Small scenes from Christmas

The Christmas Story, as told by the children of St Paul's Church, Auckland, New Zealand

What I'm thinking this Christmas season...

 Here we are, mid-December and for us, on the eve of a family trip heading up to Northern California, to a place called Angels Camp for almost a week.  I find more and more that December is a special month for me, maybe more now because I have my own family and I can appreciate more things than I have before. I do love Autumn but the onset of Winter's chill is beginning to do just as much for me as Autumn does. In fact, I started this blog three years ago, in November 2008 with my first eight entries and yet the very next month of December I posted a whopping thirty seven entries! Cider and Faun was definitely birthed from colder months, of storybook magic and coziness.

 November and December and all the days leading up to have been magnificent in so many ways. We been attending Mars Hill OC now since the spring and have been incredibly blessed by it's teachings and people. We are experiencing community and even more, personal renewal and awakening. Our thoughts have grown and have been more centered on His gospel and His kingdom. It has been amazing experiencing the possibility of life more abundantly with purpose and ambition all for His glory.

 We have been through some pretty remarkable situations this year, including finding out that we are expecting our second child and Rick being diagnosed with Melanoma, an aggressive cancer in his finger. I didn't share much during these days of feeling both blessed and sadness due to the overwhelming emotions they brought (along with overwhelming sickness the pregnancy brought to the table in those early months). Now, I feel as if all that almost didn't happen since I am in my seventh month and just dealing with general pregnancy tiredness and roly-poly-ness and Rick being rid of a cancer that could have been deadly (his right middle finger was halfway amputated to remove the cancer. By God's grace alone, the cancer did not spread any where but stayed stationary in that one spot. He didn't even need any additional treatment after the surgery).

 I feel that things are heading upward and onward and though I know the valleys will come again, I am confident in my God's goodness and grace to always carry us through. I am thankful for what has been revealed to us and what continues to be revealed. I am especially thankful, during this time of Christmas, for our little family to be having an Advent devotional, Rediscovering the Christmas Season. It has been such a blessing to learn things all over again, even to see things anew and really put the focus back on what this entire season is really about. I love that we are learning to see how Jesus really is at the center of all things, how it is all about Him. What better time to rediscover that than the Christmas season, amidst all of the consumerism?! I am thankful that He is fixing, healing, strengthening and preparing our hearts for the rest of our lives and that we have the awesome opportunity to bring our children into such a wonderful way of living!

 Since so much has transpired, it has been a bit more difficult getting the time to do some activities and crafts. Being inspired by the Advent Devotional and our decorations at church, I've really wanted to do some crafts/decorations for us as well, being intentional about the true spirit of the season. I haven't done much but a small yarn wreath but though we are halfway done with December, I still want to put up something for Advent and the four weeks until Christmas (  some great ideas I've gathered onto Pinterest).

 He is doing things anew, He is opening hearts and minds and I am grateful for it all. I look forward to gathering the strength He gives especially as we anticipate the arrival of our new little one in the late winter/early spring. I am also excited for the Doctrine for Kids series my daughter will begin learning at church  this January. It's so neat to see what God is doing and He just doesn't move and teach adults but He loves all the little children too and desires for them to know Him as well.

 I feel like I just pretty much crammed the bullet points all into one post but it's been awhile and I wanted to share what has been going on. It's been a beautiful thing, establishing new relationships and strengthen old ones, having community and living life together. Building our marriage and seeing in what ways to share the Gospel with our daughter even when that means acknowledging our own sinfulness (another great devotional helping out with that is Parenting by Design Daily).  I've been blessed in both sickness and health and I know there is so much more to come. I am thankful for His faithfulness not just to me, but to my family and my extended family in His kingdom.

I'm off now to pack and get ready for heading out in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow so until next time (if I don't come back 'here' before!) have a very Merry Christmas and be blessed!!!!

peanut butter flourless cookies

 Last night, at Natalie's suggestion, I tried a new recipe out. Peanut Butter cookies are a favorite here but I was venturing in new territory by not baking them with flour. These are the second cookies I have made without using flour and I must say, I am beginning to like the trend! They are still yummy delicious, soft and chewy as well. Go bake some today!

