Put The Lights On The Tree

My original plan for this post included a festive Sufjan song and photos of us in red coats, picking out a Christmas tree and decorating. But today has provided Jesse and me with an opportunity to re-evaluate our values. We've been living on an extremely tight budget in the past several months, working towards being debt free by 2010. The Christmas decorating bill was racking up quickly; with a tree, lights, wreath, and other inevitable trinket expenses, we were looking at close to $100. So we had to ask ourselves, would we rather spend that money to light up our house with the joy of Christmas, or be debt free? It's pretty easy for me to answer that. If we had kids, it would be a whole different story, but as it is, I'll take the freedom, and let the joy that comes from that light up our home.

If you're familiar with Dave Ramsey, good for you! If you're not, please check him out. All of his books are on sale right now for $10. Buy him out! Give the gift of financial freedom this year. It's time to get smart. Time to live like no one else. Time to be part of a community where "Debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off home mortgage replaces the BMW as the status symbol of choice." It feels good to be different.

And what the heck...I'll post that festive song anyway. :)

We Want You Here With Us

Last night we left Uncle Andrew snug in his box on the porch. This morning, he was nowhere to be found. I immediately panicked. Panicked, as in, I sent an e-mail to everyone in our neighborhood, appealed to anything sovereign in a continuous prayer of frenzy, sat on the porch, waiting and crying, and maybe meowing a little. I texted Jesse at work in my despair. When he got home, he walked around to the back of the house, and emerged about three minutes later, Uncle Andrew in tote. Jesse attributes his cat whisperer abilities to the fact that he simply channeled his inner cat. Clearly, everyone has an inner cat. He thought like a cat, and he ended up under the back porch. I look forward to seeing Jesse's inner cat resurface in the future.

After the incident, we went to the pet store to get Uncle Andrew a collar (with a bell, of course) and a name tag. He's kind of a big deal.


This afternoon I made Christmas cookies.

After church tonight, some friends came over to enjoy chili, football and Settlers of Catan. Now the cookies are gone.

Today marks the beginning of Advent, the season of waiting for the Messiah. In a prayer at All Souls, someone spoke the words, "We want you here with us." I want Jesus here with me, in the same way I want my little kitten, my husband, my family and friends, a community of believers. I want their company every day, in every aspect of my life. I want that presence like a flood in my everyday life, bathing me with a sense of belonging and place. We want you here with us--Uncle Andrew, friends, community, Emanuel--we want you here with us.

Uncle Jesse, Uncle Steve, and Uncle Andrew

Well, we're home again, home again. Here's what you missed while we were giving thanks:

On Sunday morning, Ember had to go to the doctor, so Julia stayed with us for a little while. Seeing this makes me want a family. You know, a real one, with children and whatnot.





That night, of course, we went to church at All Souls. I had Jesse take a picture of me because I felt like my mom. Mainly because I was wearing some pretty sweet boots, which my mom pulls off really well.
I was really bummed about missing Thanksgiving in Mississippi in favor of the Midwest. The thing about Indiana is that everyone talks like they're whining all the time. And what with all the video games, corn-eating and Mountain Dew-guzzling, there's not much time for giving thanks. To relieve my woes, I took a last minute trip to my stompin' grounds of Houlka, Mississippi, where I had a huge meal with my family, played games, decorated the Christmas tree, and went back home the next morning, then on to the corn fields that night.

Jesse and Garrett, our 7-year-old nephew, are pictured below. Garrett is a spitfire, but I love him. His spitfire tendencies come from a number of catalysts ranging from dare devil genetics to ordering iced coffees with his happy meals. A couple years ago he got into a fight with his grandmother (on the "other" side) about bringing a zucchini to his teacher on the first day of school. Good thing this picture's a head shot; he's probably only wearing underwear. I'll let that "he" remain ambiguous.



