Christmas

So, my birthday was pretty great. It started off with a phone call from my dad at 7:01 Friday morning. He’s a bus driver for Mountainburg Schools (as well as a grocery store assistant manager and Southern Baptist preacher), and every birthday he waits until all his kids are on the bus, then calls me so they can all sing Happy Birthday to me. Seriously, this makes me tear up just thinking about my dad going to all that effort each year. I’ve grown to look forward to that call almost as much as my birthday itself.

After a long day of professional development, I came home and waited for John. When he got home, I opened presents! He bought me a copy of My Life in France by Julia Child, having taken note of my affection for her after watching Julie & Julia several months ago. In addition to other lovely gifts - chocolate-covered raisins, an EcoCup, a hand-written letter - he also took me to Arsaga’s Espresso Cafe, which is sentimental and delicious at the same time.

Last year, John took me to Arsaga's and we played UpWords. He recreated that for me again this year :)

Then we went to Greenhouse Grille and had delicious, organic, seasonal food such as cranberry walnut bruschetta, KC strip with shittake mushrooms, and yam cakes with grilled vegetables.

John, showing off the appetizer.

Yum. Cranberry Walnut Bruschetta with Feta and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

The next day, mom and dad came up to visit! We went to Mellow Mushroom....

And I got a card from Jen! And my grandma Bisby!

And we went to a charity event for Mama Carmen’s coffee!

________________________________________________________________

And then, two weeks later, we have Christmas.....oh Christmas.
This Christmas season really caught me off guard. I wanted to do all kinds of homemade crafting, gifting, and baking, but apparently my mental calendar didn’t sync with reality, and I’m left with 3 days and only a fraction of my initial motivation.

But here are the things I would like to actually accomplish over the break, in no particular order:

• begin our engagement/wedding/honeymoon scrapbook
• finish reading the following books: My Life in France by Julia Child, Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller, A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards, Desiring God by John Piper
• begin reading the following books: Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams, cookbooks, and any interesting books I get for Christmas
• clean out the guest room closets and kitchen cabinets, donating extra items to Potter’s House Thrift
• send out applications to the public library, area universities, and maybe some coffee shops
• knit at least two more scarves, then try my hand at gloves (hehe) and maybe socks
• put together a list of next year’s Christmas ideas, so that I’ll be slightly more prepared for the holiday madness. This includes printing off all the pdf files I found on Martha Stewart’s web site (which also requires me to get black ink for my printer), printing off the Christmas card list, and writing down any epiphanies John and I had while buying gifts. Also, a collection of any Christmas recipes I think I might use
• send thank you notes
• try to make a Black Apple doll (I found the pattern on Martha Stewart’s website and fell in love)
• compile a list of birthdays, anniversaries, and significant dates for the two sides of the family
• continue working on the family trees
• finish watching the Band of Brothers series from HBO
• decide if I actually like Community or just really want to like it
• make really good pork chops

But most importantly, I want to rest. It's been a very trying couple of months, and I need some time to breathe and figure out what's going on, where I want to be, and who I should become. Here's a song that's guiding me through, along with some podcasts from Mars Hill Seattle and The Village Church in Dallas.

I'm giving my life to the only one who makes the Moon reflect the sun.

Every Starry Night, that was His design.

I'm giving my life to the only son, who was and is and yet to come

Let the praises ring, 'cause he is everything

'Cause he is everything