do you recall....

...the most famous reindeer of all?
I have a few things to say about Rudolph.
1. If you even have to ask "Do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?", how can that be true? If he's the most famous reindeer then of course people should recall him. And if no one remembers him than he isn't the most famous. Think critically here, people.
2. That future-dentist elf is creepy.
3. One time at church when I was a little girl, a little boy made fun of me for not knowing the silly call-backs to the Rudolph song (like a lightbulb! like pinnochio! like monopoly! like George Washington!). He obviously missed the whole point of the song.
4. I think some girls at Miss Porter's boarding school for rich upper-class girls (Jackie Kennedy Onassis is an alumna) somehow missed the message of Rudolph - a group of students created this clique called "Oprichniki" after the 16th century Russian torture squad and the parents of one girl are suing the school for damages to their daughter's emotions and future college plans because of the emotional stress caused by the taunts of her bullying classmates. Girls can be so mean. It just makes me sick to read about that kind of a thing.

..stays in Iowa

this is why we are a little aloof when people ask what life is like in Iowa: we don't want people to know how we are partying it up in the greatest corn state of the midwest.

thanksgiving, into advent

Thanksgiving was amazing. We visited our families in Michigan - I marvel at how much we packed into those few days. My side of the family took a little higher priority in our time scheduling because of all the out-of-town family visiting, but we managed to enjoy dinner and fun times with both families and even some friends. Perhaps one of the best parts for me was watching Aaron with my little cousins. I loved watching them all interact and play and wrestle and laugh. So fun.

I ran the 5k! This picture is blurry because I was running so fast, obviously. Actually it wasn't that fast but I accomplished my goal, which was ...to finish the whole thing without walking.



And now that thanksgiving is over, I am so excited about christmas! Probably because I don't have any finals to interfere with the unfettered joy that should accompany this season celebrating the word made flesh and the perfect baby being born so man no more may die. Also, our tree is up and it looks amazing.

Catching Up

(I think this should count for a few posts I should have entered a loooong time ago!)
ATM IN PROCESS:
Several times a day I have to write the words "ATM in Process" for part of the paperwork of my job behind the front desk at a bank. Even though this job seems pretty monotonous most of the time, I am trying to remember that who I am and what God is doing through me right now is just an evidence of his grace in process through me.

THANKFUL:
I am very, very thankful for so much in life right now:
* family both here (just the two of us) and far (both sets of parents and siblings all in michigan)
* new church, new friends, new experiences, and new learning in a new place.
* the way I'm growing into my new "job" as wife and partner
* having the time to pick up a new hobby (running) and encouragement from Aaron when I feel not-so-cool about it
* snow


IOWA:
It is really windy here. I suppose this is to be expected when you have a state as flat as a pancake and very few trees. I was running outside yesterday morning instead of using the treadmill in our cushy apartment gym and as the wind blew at me on all sides, I just marveled at how far I could see into the distance. It blows me away. ha.
Here is the Iowa dog that ran with me that one time:
And here are pictures from our Operation Christmas Child shoebox stuffing party. I was afraid of having an empty party, but luckily people came. (Lucky for both my pride and the kids who will get our shoeboxes).

autumn is...

...the bite of the harvest apple.
-Christina Petrowsky

...apple cider, brown leaves, candles, chili, cinnamon, coffee in the afternoon, cool breezes, dirt roads, duck hunting, emerson (as we grow old/...the beauty steals inward), family, friends, gloves, grateful hearts, greetings, hayrides, harvested crops, hugs, indian corn, jack-o-lanterns, knitting, laughter, leaf piles (for jumping in), mashed potatoes, november, october, orange leaves, pumpkin pie, quiet, raking, red leaves, rustling trees, scarves, sweaters, thanksgiving, unstoppable, vests, waiting for christmas, yellow leaves.

let us run with endurance...

...the race that is set out for us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-3, english standard version.

For the first (or maybe it's sort of the second) time in my life, I have started running. A little. Just a couple of miles really, and I usually have to stop and walk a little bit. I have tried this before and I generally drop out after 4 runs. I registered for a 5K on Thanksgiving morning thinking that it would help motivate me to keep training, even if I feel lame and out-of-shape for needing to "train" for a 3.1 mile turkey-trot fun-run. When I give myself a pep-talk to keep up the routine, I think of these verses. I'm also trying to consider the necessity of endurance in some other (non-running) races marked out for me right now. I'm trying to run with endurance the races for a christ-like attitude, marital sacrifice, discipline in my little home, encouraging a friend who is running a life-race far more treacherous than I can fathom, and seeking good friendships in a new place.

