christmas card 2012.

i downloaded a design from becky higgins again.

this isn't exactly what we're sending because the source i was ordering from wouldn't resize properly...but it's pretty close.

this is what we'll send by email, as a pre-card, we were hoping to get these in the mail much earlier but there was a mistake with the printing and they only arrived over the weekend! i guess we know what my lunch hour will be spent doing this week :)

merry christmas everyone!

i'm linking up with faith's christmas card carousel.

december.

i've been quiet recently. but much to the chagrin of those who know me - that's never going to last long.

i missed reviewing october/november so here's a combo post.

::october/november recap::

spiritual: 

• we've started a new bible study in our homegroup and we're moving through it, will finish for christmas, it's been revelatory to grasp the concept of grace more fully 
• working my way personally through the beth moore proverbs study: wising up - and let me tell you, i am! 
• started a breakfast bible study with some ladies from church, so good to be drinking the word (and coffee) with sisters in christ! 
• memorised: ephesians 2:8, philippians 4:6, habbakuk 3:17&18, psalm 127:2

mental: 

• read: case histories by kate atkinson, readable but not my very favourite 
• read: start your family by candice and steve watters, a good biblical overview of the role of family in a believer's life, now the question is when to start? 
• winter of the world by ken follett, the second in a trilogy spanning the entire 20th century, readable, gripping, multiple storylines and LONG, but in a good way, worth the read, but absolutely necessary to read the first book! 
• the secret keeper by kate morten, this book has been much touted this autumn, and it's good and a compelling read, but it feels very similar to other kate morten books, in the way that all john grishams feel the same? it's a formula, it works, but it loses its magic once you've got this insight...sorry. 
• dear life by alice monroe, this book of short stories stole my heart, i ached for each snippet of life that was detailed. it probably helped that the stories mainly take place in places so familiar i could exactly picture the scenery the bleak and beautiful scenery of southwestern ontario farmland in winter, the beauty of lake huron in high summer. in honesty it made me a little home (and heart) sick, and isn't that what the best of books do to us? if you are familiar with the places of southwestern ontario, particularly those communities near the shores of lake huron, read this. 

physical: 

• i didn't start a 10 km training plan, but i have lost 40cm since july, so i'm feeling pretty great 
• i can leg press 100 kg, yup, you read that right. these quads are on fire!

creative: 

• well i quit photography class. that's ok. 
• i did photograph a friend's wedding and if i say so myself, the photos are at least passable for decent, mainly.
• i've knitted three jumpers and two hats. 
• knitted the cosiest throw blanket in the world

::december intentions::

spiritual: 

• finish off beth moore proverbs lecture series
• finish off bible in a year two years
• advent bible study, slow down, wait expectantly for the saviour of the world. 
• two more scriptures make 24 for the year! 

mental: 

• reading against a deadline: great expectations and life of pi (i know) both before i see the films, big hopes people. 

physical: 

• 'tis the season for cakes, and dinners and lunches, and deliciousness, so let's do this alongside the gym eh? 
• legpress 110 kg by 2013!

creative: 

• christmas cards
• christmas knitting 
• christmas decorating
• christmas baking 
• christmas day menu - so many decisions! 

november.

this month has been out of hand. and mainly looks and feels like this:

i'm ready for the waiting of advent. the preparation of our hearts and heads of the coming of christ.

and a partridge in a pear tree.

i'm a bit behind, but here goes.

we decided to spend christmas just the two of us. we've had an enormous amount of travel this year, and with money short and limited mobility due to surgery six weeks earlier, we just wanted some time to be at home and be together. we are so glad we did! we realise that this probably won't happen very often and actually, sharing our first christmas together, just us, was such a special time.

to say this year's christmas was catagorized by food would be an understatement. we basically ate our way out of the house.

but shall we start at the beginning?

christmas morning was wonderful. we woke up and had our coffee in bed while we opened our stockings. santa was oh so good, bringing cute note cards, a 'keep calm' mug and a book i'm so glad to read - the meaning of marriage by tim keller - love it already. knew that i would!

