Merry Christmas!

Just a little snowfall for you:

This Christmas has been different, but really nice. With a mix of rain and snow (on top of two weeks' worth of the junk) and worsening road conditions, church folks around here have been mostly home-bound. Because our town has zero snowplows and doesn't salt, it really hasn't been safe to drive. So, after much deliberation and talk with parishioners, Eric decided to cancel Christmas Eve services in Yamhill and Cornelius. It was hard to imagine Christmas without family or good friends OR church, but, as it turns out, Jesus shows up anyway.

We decided to walk to Fred Meyer again for some groceries and this time we borrowed a sled from a church member. It poured freezing rain on us, but we were amazed (and a little sad) to find a packed store--and parking lot! People don't want drive in bad conditions to get to church, yet will risk their lives to get those last-minute gifts under the tree! Sigh. Maybe I shouldn't say anything--we were at the store, too!

Here's the little contraption we came up with to keep our groceries dry in the rain:


On Christmas morning, we slept late, had a really nice breakfast, then walked to the gym. After making a delicious casserole, we headed across the street to Nancy and Jeff's place for a wonderful dinner. We are so thankful they invited us over even though they just met us--it was so great to get to know these neighbors better. Eric, Pat (Nancy's mom), Nancy, Jeff:


Later, we stopped by Concha and Feliciano's (our neighbors across the street the other way) for Guatemalan tamales and ate way too much (again). Eric left after a bit, but I ended up staying for this Bible study meeting at their house that was led by some guys from a nearby church. Afterward, more tamales were served (no more for me, thank you) and we talked at the table for quite a while. Concha and Feliciano have been such great neighbors! I love having folks I can just stop by and visit without making plans. Today, Concha came over with Giovanni and she and I started reading through her Spanish GED book. Though she only had three years of elementary school in Guatemala, she has studied English for some time and plans to take a GED class starting in January. I am impressed--that book is thick!

Goose and I have also enjoyed baking, watching lots of movies and old episodes of Friends while the snow falls outside. We hope things clear up so we can make it to Spokane on Sunday!

Amish friendship bread (anyone want some starter dough?):

You've got to admit that the snow is pretty:






There were about three days there where I was always either wearing my bathrobe or snow pants:

We hope this Christmas season is filled with joy and peace for you!

Neighbors

We did some baking last night and decided to get out of the house for a bit today and share some carrot cupcake goodness (with cream cheese frosting!)--plus the recipe--with some of our neighbors. A few people weren't home (how did they get of of their houses and off our snow-filled street?), but most were, and we even met a new family that happened to be out walking. And we made that new family take some of our cupcakes. One family said they want to have us over sometime, two families said they were going to share their tamales (a Christmas tradition in some Latino cultures) with us on Wednesday and one couple invited us to their Christmas day dinner! And just for showing up at their door with cupcakes! It's so nice to be getting to know people and to have such nice neighbors! And it makes it not seem so bad to be stuck at home.

No sign of stopping

Not only is it still snowing, but I think it has snowed more in the past 24 hours than it did all of last week! Church was canceled this morning, though one family did show up at our place with their two little girls and we had a really nice visit! With pantries growing bare, we decided to walk the mile to Fred Meyer, where we planned to buy a sled to drag home the groceries that we couldn't fit in our backpacks. The walk there was a bit tougher than we had expected, with a layer of peanut-brittle-like ice on top of soft snow. But it was the walk back that was exhausting. Freddie's was (surprisingly enough) sold-out of sleds, so we got a rolling box to carry our stuff back. But because of the ridiculous amount of wet snow that had fallen while we were in the store, it was basically had to be dragged. This picture is of a fairly clear street, but each block seemed to have seen less and less traffic and, by the end, we had to carry it!

I had not planned on needing to dig this hat out again for a long time!

Apparently, this weather is supposed to continue all week! At least we're stocked up. Tonight, we plan to do some baking, watch some Christmas movies, and drink some wine. Not bad.

Strange week

More snow has fallen this week than Cornelius has seen in years. There are moments when I've laughed at the locals for being so wimpy (and for being bad winter drivers), but we have really gotten a lot of snow (and I'm internally taking back my ridicule--sorry, Oregonians). Everything has been canceled, which has caused us to be a bit disoriented at times, and Eric is currently considering canceling one of his church services!

Because we've been cooped up so much, and due to Eric's excitement about his new laptop (that allows him to work anywhere), we've tried to get out whenever we can. Today, after lunch with Idaho friend Justin Horn and his girlfriend, Andra, we camped out at a cozy coffee shop in Northwest Portland. And now, as the snow continues to come down--with no slowing in sight--and we hear rumors of severe public transportation delays, we are starting to question the wisdom of straying so far from home. I'm sure we'll make it back, but it might take a little longer than normal! Well, it's an adventure, that's for sure!

Snow?

Just before leaving for church Sunday, the snow started coming down...


And it didn't stop! Just a few hours later:


I saw our neighbor, Dani, in his yard so I went over and threw some snowballs with him. It's funny that no kids here have snow pants--they normally don't need them.


I've still got a pretty good arm:


On Monday, our neighbors were out in this street playing soccer in the snow for hours! Unfortunately, I was sick and in bed for the entire day, so I just watched and listened to them screaming and laughing from indoors. Not the worst day to be stuck inside, though.


At the Forest Grove church Sunday morning, Leah and I ran the "Pottery Stall" for their Bethlehem Marketplace. It was pretty fun.


The local schools have been canceled for the past two days and more school is predicted for tonight. Things may continue to be pretty slow here for a while...

Preparing the way

For the first time ever, Eric and I got a Christmas tree! We're not too fond of the idea of chopping down a tree and then tossing it in the trash after a couple of weeks, and (sorry, Mom) a fake one just doesn't seem right, so we decided to go for a potted plant that could stay indoors with us year-round. This Norfolk Island Pine was pretty inexpensive and we're hoping that it will be around to decorate next Christmas! The (small) number of ornaments we have, plus one strand of lights, filled up the tree just perfectly. Under the tree are our first gifts--hand-made cards from our 3rd-grade friend, Raymond that say "Don't open me til Christmas" on the front. We promise that we won't.

Simplicity

I'm firmly in Advent mode but cookie-making and church-program-planning have pulled me into more Christmas-oriented thinking these past couple of days. Considering our global/national/personal financial reality, I am thankful that both sides of our family decided last year to draw names for this year's gift-giving. So, it's good not to have pressure to spend lots of money, but, more than that, I think that the movement toward simplicity is movement in the right direction. For so many reasons. I have enjoyed so far and am looking forward to time spent on personal, hand-made gifts. I am taking advantage of free moments (and trying to set aside previously-programmed moments!) to watch and wait in silence. To look into the darkness and hold hope that somewhere, sometime soon, a small light will break through. But to be okay with the darkness for now. So often, the focus on planning programs, gifts and events (even church gatherings!) distracts me from gazing into that dark. I might even force the light on sometimes, but the beams are so bright that I can't see what I'm looking at. So I'll try to stay in the dark for a bit. To try to really get it so that, when the light comes, I can get that. Receive it. Welcome it. Live in it.

Some of the places that remind me of ways to keep Christmas gift-giving simple and meaningful, so we can focus on being with people and preparing with hope for the arrival of this baby that will change everything: Advent Conspiracy, New American Dream and Buy Nothing Christmas.

An early gift for us--kids + cookies + joy of making stuff together.




Being with children as they laugh and create and learn and eat cookies? Nothing better. Except for the big hug afterward.

Advent Conspiracy

Consider this.

Consumerism does not equal happiness.

Spend less on gifts, spend more on relationships.