Snow like I've never seen before!

This weekend we had our annual Big Lake Snow Weekend. This is the one weekend each year when the Vancouver Church has the opportunity to spend the weekend at Big Lake Youth Camp in the winter. Our group was small, but we sure had a lot of fun and got to know each other better.

Over the weekend we enjoyed riding innertubes behind the snow cat into and out of camp, sledding/innertubing down the big hill onto the frozen lake, eating and fixing yummy food, playing games until early in the morning, and snow shoeing/cross country skiing in some very snowy conditions! Over night on Saturday night it must have snowed almost a foot! The powder was amazing and really fun to walk around in, sled down, and especially land in after a quick trip down the sledding hill.

A few great experiences I remember are standing on the frozen lake Friday night with a clear sky and bright stars to gaze at. It seemed like the longer I looked, the more stars I saw. I even saw a shooting star! It was also fun to venture out on cross-country skiis with my parents down the road, through the woods, up and over a hill, to find a warming hut along the trail. I really like sledding on Sunday morning, since every landing was soft and cushy from the many inches of powder. What a blast!

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Thought I fell of the face of the planet?

Hello friends! So its been a LONG time since I posted and I know that is bad blogging manners, but life has been very hectic (not that it slowed down for those of you who have kept up your blogs). So we're checking in...

To be brief, we celebrated Christmas with a drive down to Mel and Linda's, a restful, sunny and celebratory 6-day stay with them. Christmas festivities included hand bell choir concerts, parties, singing carols, walking in red wood forests, bird/surfer watching and lots of eating!!! We were blest with lovely presents and came home with iron wood furniture, full tummies, great pictures and warm memories.

New Year's Day was the Taylor family celebration, which commenced with snow shoeing at Wind River Recreation Area. Denali was so cute in her new snow skiis, and showed us how she could stand up and even balance while being pulled behind the Chariot! We celebrated with family at our humble apartment by exchanging gifts and eating yummy pizza!

We squeezed in a few more hang-out times with Vicki and Denali before they flew back to home again until summer. Next time we see them, there will be three, instead of two... WOW!

Besides holiday events, we've spent time with friends studying the Bible (the Friday night crowd has grown from 6 to 16, which is really pushing the firecode limit in our 1 bedroom apartment). These have really been high points for me, since connecting in God's word is such a unifying experience. We really look forward to opening the Sabbath this way.

And our busy lives continue...eat, play, work, pray, sleep. You know the drill.

A week's worth of groceries: How different it looks!

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide

Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or$500.07

United States: The Revis family ofNorth Carolina

Food expenditure for one week:$341.98

Japan: The Ukita family ofKodairaCity

Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or$317.25

Italy: The Manzo family ofSicily

Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or$260.11

Mexico: The Casales family ofCuernavaca

Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or$189.09

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna

Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or$151.27

Egypt: The Ahmed family ofCairo

Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or$68.53

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo

Food expenditure for one week:$31.55

Bhutan: The Namgay family ofShingkheyVillage

Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or$5.03

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or$1.23

Christmas Time is HERE!

So, this past weekend we've jumped chin-deep into Christmas. On Friday night, at BIG Friday a group of us went to an older couples home for a visit. Besides the lovely decorations they had up, and the hot cocoa and cookies they had prepared, the Christmas carols we sung really made me feel like Christmas was here. It was a lovely visit, but by 9:30 PM, we knew it was time to leave. We hurried back to the church and helped make the last few cards for those on our list of "needing a note of encouragement".

Then, Sabbath morning, the praise songs I led with Marella and Debbie were Christmas carols. To hear the whole congregation belting out Silent Night really filled me with the warm spirit of Christmas. And to hear Pastor Jeff preaching about the way Jesus came to my world to understand me, reminded me of what Christmas is all about. A fun evening with young adults at Glow Miniature Golf didn't remind me of Christmas as much as the CROWDED mall we waded through to grab dinner and get to our venue (the mall parking lot rarely fills up, so that was the first sign).Then Sunday morning we picked up my grandparents and headed over the river and through the woods to the Taylor's home for a lovely afternoon of Christmas Tree decorating. We hiked out in the woods, found the tree, cut it down, shaped and trimmed it and then made it beautiful (see pictures).

