Apple-ing

Today we went apple-ing at the Poets' farm. Some of us picked apples (Andrew & others). Some of us peeled them, cored them, and cut them up. Some of us stirred the applesauce on the stove. Some of us made apple cider. Some of us heard new music and found a new favorite band (me). Someone else was cuddled and peek-a-booed with and fascinated with the dogs and cats, shrieking at them (Ransom).
There were good talks. Ideas shared, stories told, recipes talked about, music jargon thrown around, Christmas conspiring.
Andrew & I agreed as we left. Our spirits were fed today while we were apple-ing with our adopted Oregon family.

So grateful.

Tonight we ate applesauce, tomorrow we'll break out the apple cider.
This is a beautiful time of year. :)

notes

Notes regarding life lately:

-My baby boy is growing up and becoming more independent! Okay, he's not even officially crawling yet, but he got on all fours today and rocked a bit, and he turned the pages as I was reading to him tonight (with his left hand, mind you). Baby steps... Maybe listening to Nat King Cole on the record player and playing on the floor with Ransom will slow time down.


-We have acquired a record player and music sounds really good on it. Favorite music thus far: Eugene Bible College's Simple Faith (an album from the 70s, I think), Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and some Bill Cosby stand up comedy excerpts.
-I am learning how to be a youth pastor's wife. It is scary & unknown territory for me, a job I didn't ask for or expect but find myself with. Balancing priorities is hard, but I know the order goes:
-God
-Andrew
-Ransom
-ministry/work
Often I'm off balance, but right now feels like a good time where I'm learning a lot & am hopefully remaining teachable to see how God wants to keep shaping me into a daughter that honors Him.
-Sort of related to the last note: did you know homemaking can be an idol?! What?!! Um, yeah, so, I'm beginning to get that. Homemaking=good thing. Wife=good; mom=good. But, if any of these things take more attention away from God, they're not so good things. Ouch. But, good to know, and to watch out for.
-October came very quickly. It is very important to me to savor this fall season (Ransom's first complete one) and to enjoy this precious season.
-We have identified the need to not just say we're on a budget, but to live it. We're doing a lot of math lately, and it can look scary sometimes, but having a plan is liberating even in its limits. I'm inspired.
-Two families (each family with five kids!) are inspiring me lately. The Driscolls are so encouraging in their love for Jesus and the ways they're living that out, and the Soules inspire me with their simplicity, creativity, and appreciation for the seasons (Amanda makes me want to learn the purl stitch).
-Tomorrow I'm looking forward to coffee with a sweet girl in her first year of college and to a date with my husband while the Poets babysit Ransom.


(This picture is from September 28th, tanniversary of our relationship's start. We're sitting at the table of the patisserie where AJ & I officially became a couple. )

back to work

Tuesday marked my re-entry into the work force. I have a little job as a church receptionist that gives me 6 hours a week. The work's not too crazy--manageable tasks that benefit from my melancholy* tendencies to have order & I'm gratified when I'm able to get everything done on my to-do list.
My first day back was the first of the month, the first weekday the church office is open, and newsletter day! There were lots of tasks waiting for me when I returned because of the day I happened to come back so I was double checking my work to make sure I was remembering how to do things.
But then, let's throw a baby into the mix!


That's right, Ransom comes to work with me. I'm SO blessed to be able to work at a job that allows me to bring my baby. I was very nervous about how it would work out, but I'm happy to report he did a great job while I did my job. :) Those baby Bjorn carriers are a wonder (we have a different brand of the same thing)!
I will keep praying Ransom will do well as I do the filing, the editing, the updating, the answering phones (haven't had to face that task yet), etc. that go on in the office.
For those of you wondering, this won't be a long term position. I intend to work for a few months (the goal is to apply my paychecks toward my student loan) & then to graduate into the position of a full-time stay at home mom.

We took this family picture on Friday. It only took about thirty tries before Ransom looked at the camera & the tv wasn't in the background!
Our baby is 3 months old today!

ladybug on the tree

Because of the long weekend, we've been able to sleep in three days in a row & it's been DELIGHTFUL! With a baby bursting into our lives soon, I'm savoring the extra hours of sleep.

Yesterday we did some Christmas shopping, had a lunch date, and found a beautiful Douglas Fir to live in our home for the holidays. It smells nice and everygreen-y in our apartment now.

While Andrew was trimming the scraggly branches off the bottom of the tree, I saw this ladybug & had to take a picture of it before sending it to a new home outside (a bush; I didn't kill it).

Christmas is coming, and Ransom is coming sooner!

11.23.10:anniversary two

As you can see from the pictures, we awoke to a dusting of snow on the ground the morning of our second wedding anniversary. It was a present! It had snowed, briefly, on our wedding day, too, so I was enchanted!

Here we are, having just discovered it. I'm still wearing my pajamas!

The snow slowed the day down & Andrew had an extra hour before he had to drive to work, so I made oatmeal on the stove (not the microwave, for once!) and we busted out the Christmas music. Chicago's Christmas album, if you're curious. :) It's a tradition in Andrew's family & has become one in our little one, too.

Here are a couple of pictures of my commute to work. I had to take a couple of pictures to get the "11/23/10" on the little digital sign up at the front of the bus. This picture is the best of the ones I took.

It was, again, enchanting to see the snow covering everything but to still see colored leaves on some of the trees. I was so thankful for the bus system this day & that I didn't have to drive on the ice. Andrew ended up heading home after trying to drive to his job that day, but an hour later things had cleared up enough for him to get to work. That's what it's like here; the snow makes a fuss in the beginning of the day & then melts with hardly any remaining snow for the next day.

The evening of our anniversary we went out to eat (thanks, Mike & Gina, for the gift card!) and had a blast! We had a coupon & ordered an appetizer & were basically full before our meals arrived so we had LOTS of leftovers to take home! It was a luxury & we had such a fun time!

Happy anniversary to us. I love you Andrew J.

kairos moment

Wednesday on the bus I was on my way to my doctor's appointment & I had what Madeleine L'Engle calls a kairos moment. From what I remember from Walking on Water, this sweet book she wrote about creativity & being a Christian, kairos is a moment outside of normal time, chronos. It's a moment of realization, where things seem more real, more of what they really are meant to be. This pops into my mind to explain kairos: as if for a moment the veil of the Shadowlands is taken away & a shimmer of a glimpse is permitted into the greater story being written.
On that crowded bus I was aware of the life inside of me, of the miracle that he is, and the intentional timing of God in bringing him into our lives. How thankful I am for our baby, for every movement he makes that reminds me of the MIRACLE he is!
Moments like this make me excited about living, about the story of beauty God is creating from our ashes.
After the kairos moment hit, I took some pictures of the things in my lap, wanting to remember what little interests are making up my life right now & to keep pictures of this season before Ransom comes. Wanting to remember the kairos, the particular lighting on the bus that day, etc.
By looking at what's in my lap here, and what I'm wearing, I am thinking of Laryn, the Vencills, Erin, Jessica, Moriah, mom & dad, my interest in cooking & sharing in the pleasure of old movies with AJ & our friend Tony.
I am looking forward to this business of living & to living past the Shadowlands!

Our front door

Following, is a glimpse of our front door for my dear family so they can visualize where we're bringing our baby home in a little less than a month, perhaps, if his December 18th due date is to be believed!


Bonus points to anyone who can guess what song the little bird is singing! Hint: a foreshadowing of the season to come... My family has an advantage; it's a song we sang together as a family in church one year.