CHRISTMAS TIME! 2018

Christmas time!!! is definitely long past over but this is my attempt at summarizing its events. It was a cozy and unhurried month - although it was full of the usual hustle and bustle, it felt manageable and simpler than usual.  Here's to hoping it means I'm getting better at focusing on the things that matter. 

This past season, we drank LOTS of tea and started and finished lots of good books together. 

We had white winter sangria and snacks with dear Meghan who was in town. 

We went up to Silver Spring to my sister's place the weekend before Christmas to be all together. 

They had installed an indoor swing! To no one's surpise, it was very popular. . 

My sister made these delicious concoction of a drink (non-alcoholic) that felt very festive. 

There were many rounds of of King of Toyko played (this day and throughout this month). 

Rusty!! He's staying with my sister in NYC currently, and having the time of his life apparently.

Us four girls. 

I took the week of Christmas break off and it was GLORIOUS - so glorious, it was really hard to go back to work when it was time - spending hours at home with the girls. One of those mornings, we went with Mignon to get breakfast at Can Can.

This girl is very fond of her bacon. Very. 

We went to church at the 400 (our church's other location) for worship service on Christmas Eve.

I'm trying to make it a tradition that we have Christmas spaghetti (a sauce that has an entire bottle of wine it it and simmered for 3-4 hours) on Christmas Eve or Day and we made it happen this year.





We had Nelson (Ken's cousin from Ohio) visit and stay with us for a few days around Christmas and the girls loved having him here!

The morning after a dinner party calm always feels a little magical. 

Christmas morning! After a breakfast of cinnamon roll pancakes and bacon, we opened presents and stockings.  Key to opening presents is making sure to leave plenty of time afterwards that morning for the kids to play with their toys unhindered by having to rush on to the next thing. 

Mignon!!

So very happy to have her near. 

The girls love it too. 

They are still very into horses. 

Nelson got the girls these whoopee cushions - you can imagine the fun that ensued. 

Putting this pretty cocktail shaker into action that my friend Jangeun got for me.

We went down to Virginia Beach the afternoon of Christmas Day to be with Ken's family and got to eat hot pot together around a big table!

Everyone! (except Aunt Nancy who was taking the photo)

with Xiao Gugu (Karen) and Uncle Bernard: They are going to be welcoming a baby boy this year and we are so excited for them and so excited to meet this baby!

Their presents included these dress up masks and capes and I'm happy to report that they are putting them to proper use; plus, we feel very safe with these super heroes around the house to rescue us if need be.

WHAT I'M READING V. 40

1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

This is January's book club reading and I gobbled this one up in nearly one sitting! It's about an older couple that moved to Alaska to farm new land in the 1920s, both wanting but unable to have children. As soon as I started the book, I was transported into the cold winter life of Jack and Mabel, and I hurried to make myself a cup of milky tea.  I finished the rest of the book, accompanied by cupfuls of tea, entranced by the story and the writing.  Afterward, I was left with a haunting sadness. It's not a short book, but simple and precise, in the most evocative and lovely way.


2. Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

I had this pressed into my hands by a friend years ago but haven't been able to read it until recently, and I deeply regretted that I hadn't read it earlier.  This book was written as a letter to Nouwen's Jewish and intellectual friend, who asked Nouwen to write about the Spirit in a way that him and his friends could understand.  Nouwen proceeds to write this letter and say that the best way he knows how to explain his religion and spirituality is to say that we are all beloved by God. He goes on further to say it is helpful to him to think of his relationship with God as being taken, blessed, broken and given. It was a helpful book to me in articulating some of the things I've been thinking about in regards to my faith lately.


3. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD

A friend told me she was reading this book a couple of years ago in preparation for fostering and I requested the book at the library and was on hold at the library for months before it finally came in.  It must be a popular book and rightly so. It's a very thorough explanation of trauma and it's effects. Insightful and powerful, I think it would be extremely helpful for all parents and educators.


4. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

This is a John Steinbeck I've never read before, and it was such a pleasure to read now.  I've been making it a point to read or re-read classics, and I find that my appreciation is deeper than it was 15-20 years ago when I first encountered them. John Steinbeck's East of Eden is one I read 15 years ago and loved, and then re-read 5 years ago with a completely different feeling and response - it's fascinating how books can mark one's change in this way. Cannery Row is about nothing and it's a about everything; vivid and sharply written, you can trust you're in capable hands.

BANISTER XMAS PARTY 2018

Our friends, Zach and Greta, threw their second annual Christmas concert back at the beginning of December and we had ourselves a grand time with food, drink, games song, talents and even a dance!  Everyone comes prepared to present something, and it was wonderful to be a part of such creativity and fun. To commemorate and for memory keeping, some photos!

WHAT I'M READING V. 39

I need to get these last couple of "What I'm Reading" posts out for books I've read in 2018! I have one more after this one, and I'll try to include a round up of my favorites of 2018 in that post.


1. Inspired by Rachel Held Evans

This was a lovely memoir-style book about how Evans grew up with one type of idea about the Bible, and how that view was changed and then expanded.  She is honest and vulnerable about her religious upbringing, her doubts, and how she has worked through the doubts to come out the other side with even more love and respect for the Bible, even while knowing she wouldn't readily be accepted by the circles that she grew up in. I always appreciate well-written and personal explorations of what it is to grapple with the Bible, and I enjoyed this read.

2. Varina by Charles Frazier

I borrowed the audiobook of this one on recommendation from a friend who said the narrator was superb, and she was right. I like the writing and narrating better than the story or its characters - there was something a little surreal and non-relatable about how the story moved, but the writing was beautiful and the reader was excellent. Reading this one made me interested in his "Cold Mountain" (the one that was made into a hit movie) and I put it on my list.

3. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

This one was wonderful and everyone should read it.  I first heard this book from Ken's co-worker, Sean (who was on our podcast recently!) and I was excited when it finally came through from the waitlist I was on for it.  I thought about this one for days afterwards. I was instantly taken in by the approachable tone in which he starts. He begins with his foray into law school and then his immediate venture into the world of public defending and death row cases.  He is such a skillful and thorough storyteller - he is able to relay the details of a complicated legal case and also convey all the complexity of emotions that goes along with it.  (Parts of the story telling reminded me of the excellent journalism of Serial.)

The book only mentions Jesus once, but it's the book that made me think the most about who Jesus really is than all the books I've read, Christian-themed books included.  This book is about the most marginalized, the poorest, the most defeated people in our society and it takes a good hard look at them, and at the society that created some of its problems. It also made me think about how although I can't be a public defender on death row right now, there are other ways for me and for others to really practice just mercy where we are.  The problems that land a person in desperation starts with poverty, lack of family structure and support, insufficient education, and lack of support for mental health, which can be found in every city in America.  Kids are vulnerable, women are vulnerable, the poor are vulnerable.  There are so many ways to address these vulnerabilities: by supporting kids, foster cares, education programs, single mothers, and being aware that systematic racial injustices are pervasive throughout. 

4. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodr Dostoevsky 

What a book! It was one of the more difficult books I've read recently. I read it with others in my book club and we extended the timeframe to read to two months, rather than the usual one, because we all realized immediately that it was going to be a big undertaking.  My initial take on it was that it felt like an allegory, which I can't stand for some reason, and also all that the female characters in the book were portrayed as awful, hysterical, unreliable people, which also gave me pause.  I kept pushing on though (mostly due to my friend Anya who had finished it before me and said it was worth it) and it wasn't until I got 3/4 of the way through that I started really enjoying and appreciating it for what it was. It's a book that is just as much about the journey of questioning faith and wrestling with doubt as it is the sweeping statements it makes, and as much about hope as it is about despair.  The read felt like a journey to a place where I was asked to let go of my preferences and keep going despite by reservations, and it was an entirely satisfying one.