University of Florida only gets the day of Thanksgiving and the day after off of school so we didn't feel like we had time to go to any celebrations up North. While I enjoy cooking, I must admit making a whole Thanksgiving meal for just the two of us seemed a little over the top! Chris and I considered going to a buffet for Thanksgiving, but were then invited to my adviser's home to celebrate with her family and some other graduate students. I was a little apprehensive about being in such close contact with my adviser but curious at the same time. We found out that almost all of the graduate students I knew in the department were coming as well. I was really looking forward to meeting my adviser's little girl, I've heard lots of stories of how cute and conversational she is.
Before going to my adviser's house we decided to try watching a movie on Thanksgiving day. We went to see Tangled and had such a good time that I think it will now be a tradition for us! There weren't many people at all in the theater even though the movie had just released, it was great to be able to sit wherever we wanted even though we weren't very early! I also highly recommend Tangled by the way, it was lots of fun and high energy, we will probably buy it when it comes out, quite a rarity for us!
We had a nice evening and an amazing meal! There was turkey (a staple), standing rib roast (!), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad and lots of other dishes! Apparently they usually have standing rib roast at Christmas, but since Mercy is due so close to Christmas she was worried she wouldn't be able to enjoy it then. In addition to all of the staples we also had potato salad (a new one for me), and something like potstickers that Mercy's Mom made for an appetizer.
Mercy's daughter, Lilly, was a doll and absolutely loved having people over to her house! As soon as we got there she wanted us to come play with her on her play set, we swung, climbed and slid until I was ready for a drink. By that time more guests had arrived so she proceeded to coerce them into playing as well! It was interesting to have a glimpse into my adviser;s home life and nice to see my office mates outside of school. I must say it was strange to be able to sit out on the deck in 80*F weather while waiting for dinner to finish! Don't get me wrong, it was nice, but very strange when I'm used to the possibility of snow Thanksgiving day!
The day after Thanksgiving I headed to Publix thinking they would have their turkeys on sale... apparently Publix doesn't do that. I got us a turkey anyway because one of Chris' favorite parts of Thanksgiving is leftover turkey sandwiches! I remembered to thaw the turkey BEFORE cooking it this year and we had turkey to eat for weeks! We made leftover turkey sandwiches, turkey pot pie, turkey noodle soup and turkey with all kinds of sides! I am so tired of turkey that I don't want any for Christmas!
Ultimately, our favorite part of Thanksgiving this year was being able to stay home and rest together over the long weekend.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Our silly Kitty...
We get so much enjoyment out of our silly kitty and though you might enjoy her too!
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| Pandora did NOT want her nails trimmed... |
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| Gutting a ball of yarn I was done with... |
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| Sleepy... on my Crocheting! |
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| So sleepy... |
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| comfy... |
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| more comfy... |
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| opps had an itch... |
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| Most comfy! |
What to do with Halloween?
Obviously, this is way late but it was a good discussion Chris and I had around Halloween. What should we as Christian families do with Halloween? Both Chris and I have had lots of variations on Halloween, from decorating the house and going all out, to hiding in the house and pretending like it wasn't happening and all in between, including hayrides, church 'harvest parties', and trying Reformation Day instead of Halloween.
The conversation came up after visiting a 'Trunk or Treat' at Chris' Tae-Kwon-Do school with some friends from church who have two small children. Parents came and decorated their trunks and had the kids trick-or-treat around the parking lot. It was a fun idea, and some of the trunks were really neat, one was festively Mexican in a Day of the Dead theme (not as creepy as it sounds, they are honoring their dead ancestors), but several others were disturbingly scary. Now I know I'm easily scared but I really would not my small children waling around a place like that, if they are anything like me they would have nightmares for weeks! This is what set our conversation off.
We first tried to justify Halloween as fun for kids because they get to dress up and get candy, but as we reflected on the Trunk or Treat we had to think further about what it meant in the world around us, not just its meaning to Chris and I. As we looked at it the darker the holiday became. This holiday, on the whole, glorifies fear, abnormality and perverse imaginations. I know it sounds like a harsh statement about a day where children dress up as bunnies and cowboys, but look a little closer and you will see where this statement comes from. The origins of wearing costumes for Halloween came from a Druid tradition of disguising themselves from harmful spirits that had more than usual influence over the physical world. It is during this time of year that the most horrible and twisted movies of all make their debut, fearful imaginations run wild form these movies and incite fear by twisting the everyday into unrecognizable forms. Many recognize this as a major holiday for Satanic worshipers and Wiccans. It has become an excuse for young women all across the nation to dress more provocatively than they would any other day of the year. While the plea for innocent dress-up and imagination may hold for a little while, what do we dress our children up as they get older? Many children, and I know I was included, dressed as a witch or 'something scary' at least once. Should we be playing at something the Bible directly forbids us to do in real life (i.e. witchcraft or divining)? Don't get me wrong, I loved dressing up as a child and still like costumes, but I think we need a better outlet for this than Halloween.
