An Absurd Gift

We attended church this past Sunday at Crestwood Presbyterian Church near Richmond, VA.  My sister attended services there a few times in the past and she was excited about going to church with family.  We all enjoyed the service and especially liked the message about how the gift of Christ is absurd.  I wish I could remember the name of the gentleman who shared the message.  All I know is that he runs an inner city ministry in Richmond and frequently fills the pulpit at the Crestwood churches.

In typcial preacher style, he had three reasons for why the gift of Christ is absurd.  First, absurd gifts are often incredibly practical.  Second, absurd gifts often require action on our part.  The absurd gift, finally, is a gift that only becomes fully useful and understood over time.  There were numerous pertinent examples of absurd gifts and how Christ fits.  Gallons of milk, super size underwear, and garden benches were among the examples given. The sermon was well presented and enjoyed by everyone in our party, including S10 and M8.  Quite an accomplishment!

We left the service thanking God for the absurd gift we all received and the sermon that reminded us of it.  What a blessing to spend one of the days of Christmas celebrating with family!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Ready for the Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterian.

Snuggling in their Christmas pajamas.  Pants made with love by Mom.

The children are nestled all snug in their beds and all the presents are under the tree.

Advent: Day 23 - Christmas Adam

Today was our day to celebrate being a family at Christmas time.  I know, you are probably wondering what we've been doing for the last 23 days if not celebrating.  And, you are right.  We have celebrated all God's blessings for the last four weeks.  But, today was special.

First, we participated in the Nativity play at church.  H13 read the narration.  S10 was a wiseman and a shepherd.  M8 was the angel.  I wrote and directed the program.  If I do say so myself, it was lovely. 

After church, we enjoyed our normal Christmas Adam activities.  Each year we take this day and celebrate Christmas Adam, the day before Christmas Eve because as everyone knows Adam came before Eve.  Yes, it's a little goofy but we love it.  Here is a post I wrote several years ago about our Christmas Adam tradition. 

Today we shopped at a new Dollar Tree.  The kids are older and we just handed them their money and turned them loose.  They completed their shopping in less than half an hour.  They wrapped their own gifts without help.  Shane asked if plastic grocery bags were acceptable wrapping materials.  Nice try but, no, they aren't.  After our shopping was complete we enjoyed lunch at Applebee's, laughing and talking through it.  Our waitress was chatty and fun.  Our food was good.  The company was excellent.

A successful tradition continues.

Advent: Day 21 - Winter Solstice

Another tradition continues.  Despite the possible end of the world, despite snow and ice, the party went on. 

The food was an Italian theme.  We enjoyed several kinds of olives, roasted peppers, pepperoncini, two types of salami, a variety of cheeses, bread sticks, pasta fagioli, and meatballs.  Dessert included flourless chocolate cake and three types of mini cupcakes.  Delicious!

Once again, new friends and neighbors mingled with old friends we hadn't seen in awhile.  The weather kept the phone and text buzzing with cancellations all day Friday but we still had over 30 people enjoying our hospitality.  The kids played inside and out.  I understand that an epic snowball battle took place.  Irish cream was served and our night was merry and light.  Once again, we did our best to make this long dark night a little lighter.

Advent: Day 18 - Breakfast for Supper

Pancake sundaes, sausage and quiche were the highlights of this breakfast for supper. 

Everyone loved the concept.  We may have to do this more often.

The Jesse Tree: The Wisdom of Solomon



The story of Solomon.



The Jesse Tree: Dancing



The Story of David, Part 2



Advent: Day 17 - Christmas Cards

Our family activity this evening was to sign, fold, stuff, and stamp all our cards.

This is the picture from our Christmas card this year.

These are two other pictures that I think turned out especially well.

Here's a copy of the Christmas letter:

The White House Farm Follies
2012

I will start by saying; it has been another blessed year. God continues to amaze us with His grace, mercy and forgiveness.

M is now 8 years old. She played soccer in both spring and fall. She participated in a soccer camp this year and learned some amazing new moves. You will have to ask her to show you the scorpion move sometime. She also became an expert with the hula hoop.

S is now 10 years old. He played football again this year. This year he played for The Waterford Wildcats. Once again, Shane was recognized as one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated players by the coaching staff. In addition, he’s an artist and aspiring author.

H is now 13 years old. She is an avid reader. No….she is a devourer of books. She also is becoming quite the archer. During the 4H fall shooting sports season, Halley placed 1st in her division. Yea, she beat the boys too.

