The Christmas Carol

Yesterday we went to see the Christmas Carol. I'm a sucker for Christmas movies anyway...but this one my friends...I loved! It will be a staple in our house for many years to come! If you can...go see it in 3D, it is AMAZING! I have seen several 3D movies and this one is the neatest! Go see it!

And to make it feel even more like Christmas this year - we woke up to snow flurries! Love it!

Keeping Christmas

I have been hearing the words "Keeping Christmas" a lot this year. Whether it be on the radio, on TV, at church, in stores....wherever...I have heard it a lot.

Upon hearing these words over and over this Christmas season, I have been thinking a lot about what in the world they mean? What does it mean to "Keep Christmas?" Does it mean, keep the spirit of Christmas? Does it mean keeping the Christmas traditions? Does it mean keeping "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays?"

To inquire further...I brought it to our high school youth group this last Sunday. I gave them each a piece of paper and had them fill in the blank: Keeping Christmas means ___________.

Smart kids. Keeping Christmas means...Keeping Christmas about Jesus! Amen!

To follow up with the lesson, I had them each write down three things they were going to do this Christmas season in order to "Keep Christmas."

I challenge each of us to do the same. Think of at least 3 things you are going to do in order to "Keep Christmas" this year. If you want, please...share!

Good thoughts...

Once again, a thought from my flip calendar I want to share:

"To know God is to receive his invitation. Not just to hear it, not just to study it, not just to acknowledge it, but to receive it. It is possible to learn much about God's invitiation and never respond to it personally."

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." Hebrews 4:7

Good words and good thoughts for this Christmas season!

One year

Goose turned one on December 1st. We have been keeping a photo record of his tremendous growth. In short...he got big. We took all the pictures in the same spot. Look at the height of the couch to get an idea.

9 weeks old.

6 months old.

One year old.

Isn't he BEAUTIFUL?!?!?

Thanksgiving

We had a WONDERFUL thanksgiving. Best friends Dave and Jess came up along with my best sis Polly. We at A LOT of food the entire weekend. Highlights from this Thanksgiving holiday:

- Up early cooking pie with sister
- Lots of food...all very yummy
- My Birthday cake...from baskin robbins...Chocolate galore!
- The sun came out for one day so we went on a hike along a bluff
- We discovered the single best restaurant in Washington. A mom and pop place called mosquito chili. People...I'm telling ya...they had food to die for. Polly wanted a little place by the water to eat at...so we stumbled on one. We will be returning.
- Poker...yep, we like to invite people over, make them buy in to a poker game...and then...take their money. :)
- Craps. Polly and Craig both made some money! WHOOOO HOOO!
- Birthday dinner at my fav restaurant in town. Clams and noodles for me...with lots of baked garlic and bread. Is there a better dinner?
- Cranium. The boys didn't even stand a chance. We whooped it up folks!
- Sitting talking with my girls. Girl talk...can't beat it.
- We found the coolest park...huge swings and a mini zip line!
-Two words...awkward turtle.

One heck of a holiday. What a blessing. Here are some shots.

I did a little photo shoot of the sis.

Polly and Goose.

Oh boy. Weird dog. Weirder sister.

These swings were super sweet.

My ladies.

The spread. Yummy.

On our hike.

Dave braving it through the cactus bushes.

Hike on the bluff.

Beautiful day.

The crew

Swinging. ..I felt like I was going to fall off.

We need one of these in our backyard.

Jess on the mini zip line. HILARIOUS!

Go dave go!

Jess getting Dave ready to go!

Early morning pie cooking. Can you tell it is early?

phew

4 quizzes, 2 tests, 3 projects, 100 pages of reading...and I'm spent. Four weeks of school shoved into one little week. Phew. Now...I'm ready for Thanksgiving. My sis, my dave, with a little Jesse "i done now" on the side. I can not wait.

Tennis Time

Craig is on a Tennis league here, and he is just loving it. He plays once or twice a week. He is pretty dang good (if I say so myself) and I believe he has the best score in the league thus far? I'll have to confirm that with him. I went along last week to watch (I've never seen him play). My point and shoot was no good for action shots so I got some video instead. Sorry about the shaky camera ...(Craig is the one serving...)