So after much discussion Chris and I decided that Halloween as it is known won't be celebrated in our house. We might celebrate Reformation day (directly following Halloween when all the candy is on sale! Reformers liked candy too, right?), and we will definitely dress up, maybe even officially at a re-enactment, but we won't be joining the world in this particular tradition. We don't make this decision lightly, and we don't condemn those who chose a different path, but we feel it would be inconsistent with everything else we hope to teach our children to just go along with a tradition we have questions and serious concerns about.... but I know I will still feel the urge to dress up our little children, so please don't look at me too funny if you come over and a little one is dressed up as a duck, dragon or banana! Well, that's one holiday down, now if only what to do about Santa sounded as clear!
The conversation came up after visiting a 'Trunk or Treat' at Chris' Tae-Kwon-Do school with some friends from church who have two small children. Parents came and decorated their trunks and had the kids trick-or-treat around the parking lot. It was a fun idea, and some of the trunks were really neat, one was festively Mexican in a Day of the Dead theme (not as creepy as it sounds, they are honoring their dead ancestors), but several others were disturbingly scary. Now I know I'm easily scared but I really would not my small children waling around a place like that, if they are anything like me they would have nightmares for weeks! This is what set our conversation off.
We first tried to justify Halloween as fun for kids because they get to dress up and get candy, but as we reflected on the Trunk or Treat we had to think further about what it meant in the world around us, not just its meaning to Chris and I. As we looked at it the darker the holiday became. This holiday, on the whole, glorifies fear, abnormality and perverse imaginations. I know it sounds like a harsh statement about a day where children dress up as bunnies and cowboys, but look a little closer and you will see where this statement comes from. The origins of wearing costumes for Halloween came from a Druid tradition of disguising themselves from harmful spirits that had more than usual influence over the physical world. It is during this time of year that the most horrible and twisted movies of all make their debut, fearful imaginations run wild form these movies and incite fear by twisting the everyday into unrecognizable forms. Many recognize this as a major holiday for Satanic worshipers and Wiccans. It has become an excuse for young women all across the nation to dress more provocatively than they would any other day of the year. While the plea for innocent dress-up and imagination may hold for a little while, what do we dress our children up as they get older? Many children, and I know I was included, dressed as a witch or 'something scary' at least once. Should we be playing at something the Bible directly forbids us to do in real life (i.e. witchcraft or divining)? Don't get me wrong, I loved dressing up as a child and still like costumes, but I think we need a better outlet for this than Halloween.
So after much discussion Chris and I decided that Halloween as it is known won't be celebrated in our house. We might celebrate Reformation day (directly following Halloween when all the candy is on sale! Reformers liked candy too, right?), and we will definitely dress up, maybe even officially at a re-enactment, but we won't be joining the world in this particular tradition. We don't make this decision lightly, and we don't condemn those who chose a different path, but we feel it would be inconsistent with everything else we hope to teach our children to just go along with a tradition we have questions and serious concerns about.... but I know I will still feel the urge to dress up our little children, so please don't look at me too funny if you come over and a little one is dressed up as a duck, dragon or banana! Well, that's one holiday down, now if only what to do about Santa sounded as clear!
DISNEY!!!
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| Chris and Kirk waiting for the boat to take us to the park! |
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| Belle and the beast in plant form. |
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| I always liked these formal gardens... |
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| Trying to be vikings after the Norway ride... |
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| Donald!!! |
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| Kirk's grandma kept trying to run over him! |
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| "The Earth" had tons of hydroponic plants. |
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| Lettuce growing hydroponically. |
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| TOMATO TREE!!! |
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| Herbs in spiral hydroponics! |
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| I got vertigo on the ride here... |
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| Chris as R2D2 Mickey! |
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| Kermit Mickey was too fun to pass a picture up with! |
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| Nemo with Flat Patty (Flat Stanley's cousin) |
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| The big Epcot Ball! It was pretty @ night! |
Fun Brithday Happenings!
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| All gussyed up for our date! |
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| Good Sushi, Cold Restaurant! |
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| My pretty plate of sushi! The red is shredded beets! |
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| Chris' pretty sushi! |
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| Watch out Sushi, Here comes Ninja Chris! |
I am now a Quarter of a Century Old!
As of November 5th I am officially 25 years old! It is really strange to think about that, and even stranger to think how close 25 is to 30! When I was a kid (like 8 or 9?) that was one of the first times I thought about what 'old' was, and at that time I thought 30. Shortly there after my 'old' changed to more like 65ish, but for a time I couldn't imagine being 30!
I am not afraid of death (in fact I somewhat look forward to death because death means being with Jesus, in heaven and reunion with loved ones), so getting older doesn't scare me; I'm not afraid of or embarrassed by 'old people', thanks to some amazing grandparents and the example of my parents I know there is still great purpose for the older generation and I will not become obsolete as I age. Because of the above mentioned people I also know you don't become less beautiful as you age, wrinkles and gray hair are part of living life to the fullest, part of worrying over loved ones, giving your best and lots of smiles, because of that I am not ashamed of the tiny signs of age that are becoming visible in myself (though I know most don't see them).
