Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Cusp of the New Year

And so, we've come to the end of 2009. It is, naturally, a time of remembering the past year and looking forward to the fresh beginning of a new one. I spent some time this morning walking the shores a frozen lake with my best friend. The sky was clear and the air was crisp--anything more still and beautiful is hard to imagine. Our conversation reminded me of this poem, an appropriate view of setting off into this new and unknown year.


The Gate of the Year

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'
And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'

So I went forth and finding the Hand of God
Trod gladly into the night.
He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of day in the lone east.

So heart, be still!
What need our human life to know
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife of things
Both high and low,
God hideth his intention.


So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Night we didn't go to the Nutcracker

We were all dressed up (see photo)... we were all quite excited (see photo)... Sarah had an excuse to wear the sparkly, red shirt (see photo) :)... it was going to be a lovely evening, including the Messiah on the ride downtown, dinner, and a new experience for all of us... and about twenty minutes after this picture was taken, we were all very thankful to be alive.

I had been out on the roads just an hour earlier and the all-wheel drive had handled the roads well. The Interstate and Highway were wet, but clear, and so we decided to sally forth--without winter coats, I might add. The continued snow and plummeting temperature made the roads rather treacherous and we found ourselves in a snow-filled ditch off of Hwy 85. Apparently we did a good bit of sliding and a 360 (I don't remember that--it's a deduction from where and how we landed and the recollection of everyone else in the car :P). Nothing short of a miracle, we traveled to the opposite side of the road, missed the car that was swerving into my lane, a pole, and the barbed wire fence (the car isn't a thing of beauty, but barbed wire marks wouldn't, ya know, be an improvement or anything :). We were one of about four vehicles that had trouble right there so we were all very pleased to see the police men arrive just a few minutes later. (Sarah would like all of you to know that they were so nice, she's now no longer afraid of them. For those of you who haven't heard, she's been pulled over for drunk driving, but that's a different story. :) We were stuck... as in, we had traffic completely stopped across 85 so the tow truck could pull us out. Quite the experience, I can assure you.

We spent the half hour waiting for the tow truck slowly freezing and discussing whether or not we were going to continue on; the reasoning went that I'd had my once-a-year-into-a-ditch-during-a-snow-storm experience so we would probably be okay. Just to prove that we do have our wits about us, and as I was in the driver's seat I had the final say so... we came home. :) So we're safe, warm, and thanking the Lord for His protection!




The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.Ps. 34:7

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Hawaii pictures will come. At the moment they are on a different computer so I'll need help getting to them. :P In the mean time however, here are a few reasons for the lack of posts (among many other things). We are working on one for Dad and one for our new baby cousin as well, so when they are finished I'll get pictures of them up too! :D








Saturday, December 5, 2009

Merry Christmas, A Wee Little Bit Early

The most sacred and festive of seasons is upon us once again, and with it all of the traditions of the yuletide. Carols celebrating Advent, snow if you're in the right part of the country, twinkle lights, and the list goes on. As you all know, one of these is the exchanging of gifts.

This tradition can become rather complex if you have family in far-off, un-snowy states, such as Georgia, for example. Mail carriers and those estimable post office workers do not esteem your boxes of goods, so well thought out and planned, as you do. They do things like lose them, plop them in snow drifts, use the packaging tape to mend flat tires, and send every tenth box through the giant gift-eating machine which then spits them out barely recognizable. And your box and mine are always the tenth one. With all of that said, the most natural and brilliant thing to do is to fulfill this tradition(if you so desire) when with at least part of the family in far-off, un-snowy states.

Brilliancy runs in my family, but I got skipped. Because in an effort to be brilliant in this way, my grandmother sent a rather bulky and weighty box home with me when I was in Georgia a few weeks ago, with a strict injunction to hide it for her and bring it out, beautifully wrapped, at the appropriate time. I had every intention and desire to be helpful in this way(I can at least aid and abet brilliancy), so I did as she asked. So after a very, very early flight home, I took said box and hid it just before going to bed to catch up on some sleep.

And then I forgot it. I told you I got skipped.

So this morning, while Grandee(code name for grandmothers from GA) and I stood at the mirror, fixing our hair, she said something like this:
"You know that thing I sent home with you? Where is it?"

I thought desperately for two seconds and then said: "I don't know." I had that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach like I used to get when I had to go tell Mom that I had broken that crystal dish that was a wedding present.

She said "BECCA!!!" And she squealed it like a teenager, because she does that, even though she's I'm-not-telling-you how many years old.

Then I searched in my closet, since that was the only place big enough to hide it in my room, where I was certain it was, and it wasn't there. I got called away, and didn't look again until tonight when she asked for it. And then Anna searched in our closet, and had no better success.
It was becoming a dismal sort of situation. So Grandee said "oh, don't worry about, I'm sure you'll remember in a day or two." and proceeded to give me lesson in how to throw a football. (It didn't go so great, just so you know, but it gave us a laugh)

The next suggestion was the boy's closet. Oh no, I said, it can't be there, because I know that I hid it in my room. But for form's sake, I looked. And lo and behold, where should it be besides nestled in a pile of unsewn sewing projects, there in Josiah and David's closet. Don't ask why sewing projects are in that place.

So we wrapped it beautifully, and it sits now under the figurative tree which we haven't set up. But there it is, proving that miracles do happen, and that stories still can have a happy ending. However, my mother still does pity my someday-husband-- he'll have to have a lot of brilliancy to make up for my lack thereof, and that's a very large lack, after all. :)