O Come Emmanuel

 

I think that my most favorite time of the holidays is the end of our Christmas Eve service when we light the candles and sing a festive song or two.  There's something magical about this moment - it evokes the still night when the shepherds were resting in the dark after a hard day of work tending their flocks.  That stillness was majestically altered by the light and sound of the angels who must have been so excited to finally pronounce the birth of the Messiah. That moment, in turn, is a picture of the light that eventually brought an end to the harsh, dark times of the nation of Israel after 400 grueling years of oppression and silence from God.  One small flicker, in the form of a fragile infant, spread to become the light of Israel and the entire world.  

My favorite hymn captures this theme brilliantly:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

May you all be drawn by the light and led to the simplicity of a child, born in a manger.  He longs to put an end to the dark and draw you into the light of eternal life.

Merry Christmas!

Jesus Take the Wheel!

 

Annabel turned 15 this past weekend, which is really bizarre since I feel like I was just 15 a few years ago...  She is enjoying her freshman year in high school.  While very studious, she also loves to work on her art projects:  painting, drawing, chorus and drama.  Her current obsession is with collecting old and new vinyl records to listen to on her record player.

Annabel continues to be goofy and adventurous and spends hours of her time plotting a future living in Asia or some other exotic spot in the world.

And of course she still adores animals of all kinds, especially our sweet Freya:

We celebrated Annabel's birthday twice - once with Grampa and Gramma and then again with some of her besties.

The big news for any 15 year old is that she obtained her learner's permit to drive today.  Annabel is, of course, raring to go.  Jordan and I?  Not so much!  

We love you to the moon and back sweet girl and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you in this coming year.  Buckle up - something tells me that we could be in for one heck of a ride!!

Baltimore!

I just got to spend several days in my old town of Baltimore.  I was there for work, but was fortunate enough to have extra time to visit with a whole bunch of sweet friends:

I haven't seen many of these beautiful faces in over 15 years, and I can't express how grateful I am that I have been blessed with friends who have loved me throughout - and who clearly love food as much as I do! I literally ate my way through the city - enjoying Afghani, Indian, Korean, Persian, Italian, French and Greek dishes.

There are several faces missing, as I forgot to get photos of everyone (gah!)  I especially want to thank Becky, who so willingly opened her home for me to stay.  It was a peaceful haven in my busy schedule, and our late night chats over tea and wine were just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks so much Baltimore - I can't wait to get back and see you all (and those whom I missed!) again.

Thanksgiving

 

While we definitely missed several loved ones who were sick and unable to make it, we had the most wonderful Thanksgiving meal with this motley crew!  It was a wonderful day filled with love and laughter.

 

The following evening the kids and I joined Aunts Suzie, Kim, Betty and Uncle Marty for the annual Christmas Stroll.  Sheridan shuts down Main Street for the evening, and all of the stores are open and decked out in their finest Christmas decorations.  There's free food and drinks, Christmas carolers, live bands and even horse drawn sleigh rides from one end of town to the other.  It was a magical night - many thanks to the gang for letting us tag along!

True Friends

While exploring Virginia was fun in and of itself, the very best part of our trip by far was our visit with the Monti's!  Truer friends can not be found.  They have been with us through thick and thin, and they tolerate us enough to let us tag along on their vacation (sacrificial love for sure!!)

Getting to know these two little love bugs was pretty special too!  We are beyond blessed to get to be a little part of their lives, and we were thrilled to be able to spend time with them.  Uncle Jordan and Auntie Amy love you very much!!

Williamsburg

We spent the remainder of our trip exploring Williamsburg.  I've always wanted to visit this historic park, and the reality did not disappoint!  We loved walking around the HUGE working village with all of its quirky shops and taverns.  They do an amazing job making you feel like you've stepped back in time.

We loved the architecture and the various historical re-enactments of daily life in the colonies and during our War for Independence.  I really hope to visit again with Annabel & Thane one day.

Jamestown and Yorktown

 Jordan and I just got back from a week in Virginia  exploring some historic coastal areas with our wonderful friends Johnny and Amanda.  Our first stop was at the bayside fort of Jamestown.

The site is so beautiful, but the adjacent swamp must have made life miserable for the settlers.  We explored the fort and the nearby museum that showcases various items that the settlers used in their daily lives (needles made of antlers, shell buttons, clay smoke, iron armor, etc.)  The nearby church and graveyard was interesting too - especially with the headstone of William Sherwood, who was a "great sinner." (Don't worry William - I can relate!)

The next day we drove to Yorktown, where the final battle of the Revolution was fought.  We toured the American Revolution Museum, a nearby colonial farm, walked along the York River, toured a bit of the battlefield and then walked through the old village.  

