also be friends.

Christmas Number Two with Jared!

Christmas snow!

I helped my dog, Kasey, open his gift.

Mom looking at her gift. You can’t see her face because of her hair but the tears are rollin’!

Baby Sawyer’s first Christmas! He looks a little annoyed here but I think it was a good day for him.

My aunt made a fabulous Christmas dinner. We had turducken, which I’d never heard of in my life and thought must be some kind of hillbilly dish, but it was quite delicious. It’s turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken–so, yeah, if you can’t choose a favorite holiday meat this is a good option. Of course, we had no shortage of fixins’ to go along with our turducken. No one beats my aunt Marsha when it comes to broccoli casserole!

Shortly after Christmas, we headed to Atlanta for a late celebration with Mally and Gee (Jared’s grandparents) and my wonderful in-laws. They took us to the original Chik-Fil-A and the Coke Museum.

Coke’s advertising is actually a little creepy. They like to try and sell themselves as the one thing that unites all humanity. One people under Coke? Weird? I think so.

The museum did, however, have a fantastic sampling room. You can try unlimited free samples of Coke products from all over the world. Some are downright nasty, but I did find Fanta Pineapple, which I’d previously enjoyed during a visit to Africa. They didn’t have any Limca, my favorite soft drink in India, but I found this bottle on display in another part of the museum. We didn’t spend too long in the sampling room because it was full of kids running from machine to machine creating ’suicides.’ I was worried they might puke all over me at some point. Still, it was fun!

Jared with a ’soda jerk.’ Anyone else think he looks like he’s had too many roofies?

Jared’s family showered us with love and gifts and we were so thankful for our time with them. Bob even did a great job cramming all of our luggage into his Honda on the way to the airport. He thought his feat was worthy of blog mentioning and I agree. My own dad also claims to be the packing king and I’ve seen him do some amazing cramming of stuff as well. So maybe a showdown is needed?

So that’s our Christmas. We were busy, but there was good time for reflection and preparation for the New Year.

2009 was a steady year for us. I didn’t even write an update with our Christmas card because I couldn’t think of much to say. The only real change was Jared moving from World Vision to IJM. I guess that shows how nutso our lives normally are, but when I thought back on the year I realized the steadiness fit perfectly with the theme I felt impressed up my heart last January.

I don’t make resolutions, but there is often some kind of lesson I believe the Lord wants to teach me for each year. It can usually be summed up in a single word. I don’t come to these words through any kind of mystical mediation. Rather, it’s usually by reflection of the previous year, and a realization of a certain area in my life that is not pleasing to the Lord. In recent years words like humility and faith have been themes. 2009 was obscurity, which is kind of unsual but fit perfectly where I was at the time. I needed to learn joy and contentment in the seemingly mundane aspects of my busy routine, knowing that my efforts at work and school may not look ‘great’ or be noticeable to anyone else, but I could do them in such a way that pleased God. I needed to learn to desire obscurity among men, and recognition from God.

This year I’ve noticed many areas in my life that need more discipline. So discipline is my theme for 2010. Should be fun.

The first fifteen days of 2010 have already been packed full of excitement, weariness, joy, and a bit of sadness. My dear Aunt Mary passed away unexpectedly, and she is greatly missed. Naturally, I’ve thought about her a great deal the past few days and am amazed and how kind and unselfish she was–always wanting the best for others, no twinge of jealousy or resentment or bitterness, giving sacrifically, etc. I am thankful she was my aunt and am glad she is experiencing life as it was originally intended to be lived, in perfect relationship with God.

Jared and I have also been powerfully reminded this month of what we want to do with our lives. We have much to think about and consider, but for now we are content to wait on the Lord and trust we are exactly where we are supposed to be right now.

It’s time for lunch. I’m enjoying a three day weekend so maybe I can get back on here again and get my blogging flow back. If not, you’ll hear from me sometime next week.

I look forward to blogging with you in 2010!

