Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has passed and Black Friday is upon us.

Yesterday we headed "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house" for a big turkey dinner.  I mean BIG.

Two turkeys, a ham, two types of potatoes, various vegetables, and a groaning table of desserts.  There was a big crowd this year - 28 for dinner and 32 for dessert.  I am feeling somewhat expanded after a day of feasting.

I love Thanksgiving - the food (of course) and gathering together with family and friends that we see far too infrequently.

Here's Grandma with her first grandchild, our oldest daughter Ashley.  Aren't they cute?

As our kids get older with boyfriends, fiancees, even husbands - it gets harder and harder to get everyone in one place at the same time.  This year we had a big crowd - the more the merrier!  Seems like just yesterday we were chasing these kids around the house, juggling nap times, diapers and bottles.  Here are most of the cousins, with a few friends and in-laws thrown in for good measure.

No matter how old they get, we have a few traditions that must be kept.  They girls insist that Grandma makes her creamed corn (more dessert than vegetable), the football games are playing constantly on the television in the family room, we play a few enthusiastic card games once our turkey coma has worn off and every year, with Natalie supervising, a gingerbread house is created.

The boys are hanging around because the girls told them they could eat all the candy once they were finished.  See that grin on Sam's face - he's just waiting for me to finish taking the darn picture!

I also love the purposeful time of reflecting on what we are grateful for.  It's so easy (for me, at least) to get caught up in the daily stresses of life, that I need the scheduled times where I stop, look around and remember how good I've really got it.

This year, I am thankful for so many things, these are just the highlights.

• I am thankful that I am not in the malls fighting the Black Friday madness.  I will wait for saner minds to return to the shopping centers before I venture in to do my Christmas shopping.

• I am thankful for Chris & Kristen and Erick & Mariesa.   They are our incredible youth pastors and youth leaders.   They lead the youth of our church with incredible patience and enthusiasm and have taken our two youngest to their very first youth convention this weekend.  

Here are our sweet girls, excited to get away for the weekend!

This is Erick, our junior high boys leader.  He rocks!

• I am thankful for health and freedom from pain - I am mindful of this every day.

• I am so grateful to you, dear reader, for allowing me to share my heart and responding with words of encouragement and support.  I love writing my little heartfelt posts.  They feed my spirit in a way I never imagined.

• I am thankful for parents who support us in so many ways.  There is nothing my children could inherit that is greater than the godly heritage they are receiving from their four incredible grandparents.  It is a gift beyond measure.

I could go on all day, but will end with my most precious gifts ~Steve, my incredible husband of 29 years
~Sam, our handsome "manchild" who makes us proud and makes us laugh,








 

~Rachel, our beautiful miracle baby, now a beautiful and talented young lady,

~Ashley & Daniel, our cherished and lovely daughter and our teasing, big-hearted soon-to-be son-in-law.

What did I ever do to deserve such a precious family?  I thank God for you every day.

Thank you heavenly Father for all the gifts you give.  I accept them from your hands with a full and grateful heart!

It's My Birthday!

Well...technically, not today.  My birthday's on Sunday.  But...close enough.

It's funny, I don't get quite as excited as I used to get about birthdays.  Remember, when we were little?

This is me.

See the chubby cheeks and the dimples?

Why aren't chubby cheeks and dimples cute on me any more?  And why aren't birthdays as much fun as they used to be?

I remember when I would notice my "half birthday".  I would comment on the fact that I was 8 and a half years old or 11 and a half years old.  Yippee!!

I've arrived at this conclusion.  Getting old sucks.

I don't like gray hair.  I work very hard at eliminating every one.  Wrinkles are no fun.  I'm noticing more all the time.  Gravity is not my friend.

That's just the surface stuff.  The real kicker is what's going on inside - the aches and pains that have developed since I turned 40 leave me wondering how I'll make it to 70 - forget that, how I'll make it to 50!

I have to say, there are a few benefits to aging.  Self-control is something I have gained.  I have far more patience and deeper relationships with family, friends and the Lord.  These things are priceless. 