Port Townsend

This last weekend, we woke up on Saturday to some super blue skies so we decided to take a ferry trip to a little town called Port Townsend. The town is on the Olympic Peninsula, and is rich with history. Back in the early 1900s, it was called "The City of Dreams." It was projected to be the biggest port on the west coast. Well, as the depression would have it, the railroad going from Seattle to Port Townsend was never built, so the dreams of the successful port came to a halt. It is pretty much a retirement community now. The town is really neat however because it is rich with Victorian houses, that are just stunning. It has a neat little downtown with cute soda shops, restaurants, etc. We ate some lunch, drove around, went for some ice cream at a soda shop, and then headed home. Here are some pics from our trip.

The ferry left for Port Townsend at 1:30. This is the time on our clock when we pulled onto the ferry. Yes indeed...we barely made it...and we got the last available spot! phew.

BEAUTIFUL Day!

Almost there!


Port Townsend from the Ferry (I wish I had my DSLR camera with me...)

While driving around we came across this light house. Isn't it picture perfect! (once again wishing I had more than just a point and shoot!!)

Here is a little bookstore we found in town. Aisles of old books. Craig is in Heaven!

We had a blast....I love little old towns.

The story of Job

This year was the first time I have really sat down and read/studied the story of Job in the bible. I have fallen in love with this story. Seriously what a story!

This book helps us understand the age old question: "Why do bad things happen to good people...why me?"
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A quick summary about the story of Job: Job is stated in the bible by God to be "a man that is blameless and upright." The devil enters the story questioning God about Job's faithfulness arguing that Job is only so faithful because he has everything. He challenges God to take everything away from Job. The devil was convinced that if Job had nothing, his faith would be lost.

Job 1:12: "The Lord said to Satan, "very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

From here, Job's life seems to fall apart before our very eyes. Job's farm animals were all taken, his servants were all killed, his house fell down in a storm, Job's body was plagued with leprosy...etc. The streak of "bad luck" continues through the story. The story consists of back and forth conversation between Job, God, Satan, and some of Job's friends. Job's wife and friends all tried to convince Job that what was happening to him was "unfair." Job on the other hand...he remained firm and did not lose the hope in the mercy of God. At the end of the story:

Job 42: 10 - "After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before."
__________________

This story has so many elements that are simply... AMAZING!

1) Where does suffering come from? Suffering comes from evil. Evil comes from the consequence of independence.

2) Then why does God give us independence? God has loved us enough to give us independence. With Independence we are given choices and these choices have consequences. The biggest choice of all...to have a relationship with Him. If God did not give us this choice....it would not be a relationship, because a relationship that is forced...is no relationship at all.

3) So...is God the cause of suffering...no....is he in charge of it...yes! Even though God does not cause our suffering, He uses it diligently to fit into his purpose. This means that God has a purpose for our suffering...great purpose.

4) God may use our suffering so that we can help others later, or maybe to glorify the righteousness of God, or maybe to bring us or others closer to Him. We may never know the purpose of the sufferings in our lives...but He does.

5) There is a great beauty in knowing this truth. When you love and trust God, we learn to trust in God's control over everything in our lives...including our suffering. What a relief!

Royalty in the family

My uncle (mom's side) is big into geneology. He has traced our family back to 1194! That is a loooooong time ago. It doesn't get cooler than that. It is really quite incredible and very interesting. He has completed a 350 pdf document with all of the "family tree" information in it... complete with pictures and a lot of stories/history etc.. It even includes our family's coat of arms (pictured to the left).

My uncle is constantly adding on and updating it, and today he came out with a pretty sweet connection/update! Here is part of the e-mail he sent out to the fam:

" Last week I was reading a magazine article about the geneology of the royal families of Europe. To my surprise, Princess Di (deceased) claimed to be a "Sanborn." I was reluctant to accept this interloper into our fold without further investigation. It is one thing to have a family where renegade members have gone off and joined the Republican Party but this is a situation where a descendant from an early Sanborn is an heir to the throne of England. The attached geneology shows that indeed Princes Di's claim was valid and she trees into our tribe. About 12 generations ago we shared a common grandfather."