As someone who grew up in New England and then lived in the Baltimore/D.C. area for many years, I really enjoyed learning more about the south's role in the Revolution.

Just a Bag of Sugar...

 

Happy Halloween from Bert & Mary Poppins!

Spontaneous Road Trip

 

It is so easy to grow apart in our modern culture.  Lately we've noticed that most evenings after dinner each member of our family wanders off in a different part of our home to take care of our various responsibilities.  We see each other in passing, but those moments can be few and far between.  A few weekends ago, Jordan decided that we'd break things up a bit and take a spontaneous family road trip to Yellowstone National Park.  We woke up early and were on the road by 4:00am to get to the Park while animals were still out and about.

 

 

The Park was set to close the next day, and we were so lucky to be able to visit when the roads and parking lots were fairly empty of tourists.  

 

 

The Park was beautiful with lots of fall colors and snow in the higher elevations.

 

 

The quieter park made for some amazing animals sightings.  We saw significantly more elk than we've ever seen in the park, along with the usual plethora of buffalo in the gorgeous Lamar Valley.

We also spent 30+ minutes studying a grizzly bear at the far end of the Valley.  What a majestic creature!

 

It was a long, but amazing, day (we got home shortly before 10:00pm).  We are so grateful for the privilege to explore God's creation as a family.

Anniversary Picnic

 

Jordan and I had our 17th wedding anniversary last week.  We are planning to celebrate in a few weeks but still managed to sneak up to the mountains for a little picnic.

Thirteen

 

 It's official.  We are now a house composed of two adults and two teenagers. GULP!  Actually, we don't really accept modern society's view of teenagers.  The concept of teenagers really only took hold in the last 100 years or so. The way we see it, you either act like a child or an adult.  How our kids choose to act is how we will treat them.

 

Thane, who turned 13 a few days ago, is definitely in the those years when he acts very grown up one minute and a little goofy the next.  He has helped to fill our freezers with good, nourishing meat this year, and I have received more than one phone call from his junior high principal praising his behavior in school.

 

And then the next day he is back to his high jinx - pestering his sister or being a goof ball.  Which is all good, as maturity is a process (for each of us!)

 

 

This year we got to celebrate Thane with Grampa Frank, Gramma Bobi and Papa, who was in town for elk hunting season.  Thane's dinner requests consisted of pulled pork sandwiches, loaded fries, pickles, Caesar salad and spiced harvest cake with pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting.  SUPER YUM!

 

 

We are so proud of you Bubs - and of the man that you are becoming.  You are starting to show more and more grit as you become a leader, yet you haven't abandoned your tender heart for others.  We love you and pray you have an incredible year!

Sunshine After the Rain

As the weather has slowly started to turn, we've had some fairly spectacular thunder storms in our area.  This is a pic I took after one recent storm.  It's so good to know that there is still sunshine behind all of those dark clouds!

Grampa Frank and Gramma Bobi

We were excited to celebrate Grampa Frank's birthday together several days ago.  It was especially fun since Jordan's Dad got to join in the festivities this year.

While we wish we could live near all of our loved ones, we are happy that Grampa and Gramma are (literally) just a field away.  We get to spend lots of time with them for various reasons, not the least of which is holidays and other celebrations. 

We are so appreciative of all that they do for us, and getting to be part of their lives on a regular basis is a privilege - not to mention a whole lot of fun!!  Happiest of Birthdays to you Grampa - we are praying for many more!!

School Daze

These two started school yesterday.  Annabel is now in high school, and Thane is in 7th grade.  They are growing up to be such amazing humans, and we are thrilled to be doing life with them both. 

Montana Adventures

 

My wonderful friend Melissa flew out from Maine to visit for a few days.  We both had work to do, but thankfully were able to get out of town for a couple of days over the weekend.  What an adventure!  

We left Sheridan Friday morning and headed northwest into Montana.  Our first stop was the Greycliff Mill.  Now located right off I-90 near Big Timber, the mill was reconstructed after being painstakingly taken apart in upstate New York.  The mill now holds a little cafe and gift store.  Other projects around the site include a cheese cellar, fiber & leather making buildings and beautiful gardens.  It was well worth the stop!

Next we traveled to Livingston.  What a beautiful old town nestled in the foothills of the mountains.  We had AMAZING brick oven pizza made with fresh ingredients, and then ambled our way around town.

 

From there we drove some back roads alongside the stunning Absaroka Mountain range.  It was breathtaking!

 

 

Our last stop before heading back to Billings was at Natural Falls just inside the Gallatin National Forest.  During times of high water (spring runoff, storms, etc.), water rushes over the cliff in the photo above.  But during this late summer season, water flows down through the rocks and exits into a ravine below.  From there it once again diverts underground for a quarter of a mile only to pop up again into the light of day.  

What a beautiful day with a beautiful friend!