If only I could do a Benjamin Button and have that young body (not too young, maybe mid-twenty-ish) with this old mind, I would have it made!

Oh well, here we are.  My birthday is coming, whether I like it or not.  So, to those who care and will be buying me gifts (you know who you are.) 

• I love coffee and salted caramels.  
• I need something good to read.  
• I don't have a decent pair of jeans that fit.  
• I'm dying for a pedicure.  
• I would love a nice dinner out (preferably Thai) and 
• a movie would go great with dinner! 

But really, you don't need to get me anything.  I'm too old to celebrate birthdays.

Let's Go Shopping!

I am pleased to announce the first ever Jenny and Pearl preview sale.  Mark your calendars, invite all your friends and break open your piggy banks.

Jenny and Pearl Preview Sale

& 

To Africa, With Love Fundraiser

December 2-4

Thursday and Friday 4:00 - 8:00 pm

Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

I have stashes and stashes of lovely items

• linens
• glassware
• kitchenware
• gift items

• vintage toys
• pictures
• handmade jewelry
• home decor

Whether your style is shabby chic, midcentury modern, country, rustic, or eclectic, you will definitely find something to suit your style and beautiful treasures for all the ladies on your Christmas list.  This is a sneak peek of some of the items that will be available to purchase.

Along with all these wonderful gift items, there will be lots of delicious goodies for sale, provided by the group To Africa, With Love.

These kids are raising money for their Summer 2012 missions trip to Africa and this is their kick-off fundraiser.

So, come by and say hello, shop til you drop and help out a great cause!

I know, those of you who do not live in Southern California are saying, "What about me?"  I wish you could all fly down here and visit with me, enjoy a cup of coffee, chat and shop, but alas, life isn't like that.

For all my distant and not-so-distant friends, I am stocking my online store with more and more tempting treasures.  Beginning Black Friday (that's November 26th, for the uninitiated) and extending through December 4, I will have a sale in my on-line store, so you can get in on some of the excitement too!

Also, if you see anything you like in the pictures I've posted that isn't in the shop, just email me and I will be happy to ship it to you.  Looking for something special?  Just ask.  I may have just what you are looking for within my secret stash.  I don't want my online friends to feel left out.

Finally,  I am giving away a gift certificate worth $30.00, that can be redeemed at the Jenny and Pearl Preview Sale (Orange location only).  How do you win?  Let me know what you are thankful for in the comments section below.  The winner will be chosen randomly.  Entries will be accepted through midnight on Monday, November 22 and the winner will be announced next Tuesday.  Enter as many times as you like!  Mention the sale on your FB page and let me know for an extra chance to win!

Today, I am thankful for the sound of the birds outside my window while I sit at my computer.  What are you thankful for?

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17

Bah! Humbug!

"Only 40 more days until Christmas!"

"Ugh!"

"Mom, why don't you like Christmas?"

I guess "Ugh" isn't quite "Bah, Humbug!", but to my daughter's ears it did make me sound a bit like Scrooge...okay, a lot like Scrooge.

I love Christmas.

I do.  I just don't understand why we start the countdown before we've even had Thanksgiving!

I love the decorations

• the sparkling lights and the festive colors.  
• driving through the neighborhoods to check out the displays
• picking out the perfect tree
• filling the house with lights and decorations
• the Boat Parade in Newport Harbor.  

Everything is transformed for this wonderful season.

I love the gifts - picking out something special for the people I love and anticipating the look of delight when they open the brightly wrapped package.

Oh yeah, getting gifts too!  That part is great!  I always seem to forget that I will be at the receiving end as well.

I love the food.  I love the food.  Oops, I wrote that twice.

You know what I mean.  All those scrumptious holiday treats that we eat only at this time of year.  Then we ask, "Why don't we make this the rest of the year?" only to realize that if we did, we would weigh approximately the same as a baby hippo (or a mama hippo.)

There are the delicious baked goods for starters (dessert first.)  In my family the list here is long.

Dessert is very important.  Each family event is rated by how many desserts are available. 

One or two, that's for amateurs!