Giddy up! Princess Di and I are related! I always felt there was a little royalty in my blood ;).

Halloween Activity III

Time to PARTY! First...we had to get our costumes all ready! It was a big decision this year..but the verdict was...."Jon and Kate's last Date." Thank you Mr. Lyman for the Jon and Kate Gosselin idea! We wanted to spice it up a little...and make it their last date. With a couple of black eyes, some nice blood (that fake stuff looks way too real), a nice blond wig, and some knives, we were ready to go. Putting on all the makeup was a blast, but I have to say, as I put on the "blood" it really grossed me out. ICK!

After we were all ready to go, and most of the trick or treater had come and gone, we were on our way to a Halloween Party at a friend's house! Lots of creepy food, lots of crazy dancing, and some hilarious costumes. Heck...I even ran into Kate Gosselin before the divorce. Even Octo-mom made an appearance. Awesome!

That looks way to real for me! Ouch!

Here we are...Jon and Kate's last date! Beautiful. Aren't we a lovely couple.


Hey...Here is Kate Gosselin before the divorce! Nice.



Mark (Franko) and Craig. Seriously...classic.

Dood...Mike (the Jedi) and I.

Molly (Bride of Franko) and I. Bloody.

It is Octo-Mom! My personal favorite!

And...when it was time to go home for the night...we had a gift on our car. It looks like Octo-mom wanted to unload. :)

Halloween Activity Part II

Time for Trick or Treaters! The night was perfect for trick or treaters. No rain, and even warm enough to wear a costume without a coat!

To polish off the scary "scene" outside, we added a couple of last minute items. We replaced our normal porch lights with flicker lights (they look like flames) and we stuck a fog machine (borrowed from the church) in the casket with the arm hanging out. With a little music, and with the sun down...it was quite creepy. The younger kids...they weren't so sure. They walked slowly...and cautiously up to the front door as they heard the spooky music! MWWW HA HA HA! Mission accomplished!

Notice the spooky music in the background!

The Pumpkins

Halloween Activity #1:

Carve Pumpkins. I decided to do something a little different with mine this year and make a star lantern. Craig's pumpkin is scary (of course ;)). His pumpkin turned out really neat...especially since it makes some super spooky shadows!

Check out those shadows!

The Tommy Thompson Trail

I love this trail, and in the fall...it is absolutely stunning with all the leaves. This trail used to continue on to a bridge that went right over the ocean. Just about every time we walked over it, we would spot at least one seal.

A couple of weeks ago...a hippie set it on fire because it was "interfering with the natural currents." Grrrrrrr! The good news...the town is determined to rebuild it ASAP...the goal is by next spring. Most of the trail is still open however, so we have still been able to go on walks (just not over the ocean).

Here is a couple of snap shots from today's walk.

Here is the bridge a couple of weeks ago :(.

Isn't that terrible? What a shame. They burnt it down because it was "bad for the environment?" Hmmm...setting it on fire sure was good for the environment (as you can see). Sigh. Hippies.

Apple Pie...Before...and After

I love pumpkin patches and apple orchards. There are plenty around here, it is just a matter of choosing one to go to. We chose one called Jones Creek Farms. It was wonderful! Upon pulling up, they offered hot cider and gave explicit instructions "walk through the apple orchards, pick as many apples as you want, taste all that you want, and if you don't like an apple, throw it under the tree. Eat lots!" So that is exactly what we did. We were lucky that the weather was on our side so it wasn't raining and it wasn't too cold. We walked through the orchards and picked some apples off the trees. Every apple we tasted...we liked...so we didn't throw any under the trees...but we did come out rather full. They also had a little pumpkin patch. Unfortunately most of the pumpkins had already been picked, but we did find two that looked like good carving material. So, we made it home with about 8 apples, all different kinds, and two pumpkins.