christmas morning church is a tradition that we started last year, reasoning that with overseas family we might be frequently travelling during the period, but we'd always be able to find a local church. this year it was special to worship at our (new) home church and enjoy a church filled-to-the-brim with small children, oh so excited about christmas. we remarked that it was a fantastic way to remind ourselves of the reason for christmas - christ - and we hope to keep this tradition alive in our family!

we returned to begin the preparations for the feast and open our under-the-tree presents. it was a year of abundant blessings, our offerings were small, our hearts flung open, our bellies were FILLED.

i set to preparing the dinner that ended all dinners. and once it was all in the oven. we headed out for a walk.

prawns on a bed of winter greens with horseradish cream - i substituted prawns for scallops in the recipe, mainly because my fishmonger was all out on christmas eve, but we liked it so much it's getting a second chance at a birthday dinner in six weeks time!

king of his castle.

roast partridge, pheasant and guinea fowl - why go traditional when there's only two mouths? this was stunning and seemingly more appropriate and still an enormous amount of food!

the very best roast potatoes - use goose fat, it changes everything. and i'm not exaggerating at all.

for dessert we had lava cakes, i wasn't thrilled with them. partly they didn't end up as chocolate lava in the middle, partly the oven decided to stop working in the middle of them baking and partly we were just to filled with food to appreciate anything. lesson learned, in future, i'll go for a pre-cooked, light dessert!

the evening was topped off with watching the classic - national lampoon's christmas vacation, love it. and then suffering from a serious case of 'christmas-itis' we went for a midnight walk through our neighbourhood. it was so lovely to see houses lit up and trees in bay windows and the streets completely quiet, save our footsteps and the jingle bell on the collar of the cat that tried to follow us home.

in the deep mid-winter.

it's christmas eve. our first. and yet it is ancient. we celebrate a coming king. a baby born to save the world. emmanuel, god with us. tonight is candlelight hymns and communion at midnight. tomorrow we rejoice for all that god has promised us in this baby.

a traditional canadian christmas eve dinner, tourtiere, so good.  here's the recipe.

a simple salad to accompany. rocket (arugala), with pomegranate seeds, and a pomegranate, clementine and olive oil dressing.

what can i give him, poor as i am? if i were a shepherd, i would bring a lamb. if i were a wise man, i would do my part. yet what i can i give him, give my heart.

in the bleak midwinter. high street hymns.

christmas card 2011.

we're a little behind in sending these off, but i'm determined to get ours in the mail TODAY!!! i'm praying people have grace for us, what with the knee making us a little slow off the mark.

our photo is obviously from the wedding.  kind of a big deal this year. i downloaded the card from becky higgins.

and i love the scripture we've used:

rejoice! celebrate all the good things that god, your god, has given you and your family. deut 26:11

merry christmas. almost.

i'm linking up with faith's christmas card carousel.

simply slow.

over here things have to be prepared for. stamps to be bought. gifts made and wrapped. parcels sent. it can be tiresome. but i remember who i'm giving to. who i'm giving because of.

this year has been very short on the buying. perhaps my least expensive christmas ever. perhaps our least stressful christmas. we're preparing. slowly. intentionally for christmas. making plans. daily devotions focussed on why.

i've been slowed this season. it was just what the ultimate physician ordered. time to sit and read and think and pray and knit. time to enjoy this season of our marriage - not what we thought it would look like, but what he has deemed for us. and it is grace-full.

to simplify.

a simple advent. that's all i want for christmas this year. oh and to get le boy's jumper (sweater) done in time. but how do we prepare? how to get it all done? the baking and the making and the visits and the work and the decorating and the events? how do we keep the event of jesus coming to earth as the central idea of our days? how to keep from becoming caught up in the busy-ness of it all and forget the business of christ?

by stopping. and stilling. by bending low and thanking god for humble beginnings and babe-grace. by putting the needs of others ahead of our own. by focusing on the truest thing we can, the sacrifice of praise for he who would sacrifice it all.