K is now 16 years old. Can u say OMG! She is driving now in her 2001 black VW Cabrio convertible. This year she is studying cosmetology at the career center and taking courses to meet her high school requirements. Her plans are to get her cosmetology license and then use it to work her way through college. I like that plan a lot! It includes college and less pay out for me.

Robin is now….Oh, I am not that stupid. She has really bought into the whole farming thing. Robin loves going to the farmer’s auction and then canning tomato sauce, green beans, corn, salsa, eggplant, etc. Home schooling H, S, and M is still the big activity. This year she was selected by Operation Christmas Child to be a community relations regional coordinator. Staying busy is not a problem for her.

Me? Oh, I had a little heart issue in July. After a quadruple by-pass, I am now officially part of the zipper club. I went back to work in September and completed cardio rehab in November. I am healthier now than I have been in years. God is good, all the time.

On the farm side, we were a bit more successful this year. We raised and butchered our first steer and T-bone is delicious. We added a dozen Easter egg chickens to our laying flock and are now receiving more pink, green and blue eggs than we can eat. We raised and harvested another 100 meat chickens and our own Thanksgiving turkey. We currently have two steer on pasture. The dogs and cat are doing well. Gardening and the bees were not as successful this year as part of July, August and September were focused on my recovery.

We did get off the farm a bit. Robin, H, S, and M spent time in Norfolk, VA with Robin’s sister, Christy. While there they got to tour Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg. In June, we all spent a week in Atlanta. In addition to our sightseeing in Atlanta, we were blessed to visit with Aunt Ginger, George and Annie Westlund and their children. A fun day at Stone Mountain, GA was definitely a highlight. After that we joined the Westlund family for Shoopa! in Tybee Island. In July we became jet setters, and traveled to Idaho to help my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Since then we’ve been sticking pretty close to home. We were blessed to have lots of family visit us through the fall. Sandy Schmidt, Christy Westlund, and Julie McMahon have all been by at least twice. Amy Daniels and Sarah IntVeld, with her children, have also dropped in. Bill and Katie Westlund have made numerous stops on their way criss-crossing the country. It’s wonderful that all roads lead through Ohio. Jim and Jill Wells have become regular guests and are wonderful fans for all sporting events.

We love company and love to show people our farm and farm animals. Stop in for a visit or a long stay.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year



Advent: Day 16 - Wild Lights and Santa

On Saturday night we watched the weather.  The Sunday forecast was for thunderstorms.  We discussed going to Wild Lights at the Columbus Zoo, but we didn't want to take that drive on a day we couldn't really enjoy the spectacle.  Because of the weather forecast we decided to move a zoo trip to sometime after Christmas.

Sunday arrived with overcast skies but no thunderstorms.  A check of the weather on Sunday afternoon showed cloudy skies with mild temperatures.  The predicted thunderstorms were postponed until Monday.  We made a fast decision to go to the zoo and moved just as quickly to get on the road. 

Our alternate plan for Sunday involved a long winter's nap and breakfast for dinner.  In addition, I wanted to go to the local pharmacy for their Christmas party and pictures with Santa.  Only K16 and H13 managed to get the nap.  I was thrilled that Wild Lights included Santa.  Our first stop upon entering the zoo was Santa's home where we took a picture with Santa.

After a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, we strolled through the light strung trees enjoying to the sights and sounds of Christmas at the zoo.  We also stopped to enjoy a group of performers called Signs of the Season.  They gave Christmas caroles and songs a new dimension with American Sign Language.  After the performance we went in search of what we thought was going to be a group of 27 arbors made up of animatronic trees.  What we got was 27 stuffed animals sitting on a Christmas tree shaped frame.  We left laughing at how the description was much more grand than the reality.

We all enjoyed seeing the lights.  Since we were zoo members this year the experience was worth the drive.  I'm not sure we'll make this an annual event.

We were all hungry by the time we left the zoo so we went in search of delicious food.  We found what we were looking for in nearby Easton at The Cheesecake Factory.



Advent: Day 14 & 15 - Another Change in Plans

On Friday, we took a family walk then Rob and I went Christmas shopping and to his department Christmas party.  The kids picked up McDonald's for dinner and watched t.v.  Not exactly family Advent activities but necessary none the less.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a fire in the fireplace

 and made melting snowman cupcakes for the church Christmas dinner. 

