Christmas Decorating

Here are a few pictures of the decorations I put up this year. I am finding that I like to keep it simple and use things that I already have around the house. I made a lot of my decorations this year in an effort to both save money and make it have more homey feel.
These are the stockings my brother made fore us a couple of years ago.

Here is a picture of our humble Christmas tree. We got it from Costco and it already has ornaments on it. We are using it as a Jesse tree--where we hang ornaments that basically follow humanity from creation to the birth of Jesus. I also had to capture my favorite colored pillow in the pic.

More homemeade decorations. There is a funny shadow this time of night so the picture looks really crooked. Although I wouldn't put it past me to also have made something crooked (I am not super detail-oriented if you don't know me that well)

I used picture frames that I already had on this shelf and filled them with art that I made.

This is our makeshift advent wreath. We wanted to use what we already had. As you can see here, the first candle of hope is lit for this week.

Our favorite item that we own--the nativity. Bob's grandma got this from Israel, made from olive wood. Next to it we have A Prayer Before A Christmas Crib:

I open the stable door

I kneel before the infant

I worship with the shepherds

I adore the Christ child

I give love with Mary and Joseph

I wonder at the Word made flesh

I am aware of the love of God

I sing glory with the angels

I offer my gifts with the wise men

I recieve the living Lord

I hold him in my hands

I go on my way rejoicing, glorifying and praising God

A closer picture of our tree. We like it because it is living still, we can water it and keep it long after Christmas. Starting December 1, each day we will put one Jesse ornament on it until Christmas day.

Dining table centerpiece. I love that we live in an area where we can collect and display items around the house. I gathered some of these pine cones and acorns on hikes we have been on. We had some friends over yesterday and the kids wanted to add to the pile so they collected some extra goodies for us.

Merry Christmas. I love that Bob and I are starting some of our own traditions for the holidays. I would love to see your decorations and hear about traditions your family does.

The Approach of Winter

As the colors of the glorious fall season begin to fade, nostalgia begins to set in as the coldness envelops us. With each autumn, there is also a slight sadness, a difficulty to fully enjoy the present because of the approaching winter. Although the winter season is a lot more extreme in many other places than where I live, I still experience the slight dullness and grasping for past and future seasons. I cannot ignore the spiritual significance of the colorful fall spectrum leading to a grayer, darker, coldness. It is a call for me again to live in the present, to experience what God has for me in the moment, knowing that their is a warmer and more life-filled spring ahead.

A book that Bob read for class, Letters to a Young Therapist by Mary Pipher, describes it perfectly :

"Fall is really the season of yearning. At the same time we're aware of the earth's fiery glory, we're aware of its passing and the approaching winter. We yearn to stop time, to make our lives an endless Indian summer. But the message of autumn is to accept what is given. What's coming next may be harder. "

As part of the advent season, Bob and I are lighting advent candles and reflecting on what each of them stands for. This first week is hope, which is very fitting. How often I am afraid of hope, afraid to be disappointed that I will not get what I have hoped for. Hope is often a daring decision, belief that God has something for me--is really doing something in both the difficult and the joyous. And that, although it may be a long and cold winter, there will be a spring.

A Holistic Spirit of Thankfulness

As Thanksgiving approaches and the incitement to give thanks is all around us, I can't help but wonder what it means to be truly thankful. Naturally, we are thankful for what feels like blessings in our lives, things that bring us pleasure and create ease. But if a gift is defined as something given to us for personal benefit, what about the idea of suffering that ultimately leads to intimacy with God and stronger character. Can I really be thankful for that?

Certainly I would never ask for pain as a means to learn and grow, but if I am honest, when I look back those are the times that I feel I have gained the most in understanding my humanity and need for God. So am I thankful for that--yes, sometimes, a little bit. I want to be more. I want to embrace my pain and unfulfilled dreams and let them lead me to a more holistic sense of what it means to be thankful.

Would I be more thankful if all I received was what I wanted, what feels like blessings? Probably not. I already take for granted the many positive gifts given to me and often come to expect them. Expect that life should be a certain way, that people should be a certain way, and that I should be comfortable and peaceful. I have so many things and am given so many gifts in fact, that I have unfortunately often stopped noticing them.

A speaker at our church a few months ago encouraged the congregation toward a "gratitude inventory", walking around the house and literally touching each item, praising God for that-- and quickly learning HOW MUCH you have when you actually take the time to pray over it.

I do want my heart to be balanced and each day brings me a little closer, even the days when I fail miserably. I want to notice the small gifts and be thankful-- a good conversation, laughter, food, a walk in the woods. But I also want to notice those items on my list of suffering--pain, heartache, shattered dreams-- and be thankful for those as well, for the truth is that God uses both to touch me and make me attentive to His love.

Romantic and historic Savannah

Bob and I have been wanting to go to Savannah since we moved here so since tennis season is over until the new year, last weekend was the perfect time. This place is serene and will probably be a vacation spot for us for years to come.