It was really fun to have some of the family around helping our tree be straight shapely and decorated just right.

Mom hung the stockings while Jack baked fresh chocolate cookies for us to munch on and SMELL!

This is just the beginning of an influx of family time over the next week or so. Wednesday we leave for northern California to do it all again with Jack's family. I'm loving it!

WORD Time

The title of this post could mean several things to you all:
1. I'm a scrabble/word game nerd
2. I'm attempting a gansta'/rapper phrase
3. I can't spell "world" correctly
4. I've had a cool experience in Bible study

And the correct answer is... #4! We started a Friday night Bible study time last week, and it is becoming more and more exciting. Though our attendees have varied from last week to this week, one thing is for sure: we're making time with friends to connect in God's word, and it is have a powerful influence. This influence is rather subtle now, but people cannot say enough good things about this simple gathering. All we do is meet at our humble apartment, find a cozy place on the couch, do a few minutes of sharing about what we have been studying and what questions/passages we want to pursue with the group and then study. It is relaxed, loosly led in the inductive style, and winds down with some practical application. So far we have tackled: The Parable of the Sower and the Parables of the Wheat and Tares, Mustard Seed and Leaven. Check them out for yourself and tell us your thoughts! This week we are looking into the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" as used by Jesus when telling parables. What do you know about this?

Thankfulness

This afternoon as I counted out handouts for an upcoming nutrition class, I decided to listen to Rob Bell. He's the guy who talks on the Nooma videos. A friend from church told me about his podcasts and I've seen the Nooma videos, so no sales pitch was necessary. But as I listened I realized so many things that I have to be grateful for. I'll just list a few:
A loving, God-focused husband
The Bible, as a guide for a growing knowledge of and relationship with God
A community of believers to learn from, support, be challenged by and depend on
A family that cares about me and my needs
A brother who defends my freedom with his own life
A place to live that is reasonably priced, warm, dry, safe, and comfortable
A car that keeps working and doesn't cost much
A weekly celebration of resting in God's grace (Sabbath)
Friends who care and are interested in my life, and have lives that are interesting enough to care about
Physical health to enjoy outdoor recreation
A beautiful place to recreate in
Humor (my own, my husband's, my family's, my friends')
A college education
A desire to continue learning
The love of food, access to ANYTHING I want, ANYTIME, and a few culinary skills I've acquired over the past few years
Really COOL in-laws and a darling niece with red hair and blue eyes
Children (not my own, but friends', family's) and their wonderful example of living care-free and exhuberantly
Music and the ability to create and enjoy it
A job that I REALLY enjoy and am challenged by

I could go on, but I think you get the point. This time of year is one that stirs my awareness of all the blessings in my life. Take time to write your own list, soon.

Another Whirlwind Weekend

The Halo Bride

Bev-Lea

Emily

Me (with my half up beehive)

Sarah, the bride

We've done it again. In Vicki's 100 mph style, we loaded this weekend with lots of fun activities. Friday evening started our wedding phase of the weekend. It all began with our 5 PM rehearsal (not to mention the day of preparation that Jack experienced). We gathered at the Beam Residence, practiced our placement, our walk, our boogie, the music and the kiss (well, they did!). A group dinner of falafel and pita followed, filled our tummies and led to a slumber party with the ladies and bride. The next day (with little sleep) our friend's Zak and Sarah Cooper tied the knot. Sarah was one of the most calm brides I've ever seen. In fact, the "Halo Bride" picture says it all. The only other pictures I have right now are from the salon. It was a GREAT wedding: small, sunny, simple, sentimental and short. The food was great, the guys and gals looked stunning and at the end of the day, they had a wedding celebration they will never forget. It's fun to help friends with momentous events like this!