Isaiah at Christmas December 21, 2009

My promises are not empty. I said I would write a post today, and although it is 11:29 PM, it is still today. Normally we would be asleep at this time, but the federal government is closed tomorrow due to snow. Many offices in DC close if the government closes, ours included, so we get a bonafide, grown-up snow day tomorrow! Sometimes grown-ups need snow days too.

As I mentioned, I’ve been reading the book of Isaiah this month. I really should have blogged more about my study in Acts, which was incredibly encouraging, but the purpose of my blog is often more for updates and pictures than spiritual insight (which I usually prefer to share in face to face conversations). Even so, it is Christmas and there is much to be said! We usually try to follow some kind of advent devotional calendar, but this year I really just wanted to read through a book in the Bible and think about it in its entire context rather than skipping around. So, Isaiah it is.

If you’re familiar with this book, you are probably aware of how difficult the first few chapters are. Pages and pages of God’s kindled wrath against a rebellious people. It’s tempting to skip ahead to the comforting and poetic passages in later chapters, but doing so misses the point entirely. Strange as it may sound, I’ve been reminded of just how good God is through reading the first half of Isaiah. So good, in fact, that my own condition becomes painfully obvious, and I am driven to deeper gratitude for what this time of year truly means.

It is right and good for God to punish rebellion. Unlike what human anger so often becomes, His anger is perfect and just. And yet, in the midst of anger, there is hope and forgiveness. God not only forgives Isaiah’s sin, but He cleanses and atones for it. Also, in these early passages the coming of the Messiah is prophesied.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

Even in the midst of justified wrath, God is incredibly kind to speak through Isaiah words of hope. Words like remnant, Immanuel, rejoice, do not fear, and more. I am thankful for these early chapters in Isaiah for reminding me of the consistency of God’s character. His goodness can be found on every page, especially when contrasted with the unfaithfulness of His people.

Although I’ve been writing a lot about the fun, Christmas-y things we’ve been doing, I’m very aware that for many this season is anything but joyous. As I struggle to find the perfect balance of giving, receiving, and enjoying this season, I know that ultimately human effort and charity cannot give the longing soul what it truly needs. This does not, of course, exempt me or anyone else from sacrificial giving, but it is important that we not fool ourselves into thinking that Christmas is about what we can do for others.

The snowstorm prevented many from coming to church today. We were able to make it since we only live a couple of blocks away, and as we gathered with a handful of others in what is normally a packed out sanctuary, we sang one of my favorite Christmas hymns, ‘Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.’ It was a beautiful moment with the piano in the background and loud voices bouncing off the stained glass windows, but the lyrics were really the best part.

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee. 
Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

May we truly rejoice in the sufficient merit of God this season. Amen. (I don’t know if I should say Amen since this post isn’t a prayer, but I don’t really know to to end it ).

Christmas Time in the City! December 20, 2009

I love Christmas time in DC! The whole city is draped with garland, twinkling lights, and lavishly ornamented trees. I know none of these festive touches have anything to do with the real meaning of Christmas, but it certainly makes for some good eye candy Capitol Hill is especially lovely right now–I love stolling through our neighborhood and looking at all the old row houses with large wreaths on the doors and Christmas trees glittering in the windows.

Not to mention we’re currently being bamboozled with snow.  But I’ll get to that in a minute.

Last weekend we had Greg and Mimi over for lasanga and cookie decorating. We love, love, LOVE hanging out with this couple!  They make anything fun.

Here’s our spread.  Although Mimi and I made the cookies, the guys were pretty involved in the decorating. If you know my husband you can probably imagine what his cookies looked like. ..

Here’s Jared’s snowman bleeding profusely from the side. Horrific.

Group shot by our tree. A perfect end to an incedibly fun night of conversation, laughter, and food!

Last Saturday I ventured to Northwest DC to have brunch with two friends, Colleen and Michelle. They were co-workers of mine back when I was at the architecture firm, and we’ve managed to stay close. I took the metro from Union Station which is gorgeous right now!