The beautiful trees invite you to just come and sit. I have taken to sketching in the last few months and it was so peaceful to just sit with a cup of coffee and sketch this amazing life that God has created. The Spanish moss just adds to the depth of it. Since I have been sketching and do not have much artistic ability, I have learned to appreciate the complexity of things so much more. You can see in this picture that the tree has so much detail, but there are so many more things beyond what you see when just glancing at it that need to be sketched. I found the bark itself to be so intricate as well as the form of the moss. The trees were one of our favorite parts of the town.

We found a quaint coffee shop that served the delicious meal above. We sat and ate and read stories. This meal became the inspiration for our Christmas Eve meal that we will plan to have in about a month.

Savannah is known for being haunted-- a fun little fact that speaks more of the historical nature of the area, with many cemetaries and key figures buried there. We decided to go on one of the many ghost tours they offered and heard legendary stories as well as historical facts along the way. It was a good chance to walk around and see the city at night.

When we first got to Savannah I told Bob that I wanted to move there but quickly changed my mind when we saw a ghost on the tour!--Just kidding, I quickly changed my mind when I found out the historic district costs $1 million per 1,000 sq ft. That's a lot of money for a little bit of land--so I decided we will just stick to vacationing there.

Tybee Island

Tybee Island is a small island off the Georgia coast near Savannah. When we were out visiting Savannah, we took a half day trip out there, enjoyed walking around the beach and the island. East coast beaches are very different than the ones we are used to in Southern California.
For those of you who know my brother--how much do I look like him in this picture? We could be twins-- it is crazy--just a sidenote. I like how this picture turned out to be very artsy even though that wasn't the intent. What really happened is we had the timer set and Bob had to run as fast as he could to get in the picture, which is why he is so far in front of me.

A lighthouse. I have always loved lighthouses, both because they are beautiful and for what they symbolize. A beacon of direction in a journey.

We were playing around with our shadows and I didn't notice until now that it looks like I have a little pouch, but really that is my arm not knowing what to do with itself. I often have that problem with arms in a picture. Where do you put them? Anyway, I digress...

Ah. In love.

Fall fun

Fall fosters all sorts of family-friendly and cozy activities. We visited the apple farm a couple of times this year which has now become one of our favorite fall traditions. Even though we buy tons of apples, I have to be selective with what I make because there are so many apple choices. The apples bought at farms have such a better taste and crunch than store bought apples. My favorite apple choice this year was decorating them with caramel and candies. The pictures below are from when my friend Jessi and I decorated them. We had so much fun that I had friends over for my birthday to repeat the extravaganza.

BeforeAfter--yum! We brought these to a tennis match and people were so impressed (they must appear to be harder to make than they really are). A fall must!

For Bob's birthday he wanted to go to a corn maze. It became the joke of the month because whenever we would try to go something would happen. One week no one could come with us, then when we rescheduled and had a car load of people, we showed up half an hour after it closed. At least we still got to enjoy the Jumpee Pillow :) You can see that I have just gotten off of it above. I accidentally made a child cry since I bounced her off, which I didn't realize until my friend so kindly pointed it out to me. Who knew bouncing was so dangerous. After being late for the corn maze party, we rescheduled for the week after but Bob got sick. Guess it will have to be something we look forward to next year.

Yeah pumpkins! We went to the hugest patch I have ever been to and I was in love. Will definitely be taking kiddos here when we have them. These are someone else's pumpkins that they had so artfully placed in their wheelbarrow that I had to have Bob take a picture. Sort of awkward when they walked up and we tried to explain to them that their pumpkin display was so beautiful that I just had to capture it on camera, but worth the slight embarrassment.

Fall means comfort food. I cooked a small feast for a couple of friends, complete with banana pudding--a southern must. My friends agreed that I now could be considered a Southern woman (and they were both born and raised in the south, so that is quite a feat!)

Fall colors

Fall has definitely become my favorite season--no contest. Last year we had a very short (and cold) fall, but this year we are having a nice, long drawn out one. That means more color and beautiful weather for longer. Bob and I are taking advantage by making sure we go on hikes every weekend and have driven up to the mountains a lot where there are tons of trees.
Here is a picture in our apartment complex.

A picture of a tree from our hike.

A caterpillar friend Bob found. I love caterpillars. I think they are so fun to watch and so creatively designed. This one is extra special--I mean what does he really need those black and white feathers for other than to be appreciated by us!

Amicalola Falls. Georgia is very woodsy and has tons of great spots to hike where you can just get lost in nature. It is so peaceful being able to just drive a few miles and get away from the everyday. We are really starting to love it here.

Rome--Rome, GA, that is

Bob and I had a free day and went to visit Rome, GA a few months ago. It was a gorgeous day. We stumbled upon Chic-fil-A's retreat center that used to be an old dairy farm. I felt like I was in Sweden or Norway.
This is the Swan that resides on Swan Lake.

Pictures of the dairy farm retreat center.

I love clock towers!

Don't you feel like you are in a magazine?