Advent: Day 13 - St. Lucia

For several years we've saluted our Swedish heritage by celebrating St. Lucia day.  The idea of a blonde haired girl with a crown of candles is an appealing one for my daughters.  We let them carry candles if they choose but have always stopped them from putting anything burning on their heads.  In past years, I've made various kinds of cinnamon rolls and sweet buns.  This year I decided to make the real deal, St. Lucia buns.  Our activity of the day indicated that we were to have a tea party and celebrate St. Lucia.  Time ran short.  The bread didn't rise according to schedule.  Our tea party turned into dinner with St. Lucia (Italian pesto) soup.  M8 hauled out the tea party gear anyway.  I was just thankful she didn't want to light the candles and balance them on her head.

Despite the long rising time, the St. Lucia buns turned out beautifully.  Now that I know I can make this recipe and that it's very delicious, we'll be enjoying the real thing as part of our tradition.

The Jesse Tree: The Shepherd King

The story of David

The Jesse Tree: "Speak, Lord, For Your Servant Is Listening"

The story of Samuel

The Jesse Tree: The Foreigner

The story of Ruth

Advent: Days 10, 11 & 12 - Candlelight Celebration, Cookies, and Conversation

We are still having a wonderful time with our Advent celebrations.  I just haven't been great about taking pictures and getting them posted.  This week we made gingerbread, but we still have the cookies to cut, bake and decorate.  The dough is waiting patiently in the refrigerator.  Things got busy on Monday and Tuesday nights.  

Tuesday we had our last co-op of the year and then went to the library.  Because of some errands that took longer than expected (Don't they always?!), we arrived at the library just a little late for the Christmas party.  We all got to enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches cut like gingerbread men and marshmallow snowmen.  After enjoying the library Christmas party and checking out a generous number of books, we took our food donation to the local food bank. That was a worthwhile adventure and one that we will repeat with more regularity.

Tuesday we followed the Advent plan as previously scheduled.  December 11 is my mother's birthday so a candle light dinner was the perfect way to celebrate.  I love celebrating birthdays even when the people we are celebrating can't be there to join us.  My picture doesn't really show our lovely ambiance because my flash works really well and I don't really understand all my camera's settings.  You'll just have to believe that the lights were out and that we did indeed have dinner by candle light. 



We even enjoyed birthday cake!  My Grandmother Westlund's recipe.  Someday I may share it here.

 On December 12 we made cookies, lots and lots of cookies.  Nutmeg, Lemon, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.  We are delivering cookie plates to our neighbors on December 13 so we had to get ready. 

Once the cookie bake-athon was done we met in the living room for a cookie and eggnog snack and Christmas conversation.  I love hearing my children talk about their favorite Christmas traditions and things the are looking forward to this year.  The conversation was full of side-tracks and off the wall comments but was fun. 

Advent: Day 9 - Little Women of Orchard House and Shopping for the Food Pantry

At this point I'm thinking that my plans for Advent were really just suggestions.  When I started thinking about Advent my purpose was to create a time that focused on being together as a family and thinking about God and others.  Even though we aren't following my original schedule exactly we are having a wonderful time. 

Today we went to see Little Women of Orchard House, a youth theater production of the Mid-Ohio Valley Players.  We've seen the movie version of Little Women and learned a bit about the time during the Civil War in the United States.  Our background knowledge made this play especially enjoyable.  We were all impressed with the quality of the performances and each had our favorite actor/character.

One of the things that I hadn't really planned was including a service activity on Sundays.  After our experience last week when we went shopping for a needy child, we decided that having a special others focused activity on Sunday was something we enjoyed and wanted to continue.  This week we decided to pick up food for our local food bank.  We'll be dropping the food we purchased on Tuesday.

Advent: Day 8 - Christmas Party

According to our original schedule, today was suppose to be the day we made gingerbread guys. Today was also the day of Rob's company's family Christmas party.  The gingerbread guys had to be put on hold to make time for saying goodbye to Grandmomma and Grandpap as they continued their drive to Florida. 

By the time we got dressed for the day it was time to leave for skating, pizza, and Santa courtesy of KERC.  While we skipped the gingerbread guys for now, we will definitely be making them before Christmas.

Advent: Day 7 - Grinch Day

On December 7, we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  While the kids prefer the Jim Cary version of this classic tale.  I prefer the old cartoon animated version.  Since this is my activity, I got to choose the version.  While we disagreed on the best Grinch, we all agreed that these Grinch shakes were delicious.

The Jesse Tree: "Let My People Go!"

The story of Moses

The Jesse Tree: Famine and Plenty