The other day I took my usual path outside our apartment and met a new running friend. I hope to see him again soon. It's so much more fun to run with a dog. (I have pictures and a video of the dog but I can't get them to load onto my new computer. I will try again soon.)

This is the basic gist of my current running playlist:
Man! I feel like a woman
Fergilicious
SexyBack
All I Want For Christmas Is You
Truly Madly Deeply
Celine Dion power ballads
Caedmon's Call
I can't lie - there is also some Backstreet Boys, Hanson and Aaron Carter.

patriotism

"To [our opponents], raising taxes is about patriotism. To the rest of America, that's not patriotism. Raising taxes is about killing jobs and hurting small businesses and making things worse. This isn't about anyone's patriotism. It's about Barack Obama's poor judgment." -Sarah Palin

green marriage

Beyond just being good for your body, soul and marriage, it's now clear that n.f.p. is good for the environment. And that makes it so, so trendy.

art

To start this off in good conscience, I want to clearly state that I do not promote the entirety of Rob Bell's theology. However, a broken clock is right twice a day, and someone who loves God (as I am sure Pastor Bell does) is probably right a little more often than that. Some of the things he has to say are thought-provoking and worthy of discussion. I found this article about his reflections on art very impressive.

I liked this article, and I loved this quote: "I would say across cultures unless people have been forced into dehumanizing conditions like slavery, famine, starvation, oppression you find people creating stuff everywhere. Unless there are oppressive forces holding people down, people naturally create. You can find painting all around. You find cave painting, so from the beginning of time, expressing themselves, through whatever medium they had at their disposal, was something humans have done. You could probably argue from that alone that there is something about the human condition that it can’t help but make more."

green leaf

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. (Proverbs 11:28)

the bump trumps all?

Late last night we heard some of the best news that has come our way in a long time: the US handed control of the (formerly) dangerous Al-Anbar province to the Iraqi forces! A few years ago, this area was the most volatile in the country of Iraq. The Al-Anbar province contains cities every self-respecting US Citizen has heard of: Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi. My husband was in Fallujah during his 2006-2007 deployment. The progress his unit made was an important part of this handover. I excitedly looked around the internet today to see how the news would spread. After all, this means the US now controls only 7 of the 18 provinces in Iraq! What do Obama and McCain have to say about this new development!? How will this affect what the Presidential candidates say about the war on terror? How can anyone say the US is losing the war now?

However, all I've heard about is the bump. The teeny baby bump on Republican VP Candidate nominee-to-be Sarah Palin's daughter's tummy. The news was publicly announced to squelch rumors that the Palin's down-syndrome baby was actually the child of their 17-year-old daughter Bristol. I applaud Bristol for continuing the pregnancy. I believe the statement from Sarah Palin confirming the support and love their family offers to their daughter and son-in-law-to-be should be the only acceptable response a Christian parent could give. Mrs. Palin and I are members of Feminists For Life, a pro-woman pro-life group that says abortion is an indicator that women do not have the support and resources to raise their unexpected babies. Maybe more pregnant teenagers would give their children the gift of life if they thought their parents would respond with such firm lovingkindness and compassion.

But really... how does a teenage baby bump trump the evidence of major victory in Operation Iraqi Freedom? Are you kidding me?

what we fondly refer to as "the apt"

Here are a few pictures from our new apartment!

Iowa!

I will put up pictures of our apartment soon. I'm busy applying for jobs and finishing my class. Usually after we get the place super clean to take pictures we just want to collapse on the couch and watch another installment of the HBO miniseries about John Adams. I don't know what we will do when it's over! It is very interesting to re-learn about the beginning of our country with another upcoming election. So far we highly recommend it!
There is a pond outside our building and Aaron got a fish from it for our tank. I will have to write about the fish tank saga sometime. Though we can't see them, we know there are some little piggies around here somewhere. When the wind blows I can't help but think that the big bad wolf might be a welcome predator, but luckily we haven't been too offended by the eau de piglet.

Wedding Pictures!

A few pictures from the wedding.