Peanut Butter Cookies from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugars, eggs, baking soda, and salt until smooth.
2. Shape the dough into balls (about 1 heaping tablespoon each) and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Using the tines of a fork, flatten each ball, creating a crisscross pattern.
3. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until puffed and golden, 10 to 12 minutes (the cookies will deflate as they cool). Let cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

By Dawn Perry,  December 2011

(I always like to have some variation, so of course, I added Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips to about half of them!)

A Day in Los Angeles by snarktwain

Hello, all! I've enlisted my husband to write today's post.
(Please click on photos to enlarge. Thanks!)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Greetings, y'all.

On Friday, the 11th, we decided to in some small humble way celebrate Drea's pre-birthday by visiting a couple of our favorite haunts in Los Angeles. First stop, Shin Sen Gumi in Little Tokyo for a bowl of Hakata ramen with our daughter, Drea's parents, and our friends Brandan and Abby and 3/4 of their fantastic brood. There was no way they could accommodate seating for 10 together during the lunch rush, so we split up and slurped to our hearts' content!

Next, we headed over to The Griffith Observatory to spend the afternoon. The parking situation was dicey, so Brandan and I dropped everyone off at the top of the hill and parked most of the way back down.

The view as always, was spectacular, and my lovely wife has a great eye for capturing it, even with her temperamental phone camera.

Here we have Abby, the kids and Drea's dad all showing variable levels of interest in  Foucalt's Pendulum. On second thought, looks like they were just showing variable levels of interest in the camera.

 The Pendulum IS pretty cool...it swings.

 We caught a show in the planetarium, which was waaaaaaaaaayyyyy cooler than I remember it being for Pink Floyd laser shows when I was 12. It was eye-popping enough for the narrator of the show to warn us of the possibility of minor motion-sickness. Speaking of the narrator, she had a flawless live delivery of the show without the benefit of a script, which was particularly impressive to someone who can't be bothered to remember birthdays and phone numbers. Her voice was eerie in its perfection, and sounded like a robotically-produced scientist's dream of what a planetarium narration would be like without the foolish meddling of flesh and blood humans. Sadly, pictures weren't allowed, and I've half a mind to believe she was actually just a hologram, and wouldn't have shown up in the picture anyway.

We exited through the back of the theater and out to the best view on the hill...

I had planned to go all "Scott Pilgrim" in honor of my wife's birthday and "punch a hole in the moon" for her, but the humorless, short-sleeved, tie-clad and bespectacled guardians would have none of it. Something about tides...I don't know.

Here we have the Hall of Skewered Planets...and Pluto.

If you don't see Pluto, it's growing out of the metal cylinder in the upper-right quadrant of the picture (the small brown ball. Yup, that's it). Who's laughing now, Pluto?!?!?! Truly you've paid for your intolerable arrogance with all the other asteroids in your neighborhood. It was only a matter of time before you got your come-uppance!

I wonder whether Mr. Einstein ever considered himself to be... plushy?

 Finally it was time to go, but not without first stopping near the bottom of the hill, at a little place called The Trails, a coffee and fresh baked goods outfit across the road from the trail that leads down from the heights of the observatory. We led the kids on a short hike across the numerous bridges and trails in the deepening twilight, armed with a t-ball bat and phone lights. We saw a couple of coyotes leisurely trotting down the hill, and not much else.

The Trails was a quaint little spot, though they seemed a little standoffish with us as patrons, perhaps because we had children instead of dogs. Oh, well.
It really was a fantastic day, full of little explorations and adventures, wildlife, excellent Hakata ramen, great fellowship with family and friends and most of all, gratefulness for the opportunity to spend a day with and celebrate a beautiful wife, mother, daughter and friend. I love you babe!