Surprise!

After months of planning and praying for good health and good weather, my sisters and I pulled off a somewhat large surprise anniversary party for my parent's 40th year since their December 28, 1969 wedding. Mom guesses there were over 60 in attendance, though with all the inviting I did, I planned for around 100 (unfortunately, many people were sick or already busy). We were lucky enough to get the fellowship hall of the church where my parents spent most of their years and where my sisters and I were baptized. It was a beatiful, sweet celebration that I feel they rightly deserved after putting up with all of us and our four weddings! They also needed a good excuse to get out of the house and revisit long lost friends.

I can't imagine how my mom must have felt trying to pull off a wedding three days after Christmas, because even for me it was hectic at times! However, it was a lot of fun digging through photo albums and memorabilia, and lying and sneaking came easier to me than I imagined it would (as did scrapbooking, which I had not tried until Naomi suggested we make one as a keepsake). All in all, the day went perfectly and I hope it will be one they will remember for many years to come. Simply put, after years of dedication to our family and each other, they deserved it!

Christmas Pictures...

Here is a brief run-down of the Christmas happenings:

1.) Christmas cards finally mailed and sent out.
2.) A fun day with Lilah that turned into a bloody mess and a baby's bruised up face and lip and one sad Auntie.
3.) Wrapped up the Anniversary party planning and Christmas shopping one day prior to Christmas eve.
4.) Finished the scrapbook in between visits with parents (and trying hard to keep my mouth shut).
5.) Christmas Eve service with Dad and Mom, then pizza dinner with both parents. Bryan and I exchanged gifts privately after they left, and fell asleep watching a movie on the couch.
6.) Christmas morning brunch with my family, then appetizers and dinner with Bryan's family. Brad joined us from Iraq via Skype, and we had great fun doing our Gingerbread competition, stockings, and gift card exchange. Contrary to Bryan's predictions, Christmas turned out to be "alright".
7.) After keaving Kendra's house, Bryan and I went into Portland to take care of our friend's house, drive through the Winter Wonderland at Portland International Raceway, and then we finished Christmas evening with the movie "The Blindside" in theaters- a very, very good movie that I reccommend.
8.) I hit up some after Christmas sales and finished the Scrapbook Saturday.
9.) Dad and Mom's 40th Anniversary party Sunday!
10.) Errands, Car shopping with Heather, a trip to a Honda factory, Blue Lake, Dad and Mom's house, Vancouver, more errands, etc...yesterday, and sitting around stategically planning my few remaining days of break and playing in the snow today. We walked in the snow to dinner with Bryan's parents at Godfather's Pizza and Bryan brought his RC car to play with.

Now I am looking forward to more busy days and a happy New Year for us and for all of you!

Merry Christmas!

Bryan and I had a wonderful Christmas this year with all of our family members (well, those who are local, though this was still a step up from last year when we were limited by snow to family only within our neighborhood!). It was slightly bittersweet, as my best friend lost her father Christmas morning to a year-long battle with cancer. She sent a text that morning saying "My stepdad passed away this morning...He was wanted in Heaven for Jesus' birthday," and though they are doing a remarkable job of staying upbeat, it still resonates deep in my heart as I can identify with her struggles and have no idea how I will deal with the day when I lose one or both of my parents. Combined with my sister's husband Nick being weak and fatigued by his own battle with cancer, and two of my brother-in-laws away in Iraq for Christmas, the holidays were tinged with a little sadness, but also a stronger sense of God's provisions and blessings upon us despite our challenges.

Bryan and I also previously had an enlightening conversation regarding death that for me at least makes it a little easier to swallow. I had talked with my friend Brittany about Christmas shopping, and though I didn't ask, I wondered what she got her dad (actually step-dad but like her real dad) who she knew would die any day. This led me to reflect on what my mother-in-law always says about possessions, in that nothing on Earth matters because none of it goes to heaven with you. As a person who spent much of my childhood protecting my belongings from my evil sister, and it takes me hours to pack as I cannot stand the thought of forgetting a single item when away from home, it is hard for me to imagine going somewhere new with NOTHING of my own creature comforts. Worse yet, going ALONE, unless Bryan and I magically die in our sleep together. While I am a believer in God and have accepted Jesus as my savior and only way to reach God and an eternity in Heaven, the idea of dying still scares the bejeezies out of me ( for the above listed, materialistic reasons). Bryan on the other hand, Mr. You-Can't-Touch-Anything-In-My-Garage and Don't-You-Dare-Think-About-Setting-That-Plastic-Bag-On-Top-Of-My-Car, has a different approach to this view of Heaven and eternity. He says he would be glad to leave all his stuff because he can't wait to get to heaven, and to want a person to stay on earth to ease our own burdens of grief is selfish, since Heaven is a much better place than Earth, which is downtrodden by violence and civil unrest. (He credits his grandfather for this revelation, upon the death of his grandmother).