.

Yesterday, I decided to make a yummy apple pie with our pickings. With some good advice from my mom on how to make a more flaky crust, it turned out AWESOME! Once combining the flour and the Crisco, cut it with a knife until it is in small chunks. Then, work it through your fingers crumbling it further...but don't squish the dough because this will make for some hard dough. After that, add in a little bit of ice cold water until you can roll up the dough into a rollable ball.

While making the pie yesterday, it brought me back to the first pie I ever made...4 years ago. We were living in Texas, it was Thanksgiving, and Craig got called in to work. I wasn't sure when Craig would be coming home, but I went forth making dinner any way. My first task was an apple pie. I had a list of ingredients, but no instructions. The pie..didn't turn out too great. First, I had some weird type of butter Crisco since the regular kind was all sold out. Second, I didn't have a rolling pin. Third, I didn't know the trick of "cutting the flour and Crisco" so instead I just added the flour, Crisco, and water...and stirred. The dough was completely unrollable and I ended up using the "patch technique." The Fourth reason the pie turned out horrible was because...well, I didn't peel the apples. Whoops. I remember when Craig came home, there was flour all over, I was using our sugar canister as a rolling pin, and I was so frustrated because my dough would not roll. I baked it anyway, and it was edible, and I remember Craig doing his very best to say how good it was as he picked unexpected cooked apple peels from his teeth.

Last night, while Craig tried my new and improved pie....he too remembered my first pie and said, "this one tastes a lot better...without the peels and all."

Thanks honey! :)

When I'm found in the desert place

Blessed be Your name. This is one of my favorite songs to listen to when I'm spending time in prayer. This song speaks to me a lot. Blessed be Your name...every blessing You pour out, I'll turn back to praise, When the darkness closes in, Lord still I will say...Blessed be your name.

My relationship with God has taught me to love Him and trust Him even when I disagree with what He wants or if I have no idea what He wants.

God has been teaching me some powerful lessons this year. I have been very humbled. Do I have anything to complain about...no, I can't. I have way too many blessings to be thankful for.

The desert place. I'm coming up on a year since I left my job at the Naval base. It has been quite the year, and one day I'll look back and say, "what I wouldn't give for a year off." But here I am, almost a year later since I've been employed and great anxiety is setting in. Yes indeed I have been in school, but will it pan out in the end? I don't know. Will I ever find a job? I don't know. I think it is my purpose I am most worried about? What is God's purpose for me? Did I miss something? Certainly He doesn't have it in His plans for me to be doing nothing. Or...maybe He does? Why? I'm trying to do something...anything. I've never been in such a situation. It has always been about...trying...then going and getting it...no problem. But, I'm knocking on doors here, no one is answering. I want to work...and work hard, but there is not one door open. God is patiently waiting to open a door, and I'm trying so so hard to stand here with patience. Head up, shoulders back. The problem, patience is not my strong suit.
So....as long as I keep knocking, I have to believe someone will answer and a door will open. I guess I have to believe that God's plan for me is to "do nothing" (other than statistics **sigh**) right now. What a weird plan, and certainly a career desert. It isn't my plan however, and I have to have faith that it is the right plan. So...Blessed be Your name. When I'm found in the desert place. Though I walk through the wilderness. Blessed be Your name.

The smoke detector...haunted

So, our smoke detector knows it is Halloween time. It started beeping yesterday morning, so I quickly grabbed a ladder and a battery. I changed the battery....and... it still beeped. All day...while doing my homework...BEEP....BEEP....BEEP! I had a headache by the time Craig finally came home. I figured he knew the special trick to get it to quiet. Well, he changed the battery (again)...and 20 seconds later...BEEP BEEP. We wanted to watch the Broncos game and worry about it later so Craig unplugged and removed the entire thing from the ceiling. We also removed the battery from it. This is when things got creepy. So there we were, sitting there enjoying the game...and....BEEP! BEEP! The smoke detector. It was removed the ceiling, sitting on our counter, no battery. Again..BEEP BEEP. 15 minutes later...BEEP BEEP. Where is it getting the power!?!? Short of throwing it out the window, we ran to the store, got a spankin new battery stuck it in, plugged it back in, problem solved. But...the question still remains..how does a smoke detector work with no power! It is haunted, I swear.