What I am worried about as I reach this mile marker of an age is how little time it seems I have left and how much yet I want to do. I know that by God's grace I still have many years ahead of me, but there's a lot I want to do in that time and I get anxious thinking about how to get it all done. I want to be a Mom, and in spite of many peoples reassurances that I have plenty of time for that I already feel behind (my 'plan', yes I know God's laughing, was to get married by 22 and start having babies at 24... that's not what's happening!), and the more I've contemplated that particular plan the bigger the number of children I want gets! I want to homeschool those children, I know there are possibly some schools that I might consider sending them to, but deep down I want to be the one teaching them and choosing their curriculum. Don't get me started on the books I want to read and the places I want to see/spend time at. I want to get out of debt and stay that way as best as possible... and save up enough money to leave our kids so they might not have as much need for debt. I want to grow as much of our own food as I can, and maybe even market some at a farmer's market someday. I want to educate other people along the way, about where their food comes from and about the Creator who dreamed it all up in the first place. I want to scrapbook, sew, learn to knit, learn to make a souffle, raise some orchids, walk the Highline again, ride my horse, continue to deepen my relationship with my husband and many, many more things! How does one fit a full life into 75-80 short years?
My answer thus far is to redeem the time as much as possible, of course I will never accomplish all I desire to do but that doesn't mean I stop trying. Another answer that came as I was thinking about this was to do everything to the glory of the Lord. I know as Christians we hear this often and feel weighed down by it, but we miss the benefit of such a choice when we focus on that. During the days when I was struggling with being in Florida I tried working as though I was doing my tasks for the Lord rather than for UF. Those times my work was higher quality, I got done faster and then had time to do more leisurely things, or at least non-school things. These fears of not having enough time reinforce the observation made by C.S. Lewis, that we were not made for this world, our hearts long for more permanent place, a place just like heaven, where we have time eternal and all that is good does not fade away. My final consolation for my fears about the short time we are given is that once in heaven we have all eternity to learn and grow closer to the Lord, and it is my personal conviction that that includes learning about His creation and the wonderful ways He provided for us in the past!
Ultimate lesson from this birthday?
"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." ~Ephesian 5:15-16
I am not afraid of death (in fact I somewhat look forward to death because death means being with Jesus, in heaven and reunion with loved ones), so getting older doesn't scare me; I'm not afraid of or embarrassed by 'old people', thanks to some amazing grandparents and the example of my parents I know there is still great purpose for the older generation and I will not become obsolete as I age. Because of the above mentioned people I also know you don't become less beautiful as you age, wrinkles and gray hair are part of living life to the fullest, part of worrying over loved ones, giving your best and lots of smiles, because of that I am not ashamed of the tiny signs of age that are becoming visible in myself (though I know most don't see them).
What I am worried about as I reach this mile marker of an age is how little time it seems I have left and how much yet I want to do. I know that by God's grace I still have many years ahead of me, but there's a lot I want to do in that time and I get anxious thinking about how to get it all done. I want to be a Mom, and in spite of many peoples reassurances that I have plenty of time for that I already feel behind (my 'plan', yes I know God's laughing, was to get married by 22 and start having babies at 24... that's not what's happening!), and the more I've contemplated that particular plan the bigger the number of children I want gets! I want to homeschool those children, I know there are possibly some schools that I might consider sending them to, but deep down I want to be the one teaching them and choosing their curriculum. Don't get me started on the books I want to read and the places I want to see/spend time at. I want to get out of debt and stay that way as best as possible... and save up enough money to leave our kids so they might not have as much need for debt. I want to grow as much of our own food as I can, and maybe even market some at a farmer's market someday. I want to educate other people along the way, about where their food comes from and about the Creator who dreamed it all up in the first place. I want to scrapbook, sew, learn to knit, learn to make a souffle, raise some orchids, walk the Highline again, ride my horse, continue to deepen my relationship with my husband and many, many more things! How does one fit a full life into 75-80 short years?
My answer thus far is to redeem the time as much as possible, of course I will never accomplish all I desire to do but that doesn't mean I stop trying. Another answer that came as I was thinking about this was to do everything to the glory of the Lord. I know as Christians we hear this often and feel weighed down by it, but we miss the benefit of such a choice when we focus on that. During the days when I was struggling with being in Florida I tried working as though I was doing my tasks for the Lord rather than for UF. Those times my work was higher quality, I got done faster and then had time to do more leisurely things, or at least non-school things. These fears of not having enough time reinforce the observation made by C.S. Lewis, that we were not made for this world, our hearts long for more permanent place, a place just like heaven, where we have time eternal and all that is good does not fade away. My final consolation for my fears about the short time we are given is that once in heaven we have all eternity to learn and grow closer to the Lord, and it is my personal conviction that that includes learning about His creation and the wonderful ways He provided for us in the past!
Ultimate lesson from this birthday?
"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." ~Ephesian 5:15-16
Flowers!
Way late update but here are the last batch of flowers my wonderful hubby got me around my birthday! They were so bright and cheerful! I especially loved the 'blue rose' hidden to the side!
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