I guess for me, even though I am a Christian, is the fear of the unknown on the other side. That is why I always worry about my family because I want them all to stay alive and close to me. I especially worry about family and friends who have not accepted Jesus in their life and their eternity in Heaven is not guaranteed unless they do so. I guess life would be easier if we didn't care so much! Even though this is a dark subject, especially during Christmas when we should be celebrating NEW life in the baby Jesus, it is important to remember WHY that baby was born and that this baby grew into a MAN with a purpose in life on earth- to save us from our sins and lead us to a life spent glorifying the Lord and anticipating the day when he returns to take all his beloved children with Him to heaven.

As I mentioned, this was a bittersweet, but enlightening, Holiday time. Lately I have been so amazed by God's provisions in my life, and have resisted to let any of the usual stressors of the season get to me. God has blessed us in so many ways the past few weeks that I really have no complaints. How could I when we have an eternity of more blessings to look forward to?

Gingerbread Buildings...for real

Okay, okay, so I did NOT build the gingerbread house in the previous post. And unlike some internet-surfing sculptors of my family that shall remain nameless, I did not find that picture while searching for ideas on the internet. The construction in my previous post could be seen at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland, and that is my own picture.

Bryan and my actual constructions came from our own imaginations (actually checking the internet for ideas never crossed my mind!)and it took Bryan 3 hours and me 6 hours to create our projects. Bryan re-created his shop using rice krispy treats for tool boxes (covered with Snap-On red frosting) amd chocolate covered orange sticks for lifts. His cars were made of candy necklace wheels and rectangular jelly candy. I learned how to bake gingerbread (not easy) so he could have bigger walls.

My constuction was a hospital, with a helicopter pad made of a giant cookie, and cake decor that spelled our the word "Hospital" on the front. I had snowmen missing eyes, hearts (using runts for hearts) and Sour Patch kids without legs and blood spurting everywhere. I made a parking garage out of graham crackers, and a stretcher for one unlucky sour patch kid out of a stick of gum. Brain candy lined the sidewalk, and there was a coin slot on the top for dispensing money for unsightly medical bills. One rule was everything had to be edible, though I did find a helicopter on top of a lollipop that was not edible. We also found white cotton candy for snow which was a nice touch. Since Bryan's dad, mom, my dad, my mom and I have all spent time in the hospital recently, I thought creating a hospital would add a touch of familiarity that could help me win the competition.

However, both Bryan and I lost miserably. His brother-in-law made a lighthouse with impeccable, orderly design and his sister took home the trophy with a zoo complete with sea lion coves, monkey cages and trees, bear dens, a ticket booth and stage/concert lawn. Bryan's mom even beat us with her colorful carousel made using icecream cones and multi-colored frosting designs. Obviously, Bryan and my imaginations stretch far but not THAT far. Oh well, at least we know what we are up against next year and we will have to step up our game!

It's Done!

This is my entry this year in the Heinrichs' family Gingerbread house-making competition. It is multiple stories high, complete with arched entry ways and "indoor" electricity and plumbing. All told it took me a little over 300 hours to create.

Eat your hearts out boys.

Christmas Break So Far...

Last week went by fast, though I was putting in long days due to lots of grading! The week culminated in a classroom party and gift exchange with lots of food and fun. When I got home from work (late) we went to a party my friend Brittany was hosting, which was a throw back to earlier days of college. It was a fun way to finally end the week.

Last night Bryan came with me to babysit in Portland, so before it was time to arrive we walked around downtown and saw the giant tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square and had dinner at the mall. It was a lot of fun to see all the shoppers and drunk Santas on the corner.

Today was spent going to church and running errands...lots more to do before Christmas in four days!!!

Busy, Busy

No time for blogging much tonight, as I still have quite a few items left on my "To Do" list, though I do feel happy about several accomplishments from this weekend I thought I would share (with a few pictures from last week as well).

Christmas shopping is progressing well, and our decorating is (as of a couple hours ago) finally complete! Being our first *real* Christmas in this house, we were slowed down by things such as how to hang the lights, where to put the tree, etc. As of December 19, we will have lived in this house for a year, though last year we did not have the priviledges of making such decisions, since we were focusing on moving, unpacking, surviving in snow, and oh yes, my heart procedure. The house looks great and I am so excited to share more pictures in the future.

One of our challenges was the accident we made when picking a tree. It was on a slope, and its appearance was decieving in that we did not realize how huge it was! We borrowed Brad's truck (Bryan was doing some work on it) so we chopped one down at the farm we have been to the last several years and threw it in the back of the truck after hauling it (huffing and puffing) up the hill. Once we got it home, we had to chop more off the bottom to get it to stand. However, on Monday morning it had fallen over so we had to tie it to the wall! (When I say "we" I really mean Bryan, who was oh so thrilled about this all).

He was also challenged by his fear of heights when hanging lights above the garage, but I think it turned out great! I also bought snowflake lights for above the living room windows and hung some around the windows in front room and in the kitchen.

Last weekend was occupied by our school musical, Christmas decorating round #1, dinner at Kendra's, and we bought two new fish for our aquarium!

I hope to write more later! Only five days left of school! (But no snow yet...we certainly came close with the chilly, freezing weather and had the benefits of icy weather when our water pipes burst! Couldn't have been better timing...)