this year we have chosen to remain in one place. and we are delighted at the prospect of standing still. for years we have each travelled, across land and seas to be home with our families, and those are times we cherish and times, i'm sure we will miss this christmas. but we are also learning how to be our own family. to establish and develop our own traditions.

it's slow around here at the moment. a joint stiff with swelling and pain, and a girl who is always eager to do one more thing can be a challenging combination. i am learning. i am preparing for a season of slowness. of incremental progress, measured by the degrees i can bend my knee. of being patient and pacing myself. of learning how to pace my days, rather than fill them to the absolute brim.

trees will be trimmed this weekend, rows upon rows of double moss stitch knitted, and we will begin our advent study. in the midst of it all, i pray we prepare not just our home, but our hearts for the coming of christ.

grace.

i've recently downloaded a new app. 1000 gifts - based on the book 1000 gifts, by ann voskamp, which i'm currently listening to and LOVING. a great[ful] way to list daily thanks, on the go and with your phone. love it.

and so here's mine from today.

how she's always been right beside me.

candlelight illuminating humble (homemade) table.

pillows from old jumpers, now a cozy corner.

new wool waiting for fingers to fly. 

woollens wet on the line - waiting to warm.

a thoughtful gift from my most recent visitor.

 as we enter advent, remembering who HE is! (printable here)

get the app here. 

cards.

i'm a big believer in christmas cards. truthfully, i've not been great at the whole thing in the past, but i love love love sending cards, receiving cards - looking at people's cards online. living abroad means that we need to be even more on the ball. i've recently made our christmas cards and while i'm not going to show you just yet what we've chosen. i will point you to the fabulous site where i got my download.


becky higgins. there's a photo scrapbooking idea that she came up with called project life - so super cool and i think it may just top my christmas wish list - i would love a way to keep all the memories that i shoot with my camera in a more tangible way!

on her free stuff page - free people - you can download lots of goodies, but particularly at the moment, christmas and holiday cards!

i gave myself a crash course on using picnik premium to add a photo to our selected card and i just love how it turned out! (ps, with picnik premium you can do layering, so you don't need to have photoshop or elements - i got a one month subscription for less than £3, if i like it, i'll upgrade to the yearly subscription, plus i love how it integrates with my picasa pool for the blog!)

we have a couple of 'family guidelines' when i comes to our cards - first, we don't say 'happy holidays.' we are big believers that christmas is about christ. so the card must say 'merry christmas.' second, if possible we'd like a place for a scripture verse. finally, we wanted a meaningful picture - we have dozens to choose from this year, so that was easy!

i've placed my free order with snapfish (new customers get 40 free prints) and paid the shipping. i plan to write the cards when i'm laid up with the knee and need a distraction.

i'll post our card later, but for now - enjoy deciding which you'll choose!

christmas begins.

we've had quite the week here. the family was in london-town for a.b.barton's graduation from lse. and for christmas festivities. it was a great confluence of events - with le boy and i flying the coop tonight for down-under, there will be no winter-white christmas in the great white north. so we've been hugely fortunate to enjoy the company of the family, hanging out in the city and tooling around together. not exciting would be the elusive search for a pair of jeans that fit well - they still elude me. i'm taking any and all suggestions for a good pair of jeans - i will not give up until they are found!

 i also - very excitingly - finished the sweater (or jumper, if you please) on time!  a.b.barton is extremely happy with it - and i'm pretty chuffed as well. (that's british for pleased.)

 

monday night was a dinner to end all dinners - lots of wine and extremely good food and really rather fantastic company.

i heart my family. and the extras too - so glad that jose found his way over here as well!

waiting.

the word advent means 'waiting' or 'coming.' the season is pregnant with expectation. the whole of creation is groaning - waiting to be delivered by a baby-king, a man-messiah.

i'm waiting here. wait with me? 

adventing.

i'm journeying through advent here.

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