Boo!

It is that time of year again! We made our yearly trip to Party City to gather some Halloween decorations to add to our collection. I give the reigns to Craig as far as decorating...I like cute...he likes scary. As we drove to Party City today I was asking him if we should get some cutsie decorations this year. His response, "There is nothing cute about a ghost Katie." Got it. Nothing cute about a ghost, we'll go with scary. So...this year, we added on a bloody hand, a weird net thing, and a cemetery door sign. Also this year...we are borrowing from our church a strobe light and a fog machine on Halloween night! Pretty sweet. We have music and everything. At night it looks cooler, but you'll have to use your imagination. Once it was all set up, some of the neighborhood kids came over to run in our grave yard. They weren't so sure about the bloody hand...but they finally got close enough to see that it was fake. I can't wait for Halloween this year. Now, all we need are some good costume ideas... MWWW HA HA HA HA!



The Graveyard! Halloween night...Fog, a strobe light, and some music...Boo!


Ewww...holding the bloody hand!

Check out the new net thing...we hung some bones from it.

VIVA Las Vegas!

Last weekend...Vegas! We met some of Craig's family there for a nice getaway weekend. Craig and I arrived a day early, and spent some time with our good friends Dave and Jess, ate some good food, and then spent the day on the strip just walking around. Our favorite thing to do in Vegas...people watch. Wow..you see some interesting things. The next day, Craig's family arrived. We met them for a late dinner and the weekend began! Highlights from the weekend:

- Drinks are expensive..yes indeed...however, they are free too! Just chase a cocktail waitress around, sit at a slot machine, hand husband a wad of cash...and...cha ching!...the cocktail waitress heads right over to ask what we want to drink! For free! Sweet! Good times.

- Make a game out of chasing the cocktail waitress for free drinks. So....good idea?...absolutely! Run into casino, competition is on. Um...we forgot to tell Craig's fam, that we are sort of pros at the free drink thing...so yes...of course we won! :)

- Yummy food everywhere! We ate at a really good Asian restaurant. Everyone ordered something different, and then we all shared. Yummy....and thank you Scott for picking up the tab on this dinner (he actually played the slots while chasing the waitress around...and he won $200!)...see free drinks pay!

- A good game of craps! Craig found a crazy craps table in the Casino Royale. A loud table is a winning table! Cha Ching!

- Circus Circus....or as Craig calls it Cirque de Cirque (sounds fancier...does it better justice :)). Okay...so confession. Craig and I are well...sort of cheap....especially when it comes to Vegas. We don't care where we stay as long as it is cheap. Okay $20 bucks a night...we're there! So we stayed in Circus circus. Minus the weird clown pictures everywhere, the clown TV shows, and the weird clown that came with our room (ok...just kidding about this one), it wasn't bad. It was a little far down on the strip...but that meant a lot of interesting walks to and from our hotel...late at night...can't beat that!

- Watching some uber duber rich guy play black jack...$5000 a hand? Seriously? Wow. $5 a hand is a little pricey if you ask me.

- And last but not least...I did indeed watch $800 disappear into thin air. One roulette spin, all on...was it Odd? And boom, gone, just like that. Wow...almost lost my lunch!

- After Craig's fam left for the airport, we had a few hours to spare so we spent the afternoon with Dave and Jess. Highlights...got to see their BEAUTIFUL house...way cute...and Bogie (their dog) likes me now! Last time...he wasn't too smitten with me!

A great weekend..and Craig is already trying to figure out when we're going back! Circus Circus, here we come!~

On our way back to the Cirque de Cirque one night!

Notice the scary clown in the background. Clowns everywhere!


Yummy Dinner! Lots of food.

The crew

The Gals!

De Boys.

And...a creepy clown picture in our room. Waking up to this thing every morning...not sure it is worth the $20.