For Unto Us

This year we took a whole new approach to Christmas. With all the hustle and bustle that usually surrounds the "season", Jason and I felt like celebrating Christ frequently takes a back seat to making it to the next party, finding the perfect gift and wrapping frantically. Fatigue and frenzy replaces anticipation and joy. And if you're still wondering what exactly I'm referring to just think about any shopping trip you've had to make in the last month and what the parking lot was like...

In an attempt to re-center our Christmas time, we asked our family to postpone gift-giving for other times. No, we're not anti-gifts but felt like our giving at Christmas ought to be others-centered, others who we don't expect to receive back from. And also, that the time that we would usually invest in present procurement and preparation would instead be free to spend with family, in service to others, or in contemplation of Advent and Jesus' birth.

Still with plenty of room for improvement on our unconventional approach, we had a joyful, peaceful and altogether wonderful Christmas. We decorated the house, trimmed the tree, had gatherings with friends, and feasted with birthday cake and all. We enjoyed quiet times of reflection, special moments with family (Jason's folks were with us), the Christmas Eve service, and the joy of knowing that we had given to others we might never even get to meet but who have hopefully been touched by the love of Jesus Christ - as we have.

And we want each of you to know as we celebrated the gift of Jesus, we also celebrated the precious gift God has given us in each of you.

This is our Christmas picture but... soon we'll have an update.

O, Christmas Tree

Tis the season for celebrating the birth of Jesus. And though the original context of Christmas trees is somewhat enigmatic, we have adopted the tradition. In the past, we have unearthed a little tree on the Lattin seniors' property and enjoyed it in our home before placing it back in the ground. This year, being further away, we got to pick out one at a local nursery. It will make the trip back with Jason's folks to the "farm" after Christmas to be added to the fold.

But this year we were able to give special meaning to our tree. It's Nathan's tree and he got to help pick it out. Nathan's Norwegian fir. It was a one-of-a-kind at the nursery and we thought that was very fitting. Seeing it grow through the years will also be a joy, as it will be a reminder of Nathan's little days when he and the tree are much bigger. (Nathan really hoped he could bring home the kitty who resided there too.)

Our entire afternoon centered around this exciting event. We ate lunch at one of the local favorites, then leisurely strolled around the nursery looking for the perfect tree, and finally made it home and to the backyard with our prized evergreen. Why the backyard? Well, since it's a live tree, it can only be indoors for a shorter period of time. It has since then made the transition to inside. Nathan seems very proud of this new acquisition and has yet to try to eat it, climb it or knock it down.

At this special time of year, there are many reminders of Christ that the tree brings into our home. Amidst winter's starkness and chill, we enjoy the evergreens here on the west coast. In that way, may the life of Christ be always vibrant and enduring during every season of our life. And may that Life be seen by those who are searching. We also have a favorite folktale called the Tale of Three Trees, which poignantly describes the presence of three trees in the life of Christ. Knowing that Jesus gave His life on a tree is a sober reminder that we celebrate His birth with a living tree while we celebrate His sacrifice with wooden beams. But indeed we do celebrate and the tree is a festive reminder of the joy of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you all!

ps- Click on the picture for a bigger view.

The Blue Screen of Death

A few of you may have noticed that we've been eerily silent for the last couple weeks. Well, I guess it's bound to happen to any computer user who is plugged in. And who has a camera, printer, skype phone, slide scanner, palm, web cam, and iRiver all plugged in too. The blue screen of death. We had sensed the increasing instability of our computer for several weeks. Then, the smoke clouds could be seen and we had to take cover. Thankfully with all our important info backed up, Jason was able to gingerly coax our machine back to health, complete with fresh installation of the operating system (which he had to modify to include all the new updates). Jason said it was the most challenging tech support situation he has ever faced. And it came during one of his busiest operating weeks thus far (including a 13 hour case one of those days!) At least he didn't have to face it alone... He had three (one being rather incognito) fans eager to be cheering him on. As you can see in the picture, Nathan was particularly helpful by pointing out where he thought the problem was. And now we're back- good as new. (The office was even moved to our bedroom in order to have a room for our new arrival.)