Monday, December 12, 2011

Brag Moment

For those of you following Erin's volleyball "career", she had try outs this past week for the Kelowna club team.  She was awesome and she's still worrying that she won't make the team.  She's too cute :)  They go down to only 1 team in the city for this age group, and she's been asked to play up on the U18 grade 12 team instead.  Pretty awesome opportunity!  Most of the team are from the school that won the provincial gold medal last weekend, so she'll be among some amazing players.  She's nervous and excited, doesn't know anyone on the team, so huge learning curve in lots of areas.  Looks like we/she'll be heading to Edmonton for a University/club team tournie the first week of January.  It sounds like an amazing group of girls, there is actually a deaf player on the team and last year 3 of the girls learned sign language so they could communicate better with her.  I find it amazing that this girl is such a gifted athlete in a sport that requires a lot of team communication!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Beautiful "Legs" and feet

 I had the joy... and sorrow... of attending a celebration of the finished life of an amazing woman, who has an amazing daughter that I am privileged to call friend.  Though I didn't know "Legs" well, it was obvious how many lives she had touched.
The event was gorgeous in spirit and beauty, surrounded by one of her loves, flowers and the garden. Everything was decorated in white, with white roses, hydrangeas and babies breath, with just a pop of red.  It was a celebration of life well lived and looking to a future of heaven.


I happen to have a daughter with the same size feet as Legs, and was honored to bring home a BIG surprise in checked baggage for her.  Here's for you Auntie Tawa:
"I am in shoe heaven"


Fortunately, or unfortunately, she seems to have the same GREAT taste in footwear, as the 2 favorites first out of the box were the patent leather high boots bought in Paris, and the Joseph Siebel red leather shoes from San Francisco!  There will be lots of Mrs. Whittaker days around here, and probably the need for a new shoe rack.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Cookies

I spent last weekend baking 12 dozen butter tarts.  I love how they changed magically into 12 dozen of something else with a little visit to a friend's and 11 other ladies doing the same thing.  It's my first ever real cookie exchange and I think I like it.  One day, all baking done.  The only problem was it was too early!  About half of it is gone already, into lunch boxes or after school snacks.  Oh well, I have 12 more recipes to add to my favorites (Ok maybe there was 1 or 2 that aren't my favorites, but nonetheless still fun.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Advent

I love Christmas.  I love December and our family has a few birthdays, like 3.  I love the feeling of pulling out the lights and decorations and settling in for evenings of sledding and drinking hot chocolate.  And I love Advent, the preparing in our hearts for the coming King, our Savior.  It happened already, 2000 years ago, and we get the joy and knowledge of knowing that Jesus already came, we can re-celebrate every year!  Not like the B.C. believers, who were waiting for their Messiah, wondering how much longer.... waiting in a different way. We don't have to wait anymore for His coming to bring life;  we do get to wait for His coming again, the final fulfillment of promise... to bring judgment, make all wrongs right... to bring the era of true Kingship, peace on earth forever. 

And I can see in my imagination how the little baby came and made the world start spinning, new thoughts, new discoveries for so many, Gentiles added to the faith, just a wee baby.  I pray for new discoveries for this Christmas, for someone, for a friend who needs to find Him, for a neighbor lost in the wrong cycle, for the empty needing to feel full and not alone.

We're doing Advent Days of service this year.  Instead of just a waxy chocolate treat and another day closer, we're giving something of ourselves each day.  So for 15 days, we are focusing on someone else...


Yesterday was our HOPE day... we packed a bag of "hope" to take to the Food Bank.

Today is our day called BELIEVE...  we're up to our elbows in cookie dough for Living Nativity, our church's gift to the community, which sees many come to "believe" every year, we hope lemon sugar cookies help.