This tree is a gift from Norway. I was a little disappointed to discover that it is hollow in the middle, but I guess a whole tree is a lot to ask for in this time of recession!

Union Station always has beautiful wreaths.

Colleen, Michelle, and I went to a textile museum over by Embassy Row. It was a lot fun. They had garmets and cloths from all over the world, and many were similar to saris and shawls that I brought back from India. I also saw a bunch of hand painted Kashmiri boxes in the gift shop. It almost made me cry! 

My dear college friend, Jessie, turned 27 last weekend. We celebrated her birthday at a delicious Mexican restaurant over on U Street. I was just beginning to think that finding good Mexican food here was hopeless, but I was wrong! It was amazing! Afterwards, we went to a holiday party at Suzanne’s house where Jared got to reconnect with a lot of World Vision friends. It was an exhausting and fun weekend!

My last final was Wednesday night. This is significant because it means no more night classes for your’s truly! Right after I finished my exam I sat there for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief. It’s been such a long year of balancing work, school, marriage, church, and friends. Now it’s time to wait and see whether or not my hard work will come to fruition, but either way I am proud of my efforts. They weren’t kidding when they said going back to school is hard

We celebrated the end of the semester by going on a special date. The sculpture garden on the National Mall has an outdoor ice-skating rink during the winter so Jared thought it would be fun to take me. I was a little nervous–I hadn’t been ice-skating in fifteen years (since 6th grade) and I don’t remember being too terribly amazing at it then. Jared assured me he wasn’t any good either so I decided to be brave.

Michelle Kwon, I was not. BUT, I didn’t fall and ended up having a great time. Jared was good about skating alongside me (slowly I might add) for awhile and then he sort of took off and did some super cool spin move. Apparently, he is actually really good and was only pretending to trudge along to make me feel better. He did skate with me most of the time, but I was pretty impressed with his moves. I’m thinking of getting him some tights and a ruffly shirt for Christmas. 

My favorite chocolate-covered strawberries! My aunt Marsha sent these as a Christmas gift–yummy!

Post skating. We weren’t allowed to bring cameras on the rink so we got this picture taken afterwards.

We went to eat dinner at Old Ebbit Grill, which is near the White House, and were able to look at the National Tree while waiting for our table.

Yesterday I went to two Christmas parties. The first one was my office party, which was at Tunnicliffs, a restaurant near Eastern Market. It was SO much fun! My office is really incredible when it comes to fostering community with the staff. All week long the party planning committee has been leaving us little ‘gifts’ in our mailbox. On Friday we got $10 itunes gift cards! After lunch we played crazy games like Santa bingo and present wrapping races. Everyone got really into it, and Greg and I actually won the present wrapping game. I’m so fortunate to work with great people who make my job fun. The president of our organization actually gave us the rest of the day off! There was only about two hours left, but it was awesome to just go home and take a nap instead of going back to work. Not that I don’t love being at my desk and all, but still…

We also had a white elephant party with our small group. These always make me nervous because I end up with terrible things–last year I got a pot shaped like a chicken in a bathing suit. This year we didn’t do too bad. We got Phase 10 and a deck of regular playing cards. Score! While we were at small group it started snowing. Snow was on the forecast, but Jared and I were somewhat skeptical it would actually stick. However, it hasn’t stopped snowing since! The news channels are even calling it Holiday Storm 2009. Very creative.

When we woke up we saw this!

Our neighbors built a snowman.

I just adore snow, dark green leaves, and red berries together. So beautiful!

We trudged through the snow to the Capitol. It’s less than a mile from our house, but it was quite an adventure to get there!

I told Jared as we were walking home that we’d probably never have another day like this in our lives. It’s so rare to get this much snow so close to Christmas, and especially on a day when we don’t have work or homework or any place to be! We ended up seeing one of the pastors from our church walking around with his son, and he invited us to his house for hot chocolate and lunch. Afterwards we came home and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and played Phase 10. Then we made some dinner and caught the tail end of the Duke and Gonzaga game, which Duke fortunately won in a blowout. It is pretty awful to watch sports with Jared unless his team is winning by 30 points.