One surprise element of this year's Thanksgiving happened just this morning. I was in the den watching someone play a captivating video game of some sort when I heard a wedding ceremony commence in the kitchen. Jesse's dad married Uncle Steve to his gilfriend of twenty years, Deb, right then and there.



I came home with quite the trove of goods this year, among them a bumper for my car, a new cell phone, and Uncle Andrew:




Uncle Andrew is an angel kitten. I am already head over heels in love with him. Here he is settling into life on Carrick Street:



In his box on the porch...


On the couch with Butter Bean...

...And being adorable in general.

I guess that about wraps it up for now. I'm happy to be home again in my big comfy bed. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

Skip About Like Calves

This is our small group. They are the people to whom I feel the most connected, the group of which I feel the most a part, the community of believers to which I belong. We have lived our life in community with these, who fear His name, for two years now, and we have grown as a family. I am so grateful for these, my friends, my family, my brothers and sisters. Tonight we met at our house. I love it when we meet here, because it makes our house feel like a home, like a big family gathering, like a holiday.


Jeremy stayed after and we finally finished our puzzle!


...And Christin made this delicious cake (which she claimed was in honor of my graduation...) and secretly left it for me on my cake plate! I was overly excited. :)


There is much to be grateful for. :) The gifts of God, for the people of God.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful

I'm a little baby obsessed. In this case "a little baby obsessed" is the loose term I use to mean, "I have an online registry at Babies R Us, I morphed photos of my husband and myself to see our hypothetical child, and I wrote up a mock template of my homeschooling schedule when I was twelve." No big deal.

Lucky for me, my good friend, Kaycie, who already had one beautiful daughter, became my first pregnant friend nine months ago, and I got to live a little vicariously through her. Here are some photos of her baby shower:

(I made that blanket!)

Miss Julia and me. :)

Today, Kaycie,gave birth to a tiny, pink, sweet and perfectly healthy baby, Ember! Jesse and I were honored to get to visit with her at the birthing center this evening. (Also my first midwife experience...very cool!) Here she is!

Happy birthday, beautiful. :)

Here, Take My Sweater

The perfect afternoon looks something like this:



My sweet husband raked all our leaves up and mowed the yard...






...And I played.



Then we went for a walk / bike ride around the neighborhood.










It was an amber day, and those are the very best days.

This Is The Most Magnificent Life Has Ever Been

Today was race day! My first 5k completed, slowly but surely. :) I'll post the finish line picture once it's posted online. Here are some Jesse got:






Here is heaven and earth and the brilliant sky in between. :)

A Little Light Gets Through

It's been a busy weekend full of wonderful blessings happenings and wonderful friends. Here are some highlights:

Jesse and I have continued to read The Magician's Nephew little by little. Butter Bean has also been enjoying the tale, all snuggled up in the sweater which Nicole, his 13-year-old walker / biggest fan, made for him. :)


On Thursday night we went to Maynard Elementary, a few blocks away from our house, for a Mechanicsville community love feast. It was SO wonderful! Delicious Thanksgiving food, warm, friendly community, and an overwhelming sense of hope for the redemption of our neighborhood flooded our hearts.

Friday I graduated from my nurse assistant training course at the Red Cross! I am so glad I decided to do this class! I have such a great feeling about nursing...like it's something I can do and feel proud of and know I'm making a difference in people's lives every day. I have an interview at the University of Tennessee Medical Center Monday, and hope for many more interviews. After I work for a few months, I'll continue with my schooling to become an RN.

That night I had dinner with some of our lovely small group folks, then creamed them in a rousing game of Settlers of Catan.

Today we went to see Jesse's cousin, Daniel, play in a basketball game at Johnson Bible College, then went out to dinner with him and some of his brothers and sisters, and Zach, who is practically a member of the family, too, and will be coming to Johnson in January. :) We had so much fun playing Settlers last night, we decided to do it again...add a puzzle, hot tea, and some pre-seasonal Christmas music to that mix, and you've got magic.







And the Lord looks down on another day. God is in his heaven, and all is right with the world.