At the top of the list is Grandma's pulla, otherwise known as Finnish coffee bread.  It is the most amazing sweet bread, made in a braided loaf, with a hint of cardamom - off the hook!

All other baking is secondary to the bread.  We must have the bread.  My sister has become an expert at the bread-baking also, so dozens of loaves are baked and consumed over the holidays.  Just thinking about it now is making me a little light-headed.

But, of course, the bread isn't it.  There's

• caramel corn (Kathy's favorite)
• shortbread (Steve's favorite)
• sugar cookies (Sam's)
• chocolate fudge
• Nanaimo bars (an overall fav)
• peppermint bark

• chocolate covered pretzels
• Chinese chews (Rachel's favorite)
• pumpkin pie
• and the must-have jam-jams (Poppa's contribution to the holidays)

just to name a small portion of the required holiday baking.

We eat real food too, not just dessert.  You know, turkey, potatoes, carrots, yams, green beans, stuffing... I could go on, but I think you get the point.

So...what's not to love about Christmas?

It's so much work!

The decorations are beautiful but they don't just fly out of the boxes and land on the tree and around the house by themselves.  Somebody has to put them up.

The gifts are wonderful, but (don't spread the word on this), little elves do not magically appear with them gift-wrapped under the tree.

The food is marvelous, and I know you can buy it pre-made in the store, but in our family, that just doesn't cut it!

So...when I see Christmas looming on the horizon, I get tired before I've even started.  I just see long 'to-do' lists looming and the days shrinking away while I seem to spin my wheels getting very little accomplished.  I want to relax and enjoy the moment, but 'the moment' never seems to come.

Oh yeah, I forgot one thing.  One little thing.  One major little thing.

A baby.

Born in a manger.

I know this is the only way to keep my sanity during the holidays.  I have to keep reminding myself what Christmas is really about - what the fuss and bother really mean to a believer, to one who is a follower of the Christ child born in a manger, over 2000 years ago.

If we had no gifts (now my kids are starting to panic), if the decorations never came out of the boxes, if the celebrations and parties never materialized and the baking never took place, Christmas would still be Christmas.

All of these are trappings and ornamentation - trappings that pull me away from the focus of the season - to celebrate the birth of my Savior.

For a child is born to us,
      a son is given to us.
   The government will rest on his shoulders.
      And he will be called:
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
   His government and its peace
      will never end.
   He will rule with fairness and justice 
      from the throne of his ancestor David
      for all eternity.
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)

Back to the Ranch

What a great weekend! 

Sometimes it seems like the weekend is filled with one activity after another.  This one was blissfully relaxing.

Saturday we returned to beautiful Calicinto Ranch, one of our favorite places on earth. 

 

We went there with our church family from Convergence and we had a blast, in spite of the tarantulas.  Right, Dina?

What I really loved about the day, beside the horses, the great food, the beautiful blue skies, the wonderful Pirelli family, the hay rides

 and all the other fun, was the opportunity to spend extra time with family, our church family. 

Sundays are great.  We get together,  chat over a cup of coffee, worship and learn together, but it's a brief period of time and then we're gone - off doing our own thing, busy with our lives.

Spending this time together, creating shared memories, was a great opportunity to draw our family closer together. 

Thanks Pastor Norb, aka Sheriff Norb, for providing us with this opportunity to be together.  It was a much-needed break.

The petting zoo was a huge hit. 

For these suburban kids, it took a while to figure out which end of the chicken they should grab!

This is me with my cowgirl Rachel and my mom.  There is no place on earth that Rachel would rather be than at Calicinto Ranch, riding a horse.  She has adopted the Pirelli's as her second family.

I have to give a special shout-out to Erick and Mariesa.  Thanks Erick for providing many of these pictures.  Erick and Mariesa are my personal heroes. 

These three boys are the reason why.  Take a good long look at these boys.  They are Sam, Harrison and Zack.  They are twelve years old.  Erick and Mariesa are the fearless junior high leaders at our church.

Pray for Erick and Mariesa.

It was a great weekend.  God is good.

Right Steve?   Steve...