Now Jared is patiently waiting for me to finish blogging so we can watch Public Enemies. This has mostly been a catch up post, and I hope to follow up with more tomorrow. There’s so much more to say, and I won’t be doing much blogging over the holidays. I guess I won’t need too since I’ll be with most of my readers in person

I would be remiss, however, if I did not write some about what I’ve been reading in the book of Isaiah this month, which is far more important than my Christmas decorations or our adventures in the snow. All the wonderful truth is at my fingertips waiting to be shared, but it will have to wait for tomorrow. See you then

A Brief Holiday Update December 10, 2009

Jared and I have been really busy with finals lately. This has prevented us from fully launching ourselves into the Christmas spirit, but we did add some festive touches to our tiny apartment. Since I’m too tired to write about all the thoughts swirling around in my mind, I thought I’d do something fun and share our Christmas decorations with you. Now, they are nothing fancy, but we love ‘em!

We put our holiday wreath inside because we live in a big city and have bars on our doors and windows.  

This is my sparkly ornament  table centerpiece! The gold cloth is from Jordan.

My mother-in-law got me this Willow Creek nativity set. I really love it! I’m sorry Jared’s foot and computer is in the picture, but these are real life snapshots.

Our tree. I don’t like trees with matching ornaments so this one is full of eclectic keepsakes that represent special memories in my life. Below are a few of my favorites.

The 2009 Mount Vernon ornament. This is the only DC ornament we have so far.

We bought this in Bar Harbor, Maine on our honeymoon

My parents love to travel to Hawaii, and my mom brought me back this dolphin from one of their trips.

I have tons of these hand-painted Kashmiri ornaments. If I did do a matching tree I would probably cover it with these beauties. They are unique reminders of my former Himalayan home. 

I believe my mom gave me this to commemorate our first married Christmas.

The old Busch Stadium holds many memories for me of my childhood–my dad always took me to Cardinals’ games. This ornament commemorates the final season at that stadium. They have a new one now.

I will always treasure this ornament! Everyone on my team in India got one for Christmas 2006, one of the best holiday seasons of my life.

Jared’s cousin gave us this as an engagement gift.

My sweet alma mater.

Baby’s first Christmas! This was actually for my first Christmas–not for our baby. Our baby doesn’t have an ornament because he/she doesn’t yet exist.

So there you go–I’m a sucker for sentiment, hence I will always use these ornaments no matter how tacky my tree looks.

I was going to write about the snow we got last weekend, as well as the women’s Christmas tea I went to at church, but it’s nearly midnight! So let me be brief: snow fell from the sky, and while both Maryland and Northern Virginia got blanketed, it didn’t really stick in the District. Even so, it was beautiful to watch the flakes fall for an hour or so. I’m not used to seeing snow until January so this was a special treat.

The snow did, however, turn quickly into a slushy mess, which was a little unfortunate since I had to dress up and head to my church for the women’s tea. I hosted a table with my friend, Jenny, and neither of us really had a clue how to decorate with fancy china, cloth napkins, and goblets. We ended up producing something reasonably pretty and enjoyed tea, scones, and sandwiches with our guests. I greatly enjoyed meeting the women at our table. We had some really good conversations about  faith and the advent season. It was so encouraging!

The coming weeks will bring many stories and adventures for us. Stay tuned…

Thanksgiving Reflections December 4, 2009

I started this post on Tuesday and it’s now Friday! Why on earth can I not crank out posts like I used to???

I want to write about Thanksgiving before time slips away and forces me to write a Thanksgiving/Christmas combo post. Would that not be the longest post ever? Ugh, I probably wouldn’t even do it!

Our holiday weekend was one for the record books. I’ve mentioned this before, but my brother works for a TV station in the same town where Jared’s parents live. It’s really hard for him to get time off during the holidays so my parents flew to North Carolina to celebrate with us. It was the first time the four of us were together in a year and a half!