Is God A Democrat?

Or a Republican?

That was the question our son asked on Election Day, this year.

It's no wonder he would ask.  With all the rhetoric and the dispersions being cast back and forth, it makes one wonder where God really is in this big, beautiful mess we call democracy.

We've removed God from our schools, but he's everywhere in the political process.  Politicians love to throw in little bits of Scripture or "God bless America"'s when they feel it's to their political advantage.

So, where does that leave God?  Democrat or Republican?

As we have been studying the names of God in our weekly Bible study, the name Melek Ha-Goyim "The King of the Nations" was introduced.  He is God over all nations.  All powers, authorities, and rulers bow to him.  He answers to nobody.

"...and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.  From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.  His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us."  Acts 17:25-27

However you feel about the outcome of the elections - whether you are elated or disgusted,  let us be reminded that we can't place our total faith in any political party.  They can and will disappoint us.  While it's imperative to keep doing our part keeping the wheels of democracy moving, we cannot forget the "purpose of the nations" in our individual lives.

Seek after God.  Feel your way toward him.  Find him.  He is not far from any one of us.

Republican or Democrat.

Sugar Rush

This morning, my children woke up from a sugar coma and went to school.  Halloween is over and the holiday season officially kicks into full gear.

This is a pumpkin that Rachel carved last week in anticipation of next year's mission trip to Africa.  Actually, she said that our youth pastor Chris carved most of it, but she got to take it home.  Pretty cool, huh?

Last night we went over to our friend's, the Grams, for a little trick-or-treating.  Sam and Harrison went door-to-door.  Rachel dressed up but decided she would just stroll through the neighborhood with mom and dad, commenting on all the cute little kids and their costumes and trying to keep up with two boys jacked up on sugar.

Harrison was a little bit scary, Rachel was a little bit country and Sam went retro with the classic ghost sheet costume, inspired by a viewing of It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  Rachel asked him what he would do if somebody gave him a rock.  I think he was hoping they would!

It was a beautiful night and the air was crisp.  We hit the mother lode of neighborhoods, with lots of young families, super cute little kids and houses handing out handfuls of candy.   It didn't take long for the boys to fill up their pillowcases until they were almost too heavy to carry.

When we got home, Yoda greeted us on our doorstep.  We discovered something this year.  My son-in-law-to-be, let's just call him Daniel, has a secret hidden talent.  He is an amazing pumpkin carver.  This is his creation.

 
This pumpkin amazing is not, hmm?  Yeesssssss.

Ashley and Daniel spent the evening at home, watching The Village and handing out candy to the handful of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.  Ashley recently went on the wagon.  Or off the wagon, the candy wagon, that is.  She's had a problem for years.  Ashley is a candy addict.  This is hard for a mother to admit about her child, but it's true.   She decided (probably due to an impending wedding) that she would cut out sugar completely!  Yikes!

She has had migraines and serious withdrawal from her sugar habit, but she is sticking to her guns and is starting to feel much better for it.

Well, we arrived home last night and dumped this on the kitchen table.

Let me warn you now.  This next picture is not pretty.  If you've never seen an addict in the throes of withdrawal, avert your eyes.  If there are children in the room, they should leave now.

Okay, I've warned you.

It was sad.  She has a crazed look in her eyes.  Sam was in bed, so he had no idea what was happening to his dear sister (or his beloved candy).  Somebody help this woman!

Well, we pulled Ashley away before any real damage was done, and did the drug sweep through the candy.  Daniel pulled out two suspicious looking candy bars that he figured he should keep himself and examine thoroughly.  I know he's just looking out for the kids.  What a nice guy!

Ashley decided that next to eating candy, she loved to sort candy.  YES!  You read that right.  Every year, she would sort and re-sort her candy endlessly, organizing it into categories and colors.  Must be a girl thing, because my sister and I did the same thing when we were kids.  I think Daniel was a bit baffled by the sorting thing, but it made Ashley feel better and prevented her from diving in and eating the candy, so he humored her and helped with the sorting.

There's Ashley, still sugar free, and organized.  Now, that's love!