My sister-in-law and her husband arrived Thanksgiving evening so we had both families under one roof. This is probably a recipe for disaster for most people, but for us it was a joyous experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It sort of reminded me of an Indian wedding in the sense that we were stuck together for several days instead of just gathering for a meal and going back to our separate lives. However, I did not share not share a room with thirteen people so I guess the similarities end there.

I ate way too much food. Jared and I rarely overeat, but my MIL really outdid herself with Thanksgiving dinner. We had all the usual favorites, and I’m always curious to know what everyone’s favorite dish is. Mine is usually broccoli casserole or good ‘ole fashioned green beans.

The rest of the weekend was full of wonderful things: Football, cozy fires, Apples to Apples, Black Friday shopping, shooting guns, The Olive Garden, shopping for John’s new apartment, a visit to a Moravian village in Old Salem, listening to my father-in-law preach on Sunday morning, and lots of laughter around the table. I LOVE my family, and it was so wonderful to be with everyone again. Coming back to work on Monday was so tough. I’m not sure if we’ll ever have another holiday like that, but I sure hope so!

As you can see, my father is very dark (he’s a quarter Cherokee), but my brother and I inherited Irish skin.

Bob with the turkey–we had all white meat!

98.3% of our pictures look like this

We’re at Old Salem, a Moravian village, where characters dress in costume. They have churches, shops, bakeries, and all kinds of neat things.

This was taken in a Moravian graveyard. I really enjoy visiting graveyards because they are historical and sobering experiences. John and I listened to ‘Willie McBride’ probably five times later that night. I’m slightly obsessed with that song at the moment.

This picture is a little scary but funny at the same time. We’re crammed into a rental Chrysler and on our way to shop for John’s apartment. Notice he is the king of argyle all of a sudden.

If I’m honest with myself, being thankful is a bit tricky. I am thankful for an incredible husband and family. I am thankful for God’s provision for my physical needs through shelter, food, and employment. I am thankful for good friends who love and challenge me. I am thankful to live in a country with religious freedom. And yet, I’ve met enough orphans and jobless people and persecuted Christians to know how uncertain all of these things are. Knowing that the Lord gives and takes away, to what , or rather whom, will I direct my thanks if He chooses to take?

Recently, our small group discussed how Paul often expressed thanks for fruit in the lives of other Christians. His circumstances  were rarely ideal (although he did learn the secret of being ‘content in plenty and in want’), but he hardly felt great sorrow over this. What truly moved him were spiritual things–of course the cross and resurrection, but also God’s work in fellow believers. This made me realize how much more I need to thank God for the spiritual growth I see in other people. So instead of reflecting on merely earthly blessings (and there are so many), here are some spiritual blessings that make my heart soar with gratitude.

I am thankful that Alicia is trusting the Lord during her struggles with contentment.

I am thankful my parents hold their blessings with an open hand and give so generously to others

I am thankful my parents-in-law have served God’s church for more years than I have been alive

I am thankful my brother is considering a sabbatical from running sound at his church so he can focus on hearing God’s word preached

I am thankful my sister-in-law and her husband want to adopt one day

I am thankful Lindsey is faithfully pouring her life into students at my alma mater

I am thankful Jonathan and Kelley chose to praise and trust God through uncertain circumstances

I am thankful Charity has learned so many lessons about humility through her work

I am thankful Emily is seeking justice for the oppressed

I am thankful Jessica has invested so much into her friends in Japan

I am thankful Christy is sacrifically serving her family

And the list goes on…but you get the idea. God is at work in so many people I know and it makes me glow with thanksgiving! It kind of makes me want to burst into ‘How Firm a Foundation’ or that ‘Good People’ song by Audio Adrenaline.

I won’t do that, but I do encourage all of you out there to make a list similar to mine above (if you haven’t already). It was a great way to take my usual thanksgiving reflections up a notch–definitely a worthy exercise!